Sun Runner: Canned BJ software

[Parker]

> I wouldn't recommend Linux to any computer
> user than only used office apps, browsed the
> net, and chatted online unless he was fairly
> computer savey. Linux doesn't do any of
> those tasks better than Windows (although it
> does all of those tasks almost as well) so
> why go to the pain of learning something
> new?

Not having to worry about viruses and spyware come immediately to mind, for starters.

I believe that there are several applications that perform their tasks more efficiently that similar Windows Apps. For example, K3b is the coolest CD burning software that I have ever used. I find it far superior to Nero or Roxio both in terms of features and ease of use. The Gimp will do just about everything that Adobe Photoshop will do -- except set you back $600! I can think of many more.

Have you looked at the latest versions of Xandros and Linspire? If someone was already accustomed to using Mozilla instead of Internet Explorer, they could use one of these systems for quite a while and never even realize that they were not on a Windows box. Xandros even includes Crossover Office, which runs Microsoft Office perfectly.

> By the same token, I think anybody is
> insane to run a database or web server on
> Windows as the Linux versions of these
> applications are vastly superior, much more
> secure, and completely free.

No question about this.

[Parker]

> Shared server. I don't have access to
> Apache.

. . . like your problem was not so much with Linux as with your provider, who was unwilling/unable to work with you to meet your needs. As others have pointed out, there are several ways that your problems with case sensitivity could have easily been solved.

Note that if you enter WWW.ADVANTAGEPLAYER.COM into your browser, it will find the site just fine. (Advantageplayer.com runs on an Apache server.)

[Norm Wattenberger]

QFIT.COM works too. That's up to the domain name server. I would not trust many hosts to fiddle with Apache.

> . . . like your problem was not so much with
> Linux as with your provider, who was
> unwilling/unable to work with you to meet
> your needs. As others have pointed out,
> there are several ways that your problems
> with case sensitivity could have easily been
> solved.

> Note that if you enter
> WWW.ADVANTAGEPLAYER.COM into your browser,
> it will find the site just fine.
> (Advantageplayer.com runs on an Apache
> server.)

[Parker]

> Maybe. I'm not educated enough to completely
> disagree with you .. I just believe that
> when the 14 year olds see they can get a big
> bang for the effort, they'll figure a way to
> hijack LINUX also. Just an opinion.

It is certainly not impossible, but it would be more difficult. Linux is based on Unix, which was designed from the ground up to be used as a multi-user networked system. Security was a priority from the beginning.

Windows, OTOH, evolved from DOS, which was designed entirely for stand-alone machines. If you wanted to network DOS or Windows computers prior to Windows For Workgroups (Windows 3.11), you had to use 3rd party software, such as Novell Netware.

While Linux is certainly not invulnerable, it is inherently more secure than Windows will ever be.

> Oh well, I've got OUTLOOK, EXCEL, an
> accounting program, MUSIC MATCH, and CVBJ
> all open while drifting on and off the net
> .. and my system locked about an hour ago.

Linux is much more modular than Windows. If you open more apps than you have memory for, the system may slow down as it has to use virtual memory, but it will never crash. An application may occasionally crash, but it will never take the operating system down with it.

This also ties into the security issue. In their efforts to win the browser wars, Microsoft has integrated Internet Explorer into the core operating system. As a result, any security patch for Internet Explorer must be very thoroughly tested before release in order to make certain that other parts of the OS are not affected.

> What are ya' gonna do? Buy more RAM I guess
> or trade in this two year old Toshiba!

My Toshiba laptop is 4 years old and works perfectly. Another advantage of Linux is that, properly configured, it requires less in the way of system resources.

[Parker]

> My original response didn't pass moderation.

Your first response was fine, and is now on the board. Contrary to popular opinion, I actually delete very few posts.

Expecially when I agree with them. :-)

However, also contrary to popular opinion, I am not glued to my computer 24/7. Posts may stay in "moderation limbo" for a few minutes or a few hours, depending on when they are made and my schedule.

Of course, you can avoid all of this by registering your handle.

This only takes a few seconds to do. Just click on "Create Profile" at the top of any message index page. The only required information is a username and password. An e-mail address is optional. If you want to put down any other info, you may, but it is not required.

With a registered handle no one can post using your name, you can self-delete your posts if you ever have a need, and I can give you "bypass moderation" status so that your posts appear immediately.

[Sun Runner]

> Now, for the "regular guy"
> argument. Sun Runner is
> correct to say that Windows is what the
> "regular guy" is stuck
> with. Indeed, in all aspects of life, the
> "regular guy" gets
> a raw deal -- if a person accepts that, this
> is his
> choice and his loss.

>Myself, I aspire to do things better than the "regular guy", and enjoy the subsequent rewards.

I have deleted several responses appropriate for your post, but as I am afraid that I have already garnered a rep as a bit of a hard ass, just let me say ...

Congratulations; try not to step on to many of the 'regular folk' on your way to continued success.

All the best.

[penumbra]

To make an analogy, I would say that Microsoft products
are like 6:5 BJ. We might hear the following from a ploppy
if we advised them to look for a better game elsewhere: "Hey,
I am on vacation, and this is what they offer at my hotel.
Why should I spend the time searching around time for a
real game, when I am just out to have a good time? What does
it matter that BJ pays 6:5 instead of 3:2? "

Well, we probably wouldn't spend the time to argue with him.
But there is a problem. If he plays at the 6:5 table, and gives
the casino the action, the game gains legitimacy . The
casino sees that people are indeed dumb enough to play, and have
no motivation to offer a better game. Over time,
the good games become quite scarce.

This is what is so troubling about the "regular folk" argument.

I asked whether there was BJ software for other platforms,
because I use other platforms.
I couldn't resist making an editorial comment, which I stand by,
saying the Windows is "brain damaged". ("Brain dead" would be
more appropriate.)

There is always someone who feels the need to respond
to this statement by defending Windows as the everyman's computer.
I submit that this is exactly the same as defending 6:5 as
the everyman's BJ game. Why spend the time defending something
that most everyone agrees sucks, just because it dominates the
marketplace?

So, if you use Windows, then, just like the ploppy who plays
6:5, that is your choice. But (1) it is specious
to argue for its value based on its prevalence,
and (2) by defending it, you are actually harming the market in the
same way that the 6:5 BJ player harms BJ.

Again, you felt the need to defend Windows,
even though all I was trying to do is find some BJ software for my platform.

> I have deleted several responses appropriate
> for your post, but as I am afraid that I
> have already garnered a rep as a bit of a
> hard ass, just let me say ...

> Congratulations; try not to step on to many
> of the 'regular folk' on your way to
> continued success.

> All the best.

[paranoid android]

> Note that if you enter
> WWW.ADVANTAGEPLAYER.COM into your browser,
> it will find the site just fine.
> (Advantageplayer.com runs on an Apache
> server.)

But if you type www.advantageplayer.com/Blackjack/index.html in your browser, it doesn't work. The Internet name of the computer (www.advantageplayer.com) is generally (possibly always) case insensitive, but the directories and file names that follow (blackjack/index.html) generally rely on the conventions of the filesystem they reside on. But as I pointed out, it is easy to modify the default behavior with Apache.

If my hosting service was unable or unwilling to make such a simple change to the Apache configuration, I'd soon be seeking a new hosting service.

BTW: I'm not sure "computing for counters" is the proper forum for this thread. But I'm unable to find the "religion" forum on this site. ;-)

[Norm Wattenberger]

or changing a DSL provider is not something one should take lightly. I have been through nearly a dozen of each. Four hosts in one year. Not by choice. They keep buying each other. It's like moving your home. It's not something you do at the drop of a hat. When you find yourself in a somewhat reasonable position, you stay as long as you can. My bjstats.com site I host myself under Win2000 and it is no problem. (It requires Win2000 since Linux doesn't support ASP or the DLLs used by my BJ calculators.) But, qfit.com must be up constantly and handle a very high bandwidth. It sits in a climate-controlled datacenter with diesel backup and multiple OC12 optical connections to the 'Net, hot standby routers, full daily backups, etc. I can't put that in my home So I have to take what I can get.

[Norm Wattenberger]

First, I started as a systems programmer in the 60s, have used dozens of operating systems and modified eight. In my experience, Windows is the worst operating system ever designed bar none. I also curse Bill Gates on a weekly basis.

But, the fact that there isn?t a Macintosh on every desk cannot be laid at Bill Gates feet. Apple grossly overpriced their hardware and dissuaded competitors from creating compatible hardware and software. They screwed up.

All of this is just history. It is interesting but not a good reason to make purchasing decisions now. WindowsXP is hardly perfect; but it works. The wealth of software available on PCs is beyond anyone?s dreams of a mere decade past. I am in awe of the prices. It?s all well and good to talk about all the free or cheap software you can find and piece together with Linux. But, you can buy a PC from Dell with a 17? monitor, WinXP, MS Word, MS Works, MS Money and a color printer for $475 and free shipping. And the software is all pre-installed and configured with 24 hour telephone support.

Unless you?re a serious geek, I can?t suggest anyone piece together a system when you can purchase something like this and receive it in two days with all the software installed. This is not 6:5 BJ.

norm

[Sun Runner]

> Again, you felt the need to defend Windows, even though all I was trying to do is find some BJ software for my platform.

And guess what, you can't.

Maybe with some of the spare time you have created by having elevated yourself from the ditch of the regular guy, you can build one.

I don't defend windows, I have posted many times I'd like to find a way out (and the MAC may be it; I'll see.)

I defend the regular guy who by the market forces he has no control over is virtually forced to work in a PC environment.

He goes to work everyday; he creates work product that has to be read inside his office and outside his office. He creates word docs, spreadsheets, data base files, manuscripts, financial information, graphs, picture files, etc, ad infinitum that other people -in my case, around the world -have to be able to open and read and not have to jack with.

Unlike yourself, not being the complete master of my own domain, I do not have the luxury of taking a chance that the clone program on my LINUX box didn't kick out a file that can be read on somebody's PC in France [ the bastards. ].

Shoot, I just this morning have the IT guy here considering making my next PC a MAC! ("Well, I'll have to do blah, blah, blah, but, well, I guess so, I really like MACS ...") Getting off the PC wagon is a pain in the ass .. for the regular guy that is.

Reality is is that for the few of you that have no need to crawl out of your basement and interface with more than a handfull of others at Starbucks, MS has the rest of us by the balls and is squeezing tight.

And it ain't because we are to lazy to do anything about it nor because we are content with the few scraps we can glean from the master's table.

, still smiling!

PS -I know money isn't everything and a poor measuring stick of many things .. but with that 'brain-dead' OS that Gates taped together and you keep referring to .. he won. The game is over. We can pontificate all we want, but as I said, as long as his train dosen't jump the track, those guys are large and in charge and the rest of us are going to learn to like it.

[penumbra]

Again, you are arguing for Windows based
on the facts that it is cheap and common.
That is certainly true. But that doesn't
change the fact that it is a piece of trash
operating system. Since I have the choice
of using better OSes which meet all of
my needs, and I don't simply want to go
with what is cheapest, I use other OSes.
I am glad I am not forced to use
Windows; if others are not
so lucky, that is too bad for them -- but
why still the need to defend it?

penumbra

> First, I started as a systems programmer in
> the 60s, have used dozens of operating
> systems and modified eight. In my
> experience, Windows is the worst operating
> system ever designed bar none. I also curse
> Bill Gates on a weekly basis.

> But, the fact that there isn?t a Macintosh
> on every desk cannot be laid at Bill Gates
> feet. Apple grossly overpriced their
> hardware and dissuaded competitors from
> creating compatible hardware and software.
> They screwed up.

> All of this is just history. It is
> interesting but not a good reason to make
> purchasing decisions now. WindowsXP is
> hardly perfect; but it works. The wealth of
> software available on PCs is beyond anyone?s
> dreams of a mere decade past. I am in awe of
> the prices. It?s all well and good to talk
> about all the free or cheap software you can
> find and piece together with Linux. But, you
> can buy a PC from Dell with a 17? monitor,
> WinXP, MS Word, MS Works, MS Money and a
> color printer for $475 and free shipping.
> And the software is all pre-installed and
> configured with 24 hour telephone support.

> Unless you?re a serious geek, I can?t
> suggest anyone piece together a system when
> you can purchase something like this and
> receive it in two days with all the software
> installed. This is not 6:5 BJ.

> norm

[penumbra]

> First, I started as a systems programmer in
> the 60s, have used dozens of operating
> systems and modified eight. In my
> experience, Windows is the worst operating
> system ever designed bar none. I also curse
> Bill Gates on a weekly basis.

This has been the ONLY point I was making, and
everyone seems to be in agreement about this.
I don't know why posters seemed to
be compelled to make long missives about
cheapness, the ubiquity of Word and Excel, etc.

> But, the fact that there isn?t a Macintosh
> on every desk cannot be laid at Bill Gates
> feet. Apple grossly overpriced their
> hardware and dissuaded competitors from
> creating compatible hardware and software.
> They screwed up.

I wasn't promoting Apple, although this is indeed my
favorite platform. I use all variants of *N*X on
a daily basis: OS X, Solaris, and Linux.
Apple hardware is more expensive, but to many
of us it is well worth the cost.

> All of this is just history. It is
> interesting but not a good reason to make
> purchasing decisions now. WindowsXP is
> hardly perfect; but it works. The wealth of
> software available on PCs is beyond anyone?s
> dreams of a mere decade past. I am in awe of
> the prices. It?s all well and good to talk
> about all the free or cheap software you can
> find and piece together with Linux. But, you
> can buy a PC from Dell with a 17? monitor,
> WinXP, MS Word, MS Works, MS Money and a
> color printer for $475 and free shipping.
> And the software is all pre-installed and
> configured with 24 hour telephone support.

I don't disagree. If cheapness is your only consideration,
and you only use a computer to make Excel charts, etc,
go with Wintel.

> Unless you?re a serious geek, I can?t
> suggest anyone piece together a system when
> you can purchase something like this and
> receive it in two days with all the software
> installed. This is not 6:5 BJ.

I wouldn't suggest my parents run Linux, so you
do have a point. For someone who does not
make serious use of a computer, Windows may
be fine

None of this at all contradicts my main point, which
is: Windows is a piece of junk, and other options ARE
indeed available. Depending on your work, the other
options may even have better software support, which
is definitely true in my case.

Why all the hand wringing?

penumbra