Well, we have almost made half way through March and we are not bombing Iraq. It is not the fact it is a pretty pointless war, but the fact the administration can’t decide exactly why we are going to war. Another thing that disgusts me is the fact Bush is now saying ‘weapons of terror’ in a vain attempt to link Iraq with the September 11th attacks. Here is a little truth:
Of the all the hijackers on 9/11, exactly 0 (ZERO) were from Iraq.
Of all the money that was used to train the hijackers, $0 (ZERO) came from Iraq.
I am not sure why we want to go against a country which niether a threat to us or our allies. They may be able to threaten someone in 10 years or so. Another fact is Iran and North Korea have nuclear weapons NOW. Not tomorrow, not net week, NOW. North Korea has ICBM’s that CAN DIRECTLY HIT THE UNITED STATES. Ask yourself what is the more important threat?
Author Archives: admin
Commentary for March 9th, 2003.
Today is my Wife’s birthday, so Happy Birthday my sweet Tiffany. We have been married for about 2 and a half months now and I couldn’t be happier. On to less happy things.
It is the year 2003 and our country is going to hell. I am so tired of hearing about a possible war in Iraq for a different reason every week. First it is a regime change, then it weapons of mass destruction, then it is terrorism, then it is weapons of terror, then it over not disarming, then it is Iraq not disarming fast enough, then it human rights violations. All of which North Korea does in spades, but we are talking, or are we not talking to them? We are certainly not putting 300,000 troops on their border.
It is all a scam though. I don’t know the real reason we are invading one of the weakest countries on earth, but I do know it is a distraction for what is happening in the US. The economy is in the toilet, tax cuts will explode the deficit, gas is around 2 bucks a gallon, and all we talk about it some piss ass little country half a world away. We can talk all we want about terrorism, but the fact of the matter is, Iraq almost certainly had nothing to do with September 11th. There were NO Iraqi hijackers. The Iraq government or people did NOT fund the plot against us. They are NOT the problem. We need to focus on issues here at home. The US dollar is so weak now that jobs are being lost at a rate only last seen during the great depression. We need to do something meaningful, and it is not a tax cut or a pointless, expensive war.
Mr. Bush, our problems are on this side of the ocean. We need help now! We need solutions that work, and a government that does what the people need. What this administration says and what it does are two totally different things. Please, please, don’t drag us into another war when the problems in the US are mounting. If you are reading this and don’t believe me, think of how many people you know who have been laid off? Have you been laid off or are you worrying about your job, or even how you will pay your next heating bill? These are all signs there is something wrong, and it sure as hell isn’t Iraq!!! The price of gas is more than just a little more out of your paycheck. It effects everything you buy that is shipped. The more shipping costs, the more everything you buy costs. It is a nasty cycle that can be avoided. We are facing grave challenges in this country, and we have the least capable president in 80 years leading us. People may say he took charge when September 11th happened, but is Osama in custody? Are we any safer now? Is the duct tape going to protect us? Is Afghanistan in ruins and we are doing nothing to rebuild it? Answer these questions and provide us with economic solutions beyond the doomed Trickle down economics. It doesn’t work, it has never worked, and it won’t work now.
I haven’t had a raise in 3 years. I could only afford a small condo and see no chance of getting something better unless the economy picks up. Maybe I am greedy, but I want something better. There 90’s were only a few years ago, and I yearn for them now. Don’t think I will forget about these things when the next election comes around. I am sure millions of other Americans will remember as well, no matter how well the Gulf War II goes. Like father, like son, all I can hope for is another 4 year wonder. I will move to another country if Bush is appointed to office again. This time there will be more than 500,000 votes against him.
That is all,
David N.
Special Update Regarding Mac OS X.2:
Mac OS 10.2 “Jaguar”
Disillusioned and Disappointed.
With all the hype and rush to try out the latest Mac operating system, we were caught up and tried the new OS. It looked great, much snappier than OS 10.1. We were on the bleeding edge, we were jubilant with the new OS, until we wanted to print something. Then the rushed/buggy nature of the OS reared its ugly head. We tried everything, calling Hewlett Packard, but to no avail. No drivers yet. We could partially get it to print using the GIMP print system, but it was a very poor substitute. You could print from OS 9, but what is the point of that. We purchaced a new printer in desparation. The HP Photosmart 1115 was a little disappointing anyways, so we picked up a Canon S900. {An AWESOME printer, by the way.} It worked…for a day in OS 10.2. Then it refused to work. I can understand figuring out a Linux system to make it print, but not with a Mac. It is supposed to be true plug and play. At least with Linux, the printer keeps working, and the driver does not mysteriously die.
This, by far, was not the worst offense. Web browsing in Mac is slow compared to other platforms. Internet Explorer for OS X is just a dog online. It got to the point it was faster to use the OS 9.2 version. This, again, is intolerable. For a system that prides itself with being the pre-emminent multimedia platform, it is slow at games, and nothing to write home about in the photo editing department in terms of speed. The hardware is beautiful, but the OS is creaky. I think Linus Torvalds is right in respect to the kernel for OS X. It is ugly and patched together. Micro-Kernel design may work for some systems, but it is seriously lacking in OS X.
The most recent computer we have had, an iMac 800 with the 17″ screen, seemed like a good deal, until you really do compare what you can get if you build a PC system yourself. Here is a comparison of two systems that were virtually identical in cost ($2,000):
| Mac | PC |
| 17″ TFT | 19″ TFT |
| 800MHz G4 | Athlon 2200+ (1.8GHz) |
| 80G HDD | 80G HDD |
| GeForce4 32Mb | GeForce4 64Mb |
| DVD-R (8X CD-R 2X DVD) | 40x12x32CD-RW and 16X DVD |
| Stereo Sound | 5.1 Dolby Surround |
| Apple Pro Speakers | Logitech Pro Speakers |
| 256Mb PC133 RAM | 1Gb DDR 266 RAM |
| 3 USB (Not 5, that is a lie) | 6 USB |
| 1 optical drive internal, 1 HDD | 4 optical, 4 HDDs internal(yes;4IDE channels) |
You can see for yourself, you can get almost twice as much system for the same money. It may not have the cool arm like the iMac, but the case is beautiful and the monitor is gigantic. Before you say ‘but Mac still kicks PC ass despite the clock speed’ give me a break. I have seen and tested the two side by side running the same applications, and there is no question in my mind that the PC is MUCH MUCH faster running Windows XP or Linux. Hell, my 1.2GHz Athlon is a lot faster than the 800MHz G4. Even the dual 1GHz Power Mac could only just keep up with the Athlon 2200+ and that machine cost 3 times more. When the latest feature you can advertise for your desktop line up is the fact that you can have two internal optical drives, you are in trouble.
If it sounds like I am disappointed in Apple, I am. I never tried it before, and was open to it. I have been using Linux for over two years now, and I enjoy the quirks. But, it always works for me if I put my mind to it. With Mac, it is different. If it does not work, it won’t work until the company that made it does something about it. If they don’t, it is a pain in the ass to get it to work. But, this defeats the purpose of Macs. They are supposed to be simple, not complex. They are supposed to be tools, not get in your way. Apple failed with respect to us. I am sure many people are happy with their Macs but I give up. They are too expensive.
I am now refocusing the site for Linux users and the Sharp Zaurus 5500 handheld computer. I will detail my adventures in the coming weeks learning my new toy. I, hopefully, will be closing on my first home soon, so I will have more time to work on Cyberphreak.com. A special thank you to Tiffany, my love, who purchased the Zaurus for me. It is the best gift a Linux geek could ever receive.
-David Nelson
Windows XP
Ahh, October is here, the leaves on the trees are fallen, there is a crispness to the air, and a strange foul stench. What is this foul stench? Why, it’s the release of Windows XP. Microsoft’s latest attempt at a marketing ploy to control all home computing. It certainly is not a new operating system. From what I can tell it is windows 2000 with a four year old’s interpretation of Mac OS X aqua. (Windows 2000, by the way, was 4 years late. It was supposed to be Windows 96 or 97, but they could not get it to work.) With all the marketing hype around XP, this is why I will never buy or USE Windows XP:
1) Childish interface changes. The default widget sizes are an insult to my intelligence. (What’s a widget? They are the X, Minimize, Maximize, and other assorted small parts that surround every graphical window.) I am not blind, and I am not 4 years old. I don’t want happy blue and green, I want a professional looking system. Before you start to whine “you can change it” the other 2 interfaces included, Platinum (a TOTAL rip off of OS X) and the Green Thing are really not much better. I use KDE 2.2.1 with a light marble theme. It is quite subtle but very attractive to look at. The biggest bitch I have with the interface is I can not move the “Start” button. With KDE, I have it the dead center, to minimize mouse travel, plus I can add as many “Start” buttons as I want and I can move the clock from the lost lower right hand corner to anywhere I want. Can Windows XP do this? I know it is a minor thing, but it lets me know it is my computer, I can put the buttons anywhere I damn well please.
2) Lack of compelling features. Other than the new interface, bundled photo and movie editing software, I don’t see much more value in the system. I know it is supposed to be more stable, but didn’t Microsoft say that for Windows 3.1, 95, 98, 98se, Me, NT, and 2000? Are they telling us that they sold us shoddy software, and now we should upgrade? I have already spent hundreds of dollars on previous upgrades, but apparently they were all crap? They must be since BILL GATES stated there is no DOS, 16 bit Windows, or Windows 95 in Windows XP. Back to compelling features, I can download and edit all my Photos in Linux using GIMP and Kamera. If I want to edit a movie, I can use Broadcast 2000.
3) Restricted content. In the new Windows XP, you CAN NOT record MP3s at a rate greater then 56Kb/sec. 56K MP3 sound like a cheap radio. If you want full (128K) recording, you HAVE to use Windows Media format. Windows Media is a restricted format, meaning you can not trade any songs unless you have the digital rights to it. I understand the copyright owners’ rights, but I believe you should at least be able to make copies of your music and keep it on your hard drive in a non-proprietary format. On my own computer I can store my music, at a full bit rate, in MP3 or OGG format (OGG is an open source alternative to MP3s.). I have no restrictions to where I store the music, and what device I store them on. I do not use Napster or Gnutella, so I want to be able to store my music in the format I want. Windows XP does not offer this.
4) Task oriented menus. This goes back to the fact that Microsoft thinks its users are morons. I know I need to use a word processor to write a letter. When I am in the word processor, I know how to properly write a business letter. I do not need a ‘wizard’ to help me figure out how to do it! I do not need a happy dog to tell me how to do something. I have been using computers for 15 years. It is insulting to experienced users and condescending to new users.
5) Massive system requirements. Despite what Microsoft says, the new operating system will not work well unless you have at least a Pentium II or III class processor running at 500Mhz with 256MB of RAM. I know computing is cheap, but do we need millions of more computers sent to the landfills this year, just so you can edit and mail pictures of your dog fluffy a little easier?
6) Unknown long term plans of Microsoft. We all know that they are planning the .NET thing, whatever it is. In three years, will Microsoft force existing users to pay up or have their computers shut down remotely? Don’t think they can’t do it. If they refuse to activate your operating system, you can only use XP if you use an illegal “Crack”. If bin Laden exploded a 20 megaton nuclear device in Redmond, WA, will your OS still work? Can you risk it?
7) The Activation Scheme. This is the thing I hate the most about Windows XP. When you first use XP, you have to activate it by contacting Microsoft by Internet or Phone. The say that no personal information is taken, but I believe that about as far as I can throw a city bus. If they don’t get you there, they REQUIRE you to sign up with their Passport service. Well, technically it is not required but it asks you so many times, you might as well do it to get rid of it. Ever try to get rid of Windows Instant Messenger in Windows Me? It’s worse than that. Somehow entrusting my personal information to the service which is based on Hotmail is just plain frightening. Their track record on security, especially Hotmail has been unforgivable. I used to use Hotmail, for the BS mail, but MICROSOFT WILL NOT ALLOW MY LINUX COMPUTER TO LOG INTO THEIR SERVICE ANYMORE!!! That’s right, if you use Linux, you can’t use Hotmail or anything on MSN. Now that’s not abusing a monopoly…sure. I do hope this company rots.
Cyberphreak.com’s Message Board
Looks like Syria is next
Well, the Shrub has decided that he will ‘deal with’ Syria next. He said they
“Just need to cooperate.” Well, I can read between the lines, I know how the Shrub makes other countries bend to the will of the United States, and that is with
the most advanced weaponry money can buy. It is a good thing we are ‘liberating’ the weakest countries in the world, while other nations with far more horrible, and truly evil regimes still exist. Heavan knows we don’t want a fair fight. That is the way bullies work. Say what you want about supporting our troops, but the truth of matter is a draft dodging AWOL creep from Texas is using the most powerful army in the world for some sort of personal vision of world domination with the United States firmly at the top. I am just sickened by it all.
Posted by admin on April 13, 2003 in General Comments, Political
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