~article~ Are you Google's gopher?

Big Bill <kruse (AT) cityscape (DOT) co.uk> wrote:

On 15 Sep 2006 15:52:13 GMT, John Bokma <john (AT) castleamber (DOT) com> wrote:

Big Bill <kruse (AT) cityscape (DOT) co.uk> wrote:

On 15 Sep 2006 15:20:49 GMT, John Bokma <john (AT) castleamber (DOT) com> wrote:

[..]

Then there are pictures that are mislabelled for one reason or
another. I had a millipede photo, but it turned out to be a centipede.

Report to the dungeons...

:-D I fixed that one fast enough. But I still have "toads" that are
actually frogs :-D.

*Both* dungeons...

LOL

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Big Bill <kruse (AT) cityscape (DOT) co.uk> wrote:

On 15 Sep 2006 15:59:35 GMT, John Bokma <john (AT) castleamber (DOT) com> wrote:

[..]

"Please bear in mind that ReactOS 0.3.0 is still in alpha stage and is
not recommended for everyday use."

Just like Windows then. Users won't know the difference.

Ha ha ha ha :-)

But personally I think ReactOS is a very good idea. What it needs is
several extra developers, and maybe a few designers. A wild guess is that
it's currently 10 years behind Microsoft, but with enough people helping
out this might be reduced to 5 years (again wild guess), which is
sufficient IMO. Especially if they can make current software run on it
(especially games) I guess the OS pool will have another major player.

--
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__/ [ John Bokma ] on Friday 15 September 2006 16:59 \__

Big Bill <kruse (AT) cityscape (DOT) co.uk> wrote:

On Fri, 15 Sep 2006 14:02:52 GMT, John A.
no.john (AT) spammers (DOT) virg.ini...er.allowed.com> wrote:

On Fri, 15 Sep 2006 11:15:46 GMT, Big Bill <kruse (AT) cityscape (DOT) co.uk
wrote:

[..]

There's been none for while. There is a version of 98SE that's been
worked on by furrowed-brow types that overcomes a lot of the problems
it's had (they say) that I may get around to upgrading to yet.

URL?

Dunno, I lost it. It's on some forum.

Maybe next year you can switch to ReactOS:
http://www.reactos.org/xhtml/en/index.html

"ReactOS is an effort to create a Free Software replacement for Microsoft
Windows(TM) that is compatible with existing hardware and software!"

And at least they got this right: "The main reason of ReactOS is the
simple fact that some people, or especially companies, will -never- switch
to Unix."

"Please bear in mind that ReactOS 0.3.0 is still in alpha stage and is not
recommended for everyday use."

Anyway, if you want to check it out, either install it on a computer
that's not used a lot, or run it in vmware's player.

John, several guys in comp.os.linux.advocacy (COLA) have been dabbling in
ReactOS recently. It's not quite ready yet. For a test box -- go for it!
*smile* Same with PC-BSD.

Best wishes,

Roy

--
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http://Schestowitz.com | Free as in Free Beer ¦ PGP-Key: 0x74572E8E
Cpu(s): 19.3% user, 2.7% system, 0.9% nice, 77.1% idle
http://iuron.com - semantic engine to gather information

Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups (AT) schestowitz (DOT) com> wrote:

John, several guys in comp.os.linux.advocacy (COLA) have been dabbling
in ReactOS recently. It's not quite ready yet.

Yup, I know (not ready), but it has received a lot of attention recently
(and a slow down), and hopefully this is going to speed up things. I am
quite sure they can get a large market share if they can get 5 years
behind MS.

For a test box -- go

:-) I run stuff like that in a virtual machine. Much easier IMO.

--
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__/ [ John A. ] on Friday 15 September 2006 20:05 \__

On Fri, 15 Sep 2006 19:19:13 +0100, Roy Schestowitz
newsgroups (AT) schestowitz (DOT) com> wrote:

__/ [ John Bokma ] on Friday 15 September 2006 16:59 \__

Big Bill <kruse (AT) cityscape (DOT) co.uk> wrote:

On Fri, 15 Sep 2006 14:02:52 GMT, John A.
no.john (AT) spammers (DOT) virg.ini...er.allowed.com> wrote:

On Fri, 15 Sep 2006 11:15:46 GMT, Big Bill <kruse (AT) cityscape (DOT) co.uk
wrote:

[..]

There's been none for while. There is a version of 98SE that's been
worked on by furrowed-brow types that overcomes a lot of the problems
it's had (they say) that I may get around to upgrading to yet.

URL?

Dunno, I lost it. It's on some forum.

Maybe next year you can switch to ReactOS:
http://www.reactos.org/xhtml/en/index.html

"ReactOS is an effort to create a Free Software replacement for Microsoft
Windows(TM) that is compatible with existing hardware and software!"

And at least they got this right: "The main reason of ReactOS is the
simple fact that some people, or especially companies, will -never-
switch to Unix."

"Please bear in mind that ReactOS 0.3.0 is still in alpha stage and is
not recommended for everyday use."

Anyway, if you want to check it out, either install it on a computer
that's not used a lot, or run it in vmware's player.

John, several guys in comp.os.linux.advocacy (COLA) have been dabbling in
ReactOS recently. It's not quite ready yet. For a test box -- go for it!
*smile* Same with PC-BSD.

Don't forget FreeDOS: http://www.freedos.org/
1.0 just released.

For those who love nostalgia maybe... there's also open BIOS (relased around
the same time). And Intel open-sourced its firmware (BIOS) yesterday!
*smile*

__/ [ John Bokma ] on Friday 15 September 2006 21:46 \__

Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups (AT) schestowitz (DOT) com> wrote:

John, several guys in comp.os.linux.advocacy (COLA) have been dabbling
in ReactOS recently. It's not quite ready yet.

Yup, I know (not ready), but it has received a lot of attention recently
(and a slow down), and hopefully this is going to speed up things. I am
quite sure they can get a large market share if they can get 5 years
behind MS.

For a test box -- go

:-) I run stuff like that in a virtual machine. Much easier IMO.

John,

Might be helpful:

The OS Wars - An Un-Biased review by a slightly above average computer user!

,----[ Quote ]

During this testing phase I have tried the following Operating Systems:

* Windows XP Pro SP2 (What was originally on this laptop and is
currently being used)

* Ubuntu 5.03 and 6.06 (Breezy Badger and Dapper Drake - Gotta love
those code names)

* PCLinuxOS 0.93a (technically still in alpha)

* Windows Vista Ultimate (The one that will retail for $499 for the
full version) Beta 2 & RC1

* ReactOS 0.3 - Windows XP Like Clone

[...]

If you are:

* An Average/Novice computer user I recommend sticking with WindowsXP
or upgrading to Vista when it hits retail if you have a new (less than a
year old) machine with a good video card (non-shared memory).

* A Moderate computer user I recommend PCLinuxOS - of course after
checking all your hardware/peripherials against the Hardware
Compatibility List and ensuring that everything you need is Supported.

* An Advanced Computer User (that knows how to edit the registery
and perform routine tasks using scripts and/or the Command line (Terminal)
then you probably don't need my recommendations.......but Ubuntu would be
a good choice for you.
`----

http://blog-maniac.blogspot.com/2006...-slightly.html
http://tinyurl.com/pl8gy

Good luck (report back).

Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups (AT) schestowitz (DOT) com> wrote:

John,

Might be helpful:

The OS Wars - An Un-Biased review by a slightly above average computer
user!

[ .. ]

| * An Advanced Computer User (that knows how to edit the registery
| and perform routine tasks using scripts and/or the Command line
| (Terminal) then you probably don't need my recommendations.......but
| Ubuntu would be a good choice for you.

:-) I am a bit more then a slightly above average computer user, and have
learned that each OS has advantages as well as disadvantages and that
suggesting (or selecting) an OS (or more) is a specialism in itself. There
are no easy answers, and often by selecting one you have to live with the
downsides of that choice when the OS is used for various tasks.

For what I do: Windows XP delivers. And if it doesn't I can download
ported GNU tools, OSS, etc. to deliver. I still can't do the opposite on
any other OS: some Windows XP tools I use are still not useable running on
them (or at all for that matter).

So I have the option: switching to GNU/Linux, and run XP in a virtual
machine or run XP + ported GNU tools, with some maybe not running optimal.
Based on my current usage pattern the latter is still a clear winner.

However, I downloaded Xubuntu VM for evaluation (I somehow like the looks
of Xfce), an ISO of Ubuntu (desktop ed), and want to download Edubuntu (my
partner, Esme, and I want to evaluate it's educational tools).

But, like I said: for a lot of *my* requirements XP + OS works for me
better compared to GNU/Linux in itself. Also because I have learned that
what many people call "alternatives" are not alternatives :-D. The Bible
is not an alternative to the Quoran and vice versa IMO.

--
John Need help with SEO? Get started with a SEO report of your site:

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__/ [ John Bokma ] on Saturday 16 September 2006 03:17 \__

Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups (AT) schestowitz (DOT) com> wrote:

John,

Might be helpful:

The OS Wars - An Un-Biased review by a slightly above average computer
user!

[ .. ]

| * An Advanced Computer User (that knows how to edit the registery
| and perform routine tasks using scripts and/or the Command line
| (Terminal) then you probably don't need my recommendations.......but
| Ubuntu would be a good choice for you.

I forgot to clarify that my intent in including this was the presence of
ReactOS. I wasn't not trying to preach in favour of GNU/Linux.

:-) I am a bit more then a slightly above average computer user, and have
learned that each OS has advantages as well as disadvantages and that
suggesting (or selecting) an OS (or more) is a specialism in itself. There
are no easy answers, and often by selecting one you have to live with the
downsides of that choice when the OS is used for various tasks.

Your experience with O/Sen is broader than mine, which is why it's a worthy
discussion. Usually, however, it's more about the applications, rather than
the underlying O/S. It is truly a shame that people's perception of OSS
underestimates its value and capabilities, due to lack of marketing. Many
see Firefox as the embodiment of OSS in the mainstream, but it goes far
beyond this.

For what I do: Windows XP delivers. And if it doesn't I can download
ported GNU tools, OSS, etc. to deliver. I still can't do the opposite on
any other OS: some Windows XP tools I use are still not useable running on
them (or at all for that matter).

So I have the option: switching to GNU/Linux, and run XP in a virtual
machine or run XP + ported GNU tools, with some maybe not running optimal.
Based on my current usage pattern the latter is still a clear winner.

However, I downloaded Xubuntu VM for evaluation (I somehow like the looks
of Xfce), an ISO of Ubuntu (desktop ed), and want to download Edubuntu (my
partner, Esme, and I want to evaluate it's educational tools).

I quite like the looks of Enlightenment myself. Always have (since around
2001 when I began using it). I wonder if there's an Elive or E17 image
somewhere. It should be out there, but I cam not too familiar with VMWare.

http://www.elivecd.org/gb/Main/Screenshots/

But, like I said: for a lot of *my* requirements XP + OS works for me
better compared to GNU/Linux in itself. Also because I have learned that
what many people call "alternatives" are not alternatives :-D. The Bible
is not an alternative to the Quoran and vice versa IMO.

In the US, an atheist is still perceived as the exception, an alternative if
you like. I think a lot is perceptual in these contexts, but rarely is it
obvious to the observer.

Best wishes,

Roy

--
Maths applied to numbers is like logic applied to statistics. Statistics are
lies.

Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups (AT) schestowitz (DOT) com> wrote:

__/ [ John Bokma ] on Saturday 16 September 2006 03:17 \__

Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups (AT) schestowitz (DOT) com> wrote:

[..]

I forgot to clarify that my intent in including this was the presence
of ReactOS. I wasn't not trying to preach in favour of GNU/Linux.

Was clear to me :-)

[..]

Your experience with O/Sen is broader than mine, which is why it's a
worthy discussion. Usually, however, it's more about the applications,
rather than the underlying O/S.

In my case the applications are tied to the OS, and the "alternatives"
are no alternatives. This is, in general, for many applications the
case, but OSS is changing this for the good IMO. In the past, when I
used a "non-mainstream" OS I had either to compile my own OSS, use an
outdated binary, or just hope the program was going to be ported.

It is truly a shame that people's
perception of OSS underestimates its value and capabilities, due to
lack of marketing. Many see Firefox as the embodiment of OSS in the
mainstream, but it goes far beyond this.

I see PHP, Perl, Apache, MySQL, OOo, GIMP, Python, etc. But that has
more to do with my line of work :-). Friends use FireFox and sometimes
OOo. If Firefox is #1, then maybe OOo might be second.

[...]

I quite like the looks of Enlightenment myself. Always have (since
around 2001 when I began using it). I wonder if there's an Elive or
E17 image somewhere. It should be out there, but I cam not too
familiar with VMWare.

http://www.elivecd.org/gb/Main/Screenshots/

Since most of the time my desktop is covered in windows, and I prefer
windows to have as little eyecandy as possible. I've tried things like
semi-transparent windows, etc. but I just can't get used to that.
Animated windows, menu's, etc. I turn off.

I would rather invest in a dual head solution instead of look-through
windows :-). As for XGL, or the demo's I have seen, cool as a graphics
demo, but to me unpractical to use. (Wobbling windows, etc.).

In the US, an atheist is still perceived as the exception, an
alternative if you like. I think a lot is perceptual in these
contexts, but rarely is it obvious to the observer.

Yup, to me an alternative in software means: a program that can be used
instead of another program, but has all the *required* functionality of
the latter without being counterproductive. I never like it when people
reply to "I have a problem with A" with "use B" just because.

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Why don't you set up shop as:

Half Made Brain by Paul.

You don't contribute anything to the solution. Just wasting space.
You'd be better off posting the results of you sticking a wireless mouse
up your arse. At best you'd get better personal pleasure and maybe a
wider audience.

Nice life you got there, keyboard cop.


"Paul" <lamewolf2004[REMOVE]@yahoo.com> wrote

From : http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/5336284.stm

Google has just taken on legions of new workers. None are being paid -
and you might be one of them.

Since workplace computers were hooked up to the internet, office
workers have found more ways of wasting time at work, with e-mailed
jokes or videos of apparently-amusing accidents.

And then there are the games. Dr Luis von Ahn of Carnegie Mellon
University estimated that in 2003, nine billion human hours were spent
playing computer solitaire.

To put this in context, the construction of the Panama Canal took 20
million human-hours.

Being a computer scientist, Dr von Ahn was aware of projects like
SETI@home, where volunteers donate "wasted cycles" (the spare time of
their home computers) to help the Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory
look for signs of extra-terrestrial life.

For all the elaborate projects that computers are working on, there
are still some things these machines are very poor at. One of these is
seeing. A computer will recognise that something is an image, but will
have no idea what it is an image of. So a project to, say, label all
the images on the web will need to get humans to pitch in and help.

But who is going to sit around saying what they see for hours at a
time? Enter Dr von Ahn, with a new game.

"Rather than paying people to label images for me, I get them to want
to label images for free."

How to play

This is the game you might have been playing online: paired up with a
stranger, both of you are shown the same image, and both come up with
a label for that image that the other will have thought of. Once you
get a match, you move on, building up points.

It's important to understand how compulsive this simple activity can
be: it is a race, and it is rewarding when you find a partner on the
same wavelength. And if a partner fails to label quickly enough, there
is the frustration of lost points - even though the rewarding of said
points is wholly arbitrary and worthless.

Dr von Ahn has created a suite of image-labelling games, and noticed
many players putting in more than hours each week. For the public
good, he decided to cut players off after 10 hours of continuous play
if they had connected from a university computer.

So, many images are getting many labels. To what end?

A scientist, of course, should not need to have applications in mind
in order to be seized by a challenge. For his part, Dr von Ahn talks
of better browsing for the visually impaired, and better cataloguing
of data.

And when he talked about these things at Google HQ recently, it is not
hard to imagine the appeal of the game to his hosts - and their
shareholders.

One licensing agreement later, and an academic research project has
become a Google Images game - and the results are proliferating.

In fact, you do not even need to be online to be contributing: your
strings of guesses are memorised, and other players may be playing
against a phantom "you" - or it might even be a phantom "them" against
a phantom "you", building up matches all the time.

Sweatshop potential

Having spent time helping out computers with the tasks they cannot do,
you might wonder - was this not supposed to be the other way round?

Dr von Ahn's previous contribution to the web was the "captcha", the
distorted string of letters or numbers that have to be decoded before
pressing "send" in online forms.

One unintended consequence has been the alleged existence of "captcha
sweatshops" in the developing world, where spammers employ humans to
decode 12 "captchas" a minute, all day long.

So what might the unintended consequences of the Google Image Labeler
be? The answer probably depends on how literally to take the Matrix
films.

But making humans enjoy helping computers to see things - primarily to
see humans - is likely to affect more than web-browsing for the
visually impaired.

--
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