The Marxist Conspiracy liberates mathematics.

[laklak]

In Soviet Zealand, CODE programs YOU!

Let them play Tetris, I say!

Da, tovarich. Tetris ultimate Soviet game. Blocks keep falling always faster. Is no end to game, just keep falling, faster and faster, till everyone lose.

[Seth]

In Soviet Zealand, CODE programs YOU!

Let them play Tetris, I say!

Da, tovarich. Tetris ultimate Soviet game. Blocks keep falling always faster. Is no end to game, just keep falling, faster and faster, till everyone lose.

And you are CRUSHED by the weight of oppressive gaming government.

[Svartalf]

That compy looks like an imac... Apple does open source?

[JimC]

Mathematics needs no liberation. It exists as a logical structure underpinning physical reality, whether discovered by sapients or not.

[Audley Strange]

Mathematics needs no liberation. It exists as a logical structure underpinning physical reality, whether discovered by sapients or not.

Erm were you not making the opposite argument to that when I was asking if platonic form were somehow "real"?

[klr]

Furthermore, the reason why Windows has dominated the mainstream PC market for so long has less to do with technical excellence, ease of use, etc., and more to do with dodgy business practices by Microsoft.

Such as?

Surely you're familiar with the various judgement made against Microsoft for anti-competitive practices?

You mean the Socialist Progressive "anti-free-market" laws?

Predictable as ever ...

Computers don't "agree" to anything. MS strong-arms vendors into installing Windows on their PCs, and making it very difficult to install anything else.

Horseshit. All you have to do is wipe the drive and install anything you want.

Here's a hint: A career in tech. support is not for you. You're obviously not familiar with things like UEFI, and how MS has attempted to use it to its own advantage.

I can usually bypass the obstructive MS tactics if I really want to, but many less tech. savvy users are not so lucky.

You usually have to pay the "Windows tax", even if you don't plan on using Windows.

Then don't buy a box from that vendor.

I don't, even though it severely limits the choice of system manufacturers. But what of it? When it comes to desktop PCs, I build my own. No need to pay Microsoft anything ...

[JimC]

Mathematics needs no liberation. It exists as a logical structure underpinning physical reality, whether discovered by sapients or not.

Erm were you not making the opposite argument to that when I was asking if platonic form were somehow "real"?

Forgotten exactly what I said there. I would argue that platonic forms exist as structures of logic, independent of whether a sapient being envisages them or not.

I would not argue that this is the same type of reality as the existence of my currently meowing cat...

[Audley Strange]

I've been pondering that thread quite a bit, you and MiM gave me lots to consider. Probably best continued there though.

[Seth]

Horseshit. All you have to do is wipe the drive and install anything you want.

Here's a hint: A career in tech. support is not for you. You're obviously not familiar with things like UEFI, and how MS has attempted to use it to its own advantage.

You mean this UEFI "issue?"

In 2011, Microsoft was accused by critics and free software/open source advocates (including the Free Software Foundation) of trying to use the secure boot functionality of UEFI to hinder or outright prevent the installation of alternative operating systems such as Linux, by requiring that new computers certified to run its Windows 8 operating system ship with secure boot enabled using a Microsoft private key.

Source

You'll note that Microsoft required that "new computers certified to run its Windows 8" OS were required to use secure boot. Microsoft denies that it was an attempt to limit accessibility:

Following the criticism, Microsoft denied that the secure boot requirement was intended to serve as a form of lock-in, and clarified its requirements by stating that systems certified for Windows 8 must allow secure boot to enter custom mode or be disabled, but not on systems using the ARM architecture.

So don't buy a Windoze-certified computer. Or buy one and throw away the boot disk and install a clean disk you get from Best Buy and install whatever OS you like. UEFI was developed to deal with the issues of the ancient BIOS system, including limits on processor data bus width and disk size, and other features like secure boot were developed to increase security and decrease the vulnerabilities to hacking. Freeware developers bitched because it complicated their lives and their ability to hack other people's code. But the mainstream software and hardware industries have every right to work together to improve and secure computer performance. Nothing is preventing any other OS builder from convincing the hardware companies to allow functionality for their OS except the OS developer's ability to compete with Microsoft on a level playing field...which doesn't mean one skewed in favor of the "little guy" it means one where hardware developers have a right to choose which OS they will support in the interests of their financial bottom line. Nothing requires, or should require that a hardware manufacturer build their product to be easily usable by every two-bit hacker who has a "good idea" for a new OS (which is almost always based on the theft of somebody else's OS ideas and code).

I can usually bypass the obstructive MS tactics if I really want to, but many less tech. savvy users are not so lucky.

Which merely confirms what I said before, which is that Linux and all the other bit players are aimed at the techno-nerds, not the general barely-computer-literate masses who don't want to spend endless days and weeks fucking around with the OS just so they can do their work. That's precisely why I dumped Windoze a decade ago and have never gone back...except I keep one Windoze portable with 2000 pro on it to run a specific Motorola radio programming program.

I quit windoze because I was spending way too much time fiddling with it and fixing registry errors. I just want a computer that works, works intuitively, and does what I want it to do when I want it to do it, which means Apple.

You usually have to pay the "Windows tax", even if you don't plan on using Windows.

Then don't buy a box from that vendor.

I don't, even though it severely limits the choice of system manufacturers. But what of it? When it comes to desktop PCs, I build my own. No need to pay Microsoft anything ...

Then what the hell are you bitching about ?

[epepke]

I have seen pipes constructed from paperbacks and St. Elmo's Glue. I am pretty sure that any attempt at camouflage would be undermined by the appearance of sucking on a book, an uncommon practice in many circles.