Slashdot helps out Macs: Bell Atlantic to provide DSL 65
PsycoDoc writes "A while back Slashdot mentioned a lone man's plight trying to get DSL service for his Macintosh with Bell Atlantic. Well Bell Atlantic
finally cracked and
will now support Macs with system 7.52 or higher, in part because of
hundreds of complaints due to the mentioning of Steve Godun's diary on Slashdot."
Computers *affect* real life, duh! (Score:1)
This notion that computer stuff is somehow not a part of "real life" is insulting at least, and Luddite at worst.
Rob needs better marketting (Score:1)
No mention of Linux there.
Sweet... (Score:1)
Sweet... (Score:1)
Unlike you,we get things done. What a moron you are....
TCWWW (Score:1)
Making a difference (Score:1)
Funny, I guess RMS never learned that lesson, and look where it got him... a 4-5 million person userbase through Linux.
Faith manages.
Sweet... (Score:1)
When you think about it, \.ers and similar ilk may well have become the first effective 'impromptu cyber-lobbyists'.
--
rickf@transpect.SPAM-B-GONE.net (remove the SPAM-B-GONE bit)
I can't see the difference. (Score:1)
--
rickf@transpect.SPAM-B-GONE.net (remove the SPAM-B-GONE bit)
The Slashdot Ego (Score:1)
If Slashdot can't make a difference, then why did the guy who had the original complaint thank the people here who sent him email?
Having the story on slashdot exposed it to an audience who probably wouldn't read the original site on a day to day basis. I'm sure that many linux users have the same concerns that Mac users have when it comes to "Windows Only" internet access.
BTW, I do make a real difference in someone's life. It's called being employed and supporting my family. Besides, hacking is a lot of fun.
OSX = vapor? (Score:1)
Cool! My OS is "vapor" (Score:1)
Not necessarily. It is possible to obtain beta copies from Apple, and legally, I might add. It's called the developer seeding program.
Eh? (Score:1)
Because you wanted to. I personally use double-click, control-click, and clock-lock on my Turbo Mouse.
Webserving with decent speed? Hosting multiple users? Logging in to a server securely via ssh using free software? Using a web-browser that isn't slower than molassas in January?
In order: Quid Pro Quo, FoolProof, NiftyTelnet (with the SSH modifications), Mozilla (hell, IE is almost respectable on the Mac; it's quite fast).
By the way, by "free software" did you mean free beer, or free speech? NiftyTelnet follows the free beet model, BetterTelnet (which has an SSH mod) follows free speech.
Where's my grep? My top? My w? My uptime?
Grep: Grapple. It's a straight port, but with a GUI.
Top: Please; I can name six different apps.
w/uptine: I can write you a script to get that sort of sunctionality in ten minutes. And there are several uptime-style apps out there anyway, so why bother with that?
Obvious Flame Bait- (Score:1)
The previous post was a not so subtle attempt to see how vocal the MacBigots are currently on
BASH on OSX will be nice. Didn't realize it was coming. Sorry about that.
OSX is not currently shipping to the public. Yeah, NT5/Win2K runs now, but I consider both as vapor cause they are not released (officially).
And what about open source? MacOS also only runs limited platform/s. Jobs wants to be gates. Linus wants to be God. I vote for Linus, he seems like a nice benevolent guy.
I stand by the right click statement. I personally love having a wheeled mouse. 5 commands on my mouse for Quake. But I guess that would be too complicated for those accustomed to such an elegant OS as MacOS.
Gotta sleep.
Ed
Yeah, so? (Score:1)
Not much is funnier to watch...
A prefix to a troll, if ever I saw one. I seriously doubt you were really laughing; sanctimoniousness usually suggests a lack of humor.
What many of you people need to learn is that you CAN'T make a difference.
And yet you say:
why not volunteer at a shelter or food bank and actually make a real difference in somebody's life.
So which is it? We can't make a difference or we don't make a difference to your pet causes? All the C-net story points out is that Slashdot is a rallying point for some consumer causes. And in the United States of America (forgive my Amerocentrism in example), consumer groups can be pretty powerful organizations. It can be a strange fulcrum, but consumer groups have leveraged their power for conservation, prevention of abuse, and safety.
Freedom means the freedom to be sit-on-my-ass lazy if I want to as well as do-something-about-it-because-it-matters. That's how a lot of Right Things get done. So don't lecture people for caring about something, no matter how banal it may seem to you.
OS X is not vapor. (Score:1)
I think you're the one who needs to get your facts straight.
MacOS X Server is no kind of rought cut, it is basically OpenStep with a macish interface, and will probably stick around long after run-of-the-mill MacOS X is released. It is a server operating system aimed at competing with WinNT, and priced accordingly (well, for Apple... other companies might try to undersell their competition).
MacOS X, on the other hand, is a subset of that OS. It will, of course, run on the 4.4 BSD kernel just as MXS does, but it will be a single user environment, not include kernel and command line access (except, maybe, through third party add-ons), and be aimed at competing with Win2000.
To say "MacOS X = Rhapsody" is blatantly incorrect, as Rhapsody is now MXS, and MX will be a somewhat wimpy, userland version thereof.
For reference, I ran Rhapsody DR2 for a while on my PowerMac 7500/150 and found it mighty sluggish when compared with LinuxPPC and even MkLinux (which also uses that silly run-on-top-of-the-Mach-microkernel thing). I hope to get a chance to try NetBSD/macppc some time soon, and expect it will be the best of the lot.
Command Line for Mac (Score:1)
I like a shell, and I also like a GUI. I also dislike Microsoft which has nothing to do with my appreciation of the good things Apple comes up with. It's sweet indeed that Apple is moving the OS onto a UNIX base.
It would be sweet if Apple did this migration at the same time they moved onto PowerPC from 68k. Oh well, probably would have been too much at once.
This is going to bring a LOT of people into the UNIX world - it doesn't matter if they know it or not. There will be a lot of cross-polination of OSX and Linux software. Free/Open software is great, but I'm sure a lot of Linux users would kill for Electric Image 3D and Adobe Illustrator/PhotoShop/Premiere. Yes yes GIMP seems cool... (shields up).
Anything but Microsoft?? Try EVERYONE but Microsoft!
Eh? (Score:1)
Just right click on something, oh wait....
Of course a one-button mouse is no good in a system that is designed for two or three buttons, because there are functions that you just can't access. However, Mac OS is designed for just one button, so you never need, or miss, the others. Try referring to some task that cannot be accomplished on a Mac, instead of some trivial widget of the interface.
I pesonally need a command line at some point.
Again, you never need a command line when you are using a system whose design never included one, because there are no functions that are not accessible graphically. A lot of people seem to see GUIs exclusively as things built on top of CLIs (and held together with chewing gum) as a way to "dumb down" the interface, but they are only considering systems for which that is true. A graphical shell is not inherently any less "real" of an interface than a console-based one. Of course the scripting, etc., in Unix is incredibly powerful, but most people don't need it. You do. That's why you use Unix. Congratulations.
David Gould
one question (Score:1)
Lets say i was to try to get ADSL for my linux box, how would i get my MAC address (is that it?)
and what exactly hardware wise do they have to install, and what sort of software and configuration will i have to do. I haven't seen a ADSL howto, or found a site that explains how ADSL really works and what sort of hardware it requires... I am really interested in finding out more about this. Maybe if a good ADSL howto was written, support for it could be forced upon other providers...
Mac Users != Evil (Score:1)
2. you say 'trivial to use' as if it is a bad thing. I think you're so damned retro thinking and conservative that you'll never move on to anything new. The hacker ethic calls for innovation - breaking the rules and creating the future. The Mac, like it or not, changed things. It brought people closer to technology. As much as you'd have liked to remain in some sort of ivory tower of 'haves' versus 'have-nots', it wasn't meant to be. Get off your high horse and realize that the industry needs to move forward, not stay stagnant.
The idea isn't that a hard to use OS is better. The idea is that a powerful OS is better. Why beat your head against a nail when you can use a hammer? Combine the power of Linux and the elegance and intuitiveness of the MacOS, and you'd have a frightening combination.
MacOS users and Linux users agree that Windows is not the way forward. That's fine. But railing against eachother isn't going to help anything...
- Darchmare
- Axis Mutatis, http://www.axismutatis.net
Uh....not exactly true folks.... (Score:1)
Dear Slashdot... (Score:1)
Slashdot had little to nothing to do with Bell Atlantics decision to support 'other' Macintoshes. If anyone can take that crown it is the man who publicized his plight. If you didn't pick up his story others would have (and others did). Funny how we don't see the others that did publish this particular story stroking thier own egos.
You want to take credit for something? Redirect all your traffic for a day to a site with a cause you consider worthy. Perhaps then you will truly open awareness and create a news story, instead of reporting on one and then taking credit for the outcome.
Linux is "real life" for tens of millions (Score:1)
How many buttons does -your- mouse have? (Score:1)
*drumroll*
...FOUR buttons!
Eat a Twinkie and die, ya lousy troll.
Silly Mac user... don'tcha know that it really has 10 buttons?
Four in each corner... but then there's chording:
[1] [2]
[3] [4]
buttons
[1]+[2] = [5] virtual
[1]+[3] = [6] virtual
[1]+[4] = [7] virtual
[2]+[3] = [8] virtual
[2]+[4] = [9] virtual
[3]+[4] = [10] virtual
or something like that... it's a bunch... haven't used that TurboMouse software in quite some time
Ben
OS X is not vapor. (Score:1)
OSX is vapor.
OS X is NOT vapor. To say that it is, you must be quite uninformed--whether by choice or by circumstance. Is NeXTStep or OpenStep vapor as well? No, they've been around since what...? 1986? Well, Mac OS X = Rhapsody, which is essentially PowerPC OpenStep with a Mac interface and Mac software/technology compatability. Also, Mac OS X Server, the "rough cut" of Mac OS X is shipping, right now, in February. I don't know where you come from, but in my world shipping software isn't vaporware.
Oh...I almost forgot, you will be able to use the BASH shell in Mac OS X Server. Happy now?
To clue in:
Officially: Apple's Mac OS X Server page [apple.com]
Unofficially: Mac OS Rumors [macosrumors.com] (a Slashdot affiliate site--part of Black Light Media)
Baz
Give me a break. (Score:1)
I don't think you got me...
I know that Mac OS X will have a modified kernel that is not totally Mach (I too read MOSR). I know that saying Rhapsody = Mac OS X is oversimplifying things. However, some oversimplification is needed to get through to the OS ignorants out there who still think that Mac OS X is a totally new operating system and that Rhapsody has somehow been "scrapped." (There is _still_ a lot of confusion out there on this issue.) There are also people out there who are not aware that Mac OS X will be a radically different beast (underneath) from the current Mac OS. For the purpose of getting through to these people, I chose to say that Mac OS X is fundamentally Rhapsody with a few changes to the kernel and some other additions. Satisfied?
Baz
OS X is not vapor. (Score:1)
I agree (how can I not) that Mac OS X Server is a server OS, poised to rival NT...but it is also (unofficially) intended as an early-adopter version (which it is) of Mac OS X. It has all the tools necessary for a server OS but lacks the polish and coherency that is needed for it to truly be a next-gen Mac OS sucessor, one that _everyone_ can use. That is why I denote it a "rough cut"...it's a preview of what's to come.
As for the Mach microkernel...the latest reports (ahem, rumors) indicate that the final Mac OS X kernel will be a hybrid of Mach 2.5, 3, and 4 as well as a little of Apple's NuKernel (from the Copland days) thrown in. This kernel should definately improve on the speed of the OS over Mac OS X Server. The final Mac OS X will NOT be "wimpy" by any means, rest assured. As for the viability of the microkernel achitecture vs. a monolithic kernel... I have read that the microkernel architecture is inherently better in networking related tasks (web serving, etc.) due to the fact that network services can communicate directly with the microkernel, a more efficient route.
Baz
That's a backslash (Score:1)
Computers *affect* real life, duh! (Score:1)
The Slashdot Ego (Score:1)
Do you really think that the world would be better off if more of everyone's money went to bill gates? Think about what every grocery store using NT means. Think about what every government computer using NT means. Higher taxes or more tax money going to microsoft, rather than feeding the hungry or housing the homeless. Think before you criticise.
Linux: Power to the People! (Score:1)
Gicing a voice to the voiceless is the first step to giving power to the powerless.
Furthermore, we live in a world where increasing power comes from access to information and the ability to communicate your message. The open source movement is a very important part of taking that power back from a few large corporations with political influence, and giving it back to the people.
Hacking free software will ultimately do more to change the world for the better than volunteering at a food bank, if that is where your skill lies.
(For the record, I've done various "traditional" types of volunteer work, most notably tutoring inner city schoolchildren - the best forms of chairty, I think, are helping people acquire the skills and means to succeed on their own, rather than direct handouts. For a striking example of the handout ethic gone horribly awry, see the American welfare state).
Yeah, so? (Score:1)
Interesting difference in perspective, eh?
ADSL? (Score:1)
I live in the DC Metro area and there's no ADSL here! I'm using ISDN which is expensive as hell!! Nearly $150/month! Geeze!
ISDN is cool but I'd love to have ADSL since it's a lot cheaper. BellAtlantic stated they planned on making it available in Nov/Dec 1998. Of course, it's still not available.
Joseph
Eh? (Score:1)
There is a difference between an interface and a shortcut. An interface is the primary means of accessing a function. A shortcut is a way for people to save time performing repetiitive tasks, or for them to perform a task in a way more suited to them. The One-Button mouse is part of the interface. Contextual menus are a shortcut for people to access commonly used functions. Assigning a mouse button to a "control-click" is a shortcut ontop of a shortcut. It works for you (and me, btw) but it's not the "standard" way of interfacing with the functions (at least, not on the Mac OS).
1) Webserving with decent speed. Has been done and is done all the time. Maybe the problem is with your definition of "decent." Webstar is fine for me. But then, I guess I'm not running your thousand-hits-a-minute website, then am I?
2) Hosting multiple users? Why would I want to do something like that with the MacOS? I don't want other people "logging into" my Mac. Oh wait, I forgot about the security savings there, didn't I?
3) Logging into a server via SSH? Oh, you must be thinking about that command-line thing.... Don't need that. I have Network Assistant (try it!)
4) Web-browsing is fine on my Mac. But frankly, if you're using a text-based browser and expect to be getting the "full experience" of the web, then something is wrong with you. On the assumption that you want the "full experience" of the web, Netscape runs just as well on my Mac as it does on the X-term sitting next to it.
5) Where's my grep? My top? My w? My uptime? These are extremely basic functions that macos only sort of supports.
They may be extremely basic for a COMMAND LINE interface, but they're not needed the same way in a GUI. I have find-by-content and other sorting utilities useful as needed. Uptime? It's called "ticks" and if you're concerned at all with uptime, you should know about AppleScript and how to find out "the ticks."
Frankly, you haven't proven or responded to the initial post. The Mac OS is designed from the ground up to be a Graphical Interface. It is not a kludge the way KDE/GNOME and Windows is. Every configurable element is accessable via a GUI or program. There is no CLI-only layer of accessability. Deal with it.
-Japheth Cleaver
Uptight? (Score:1)
No. (Score:1)
Proud to be a flea (Score:1)
Hmmm... (Score:1)
"other models require a software program to extract the information from the system."
How hard is it to run that program???
And what sorta special training would the techs need, over and above the training done for iMacs?
And they _require_ them to already have an Ethernet adapter? Can't they install one for someone who does have one?
"We are also working to make sure that we have a group of field technicians that are specifically trained to install the modem and software on the Mac,"
I think the REAL problem is they have rather dumb techies... how long would it take to learn that? I mean everyone knows how hard it is to install software an a Mac, and wouldn't the modem installation be the exact same as for Windows? I mean really...
It just sounds... odd.. am I wrong???
one question (Score:1)
ifconfig eth0 192.168.0.1 if you don't have ethernet set up.
or
ifconfig
if you do.
I think it is even easier than that. I see what I believe to be the MAC address of the installed Ethernet card displayed in the boot messages (use 'dmesg' to view them after booting) when my Ethernet cards are initialized. This is true on all of the machines I have, and I have three different types of Ethernet cards, Bay Networks Netgear FA310TX, 3Com 3C509/3C509B and Western Digital/SMC 8013, and I have various revisions each of the latter two (I've got at least one each of 10Base2/AUI, TPO and Combo versions of these cards -- yes, I have somewhere around a dozen Linux boxes).
The MAC address is the set of hex digits like "00 40 05 a5 90 a3" (not one of my real MAC addresses, FYI).