[Lvlug] Laptop Linux?

[Brian Martin]

Hanuman wrote:

> I don't know anything about your experiences, nor would I claim to. 

And yet, you opine about them and refuse to see the humor.

> The point is: it is almost inconceivable

I conceived of it with little problem.  Perhaps it's not that great a 
leap; that someone would like to have an easy to install, fully 
functional linux laptop regardless of bias.

> a Slackware fanatic

Ah, I didn't know the user was a fanatic, my mistake.  But then, I'd be 
assuming that all fanatics are unreasonable by your indication of 
inflexibility in the description, which would make me just as bad.  
Let's not assume that then, and I'll continue to throw my $.02 in when I 
think it's desirable, and if the "slackware fanatic" I've mistaken for a 
reasonably open-minded person with a question has a problem with my 
answering like a fool, then they can flame me and I'll just don my 
asbestos undies and take it in stride.

> I've never heard a story of a Red Hat expat coming back to his / her
> original distro.

Sorry, didn't realize omniscience was being issued to humans these 
days.  I'll let my two co-workers who are (sadly) die-hard Red Hat 
fanatics after 6 years know that they need to switch to something else.

> Once the Linux user gets into Slackware, or Debian, or
> a variant thereof, and has the chops to use it, they rarely come back,
> if ever.

There's that omniscience thing again...  I've got to get me some of that.

> I stopped using Red Hat and Mandrake a while ago and never
> looked back unless I had to help someone else. 

I started washing my hands after using the toilet, but I don't think 
that has any bearing on the discussion either.

> is l33ter than regular RH) 

Oh dear Bog, why did we ever start that l33t language crap.  At least 
nu-romantic music died out.  Come to think of it, goth didn't die out.  
Maybe the two are related. [that's got no bearing on the conversation, 
but I thought it was an interesting coincidence, so I'm leaving it in 
for consideration by any other sociology fans, I mean fan5, out there]

> And I just don't see the point of trying to belittle me.

It's not so much belittling I'm aiming for as sarcastically 
educational.  You DON'T know everything, and you DON'T have to put your 
opinion in where it's not asked.  The man who talks most, typically has 
nothing worthwhile to say.  The man who speaks least is either a fool or 
a wizard, but you never know until he opens his mouth and the pink 
unicorn flies out.

> I have some
> twenty colleges (including WUSTL no less) begging me to patronise them 

Well, you've got the ego down, you'd better end up famous or people will 
point and snicker.  I'd avoid anyone begging for your serivces, because 
it's disgusting to see grown people beg (unless they're real beggars).  
And if we're whipping out "I love myself" credentials for some kind of 
rudimentary male comparison, I abstain.  You win.

> and I'm a developer of a Linux distro at 17.

I wrote TCP sockets libraries for SVR3 and device drivers for the 3B2 at 
19 after only 6 months of ever seeing a computer.  In fact, I've been 
working on *nix variants since before you were born.  Whoopee.  Anyone 
with free time can be a coder, it's not like it's a magic language or 
something.  I can't paint worth a damn, but I don't recall any artists 
telling me how l33t they are and how much they dislike my opinion about 
another artist's work.  What *is* your point with all this blathering 
about your greatness?  I've watched you, and chimed in every now and 
again, and your ego is just amazing.  It's pathalogical at times.

> I practically guessed my
> way through FreeBSD by poking around in there. 

Ja, und?  I guessed my way through the drivers license test.  UPPER(whoop)

> Do you really think a
> little net-barb like that is going to sting that much?

I hope not.  You're greener than I thought if it does.  This is normal 
net comm.  You said in public that plays on me, something I disagree 
with; I'm taking you to task for it.  If you can find some fallacy with 
that process as a fundamental tool in the search for truth, cool; fill 
me in.  If you're just after saving face in public, keep digging that 
hole.  When I stop responding, it means I got bored or you won.  Use 
Occams to figure out which is more likely.  Chances are I just won't 
give a darn either way.  But I've never been one to let the opportunity 
to respond to a response slip by.  Practice in debate is hard to come by 
these days.  No one has the time, or no one has the talent.

> I'm just sitting
> here listening to Black Uhuru with a dumb ass grin on my face. 

First, which album? I've got some stashed somewhere and if it's one I 
don't have, maybe we can trade.  Second, so what?  I'm listening to 
Nostalgia 77: the garden.  Does anyone in LVLUG care what we're 
listening to, and does it bear even remotely on the question at hand?  
Nope.  And what's with the grin?  I look mostly puzzled at this point in 
time, but I am enjoying the conversation.

Which brings up a net-meta-physics question:  Which event is most likely 
to occur first:  a) Washko bozo-filters our conversation, b) we end up 
comparing something to Hitler, or c) a pink unicorn is introduced?

Brian