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    May 12

    铁三角ath es55一周感受

    五一回南京花了675块败了一副ath es55耳机。既然下了血本就要用心听,听顺耳了总结一下也算对自己有个交代。
    刚买下来在店里试的时候,感觉有点小失望。除了低音比我原来的漫步者耳塞(70块的货)好以外,没有什么令人惊喜的地方……回家以后接在音响上又听了一会儿,终于感觉到了提升。这款耳机果然没有铁三角所谓的”毒“女声,不过高频仍然很清晰,三角铁之类的乐器也能听得很清楚;中频据说比es7好,不过没听过es7,所以没法自己比较了。低音的动感很足,下潜和速度对我来说都足够了;量不大,但是听流行正好,听阴阳座这样的日系摇滚也没问题,欧美的摇滚可能就不行了吧。我听过PP,那种低音完全让我受不了,所谓的个人喜好吧。
    拿音响做耳放以后发现笔记本的推力果然还是有欠缺的,虽然es55只有32欧,很容易推,但笔记本仍然不足以发挥它的全部能力。用音响做耳放以后,低音明显提升,声场感觉似乎也有所增加,至于高音的提升,可能是自己的心理作用……总之提升肯定是有的,不过耳放也很贵啊,咱这种不烧的人还不是很有购买的冲动。
    另外es55的灵敏度也不错,也就意味着能清楚听到笔记本的底噪(当然音乐响起来以后好像就无所谓了)。要不要加声卡呢?性价比好像不高……
    刚刚说了,听阴阳座这样的摇滚不觉得低音有不足的地方。黑猫的声音也被演绎的很好;以前觉得演唱会上的黑猫嗓音有点暗,现在也似乎被es55弥补了。
    本来我对大黑摩季很期待的,期望es55能把她高亢的声音发挥得更加出色,可是煲到现在这种音色也没有出现,总觉得和我以前的漫步者不分高下……看来这款es55确实对女声的染色不多呢。
    柴田淳的声音似乎好听一点了……也是心理作用吧……要怪就怪原来那副漫步者的高音,本来就已经不错了,只是声场很小(耳塞而已),低音确实(反正我也讨厌过量的低音),以至于es55的提升空间被大大压缩。如果以前一直听那副200多的SONY,现在可能就感觉幸福多了吧~~(本人对SONY底性价比的想法真是根深蒂固啊)
    最后说一下佩戴感受:不夹头。网上也有很多人说过类似的话。鉴于这么多人的头型应该是各不相同的,所以大概真的是普遍意义上的不夹头吧。线材也很不错,柔软有弹性,这个可比以前的漫步者强多了,基本没有听诊器效应了。不过换句话说,把es55
    戴出去的时候,对线材可就要多关心了啊……总觉得一不小心就会弄坏~~另外,因为隔音效果不错,所以出门慎戴,以免发生事故。

    鉴于这次耳机升级的效果比期望值低一大截,本人估计不会再继续往上烧啦。有机会先去听听Orpheus再说吧。
    April 13

    近况报告

    上周二到的上海,签约啊、熟悉环境啊,一时没时间在Space上更新一下情况。
    我现在算是要开始教书啦。单位是上海平和双语学校。在高中部教经济学。现在是听课(实习),正式上课从下学期开始。虽然看上去比较轻松,不过因为关系到下一代的缘故,责任还是很重大的;现在开始就需要好好准备呢。
    学校很小,大概没有南外大,高中部就更小了,现在三个年级只有150个学生而已,不过环境可能也相对好一点吧。同事都是很nice的人,办公室里虽然有三个上海人,但是要想学上海话,还是没有语境的~~
    现在住学校的宿舍,有室友,所以想到我这里来住的朋友们估计是没办法了,想来玩绝对没问题(虽然比较偏远,没什么好玩的……)出门办事都要走一两站路,所以到现在还没换上海号,换了再另行告知吧。
    现在有多少人在上海呢?出来冒个泡,找个周末好聚一下:)
    以后也许会一直做教师(?),请大家放心的把小孩送过来~~
    October 29

    祝自己生日快乐啦

    本来也没什么的,但是因为准备晚些时候再发一篇认真的文章,为了避免大家的回复走题,还是决定先在先开一个红包贴,欢迎来砸红包啊~~



    照片的话,只有她的 :P
    生日的时候听到熊木杏里的新单曲《こと/誕生日》,心情真好!
    March 02

    長い話

    之所以用这个做题目,是因为最近在学日语。这三个字是熊木杏里一首歌的名字,意思就是“很长很长的话”啦(大概吧,网上有翻译:http://club.xialala.com/Announce/Announce.asp?BoardID=49&ID=4084210;而我的日语水平还是非常粗浅的。)

    看大家都提供背景音乐的,那我也附庸一下,国外的链接估计比较慢:熊木杏里 - 長い話

    “很长很长”的话呢,因为真的有很多很多要说。说自己忙似乎不是借口,因为原来没有这么忙的时候也未曾想到要多写一点;纯粹把博客当成练笔的话,算是动机不纯吧。反而是真的忙起来以后,才觉得有很多值得写的东西,有很多想跟朋友说的话,但却觉得精力不够用了。而且一想到要写很多,就觉得害怕了。债欠多了还真是不好还呢。

    说最近忙,完全是因为自己的原因。如果自己愿意的话,从去年十月来了以后就可以一直忙到现在;但是很多时候都选择逃避了。直到二月,终于下定决心要改变自己,于是开始了所谓“修行”的计划,戒掉所有娱乐活动,全天除了吃饭睡觉就是学习。呵呵,有一点非可持续性发展的味道呢。但是,如果总是沿着过去的轨道走,相信生活应该时时刻刻都是快乐的,就没有办法跳出一些坏习惯吧,所以才会有一次又一次的发奋的企图,然后一次又一次的可耻的失败。

    但是现在把这个“修行”当成宣言来说,似乎已经有点迟了;这两周到周末还是会有下滑的趋势,会忍不住去看体育新闻,去听像《長い話》这样的歌,甚至还会去豆瓣看文艺青年们的乐评。不过不能说没有进步,因为最近毕竟比以往刻苦很多,案头堆着的11本书就是证明。

    现在能把看书当成娱乐就已经很不容易了,因为大部分书是需要“拼命”去看的。书总是看一小部分,文章总是从结论看起,碰到上个世纪60年代以前的文章,习惯不写结论的那种,就只好硬着头皮啃完。论文写法的变迁,本身就很能说明问题吧。过去可以指望不写结尾,鼓励读者去看完全篇;现在再这么写就是找抽了。所谓的literature如海一样广阔,根本就没有享受的余地。

    所以,即使自以为很好思考的我,也还是难免发现读书与思考都变成了一种有压力的活动;这就是把爱好当成职业的代价吗?我常常提醒自己,现在的我已经是在“实习”了;不要再把自己当成过去读中学、大学一样,学习其实只是“复习”、“考试”,然后就是月复一月的无所事事。现在的我已经把自己的职业方向定下来了,即使以后不能取得PhD,不能去大学教书,不能想我的教授们那样安心的做学问(因为人的能力真的是有限的吧,我也不清楚自己有没有这个能耐),我现在也还是要以职业化的态度来对待现在的学习生活。比起现在在各个公司打拼的各位,希望我的起步也不算太迟呢。

    写了上面这些话,大家是不是会觉得很奇怪?因为很多时候都会觉得生活是“过一天就算一天”的吧?可是我总是会问自己“为什么活着”,“人生到底有什么意义”。如果找不到意义的话,即使整天都在努力,也跟浪费掉了没有什么两样。现在已经过了小时候那种“随便学什么,只要是打基础就好了”的阶段了吧;已经没有更多的时间了,不能指望没头苍蝇一样的努力哪一天突然开花结果了。

    但正是这样,很难找到意义的我,最终却又浪费了很多时光。经常去找导师,很多时候问的都不是学术上的问题,而是“学术人生”的问题。我的导师是一个说话轻声细语的德国人(http://www2.wiwi.hu-berlin.de/institute/wg/ritschl/),按他自己的说法,他的学术经历是很特别的。本来博士主攻的是经济学,经济史只是个minor,但是一不小心写了一篇经济史的论文,扬名德国,世界范围内也小有名气,然后一切就自然而然了。他有几句话我记得特别清楚:

    • 如果读博士的话,也不应该去享受太多闲暇的。每天除了吃饭睡觉,工作12个小时就好了。(当我跟他说我这个人爱好很多的时候。)
    • 在欧洲的话,30岁之前算是“探索”,然后再给自己定职业的方向。(就好比他自己是29岁左右念完书才仔细考虑要不要继续学术的;而我很快就要24了,却觉得时间不等人……)
    • (之所以有上面那样的话,是因为)如果学术顺里的话,一切都很简单;如果你很努力,却没有办法得到外界的认同,那恐怕就要重新考虑职业选择了。
    • 让自己的理论“滴水不漏”,那是四、五十岁的时候才能做到的事;现在的你就是要弄出一点响动来,让世界都知道你。(当我跟他讨论研究计划的时候。因为觉得自己的研究计划漏洞百出,心里非常不安。)

    其实我也说不清导师对我的态度到底如何;感觉外国人仍然是很“礼貌”的,为人处世的圆滑并不比中国人差;想象中外国人的直率似乎并不存在,反而是我比较喜欢(或者说是期待)人与人都能真心相待。减少交易成本嘛,呵呵。不过活说回来,人家至少在工作上还是很负责的吧,所以剩下的就要靠我自己了。

    嗯,所以才会选择所谓的“修行”啦。有一点极端,甚至自己也不是很有信心能够做到。其实关键是在专业之外,真的不可以有什么更吸引自己的东西了。大部分时间都要花在学业上,花一点时间学日语,如果还有一点剩余的话(会有的,会有的,因为有的时候过了晚饭已经很累了……),安安静静地听几首歌,感觉回比平时漫不经心地听歌要好几倍。只有这种时候才能真正听出感动来。但这往往也是因为清清楚楚地感觉到了压力,所以才会被音乐中的气氛所感动吧。看看我听的都是什么歌呢?

    • 转变成台湾第一天团之前的五月天
    • 一直很小资很小女人的陈绮贞老师
    • 被很多人当成是治愈系的熊木杏里
    • 带着夏天那种绿油油色彩的苏打绿
    • 忧郁甚至阴毒却荡气回肠的杨乃文
    • 才二十多岁就一副深沉模样的张悬

    然后反正都在这里(http://www.last.fm/user/allbluedream/),别的人多多少少会有一点。最近真的变少了很多,因为不会在做别的事的同时听音乐了。当我给这些音乐足够的尊重的时候,它们也能给我足够的回报。

    抱住五月天过去代表的青春不放,就像抱住《少年JUMP》不放一样,希望自己一直都是长不大的少年,人生有梦想,遇到挫折也不灰心。陈老师虽然已经33岁了,但(至少是在CD里)还永远都是after 17,不知不觉得成了理想女友的化身。不男不女的吴青峰,却能带给我非常清新自然的旋律。杨乃文是小气与大气的矛盾体,生活中很希望不要碰到这样的女人,但却是不是会去听她的歌。张悬的深沉有几分是真实的呢?但听的时候仍能让我深有同感,大概是我也慢慢深沉了吧。

    如果可以定义自己的话,我应该是那种非常“内在”的人。所谓的幸福快乐,都是从自己的内心中找到的。我不在意拍照片,我看到的都看在心里;我不在意旅行,我每天走的同一条路都是有意义的;我不在意去餐馆改善伙食,我每天自己做饭的时光都能带来满足感。我不在意刺激,外在的刺激不是幸福的来源;我宁愿选择用坐禅的方式去感悟时间(但是往往坐5分钟就坐不住了啊,呵呵,我也只是人而已。)

    但是有一种财富在内心里是找不到的,那就是伙伴。酒肉朋友固然无聊,但无论再怎么珍惜朋友,也没有办法一个人在心里享受友情——这根本就是自相矛盾的。有的时候觉得自己忙,觉得自己一个人已经很满足,觉得自己心里还一直挂念这朋友,统统都是借口。虽然有的时候感觉大家还是追求外在刺激的比较多,但这本身不应该成为什么障碍的。人是多面的,出了需要自己清静的时刻之外,真的很想念大家。暑假不一定会回来的,回来了大家也不一定会有时间吧。什么时候能再见面呢?再见面之前,听这五月天那些抓着青春尾巴的歌,真的会很怀念过去的时光。

    然后还有听熊木杏里的时候,虽然大多数歌词都听不懂,但是仍然有很幸福的感觉。虽然觉得风格有些像,但陈老师是青春少女,熊木却会在歌词里写一些很沉重的东西。

    二十二になってみても(即使变成22岁) それほど変わることはなく(好像也没有多大的变化) ひとつ変わったことと言えば(如果说一件改变了的事) タバコをやめた(就是戒烟了) 强く思うことは(努力考虑的事) とても难しくて(非常难) 今もまだ自分を(现在也还没有) 信じきれずにいる(完全相信自己) なぜ生きているの(为什么活?) なぜ生きて行くの(为了什么活着?) なにもないから(因为什么也没有) なにかになりたい(所以想变成什么)

    《長い話》最后一段歌词(翻译还是抄一开始那个网页上的,看上去好像没什么问题),跟陶喆的《二十二》是完全不一样的感觉。以自己的经历来写歌,能写出同龄人的感受吧。

    不想写得太沉重;学日语的话,当然也不是为了听懂熊木的歌。一开始只是好玩而已,而且《银魂》的那几个声优也很有功底。现在《银魂》的瘾已经下定决心戒了(似乎还没有完却戒掉,好难……)但是日语还是要学的,因为现在的论文题目,还有以后的研究方向,都需要能看懂日文文献。日本人对中国经济史的研究,感觉比中国自己做的要深入。也许是所谓研究习惯的不同吧,国内的学术跟国际不大接轨;不是说国内一定不好,但是鉴于国内学术的现状,指望国内学术惯例能够在世界上立下威信是不可能的。日本人的研究大概与国际接轨的程度要高很多,英文文献也有大量基于日文资料的,所以看不懂日文麻烦就大了。

    现在跟这一个JapanesePod101的播客学日语,主持人是一个美国人Peter搭配一个日本人。Peter很搞笑,能给生活提供一些额外的笑料。虽然他在日本10年了,那种异国情调的口音还是很明显;但是偶尔节目换主持人的时候,我会觉得还是有Peter的怪腔怪调才有意思。大家的英语反正都不错,可以去那个网站逛逛,有兴趣的话还可以交流一下,呵呵。(http://www.japanesepod101.com/index.php

    跟我一个residence的还有一个日本的姐姐,比我大三岁,但是因为(日本女人都)喜欢化妆,所以从外表上完全看不出来,完全就是一副petite的样子。认识她是因为第一次遇到的时候发现她居然能说汉语,“一点点”……据说是因为在大学的时候学二胡,老师是中国人,所以就修了点汉语课,方便跟老师交流。按她的说法,二胡是日本女生学习的热门乐器。真的是有点搞不懂,明明中国的乐器有很多啊,为什么偏偏是凄凄惨惨的二胡呢?而且还很热门?但是因为母语不是英语的缘故,牵涉到这样专业的问题就很难说清出了,所以我到现在也没有机会搞明白。

    按理说这样的话应该有很多机会练日语的,不过真的很少见,所以大概练过几句“おはようございます”“明けましておめでとうございます”还有最后“お久しぶりです”然后就没有了(真是比较讽刺……)不过有时间的话还是可以听播客的,所以“听”、“说”这两项应该不会有太大问题吧,就是进步太慢了。哎,学习还是要靠自己啊。

    好像真的写了很多了,虽然应该写的东西还有很多没有写。这就是说要经常更新,而不是偶尔来一次突击吧……而且是因为“修行”了的缘故,才会下决心写这么多呢。真的很多呢;反思中学时作文成绩那么不理想,真是很汗颜。那个时候根本就不知道为什么要写作吧。完全没有想法,只知道追逐所谓的技巧,真的是舍本逐末,走了很多弯路呢。要批评中小学语文教育的话,还可以再写一篇这么长的,所以干脆作罢。

    现在不是“文思”已尽,因为“纹”本身就有太多做作的成分;写到这里应该说是“心思”告一段落,就此收笔才算是对自己有了一个交代。写散文的话,就不在最后加Conclusion了,希望大家能一“修行”的心态看完(汗)。

    December 25

    大家圣诞快乐!

    又有很久没有更新了呢。因为我的Linux系统不知到怎么搞的,在space上一直不能发布;今天终于下定决心,运气也不错,找到了曲线救国的方法。

    所谓下定决心,其实是直到这个时候才想起来自己还有许多牵挂的朋友,真是有够迟钝的。有的时候觉得孤单一点也无所谓的,但是心地里(至少有时候吧)还是想回到大家身边。

    看了Rainy小朋友的网志,原来她还是很能折腾的啊,大家也都很生龙活虎的呢。这样我就放心了啊(说什么傻话啊,其实明明就是我也觉得需要大家的关怀,所以终于又冒出来吐个泡泡罢了。)只有真诚的走出去,才能迎回来真诚的爱吧。(其实我什么也不懂,大家教导我。)

    现在我在慢慢给心爱的大家写信呢,真的很慢,但是一想到,名单上还有40多个,都是我有话可写的朋友,也会觉得很满足。剩下一定还有我珍惜的人,可惜似乎又没有什么说的出口。我这个人比较直来直去,真的暂时没有话说,也就这么告诉大家了;希望以后能再聚首,而不是就这样天涯路人了。

    嗯,每次应该写一些开心的东西的时候,都会写得气氛很沉重的样子。大概是因为开心的事,开心就好了;只有沉重一点的心情,才可以慢慢道来吧。心里的话,总是如涓涓细流,哪里能够痛痛快快的。说完以后心情就能转变了;有人愿意听就是件幸福的事。

    好了,祝大家圣诞快乐!我这里的平安夜,安安静静的。全球各地的大家,都在过怎样的圣诞呢?祝大家都能找到生活中的平衡,祝大家都开心!

    乐川

    August 04

    陈老师的碟到手了~支持正版不容易

    前几天在卓越订的陈绮贞精选集昨天到手了,17块大洋,听起来看起来都挺舒服,到底已经彻底成了陈老师的听众,没办法了。爸爸妈妈说这是随便一个小女孩都能唱的歌,不过其实我喜欢的就是这样的声音啊,而且反正我喜欢小孩:)

    不过话说回来,陈老师说:

    我其实是不那么喜欢精选集的
    只有在很不熟或是很热爱的极端
    情况之下 才会买来听听看
    ……
    我想这并不是最完整的我
    ……

    哎,我也不是想买精选集呢,不过支持正版不容易啊,而且陈老师以前的Demo碟都绝版了,似乎要去拍卖……好了,不过说了,发几张图上来

    cheer 004

    cheer 009

    cheer 007

    cheer 006

    July 12

    随便写一点 + 寻物启事

    好久不写日志了,重新做人真是很难啊……虽然很有心情,也只能随便写点什么。这几天终于拿到了年级通讯录,把手上的照片发出去了。现在看看大家的照片,悠悠然觉得很留念的样子。大家就是我人生最珍贵的财富,我却把大部分都留在北京了……可怜我天性不爱旅游的,以后还是要下定决心回北京看看各位。
     
    p.s.好像还有不少美女毕业典礼那天和本道具合影来着的,碰巧看到本贴一定要记得把照片发给偶啊……为了便于交流偶已经用中文书写本告示了:)
    January 17

    Application was done yesterday...At least for now...

    Well, what more to say? I am back here. Sweet comeback :)

    and

    Acknowledgements

    I want to thank everybody that helped me to go through this difficult and boring time. I know it is hard to list them in full, because there are too many. I will try to add as my memory comes up. Currently I wish to express gratitude to:

    Shelly, Sue and Liang Junlu, for getting me started on this journey;

    Maggie, for your company and help with my applications;

    Diqian, Tina and Xavier, for your kind reminders and shared info;

    Ms Zhu, Ms He, and Mr Ying, for your patience and time devoted to my application;

    And all the friends that I have not contacted during this tedious time... And actually I am very sorry for this...

    And I'm thinking...yes...that life is able to unfold itself...with our active involvement, of course :)

    Thank you all for not forgetting me.

    I am so grateful that I am accompanied when I am searching for more meaning in life.

     

    October 29

    Written on my birthday

    I have been either too busy or too distracted to write anything here for quite some time; but today people around me, and myself, have generously advised me to take a day off, so here I am.

    The realization accumulated so far is that life is harder than I have thought. The research proposal is a real torture, breaking my illusions of economic study; the good news is that I gradually understand the truth of beginning an academic career without the help of a mentor. Statistics and econometrics get into the way of a dream of theoretical discoveries and astounding policy shifts; everything seems trivial, and I have to take small steps although my thoughts seem to advance by leaps and bounds--here lies the problem--at the beginning of an academic career, one does not jump; instead, one tries to connect every little bit to form a smooth pavement. Boring, isn't it? But still better than anything else, because at least this great bore promises me a rewarding future. Once I wished to be able to sit in a library and read through all the books--that is such a luxury--and no one is going to pay me for simply sitting there reading.

    But life is also sweet, yes sweet, when I am settled with the tough stuff. I had lunch with my cousin this noon. She cooks wonderfully, and the meal was surely a happy nostalgic treat.

    The biggest treat came to me in the morning though. It was such great joy to see Maggie again; and oh emails are so inadequate! Life is not easy for either of us, but courage is coming both ways; and security is coming amid the uncertainties which life is showing us. And as time goes by, love will still be recorded in singing, and remain for ever. 所谓“余音绕梁”啊:)

    Life is full of hope.
    February 12

    Frenzy!!! :D

    Got up at ten, and didn't feel like reciting words... Making some graphics using photoshop to kill time... Gmail... Chat... So sweet... But when I realized that I still hadn't done anything about GRE, it was already 3 pm, and I went on wasting another half an hour before I could really get down to think about all those abstruse GRE issue topics...
    Guess what, I wrote 20 outlines in two and a half hours! I usually would waste a whole day to do just that! I don't know why, but I have been so high today; hehe, maybe I have affected by a magic power: everything is easy :) You just need some time.
    Usually after upgrade, frenzy will be a permanent attribute--that's for Warcraft though... I may not keep this momentum tomorrow, but this is just why momentum is so dear :) I shall finish the issue topics tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow... That's it; it's done. But then I still have argument topics... Endless...
    Keep going...
    Another frenzy will come :P
    要乐观,要努力。
    January 23

    Done with the FACES application!

    FACES is for "Forum for American/Chinese Exchange at Stanford". I guess it might be a good opportunity for me, but any way, this is my first ever so-formal- and-pressing application, and is really time-consuming... So I'm glad that the pressure is gone now :) And I can go on with my micro as planned. This feeling is great!
    August 26

    Only Got Linux Today!

     

    Having been hanging around websites dedicated to Linux and reading a good bunch of articles comparing Linux and MS Windows--at the expense of my book reading habit which ran into a suspension (and almost a termination)--Papa_Only finally get himself a new version of Linux. The experience so far has not been as breathtaking as I've anticipated, but has nevertheless strengthen my will towards a shift of computer operating system.
    Have I confused you? I guess I'd better make it clear by listing the keywords here: MS Windows, Linux & Operating System (OS).
    There's nothing more to say about Windows now, because I believe that most of you use it everyday; software like Windows is a kind of OS, which serves as an intermediate between the computer and other programs--I believe that you cannot surf the net with Internet Explorer (IE) without an OS (say Windows) installed on your machine; and Linux, in short, is an alternative OS to Windows, which claims itself to be better (almost in every way) than Windows.
    I believe that most of you have at least heard of Linux, yet you might neither know what it is nor wish to use it in your daily life. You've used Microsoft's OS since you first came to know computer, from DOS to various versions of Windows, and you've got used to it, so why should you change? What's wrong with Windows? What's wrong with Microsoft?
     
    To begin with, consider how you got your copy of Windows, or other MS products. You've probably paid thousands of RMB if you have respected the copyright thing, for which MS so fervently advocates. MS haven't said much about pirate copies of Windows in China because this very pirate phenomenon has filled the Chinese user community with a god-like Windows conception; where there isn't such an illegal market, MS has tried to give out Windows for free (gosh! they don't even update Windows for free!) as Charity, thus eliminating the chance for new users ever to know other OS's.
    On the contrary, most distributions of Linux is free. As a general PC user, you don't have to understand the word FREE (which means that everyone can alter the software for the better), but you sure will appreciate the byproduct of this freedom--that most FREE softwares running on Linux come to us actually free of charge.
    You might wonder how can this freedom work in a monetary world? Yet this movement in the software circle has indeed proved that there is another drive powerful enough to support a software project so complex that even MS may have difficulty implementing it. Renown--a word which sounds almost ridiculous in today's world actually brings hackers around the globe together and contributing what little or great they can to the very existence and evolution of a vigorous OS.
     
    And then there is performance. Long have we been accustomed to the fragmentation of the hard disk, and the defragmentation provided by Windows and other software manufacturers. Fragmentation causes your machine to slow down, which makes you rather mad; but nonetheless, you must live with it, because you have taken it for granted that using computers naturally leads to fragmentation. The truth is that it goes the other way. You can use your Linux machine without ever defraging it, and the longer you use it, the faster it becomes. Does it sound like a miracle? But why do we have to endure fragments? Why does Windows always store file that messy way?
     
    The most significant aspect that sets Linux and Windows apart may be the attitudes of their developers. The vast hacker community behind the Linux OS considers the real need of computer users, while MS concentrates on how to make a fortune. Then comes the scary story: MS has in the last century bought the technology of Unix (another very old OS which does not randomly throw files across the hard disk), but Windows is never embedded with that feature. And more. When do you think IE last updated? I just can't remember, and I just don't care, because in its stead I now use Mozilla Firefox (search the net and you know what it is, if you have not checked my 'Net Adventure' panel yet). Now facing the challenge of this new comer, MS finally is going to release IE 7. And for Windows the OS, we have waited for years for the so-called 'Longhorn' system (now formally Windows Vista), and only next year will it emerge, with most dramatic improvement in security and interface! By the way, by that time if you want to upgrade to the new Windows Vista OS, you'll probably have to buy a new monitor to suit its special standard.
    Attitude means a lot. MS's attitude has brought the reluctance to user oriented innovation together with a menacing control over its customers. This is the main reason why I don't want to use Windows any more.
     
    Gosh! Now I feel silly putting this article on MSN; am I not too flamboyant? :p But for the popularity of MS at present (so that many of my friends use MSN), I really want to go straight to Google Groups...
     
    For more information please check the following link:
    http://forum.ubuntu.org.cn/viewtopic.php?t=1996
     
    p.s. The version of Linux Papa_Only is trying happily is Ubuntu; there are many other distributions, too. Any one who wish to try it out can go to Ubuntu's website and download their copy, or he can ask Papa_Only lend him a copy. You can safely run this version of Ubuntu from the CD, no installation needed--that way you can try without worry. And hopefully, you'll want to make THE switch.

     

    How come I wrote this long again?!...