Slashdot Mirror

No ESR on my computer, please.

Dear fellow Linux kernel hackers:

It has come to my attention that Richard M. Stallman, founder of the Free Software Foundation and creator of the GNU project, has once again set out to fragment our grassroots community.

Recently, Mr. Stallman has started a new push for acknowledgement of GNU in Linux. No, not the familiar GNU/Linux that we're all sick and tired of hearing about but, instead, a failed anagram of these same terms. The campaign is called Say LiGNUx and demands that users of any Linux-kernel operating system employing GNU software (which comprises less than 15% of most modern Linux distributions nowadays) call the operating system LiGNUx.

His presentation on the Say LiGNUx campaign is hosted here so you can see the insanity for yourself.

Yes, that's right. LiGNUx, pronounced like pig cooks, would be the name of choice for our work in the last two decades. Stallman suggests that we trash our existing name recognition and all common sense to adopt his academic linguistic exercise in masturbatory politics that represents the kernel's license and some poorly-built utilities that no one uses anymore.

Mr. Stallman even suggests that users who refuse to say LiGNUx should instead install GNU/HURD so as to remove any ambiguity about licenses and nomenclature. What the hell?!

When is the last time someone named their operating system after the license the kernel is released under? Such an esoteric naming method is madness. Should Apple call OS X Apple/XNU? Or how about the Berkeley operating systems? Should they call their products FreeBSD or OpenBSD? Should Microsoft call their operating system Microsoft Windows? The suggestion is patently absurd.

We should not give in to the wailing demands of this zealotry. Mr. Stallman clearly needs a break from promoting an increasingly irrelevant software platform. Perhaps that means banning him from LKML, or asking Linus to suggest some vacation therapy for poor Mr. Stallman and his zealotry, or having the Linux Foundation issue a press release distancing themselves from RMS, GNU, and the Free Software Foundation.

Whatever the next course of action is, we should all ignore Mr. Stallman and continue to call Linux as Linux.

I am interested to hear your thoughts on the topic, fellow Linux kernel hackers.

Merry Christmas.

Tips for Trolling: ASCII Art

One of the most creative ways to express ones self in Slashdot's forums is with graphical, artistic representations; art. Since Slashdot (unfortunately for trolls) does not allow the embedding of objects, such as images and sounds, in HTML-coded comments, graphics must be constructed using textual characters: ASCII art.

The Emoticon

One of the most common, and simple, forms of ASCII art is the emoticon (emotion + icon), often used to reveal the mood or tone of a comment, and also known as "smilies" or "faces". Some common examples and their generally accepted meanings follow :)
        happy; joking; silly :P
        playfully teasing; sarcasm
=:o
        being Chinese; freshly-soiled pants; a surprise stick up the ass (all associated with Signal 11)

The variety of emoticons is virtually limitless; one can construct many obscure or weird "faces" with imagination being the only limit; however, most true trolls would rather leave the tone and mood of their posts a little vague. The use of emoticons is typically relegated to inter-troll communiques and complex trolling effects in posts (i.e., adding an extra layer of ingenuity to the post in hopes of responses).

The Emoticon Database houses thousands of these smilies and their (sometimes) obscure meanings. A useful resource should one need smilies in their troll posts.

Simple Graphics

There are several options for graphics a little more complex than emoticons but less complex than full-blown masterpieces of textual art. A few, in fact, have become standard or popular on Slashdot.

The Penis Bird

  0)
  ( \
    x
8===D

Based on this picture, and usually accompanied by that URL, the Penis Bird is a well-known troll on Slashdot. Usually posted mindlessly, which in itself is fine and funny, the Penis Bird can be used to accent arguments, or as a finishing stroke in a well-formed (or poorly formed, for the matter) troll post. Think of the Penis Bird as a final punch in a boxing match.

The Phallus

8===D

8===O

This ASCII representation of the male penis is a standard not only on Slashdot but throughout the Internet at large. Simple, unassuming, and to the point, the Phallus is the basis of many ASCII phallic variants, which appear below. Uses for this unique appendage range from emphasizing an argument (e.g., calling someone a homosexual, followed by the Phallus, finally followed by “you eat it!” or some similar phrase), or to just remind Slashdot readers that, yes, there are penises everywhere, even in Slashdot's forums.

The Phallus, Reversed

C===B

C===3

A Phallus, Ejaculating

8===O - - - --- -

A Phallus about to enter a wide-open vulva

8===D (O )

Thank you.

I think trollaxor has the full story on his site. the short version is, Bendover.net (or maybe it was VA Lunix?) were going to have a contest and gave away the /. PT Cruiser. There was an incident at the geek compound, the car was impounded, the contest was canceled. For a while, anyone posted about it was hit with bitchslap.pl.

http://www.trollaxor.com/2013/02/eric-s-raymond-unsubscribes-from-lkml.html

Theo de Raadt thinks so, at least.

It's well documented that ESR is the 'ringleader' of depravity in the F/OSS community and Hacker tribe.

Or you might regret it.

http://www.trollaxor.com/2005/08/why-slashdot-fired-michael.html

Why Slashdot Fired Michael

January 31st, 2005, was the last day that Michael Sims, Nazi editor of Slashdot, ever posted a story or indeed was ever heard from again. But what happened that day to Michael Sims? Did his embroilment in the Censorware.org conspiracy finally catch up with him? Or was he involved in a violent, and ultimately fatal, lovers' spat with his partner Jamie McCarthy? The truth, as we'll see, is much more perverse than fiction.

On New Year's Eve of 2004, the entire Slashdot staff was throwing a party to celebrate another year of Linux propaganda, homosexual recruitment, and the profits that their Microsoft ad banners had raked in for them. Eric Raymond, Emad, Roblimo, Hemos, Taco, Jamie, and Alan Cox all planned to rape Richard Stallman later in the night. Michael had shown up late, however, and was let in on the plans after they were made.

As it turned out, Jamie was to be leading the charge against the Free Software Foundation's founder and would be the first to penetrate Stallman's hairy unwashed ass. Michael, however, was jealous of this and made secret plans to thwart their nefarious venture of homosexual rape. The event was planned for zero hours, right as the ball dropped. But Michael had other ideas.

Michael suggested they all toast their plan with JÃgermeister, Eric Raymond's drink of choice that was in heavy supply that night, and the rest of the partygoers followed. While everyone downed their first shot, Michael slipped into the VA Software office's break-room, grabbing the syringe Raymond used to inject Rob Malda's semen with on the way. Michael leered at the case of JÃgermeister, needle in hand.

Minutes later, Michael reappeared in the conference room with more JÃger, ready for more shots. Over the next couple of hours they indulged in several drinking and party games, spurred on by Michael, as they drank bottle after bottle of the dark brown herbal liqueur. If one were to pay special attention to Michael, however, they would note that Michael drank much less than anyone else and only from his own bottle.

Emad and Roblimo were involved in a powerful sixty-nine cheered on by Hemos and Alan whose bent geek penises throbbed near Emad's head and Roblimo's bloated ass, waiting for an opportunity. Moaning, Emad diverted his wet mouth from Roblimo's butthole and took down Hemos and Alan's cocks in quick succession. Hearing the wet, sloppy commotion behind him, Roblimo lost control and glunked all over Emad's chest.

Across the room near the podium, Eric Raymond was man-handling Rob, jamming a handgun down the back of his pants and asking him if he remembered their special night in Holland. Rob was giggling like a school girl and squirmed with all his might against the cold steel. Eric rained a shower of JÃger over Rob's head which Rob greedily tongued up even as Eric's skinny red penis entered his ass cheeks, probing for the brown prize.

The conference room was awash in gay cum and chaos, Michael noted happily as he surveyed the carnage around him. Emad had now teamed up with Alan and Hemos to rape Roblimo's ass as Rob was being pistol-whipped to orgasm by Eric, all oblivious to the massive amounts of Rohypnol they were ingesting as they drank the JÃgermeister Michael had given them. It wouldn't be much longer before the drug took effect.

Another half-hour into the night, Eric paused from raping Taco's mouth and sodomizing his anus with his Glock, short of breath. His head swam and he looked at his bottle of JÃgermeister. I can usually down six of these babies, thought Eric, wondering why he was now farting uncontrollably. Rob's nose wrinkled as Eric's rectum expelled another gallon of aerosolized feces into the air. Stooping, Eric held on to the podium for support.

Across the way, Emad pulled his tiny Iranian dick out from between Alan and Hemos's i

Haiku is interesting, but in the way a deformed baby in a jar is interesting: it's stillborn, looks unique compared to living specimins, and affords plenty to talk about but very little to actually do. While I celebrate the developers and their dedication, I can't help but shake my head at this misguidedness. For a better context of what I'm talking about, read BeOS: Has-Been or Will-Be?.

He shouldn't have been using Firefox either.

Oh yeah, that site is a quality source of information...... haha

He shouldn't have been using Firefox either.

Fuck Firefox 14

Apple Releases Safari 6 Beta ahead of WWDC ’12

Miss Amiga? Try DragonFly!

Apple Releases Safari 6 Beta ahead of WWDC ’12

Apple Releases Safari 6 Beta ahead of WWDC ’12

An alarm sounded in the dark, and Linus Torvalds groaned and shuffled under his covers. His wife lay lazily snoring next to him, and the alarm clock bathed their forms in red light as it pulsed.

Before long Linus slapped the snooze button on the alarm, grunted, stretched, and ambled out of bed.

Linus's alarm was was no ordinary one. For starters, it was a 386-based mini-ATX custom rig with 32 MiB that ran Linux 2.6.36.2 in a one-off distro Linus called Alarmix. He used emacs to edit his alarm configuration file every night, and in the morning when alarmd woke up it played a rather loud klaxon. But today it was far earlier than he had set his alarm, and this was a source of worry for Linus.

This klaxon was a special one, run when alarmd was remotely activated by the Git server, meant to alert the core Linux developers that someone was attempting to hack into the Linux kernel code repository. There would likely be a logfile of attempted intrusions displaying on Linus's workstation right now.

Stretching his back and cracking his neck as he wandered slowly to his study, Linus fell lazily into his chair.

I wonder who it is this time, Linus thought to himself as he jiggled his mouse, temporality blinding himself as his 50" LCD TV came on.

But before Linus's eyes could adjust, he saw stars. Something hard and cold hit him dead-center in the forehead, flipping him backward in his chair onto the floor.

Hello, Linus, a voice standing over Linus said. Long time no see, isn't it? the voice chided.

What the fuck? was all Linus could muster as he recovered from the blow.

In case you're wondering, Linus, that was the butt of my Colt M1991A officer's model, the voice, high and whiny as Linus's ear tuned back in, said. It's the small-frame six-shot 3-5/8"-barrel version of the classic .45 ACP design.

Linus's heart beat like a jackrabbit fucking on a hot tin roof. A gun? This was a first. His high Finnish forehead was still numb, but he could feel it swelling.

This baby's small enough to conceal but has excellent stopping power, wouldn't you agree?

The interloper laughed at his own joke and Linus's ears perked: the narcissistic sense of humor the whiny, nasal voice it finally came together in Linus's addled brain: his assailant was none other than Eric S. Raymond, the ruddy Open Source advocate and Jger-guzzling, gun-toting gas-bag.

Fuck you, Eric! Linus shouted. After almost twenty years of tolerating the megalomaniacal bullshit that Raymond served on a regular basis, Linus was more angry than scared. You can go fuck yourself!

I'm glad you brought that up! Eric said, cheerfully. That's exactly why I dropped in for a little visit tonight! But I won't be fucking myself

Linus's moan was muted by the thin, pale, crooked penis covered in a dark brown syrup plunging rudely into his open maw. He gasped through his nose as the skinny, misshapen prick started pumping in and out of his slick mouth.

Oh yeah Eric said between breaths. Ohhh yeah.

The room was silent except for muffled moaning and a wet, fleshy rhythmic pumping sound which reverberated off the dingy, tiled walls.

"Fuck your mouth, Linus!" Eric said. "I want to see cum and Jgermeister all over your pretty little Finnish face!"

Linus was crying, the eye-liner Eric forced him to apply at gunpoint running down his cheeks from his glassy, bloodshot eyes. He gagged and drool poured from his lips.

I'll need a little lube first, though, Eric said, reaching for his Jger bottle. Your mouth isn't quite wet enough for old uncle Eric

Eric uncapped the bottle in one quick motion, not letting his Colt stray from Linus's forehead. Then, something dark and brown started raining on the festivities, covering Linus's face and Eric's bushy

AmigaOS vets can find an upgrade path in DragonFly BSD.

Here is an interesting, informative article related to the topic of this story.

Okay, I'm down with this. Just make sure they get the kiddies started on a real platform.

No, it's probably aimed at cock smoking linux fags.

Someone ought to break them up.

I uninstalled OpenBSD the other day after using it since version 3.1 came out nine years ago. I had grown used to it and contributed too, following the OpenBSD mailing lists and even submitting code a couple of times. But when I began thinking seriously about security, things began to change.

Anyone who has had sexual intercourse with Eric S. Raymond and/or uses Linux should go and get an AIDS test immediately!

Security backdoor? Uninstall it!

Why the CIA shouldn't use OpenBSD

That's why I uninstalled OpenBSD.

Eric Raymond is way ahead of you.

and this too

I just downloaded Google Chrome 3.0.192.0 for Mac and it crashed before I could even open a page. There is no excuse for this; my Mac Pro is perfect in every way with eight 2.93 GHz cores, 32 GB RAM, and a fresh install of Mac OS X Leopard v10.5.7. Ergo any crashing Google Chrome does is Google Chrome's own fault!

Why is it that Apple and Mozilla can do this but Google can't? I ran Internet Explorer 8 for months before its final release, Firefox 3.5 since its 3.1 days, and found Safari 4 Developer Preview more stable than Safari 3. In fact, even WebKit is more stable than Chrome.

What really baffles me, however, isn't the instability I've come to expect from Google, but that Google has the audacity to ask for personal user info to improve its browser. Is the search engine maker datamonger really so desperate for my private information that it's stooped to the level of Trojan horses to get it?

They should ask me that when it doesn't crash on launch.

Everything Google does is just another way to sieve personal data away for targeting ads. This kind of Big Brother crap is more repulsive than the fat programmers that make it possible. Google, with its deep pockets and doctoral scholars, thinks that by holding user data hostage it can maneuver around Apple and Microsoft. While this may be true, I'm not willing to be a part of it.

In using Google's search, Gmail, Chrome or whatever else the faceless robot of a company invents, the user is surrendering their personal information to a giant hivemind. No longer are their personal preferences some choice they make; they're a string of data processed by a Google algorithm: Google dehumanizes its users!

So while Google is arrogant enough to paint spyware shiny so it can parse our browsing habits, the least they could do is make sure it doesn't crash. If Apple, Microsoft, and Mozilla can get their preview releases right, why can't Google? And now they're making their own operating systems?

Get real, Google! I'll use your crashing codebloat when my Mac is cold and dead and I'm looking for handouts. Until then, quit mining my personal data!

I just downloaded Google Chrome 3.0.192.0 for Mac and it crashed before I could even open a page. There is no excuse for this; my Mac Pro is perfect in every way with eight 2.93 GHz cores, 32 GB RAM, and a fresh install of Mac OS X Leopard v10.5.7. Ergo any crashing Google Chrome does is Google Chrome's own fault!

Why is it that Apple and Mozilla can do this but Google can't? I ran Internet Explorer 8 for months before its final release, Firefox 3.5 since its 3.1 days, and found Safari 4 Developer Preview more stable than Safari 3. In fact, even WebKit is more stable than Chrome.

What really baffles me, however, isn't the instability I've come to expect from Google, but that Google has the audacity to ask for personal user info to improve its browser. Is the search engine maker datamonger really so desperate for my private information that it's stooped to the level of Trojan horses to get it?

They should ask me that when it doesn't crash on launch.

Everything Google does is just another way to sieve personal data away for targeting ads. This kind of Big Brother crap is more repulsive than the fat programmers that make it possible. Google, with its deep pockets and doctoral scholars, thinks that by holding user data hostage it can maneuver around Apple and Microsoft. While this may be true, I'm not willing to be a part of it.

In using Google's search, Gmail, Chrome or whatever else the faceless robot of a company invents, the user is surrendering their personal information to a giant hivemind. No longer are their personal preferences some choice they make; they're a string of data processed by a Google algorithm: Google dehumanizes its users!

So while Google is arrogant enough to paint spyware shiny so it can parse our browsing habits, the least they could do is make sure it doesn't crash. If Apple, Microsoft, and Mozilla can get their preview releases right, why can't Google? And now they're making their own operating systems?

Get real, Google! I'll use your crashing codebloat when my Mac is cold and dead and I'm looking for handouts. Until then, quit mining my personal data!

I just downloaded Google Chrome 3.0.192.0 for Mac and it crashed before I could even open a page. There is no excuse for this; my Mac Pro is perfect in every way with eight 2.93 GHz cores, 32 GB RAM, and a fresh install of Mac OS X Leopard v10.5.7. Ergo any crashing Google Chrome does is Google Chrome's own fault!

Why is it that Apple and Mozilla can do this but Google can't? I ran Internet Explorer 8 for months before its final release, Firefox 3.5 since its 3.1 days, and found Safari 4 Developer Preview more stable than Safari 3. In fact, even WebKit is more stable than Chrome.

What really baffles me, however, isn't the instability I've come to expect from Google, but that Google has the audacity to ask for personal user info to improve its browser. Is the search engine maker datamonger really so desperate for my private information that it's stooped to the level of Trojan horses to get it?

They should ask me that when it doesn't crash on launch.

Everything Google does is just another way to sieve personal data away for targeting ads. This kind of Big Brother crap is more repulsive than the fat programmers that make it possible. Google, with its deep pockets and doctoral scholars, thinks that by holding user data hostage it can maneuver around Apple and Microsoft. While this may be true, I'm not willing to be a part of it.

In using Google's search, Gmail, Chrome or whatever else the faceless robot of a company invents, the user is surrendering their personal information to a giant hivemind. No longer are their personal preferences some choice they make; they're a string of data processed by a Google algorithm: Google dehumanizes its users!

So while Google is arrogant enough to paint spyware shiny so it can parse our browsing habits, the least they could do is make sure it doesn't crash. If Apple, Microsoft, and Mozilla can get their preview releases right, why can't Google? And now they're making their own operating systems?

Get real, Google! I'll use your crashing codebloat when my Mac is cold and dead and I'm looking for handouts. Until then, quit mining my personal data!

I just downloaded Google Chrome 3.0.192.0 for Mac and it crashed before I could even open a page. There is no excuse for this; my Mac Pro is perfect in every way with eight 2.93 GHz cores, 32 GB RAM, and a fresh install of Mac OS X Leopard v10.5.7. Ergo any crashing Google Chrome does is Google Chrome's own fault!

Why is it that Apple and Mozilla can do this but Google can't? I ran Internet Explorer 8 for months before its final release, Firefox 3.5 since its 3.1 days, and found Safari 4 Developer Preview more stable than Safari 3. In fact, even WebKit is more stable than Chrome.

What really baffles me, however, isn't the instability I've come to expect from Google, but that Google has the audacity to ask for personal user info to improve its browser. Is the search engine maker datamonger really so desperate for my private information that it's stooped to the level of Trojan horses to get it?

They should ask me that when it doesn't crash on launch.

Everything Google does is just another way to sieve personal data away for targeting ads. This kind of Big Brother crap is more repulsive than the fat programmers that make it possible. Google, with its deep pockets and doctoral scholars, thinks that by holding user data hostage it can maneuver around Apple and Microsoft. While this may be true, I'm not willing to be a part of it.

In using Google's search, Gmail, Chrome or whatever else the faceless robot of a company invents, the user is surrendering their personal information to a giant hivemind. No longer are their personal preferences some choice they make; they're a string of data processed by a Google algorithm: Google dehumanizes its users!

So while Google is arrogant enough to paint spyware shiny so it can parse our browsing habits, the least they could do is make sure it doesn't crash. If Apple, Microsoft, and Mozilla can get their preview releases right, why can't Google? And now they're making their own operating systems?

Get real, Google! I'll use your crashing codebloat when my Mac is cold and dead and I'm looking for handouts. Until then, quit mining my personal data!

I just downloaded Google Chrome 3.0.192.0 for Mac and it crashed before I could even open a page. There is no excuse for this; my Mac Pro is perfect in every way with eight 2.93 GHz cores, 32 GB RAM, and a fresh install of Mac OS X Leopard v10.5.7. Ergo any crashing Google Chrome does is Google Chrome's own fault!

Why is it that Apple and Mozilla can do this but Google can't? I ran Internet Explorer 8 for months before its final release, Firefox 3.5 since its 3.1 days, and found Safari 4 Developer Preview more stable than Safari 3. In fact, even WebKit is more stable than Chrome.

What really baffles me, however, isn't the instability I've come to expect from Google, but that Google has the audacity to ask for personal user info to improve its browser. Is the search engine maker datamonger really so desperate for my private information that it's stooped to the level of Trojan horses to get it?

They should ask me that when it doesn't crash on launch.

Everything Google does is just another way to sieve personal data away for targeting ads. This kind of Big Brother crap is more repulsive than the fat programmers that make it possible. Google, with its deep pockets and doctoral scholars, thinks that by holding user data hostage it can maneuver around Apple and Microsoft. While this may be true, I'm not willing to be a part of it.

In using Google's search, Gmail, Chrome or whatever else the faceless robot of a company invents, the user is surrendering their personal information to a giant hivemind. No longer are their personal preferences some choice they make; they're a string of data processed by a Google algorithm: Google dehumanizes its users!

So while Google is arrogant enough to paint spyware shiny so it can parse our browsing habits, the least they could do is make sure it doesn't crash. If Apple, Microsoft, and Mozilla can get their preview releases right, why can't Google? And now they're making their own operating systems?

Get real, Google! I'll use your crashing codebloat when my Mac is cold and dead and I'm looking for handouts. Until then, quit mining my personal data!

I just downloaded Google Chrome 3.0.192.0 for Mac and it crashed before I could even open a page. There is no excuse for this; my Mac Pro is perfect in every way with eight 2.93 GHz cores, 32 GB RAM, and a fresh install of Mac OS X Leopard v10.5.7. Ergo any crashing Google Chrome does is Google Chrome's own fault!

Why is it that Apple and Mozilla can do this but Google can't? I ran Internet Explorer 8 for months before its final release, Firefox 3.5 since its 3.1 days, and found Safari 4 Developer Preview more stable than Safari 3. In fact, even WebKit is more stable than Chrome.

What really baffles me, however, isn't the instability I've come to expect from Google, but that Google has the audacity to ask for personal user info to improve its browser. Is the search engine maker datamonger really so desperate for my private information that it's stooped to the level of Trojan horses to get it?

They should ask me that when it doesn't crash on launch.

Everything Google does is just another way to sieve personal data away for targeting ads. This kind of Big Brother crap is more repulsive than the fat programmers that make it possible. Google, with its deep pockets and doctoral scholars, thinks that by holding user data hostage it can maneuver around Apple and Microsoft. While this may be true, I'm not willing to be a part of it.

In using Google's search, Gmail, Chrome or whatever else the faceless robot of a company invents, the user is surrendering their personal information to a giant hivemind. No longer are their personal preferences some choice they make; they're a string of data processed by a Google algorithm: Google dehumanizes its users!

So while Google is arrogant enough to paint spyware shiny so it can parse our browsing habits, the least they could do is make sure it doesn't crash. If Apple, Microsoft, and Mozilla can get their preview releases right, why can't Google? And now they're making their own operating systems?

Get real, Google! I'll use your crashing codebloat when my Mac is cold and dead and I'm looking for handouts. Until then, quit mining my personal data!

Source

The Mozilla development team released Firefox 3.6, codenamed Namoroka, on 21 January 2010 after some anticipation; Firefox 3.5 was a step forward in features but two steps backward in performance. As a minor update, Namoroka was a chance to optimize the last release.

So, now that it's out, did it alleviate some of these problems? Well, let's find out by looking at what 3.6 offers over 3.5.

First and most visible is support for skins, called personas. Firefox developers have been tinkering with the XUL format and they cite its power. They also claim that it has been under-utilized, so personas were a "natural addition."

TraceMonkey received a performance boost, caching more bytecode in RAM using the new "Stored History Integration Table" system which dynamically stores each JavaScript routine as an object in memory in order to more quickly access it during execution.

Firefox's plugin system also received an overhaul, and now lets the user know when a plugin is incompatible. Mozilla also included support for full-screen Theora and WOFF, the Web Open Font File format, as well as additional but otherwise unspecified performance and security enhancements.

Overall, it's a nice list of bullet points for the bump from 3.5 to Nakamora, but the fact that performance wasn't a priority already points away from optimization and to new features. And the features are actually not new at all, but fixes for issues that should have been taken care of during the initial design stages or other numerous upgrades.

For instance, Firefox has been skinnable for years using XUL, and personas are just a hack to this system that allows the user to use bitmapped images as toolbar backgrounds. You are not mistaken if you just had a flashback to Internet Explorer 3.

These personas also slow the browser down, negating any advantage from the TraceMonkey JavaScript engine. One writer on the web even suggests that the TraceMonkey enhancements were done in anticipation of new-feature bloat. Talk about the tail wagging the fox!

Plugin incompatibility usually occurs when a plugin was written for an older version of the plugin system, which demands a question about the wisdom of upgrading the plugin system for Nakamoru the first place. But that's just how Firefox developers roll.

Now, if you're running an incompatible plugin, Firefox alerts you at startup and launches the plugin manager, a JavaScript-based app that contacts Firefox's plugin server and swaps all kinds of metadata in a frantic attempt to update your third party add-ons.

Several of the changes are plainly just developmental masturbation. For example, Theora is the least-used web video codec, with the penetration that the newer QuickTime X has. And WOFF is an open standard that Mozilla wants to support for political reasons that isn't actually in use anywhere.

So what exactly are Mozilla development managers doing?

If a private company with an opaque development model like Apple can apply the breaks and optimize an entire operating system, à la Leopard to Snow Leopard, why can't a public, transparent development team be bothered to do the same for something much less complex like a web browser?

http://bit.ly/adukJN:

In its last several releases, everyone's favorite Open Source browser has become an unstable mess of add-ons, plugins, and other hacks that chew up memory like a fat kid with a chocolate-dipped corn dog. In fact, just last week, SecurityFocus released news of a devastating exploit in Firefox 3.5.5 that they blame squarely on its unstable architecture.

From its infancy Firefox has been the product of collaborative effort, unifying code from hackers worldwide. But thanks to the Hayes Law, we see that there is a "sweet spot" to such a development style, and that Firefox has long since left it behind. In the chart below, we can see that the number of Firefox developers has increased exponentially since 2002, and that number will more than double in 2010.

But it's time to be honest: either Firefox, as a modern web browser, will have killer performance on 64-bit, multicore Intel chips or it's not worth downloading and installing. And since, as we have seen in the recent past, that Firefox is actually getting slower with each release, Firefox is certainly a waste of time for anyone who takes their web browsing seriously.

The Hayes Law states that, given a specific type of software project, there is a certain complexity associated with it, and with that complexity an optimal number of developers. It's actually a little more complicated than that, taking into account development model, coding platform, programming language, and code repository platform, but in the end it's easy to plug in the numbers and see where a project's headed.

Against the Hayes Law, Firefox appears to have jumped the shark sometime after the Firefox 2.0 in 2006. The next major release, Firefox 3.0 in 2008, introduced many issues users today complain about: bloat, sloth, instability, and insatiable hunger for memory. Firefox user complaints increased in tandem, all syncing up with the jump in developers. Ergo Firefox's problem: too many cocks in the kitchen.

To further underline this growing problem, Firefox completely falls down in Acid3: Firefox 3.5 scores 93/100, and Firefox 3.6 scores only 87/100. Needless to say, Firefox 4.0 mockups score 0/100. Sadly, this is a continuation of a trend: Firefox took the longest of all browsers to beat Acid2. And don't even think about Acid4. Firefox is collapsing under its own weight.

The core of this problem looms: the number of developers, as seen in the chart above, will only continue to skyrocket for Firefox 3.6 and beyond. By the time Firefox 4.0 is released, sometime in December 2010, the number of developers will be nearly 4,000, almost a full magnitude greater than the optimal 445 or so in 2006. Clearly, Firefox is about to capsize.

So what is to be done? Users can petition the Mozilla Corporation and the Mozilla Foundation to rethink their development model, focus on optimization instead of new features, and perhaps backpedaling on some of the less sensible projects like Mozilla Mobile and the non-standard XUL interface. Concerned individuals should log into Mozill

http://bit.ly/9AvjLc:

The Mozilla development team released Firefox 3.6, codenamed Namoroka, on 21 January 2010 after some anticipation; Firefox 3.5 was a step forward in features but two steps backward in performance. As a minor update, Namoroka was a chance to optimize the last release.

So, now that it's out, did it alleviate some of these problems? Well, let's find out by looking at what 3.6 offers over 3.5.

First and most visible is support for skins, called personas. Firefox developers have been tinkering with the XUL format and they cite its power. They also claim that it has been under-utilized, so personas were a "natural addition."

TraceMonkey received a performance boost, caching more bytecode in RAM using the new "Stored History Integration Table" system which dynamically stores each JavaScript routine as an object in memory in order to more quickly access it during execution.

Firefox's plugin system also received an overhaul, and now lets the user know when a plugin is incompatible. Mozilla also included support for full-screen Theora and WOFF, the Web Open Font File format, as well as additional but otherwise unspecified performance and security enhancements.

Overall, it's a nice list of bullet points for the bump from 3.5 to Nakamora, but the fact that performance wasn't a priority already points away from optimization and to new features. And the features are actually not new at all, but fixes for issues that should have been taken care of during the initial design stages or other numerous upgrades.

For instance, Firefox has been skinnable for years using XUL, and personas are just a hack to this system that allows the user to use bitmapped images as toolbar backgrounds. You are not mistaken if you just had a flashback to Internet Explorer 3.

These personas also slow the browser down, negating any advantage from the TraceMonkey JavaScript engine. One writer on the web even suggests that the TraceMonkey enhancements were done in anticipation of new-feature bloat. Talk about the tail wagging the fox!

Plugin incompatibility usually occurs when a plugin was written for an older version of the plugin system, which demands a question about the wisdom of upgrading the plugin system for Nakamoru the first place. But that's just how Firefox developers roll.

Now, if you're running an incompatible plugin, Firefox alerts you at startup and launches the plugin manager, a JavaScript-based app that contacts Firefox's plugin server and swaps all kinds of metadata in a frantic attempt to update your third party add-ons.

Several of the changes are plainly just developmental masturbation. For example, Theora is the least-used web video codec, with the penetration that the newer QuickTime X has. And WOFF is an open standard that Mozilla wants to support for political reasons that isn't actually in use anywhere.

So what exactly are Mozilla development managers doing?

If a private company with an opaque development model like Apple can apply the breaks and optimize an entire operating system, à la Leopard to Snow Leopard, why can't a public, transparent development team be bothered to do the same for something much less complex like a web

http://bit.ly/d0Glam:

I am often away from my computer for weeks at a time, digging at archaeology sites, before I return to clean, sort, and catalog my finds. And every time I launch my browser of choice, I have to sit through yet another Firefox update.

Sometime's it's a major update, like Firefox 3.6 for instance, but more often than nottoo oftenit's some stupid little tertiary update that requires Firefox to download, quit, root around on the hard drive, and restart with a whole damn brand-new binary. Why?!

Just once I'd like to sit down, boot up, and get to work instead of wading through this slow, irritating process that the Mozilla developers subject me to.

I've become envious of my friends who run Safari, Apple's home-grown browser, which is updated less frequently. If they want more frequent updates, they download and install WebKit, but can otherwise continue on day after day without interruption in Safari.

I like this model, as it lets busy people like me get more work done, so I am thinking of purchasing a Mac. Really, anything to get me away from the time-wasting wreck of a browser that Firefox has become is a good idea.

The Firefox model crashes and burns its users. Literally, too, when you think about all of its other addling bugs and design flaws that crash the browser and burn countless CPU cycles.

So until I can see the web in a whole new way with Safari on a new Mac, it'll be another day, another Firefox update.

Thanks a lot for nothing, Mozilla.

http://bit.ly/d0Glam:

I am often away from my computer for weeks at a time, digging at archaeology sites, before I return to clean, sort, and catalog my finds. And every time I launch my browser of choice, I have to sit through yet another Firefox update.

Sometime's it's a major update, like Firefox 3.6 for instance, but more often than nottoo oftenit's some stupid little tertiary update that requires Firefox to download, quit, root around on the hard drive, and restart with a whole damn brand-new binary. Why?!

Just once I'd like to sit down, boot up, and get to work instead of wading through this slow, irritating process that the Mozilla developers subject me to.

I've become envious of my friends who run Safari, Apple's home-grown browser, which is updated less frequently. If they want more frequent updates, they download and install WebKit, but can otherwise continue on day after day without interruption in Safari.

I like this model, as it lets busy people like me get more work done, so I am thinking of purchasing a Mac. Really, anything to get me away from the time-wasting wreck of a browser that Firefox has become is a good idea.

The Firefox model crashes and burns its users. Literally, too, when you think about all of its other addling bugs and design flaws that crash the browser and burn countless CPU cycles.

So until I can see the web in a whole new way with Safari on a new Mac, it'll be another day, another Firefox update.

Thanks a lot for nothing, Mozilla.

http://bit.ly/d0Glam:

I am often away from my computer for weeks at a time, digging at archaeology sites, before I return to clean, sort, and catalog my finds. And every time I launch my browser of choice, I have to sit through yet another Firefox update.

Sometime's it's a major update, like Firefox 3.6 for instance, but more often than nottoo oftenit's some stupid little tertiary update that requires Firefox to download, quit, root around on the hard drive, and restart with a whole damn brand-new binary. Why?!

Just once I'd like to sit down, boot up, and get to work instead of wading through this slow, irritating process that the Mozilla developers subject me to.

I've become envious of my friends who run Safari, Apple's home-grown browser, which is updated less frequently. If they want more frequent updates, they download and install WebKit, but can otherwise continue on day after day without interruption in Safari.

I like this model, as it lets busy people like me get more work done, so I am thinking of purchasing a Mac. Really, anything to get me away from the time-wasting wreck of a browser that Firefox has become is a good idea.

The Firefox model crashes and burns its users. Literally, too, when you think about all of its other addling bugs and design flaws that crash the browser and burn countless CPU cycles.

So until I can see the web in a whole new way with Safari on a new Mac, it'll be another day, another Firefox update.

Thanks a lot for nothing, Mozilla.

Apple will never replace Darwin with Linux.

From Eric S. Raymond's Slashdot Hangover:

It was dark in the Holland, Michigan office nestled deep within Slashdot's Geek Compound. Shifting and moaning, ESR laid sprawled over his filthy desk. Dried spittle stuck several Post-It notes to his cheek. His PC, running Linux, silently printed swap error after swap error to the screen, lighting ESR's sickly form. As he burped several times he attempted to recall the night before that had led to this stupor. Holding his head in his hands, he was interrupted by lights and doors slamming. Someone was in the office!

As Rob "CmdrTaco" Malda walked past ESR, he noticed the several empty bottles of Jägermeister and what appeared to be fecal stains on the floor and walls surrounding the recovering ESR nothing new. He also noticed the some semen bubbling in the cracks of ESR's chafed lips.

"Another all-night office orgy, Eric?" Rob asked coyly.

Tilting his head gingerly toward Rob and raising his eyebrows slowly, ESR spoke softly. "Oh shit. Is that what happened last night? I believe I blacked out at some point, I can't remember anything. Who was here last night?"

"Well, CowboyNeil got there a little late last night, but he said that by the time he got there that Alan, Emad, Jamie, Michael, and Signal 11 were already pretty drunk," Rob said just a little too loudly for ESR's tender head.

Closing and opening his eyes gently, ESR muttered to himself about having not invited Signal 11. He also started sniffing the air and licking his lips. "I can smell dried feces on a dick a mile away. Just where were you last night, Robbie? You get a piece of ass last night and decide to ditch my party?"

"What's it to you? Your breath smells like semen and you don't hear me asking whose it is," Malda shot back.

ESR smiled and swiveled with a gleam in his eyes. "Ah, but you see, this is my own sperm!"

"And it must taste specfuckingtacular!" Rob shot back.

Eric interjected before Rob could go on. "Ah yes. You see, I like to add a shot of Jäger to it to give it a little kick."

"No," Rob replied with anger rising in his voice, "You fucking raging alcoholic. Your semen tastes like old motor oil. I think you may have ruptured both of your testicles and now your colon is shooting diarrhea out of your cock-hole."

"What!? You little fudge-packing piece of shit!" ESR threatened, "Ditch one of my office parties because Hemos calls up and says he's lonely, will you? I bet that's what happened. Well, guess who I'll be recommending we lay off at the next LNUX board meeting? How do you like that, Taco?"

"Whatever, Eric. You don't scare anyone except your parents," Rob said as he stormed out of ESR's office, his green plaid flannel whipping in the wake behind him. "You would be nothing without Slashdot."

ESR stammered and shook. Ever since the LNUX stock had plummeted, things were so tense around the office. Relations were falling apart between he and the Slashdot admins. Last night, Michael and Jamie had pounded each other exclusively, ignoring ESR's crooked, erect penis, and Eric had to convince Emad and Alan to restrain CowboyNeil before he could engage in homosexual intercourse with him.

With a flick of his wrist, ESR popped a dozen extra-strength Bayers down his stinking gullet and washed them down with some Jäger from the bottle he had woken up holding. Depressed, aching, and on the verge of vomiting up the entirety of last night's semen binge, ESR cried silently and went back to sleep at this desk, ignoring the pile of work that sullied the landscape of his desktop.

Clapping twice to darken his office, ESR curled into fetal position as best he could and rested, preparing to do it all over again later that night.

This story sheds a little light on Wii2.

Firefox has too many developers!

Time to update the old resume, eh?

Guess it's time to update the old resume.

Linux 2012: The Real Disaster

Time to Update the Ol’ LARP Resumé