Slashdot Mirror
Domain: woot.net
Stories and comments across the archive that link to woot.net.
Comments · 7
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Re:Support musicians!
I believe your objection deserved a better treatment than I could give it on Slashdot, so I did so on my own site. Read it here.
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EncouragingI'm very encouraged by the number of games being ported or already ported to Linux. I've made a point of buying games (from Canux) for Linux which I might not have bought before, simply to show both Loki and Canux support. For example, I certainly wouldn't have bought Quake III so early after it was released had it not been important to me to show the numbercrunchers at id and Activision that Linux is a valid platform.
I'm very discouraged, however, by the fact that one very important game to me hasn't been ported or announced by Loki: Half-Life. Valve have to know that this'd kill, and that more people would buy that port than would buy Quake III, probably. I know I'd snap it up right away. And I've made it very clear to a number of companies, when inquiring as to their Linux port status, that I wouldn't buy their games if they weren't available for Linux.
It might sound a little crazy - support for only games for Linux - but, simply put, it needs support. I'm the biggest Free Software advocate out there. Hell, I don't even like the term "Open source." But games are sort of different - I'm not so sure that Free Software will work for all games.
And, in the end, by buying Linux-ported games the market itself is expanding, and more people will get into Linux - and isn't that what we all want?
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EncouragingI'm very encouraged by the number of games being ported or already ported to Linux. I've made a point of buying games (from Canux) for Linux which I might not have bought before, simply to show both Loki and Canux support. For example, I certainly wouldn't have bought Quake III so early after it was released had it not been important to me to show the numbercrunchers at id and Activision that Linux is a valid platform.
I'm very discouraged, however, by the fact that one very important game to me hasn't been ported or announced by Loki: Half-Life. Valve have to know that this'd kill, and that more people would buy that port than would buy Quake III, probably. I know I'd snap it up right away. And I've made it very clear to a number of companies, when inquiring as to their Linux port status, that I wouldn't buy their games if they weren't available for Linux.
It might sound a little crazy - support for only games for Linux - but, simply put, it needs support. I'm the biggest Free Software advocate out there. Hell, I don't even like the term "Open source." But games are sort of different - I'm not so sure that Free Software will work for all games.
And, in the end, by buying Linux-ported games the market itself is expanding, and more people will get into Linux - and isn't that what we all want?
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Free Software 'holding us back'My opinions on Free Software are well known and publicised. It's therefore, with some annoyance, that I want to respond to ESR on his charge that Free Software "held us back for 15 years".
I ask, held us back against what? Seems to me that many (most?) quality pieces of Free Software were produced before the advent of "Open Source" - before it was even conceived. gcc and the whole GNU project, X, Linux, the BSD flavours, to name a few.
So, essentially, everything we needed was completed before ESR, Bruce Perens (sp?) and their cronies came along and started praching the Open Source mantra.
In my mind, Open Source has accomplished nothing of any importance to us. Netscape said that one of the major reasons for the NPL and MPL release of much Netscape software was because of "The Cathedral and the Bazaar" - and, as it later came out, because of Jamie Zawinski's evangelism within the company. In other words, ESR had something to do with it, but Open Source wasn't even around then.
No, I haven't forgotten people like Apple with the monstrosity of a license like the APSL which it peddles. In my mind that shows the negatives of Open Source - that such crap can go on and be accepted and welcomed. Companies should come to us on our terms - on the terms of Free Software - and not the other way around.
Grow up, Eric. It's your New Hacker's Dictionary and all, but I can't help but notice there's an entry for open source in it. Why not tell people what Free Software is? Without it, there would be no Open Source.
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Montreal anybody?
I admit I've been to neither Calgary nor Vancouver, but I don't think anything can out-do Montreal. Just see my rant on the subject - Montreal drivers are the worst I've seen.
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No, I *don't* agreeI didn't agree to anything. I never once said "OK" on a form or signed an agreement when I registered woot.net. Therefore, I will hereby reproduce, transfer, AND modify the data presented to me by my whois request.
scorpio:/home/hosehead$ whois idirect.com
(Modified to work with HTML)
[rs.internic.net]
Registrant:
TUCOWS Interactive Limited (IDIRECT-DOM)
5150 Dundas Street West #306
Etobicoke ON, M9A 1C3
CA
Domain Name: IDIRECT.COM
Administrative Contact, Technical Contact, Zone Contact:
Administrator, DNS (LH90) dnsadmin@IDIRECT.COM
416-233-7150 (FAX) 416-233-6970
Record last updated on 29-Oct-98.
Record created on 21-Nov-94.
Database last updated on 15-May-99 11:44:58 EDT.
Domain servers in listed order:
NS.IDIRECT.COM 199.166.254.254
NS2.IDIRECT.COM 199.166.254.4
CNS2.IDIRECT.COM 207.136.80.18
CNS1.IDIRECT.COM 207.136.66.20
You agree that you will not reproduce, sell, transfer, or modify any of the data presented in response to your search request, or use of any such data for commercial purpose, without the prior express written permission of Network Solutions. -
This is the way things are goingUnfortunately with the greater influx of people into the Open Source/Free Software community, this is what we have to deal with. People in the community used to be very intelligent. I harken back to the earlier days of Slashdot - back about a year ago - when all we saw were intelligent posts, helpful posts, people willing to help no matter what. Now we get First Posts, and flamebait, and everything else. Bruce is right - we just have to develop a thick skin, I think. Ignore the morons and continue to fulfill our own goals - because that's what we're in it for.
More of my thoughts are available on woot.net.