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BusinessWeek on LinuxOne
lactose_intolerant writes "Another "mainstream" look at LinuxOne by BusinessWeek. They too are suspicious. " Pretty icy review right there. Apparently the business world thinks as much of this company as we do. Still it will be interesting to see what happens with this.
Why the hatred for LinuxOne? Because they're doing exactly what the GPL allows and reselling a version of Linux that they themselves haven't changed at all? They're really not that evil, I don't think. Just a couple guys seeing dollar signs... Give them a chance.
Maybe everyone would have a different outlook if they were offering shares back to the community? Probably....
Oh, and maybe possibly first post.
Brilliant, all-round, and hopefully another nail in the coffin of a -very- suspicious IPO.
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
LinuxOne isn't the only company trying to cash in on the IPO craze with a half assed buisness plan. I'm doing it too. Here's my press release:
Shoeboy: The Next Open Source, eCommerce IPO
Seattle, WA Shoeboy, a producer of gametes used in meiotic reproduction, hopes to be one of the next individuals to benefit from the Open Source and eCommerce surges on Wall Street as he readies himself for an IPO.
Shoeboy, based in Seattle, Washington, sells packages of DNA called gametes (or more specifically sperm) that, in conjunction with other gametes known as eggs can produce an embryo that can eventually learn to play the piano and perform integral calculus. The sperm delivery market has traditionally been highly competitive, with even market leaders like Wilt Chamberlain only able to service 20,000 customers. Part of this is due to the primitive and inefficient delivery system know as sex. According to Shoeboy, this is the main reason for Wall Street's dismissal of reproduction as a "hobbyist market."
Shoeboy hopes to overcome these limitations by abandoning sex and selling his sperm over the internet. " eFertilization makes sense as a way to eliminate complexity for customers who have a hard time finding the time and resources for traditional reproduction," said International Data Corp. analyst Jean Bozman. "There's less need for people at the user site to interact with their reproductive system," she said.
"Shoeboy next month plans to file with the Semen Exchange Commission for an initial pubic offering," announced Shoeboy. The IPO itself is scheduled roughly for the end of March.
An IPO, in which an individual sells genetic stock to the public, provides an infusion of cash, but historically has also placed the individual at increased risk of syphilis. This is another area in which Shoeboy's internet solution is preferable to sex. "Sex is too risky," says Bozman. "Increasingly, consumers are going to say, 'Why do we want to fool around with other people when we can get something prepackaged, and it's no muss, no fuss?'"
Skeptics have argued that Shoeboy's plans reflect desperation rather than innovation. "This is simply a last ditch effort after the catastrophic failure of Shoeboy's 'One Size Disappoints All' marketing campaign," said Technology Business Research analyst Joe Ferlazzo. "Additionally, Shoeboy has a history of dissatisfied customers. He just doesn't have the equipment to do the job well."
Shoeboy admits that his record is not a successful one, but he argues that the problems he encountered do not apply to the internet business model. "First off, equipment isn't an issue. My equipment is the most compact in the industry, and I have extremely low latency - were talking 8 seconds here. Then there's bandwidth - In the last year I've managed to fill 36 pint jars - any more and I'd have to get a bigger freezer. The real obstacle to my sperm distribution has been the unwillingness of my customers to be in the same room with me. With the internet, now they don't even have to be in the same state! What could go wrong?"
Shoeboy is also quick to point out that his product is completely open source. "Since all future products based on my DNA source code will (by age 13 or so) feel a nearly uncontrollable urge to redistribute their own DNA source code, I am in compliance with the terms of the GPL - just like Linux." Linux, an open-source operating system that competes with Windows NT, was the basis for several successful IPOs in 1999, including Red Hat, VA Linux Systems and Cobalt Networks. VA Linux, in particular, had a record first trading day last month.
Shoeboy hopes to raise nearly $35 million dollars through the IPO. This money will be used to purchase several jars of Vaseline, a subscription to "Barely Legal" and the Shoeboy.com domain.
--Shoeboy
LinuxOne claims to be reselling, but nobody has found any evidence that they are really doing so. They also claim to have a Chinese-language version of Linux. Again, nobody has seen it. $4677 in software development costs in 1999 would not have been enough to even translate output messages, let alone test the changes. So what we have is a company lying about having products and hoping the financial markets won't see through their story before the IPO hits the boards. I'd call that cause for contempt, and BusinessWeek seems to agree.
Jenny
They've earned it. They were unknown until they filed for they're IPO, they didn't even have a product at the time. Everything about it says two-bit operation, and it appears they just want to cash in on the popularity of the "Linux" name. Contrast this company with VA Linux, who has been around for years, with a solid reputation built around their products. Linux One doesn't deserve empathy.
Them and the freaks trying to patent the name "Linux". A bunch of maggots come to feed. They offer no value, no give back to the community, no nothing.The Linux community has chance to actually affect the quality and tone of Linux.The windoze world has swimming in crapware,buggy software & the like. Here is Linux new and shiny and under the loving influence of the community that built it.We should not let the vermin in to pillage and plunder !
Tired of being another body in the flock? Linux ! We are not sheep anymore.
Anybody I've ever heard has said that an IPO has to be carfully orchestrated and publicized in order to succeed. From the looks of this the only publicity is bad and nobody at the company is willing to promote it. The only way I could see it making money is if the day traders jump on it and attract the ignorant. Otherwise, the poeople who would be stupid enough to buy in won't be smart enough to know it's there.
Talk about a harsh review! Makes me glad i don't have any money to invest. :-)
Give 'em a break.
Their stock symbol alone is going to guarantee a succesful IPO!
But, expect these to sell off very quickly after the initial opening, when people start wondering what exactly they are holding.
Damn Scam-artists.
Is LinuxOne offering anything to the community, or are they just trying to fleece a gullible public with a bogus stock offering?
Say what you want about RedHat, but they do pay the salaries of Linux developers, and their web page if informative.
Doesn't VALinuxhost a lot of Linux oriented web pages for free?
I'm afraid LinuxOne will make Linux become a ghetto for flim flam artists and scammers, like web page design was in the 90's.
George
set to what music? lyrics are nice music is better
That could be worth something to someone. Not necessarily a lot, and if the actions of the company sully the names, the names lose value.
But for someone wanting to start a Linux company, buying LINX out would represent an interesting way of getting onto the stock market, so long as their price wasn't too high.
I'd think a million dollars to be "too high," personally...
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.
Nice satire, I like it...
You couldn't buy something from this company if you tried, whether a linux distro, office furniture or a break. There are no deliverables, honey. The only thing for sale at LinuxOne are share certificates.
illegitimii non ingravare
How much of the touted stick market gain can be accounted for by volitaile tech stock these days? A good number of the .com's including Amazon don't post a profit, and are loosing money faster than LinuxOne. Almost like LinuxOne has a better financial outlook.
.com they won't care weather or not we have a real product.
Regardless, the price on internet companies, legitemate or not is overinflated, this sort of thing just points out how ridiculous the actual stock market behavior is.
J. Lartbait: Hey this web stuff is the hot new thing
T. Clueless: Yeah, let's get in on the action
J. Lartbait: but running an online store is to much work and I can't figure out this whole HTML thing, and we'd need lots of startup capital.
T. Clueless: Maybee there's something that's available for free that we can sell for a profit... like air.
J. Lartbait: Right, I heard about something like that Linux.
T. Clueless: But how do we get Linux? It's free right...
J. Lartbait: Don't worry about that. People are so blinded by the
the rest is just a story.
Honestly, who wouldn't want to make a million dollars?
Southpark I think
More race stuff in one place,
than any one place on the net.
Then, there's the cut-and-paste filing. Sorry, but there's nothing virtuous about being able to use Windows Notepad.
Third, there's this little matter of return. What are the shareholders going to be getting for their hard-earned cash? At present, sod all.
Fourthly, there's that ticker marker - LINX. Don't tell me that they couldn't have found a different set of letters that would denote their company just as well, if not better, without obviously trying to confuse non-tech investors into buying into what they think is the Linux OS itself.
Fifthly, there's that leeetle "lie" about Linux Lite running under Windows. Look it up in their FAQ. It doesn't actually run under Windows at all. Linux Lite is nothing more than "loadlin" with window-dressing.
Last, but by no means least, they say they've 10 employees, earning between $60-$80K -EACH-, and they only had the cash left to spend $4K on development. You'd blow more than $4K on computers and other necessary junk, just to start the damn company up! In short, they really didn't spend a cent on developing a single line of code. That's what they're saying.
They -are- allowed to resell Linux, sure. A lot of people do. Cheapbytes has probably made a mint on the process. What they are -not- allowed to do is defraud investors or prosopective customers by outright deception. And, yes, even the few "half-truths" are still deception. Either a claim is honest and open or it isn't. And theirs ain't.
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
This company is almost guarnteed success with a name like LinuxOne and a ticker of LINX. They're shareholders are going to be mostly yuppies that have heard of this wonderful thing called linux, yet they know nothing about it other than that they want a piece of it. Welcome to corporate america.
=======
There was never a genius without a tincture of madness.
My Company, Nothing Inc, is planning on making a Initial Public Offering on the NASDAQ exchange.
We do not produce anything, we do not offer any services, and we do not distribute anything. Essentially, we make nothing, do nothing, sell nothing. Our annual turnover is zero, profits zero, however we have great potential for making future profits, as you must have realised by now.
Given the high demand for stocks from such companies, such as thisandthatportal.com and Linuxone, we believe you are making the right decision by investing in our stock.
Our initial asking offer is US$10.00 per share, but we believe that before the end of the first day of trading, our shares are going to be worth US$100.00 each.
Thank you very much for your interest
(signed)
N. Othing
CEO
Nothing Inc.
LinuxOne is cashing in on the hype (duh), but rather than taking a relaxed whats-the-worst-that-could-happen-to-me approach we ought to be out there telling people not to make a bad business decision. If we play our cards right the "linux community" (cough) would come out with a greater credibility - not only do we know the technology, but we know how to use it in the marketplace. If investors are NOT burned as a result of listening to us, they'll be willing to do it again when a company that *really can* make money comes along. Our support (think: CUSTOMERS) ought to be something a company in this market strives for.. not something to be easily discounted. If we want a community, we've gotta fight for it, and we have to act like one. This starts with a condemnation of those who are out to damage it.
Seems they prefer Red Hat over their own Linux. That's interesting.
$ telnet www.linuxone.net 80
Trying 216.101.248.91...
Connected to rinoa.LinuxOne.NET.
Escape character is '^]'.
HEAD / HTTP/1.0
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2000 19:38:38 GMT
Server: Apache/1.3.6 (Unix) (Red Hat/Linux)
Last-Modified: Sat, 08 Jan 2000 03:26:04 GMT
ETag: "dc003-3642-3876ae4c"
Accept-Ranges: bytes
Content-Length: 13890
Connection: close
Content-Type: text/html
Connection closed by foreign host.
I have to admit that this article brightened my day a bit. I'm glad that the guys in suits have enough common sense to see what LinuxOne is trying to be. Maybe there's hope for those business folk after all?
;)
Nah.
Of all the sites that could use a good defacing, this would be one of them. At least redirect their traffic to RedHat or some other decent Linux site.
As much as I hate to see people who have nothing to do with (or contribute to) Linux take advantage of it to try to make a quick million or two, all we can do is inform potential investors of the scam they are pulling. Luckily, Business Week did just that. It's a trusted source, read by alot of investors, so it will help protecting folks who will probably lose their investment in that company anyway.
Unfortunately, If people still go ahead and invest in that company.. then there is not much that can be done, and the scam will have succeeded. Their plan is one of misinformation of investors. Counter measure? Information. =)
Also, This kind of scam could not happen over "strongly licensed" software, since the company who owns that software would certainly not allow it. However, in a free software world, people are bound to like their new-found software liberties, and some will unfortunately abuse them to make a quick capitalist buck.
"I remember Y1K, every abacus had to get another bead"
A couple of weeks ago, when there was speculation about RedHat buying Corel, everyone here was saying how much credence some people in the investment community give to the discussions on Slashdot. If the majority of the comments regarding LinuxOne say that the company adds no value to the Linux community and will not help Linux expand its presence in any market, won't the "smart money" avoid the stock? (And, what could anyone do to protect the dumb money? Even the SEC can't stop every scam.)
If anything, I would argue that LinuxOne could benefit the community by clearly pointing out the value that companies like RedHat, VA Linux, and LinuxCare are bringing to the market.
--
Dave Aiello
-- Dave Aiello
"Meept some friends of mine"
That's good stuff. Ignore those without humor who mark you as flamebait. A few of us here appreciate the funny lyrics.
If tits were wings it'd be flying around.
2. Short LINX at 10
3. Wait for bubble to burst
4. Buy To Cover at
--
sporter
An "index fund" is a very low-overhead mutual fund that buys a giant list of stocks. They don't pay people to figure out what's hot, they just automatically buy some of everything (over-simplified description). A typical index fund charges $2 to $3 per year for each $1000 you give them to invest.
at the heart of the system -- is open and free for anyone to look at
and change, as long as they post those changes on the Internet so that
anyone else can use them.
Obviously wrong. This is when I stop wasting my time reading poorly researched material.
So whose bad idea was it to make "Flat" the default threading mode now? It makes it rather difficult to read replies to the articles now...
Are you at your karma whoring schemes again? Everything you have just said was already stated in the article, in case you bothered to read it. If you simply repeated what the article said for those who did not read it, lay off the +1 Bonus.
He might be. His quote of Bruce Perens is nearly verbatim from this post by Bruce.
I have no doubt that the company is a TOTAL sham, etc. But, in the articles I have read, they all say, "The website has only a logo that allows you to email the company". I think this is WRONG. I think their website is ".net", not ".com". I could be wrong, but I doubt it. The ".net" address looks much more like a site that would be part of a scam.
If (when?) LinuxOne has its IPO, it should separate the cautious investor who takes the time to research his/her purchase from the devil-may-care daytrader who is ready to buy stock with Linux in the name. Caveat emptor
When a mosquito bites you, do you think:
"Aw, the poor thing's just trying to 'make a living'"?
or do you swat the irritating parasite.
That's all these people are, parasites. Sucking life from the media frenzy surrounding Linux. And they need to be swatted.
--Mark
I was at the "Silicon Valley Linux Users Group" monthly meeting last week and Donnie Barnes of Red Hat was presenting. Near the end, someone had a humerous question about LinuxOne for Donnie which he diplomatically brushed off. In the din of laughter, I heard this lone individual say "Oh wait, I'm from LinuxOne ... nevermind." Apparently they wanted to speak out but were nervous or something. I could never identify who this person was since they were behind me somewhere in the seats.
Second: all the people who laughed at Red Hat and missed out on the smoking deal of the year are looking for a Linux scapegoat to dump on. Linux One will be that scapegoat. In fact if we manage to slit its throat without getting blood all over the other goats, it will perform a useful expiatory service for us!
Why doesn't anyone else get it? Microsoft is behind LinuxOne. They want to destroy Linux, and driving the "Linux" name into the mud is the best way to do it. It's such a simple plan. Have a few thousand people loose their nest eggs to "Linux" and suddenly there's more bad word of mouth floating around the world than Microsoft could buy with $30 million in marketing and advertising.
The end is here ladies and gentlemen. Linux will be slaughtered in the stock market. It will be banned by business as a "phony who can't deliver," Microsoft will use the LinuxOne saga in ad campaigns.
Start porting all your apps to BSD and GNU/HURD. GNU will rise from the ashes of Linux and defeat the vile Antichrist Gates! Linus will be avenged my friends! GNU will avenge us with the righteous sword of Open Source!!!!
Sending KILL signal to "Paranoid Conspiracy" Daemon
"Paranoid Conspiracy" Daemon is now shut down
"Live Free or Die." Don't like it? Then keep out of the USA
Hey, give these guys a break. I mean if they are really fly by night as everyone suggests then they will wither up and go away. Of course be cautious when buying stock or products. I mean I know what its like to just start out as a small business, no one takes you serious and then after a while you start to build a reputation. If they are a real thing they will last, but there is no point in trashing them from the start... give 'em a chance at least.
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson
NPS Internet Solutions, LLC
"Get your domain name for only $45"
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson
NPS Internet Solutions, LLC
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson
www.haidacarver.com
One problem (of many) with shorting a company's stock. . . You will be left high and dry if trading is suspended in the underlying stock. Which is a definite possiblity in this case. (as always, past performance does not guarantee future returns)
I did some poking around. The linuxopen.com domain they own is hosted off of a T1 with some company described as 'pacmicro'. If you sniff around www.linuxone.net, you'll find that it's an ADSL connection via pacbell. It's running a stock redhat 6.0/6.1 and probably has the vulnerable BIND installed on it (that's an open port BTW).
I would challenge someone to explore that situation a little more and report back their results.
That $4677 is probaby a new computer and ADSL and hosting costs.
http://linuxtoday.com/story.php3?sn=14933
ETOYS gets 80 MILLION during the Christmas season.
Seems bullying is profitable nowadays. Hope they
get burned alive in the upcoming lawsuit.
I'll be brief. I'm a member of KULUA, the Kansas Unix/Linux Users Association, a LUG here in Kansas. LinuxOne is in the spamming business too, as is evident on our list from time to time. What more do I need before I decide I hate them?
Do you know how many top-notch programmers I could hire in China for $4677? Four years ago I could get one with a Master's for about $2.50 per day. Think about it.
According to the Business Week review, all the links to other linux distro sites (assuming that was actually a product they were offering) are dead. Only a little under 5K in development money spent? $0 profits? There is nothing illegal to what they are doing, but they aren't offering any way for the company (or shareholders) to profit! It is a scam. And that's why people are upset.
-- perl -e'print pack"H*","6e656d6f406d38792e6f7267"'
. . . it likely IS thier linux. From what I understand, the first LinuxOne beta was a BARELY modified RedHat; where they didn't even finish changing all the names from "RedHat" to "LinuxOne". I personally haven't seen the beta, or the first release that came out ONE MONTH later, but I don't imagnie all that much changed in that short of time.
These guys are so many flavors of shady it hurts.
Bad things often happen to good people,
It is up to them to see that they remain good.
We're starting to sound like a Religion.
Now, I think it's important to have a sense of unity and be able to do things together, but all this blather about the Community makes it sound like we are all the same, or at least, we all have common goals and ambitions. It sounds like we're all here to defend the Linux "name brand", to uphold the Faith, to chase the Infidels back to the dark holes they have emerged from.
Excuse me, but I already have a religion, and it's not Linux. I am here (1) to make money (i.e., my work), (2) to have a good time using software that's fun and (3) help out some other people (like kids in schools or NFP organizations). Linux happens to be the best tool I've found to do this, but that doesn't mean I worship the Brand Name.
If some stupid investors lose their shirts on a bobus IPO, I'll shed no tears over them. It won't affect my goals (1), (2) or (3) above. If anything, it will deflate the incredible hype over all things Linux, and perhaps we can all get back to real work again.
No. People hate LinuxONE either because (1) they are jealous ("Why can't I make millions like they do?"), or (2) because they are taking it as a slap in their collective faces (the "community" thing) or (3) because they are honestly bothered by the lies and broken promises that this guy has left in his wake.
This is not my Crusade however. I am glad that the news is getting out, and it sounds like this whole thing is going to flop, but I'll lose no sleep over it. I have more important things to worry about than some sheister taking advantage of my favorite hobby.
Your Servant, B. Baggins
Notepad doesn't have Search and Replace.
-no broken link
If anything, I would argue that LinuxOne could benefit the community by clearly pointing out the value that companies like RedHat, VA Linux, and LinuxCare are bringing to the market.
let me guess. you're a "The glass is half full" kind of guy. you'd probably rationalize getting rape as being a positive experience because at least one person got to cum.
go back to pencil pushing, punk. hmmm...that was alliterative. i'll copyright it.
nslookup www.linuxone.com
Non-authoritative answer: Name: www.mlerp.com
Address: 208.231.31.25
Aliases: www.linuxone.com
Oh! Have a look at it. The www.mlerp.com is even weirder than the linuxone.com, have a look. But actually, the right and correct LinuxOne site is www.linuxone.net. There's a link at the linuxone.com site, but it can't be seen if ones eyeballs are in ones anus.
Sometimes the victim does as well!
The product selection has a flea-market/surplus feel to it (a box of XT floppy controllers for $1 each, used diskettes for $0.10 - just peel off the old MS Windows label). The list of CDs includes about a dozen linux-related labels but the back of the CD on the shelf touts it as one of the most complete distributions for 1997.
I asked for one of the well-known distributions and was told that "we have our own" and was directed to two stacks of boxes.
One stack was labeled Winlinux. A box was open and I looked inside. There is a bright yellow CD with www.super-telecom.com on it. That domain does not appear to exist though it also appears in some of PSs print ads. The instructions were a short center-folded 8.5x11 photocopy of rather bad quality. From what I could read, the purchaser was supposed to contact eilink to "activate" the product. Nobody was available who could answer my questions but it appeared to be some sort of pre-configured version of Linux that was designed to connect a small office to the eilink ISP.
Next to that stack was a stack of LinuxOne. The box appeared to be vintage generic flea-market with bright colors and superlatives such as Super Value on the back and a boilerplate shrink-wrap license on the front. The only thing that indicated what product was inside was the LinuxOne manual (another cheesy-looking photocopy number) shrink-wrapped to the front of the box.
I didn't feel like shelling out the $30 to buy either product so I can't comment on what is on the disk or on the quality of any available technical support. Using the look of the packaging and manual as a guide, however, I wouldn't expect much.
The site doesnt seem busy, but everytime I try ftp into 140.174.127.95 it says connection refused!
Here is a better plan:
7 a48b53-051fa9a0
http://www.segfault.org/story.phtml?mode=2&id=3
Jazilla.org - the Java Mozilla
It's 10 PM. Do you know if you're un-American?
LinuxOne now has a PowerPC product. One of their people showed up at Macworld Expo, at our booth. We were stunned -- an actual person! And he took one of our CDs and wandered off. (The CDs were free.) We were too stunned to say anything... but they may be making an announcement any day now about a PowerPC port. ;)
-- haaz.
at the Harry Shearer Le Show archive , right he re (Should be the June 13th show) - while your there you may check out the Nov 7 program with "Male Models sell their sperm online" and "Bill Gates plans his next move".
Boojum
try { do() || do_not(); } catch (JediException err) { yoda(err); }
Well it pains me to say this but yes, in fact, before the expo (by a few weeks) I stopped by LinuxOne's website and they had announced a Mac port of their software. (Their being the key word). This was in mid-December. Now, checking their site, I see that it is still advertised though now they may actually have a product thanks to your generosity :/. LinuxOne's LinuxMac product page
"In individuals, insanity is rare, but in groups, parties, nations, and epochs it is the rule." -Nietzsche
From www.linuxone.net
The Company's extensions to the Linux software kernel will rapidly distinguish its products from all other available Linux software.
Emphasis added...
http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2000/01/06/story/0 000018554
That could be a delicate matter -- would Linus want to start distinguishing between companies and people authorized to use the Linux mark and ones which are not? That's a slippery slope. Is that even possible now given the multitude of "Linux" products and the usual requirements that trademark rights be defended vigorously?
if (serious company) then
think of idea
get funding
create product
ipo
else
bring in spin doctors
ipo
OK, they have an office in Taipei (established 11 days ago). They do not claim another office in China. And they are selling LinuxLite in Chinese, but if it's only a front-end (as another poster pointed out) then output from Linux itself will still be in English. This does not count as a serious localization effort--it's more like slapping a Chinese label over the English on the RedHat box without ever opening it up. Too bad, because localizing Linux would be one way to generate a unique product, and bring Linux to a much larger slice of the world. And isn't it odd that the IPO paperwork doesn't mention ANY of their planned localizations (Spanish and Japanese) of LinuxLite? You would expect a company planning to expand in a major way would highlight all their plans for spending that new investment. Unless they didn't plan to spend it on the company, of course.
Jenny
We actually Slashdotted BusinessWeek? That's a new record. Let's all head to Yahoo and see if we can disrupt 200million+ hits a day in traffic :)
--
I think there is a world market for maybe five personal web logs.
It's not a LinuxOne site, it's pr0n.
In case you were wondering why that post was moderated as a "Troll." Thought those of you at work might especially appreciate the warning.
I knew you could. Seems like BW hit the nail on the head: they are trying to sell a stock symbol, make it rich, and probably disappear. I wouldn't invest a dollar in these idiots. But with exposure like this, they might as well call it quits and move on. Better off dumping the $$$ into that lithography ship....
> Oh, and maybe possibly first post.
HA HA, NO WAY D00D!
WHAT A L00Z3R!!!!!!!!!
See their website http://www.linuxone.net/. They do have a product. Apparently they have some sort of Linux-in-Windows shell. So much for shoddy business practices, their technology is idiotic. As far as I can see, that's not an OS, that's an emulator. It would seem that they're deceiving the public left and right. I don't like the looks of this.
WARNING: there is a trojan on your
I was checking out the linuxone site. I thought for hoots, I'd try to order a product. The ordering page wont come up. So then I tried to visit the base url of the ordering page: gabriel.linuxopen.com. It is the base apache install including the documentation!! good grief.
Anyone who does not see through LinuxOne as a sham, is an idiot. Anyone who will buy stock in this company just because it has the word Linux in it, is an idiot. Anyone who thinks that Linux is bad because a large number of people were idiots, is an idiot.
Now who does this really hurt, except other idiots? I hate to break this to you, but when it comes down to it, the incompetent by their very nature are not going to make one bit of difference. Those intelligent enough to judge something on its own merit will reap the benefits of it. And if that means less people using Linux, I'd be fine with it.
I need a driver for the "F" model.
In The Distinguished Gentleman he played the role of Thomas Jefferson Johnson where (as summarized in us.imdb.org):
"A Florida con man uses the passing of the long time Congressman from his district who he just happens to share a name with, to get elected to his version of paradise, Congress, where the money flows from lobbyists. But soon he learns the nature of the game and decides to fight back the only way he knows how, with a con."
Yep, he used a well known name and got elected. Let's hope reality doesn't copy fiction!
Yes, Bilbo, there is a Linux Community. It exists as certainly as freedom and generosity and
Source Code exist, and you know that they abound and give to your computer its most reliable operating system. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Linux Community! It would be as dreary as if there were no Slashdot.
I am a member of any number of "communities" and I'm happy to say that in none of them is everyone all the same. We share the defining characteristic, but often little else.
Getting the truth out about LinuxOne is a real sucess story for the Linux Community. It has happened because Bruce Perens put information on technocrat.net and in large part because there were discussions here.
I have discovered a truly marvelous sig, unfortunately the sig limit is too small to contain i
In my articles about this company for The Register and LinuxWorld Online, I raised questions about LinuxOne's fulfillment of its GPL obligation to provide access to source code. I'm happy to report that the company appears to have substantively corrected its omission, in this area: The on-line order form now includes a checkbox to request source code, at no extra charge.
That is a welcome development, and I applaud it.
Credit where due, folks: It's only fair.
As to the rest: As I mentioned in my (and Eileen Cohen's) LinuxWorld article, if LinuxOne can carry through on its ambitions to produce and distribute Chinese- and Japanese-language versions, I'll be the first to cheer them on.
And I won't be investing in this firm, for reasons amply described, but I nonetheless wish them luck.
why ? to waste the points of a few karma-whoring moderators
keep spendin most our lives livin in a slashdot paradise
been trollin once or twice livin in a slashdot paradise
awww yeah
"He'd fly to the States, buy memory, pack it in his suitcase and fly back to Taiwan to sell to the highest bidder."
In keeping with the title. Wouldn't customs be asking a lot of questions about the suitcase full of memory? And what, no tariffs?
This is complete nonsense, and demonstrates how totally bogus information is fed to us by the "most prestigious" media outlets in the country. I'm not a lawyer, but I've been writing and publishing tech articles and books for over 20 years.
Neither the SEC nor any other body has the right or power to remove copyright protection from ANY written work. Copyright protection is provided by an international treaty that has been signed by almost all of the countries of the world except China. Before we could approve the treaty, we were required to bring the U.S. copyright statues into conformance with international law. For example, our copyright protection was extended from 29 years until the author's death, and then to the death of the person who first inherited the right from the author. This prevented classic works from passing into the public domain before the author's death, something that happened routinely to authors who didn't understand their requirements to re-register the work after 29 years.
The salient part of the treaty here is something called "common law copyright." Under this provision any original work, whether written by an individual or a company, is protected by common law copyright from the instant that it is placed in a form accessible to human beings -- that is, when it is written down or recorded. The process of registering your work with the Copyright Office is simply a legal protection, so that you can prove that you claimed authorship from such and such a date. It is absolutely not required that you apply for or be granted an official copyright in order for your work to protected>/B>. All you must prove is original authorship.
Notice the following disclaimer on SlashDot: "The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. Slashdot is not responsible for what they say." This little bit of legalese simply restates the common law copyright rule: if you wrote it, you own it!
I don't really know why
maybe it's my sadistic streak
but I feel if people do get burned
the linux hype will cease
Which can only be a good thing
surely.
damn thats funny.
if you slow down the slashdot theme, you can hear it for yourself. this is what kenny is saying
"i like hot grits down my snowsuit
i like petrified natalie portman"
you have to listen carefully
Does this remind anyone of the Simpsons episode where Homer starts an Internet business? He has nothing but a desk and a pencil behind his ear.
The comic store guy asks him for T-1 this and multiplex gigabit that and can Homer provide that for him? Homer stares back at him blankly and says "Can I please have some money now?"
I never thought I'd see it done just like that in real life, but here it is. LinuxOne.
Here is an idea. Setup a trust fund! If a company want's to use the Linux trademark to sell a product they have to pay say $5000 to the Linux trust fund as a licensing fee. Then this money gets redistributed back into the community to pay for free software projects.
You're right. No tariffs. Go to Asia and see all the tiny little shops selling all kinds of imported Italian leather jackets, German Leica cameras, Intel CPUs, etc, etc. As I said, business is run very differently there. I (like many other people on visa runs) used to travel the Triangle: Taipei, Hong Kong, Korea. I'd be carrying electronic components, buttons, Rolex watches, designer luggage etc. It's a DIFFERENT way of doing business....and it's legal. Believe it or not, everything in the world is NOT done like in South Bumfuck, Arkansas.
I don't think so. The world is full of both suckers and those who take advantage of suckers. If someone uses the "Linux" name to take advantage of suckers, they might generate some bad press, but as you can see by the current crop of news articles, most journalists can recognize an obvious sham when they see one.
What worries me more is the possibility of a legitimate company like RedHat or VA Linux running into problems (real or perceived), which will do a lot more to create deep down distrust for "free" software. Another possibility is a big news story about someone planting a serious Trojan inside an Open Source program. Again, this could cause a deep seated distrust for Open Source - products which are not tightly controlled by a corporate entity which can be held responsible.
Of course, the fact that MS has hidden functions in its systems to download customer information to MS hasn't appeared to hurt its ability to sell huge quantities of software... ;-/
Your Servant, B. Baggins
And Salon, of course, is the first to report on it.
--
Wage Slave Journal
For a lot of people, myself included, there IS something inherantly wrong with dishonesty. The reason why so many in the 'Linux Community' are upset is because they (LinuxOne) are being dishonest with our name attached. In the long run, it is going to affect our credibility.
On the contrary, according to Fool.com (sorry don't remember the link), if a company files for bankruptcy shorts don't need to cover. Effectively, it is like covering at zero .
However, I still think we take ourselves too seriously. When I start reading, "we ought to be out there..." or "If we play our cards right...", I start to worry. I do not consider myself an anarchist, but even I like a little anarchy now and then. After all, it is a fundamental building block of the Internet. There are a lot of things in life worth fighting for, but I don't think a "loose-knit but well-connected community" is one of them. Working for? YES! But let's focus our attention and energy on making Good Software, not on punishing people who might damage our "brand name".
After all, isn't it the "battle mentality" that got Microsoft into the state it's in now???
Your Servant, B. Baggins
I doubt that the idea of "tariffs" is one found only in Arkansas. If someone is conducting a business off of merchandise that they carry illegally through _US_ customs that's "fishy," no matter _how_ they operate in Asia.
"The horse leech's daughter is a closed system. Her quantum of wantum does not vary."
Too bad we cannot fast forward the clock to see what history will say about all this ;-)
I am impressed. He says Paraphrased... "its a free operating system owned by thousands of programmers who work on it." Thats the closest to the truth ive read in a lot of 'main stream' stuff. pretty cool someone actually took the time to get a little understanding of linux. I dont think everyone out there is clueless. And do you guys really think any potential investor just drops a wad of cash into a company with the name of Linux? really anyone important with lots of money? I can tell you the answer is no. They do a lot of research on companies. Your average day trader may get a little burned but no ones going to get really hurt. ahh well.
-JA
I can carry almost anything *out* of the US. Customs is usually worried about what you bring *in*.
on the bottom of LinuxOne's web page(the one following the "no content - good page" philosophy) there's a (barely visable) link to www.linuxone.net.
interesting, eh?
---
---
Killroy Woz Here
Yep, he said confidently, I'd invest everything in that IPO....
I sugest the RedHat lawyers that did the SEC filing go after them for copyright infringment.
>It's a DIFFERENT way of doing business....and >it's legal. Believe it or not, everything in the >world is NOT done like in South Bumfuck, >Arkansas.
If everyone cheated, the world would be like
umm...your country maybe? Ruined your own
economy with corruption stealing and such,
so you must do your stealing across national
borders. That's real nice. Your a real entrapreneur.
Don't pat yourself on the back too hard, jerky.
Believe me, the press will lap this up when the LinuxOne IPO implodes.
So maybe the market will beat LINX below $5 without any help. But if it's still > $5 30 days after IPO, my short-selling ass is there!
linuxone will make millions, but then people will find out the truth. And the end result will be very bad for linux, and will mean much less money for linux companies and future projects.
ftp://140.174.127.95/pub/LinuxOne/ ... /pub/LinuxOne/LinuxOne_OS/doc/rescue.txt you see: .i386. What a crock.
LinuxOne_OS and LinuxOne_Lite. in
This document describes how rescue mode works in Red Hat Linux 5.1.
Oh yeah, and they use package-name.i586.rpm files too, 'stead of
the real at&t mix
Their FTP site is really hard to navigate. Seeing as I'm stuck with Windows on this box, I'm going to try "LinuxOne Lite". It's a huge download... 312 mb of "linuxsys.img" which is probably the install image or something. And a huge file called SWAPFILE... I have DSL so I'm getting the file just in case, but I'm not sure as to whether or not it needs it. If it is just a swap file, why the hell is it in the distribtuion directory? :)
I've also noticed that the files are not compressed, and there are several directory trees on the server (one of them contains a file called i386 which, when browsing with text-mode ftp, looks like it could be a directory, but isn't.)
These guys really have the feel of a fly-by-night company.
BTW, is L1 based on Red Hat or something? Or is it custom? I'll be replying to my own comment with what I've found out about L1, and whether it meets my standards of acceptance (I'm a debian user, myself, so I know what quality is
My replies should appear shortly..
The download has finished now, really shortly after my first message (as of this writing, the first comment isn't static yet).
Just read the previous post, saying L1 is mandrake-based... should be interesting. IIRC, Mandrake is Red Hat based... which might mean, that if this distro isn't _exactly_ Mandrake, that it is at least a decent distro, though not what I would call a "required" one.
Well, I'm off to install L1 Lite. Will update soon.
I like it! The IPO-watchers should flock to this one, seeing as it combines the buzzwords of software and biotechnology. Still, some caution is advised.
One problem with distributing DNA source code via gametes is that in that form it won't even compile, much less run. Gametes need to be combined with their corresponding gametes (sperm with egg, f'rinstance) in order to result in usable output. By distributing only sperm over the Internet, Shoeboy cannot guarantee the quality of the resulting product.
This problem might be partially remedied if Shoeboy were to distribute both sperm and eggs over the internet. Since this is probably not feasable in the immediate future, Shoeboy might have to contract with - or even merge with - another company which specializes in egg production. Given Shoeboy's past performance, this doesn't seem likely.
Shoeboy is also quick to point out that his product is completely open source. "Since all future products based on my DNA source code will (by age 13 or so) feel a nearly uncontrollable urge to redistribute their own DNA source code, I am in compliance with the terms of the GPL - just like Linux."
Since only 1/2 (on average) of any resulting zygotes' DNA would be based on Shoeboy's code, it's impossible to say whether they would comply with the terms of the GPL. While some of them might be compelled to "redistribute their own DNA source code" by age 13 or so, experience suggests that many others - particulary those with redundancy in the so-called X chromosome portion of the code - might take far longer to experience this urge. Others might lack it entirely. While it can be argued that, without exception, all previous implementations of Shoeboy's code succeeded in redistributing themselves, it's important to remember that "past performance does not guarantee future results". The past is littered with failed implementations of open-source DNA code.
It's a clever (not to mention laugh-out-loud funny) idea, but given the problems inherent in meiotic reproduction, it is doubtful that internet distribution of gametes will be any better than doing it the old-fashioned way. Personally, I favor the mitotic approach, avoiding the use of gametes entirely. If some company (drox.com, perhaps?) found a way to eliminate the need for random-chance recombination of the DNA source code, the usefulness of future distributions could be more easily assured.
Well, it didn't quite work out the way I thought it would. LinuxOne Lite is a UMSDOS image-file and loadlin, but it doesn't start... this is probably because of one of three things:
/dev/hda1 and it isn't finding one (i got a "read past end of drive" or something message.)
either
1. It doesn't come set up properly, even though I did everything L1's website says to do, so it's their fault
or
2. FAT32 screws up UMSDOS (i got an ext2 error message though, go figure)
or
3. The image file is just a big crapola file and so is the SWAPFILE (see my previous post), and the initrd.img file is an actual kernel which is looking for an ext2 partition on
Anybody have any ideas? Reply in here, I'm checking back ever so often.
Hopefully it's just FAT32, I can convert a partition back... it would be nice to have Linux again and now I'm getting all exciteable about it.
What is that strange symbol used as the "O" in the LinuxOne logo? According to our panel of experts, it's:
Jay (=
Well, like you said, you're not a lawyer.
The SEC most certainly *does* have the power to insist that copyright in S-1's filed with it is either waived or surrendered to the SEC. It effectively does so, at least for the purposes of subsequent filings.
Secondly, making an official filing, including with the SEC, is a form of fair use. Similarly, I can't preclude you from making a particular legal argument by copyrighting it before you sue.
Unrelatedly, common-law copyright is not the same thing as not having to register. Since the '76 Act went into effect 22 year ago, common law copyright has not existed in the U.S.
I Can't Believe It's A Law Firm, LLP does not necessarily endorse the contents of this message.
Despite the name, the site doesn't claim that LinuxMac is a PPC distro. It says it's "makes reading and writing Macintosh format files viable" which seems to be equivalent to TransMac for Windows. I've tried a couple of times to use Mac disks. I've never been able to get it to work. I assumed it was just a matter of compiling in HFS support. Then I discovered the hfstools and assumed it was just a matter of using those. I didn't try very hard, but I never got it to work. Nevertheless, I think this is an Unnecessary Product. But hey, everybody gets delusions of grandeur. And you never know, they might deliver. Something. Someday.
This isn't flamebait. It's a just response to a stupid post.
When I'm singing a ballad and a pair of underwear lands on my head, I hate that. It really kills the mood.
-Tom Jones
Retard haiku
Read a little more closely. Their LinuxMac "product" sounds like Linux's kernel HFS support with a GUI tacked on. Wow, that's incredible. Drag and drop. /me starts gmc. Copy files to and from HFS volumes...
/dev/sdb7 /mnt/mac -t hfs /home/jhaas/propaganda/q3.txt /mnt/mac
mount
cp
WOW. Try harder next time, guys.
-- haaz.
The first page of the online manual says Red Hat 6.0 Manual.
maybe sometime most of the press will work based
on truth and not on shitty press releases that
are all lies
The noise we all make about it is good... tell people about it, but don't blow their ears off.
Investors almost always do *some* research before sticking their money in a company.. they don't just say 'I like this stock symbol.. I'll invest'. That's what *daytraders* do.. and most of them lose money, and they don't significantly alter the market, nor do they provide much capital.
Why was redhat so successful? Well... linux seemed like a potential big thing (I can't argue with that) and redhat was fairly well respected (still is...). When investors asked their techies, or whoever, what about redhat... they would hear 'yeah.. redhat is kinda cool... '..... so it's a fairly good bet that if you were going to invest in the future of linux, redhat would be a start.
Now, things might be a bit different. I dare say that, being a Nevada corporation, without much in the way of disclosure laws, and without some big names on their board, they aren't going to be looking at very much capital during IPO.
anyone trying to make money by selling something anyone can get for free is just as bad as LinuxOne.
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Hmm, has anyone ever considered the possibility that this whole LinuxOne affair is a M$ funded project to throw buyers into some bad muck. I mean, if people actually do buy into these stocks and then realize that they got scammed it could seriously hurt the linux reputation. This sounds akin to the findings posted by that Microsoft funded study (I can't seem to remember the name at the moment.) Just my $0.02
An organism (LinuxOne) has found itself in an environment rich in food (investors who jump at the word "Linux" with little understanding) and has learned to exploit that. It's evolution in action - where there are gullible people, others will emerge to prey on them. The question is probably whether or not laws should regulate this, or whether people who do insufficient research into the subjects of their investments should suffer.
This evolutionary analogy doesn't apply in Kansas, of course, where there is no evolution.
ben_ the technologist and platform agnostic