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Andover.Net and VA Linux Join Together
As you may have heard, VA Linux and Andover.Net are gonna be joining up. We thought it would be dishonest not to say something about it, but as you probably understand, we're sorta restricted in what we can say. Of course, you can say whatever you want, and you can
read the press release if you're curious about some of the details. Creative control of Slashdot will remain where it always has been.
ANDOVER! LEAVE SLASHDOT ALONE. IT'S GONE DOWNHILL SINCE YOU TOOK OVER!
i just want to know when RedHat and VA will merge :)
Cybie! aka Ralph Bonnell
It sounded more like an acquistion of Andover, to me.
--
"A dessert without cheese is like a beautiful woman who has lost an eye." -- Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin
. Some idiot bought this stock when it IPO'd at $90. I bought @ $84 (never buy without a limit!).
Does this mean that VALinux is trying to become the M$ of the movement??
Only RedHat can save us...
In all seriousness, good luck guys, the more big companies we have on our side, the more market clout we all have for Linux!
Tux Games. Your complete source for native Linux games.
You guys are like the Jeffersons, movin' on up!
Wow, if your servers ever poop out on you, there ain't *no* excuse good enough! :)
Linux Daily News had Slashdot scooped on this issue by more than an hour, and I submitted this half an hour ago. It was promply rejected. I sort of wonder why Slashdot is now the last news source to get anything, even when it's about them.
Sam TH
AbiWord Developer
Now maybe Slashdot can get better servers so we stop getting 502's.
thank you.
How does this affect the server51 (Andover) and sourceforge (VA) projects, since they both appear to have similar goals?
--
bgphints - internet routing news, hints and ti
Glad I held on to some of my VA stock, considering what mergers tend to do to stock prices. :)
"If ignorance is bliss, may I never be happy.
-- Veni, vidi, dormivi
Sorta puts that postponed Larry Augustin interview into a new light, eh?
BTW, you are opening yourselves to a lot of jokes by saying "Creative control...remains where it's always been".
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Java banners:
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Linux MAPI Server!
http://www.openone.com/software/MailOne/
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STAR (as in hot young actress) WARS
chapter vi
a story of tender love
natalie portman has returned to her home town of albany new york to rescue her friend, mae ling mak, from the clutches of the vile gangster, naked & petrified guy.
little does natalie know that the evil open source empire, led by esr, has begun construction on a new sendmail daemon.
once completed, this new daemon will spell certain doom for the natalie portman fan-club, ending their means of sending fan-mail...
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
open source man arrives at the development house. workers are scuttling about attempting to look busy.
project leader: open source man, this is an unexpected pleasure. we are honored by your presence.
open source man: you may dispense with the pleasantries, project leader. i am here to put you back on schedule.
project leader: i assure you, open source man, my men are working as fast as they can.
open source man: perhaps i can find new ways to motivate them!
project leader: the new sendmail daemon will be completed on schedule!
open source man: esr does not share your optimistic appraisal of the situation.
project leader: but he asks the impossible! i need more volunteers!
open source man: then perhaps you can tell him when he arrives here.
project leader: esr is coming here?!
open source man: that is correct, project leader, and he is most displeased with your apparant lack of progress.
project leader: we shall double our efforts!
open source man: i hope so, project leader, for your sake. esr is not as forgiving as i am.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
thank you.
Brought to you by FirstPostBot ¦|
Does this mean you will give away workstations now? :)
First, I like the idea of Andover and VA Linux marrying. Both companies seem to be to be of the rare breed that "get it", and seem to do the right thing in almost all circumstances.
I'm wondering how this would affect the potential for Slashdot in the future to on it's own, or in partnerships, expand into other subject areas with its brand of site design and format. Granted, with the emergence of the open source Slash engine and PHPSlash, dozens of Slashlings are sprouting up everywhere (my own site included).
I guess I was just thinking at some point down the road that a "portal" or "index" of Slash-based sites covering a wide array of subject areas would emerge, either under the direct auspices of SlashDot, or some other party...I'm not sure how this acquisition would affect that scenario, tho.
Either way, I'm not disaffected. I think it's a great merger and I can't wait to see the results of the open Slash engines on the 'net.
With the auto-posting perl scripts?
Quite frankly I was surprised that I read about this hours ago on CNNfn before any notice ever appeared here. I even submitted a story to get it reported here.
The critical question remains - does the editorial control agreement that Rob and Jeff have with Andover transfer intact to VA?
-- "Never underestimate the power of human stupidity." - R.A.H.
CNN Entertainment
Thank you.
It can be found here.
BilldaCat
Oh boy, here it comes. All this is well and good, but how does it affect /.? This is not intended as flamebait but I think that since Andover bought /. The quality has gone downhill, mostly due to the increased traffic which also increases the trolls and the fray. When VA Linux takes over I'm curious how the flavor of /. Will change. Will added participation and content value come through more participation (on a massive scale)? Will the /. model change, part of what make slashdot so successful is the simplicity of the model. Time will tell, but I think that VA will add bureocracy and overhead to the site and change it in a way that takes it furthur from what has made it so great.
Never knock on Death's door:
More race stuff in one place,
than any one place on the net.
Makes sense to marry the linux.com domain with the top Linux content and community sites.
Congratulations all around.
Well I don't mind saying I'm delighted VA Linux is :)
going to be the senior partner in this arangement.
No offence to the slashdot folk or the freshmeat
guys (guy?) - I'm just pleased to see the 'heavy hitters' of Linux
content under the banner of a company thats proved
itself capable of more than just buying other people.
Congrats to slashdot for making andover buyable
... with eskimo chains i tatto my brain all the way...
To have Creative Control one would Imply Creativity. HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAA Oh wait ::wipes a tear from his eye:: where was i.... BHWHWHAHahhahahahHahaHahAHhaHAhHahhAhha
Well...it would seem you need a scorecard to keep track of all this stuff. At least VA Linux has a concrete product to generate revenue with.
My advice to all of the shareholders is to SELL SELL SELL. I'm not a wall street genius (hell I'm not even a wall street nudnick) but I see no way that these/this company can generate revenues that will justify its' marketcap.
-Anyone interested in filing a class action suit against the Nethack dev team for causing sleep depravation please email frank_rizzo000@hotmail.com. If those nit-wits can sue AOL for 8 billion I figure we can get a couple mill from the nethack coders
I had a feeling something like this was in the works. There has has been more businesses, more linux all over the place. I bought at 56. I should of bought more at 26. Linux WILL continue to expand in 2000!
But of course you're now going to have to fire Jon Katz, because now you're one of those big media conglomerates... ;-)
Steven E. Ehrbar
I am concerned that creative control will remain where it has always been (since the Andover takeover)... in the not-so-capable hands of Andover.Net Editor-In-Chief, Robin "Roblimo" Miller. (Anyone for an article on "how to pick up chicks"?) VA has done a good job with Linux.Com, etc... hopefully this will "raise the bar" as far as Slashdot is concerned. I know this is almost cliche now, but I remember the *old* Slashdot... *sigh*.
So I'm at VA's site and I see the following press release titled: /. users but the tittle just seems to imply allot more than there is to it. I'm trying to picture Mr. T (Linus) and such people running around calling people saying "Oh my god! This is 'Most Significant Transaction in Linux History'"
"VA Linux to Acquire Andover.Net in Most Significant Transaction in Linux History"
I can't help but giggle a little at the hype. I appreciate that this important to me and allot of other
Sometimes corporate hype is just too darned funny to take seriously.
Creative control stays
with Anonymous Cowards,
Natalie Portman
---
Hand me that airplane glue and I'll tell you another story.
So what the hell does a hardware company need with a company that provides content? Why does VA think it can run Andover better than Andover? Do VA's shareholders benefit from this?
(Note, these are all rhetorical questions... the answer is, simply, that "Internet companies" have higher stock multiples, and VA will get a nice bump in their stock price with this).
DrLunch.com The site that tells you what's for lunch!
Is anyone else disturbed by this conglomeration of power? Andover has already bought most of the good Linux sites. VA Linux is busy sucking up the others, as well as other random companies. If Red Hat merges with VA someday, won't all our eggs be in one basket?
Frankly, I'd been occasionally worried about Andover's direction and commitment to free software, but I absolutely trust VA and their commitment, so in that sense I welcome VA's involvement. It also seems that since VA is getting so heavily into the media side of things themselves, this match makes a lot of sense and will reduce the squandering of resources by the movement as a whole. (server51 and sourceforge really just seemed like good ideas that didn't need to be competing against each other.)
Good luck, Rob- I remember the days when I contemplated getting some CD's through your links so you'd get some spare change from CDNow. Glad to see things have changed for you all.
~luge
IAAL,BIANLY
Back the ethics truck up for a minute. I believe that Twickler and Augustin believe in the profit stemming from the future of open source. They are profit modivated period. That's their job, they have to make money for the investors and the bankers.
Never knock on Death's door:
More race stuff in one place,
than any one place on the net.
But, regardless of the fact that you state "Creative control of Slashdot will remain where it always has been"... I find it difficult to believe that slashdot can really remain as independant as it was (especially when it was completely self run). I (and surely many others) come to slashdot because of the independant perspective presented by the editors and next by the readers. The quality/independance of the editors has already gone down since the andover purchase, I fear what will happen now that slashdot it owned by valinux...
donfede
When does SlashDot IPO? I want to buy stock. Pretty please?
Bad Mojo
Bad Mojo
"If you can't win by reason, go for volume." -- Calvin
Everyone knows this is all about server51. sourceforge.org is to become the nexus of opensource... With server51 in the picture, they saw an opportunity where there could be competition, not cooperation. I think that the server51 dudes and sourceforge dudes will be hooked up and all will be good.
:)
I dont think server51 had the hardware resources VA had. Just think.... the sourceforgenetwork. A whole ton of "mini" sourceforges that differ in setup and stuff like that. Heh.. perhaps not
Perhaps there will be skinning of sourceforge
Have a good one out to Andover and VA.
-- dieman - Scott Dier
Hope these guys aren't going for the monopoly-price?
Bizar technology?
Granted some important stuff is missed and comes much too slow and has been getting somewhat worse here. However I think an hour is pretty acceptable. If everything came up within a day of when the news broke I'd be quite content.
"...we're sorta restricted in what we can say..."
"Creative control will remain where it's always been."
--
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Linux MAPI Server!
http://www.openone.com/software/MailOne/
(Exchange Migration HOWTO coming soon)
This is about as commercial as it gets- Get rid of that .org !!!
This means that one source is controlling 2/3 of all Open Source web pages! No one else hearing alarm bells ringing? It is really important to have no monopoly in the media, especially in this case where Open Source is going to have a strongly increasing influence on society.
Meet the new boss
Same as the old Boss...
The revolution will NOT be televised.
This can only be good news.
/. "interview" and the severe disrespect towards the /. community's very basic and simple questions.
/. with VA Linux in the picture.
IMHO Andover has done crap with the money earned from their IPO while companies like RedHat and VA Linux have taken their money and put it to good use.
This makes me happy, andover hasn't made a penny while VA was in the black when they went public. Obviously Andover is getting the sweet end of the stick on this deal.
As for creative control.. I think the Tacos of this {/. world} might be in for a shock when they suddenly are required to take some stock in the words they publish. I somehow do not feel VA-Linux-in-charge would stand so quietly over something like the
Great news to hear... It can only mean more for
They are a threat to free speech and must be silenced! - Andrea Chen
Fish! LipHo
Borgificatio n continues as usual . You will be assimilated.
I can't see a reason Andover (or now VA) would ever want to divest /. Holding all the chips to in that pile keeps their net worth nice and high, selling some off would do the opposite.
Creative control
is always held by the ones
who hold the purse strings.
I think that their track record of support for major Open Source projects ensures that the Slash Engine will continue to be a strong project. I'm not sure what this will mean for the project that is called Area 51. It will be interesting to see how SourceForge and Freshmeat interact.
In any case, I think a combined VA-Andover has a tremendous supply of proven talent. They have the people in place to create a lot of new and interesting software and Web Sites. I think it will be interesting to see whether the majority of these people will stick around, or if they will leave, as many did when RedHat bought Cygnus.
--
Dave Aiello
-- Dave Aiello
This is flatly not true. If they wanted the biggest name in the Linux and Open Source community, they should have gone for:
VA LINUX
Or,
VIRGINIA LINUX
Or,
VIRGINIA LINUX
Or,
V-I-R-G-I-N-I-A L-I-N-U-X
Or,
V-I-R-G-I-N-I-A L-I-N-U-X
Or,
ANDOVERDOTNET A WHOLELY OWNED SUBSIDIIARY OF VIRGINIA LINUX INCORPORATED
Or,
ANDOVERDOTNET A WHOLELY OWNED SUBSIDIIARY OF VIRGINIA LINUX INCORPORATED
Or,
A-N-D-O-V-E-R-D-O-T-N-E-T A W-H-O-L-E-L-Y O-W-N-E-D S-U-B-S-I-D-I-I-A-R-Y O-F V-I-R-G-I-N-I-A L-I-N-U-X I-N-C-O-R-P-O-R-A-T-E-D
Or,
A-N-D-O-V-E-R-D-O-T-N-E-T A W-H-O-L-E-L-Y O-W-N-E-D S-U-B-S-I-D-I-I-A-R-Y O-F V-I-R-G-I-N-I-A L-I-N-U-X I-N-C-O-R-P-O-R-A-T-E-D
Or, A-N-D-O-V-E-R-D-O-T-N-E-T A W-H-O-L-E-L-Y O-W-N-E-D S-U-B-S-I-D-I-I-A-R-Y O-F V-I-R-G-I-N-I-A- L-I-N-U-X I-N-C-O-R-P-O-R-A-T-E-D, O-W-N-E-R-S O-F S-L-A-S-H-D-O-T
Or better yet,
A-N-D-O-V-E-R-D-O-T-N-E-T A W-H-O-L-E-L-Y O-W-N-E-D S-U-B-S-I-D-I-I-A-R-Y O-F V-I-R-G-I-N-I-A- L-I-N-U-X I-N-C-O-R-P-O-R-A-T-E-D, O-W-N-E-R-S O-F S-L-A-S-H-D-O-T
Never knock on Death's door:
More race stuff in one place,
than any one place on the net.
What does that work out to per Slashdot reader, I wonder?
... for Beowulf clusters running slash!
thank you
I'm not really financially-oriented, so could someone please explain what happens to Andover shareholders?
.425 VA Linux shares per Andover share, but then the press release mentioned something about cash payments?
They get
Can anyone suggest why VA is accounting for this as a purchase? I heard that many de facto buy-outs are accounted for as a "pooling of assets", because then it doesn't go on the books as an expense for the purchaser. Have the rules for this kind of thing been tightened recently, or does VA have some advantage in accounting for this as a purchase?
--
"But, Mulder, the new millennium doesn't begin until January 2001."
send all spam to theotherwhitemeat@ropine.com
That's not a haiku!
;)
Creative control stays is 6 sylables...
Cre-a-tive con-trol stays!
If you're going to post a first haiku, at least follow the structure
Here's a good site with some haiku style information. - StaticLimit
I agree, the term "merger" seems way inaccurate. From the info on VA's site it sounds more like an acquisition. Not to say that is somehow "bad" compared to a merger being "good." The end results can be positive or negative regardless of the acquisition or merger.
What's going to happen with server51 of Andover and sourceforge of VA? They seem to have the same purpose and whatnot
.. sourceforge seems like a mess to me when I browse randomly looking for stuff. Maybe the best direction for them to take is specializing s51 to a certain type of project, while making sourceforge the catchall of project hosting services.
IMHO, I think server51 is a lot cleaner and more organized
Regardless, we'll never know the real opinions of those being affected by this acquisition. Personally, it would be nice to know what scoop (freshmeat & s51) really thinks about this hoopla.
Well, that's a load of fucking crap for a start.
-----
Maybe this deal will increase editorial independence/integrity. You didn't hear that kind of statement from the media outlets of Time Warner afeter the AOL deal--they are far enough removed that they are just another independent journalist. On the other hand, there is always the shameless "news" on ABC . . .
we're sorta restricted in what we can say
Slashdot, where you can talk about anything, as long as the SEC and VA Linux stockholders approve.
Doesn't seem like a good trend to me. A few more mergers and the only people left on SlashDot will be people not restricted by SEC or non-disclosures (ie, trolls). Maybe corporate control of open discussion sites isn't such a good idea.
Just mildly concerned...
"What's the point of going abroad, if you're just another tourist..."
The claim that editorial control will remain where it has been is absolutely true. It will remain in the hands of the people with the money.
Witness the headline "a merger" ??? It was a flat-out buyout. Read some of the articles and press releases. VA only wants this so they can steer people into buying their products. The Augustin interview is only the beginning. Prepare to never see a mention of AMD on slashdot ever again!
We now have 2 800 lb Linux gorillas that offer very similar services. RedHat and VA future business looks to revolve mainly around support, and they now both offer a Linux news/portal for the community (RedHat just announced WideOpen News). The main differences are that VA sells top-notch machines while RedHat offers the most popular(?) distribution. Will the ANDN/LNUX deal put pressure on RedHat to further differentiate themselves from the other 800 lb Linux gorilla by snapping up another company (those CORL rumors are popping up again)? I don't think they'll be sitting idle while another major player takes the lead. Interesting note, no mention of the ANDN/LNUX deal on WideOpen News.
=]
_______
I just wish I could c:\format Internet
Creative control of Slashdot will remain where it always has been.
Matt: We're here live at a press confrence to announce the merger between Andover.net and VA Linux. Maybe I can get a question in... ROB!! ROB!! What do you have to say about the merger?
Rob: No Comment
www.jackasscritics.com
Lets simplify and use 30mph. Assume two lights 1/10th of a mile apart. At 30mph, 1/10th of a mile is 12 secs. If you assume a 1 minute cycle time with 5-second shoulders (and no left turn stuff to gum up the works:), the light ahead of you is red for 35-12 or 23 secs prior to your light turning green. Which means that if you leave right when your light turns green, you'd have to travel 23 secs back in time over that 1/10th of a mile before you were able to catch a green light at the next intersection. Which is some seriously major relativistic velocity (somebody else can play that Lorentz-Fitzgerald game - it's way to early here:). On the other hand, if you arrive late in the cycle on your first light, you can have speedup as much as you want with respect to your next light (since by the time you arrive late in the cycle, the next light is on). The behavior changes depending on cycle length, shoulder time, and propagation delay.
In other news, timing lights for bidirectional travel is a nightmare, requiring cycle times = travel time. For a mile long stretch at 45 mph, that's a cycle time of 1'20", which is just barely long enough. For any shorter distance, stuff breaks down. Which is why one-way streets are such a good idea.
Cycle time should properly vary depending on traffic load. Because the shoulder times are fixed relative to the traffic speeds and stopping distances (read: I live in Anchorage, and when it's slick, it's slick, which means we need damn long yellow lights:), cycle efficiency is linked to cycle length (longer cycles are more efficient). However, at times of low load, shorter cycles are preferable. Ignorning the shoulders, the odds that you will arrive at a green light are 50%. On the other hand, if you randomly hit a light your delay (if you have to stop) is, on average, equal to 1/4 cycle time. Which means that when travel time for individual vehicles matters more than throughput in vehicles per hour, cycle time should be reduced.
Finally, propagation direction should change depending upon system load. At light to moderate loads, it makes sense for the next light down the line to turn green after (by propagation delay) the light you are at right now. During heavy traffic, however, that produces grid lock. You can't move because traffic is backed up from the next light. It turns green after your light turns green, but by the time those people move your light turns red. During heavy traffic, you actually want the lights to turn green way ahead of you first, and for the synchronization to be linked to the wave propagation speed of starting cars from a standstill. I've always been curious at what traffic density the optimal light propagation pattern is completely synchronous (all green at the same time).
Here in Alaska we're trying to figure out the proper propagation pattern for avalanches (the only road south out of Anchorage has been closed since Sunday night - it's been hit by a dozen or so avalanches, including two that covered more than a thousand feet of roadway each to a depth of up to 10 feet. A bulldozer operator was killed Tuesday when a second avalanche came down a chute and hit is D6 at ~125mph, knocking the dozer several hundred yards. They're finding 150-year old trees in the debris piles. Then we got 120mph winds from a chinook last night!:)
Lights timed for 30 mph are also timed for 5 c!
I'm not a traffic engineer, but I play one on /.
Well, it's sad. It means more jonkatz, more doubleposting, more posts without basic fact checking, another-company-embraces-linux stories etc.
I wish VA took control and hired some real editors and Cmdr and Co. would continue the programming side.
Either way, noone has control over the comments which make this site what it is. Amen.
(Oh no, I sound like a karma whore, help me !)
Free Jon's computers !
New XFMail home page
Not to bash the VA/Andover thing, which is a fine idea, but I just realized that some of our favorite .org sites aren't even close to non-profit anymore. Slashdot, Themes.org, what's next? Gnome.org owned by Red Hat? Just me being a domain-name purist a little too late. :)
Read the full text my book Perl for the Web
The way I read the announcement, this is a good thing for the shareholders of both companies and is an indication that VA Linux is doing well as well as the fact that Andover.Net is an attractice company to purchase. I am also happy because I have confidence that VA Linux will let Andover.Net continue to do the things that I think everyone reading this appreciates. The combined company will have a bit more weight to throw around as well and will be better able to weather shifts in the marketplace because of a broader base of services.
Okay, enough hype. All of what I've said may be and probably is true. But I am still concerned. Can VA Linux manage the rate of growth that has come with it's success? And as other people have pointed out here, as open source companies merge, are they bigger competitors or more centralized targets?
As long as viable new players with new ideas keep springing up and creating niches for themselves and the big players don't forget what makes their reputation in the open source community, I don't think I'll worry. If we end up with one behemoth as the only corporate player in the open source world, then I will suspect a problem. Not because that company got big; I hope that VA Linux and Redhat continue to grow. But any market that isn't spawning new ideas is dying.
So my message to the open source companies is simple. Stay young and alive for as long as you possibly can. It's more fun and you'll have the support of a lot more open source developers. Don't grow at the expense of who you are. This merger has every sign of being the right direction.
The net will not be what we demand, but what we make it. Build it well.
Is the open source business like the web business, where the wínner takes it all?
I e-mailed LinuxFool earlier today about these and they have already made the changes. I have to admit that I was impressed with the turn-around time on that.
kwsNI
Since Slashdot is a "business" now, when are the the people who submit stories going to be payed for their efforts? Why should anyone contribute their effort to slashdot when somebody else is profiting? I suppose somebody might say that Slashdot repays its readers by realeasing the Slash source to the community or something along those lines, but I could not care less about maintaining a perl codebase. But I digress. Finally, slashdot is no longer deserving of the ORG designation. Any thoughts?
C|Net announced this as a takeover by VA Linux. Methinks is Slashdot now into spindoctoring its stories? I'm slightly concerned.
Ceterum censeo Microsoftam esse delendam.
I thought the reason you guys (Rob & Jeff) decided to be bought (or whatever the technical term is) by Andover was because it wasn't a Linux company, so it wouldn't seem like you would be losing any partiality. I realize you guys and VA have been buddies for a long time (IIRC, most of Slashdot runs on VA Hardware, bought through the barter system [they get free ads, you get free hardware]... right?), plus, Rob's (one of) the webmaster(s) (or some dang thing) for Linux.com, which they own. So VA and Andover were probably already pretty chummy... but what prompted this? I.e., why?
I don't know what you all are allowed to say, what with SEC restrictions and all that kinda stuff, but (how) will this affect Slashdot? Will we get even more editors (like the advent of Roblimo when Andover took over)?
I'm just guessing, but I assume Mr. Malda is pretty high on the Andover totem pole. What's going to be his new position at VA Linux, or is he going to remain at his current position inside Andover?
I think the Andover aquisition was a Good Thing, and VA seems like a nice company, so I guess this will also be a Good Thing. Then again, you know how the Open Source Community(tm) feels about monopolies...
Any info from higher-ups would be appreciated... and if you can't say anything, then say that you can't say anything! Otherwise I will have hurt feelings...
___________________
rooooar
Here's a simpler way to look at it:
When you are surfing the green on a timed street, you are really riding a pocket of green that moves at N miles per hour. These pockets of green are moving through a sea of red. If you go too fast, you will slam into the red.
For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
All I can say is "what the heck?"
I thought the tittle of page was funny, I didn't know that somehow was some terrible statement aimed at marketing people everywhere?
The idea that "Without marketing, Linux is nothing" seems a bit of a broad statement, considering without something (Linux in this case) to market, marketing is also nothing.
Long before people were marketing Linux I was using it and enjoyed it (not an expert but I still had fun).
I'm sure marketing people work hard and all, but they're marketing other people's work, and that's something also. Your implication that I somehow didn't appreciate the hard work some marketing people did to come up with that page is accurate though. I think marketing with such far flung statements like the tittle of that article draws away from any real information that might be in there.
While I like both VA Linux and Andover.Net, this is not a good thing for Linux consumers. Did anybody besides me notice that once Andover.Net took control of Slashdot that the ads for Copyleft disappeared and were replaced by ThinkGeek (which is owned by Andover). Now that VA Linux owns Slashdot what are the chances that we will ever see another ad for SGI or Penguin Computing?
--
Howard Roark, Architect
Howard Roark, Architect
I believe in a Man's right to exist for his own sake.
It seems to me that having a major community hubs like Slashdot and Freshmeat owned by a parent media company was bad enough. Having them owned by a particular producer of Linux products is downright scary. I'm sure that Rob & Co. will argue that content won't be effected. While they might believe this, I sort of doubt the reality of the claim.
Bear with me here: It figures that Slashdot and Freshmeat are the main portals for Linux information. Therefore, they are the prime ground for advertising by Linux-related companies (especially OEMs). How many Penguin Computing or Indybox ads are we going to see here when VA is fully entrenched? They might not vanish outright, but smart money says that VA will slowly muscle them out.
Not allowing (or rather, making it difficult for) other OEMs to post up their banner ads is just as bad as if VA imposed editorial restrictions. It also makes perfect sense from a business point of view to keep your competitors from advertising on your channels -- how many ABC superbowl ads did you see on FOX?
I hope I'm wrong. It could be that the people at VA are more idealistic than the average business types. Even so, management can change -- this cloud will forever hang over Slashdot, Freshmeat and any other major community site which ever gets aquired by a large company.
----
Every year during my review, I just pray the words "slashdot.org" aren't mentioned.
... if the Slash source hadn't been opened. As it is, if we feel that /. is compromised by their affiliation(s), and that compromise is disturbing enough, we can go start our own "FreeDot" or something.
/. has 'put up', to stick with these guys and their little website that could. I probably would have even if the source hadn't been released, but I would have had agita about it.
I'm willing, now that
This is also an important reminder to those of you who _weren't_ whinging about the source release: you don't get something unless you ask for it, and you need to call bullshit when you smell it, that's the true rationalist way (no hypocrisy permitted at all, strict and harsh self-editing must be imposed).. You don't have to be a flaming dick about it, but a polite reminder as needed is a _good_ thing, don't forget that.
Your Working Boy,
I know that in open source this is not a big concern (as far as it's continued existence is concerned) but, does this trouble anyone else?
The interconnection of huge companies is one thing, as long as there are alternatives. But mindshare is another concern. I suspect that VA Sys is caught up in the mega-merger surge, and is gobbling up the major players in the open-source field. Expect fusion with RedHat next...
The problem I see here is that with one false step, the reputation of open-source may be harmed. One large company controlling (effectively) the resources that the whole community relies upon (at this point) can be bought by... guess who?
Now, I know that the GPL protects the source against exploitation, and that we got to where we are without the reliance on a central authority, but... The instrumental people behind the movement have been gobbled up by these companies in the same way as the smaller companies have been absorbed into larger ones. They're under NDA now. Some may leave, others like the money and corporate status.
I'm getting the feeling that the grassroots movement is getting a new corporate domed stadium built over it.
-- What you do today will cost you a day of your life.
Please answer haiku
with haiku! Why, you may ask?
It is more polite.
Yes, i miscounted
syllables. It's too early
for me to count well.
No need to flame me.
I'm not perfect, but at least
admit my mistakes.
What shall i do now?
I'll gaze Medusa-like on
Natalie Portman!
Haiku is so cool.
Even Natalie Portman
jokes can almost work.
What else can i say?
Hemos sux? BSD rules?
Katz is a windbag?
---
Hand me that airplane glue and I'll tell you another story.
Geesh. I'm checking my morning news and stuff about Burning Man, and I come across this story about VA Linux buying out Andover.net ...
Not that I'm complaining, mind you, it's a smart move for VA Research\\\\\\\\Linux Systems.
Will in Seattle
This reminds me of cartoon where the small fish gets eaten by the bigger fish which in turn gets eaten by the bigger fish, which in turn....
I wonder how long before AOL-Time Warner buys VA?
One will be pushed off the gameboard. Guess which.
Server51 will either be gobbled up, or forced off the map entirely, IMHO. VA doesnt have a "Department of Caring".
Bowie J. Poag
Project Manager, PROPAGANDA For Linux (http://propaganda.themes.org)
Bowie J. Poag
With VA buying up Andover, there's now no really good OSS community news -n- chat location that's
free from corporate bias.
I like Slashdot. I like Andover. I like VA. I'm
a shareholder in the last two. I just don't like
the idea of VA owning Slashdot. There needs to be
a vendor neutral location for Slashdot or the
future replacement for Slashdot.
-J
Just when I thought VA's sourceforge was going to have some competition they go ahead and buy Andover. Dang!
Competition is good and now VA is going to have a monopoly on the Opensource CVS hosting biz. Server51 was starting to look very promising with its pledge of paying developers $0.03 per click thru. I was thinking in a couple months time Sever51 would be eating SourceForge's lunch, but not now. Expect Server51 to be canned.
Like I said above, competition is good for consumers (i.e. opensource developers in this case). But all hope is not lost, expect Red Hat and others to hop on the CVS hosting portal biz real soon now.
What disappoints me most is that I was expecting more from Larry Augustin, I mean I was expecting VA's IPO wealth to allow them to do something innovative and shocking. I was expecting them to actually change the world. This merger is consolidation from a man who has run out of ideas and is desperate for his company to retain its overhyped and sky high market valuation. It is sad.
Larry, you disapoint me.
A butterfly flutters its wings in an African savannah..
Bowie J. Poag
Project Manager, PROPAGANDA For Linux (http://propaganda.themes.org)
Bowie J. Poag
You bunch of wanking sellouts. Creative control will be where it has always been? Oh really? So you've been up VA's bunghole all along? Interesting.
M$ is delighted because the merger of a leading hardware provider with a leading information content provider demostrates to DoJ and Judge Jackson that M$ is not nearly the biggest monopolist on the block.
M$ is saddened because the merger of a leading hardware provider with a leading information content provider might actually upset the careful mono^H^H^H^H and loyal user base of satisfied customers which M$ has worked so hard to cultivate over the years.
M$ intends to ask the DoJ to investigate whether the VA - Andover merger is anti-competitive; but not until Judge Jackson rules that M$ really, really was serious when it argued that Linux is proof positive that there are viable alternatives to the Windows Operating System.
As always, M$ remains committed to spinning the news however it best suits M$. Please direct all inquiries to borg@microsloth.com.
I first read about the article on Yahoo News. They get their feed from C|net. And, what was odd is that they mentioned Freshmeat (and linked to it) they mentioned Sambar (and linked to it) and some other Andover.net properties. But, even though Slashdot was mentioned like 4 times, they never once provided a link to it. Maybe C|net didn't want to get Slashdotted on the link? Anyhow, here's the link to the article:
2 03309.html
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/cn/20000203/tc/20000
VA Linux is NOT the most influencial player in the linux 'market'. I am sure it is not even the most popular hardware platform for Linux users, sure most of us want a VA machine - but can we
afford it ?.
Also I think that the software aspect is where the influence in Linux lies, RedHat buying Andover.Net would be more troubling. Or even IBM, Dell or one of the more popular hardware platforms. VA's purchase merely shores up against the coming of the really really big companies.
--
Woe be on to them, all who rise against poor people, shall perish in a the end. Buju Banton
How can Slashdot be a truly objective news source with VA controling it's strings. It wasn't a concern with Andover because they were also an information company, but traditionally - conglomerations have prevented - not helped - the disemination of non-biased information.
Is VA just trying to bully future competition by controling one of the best places to advertize and expect non-biased information? Can competitors be expected to be taken seriously when advertizing on a site whose content is controlled by competition?
Think about it. If Slashdot retains complete autonomy - they what value does it add to VA?
I can just see this headline the day after that merger goes through though. Microsoft is rubbing their fat little hands together. It is MUCH easier to destroy a unified force than a scattered bunch of Linux companies nipping at their feet. ;-) Money talks and shareholders have ALL the say in the matter. If Microsoft offered enough money they COULD buy "Linux".. period.
I seem to recall that Rob Malda is entitled to receive a great deal of stock/cash pursuant to his employment agreement with Andover over the next few years, in part dependent on /. performance. If his employment agreement is like many I have seen, however, it may have in it a "golden parachute" provision entitling him to receive these amounts on an accelerated basis, which would be very good for him. Does anyone know whether this is the case?
With the trolls, of course.
See this is why I read Slashdot. You always get to hear from someone who knows way too much about an inane subject. Granted this time the info isn't really usefull at all, but sometimes it is, no matter what the slashdot editors do we'll still get this terminally cool stuff.
Non gratis rodentus anus
Posted by cookieman.k:
REDUNDANT comment ahead First when Andover took over Slashdot I felt like I have been punched into my stomach. I'm not happy at all with this thing also. There are some GREEDY_PEOPLE out there who think that every thing must be in one hand. This is not the right path... What can I say more(without complaining)?...:Keep up the good work guys!
I just saw you guys on CNBC for their merger coverage (quick pan over a convention floor). No mention of /., tho...
+&x
Is it time to get ready to fork? It is still a bit premature, let's wait and see how things work out, but the code for most of these sites is GPL, as long as we have that then if things start to smell fishy then we run.
Sounds reasonable?
haiku is japanese
japanese and english are different
shouldn't their be differences?
Both companies are not software companies. Andover is about content and VA is about hardware and services. There is nothing in this deal that would even remotely suggest such a theory.
Go and use the link
On my earlier posting
to find such info
One suggestion is
That english haiku should use
a shorter format
Such a format makes
English Haiku similar
to the Japanese
This is because words
in Japanese often will
have more sylables
- StaticLimit
I knew it'd be nothing but trouble when I saw at LinuxWorld yesterday that the VA Linux and Andover.net pavilions were so close to each other. :)
Will slashdot get a facelift with better colors?
I sure hope so.
"This acquisition moves VA Linux forward on the path to being the biggest name in Linux and Open Source.
A couple of questions for the people on the "path":
1. Can you buy yourself the biggest name in Open Source?
2. All companies that acquire a company are looking for a return on investment. Certainly the merger didn't happen so that VA Linux boxes point to slashdot.org, more like slashdot.org points to VA Linux. What return on investment are they looking for and whose hide are they going to take it out of?
3. As the rest of the world wakes up to Linux, will anyone care that the major Linux portals are actually owned by a select few vendors?
4. Finally, does it make sense that Linux sites are held accountable by shareholders and not the people who participate on those sites? For instance, if VA Slashdover isn't making enough money off of advertising, programmer productivity, or driving e-commerce deals on their web properties, will they scrap it, cut performance or just let it suck?
I obviously do not know the answers to these questions...all the more reason to ask.
all i really know is i don't wanna know
And without marketing Crystal Pepsi would have been nothing too :-) Oh wait?
There's no need to try and avoid that.
Now since /. is owned by a company that make some damn fine servers does this mean that /. will be updated accordingly?
I love it: "...we're sorta restricted in what we can say." and "Creative control of Slashdot will remain where it always has been." appearing in the same paragraph! Oh well. I guess life goes on.
Never knock on Death's door:
More race stuff in one place,
than any one place on the net.
On the one hand, there's a huge crowd of gullible fans who tend to believe every sentence that's said on Slashdot, as long as it's got the words "Open Source" in it (they call this a "Community"), on the other hand there's a vendor trying to sell standard PCs at a premium because they bundle free software with them. Wow! If this isn't a perfect match, I've never seen one.
--
Play Match-It.
I remember reading in the December 1999 Linux Magazine that VA had other plans for SGI. I think this Andover.net acquisition is only a little part of VA's overall plan.
They are distribution-neutral, so we'll always see reviews of all distributions, and they employ developers who work on all facets of the system.
However, this increases VA's visibility and mindshare enough to make increased work with SGI and a possible big acquisition by VA more than a remote possibility. I anticipate other sites, a few small linux services firms, and quite possibly SGI as their next targets.
I don't consider this a bad thing, in that VA Linux is making major contributions to the community, most notably in SourceForge, Samba, and now Freshmeat and Slashdot.
Remember, VA's CEO co-wrote Yahoo!'s business plan. Larry Augustin knows what he is doing and has to do to make Linux a major force in the marketplace that can effectively compete with Microsoft on all fronts. By owning and/or operating the major portals by which open source software is being distributed, and NOT doing what MS does by controlling the editorial output, he's providing a complete alternative to MS.
I anticipate that you will still see banner ads for other companies, a lot more open source software, more powerful hardware for slashdot, and a refocus of VA Linux as a major player competing with Red Hat. This can be really good, since VA is contributing more and more with each step they take.
This is why I rarely read /.! Dude took a comment and created a treatise of major proportions. Whew! I was mainly looking for news about the VA Linux takeover and what do I get? Still a cool site, and I'll keep checking back.
linux.com, etc etc etc etc. bill gates will thrust his big throbbing techneutopic cock 2 feet into your pulsing freedom loving anal cavity and he will swirl it around saying 'a pc on every desk' over and over while he smacks your ass with a shitcicle he left in the freezer overnight. then he will make you lick it until it thaws so you can suck it down your throbbing freedom loving throat already tired from the gang banging it has been given by Sun, DEC, SGI, the DOD, Sony, and all the other beautiful young lovers you courted without knowing that they had the equivalent of AIDS for creative people: fame and money. your grave will read 'have you thought about home health insurance coverage' because you will be buried under a billboard hanging over a parking lot for the corporate headquarters of Dow Chemical which uses Linux to develop new anti-fat drugs that will kill certain people with genetic 'diseases'.
I haven't changed: I'm still building my recording studio, still waiting for the ADAT to get back from being fixed, still building all the auxiliary equipment I need (finally finished the recording multiband compressor the other night- thing is the audio hardware equivalent of a crazed Unix console app that can do anything, but with demented syntax- it's an art form just twiddling the controls on this bugger).
I'm also still looking for ways to tap into good publicity for 'free' ideas and inventions- will certainly begin sharing everything that goes into this hardware design as soon as it seems to be going to an unarguably public place. This is very heavily influenced by open source software. My whole approach to the world has been colored by open source software, the GPL, and my learning to identify with these values. In this way, 'our eggs' don't necessarily belong to one vendor, one company or even one platform or one field of endeavor- I think it's just as important to pursue 'free' audio electronics hacking and share information in a way similar to the GPL- specifically because going strictly philanthropic and public domain is just asking for abuse, it's just putting power in the hands of _collective_ entities such as corporations which can stomp all over individials. For software, the GPL puts some rules on behavior that legislates good behavior. I'd like to see something similar for strictly idea exchange and inventions, or we may be looking at an intellectual property Dark Ages, where you're not allowed to think or innovate because everything is already 'owned' in one way or another.
That said, of course this conglomeration is unpleasant and nasty. VA Linux has a fiduciary duty to not help other Linux companies, and at the same time is bound by things like the GPL to limit the extent to which they can hurt other people in the community they are theoretically a part of. The people behind things like Slashdot have ended up paper millionares in many cases- and we're not talking dollars, unfortunately, we're talking stock, which means their personal wealth is equal to exactly how much _their_ little projects or big companies can hurt the other people in the community. I think that unlike the hardcore e-business such as MS, many of the Slashdot people will geniunely choose to suffer financial losses rather than hurt the community- this is not unthinkable, for instance Richard Stallman actually declined offers of stock options. However, this can only be a personal choice- for instance, Rob Malda can and probably would choose to suffer losses of half his stock money rather than hurt the community by damaging another Linux company or project. But if Rob is a corporate officer, he's not allowed to make such a decision- he's required to hurt the other Linux company, because it is his legal duty to the stockholders and he is breaking the rules if he doesn't.
This, not the specific ownership of Slashdot, is the problem, and it's been a long time coming- there have been people pushing for the adoption of the corporate, big-business model (most notably ESR) for a long time, and people who've become upset and argued against it.
Well, now we get to see what Linux is like when it is all owned by corporations which aren't allowed to share or be nice to each other, and controlled by stock-option millionares whose riches are directly linked to their Linux competition doing badly or failing outright. We can expect to see basically the same state of affairs as commercial software, up to and including the privacy messes we've been wailing about in Slashdot columns...
It's a pity things have gone this direction, but freedom doesn't grow on trees. If you don't fight for it, it erodes and fades away- but you can usually grab a bit of it for yourself anyhow, if you try.
I'm not trying to sound cynical, but I highly doubt we'll see any more articles that speak of anything related to VA Linux in a manner that doesn't kiss its feet. Will the BSD, BeOS, Windows, and Macintosh users be screwed? What steps are being taken to preserve whatever quality slashdot had?
Wait, I kid myself. Slashdot has _always_ been biased towards linux. (And there goes my karma)
-bugg
business people are worried about business which means profit and being sued by shareholders for lack of profit.... if the people who invented the transistor, fm radio, ac current, etc understood the motivations of these business people then theywouldnt have been stupid enough to go into deals with them and get their asses fucked.
So when can we expect to see the VASlashdover conglomerate aquire Time Warner/AOL?
Your "explanation" is exactly my point. "Creative control" includes what to say and when to say it. More and more, business/legal needs are dictating what /. prints (and therefore what we read). I don't like this trend.
If you are tempted to respond "I bet you can't do any better", chew on this: A few months ago I started programming a site that would be to Linux programming what Slashdot (used to be) to Linux in general. If it weren't for the fact that I've moved and haven't yet restored my personal Internet access the site would be up and competing with the lameness that has become Slashdot.
--
Java banners:
Bad for users because Java kills Netscape
Linux MAPI Server!
http://www.openone.com/software/MailOne/
(Exchange Migration HOWTO coming soon)
Beware! You may fear the man who can sell anything, but he's really harmless. All he can do is take your money and leave you with useless crap. Maybe he sells you a WinModem or something.... And you cry for your lost $50 and smash the worthless thing. But so what?
What you have to worry about is the man who can buy anything. He'll take everything you have and leave you with useless paper and you'll have to work like a dog to keep it......
Hail Bob!! 31013 31013 31013 31013 31013
http://www.salon.com/tech/log/2000/02/03/slashdot/ index.html
Subject says it all.
Live free or die
gnuyaktymes.com, (never a registration required(tm)).
Congrats and consolations guys.
Shouldn't slashdot.org be really slashdot.com long time ago?
.org suffix for slashdot? Marketing smoke to the nerds?
What's this this
--- You make things foolproof, and they'll find you a damn fool.
good bye editorial independance. Just like when Disney bought ABC, and others we could name, so too will the new heads of Slashdot control the content. it's too tempting _not_ too. I don't believe for one second that They can refrain from messing with it, Rob's comments aside.
So what is the purpose? What is the idea in VA and Andleftover merging. This is like marrying your own brother or sister. No value added. Could have seperately done what ever they are trying to do together. Probably better!
---
:Did you know the In-
:ternet watches you while you
:sleep?
That's not a haiku!
---
"Music is music, but anarchy is stupid." -- Eli Armen-Van Horn
lets see... 850 million for a shell company that is literally nothing more than slashdot (and some neat clip-art cd's), and rob and jeff's stakes are worth about 20 million? bruce twickler and the other execs at andover are geniuses in the clintonian sense of the word. andover is a company with no direction, operating history or any particular expertise, but they can say "andover, the internet's leading linux destination ..." in every one of their daily press releases and somehow be valued at 800 times revenue? folks, this is only slightly less nauseating than linuxone.
i rule.
...And the idiot who dosn't know how to use Slashdot
While offensive to some maybe, you are on to something here and I am slightly amazed that the Linux community isn't tearing up this board with vitriol. It ought to. Time and again we see something enter the world and say "This is Change!" and time and again we see the sell out. Sure it seems harmeless because it's our pals, VA Linux. But why are our pals using $$$ tactics to do this? How does this benefit the community?
Fame and money? Power corrupts? You bet. It's just business, but I thought that there was more than businesss at stake here. The Salon article pointed out how Slashdot had rejected VA before, why does VA not respect that decision?
I find the lack of real questioning here to be troublesome. Did you guys get the same POD that those Apple worshipers get with their macs to put under their beds to become "One of Us"?
Where does Linux want to go today? Obviously to bed with it's incestuous self.
"Meet the new boss, same as the old boss!"
I guess we did get fooled again.
Hey, you think your house is cool?
A few months ago I noticed /. getting less "controversial" and displaying less editorial "opinion"
Now I know it is basically gone. Ther eis no way it can act controversial without VA approval.
Also the comments about adverts is likely true.
Finally, the content is controlled by those who decide what stories get posted, how much headline and how they are edited.
That is content control, and in the hands of the paid employess of VA now.
Bye-bye.
On to The Register for now I guess..
Maurice W. Hilarius Voice: (778) 347-9907
I don't claim to understand business all that well, much less the modern e-biz/.com blitz of huge piles of money to companies that can't turn a profit. But it sure as hell doesn't make any sense to me for VA Linux to spend 900 million (!) to essentially pick up more web and web-zine stuff. That is an outrageous price for what I think they might maybe get out of this. Or is it all just monopoly money and basically meaningless these days?
Exactly what does VA Linux get that is worth such a sum that they couldn't have without the acquisition and/or at lower cost? I just don't get it. Exactly what are Andover.net folks holding that is worth that kind of money? A base (a lot of eyeballs to be disgustingly in the vernacular) for ads? I don't think so. So what is it?
It's subtitled: "VA Linux purchases Andover.net, corporate parent to Slashdot. Will the "news for nerds" site maintain its editorial independence?" and basically sees the development as being negative for the independence of Slashdot.
It took me 10 minutes of waiting to post two comments successfully on /. tonight. The site has gradually been deteriorating in performance. This needs to be fixed and right now. It doesn't make the community or linux look good when a major site like this ($900M major) has really sucky performance. If y'all don't know how to make this better then put out a call for those who do.
It is IMPORTANT.
I found this Upside article on the VA/Andover purchase, and was suprised by how much of it made sense. It touches on some good points that ESR made, and doesn't fall into the trap of "introducing" Linux and Open Source.
I was at linux world this week... While a lot of good stuff has come into the linux world recently I think it's rather sad to see RedHat there with this giant castle of a booth, while Slackware, which has been in it since the begining in this little shack of a booth...
Great as VA Linux may be, /. will no longer be a tech news site, but a tech news site owned by a Linux company.
How will this affect traditional media's perception of the stuff said here? How will this affect the level of mindless MS (or other evil of the day) bashing? Will the acquisition legitimize it in the eyes of some ppl?
With threshold set to 3, I still get to read a good number of crappy posts where some newbie feels like they have to put in some MS or Big Corp bashing to be accepted or maybe 'cool'.
Everyone has to spell Good Thing with initial caps and maybe add a '(TM)' after it, everyone puts in an IANAL in their post somewhere.
Gone are the days when we'd have the threshold set to 2 and only have a couple dozen good posts with no crap or ppl speaking about things they don't know about. It's getting durned annoying, and I can see some of the others think so too.
What would be good is if the highest threshold could be increased, then I could set my threshold up a bit too, and maybe get rid of some of the noise. And no more of this auto +2 for some ppl just because they used to post good stuff.
Um, I think he was kidding there folks. Do you really thing that someone would say "the total pointlessness of coding standards" in seriousness? No need to get all offended. Next time, laugh.
Not only overly expensive servers... I really don't see the value of VA (Research) Linux. All what they sell are over valued hardware. And there sales reps claim that they have people that develop their own drivers. Isn't this totally, I mean totally, against the Open movement. And now these purchases??? Doesn't people out there see a patern or are you all damned blind. I would buy anything else any day.
I bet they were delibrately taking extra time at breakfast over a cup of coffee.
/. is slipping. :p
Meanwhile plotting to post this story, when ever they got around to it.
Rationalisation is the strongest human drive.
Do you think Hemos, Taco & Bates are going to go corporate??? You are passing judgement based on a Salon.com article (they are the next Wallstreet Journal????) go with your faith & gut-Andover.net & Va Linux are a match made in heaven.
It's cool to get lots of requests from actual people into my in-box!
That's why I can't/don't "post it on a web page for all to see."
Ceterum censeo Microsoftam esse delendam.