Slashdot Mirror
Linux Industry Calls It Quits
A lot of readers have been submitting the story on SatireWire entitled "Linux Industry Calls It Quits". The title speaks for itself.
← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)
← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)
...you're still here.
"I might have made a tactical error in not going to a physician for 20 years." -- Warren Zevon
Gates is expected to be released in three weeks. They'll probably slip that deadline as well :)
There is often bizzare moderation in response to my .sig. Sometimes the replys take the form of "Hah! I hacked your firewall, and all I see is p0rn, and its all stuff I have seen before!"
./ history I believe I have only modded down about 5 comments.)
I have seen replys like that modded up to +5 Funny and -1 Offtopic/Flamebait/Troll. I would love to see some statictics on overall moderation. (Personally, I would like to see how often people mod DOWN as opposed to up, In my 3-4 year
Maybe its time to move to Kuro5hin's format? Who knows.
Try to hack my 31337 firewall!
Always glad to help out a fellow luser. The older DOS could be stopped with a three-finger salute, pressing the Ctrl-Alt-Delete buttons at the same time. Newer versions from the same company require this operation to be done twice. Microsoft can be saluted with one finger. If all else fails, pull the line cord plug from the wall. This will clear the computer for another try. Really stumped? Follow the lead of Dilbert's PHB and use an Etch-A-Sketch.
And then when the hyberbolic nonsense about anything doesn't do it for me anymore, I read hyperbolic nonsense about Everything
Hopefully I didn't put any [] around my words.
sid=rejected
If there were still postings in there, you'd want to remember that the commentsort should be 1 to ensure that you see the newest comments first, if that isn't your default preference.
--
Well, it seems obvious, considering the motivation of the founders of the US.
They were all about personal freedoms, because they were trying to break away from a corrupt and tyrannical government.
What they WOULDN'T want was a select and eletist group of individuals with the most money controlling the economic system.
--
Soma: because a gramme is better than a damn.
. . . anything.
Corn (or insert food of your choice) grows pretty much anywhere. Even in your back yard.
Get one packet of seeds for a few cents and plant it and you can feed yourself forever.
How could anyone ever make any money from selling food? Do they think people would pay for someone just to package and transport (install) it when consumers can just grow it themselves for free?
What a ludicrous business model!
-- veni vidi nuclei deceri --- I came, I saw, I dumped core.
(-1, Murderous)
You don't seem to be terribly familiar with the Free Software movement. For many people, the choice to use free software is as much a moral choice as anything else.
Personally, I use linux because it doesn't crash and I can get under the hood and tinker with the OS and all my apps. But a lot of people use it because it's free.
Check out the GNU homepage for more info.
Everyone keeps saying that a linux business model is new and risky and blah blah blah. But the truth is, it is the oldest business model known to man. Commodities ranging from corn to metal follows the same model. You can grow food for free, and you can dig up iron or copper ore for free. We know it's there, and if we want it, we get it (or grow it). OR we PAY someone to dig it, grow it, whatever and package it or process it into the form that is most useful for us. A linux business isn't modeled around selling free software, it's modeled around taking that raw material (the kernel), and packaging it to fit our needs. Yeah any business can go out and grab the kernel or a stripped distro for free. But what they pay for is the processing of that raw material into what fits their needs. Some of the distros will realize this, and they will succeed by wrapping and configuring the kernel into a nice neat little package that your average CIO doesn't have to think twice about. It will happen, and it will be a beautiful day.
$man microsoft
Crowded elevator smell different to midget. -Chinese Proverb
You Suck
Satire.
What is satire? We don't have such cruel jokes in the tiny country of Marpodimanialand...
You think you're so rich...But there's one thing you can't buy....A dinosaur
Linux has been here for 10 years. I don't see it going now. Just because VA decides they call it quit doesn't mean Linux will fall as an industry standard.
:)
Micro$hit can try every thing in the world, but they can't stop an operating system such as Linux. Why? Because its the USERS' CHOICE. NOT M$'S. I don't give a rat's ass what your opinion is on M$, or how I address them. I see Ms not staying in the market very well just because of the M$ vs. DOJ case. Micro$oft will be stompped, no question about it.
The consumer does not even KNOW how large Ms is, or what they are up to. Or even what the quality of their product is other than the crashing they recive daily, and the computer shops getting only windows machines to repair.
I belive it is time for the Linux community to rise up, and say 'Hey, we're not taking your shit anymore M$. We refuse to buy your products, and we will inform others of what IS TRULY out there.'
Remember the 60's and early 70's when the African American community rose up and said "We won't take this shit anymore"? That is exactly what the Linux and *BSD communitys need to do. Linux users, and *BSD users may have their differences, opinions, and are on opposite sides of a ship; BUT WE ARE IN THE SAME DAMNED BOAT.
Ive been using Linux for 4 years now, and I have NEVER given into M$. Why the hell should any of you do it now? I don't believe Linus, RMS, or Alan Cox will quit working on it just because 'VA' decides to kick the bucket. There is NO fucking way I will EVER use a M$ product after I experenced: 95, 98, Me, NT4, and NT5. So before you Micro$hit drones try to mod me down remember this. Ive used the same damned things you have, and am ALSO A MCSE, CCNA, and CNA. That means im certified to 'cut your closed-source products down'.
I will not give up god damnit.
The willingness of humanity to follow without question is the fall of them.
Did you use sed to write that? :)
Where is that +5 Funny button? :)
The willingness of humanity to follow without question is the fall of them.
Linux does not need industry support to stay alive. If VA Linux Systems ends up losing their current stock holdings lawsuit, and the financial impact is huge, whats going to happen to OSDN? to /. even? Lawsuits like that are the kinds that end businesses, which in turn, could end an era.
RE: The Fervent Hack My Win2k box ...
Actually, the Win2k portion of that box is not yours, and you are not permitted to "hack" it...read your license agreement
Please don't tell me that we're going to have "Last Post" trolls now . . .
Well I've been able to install it. I can't very well use 3d studio max and photoshop in mandrake, can I? :)
--
I got all excited when I saw a "submitting" related link. I was expecting leather-clad, whip-holding women, but all I got was something about linux. Dunno 'bout you, but the image of a leather-clad penguin isn't all that appealing to me.
Depends. What kind of whip is the penguin holding? Riding crop? Cat o' nine tails? Buggy whip?
Also, is the penguin mounted on Bill Gates, and is Bill au naturel with the exception of a saddle, and iron bit in his mouth?
--- Will in Seattle - What are you doing to fight the War?
This was posted by satirewire, not Microsoft.
--
--
"Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
It's too bad it ended so soon. I was so looking forward to getting the latest kernal in a box of cereal.
Sniff Sniff... surpised they did'nt mention that even with all the linux shops closing down that even Apple was gonna quit now too since thier kernel is freeBSD based and well hey... I heard Steve Jobs say "Since our kernel is based on *NIX and a free *NIX is never gonna be closing down, we will also close Apple down completely since our business model must be hopeless since its based on *NIX as our underlying kernel & we can obviously not keep up with the inovation of Microsoft" yep.. thats what i heard... linux, apple.. whos next? Sega.. oh wait.. they did :)
:)
cute story that was
HAHAHA
M$ stock dropped in 1/2 since last year. If you are a MCSE, you will be broke.
Did you read my Disclaimer?
M$ stock dropped in 1/2 since last year. If you are a MCSE, you will be broke.
No you didn't! So send flames to hollyl@microsoft.com.
Yeah, d00dz!
Let's be real bastards and flame this gal to death!
After all flames are a sure way to raise someone's opinion of the linux 'community'!
--K
Only 2 species of penguin live in the antartic. The rest live all over the coasts of nearby continets. Linus' encounter with a penguin was in Austrailia IIRC.
Bad pedant! No penguin snack for you!
--
Does narcissism count as a hobby? --Shawn Latimer
Dude...Steve Ballmer is CEO now. Get it right!
Trolls make great pets. Adopt one today!
Has there ever been any significant case where a company was sued for voilating GPL?
This would actually be quite funny if it weren't for the fact that the Linux crowd doesn't use FUD to the point that high level MS people do.
--
Why pay for drugs when you can get Linux for free ?
echo '[q]sa[ln0=aln80~Psnlbx]16isb572CCB9AE9DB03273snlbxq' |dc
Following the links reveals the "security problems with Linux" to be the BIND hole, which isn't even relevant to your desktop because you're not likely to use a desktop computer as a name server.
(As though Microsoft has any room to talk about security holes....)
--
Ooh, moderator points! Five more idjits go to Minus One Hell!
Delenda est Windoze
Ooh, moderator points! Five more idjits go to Minus One Hell!
Delendae sunt RIAA, MPAA et Windoze
I see comments here, and some of them are serious... now tell me, is that a complete joke? is it already april 1st? ...power of the time zones, right?
-- There are two kind of sysadmins: Paranoids and Losers. (adapted from D. Bach)
I bet a lot of Mickeysoft employees believe some of this stuff . . . FUD within the company!
-Leo
Another similar piece can be found here, entitled "Linus: Microsoft is Going Down."
-skip
What's linux?
Check out the bottom of the article. Down in the fine print. SatireWire is intended for use by those age 18 and older. All stories are fictional and satirical and should not in any way be construed as fact. Please read our disclaimer. All contents Copyright © 1999-2001, SatireWire, LLC. All rights reserved. Now I gotta say. That little thing had me going. I was getting ready to call this fud-rucker over at m$ and run his balls through the wringer!! :)
Live to be happy!! OR ELSE!!
The last several months have seen most of the major music labels release songs in Microsoft's Windows Media format, which has built-in copy protection, or DRM (digital rights management) technology. Most of the labels are quick to say they are technology agnostics, but in a few cases their commercial download services are using exclusively Microsoft technology.
Strange, I always thought DRM was the Direct Rendering Manager, which allows for the Direct Rendering Infrastructure to directly access graphics hardware in a safe and efficient manner.
Microsoft has released the source to their operating systems for quite some time. This is hardly news. Now, if they released *all* of the source, that would be a bit more impressive. Article doesn't state what was released.
The fact that Microsoft has some whoopbang encryption helper is no big deal either. It's all bullshit when you can build your own audio driver and capture everything to an (unencrypted) .wav file. Aside from the corporate fluff, there's really nothing in that article anyway.
I/O Error G-17: Aborting Installation
wait a sec. this is proably another mircosoft scare tactic, i mean come on linux is doing well, as a free operating system, people use it alot my own company uses it ans the main way to keep buisness costs down and cause its easy to find people that are willing to program for it since it is a recent start up. but this really sounds like microsoft is quivering in there boots due to what i have no idea but more than one person has tries such tactics to get things to fail and i wouldn't belive if this was one of them remember resistance is futile. and microsoft has screwed me more than once
I got all excited when I saw a "submitting" related link. I was expecting leather-clad, whip-holding women, but all I got was something about linux. Dunno 'bout you, but the image of a leather-clad penguin isn't all that appealing to me.
Religion is the best example of mass psychosis
Now what the hell am I going to run??
--
Do daemons dream of electric sleep()?
I liked things better when everything was on the fringe and underground anyway. So what if a few companies have gone belly up trying to hawk $100 copies of Debian....(Debian was meant to be free and will always be free -- so Corel & Stormix can cry in their beer all they want....)...I am sure those people trying to sell icecubes to Eskimos can swap war stories with the "failed" linux companies....
(+1 Funny) only if I laugh out loud.
I agree that is really a non-story but it's not without a few insightful comments.
Hell what's the group product manager with Microsoft's Windows .Net server marketing group doing at LinuxWorld anyway?
2001-02-01 23:00:00 Microsoft goes Open Source (articles,microsoft) (rejected)
*** I am the real stylewagon
Why is this posted on slashdot? is every segfault story that is mildly funny going to be posted now? THIS IS NOT NEWS, IT DOES _NOT_ MATTER.
-
Would Linux be anywhere near as popular without commercial distributions like Red Hat and SuSE?
-
Journaling file systems, tons of hardware device drivers either contributed outright or aided by the manufacturer, XFree86 DRI, etc... none possible without the Linux "industry".
-
Red Hat, VA Linux, IBM and many, many others are paying for Linux development. Would these developers be able to contribute as much on a purely volunteer basis vs. full-time? Would they be able to contribute at all?
The fact is that Linux will obviously grow much, much faster---both in market share and ability---with commercial support. And some things would simply not ever be accomplished without commercial support.I can understand some of the waryness, but to think Linux doesn't need "the industry" is fallacy. The only serious progress Linux can make is with industry support. If you don't want great improvements on the desktop, towards enterprise class server solutions and "Big Iron" mainframes, or towards embedded/portable devices, then fine, Linux can continue without the industry. But for Linux to truly succeed on a large scale, it needs "the industry" to take it there.
----------
In a real emergency, we would have all fled in terror, and you would not have been notified.
Can anyone realize this is a joke piece? I reconized it almost immediately. Slashdot has yet to tell it's own users it is closing, companies don't liquidate just because the big MS says they will fail. If anything, the MS report of linux failing by the end of the year has and will cause the linux community to be even stronger as the linux community just loves to prove microsoft wrong. What will be interesting is if linux can do everything that the Microsoft story says linux can not do in the server area. then again, I don't believe Windows supports such features (hot swapping CPUs for instance) so it will be even more points for linux.
Better be careful Microsoft, linux is gaining so much weigh against you that soon it will just have to look at you to cause you to fall, without a fight.
"No one is claiming that it is Open Source, or even Free Software. It's a story about some people being able to see the source if they need to/care enough."
And what good does that do, if they're not allowed to make changes?
FUD, FUD, FUD.
"I might have made a tactical error in not going to a physician for 20 years." -- Warren Zevon
Well it is about time the Linux community faced the truth... I mean comon people. It took ten years to realize that Windows is superior and Linux is inferior. Windows is the Polar Bear and Linux is the helpless penguin getting helplessly gulped up on after another after another.
~AdmrlNxn
~Admrlnxn
"I got your mom in my trunk"
Last Post!
The main difference is stability and instability. Now I know what you are thinking, let me stop you from hurting yourself.
Linux is unstable. Let me show you how.
Kernel changes. The fucking kernel changes make Linux unstable. IDsoftware won't write games for Linux anymore becasue of the damn kernel changes. They said screw it. At least with Windows you can install Quake3 on two totally different OS's even after updates.
I am sorry my friends but Linux may not die off, but it will never dominate. Windows is your daddy.
~AdmrlNxn
~Admrlnxn
"I got your mom in my trunk"
Look whats written on the bottom line(smal font): SatireWire is intended for use by those age 18 and older. All stories are fictional and satirical and should not in any way be construed as fact. Please read our disclaimer. All contents Copyright © 1999-2001,
'I sense much NT in you. NT leads to blue screen, blue screen leads to downtime, downtime leads to suffering.' -Uknown
The penguin that was hatched is Linux, which was born in Finland. Have you ever done any interpretation of literature?
(And penguins don't all come from the Antarctic, but it is true none live north of the equator in nature.)
There's no "we" in team, only "me"
Linux and corporations don't go too well together.
Actually they probably could get along fine. Just that corporations can't use the propriatary software business model. (The one a certain Mr Gates invented a while back.)
Think about it: who's to say Microsoft doesn't create their own build and release it freely, along with the source, and then write a set of free libraries that works only with their distro and wuns all of windows programs.
Because they would not have control over it. Once Microsoft released it it wouldn't belong before their extra bits would work with any distribution.
It's SPAM! Read it a little! Nobody from Microsoft is stupid enough to ask 'nix coders do program for MS. They'd probably get fired. Just ignore it and leave the poor woman alone.
--------
Genius dies of the same blow that destroys liberty.
think that the hard part is getting companies to realize that it's free as in speech, not free as in beer. As much as I like free (price) software, I think opinions won't be changed unless OSS moves to a buy-our-product-and-get-the-freely-modifiable-sour ce-code model instead of being
able to download it without cost on the Internet.
This is highly unlikely. An effect of OSS being "free speach" is that there is no supplier monopoly, thus the "market price" is very close to the real cost of supply.
The barrier here is people having had expensive software for so long that they think distributing software is intrinsically expensive.
Also downloading from the Internet isn't "free" the connection isn't "free", the time isn't "free". It's a bit like the difference between someone paying a courier to deliver a parcel and taking a company vehicle to go and pick it up themselves.
TWW
"Encyclopedia" is to "Wikipedia" what "Library" is to "Some people at a bus stop"
You're wrong basically, what your saying is that people selling GNU/Linux will not make as _much_ money as those selling proprietry operating systems that cannot be given away for free.
Actually you can sell GPL software at whatever price you choose, as you can with proprietary software. The difference is that the former has no monopoly on supply, so if the price is unreasonably high another supplier can undercut. With the latter there is no competition, no "market forces" on price, etc.
because you fail to understand so much about this. Your post was a Troll, right? OK, I'm taken in... "Linux and corporations don't go too well together." What makes you think this? It's false simply based on recent announcements by very large corporations. Do you regard Compaq, Dell, HP, IBM as corporations? They've all committed big money to supporting Linux, all in the last few weeks! "...but it can't last as a commodity for long." Linux isn't a commodity - it's free intellectual capital in software form, just like academic work. PC hardware is a commodity. MS Windows is likely a commodity soon - once they lose their preloads lock on new OEM PC sales. Just watch - MS Windows price will drop from $100 to practically nothing - $5-$25, and this will happen very fast, and soon. "...companies will start creating their own distros strictly for profit...." Here you reveal your inability to grasp the essence of the GPL. If anyone did this, they'd be sued and would lose. Read the GPL and come back when you understand it. As for the rest of your desperate post - it won't happen. Microsoft release Win/Linux free? You're dreaming. MS won't ever mess with Linux, but will instead attempt to FUD it out of a mass mindshare (like they did to OS/2). But it won't work simply because the market for Linux vs NT/2000 is smarter than the captive preload desktop market ever was. Go back into your Redmond bunker and try to think up a better set of arguments. These don't work.
That's if you can install it. I've finally managed to get it installed after numerous freezes. It's also crashed 3 times in the very short time I've had it installed. I've never had any trouble with any distro on this same machine, and the only time I've had Linux crash was when I screwed up my X configuration. I'm sorry, but until Microsoft can provide me with an OS that doesn't crash randomly then I'll only use them when I have to. Have you tried Mandrake Linux 7.2? Blows W2K out of the water for stability and usability.
The majority of Linux development is done on a voluntary basis. The kernel/drivers, Xfree, KDE, Debian, etc, are for the most part all done as a hobby. This would not change even if all of the "industry" companies went belly up.
This "Linux industry" has done enough already to get the message out, and that message won't just disappear. You can't kill Linux, nor the mentality of all of the open source programmers.
Would my desktop suddenly burst into flames if Redhat went out of business? I don't think so. People would still be developing for Linux. Heck, a new version of KDE might come out the next day. Like a giant snowball, Linux/OSS would keep moving.
The concept of giving away programs to the world is not a new one. I did it long before I knew about Linux. With the popularity of the Internet and an extremely popular open source OS, it only makes it easier for free software developers to work together. They did it before, they're doing it now, and they will continue doing it.
-Justin
I guess I can't imagine the visual part, though.
that being said, you are correct that this is a far cry from Open Source, and still reflects the "trust us, we know best" attitude we all know so well.
i speak for myself and those who like what i say.
You definitely forgot to fix the memory management. Just impliment this. void free(void *mem) { mem = 0; } and dont forget to use a hex editor to cut out some lines in a few random spots, and let email run scripts that can delete files unchecked. We can't stop there though MS is years ahead of us and rapidly moving forwand. .Net will include a much improved version of free
void free(void *mem)
{
malloc(rand());
mem = rand();
*mem = 0;
}
and run nothing but non portable interpreted code (even in the kernel! man there good!).
Hrm. those stories aren't all that interesting. I think the other stories they had today were far more interesting. Especially the Jef Raskin artical. although I could be biased since I've worked with Jef before:)
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
Well I guess it's back to my old HP calculator...Anything but winblows...=)
Plead sanity, then they'll know you're crazy...
Listen moron, Slashdot used to be a site for nerds, not just Linux Zealots such as yourself. They still have a lot of good articles posted every day that are NOT about Linux, it's just harder to use their basic tools to not display any Linux articles.
I'm sorry if I upset your little world by bringing some reality into it: not everyone here likes Linux.
"And like that
It's news for Nerds, Stuff That Matters. Not News for Linux Lovers Only.
I stopped using Linux ages ago but I still come here to read interesting stories:
Your Rights Online: Juno and Privacy
Your Rights Online: The Unblinking Eye
Jef Raskin On OS X: "It's UNIX, It's backwards."
NASA Controls Jet With Nerve Signals
GeoWorks Patents Wireless Web Browsers
I could go on, but I don't think I need to, this site's not just about Linux, and if the guy tries to filter out linux stories but can't then he has a right to bitch about it.
If you don't like reading his complaints, then stop coming here.
--
01 13 19
TVDJC TDSLR AZNGT NWQSH KPN
That's funny, I thought Linux was about having a good operating system to use on your hardware.
Does anyone remember SLS? That's the first linux distribution I ever installed. (when was that? 93? 94?) It was just a step or two above a roll-your-own install. At the time I had a very good network connection at work, so I could easily download the 90MB of the distribution, but I didn't have a cdrom drive (and no CD-R anyway). I had to write it to ~90 3.5" floppies so I could take it home & install it. I didn't even have a PC on the network to write the floppies so I used the floppy drive on a Sparc IPX. One floppy at a time, checking every 10 minutes or so. (writing a MSDOS floppy in SunOS was slow...). Later I got a 14.4 modem & was able to log onto the modem pool & ftp the distribution right onto my hardrive (took about 18 hours - not counting lost connections).
Then of course the install was agony. I was used to installing SunOS & VMS. The early fdisk for linux was PAINFUL. To make matters worse, there was no easy way to know how much would fit. The first time I installed it, I guessed wrong on the partition size & got most of the way through the install (changing ~90 floppies by hand) only to have the install fail because a partition was 5meg too small.
I don't understand why people don't like the linux industry. I think RedHat, VALinux, even Dell, IBM, etc. have done a lot for Linux. I'm glad they're there.
A couple nights ago I booted a poweredge 4400 with the RedHat 6.1 CD. In about 20 minutes I specified a bunch of RAID5 partitions, selected the packages to install, and then I went home. When I returned the next morning the Linux server was ready and waiting for me in the computer room.
Err, penguins come from the Antarctic which is South, depending if your definition of up is the opposite to the standard.
Unless of course you're talking about our favourite Scandinavian. However calling him a flightless bird may not a good career option...
--
Consultancy: If you're not part of the solution, there's money to be made in prolonging the problem
It says in the article that slashdot is going to be closing soon...
Is this true?? You have more than just Linux stuff on the site...
If you really are going bye-bye, could someone please recommand a good home page??
heh, I just about fell off my chair laughing when i read that one..... i even had to set up an account so i could reply. Ahh good ol' M$. the quote that got me was "and Microsoft has stated repeatedly that it does not lie or cheat or mislead." what more can i say? I mean microsoft has NEVER led me astray have they?
..... but then if you believe that then you really should go on believing microsoft is right.
Long live open source!
I think that the hard part is getting companies to realize that it's free as in speech, not free as in beer. As much as I like free (price) software, I think opinions won't be changed unless OSS moves to a buy-our-product-and-get-the-freely-modifiable-sour ce-code model instead of being able to download it without cost on the Internet. That way companiess will make the solid business decision which avoids lock-in and the problems it causes ("Hey, we can modify FooApp in house instead of having to upgrade"). An extension of this option is to have a collaboration between related businesses on a project (a bit like Apache) that creates a basic version of an app that can be customized to suit each business' needs. This gives the benefits of a large bug-tracking team which is the major advantage of open source, while avoiding the "hippy-dippy Richard Stallman information wants to be free" attitude that scares businesses.
Today's sig brought to you by http://www.swankypimp.com
It's difficult for Microsoft to do something like that though. Opening their sources completely would quite possibly kill Microsoft. Microsoft don't even do a lot of their own support work, so they wouldn't have enough support contracts to fall back on.
Quite apart from the fact that if they did open their sources, Linux / *BSD would probably end up having better support for Win32 apps than any MS OS.
For Microsoft open source just isn't feasible, much as I hate to admit it.
Bzzzzzt..."AAAAaaaaarrrgh!!!" Thud.
I go to all that trouble installing SuSE on my laptop, and now he tells me! Dagnubbit, Miller, why didn't you say so a couple of weeks ago? Would have saved me an awful lot of trouble.
Always keep a sapphire in your mind
Re:Microsoft redefines Open Source (Score:0)
by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 01, @09:03PM EST (#127)
Link to interview with ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley
Thank you very much, I looked for it quickly, but did not find it. You did.
Again, Thank you, Anonymous Coward!
- - -
"Contrary to popular myth, Microsoft doesn't hate everything about open source. While Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) officials publicly vacillate between declaring Linux either the most hyped operating system or the biggest threat to Windows, in reality, the company has learned some powerful lessons from its open-source competitors."
etc.
The summary at the Register is fairly on the money.
"It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
I wish I had mod points. You'd get 'em all.
Thank you for pointing that out that Red Hat does not have any revenue. The Red Hat CEO keeps on saying that he's going to be profitable this year. But in light of what you have said he is obviously wrong and should give up.
Thank you for having such a great new idea about how Red Hat can not make money. They will be so grateful to you and will ask themselves why they never saw things as clearly before.
Here's a quote from the CNET article:
.NET. Those guys are so smart - we can't possibly be worthy. ;)
"Miller said that Microsoft and its customers have not found many other open-source elements worthy of emulation. He said Microsoft believed its existing software development and testing paradigms served the company well. Miller added that Microsoft is moving to a subscription model, rather than to the open-source business model of free software, supported by paid-for consulting services."
So the CNET article was only an opportunity to (pardon the slang) "dis" open-source while plugging
I guess it's a damn good thing someone ported the PalmOS to my 1Ghz x86 box so I'm not completely out in the cold!
--
Still.
Money is still to be made. GNU/Linux will survive!
The problem with capped Karma is it only goes down...
SIG: HUP
Mind you, I support linux, etc., but this had a certain humor
It is not perfect, but it is not bad.
- - -
SLASHDOT SAYS MICROSOFT HAS NO FUTURE, SO MICROSOFT INDUSTRY WILL STOP NOW
Despite Gains in Market Share, Microsoft Firms To Call It Quits
Redmond, Wash. -- Chastened Microsoft executives pledged to stop their "crazy dreaming" and disband their efforts Wednesday after an executive from SlashDot proclaimed Windows was doomed, and openly questioned whether the operating system should exist.
The executive, Slashdot manager Commander Taco, told a reporter for Wired "Microsoft is not leading anything, it is failing to provide an operating system," adding that, ""Hype does not sustain a business," and, "the recent security problems with Microsoft ... really call into question whether Microsoft should be used at all."
The startling reprimand from SlashDot sent shockwaves throughout the Microsoft industry, which was doubly disappointed because it had been steadily gaining share on Microsoft 's operating systems.
"When I read what Cammander Taco said, it was like I'd been blindsided, like a doctor told me I had six months to live," recalled Bill Gates, CEO of Microsoft. "We recently exceeded earnings expectations, and figured to be profitable for years to come, but it looks like we were wrong."
Other Microsoft allied firms, public and private, said they would follow Bill Gate's example and liquidate. "If we don't have Slashdot 's blessing, then what's the point?" said a shaky anonymous employee
Columnists have denounced as "absurd" allegations that Linux might be utilizing its infamous FUD tactics to spread Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt about an opponent in an effort to steal market share. "That would be deceitful," he replied, "and Linux Advocates have stated repeatedly that they do not lie or cheat or mislead."
When it was pointed out that many people lie about their honesty, Commander Taco grew defensive. "Maybe some people do cheat, but then, most people tell the truth, just like Linux developers have had to do, over and over again!"
At Microsoft community site ZDNet, which will be closing despite its remarkable growth and popularity, columnists grew introspective. "Somebody said to me that Linix was guilty of hypocrisy because it gave away it's source code for free to eliminate competition from the operating system market, but this is a totally different situation," said Anchor Desk's David Coursey. "We're talking about Microsoft , for God's sake, not a bunch of utopian, open source geeks like them."
"No, we all have to take this for what it is," he added, "the cold, hard truth. Damn their probity."
Reached at his office, Microsoft 's Bill Gates said he didn't enjoy delivering the sobering news, and prayed his opponents would be able to find peace. "Revealing that Microsoft is full of errors, shouldn't be used, and has no place in the software world was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do," confessed Gates, who appeared to be holding back tears. "I can only hope that one day, they will see I was doing this to save them years of wasted effort."
"It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
so Linus is free. Now IBM just sold several of its multimillion dollar mainframes to run Linux on them. Also users still will be runing some non-free applications like DB2 or Lotus Notes on Linux. This is where IBM still makes money on Linux: hardware and applications. With that, they can (and do) give away Linux for free. IBM is still making money on Linux, and quite nicely. May be a hardcore Linux fan just starts LInux on his (her) PC and just wheeps from joy when his favorite GUI comes up, but in a real world people run some applications, see? (probably you don't)
well there are about 1 million children in iraq and lets hope we can dismantle the 1972 anti-ballistic missle treaty....then we can kill billions....yeee hah!!!!
I feel that The Register had a better take on the "Microsoft goes Open Source" thing. Puts it into perspective.
proof, n. A demonstration that a conclusion is implied by certain premises and axioms.
And exactly what is new and interesting about those stories? It's the same information that's been known before and debated to death on Slashdot.
--
Sometimes it's best to just let stupid people be stupid.
This article shows how out-of-sync /. is. It is not even funny, just another piece of M$ bashing. Am I the only one who looks for "news for nerds" and "stuff that matters" and feels tired of reading stories like these?
It is so strange that the ridiculous monolith story has earned two articles, while the latest PR tech-hype, Ginger/IT, was never mentioned. This is a subject that can bring lots of funny material, as The Register is showing us.
Maybe the main reason for publishing the article was that little phrase "Slashdot, which will be closing despite its remarkable growth and popularity". Shameless self-promotion?
Parent is 5, Funny while this is a troll? You got to be kidding.
Rogier.
I've removed the email addresses to prevent harassment of the people involved.
No you didn't! So send flames to hollyl@microsoft.com.
About encrypted source fulfilling the GPL.
:)
It seems to me, although ianal, that this isn't an actual loophole. From the text of the GPL:
The source code for a work means the preferred form of the work for making modifications to it.
And for some reason, encrypted source seems to not be the preferred form for modification purposes.
Of course, you're obviously not serious.
-skip
The last thing anyone could say is you're a quick learner.
No, your children are not the special ones. Nor are your pets.
You are right about that.
The willingness of humanity to follow without question is the fall of them.
My firewall is here. And I bet it's at lease as hard to hack as yours :)
..Gates is expected to be released in three weeks. .. with a patch due after that, roughly 4-6 weeks, and then an upgrade shortly after :P
(yes humour is good for the soul)
.sig under construction
By contrast, Microsoft has traditionally retained tight control over the Windows source code, which company executives have called Microsoft's "crown jewels."
Beware, executives - ridicule can kill!
.... 'cept we'd be able to see which bits they stole.
Micro$ucks could publish the whole of their source code in the NYT and it wouldn't make a shit bit of difference
No, your children are not the special ones. Nor are your pets.
D00d, that's like 30 years of computing down the drain. Will everybody have to start using PDP-11's again? ;)
(sigh)
You're wrong basically, what your saying is that people selling GNU/Linux will not make as _much_ money as those selling proprietry operating systems that cannot be given away for free.
They just have to make a profit margin. That is the _point_ of capitalism, to have companies competing give the consumers the best, cheapest option.
When you're intoxicated and you read this, it'll really get your heart pumping. I didn't figure out it was a joke until I saw the news service was SatireWire.com. That's not funny! (although it would be a riot if I were a little more sober)
--
timbo
timbo
Largely because of the quantity of dickheads who'd all be competing for the "Last Post".
Boffoonery - downloadable Comedy Benefit for Bletchley Park
Have you ever used Windows 2000? I find it to be incredibly stable and usable. Blows Linux out of the water for a desktop platform.
--
First my Dreamcast, now Linux! What's next!? Cable modems? *sob*
Who's the black private dick, who's a sex machine for all the chicks?
ack i need to freken preview. i am not linux biased as in I am not here to bash linux, though I don't like it I would use it if I was given it. talk about not reading over what you write before posting...
Stop that.
"I might have made a tactical error in not going to a physician for 20 years." -- Warren Zevon
Linux guys calling it quits?
After reading the article "Microsoft takes a page from Linux playbook", don't you wonder who wrote it?
:-)
Dead-tree pubs aren't the only ones who take pr-wire stuff and print it as news.
This article is very thinly veiled advertising for Microsoft. It's no different from the crap posted in connection with the LinuxGruven article by posters 311,256, et al.
Read with a more discerning eye, and don't automatically trust something you read in the mainstream media. Always follow the money, and see who benefits first. Even when reading Slashdot.
By definition, one cannot make a living writing free software. Before The Industry, GNU/Linux contributors, except the one who has MIT paying him to live on campus, had to divide their energies between that and a "real job." Now they don't have to. And individual users are still free to pick whatever distros and packages they want. How is this bad?
Clearly the only way to save the linux industry will be to create a Microsoft Like linux. ML linux will be priced at $300 US for a workstation. If you plan to use it as a server it will be $1000 per conection.
You might think that it will be difficult to emulate Window's no source feature because of the GPL. This requires the source to be made available. However, fortunately, the GPL contains a loophole. It never states that the source code cannot be encrypted. Furthermore it never states that you have to give away the key if it is encrypted.
A kernel patch will be of course be required that will at random intervals kill all processes and display pretty blue and white text screen that with helpfull looking yet meaningless hex codes.
To simulate Windows security features we will have to go through all the security advisories for the last two years and carefully remove about 70 % of the patches. A few of these patches would be shipped out at six month intervals as a service pack. Every fourth service pack would be sold (with a few useless GUI changes) as new version of the OS.
This will give us the edge we need to beat Microsoft at their own game.
134340: I am not a number. I am a free planet!
Maybe you misunderstood me. I have ABSOLUTELY no problem with arguing, or with having a favourite OS for a certain application. What I don't understand is why the previous poster would not want others to use their work. When I write code, I hope that it will be used by as many people as possible, and to make money. The latter seems to be tantamount to treason in these parts, but unfortunately my landlord actually wants to get paid! Maybe this is just written out of frustration; I see so many people here who obviously know a lot, and are eager to share their work, but it seems to come at the cost of inclusion. Enough said, time to go home and make dinner.
Just keep it simple.
Why should you care what happens to your body?
It's just a group of protiens that control your higher functions. No more, no less.
Why should it matter if you get a little diseased?
--
Soma: because a gramme is better than a damn.
Microsoft redefines 'open source' - look, don't touch
By: Andrew Orlowski in New York Posted: 01/02/2001 at 18:24 GMT
Remember the gag about how many Microsoft programmers it takes to change a light bulb? The answer's none: Redmond simply redefines darkness.
As a variation, try this one - how does Microsoft make Windows open source? It doesn't: it redefines free software - software that gives the user the right to change the source code, as software that doesn't give the user the right to change the source code.
In a slightly whimsical interview with ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley, Microsoft's Doug Miller says the company has been opening up its Windows source code, with the intention to "make this (source code) available to many hundreds of customers" Mary Jo puts the number at less than a hundred.
But it turns out, this isn't software libre at all. End users can't modify the source code, giving the statement the air of something that was dreamt up in a hurry. Microsoft has like most other major OS vendors, provided Windows source code to academic institutions for years: taking its cue from Sun Microsystems which worked academic modifications back into the old, Berkeley based SunOS successfully. But enthusiasm has waned more recently, as it did for Sun, because Microsoft increasingly viewed the exercise as a free bug fix. And lo, here's Miller expressing the hope that Microsoft customers "who find a bug... would contact Microsoft for tweaks".
Miller admits that very few customers want to see the source code - shock! - and so presumably even fewer want to find Windows bugs and pay for the privilege twice over: once for the source code license, and secondly for the company time.
And remember that not even Microsoft's biggest OEM customers and OS rivals wanted the responsibility of picking their way through the Windows source code. That suggestion was touted around the industry last spring by the AntiTrust Department as a suggested remedy against Microsoft. They received no takers. So if HP, IBM and Compaq don't want to fix Microsoft's Windows bugs, why would Marks and Spencer?
"It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
Instead, why not look at two of the storiesSlashdot didn't care to accept for you today.
- I don't care if they globalize against free speech. All my best free thoughts are done in my head.
I'm a true Linux user, and a follower of RMS and his insights. We don't need a Linux industry. I remember the days when this view was the mainstream, throughout the community, but ever since the 'Industry' came along, our ideals have shallowed. Look at that travesty Open Source - a retreat from our principles, not the first and not the last, caused by the 'Industry'.
I yearn for the good old days. If this article is correct, we will get them back.
You know exactly what to do-
Your kiss, your fingers on my thigh-
You know exactly what to do-
Your kiss, your fingers on my thigh-
I think of little else but you.
Make no mistake, Microsoft is VERY concerned about Linux. They will do everything in their power to shove serious competitors out of their way of making money, even if it means making (borderline hilarious) degrading remarks about the competition such as the latest.
I must say this though - I find it scary that Microsoft comments about security issues relating to Linux when they have vastly greater problems with their products.
Think people - of course Microsoft is going to want to say that Linux has no future - because it doesn't want them to!
Chris
Linux is just working out for my needs of a OS, and it works good fast and stable.... See if i care for the Industry, i dont need them for what i am doing....
...the MS story on Segfault. What I crave is originality in my humour.
--
Jon - TheSpork
Starting the conversion of my 10 servers back to Windows2000 this weekend. It might be a little slow, though, since, I'll have to start with NT and have the WinAt Service schedule reboots every hour.
I'm not sure how much the software licensing costs will be, so, I'll have to convert one server, then, sell a few machines to pay for the licenses, then, convert another, and sell a few machines to pay for licenses. You guys can keep an eye on the action at ebay.
Kinda a relief, now that I think about it. Never did think I'd ever use those 5 monitors I don't use any more. Sure will be nice to see them light up, again. Boy, I hope they still work.
So, glad that whole OSS thing is over.
Linux rocks!!! www.dedserius.com
www.dedserius.com
VB != VisualBasic
Now that Microsoft says that my Linux has no future, I'd better install Windows 2000. Why did I ever do something that Microsoft didn't tell me to do?
erm, where on earth did you get the idea that capitalism is about choice and communism is about "one true way"?
Capitalism is not about choice it is about making money, consumerism doesn`t even need choice, it just needs people buying your product, if there are no other similar products available then so much the better as far as both capitalism and consumerism are concerned.
Communism/ Socialism (I know they are not the same but most americans seem to think they are) has nothing whatsoever to do with choice or lack thereof, and has everything to do with the distribution of goods within the society.
There is nothing in marxism/ stalinism/ socialism which says that there should only be one of each type of product. However in a managed economy it is sometimes easier to produce just one of each product, but it is not a requirement, a managed socialist economy with a little imagination can have just as much choice as a consumerist one.
A crash reduces
Your expensive computer
A crash reduces
Your expensive computer
to a simple stone.
We here at CFGN (www.cfgn.net)are sad to inform you that CFGN and all the OzForces websites will be closing down due the sudden announcement that all Linux development is halting. Thats right, after Microsoft announced to Wired that "Linux is not leading anything, it is simply providing a 'free' operating system" and that "Free does not sustain a business" SatireWire has announced the decision that the Linux industry will stop now. You might know that Linux is our server OS of choice, so in the wake of these Microsoft claims we have decided to follow the rest of the Linux community and liquidate ourselves.
Remember the headline from the Pons and Flieshmann's cold fusion debacle?
Are all Linux zealots as clueless as you?
What would they have to loose if they released the Windows source code? They don't have to give the OS away for free, and it's not like releasing the source will mean people will pirate it -- people already do that anyway.
;)
And if part of the source license includes not being able to use the source in any product aside for one designed for Windows, then the Open Source Community can't use it because it would be visible.
Seems to me like they've got nothing to loose and everything to gain. I bet there are all kinds of Windows developers out there who would spend the time fixing Windows up.
The only reason I can think of that they'd hold it back is because there's something really bad they don't want anyone to see. (Anyone ever see that movie where a computer virus killed anyone who stared at their screen?
-kidlinux.
Open source programs close their source?
"I have not failed. I've simply found 10,000 ways that won't work." --Thomas Edison
Well, MS vs. Linux remind me, Netscape vs. IE,
Apple vs. MS.
MS attacked market that way. Now Linux attack market that way. Only who take the role is changed.
Not a day passes that Slashdot isn't full of laughably inaccurate, wildly hyperbolic nonsense about Windows. You think everyone at Microsoft runs around in state of constant hysteria?
* Now that I think about it, I don't recollect a single s/Linux/Windows retort of the hundreds I've read here that has been funny or insightful in the slightest. But I'm betting someone is going to reply with:
So somebody at Red Hat said bad things about Windows...
Unless the Linux industry can get their act together, then the headline just might become reality.
"Ancillary does not mean you get to rule the world." --U.S. Circuit Judge Harry Edwards, speaking to the FCC's lawyer
The site www.satirewire.com runs Apache/1.3.9 (Unix) (Red Hat/Linux) mod_perl/1.24 PHP/3.0.16 FrontPage/4.0.4.3 mod_ssl/2.4.9 SSL-C on Linux
got that here: http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph/?host=www.sati rewire.com
Anyone notice that this is the same guy that bashed Linux in the article posted on /. a few days ago? And I thought Microsoft said that Linux and the open source movement had no point to it, not to mention that they seem to think keeping their source closed is a security benefit! You know what we call this? We call it trying to play us for fools...
For a few laughs: I saw this story on the front page and thought that people were submitting it for posting because they believed it... Damn I feel stupid (and so do those of you that DID believe it was true...)!
The problem with capped Karma is it only goes down...
SIG: HUP
Linux IS the essence of capitalism!
Capitalism isn't about money, it's about choice.
In capitalism, the consumers (I hate being called that) ARE the economic system. They ultimately decide the fate of a product or company.
Certain commercial OS's are all about taking away choice and taking away freedom from the consumer. This is actually more akin to a Communist system in which there is the 'One True Way' and consumers have no choice in the matter.
Which method "goes against [...] capitalism" in this light?
--
Soma: because a gramme is better than a damn.
"so Linus is free"
He must like you. He charged me $200 an hour. (And while counting it, he *intoned*: "My name is Linux Torvalds, and I pronounce it 'Linus'")
Looks like Microsofts fir wave of attacks has begun. This should get interesting. My favorite quote is: ... really call into question whether Linux should be used at all.[']"
"[']the recent security problems with Linux
Let's use that logic and apply it to Microsoft, given that MS has had a LONG history of security problems--usually big, we shouldn't use and MS product. Wait, I forgot those security problem (even the one on there own network) were really features.
Gee, that leaves Macs and other Unix machine. What am I to do? The stupid of MS sometimes surprised me.
At the next eco-hypocrisy-meeting, count the private jets used to get to the meeting. Should be interesting to see that
heh. must be winblowz
===sam=== free nessus vulnerability scan = www.vulnerabilities.org
For a group of people who are calling it quits, we slashdotted that server really quickly.
Damn Linux zealots, taking out the messenger with their last gasp!!!
(In case you did not notice, that is a joke. Anyone have a mirror?)
Try to hack my 31337 firewall!
I guess I"ll start to run a BSD flavor, now that I'm going to have to hose my Linux partition.
I definitely won't do that until I find out MS' stand on it though.
In other news, Bill Gates has reportedly checked himself into a psychiatric ward for treatment of severe depression. Close friends of Gates say that he recently got himself an account on the popular Slashdot website. After several weeks of reading thousands of negative comments about his pride and joy, the Windows operating system, Gates became withdrawn and despondent. He reportedly spent hours in his Seattle mansion whimpering "Why do they hate me? I just want to make people happy. Why?"
Just before checking himself into the nearby hospital, Gate instructed his Senior Vice President of Research, Rick Rashid, to look into the "Linux" operating system. He put him in contact with Slashdot operating systems expert TuXR0X who told Gates the startling news "L1nuX r0x0rS! Winbl0ws sux0rs!".
Gates is expected to be released in three weeks.
Ok, I'm sick of these "recent security problems" with Linux. Have I been out of the loop here? I mean, I heared about problems with the default install of redhat, but those weren't holes is Linux. I bet I could take any network enabled OS, run a service(like a shell bound to port 8080) with all the access rights in the universe(as far as the OS in concerned), and let people hax04r away at it. Although a lot of the MCSEs out there think of redhat as linux, I believe the only true linux is the kernel. Then we have the GNU tools that are commonly installled, which many associate with linux, and then we have the pretty Boated-Do-It-All_For-You-'cause-You-Will_Assume-it s-Secure installers. I could probably configure any network enabled and disk writing OS to be insecure if I had the time.
Puffin : Penguin :: Lion : Cat
Get it?
censorship is a form of noise, which actively seeks to drown out content with silence - Crash Culligan
uhh... you thinking puffins, maybe?
Wow....it really makes me laugh how MICROSOFT of all companies MICROSOFT can go around talking about the problems with another Operating System. If anyone has to be blamed, it is Microsoft. The worst software company in the world. A company that cannot get something done right the first time, or the 2nd or even the 3rd time for that matter. Screwing consumers out of billions of dollars. I hope the goverment puts them in their place! Mark my words, Microsoft will fall and all that will rule is the Penguin!
I awlays end up buying the newest version of my Distro, why?
:-).And I know I am helping them invest in more cool free software.
Because I do not want to spend hours upon hours downloading/pacthing/swearing to get things all up and running.
I am lazy pure and simple
StarTux
+5 Insightful. Thank you for choosing to post! I'll be using this table-turning rhetoric around the office for a long time to come. 8^)
The "cue the foo posts in 3, 2, 1..." posts will commence with no subsequent foo posts in 3, 2, 1...
That's pretty stupid....why would linux just shut down if they didn't get microsoft's blessings?
You think you're so rich...But there's one thing you can't buy....A dinosaur
Yes, this is genuine. I'm a committe member for Linux users of Victoria This was recently sent to out committee. I've removed the email addresses to prevent harassment of the people involved.
Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2001 13:42:50 -0800
From: Holly Lindsey
To: "'XXX@luv.asn.au'"
Subject: Networking Heaven
Hello,
My name is Holly Lindsey and I am a recruiter with Microsoft in the US.
First, I want to apologize if it is inappropriate to approach your
organization. I understand lovers of Linux/Unix sometimes don't have much
love for Microsoft, but I'd like to get this information out to ALL the
serious software developers.
We will be conducting interviews in Sydney in March for the Windows Core
Networking team. I have a deep respect for users of Linux/Unix and know they
are sometimes the most hard core devoted programmers out there. We are
looking for the best and brightest to join our team to produce the next
generation of Windows. The Windows Core Networking team is responsible for
building the next generation networking for Windows workstation and server
platforms. This includes high performance network interfaces and transports,
networking services that provide security, load balancing, scalable
multicast capabilities and seamless wireless LAN experience, and
technologies to make networking self configuring, self diagnosing and self
healing. This group works with Windows Workstation (Consumer and Professional) and Server teams to ensure that these products are second to
none in networking offerings. For more information about this product see
their site at: http://microsoft.com/windows/default.asp.
If you would be interested in learning more about our opportunities in this
area, please don't hesitate to contact me directly at hollyl@microsoft.com
and check out our web site at http://www.microsoft.com/jobs/intl.
Sincerely,
Holly Lindsey
Associate Recruiter, International
Microsoft Corporation
Oh, and to respond to you about 'killing the Linux movement'.
I AM the Linux movement.
As long as I continue to use and support Linux-supporting organizations (Debian, FSF), there will ALWAYS be Free (I include BSD licensing in my view of Free) operating systems.
I defeat Microsoft everytime I say "No." to one of their products or file formats, or show another person the value of freedom.
--
Soma: because a gramme is better than a damn.
Microsoft will announce that Unix never should have been developed in the first place. Then all the BSD's will call it quits, Sun will go supernova, and Bell Labs will offer an apology for wasting everone's time and money.
You do realize this is satire yes? As in, a joke, mocking, not real, etc.
And to be honest, as a fairly-long-time linux user (back since my 486 days atleast) I have to disagree with you. I don't follow RMS' beliefs, and I DO think we need an "Industry."
The Industry you say doesn't matter, is what funds a lot of projects to allow programmers to work on them full time...and what hosts the pages for said programmers so that they have bandwidth with which to deliver their work.
Linux and corporations don't go too well together. Yes right now companies are doing great, but that's because it's still in the "fad" stage. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that Linux is a bad OS; I think it's a great OS, BUT it can't last as a commodity for long.
Why?
Because it's FREE
That's the same reason most people can't some to understand how it can make any money. It goes against the essence of true capitalism, where everything is for the money and just for the money. Linux is a great OS, and written and maintained who want just that.
Which is great for the product. But as soon as the product becomes popular (even right now it's beginning that stage) and more people begin using it, companies will start creating their own distros strictly for profit, which will result in lessened quality and eventually the birth of a new "underground" OS.
Think about it: who's to say Microsoft doesn't create their own build and release it freely, along with the source, and then write a set of free libraries that works only with their distro and wuns all of windows programs. As much as the Slashdot community would try to stay away from it, you can't stop the inevitable. People would pick that up because its a free OS AND Windows-compatible. In doing so, they'd help and kill the Linux movement in the same sweep. True, they'd be ending their Windows sales but they'd also be ending the competition. And anyways, everybody knows that their major sales are from their other products, not Windows.
Ah well, that's my 2 cents...
There are many problems with Windows 2000:
- User interface isn't multitasking well.
- Only one user at a time (annoying if your girlfriend uses the PC with the CD writer...)
- If drivers don't work 100% perfectly, Windows is unstable, and you might end up reinstalling everything.
- Lacks a lot of tools in standard installation, like ImageMagick, a good telnet, ssh, pdf viewer, good GUI FTP, image editor etc...
- Cannot be used as a file-server on a LAN, unless you control the setup of the other PCs. This is very annoying in appartment buildings with LAN.
- Costs a whole lot of money. If I would use Windows 2000 for all that I use Linux for, I had to invest at least $10.000 in software alone.
Linux just works better. In Linux, errors are fixed. In Windows, errors need workarounds.
Where AMD states that Intel rules the planet and closes shop.