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VA Linux Dropping "Linux" From Name
Several folks noted that VA is changing its name to "VA Software" to reflect the fact that they aren't a Linux company anymore. VA of course owns OSDN which runs various Linux and Open Source web sites including amusingly enough Linux.com. Can't say it matters much to me what they call the thing as long as they let us keep running Slashdot, but it really is sad knowing that most of the cool open source hackers no longer work there. My bad. Anyone have a link to the press release that doesn't require a login?
VA va voom...
at least from NASDAQ.
it's not your company, besides, Linux is being phased out. It's a fucking science experiment gone terribly amok and corrupt. It must be erradicated, and "VA" are taking those first intelligent steps.
in related news cmdrtaco has stepped out of the closet and changed his name to cmdr faggot.
Slashdot will survive. I promise.
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http://slashdot.org/moderation.shtml
HeheHe, You seem to have misunderstood something.
It is a move away from linux and a move away from open source.
Open source as a businessmodel is failing.
I work as a consultant for several fortune 500 companies, and I think I can shed a little light on the climate of the open source community at the moment. I believe that part of the reason that open source based startups are failing left and right is not an issue of marketing as it's commonly believed but more of an issue of the underlying technology.
I know that that's a strong statement to make, but I have evidence to back it up! At one of the major corps(5000+ employees) that I consult for, we wanted to integrate Linux into our server pool. The allure of not having to pay any restrictive licensing fees was too great to ignore. I reccomended the installation of several boxes running the new 2.4.9 kernel, and my hopes were high that it would perform up to snuff with the Windows 2k boxes which were(and still are!) doing an AMAZING job at their respective tasks of serving HTTP requests, DNS, and fileserving.
I consider myself to be very technically inclined having programmed in VB for the last 8 years doing kernel level programming. I don't believe in C programming because contrary to popular belief, VB can go just as low level as C and the newest VB compiler generates code that's every bit as fast. I took it upon myself to configure the system from scratch and even used an optimised version of gcc 3.1 to increase the execution speed of the binaries. I integrated the 3 machines I had configured into the server pool, and I'd have to say the results were less than impressive... We all know that linux isn't even close to being ready for the desktop, but I had heard that it was supposed to perform decently as a "server" based operating system. The 3 machines all went into swap immediately, and it was obvious that they weren't going to be able to handle the load in this "enterprise" environment. After running for less than 24 hours, 2 of them had experienced kernel panics caused by Bind and Apache crashing! Granted, Apache is a volunteer based project written by weekend hackers in their spare time while Microsft's IIS has an actual professional full fledged development team devoted to it. Not to mention the fact that the Linux kernel itself lacks any support for any type of journaled filesystem, memory protection, SMP support, etc, but I thought that since Linux is based on such "old" technology that it would run with some level of stability. After several days of this type of behaviour, we decided to reinstall windows 2k on the boxes to make sure it wasn't a hardware problem that was causing things to go wrong. The machines instantly shaped up and were seamlessly reintegrated into the server pool with just one Win2K machine doing more work than all 3 of the Linux boxes.
Needless to say, I won't be reccomending Linux/FSF to anymore of my clients. I'm dissappointed that they won't be able to leverege the free cost of Linux to their advantage, but in this case I suppose the old adage stands true that, "you get what you pay for." I would have also liked to have access to the source code of the applications that we're running on our mission critical systems; however, from the looks of it, the Microsoft "shared source" program seems to offer all of the same freedoms as the GPL.
As things stand now, I can understand using Linux in academia to compile simple "Hello World" style programs and learn C programming, but I'm afraid that for anything more than a hobby OS, Windows 98/NT/2K are your only choices.
thank you.
I can post this ontopic! As part of it's name change and change in corporate structure, is VA changing it's Privacy Policy? Or will Slashdot just remain in violation of it?.
Here's as good a place as any for an open letter to VA!
An Open Letter to VA Concerning Privacy on Slashdot
To whom it may concern,
It has come to our attention that Slashdot is building a detailed database of every visitor and user of Slashdot. This database includes, among other personal details, an address history which permanently records every IP address assosciated with every Slashdot user and comment for all time. We are concerned that this database is a signifigant Intellectual Property asset that may be abused in the event of a sale of Slashdot by VA Linux to a third party.
In addition, we feel that keeping a permanent and indelible record of every IP address used to post every Anonymous comment on Slashdot erases whatever hopes of anonymity that endangered or threatened users may have had. To name two examples, Chinese dissidents and corporate insiders can have no expectation of anonymously revealing civil rights violations and corporate abuse.
It is our hope that given these concerns, VA Linux or Slashdot may choose to provide an opt-out option to users, whereby users could choose not to be tracked and profiled if they so request. Some discussion has been made of a Slashdot subscription service; perhaps one revenue stream for Slashdot would be to sell Privacy Rights. For a low yearly fee, a user could purchase the right not to be tracked, profiled, and logged by IP address.
Whatever steps are taken, it is our hope that Slashdot will address the current privacy concerns in public to allay our fears and to promote open discussion.
Thanks again for creating one of the most popular sites on the Internet, and all the best.
-The Slashdot Privacy Watch Team.
Call it VA/Doubleclick!
Read more about the future of VA/Doubleclick here: The Slashdot Privacy Watch.
An Open Letter to VA Linux Concerning Privacy on Slashdot
To whom it may concern,
It has come to our attention that Slashdot is building a detailed database of every visitor and user of Slashdot. This database includes, among other personal details, an address history which permanently records every IP address assosciated with every Slashdot user and comment for all time. We are concerned that this database is a signifigant Intellectual Property asset that may be abused in the event of a sale of Slashdot by VA Linux to a third party.
In addition, we feel that keeping a permanent and indelible record of every IP address used to post every Anonymous comment on Slashdot erases whatever hopes of anonymity that endangered or threatened users may have had. To name two examples, Chinese dissidents and corporate insiders can have no expectation of anonymously revealing civil rights violations and corporate abuse.
It is our hope that given these concerns, VA Linux or Slashdot may choose to provide an opt-out option to users, whereby users could choose not to be tracked and profiled if they so request. Some discussion has been made of a Slashdot subscription service; perhaps one revenue stream for Slashdot would be to sell Privacy Rights. For a low yearly fee, a user could purchase the right not to be tracked, profiled, and logged by IP address.
Whatever steps are taken, it is our hope that Slashdot will address the current privacy concerns in public to allay our fears and to promote open discussion.
Thanks again for creating one of the most popular sites on the Internet, and all the best.
-The Slashdot Privacy Watch Team.
As we have seen [etoys.com] in the past, privacy policies mean squat after a business has been sold.
All the more reason for The Slashdot Privacy Watch.
The all NUDE Calander featuring the slashdot editors! Hmmm, on second thought, that may be a bad idea. The thought of a nude JonKatz makes me want to vomit.
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Or you could hire Joe. Yes, you might have to pay him more than you would like if he doesn't jump at the chance to maintain his code for money. But guess what? People are under no obligation to give you free services.
"Mission critical." Haha. I've stopped listening to such garbage. NASA? Sure. Military, paramedics, police? Yeah. But "accounting file server"? Please. I really couldn't care less about how well the wheels of business keep turning at this point.
You go right ahead, and then you watch that suit get thrown out of court because the disclaimers stated that it was not to be used in "mission critical" situations, and the license agreement said that you would not hold them liable.
Cool. You might get a coupon for some discounts on IBM floppy disks or something.
Am I supposed to think this is a problem? There are lots of things in life for which there is no recourse. People make mistakes. Get over it. Tell your manager, "I chose this technology because based upon my judgement and professional experience, which was why you hired me, it did and still does appear to be the best solution.".
Mainly, grow a spine and accept some responsibility for your own choices in life for once.
TO BUY A NEW CAR WOULD MAKE YOU SEXUALLY ATTRACTIVE.
Yeah but ask yourself how they got that monopoly?
It wasn't granted by God or the government.
For most of this year, the slowing world economy has caused companies to cut back on investments in technology. After the terrorist attacks on September 11th, much of our business for the quarter, which typically closes in the final weeks, simply did not materialize.
/., for example, will know sell user information. Some organizations will function differently than in the past. Senior managers will take sizeable cuts in pay under VA Linux/Software's performance-based compensation model. Still, we can't just cut our way to profitability. We have to grow our way to profitability.
As a result, VA Linux/Software will post a very disappointing loss for the quarter. Cuts in expenses, many of which were suggested by you, saved VA Linux/Software $29 and a couple of used condoms last quarter, but that was not enough to offset the shortfall in revenue. In order to establish profitable growth, VA Linux/Software will have to make even deeper thrusts into Hemos' and CmdrTaco's anuses.
We examined every scenario that would let us avoid having to lose good people who are not only communists but also smell funny. Unfortunately, VA Linux/Software is in the process of cutting xxx positions, a larger number than we anticipated in our memo to you earlier this year, but an unavoidable number, due to the outlook for open source going down the toilet. VA Linux/Software is granting severance packages that will reduce personal hardships in this economic climate, and we will make extra efforts to assist people with job placement assistance- we're planning on shipping our former employees to communist China, where their ideology will be appreciated. This cut is the most difficult and painful one this company has ever had to make, except for that time when we circumcised Timothy with a rusty hatchet. Owch!
VA Linux/Software has been a highly rated e-communism company for about 7 years. Economic cycles come and go. This downturn will pass in time. And when it does, VA Linux/Software will emerge from it much stronger than competitors who lack our differentiated software technology, base of customers, and our ability to invest heavily in goatse. VA Linux/Software will regain momentum, but only if we tighten our sphincters and sharpen our penises.
The immediate challenge for all of us is to restore growth, leading to profitable growth. Every organization within VA Linux/Software is being asked to do more with less.
I have been in involved in the fields of business and finance for many years. I have seen the fortunes of countless companies rise and fall. I believe I can lead our company out of tough times and into better days. I have never seen a company with as much potential for sustained, long-term industry leadership as VA Linux/Software has today. VA Linux/Software has a terrific team of employees known for their stamina, adaptability, and willingness to do ANYTHING for $5. We have developed unsurpassed software technology, market leadership in the retail e-commerce business, and superlative customer service. In the weeks ahead, we will release news of much anticipated new alliances (e.g., an alliance with North Korea) and software that reinvents the concept of e-communism and enables customers to do more than ever before, at lower costs. Our long-term mission is to extend VA Linux/Software's leadership of the industry. And with your help we will.
Thank you.
What is VA other than Sourceforge and Slashdot?
SFRG?
SDOT?
SLSH?
Maybe if Microsoft bought SlashDot, they would kick out all you Linux bastards and make one of the standards for visiting the site that you must take a shower more than once a year! FUCKING LINUX ASSHOLE FUCKERS! BURN IN HELL FUCKERS!
Well, perhaps they ought to change it to JEWS.
Why don't you suck my cock to finance your mortgage you DINK. Fuck you and your faggoty stock purchases you homo.
I got poop on my hands
and there's no remorse
I got poop on my dick
'cause I fucked a horse
but, but --
it's important to remember that *BSD is dying!!
muwahahahahaha!! fuck you, *bsd dying troll!