Simply GNUstep Delivers UNIX, Simply

Eugenia writes "A new, Linux-based operating system released recently, called Simply GNUstep and it is based on the GNUstep architecture, originally built by NeXT (OpenSTEP) and is now also used by MacOSX (Cocoa). The alpha version of the x86-based OS is available for download and boots off the 110 MB bootable CD. The cool thing about Simply GNUstep is its partial source compatibility with MacOSX programs (further compatibility is still worked on) and its clean infrastructure, as it only includes GnuSTEP graphical applications like WindowMaker, Mail.app etc. You can read an introduction article of the OS at OSNews."

Comments

OT: Television

[lightfoot jim]

I know it's offtopic....

Why does not having a TV make you a better person?

I don't have a TV either. I don't believe that it makes me a better person. However, when I mention that I don't have a TV, a lot of people immediately get very defensive. Bear in mind that I don't go around advertising this fact. It's more like,

"Did you see Friends last night?"
"No, missed it."
"What, how could you miss Friends?!!"
"I don't own a TV."

For whatever reason, people tend to get really defensive, as if they feel attacked. The reaction is almost exactly like when I've told pot smokers that I don't smoke pot. It's not an uncommon response for them to ask, "What? Do you think that makes you better than me?" even though I made no indication that it was a moral issue. This is the response of someone who feels guilty for their behavior, right or wrong as it may be to feel that way. In the context of such an exchange, I might actually reply, in exasperation, that not owning a TV or not smoking pot or whatever it may be really does make me a better person. I think that's where the sig comes from.

Besides, TV really does suck. Can you make any argument in favor of owning a TV? Well, it looks as though you did.

Still, it does me good to be in on the pop culture of our times. Without a TV I wouldn't be as much a part of US society.

Does this really sound that convincing to you? It's just a pretty way of saying that TV is a cultural normalizer. Have you noticed that in any given time of day, all the major networks have rather similar shows? That's because TV programming is predicated on uniformity of its audience.

If you watch a person's behavior when they shoot up smack, it's the same as when they watch TV. The eyes gloss over, the body slumps, the brain goes into an alpha state, etc. Look at how a person watches TV. What's channel surfing? It's looking for something to lull the viewer into a trance. If people really watched for content they would stick to certain shows, or just rent DVDs. That's far from the norm. The norm is to get off work and look through the channels for something to dullen the senses, just like a closet drunk looking in various hiding places around the house for a bottle stashed away. This may seem like an extreme comparison. Bear in mind that liver damage will cut a person's life by ten years perhaps. How many years do people surrender to TV, thirty minutes at a time?

Do I really think I'm better than you for not owning a TV? No. But I do feel like I'm enjoying a freedom of mind that a lot of people choose to give up in order to pass the time. Perhaps they view the choice of what to do with their free time as a burden. Maybe they are really concerned with what will happen on Survivor. I just happen not to feel that way. But if someone should get defensive with me when I tell them so, I'd probably give it right back to them.