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Sundance Channel Showing "Revolution OS" Monday Night

Posted by chrisd on from the nick-moffitt-and-I-baking-under-the-sun-for-art dept.

SnickleFritz writes "Monday the 18th at 9pm the Sundance Film channel will be broadcasting a documentary about the OSS Movement. It will feature interviews with Linus Torvalds, Eric Raymond and Richard Stallman. It labels them as "computer visionaries." While it will probably be old news to most people here, I will still tape it and loan it to every OSS doubting Thomas in my shop." CD: It should be noted that cmdrtaco is in this, talking about free software while lounging on an inflatable sofa at linuxworld. Clearly you'll want to go buy a big screen TV to watch this. This is the same movie that was screened at SXSW last year and at LinuxWorld a few times. Other people featured in the movie include Michael Tiemann, Bruce Perens and Larry Augustin.

5 of 284 comments (clear)

  1. I think I understand now.... by evilviper · · Score: 5, Interesting

    So, everything related to GNU or Linux is revolutionary, but the thousands of people writing Open Source operating systems & programs before the GPL got popular, were just a fluke? Just and oddity that doesn't deserve a second look?

    Or are we just pandering to your love of buzzwords? Oh yeah, make sure you have an American Flag in the corner too... That would complete the picture.

    --
    Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
  2. I've seen it by joeflies · · Score: 5, Interesting
    I think that the film plays linus fairly close to his public personality (carefree about the implications of linux, doing it because he likes it), and it does show raymond, perens, and tienman as the evangelists.

    But the most suprising portroyal is how Stallman comes out. It shows a much more ballanced view of the GNU philosophy without coloring it with all the other stuff that Stallman gets knocked around for. They do show some of the conflict coming out between Stallman and his view of Linux, especially the footage of the LinuxWorld 99 acceptance speech.

    Movie is better than I expected, and I like the fact that there is so much story behind where Linux came from, although it does paint a fairly narrow view of where Linux is going. Majority of it comes from the linux-mania of 99, and a footnote regarding VA Linux's stock runup and down.

  3. Re:heh by dwbryson · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I saw this movie in denver when it was here for a film festival a couple months ago. And the director JTS Moore had a little question/answer session afterwards. He said that during the 6-9 months he filmed this he interviewed RMS like 4 times on different trips to the east cost( a couple months apart) and *every time* he was wearing the same shirt. Watch the movie, look at his shirt... same in ever shot... you'd think it was shot in one sitting... but you'd be wrong.

    --
    - "Never let a computer tell me shit." - DelTron Zero
  4. Watch the first 9 minutes over at Ifilm.com by EraseEraseMe · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Blatant stealing of link from previous poster

    My review of the 9 minutes:

    Linus seems like a nice enough guy, quiet, proto-typical geek, tends to talk a bit too technical but uses metaphors, comparisons to get his point across...Overall grade: B
    Bruce Perens knows what he's talking about, but is either A) Amazed at the shiny flashing light on the top of the camera or B) staring at himself in the reflection of the camera. He needs to sit back, relax, and stop swinging around like a monkey...Overall Grade: C+
    Mr Stallman handles himself well enough with an interviewer, but tends to talk over the heads of any non-technical viewer. His anecdote is interesting though, the loss of freedom because of having to use passwords..I wonder if he'd still give the same argument...Overall grade: B-
    Eric Raymond scares me...and his obvious loathing for Microsoft is dripping off of every word "I'm your worst nightmare" That's jokes we tell around the office, not in public...Overall grade: C

    9 minutes was enough of an anti-MS stance for me...the female voice, reading Bill Gates' letter to the hobby club was embarassingly melodramaticized.

    --
    "Anybody who tells me I can't use a program because it's not open source, go suck on rms. I'm not interested." (LT 2004)
  5. ESR & RMS are not the same guy by Vamphyri · · Score: 2, Interesting
    You seem to be talking about Richard M. Stallman. Yes, Eric Raymond and Richard Stallman were roomates in M.I.T. but they are not the same person. Get your facts straight.

    ESR is an excellent spokesperson and Open Source advocate. I've met him a couple times. Check out his webpage Eric Raymond's Homepage.