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Are You A Friend of Gnome?

From the donation page: "Love GNOME? Want to give back to the community of mostly volunteer developers who have worked so hard to make GNOME the powerful, flexible, friendly, fun desktop that it is?" There are a number of contribution levels a person can join at, so if you love Gnome, consider helping the foundation out.

297 comments

  1. this is great! by cannonball_D · · Score: 1

    I am a beginner coder at best -- this is great. I am happy to donate!

    1. Re:this is great! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Linus? Linus Torvalds? Is that you?

  2. Yes, I love Gnome by justsomebody · · Score: 1

    But even more I love GTK :-)

    Lighter, faster and simpler

    --
    Signature Pro version 1.13.2-3 release 83.5 beta3try7 after-breakfast edition
    1. Re:Yes, I love Gnome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Toolkits should not be written in C.

    2. Re:Yes, I love Gnome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh arse. C is a perfectly good language. Any limitations in a toolkit of C or C+ or C# are design decisions more than any language idosyncracy.

    3. Re:Yes, I love Gnome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > Toolkits should not be written in C.

      You're right. They should be written in Assembler.

      But C is a good second choice.

      What I would avoid using for a toolkit is C++, because it establishes too many interdependencies, making it harder to create something small, and reducing the flexibility of the API.

    4. Re:Yes, I love Gnome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That really depends on what kind of toolkit and how it's designed.

      GTK+ is very clean and object-oriented. I'm sick of people badmouthing it. It's perfectly good. It's better than good. It's really effing nice if you understand all of the constructs and conventions.

      Qt is not mister clean either, you know. Nor is it C++. It's preprocessed psuedo-C++. I find that whole "meta-object compiler" thing very, very ugly. At least GTK+ confirms to its language spec.

      C++ can add unnecessary bloat in many circumstances (including icky things that lead to binary incompatibility), and C can be just as object-oriented. Sure, a C++ toolkit is always nice. But don't badmouth something else just because it uses C.

  3. I sure do love it... by AussieBastard · · Score: 1, Funny

    Yep, there's nothing better than good hard GNOME. But then there's KDE as well... it's like having a threesome but it's actually not in my dreams.

  4. Gnomes are scary by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    I prefer hobbits.

    1. Re:Gnomes are scary by IndependentVik · · Score: 0

      Hobbits are nice, but they don't have anything on David The Gnome :)

      --
      I'd suggest you don't use Slashdot as your only news source, or you will suffer permanent brain damage.
  5. Gnome by m0rph3us0 · · Score: 1

    I just put Gnome 2 into my system, looks really great, I've been hearing great things about the changes to the API, its much faster tho I havent gotten my Aqua skins to work with it yet :(

    1. Re:Gnome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A big list of Aqua for gtk2 is at http://gnome.or.kr/moin.cgi/GnomeAqua
      --
      MUD

    2. Re:Gnome by redtuxxx · · Score: 1

      cant remember the name, but I am running an aqa theme at home with metacity

  6. Doing it for the community? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What gives?

    1. Re:Doing it for the community? by 0ki · · Score: 0

      It's comments like that made me wipe out my Linux box and go back to Windows. The "community" is made up of a few bright individuals and feel real sorry for them.The rest really are immature "trolls" that are nothing but a waste of a sperm and an egg.

  7. just use KDE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Too bad GNOME isn't written in C++. I guess from a coding standpoint, that's why I prefer KDE. GTK just feels like so much effort was put into things that C++ gives you for free.

    1. Re:just use KDE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > GTK just feels like so much effort was put into things that C++ gives you for free.

      True, however:

      1. It can be done cleanly and consistantly, unlike the C++ kludge, not to mention the Qt quirks (like its non-standard string type).

      2. That price only had to be paid once, whereas, with C++, the cost of dealing with the quirks goes on and on.

    2. Re:just use KDE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > The reason why I never contributed anything to KDE team was due to qt and c++. I love gtk, I love coding in c. And haven't you noticed you can code in almost any language using gtk, there are bindings for several dozen langues.

      Let me see. He stated his personal reason for not using KDE, and then he stated a true fact (multiple bindings) about GTK.

      A perfectly valid post with a perfectly valid opinion.

      And yet it got modded down to -1.

      I can only assume that the moderator is trying to hide the poster's opinion.

    3. Re:just use KDE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually, it's even worse than that.

      This post --

      > The reason why I never contributed anything to KDE team was due to qt and c++. I love gtk, I love coding in c. And haven't you noticed you can code in almost any language using gtk, there are bindings for several dozen langues.

      -- was modded DOWN to (Score:-1).

      But the parent post --

      > Too bad GNOME isn't written in C++. I guess from a coding standpoint, that's why I prefer KDE. GTK just feels like so much effort was put into things that C++ gives you for free.

      -- was modded UP to (Score:1, Insightful).

      As far as I can see, the two posts are identical in validity.

      It would appear that some KDE supporters with moderation points are using that privilege quite irresponsibly.

    4. Re:just use KDE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "It would appear that some KDE supporters with moderation points are using that privilege quite irresponsibly."

      They have to, given the fact that the slashdot admins are quite irresponsibly incredibly pro-gnome. I mean, who should support a system that was created for the one and only purpose of being contrary?

    5. Re:just use KDE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, let's kill all alternatives. Dumbass.

  8. No, I'm a friend of KDE. by BadmanX · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    Gnome has never caught up to KDE and never will. And I don't intend to duplicate my efforts, so all my programs are written for KDE.

    1. Re:No, I'm a friend of KDE. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0


      Buzz off, hoser

    2. Re:No, I'm a friend of KDE. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow, I sure want all of that innovative software you've developed.

    3. Re:No, I'm a friend of KDE. by The+Electric+Messiah · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I hardly see the parent as being flamebait. The guy/gal prefers KDE over Gnome. As a matter of fact, I prefer KDE also, though damn KPackage crashes EVERY time in KDE 3. But seriously, BadmanX is stating he prefers KDE, thinks Gnome won't ever catch up. I think that's a pretty fair comment for a discussion about Gnome.

      --
      "Bold as Love"
    4. Re:No, I'm a friend of KDE. by protonman · · Score: 1

      > And I don't intend to duplicate my efforts, so all
      > my programs are written for KDE.

      So GNOME already *has* programs like the ones you're writing?

      --
      The man of knowledge must be able not only to love his enemies but also to hate his friends.
    5. Re:No, I'm a friend of KDE. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And I think it's pretty obviously flamebait. This is about donating to GNOME, not whether or not GNOME is superior or whether or not random-lamer-from-Windows prefers GNOME, or whether anyone cares if his retarded ass intends to develop for it.

      Not that I personally give a crap, but just because you agree with someone doesn't mean he's not being a troll.

    6. Re:No, I'm a friend of KDE. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny


      The question was not, "Are you a troll?", it was, "Are you a friend of Gnome." Of course, this is /. ...

    7. Re:No, I'm a friend of KDE. by Fastball · · Score: 2
      Dear trolling Slashdot poster and KDE afficianado,

      Good for you.

      Sincerely,
      Happy Gnome User

    8. Re:No, I'm a friend of KDE. by inc_x · · Score: 2, Informative

      Then you will be happy to know that KDE has a donations page as well! ;-)

    9. Re:No, I'm a friend of KDE. by JPriest · · Score: 1

      What he is donating is code.

      --
      Saying Java is nice because it works on all OS's is like saying that anal sex is nice because it works on all genders.
    10. Re:No, I'm a friend of KDE. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I prefer KDE as well.

    11. Re:No, I'm a friend of KDE. by GauteL · · Score: 1

      This is so NOT "interesting". Please moderators, do not mod something up just because you happen to share the opinion.

      This just plain unnecessary trolling.

      To top it off, it is actually pretty off-topic.

    12. Re:No, I'm a friend of KDE. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, right.

  9. I *hate* to see this... by stikves · · Score: 1
    [rant]I love GNOME, and on Linux I prefer it to KDE.[/rant]

    But I hate too see some other good OSS project/firm going into financial problems.

    plex86, slackware, (partly) loki, eazel, and many others. You will not be forgotten...

    1. Re:I *hate* to see this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I've probably been living under a rock, but what's happened to Slackware?

    2. Re:I *hate* to see this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > But I hate too see some other good OSS project/firm going into financial problems.

      Who said anything about financial problems? People wanted a way to contribute directly, and GNOME provided the means.

      Do you also believe that KDE is having financial problems? After all, KDE has a contributions page:

      http://www.kde.org/support.html

    3. Re:I *hate* to see this... by SHEENmaster · · Score: 1

      I know your pain.

      I had seriously high hopes for plex86. The financial problems of the author were almost enough for me to boycott mandrake. I suppose that when I get my sun workstation in a few months, I'll be glad that bochs is still around. I may just contribute to that project, with a "loader". I am a java programmer, but I had better make it kaffe compatible. Sun made one shitty installer for Java. I had to add the bin directory to my path manually. The good folks that make kaffe have an excellent package built, but java compatibility is only slightly better than the M$ vm. As a rule of thumb, if it works with J++ and is portable, then it will work in kaffe. All of my server code works with kaffe, but my applets/applications don't :(. I suppose that swing just isn't supported.

      --
      You can't judge a book by the way it wears its hair.
    4. Re:I *hate* to see this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Slackware?? ::ahem:: Patrick seems to be doing just fine with that, Slack8.1 was released a few weeks ago and it's the best yet =]

    5. Re:I *hate* to see this... by Cro+Magnon · · Score: 1

      Excuse me, but Slackware is alive and kicking and just released 8.1!

      --
      Slow down, cowboy! It has been 4 hours since you last posted. You must wait another few hours.
    6. Re:I *hate* to see this... by stikves · · Score: 1

      Nothing, ...yet.

  10. huge strides by dciman · · Score: 2

    Gnome has of course made HUGE strides over the last couple of years. (and hardware has came along enough so it doesn't run like NT 4 on a pentium 90) I have played with every major release that comes out and am very impressed with their work. I think this is a great way for others to give back to the project. Not everyone is a cabable developer.

    (But personally I am still a BlackBox man.... ;) I don't need UI junk)

    1. Re:huge strides by msimm · · Score: 1

      I'ld just like to second that. I love Gnome, but I am definitely in love with Blackbox...

      Well really, I left Windows to get away from the Exporer shell (but props to DarkStep and GeoShell), and the Gnome desktop always felt like using it again. (I'm really not trying to knock it)

      One question for the Gnome (desktop) users: Whats up with that toolbar?

      Now excuse me while I go play tribes[linux!]2.

      --
      Quack, quack.
    2. Re:huge strides by delta407 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Have you used NT4 on a P90? (Recall that the minimum requirements are under a 20 MHz CPU.) It's quite snappy compared to xfree86 on a 233.

      And besides which, X is slower on the same hardware than Windows is. (Not to diss X, because I use it on a daily basis; I'm using it right now.) But, that's a fact of life. Gnome runs on a 1.0 GHz about as fast as Windows 98 runs on a 300 MHz. Hardware shouldn't have to come along; Gnome should (attempt to) keep pace with Windows on the same hardware.

    3. Re:huge strides by Ambassador+Kosh · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I still don't see where people get the idea that x is slower on the same hardware then windows is. That has not been my experience at all with one exception. Overall I have found matrox and ati cards to be faster under linux then under windows for the work I usually do which is a lot of coding under kde.

      However like I said I have found one exception and that is nvidia cards. I find that those ran slower under linux then under windows and where not stable under either os with my definition of stabilyt being that the system should easily have several months of uptime under fairly heavy usage.

      I have been using linux for 6 years or so now and during most of that time I have used matrox or ati cards and have found x to be faster then windows even when running kde. For a brief time I ran an nvidia card and I won't but another thing from that company. Too unstable to get work done and they don't perform well enough under 2d for x.

      --
      Computer modeling for biotech drug manufacturing is HARD! :)
    4. Re:huge strides by delta407 · · Score: 2
      I still don't see where people get the idea that x is slower on the same hardware then windows is.
      Load X + Linux onto a P90 and compare it with Windows NT4. If you want to pay shipping, I have a P90 I can UPS you if you don't believe me.

      I'm serious, too. E-mail me if you're interested.
    5. Re:huge strides by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      NT 4 ran like shit even on a p233 I had with 256 megs of ram.... however Debian with Blackbox ran like a champ. Gnome runs slow as turds when using enlightenment as the wm. You are on crack!

    6. Re:huge strides by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      way to reply to your own post. lick rice cock mofo!

    7. Re:huge strides by Ambassador+Kosh · · Score: 1

      I certainly don't need the machine I have set up more and less powerful machines then that. How much ram does it have? What version of X? What video card? What services are you running? I have seen people complain linux was too slow on low end systems and when I checked they had a web server running, 2 databases, a mail server, news server, ssh, telnet etc.

      --
      Computer modeling for biotech drug manufacturing is HARD! :)
    8. Re:huge strides by deaddeng · · Score: 2

      in what ways do you think X is slower? To load the desktop (from "startx")? Not sure how you measure this in 2D. In 3D, I actually get equal or better framerates in OpenGL under Linux (RH 7.3) than I do with Win98SE or Win2K, ever since they added page flipping to the Linux drivers. Mozilla is kind of slow under either Linux/X or Windows. Just curious.

      --
      --- .085 as cool; proving that a little knowledge is dangerous
    9. Re:huge strides by deaddeng · · Score: 1

      sorry, should have added, "they" is Nvidia, adding page flipping to their Linux OpenGL drivers. Card is a GF3-TI200.

      --
      --- .085 as cool; proving that a little knowledge is dangerous
    10. Re:huge strides by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Load a version of X that came out about the same time as NT. I have Slackware 3 cd here, it should have an X that you can actually compair to. X loads nice and quick. I can UPS you if you don't belive me.

    11. Re:huge strides by delta407 · · Score: 2

      64 MB, XFree 4.2.0, a Trio64V, and the largest background service running is metalog; no inetd, no sshd, etc.

      I got X onto a P133 laptop of mine (with 24 MB of RAM); fluxbox runs without swapping. But, alas, you have to admit that NT4 and Gnome are far more comparable than NT4 and fluxbox. Gnome swaps horribly (duh, base system + X takes up 22 MB of RAM) and is completely unusable, whereas NT4 does not swap at all.

      It's moot anyway, because I stick with fluxbox -- but when you're talking the lowest end of the low, Windows tends to handle better as a desktop OS than Linux.

    12. Re:huge strides by Jaysyn · · Score: 1

      I'm mostly a Windows user & a Linux newbie, I can install Linux, and do most GUI stuff but am lost for the most part on the command line (for now..). I prefer Gnome over KDE because I find it to be more (and I hate saying this) User Friendly. Everything just seems to be where it's supposed to be, and KDE seems kinda kludged to me. Of course I haven't used KDE3 yet so....

      Jaysyn

      --
      There is a war going on for your mind.
    13. Re:huge strides by aardvarkjoe · · Score: 2
      Well, with 'low-end' hardware, I would think that people would be more likely to use fast and light window managers than use one of the enormous desktop environments. Gnome and KDE aren't targetted to the slow pentium/486 systems. (Neither are the latest incarnations of Windows, which will choke a moderate system just as effectively as Gnome/KDE).

      Of course, I'm in agreement that for the 'full-featured' desktop, Windows tends to run better/faster. That's definately been my experience.

      (I use blackbox, so the issue is moot for me as well.)

      --

      How can we continue to believe in a just universe and freedom to eat crackers if we have no ale?
    14. Re:huge strides by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I used to think that X was really slow, because I based my impressions on konqueror, Mozilla, and galeon. Then I tried dillo.

      Dillo is very fast on low-end hardware. Just as fast as IE. No, it doesn't do javascript or java, but it is pretty useful for light-weight browsing.

    15. Re:huge strides by mshiltonj · · Score: 2

      X is slower on the same hardware than Windows is. (Not to diss X, because I use it on a daily basis; I'm using it right now.) But, that's a fact of life. Gnome runs on a 1.0 GHz about as fast as Windows 98 runs on a 300 MHz. Hardware shouldn't have to come along; Gnome should (attempt to) keep pace with Windows on the same hardware.

      Pardon my ignorance, but where is the bottleneck? In X or in Gnome? Does KDE suffer from similar speed issues compared to Win32?

    16. Re:huge strides by lambsonic · · Score: 1

      I haven't tried it, but there is a Blackbox for Windows. Although it is a clone, not a port.

      --
      # make clean sig
    17. Re:huge strides by Sleepy · · Score: 2

      >I still don't see where people get the idea that x is slower on the same hardware then windows is.

      Friend, you are completely wrong.

      The *best case* under X is you have a driver that is *vendor supported*, or has *completely* stable and optomized drivers for XFree -- unlikely given than the Windows drivers are closed source, so we can't even compare the code..

      How common is the above? Not very. Assume then you have this uncommon, best case. Do not dismiss the latency due to the loopback device... it's very real.

      Sure, you can excuse the fact that some X is slow by questioning the "configuration", the vendor support, or the stability of the drivers. BUT THAT'S NOT THE POINT.

      The point is there *is* this performance problem under X, and in some cases it's not-so-bad (GeForce & Matrox cards), and in other cases it's *really* bad performance (ATI, etc). The end result is all that matters... that Windows is running the same config faster, even if you eliminate the biggest performance excuses like driver completeness, we still have a loopback device.

      And I'm only talking about 2D. Lots video boards that have "acceptable" 3D performance under Windows, have horrible 3D performance under XFree. Yes, I know it's because of driver support, but reasons tend to be confused with "excuses" when the end user encounters this.

      This doen't mean I think XFree is junk or is a slug. I think it does remarkably well given what it does. On a modern configuration like I have (AMD 1900XP + GeForce4 4600), performance is pretty good but I still notice X11 redrawing more often than Windows. It's not enough difference at my speed to complain, but that's because it's buried in hardware.

      All I need to do to benchmark XFree vs. Windows is fire up Return To Castle Wolfenstein @ 1600x1280, or play some full-screen oversized video from disk (using several video players not just one). If you can see a difference, there is one.

  11. So for $5000 of my hard earned cash... by NextGen · · Score: 1

    ... I get a mousepad, coffee mug, t-shirt, and a golf shirt. Let's see, on the open market, I could buy these for a total of maybe $40 and then add the $25 max contrib for "Friend" status and total $65.

    1. Re:So for $5000 of my hard earned cash... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, and then the programmers don't get paid. You didn't have a point, did you?

    2. Re:So for $5000 of my hard earned cash... by RatFink100 · · Score: 2

      A more interesting question would be -

      If I had $5000 to spare and was using GNOME would I

      a) donate it to GNOME get mousemat, t-shirt etc
      b) pay a programmer directly to write the features I wanted to see implemented
      c) take that holiday I've been promising myself.

      I think it would be c) but b) is next.

  12. my wallet hurts... by edrugtrader · · Score: 2, Funny

    'free' software is getting awfully expensive lately.

    --
    MARIJUANA, SHROOMS, X: ONLINE?! - E
    1. Re:my wallet hurts... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes... but until landlords, mortgage companies, gas stations, grocery stores, clothing stores, hospitals, and the local computer store (and everybody else) adopt similar free product and services initiatives, maybe coughing up a little bit (a little bit determined by you, not by greedy folks in redmond) isn't such a bad deal when you think about it. Gnome programmers spend money, too.

    2. Re:my wallet hurts... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So then if it isn't 'free' why is it better than what Redmond produces?

      Oh wait, it's worse. I forgot.

    3. Re:my wallet hurts... by Anonymous+Cowrad · · Score: 1

      "Yes... but until landlords ... (and everybody else) adopt similar free product and services initiatives..."

      Until? Do you seriously think this will ever happen? I don't think the rest of the world is going to change for free software, I think free software needs to change for the world. If that means that it can't be free anymore, so be it. If something isn't viable, it isn't viable.

      --

      --
      pants ahoy
    4. Re:my wallet hurts... by _Sprocket_ · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Once again... like a vast majority of the IT industry, you fail to realize that the definition of "free" does not start and stop at the exchange of currency.

      This is one of the dangers with Open Source accepting the "freeware" label. I've seen the term used more and more within the industry when referring to Open Source. And its the same problem that's faced Open Source software for years - price isn't everything.

      Sure - "free beer" is nice. We all like freebies - assuming they don't blow up in our face. I've been involved in projects where the low price has been a major help. But I have also worked on projects where there are ample funds for any needed technology... and Open Source software STILL held value.

      It is all the other aspects of "free software" where the real value comes in to play.

    5. Re:my wallet hurts... by edrugtrader · · Score: 3, Funny

      once again the vast majority of the IT industry fails to recognize sarcasm and makes total ass of self. said 'IT industry' also spending much of their time in moms basement.

      --
      MARIJUANA, SHROOMS, X: ONLINE?! - E
    6. Re:my wallet hurts... by _Sprocket_ · · Score: 2

      once again the vast majority of the IT industry fails to recognize sarcasm and makes total ass of self. said 'IT industry' also spending much of their time in moms basement.
      That's the problem with humor. Its such a subjective thing. What can be hillarious when delivered by one individual can also make someone less skilled with their timing seem like an ass.
    7. Re:my wallet hurts... by AxelBoldt · · Score: 2
      I don't think the rest of the world is going to change for free software, I think free software needs to change for the world. If that means that it can't be free anymore, so be it. If something isn't viable, it isn't viable.

      Free software is a hobby; it is solely and exclusively done for the fun of it. Nothing more, nothing less. And as the success of free software shows, hobbies like that are very viable indeed. Certainly more viable than your average crooked US corporation.

    8. Re:my wallet hurts... by Anonymous+Cowrad · · Score: 1

      Free software is not just a hobby. Redhat is not in business just for kicks. It's delusional to think that money isn't a factor just because their product is free.

      Open source projects are no more viable than their commercial counterparts. As with any hobby, people get bored with things, or don't take them as seriously as a business would. Hobbyists can't or won't devote the kind of resources to projects that businesses do, and an awful lot of projects get abandoned.

      --

      --
      pants ahoy
    9. Re:my wallet hurts... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No ! I think this is just the cool thing about it ! You don't *have* to pay for it, but if you want to, you can.. And I believe a lot of people will.
      Give what you think it is worth (and what you can miss of course) .. I love this !

      I will donate for sure.. ! (thanks for this oppurtunity)

    10. Re:my wallet hurts... by Cro+Magnon · · Score: 1

      Projects can get abandoned, but a popular project can't get abandoned arbitrarily. If the maintainer of a popular project quits, someone else can step in. For that matter, even if it isn't a popular project, if any of the users have the technical skills, they can maintain it theirselves. With closed-source, you're SOL if the business stops supporting their crap! Money can be a great help, but lack of money won't kill a good open source project, just slow it down.

      --
      Slow down, cowboy! It has been 4 hours since you last posted. You must wait another few hours.
    11. Re:my wallet hurts... by AxelBoldt · · Score: 2
      Hobbyists can't or won't devote the kind of resources to projects that businesses do, and an awful lot of projects get abandoned.

      Corporations can't or won't devote the kind of enthusiasm to projects that hobbyists do, and an awful lot of corporations go bankrupt.

  13. Re:gnome myths by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny
    GNOME is a fashion cat-walk superwaif when compared to KDE's 500lb fat-momma cheese-burger scoffing trailer trash.

    Yeah, that's an objective point of view...

  14. They need to provide more info by Tiamat · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Yes, I like gnome a lot. I might even donate money, but the problem with this link is they they don't offer any specific details about what happens with this money? Does it go to administration? How so? To major coders? which? Who qualifies? Bandwidth? Why does the Gnome Foundation do that requires our financial support?

    To make matters worse, contributions seem to be handled via Ximian. I have no problem with Ximian forming as a company, or their desire to make money. Still, I'm not entirely confortable with a donation to a company. So, is Ximian providing accounting/banking services here, or are they going to directly benefit from this contribution?

    I'm sure there are good answers to all of these questions, but they're not present on the donation page, and they should be.

    1. Re:They need to provide more info by josh+crawley · · Score: 3, Funny

      ---"Yes, I like gnome a lot. I might even donate money, but the problem with this link is they they don't offer any specific details about what happens with this money? Does it go to administration? How so? To major coders? which? Who qualifies? Bandwidth? Why does the Gnome Foundation do that requires our financial support?"

      I know where its gonna go.....

      It's gonna pay for the slashdotting we gave 'em. heh

    2. Re:They need to provide more info by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So it;s not a sheltered workshop as we all thought, it's a charity. How nice... a bunch of people who can't get real programming jobs keeping themselves busy. And while everyone knows it won;t do anyone any good, at least it won't do anyone any lasting harm.

      So dig deep!

      No, not into your nose Stallman! Fingers out, back on keyboard like a good hippy.

    3. Re:They need to provide more info by mosch · · Score: 2
      I was going to give Gnome and KDE $50 each, these are both worthwhile projects which push the unix desktop forward, partially by pushing each other forward. They are monumental projects, whose success is surprising, impressive, and truly an amazing accomplishment. They're helping build Free as in Speech software, to help build a better tomorrow, and they need my support.

      Then I remembered, this is Open Source Software. It's supposed to be Free as in I'm a cheap bastard so give me a free os, unmetered cable modem, and 100 gigs of downloaded mp3s. Now I've got to go reboot to windows to burn some cds, browse the internet, watch a dvd, and play some games. I use Linux for everything else though!

    4. Re:They need to provide more info by tempest303 · · Score: 2

      Thank god I'm not in your shoes!

      I can burn CDs, browse the web, watch a DVD (with menus and DeCSS and everything!), and play some games , too, all from my GNOME desktop on Linux!

  15. I'll be interested to see by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How well donations go. I'm still on the edge as to whether to go open my source and ask for donations or go with a closed source shareware model. It'd be nice to see if people could actually make a living writing open source software but I know that's not even the point here.

  16. More OBS by MisterBlister · · Score: 1, Troll
    Open Beggar Software.

    Perl, Gnome...what's next?

    1. Re:More OBS by PacoTaco · · Score: 1

      Slashdot?

    2. Re:More OBS by 0ki · · Score: 0

      Don't Mandrake's "Mandrake Club"

    3. Re:More OBS by HanzoSan · · Score: 2



      Better for it to be beggar software than for it to be overpriced $300 software

      But I guess you'd prefer idiotware over beggarware considering only idiots want to be forced to pay for something when it can be free

      --
      If you use Linux, please help development of Autopac
    4. Re:More OBS by 0ki · · Score: 0

      Hrm running Windows games on linux... now that's an innovative step in the right direction. no wonder loki got tombstoned

    5. Re:More OBS by cyphixation · · Score: 0

      i'm sorry?

      have you ever even used Perl?

      and don't start any 'fuck you, you little haXor bitch' shit with me

      design a MIPS proc, write a compiler and some binaries for it, get on some x86 asm, and put RSA on an FPGA...

      then you can talk some shit to me...

      --
      odium|||nunquam|||obticesco
  17. Great by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How long before these "donations" become mandatory?

    1. Re:Great by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How long before you understand Open Source?

    2. Re:Great by 0ki · · Score: 0

      How long before you understand the economy of life?

    3. Re:Great by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How long before you realise that your shallow take on capitalism is a mindless religion itself (OSS is capitalistic)

  18. I was a friend of Gnome,,, by KaizerWill · · Score: 1

    he taught me, that when you compile, you pay for it...

  19. Where to? by The+Pi-Guy · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Well, two things. Being the one I am for not reading the article :), exactly where is this all going? Into Miguel de Icaza's pockets? RMS's? Whose? And two, if you're looking for a good place to donate, donate to UserFriendly. There, we know where it's going. Great comic strip. A little cash-strapped though.

    --j

    1. Re:Where to? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      It is only cash strapped because

      it is not funny

      it is badly drawn

  20. Alternative news story by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Not to start a holy war, but:
    From the donation page: "Love KDE? Want to give back to the community of mostly volunteer developers who have worked so hard to make KDE the powerful, flexible, friendly, fun desktop that it is?" There are a number of contribution levels a person can join at, so if you love KDE, consider helping the foundation out.
    1. Re:Alternative news story by 0ki · · Score: 0

      Geezus alteast kde has normal pricing tiers. Donate $5000.00 ?? What crack are they smoking? I could buy 50 Win2k licenses for that.

    2. Re:Alternative news story by HanzoSan · · Score: 2



      Exactly why cant slashdot editors add the KDE donation page so it doesnt seem so biased,

      This is supposed to be a fair site not a site to politically promote gnome, its bad enough you have the gnome foot icon all over this site, but now we have to have promotions for gnome donations without KDE or anything else?

      Lets be fair

      or else its going to be a holywar.

      --
      If you use Linux, please help development of Autopac
    3. Re:Alternative news story by Jagasian · · Score: 2

      Are you kidding me? Slashdot has always been pro-Gnome and anti-KDE. Even after KDE became fully GPL, Slashdot still stays biased towards Gnome.

    4. Re:Alternative news story by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I disagree.

      It was very much pro-GNOME 2 or 3 years ago, but in the last 18 months (espeically in the age of Konqueror) Slashdot has become turned around and even comes across as pro-KDE at times (such as the "KDE3" desktop poll).

      But then, your user id suggests you haven;t been reading for much more then 2 years, so what would you know?

    5. Re:Alternative news story by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Donate $5000.00 ?? What crack are they smoking? I could buy 50 Win2k licenses for that.

      Yes, but those 50kWin2k licenses aren't worth as much, so you do that, you just screwed yourself.

    6. Re:Alternative news story by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > Yes, but those 50k Win2k licenses aren't worth as much

      Yes, you are right, they are worth *more*. Let's see.. I get a usable, secure, stable desktop OS, which can run tons and tons of real usable apps. Not alpha-grade crapware that tells me, sure, it'll get better, and why don't you donate $5000 so we can all enjoy.

      Bleh. I'd rather donate $5000 to oxfam (my charity of choice) so that some poor fella in the third world could get vaccines, medicine and food. I do _not_ count my charity money well spent if some moronic geek buys beer and hardware with it, so that he can re-implement a freaking *word processor* or *windowing system*. (That's what GNU does anyway -- reimplements every darn thing under the sun, so what if it sucks and my mom will never use it, it's free! come, comrades, rejoice!).

      Seriously though, at least GNOME has got the right idea -- if you *have* to develop open source products, leech off the finances of a large corporation like Sun, who can at least bankroll you. Just don't expect me -- Joe User -- to.

    7. Re:Alternative news story by Jagasian · · Score: 1

      My id actually says that I have lurked for about a year, until I finally got a registered account.

    8. Re:Alternative news story by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well I'm sorry that that didn't help you realize that Slashdot is fairly pro-KDE nowadays. Read CmdrTaco's article comments and snide remarks whenever GNOME or KDE is mentioned and you'll see which side he's on. The other authors usually aren't much better; one qualification for being a Slashdot author these days seems to be that you'll swear by KDE.

    9. Re:Alternative news story by kevlar · · Score: 1

      I think you should riot.

  21. not directly but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    ..tell ya what I WOULD do and I bet thousands of other people would do. If any of the major distros-or a brand new one-would voluntarily set aside a certain percentage of the proceeds from their CD releases to give to those developers who's apps are in the release-I would purchase the full install CD's from them. If it's redhat or mandrake or whomever-so be it. I like the idea of "free", but am not so cheap or naieve to think it really is. As a non coder all I can do is bug reports and cash. As a user I just honestly don't see me sending a thousand or several hundred small donations-just the dang postage would be a bear. I'm relatively po, ie, "real low end of the economic food chain", but I can pop another ten bucks for a cd set if the coders who's work went into the whole package got their share. Make it so it starts at ten, and then you can voluntarily give more, with all the extra going to the coders.

    Well, good idea or what?- a co-op linux distro that actually supports all the coders with some beer and rent money, not just the release company for the packaged distro.

    1. Re:not directly but... by 0ki · · Score: 0

      To bad companies make little money from cd sales. For some dumb reason companies think they will turn a profit when they allow users the choice to A) Buy the cd from whatever distro. or B) Download it for free since it's offered as a free download. C) Get it from some troll Linux mag that bundles the distro with their latest issue. To bad the majority of people will choose B. The only exceptiong is for Suse that don't allow free downloads of the latest release. Oddly enough most distro have disappeared from my local Best Buy and CompUSA. They use to have Mandrake/suse and red hat. Now all they have is 1-2 boxes of red hat professional level. I asked the manager and he said he's not ordering anymore because nobody buys them.

    2. Re:not directly but... by Chexsum · · Score: 1

      Debian.org lists companies which sell their CD Sets and who also contribute back to the community (read: Debian.org I think).

      --
      Pixels keep you awake!
  22. Re:No, I Loath gnome. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If I was going to do that, I might ought to go one step further and give my money to Microsoft.

    Might as well help keep the people who develop the original stuff in business, neh? What would KDE rip off if Microsoft fell?

    And it may happen! I'm sure they use 'creative accounting' too! Donate today! ;)

  23. Re:I love gnome, KDE just not up to it by Bitsy+Boffin · · Score: 5, Informative
    I've tried each WM, but I keep on coming back to GNOME.
    nit.pick();

    GNOME isn't a window manager. Neither is KDE for that matter (although KDE has it's own window manager I think (kwm ?) but GNOME does not).

    --
    NZ Electronics Enthusiasts: Check out my Trade Me Listings
  24. corporate? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ok .. i love gnome .. its a great piece of work. but i have to ask where is the corporate support. Sun is going to be using gnome .. so is HP i believe .. why dont they dig in to their pockets just a little. .. sorry just complaining a little. and yes i will probly donate soon .. now if only linuxcentral would put thier donations for debian back on thier website

  25. Re:Why KDE is Wrong by FyRE666 · · Score: 1

    Excuse me, but how the f*ck was the parent modded up as funny? I bet any post about Americans blowing up civilians across Europe and being the planet's worst polluter and being the only country to use nuclear weapons on human beings etc wouldn't have earned a "Funny" rating... Just as I guess this will be modded down now... Sheesh...

  26. Slashdot Site Updates by EdMcMan · · Score: 5, Funny
    Slashdot, a "geek serving" news service, owned by OSDN recently has announced they will stop announcing news, instead begging people for money, while having ads on their website.

    CmdrTaco said during an interview: "Well, slashdot kept getting slashdotted, so we decided to post useless crap that no one would want to look at it, and could find elsewhere if they did want to look at it. Yes, that's it."

    Some rumors from the slashdot team have indicated that perhaps the person that started this new trend, "chrisd", was really under the influence of heroin, and his /friends were covering for him. This same source said the new trend could be over as soon as the next post. More news as it comes in.

    1. Re:Slashdot Site Updates by Whomp · · Score: 1

      ...in other news, EdMcMan may have already won! Click here for details!

      --
      what's so funny 'bout peace, love, and understanding?
  27. under pants gnomes? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    yea, i'm a friends of the under pants gnomes. but they take my under ware all the time, kinda sucks if you ask me.

  28. Correction by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hitler was born in Austria, not in Germany.

  29. From our base on skull island by sam_handelman · · Score: 4, Funny

    What about the enemies of GNOME? We, the members of COBOLD, oppose project GNOME, their GUI, and all that they stand for! We will not rest until every member of the GNOME development team of lies in a shallow grave. Our leader, COBOL-commander, will overthrow the present order by military force, and restore the glorious days of punchcards and Cobol! Co-bolllll!

    As for the "friends" of GNOME - we suggest you cower in terror lest you share the developers fate!

    Incidentally, the classic "Kobold" was a spirit of the home or hearth - Kobe holt = hut goblin. The dog-headed lizardmen from D&D are, as many D&D things are, an artifact of somebody's supplementary artwork, and have no "basis" in mythology (although the guy who did the drawings for the Monster Manual is as qualified to make up mythology as anybody; it was all made up at some point.)

    Etymology of Gnome.

    Etymology of Kobold. Search the page for "cobalt".

    --
    The good and new comes from no quarter where it is looked for, and is always something different from what is expected.
    1. Re:From our base on skull island by cpeterso · · Score: 2


      Should that be Kobold?

    2. Re:From our base on skull island by Joe+Tie. · · Score: 1

      You should consider relocating to Sealand!

      --
      Everything will be taken away from you.
    3. Re:From our base on skull island by Darth_Burrito · · Score: 1

      Amen, GNOME was a truly awful game... although I suppose it's possible they've made improvements over the last 5 years.

  30. Re:Listen Bitch! by NaveWeiss · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Well... you could say I'm convservative, but I'd prefer having sex with a normal girl. With she-males, you must use their ass since they don't have their middle-hole ready yet.. and besides.. probably they stink like a male and have to shave..

    Why do you promote it so much? Are you an advocate from the Society For She-males Naturalization?

    --
    Slashdot community, please notice: I am looking for a girlfriend.
    Nave H. Weiss
  31. Friend-of-Gnome donations by LunarFox · · Score: 1

    I've played with all the major desktops in my couple of years with Linux. Gnome is pretty slick, with a lot of "neat" factor, yet manages to avoid being a Windows GUI clone. So I'll probably support it. It's just too bad they only accept online donations via the evil that is PayPal. *shudder*

    --
    on.
    1. Re:Friend-of-Gnome donations by luge · · Score: 2

      FWIW, the board is working to set up credit card donations, and you can write a check.

      --

      IAAL,BIANLY

    2. Re:Friend-of-Gnome donations by King+of+the+World · · Score: 1
      Dude, you've still got a link to technocrat on your homepage.

      I REMEMBER TECHNOCRAT. MY BABY MONITOR IS TELLING ALIENS THAT I'M HERE.

      (LF: Don't use so many caps. It's like yelling and stuff. Yup.)

    3. Re:Friend-of-Gnome donations by luge · · Score: 1

      Yeah. I haven't exactly updated that page recently ;)

      --

      IAAL,BIANLY

  32. [OT] Re:gnome myths by Anonvmous+Coward · · Score: 1

    "Yeah, that's an objective point of view..."

    That reminds me of this guy that went onto IRC preaching about how people should be using Macs instead of PC's. He actually said this:

    "Don't believe that biased crap you hear in PC Magazine, if you want the unbiased truth go to MacAddict.com!"

    Heh.

  33. Well I don't love .NET by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Miguel de Icaza seems to love .NET like its the best thing since sliced bread.
    Call me a troll, but this seriously makes it hard for me to love the Gnove foundation.

    And IMHO KDE is just a better all around desktop these days.

    1. Re:Well I don't love .NET by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Yes, and Miguel has provided an Open Source alternative to C#, one that will allow users to gain the same benefits, but without being tied to Passport (they can use the FSF's dotGNU), without being tied to Microsoft, and without paying Microsoft a penny. It doesn't seem like he did Microsoft any favors -- quite the opposite, in fact.

      On the other hand, there is a KDE project that provides Qt bindings for C#:

      developer.kde.org/language-bindings/qtcsharp/

      So while Mono provides competition for .Net, KDE just provides support.

      Of course, KDE claims that the purpose of their C# bindings is to support Mono.

      So you have a choice. If you are going to condemn Mono, then you must also condemn KDE. Or you can support them both.

  34. Re:I love gnome, KDE just not up to it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    When it comes to stability GNOME has KDE beat every which way. The main reason I switched from KDE to GNOME was because every time that Mozilla would crash, it also crashed ("krashed"?) KDE with it. Now I'm using GNOME and Mozilla is much more stable. On the rare occasions when Moz does crash, GNOME stays up, nary missing a beat. I have never had an application crash GNOME, something which I can't say about KDE.

  35. Re:I love gnome, KDE just not up to it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    you are no better then everyone who has every complained in the history of man kind when they failed to implement a piece of technology properly.

    you know all those newbies that you have likely flamed because they said "linux sucks, it does not work"???

    you knew damn well that linux does not suck, and you knew why those ranting newbies were having problems right? It was their own failure they were experiencing.

    well let me return the favor.

    YOU ARE THE ONE WHO MAKES KDE SEGFAULT

    YOU ARE THE ONE WHO CAN'T CONFIGURE X or whatever you have broken that displays your problematic pixmaps!!!!!!!!

    if you can't get KDE to work properly....

    IT'S YOUR OWN DAMN FAULT!!!!

  36. You need to read by Chuck+Chunder · · Score: 3, Flamebait

    Checks are payable to the GNOME Foundation. The GNOME foundation is not Ximian.
    Anyone who had the slightest interest in finding out what the GNOME foundation is could easily find out. Anyone just interested in trolling would simply jump to ludicrous conclusions and post them on Slashdot...

    --
    Boffoonery - downloadable Comedy Benefit for Bletchley Park
    1. Re:You need to read by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hehe, I remember when I NameZero'ed http://www.gnomefoundation.org. That's why they use that http://foundation.gnome.org now.

      Haha!

    2. Re:You need to read by GauteL · · Score: 2

      He does have some valid points though. The page should state something about what the money goes for. My (un)educated guess would be something like bandwidth, GUADEC-conferences, GNOME-foundation-meetings, perhaps a small dime for independent maintainers. I don't really know, and I actually follow the GNOME-project pretty closely.

      Some people are a bit uneasy about Ximian, not that I really understand them, but when they DO show up as the c/o address for payable checks (they are not involved AFAICS in the paypal-donation), there should be an explanation, just so the GNOME-project can ease these little paranoid minds.

      I'd guess it is because Ximian is involved in the GNOME-foundation, and someone had to take care of this. Better to see Ximian have some paid employee do this, than some poor hacker who really doesn't want to deal with administrative stuff.

  37. Re:I love gnome, KDE just not up to it by BrookHarty · · Score: 1

    I personally like icewm to get the work done, AntiAliasing is in being beta tested, but thats the last thing to be complete.

    There is alot of fluff in a WM in KDE and Gnome I dont use. I personally like Gnomes look and feel, but KDE has AA working out of the box, and has a easier configuration for user setup.

    The things that I use alot
    * alt-tab (sorry, i have way too many apps loaded, and need to switch quickly)
    * taskbar (I even has a taskbar on my amiga before windows)
    * window placement alignment (nice feature, snap alignment in windows)
    * Cut and paste (icewm supports windows keys)

    Really, the only thing left I want/need in icewm is AA fonts working correctly.

  38. Re:I love gnome, KDE just not up to it by RebelTycoon · · Score: 1
    This should be marked as Flamebait... Its important to keep the consistency.

  39. Re:Why KDE is Wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    > KDE was cooked up in the same country that started both World Wars...

    I prefer Gnome, and I have this to say:

    You're an idiot. Get off my side.

  40. KDE all the way! by X-Pirate · · Score: 0, Troll

    Even if Gnome was half as decent as KDE, I still wouldn't pay because it's FREE! Thank goodness for open source! whoopie!!!! I will say thank you to all the coders who contributed. I am certian that all your hard work will not go to waste - (a programmer has got to make a living somehow).

  41. Gnome on Solaris... by (H)elix1 · · Score: 2

    Gnome on Solaris is the thing that I can't wait for it to be bundled with... (I know it can be done today, but I cannot hork the box just yet -- and I always do). Nothing makes me jump back to command line habbits like the default Solaris windows manager. Shudder.... Gnome is the sister you really were trying to go out with.

    It is soooo close. Wish version 9 shipped with it as an install option.

    1. Re:Gnome on Solaris... by 0ki · · Score: 0

      Now only if solaris had virtual terminals so I could kill a hung x-session instead of "stop-a"ing and rebooting the box or finding another box to telnet into the hung box.

    2. Re:Gnome on Solaris... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative
      The main point about GNOME is that it is language neutral. You can use many different programming languages to directly take advantage of GNOME's libraries. Almost any language you can name interfaces easily with GNOME (GTK+, whatever).

      KDE on the other hand is very much biased in favor of C++. If you don't use C++ on KDE, you are very much a second class citizen. There can be no direct access to the KDE libraries unless you use C++ style name mangling. And even once you pass that hurdle, it is non-portable. For non-C++ languages to work with KDE, kludging wrappers must be provided, and even then you don't really get to take advantage of the underlying code directly. Eiffel, for instance, can not directly inherit from a KDE class. No way.

      KDE is not friendly to other programming languages. GNOME is friendly. That is the philosophical crux of the matter.

    3. Re:Gnome on Solaris... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > KDE is not friendly to other programming languages.

      Plus, let us not forget that KDE inherits its interfaces from Trolltech's Qt, and Trolltech doesn't want its library interfaces to be friendly.

      On the contrary, like Microsoft, Trolltech wants the interfaces to be complex, and unique, in order to create lock-in.

      Of course, that lock-in has no _direct_ advantage where KDE is concerned, since KDE is GPL'd, and does not bring money back to Trolltech.

      However, any commercial closed-source developers who learn from KDE, or want to interface with KDE, will end up using QT under a proprietary license, and then Trolltech gets the full advantages of lock-in.

      Trolltech already holds a Microsoft-style lock-in over Borland's Kylix, Opera, The Kompany products, Hancom Office, Embedix, and the Sharp Zaurus (all of which I avoid).

    4. Re:Gnome on Solaris... by GigsVT · · Score: 1

      Gnome is the sister you really were trying to go out with.

      Why were you trying to go out with your sister?

      --
      I've had enough abrasive sigs. Kittens are cute and fuzzy.
  42. Slashdot is biased?! by HanzoSan · · Score: 3, Insightful


    Why advertisements to gnome donations but not KDE, not Enlightenment, no, no posts on that?

    Why support Gnome? Gnome has enough support from Sun and IBM, support KDE, they dont have big companies helping them out like Ximian, IBM, Sun etc.

    --
    If you use Linux, please help development of Autopac
    1. Re:Slashdot is biased?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Enlightenment is DOA. Face it, they're never going to stop dicking around with the support libraries and write an actual desktop. It's going down the same shitter as GNUStep did.

      Rest in peace, E
      --another bitter ex-enlightenment user

    2. Re:Slashdot is biased?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Shut the fuck up. Enlightenment is deader than the Queen Mother, and KDE doesn't need donations since it is TrollTech's bitch and work is funded by the sales of the propreitary Qt toolkit - or the cuckoo in the free software nest, as it is more commonly known.

      Besides, KDE is a dead end. GNOME 2 is the future since its libraries were designed and developed... not thrown together to meet a hurriedly cobbled together Slashdot-pleasing checklist.

    3. Re:Slashdot is biased?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > KDE doesn't need donations since it is TrollTech's bitch and work is funded by the sales of the propreitary Qt toolkit

      Complete nonsense.

  43. Damn commies by Temjin · · Score: 0

    are always begging for money.

    --
    Jews smell like jewish people.
  44. Re:Why KDE is Wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I rebut your comments thusly:

    My cat's breath smells like cat food

  45. Naaah by dpilot · · Score: 2

    Tried GNOME, tried KDE, don't use either, but keep them around for some applications, though GNOME annoys by taking over MY desktop when I click any Help buttons. Both make my machine perform like last-generation compared to a raw window manager, even icewm with dfm and icedock extras.

    Isn't GNOME supposed to be "Windows done right?"

    Well, what if Windows is just plain so broken that it can't be done right?

    I think Apple had the right idea, and now "Mac done right" is here.

    Maybe Windows is the dominant platform, and we have to accomodate that to attract new users. But that should be "stupid, backward mode," not what we aspire to.

    --
    The living have better things to do than to continue hating the dead.
    1. Re:Naaah by ImpTech · · Score: 1

      Funny, I always felt Gnome was more MacOS-like than anything else, though that may be because I have some weird natural tendancy to make my desktop look as Mac-ish as possible.

      For performance, yeah its not the fastest, and I wouldn't run it on my P166... but Gnome looks so good (with nautilus) that I'm prepared to take the hit, which really isn't that bad on remotely recent hardware.

      Over the past year I've become a gnome addict. I don't like being in KDE because I can't make it look like Gnome, and on those rare occasions where I boot windows I just want to hurt people. If I had more than $75 to my name right now, I'd definitely consider donating.

    2. Re:Naaah by rtaylor · · Score: 2

      You complain about Gnome being too heavy then say Mac has done a better job?

      I think you may wish to double check that comparison on equivelent hardware -- that is, compile X and Gnome2 on Darwin. Gnome's a little snappier, but Apple sure has a nice looking interface.

      --
      Rod Taylor
  46. Why donate to them? by HanzoSan · · Score: 1, Troll

    They dont need any more money, they have more money than KDE, they had Eazels 15 million, they have Ximnian giving them money, They have Sun and IBM helping them.

    I'll Donate to Enlightenment before I'd donate to Gnome, Gnome is as good as its going to get, its been years, the interface to Gnome hasnt improved at all except for Nautilus (what a waste of 15 million dollars when its not even better than KDE)

    Gnome needs to innovate before I give them money.

    Lets support Enlgihtenment.

    --
    If you use Linux, please help development of Autopac
    1. Re:Why donate to them? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The same Enlightenment that's been around longer than GNOME? That has its codebase completely scrapped every release? The one that oddly enough still offers nothing compared to a full desktop environment in terms of functionality? The same one written by a guy that couldn't code a linked list without fucking it up?

      So we should all donate money so we can have another file manager with themes that leaves files all over any writeable directory? Great idea!

    2. Re:Why donate to them? by HanzoSan · · Score: 2



      Functionality? Ok whats wrong with E16.5 in terms of functionality?

      Stability? Its more stable than Gnome by far.

      Flash and Eye Candy? More than Gnome will ever have.

      I want a desktop to compare to OSX, save functionality for Gnome.

      Even if Gnome has the best functionality KDE is still kicking its ass with its better eye candy and worthless features that geeks dont care about but all the casual users love.

      --
      If you use Linux, please help development of Autopac
  47. parent isn't "funny" by gTsiros · · Score: 1

    It is "insightful"

    Why a /. story about supporting "gnome" and not "opensource" in general?

    --
    Looking for people to chat about multicopters, coding, music. skype: gtsiros
    1. Re:parent isn't "funny" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Why a /. story about supporting "gnome" and not "opensource" in general?

      I'll give you a clue. One reason could be that this is a news site. "Open source communities accepting donations" isn't news. If KDE has had a donations page for months then "KDE accepts donations" isn't news either. It might have been when the KDE donations page was launched, and I'm sure there was a Slashdot article at that time. The GNOME donations page just launched. It is news.

    2. Re:parent isn't "funny" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > It might have been when the KDE donations page was launched, and I'm sure there was a Slashdot article at that time.

      Might, or are you sure? Search and show me the Slashdot article.

      > The GNOME donations page just launched. It is news.

      No, it's old content:

      http://www.guadec.org/shop/gnomefriends.php (April 2002)
      http://mail.gnome.org/archives/g3web/2002-J anuary/ rtf00000.rtf

    3. Re:parent isn't "funny" by Menthos · · Score: 1

      Actually, the GNOME donations page *did* launch now. See the announcement on foundation-list. It's not a new idea and you could send cheques to a postal address before, but the Friends of GNOME program page with PayPal donations is brand new.

      --

      GNU/Linux. The Freshmaker.

  48. There is only one true desktop environment ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It is KDE 3.
    GNOME appears to be dying.

    I laugh at you gnome using people. I snigger.

    KKKKKK DDDDD EEEEEE 3333333

    All the way.

    This message brought to you by the letters K,D,E and the number 3.

    1. Re:There is only one true desktop environment ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      KDE is a slug.

    2. Re:There is only one true desktop environment ... by danrees · · Score: 1

      KDE is a slug.
      Slugs can be killed with coffee

      Therefore KDE can be killed with coffee. Funny, it's never worked for me...

  49. Re:Why KDE is Wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    Not so fast, my friend. Hitler was a genius who understood the Jewish mind. Please show a little more respect.

    The thing about Jews which is interesting is that they are like a super-organism, i.e. a column of army ants or a flight of killer bees. Individually any given Jew is probably obnoxious, but perhaps not as sinister as one would be led to believe given their group behavior. This is like a killer bee, or termite, or army ant. An isolated individual insect of these species may be annoying but harmless. Yet as a group these insects, like the Jews, constitute a real threat.

    The best defense is a good offense. It is no wonder that Hitler saw fit to exterminate the Jew. I'm sure Hitler bore no animosity against any single individual Jew, but he realized that like a hive of dangerous insects, Jews as a whole should be exterminated.

  50. M0D PARENT UP!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    i TOTALLY agree with this post!!

    KDE rules over gnome like I rule over your mom.

  51. A little off topic but... by DanThe1Man · · Score: 3, Interesting

    is it pronouced "ga-nOme" or "nOme"

    and yes, saying its pronouced "Gnome" would be a funny reply.

    1. Re:A little off topic but... by praxim · · Score: 1

      Actually, I prefer to pronounce it as "genome." Why? It just sounds cooler. Really, while GNOME is my preferred desktop, KDE has the better name.

    2. Re:A little off topic but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, they both have stupid names. Pronouncing the "g" in gnome makes you sound illiterate to the rest of the world and KDE is a meaningless acronym.

    3. Re:A little off topic but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I pronounce it foo-foo-ibber-dibber-splortz. Why? Because I am such a fucking moron, I actually think it sounds cool.

    4. Re:A little off topic but... by Michael+Wardle · · Score: 2

      The GNOME FAQ says it should be pronounced guh-nome (that is you say the "G").

    5. Re:A little off topic but... by Menthos · · Score: 1
      Actually, there are lots of other languages in the rest of world. In many of them the "g" certainly should be pronounced and anyone not pronouncing it would be considered a person with speech problems.

      I assume you only thought of English pronounciation of GNOME? ;-)

      --

      GNU/Linux. The Freshmaker.

  52. Re:I love gnome, KDE just not up to it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Mozilla has its own UI libraries, so I don't see how it could, as you suggest, bring down KDE. Plus, you find Mozilla to be more stable under GNOME?

    I can only think of one way for both of your observations to be true:

    It sounds like it is KDE that is crashing, and bringing down Mozilla (the sub-task).

  53. Great image by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    Why not just put up a big frickin' web site that says, "Hey users of the world, we're so lame we can't even figure out a way to make mainstream software pay for itself, so send us money."

    Honestly, nothing, not even the rampant childishness in the Linux newsgroups, makes open source software look as bad as does this kind of begging for handouts.

    Imagine how much easier this makes it for companies like MS to say, "See what a bunch of amateurs they are? And what happens when the donations stop and they all go work on something else? Do you really want to trust your company or private systems to that software?" Yes, it's a lame argument to those in the know, but it carries a lot of weight with people who are just beginning to learn about OSS and Linux.

  54. freedom, not beer, jerk by lordmalicore · · Score: 0, Redundant

    For the 2^64th time, its freedom that Free Software refers to, not beer, you free-loader. If all you care about is price, go back to your warezed copy of Win2k. BTW I believe Mr Gates will be a bit less forgiving than the Gnome Foundation if he finds out that you skipped out on your oppurtunity to "donate" to Microsoft for the "privilege" of using the "software" they develop.

    1. Re:freedom, not beer, jerk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Go forth, Zealot, with sword in hand. Purge the land of the infidels.

  55. What they don't show on the back of the T... by Flower · · Score: 5, Funny

    "I donated $500 and all I got was this lousy t-shirt."

    --
    I don't want knowledge. I want certainty. - Law, David Bowie
  56. hell yes by tapped_spine · · Score: 1

    Gnome rocks! I donate.
    I use KDE a lot too, like it, donate there, too.
    I donate to Debian, too.
    I'm not a developer and it's nice to have a way to support projects like this.
    PayPal is great, wish more OSS projects used it. How hard is it to put a 'donate' link on your project page?
    I see free software as the ultimate in try-before-you-buy. In years past I've wasted lots of money on commercial software only to find it doesn't do what I need.
    I feel compelled to pay for software that I like and use even though it's not for sale.
    I suspect there's a lot of users out there who would support their favorite projects if they had an easy option like PayPal to do it.

  57. For the love of god.... by 0ki · · Score: 0

    Please use Icewm.org thanks IceWM is a small, but powerful window manager for the X11 Window System whose main goals are the following: Feeling comfortable to use, being simple and fast, and not getting in the way. Full GNOME compliance, partial KDE compliance. A default configuration fully usable without tweaking. Optional use of mouse. Combining the best features of other window managers and GUIs. Themes that allow the user to customize the look and feel of the desktop. IceWM has been coded from scratch in C++ by Marko Macek and enhanced by Mathias Hasselmann and shares no code with other window managers. IceWM is © by Marko Macek and Mathias Hasselmann and is being developed under the LGPL.

  58. Re:I love gnome, KDE just not up to it by Cid+Highwind · · Score: 1

    KDE has it's own window manager I think (kwm ?) but GNOME does not

    And metacity? Is it not a windowmanager, or not part of gnome?

    --
    0 1 - just my two bits
  59. Speaking of misreading by Tiamat · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I think someone does need to learn to read more carefully, and it's not me.

    I wrote that contributions seem to be handled via Ximian. From the page:

    GNOME Foundation
    c/o Ximian
    401 Park Drive, 3rd West
    Boston, MA 02215

    And, yes, someone can figure out who the Gnome Foundation is, which tells them absolutely nothing about how they plan to use this money.

    1. Re:Speaking of misreading by luge · · Score: 2

      That's because Tim's office space is donated by Ximian; he lived in Boston before he took the job so that made a lot of sense. AFAIK Ximian won't ever touch a dime of the money.

      --

      IAAL,BIANLY

    2. Re:Speaking of misreading by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Except when the GNOME Foundation gives it to them to develop software.

  60. Begging as a business model by TheRealSlimShady · · Score: 1

    Ya know, I just don't see begging being a viable business model. If you're in business, sell me something. Just make sure that the amount of money you make from selling whatever is greater than the amount it takes to run your business. Don't come begging for money. If you're foolish enough to try and make and exist as a business without thinking these things through, you don't deserve to be in business.

    1. Re:Begging as a business model by kevinank · · Score: 3, Insightful
      Ya know, I just don't see begging being a viable business model.

      Presumably the Gnome Foundation isn't a business but a non-profit. Most non-profits exist on either membership fees, volunteer labor, grants, or donations. The real question isn't whether the model works, it is whether there is any significant interest in philanthropy among open source advocates.

      Personally I'll probably be donating at about the same level I donate to KQED. Less than I give to the EFF or the ACLU, but more than I give to the Sierra Club or my mayor's reelection campaign.

      --
      LibBT: BitTorrent for C - small - fast - clean (Now Versio
    2. Re:Begging as a business model by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Donation is a viable business model, I live quite comfortably off donations to the project I work full time on.

    3. Re:Begging as a business model by The+Droek · · Score: 1

      Yeah, you're right. After all, it never works for NPR or PBS.

  61. Re:I love gnome, KDE just not up to it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm not a programmer, so I'm not sure what you are talking about. Mozilla seems more stable under GNOME (or maybe Mozilla is getting more stable). I had a very bad time with Mozilla and KDE. Of course, I'm speaking of earlier releases of both KDE and Moz. Maybe I should give it a try again with the most recent versions.

  62. File Dialog by transami · · Score: 1

    i just switched to gnome 1.4 from kde 2.2 the other day. kde was great while it lasted, but i soon found gnome with nautilus to be much more my speed.

    my only wishes:

    the file dialog needs serios improvement. i really miss kde's slick version. i know the gnome 2.0 file dialog is better, but its still stale in comparrison from what i can tell. --hey wouldn't a mini-nautilus do the trick?

    also, the print dialog could use some beafing up too. it works fine, but again kde takes the prize here.

    fianlly, the ability to add mime/types that open certain apps could use some ease-of-use. its too complicated the way it is, but perhaps this is fixed in 2.0?

    other then that i'm pretty damn happy.

    i don't do c/c++ but would be happy to donate toward the above mentioned improvements. is there a way to specifically do that?

    ~transami

    --
    :T:R:A:N:S:
    1. Re:File Dialog by damiam · · Score: 1

      The file dialog in 2.0 is somewhat improved, but it's supposed to really get better in 2.2. They're considering a mini-nautilus or something similar.

      --
      It's hard to be religious when certain people are never incinerated by bolts of lightning.
  63. I'd like to donate by Filgy · · Score: 2, Funny

    But I can't find the place on their site where
    I can send in my pocket lint. Darn.

    --

    -- filgy
  64. wow, a new way to give to the community! by spongebobsquarepants · · Score: 0

    So will our donation get us into GnomeDrake or ManGnome Club? ;)

  65. Re:I love gnome, KDE just not up to it by magicslax · · Score: 1
    And metacity? Is it not a windowmanager, or not part of gnome?

    It is a window manager, but not part of gnome (well, not exclusively). Gnome can use any number of wms. Metacity and Sawfish just happen to be two of the popular ones.

    KDE = desktop environment + wigets + kwm

    Gnome = de + wigets + your choice here

  66. Donate by quasi_steller · · Score: 2, Informative

    Donating to Free Software may sound dumb, but it really is a good idea.

    1. You can donate whatever you can afford ($5.00 is better than $0.00).
    2. Free Software isn't cheap (In that development costs money in several ways: hardware, time, etc. and the software itself is usually very nice)
    3. It is a great way to give back to the community if your coding/writing skills are not the best
    --
    ...interesting if true.
    1. Re:Donate by 0ki · · Score: 0

      So then charge for it dummmy or quit whining Donating to Free Software may sound dumb, but it really is a good idea. You can donate whatever you can afford ($5.00 is better than $0.00). Free Software isn't cheap (In that development costs money in several ways: hardware, time, etc. and the software itself is usually very nice) It is a great way to give back to the community if your coding/writing skills are not the best ...interesting if true.

    2. Re:Donate by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      IIRC the PayPal fee is $us1. Could even be $us3. Correct me if I'm wrong. So, conservatively, let's say it's $us1. And I donate $au5, right? That's down to $au3. Which makes $us1.50.

      That's a pretty shithouse effort for my $5. Maybe I should move somewhere that has something other than the peso as their currency.

  67. EFTs by 0vi_king · · Score: 2, Funny

    Larger sums may also be transmitted via bank wire transfer.
    For details contact fundraising at gnome org

    Well shoot! It looks like I can't wire them the money. I suppose will I can use Pay... Umm... a service from Ebay.

    --
    - Life is what keeps you occupied while you are waiting to die
  68. Re:I love gnome, KDE just not up to it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What I am saying is that Mozilla does not use any KDE or GNOME code. Therefore there is no reason for Mozilla itself to become less stable under KDE or GNOME (I find Mozilla on Linux to be very stable, BTW, ever since release 9.1).

    However, Mozilla does make calls for services, and some of those services will be provided by a KDE or GNOME service routine.

    Therefore, if you are finding Mozilla to be less stable under KDE, then it is most likely that it is a KDE service routine that is failing.

    Then, through bad design at some level (either in KDE, or Qt, or C++ itself), the failure of that service routine manages to bring down the rest of KDE.

    When everything is designed correctly (unlike, for example, Windows), and working as it should, then the failure of an individual program should not be able to bring down Linux, nor X-Windows, nor the Window Manager, nor the Desktop Manager.

    Under Unix, however, the shutdown of a parent task will also stop a child task, so, depending on how things are invoked, a failure of your Desktop Manager could also bring down Mozilla.

  69. No, I won't give! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How can you give money to a company supporting M$ [http://www.go-mono.org/]?

    Go figure why those people read slashdot...

  70. Re:I would dance on gnome' grave before I would gi by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    gnome ain't that great. fvwm2 is much more desirable.

    Last I checked fvwm was (w)indow (m)anager, while Gnome is a Desktop Environment... Cake. Icing. Not mutually exclusive, get it dimwit?

    If you're going to insult something, at least insult the right thing.

  71. Err... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No one gives a fuck, you offtopic moron.

    Go back to class.

  72. hmm, donate $$ to Gnome or Perl? by Dr.+Awktagon · · Score: 5, Funny

    Let's see, I have $50 burning a hole in my pocket, let's choose between Gnome or Perl.

    Gnome (and KDE for that matter) crashes a little too much for my tastes. The UI design could use a little more simplification and consistency. So maybe they need the money, to help improve these things. That would be good.

    Perl, on the other hand, is a language that makes me money. I program in Perl and people pay the big dollar. So maybe I owe Perl a little.

    Gnome has this guy that likes .NET. In fact, he likes .NET so much it's a little creepy.

    Perl has this guy that looks like Weird Al, who's pretty cool. And this other guy that writes packages based on quantum mechanics and other mind-twisting stuff.

    Gnome might be moving to the .NET runtime someday, which means Microsoft could possibly have a little more legal power over the project than I'd like. That could be dangerous, maybe I shouldn't give them any money.

    Perl 6, though, looks like it has lost all touch with reality (I think it's pretty cool, but then again, that says more about my grip on reality than anything else). In fact I believe programming in Perl 6 will be like taking a hit of LSD. LSD is bad (the flashbacks man) so maybe they don't need my money either.

    Tough one... I think I'll just keep my $50 for now.............

    1. Re:hmm, donate $$ to Gnome or Perl? by GauteL · · Score: 4, Insightful

      This whole .NET stuff and GNOME just has to stop. It is just FUD.

      Ximian is backing Mono which if successful will become a nice OPEN SOURCE development platform for UNIX (and GNOME).

      The worst thing that could happen would be that Mono would not be able to run application made for .NET, but the development platform would still have plenty of value as a very nice (kind of) language independent development platform for UNIX, and GNOME. KDE could create bindings for mono as well.

      You don't have to use Mono at all for GNOME-development. It's just a (nice) alternative if you like a clean unified oo-API and would rather not deal with memory management.

      Mono also has nothing to do with the core of GNOME, apart that there are some GNOME-hackers working on Mono. Mono is not part of GNOME.

      Personally I like Java, and would like to see better Java-integration in GNOME, but mono looks pretty nice (and close to a Java-api for GNOME) as well.

    2. Re:hmm, donate $$ to Gnome or Perl? by cozziewozzie · · Score: 1

      As a matter of fact, KDE does have Mono bindings already. It's based on their new infrastructure which dynamically generates bindings for different languages (such as C# and Java, for example). Search the dot for more information.

      As for the relationship between GNOME and Mono, Miguel did express his wish that future versions of GNOME be based on Mono. He has since explained his position on the GNOME mailing lists.

      Seriously though, many of these trolls are simply a result of ignorance of facts which are easily verified on the net. The average Slashdot discussion contains so much misinformation it's appalling. Support GNOME, support KDE, and stop wasting everyone's time with holy wars.

  73. How come by SomeOtherGuy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Linus never asked us to pony up a little spare change for the kernel? Looks like he is doing pretty good for himself....

    If I learned one thing from my dad growing up it was when you start looking to make money from your hobbies then it's to much like your real job -- and maybe time to find a new hobby. Among his many hobby cycles, he restored old saddles and other antiques -- he would spend hundreds of hours on a project for little more than the money for materials and the gleam in his eyes when he finished a project -- when I told he he was crazy to not try to make money doing it -- he said something like "They pay me from 7 AM - 5 PM everyday to do something that has never been fun -- and if I ever have to take money from this it will mean that it has stopped being fun..." When he got burned out he would pick a new hobby.

    It never hurt to get a day job. That way you can make money to afford to spend the evenings and weekends doing things you enjoy.

    --
    (+1 Funny) only if I laugh out loud.
    1. Re:How come by jmu1 · · Score: 2

      And you can spend your life being miserable... from 7 to 5. You spend more time in your llife at work than any other waking hour. Why not try to enjoy it. If you loose the will to do that thing you loved to do... get another job somwhere that allows you to do something else you enjoy... Same basic theory, but on a much more realistic scale.

    2. Re:How come by ivan256 · · Score: 2
      he said something like "They pay me from 7 AM - 5 PM everyday to do something that has never been fun -- and if I ever have to take money from this it will mean that it has stopped being fun..." When he got burned out he would pick a new hobby.

      No offence to your dad, but he's fallen into a cultural trap that's been around since the 1950's. You don't have to be unhapy to make money. You don't have to live for the weekend. If you can manage to make money from your hobby, and still have fun doing it, then you should. You can enjoy work. It's okay.

      /me climbs off his soap box, and goes back to hacking on kernel code for money.

  74. Re:Why KDE is Wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The offtopic KDE mailing list has proven that the developers are socialists and anti-jewish. Hmm...socialist and anti-jewish...oh, yeah, NAZI!.

  75. Re:Gene kan dead by 0ki · · Score: 0

    Yeah to bad he commited suicide with a shotgun to the face. Ouch... So how long before the pics show up on gnutella?

  76. try this by axxackall · · Score: 1
    I've tried each WM, but... try 3dwm, a three-dimensional user environment . Here is a brief story:

    Three-Dimensional Workspace Manager, a Chalmers Medialab project, released as Free Software under the LGPL license and focusing on the development of a general-purpose platform for 3D user interfaces (3D GUIs). 3Dwm is NOT an X11 window manager and cannot work as such. It is a full 3D user environment, i.e. the 3D equivalent of X11 (far from completed, however).

    Instead of confining your applications to the conventional 2D desktop, 3Dwm displays them in three dimensions and also provides the necessary for creating new applications with full 3D-UIs.

    Designed especially for use in the Chalmers Medialab 3D-CUBE, 3Dwm will also run on most consumer-level desktop systems as well.

    --

    Less is more !
  77. Gnome Needs Friends by KnightNavro · · Score: 1

    After being abused, I think Gnome needs a few friends.

  78. Re:I love gnome, KDE just not up to it by mcrbids · · Score: 2

    And, I've tried each WM, including ice and a few others, and I keep coming back to KDE.

    The funny part? I like Kmail and I just HAVE TO HAVE ctrl-tab for swapping desktops!

    -Ben

    --
    I have no problem with your religion until you decide it's reason to deprive others of the truth.
  79. Amazing Grace by Ilan+Volow · · Score: 2

    And all the time I thought those tales of some fanatical cult saving Grace Hopper's brain were just urban legends.

    --
    Ergonomica Auctorita Illico!
  80. I Like Free Software by WindowsTroll · · Score: 1

    Particularly software that is free (as beer). However, with more and more free software entities asking for money (Gnome, Perl, etc), this is starting to look a lot more like commercial software. What happened to the legions of OSS fans who contributed code because they bought into the idea of OSS? If people are contributing code for free, why the need for money? And if people aren't contributing code, then one of the fundamental premises of OSS is destroyed.

    --
    "Microsoft has made computing accessible to a population who would otherwise not be able to use computers" - B. Kernigha
    1. Re:I Like Free Software by PigleT · · Score: 1

      "What happened to the legions of OSS fans who contributed code because they bought into the idea of OSS?"

      Too many companies, in a word. All thinking they could get something for nothing, so the world starts to expect faster turn-around than OSS actually produces.
      Don't forget it took us a hell of a long while (Open Source having existed for 40-odd years) to get a remotely sane OS - and that's allowing for KDE as well as Gnome on the desktop!

      --
      ~Tim
      --
      .|` Clouds cross the black moonlight,
      Rushing on down to the circle of the turn
    2. Re:I Like Free Software by Menthos · · Score: 1
      If people are contributing code for free, why the need for money?

      Even if you contribute labor for free, there are still other costs, even for a non-profit. Think servers and bandwidth for gnome.org. That's just one example.

      --

      GNU/Linux. The Freshmaker.

  81. I might just give by Wee · · Score: 2
    I think I'll give to the KDE guys. I can't really stomach giving money to de Icaza -- he's just a little to MS-friendly and Mono is a nasty, horrible, misguided thing I could never actually pay for. KDE works just fine regardless and doesn't have any leanings (aspirations?) towards the Pacific Northwest.

    Although if I could give some cash to the Blackbox guys I'd certainly do that. I've gotten quite a bit of use out of their software in the last few years...

    -B

    --

    Ash and Hickory, straight-grained and true, make excellent bludgeons, dandy for the cudgeling of vegetarians.

    1. Re:I might just give by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      I think I'll give to the KDE guys. I can't really stomach giving money to de Icaza -- he's just a little to MS-friendly and Mono is a nasty, horrible, misguided thing I could never actually pay for.

      I think you are confusing GNOME with Ximian. Mono is not a GNOME project (at least not yet, and there is nothing that says it ever will be).

      Also, basing your decision on whether you want to support a community only on one single person seems debatable. One could just as easily say that one doesn't want to support KDE because of one disagreeing with mosfet.

    2. Re:I might just give by jhoffoss · · Score: 2

      Fluxbox is a worthwhile WM to donate to, as well, based on Blackbox 0.6, I think. Although, I'm not sure that they have a donate link...

      When I get my paypal account in order though, the first donation I make will be to these guys.

      --
      Linux: The world's best text-adventure game.
  82. Re:I love gnome, KDE just not up to it by fferreres · · Score: 2

    Ok, i know you where probably trolling, but you can configure whatever you like ctrl-tab under Gnome. If you want it for a specific app, then that's app dependant (like Galeon ctrl-left means Back())

    Anyway...

    --
    unfinished: (adj.)
  83. Misreading? by Chuck+Chunder · · Score: 4, Informative

    No, I simply realise that the address a cheque happens to be delivered to is not significant, who the cheque is made out to is.

    They clearly say they will use the money to "provide development, education and promotion for GNOME worldwide". If you want to be a friend of GNOME and have something more specific you'd like your money to go towards then just tell them. As their charter states "The foundation will be in charge of disbursing these funds to the benefit of GNOME and, to the extent possible, in accordance with the wishes of the benefactor."

    There is nothing hidden here. There is info on the foundation pages, the foundation mailing list is open for all to read. There might not be a vast amount of info on the friends page but that is because they aren't putting on a hard sell. It's there for you if you feel that you'd like to contribute, not trying to make you feel that you should.

    --
    Boffoonery - downloadable Comedy Benefit for Bletchley Park
  84. Re:I love gnome, KDE just not up to it by fferreres · · Score: 2

    * alt-tab (sorry, i have way too many apps loaded, and need to switch quickly)

    Settings -> Control Settings -> Sawfish -> Shortcuts:

    [Global] M-TAB : Cycle Windows
    Modifier key: ALT

    * taskbar (I even has a taskbar on my amiga before windows)

    Well...we know both have

    * window placement alignment (nice feature, snap alignment in windows)

    Both have.

    * Cut and paste (icewm supports windows keys)

    For mostly every app: defaults to ctrl-c, ctrl-v, ctrol-x (MS like)

    For HTML browsing: Settings -> Control Settings -> Document Handlers -> HTML Viewer -> ShortCuts: [MS Like]

    --
    unfinished: (adj.)
  85. Re:gnome myths by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    (Score:-1, Offtopic) eh?

    Apparently the truth will set you modded down on Slashdot these days.

  86. Ha! Ha! by ksoonson · · Score: 1

    F.Y.I.: The original is from Microsoft:

    "I gave the best years of my life to WHQL and all I got was this lousy t-shirt"

    WHQL is part of Microsoft & they once gave out a tshirt for their employees with that sentence printed in the front.

  87. Re:I love gnome, KDE just not up to it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    > KDE = desktop environment + wigets + kwm

    It's kwin, not kwm. And can be easily replaced with another WM.

  88. Well, you should annotate your article then. by Chuck+Chunder · · Score: 2

    Because in your article you claim not to favor one over the other.

    Personally I think you've chosen the wrong one to bet your development time on. And the reason isn't so much to do with either KDE or GNOME. It's still all to do with the toolkits QT and GTK and their licencing. With GTK everyone is on an equal footing, there is no one company above all others. The LGPL allows largely proprietary companies to come in and experiment without worrying too much about any potentially confusing licencing issues. Basically there's a nice level playing field where everyone is free to make their own decisions for their own reasons.

    But in any case, the choice is yours. I have no desire to change you mind and wouldn't bother commenting on my support of GNOME if this were a KDE story.

    --
    Boffoonery - downloadable Comedy Benefit for Bletchley Park
  89. You really do need to read by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Well, Chuck, since you are so quick to defend Gnome from slashdot "trolls," you must see yourself as a friend of Gnome, right? Would it be asking to much for the Friends of Gnome page to include a direct link to the Gnome Foundation page on gnome.org ?? Furthermore, I scanned the Gnome Foundation page and failed to notice anything like a financial disclosure or any sort of accounting for expenditures beyond some extremely vague promise of the kinds of things that might possibly merit funding. They could do better. Now, before you get bent out of shape, realize that I'm not suggesting that there's anything fishy about the Gnome Foundation. But know this: When I make charitable contributions I like to know exactly how money is being spent, because I know of far too many worthwhile causes to justify giving money to anybody who asks for it. Someday, when I'm a megatrillionaire and have, through my boundless philanthropy, put an end to hunger and ignorance and disease, I will gladly donate to each and every software project that catches my fancy. Until that day, I need to be more selective. Knowing how an organization spends money is one of my key selection criteria. In that, I am sure I am not alone.

  90. GNOME HELPS MS IN THE NAME OF SAVING ITS OWN FUTUR by croanon · · Score: 0

    Mono, .NET implementation on LINUX is being developed by Ximian, Gnome's creators. Wanna see how Miguel de Icaza is licking MSs private parts? go and read www.go-mono.org Especially read Passport related parts to feel disgusted what lust for power and money can turn people into. GNOME HELPS MS IN THE NAME OF SAVING ITS OWN FUTURE! (Yes, every single line of code written for .NET is helping MS.) Lots of my friends uninstalled GNOME the first day they heard them helping MS! KDE is much better anyway. Especially after the Gnome 2 calamity. :)

    --
    Dear Bill, do you have a .net tatoo on your ass for marketing?
  91. Re:Listen Bitch! by croanon · · Score: 0

    Actually, I did have sex with couple of she-males. They are amazing!!!! :)

    --
    Dear Bill, do you have a .net tatoo on your ass for marketing?
  92. This is not true! by croanon · · Score: 0

    Either this way or that way, every .NET implementation will help M$. M$ supporters are talking about "You see, there are Linux implementations of .NET" in the discussion forums. Ximian is supporting Mono!, financing Mono (good name for MONOpolist technology implementation). KDE is not responsible for .NET implementation. Miguel de Icaza was saying that next versions of Gnome (Gnome 4?) should be .NET. Don't you read The Register etc? I and lots of friends UNINSTALLED GNOME and INSTALLED KDE after learning that Miguel de Icaza likes to lick Billy's private parts. I WON'T SUPPORT ANY MONOPOLIST LICKERS, INCLUDING GNOME, AND ICAZA! Gnome 2 is a calamity anyway. I like KDE. :)

    --
    Dear Bill, do you have a .net tatoo on your ass for marketing?
  93. Re:gnome myths by redtuxxx · · Score: 1
    Certainly in agreement

    one thing I find telling is the attitude towards overall design

    In gnome2 there is a definite approach that the architecture and feel should be "designed" so that it is sensible, while JDE seems to just bolt on feature after feature as in MS

    For an example please see the vfolder thread on the free desktop mailing list.

  94. Re:I love gnome, KDE just not up to it by Sunnan · · Score: 1

    Huh? Metacity is to gnome as kwin is to KDE. Metacity uses the gnome libs and stuff like that. You can use other wms with KDE (like blackbox), you don't have to use kwin.

    (I love gnome 2 btw and have high hopes for future gnomes.)

  95. Re:I love gnome, KDE just not up to it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    > This should be marked as Flamebait... Its important to keep the consistency.

    The difference is this is a Gnome story.

    "Gnome rulez, KDE blowz" would be marked as flamebait if this was a KDE story

  96. K Desktop Enviroment by gnugnugnu · · Score: 1

    Allegedly the KDE originally stood for Kool Desktop Enviroment but somewhere along the line someone decided that the K did not stand for anything.

    Here is a copy of the original post that helped get the whole KDE project started.
    http://freekde.org/neil/kdeannounce.html

    both gnome and kde have a lot to answer for with their silly gnaming konventions.

    1. Re:K Desktop Enviroment by praxim · · Score: 1

      I was aware of the KDE name history, but since they dropped the "Kool" and just stuck with the desktop environment, and nobody expands the acronym anyway, they win the name war. =)

    2. Re:K Desktop Enviroment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Acronyms suck ass

      (not saying Guh-nome is not a brilliant name either)

  97. Seach and you will Find (Re:File Dialog) by gnugnugnu · · Score: 1

    If you were to checkout some of the irc groups on irc.gnome.org or some of the mailing lists
    http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo (desktop devel list maybe)
    and could figure out what developer(s) are working on the feature you want and offer to pay them directly.

    a search of Bugzilla
    http://bugzilla.gnome.org
    might turn up an exisiting bug report/request for the enhancements you want, and you could add the promised bounty to the bug report.

    you should definately check out Gnome 2 it has imporved a lot.

  98. Give or dont give, but for a better reason by gnugnugnu · · Score: 2, Interesting

    It has already been explained several times in this discussion

    Gnome is not just Ximian
    Gnome Foundation still not Ximian
    Ximian are one of the members of the Gnome foundation, Ximian contribute to Gnome.

    The guy from Gnome Foundation handling the money has been provided with office space by Ximian, from the sounds of it he does not even work for Ximian.

    Much as Miguel De Icaza might want it to be, Mono is not a part of Gnome. See the Gnome section of the Mono FAQ
    http://www.go-mono.com/faq.html#gnome

    Sometimes Microsoft comes up with ideas worth pursueing, sometimes not (and sometimes they are just rehashing what i think would be better done using Java but it is as much about control as it is the technology). Mono is a competitor to .Net and although it may encourage the use of C# (aka D flat) it gives people an alternative implementation of the .Net framework that they are unlikely to be trapped by vendor lock in.

    You still might not want to give to the Gnome Foundation, but many projects will accept donations directly and you could pay a few bucks to get that bug fix you really want or the feature request no one really has enough time to do,
    or you could try the other major linux desktop.

    enjoy!

  99. Re: accuracy, not zealotry by lordmalicore · · Score: 0

    I am disgusted that you would equate me with any kind of a murderous religious fool simply for speaking my mind on a subject. To imply that a desire for freedom is in some way tied to religious zeal (and thus that this is something to avoid) shows that you don't even understand the meaning of the word freedom.

    If you took by my tone that I refuse to use any non-free software, you are wrong. I have a few bits of non-free software, which I have paid for, mostly games and so forth. I dont oppose commercial software per se, but I do hate when people misrepresent the Free Software movement.

  100. Re: accuracy, not zealotry by digitalgiblet · · Score: 1
    Hmm. I believe he was pointing out that your tone implied you care much more for the concept of free software than you do for the people involved, and you certainly demonstrated an open hostility to someone who expressed an opinion with which you disagree. The fact that you even resorted to name-calling (in your subject line, no less), lends credence to the argument that perhaps you are in fact quite zealous about the cause being discussed.

    As for accuracy, the Zealots were in fact fighting for freedom from the Roman Empire. So zealotry was originally related to a desire for freedom... ;-)

    The moral of this little story? Be nice to people, and they will sometimes be nice to you. Be heavy-handed and insulting, and you can bet someone will snipe you.

  101. Thanx Mr. Stallman by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Thanx to Mr. Stallman I won't make any donations
    Some time ago I read an interview with him (can't find it now), where the interviewer asked about the chances of linux on the desktop, now that we have both gnome and kde. Stallman's answer was thar the community should help improve the *true* opensource desktop, gnome (this are not exact words). He didn't even mention kde!
    At this moment, Mr. Stallman disappointed me. Kde appeared before gnome (at least for me, running it since beta4). The guys there work very hard on their project and do a very good job. With the power of kde, they made QT be released under GPL!
    Isn't our freedom about choice too? Why must Mr. Stallman be so biased towards one of them? Please have some respect with others work, even if they are not members of the "GNU family". The world is bigger then GNU or FSF!

    1. Re:Thanx Mr. Stallman by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      take it that way... .... stallman who ?

      i give a slight fuck about that longhaired unshaved asshole.

  102. OK... by BrokenHalo · · Score: 1

    I realise your post is flamebait, but I'll bite anyway. Gnome has just released version 2.0, which has a shipload of new features. Unless I'm mistaken, Enlightenment has shown no evidence of progress in well over a year. While I do admire many aspects of Enlightenment's interface, it would appear to many of us that Enlightenment is as good as it's going to get. Having said that, I'm quite sure the Enlightenment crew would welcome your donation. It's all about freedom of choice, after all.

  103. win32 port? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'll donate some $$ to Gnome once I'll see it's working on win32 platform.

  104. how about destroy gnome? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Can I donate money to pay for an assassin to kill Gnome coders and zealots?

  105. Logic flaw by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How does giving to the corporate sponsored Gnome Foundation help the volunteer hackers? It doesn't. It helps the corporations that sponsor Gnome, and possibly indirectly, those hackers that are already being paid to work on it. The corporations don't have to sponsor Gnome, and I'm grateful they do, but if we are beholden to pay them for their sponsorship, what's the point of having a free desktop?

  106. What bullsh*t - all about the money. by wackybrit · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    I didn't realize Slashdot was being used as an open forum for people to solicit financial contributions these days. Even worse, the original post did not imply that financial contributions were required, and just say they needed 'help' and 'contributions'.

    If GNOME needed more programmers, people to work on documentation, evangelists, etc.. then posting to Slashdot makes sense and I'm sure a lot of us would jump in.. but just having a post that solicits nothing but money is pathetic.

    It's all about the money, it's all about the dum-dum-da-dum-dum-dum.

  107. mamma by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    hey "hadess" and "jdub". both of your mothers smell like shit. they should go out and take a shower. you both are the biggest assholes of gnome developers that i ever met.

  108. Re:I love gnome, KDE just not up to it by Menthos · · Score: 1
    Metacity is to gnome as kwin is to KDE. Metacity uses the gnome libs and stuff like that.

    No. kwin is the default window manager in KDE. Sawfish is the default window manager in GNOME (although it's likely that it will be Metacity in the future).

    Just because something uses gnome libraries doesn't make it the default or recommended GNOME software that's included in core GNOME, whether it's a mail client or window manager.

    --

    GNU/Linux. The Freshmaker.

  109. Gnome vs Mac by dpilot · · Score: 1

    Honestly I've never used OS/X.

    I was more rebelling about the concept of "Windows done right" when I made that reference. IMHO Windows is at least partly flawed in concept and architecture, and may not be possible to implement right. If one were talking about a clean, compatible Win32 implementation I would be much more certain that it couldn't be done. A workalike is probably possible, but I'd rather see effort invested in a good clean usable interface than in "chasing Windows."

    The topic of Mac came up because OS/X looks like "Mac done right" where they ripped out a bunch of the old stuff that was no longer suitable and put a stronger BSD core in. In a way, perhaps it also resembles "neXt done right," too.(or at least "neXt done more marketably.")

    --
    The living have better things to do than to continue hating the dead.
  110. Gnome... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    i'm all for it, my partner collects them, they're stood all over our garden..

  111. KDE vs GNOME by azcoffeehabit · · Score: 1

    and another battle is waged in the war of the OS Desktop... Haven't we learned yet that war doesn't solve anything.... WE MUST STAND TOGETHER TO FACE THE BIG THREAT!! THE ONE THAT WILL DEFEAT US ALL!! The end is near for all of us if we don't stand together! Please show some humanity! Take up your posts and stand together.. THE TIME IS NOW!!!! All of the GNOMES and KDES must stand together.. And together we will triumph over the giant that is coming to eat us ALL!!!

    --
    :)(smile)
    1. Re:KDE vs GNOME by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Speed is bad, mmmkay? Just calm down a bit.

  112. KDE League vs KDE eV by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If you *are* going to donate to KDE (I'm waiting for the follow-up stories on how to donate to KDE, E, Fluxbox, WindowMaker, etc), I suggest you donate to KDE e.V. rather than the KDE League. The latter is about advancing KDE in the corporate arena, whereas the former is about things like flying a whole bunch of hackes to be in the same place and make a superhuman effort (a couple of thousand CVS commits over a weekend) to get KDE 3.0 released.

    -A KDE developer.

  113. Re:gnome myths by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And twm is the smacked-out junkie that died because it had a BMI of 0.5 ... this isn't necessarily a good thing :)

  114. Re:I love gnome, KDE just not up to it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yep, kwm is KDE's window manager, although you can make it something else. Technically, it's a much a part of KDE as Sawfish is GNOME (but don't forget Metacity, either).

  115. Re:Why KDE is Wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What if I decide I'd really, really, really prefer not to endorse American ideals? :)

  116. Re:Why KDE is Wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You, sir, are full of shit.

  117. Just stop telling your are non-profit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Gnomes try to ore the richness of the earth just for money
    if they just stop praying everybody they are so non-profit,care for the world,agains the evil empire, HAHAHAh LIERS.

    I know you must make a living but dont say you are almost monks, living because your ideals.

    I dont care if you say you need money but dont be such hypocrits

  118. Re:I love gnome, KDE just not up to it by Sunnan · · Score: 1

    Sawfish is the default window manager in GNOME

    Yeah, okay, that's one difference to kwin; but metacity is not very useful without gnome (or some sort of ae-menu).

    To be honest, it slipped my mind that sawfish is still default. I use metacity at the moment (when I'm in gnome country, otherwise I use Ion) but I miss a lot of lispy features from sawfish.

    Neither of the wm's appear to be very fast and stable, though... or I'm just having bad luck.