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Preparation for LinuxWorld Heats Up

BoomZilla writes "Numerous stories abound regarding next week's LinuxWorld in San Francisco. Reuters has published a report about Sun's upcoming announcement at the show. Apparently Sun will be revealing its first general-purpose, low-end Linux machine, and its own version of Linux. In another article CBS MarketWatch reports that IBM and RedHat/Dell will also be making major announcements." It'll at least be interesting this year with Microsoft having a booth. I'll be there as usual, but without a booth, so maybe we can russle up a party somewhere for Wed night? Anyone know a good place? Perhaps that serves Guinness & Bodingtons? Also, go see the Golden Penguin Bowl since I'm a contestant this year and will undoubtedly embarass myself terribly.

131 comments

  1. What exactly does Microsoft plan on doing there? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Sit and have things thrown at them?

    Or are they going to release their own Linux distribution? That could make things interesting.

  2. Announcements: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Sun announcement: We now own Linux and Sun is now the standard.

    IBM announcement: We recognize Linux rules.

    Red Hat announcement: We suck.

    Dell announcement: Microsoft won't let us use Linux.

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

      Sun announcement: We now own Linux and Sun is now the standard. ANSWER: if Sun's Linux distro is anything like StarOffice the other Linux distros have nothing to fear...

      IBM announcement: We recognize Linux rules. ANSWER: True...

      Red Hat announcement: We suck. ANSWER: True but only to a point, since Redhat is so much in love with Gnome and they dropped gmc & gnorpm as a pair for package management and file management Redhat's default install totally sucks, stick with Redhat7.1 and kill Nautilus...

      Dell announcement: Microsoft won't let us use Linux. ANSWER: true, most of those OEMs are cowardly sidewalk sissys that love it when billy borg sticks their big pecker up their butt without any KY or any other lube. OEMs are mostly spinelesss invertibrate bottom feeders making most of thier money off the clueless and stupid and first time buyers of computers, it all the major OEMs ever banded together and formed some sort of union to thwart billy borg's penile approach to business and dominatrix licensing contracts then billy borg & co. would be humbled to submission, but since the OEMs are cash strapped and since they are companys/corporations that only think in terms of dollars and could care less for anything else this is not likely to happen...

      have a nice day :)

  3. If you can't beat 'em, join em. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Welcome Sun! Maybe even Microsoft will
    wake up and embrace Linux. Dude,
    your gonna get a Linux box!

  4. I wonder... by mellonhead · · Score: 5, Funny

    "I'll be there as usual, but without a booth, so maybe we can russle up a party somewhere for Wed night? Anyone know a good place? Perhaps that serves Guinness & Bodingtons?"

    I wonder if this will be the first bar that gets slashdotted...

    1. Re:I wonder... by *xpenguin* · · Score: 1

      Certainly not. Don't you remember the slashdot meetups?

    2. Re:I wonder... by redcliffe · · Score: 2

      Yeah but this time a lot of /.er's are coming from out of town. All they need to do is post the bar location and invitation on /. in seconds geeks will be coming from all directions doing 100 metres in 10 seconds easily. Within 5 minutes there will be 10000 people in that bar.

  5. Re:What exactly does Microsoft plan on doing there by bangzilla · · Score: 4, Funny

    www.mslinux.org -- tells the whole story. Microsoft is ready to rumble! :-)

    --
    Rich people are eccentric. Poor people are strange. Me, I'd be happy with odd.
  6. Lets' not forget.... by 3seas · · Score: 4, Offtopic

    The Boston Tea Party and what you will do with all MS software you have.

    Let's see if we can fill up the MS booth.

    You know they are gonna be promoting .net, CLI, VisualStudio...

    1. Re:Lets' not forget.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ask them for refunds for 'not-used windows software' deliverd with new PC's

    2. Re:Lets' not forget.... by Izanagi · · Score: 1

      Just stand there and listen to people's questions, then add/say what the M$ guy avoided mentioning(bad points)! My dad does this in Staples! The salesmen face reads, "My comission!"

      --
      SCO (noun.)- A Slimy Corporate Ogre. Often seeks free money.
  7. The Toronado by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Go to the Toronado if you want a good beer. It's on lower Haight, near Hayes Valley. And if you get bored there, the Mad Dog in the Fog is right across the street!

  8. Place to go: Dave and Busters? by backtick · · Score: 2

    I know the LWE 'party' is gonna be at Jillians. Is there a Dave and Busters in San Fran? Great food, drinks, and video games all together :-) Love the one in Austin.

    1. Re:Place to go: Dave and Busters? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      San Francisco has some of the best nightlife anywhere, and you want to go to a chain restaurant? You can go to fucking Chuck-E-Cheese's anytime, get out and live a little while you have the chance!

    2. Re:Place to go: Dave and Busters? by _ph1ux_ · · Score: 2

      no dave & busters in SF... but Jillians is a fun place, no video games - but there is several pool tables. you can play video games in the sony store with all the playstation 2's..

      And if you want to see a bunch of beautiful women - go on salsa night... uh, dont all you /.-ers go at the same time tho... you run the risk of scaring ema ll off.

      but since jillians is in the metreon (less than a block from mosconi) there is the "air tight garage" inside which is an "arcade" but doesnt have too many great games at all.... they also have the manga store where you can buy all the mech models you want.

      for those from way out of town dont forget to check out the sky bar in the top of the marriot at the corner of 4th and mission - great view - but the drinks are a little pricey....

    3. Re:Place to go: Dave and Busters? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Mod parent up!

      On the other hand, Mod parent down! Let's try to keep the slashdot crowd away from said world-class nightlife, mmmm-kay?

      VI
      --
      Eminem is a sucka!

    4. Re:Place to go: Dave and Busters? by EvilStein · · Score: 2

      There's one in Milpitas, not too far from where LWE *USED* to be.. in the Silicon Valley.

      Why it's moved to SF, I have no idea. It looks lame when it fills up the small part of the Moscone Center while a psychology conference fills up the other half..

    5. Re:Place to go: Dave and Busters? by 13Echo · · Score: 2

      Heck yeah! Where else can you play Dance Dance Revolution, and get a Paulaner Hefe-Weizen.

      It's good fun, and easy to spend more than $70 on food, drink, and games.

  9. Sun's Linux? by IamTheRealMike · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Apparently Sun will be revealing its first general-purpose, low-end Linux machine, and its own version of Linux

    Huh? Another distro? What could Sun's edge over the others be is what I'm wondering. Companies like SuSE/Mandrake already have the low end, RedHat does the middle and Solaris has the high end. So is there going to be a high end Linux?

    Oh! Here's an idea. Perhaps McNealy sees this as a chance to return to the Network Computer idea (not a bad one in itself) by having thin client machines running XFree. Suns Linux could be like the LTSP distro.

    1. Re:Sun's Linux? by jbester1 · · Score: 1

      Sun's thin clients don't run X (or an OS for that matter, thus no need for Linux on the client side) According to newsforge it's more along the lines of a grid/clustering offering (on Sun brand hardware).

    2. Re:Sun's Linux? by RupW · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Huh? Another distro? What could Sun's edge over the others be is what I'm wondering.

      I'd imagine they'd tweak available apps and APIs to be as compatible with Solaris as possible.

  10. Personally I fear by Krapangor · · Score: 3, Interesting

    that this Microsoft booth will put the whole OSS community into serious trouble.
    We all know these ultra zealots like RMS et al. These people have only a little self-control if they are writing about closed source systems.
    What will such people do if they see a MS booth at the Linux world ?
    If they get mad and storm it and chase the poor MS employees around, it will be very easy for the MS PR department to portrait all OSS supporters as raving half-terrorists. This might result in Bush creating laws for prohibiting OSS at the US (at least at universities and colleges).
    So they MS booth might provide much harm for OS systems. There is even the possibility that MS especially planned such events.

    --
    Owner of a Mensa membership card.
    1. Re:Personally I fear by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      "Zealots" (I prefer "advocates") such as RMS are not particularly likely to serve as an embarassment on such a scale.

      Frankly, it is far more likely from some of Slashdotter-style crowd of pseudo-script-kiddies without the capacity for maturity, responsibility, world awareness or attention spans.

      lNx r0xrz j00. mS iz teh suk

      Bleh.

    2. Re:Personally I fear by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      I'm sure microsoft body guards can handle a pack of disgruntled 13 year olds who just deleted "w1nd0z3" and are a proud leenucks h4x0r.

    3. Re:Personally I fear by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      I plan to heckle the slashdot booth while wearing a shirt with a big "-1" printed on the front. Anyone else care to make some iron on goatse.cx prints?

    4. Re:Personally I fear by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      How about this:

      First we fight them
      Then we ridicule them
      Then we ignore them
      and then we win

      I suppose we're in the ridiculing phase right now. I like the "Boston tea party"-style idea.

    5. Re:Personally I fear by Bingo+Foo · · Score: 2
      I recommend that you:
      1. Register the trademark for that t-shirt (the back can say "Karma: Terrible")
      2. Sell a license to VA (Research|Linux Systems|Software)
      3. ???
      4. Profit!
      You might single-handedly be responsible for returning VA to solvency.
      --
      taken! (by Davidleeroth) Thanks Bingo Foo!
    6. Re:Personally I fear by Hack+Shoeboy · · Score: 0

      I'm just about to enter the "ignore phase," myself. Oh, you meant Microsoft, not Slashdot. Never mind.

      --

      IN TEH FUCHAR, LITERSY WLIL EB OPSHANAL!!!!!111
  11. Is this Preparation H perchance? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    it's pretty good on the whole.

  12. Sun's Hardware is the main problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I don't really understand the rational behind this . My experince has been that our company is replacing Sun boxes with Linux for the "Bang for the Buck", Sun doesn't even compare. Their CPU's are mediocre at best , their graphics are overpriced $300, for a re-packaged ATI 8MB card , $1000-$3000 for anything that even approaches nVidias $60-$300 offerings. The only advantage they have over X86 type architectures is 64bit, but that's a niche that will soon dissolve if AMD and Intel have their way.

    1. Re:Sun's Hardware is the main problem by mccalli · · Score: 5, Insightful
      their graphics are overpriced $300, for a re-packaged ATI 8MB card , $1000-$3000 for anything that even approaches nVidias $60-$300 offerings.

      Most Sun customers won't even care what graphics card is in the thing - in fact, most won't ever log in. There are some Sun desktops in the universe (Hello to whoever posts a reply saying they use Sun on the desktop), but the vast majority are headless servers running back-end stuff.

      Cheers,
      Ian

    2. Re:Sun's Hardware is the main problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If your company is replacing Sun boxes with Linux boxes you deserve everything you get....

      One more company down the drain.....

    3. Re:Sun's Hardware is the main problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I use Linux (exclusively) at home, but my company runs its server-side software on Sun boxes. Why? Because it's just as expensive to buy a 12-cpu Intel box as it is to buy a 12-cpu Sun box, and the Sun box integrates better with the OS.

    4. Re:Sun's Hardware is the main problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      Yup - I use the Sun desktop but on a SunRay. I'm afraid I'm currently using a SunPCI card to surf while the real work is happening on the Sun desktop.

      The initial poster has fallen for the usual trap of comparing the low-end Sun boxes with reasonably high-end Intel-based boxes.

      The main problem is that the comparison of processor speeds is a meaningless as MIPS (meaningless indication of processor speed?:-)

      Most Intel-uproc based systems have extremely limited architectures supporting the processor and struggle in multiprocessor systems.

      SPARC on the other hand, was developed to exist happily in a multiprocessor environment and has the underlying architecture that will allow usparcIII systems to beat soundly Intel-based systems.

      How many Intel-based systems have you seen at 16 processors never mind 64 or above?

      Now answer the same question substituting Intel with SPARC....

      Ok, so the components may not be as cheap as the off-the-shelf compatriots but I would counter that with a question...

      How many times have you had problems with compatability issues and everyone pointing the finger at the other companies products? Even when you buy an ASUS mobo and ASUS-flavour nVidia-based graphics card there are still problems. I'd rather pay the higher price and not waste my time trying to get two independent entities to talk to one another in the vain hope of getting a fix. This can take days - my daily rate becomes a factor here as I would personally have to manage the problem myself instead of actually producing anything for my customers.

      For me and I would imagine, many other commercial concerns, the elevated cost of peripherals is going to end up cheaper overall.

      Yes - PCs have the place and Sun boxes have their place but the overlap is starting to blur. Don't just write of Sun boxes because their processors are "slower" than a cheaper intel cpu.

      #pragma soapboxmode off

    5. Re:Sun's Hardware is the main problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      i use an ultra-60 at home and an ultra-10 at work. desktop sun boxes are very useful, especially when a sunpci card is installed to run your win32 apps.

      i haven't had a pc as a primary desktop in my entire 14 years of professional systems administration. vt320 to Mac to Sun.

    6. Re:Sun's Hardware is the main problem by Stephen+Chadfield · · Score: 1

      Uhh, yeah... When I turn up to work I see cubicles full of engineers and support staff with Sun desktop machines running chip design, simulation and layout software from the likes of Cadence.

      Sure, Admin and Finance staff have Dells pre-installed with Win2K but engineering is still very much Sparc-based.

    7. Re:Sun's Hardware is the main problem by mccalli · · Score: 1
      Uhh, yeah... When I turn up to work I see cubicles full of engineers and support staff with Sun desktop machines running chip design, simulation and layout software from the likes of Cadence.

      You see the bit where I said hello to the inevitable reply saying someone ran Sun on the desktop...

      Hello, and commiserations. At the moment Sun's stuff runs CDE doesn't it? Yuck. And I like Sun.

      Sun's desktop users are a minority, and you will probably agree with me that the world isn't exactly overflowing with chip design companies. That doesn't make it any less important to you of course, but I still think that my 'most Sun customers' argument holds.

      Cheers,
      Ian

    8. Re:Sun's Hardware is the main problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Did you read my initial comment. I demostrated a price differential of 10:1 , an 8MB ATI card cost $10 or less, if you think its worth $300 then you have little or no knowledge of graphics hardware.

      If you think a 16MB or even 64MB semi-T&L based graphics board is worth a $1000 or more then you have liitle or no knowledge of graphics hardware.

      If you have ever tried to use Sun's implementation of OpenGL, you'll find it to be one of the buggiest implementaition out there. It is 10 times slower and supports significantly less features than those of nVidia and ATI.

      To quote you,

      "The initial poster has fallen for the usual trap of comparing the low-end Sun boxes with reasonably high-end Intel-based boxes"

      your're right I was comparing a $4000 sun box to a $1500 x-86 box. that compiles my apps 3 times faster than the Sunblade, and runs any sort of data visualization 100x fatser than the the $4000 sunblade.

      You then went on to talk about 16 processors, how much does that machine cost? maintenance network and the like. Granted you're not going to find that in x86, but that may not be a cost effective solution anyway. Many applications of that ilk can be satisfied by an x86 linux cluster type approach , Sun often tries to push the "compute farm" itself. shame its processors are slow.

      I think my initial post was trying to say that Sun brings very little to the table, and day by day they bring less and less. I see no long term salvation for the company.

      I know you may own SUNW, but life's tough. to quote Barron's comments this Saturday Sun is "the dot in dot-bomb,"

      Cheers,

    9. Re:Sun's Hardware is the main problem by Sparcler · · Score: 2, Insightful

      When you buy Sun hardware you get what you pay for. If you believe Sparc processors are slow then you have fallen for the Mhz myth. Raw Mhz doesn't equal a faster cpu. Any processor that still has the heart of the 8088 and the 286 in it will never be faster that a risc processor. Until Intel and Amd drop x86 backwards compatibility, x86 will never be faster that Sparc, or nay other risc platform.

    10. Re:Sun's Hardware is the main problem by dalutong · · Score: 2

      Hello to you, too.

      --

      What comes first, finding a teacher or becoming a student?
  13. Just maybe by floydman · · Score: 1

    Just maybe M$ decided to release Windows XP as open source, and bill is waiting for our "HURRAAAYYYYYY"

    --
    The lunatic is in my head
    1. Re:Just maybe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      serously, i think microsoft should release the sourcecode for Windows 95 and windows 98 since they are dropping support for them, let the OpenSource community rebuild them in to something worthwhile or atleast maintain them, but that is not likely to happen, because when a coder sees what kludge and crapola the code is they will just toss it out as it would be easier to build a new OS from the ground up...

    2. Re:Just maybe by floydman · · Score: 2, Funny

      hahahahaha
      well i guess ur right.. maybe the code needs some spagetti sauce :)

      --
      The lunatic is in my head
    3. Re:Just maybe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > because when a coder sees what kludge and crapola the code is...

      Aw! like you'd know would ya? Seen the code have you? Could you tell good code from bad code anyhow?

      Naw. Didn't think so. Shut up you fuckwit.

  14. When in San Francisco by fw3 · · Score: 2

    Hard to beat(sic) the Power Exchange @Otis St. Plan to go with a date, stag males pay $75 entry on weekends for the mixed space.

    --
    Linux is Linux, if One need clarify their dist: <Dist>/GNU Linux
    bsds are of course just BSD
  15. Mandrake Demos at LinuxWorld... by joestar · · Score: 5, Informative

    Published last friday on their website:

    http://www.mandrakesoft.com/company/community/ma nd rakesoftnews/news?n=/mandrakesoft/events/2369

    __________________

    AMD's booth

    This year AMD will be welcoming the Mandrakesoft team as partner on their booth. Hammer, AMD's new generation of 64-bits processor, and Mandrake Clustering (Clic project) will be in the spotlight.

    Hammer demos

    * Demo of the Beta version of the upcoming Mandrake Linux 9.0 on Hammer.
    * Use of X 32 bits server running KDE 3.02 64 bits and a Konqueror 64 bits navigator. This server will be linked to a Gigabit Ethernet network. There should also be a charge simulation of 5000 connexions.

    Mandrake Clustering (Clic project) demos:

    * Use of a cluster of 4 Bi-Athlon XP/MP nodes with GeForce 4.
    * Presentation of operations of nodes fast deployment from a server.
    * Presentation of the Quake demo on multi screens.
    * Presentation of Povray calculations using MPI or PVM technics which show that every node calculates and transmits the information.

    HP's booth

    On HP's booth, there will be demonstrations of the Bundle Premium, an OEM special offering built by HP and Mandrakesoft under a partnership agreement. This offering is based on HP's Evo desktops associated with Mandrake Linux Standard OEM Edition.

    The Bundle Premium consists of 2 CDs and a 100-day per mail support. The first CD offers Mandrake Linux Standard OEM Edition, the second one is loaded with StarOffice 6.0, the reference office suite for Linux. This product is distributed via HP's worldwide network of resellers.

    HP will also demonstrate 441 Project Community Computer concept, using the Mandrake Linux distribution. This concept is geared towards educational markets. It could potentially reduce the cost per seat dramatically by sharing the resources of one Evo desktop among 4 users.

    IBM's booth

    MandrakeSoft recently announced that it will distribute DB2, IBM's famous database software, with its server product. The combination IBM DB2 version 8/Mandrake Linux 8.2 will be exhibited on IBM's booth. This ideal low-cost e-Business solution is likely to open a new era of migration from other platforms.
    _____

    Great to see that IBM shows interest in Mandrake!

    1. Re:Mandrake Demos at LinuxWorld... by vr · · Score: 2

      The combination IBM DB2 version 8/Mandrake Linux 8.2 will be exhibited on IBM's booth. This ideal low-cost e-Business solution is likely to open a new era of migration from other platforms.

      cheap? doesn't DB2 cost enormous sums of money?

  16. post-linuxworld bars by logophage · · Score: 1

    if you're willing to go to lower haight, i'd suggest toronado. beer lover's paradise...

  17. Try Castro Street by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It conforms better to the usual linux geek sort of "fun"

    1. Re:Try Castro Street by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are you kidding?

      Those fat bearded doughboys will get laughed off Castro.

      GET TO THE GYM!

  18. Re:What exactly does Microsoft plan on doing there by Mr2cents · · Score: 1

    Or maybe they are there to answer questions from Wine and Samba (etc) developers? They are such nice people!

    --
    "It's too bad that stupidity isn't painful." - Anton LaVey
  19. That's Boddington's by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The cream of Manchester

  20. You're kinda over the top... by A+nonymous+Coward · · Score: 2

    ...if you think RMS is going to storm the M$ booth. Or any of the other self-proclaimed leaders. You might want to do a check on that binary attitude of yours, it seems to be all black or white.

  21. and extremely reliable by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    you get what you pay for

  22. Agreed. What other reason could they have? by Lethyos · · Score: 4, Interesting

    They cannot be so naive as to think they are going to go to such a convention, hoping to win followers. What they are doing is tantamount to inciting a riot for exactly the reasons you stated: many open source zealots have no self control. (Come on, we've all gotten fired up from a conversation with a half-witten MS drone.) This is no different from going up to PennState's main campus, standing in the college town, shouting "PennState Football SUCKS!" then throwing a garbage can. It will cause a riot. Microsoft standing in at a Linux convention, shouting "Open Source SUCKS!" then throwing thriw software around. It's no different. Hopefully, no violence or misbehavior will come of this. (MS, afterall, are certainly paying their dues to have a booth.) However, if it does, the picture will be painted and open source gets its credibility knocked down a thousand points.

    What needs to happen is exactly the opposite, and it needs to be documented. There needs to be a few groups of well-educated indivudals who know software and the market well. They need to go to that booth, followed by a few idiots with cameras, and demonstrate a clean, friendly, intelligent conversation with the MS people. Nobody needs to trip anyone else up. Either party needs to show respect, and if MS can't do that all the better. It will make open source supporters appear mature, level-headed, and above all else, credible in a corporate sense, especially since both sides will ask the tough questions.

    --
    Why bother.
  23. I know a pub or two. by neurojab · · Score: 3, Interesting

    There's a little pub right across from the Metreon on Mission st. that serves guiness (and I think boddingtons), that's the closest one I know close to Moscone. Alternatively, there's a pub with pool tables on Columbus about half way between North Beach and the wharf that serves $2 guiness draws on weekdays! FYI.

    1. Re:I know a pub or two. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      the bar to which you speak between North Beach and the Warf is called Kennedy's. It's between Francisco and Chestnut at 1040 Columbus. To my knowledge it is the only Irish Pub/Indian Curry house in the world. (not that I am some big world traveller, but it is about the oddest combination imaginable).

      In addition to pool tables they also have foosball, air hockey and a couple of video games.

  24. The Reason they will be there is..... by 3seas · · Score: 2


    Actually MS will be promoting and supporting the CLI (Common Language Infrastructure) Technology within .net along with probably having available anti-gpl license visualstudio.net development tools information and of course Palladium and DRM information They will be very open and supportive about CLI and the ECMA-335 document.

    But they are not going to tell you Cornering the autocoding market is what they are planning to do.

    And they do realise the GNU Freesoftware and Open Source Software communities don't have their (MS) resources to do it faster or better than MS.

  25. Best place to party by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    It's gotta be Kate OBrians in San Francisco - the perfect place for geeks to meet up! Its located a mear 2 short blocks from the convention center, they let in all those underage geeks, its has great prices on food (and great food too - a steak sandwich to die for)and most importantly, guiness on tap! And if you're nice to the beautiful bartenders, you can get them to play whatever music you want over the sound system. There's also wireless access for all right next door~ See ya there!

  26. Hotmail runs on... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    People need to mention what microsoft doesn't do well. Like running its own major webservices. Have that documented. Have a hack-a-thon, like they do at defcon, getting the MS guys to setup their machine, and have the Linux guys setup theirs... Try and break this Microsoft, now go home.

  27. SUN's linux could be more important than you think by Lewis+Mettler,+Esq. · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I would not be so quick to just write off another Linux distro.

    It may be very important that it comes from SUN.

    And, it is not because Linux needs another distro either.

    Rather it is because SUN will package hardware and software and sell the package to corporate accounts. HPaq, IBM and others do not do that. DELL is beat up by the criminals running Microsoft everytime they try.

    But, SUN has not deal with Microsoft. They do not have to squeeze terms out of the illegal operation. They can just put together the hardware/software that works and works well and begin their marketing. And, Linux on the desktop needs that very much.

    When corporations start buying 1,000 orders of SUN Linux and boxen, the other OEMs in the business will be forced to tell Microsoft to stuff their obusive terms. And, that will make all the difference in the world.

    Do you really think Hpaq and IBM is going to just let SUN have all the corporate business for Linux on the desktop? Hpaq does offer a few Linux desktop solutions but they are limited. And, they are not across the board.

    That dynamic can all change when SUN enters that marketplace. And, selling linux desktops does not erode their service business either. That would be the entry into a market which they presently do not participate in. And, that could be more significant than SUN adding itself to the list of Linux Server suppliers.

    What will they do? Ignore the corporate desktop market? Or, package a fine white box, Linux and StarOffice? And, sell, promote and support them by the thousands? That is something that HPaq and IBM do not do.

    --
    NexuSys - Linux support by the best
  28. I hear MS is gonna hire... by ihoppancakes · · Score: 1, Funny

    the goatsex guy as their booth babe.

  29. Preparation for LinuxWorld Heats Up... by Mulletproof · · Score: 2, Troll

    ...as Environmentalist picket the convention, calling for Linux users to lower the production of heat to stave off global warming. One of the picketers was reported as saying he was offended that such an environmentally unfriendly convention had a penguin as it's mascot-- the anti-thesis of the environmenally harmful rally.

    --
    You need a FREE iPod Nano
  30. win-win situation for microsoft by thasmudyan · · Score: 2, Insightful

    It almost doesn't matter what happens at the MS booth, the result will be good for those guys.

    As has been pointed out in earlier posts: open source zealots attacking the booth will help MS to discredit the whole community and Linux as an operating system.

    Maybe MS will even announce some .NET-based interoperability features and the goodness of XML. That will certainly reduce MS' tainted image of being a monopolist, they might even be starting a new niceguy campaign!

    Perhaps the most stupid thing they could do is trying to sabotage the Expo with deconstructive criticism and blatant WindowsXP demos. The resulting uproar would bring them in on the frontpage of most internet news pages and make for some great indirect advertizing.

    So there is not much that could turn out negative for MS at this. Maybe the best from a Linux point of view would be some sort of support by MS (e.g. Office suite), even though it is unlikely to happen. Anyway let's just hope the community won't embarass itself out there!

  31. Personally... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    I plan to heckle the slashdot booth while wearing a shirt with a big "-1" printed on the front. Anyone else care to make some iron on goatse.cx prints?

  32. This sucks... by baywulf · · Score: 1

    This time LinuxWorld starts before my school does. That means I cannot excuse myself from my work saying I have some "school issues" to deal with!

  33. Homonyms by Inthewire · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Russell
    A man's name
    A town's name.

    Rustle
    v. rustled, rustling, rustles
    v. intr.
    To move with soft fluttering or crackling sounds.
    To move or act energetically or with speed.
    To forage food.
    To steal livestock, especially cattle.
    v. tr.
    To cause to rustle.
    To obtain by rustling: rustled up some food in the kitchen.
    To steal (livestock, especially cattle).

    Russle
    No entry found for russle.

    --


    Writers imply. Readers infer.
    1. Re:Homonyms by Inthewire · · Score: 1
      Offtopic? Hmm...I don't suppose you bothered to read the fucking part of the post that says
      maybe we can russle up a party somewhere
      did you?
      Sigh.

      --


      Writers imply. Readers infer.
    2. Re:Homonyms by quinto2000 · · Score: 1

      Yo dude, why are you a freak?

      --
      Ceci n'est pas un post
    3. Re:Homonyms by Inthewire · · Score: 1

      I don't recall. Usually it happens when I'm reading a thread and someone keeps pumping a view that pisses me off.

      It's funny, 'cause I don't filter anything, so I still see whatever gets written. However, the little red dots remind me that this person, at one time, advocated a postition with which I strongly disagree, and to reply or judge accordingly.

      --


      Writers imply. Readers infer.
  34. vmware to the rescue by vegetablespork · · Score: 1

    Public surfing from a VM with undoable disks, with /tmp pointing to a big honking RAM disk. Of course, all this is moot for libraries like our local one, which log who and what machine was in use at a given time.

    --

    Call (206) 338-5780 COLLECT for information about a genuine BA, BS, MA, MS, MBA, or Ph.D.

  35. .plan by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    get all those crap m$ licences i have kicking around, and hand them out to people going to the m$ booth...

    They say not for resale, so giving them away must be ok.

    or even better setup a microsoft licence pire just outside.

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

      go up to the microsoft booth with the software and DEMAND that you be reimbursed.

  36. DELL Announcement by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "We don't ship systems with Linux installed or/and systems without any OS. Windows is the only OS we support now (see /. for both related stories.)"

    These guys have some guts showing up at the expo. I heard MSFT is there too... Now I wouldn't be surprise to see SONY with a DRM booth or Apple distributing iTools and $1 rebate coupon for their $129 OS X.2 update.

    It's a strange corporate world out there.

  37. No Slashdot booth, eh? by EvilStein · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Interesting to see that the Slashdot booth went from the huge right-next-to-the-front-door booth with piles of beanbag chairs and the PT Cruiser to.. well, as Taco said, no booth at all.

    I wonder if SGI will be there at all. They used to have cool booths.
    The free t-shirt count has dwindled too. Kind of sad to see Linux World Expo shrinking year after year.

    1. Re:No Slashdot booth, eh? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      VA Linux, er. VA Software, is going out of business, and they ditched open source quite a while ago in their vain quest to take SourceForge commercial. What possible benefit would accrue to them from spending their last dollars on a booth at a trade show where no one buys anything?

    2. Re:No Slashdot booth, eh? by jasonditz · · Score: 1
      VA is doing nothing of the kind. If you read that profile page you linked to you'd notice the debt/equity of 0. Companies with no debt don't go out of business too often.

      Gotta admit, as a LNUX shareholder we should have a presence there. Maybe an all-purpose OSDN booth or something?

    3. Re:No Slashdot booth, eh? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      At the current rate of loss and given cash and equivalents on hand, they're dead in the water in a year, and bankrupt in two. Delisting will come much sooner.

    4. Re:No Slashdot booth, eh? by jasonditz · · Score: 1
      There's something called "cutting expenses" that has the ability to change the current rate of loss.

      Surely VA isn't going to lose all that money in the hardware business now that they aren't in the hardware business.

      Delisting can be prevented either through a stock buyback or as a last resort a reverse split.

    5. Re:No Slashdot booth, eh? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You can't get blood from a stone -- if their expenses were any lower they'd be unable to function at all. They've already cut expenses so much that they can barely advance development on their product, and given that they have almost no sales, they can hardly afford to cut back sales and marketing. That's the kind of desperation cut we can expect to see in about a year from now, when they're looking at bankruptcy in twelve months. It will accelerate their downward spiral rather than buying time, because expenses are necessary.

      Cutting OSDN would make sense but that will only go so far. With luck they'll be able to sell it to IBM or Red Hat, though not for much. I'm sure they've already tried.

      Reverse splits for companies facing delisting have been disastrous lately. Generally you fall precipitously after such a visible gesture of desperation.

      Most likely outcome isn't bankruptcy but fire sale, of course.

    6. Re:No Slashdot booth, eh? by jasonditz · · Score: 1
      I agree with you, buyout does seem like the best option.

      OTOH, I think its still a little early to label the SF thing a failure, since its only been the main slant of their business for a few months. I think they'd be better off concentrating on making their money off the OSDN though.

      that being said, we've strayed a bit OT here, probably best to just leave it at that or discuss it at the Yahoo LNUX board.

  38. Microsoft's true intentions... by ndogg · · Score: 3, Informative

    Microsoft has no good intentions for the LWCE. I have come to learn that they intend to only do two things: promote their Services For Unix software and promote Windows XP Embedded.

    I have been trying to find the original Newsforge article with that information, but I've only been able to find the article at Eweek.com.

    They try to make it out as though it's really about talking to customers that need to work in a mixed environment, but I have my doubts. They also try to make it out as being a dialog between them and the rest of the OSS and Free Software communities.

    --
    // file: mice.h
    #include "frickin_lasers.h"
  39. How about by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Lastly, we ignite them!
    Long live the script kiddies!

  40. Irish Pubs within walking distance by twenex · · Score: 1
    There's the Chieftain at 5th and Howard (the Moscone is between 3rd and 4th at Howard). It's not too big, but is comfy. There's also Kate O'Brians between 2nd and 3rd on Howard. It's also small, but a nice place. Both serve Guinness. I'm not too sure about Boddingtons.

    Also, of note, is Central Computer between 4th and Howard. It's a good place for parts. There's cheaper online, but when you need that last minute firewire cable or replacement mobo, it can't be beat.

    Other good neighborhood bars include Arrow Bar (6th and Market), Pow (an Anime themed bar) at 6th and Mission, Julie's supper Club (retro-styled bar and restaurant) at 7th and Folsom, and for late night revelry the strip at 11th and Folsom (including JWZ's DNA Lounge).

  41. Microsoft? by Wouter+Van+Hemel · · Score: 1

    What the hell is Micro$oft doing at linuxworld?! Anybody got a clue?

    1. Re:Microsoft? by twenex · · Score: 1

      I don't know. Could it possibly include, say, FUD?

    2. Re:Microsoft? by Wouter+Van+Hemel · · Score: 1

      No, ofcourse not.

      =)

  42. Re:Agreed. What other reason could they have? by DickBreath · · Score: 2

    Imagine this.

    MS shows up at major Linux event with booth.

    MS hires a bunch of rowdies to come cause trouble at MS booth, badmouthing MS, etc.

    A bunch of reporters with cameras show up to document, because they received anonymous coward tip to "expect something interesting at the MS booth".

    --

    I'll see your senator, and I'll raise you two judges.
  43. hmm by linuxislandsucks · · Score: 1

    Dell announces becoming a divison of Sun?

    --
    Don't Tread on OpenSource
  44. Re:Convicts should make license plates... by Speare · · Score: 2

    I put together some bumper stickers for a friend who will be there. He printed a bunch and will be giving them away (perhaps accepting donations to defray printing costs).

    The stickers he's offering are the top two from this site: http://www.halley.cc/ed/linux/slogans.html

    I wonder how the "convicts" sticker will go over with the Microsoft crowd. ;)

    --
    [ .sig file not found ]
  45. Microsoft Is Not Your Friend. by President+A.+Lincoln · · Score: 1, Troll



    Embrace, Extend, Extinguish.

    For those of you who are still new to the politics of the industry, here's whats going on: Microsoft's future as a company is being threatened by Uncle Sam. As a result, they're going to do everything within their power to seem as friendly and non-hostile as possible. Even if it means setting up a booth in the enemy's backyard--LinuxWorld. They're going to do everything they can to persuade you, and the media, that they are not a threat to anyone.

    As has been the case for the past 10 years, Microsoft will wait until your guard is down. When Microsoft needs to eliminate someone, a certain ritual occurs. Its a symbolic fight. Internally, they will do anything they can to undermine and destroy you. Externally, they want big you a big hug, bake you cookies and compliment you on your good looks. They'll concede a few minor trinkets to you, and make you feel like you've taught them a lesson, waiting for the right moment. They'll let you think you've won the fight, you'll let your guard down, and then they'll gut from asshole to adam's apple.

    DO NOT TRUST MICROSOFT.

    Yes, Virginia, they're actively engadged in trying to invalidate and destroy your work. REVOLT. If anything, go there, and sit down on the floor of their booth. Let them know they're not welcome in YOUR house. Doing anything less is an admission on your part that you believe all the horseshit they dish out to the media. They plan on pumping the same brand of horseshit down your throat at LinuxWorld to convince you to give up the fight. The fight is over when they're dead--Not when they tap out.

    Cheers,

    1. Re:Microsoft Is Not Your Friend. by Thoguth · · Score: 2, Insightful
      DO NOT TRUST MICROSOFT.


      I don't quite agree with your suggestions for responding to MS, but that is a very accurate description of how Microsoft treats its competitors AND its customers. It goes from "well, you need a license, but who's checking, wink wink," to "you have one month to show proof of compliance." From "Here, have a free media player with your OS" to "Oh, by the way we have permission to disable competing products on your computer."

      MS makes some very useable software, but their business philosophy of "shortest possible path to having you by the balls" is more and more unappealing every day.
      --
      The requested URL /iframe/sig.html was not found on this server.
    2. Re:Microsoft Is Not Your Friend. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think the best course of action would be to simply ignore the booth. What could discourage Microsoft more than a complete lack of interest? It's a subtle and mature way to show that you're A) not a zealot and B) not interested in MS products, since you are perfectly happy with your OSS/FS/Whatever-You-Want-To-Call-What-You-Have-Tha t-Isn't-From-MS.

      This is a Linux trade show, not Birmingham in the 1950s. If you're not interested in what a company has to offer, then politely ignoring them is the best way to express your disinterest.

  46. Re:SUN's linux could be more important than you th by spitzak · · Score: 2
    I don't think MicroSoft is directly preventing the sales of Linux-only boxes by any of the companies. I'm sure a lot of other people here will point that out.

    But what they are doing is preventing anybody from selling dual boot machines. In the current environement and with enough FUD from MicroSoft this is pretty effectively the same as preventing them from selling Linux, since nobody is willing to try it without the ability to retreat back to MicroSoft.

  47. It's called 'The Chieftan'. by Ludwig668 · · Score: 1

    Great beer and a traditional environment. Good choice.

  48. Something else funny from the site by The_Guv'na · · Score: 1

    Here's Ed's Screenshots . Looks like he's a terminal guy :)

    (or he surfs a lot sites he'd rather keep secret)

    Ali

  49. slightly off-topic by The+Electric+Messiah · · Score: 1

    Rumor has it that the Gentoo folks are going to be releasing 1.4 during the Expo. They say it's going to be entirely built with GCC 3.2. Can anybody describe the benefits of a GCC3x release over the GCC 2.9.5(?) Gentoo I'm currently using?

    --
    "Bold as Love"
    1. Re:slightly off-topic by Spider[DAC] · · Score: 1

      We will release 1.4_beta as, unfortunately, gcc 3.2 was not ready in time.

      the beta is binary incompatible with the final due to changes in gcc's c++ ABI since the snapshot was made.

      There is to be expected a higher performance (some 5-20 % on the final binary, dependning on the code and platform) with up to 50% on the PPC side (loads of changes)

      Generally, it means "rebuilding a lot of packages" or a reinstall, and a far increased performance.

      --
      I didn't do this, now did I?
  50. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 1

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  51. Re:Convicts should make license plates... by the+gnat · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The Hitler comparison is pretty nauseating. Did anyone else not find that funny? I don't like MS or use their products either, but Christ. . .

  52. delusion of reality is cheap by Lewis+Mettler,+Esq. · · Score: 3, Informative

    Microsoft documents apparently have something to reveal.

    It does not sound like lack of demand had anything to do with it.

    Sounds more and more like additional illegal activity.

    The following is taken from the opening statement by the States.

    1. Microsoft held a series of meetings with Dell in regard to linux
    2. Meetings involved both Gates and Ballmer
    3. Microsoft does not sell a linux distro
    4. Microsoft needs to remind Dell why it is smart to partner with Microsoft
    5. Dell feels a need to discuss linux with Microsoft? (does he need permission from the godfather?)
    6. Ballmer is urged to make certain that Dell understands it is untenable for Dell to be marketing linux
    7. Ballmer suggests that Gates give Dell somewhat of a hard time (Ballmer suggests that Gates brown nose Dell)
    8. Dell in June of 2001 informs Microsoft (the crime family) that Dell has canceled their linux business unit
    9. Does not smell like lack of market demand at all

    Is this testimony? No, just statements from the States based upon Microsoft documents.

    But, does this sound like a lack of marketing demand nixed Redhat on Dell desktops? Not to me it does not.

    It sounds like Dell thinks that Microsoft Corporation has to approve any contracts that Dell might want to sign with others. (Or, they have to cancel if Microsoft does not approve.)

    Lewis A. Mettler, Esq. (lamlaw.com)

    --
    NexuSys - Linux support by the best
  53. CDE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I don't know why everyone hates CDE so much. It's a good looking, clean interface, and very easy to use. I much prefer CDE over KDE and Gnome. Even a secretary can figure out how to use CDE!

  54. Dell? by thasmudyan · · Score: 2, Interesting

    How come Dell is still in the mix if they are not allowed to sell machines without an MS operating system inside anymore? How does that fit?

    1. Re:Dell? by jasonditz · · Score: 1

      Well MS is there themselves, figure that one out. Maybe MS wants them there because there's something in their contract with Dell about Dell having to help them unload the truck?

  55. Did anyone READ the article on Sun? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    The article was rather horrific in it's content.. it was rather straightforward Linux-bashing by for example some nameless 'analysts', and it was generally filled with misinformation. And the article came from Reuters.. I would have expected something better from them.

    Please read the article (link to Sun's announcement), and if you agree with me, send your warm feedback to Reuters.

    E

    PS. Can I be labelled as 'Anonymous loginchallenged person?'. Slashdot refuses to let me sign in on my account :(

    1. Re:Did anyone READ the article on Sun? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Obviously you didn't read the article, moron. Here's a quote:

      "Linux and Unix combined are competing with Microsoft," whose Windows program is graduating from personal computers to powerful servers and which offers its own, mostly-Microsoft view of the world, dubbed .Net," said Pierre Fricke, an analyst at research firm D.H. Browne.

      Looks like the analyst was named. And no Linux-bashing, either.

      Al Gillen of IDC was named as well. He pointed out that about one-fifth of server computers shipped last year used Linux, unchanged from 2000. Ooh, that's really bashing Linux.

      So much for your reading skills.

  56. Re:What exactly does Microsoft plan on doing there by kasperd · · Score: 1

    Sit and have things thrown at them?

    They'd better be prepared for that.

    --

    Do you care about the security of your wireless mouse?
  57. LOL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Maybe MS wants them ... to help unload the truck

    That would be cool! Ehem. Sort of.

  58. Re:SUN's linux could be more important than you th by kasperd · · Score: 1

    without the ability to retreat back to MicroSoft.

    While this might worry some customers, it should worry M$ as well.

    --

    Do you care about the security of your wireless mouse?
  59. Re:heats up? by fimbulvetr · · Score: 1

    Fat? That's because we spend our time eating as opposed to fixing our winblows servers. Lazy? That's because it's been so long since we've had to patch our system we've forgot what it felt like to download the latest fix from MS hoping some guy doesn't code-red you in the 20 minutes it takes to download a 500k file from a slow website. Linux Loving? Thats us!(or me anyway) Hippies? We just look like hippies because we are to lazy(read #2 titled "Lazy?" to shave). Faggots? Windows lovers are the faggots if you ask me, They are the ones who don't mind bending over for Bill! Take a shower? What's that?

  60. Hitler by oliverthered · · Score: 2

    unfortunatly or not so as the case may be, you were on the 'winning' side.

    This will probably get slamed by all and sundry but hell someones got to put the very minority point accross.

    Hitler or at least fachisim was embraced by a huge populas, he had his own views and methods be then right or wrong but people stood by him.

    Today large corperations opperate in a very simila manner, governments think there great, look at all the jobs etc... but it's the things they take away from you, you freedomes and rights that are getting undermined.

    How many people die of anarexia and suffer in pain because of an image portraied in the media.

    How many people suffer in the greed that up until a few hundred years ago they never knew.

    hitler all but wiped out the gypsies, today 'democracy' and 'WIPO' etc.. are in the process of wiping out all kinds of freedomes and cultures.

    The winning side always writes the histroy books, just think about what they might say about Microsoft and the RIAA in a hundred years time?

    --
    thank God the internet isn't a human right.
  61. Guinness - My Goodness by Apostata · · Score: 1

    Anyone whose conditions for a place to meet includes the availability of Guinness, is a genius and must be modded-up considerably.

    --

    This wasn't just plain terrible, this was fancy terrible. This was terrible with raisins in it. - Dorothy Parker
  62. Re:and how is my company preparing for the event? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Have fun!

  63. Cool! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    This means that MS won't have the only booth run by Windows.

    Not meaning to throw rocks here, but I'm a journalist in the computer field, so I get into shows before the general public, as in when the booths are still being set up. Trust me, you see a LOT of Windows logos on the big screens used for presentations that early. At least MS won't be hypocrits among that subset of exhibitors.

  64. It's because Sun SELLS hardware by edyu · · Score: 1

    Sun sells hardware. They don't make money of software. They don't care what runs on their hardwares, as long as they can sell the hardwre. They also have a name. Large corporations such as banks would only do business with large corporations such as Sun. They want the support that Sun can provide with their own distro.

  65. Re:Sun's Linux? - Don't get excited. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's redhat 7.2....

    Somehow it's up to version 5.0(white rabbit). Every RH rpm I've installed on it works like a charm. It runs GNOME 1.4 by defalut w/ nothing particularly exciting.

  66. Guinness by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Kennedy's is the place for Guiness - best pint deal in town (no, I neither own the place nor work there, just drink there).

  67. Boddingtons by Froggie · · Score: 1

    Boddingtons is (unless you're very lucky and live near Manchester) fizzy nitrokeg shite. Americans should look at www.camra.org.uk and see what you're missing ;-)

  68. The future of Solaris x86: It's back! by JohannPelz · · Score: 1

    Beside the anouncement of Sun Linux, Solaris x86 is back at Sun, with Solaris 9 and 10 apparently in the Pipe. After struggling with the Solaris x86 community since the beginning of january, when Sun looked like they were killing the x86 version, Sun's Graham Lovell revealed the hopefully bright future of Solaris on x86 hardware.

    The Solaris x86 community is cheering over in alt.solaris.x86 and on the Solaris x86 mailing list.

    Solaris x86, now offered side by side with Sun Linux on the new BigBear line of Intel based servers at Sun is quite useful, even on generic x86 hardware.

    Companies can add cheap edge servers based on commodity x86 hardware to complement their Solaris/SPARC installations which integrate well with each other and offer essentially the same administration tools. If the need for power grows, existing software is easily transferred to bigger, expensive SPARCs. This makes Solaris x86 unique, since this way a commercial grade Unix is available across the whole scale from small cheap x86 boxes up to 106 processor SPARC SMP machines.

    For students and developers Solaris x86 is great, since they can use existing x86 hardware to dip their toes in the waters of Solaris without having to shell out for SPARC hardware.

    Having to develop and support Solaris on more than one architecture forces Sun to keep Solaris portable, and that may be very useful if the SPARC architecture might prove to be a dead end, with only a small niche market left that actually needs and affords it.

    It's also quite nice to have the usual Solaris envionment available on normal x86 based laptops.

    While I personally use mostly Linux and Mac OS X it's nevertheless great to see other Unices alive and kicking. Competition in the x86 Unix market is good, and having the commercial versions competing with the free versions keeps everyone on their toes.

  69. Why are the being /allowed/ to exhibit at all? by rpozz · · Score: 1

    The reason why anyone whould go to LinuxWorld would be to see the alternatives to that M$ crap. We're all fed up with having XP shoved down our throats at ludicrous prices. Allowing them to stick their fingers in this particular pie is not going to do anyone any good. I mean FFS, would RedHat be allowed to exhibit in a Microsoft-run show?

  70. what happens when the little guys act tough? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This was an interesting event that occured at work today. Sun told us that we have to use Sun on all of our workstations and servers. We sat there and said "uhh no."

    let it be known that sun just lost a $1 million/year contract to microsoft. sorry!