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Zaurus Sync Software (Finally) Available for Linux
Tony Green writes "One of the biggest gripes of early Zaurus users (with much justification) was the fact that despite the fact that the Zaurus itself runs Linux, the only synchronisation software made available was for Windoze machines.
Trolltech have now released a desktop synch program (albeit a beta at the moment) for Linux, so at last Linux users can start doing what the rest could already do. Information at The Zaurus Software Index or Trolltech
One word of warning though, the MySQL installation on my Zaurus became unusable after using this; I haven't worked out exactly what it did yet, but I ended up having to completely re-initialise the Zaurus and then restore everything from my backups. So not recommended if you're running MySQL (unless you're feeling brave...)"
You know, this is one of my big beefs. I know that Slashdot editors aren't exactly renown for their spelling abilities - but I think it would be rather nice if they could correct deliberate misspellings like this.
One of the things we all (I hope) advocate is the usage of something apart from Microsoft. That is Microsoft, not Micro$oft, Microsfot, Microcrap and any of the other 1001 illiterations that you find.
Maybe it's just me, but someone who deliberately misspells a company name comes across as a 14 year old and almost immediately wants me to completely dismiss the point they're making.
Harsh, maybe. But lets not alienate potential users by looking childish with our spellings.
Linux can and is a viable alternative - let us not give people the impression we're 14 year old script kiddies who think it's "cool" to munge corporate names.
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That's unfair, and comparing apples with oranges.
Think of a project on sourceforge as being a low-cost representation of an idea, rather than as a product. So the first thing you do is register your idea - or, if you're a fan of Homesteading the Noosphere, you "stake your claim". Then you see if there's interest, think a bit more about the problem and/or solution you're proposing, maybe try a few bits of code out.
Often times, what you deride as "alpha" level software is perfectly acceptable v1.0 shipping product from some large commercial suppliers (er, actually most commercial vendors). Their business model appears to be ship a minimally-functional product, if it works use the proceeds to fund v2.0
Remember also that that Alpha code may just do exactly what you want it to do - no final product required! Often times within the context of these sorts of connectivity programs, alpha-code is sufficient to prove the concept, wherein it becomes more profitable to roll the actual functionality into a larger project - e.g. Evolution's palm-sync equivalent, or a specific camera's photo-download software into gPhoto2 or similar.
In short, if I expect to have to pay for software, then I expect a Beta programme to a) provide an early look at the functionality b) provide an early look at the quality of the product before committing anything to it. If, on the otherhand, I'm crusin' sourceforge for solutions, then oftentimes a demonstration-quality Alpha release is more than enough to make a decision on whether to adopt, adapt, collaborate or ignore the project...
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I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy
That's still better than most linux software, just go to www.sourceforge.net and see how mony projects ever gets past alpha-stage.
I'm sure there are any number of pro-Microsoft(tm) zealots and astroturfers who will take exception to this, but my (and, I think, most people's) experience suggests that most alpha-stage GNU, Linux, and BSD projects are far and away more stable and reliable than their Windows(tm) equivelents, if perhaps less polished on the install and user-interface side.
In other words, those pre-alpha and alpha projects are often already far and away better than many of their Microsoft(tm) counterparts (if such even exist, which is often NOT the case), and are certainly very useful to GNU/Linux users long before they reach beta or final release status, in contrast to many offerings from Redmond, which remain unstable and marginally useful long after people have begun paying good money for them.
Free software developers, being subject to public peer review, are generally much more conservative in how they label their projects than Microsoft(tm) and some other commercial enterprises are, as anyone who has used both can readilly attest. It is particularly deceptive of disingenous for pro-Microsoft(tm) zealots to be using that conservatism in nomenclature to imply an inferiority in the software being released that, emperically, simply doesn't exist in most cases.
The Future of Human Evolution: Autonomy