Slashdot Mirror
Slashback: India, Kartoo, Orbs
Attribution where due. Frank Bajak, Technology Editor for The Associated Press, wrote with a correction to last week's post "CNN Talks WIth ACLU Tech Maven Barry Steinhardt," writing "CNN didn't speak to Steinhardt. We, The Associated Press, did. CNN merely posted our story." Thanks for pointing that out.
If it's an orb, it had better do some glowing! shakes writes "Since the recent outbreak of interest in the Ambient Orb, I took a moment to homebrew one using a PICchip. The source code is currently incomplete as it does not support serial communication, but that will come in the next day or so."
Please secure the locking safety mechanism, or call an attendant if you have trouble. BoomZilla writes "I was intrigued with the home made roller coaster report on Slashdot last year. Just the sort of thing I *need* for the kids. Problem was that I had neither the skill nor the time to build such a beast. I've recently become re-inspired by the Back Yard Roller Coaster site. It's short on details (just a few pictures and a video) - but long on firing up my enthusiasm. Straightforward design. Easy construction. Modest cost. All I need is a hill (check) and the patience and understanding of my wife (stand by for news on that...)"
Oooh, look at the pictures. The visually intriguing meta search engine Kartoo is now more accessable to flash-poor browsers (and lazy or stubborn flash-avoiding users). Alexandre Dos Santos writes "Kartoo now offers an alternative to the regular flash display. The html version is only in beta. It offers the same functionality as the flash version, i.e. you can add or subtract keywords. It's obviously an attempt at reaching out to users who are on machines without flash, or very slow connections.
The option to use html only had been there before, but now Kartoo seems to push this more to the front...and important point...Without sponsored links."
Keeping their options open, or closing doors? bigmase521 writes "LinuxWorld has an article with statements from the Minister of Information Technology and Communications of India stating that India is NOT going to support Open Source alternatives Government-Wide. However, different branches of the government are still considering open source as their primary computing solutions. So I guess unfortunately, it seems as if Mr. Gates' Bribe err 'heartfelt visit' may have worked after all."
India had lots of brain power but no money. If proprietary software was allowed to take root in India would still be poor in computer knowledge.
India booted out IBM and mainframes in favor of Unix some 30 years ago. It was kinda boon to fledgling Indian software engineers because Unix made it possible to hook up a dirt cheap terminal to a low cost server. This made computing available to lots of students in universities that had no money for proprietary software. And everybody learnt the computers on the Unix platform.
I hope Linux other would do they same to poor countries. Many developing countries need something that they can use as a stepping stone to develop themeselves without being exploited by developed countries.
Long live, open source and free software.
Flash is the second most evil application that adverstisers have discovered (second only to pop-unders).
I am not averse to all Flash usages, but being unable to choose which run and which don't, my choice is to not run any. When the day comes that I can selectively turn on or off Flash options (without the maker deciding to limit my control), I may lose my stubbornness. Until then I'd rather avoid sites that think it is the be-all, end-all of web graphics.
I was taking one day at a time, but then several days got together and ambushed me. (from a Rhymes with Orange comic)
The minister basically said that each department would have to determine how to handle each piece of software. And that they wanted to keep all options open for many types of software.
;)) and that we will see a more solid support for OSS in the future :^)
IMO, this is a good thing. It will ensure that proprietary software can compete with open source (though in India, probably not too well
LedgerSMB: Open source Accounting/ERP
> "If there is an important security software that
> we need urgently, for example, we are more likely
> to buy it, than spend time deciding whether we
> should develop it in India in open source,"
> Shourie added.
It being completely inconceivable to him that he might be able to _buy_ Free Software...
Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
While those of us who have ideological sympathies with RMS may not be happy to hear the Indian decision, it is nonetheless worth pointing out that a significant economic goal of free software -- choice -- is very definitely being fostered by the widespread availability of free software.
If Microsoft is forced to lower its prices, relax its licensing conditions, or make "donations" to state governments (in lieu of the taxes they don't pay), then this is all to the good. Microsoft is finally being forced to compete, which was a major and laudable goal of the ESR/Open Source half of the movement.
It's not a total loss for the Free Software side, either. That Microsoft is being forced to compete is a concrete sign that we are making credible inroads -- that the software equivalent of the Republican Guard, as it were, is withdrawing into the streets of Redmond for a last stand. The outcome, however, is not in doubt.
Proud member of the Weirdo-American community.
I was with you right up 'till
"Flash gets you nothing- it's just for lazy designers who are too stupid to learn how to properly code HTML.",
wich is flamebait.
I have a moderator point I could burn you with, but I'll reply instead.
First of all, most of your comment made sense. Yes, having a 100% flash site is a bad idea: it limits your site's availability. But generalization and insults are not helping you to drive your point home. Now if you'd be so kind as to learn proper etiquette and to start behaving in a polite civilised nature, we'd all appreciate it very much.
Moving on to the constructive discussion and the sharing of ideas:
The webheads and the boss at my old job were flash-happy. They redid the company's web site all in flash. I was pretty allright. But I kept telling them "make a simple HTML interface that lets people get to the content too", and they ignored me. Until the boss tried to show off the pretty new website to a client who's old laptop couldn't handle the flashiness. Then he realised I was right and had the webmonkeys do as I said.
The moral is: Make your store wheelchair acessible and your company website html acessible. Its just good buisness sense.
You can't take the sky from me...
Hence Flash. Hence most "official" sites for movies, cars, etc. are useless without Flash and Javajunk.
You say that developing countries need a stepping stone to "develop themselves without being exploited by developed countries" - which is a nice sentiment - but don't you think that the people who put in so much effort to develop all these technologies in the first place deserve a bit back?
It's bad business, if nothing else, to try to milk those who are cash-poor -- much better to subsidize them until they're cash-rich, and *then* make an attempt to mop up. Consider: 10% of $10 is much better than 50% of $1 -- and asking those with only $1 to pay to part with their $.50 is a far bigger burden than asking $1 from those with $10.
Anyhow -- for a first-world-homed company, making a profit from selling product to a country with a dramatically weaker currency without doing something that at least looks a whole lot like exploitation is damn hard.