Rare Photos: Gnu Crashing a Windows 8 Launch Event

Sounds like a plan by colinrichardday · 2012-10-27 05:43 · Score: 5, Informative

Way to spread the word!

Re:Sounds like a plan by jhoegl · 2012-10-27 05:55 · Score: 3, Insightful

Although their points are kind of redundant to techies, they do make some good ones.
Unlike the MS points about Linux and how it is the Hackers utility and is insecure due to code being open to the public...
Re:Sounds like a plan by GoodNewsJimDotCom · 2012-10-27 06:08 · Score: 2

Is this what it takes to get GNUs in the news?

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God spoke to me
Re:Sounds like a plan by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-27 06:30 · Score: 4, Funny

No {GNUs,news} is good {GNUs,news}.
Re:Sounds like a plan by Austerity+Empowers · 2012-10-27 07:05 · Score: 1

Or getting employed by MS and leaking doc(x)/xls(x) read/write code. Illegal? Yes. But not immoral and what a better place we'd all live in.
Re:Sounds like a plan by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-27 08:06 · Score: 1

I've always wondered how much vetting is done of repositories, though. Ubuntu has 1000+ pieces of software available in its repository. Is every line of code really being scrutinized by white hats and then compiled/signed/tested by white hats?
At least with something at the Android or MS store I can say "Well, this is Jimmy's crappy $0.99 game that wants access to my contact list and the ability to SMS. Jimmy can piss off." With Ubuntu I say "Well, Ubuntu wouldn't have it in its repository if I couldn't trust it, I guess?"
Even back in the Slackware days of downloading/compiling my own stuff, I never really scrutinized much of anything. I looked at the README for the ./configure; make; make install-type instructions and went on with my day. At the end of the day I had to trust someone.
Re:Sounds like a plan by colinrichardday · 2012-10-27 08:09 · Score: 3, Informative

Sure, why not? They annoy me with their Windows stuff.
Re:Sounds like a plan by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-27 08:13 · Score: 1

Every line of every app? No way.
The ones people use do get reviewed though, as evidenced by any application with voluminous activity.
It should go without saying though, none of the lines of code in closed software get a lot of outside review.
Re:Sounds like a plan by davydagger · 2012-10-27 08:24 · Score: 2

I think its the other way around

GNU and linux work on every sort of hardware imaginable. Windows runs on desktops, UNIX on servers, and old high end workstations no one uses any more.

the same linux kernel runs on everything.
Re:Sounds like a plan by jellomizer · 2012-10-27 10:21 · Score: 4, Interesting

The word has spread. The problem is people just don't care. It isn't like back in the 90's where people don't know about Linux and Open Source... They Do, they just don't care. They are willing to take the tradeoffs to get windows.
The problem when you give people a choice, they will often choose something you don't like.

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If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
Re:Sounds like a plan by UnknownSoldier · 2012-10-27 11:03 · Score: 1, Troll

When _you_ write a C compiler and text editor then you can name after yourself.
Are you unable to acknowledge all the good the GNU foundation has done?
Re:Sounds like a plan by jep305 · 2012-10-28 08:06 · Score: 1

"At the end of the day I had to trust someone."
Except once its released, open source software has thousands of people looking at it. You may not implicitly trust the people who manage the repos to make sure you don't get any bugged up code, but you can pretty much count on the global community to find and fix problems much more quickly than something evil buried in a black box that nobody can see inside.

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In Reason We Trust
Re:Sounds like a plan by johnqeniac · 2012-10-28 08:51 · Score: 1

I take it you've pretty polled everyone on the planet to establish the validity of your assertion that 'people' (all 6.5 billion of us) know all about GNU, Linux, and all of their options, and have made a considered decision to buy Windows. Instead, I think it is far more likely (admittedly I haven't individuality asked everyone in the universe as you have) that aside from the set of measure zero of technically savvy users, most people have no clue that they have options. And that's the problem these people were trying to address.
Re:Sounds like a plan by cheater512 · 2012-10-28 10:20 · Score: 1

Say 100,000 use Ubuntu, and Ubuntu has 1,000 programs.
Only 1% of people would have to glance at one single program each to look for anything obvious.
99,000 people could do absolutely nothing.
Of course its not a full security audit, but a lot of software doesn't need a full audit, it just needs to make sure there is nothing specifically malicious to it.
Re:Sounds like a plan by wirelessduck · 2012-10-28 18:31 · Score: 1

I think this comic is relevant here.

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"Every man has a right to his own opinion, but no man has a right to be wrong in his facts." - Bernard Baruch
Re:Sounds like a plan by jellomizer · 2012-10-29 03:02 · Score: 1

No I didn't have to poll everyone on the planet. However if you view the tech blogs outside of Slashdot. Where people who are going to being to be actually waiting to get windows 8. You check out those blogs, there is usually at least some passing discussion on Open Source and Linux. Going to these events, you are just going to piss off people who really wanted Windows 8.

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If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
Re:Sounds like a plan by Golddess · 2012-10-29 05:13 · Score: 1

At least with something at the Android or MS store I can say "Well, this is Jimmy's crappy $0.99 game that wants access to my contact list and the ability to SMS. Jimmy can piss off." With Ubuntu I say "Well, Ubuntu wouldn't have it in its repository if I couldn't trust it, I guess?"
Fail troll is fail. I mean, how, exactly, did you come to the conclusion that "Jimmy's crappy $0.99 game" wants access to your contact list and the ability to SMS, why can you not use the exact same method for determining if something in the Ubuntu repository wants to do something similar, and why is the following statement not a much more accurate statement?

At least with something in the Ubuntu repository I can say "Well, this is Jimmy's crappy game that wants to email my every keystroke to some nigerian prince. Jimmy can piss off." With the Android or MS store I say "Well, Google/MS wouldn't have it in its store if I couldn't trust it, I guess?"

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"I'm not sure I like the fugnutish tone you used in your post!" -RogL (608926)-

Crashing, huh? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-27 05:43 · Score: 5, Insightful

When I read the headline I was expecting something involving forcing their way into the event. This, however, turns out to be the kind of positive thing we want to present the community with. Also, that is a sweet head!

Re:Crashing, huh? by Intrepid+imaginaut · 2012-10-27 06:35 · Score: 4, Funny

Good thing it wasn't dark, they would have been likely to have been eaten by the GNU.
Re:Crashing, huh? by SunTzuWarmaster · 2012-10-27 06:46 · Score: 1

GRUE - get it right! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grue_(monster)
Re:Crashing, huh? by donaggie03 · 2012-10-27 07:02 · Score: 3, Informative

Thanks for ruining the joke captain smartypants.

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Three days from now?? Thats tomorrow!! ~Peter Griffin
Re:Crashing, huh? by donaldrobertson · 2012-10-27 09:50 · Score: 1

Yeah, that head is pretty cool. Some people brought it to an event a few years back in Brazil that RMS was at and gave it to the FSF as a gift. There are also hooves that go over your hands, but they couldn't hand out copies of Trisquel with them on.

Re:Worthless by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-27 05:49 · Score: 2, Interesting

Have you seen a 3D printing story?

It was funny in 1995 by Joe+U · 2012-10-27 05:50 · Score: 5, Insightful

It was funny in 1995 when the "protesters" were in front of CompUSA on 35th street in Manhattan. It was cute when they were outside PC Expo in 1996. Started to get kinda sad at the Windows 98 launch and went downhill after that.

Now they're just a sideshow attraction.

Re:It was funny in 1995 by fm6 · 2012-10-27 06:15 · Score: 5, Interesting

Especially when they're pushing a distro nobody's ever heard of and which does a terrible job of promoting itself. I looked on both Trisquel's home page and its Wikipedia entry, and the only justification I could find for its existence was that it had Gallician support. (Why they didn't just contribute Gallician localization to an existing distro is unclear.) Other than that, it appears to be a simple Ubuntu fork.
Now that is ironic. Not just a fringe OS, but a fringe version of the OS. How fringe? The very existence of the Gallician language is controversial. It's spoken only in the northwest corner of Spain, which would be part of Portugal if borders were drawn by actual cultural boundaries. (The Portugese language originated there.) But it's unpatriotic to refer to Gallician as a dialect of Portugese, so they have to pretend have their own language, mainly distinguished by the fact that Gallicia refuses to participate in efforts to reform Portugese spelling.
Do Linux zealots actually work at being marginal?
Re:It was funny in 1995 by tgd · 2012-10-27 06:19 · Score: 1

It was funny in 1995 when the "protesters" were in front of CompUSA on 35th street in Manhattan. It was cute when they were outside PC Expo in 1996. Started to get kinda sad at the Windows 98 launch and went downhill after that.
Now they're just a sideshow attraction.
Well, at least it gave a lot of people a funny story to laugh about later that day.
Re:It was funny in 1995 by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-27 06:33 · Score: 5, Informative

The reason for promoting Trisquel is that it is one of the few Linux distributions on the FSF's approved list of completely free distributions. It's basically Ubuntu with a free kernel and without the option of installing Flash. Trisquel is one of the few distributions on the FSF's approved list which is quite user friendly. Personally, I'd rather they hand out a distribution with all the Linux firmware and drivers to provide better hardware support, but the FSF isn't about being practical, they are focused on software freedom.
Re:It was funny in 1995 by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-27 06:45 · Score: 3, Funny

The very existence of the Gallician language is controversial. It's spoken only in the northwest corner of Spain, which would be part of Portugal if borders were drawn by actual cultural boundaries. (The Portugese language originated there.) But it's unpatriotic to refer to Gallician as a dialect of Portugese, so they have to pretend have their own language, mainly distinguished by the fact that Gallicia refuses to participate in efforts to reform Portugese spelling.
Huh. Portugal has hipsters, too.
So, when folks ask them where they're from and what's their native tongue, they say in their Gallician accent, "It's so cool, you've never heard of it."
Re:It was funny in 1995 by icebraining · 2012-10-27 06:57 · Score: 1

While we Portuguese do have hipsters, Galicia is not in Portugal, it's in Spain.

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Re:It was funny in 1995 by fm6 · 2012-10-27 07:40 · Score: 2, Insightful

but the FSF isn't about being practical, they are focused on software freedom.
Please don't use "software freedom" without scare quotes. If you leave them out, you imply that FSF actually matters.
Anyway, I'm glad this is about the Gospel According to Stallman and not about some weird geopolitical agenda. Had me worried.
Re:It was funny in 1995 by JabberWokky · 2012-10-27 08:17 · Score: 5, Interesting

you imply that FSF actually matters.
With not much enthusiasm, I simply note that two decades ago I couldn't run anywhere near the phenomenal library of free and Free software that I do today. Three decades ago, I was closer to being able to, so there was a very serious period of "you must license your software and only companies can own or alter it". I don't have much enthusiasm because it's a pretty non-notable fact these days. If you're coding something new, you first look for libraries or code that does much of what you need, and then use them for free. That's not surprising to say. Two decades ago, it would be.
So the FSF pretty much won (as did the many many non-FSF coders who contributed). Maybe not in terms of global dominance, but in real terms of "I can use my system and do what I want because I have rights to the software and can alter it at whim". This state of things was not a certain outcome. Now it is simply part of the IT world we take for granted.

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Re:It was funny in 1995 by TraumaHound · 2012-10-27 08:26 · Score: 4, Insightful

the FSF's approved list of completely free distributions. It's basically Ubuntu with a free kernel and without the option of installing Flash.
There goes my irony quota for the day.
Re:It was funny in 1995 by pnot · 2012-10-27 08:46 · Score: 5, Interesting

Amen. I use Ubuntu and am happy (on a pragmatic level) to have a set-up that's maybe 98% free software. I would sooner punch myself in the nuts than switch to Trisquel, but I'm keenly aware that were it not for RMS's single-mindedness, I would probably be using a set-up that's 98% non-free (or, more likely, doing something entirely different because the world of computers wouldn't interest me as much).
Re:It was funny in 1995 by fm6 · 2012-10-27 09:24 · Score: 2

Actually, a lot of linguists feel that there's no such thing as "language" only "dialect". Portugese and Spanish are not as different as many dialetcts that are considered to be variations on the same language.
Another way of putting it: the language/dialect distinction is a political concept, not a scientific one. Someone once said that a language is a dialect with an army.
Re:It was funny in 1995 by VortexCortex · 2012-10-27 09:54 · Score: 1

Especially when they're pushing a distro nobody's ever heard of and which does a terrible job of promoting itself. I looked on both Trisquel's home page and its Wikipedia entry, and the only justification I could find for its existence was that it had Gallician support.
[...]
Do Linux zealots actually work at being marginal?
> implying that variety isn't the spice of life.
Oh, you. ;-)
Re:It was funny in 1995 by VortexCortex · 2012-10-27 10:04 · Score: 3, Insightful

the FSF's approved list of completely free distributions. It's basically Ubuntu with a free kernel and without the option of installing Flash.
There goes my irony quota for the day.
"without the option" wasn't exactly correct. Of course you can install whatever software from whatever repository you want once it's installed, or even compile the sources-- Oh, Flash, well, no source for proprietary stuff like that, but you can still install it. Windows XP comes "without the option" of installing Flash. Last I checked you get Flash from Adobe's website after installing Windows. Some Linux distros make it easy to stay up to date by putting Adobe's Flash in their repository. However, now that Adobe will no longer release updates for Flash on Linux I can't blame some folks for not including the buggy product in their distros...
I wonder if you'll be able to add 3rd party markets to Windows 8's app store, like on most Android and Linux distributions, or if it'll actually be "without the option" like Apple's app store?
Re:It was funny in 1995 by AmazingRuss · 2012-10-27 10:19 · Score: 1

Marginal = Cool to hipsters, and the folks in that photo are most definitely hipsters. They doubtless went home and congratulated each other on their hipness.
Re:It was funny in 1995 by fm6 · 2012-10-27 11:52 · Score: 1

Marginal is cool to everybody. Look at the way the American Right talks about the evils of the "mainstream media" even though most American media actually caters to the Right.
What is a "hipster" anyway?
Re:It was funny in 1995 by fm6 · 2012-10-27 11:53 · Score: 1

This isn't about being different. This is wanting to save the world, but doing everything you can to make sure the world ignores you.
Re:It was funny in 1995 by antdude · 2012-10-27 13:14 · Score: 1

Are there any videos and photo(graph)s of this one?

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Re:It was funny in 1995 by fm6 · 2012-10-27 13:31 · Score: 1

How ironic is it that you misspelled a word while playing spelling nazi?
Re:It was funny in 1995 by westlake · 2012-10-27 14:00 · Score: 1

It was funny in 1995 when the "protesters" were in front of CompUSA on 35th street in Manhattan. It was cute when they were outside PC Expo in 1996. Started to get kinda sad at the Windows 98 launch and went downhill after that.
Now they're just a sideshow attraction.
Not even that.
The sideshow draws a crowd.
Windows 7 Sins 2,580 hits.
Re:It was funny in 1995 by AmazingRuss · 2012-10-27 14:08 · Score: 1

True enough.
A hipster is anybody that I think might be cooler than me, but won't beat me up if I bag on them.
Re:It was funny in 1995 by icebraining · 2012-10-27 14:12 · Score: 1

Not at all. I made a typing mistake; parent (and GP) didn't - they wrote the same word three times with the wrong spelling.
And I wouldn't be playing "spelling nazi" for any word, it's just that I dislike how that word - which happens to describe me and my fellow countrymen - gets consistently misused.
And in any case, I'm not trying to prove anything about my language skills - I'm well aware of my poor command of English. I just consider the usage of a spell checker to be basic etiquette on the Web.

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Re:It was funny in 1995 by icebraining · 2012-10-27 14:19 · Score: 4, Insightful

My paycheck from developing AGPL licensed code must be an illusion, then.
RMS' ideology just eliminates jobs that depending on rewriting the wheel. New code still has to be written, and there's plenty of work and money to those who are willing to write it.

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Re:It was funny in 1995 by icebraining · 2012-10-27 14:38 · Score: 2
GNU software:
- GCC
- coreutils
- grep
- tar
- Gnome
- Bash
- grub
- gettext
- make
- bazaar
Yeap, clearly all software that nobody in the open source community uses anymore. It's all irrelevant.
Oh, I forgot the GNU GPL. It's just the license that governs about half of all the free and open source projects, including small stuff like Linux. Completely irrelevant.
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Re:It was funny in 1995 by icebraining · 2012-10-27 15:00 · Score: 1

As a Portuguese, I can tell you: we don't. The fact that much of the country has a real animosity against Spanish people doesn't help, but even descendants of Galicians like me and much of my family consider them different languages and cultures. I believe this is more blurry in the north near the border, though (there's also some rivalry between them and the south. And people ask why the EU integration dream is so hard to achieve!)

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Re:It was funny in 1995 by icebraining · 2012-10-27 15:07 · Score: 1

As usual, you want Debian. Install whatever you want, while keeping a clear separation from the non-proprietary ("main"), the proprietary ("non-free") and the non-proprietary which depend on proprietary software ("contrib"). By default, only "main" is enabled.
Regarding Flash, have you tried Gnash? It mostly works, nowadays (much like Flash, but in different ways).

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Re:It was funny in 1995 by gravis777 · 2012-10-27 22:50 · Score: 1

Completely agree. I run pretty much a combination of the two. I do a lot of multimedia stuff, so I use Windows 7 as the OS, as well as a couple of Adobe products, but the majority of other software (Blu-Ray authoring, video converters and transcoders, etc) are either Freeware or Shareware. Granted, it is easy to pay a couple of grand for one software package that does everything, but I usually like to tinker with stuff a bit more, and so a dozen free software packages that do just one thing each is actually preferable to me, as I get better control every step of the way.
I have no issues paying for software, either, if its well written, it does something really useful, it is significantly better than free alternatives, and its reasonably priced. For example, I have paid for both Dreamweaver and Premiere in the past (with student discounts - not full price). However, I never bought Photoshop, because, as much as I like it (and actually prefer it), there is a great free alternative (Gimp). Encore I would buy if it actually worked right (I think its bundled with Premiere now, haven't upgraded in a while). Encore crashes if you look at it wrong, you can spend hours or days working on a project just to be told that you have some element that won't render right, etc. Other paid alternatives that actually work don't allow me as much customization (ie controlling bitrates, having different resolutions, or something). So I turned to free alternatives. Now if Encore would just work right, I would use it exclusively,as it really is DESIGNED to do what I want a piece of software to do, but the program is way too buggy (every single version has been. Piece of crap software).
BTW, my favorite piece of free software that I am currently using? Calibre! Man that software rocks!
Sorry, ADHD kicked in, where was I going with this? Oh, yeah, free software. So yeah, Free software has made an impact. It offers alternative, which drives down teh prices of proprietary stuff, the community support helps lead to innovation all the way around, but the proprietary stuff keeps educated people employed, drives the economy, and then offers funds tthat can be used for research and development. So proprietary software is not a bad thing. Overpriced proprietary software with heavy patents IS a bad thing.
Re:It was funny in 1995 by ChunderDownunder · 2012-10-28 00:05 · Score: 1

I'm (reasonably) flash free on Ubuntu - no gnash nor adobe plugin installed. Many sites are converting over to HTML 5 video.
For the odd website that requires flash, my secondary browser is Google Chrome - which maintains its own internal flash player. I'm guessing you could download Chrome for Trisquel.
Re:It was funny in 1995 by unixisc · 2012-10-28 01:38 · Score: 1

The license claims are by no means adequate. Red Hat, Debian, Canonical, Gentoo, Slackware and other major Linux distros all release GPL software, but if you check out GNU home page, none of them have GNU endorsement. That's b'cos they give their users the option of running what RMS calls adulterated software. If you wish to get endorsed by the FSF, writing AGPL/GPL is by no means adequate - what gets you their endorsement is actually you making it difficult for your users to install any software w/o the source code. The only pure way for them is '.configure && make && make install'
Re:It was funny in 1995 by murr · 2012-10-28 02:17 · Score: 2

an army and a navy!
In any case, Portuguese would certainly qualify.
Re:It was funny in 1995 by icebraining · 2012-10-28 03:23 · Score: 1

Don't be ridiculous. Trisquel, the distro that's being endorsed, uses APT and you can just stick any Ubuntu-compatible repository into the sources list - like e.g. Skype's (and the distro comes with tools for that, like add-apt-repository) - and install proprietary software.
Debian, Red Hat, etc are not endorsed because they actually distribute themselves non-free software. Hell, one of the Debian repositories is called just that!
I'm not saying I follow their path - I'm a Debian fan, and I do have contrib and non-free packages installed - but what you said is just wrong.

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Re:It was funny in 1995 by unixisc · 2012-10-28 08:40 · Score: 1

Take out programmers from the mix, and a Linux user can go w/o using any of the above (except maybe grub, and that too is now in question thanks to grub 2 being under GPL3). He could go w/ KDE, not do any compilation at all, use Mozolla apps like Thunderbird/Seamonkey/Firefox for internet or even KDE apps like Konqueror or Kmail. He doesn't need to touch GNOME - which Linux users have been deserting in droves since GNOME 3.0. Neither Calligra nor Libre Office nor Open Office are part of GNU. In fact, w/ the possible exception of GNU cash, I'm hard pressed to think of a GNU app that's actually useful. For people who are not programmers, that is.
Re:It was funny in 1995 by unixisc · 2012-10-28 08:53 · Score: 1

No, it ain't. They don't distribute squat - people download what they want from their sites. Like someone who wants Debian Linux would download it, and pick whatever liberated and unliberated software they want. That is what RMS has an issue w/ - not that they are actually passing out the unliberated software, but that they're making it available for distribution in the first place. To receive their endorsement, unliberated software should not even be available on a distro's servers.
Also, if you look at the GNU non-endorsements page, in a lot of cases, they say things like 'there's no clear policy about what software can be included, and nonfree blobs are included in Linux, the kernel.... Of course, with no firm policy in place, there might be other nonfree software included that we missed.' Translation: we can't tell whether they are compliant or not, so we're simply going to assume that they're not.
One new addition to that page is Canaima GNU/Linux - made by Venezuela's government to distribute w/ computers Which is a hoot, given how big a fan RMS is of Hugo Chavez. Somehow, Comrade Hugo forgot to get RMS's endorsement for the distribution his minions made, or else, they'd have left out that nasty 'Install non-free software' in the main menu.
Re:It was funny in 1995 by fm6 · 2012-10-28 12:53 · Score: 1

you can just stick any Ubuntu-compatible repository into the sources list
But if you do that, you're violating the "free software only" model, If you don't care about that model, why are you bothering with Trisuel in the first place? Just install Ubuntu and be done with it.
Re:It was funny in 1995 by fm6 · 2012-10-28 12:54 · Score: 1

Believe it or not, I've also worked on projects that produced GPL-licensed code. As I said before, FSF contributed the development model (including the idea of a license that requires repurposers to continue to make source code available) but that's all they've contributed. And that was 30 fucking years ago, so I think they've worn that one out.
I say FSF doesn't matter because their anti-IP ideology prevents them from participating in the Open Source movement, which they repeatedly condemn. Credit for your paycheck belongs to the OS movment, not to FSF.
Re:It was funny in 1995 by fm6 · 2012-10-28 12:56 · Score: 1

I live in Portland OR, and here you're not a hipster unless you have tattoos.
Re:It was funny in 1995 by fm6 · 2012-10-28 13:01 · Score: 1

Well, blame the latest release of Chrome, in which the automatic spell checker is broken. Without it, I can't even spell my own name, never mind that of a unphonetic country.
BTW, know any good Portuguese restaurants in Portland, OR? One of the few things I miss about my old place in San Jose is the food in the Little Portugal district.
Re:It was funny in 1995 by fm6 · 2012-10-28 13:03 · Score: 1

How many times must I repeat: FSF deserves credit for the basics. But their participation in the resulting Open Source movement (which all the fun stuff gets done) consists solely of complaining that its a sellout.
Re:It was funny in 1995 by unixisc · 2012-10-28 18:41 · Score: 1

But are the Linux based browsers that are available - Chrome, Firefox/Seamonkey/Iceweasel, Konqueror/ReKonq, GNOME Web/Epiphany, Opera, et al - do they all under Linux support HTML5? I thought that there was a lot of controversy on that, regarding whether to go w/ WebM, H.264, Ogg Theora or whatever other distribution format there is. And for the Liberated Linux crowd the includes the Trisquels and the gNewSenses of the world, things like WebM or H.264 would be non-starters. So do all the above browsers support HTML5 using Ogg Theora?
Re:It was funny in 1995 by minus9 · 2012-10-28 22:14 · Score: 1

Take out programmers from the mix and Linux users (and any other users for that matter) would have no software.
Re:It was funny in 1995 by mcgrew · 2012-10-29 06:17 · Score: 1

I just consider the usage of a spell checker to be basic etiquette on the Web.
Dew knot truss yore spill checker! I'd rather people simply proofread what they wrote.

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Re:It was funny in 1995 by icebraining · 2012-10-29 08:24 · Score: 1

Sadly, no. I've never been to the US and I know very little about the Portuguese community there.

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Re:It was funny in 1995 by icebraining · 2012-10-29 08:41 · Score: 1

I think you are confusing thing because you're thinking of the FSF as an individual organization. The FSF is just an advocacy wing, and they didn't even contribute the license or the model.
The wing of the Free Software movement which did contribute stuff is GNU, which has projects like: the GPL, GCC (until recently, the only "real" C/C++ compiler), Bash, Gnome, coreutils, GNU grep, screen, emacs, etc.
Accusing the FSF of not contributing anything makes no sense, because that's just the way they're organized. It's like accusing Samuel Clemens of having wrote nothing of importance because he signed Mark Twain in his novels.

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Re:It was funny in 1995 by fm6 · 2012-10-29 09:23 · Score: 1

Let's see. GCC has belonged to an external group for some time now, with the "blessing" of FSF. There are many versions of EMACs. The leading ones are all third-party, though many do use FSF-approved licenses.
(I used to know the main guy at XEMACS. He was actually a Sun employee, because Sun needed XEMACS to continue so they could provide an editor as part of their development tool bundle. Most FOSS projects are highly dependent on sponsorship by the companies that use their software.)
I give FSF credit for the core stuff — but not a lot of credit. In fact, most of the work these days on these tools is done by outsiders. I was at Borland in 2000 when we were porting our object-oriented programming language to Linux. We soon found a major memory leak in GLIBC. It must have been there all along (20 years!) but didn't become obvious until a language that did a lot of dynamic memory management started baning on it. Not impressive.
I find your idea of "wings" in the FSF a little silly. What I'm seeing is a lot of outsiders who could give a shit about the whole "free software" thing, but contribute to the maintenance of FSF products because their businesses depend on them. I guess they're your "working wing", the Mark Twain.
The "advocacy wing" (which still owns the copyright on all the code, BTW; your Samuel Clemens) is a bunch of guys who go around telling us all thatOpen Source is evil and everybody should Just Say No to any kind of IP protection. That's why we have them handing out a Linux distro that won't even run on most people's hardware. They just don't matter, because nothing the do or advocate now has any impact on the industry. I'll give them thanks for inventing a key development model (but grudgingly, since I consider them a bunch of prolix, overbearing assholes) but I refuse to give them any credit for things that others have managed to build on their rather shaky foundation.
Re:It was funny in 1995 by icebraining · 2012-10-29 12:34 · Score: 1

Well, I agree with you that the FSF doesn't really develop software; I just think that accusing them of such is like accusing NASA of not building PCs. It's simply not the purpose of the organization.

a bunch of guys who go around telling us all thatOpen Source is evil
Where have they done that? RMS' essay clearly says otherwise: "We in the free software movement don't think of the open source camp as an enemy".

They just don't matter, because nothing the do or advocate now has any impact on the industry.
You could say the same about social movements which for decades - sometimes centuries - have been composed of a small core of members who in their lifetimes changed nothing, yet are now the prevalent views. For example, the view that women are not property of their fathers and husbands. Certain groups have been arguing that since at least the Ancient Greece, yet it only became common very recently.

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Re:It was funny in 1995 by icebraining · 2012-10-29 12:40 · Score: 1

I agree, but that wasn't my point; I was just disproving parent's ridiculous claim.

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Re:It was funny in 1995 by icebraining · 2012-10-29 13:11 · Score: 1

They don't distribute squat - people download what they want from their sites.
Making it publicly available is one way of distributing. Otherwise, making proprietary software available on P2P networks wouldn't be copyright infringement.

Also, if you look at the GNU non-endorsements page, in a lot of cases, they say things like 'there's no clear policy about what software can be included, and nonfree blobs are included in Linux, the kernel.... Of course, with no firm policy in place, there might be other nonfree software included that we missed.' Translation: we can't tell whether they are compliant or not, so we're simply going to assume that they're not.

Well, of course. It'd be strange if they decided otherwise. Endorsing means they are claiming that the distro is purely free software; they can hardly claim that honestly if they can't assert that is it true, can they? That'd almost be fraud!
It'd be like a grocery shop saying "this product may or may not have sugar; since we can't tell, we're going to call it 'sugar-free'".

One new addition to that page is Canaima GNU/Linux - made by Venezuela's government to distribute w/ computers Which is a hoot, given how big a fan RMS is of Hugo Chavez. Somehow, Comrade Hugo forgot to get RMS's endorsement for the distribution his minions made, or else, they'd have left out that nasty 'Install non-free software' in the main menu.

I don't get your point.

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Re:It was funny in 1995 by fm6 · 2012-10-29 13:24 · Score: 1

My accusation is that they no longer matter. Every counterargument I've seen talks about all their wonderful software. So the fact that they don't do software anymore is kind of relevant.
Re:It was funny in 1995 by unixisc · 2012-10-29 20:05 · Score: 1

Same is true about any OS, but you don't see Visual Studio or Code Warrior being paraded around as an integral part of Windows or OS-X. Most of the apps listed by the GP are ones that only programmers use. Your statement seems to suggest that except programmers, nobody uses Linux.

So it wasn't a real, live Gnu... by BrownLeopard · 2012-10-27 05:51 · Score: 5, Insightful

...but someone in a Gnu suit? Kind of misleading, yeah? I do have to agree with the other posters though. It does seem like trolling an event. If Microsoft came into a Gnu event it would be bashed as them crashing a party. Same kind of thing here.

Re:So it wasn't a real, live Gnu... by Zocalo · 2012-10-27 06:29 · Score: 4, Funny

If Microsoft came into a Gnu event it would be bashed as them crashing a party.
Of course it would. Chances are it would also be csh'ed, ksh'ed and zsh'ed (amongst others) as well.

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Re:So it wasn't a real, live Gnu... by BrownLeopard · 2012-10-27 06:29 · Score: 2

No, not really. While techies will herald this as a good thing, normal computer users will go "Well that was rude!" and "What is Linux?". Case in point: when I shared this on my Facebook I had 3 comments go "I thought a Gnu was an animal?", "Did they have to crash the party? Why not just send the journos a press release with pros/cons?" and "What OS do you use?" to which I replied "I use Win 7 on my desktop, Win 7 with Ubuntu dual booting on my laptop, OSX Mountain Lion on my Macbook Pro and ICS on my phone."
Re:So it wasn't a real, live Gnu... by BrownLeopard · 2012-10-27 06:35 · Score: 1

Ha! I knew someone would pick up on that.
Re:So it wasn't a real, live Gnu... by K.+S.+Kyosuke · 2012-10-27 06:40 · Score: 1

...but someone in a Gnu suit? Kind of misleading, yeah?
That person was afraid to show face in public, hence the artiodactyl suit. A clear example of an Anonymous Cow Herd!

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Ezekiel 23:20
Re:So it wasn't a real, live Gnu... by mewsenews · 2012-10-27 06:48 · Score: 1

If Microsoft came into a Gnu event it would be bashed as them crashing a party. Same kind of thing here.
I agree with you but only to a certain extent. This incident was also a protest about user freedom, as much as it was a promotional activity for free software.
If microsoft protested a free software event they'd be laughed out of the room.
So I remain divided: showing up to someones launch event so that you can promote their competitor: utterly tasteless. Showing up somewhere to raise awareness of user rights and freedoms: admirable. Strange mix here..
Re:So it wasn't a real, live Gnu... by BrownLeopard · 2012-10-27 06:57 · Score: 1

I agree, it is mixed, but it's still not a constructive way to promote a competitor's software. It's kind of like Blizzard showing up at a Valve event.
Re:So it wasn't a real, live Gnu... by icebraining · 2012-10-27 07:07 · Score: 4, Insightful

normal computer users will go "Well that was rude!" and "What is Linux?"
Getting people to ask the latter question is already a goal achieved.

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Re:So it wasn't a real, live Gnu... by icebraining · 2012-10-27 07:09 · Score: 1

Whooosh!

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Re:So it wasn't a real, live Gnu... by artor3 · 2012-10-27 07:26 · Score: 4, Insightful

Not if the answer they come to is "a fringe OS pushed by weirdos dressed as wildebeests".
Re:So it wasn't a real, live Gnu... by blane.bramble · 2012-10-27 07:42 · Score: 2

GNU - the OS for furries?
Re:So it wasn't a real, live Gnu... by FatLittleMonkey · 2012-10-27 08:47 · Score: 1

Yes, there is a difference between a for-profit corporation with a history of market suppression and three amateurs promoting a freely created alternative.

--
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Re:So it wasn't a real, live Gnu... by jtownatpunk.net · 2012-10-27 08:52 · Score: 2

I was disappointed by the fake gnu. I wonder what it would cost to rent a real gnu. I'll bet a kickstarter project could make this happen for Windows 9.
Re:So it wasn't a real, live Gnu... by FatLittleMonkey · 2012-10-27 08:55 · Score: 1

...but someone in a Gnu suit?
Suit? It was just an oversized hat.
(A better gimmick would have been to give away USB flash drives with a rock solid linux distro that boots straight into a bunch of diagnostic and recovery tools. "For use after testing Win8." Hint hint.)

--
Science is all about firing a drunk pig out of a cannon just to see what happens.
Re:So it wasn't a real, live Gnu... by BrownLeopard · 2012-10-27 09:42 · Score: 1

Bootable LiveCD?
Re:So it wasn't a real, live Gnu... by 10101001+10101001 · 2012-10-27 13:13 · Score: 1

Compared to "a mainstream OS pushed by weirdos dressed in business suits" or "a mainstream OS pushed by weirdos dressed in sweaters". Of course, IBM pushing Linux in business suits didn't really produce mainstream support any more than Google's efforts really have--exclude Android, but it's hard to count that when people don't even realize Android is Linux based. Getting to the point of supporting GNU or FSF in any way? I'd say that mainstream support of that is really a lost cause given how if anything people are becoming more computer illiterate over time--or it could just be the ever growing adoption of computers. But, then, if the real point is to attract other weirdos to the cause through the use of a mainstream source by putting on a public spectacle, then a wildebeest is probably the best way to go--and since it's the support of weirdos that is needed to keep the GNU/FSF alive just as much as weirdos are needed for MS, Apple, etc...

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Re:So it wasn't a real, live Gnu... by Tablizer · 2012-10-27 18:18 · Score: 1

Sounds like a good thing to me

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Table-ized A.I.
Re:So it wasn't a real, live Gnu... by FatLittleMonkey · 2012-10-27 18:55 · Score: 1

I assume that's what they were giving away. But I think there's something especially geek-cool about having a tiny USB drive on your key-ring that houses an entire emergency operating system. (Maybe I'm just old.)

--
Science is all about firing a drunk pig out of a cannon just to see what happens.
Re:So it wasn't a real, live Gnu... by chrismcb · 2012-10-28 01:22 · Score: 1

When I read the summary, I was expecting a real live gnu. Not sure why I expected that, but I did. I was wondering why an animal would be handing out software. But it turns out this creature, that apparently looked so much like a real live gnu, needed closer inspection. And on closer inspection, it turns out it wasn't a gnu after all. But a person with gnu like head on.
I would definitely wonder why a gnu as there, and be confused. But why some random person wearing a costume, holding a plastic pumpkin?
Re:So it wasn't a real, live Gnu... by chrismcb · 2012-10-28 01:24 · Score: 1

GNU and other free software are 'free' in more ways than one; whereas MS-ware is non-free in every sense.

Except the total cost of using any software is roughly the same. Considering the total cost of using the software is magnitudes greater than the actual cost of the software.
Never mind the fact that MS has some free as in beer software.
Re:So it wasn't a real, live Gnu... by marcosdumay · 2012-10-29 01:51 · Score: 1

Except the total cost of using any software is roughly the same.
If computers don't make us more productive, why do we use them? If they do make us more productive they can't all increase our productivity by the same amount (because Hello World seems to be completely useless).
Or, in ther words, you are wrong.

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Real live gnu? Seriously? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-27 05:53 · Score: 1

The photos in TFA show a person wearing only a ridiculously huge gnu mascot head. Not even a 5-year old would think that's a real gnu regardless of distance.

Captcha: Delirium.

Re:Real live gnu? Seriously? by EmagGeek · 2012-10-27 06:00 · Score: 2

My thoughts exactly. What's with all of this sensational bullshit on Slashdot lately?
Re:Real live gnu? Seriously? by Mashiki · 2012-10-27 06:09 · Score: 1

My thoughts exactly. What's with all of this sensational bullshit on Slashdot lately?
New ownership. So, with new ownership we get a new direction. And this "new direction" sucks ass.

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Om, nomnomnom...
Re:Real live gnu? Seriously? by PPH · 2012-10-27 06:18 · Score: 4, Insightful

I don't know about that. A new UI on top of Windows 7 seems to have fooled them.

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Have gnu, will travel.
Re:Real live gnu? Seriously? by larry+bagina · 2012-10-27 06:20 · Score: 1

New here? Same suck, different ass. And /. is still owned by geeknet (aka sourceforge aka va linux).

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Re:Real live gnu? Seriously? by tgd · 2012-10-27 06:21 · Score: 1

My thoughts exactly. What's with all of this sensational bullshit on Slashdot lately?
The owner realized the same thing Fox News did -- if you present stories in ways to whip up a fringe zealot audience, you may lose a lot of your audience, but the audience you have comes back a lot and consumes a lot of ads.
Re:Real live gnu? Seriously? by mooingyak · 2012-10-27 06:23 · Score: 1

Same suck, different ass.
If I ever decide to change my sig, that will be it.

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William of Ockham had no beard. The most likely explanation is that it was chewed off by squirrels every morning.
Re:Real live gnu? Seriously? by Scarletdown · 2012-10-27 07:47 · Score: 2

The owner realized the same thing Fox News did -- if you present stories in ways to whip up a fringe zealot audience, you may lose a lot of your audience, but the audience you have comes back a lot and consumes a lot of ads.
Ah. That would explain why I am not seeing any ads. Other people consumed them instead of just looked at them, so there are no more ads.

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This space unintentionally left blank.
Re:Real live gnu? Seriously? by Spy+Handler · 2012-10-27 08:50 · Score: 1

New ownership. So, with new ownership we get a new direction. And this "new direction" sucks ass.
Slashdot has an owner? I thought it was GNU and free!
Re:Real live gnu? Seriously? by Compaqt · 2012-10-27 17:13 · Score: 1

Didn't you get the memo? Slashdot is owned by dice.com.

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Re:Real live gnu? Seriously? by larry+bagina · 2012-10-28 12:46 · Score: 1

I was assuming the deal hadn't closed yet since the bottom of the page still says Geeknet, Inc.

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Do you even lift?
These aren't the 'roids you're looking for.

Reporters happy to see you? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-27 05:54 · Score: 1

Yeah, you don't know reporters do you?

They're happy to see anything, or so they pretend. All smiles and glad-handling, they're as bad as politicians, who coincidentally enough are the ones you most often see you with.

Sorry, but your publicity stunt is not going to make this the Year of Linux on the Desktop and millions, even tens or hundreds will be gladly using Windows 8.

They won't do anything with your precious software except throw it away.

A valuable lesson learned today. by FSWKU · 2012-10-27 05:55 · Score: 3, Funny

The software may be free. Enough computing power for the software to handle a slashdotting, however, is NOT free...

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Powell's colon by Tablizer · 2012-10-27 06:01 · Score: 5, Funny

John SuGnuGnu said only a Gnu could love a Gnu.

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Table-ized A.I.

Activist is an old Indian word.... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-27 06:03 · Score: 4, Funny

...that translates roughly to "Doesn't have a real job.'

Windows 8 downgrades security? by Wrath0fb0b · 2012-10-27 06:09 · Score: 4, Insightful

Citation needed.

Now, it's quite possible that Windows 7 is not secure enough for your needs and 8 doesn't improve upon that significantly, but I'm skeptical that 8 is a step backwards in security.

Re:Windows 8 downgrades security? by Call+Me+Black+Cloud · 2012-10-27 06:19 · Score: 5, Funny

Citation needed.
You must be gnu here...
Re:Windows 8 downgrades security? by swillden · 2012-10-27 07:19 · Score: 1

Citation needed.
Now, it's quite possible that Windows 7 is not secure enough for your needs and 8 doesn't improve upon that significantly, but I'm skeptical that 8 is a step backwards in security.
They weren't claiming that Windows 8 is insecure. They said it steals users' security. They're just pointing out (in arguably over-the-top language) that it takes control of users' information away from the users. This probably isn't because of anything specific that it does, it's just because it's closed and therefore unknowable and uncontrollable.

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Re:Windows 8 downgrades security? by VortexCortex · 2012-10-27 10:13 · Score: 2

Let me explain something: SECURITY MUST BE PROVEN. You can't just claim the product secure, we look back and then determine how secure it has been. Additionally: NEW SOFTWARE HAS NEW BUGS, and these bugs are what makes security exploits possible.
Considering that Windows8 is not just Windows7 in a different box, that it actually comes with more and newer code than Windows7 or XP, I think it's safe to say that it more likely than not that it contains more bugs than these already released and hammered on systems... In laymen's terms: Windows8 is less secure.
Re:Windows 8 downgrades security? by jo_ham · 2012-10-27 11:43 · Score: 2

If that's your position then the lack of security must also be proven.
You cannot say "it's Microsoft's responsibility to prove they are insecure, otherwise it is 'safe to say' that it is less secure".
That's called hypocrisy.
Re:Windows 8 downgrades security? by chrismcb · 2012-10-28 01:27 · Score: 1

I think it's safe to say that it more likely than not that it contains more bugs than these already released and hammered on systems... In laymen's terms: Windows8 is less secure.
Can't you say the same thing about any new version of anything? Including the latest linux distros?

Sounds like Microsoft needs better security by Culture20 · 2012-10-27 06:15 · Score: 2

Well trained security guards would have quashed that right away, along with explanations of "You need to buy a vendor permit to distribute pamphlets/software at the show".
Microsoft Security Fail!

only Windows 8? by mschaffer · 2012-10-27 06:16 · Score: 4, Insightful

Really? Only Windows 8? OSX/iOS steals users' freedom, security and privacy quite a bit.

Re:only Windows 8? by Fishchip · 2012-10-27 06:21 · Score: 3, Funny

Shh, this is a Windows-bashing article. There'll be an OSX one in a little while.
Re:only Windows 8? by VAElynx · 2012-10-27 06:26 · Score: 2

Well... it would be sort of retarded to point out the deficiencies of iOS on a Microsoft event. Kinda like when the soviet and the american argued about their countries.
American: "But we have freedom of speech!" Soviet: "What is that, even?" American: "For example , if I were to walk into the White House, shout Ronald Reagan is a filthy thieving lying fuck, nobody would do anything to me." Soviet: "Hah! We got it even better. If I were to walk into the Kremel, and shout Ronald Reagan is a filthy thieving lying fuck, it'd get into the newspaper and I'd get a commendation, even."
Re:only Windows 8? by NIK282000 · 2012-10-27 09:55 · Score: 1

Well that's not fair at all, you can't bash MS and Apple practices and then leave out Sony. I find this bias in /. to be shocking.

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Re:only Windows 8? by greyblack · 2012-10-27 11:02 · Score: 1

"For example , if I were to walk into the White House, before I could shout anything I would be moved to a "free speech zone" miles away from people where I could shout Obama / Romney is a filthy thieving lying fuck, and nobody would do anything to me."

FTFY

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Everybody uses broad generalizations.

Re:Worthless by larry+bagina · 2012-10-27 06:17 · Score: 5, Insightful

Look, she can't help it if she's not pretty. Or if she's too poor to afford nice clothes.

FREE software is like people -- what's on the inside matters more than the external appearance.

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Do you even lift?

These aren't the 'roids you're looking for.

Re:Worthless by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-27 06:17 · Score: 1

When the journalists find that the free software won't work on their iPhones they will brand it worthless.

Nice beard. by Haxagon · 2012-10-27 06:20 · Score: 4, Funny

"The gnu — which, on closer inspection, was an activist in a gnu suit"
It's hard to tell the two apart sans suit, sometimes.

Said as a GNU/Linux enthusiast.

Way to go. by hey! · 2012-10-27 06:20 · Score: 1, Flamebait

This will raise the Linux community's credibility with the public.

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Re:Way to go. by moderators_are_w*nke · 2012-10-27 06:25 · Score: 1

Guerrilla marketing is all the rage these days, but that is about the lamest example I've ever seen.

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Re:Way to go. by Magic5Ball · 2012-10-27 08:17 · Score: 1

> Guerrilla marketing is all the rage these days
Ahhh Des Moines, where Instagram is new and Hurd has some life in it.

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There are 1.1... kinds of people.

Re:Worthless by VAElynx · 2012-10-27 06:21 · Score: 5, Funny

If you think the purpose of a demonstration/event is "nude tits for the onlookers", you're a moron whose thought centre has moved from cranium to crotch.

Re:A downgrade in many ways by Call+Me+Black+Cloud · 2012-10-27 06:30 · Score: 1

I don't know how desktop users could have asked for something that hasn't yet existed on the desktop, but the classic desktop is still there:

http://www.ghacks.net/2012/10/08/how-to-switch-from-windows-8s-startscreen-to-the-desktop/

I'd like to add a small change by Rooked_One · 2012-10-27 06:31 · Score: 2, Interesting

"...Windows 8 is a downgrade, not an upgrade, because it steals users' freedom, security and privacy."

This may be so, but I think that statement detracts from the fact that windows is starting to make users very ignorant. Windows 7 took away the advanced search. I used to love to be able to search for files largers than 10MB very easily but now I must use third party software to do a very "Windows" function.

I sometimes mourn for the days that when you installed something, its functions went into its own directory. You could very easily find what you're looking for, and modify if possible. This constantly gets stripped down, at least for a few things.

Re:I'd like to add a small change by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-27 06:56 · Score: 4, Informative

It's still there, albeit hard to find. Just use size:>10mb in the search bar

Re:A downgrade in many ways by BrownLeopard · 2012-10-27 06:32 · Score: 1

Dreading? Not really. I can't wait to start invoicing for these migrations, myself. Should get me a new car out of it.

Not a gnu by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-27 06:32 · Score: 4, Funny

Richard Stallman just hasn't shaved in awhile.

Re:Worthless by Intrepid+imaginaut · 2012-10-27 06:34 · Score: 1

Unless you happen to be at a strip club. Or a joining a school for strippers. Or teaching at a school for strippers.

"Free like the free apps in the iPhone app store?" by Andy+Prough · 2012-10-27 06:34 · Score: 1

If you think the majority of tech "journalists" have the slightest clue about software freedom vs the walled garden, you are sadly mistaken. And the tech consuming public is far worse off. Any effort to educate them is a GOOD thing - especially if its well communicated by professional looking young folks like this, instead of some of the rabid "kings" of open source.

Re:Worthless by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-27 06:36 · Score: 1

Or a bitcoin story for that matter.

Re:a real live gnu by Forty+Two+Tenfold · 2012-10-27 06:40 · Score: 1

Yes, but you don't have to rub the parents' faces in it. Although, I guess the parents didn't have much say in whether the kid was retarded,

Unless they did drugs (ethanol, tobacco, amphetamines). Now the analogy is quite apt.

--
Upward mobility is a slippery slope - the higher you climb the more you show your ass.

Re:"Free like the free apps in the iPhone app stor by BrownLeopard · 2012-10-27 06:41 · Score: 1

I wouldn't know how they look since it was slashdotted. I agree that informing and educating the public is a good thing, but why not bring laptops running a distro and actually SHOWING them rather than just counting on them installing it on their own systems (I guarantee most of those disks hit the trash).

Why this distro? by mwvdlee · 2012-10-27 06:47 · Score: 2, Insightful

They're fighting the Windows 8 downgrade by offering a fringe GNU-downgraded Linux distro.
I'm sure all those journalists will be convinced after they have learned to manually install the required hardware drivers.

Marketing isn't about promoting the things you personally like, it's about promoting the things your potential users like.
Windows and Apple users don't care about privacy, freedom, security or ownership. Either convince them of the importance of those issues before pushing Linux or promote the Linux features they do care about (i.e. "Linux is free and has the best tools for downloading the latest movies").

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Re:Why this distro? by swillden · 2012-10-27 07:25 · Score: 2

What distro would you suggest? Keep in mind that this is the FSF, so it must be one that is completely Free. No binary-only blobs and no licenses that would bar you from modifying, redistributing or both. This excludes Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Gentoo, etc.
Because, whether you agree with their message or not, the fact is that giving away a distribution that is only mostly Free would undermine it.

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Re:Why this distro? by sunderland56 · 2012-10-27 07:50 · Score: 1, Insightful

And, why do they hate Linus so much? From the Tresquel web page:

"Linus Torvalds did not write a whole operating system, he only wrote the last missing piece, a kernel"
Yeah, sure, completely gloss over the fact that the kernel is by far the most important piece.
Re:Why this distro? by Maow · 2012-10-27 08:13 · Score: 2

Marketing isn't about promoting the things you personally like, it's about promoting the things your potential users like.
Windows and Apple users don't care about privacy, freedom, security or ownership. Either convince them of the importance of those issues before pushing Linux or promote the Linux features they do care about (i.e. "Linux is free and has the best tools for downloading the latest movies").
I look at marketing more as promoting not what you think your potential users like, but simply what you have to offer.
Now to be successful, there should be significant overlap between those.
This story makes a great example, as this is a Windows 8 event and MS has the Sisyphean task of marketing TIFKAM (the interface formerly known as Metro) - certainly not what the users want (nor have been asking for).
Re:Why this distro? by mwvdlee · 2012-10-27 11:58 · Score: 1

Yes, some users (presumably /. readers would likely fall into that category) care about those things.
The general population does not. They are perfectly happen buying into Apple and Microsoft's walled gardens, they are perfectly happy letting their vendors' control the software on their own devices and the only thing protecting them from downloading malware is the default installed antivirus software that has taken over their browsers' search engine.
They may say they care about all those things if you ask explicitely, but if you ask why they choose the OS they use, none of those reasons will be mentioned. I'd be surprised if many of them have even considered choosing a different OS than whatever came pre-installed on their HP, Mac or Dell.

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Re:Why this distro? by sunderland56 · 2012-10-28 02:24 · Score: 1

Both the Microsoft and Intel C compiler already existed and could have been used.
The early stages of kernel development are all done with a cross-compiler anyway.
Re:Why this distro? by dissy · 2012-10-28 03:08 · Score: 1

This excludes Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Gentoo, etc.

Wow, do they really exclude the base Debian distro?
I can completely understand all the others (Except Gentoo*), as they do include non-free drivers and even software in the default install.
(* I only exclude Gentoo due to my unfamiliarity, but not disagreeing.)
Debian does of course maintain three separate repositories.
"Free" which is the base and default, which they assure is only software with free licenses.
The other two, "Contrib" and "Non-Free" must be added in manually, and is where they put software with more restrictive licenses.
Is it the fact these repos can be added at all?
Does Debian now include non-free drivers or kernel modules in the base I'm unaware of?
Obviously I don't mind running software that isn't 100% free, and do add in all three repos right after an install, so likely take such things for granted. But I always thought Debian went out of their way to keep the base install completely free, while at the same time giving you the freedom to choose the level of free-ness your particular install(s) are.
Compared to the distro mentioned in this story, which restricts your freedom to choose less free software such as Flash, Java, and likely others, I would say Debian is actually more free than the FSF's apparent standards.
Re:Why this distro? by swillden · 2012-10-28 05:11 · Score: 1

The FSF excludes Debian because of its non-free repo. Debian without non-free would be approved by the FSF -- and AFAIK that's exactly what the distro they were handing out is... Ubuntu with all of the non-free bits removed.

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Windows 8 and missed opportunities by WaffleMonster · 2012-10-27 06:49 · Score: 1

From what little of FSF page I could get to load seems they are reusing standard talking points on the perils of commercial software without making an effort to address windows 8 specifically.

To me it would have been more useful had they actually enumerate privacy and freedom transgressions committed by Windows 8. From calling home for nn reasons, live account login, RT store lockin... must be tons of legit points which can be made about win8 rather than the same blanket statements proclaiming commercial software to be evil.

OS/2 crashing by PolygamousRanchKid+ · 2012-10-27 06:50 · Score: 3, Informative

Back about 20 years ago, Steve Ballmer went to an IBM booth at an computer show, and tried to crash OS/2 there. So, I guess you reap what you sow.

Eventually. Kinda sorta.

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Re:OS/2 crashing by icebraining · 2012-10-27 08:14 · Score: 5, Funny

That's nothing. Windows 98 crashed its own show.

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Re:a real live gnu by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-27 06:55 · Score: 1

How far away do you have to be standing to think that is a real live gnu?

If you closed your eyes and stood real close it sure smelled like a real live gnu. They haven't washed the costume since Richard Stallman started gnu in 1984.

No insight here by Riddler+Sensei · 2012-10-27 06:56 · Score: 1

Eh, I'll give Trisquel a download and check it out in Workstation. Pretty much expecting a by the numbers Ubuntu based distro. But hey, why not?

Re:Worthless by Austerity+Empowers · 2012-10-27 07:03 · Score: 1

Certainly it is not to change opinions, or they would not be distributing a form of linux no one has ever heard of to MS loyalists. I think they would have better luck preaching tax loophole reform at a republican convention, at least there'd be press that'd listen.

Re:A downgrade in many ways by flimflammer · 2012-10-27 07:07 · Score: 1

You really don't know how someone could ask for something before it was actually created?

Really?

Re:Worthless by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-27 07:09 · Score: 3, Insightful

Except they are not selling to morons who think with their dicks, moron.

Re:"Free like the free apps in the iPhone app stor by Andy+Prough · 2012-10-27 07:14 · Score: 1

They were having to stand outside on a sidewalk in front of a building - not a good spot for a laptop demo. Given the circumstances, I'm sure they accomplished what they wanted - get some attention and educate some folks. Gnu was cool, although not near as hairy as RMS.

Re:Worthless by VAElynx · 2012-10-27 07:15 · Score: 4, Funny

I don't think a reasonable person's choice of operating system is determined by the presence of human mammary glands. Otherwise Apple would be selling the iTit.

The obvious answer by daboochmeister · 2012-10-27 07:16 · Score: 1

Switch. You'll never look back, believe me.

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Re:The obvious answer by AmazingRuss · 2012-10-27 10:21 · Score: 2

True. After a couple of years of fighting with endless niggling problems, you'll switch again, to OSX.

Closer inspection? by devnullkac · 2012-10-27 07:28 · Score: 2

On closer inspection? More like "The person with an enormous mascot mask - which, on closer inspection, vaguely resembled a gnu."

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Re:Worthless by Dr_Barnowl · 2012-10-27 07:49 · Score: 1

Despite the fact that it's a larger target market ....

I'm willing to bet that all the people who profess not to think with their dicks, at least allow their dicks to subconsciously influence them.

I really enjoyed seeing the Linux / Mac / PC adverts that Novell did, not least because they included an attractive, seemingly intelligent, stylish woman. Yes, the message was intellectually good. But I enjoyed the attractive woman too.

It has to be tastefully done, or people who are aware that they enjoy attractive females will just get disgruntled for being manipulated. But a good message delivered by an attractive messenger is a potent combination, even if you know full well what they are doing.

Re:Worthless by wonkey_monkey · 2012-10-27 07:56 · Score: 4, Funny

What truly pathetic depths Slashdot has sank to.

They let you in for a start.

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Re:Insightful, however: by unixisc · 2012-10-27 08:00 · Score: 1

This is absolutely true. Instead of trying to rig Linux and rid it of all its unliberated blobs, if the FSF just seriously worked on getting Hurd ready, and maybe forking Minix 3.0 and then using it as the microkernel for Hurd, they'd then have all the requirements of an entire GNU system. The kernel too would be GNU, as would userland, and then they could toss in GNOME 3.4 and even make everything GPL3.

I agree w/ the other statement as well - that GNU apps have poor interfaces, poor ideas and poor implementations. I've never seen a GNU app that I found interesting. If it's only selling point is that you can have the source code, that's also true of a lot of software that's not GNU approved - like Debian, BSD, and so on. And not having the system autodetect a lot of devices simply b'cos the drivers ain't liberated is a brain-damaged way to work.

Re:Trolling are you? by Magic5Ball · 2012-10-27 08:08 · Score: 1

Free as in Kaczynski and Liberty Dollars, don't you know?

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Re:Worthless by sumdumass · 2012-10-27 08:20 · Score: 4, Interesting

Actually, I think they are. A protest is not necessarily selling a product, it's selling the idea that there is support for the product. The product is generally being sold to whatever they are protesting against but by selling sex, it increases the appearance of support for their cause by the inclusion of morons thinking with their dicks.

Imagine if you will, 20 prudently dresses women holding a rally to support $insertcause. Now imagine 10 scantly dressed 21 year old hotties and 10 muscle bound shirtless men doing the same for the same cause. You will have a base showing for the prudent women because the cause is what is there. But you will have added women and men interested in looking at the hot bodies of the people involved so there will likely be an above base showing for the event. In the end, the people thinking with their primitive instincts lend the appearance of wider spread support increasing the power for the cause. So using sex to sell a concept is a powerful tool for a cause and I think that the sale of sex (metaphorically) is actually intended to some of not a large degree.

Re:Worthless by SuperMooCow · 2012-10-27 08:34 · Score: 5, Funny

Use a 3D printer to print bitcoins to pay for Windows 8, you say? What a great idea!

Re:Worthless by davydagger · 2012-10-27 08:41 · Score: 1

trisquel is a libre version of Ubuntu, stripped of things like flash, and adobe reader, and runs the -libre kernel, which is stripped of unfree drivers and firmware.

The debian concept of free and nonfree repos is too much for the FSF who has strict guidelines on what software can be included in an FSF certified distro:

I've ran Free distros before, suprisingly useful, and many if not most hardware still worked.

That said, this is revenge for years of brownshirts.

Re:A downgrade in many ways by Noughmad · 2012-10-27 08:52 · Score: 1

it forcibly apples

I've never heard "apple" being used as a verb, but your use of it seems very fitting.

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Re:Really quite... by someone1234 · 2012-10-27 08:55 · Score: 1

And linux uses the hardware, right? :D

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Re:Worthless by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-27 09:19 · Score: 1

Crashing a competitor's product release with nude women cannot be tastefully done.

Why do people go.. by tbird81 · 2012-10-27 09:26 · Score: 2

To a Windows 8 opening?

Who really cares about getting it first? Who (non-geek) even installs new operating systems? People just use whatever is on their computer.

Re:Why do people go.. by pointyhat · 2012-10-27 11:44 · Score: 1

It used to be for the free merchandise that people went there. Now it's because people are just mental.
Back in the early 90's my father used to go to CeBit wearing a tidy suit with a pocket full of fake business cards. You'd be surprised at the stuff he screwed out of people by looking the part. That was why people went. Not to look at the new products, which were mainly crap.
Now it is Stevie B's sweaty ape-like figure prancing across the stage link a baboon with hemorrhoids after a vindaloo which drooling dropped mouths foam at the prospect of another half finished fad that probably won't sell because someone will sue them off the planet for it being round or something within the week.
Re:Why do people go.. by JustNiz · 2012-10-31 10:10 · Score: 1

Apparently there are still some losers out there that think Windows is 'cool'.
I know this because they apparently all work in our IT department.

Re:Worthless by VortexCortex · 2012-10-27 09:47 · Score: 3, Insightful

You fail to control for those who are easily offended by over sexualized displays.

Re:Really quite... by robthebloke · 2012-10-27 09:53 · Score: 1

no, it only uses the electrons moving through the hardware at super quick speeds.....

I wish GNU Hurd was ready by Reed+Solomon · 2012-10-27 09:55 · Score: 1

Then RMS wouldn't need to hijack linux for his cause.

The best thing to happen to Linux was the philosophy of Open Source.

I'm not unsympathetic to the FSF's goals, but Linux just isn't GNU to me.

Re:Worthless by Russ1642 · 2012-10-27 10:08 · Score: 1

Also known as a man.

Re:"Free like the free apps in the iPhone app stor by Andy+Prough · 2012-10-27 10:19 · Score: 1

Exactly! Tech "journalist": "Uh-huh, uh-huh -- free software, free as in free, freedom. OK - got it. No, I don't need a DVD - I'll just download the app onto my iPhone. You said its free, right?"

I guess things have changed by scdeimos · 2012-10-27 10:43 · Score: 1

Special thanks to our volunteers, Linnea the GNU and Tristan the photographer, for helping make this action a huge success!

Glad to see Linnea "The Planet Killer" is doing something more positive with her life now.

Re:Worthless by sumdumass · 2012-10-27 10:56 · Score: 1

Not really. If they don't believe in the cause enough to over look that, they might have been distracted by the latest Brittany Spears blunder or something too.

Those people will be somewhat small in comparison to the gains. However, I do agree that it probably could be taken too far and turn a lot of people off. But having babes or bare chested firefighters doing something for the event that isn't indicative of a sexual act or something that would just gross most people out would likely help more then hurt.

Re:Worthless by hairyfeet · 2012-10-27 11:05 · Score: 1

Well it could be worse, it could be one of the "fill in the blank" clickbaits like "Will (insert product) be the death of (insert something with crazed fanbase like FOSS, Apple)?" as God knows I've seen enough of THOSE with the release of Win 8.

This? this is....well its just sad, that's what it is. I'd have been asking if they'd like me to contact a therapist for them if I'd have been at the event as this is just a sad "look at me!" cry for attention. The fact that it made the front page is pretty damned pathetic though, I thought the firehose was supposed to end bullshit like this?

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Re:Trolling are you? by andrew3 · 2012-10-27 11:11 · Score: 1

does it support my freedom to use proprietary drivers with my video card

You are free to do whatever you want with it, including changing the repositories to Ubuntu.com and installing proprietary drivers.

Re:Worthless by kiddygrinder · 2012-10-27 11:17 · Score: 1

i'm angry at people for believing things

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Re:Worthless by lurker1997 · 2012-10-27 11:22 · Score: 1

She was cute. The GP has likely never been near a real woman to has no point for comparison.

Re:Worthless by Kalriath · 2012-10-27 11:34 · Score: 1

Crashing a competitor's product release at all cannot be tastefully done (especially by the FSF) so I don't really see there being a huge issue at that point...

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Re:Worthless by Kalriath · 2012-10-27 11:36 · Score: 1

Yes, most emphatically, yes.

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Re:Worthless by kiddygrinder · 2012-10-27 11:56 · Score: 1

what do you mean moved?

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Re:Worthless by Fjandr · 2012-10-27 12:05 · Score: 4, Funny

Only people who already support their cause are supposed to look at them naked in public. It's in the EULA somewhere.

Re:Worthless by Fjandr · 2012-10-27 12:12 · Score: 1

Don't know if the person was talking about the woman in the gnu costume or the woman in the red shirt and blue jeans. I'd say the former is definitely cute. The latter, while not unattractive, isn't what I would term cute. However, that's also highly subjective and very personal, so everyone's mileage will vary somewhat.

Re:Worthless by Ol+Olsoc · 2012-10-27 14:33 · Score: 1

Look, she can't help it if she's not pretty. Or if she's too poor to afford nice clothes.

I'll bet the boy GNU's found her plenty hot. Whoosh!

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Re:Insightful, however: by icebraining · 2012-10-27 14:41 · Score: 1

Just because n% of apps in Y operating system are from X organization, you don't arbitrarily qualify to call an /operating system/ X/Y.

What about because Linux is licensed under the GNU GPL?

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Hurd of GNUs by girlinatrainingbra · 2012-10-27 17:39 · Score: 2

(btw, first post to reference Hurd that I'm seeing. That's kinda lame for this being /., isn't it?)

There could/should have been a whole Hurd of GNUs sent over except for the fact that so many of them have been discontinued:

Hurd-based GNU distributions include:

-- Arch Hurd

-- Debian GNU/Hurd

-- NixOS[23][24]

-- Bee GNU/Hurd (discontinued)

-- Gentoo GNU Hurd (discontinued)

-- GNU/Hurd Live CD (discontinued) I kid, I kid. I love GNU. I love Linux. They taste great together, like peanut butter and chocolate. There's a commercial for you:

BTW, first post to reference Hurd that I'm seeing. That's kinda lame for this being /., isn't it?

Re:Linux o'relly? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-27 19:21 · Score: 1

People who buy windows-only hardware contribute to the problem. Knowingly or unknowingly...

Imagine for a moment:
If there was hardware that only had linux drivers and nothing else, would you bitch about windows the same way or would it be the hardware producer's fault for locking you in to one system?

Re:Worthless by smi.james.th · 2012-10-27 22:57 · Score: 1

Actually the second to last photo had her without the Gnu mask. I thought she was quite pretty.

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Any Solutions by assertation · 2012-10-28 01:26 · Score: 1

Does anyone offer for free or sell software that Windows users can use to disable those "features"?

Re:Insightful, however: by unixisc · 2012-10-28 09:12 · Score: 1

That by no means transfers ownership of Linux to the FSF. A lot of things are written under GPL/LGPL - it doesn't mean that their ownership automatically goes to FSF or the GNU projects.

I see a problem by viperidaenz · 2012-10-28 09:17 · Score: 1

FSF are employing unattractive people to do their ground work. If you want people to remember you, show them people they want to remember.

Re:Worthless by Chatsubo · 2012-10-28 17:37 · Score: 1

FAIL: You didn't use a Raspberry Pi.

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Galician vs Portuguese support? by unixisc · 2012-10-28 22:43 · Score: 1

Now let's see why they really forked ubuntu, and copy pasted Portuguese and called it Galicia:

Does Trisquel support Galician but not Portugese? If they have support for both, then they're not doing what you suggest here

Re:Worthless by SuperMooCow · 2012-10-29 03:52 · Score: 1

Maybe not, but the 3D printer is controlled by an Arduino!

Re:Insightful, however: by icebraining · 2012-10-29 12:38 · Score: 1

The FSF has never claimed ownership of Linux.

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Re:Insightful, however: by unixisc · 2012-10-29 20:08 · Score: 1

No, but demanding that Linux be called GNU/Linux just b'cos it's under the GPL is what you are saying. Of course, the FSF says no such thing - they only demand that Linux be called GNU/Linux b'cos GNU userland utilities come bundled w/ the kernel

Re:Insightful, however: by icebraining · 2012-10-29 21:43 · Score: 1

Yes, but even if they demanded it due to the license, it still wouldn't be a transfer of ownership.

they only demand that Linux be called GNU/Linux b'cos GNU userland utilities come bundled w/ the kernel

I've never seen they demanding anything. They just advocate for it.

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Rare Photos: Gnu Crashing a Windows 8 Launch Event

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