Slashdot Mirror
Linux.com is Up
kernel was the first to tell us that Linux.com has
some content. You can also read a
Press Release.
The most notable piece of information is
that the site will be managed by Trae McCombs (Slashdot author,
Themes.org guy, and VA
Employee). He will be slave to a board of directors that
will hopefully help make sure that Linux.com does in fact
fulfill what it should: support the community). The
board of directors includes me, scoop, mandrake, Chris
DiBona, Nick Petreley, and representatives from Oracle and
SGI.
So linux.com can have that annoying "let's squeeze everything into the center and cut it off at 800" themes.org look?
"The over-commercialization of the Linux.com domain is not what VA feels is best for Linux.com".
;-)
No, obviously only VA should be able to advertise there.
I know VA research is great in the Linux community. They are all for Linux and hopefully they will make linux.org represent linux better. Remember when you had a friend that was interested in Linux? You didn't send them to www.linux.org did you? I sure as hell didn't. Maybe now I will :) if VA research does the site better!
NaTaS
http://www.mp3.com/pedophagia --All new music made in Linux!
Why not just nominate Bruce and get the madness over with even more quickly?
Whine-oh.....
Isn't most of the GNU/Linux philosophy counter to what .com stands for?
If RMS runs the site then everything has to be JPEG. Hmm, that might be good. No banner ads.
I think it looks pretty good, especially if you condsider what it looked like before. It looks neat and clean. However, using a larger percentage of the pagewidth would be nice. I didn't spend all this money on this big monitor to just use the center 50% of it. :)
That aside, it's important to remember that what really matters is that it is easy to navigate and that there is a hell of a lot of useful information there. Isn't that what the site is for to begin with? I don't think that Linux was ever meant to be a fashion statement (and I hope it never is!).
--SONET
Hrmm I hope there attitude changes then :)
Natas
Why Oracle and not Corel? Corel has done more for Linux then Oracle has. At lease they are writing software and giving it back to the community.
Just string large numbers of plates bolted to anchored pontoons to make up a few square miles and declare yourself a nation! The ocean is the only area on earth with vast regions not claimed to be owned by anybody.
Why does VA feel it necessary to duplicate the efforts already put forth by entities such as linux.org and all the dozens of other media? Why not offer them the linux.com domain? Why not offer the use of linux.com to the entire community, not a VA-elected board? What the fsck will SGI and Oracle get out of the "contribution to the community" other than commercial profit off of the hobbies of thousands?
VA Research is a cool company, granted. But will we ever see information on Penguin Computing on this site? Or linuxhardware?
Or, once MySQL gets transaction support and becomes 90% as robust and faster than Oracle, will MySQL info be there, too?
If they don't want the commercialization of linux.com, then it should be given to the people who built the community - not a bunch of corporate marketing guys wanting to profit off of the movement.
This makes me sick.
Does it bother anyone that some rube with very little linux experience has made it on to the board of linux.com? This guy has had his head up the rear ends of the linux community just dying for a break like this....
".com" stands for "company" or "commercial". GNU/Linux is about non-proprietary. These two sets are logically disconnected.
I don't consider spending $7 a week on food *comfortable*.
I think you meant to say meager instead.
Where is Corel?
I really don't give two shits what a site looks like, as long as the content is readable and decent. Hell, the color selection here sucks too but nobody complains. It's all about content my friends, the ugly colors keep you from staring too long at stuff that doesn't matter.
Oracle and SGI? What for? Why don't you put an MS rep there too?
Richard
Heaven forbid linux.COM becomes commercialized! I'm just glad it's taken by someone selling ANYTHING to do with Linux rather than one of those domain holding companies that just buy up every good name and put some stupid page up saying it is for sale. linux.org sucks rocks for one thing btw. The guy has no sense of color coordination. :-)
How about giving away one ad to an Open Source product for every ad sold? So folks like Debian.org, Python.org, etc., could get equal footing?
As with everything else in the Open Source (tm) movement, this too is done by abdication or "election by the elites".
RMS is/would be very disappointed in this whole downhill trend.
like, gag me with a javascript
Petreley is one of the few computer writers with a clue, and with a sense of integrity. I've been reading his columns for years, and he never fails to tell it like it is. If I could choose any journalist in the world, it would be Nick Petreley.
Yeah, man. Where's the PR/external relations person from AOL/Netscape? I mean, hell, Netscape's been supporting Linux for a while now, what with their browser and whatnot.
...
And where's Mike Dell's rep? Bill Gates' little boytoy is right there on the frontline of the Linux revolution, shipping (or will soon be) servers with our favorite OS. Hell, we might even get MS on board while we're at it, for all I know an MSLinux distro is in the making.
Opening the door to corps is the best way of undermining the strength of Linux. And no, I'm not talking about it being the most cost-effective corporate platform either
The one person I see on the board who is best known for actual coding rather than media or marketing is Geoff Harrison (AKA Mandrake).
I do respect the fact that they included lots of folks from the grassroots end of Linux media (though the most professionally done grassroots publication, LWN, was spurned), but one token coder whose main contribution is crashing, unusable eye candy is not a very good representation of the hacker end of the community.
OK, Linus himself is probably rather uninterested in anything promotional, and RMS would doubtless show a bit _too_ much anti-proprietary fervor, as well as probably being uninterested, but there's
many other real hackers that I bet would be willing to serve.
hey crackhead, we're talking about the linux community not some political election in the usa. this is just another example of how the linux community has become layered into the technological elite (who often have no technical skills) and the peasants who are expected to blindly follow them.
long give gnu, long live rms, long live freedom!
The folks on the board have DONE something for the Linux 'net community. They are currently & actively developing web content. They have come up through the ranks. If you have something to contribute, contribute it - it'd be more constructive than complaining that Rob got some new duties.
Well until recently, they've hosted ftp.debian.org (now they're colocated at Mindspring I think).
They're flying the editor of segfault to the US so he can attend LinuxWorld..
They've done a bunch of other cool things.
Linux users worldwide are slowly being sucked into the corporate world borg. Without fight, without complaint, they file one by one into the waiting arms of corporate lawyers and greedy administrative suits.
Can you not see the flashing fangs in front of you? We sell our souls for a bit of money, a quick blitzkrieg of media attention, and will end up losing the project altogether. Wake up and smell the hideous corporate plans to incorporate and fracture Linux into a hundred weaker distributions.
Because Linux.org sucks.
'boards of directors' cant keep it inline,
but the people can.
if they have a say in running it, that is.
I've a fair bit of free code, but I don't think it is significant enough to merit a seat on this board. It would be hypocritical of me to step up while complaining that there aren't enough _serious_ hackers on there. Nor was there a public call for volunteers exactly.
Yes but how much on beer?
"I don't consider spending $7 a week on food *comfortable*."
If you believe that load of fertilizer, I have a nice large bridge in Brooklyn to sell you. If Rob really does make that much per week, then he's obviously doing something wrong - get a fscking job at McDonald's flipping burgers for more than that.
Linux is better off WITHOUT HIM and his supporters.
Actually, I had something else in mind.
I really like the current look & feel of Slashdot. Hardly 3l33t. I hate web sites that have HUGE left and right margins and cram the actual content into a very tight space.
Please, also, don't bother with Java. And make sure the fonts are readable (my biggest gripe with Ars Technica is the small fonts). Keep it simple.
To bring you up to speed, the linux.org site is owned by a bunch of OS/2 consultants who snapped up the name a few years ago. They've been very antagonistic to the community.
They are the same folks who tried the LSA stunt.
VA is a much better alernative to the people behind linux.org
I wouldn't be surprised if most of these AC slams are from the linux.org owners.
The commercialization of Linux is the next progresssive step but must be done correctly to project the right image. Many newcomers will go here before they go to linux.org for information. If VA plays a tight game and it is represenative of the community and not capitalism, it could be a very good addition. Clear and concise please.
what he hell is wwwlinux.com ?
$> whois wwwlinux.com
[rs.internic.net]
Registrant:
VLM, Inc. (WWWLINUX2-DOM)
49 Talbot Street
Somerset, NJ 08873
US
Domain Name: WWWLINUX.COM
Administrative Contact, Technical Contact, Zone Contact:
Vigod, Marc (MV889) prez@XXXDIRECTORY.COM
732-821-0542 (FAX) 732-398-0473
Billing Contact:
Vigod, Marc (MV889) prez@XXXDIRECTORY.COM
732-821-0542 (FAX) 732-398-0473
Record last updated on 15-May-98.
Database last updated on 28-Feb-99 14:55:00 EST.
Domain servers in listed order:
NS.XXXDIRECTORY.COM 209.67.28.20
NS3.EXODUS.NET 206.79.240.13
The InterNIC Registration Services database contains ONLY
non-military and non-US Government Domains and contacts.
Other associated whois servers:
American Registry for Internet Numbers - whois.arin.net
European IP Address Allocations - whois.ripe.net
Asia Pacific IP Address Allocations - whois.apnic.net
US Military - whois.nic.mil
US Government - whois.nic.gov
At least, this must be the illustrious Sam Ockman. Who else posts anything about Penguin Computing on Slashdot? Is Penguin Computing even _AT_ LinuxWorld?
/.
At least this time, the "anonymous" mention of Penguin didn't have a hyperlink right in the message to www.penguinwhatever.com (like his anonymous post last month did)
Don't forget folks, this a self-proclaimed former "VP" of VA who left for what must have been various ego related reasons, and now just alternatively (and always anonymously) markets his "company" and spouts sour grapes laden messages on
(And by the way Slashdot people, even if the above wasn't posted by Mr. O, Linux is going mainstream. People are going to make money off it. You can either help those from within the community who are trying to do it and have a say, wait for the big outsiders to do it and have no say, or [my prediction] just continue to complain like 14-year-olds do once their favorite "underground" bands "sell out" and all of a sudden it becomes uncool to listen to anything that anyone else does.
I mean, that's why you don't like Katz, right? He's not really part of the "in" crowd. Well, grow up...)
Such whining makes us sick.
-- PUAWLG (Penguins United Against Whining Linux Geeks)
is one unknown, a nobody, an otherwise anonymous coward with no name recognition, and little or no contribution or marketting or media or corporate interest. One shmuck who's just a user, a garage hack who runs a lan in h(is/er) home for no real reason other than to teach themselves how to do it. One person who boots linux only just because they love it. Maybe then you'd BEGIN to see something approximating the "broad spectrum" they purport to try to represent.
I can think of about ten million people who fit that bill.
Respectfully,
D. Lee
kindred@mail.odyssey.net
They host stampede... the svlug and lots of other stuff... check out community.varesearch.com
So now the first thing potential Linux users who hit linux.com will see is a bunch of hideous gradient-happy graphics, lots of misspelled words, and a ton of bad grammar. Great. Excuse me while I go replace Linux with SCO.
I dunnno. People are gonna get filthy rich over
having that domain name. That's all there is
to it. It will be interesting to see how
soon it takes for the greed to take over.
Watch for the banner ads.
How did *they* get it??
I REALLY hope they don't duplicate the effort put into www.linux.org. linux.org is a bad joke. It needs design, it needs content, it needs updates, it need to not look ugly.
linuxhq, linuxpower, freshmeat are good sites, i hope www.linux.com turns into all of them rolled into one.
AC by choice.
An incredible contrast exists between the
bottomless generousity of LT and others and
the greed this grab on the Linux domain
represents.
I think the domain should remain
empty out of respect for the OS.
Yeah, at least he can contribute more than
a one-line criticism, you moron!
i agree with him.
ESR is teaching companies how to harvest the
efforts of linux developers without pay. That is
what he mostly does.
It's not there anymore.
mmm . serves VA right. :)
Well, take a chance and guess who writes messages that say : "VA didn't build a computers, they suck. I went to Penguin (www.convenienthotlinkhere.com) and they did exactly what I needed, washed my car & gave me a handjob to boot. And I don't work for Penguin." You can go look for yourself (if the message is still in the searchable database).
[Like anyone here is buying machines from these companies anyway...I thought "real" Linux people did it all themselves....Hell, even Katz did!]
However, your message is not unreasonable. You just don't know what we know.
(Try talking to ex-Penguin employees, you'll find quite a few of them.) VA has its own problems and challenges, what company doesn't, but if the small fish are going to succeed as Linux grows, you people are going to have to work together. We'd rather have you guys (once you all - ALL - grow up) doing it than Dell...
What you see happening here is the Crab-in-a-bucket syndrome - - put a crab in a bucket and it crawls out...put 2 or more and the one who tries to crawl out is pulled back in by the other crabs...or lobsters, or whatever....The point is is that some "underground Linux d00ds" can't handle watching others be successful.
And this may not be Penguin at work. But they've had the motive, means and opportunity and we've seen it in the past.
The Linux community needs to grow up and out of its elitist, anti-anything seeking compensation mentality. Support the people doing it. If you're way is different, convince them. Don't slam them for trying.
The membership of PUAWLG will always remain anonymous. We work in the shadows. If VA every pulls obvious crap, we'll call that spade a spade too.
Our members are everywhere...Join us and we can end this destructive conflict and bring order to the Linux Galaxy...
It is your destiny...
- - Penguins United Against Whining Linux Geeks
I don't know if it's telling that there are followup messages about the design of the sight or the composition of the board...but only 1 for this message.
"We want to educate and enlighten people on the advantages of Linux. We want to show them why it is right for them. We want to show them how it can work with other operating systems. What Linux needs is a new image, one without flames."
Right On! You are talking about the big picture. It's a shame not everyone can see it....
I would've hoped that more people recognize that as things grow, attitudes have to grow.
Why aren't people talking about THIS? Fan the flames and eventually, they'll burn you too...
For what its worth. I like what the VA pres. is
doing for the community. They probably paid big
bucks to greedy "Fred Van Kempen" to buy the
Linux.Com domain. One could argue that they can
use it for whatever reason they want. Hell they
could just point it to varesearch.com. But
instead they are putting more money and effort to
make it a Linux centric site. If they put ads
on the site to recoup some of their investment
or to keep it going, I most certainly do not have
a problem with that.
BTW: Fred works for Microsoft on contract. And he
is on the Linux.Com board. Maybe VA should boot
him ASAP.
Where is my previous comment? It said "Congradulations of finding a way to expand your egos..". Aww. Poor Rob got all mad and moderated it. Slashdot is total, worthless, shit. The one site that acts like they are the most for freedom takes freedom away. Linux is going to die. As much as I like it, I hate people who try to change the principals of it. Maybe its better GNU was never in the spotlight with Linux. It's name still means something to me.
Yeah... look at those .GIFs their search engine displays.
Here was my reply (also "disappeared"):
My gosh, someone on slashdot with a clue.
My hat and hand go to you sir, there are not many of our kind left
today.
If any of these people had been involved in the beginnings of the
Linux movement, they would already know that Linux/GNU has been, and
was meant to be a project where people can freely exchange ideas and
code. Dressing it up in a suit and garnishing it with half-truths and
misinformation is the dirtiest thing I can think of a person doing to
our honorable cause.
Netscape did this for a long time, and still does it in recent versions if you turn "Internet Keywords" off. M$IE does it too, except that it tries several different variations (".com," ".org," and ".net"), but it always tries ".com" first.
Regardless of whether browsers "should" be doing this or not, the fact is, they do do this, and it behooves somebody to produce a worthwhile resource, so that when some person tries typing "Linux" into their browser's URL field, they get a page with plenty of worthwhile information. It's good to see that VA is stepping up to the plate here.
Eric
--
Be who you are...and be it in style!
Nice colors.. Better than linux.org at any rate.
Yeah, it needs frames, some animated gifs and a cheezy midi file, gratuitous javascript and some porno banners. Also wheres the warez and MP3 sections?
Remember if ain't got a black background and text of a color not found in nature it ain't leet.
PS don't forget the blink tags and the scrolling marquee.
On a serious note... Congrats to all involved, it's gonna be good.
look at the HTML source of www.transmeta.com.
then look at the source for www.linux.com.
that was my first thought.
Uhh, you're missing the point of a democratically-styled people-controlled movement. Everybody gets their say, regardless of their "credentials." Perhaps finding some way of doing elections would be better.
10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
Ahh, but where are these contributors? Looking at the linux.com board, I see a bunch of suits, some columnists, and a handful (one or two) actual contributors. It would seem that money (that of SGI and Oracle), not code contributions, were the deciding factor. Not to mention Petreley's good press.
10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
Well, if the *content* is fair and unbiased, who gives a flying fig what company holds the domain? And I see it as a good move for VA Research (this is the same company that most of you were weeping over after the Dell/IBM announcements). Oh yeah, note that *no* distribution representatives (as far as I know) are on the board, and I pray that it stays that way (btw, I thought that you all were worried about Red Hat=Linux in the eyes of the PHBs?).
I don't begrudge VA Research a little self-promotion. They're in a position to host linux.com, we aren't (though in another two to three months we will be). I just hope it doesn't turn into a 100% VA Research self-promotion site at the expense of other hardware vendors committed to Linux, such as (gasp!) Linux Hardware Solutions and Penguin Computing.
:-}. Or maybe they just hope that having these guys on a "linux.com" board of directors will get them hooked on Linux so that they WON'T pull out when the going gets tough?
As for the choice of folks like Oracle and SGI to be on the board, that's just plain bizarre... the Linux community is just an (interesting) sideshow for these folks, the majority of their action is elsewhere, they're in the Linux community for a few quick bucks and if the money doesn't materialize they'll just go elsewhere. No offense, that's just the truth. They're businesses, after all, not charity, and Linux isn't their main product. On the other hand, I suppose VAR is hoping for investments from them
-- Eric
Send mail here if you want to reach me.
I believe it was Ga. Tech that hosted ftp.debian.org, until the Powers That Be there decided to kick it out because it did not fit within their "acceptable use" policy.
Mindspring is now providing connectivity for ftp.debian.org, while Linux Hardware Solutions provided the rack-mount Linux box w/27gb of hard drive space.
-- Eric
Send mail here if you want to reach me.
Like our new boxes? You can't sneer about how generic they are now, hmm? Glad to see you found an Internet connection at the show. Maybe you will remember your password someday (grin).
Me, I personally am not going to be doing a "linux.com" clone. I am too busy getting OIMS to the point where it is usable, i.e., where it can handle all normal business processes needed by the average small manufacturing business (I finished the recieving portion today, hurray! so now I can do inventory management all the way from sales quote to build order to shipping on the outgoing end, and all the way from purchase request to receiving on the incoming end, but a lot more needs to be done). I just hope that the people doing it do a good job, that's all.
-- Eric
Send mail here if you want to reach me.
if you need a committe to decide content for a website then you need help with something other than content.
Look at the board of directors or whatever you call it. Fred Van Kempen is one of them.
retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
Liz Coolbaugh is definately one of the coolest heads in the linux media~
^~~^~^^~~^~^~^~^^~^^~^~^~~^^^~^^~~^~~~^~~^
They're coding.
So who elects these "board members?"
It doesn't reflect MY Linux community. It might yours. Since I/we didn't have any say in who's on the board and who's not, like a general election by the Linux community at large...
It don't mean squat.
Clever marketing by VA Research? All it means to me is a bunch of people that have control over the linux.com Website, nothing more.
It is a page that supposed to further the commercial awareness of Linux, so yes it should be a .com.
In addition to this linux.org is owned by Linux Online, a commercial entity devoted to making money off of banner ads on www.linux.org, and after numerous approaches to takeover/buy the domain they won't give it up.
Guess it doesn't to scratch back once in a while
Clinton made me a Republican. Bush made me a Libertarian. Trump is making me question reality.
Yes, Nick Petreley gave us some of the first-ever press coverage for Linux. And it's always been positive (his latest Bruce Perens/OSI rant aside).
-russ
Well.
There are accepted solutions to the problems with these sites. The main solution is called CSS1. Now, there is lacking CSS support in most browsers so far, but it's a matter of time before that's remedied. Also, one can, with ingenious use of server-side scripts and templates, maintain two versions effortlessly, one with abuse of tables for layout, and another with CSS, and let people choose (set defaults based on browser version).
--Joakim Ziegler
Looks like just a great bunch of people that have helped contribute a great experience on a grand scale. For a commercial Linux site, this looks like a good link not to be ashamed about. There seems to be great potential for professionalism, eye candy, and a good way to get the suits and family type looking.
In my opinion, a board does not get any better than that! I am amazed that they sacrificed the time and committed to it and hope they will enjoy it all the way. They need support and are worthy of it.
It's a nice-looking page, but it needs Tux on there somewhere. What is the point of spending years developing a free operating system, if not to get penguin logos on every web page from here to Timbucktoo? :-)
fish and pipes
I have 3 complaints which I will voice here.
1) I posted a sincere comment here and it was unfairly deleted
2) I feel this story was "retired" prematurely.... perhaps because of the content of some posts.
3) The low number of posts here may be attributable to wholesale censorship on Slashdot.
Why is it that we criticize the government and Microsoft for not listening to users, and yet here posting a contrary opinion causes your post to be censored?
My *opinion* was why should an individual receive "over a million" for Linux.com for something that belongs to the community? IMO Linus is the REAL owner of linux.com - he holds the "Linux" trademark. By only a small stretch - isn't Linux.com a "derevitave work" of Linux?
This may not have gone to "the highest bidder", but a million bucks is still alot of cash. And since this is now owned by Intel... OOPS I mean VA, I expect non-Intel support to take a downturn (as it already has with Alpha). We can look the the Intel-->Be example... "What PowerPC port?"
I suggested the money be divvied up between the people who wrote free software. This doesn't have to translate into cash - it could help defray the costs of running FSF website, for example.
I certainly went out of my way to avoid causing any offence, but I see that I did just by stating an opposing opinion. Excuse me for being so freakin idealistic.
I'm very disenheartened by this -- I don't think censorship should be exercised so lightly. I mean no insult by QUESTIONING AUTHORITY here, but isn't the point of a "board" supposed to be a representitive body of the Linux Community. If this is REALLY true then discussion here should not be snuffed out when it raises uncomfortable questions.
Is "the board" really an enforcement body? This is certainly a valueable chokepoint in the community, and something that would be extremely valuable to corporations such as Intel and VA.
I don't know where you get your information, but you should find a more reliable source.
--
This signature left intentionally blank.
With this board, it will be too easy to produce a "Linux is a great business opportunity! Look at all these cool ads for non-free software that runs on Linux!" site.
Rob, see if you can pull in at least one person who actually writes free software to keep 'em honest (in addition to you, of course).
Another Portal Potty...this one trendily built around a microcommunity...
And why not? Anyone whose site gets as many hits as Slashdot's should morph into a
Smart move.
diva Pasty Drone NewsTrolls, Inc.
"effort" and linux.org do not belong in the same sentence.
I've finally had it: until slashdot gets article moderation, I am not coming back.
Good idea. Get on it, Rob. ;-)
This sig is false.
I think this is a very bad idea. Any Linux site should include many references to the beloved penguin. It's even the /. icon for the topic!
EMYL
Looks fine with lynx, what's the problem??
"Karma can only be portioned out by the cosmos." -- Homer Simpson
It's already happened, at least from my machine.
The network information center's database was last updated yesterday. Any conversation about who currently holds ``linux.com'' is pure speculation.
--jon. Postel is dead. May we all mourn his, and our, loss.
Read the post above...non-proprietary does not equal non-commercial.
"...Beer..."
Finally! Transmeta.com has been mirrored! :)
It's a transmeta.com mirror is what I meant ;)
to say. It's an exact copy!
All we do is bitch and complain and then nominate someone else to do the work.. Not very free software like.. If you think its ugly then you go and make a beeter look and submit it, if you can't then shut the hell up..
/. there is new material. Posted for *us* to read..
Oh lets vote Rob Malda to do more work for us, he doesn't seem to have enough to as it is.... doesn't matter what time i come to
Rob your time and effort is appreciated, i think its time you stood up for your self and the next time someone so gracitiously decides to volenteer you for something you ask them 'what they have done lately..' other than collect a fat paycheque while spending time viewing your site!!
Anyone can find the problems but only the few can present the answers.
-7021
"VA Research Linux Systems is now the registrant of the Linux.com domain."
$ whois linux.com
Registrant:
Linux/PRO Intl Support Group (LINUX2-DOM)
Hoefbladhof 27, 2215DV VOORHOUT
NL
Domain Name: LINUX.COM
Administrative Contact, Technical Contact, Zone Contact:
Van Kempen, Fred N (FNV) waltje@INFOMAGIC.NL
+31 (35) 6980059 (FAX) (520) 526-957 (FAX) +31 (35) 6980215
-- unix is for people without a social life - Patrick van Eijk
Really.. I havnt even seen one Positive post about this yet, and all this even before any of you know what is to become of Linux.com. Lets wait and see what happens before we decide we dont like it.
>
I believe that it is most important that Linux.com promotes Linux without all the negative attitude toward other operating systems (which will remain nameless) that can be found throughout the Linux community. That sort of thing only hurts Linux by strengthing the view a lot of people have, that most Linux advocates are simply bitter toward a certain large corporation. (see posts that are sure to follow)
Unfortunately the highly vocal portion of Linux advocates help this view to survive. I know there are a lot of us who don't neccessarily hate that corporation, but really belive that Linux has a lot of potential for what we do. We also believe that competition is what makes things get better, and the destruction of one monolith only leads to another soon taking it's place. Having only one option, whether it is the one currently dominate OS or whether it is Linux is a Bad Thing.
If a product is worth anything, it will stand on its own merit, and people will use it. Telling people what they are using is bad, and that they are ignorant because they are using it, and they should be using product x, never sells product x. It insults people and that's not what we want.
We want to educate and enlighten people on the advantages of Linux. We want to show them why it is right for them. We want to show them how it can work with other operating systems. What Linux needs is a new image, one without flames.
Linux needs something like Linux.com to provide a central PR push. Linux.com should pick up the ball and try to shake off all of the bad stigma attached to it. I see a lot of good names on the board, and hope that these people work to assure that Linux has a chance to really succeed in the coming months.
At last: a site where (perhaps) some attention will be given to the millions of users who'd like to try Linux but are scared by its hacker image and its high cost of entry (in time terms.) I hope it all goes ok...
- Read fiction at www.espressostories.com
I think under the board of directors they go the names switched, I saw Malda listed with Freshmeat, and I think scoop was listed with Slashdot. I am looking at this at 640x480, and alot of stuff is cut off, mabe I am missing somthing...