From: torvalds@klaava.Helsinki.FI (Linus Benedict Torvalds) Newsgroups: comp.os.minix Subject: What would you like to see most in minix? Summary: small poll for my new operating system Message-ID: Date: 25 Aug 91 20:57:08 GMT Organization: University of Helsinki
Hello everybody out there using minix - I'm doing a (free) operating system (just a hobby, won't be big and professional like gnu) for 386(486) AT clones.
Linux was an operating system from the very beginning. Just because Linus started with the kernel and pilfered lots of GNU's free software (along with XFree86, Perl, etc.), doesn't make it anything less of an operating system.
He also specifically differentiates Linux from "gnu". Note that he doesn't say:
Hello everybode out there using minix - I'm doing a (free) kernel to go with the GNU operating system for 386(486) AT clones.
I've become very disappointed with BBC News Online. BBC Radio and Television news used to be the best in the world, and was nearly always unbiased. Their website just doesn't live up to that legacy, though.
I think flags almost everywhere are at half mast today.
I work at IBM laboratories in the United Kingdom, and the blue IBM flag on the main building is at half mast today.
I think most of the state flags in London will be at half-mast (except the Queen's flag at the palace, which is only at half mast when the monarch dies).
People who are fluent in a language tend to start to read words as if they were ideograms. Rather than decoding "cat" -> "c"-"a"-"t" -> "kuh-att" -> cat, we just recognise the shape of the whole word. This is a reason why spelling is important, as slight variations in a word screw up the overall "shape" of the word, making the reader stumble.
You will probably find that you read words that are new to you, or made up words a little slower at first, as you resort to the "spelling it out" method (although this won't help you with the meaning, you may be able to discern it from the context). Also, fonts with serifs are easier to read fast as they connect the letters together better, making a word more like one symbol.
Of course, this is no excuse for English's very broken pronunciation, but to the expert reader, it's irrelevant.
I guess you could say that western letters are in some ways similar to eastern radicals (the component parts of Chinese and Japanese letters).
I like the quote from the recent court case (Mattel vs. someone):
MCA filed a counterclaim for defamation based on the Mattel representative's use of the words "bank robber," "heist," "crime" and "theft." But all of these are variants of the invective most often hurled at accused infringers, namely "piracy." No one hearing this accusation understands intellectual property owners to be saying that infringers are nautical cutthroats with eyepatches and peg legs who board galleons to plunder cargo. In context, all these terms are nonactionable "
rhetorical hyperbole," Gilbrook v. City of Westminster, 177 F.3d 839, 863 (9th Cir. 1999). The parties are advised to chill. (My Emphasis)
Er... they've been convicted. The current case is working out how to punish them (though why they get a say in it, I don't know: "your honour, I think our punishment should be to stand in the corner for five minutes.").
Well, if you read the definition of a peer to peer system, it sounds a lot like the world wide web, to me. A bunch of computers sharing files to other computers with no particular machine as the hub.
So out of his own pocket, this money is 0.00166 per cent of his net worth.
Yes, that's less than two thousandths of a per cent.
Taking a look at my bank account and (non-existant) stock portfolio, that is equivalent to me donating 10 cents to Perú. Tell the president my check's in the mail.
Precisely. You may force a Free Lemonade Distributor out of business, but since this guy was giving away his recipe, another guy can come along and start selling lemonade at $1 again.
Microsoft realise this (which is why their prices aren't going down), but they're running around like headless chickens trying to work out how to kill linux.
Well, here's one customer that Microsoft will never have;-)
Lets hope that their X-Box sales losses and politician bribery will seriously deplete their billions of reserve cash.
Well, I wasn't talking about a word processor, I was talking about Generic Product Alpha. The prices (and company names) were entirely fictional. I was just illustrating a point. With free (as in "Land of the...") software you can, for the same price, retain a lot more freedoms than with proprietary software.
Well, it's been done with Aston and LiteStep, so it shouldn't be too hard for someone to port GNOME or KDE, especially if they get the native Win32 widget bindings for GTK2 working like they planned to.
In fact you could say in these circumstances, free (as in speech) software is where you really do get what you pay for. Consider:
Proprietary situation: Company X pays Company M $10,000 to write a program for them. What Company X actually get is a licence to use the program Company M wrote, which still belongs to company M. If it goes wrong, or they want it updated, then they have to pay whatever Company A want for it.
Free situation: Company Y pays Company G $10,000 to write a program for them. They get the source code for the program, and the right to do whatever they want with it (after all, they paid for it). If they want an upgrade, then they can ask company G, H, J, K or L to do it, or they can do it themselves, whichever is cheapest.
Yes. But how much has he/will he charge other schools. Where do you think those millions came from? What he giveth with one hand, he taketh tenfold with the other.
Slashdot Mirror
Linux was an operating system from the very beginning. Just because Linus started with the kernel and pilfered lots of GNU's free software (along with XFree86, Perl, etc.), doesn't make it anything less of an operating system.
He also specifically differentiates Linux from "gnu". Note that he doesn't say:
I've become very disappointed with BBC News Online. BBC Radio and Television news used to be the best in the world, and was nearly always unbiased. Their website just doesn't live up to that legacy, though.
I think flags almost everywhere are at half mast today.
I work at IBM laboratories in the United Kingdom, and the blue IBM flag on the main building is at half mast today.
I think most of the state flags in London will be at half-mast (except the Queen's flag at the palace, which is only at half mast when the monarch dies).
Perhaps the citizens don't want the data to be controlled...
Anyone ever think of that? I certainly think that copyright is too strict and would like to see it relaxed.
I thought that was the best case scenario.
Or perhaps we can trust the monopolist not to abuse its position. I leave that judgement up to you.
Erm... no.
Look at the Free Online Dictionary of Computing (FOLDOC).
SVG, anyone?
I don't know what you're talking about. They've been selling a practically useless OS for ages!
;-)
J/K
People who are fluent in a language tend to start to read words as if they were ideograms. Rather than decoding "cat" -> "c"-"a"-"t" -> "kuh-att" -> cat, we just recognise the shape of the whole word. This is a reason why spelling is important, as slight variations in a word screw up the overall "shape" of the word, making the reader stumble.
You will probably find that you read words that are new to you, or made up words a little slower at first, as you resort to the "spelling it out" method (although this won't help you with the meaning, you may be able to discern it from the context). Also, fonts with serifs are easier to read fast as they connect the letters together better, making a word more like one symbol.
Of course, this is no excuse for English's very broken pronunciation, but to the expert reader, it's irrelevant.
I guess you could say that western letters are in some ways similar to eastern radicals (the component parts of Chinese and Japanese letters).
- Speedzilla
- Budzilla
- Clutchzilla
- Rodzilla
- Bugzilla (pest control spray)
Surely if these are valid Trade Marks, then there's nothing wrong with Mozilla, Bugzilla-the-defect-control-mechanism, or Davezilla.Er... they've been convicted. The current case is working out how to punish them (though why they get a say in it, I don't know: "your honour, I think our punishment should be to stand in the corner for five minutes.").
Well, if you read the definition of a peer to peer system, it sounds a lot like the world wide web, to me. A bunch of computers sharing files to other computers with no particular machine as the hub.
You mean home of the FREE*.
(* -- Federation for the Regulation of Everyone and Everything).
Or perhaps the newspapers will get to print:
"American Man Arrested For Playing a DVD."
Sounds like something from the Onion...
John Malkovitch's Pictures ...
John Malkovitch's Videos
John Malkovitch's Music
John Malkovitch's Documents
Well, the Bill Gates Net Worth Page says Bill is worth 33,141,420,513 USD.
So out of his own pocket, this money is 0.00166 per cent of his net worth.
Yes, that's less than two thousandths of a per cent.
Taking a look at my bank account and (non-existant) stock portfolio, that is equivalent to me donating 10 cents to Perú. Tell the president my check's in the mail.
Philanthropy? Yeah, right.
Precisely. You may force a Free Lemonade Distributor out of business, but since this guy was giving away his recipe, another guy can come along and start selling lemonade at $1 again.
;-)
Microsoft realise this (which is why their prices aren't going down), but they're running around like headless chickens trying to work out how to kill linux.
Well, here's one customer that Microsoft will never have
Lets hope that their X-Box sales losses and politician bribery will seriously deplete their billions of reserve cash.
Drop the vendor: they obviously haven't got a clue what they're talking about.
1) They should read their vendors' EULA's (and probably their own). No software these days is supported. ("This software is provided "AS IS"...).
2) Lots of free software is very much industry proven.
Perhaps you could try a little education.
We need Mosfet's Liquid for GTK 1 and 2.
:)
Well, I wasn't talking about a word processor, I was talking about Generic Product Alpha. The prices (and company names) were entirely fictional. I was just illustrating a point. With free (as in "Land of the...") software you can, for the same price, retain a lot more freedoms than with proprietary software.
Oh, and the man-month is a myth.
Well, it's been done with Aston and LiteStep, so it shouldn't be too hard for someone to port GNOME or KDE, especially if they get the native Win32 widget bindings for GTK2 working like they planned to.
Or you could grab the source and patch it :)
If you don't know how then I'm sure an OOo hacker would do it for a cash donation.
In fact you could say in these circumstances, free (as in speech) software is where you really do get what you pay for. Consider:
Proprietary situation: Company X pays Company M $10,000 to write a program for them. What Company X actually get is a licence to use the program Company M wrote, which still belongs to company M. If it goes wrong, or they want it updated, then they have to pay whatever Company A want for it.
Free situation: Company Y pays Company G $10,000 to write a program for them. They get the source code for the program, and the right to do whatever they want with it (after all, they paid for it). If they want an upgrade, then they can ask company G, H, J, K or L to do it, or they can do it themselves, whichever is cheapest.
I know what I'd prefer if I were a manager.
Yes. But how much has he/will he charge other schools. Where do you think those millions came from? What he giveth with one hand, he taketh tenfold with the other.