Quite well, actually. In 30 years, Japan became the world's second largest economy, with a vibrant democracy, and a staunch ally of the U.S.
What; we expected them to not compete with us???
I think no one but idiotic, racist assholes had that impression. Japan became a trading partner worthy of the U.S. in a record amount of time. The silliness of 'Japan, Inc.' purchasing the entire U.S. never materalized.
If Japan is the model of China, I look forward to a bright future. Sadly, I think that China's old-school political system is going to be a problem.
As china develops more intellectual property, you can bet your ass this is going to change.
Never forget that for the time being, the PRC maintains one of the world's foremost police systems.
When push comes to shove, if they decide it is in their interest to defend the IP, laws will be passed, and the police will crack down (similar to western countries).
Their lack of enforcement is lack of willpower, not lack of ability.
Oddly enough, as we see China continue to grow, and the inevitable free-trading of Yuan comes about, I suspect we'll see some companies relocate to other places in the world.
In the modern world, population has little to do with economic size. The condition of the population, currency conditions, and to a lesser extent, governmental support have FAR more to do with economic strength.
Japan went from bombed-out husk of a nation to economic superpower in 30 years.
China is going from backwards empire to economic powerhouse. The other asian tigers were doing the same thing.
I suspect, however, that as markets balance out some (but not all) of China's economic advantages, we'll see China's heavy handed politics start to be a problem.
Especially domestically; as long as growth rates remain extremely high, unrest remains minimal. But the Chinese bouregois are not meek; there are a lot of intelligent, proud, and wealthy people there they may not remain content with the political system.
China will play a siginificant role in the world economy. It's premature, however, to say that China will *be* the world economy.
I'm sure that Eolas's case has struck a blow into Balmer's strategizing. I'm sure that MS is extremely fearful of IBM patenting a bunch of technology, and than opensourcing those patents via license, something like: "You may use such and such technology IF and ONLY IF it is used in opensource software under the following set of approved licenses"
BTW, I was only responding to this part: Yes, there is the "special exception" at the end, but can we be 100% certain that there is no such "default includes" that are GPL and *don't* have the special exception?
Make good faith effort that you only use code with exceptions like that. If it so happens that accidently, something without an exception is included somehow, its not a huge deal.
It is not necessary to hire a coder and lawyer to work in conjunction and examine every line of code for license status. Just make a good effort not to use it; violations happen, and the FSF is very reasonable with unintentional, accidental violations.
Don't use GPL code in proprietary products. Period.
Do use LGPL code in proprietary products.
When you see stuff like glibc, that you believe is entirely LGPL, it is safe to assume that it is.
I don't believe that it is necessary to go over every snippet of code with a fine tooth comb to verify its license status. Make a good faith effort to only link to LGPL code, and if it happens that a line of GPL'd code somehow ends up in your product it is not the end of the world.
The key part is making a good faith effort to not link GPL code.
It hasn't been near as hard as you described it above for years. Modern GUI installers require none of that work.
Nevermind the next generation systems, like klik:// (avaliable on the SuPER SuSE 1 cd install). With klik:// , when you want to install software, you download it, and double-click to run. There is no 'install' per say; where ever you put the.cmg file is where the software is installed. Examples:
Firefox.cmg , or OpenOffice.cmg , or Gimp.cmg
When you want to 'uninstall', you delete the.cmg file. No mess, no install process, no libraries scattered throughout your system.
Beyond that, the DNS system should be allowed to dissolve. Pick whichever root server you want to operate on.
China can lock down theirs, Cuba can put the 2 to 3 static allocations they need, the EU can have a central management authority, and the U.S. can rely on industry collaboration to develop several competing DNS systems.
After inital Balkanization (how often do you get to use that word;-) ) we'll see some organizations balance out. There'll be conflicts, but thats healthier than some sickly over-arching organization that issues mandates from on high.
Don't like your DNS? Tune into someone elses. Or, tune into all of them; who knows, maybe we'll end up with new proxy schemes where you paste a super-TLD on to an address to specific lookup towards a specific DNS scheme.
It's a bit silly to assume that any one organization can efficiently manage all the DNS schemes out there in every language imaginable. Its quite a huge undertaking.
Old allies in world politics, representatives from OPEC and US sat just feet away from each other, but all looked straight ahead as Hendon explained the US had decided to end OPEC's unilateral control of the world's energy supply and put in place a new body that would now run the lifeblood of the petroleum economy. The issue of who should control oil had proved an extremely divisive issue, and for 11 days the world's governments traded blows. For the vast majority of people who use oil, the only real concern is getting it. But with energy now essential to countries' basic infrastructure - Brazil relies on it for 90% of its fuel supply - the question of who has control has become critical.
Oil is finite, yes. However, so are IP addresses and Domain names. You CAN create more addresses (IPv6), and you can reclaim domains, but you CAN also synthesize fuels from (Free-as-in-beer) sunlight.
One could re-write the above paragraph for a number of other markets, as well. Currency. Gold. Diamonds. Steel. Pharmaceuticals. Intellectual property in general.
Why did I write this? To demonstrate that the U.S. should retain control of the internet? No. To demonstrate that the U.S. should 'liberate' every OPEC nation? No.
I write it so that people will get off their patriotic, nationalistic thrones, and consider both historical context and the needs of the future.
Quite literally, the U.S. did develop the internet. At the same time, it probably is time for a distributed system of control.
For one, I welcome the 'fractionalization' of the domain naming scheme. I don't care if various organizations maintain different DNS records for various IP address-> markets and competition may end up developing better systems, and I haven't been perfectly happy with ICANN, or Verizon, etc. . .
On the other hand, fractionalization of the IP address space is a huge problem. If we need an international organization, it should exist within the ITU, and it should, quite simply, allocate IP address to providers based upon geographical location.
Will this sane conculsion ever happen? Most likely not.
Assuming you are a linux/unix head, go check out FreeNX. It works *great*.
SMB sharing, really, really fast network X even over dialup, autoconfiguration of network arts & esd.
They even have a java client. With NoMachine's NX stuff, it would be really, really easy to setup a full hosted web-based desktop. Add in a lag-o-meter (your connection is sucking at the moment, the problem is with your ISP), and I could see it happening.
Not that I think Google would ever do such a thing.
I would not be surprised to see Google make deals with Linux vendors the same way that they do with Mozilla, and now Opera.
Tie Kmail, or whatever client you bundle, with Gmail; a first-install wizard would setup your google account.
Default homepage for every browser would be google. Drop a google bar on your panel.
Maybe even some linux versions of some google apps put in prominent places. Google Talk jabber server already setup in the aforementioned wizard.
Also, some funding for LiveCDs based on the above distributions.
Google doesn't care about the OS. They do, however, care that you are gently pushed towards Google. Distro support is a fair trade for some amount of funding.
Don't get me wrong, unlike you, I actually *really* like OS X.
I like it enough that I recommend it for everyone around me.
However, after purchasing a Powerbook, and then 2 Mac Minis, I think I'm back in the SuSE camp. My primary desktop was always a SuSE machine; now, I find myself longing for SuSE.
I feel like I'm in too much of a sandbox with OS X, even though I do like the interface, and I do find it inituitive.
Has ANYONE been able to install flawlessly on this
on
Dell Offering "Open" PC
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
Seriously.
Everytime I've tried to do a 'naked' install on a 'brand-name' low-cost system, I end up with driver problems, either with Windows or Linux.
Something is *always* futzy. You *always* end up downloading strange roll-up drivers from the manufacturer, and they never seem to work properly. Basic things like suspend/resume end up being flaky unless you can figure out the exact set of drivers your system has been certified 'workable' with; this is true even down to the revision!
Sony, Dell, HP, Compaq, the lot of them. In the low-end market, these machines feel like crap.
I thought the purpose of buying a system with a pre-install was so that you didn't have to go throught that hassle?
Mind you, I haven't had near as many problems with the higher end stuff.
It's been awhile since I've purchased one of these, however, so I can't be sure.
No, its just that some of the biggest software companies in the world reside in the U.S., and its difficult for them to switch their business strategies rapidly, and some of (read Microsoft) vehemently oppose such a move.
Redhat doesn't make much money, but they are U.S. Sun has radically embraced OpenSource. IBM is as pro-linux as you could possibly desire ($1 billion a year in Linux promotion). Novell purchased SuSE, a European company.
The GPL is fine in the U.S. As with anything else earthshattering, some Americans embrace it, and some fight it; that's where we get competition from, and that drives our economy forward.
Frankly, if you aren't willing/able to spend the time to look, just go ahead and use it.
Unintentional GPL violations just require you to remove the GPL code from your product. As long as you aren't sitting there trying to be evil, and you've made a good faith effort to only use LGPL stuff, I can't imagine any judge would seriously go after you.
I know the FSF doesn't. 100% of the time, when the FSF goes after someone, their *first* request is to settle the dispute by having the offending party remove the offending code.
Punitive remedies are only sought in the case of those that refuse.
Hmm... That actually sounds fairly reasonable, if a bit zealot-ish; not that most linux 'advocates' aren't zealot-ish.
He just sounds *really* negative, and thought that may be justified on the desktop, I just don't see where he gets his pessimistic viewpoint. I say this as a full-time Linux desktop user, with no MS in my household.
In terms of server marketshare and mindshare (if such an abstraction exists), Linux seems to be doing as well as anyone could possibly hope. Does he point to any actual backsliding towards either big-Unix or MS, or is he just asserting that it'll start soon?
They look much better than most other Linux installs. I believe they've already gotten better since the time of this screenshot; I do know that my current install looks better, but its important to get your screen dimensions set correctly if your monitor doesn't correctly report DDC information.
If those are your only problems, please try SuSE 10.0, especially the SuPER SLICK version.
Yes, thats the actual name, and yes, its a little bit silly.
The OpenSuSE SUPER project is focusing on exactly the areas you mentioned.
1. Klik:// effectively eliminates packaging problems, as well as making installing software as easy as one could possibly imagine. So does AutoPackage, but autopackage seems to have stalled, while Klik:// is a rising start. Klik:// has really been under the radar these days, but the sophistication of it blows my mind. Here's how you 'install' software: 1. Download 'Firefox.cmg' 2. Double Click 'Firefox.cmg' 3. Done. Nothing gets 'installed' to hidden places. No config files, no random libraries spread out all over your system. Wanna delete Firefox? 1. Drag Firefox.cmg to your trash. 2. Done.
It's absolutely beautiful. Even better, it actually uses a KIO-slave to autofetch packages, so you can 'klik' on klik://openoffice.org , and it'll fetch openoffice.org for you, and launch it when its done.
You can stick klik:// on your blog, and you, and the end-user, are done.
That's the 'SLICK' part of SuSE 10.0
2. The new 'one-cd' SuSE install selects the most common packages for noobish users. No 12 web browsers, 5 e-mail clients, and 4 random IRC clients with names like FooBarSmokeSignal. Hardware support is getting better, perhaps not fast enough; really, you just have to make sure you buy a system with linux compatible parts. You have to do this with Windows, too; its called buying a system with non-crappy reliable parts. It's just slightly easier with Windows. However, more linux pre-installs will help, as well as SuSE 'certified' systems.
3. Did you hear that wine is almost out of alpha? They are actually going to release a stable version?! And Wine now has directx 9 support (including Direct3D). This is an exciting time for wine.
4. One of the primary focuses of the OpenSuSE SUPER project is making sure that fonts look good. As in DAMN good. As in smoke the competition good. So far, I'm pretty happy.
5..Doc Culture. I haven't had a problem with this. Honestly, with OpenOffice.org 2.0, and OpenDocument on the horizon, I feel like this is now a non-issue.
6. The problem with advertising, I think, is that going after the 'after-market' install doesn't make much sense. Advertising has to be done in terms of selling pre-installed systems. This is a tough nut to crack; perhaps we'll see Lenovo, or HP, or maybe even Dell do some of this.
A couple companies have been burned on this already, so they'll be reluctant. The linux vendors will have to pour some money into joint-ventures; I suspect this is what the Novell investors where talking about when they said the company should increase its linux deployment focus.
Frankly, although it doesn't make a lot of sense, I'm guessing its because Sun is a 'big-boy' working on a 'big-boy' OS, Solaris, while Linux is for 'hippies & nerds'.
I'm not sure Mr. Murphy is terribly aware of market trends. He seems to have his fingers on the pulse of the FUD meter, and that's about it.
Not that I'm claiming he's biased; I just think he reads the wrong chicken bones.
I only use LOSSY filesystems. I figure entropy is the natural way of things, and as such, my filesystem should loose bits left and right (not really loose, just reset them randomly left and right).
These 'holes' in the data allow new data to 'evolve' through a darwinian selection process.
Yes, I use FAT16 for everything. MS clearly understood how to generate mutations in the 'ecosystem' of the software world, and MS clearly understands how mutations drive us towards the inevitable evolution of Skynet!
I, for one, welcome our new, homicidal robotic overlords!
Slashdot Mirror
How did it turn out with the Japanese?
Quite well, actually. In 30 years, Japan became the world's second largest economy, with a vibrant democracy, and a staunch ally of the U.S.
What; we expected them to not compete with us???
I think no one but idiotic, racist assholes had that impression. Japan became a trading partner worthy of the U.S. in a record amount of time. The silliness of 'Japan, Inc.' purchasing the entire U.S. never materalized.
If Japan is the model of China, I look forward to a bright future. Sadly, I think that China's old-school political system is going to be a problem.
Additionally; consider that china's growth rate has slowed down to 8% in 2005.
India, a higher population country, with a far lower GDP, has a growth rate of 6.5%
The U.S., a lower population country, with a somewhat higher GDP, has a growth rate of 4%, adjusted one point downwards for hurricane damage.
China is, and will continue to grow, as an economic powerhouse. It is misleading, however, to portray China as the empire of the future.
As china develops more intellectual property, you can bet your ass this is going to change.
Never forget that for the time being, the PRC maintains one of the world's foremost police systems.
When push comes to shove, if they decide it is in their interest to defend the IP, laws will be passed, and the police will crack down (similar to western countries).
Their lack of enforcement is lack of willpower, not lack of ability.
Oddly enough, as we see China continue to grow, and the inevitable free-trading of Yuan comes about, I suspect we'll see some companies relocate to other places in the world.
In the modern world, population has little to do with economic size. The condition of the population, currency conditions, and to a lesser extent, governmental support have FAR more to do with economic strength.
Japan went from bombed-out husk of a nation to economic superpower in 30 years.
China is going from backwards empire to economic powerhouse. The other asian tigers were doing the same thing.
I suspect, however, that as markets balance out some (but not all) of China's economic advantages, we'll see China's heavy handed politics start to be a problem.
Especially domestically; as long as growth rates remain extremely high, unrest remains minimal. But the Chinese bouregois are not meek; there are a lot of intelligent, proud, and wealthy people there they may not remain content with the political system.
China will play a siginificant role in the world economy. It's premature, however, to say that China will *be* the world economy.
companies patented technology for their benefit.
Patents hurt MS's ability to 'innovate'
I'm sure that Eolas's case has struck a blow into Balmer's strategizing. I'm sure that MS is extremely fearful of IBM patenting a bunch of technology, and than opensourcing those patents via license, something like: "You may use such and such technology IF and ONLY IF it is used in opensource software under the following set of approved licenses"
BTW, I was only responding to this part:
Yes, there is the "special exception" at the end, but can we be 100% certain that there is no such "default includes" that are GPL and *don't* have the special exception?
Make good faith effort that you only use code with exceptions like that. If it so happens that accidently, something without an exception is included somehow, its not a huge deal.
It is not necessary to hire a coder and lawyer to work in conjunction and examine every line of code for license status. Just make a good effort not to use it; violations happen, and the FSF is very reasonable with unintentional, accidental violations.
No, you are misunderstanding me.
Don't use GPL code in proprietary products. Period.
Do use LGPL code in proprietary products.
When you see stuff like glibc, that you believe is entirely LGPL, it is safe to assume that it is.
I don't believe that it is necessary to go over every snippet of code with a fine tooth comb to verify its license status. Make a good faith effort to only link to LGPL code, and if it happens that a line of GPL'd code somehow ends up in your product it is not the end of the world.
The key part is making a good faith effort to not link GPL code.
Troll.
.cmg file is where the software is installed. Examples:
.cmg file. No mess, no install process, no libraries scattered throughout your system.
It hasn't been near as hard as you described it above for years. Modern GUI installers require none of that work.
Nevermind the next generation systems, like klik:// (avaliable on the SuPER SuSE 1 cd install). With klik:// , when you want to install software, you download it, and double-click to run. There is no 'install' per say; where ever you put the
Firefox.cmg , or OpenOffice.cmg , or Gimp.cmg
When you want to 'uninstall', you delete the
Balmer logic.
100% focused on Windows.
30% extra effort for the Xbox.
10% focused on Mac OS X.
2% ideally watching as the FL/OSS gears up for the kill.
Expression on Balmer's face when large companies switch to OpenOffice.org, StarOffice, IBM's Workplace, and some kind of Google Java office?
Priceless!
As I've said, ITU IP address allocation is fine.
Can you *imagine* if the EU was responsible for root DNS?
EU engineers would take the root servers on strike!
Let the DNS system fractionalize! Information anarchy for all!
I sort of agree.
;-) ) we'll see some organizations balance out. There'll be conflicts, but thats healthier than some sickly over-arching organization that issues mandates from on high.
I think the ITU should do IP address allocation.
Beyond that, the DNS system should be allowed to dissolve. Pick whichever root server you want to operate on.
China can lock down theirs, Cuba can put the 2 to 3 static allocations they need, the EU can have a central management authority, and the U.S. can rely on industry collaboration to develop several competing DNS systems.
After inital Balkanization (how often do you get to use that word
Don't like your DNS? Tune into someone elses. Or, tune into all of them; who knows, maybe we'll end up with new proxy schemes where you paste a super-TLD on to an address to specific lookup towards a specific DNS scheme.
It's a bit silly to assume that any one organization can efficiently manage all the DNS schemes out there in every language imaginable. Its quite a huge undertaking.
Old allies in world politics, representatives from OPEC and US sat just feet away from each other, but all looked straight ahead as Hendon explained the US had decided to end OPEC's unilateral control of the world's energy supply and put in place a new body that would now run the lifeblood of the petroleum economy. The issue of who should control oil had proved an extremely divisive issue, and for 11 days the world's governments traded blows. For the vast majority of people who use oil, the only real concern is getting it. But with energy now essential to countries' basic infrastructure - Brazil relies on it for 90% of its fuel supply - the question of who has control has become critical.
Oil is finite, yes. However, so are IP addresses and Domain names.
You CAN create more addresses (IPv6), and you can reclaim domains, but you CAN also synthesize fuels from (Free-as-in-beer) sunlight.
One could re-write the above paragraph for a number of other markets, as well. Currency. Gold. Diamonds. Steel. Pharmaceuticals. Intellectual property in general.
Why did I write this? To demonstrate that the U.S. should retain control of the internet?
No.
To demonstrate that the U.S. should 'liberate' every OPEC nation?
No.
I write it so that people will get off their patriotic, nationalistic thrones, and consider both historical context and the needs of the future.
Quite literally, the U.S. did develop the internet. At the same time, it probably is time for a distributed system of control.
For one, I welcome the 'fractionalization' of the domain naming scheme. I don't care if various organizations maintain different DNS records for various IP address-> markets and competition may end up developing better systems, and I haven't been perfectly happy with ICANN, or Verizon, etc. . .
On the other hand, fractionalization of the IP address space is a huge problem. If we need an international organization, it should exist within the ITU, and it should, quite simply, allocate IP address to providers based upon geographical location.
Will this sane conculsion ever happen? Most likely not.
Given MS's record with 'Version 1.0' of network technologies, it'll be terrible, and ripe pickings for a compentent, well-funded competitor.
The key is non-cooperation. Relatively smaller companies HAVE withstood the MS onslaught. Look at Nintendo, or Quicken.
It's just when they announce a 'strategic-partnership' that you know they are finished.
Just a minor dispute with 2 and 3.
Assuming you are a linux/unix head, go check out FreeNX. It works *great*.
SMB sharing, really, really fast network X even over dialup, autoconfiguration of network arts & esd.
They even have a java client. With NoMachine's NX stuff, it would be really, really easy to setup a full hosted web-based desktop. Add in a lag-o-meter (your connection is sucking at the moment, the problem is with your ISP), and I could see it happening.
Not that I think Google would ever do such a thing.
I would not be surprised to see Google make deals with Linux vendors the same way that they do with Mozilla, and now Opera.
Tie Kmail, or whatever client you bundle, with Gmail; a first-install wizard would setup your google account.
Default homepage for every browser would be google. Drop a google bar on your panel.
Maybe even some linux versions of some google apps put in prominent places. Google Talk jabber server already setup in the aforementioned wizard.
Also, some funding for LiveCDs based on the above distributions.
Google doesn't care about the OS. They do, however, care that you are gently pushed towards Google. Distro support is a fair trade for some amount of funding.
Don't get me wrong, unlike you, I actually *really* like OS X.
I like it enough that I recommend it for everyone around me.
However, after purchasing a Powerbook, and then 2 Mac Minis, I think I'm back in the SuSE camp. My primary desktop was always a SuSE machine; now, I find myself longing for SuSE.
I feel like I'm in too much of a sandbox with OS X, even though I do like the interface, and I do find it inituitive.
Seriously.
Everytime I've tried to do a 'naked' install on a 'brand-name' low-cost system, I end up with driver problems, either with Windows or Linux.
Something is *always* futzy. You *always* end up downloading strange roll-up drivers from the manufacturer, and they never seem to work properly. Basic things like suspend/resume end up being flaky unless you can figure out the exact set of drivers your system has been certified 'workable' with; this is true even down to the revision!
Sony, Dell, HP, Compaq, the lot of them. In the low-end market, these machines feel like crap.
I thought the purpose of buying a system with a pre-install was so that you didn't have to go throught that hassle?
Mind you, I haven't had near as many problems with the higher end stuff.
It's been awhile since I've purchased one of these, however, so I can't be sure.
Hmm. Just more of a reason for Western companies not to outsource development to India.
I'm a fairly big GPL and/or BSD advocate, depending on the situation, but I find this kind of practice unethical.
GPL code is avaliable for you to use freely; it is NOT avaliable for you to use in proprietary products for commercial endevours.
Why should Indian coders be special?
No, its just that some of the biggest software companies in the world reside in the U.S., and its difficult for them to switch their business strategies rapidly, and some of (read Microsoft) vehemently oppose such a move.
Redhat doesn't make much money, but they are U.S. Sun has radically embraced OpenSource. IBM is as pro-linux as you could possibly desire ($1 billion a year in Linux promotion). Novell purchased SuSE, a European company.
The GPL is fine in the U.S. As with anything else earthshattering, some Americans embrace it, and some fight it; that's where we get competition from, and that drives our economy forward.
Frankly, if you aren't willing/able to spend the time to look, just go ahead and use it.
Unintentional GPL violations just require you to remove the GPL code from your product. As long as you aren't sitting there trying to be evil, and you've made a good faith effort to only use LGPL stuff, I can't imagine any judge would seriously go after you.
I know the FSF doesn't. 100% of the time, when the FSF goes after someone, their *first* request is to settle the dispute by having the offending party remove the offending code.
Punitive remedies are only sought in the case of those that refuse.
Hmm... That actually sounds fairly reasonable, if a bit zealot-ish; not that most linux 'advocates' aren't zealot-ish.
He just sounds *really* negative, and thought that may be justified on the desktop, I just don't see where he gets his pessimistic viewpoint. I say this as a full-time Linux desktop user, with no MS in my household.
In terms of server marketshare and mindshare (if such an abstraction exists), Linux seems to be doing as well as anyone could possibly hope. Does he point to any actual backsliding towards either big-Unix or MS, or is he just asserting that it'll start soon?
Just a point, yes, I'm a bit of a zealot, and yes, I eat my own dog food ;-)
Nothing but SuSE (and my OS X power book) in this household, my parents household, and my office.
About the fonts:
http://www.tuxmachines.org/images/super/OOo.jpg
They look much better than most other Linux installs. I believe they've already gotten better since the time of this screenshot; I do know that my current install looks better, but its important to get your screen dimensions set correctly if your monitor doesn't correctly report DDC information.
If those are your only problems, please try SuSE 10.0, especially the SuPER SLICK version.
.Doc Culture. I haven't had a problem with this. Honestly, with OpenOffice.org 2.0, and OpenDocument on the horizon, I feel like this is now a non-issue.
Yes, thats the actual name, and yes, its a little bit silly.
The OpenSuSE SUPER project is focusing on exactly the areas you mentioned.
1. Klik:// effectively eliminates packaging problems, as well as making installing software as easy as one could possibly imagine. So does AutoPackage, but autopackage seems to have stalled, while Klik:// is a rising start. Klik:// has really been under the radar these days, but the sophistication of it blows my mind. Here's how you 'install' software:
1. Download 'Firefox.cmg'
2. Double Click 'Firefox.cmg'
3. Done.
Nothing gets 'installed' to hidden places. No config files, no random libraries spread out all over your system. Wanna delete Firefox?
1. Drag Firefox.cmg to your trash.
2. Done.
It's absolutely beautiful.
Even better, it actually uses a KIO-slave to autofetch packages, so you can 'klik' on klik://openoffice.org , and it'll fetch openoffice.org for you, and launch it when its done.
You can stick klik:// on your blog, and you, and the end-user, are done.
That's the 'SLICK' part of SuSE 10.0
2. The new 'one-cd' SuSE install selects the most common packages for noobish users. No 12 web browsers, 5 e-mail clients, and 4 random IRC clients with names like FooBarSmokeSignal. Hardware support is getting better, perhaps not fast enough; really, you just have to make sure you buy a system with linux compatible parts. You have to do this with Windows, too; its called buying a system with non-crappy reliable parts. It's just slightly easier with Windows. However, more linux pre-installs will help, as well as SuSE 'certified' systems.
3. Did you hear that wine is almost out of alpha? They are actually going to release a stable version?! And Wine now has directx 9 support (including Direct3D). This is an exciting time for wine.
4. One of the primary focuses of the OpenSuSE SUPER project is making sure that fonts look good. As in DAMN good. As in smoke the competition good. So far, I'm pretty happy.
5.
6. The problem with advertising, I think, is that going after the 'after-market' install doesn't make much sense. Advertising has to be done in terms of selling pre-installed systems. This is a tough nut to crack; perhaps we'll see Lenovo, or HP, or maybe even Dell do some of this.
A couple companies have been burned on this already, so they'll be reluctant. The linux vendors will have to pour some money into joint-ventures; I suspect this is what the Novell investors where talking about when they said the company should increase its linux deployment focus.
I blame the GPL.
Without the GPL, MS would come and save us from this convoluted mess of code we call the kernel.
A bit of avalon here, some win32 there, and Linux 2.8 with NTFS support would be ready to rock!
Frankly, although it doesn't make a lot of sense, I'm guessing its because Sun is a 'big-boy' working on a 'big-boy' OS, Solaris, while Linux is for 'hippies & nerds'.
I'm not sure Mr. Murphy is terribly aware of market trends. He seems to have his fingers on the pulse of the FUD meter, and that's about it.
Not that I'm claiming he's biased; I just think he reads the wrong chicken bones.
I only use LOSSY filesystems. I figure entropy is the natural way of things, and as such, my filesystem should loose bits left and right (not really loose, just reset them randomly left and right).
These 'holes' in the data allow new data to 'evolve' through a darwinian selection process.
Yes, I use FAT16 for everything. MS clearly understood how to generate mutations in the 'ecosystem' of the software world, and MS clearly understands how mutations drive us towards the inevitable evolution of Skynet!
I, for one, welcome our new, homicidal robotic overlords!