Here today, Gone Tamale...Pedro Sez visit South of the Border!
Seriously though, I'll tlak with them, I know where they get thier lists and such and I felt it was kind of excessive. As a frequent speaker at that conference, I expect it, but otherwise they should be more careful.
Some things I've run into with my basement remodel and upgrading a 1936 place for modern data and phone. The previous owenr updated the electric froom hook and look to conduit.
1....You want to be careful about running parallel data/phone, audio,video and power close to each other. Even with high quality cable, you can have problems.
2.....Do not strand boxes with wire inside them. Sealing over live boxes is a huge no-no. Why? Because what if you drive a nail into an active box. Many municipalistes will force you to correct this if you want to move.
3.....You cannot route wires through heating/ac ducts. Probably ovious, but I thought I'd note it.
4.....Always run more cat-5 than you need. If you are pulling two lines for net and phone, pull another. It's no real extrta cash and coudl save you later. Also, it's nice if you want to pull an extra line that is outside the firewall to your office for guests.
5.....Think about where you want your wireless for home coverage. I have a smaller house, so I don't have any problem, but if my house were more spread out, I'd probably hav eto move the antenna out of the basement, necessitating a run of cat-5 to wherever, with nearby power. It's either that or run a very long antenna line.
6.....Power, power, power. A computer + Laser Printer + Ups + Monitor + other gee gaws will suck up at least a 20 amp circuit. You don't want to over load a circuit. That's bad. I'm running 3 seperate circuits for the home office. 1 for fridge and other stuff, 1 for computer geear and 1 for lighting.
7.....Check references for all contractors if you aren't plannign on pulling bits yourself.
8.....Get familiar with your local codes. They are there to protect you, generally. Finding out where you are required to do GFCI circuits alone can save you trouble later.
Honestly, we can't put them off, we get too many people complaining "where are the answers". It's frustrating, I felt it was better to get across what I could. I'm not happy with the result either.
I wouldnt' blame Bruce actually as I think there was some confusion in the me-publicist-bruce triangle. I certainly could have done a better job in the writing. It's a real shame that , as another poster noted, that you can't really convey his style and speaking though this sort of write-up.
I was actually expecting Bruce Campbell to email the answers, and out of the blue he called on the phone. I have no phone-connected tape-recorder on hand either, so I just typed like mad, and some of that, ahem, quality came though. I tried to get quotes down as well as I could and convey the conversation as well as I could. It was this or not get the questions back for a month or more.
Oh, and he's angry alright. But that doesn't make his anger well placed. He and trae had some weirdness going on, but that really was outside the issue on project hosting.
We did buy the system12 domain at his request, but didn't know we still had it until he threw a fit. at that point itr was easier to let it expire than deal with him.
Chris
Re:VA Linux Systems and Bowie J. Poag
on
SourceForge Drifting
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
You must be new. Themes had problems but it had nothing to do with Bowie or his ridiculous threats. You can download his tiles at the classic.themes.org site still. Bowie wanted us to pull the tiles, but since they were under the gpl, we kept them up there.
Also, Bowie's original idea was for a widget repository, and frankly, we never stopped him from doing it. SF and the sf name came from other places than from Trae and Bowie (I regisetered the domain name). Bowie is under the mistaken impression that only Bowie can have an idea. IF you do a search on bowie and I in slashdot you'll see how long he's been asserting things that simply aren't true. Also, It was called system12 . He has a new project which also probably won't produce anything called system26 or whatever.
Mr Poag did not have access enough to t.o to destroy it, we took down the propaganda specific stuff ourselves and dropped his tiles into the resources set.
I've commented on this at Advogato, as I work for Slashdot as an author and work for OSDN, I didn't think it would be appropriate for me to post on/. about this issue, I'll leave that to Hemos and Patrick. So I put it on advogato. Check it out there.
[C]omputer source code, though unintelligible to many, is the preferred method of communication among computer programmers. Because computer source code is an espressive means for the exchagne of information and ideas about computer programming, we hold that it it protected by the first amendment. (junger v. Daley (6th Cir. 2000)))
This is too cool. As another posted said earlier, pinch me. I hope andrew bunner goes after the DVDCCA in an Anti-SLAPP (abuse of process) lawsuit if he comes out of this unscathed.
I'm chrisd. I also go by Chris DiBona and Gamara on IRC. You can find me online that way pretty easily. A lot more about me can be found on my Webpage. Feel free to check that out. I work for OSDN. I used to work on the VA side of the house since late 1998. I've worked with Linux International for about 3 years too, I was the president of SVLUG for about a year and VP for about 2. I've been around slashdot for a long time as a poster and story author. I've done reviews of science fiction for/. and have written for Linux Journal, Linux Magazine and a buncho f other publications, both online and off.
Wisner (sp?) and a few other large format camera manufacturers also make 20x24 cameras (and larger!) but the film comes from polaroid. Back in 1999, they brought one of the big ones to SF and let some underage kids team up with pros to take some shots on them.
The film for such a monster is exceptionally expensive, but the results are breath taking. I've used polaroid instant film backs for my Medium format and view cameras, which were invaluable in teaching me how to use the cameras effectivly.
Polaroids foray into digital was both ill managed and ill concieved, but to say that Digital has trumped Film is a mistake. It's much more valid to say that overfinancing your company on junk debt is a sure way to bankruptcy. So don't see this as the end of fil, film can do a lot that digital can't do and I'm sure that will be true for some time (10 years+). There isn't a digital camera out there that can do what a view camera can do in competent hands. This is not to dis digital, I love my digital camera with a passion too, but the color reproduction on it (yes, even in tiff mode) is not as nice.
I actually think that by allowing the patent to be used in gpl code completely in accordance with the GPL, his licence to the patent removes the "futher requirements" issue.
a) Victor has a patent on the methods he used to apply real time features to the (GPLd) Linux Kernel
b) He provides those patches under the GPL (download it and see for yourself)
c) His Patent Licence allows for a blanket Licence, free of charge to all those who incorporate that patents process in GPL'd software.
d) He reserves the right to charge for those incorporating his patent into non-gpl'd software.
So if you hate Software Patents, go ahead and hate Victor (I've talked with him, he's okay with this), however, he is not violating the GPL. He has gone the extra step making his Patent non-violating against the GPL.
Remember that a patent is -not- code. The code is the code. His patches are an implementation of the patent. And his patent licence allows them to be included in GPL'd software without paying him.
If you were to write code that did what the patent described, and did it in a proprietary manner, then you would need to negotiate a licence with Victor, or fight it out with lawyers. You can not like this, as this is the basic software patent bad thing, but he isn't violating the GPL.
Also note the inconsistancies of the FSFs position on Software Patents. Richard has noted that he is for them, if they are used as a pool to force other companies to share thiers, but in this release they say they are completely against them. I'd like to see a public position from Bradly Khun and RMS.
That also said, there are undoubtably a number of places where the Linux Kernel is violating any number of software patents. Get used to seeing these kinds of stories.
Chris DiBona
The power of the plane vs the wind
on
More WTC News
·
· Score: 3, Informative
The force of a plane hitting a building is minor compared to the force of a 30 mph wind against one of it's faces. Remember we're talking about a structure which is essentially is a 205 foot wide , 1300 foot tall sail. The Plane, while signifigant, was not the problem. The fuel melting the internal steel structures, however, made all the difference in this tradgedy. Imagine how much worse it could have been if the building had collapsed immediately. This is of course scant comfort to the thousands who died.
A terrific book that talks about the collision of the B-29 against the Empire State Building is Mario Salvadoris "Why Buildings Fall Down", it's a terrific book.
I think you need to understand that once something is GPL'd, you can't un-gpl the released software. For instance, if for some reason the slash code has only been written by folks in VA, (assume no pathces for this argument), and we release version 2.2 under the gpl and from that moment on we never release again, slash is still available uinder the GPL. You can't un-gpl software.
I don't think that will ever happen, mind you. But if it did then fork it and do your own. In fact the same thing goes with SF. IF you want to write the interfaces to rational, pvcs , and open it up. Go for it. Have fun. This is part of what open source is all about.
Honestly, sometimes I think that 99% of open source software is the willingness to do the work. I don't want to sound blasphemous, but it's just software. Anyone can write software and release it. And , looking at some of the code (oss and proprietary) just about anyone has.
From what I understand, when we decided to take this approach to the sfotware, we looked at the parts where we would end up taking bits proprietary , contacted the authros and licenced from them thier software.
As the copyright holder of these bits of SF , we can create derivateive works, dual licence, whatever to our haearts contents. the copyright holder of a gpl work (in it;'s entirety) can dual licneces it under proprietary licences, or whatever.
I commented on the copyright issues in an earlier post, but basically there were some patches accepted outside of VA. From what I understand we aquired (or licences) the code from those authros so that we could do this right.
As to why we would have had a GPL version still or in the first place, well, that kind of is who we are. I actually have alot of respect for how things have turned out for Redhat, but doing Open Source software -Right- as you say has to include the mixture of OSS and proprietary otherwise OSS will always be in a ghetto of incompatiblity. If we take the tack that to interoperate with proprietary software is bad and should not be done, then there would be no Samba or other projects that reach out to otther os's and file systems.
I'm sort of off what you were talking about, but back to what you were talkign about. VA has worked on and release a ton of code, and it is out of a sense of the larger community that we do this.
And we are very cognizant ofthe time it takes to produce and open soruce project, I assure you. For instance, we started hosting projects as far back as 1995, sf as a proejct started to relieve the pressure of adminning all the projects that accumulated on va hosted machines through the end of the last decade. So we know the time commitment thing, really:-)
Thanks! A lot of peopel forget that even if we do have 80m in the bank, we have to be at a point where we are -making- money to survive. The bandwidth bill each month his something over 150k now, and that's -just- bandwidth (for all the sites).
We don't want to go down the road of saying "hmm, wll, if we shut of mirrors on SF then we can cut that down to say 80k, or, hey, if we let the response times on sf.net go to crap (for bug reports , service requests and the like), we can cut down personell costs. But we don't want to do that. I don't want to ramble on, but I think that for these sites, (SF, FM,/. etc) to survive, VA has to be healthy. And right now -noone- is doing what fm and sf is doing by any measure. And I think peopel value it.
That said, I am not under the illusion that project leaders could not handle thier own hosting, the way they did before, but I think the world is better off with sf , fm and/. around. And these steps VA is taking is about making VA the money it needs to continue.
You are -ABSOLUTELY- correct. There were some instances of code that was submitted in some of the glue code that is ope nsource. I nthose cases we contacted those authors and licenced thier code so that we could do this legitimately.
Slashdot Mirror
Seriously though, I'll tlak with them, I know where they get thier lists and such and I felt it was kind of excessive. As a frequent speaker at that conference, I expect it, but otherwise they should be more careful.
Chris
That was not my intention, I may have done it when I checked the link out though.
I actually wasn't knocking it. I liked it.
Chris DiBona
1....You want to be careful about running parallel data/phone, audio,video and power close to each other. Even with high quality cable, you can have problems.
2.....Do not strand boxes with wire inside them. Sealing over live boxes is a huge no-no. Why? Because what if you drive a nail into an active box. Many municipalistes will force you to correct this if you want to move.
3.....You cannot route wires through heating /ac ducts. Probably ovious, but I thought I'd note it.
4.....Always run more cat-5 than you need. If you are pulling two lines for net and phone, pull another. It's no real extrta cash and coudl save you later. Also, it's nice if you want to pull an extra line that is outside the firewall to your office for guests.
5.....Think about where you want your wireless for home coverage. I have a smaller house, so I don't have any problem, but if my house were more spread out, I'd probably hav eto move the antenna out of the basement, necessitating a run of cat-5 to wherever, with nearby power. It's either that or run a very long antenna line.
6.....Power, power, power. A computer + Laser Printer + Ups + Monitor + other gee gaws will suck up at least a 20 amp circuit. You don't want to over load a circuit. That's bad. I'm running 3 seperate circuits for the home office. 1 for fridge and other stuff, 1 for computer geear and 1 for lighting.
7.....Check references for all contractors if you aren't plannign on pulling bits yourself.
8.....Get familiar with your local codes. They are there to protect you, generally. Finding out where you are required to do GFCI circuits alone can save you trouble later.
Good luck.
Chris
Chris
Chris
Chris
A numberof camcorders will only allow data to be transferred over firewire and will not take power from it. (FYI)
Chris
Oh, and he's angry alright. But that doesn't make his anger well placed. He and trae had some weirdness going on, but that really was outside the issue on project hosting.
We did buy the system12 domain at his request, but didn't know we still had it until he threw a fit. at that point itr was easier to let it expire than deal with him.
Chris
Also, Bowie's original idea was for a widget repository, and frankly, we never stopped him from doing it. SF and the sf name came from other places than from Trae and Bowie (I regisetered the domain name). Bowie is under the mistaken impression that only Bowie can have an idea. IF you do a search on bowie and I in slashdot you'll see how long he's been asserting things that simply aren't true. Also, It was called system12 . He has a new project which also probably won't produce anything called system26 or whatever.
Mr Poag did not have access enough to t.o to destroy it, we took down the propaganda specific stuff ourselves and dropped his tiles into the resources set.
Chris DiBona
Chris DiBona
[C]omputer source code, though unintelligible to many, is the preferred method of communication among computer programmers. Because computer source code is an espressive means for the exchagne of information and ideas about computer programming, we hold that it it protected by the first amendment. (junger v. Daley (6th Cir. 2000)))
This is too cool. As another posted said earlier, pinch me. I hope andrew bunner goes after the DVDCCA in an Anti-SLAPP (abuse of process) lawsuit if he comes out of this unscathed.
Chris DiBona
I'm chrisd. I also go by Chris DiBona and Gamara on IRC. You can find me online that way pretty easily. A lot more about me can be found on my Webpage. Feel free to check that out. I work for OSDN. I used to work on the VA side of the house since late 1998. I've worked with Linux International for about 3 years too, I was the president of SVLUG for about a year and VP for about 2. I've been around slashdot for a long time as a poster and story author. I've done reviews of science fiction for /. and have written for Linux Journal, Linux Magazine and a buncho f other publications, both online and off.
Chris
The film for such a monster is exceptionally expensive, but the results are breath taking. I've used polaroid instant film backs for my Medium format and view cameras, which were invaluable in teaching me how to use the cameras effectivly.
Polaroids foray into digital was both ill managed and ill concieved, but to say that Digital has trumped Film is a mistake. It's much more valid to say that overfinancing your company on junk debt is a sure way to bankruptcy. So don't see this as the end of fil, film can do a lot that digital can't do and I'm sure that will be true for some time (10 years+). There isn't a digital camera out there that can do what a view camera can do in competent hands. This is not to dis digital, I love my digital camera with a passion too, but the color reproduction on it (yes, even in tiff mode) is not as nice.
Chris DiBona
chris
Note:
b) He provides those patches under the GPL (download it and see for yourself)
c) His Patent Licence allows for a blanket Licence, free of charge to all those who incorporate that patents process in GPL'd software.
d) He reserves the right to charge for those incorporating his patent into non-gpl'd software.
So if you hate Software Patents, go ahead and hate Victor (I've talked with him, he's okay with this), however, he is not violating the GPL. He has gone the extra step making his Patent non-violating against the GPL.
Remember that a patent is -not- code. The code is the code. His patches are an implementation of the patent. And his patent licence allows them to be included in GPL'd software without paying him.
If you were to write code that did what the patent described, and did it in a proprietary manner, then you would need to negotiate a licence with Victor, or fight it out with lawyers. You can not like this, as this is the basic software patent bad thing, but he isn't violating the GPL.
Also note the inconsistancies of the FSFs position on Software Patents. Richard has noted that he is for them, if they are used as a pool to force other companies to share thiers, but in this release they say they are completely against them. I'd like to see a public position from Bradly Khun and RMS.
That also said, there are undoubtably a number of places where the Linux Kernel is violating any number of software patents. Get used to seeing these kinds of stories.
Chris DiBona
A terrific book that talks about the collision of the B-29 against the Empire State Building is Mario Salvadoris "Why Buildings Fall Down", it's a terrific book.
Chris DiBona
chris DiBona
I don't think that will ever happen, mind you. But if it did then fork it and do your own. In fact the same thing goes with SF. IF you want to write the interfaces to rational, pvcs , and open it up. Go for it. Have fun. This is part of what open source is all about.
Honestly, sometimes I think that 99% of open source software is the willingness to do the work. I don't want to sound blasphemous, but it's just software. Anyone can write software and release it. And , looking at some of the code (oss and proprietary) just about anyone has.
Chris DiBona
(speaking for VA)
As the copyright holder of these bits of SF , we can create derivateive works, dual licence, whatever to our haearts contents. the copyright holder of a gpl work (in it;'s entirety) can dual licneces it under proprietary licences, or whatever.
Chris DiBona
(speaking for VA)
As to why we would have had a GPL version still or in the first place, well, that kind of is who we are. I actually have alot of respect for how things have turned out for Redhat, but doing Open Source software -Right- as you say has to include the mixture of OSS and proprietary otherwise OSS will always be in a ghetto of incompatiblity. If we take the tack that to interoperate with proprietary software is bad and should not be done, then there would be no Samba or other projects that reach out to otther os's and file systems.
I'm sort of off what you were talking about, but back to what you were talkign about. VA has worked on and release a ton of code, and it is out of a sense of the larger community that we do this.
And we are very cognizant ofthe time it takes to produce and open soruce project, I assure you. For instance, we started hosting projects as far back as 1995, sf as a proejct started to relieve the pressure of adminning all the projects that accumulated on va hosted machines through the end of the last decade. So we know the time commitment thing, really :-)
Chris DiBona
We don't want to go down the road of saying "hmm, wll, if we shut of mirrors on SF then we can cut that down to say 80k, or, hey, if we let the response times on sf.net go to crap (for bug reports , service requests and the like), we can cut down personell costs. But we don't want to do that. I don't want to ramble on, but I think that for these sites, (SF, FM, /. etc) to survive, VA has to be healthy. And right now -noone- is doing what fm and sf is doing by any measure. And I think peopel value it.
That said, I am not under the illusion that project leaders could not handle thier own hosting, the way they did before, but I think the world is better off with sf , fm and /. around. And these steps VA is taking is about making VA the money it needs to continue.
Anyhow...
Chris DiBona
(Speaking for VA)
Chris DiBona
(Speaking for VA)