They mention funding because in many cases it is someones job to provide free software for the betterment of the whole. Linux-based OS's are free, but the Linux foundation (the folks behind development of the kernel) is funded by partners like RedHat, Dell, HP, Intel, and even Microsoft.
ReactOS is free as in beer and as in speech, but if you like it or want to support it in some way, sending a few dollars their way is the best way to do it.
So you're saying someone could set up a web site (or ring or whatever) of questionable material on Comcast's network so Comcast could be sued into oblivion?
Works for me. Who's willing to take the jail time?
I was raised with manners, my mom would hit me if I didn't open the door for her. That said, I've developed a few personal rules over the years:
1) When you *do not* know someone personally, it's best to address them by title/rank and sir/ma'am.
2) Even if you do know them personally, if others around you do not, address them by title/rank and sir/ma'am. You may play golf with the CEO on the weekends, but your colleagues do not, they don't know him/her like you do.
3) Pay attention to their responses to your communication. They often will let you know how they prefer to be addressed. After a few emails of "Prof. Smith", they may just say "Please, call me John".
4) Pay attention to their level of formality. It's best to start as formal as you can, then taper down - first impressions and all that. Your Professor/Doctor/Boss is that guiding light for how you need to interact with them.
All that said, if the professor is a slob that doesn't wear shoes (I've had one of them...) and is the most laid-back person you've ever met... They may be okay with being on a first-name basis, but don't assume it.
Yes, the government has a shit record for cybersecurity, but putting the blame squarely on Obama isn't really fair. Hindsight is always 20/20 and computer security has always been much more reactive than proactive. I'd argue the blame is Congress, the environment, and the government structure.
1) Congress controls the purse and laws. They're the ones that make sure all agencies have the funding to do what they need to do. These asshats in the big white daycare on capital hill haven't managed to agree on a budget before October in over a decade. That means most agencies get a fraction of the money they plan for.
2) The internet has changed in the past 10 years (as of 2012). We've gone from the beginnings of broadband to gigabit connections. From a millions users to billions.
3) The Fed as a whole is woefully slow to move on to new technology. They typically move to a new OS after it has been out for at least 3 years, which means they may get around to Windows 10 sometime in 2018 or 2019. Even those "best of the best" agencies are subject to this. I helped a migration to Windows 7 2.5 years ago, after it had been in the wild for 5 years.
Could these things have been changed by Obama? Not hardly. It would have been tricky even if Congress was willing to work with him. With a Congress too busy fighting with itself to make any progress about anything? Damned near impossible.
This is an RMS statement, pure and simple. Life would be simple if anyone could say "hey, great idea, i'm gonna branch off that" without fear of litigation. However, no patents means floods of copycats and no reward for the original.
Patents were made to enable an inventor to make money off of an invention. What the patent office *should* do is hire people that actually know what the patent is about (or pay some folks that do, that are not invested in or related to the patent applicant). Then we would have far fewer "yes, but on a computer!" or "just like this other patent, but with rounded edges" kinds of nonsense.
Walking -or riding - in the streets here is downright suicidal. Sure there may be the occasional bike lane, but on a 40 mph road people are driving 55-60, that's just insane.
Funny anecdote though... I was once at a T intersection, stopped at a red light, and a bicyclist decides to ride through along the top of the 'T' during the red. He promptly gets pulled over by a policeman. The funny part is that he was right next to a bicycle trail. Had he only been 2 feet to his right, he wouldn't have been ticketed for running a red light.
And which of those has this administration, as a whole, been showing lately?
During the 2012 election there was some news articles about Republicans trying to shake off the "old, rich, white-guy" persona since they had once again lost to - in their minds - the devil incarnate. Fast forward 4 years and they've doubled down on the persona. The FCC under Pai so far has been faithfully serving the partisan agenda, favoring big business over the little guy and public interests.
Competition works if there is *actually competition*. Steam is primarily games, with a handful of apps (most of which relate to games). The iOS app store isn't in direct competition with any stores, I cannot directly buy Amazon music using an iOS device. I *might* find the app in question on Google Play, but that depends on me having an android device on top of my iOS device. Either way, I'm buying into a walled garden.
If MS does get their act together and make a store worth a crap, the worrisome (and likely obvious) next step is for them to lock down to that store. Then there is no Steam, no Origin, no uPlay. Maybe even no GoG (on windows, at least). They could spin it as "Easy! Safe! Secure!", but they'd remove all competition on Windows... and get a nice cut from any sales done in their store.
Apple also occasionally listens to their customer base prior to releasing a product. MS releases what they think people want, then backpedal until they get there.
One of the tenets of good science is that sharing and learning. It's very much a cultural thing. Many of the older folks at national laboratories, or even research labs, have that academic mindset. They have peers with similar interests or research fields, and they collaborate new ideas and findings. In some cases that collaboration crosses borders (then governments get upset, depending on topics).
I think RMS is spot-on that we don't have a similar culture in Computer Science. We may have a great culture of help with simple problems here and there (Stack Overflow and the like). But when it comes to full-up tools and systems, we are nowhere near open and collaborative. The closest we can get is "this file on MacOS" or "this registry setting in Windows".
Sometimes we need that nut-job way out there to get people moving toward him. It works in politics. Maybe we just need a nut job that's more of a smooth talker.
The ReactOS guys work with the WINE folks. So it's possible that as the OS gets further along being an OS, that the binary compatibility from WINE will be as caught-up as WINE is.
I hope ReactOS becomes a viable alternative, I'm not liking this walled-garden trend that vendors seem to like these days.
Slashdot Mirror
You forgot create powerpoint slides and browse facebook.
Unless of course that distro had paid in to be part of the UEFI club. I believe Redhat was one of them...
They mention funding because in many cases it is someones job to provide free software for the betterment of the whole. Linux-based OS's are free, but the Linux foundation (the folks behind development of the kernel) is funded by partners like RedHat, Dell, HP, Intel, and even Microsoft.
ReactOS is free as in beer and as in speech, but if you like it or want to support it in some way, sending a few dollars their way is the best way to do it.
So you're saying someone could set up a web site (or ring or whatever) of questionable material on Comcast's network so Comcast could be sued into oblivion?
Works for me. Who's willing to take the jail time?
1 yottabyte = 2^80 or 10^24
4096/1.44 = 2,844.4444
So, basically 2,844,444,444,444,000,000,000,000,000 floppies.
The weight of one floppy is 19g, in case anyone wants to do the conversion to VW Beetles.
... all people will walk around around without pants by 2021...
Is that your 2020 presidential campaign slogan? You've got my vote.
Yea, but how many cat pictures do you need open at the same time?
They already did. Except instead of explosions, it was a campy horror movie with carnivorous fish... but you know, the title said it all.
I was raised with manners, my mom would hit me if I didn't open the door for her. That said, I've developed a few personal rules over the years:
1) When you *do not* know someone personally, it's best to address them by title/rank and sir/ma'am.
2) Even if you do know them personally, if others around you do not, address them by title/rank and sir/ma'am. You may play golf with the CEO on the weekends, but your colleagues do not, they don't know him/her like you do.
3) Pay attention to their responses to your communication. They often will let you know how they prefer to be addressed. After a few emails of "Prof. Smith", they may just say "Please, call me John".
4) Pay attention to their level of formality. It's best to start as formal as you can, then taper down - first impressions and all that. Your Professor/Doctor/Boss is that guiding light for how you need to interact with them.
All that said, if the professor is a slob that doesn't wear shoes (I've had one of them...) and is the most laid-back person you've ever met... They may be okay with being on a first-name basis, but don't assume it.
Yes, the government has a shit record for cybersecurity, but putting the blame squarely on Obama isn't really fair. Hindsight is always 20/20 and computer security has always been much more reactive than proactive. I'd argue the blame is Congress, the environment, and the government structure.
1) Congress controls the purse and laws. They're the ones that make sure all agencies have the funding to do what they need to do. These asshats in the big white daycare on capital hill haven't managed to agree on a budget before October in over a decade. That means most agencies get a fraction of the money they plan for.
2) The internet has changed in the past 10 years (as of 2012). We've gone from the beginnings of broadband to gigabit connections. From a millions users to billions.
3) The Fed as a whole is woefully slow to move on to new technology. They typically move to a new OS after it has been out for at least 3 years, which means they may get around to Windows 10 sometime in 2018 or 2019. Even those "best of the best" agencies are subject to this. I helped a migration to Windows 7 2.5 years ago, after it had been in the wild for 5 years.
Could these things have been changed by Obama? Not hardly. It would have been tricky even if Congress was willing to work with him. With a Congress too busy fighting with itself to make any progress about anything? Damned near impossible.
There should be no patents on technology. Period.
This is an RMS statement, pure and simple. Life would be simple if anyone could say "hey, great idea, i'm gonna branch off that" without fear of litigation. However, no patents means floods of copycats and no reward for the original.
Patents were made to enable an inventor to make money off of an invention. What the patent office *should* do is hire people that actually know what the patent is about (or pay some folks that do, that are not invested in or related to the patent applicant). Then we would have far fewer "yes, but on a computer!" or "just like this other patent, but with rounded edges" kinds of nonsense.
The next logical step was leaked by The Onion. The MacBook wheel is the epitome of user interface. Nothing else comes close.
I'm a bit surprised that Facebook wasn't in the top 5. There may be hope for humanity yet!
I heard you likes stores, so I put a store in your store so you can shop while you shop...
Are we still doing that?
To quote George Carlin (out of context). "BULLSHIT! THAT'S OUR FUCKIN JOB!"
Do you count all those computers that came with it pre-installed? After all, it was installed by the OEM...
tl;dr: "Good against remotes is one thing.. good against the living... that's something else."
I think you mean "formerly living", at least when it comes to wet-ware in these intersections.
Walking -or riding - in the streets here is downright suicidal. Sure there may be the occasional bike lane, but on a 40 mph road people are driving 55-60, that's just insane.
Funny anecdote though... I was once at a T intersection, stopped at a red light, and a bicyclist decides to ride through along the top of the 'T' during the red. He promptly gets pulled over by a policeman. The funny part is that he was right next to a bicycle trail. Had he only been 2 feet to his right, he wouldn't have been ticketed for running a red light.
It's a good thing children aren't really the intended audience for a $1000 tablet.
And which of those has this administration, as a whole, been showing lately?
During the 2012 election there was some news articles about Republicans trying to shake off the "old, rich, white-guy" persona since they had once again lost to - in their minds - the devil incarnate. Fast forward 4 years and they've doubled down on the persona. The FCC under Pai so far has been faithfully serving the partisan agenda, favoring big business over the little guy and public interests.
Competition works if there is *actually competition*. Steam is primarily games, with a handful of apps (most of which relate to games). The iOS app store isn't in direct competition with any stores, I cannot directly buy Amazon music using an iOS device. I *might* find the app in question on Google Play, but that depends on me having an android device on top of my iOS device. Either way, I'm buying into a walled garden.
If MS does get their act together and make a store worth a crap, the worrisome (and likely obvious) next step is for them to lock down to that store. Then there is no Steam, no Origin, no uPlay. Maybe even no GoG (on windows, at least). They could spin it as "Easy! Safe! Secure!", but they'd remove all competition on Windows... and get a nice cut from any sales done in their store.
Apple also occasionally listens to their customer base prior to releasing a product. MS releases what they think people want, then backpedal until they get there.
while(1) {};
and
int myfunc(int n) {
myfunc(n+1);
}
When the boss asks "Hows that research going?". I can honestly answer "The system is calculating away." then show him 'top' with processors pegged.
One of the tenets of good science is that sharing and learning. It's very much a cultural thing. Many of the older folks at national laboratories, or even research labs, have that academic mindset. They have peers with similar interests or research fields, and they collaborate new ideas and findings. In some cases that collaboration crosses borders (then governments get upset, depending on topics).
I think RMS is spot-on that we don't have a similar culture in Computer Science. We may have a great culture of help with simple problems here and there (Stack Overflow and the like). But when it comes to full-up tools and systems, we are nowhere near open and collaborative. The closest we can get is "this file on MacOS" or "this registry setting in Windows".
Sometimes we need that nut-job way out there to get people moving toward him. It works in politics. Maybe we just need a nut job that's more of a smooth talker.
The ReactOS guys work with the WINE folks. So it's possible that as the OS gets further along being an OS, that the binary compatibility from WINE will be as caught-up as WINE is.
I hope ReactOS becomes a viable alternative, I'm not liking this walled-garden trend that vendors seem to like these days.