I think that over the last five years or so, there has been way too much hype over the next big thing: CORBA, Java, Linux, Web, XML, e-commerce, Perl, and now.NET... Developers are getting jaded and won't be interested in yet another new thing, unless it delivers some real advantages... All the above-mentioned technologies have had great things going for them, but none have really been given the time to mature before getting over-hyped, with shares pumped and dumped en masse. Unfortunately, people are still looking for the silver bullet, and it simply does not exist.
A question for both gentelmen: Is there likely to be commercial offshoots of the Nupedia and Gutenburg Projects, similar to the way the various Linux Distributions have grown from Linux and GNU? Are there any ways planned or envisaged for companies or individuals to profit from these open projects?
PS: note that I consider profit a good thing in general, and this is not a troll or trick question. I would like to see profitable businesses built on the free exchange of knowledge.
What does this spate of mergers mean for non-commercial distributions like Debian? (are there any others left?) I'd hate to see the Linux world degenerate into an RPM-centric heap. Not that RPM is neccessarily bad, it's just not as good as dpkg (IMHO), and is dominated by one company...
So now we have mobile wireless internet access, PS2, Java, Amiga, Distributed Online Games, Linux, set-top boxes and multitudes of other buzzwords buried in links all in the one story...
Certainly in Australia, any commercial organisation doing this kind of thing would need a Carrier licence from the Australian Communications Authority... these are not cheap, and not common, but there is strict regulation on what can be carried on the airwaves here...
Does GPRS count at all? What about 3G access? Won't these technologies make other forms of wireless access obsolete? From what Cisco tell me, 3G mobile phones will be able to give me 2Mbits/s when I'm stationary, and I imagine that when the telcos get their act together, the coverage for 3G and the global roaming possibilities would be of far greater utility than hundreds of different access points from disparate providers...
Bring on Palm XIII with integrated 3G mobile technology, running Linux 3.0:)
I think that the fact that the ads in Superbowl are considered more interesting than the Superbowl itself speaks volumes about the quality of American Football... Here in Australia, we watch the Footy and get more beer in the Ad breaks...
I just had the thought that things like IRC could be useful for the Classroom Of The Future(tm), as they could help people get over their fear of putting their hand up in a crowded classroom...
Surely at some stage, whether Linus is working at Transmeta, AMD or elsewhere, there is risk of undue influence by commercial interests. Would it not be a Good Thing(tm) for Linus to be employed by a non-profit organisation like Linux International, or perhaps for the leadership of Linux to be handed over to such a body...
I suppose there's also the issue of the Linux trademark... While Linus is a benevolent dictator, it's ok, but there are plenty of risks here...
One thing that you may like to put some thought into is whether you want the class to be open (anyone can join) or closed (only by invite) and how you are going to enforce the closedness... IMHO, I think open is better, but you may like to make the non-fee paying people spectators only... ie let people who pay fees contribute to discussions and ask questions etc, but let "freeloaders" listen in only...
I can suggest from experience that IRC and Instant Messaging are great tools for group discussion... I would suggest talk, but it's a bit clumsy... Most of the IRC style tools give you logs of your discussions and so on. They tend to be pretty bandwidth-efficient, and allow people to have separate chatrooms for whatever purpose... I don't know if there would be opportunity to supervise these other chatrooms, and I don't know if it would be needed...
This event, more than any other, taught me that the US was fallible. At the time, I was a primary school student in Australia (I am an Australian), and had a view that the USA was where all the good things came from (NASA, Pepsi, Michael Jackson, Computers, Sitcoms, McDonalds, Disney, Hollywood and so on), and I just didn't think that the USA could do any wrong. Since then, I've learnt that the USA is way more fallible than Australia, even though we are so much smaller and less significant on a world scale...
It happens that I had recently read an article on wordplay in the Smithsonian magazine in which the author asserted that some puckish soul had once sent a letter addressed, with playful ambiguity, to
HILL
JOHN
MASS
and it had gotten there after the postal authorities had worked out that it was to be read as "John Underhill, Andover, Mass." (Get it?)
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Hmmm, Not really a valid address -- not only is there no ZIP, there's no street, no number, etc etc...:)
Actually, the whole Bill Bryson excerpt there is a good read, and relavant to the current USPS topic:)... Good luck getting a letter to me: Lord Carrot,/. Poster, Adelaide, Australia:)
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This doesn't necessarily mean Stormix is going to immediately shut down; many businesses in both the United States and Canada file bankruptcy as a temporary measure while they get their financial act together or look for a more stable company to buy them.
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So maybe some company (Progeny, whoever buys/bought Corel Linux, some other Debian derivative, etc) may decide to buy Stormix, and get the talent, IP and name... or maybe they just need to refinance -- hmmm, anyone want to put together a Stormix xonsortium? Didn't think so:-)
Where do all the letters to Santa (and, for that matter, the Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, and so on) go to? What about letters sent to Places like "Grandma at Grandma's House" and so on? I read in one comment that a USPS worker delevered mail to "The third house on the left past the gas station on route 101"... what about other bizzare addresses?
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Suppose that there was an interesting comment, with a great link... why would they not then post this as a story, if it was an appropriate story? It brings something worthwhile and interesting to the fore, rather than leaving it drowned out in a sea of comments...
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As an Australian, I am impressed that the FCC is interested in listening to what the American public think of their proposed laws... If only our equivalent body would do the same, with a number of issues -- censorship, telco deregulation, etc etc etc... Of course, it remains to be seen what the _general public_ will actually say -- there are louder voices than us nerds --, and it remains to be seen if the FCC will actually care what they hear...
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Good to see HP honouring one of their founders, even though he hasn't been active in HP since 1987: -- Check out the HP Press Release... it is, of course, linked to prominently on their front page.
No... you don't get it... the point of an installfest is to install Linux on people's computers... There is no competition to see who can do it fastest, or who can do the most... it's just a really good way to introduce people to Linux.
Slashdot Mirror
My spiel ends here.
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PS: note that I consider profit a good thing in general, and this is not a troll or trick question. I would like to see profitable businesses built on the free exchange of knowledge.
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What does this spate of mergers mean for non-commercial distributions like Debian? (are there any others left?) I'd hate to see the Linux world degenerate into an RPM-centric heap. Not that RPM is neccessarily bad, it's just not as good as dpkg (IMHO), and is dominated by one company...
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Is there a story that could possibly have more?
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Bring on Palm XIII with integrated 3G mobile technology, running Linux 3.0 :)
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see some REAL MAN'S FOOTBALL
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Then they could be Advanced Meta Ware (how's that for a meaningless name)... Or maybe TransApplix Devices... the list could go on and on...
Would Linus then work for them, writing code-morphing office suites?
hmm...
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I suppose there's also the issue of the Linux trademark... While Linus is a benevolent dictator, it's ok, but there are plenty of risks here...
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AMD-TM
Meta Advanced Devices
Athlon, Duron, Cruson?
can we expect a barrage of silence from AMD now? :)
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HTH
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It happens that I had recently read an article on wordplay in the Smithsonian magazine in which the author asserted that some puckish soul had once sent a letter addressed, with playful ambiguity, to
HILL
JOHN
MASS
and it had gotten there after the postal authorities had worked out that it was to be read as "John Underhill, Andover, Mass." (Get it?)
----
Hmmm, Not really a valid address -- not only is there no ZIP, there's no street, no number, etc etc... :)
Actually, the whole Bill Bryson excerpt there is a good read, and relavant to the current USPS topic :) ... Good luck getting a letter to me: Lord Carrot, /. Poster, Adelaide, Australia :)
rr
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This doesn't necessarily mean Stormix is going to immediately shut down; many businesses in both the United States and Canada file bankruptcy as a temporary measure while they get their financial act together or look for a more stable company to buy them.
----
So maybe some company (Progeny, whoever buys/bought Corel Linux, some other Debian derivative, etc) may decide to buy Stormix, and get the talent, IP and name... or maybe they just need to refinance -- hmmm, anyone want to put together a Stormix xonsortium? Didn't think so :-)
rr
Where do all the letters to Santa (and, for that matter, the Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, and so on) go to? What about letters sent to Places like "Grandma at Grandma's House" and so on? I read in one comment that a USPS worker delevered mail to "The third house on the left past the gas station on route 101"... what about other bizzare addresses? rr
Suppose that there was an interesting comment, with a great link... why would they not then post this as a story, if it was an appropriate story? It brings something worthwhile and interesting to the fore, rather than leaving it drowned out in a sea of comments... rr
yeah, whatever... rr
As an Australian, I am impressed that the FCC is interested in listening to what the American public think of their proposed laws... If only our equivalent body would do the same, with a number of issues -- censorship, telco deregulation, etc etc etc... Of course, it remains to be seen what the _general public_ will actually say -- there are louder voices than us nerds --, and it remains to be seen if the FCC will actually care what they hear... rr
Bad choice of sig, dude. rr
He's an inspiring man.
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there's also interesting stuff at http://www.cio.com/
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No... you don't get it... the point of an installfest is to install Linux on people's computers... There is no competition to see who can do it fastest, or who can do the most... it's just a really good way to introduce people to Linux.