Even Eric Raymond knows that the Open Source model isn't appropriate for games until they've passed the end of their commercial life.
I guess it is too bad for Peter Molyneax that he didn't get the message.
Eric Raymond has reasons for believing that Open Source wouldn't be as beneficial for some games as for other products, but that reasoning doesn't apply to all games. For instance, most sports games have new versions every year, and IMO could be done better open source. The problem with those is of course licensing from the appropriate league.
With the release of Diablo II, I'm beginning to think Open Source really does make sense for games, at least games by companies with pitiful programmers, like Blizzard North.
Q: Will the IES support cable and DSL modem Internet connections?
A: Yes, connectivity to cable modem and DSL modem is available via the 10/100Mbps Ethernet port.
Q: Will IES support DVD?
A: Yes, the IES platform will support DVD playback in some models. The details of DVD support in the L600 will be announced later.
Q: Exactly what parts of IES are Open Source?
A: Much of the driver level code, API implementations and all kernel code is Open Source. The only exceptions are components of drivers, which must be preserved in a binary library file for security or copy protection integrity and the Xtrema API implementation. Some application components such as the Gecko HTML rendering engine and Necko transport engine are also Open Source. Many application components of the IES, such as the personal video system, will not be Open Source.
I think an important difference is that everyone already knows that they need to lock their doors to secure their car. The banking company presumably did not know that they were insecure.
I'd like to see a Windows-based program that gets all this info, and then burns a Linux boot CD with a customized kernel, etc. set up for your hardware.
Last piece of commercial software I bought was Diablo II. Came with absolutely no warranty. Incredibly buggy. I've actually fixed bugs in the data files myself (My mod is here, if anyone cares). Diablo II would unquestionably be higher quality if it were open source. Of course, that seems to be because a QA department can't overcome pathetic programmers, not because QA isn't helpful.
Perhaps at the very high end, commercial software will be higher quality, due to QA. But as far as every piece of software I have ever bought, I think Open Source can match it.
So while Open Source is great for desktops, I guess it just isn't ready for servers yet.:)
Microsoft may be the second most widely known brand in the world, but that link doesn't even come close to proving it. Read their Criteria and Methodology. Their rating brand value, not name recognition. So people buy Microsoft products because it is Microsoft more often than they buy Sony products because they are Sony products. This does not mean that the Microsoft name is more widely recognized than Sony's is.
I've heard that John Deere is actually the second most well known brand, though I don't even pretend I have any proof for that.
And the chances of there being any drivers for a Voodoo 5 6000 under Xfree86 at launch are? Somwhere between 'none-what-so-ever' and 'not-a-flippin'-hope' I'd wager.
It would use the same drivers as the Voodoo 3, Voodoo 4, and the Voodoo 5 5500, which are already out. So I'd say the chances are pretty high; somewhere between 'what-so-ever' and 'a-flippin'-hope'.
Drivers that use all four chips on it are a different story, of course...
The chances are still better than 'none-what-so-ever' though.
My mom is not a techno-geek. The main thing my mom really wants to do is get pictures from her digital camera, and print them to her color printer. I give her the instructions on how to do this, and she writes them done. This would be ten times easier with a CLI.
N64 users seem quite capable of adding RAM, actually. Even if they don't know that is what they are doing. Why would upgrading the GPU have to be any more difficult?
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Even Eric Raymond knows that the Open Source model isn't appropriate for games until they've passed the end of their commercial life.
I guess it is too bad for Peter Molyneax that he didn't get the message.
Eric Raymond has reasons for believing that Open Source wouldn't be as beneficial for some games as for other products, but that reasoning doesn't apply to all games. For instance, most sports games have new versions every year, and IMO could be done better open source. The problem with those is of course licensing from the appropriate league.
With the release of Diablo II, I'm beginning to think Open Source really does make sense for games, at least games by companies with pitiful programmers, like Blizzard North.
The recent interview on WomenGamers.com includes the anwser to the target audience question. (Question 15.)
From Indrema's FAQ:
Q: Will the IES support cable and DSL modem Internet connections?
A: Yes, connectivity to cable modem and DSL modem is available via the 10/100Mbps Ethernet port.
From the FAQ on their site:
Q: Will IES support DVD?
A: Yes, the IES platform will support DVD playback in some models. The details of DVD support in the L600 will be announced later.
If you want to know "Why Linux?", I suggest you read the FAQ on their site, especially the question "Why Linux?".
From the FAQ on their site:
Q: Exactly what parts of IES are Open Source?
A: Much of the driver level code, API implementations and all kernel code is Open Source. The only exceptions are components of drivers, which must be preserved in a binary library file for security or copy protection integrity and the Xtrema API implementation. Some application components such as the Gecko HTML rendering engine and Necko transport engine are also Open Source. Many application components of the IES, such as the personal video system, will not be Open Source.
From an earlier interview on Game-Interviews.com:
We offer a zero cost certification program for free games to get to market sooner.
Sounds great to me.
I think an important difference is that everyone already knows that they need to lock their doors to secure their car. The banking company presumably did not know that they were insecure.
I'd like to see a Windows-based program that gets all this info, and then burns a Linux boot CD with a customized kernel, etc. set up for your hardware.
Last piece of commercial software I bought was Diablo II. Came with absolutely no warranty. Incredibly buggy. I've actually fixed bugs in the data files myself (My mod is here, if anyone cares). Diablo II would unquestionably be higher quality if it were open source. Of course, that seems to be because a QA department can't overcome pathetic programmers, not because QA isn't helpful.
Perhaps at the very high end, commercial software will be higher quality, due to QA. But as far as every piece of software I have ever bought, I think Open Source can match it.
So while Open Source is great for desktops, I guess it just isn't ready for servers yet. :)
Microsoft may be the second most widely known brand in the world, but that link doesn't even come close to proving it. Read their Criteria and Methodology. Their rating brand value, not name recognition. So people buy Microsoft products because it is Microsoft more often than they buy Sony products because they are Sony products. This does not mean that the Microsoft name is more widely recognized than Sony's is.
I've heard that John Deere is actually the second most well known brand, though I don't even pretend I have any proof for that.
And the chances of there being any drivers for a Voodoo 5 6000 under Xfree86 at launch are? Somwhere between 'none-what-so-ever' and 'not-a-flippin'-hope' I'd wager. It would use the same drivers as the Voodoo 3, Voodoo 4, and the Voodoo 5 5500, which are already out. So I'd say the chances are pretty high; somewhere between 'what-so-ever' and 'a-flippin'-hope'. Drivers that use all four chips on it are a different story, of course... The chances are still better than 'none-what-so-ever' though.
My mom is not a techno-geek. The main thing my mom really wants to do is get pictures from her digital camera, and print them to her color printer. I give her the instructions on how to do this, and she writes them done. This would be ten times easier with a CLI.
N64 users seem quite capable of adding RAM, actually. Even if they don't know that is what they are doing. Why would upgrading the GPU have to be any more difficult?