Why is it on Slashdot that many of the same people who think its okay to break copyright laws in cases of emulation, 'free' music and abadonware are the same people who would scream the loudest if a company were to run afoul of the GPL?
The GPL is built upon copyright law. Copyright law is the foundation of the GPL (or any other license you care to mention). Take it or leave it.
Clearly your problems are laptop related. Poorly supported crappy components, I'd wager...Why bother writing anti-Microsoft FUD focusing on the fact that Windows runs poorly on that system and then, at the end, barely mention in passing that Linux also runs pretty poorly?
I'd say pretty damn good! Especially since most of the online Dreamcast games seem to put a lot of faith in the client (the incredibly fast response times on NFL2K, for example, even when used of a slowish modem line, lead me to believe the client is treated as being trusted). I double highly that all those players running around the field are being updated in real time from the server.
I'd like to see how they attempt to close the ASP loophole without invalidating the entire GPLv3 license... I mean, the GPL's legality is already still untested in court...
I think any attempt to close the ASP loophole (while it may be unfortunate) is just going to put the GPL on shakier legs.
Its one of those slippery slope problems, really...At what point do you determine that the ASP has to comply with the GPL and release modifications? When the web server they are using is GPLed? That one seems clear...When the backend database they are using is GPLed? Less clear. When the filesystem that the database stores its data files on is GPLed? pretty muddled. When the OS its all running on is GPLed? who knows?
If only we would have got a decent DVD player... how many nightmares the RIAA could have avoided
You're confusing one group of assholes with another. Its primarily the MPAA who is upset about the DVD copying issue... Of course, a number of the members of the RIAA are owned by the same large corporations that own a number of the members of the MPAA, so it all works out, I guess...
Well, the Apple guy does have somewhat of a point..I've seen it happen time and time again where a company reaches out to test the waters with regards to Linux support, and they end up with nothing but heartache and tons of flammage because the more vocal parts of the 'community' didn't feel the company went far enough in supporting their open source ideals.
Particularily because we are talking about ridiculously expensive Microsoft software.
Microsoft software might be 'ridiculously expensive' compared to Open Source/Free software, but in the realm of commercial software it is quite inexpensive.
Even if you INCLUDE the open source world, a supported copy of Windows 2000 will set you back about the same cost as a supported copy of Red Hat's server 'products' and this is despite the fact that Microsoft actually has to do R&D and hire programmers whereas Red Hat gets a large chunk of its software for free from the community.
I use Open Source (and hell, even 'Free Software') when it suits my purposes.
Need a good compiler for a UNIX system? gcc! Need a good full featured web server? Apache! Need a good cross platform database? PostgreSQL! InterBase!
On the other hand...
Need a good web browser? Internet Explorer!
Need a good, stable desktop operating system with tons of useful applications? Windows 2000 Pro!
Need a good office suite application that can actually be used to trade documents with 90% of the people I'd need to trade documents with? Microsoft Office!
Etc.
Re:Why not use the Quake engine?
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3Dwm Updates
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Quake is a great engine for FPS games, but its not nearly dynamic enough to be a useful core for something like this project. Are you going to wait 30 mins to a few hours while a new vis'd BSP data set is generated each time you want to rearrange the layout of your 3D desktop?
Don't believe it? Try going into a linux channel on IRC and asking a 'newbie' question...If you're lucky, you'll just get kicked. Usually you'll be insulted and then kick banned...
Try asking Tom Christisen anything about perl...
Etc...
Most every group is guilty to some degree of the type of terrible 'in-crowd' behaviour that JonKatz always attributes to 'the Jock' types in High School...It just manifests itself slightly differently in different forums.
From most accounts of people that have touched this thing -- even those with previous Linux experience -- this release contains pretty serious bugs that aren't all that hard to trip over.
Do we really want the people who might pick this up at Walmart to have their first experience with Linux be a buggy, unlabeled prerelease?
I understand it might be better for Mandrake in the short term, but in the long term its decisions like this that kill companies' reputations..and in this case, it hurts the reputation of Linux in general.
Yes, but the point is that configuring this information in Windows is much simpler. Go to Control Panels, Networking, and there it all is.
How do you do this in Linux (rhetorical, I know how to do it, I use Linux every day)? Either you muck around with command line tools and obscure config files (each with their own crazy syntax), or use a tool like linuxconf, the UI of which was clearly programmer designed (efficient, if you know what you want to do in the first place...near impossible to use if you're not familiar with the innards of what its doing for you behind the scenes in the first place).
Redundant -- perhaps, though even that wouldn't really be fair as its post #18 and was probably up fairly soon after the article and started before the other posts of this type were finished/poste.d
Agreed! I can deal with the occasional typo and the grammatical errors. I'm guilty of them myself, so I'm not going to point fingers (no, Slashdot is not the equivalent
of the NY Times..Why should anyone expect it to be?).
What irks me the most about Slashdot, especially in the recent past (last year or so) is the amazing number of story reposts. It is as if many of the story editors don't even read this site anymore. How many times have we seen what is essentially the same story reposted to Slashdot within the span on a week? Too many for me to count...
I won't really even get into some of the other minor things that bug me, like the zealot-ish slants many of the stories take (say, stories on mp3, linux, etc), because that could be argued for in a couple of ways (the editors post what interests them...and/or what interests the majority of readers).
Oh yeah, and I also hate Jon Katz, but I won't mention that..I'm already getting the -1; Offtopic, why bother risking the -1; Redundant?
Moderate this up! Hardly anyone (with a clue) argues that they need a constant 200 FPS. The reason you want a base of a couple hundred FPS is so that you're (hopefully) above 72 FPS (or whatever lower number you think is minimal detectable) when there's 25 other guys on the screen all hurling rockets left & right.
These type of future announcements are unsettling. It is not really much different than Microsoft announcing products months to years in advance... It means nothing until there's something to release. Also, there's a specific danger here in the open source world... Imagine if someone were planning to add this functionality to the open source version of MySQL but didn't because of this announcement...Then imagine that the company doesn't follow through...I'm not saying we have any specific reason to distrust NuSphere...but...
Mr Coward: I agree with your basic ideas, but I think the point is that Sony fucked up by making the PS2 so radically different.
The PS2 architecture may be superior to current PCs, the Dreamcast, etc, when you get 'down to the metal'. However, most console game developers like to develop games that are 90% portable code with 10% platform-specific code (or so). By being so different, the PS2 requires developers to almost recode their game from the ground up to suit the PS2's architecture. This is fine if you're developing a PS2 exclusive, but a huge pain if you want to support multiple platforms!!
In the end, it could be Sony's undoing..We'll see when X-box comes out.
I'm a long term Dreamcast owner, and PC gamer. I don't yet have a PS2 because I don't want one enough to bother with the pain or cost of obtaining one right now... Once Sony handles the manufacturing problems, I'm sure I'll pick one up...
Despite the VRAM issue (which IS an issue, I agree), the PlayStation 2 is markedly better hardware than the Dreamcast...But of course it is...Just like the XBox is going to be better than the PS2. That's the luxury you have when you release a year later.
The REAL problem with the PS2, I think, is the fact that it was overhyped exactly in the way The Phantom Menace was. In both cases, there were very few true advertisements by the companies involved, but the media latched on because of past success and blew the whole thing out of proportion. The result in both cases is products that can't possibly live up to what people expect, so you wind up with large factions of backlash.
That's life, I guess.
In closing, just to echo what many others have stated: Its all about the games. Whoever gets the best games wins.
the only thing I've used floppy drives for in the past 3 years are for bootstrapping installs when I dont have an autobooting CDROM available for the OS in question...
In fact, the workstation I'm typing this on right now does not even have a floppy drive in it. I don't miss it.
Nintendo is lacking in anything playable (a direct customer quote.)
What kind of retarded customers do you get in CompUSA?
Nintendo games (first party and the stuff they do with Rare) are among the most playable of all games for any system. Look at Mario64, Zelda, Donkey Kong, Mask of Majora, Excitebike 64....
Of course, that doesn't really guarantee continued system and game sales...But its one of the first times I've seen someone suggest Nintendo games are not playable.
Slashdot Mirror
The GPL is built upon copyright law. Copyright law is the foundation of the GPL (or any other license you care to mention). Take it or leave it.
Suckas!!!
Oh yeah I forgot, this is Slashdot.
I'd say pretty damn good! Especially since most of the online Dreamcast games seem to put a lot of faith in the client (the incredibly fast response times on NFL2K, for example, even when used of a slowish modem line, lead me to believe the client is treated as being trusted). I double highly that all those players running around the field are being updated in real time from the server.
Its also important to note that the GPL has never been tested in court, and even current versions might be found to be completely illegal.
I think any attempt to close the ASP loophole (while it may be unfortunate) is just going to put the GPL on shakier legs.
Its one of those slippery slope problems, really...At what point do you determine that the ASP has to comply with the GPL and release modifications? When the web server they are using is GPLed? That one seems clear...When the backend database they are using is GPLed? Less clear. When the filesystem that the database stores its data files on is GPLed? pretty muddled. When the OS its all running on is GPLed? who knows?
You're confusing one group of assholes with another. Its primarily the MPAA who is upset about the DVD copying issue... Of course, a number of the members of the RIAA are owned by the same large corporations that own a number of the members of the MPAA, so it all works out, I guess...
Well, the Apple guy does have somewhat of a point..I've seen it happen time and time again where a company reaches out to test the waters with regards to Linux support, and they end up with nothing but heartache and tons of flammage because the more vocal parts of the 'community' didn't feel the company went far enough in supporting their open source ideals.
I'm now certain that the majority of the people editing Slashdot don't even read the site.
Microsoft software might be 'ridiculously expensive' compared to Open Source/Free software, but in the realm of commercial software it is quite inexpensive.
Even if you INCLUDE the open source world, a supported copy of Windows 2000 will set you back about the same cost as a supported copy of Red Hat's server 'products' and this is despite the fact that Microsoft actually has to do R&D and hire programmers whereas Red Hat gets a large chunk of its software for free from the community.
Need a good compiler for a UNIX system? gcc! Need a good full featured web server? Apache! Need a good cross platform database? PostgreSQL! InterBase!
On the other hand...
Need a good web browser? Internet Explorer! Need a good, stable desktop operating system with tons of useful applications? Windows 2000 Pro! Need a good office suite application that can actually be used to trade documents with 90% of the people I'd need to trade documents with? Microsoft Office!
Etc.
Quake is a great engine for FPS games, but its not nearly dynamic enough to be a useful core for something like this project. Are you going to wait 30 mins to a few hours while a new vis'd BSP data set is generated each time you want to rearrange the layout of your 3D desktop?
Don't believe it? Try going into a linux channel on IRC and asking a 'newbie' question...If you're lucky, you'll just get kicked. Usually you'll be insulted and then kick banned...
Try asking Tom Christisen anything about perl...
Etc...
Most every group is guilty to some degree of the type of terrible 'in-crowd' behaviour that JonKatz always attributes to 'the Jock' types in High School...It just manifests itself slightly differently in different forums.
From most accounts of people that have touched this thing -- even those with previous Linux experience -- this release contains pretty serious bugs that aren't all that hard to trip over.
Do we really want the people who might pick this up at Walmart to have their first experience with Linux be a buggy, unlabeled prerelease?
I understand it might be better for Mandrake in the short term, but in the long term its decisions like this that kill companies' reputations..and in this case, it hurts the reputation of Linux in general.
How do you do this in Linux (rhetorical, I know how to do it, I use Linux every day)? Either you muck around with command line tools and obscure config files (each with their own crazy syntax), or use a tool like linuxconf, the UI of which was clearly programmer designed (efficient, if you know what you want to do in the first place...near impossible to use if you're not familiar with the innards of what its doing for you behind the scenes in the first place).
Troll? Who moderated this post? Vint Cerf?
Redundant -- perhaps, though even that wouldn't really be fair as its post #18 and was probably up fairly soon after the article and started before the other posts of this type were finished/poste.d
What irks me the most about Slashdot, especially in the recent past (last year or so) is the amazing number of story reposts. It is as if many of the story editors don't even read this site anymore. How many times have we seen what is essentially the same story reposted to Slashdot within the span on a week? Too many for me to count...
I won't really even get into some of the other minor things that bug me, like the zealot-ish slants many of the stories take (say, stories on mp3, linux, etc), because that could be argued for in a couple of ways (the editors post what interests them...and/or what interests the majority of readers).
Oh yeah, and I also hate Jon Katz, but I won't mention that..I'm already getting the -1; Offtopic, why bother risking the -1; Redundant?
Moderate this up! Hardly anyone (with a clue) argues that they need a constant 200 FPS. The reason you want a base of a couple hundred FPS is so that you're (hopefully) above 72 FPS (or whatever lower number you think is minimal detectable) when there's 25 other guys on the screen all hurling rockets left & right.
These type of future announcements are unsettling. It is not really much different than Microsoft announcing products months to years in advance... It means nothing until there's something to release. Also, there's a specific danger here in the open source world... Imagine if someone were planning to add this functionality to the open source version of MySQL but didn't because of this announcement...Then imagine that the company doesn't follow through...I'm not saying we have any specific reason to distrust NuSphere...but...
The PS2 architecture may be superior to current PCs, the Dreamcast, etc, when you get 'down to the metal'. However, most console game developers like to develop games that are 90% portable code with 10% platform-specific code (or so). By being so different, the PS2 requires developers to almost recode their game from the ground up to suit the PS2's architecture. This is fine if you're developing a PS2 exclusive, but a huge pain if you want to support multiple platforms!!
In the end, it could be Sony's undoing..We'll see when X-box comes out.
Despite the VRAM issue (which IS an issue, I agree), the PlayStation 2 is markedly better hardware than the Dreamcast...But of course it is...Just like the XBox is going to be better than the PS2. That's the luxury you have when you release a year later.
The REAL problem with the PS2, I think, is the fact that it was overhyped exactly in the way The Phantom Menace was. In both cases, there were very few true advertisements by the companies involved, but the media latched on because of past success and blew the whole thing out of proportion. The result in both cases is products that can't possibly live up to what people expect, so you wind up with large factions of backlash.
That's life, I guess.
In closing, just to echo what many others have stated: Its all about the games. Whoever gets the best games wins.
In fact, the workstation I'm typing this on right now does not even have a floppy drive in it. I don't miss it.
What kind of retarded customers do you get in CompUSA?
Nintendo games (first party and the stuff they do with Rare) are among the most playable of all games for any system. Look at Mario64, Zelda, Donkey Kong, Mask of Majora, Excitebike 64....
Of course, that doesn't really guarantee continued system and game sales...But its one of the first times I've seen someone suggest Nintendo games are not playable.
Pretty much all of the home publishing rights to these old Atari games belong to Hasbro now, so they'd have to be involved.