Speaking as a mechanical engineering student, take a C or C++ class. Try to find a good class where they teach you some optimization and theory, and don't just give you a sheet of code and have you type it in. C and C++ are nice because they are very common, you can get compilers for them just about anywhere, and they are very fast (some may argue that fortran is faster for calcs, but it wont be much faster). Another advantage is that 75% of the languages I have seen are block structured languages (like C). Once you learn C you can learn just about any non OOP language in a couple hours. If you learn C++ and OO theory you can do just about any OO language. Someone made a good point about OO being a style, rather than being required by the language. In most cases I would agree, but if you want to do Java, you need to know OO. Other languages that are helpfull for MEs are Matlab (student version is relatively cheap), Maple (student version also cheap)and Python (lots of math libs). Stay away from basic, you will just code yourself into a corner.
Not Communism, but perhaps socialist in a way. I do know who John Galt is, and yet I still agree with the the GPL (as I can recall, Ayn Rand never specifically deals with IP either, which is what the GPL is really about).
While I disagree with a forced sharing of the fruits of ones labor, I also believe that a free exchage of information is imperative, especially when it comes to an operating system. I dissagree with the Microsoft FUD that the GPL is a virus (I mention this because your tone is similar to various interviews with MS personel that I have read).
If I release a piece of code I do so because I want to do so(notice the I there, this is my desire. Ayn Rands most important thesis is that of "rational self interset" or the "virtue of selfishness"). If someone wishes to make a derivative work, I do not want them to use my code, but keep their changes as their own, and not share, that is an act of bad faith. I do not pretend that the open source movement is a movement of benefactors; we all do things for our own selfish reasons; there is no other way.
I use open source software. I think that this movement is great, especially after dealing with the likes of Microsoft for so long. If I were to give back to to the comunity it would be for selfish reasons; mainly bacause I want to increase the functionality of the tools I use. I do not pretend that I could write an entire operating system, but if I write a small part, even one tool, I am contributing to a larger whole. I do not do this for free, although I am not paid in cash.
The bottom line is that if you do not wish to release your works, you don't have to. As far as Slashdot goes, this is a free country, you can chose another news site if you wish. There are many who read this site (including me) who are interested in this subject (extinct/rediscovered species) and other subjects featured on this site. I for one would be very interested if a living Tasmanian Tiger were found.
Freewwweb works great (I am currently using it). The setup was prety easy. There is a page on how to do it under linux, but if you follow the "quick " setup instructions on their web page. The only stipulation is that they want you to set there page as your home. Not a big deal for a free service. Service is prety zippy, at least compaired to what I'm used to (school dialup). Netzero also works, but is a bit more tricky. You have to find a program to encript the password before it will work. Freewwweb seemed much more reliable, that is why I am using it right now, that and I am not outright violating their usage policies>
ok, let us review the facts, Redhat is popular, I use it, I'm using it right now. Question: Why is RH popular? Because people like it. Why do people like it, I don't know, but they do. Personaly, I really dig RPM, which is GPLed, and can therefore be added to any other distro.
Let's look at what Redhat has done for the comunity. Redhat labs is got their hands into E and Gnome, both excelent projects. Redhat has also done what no one in the past has been able to do. When I first learned about linux I was shocked ("you mean I can run Unix at home, on the machine I already have, and it's free"), now there is a new linux site around every turn. I'm not saying that Redhat is responsible for all the ruckus, but seeing as how redhat holds the largest share of the market, and most new users get weened on it, do the math. My point is this, RH is not Microsoft, if you don't like the distro, use something else(I myself have been thinking about trying debian for it's package management).
If you are paranoid about Redhat having too much power, take a reality check, the mighty shall always fall (look at king Bill, I assure you he is going down). My last point is this, RH is priced about the same as all other distros (free if you have a few free days to download, $50 for the "official" version, or you can get $1.99 CD's from LSL). Don't wine, don't complain, put your dillusions of little green men in red hats coming to take your freedom away back in the closet. We are all in this for basically the same reasons. It seems like a lot of you who post comments just want to piss and moan about something. Pissing and moaning, and calling people names is not constructive. To quote Silent Bob "Do something, OK". I have ranted long enought, but in my opinion, it's all RIB (Righteousness, Ignorance, Blame.)
Don't tell me about the answer cause' then another one will come along soon. I don't believe you've got the answer, I've got ideas too, but if you've got enough naivate and you've got conviction then the answer is perfect for you. .."
ok, let us review the facts, Redhat is popular, I use it, I'm using it right now. Question: Why is RH popular? Because people like it. Why do people like it, I don't know, but they do. Personaly, I really dig RPM, which is GPLed, and can therefore be added to any other distro. Let's look at what Redhat has done for the comunity. Redhat labs is got their hands into E and Gnome, both excelent projects. Redhat has also done what no one in the past has been able to do. When I first learned about linux I was shocked ("you mean I can run Uniq at home, on the machine I already have, and it's free"), now there is a new linux site around every turn. I'm not saying that Redhat is responsible for all the ruckus, but seeing as how redhat holds the largest share of the market, and most new users get weened on it, do the math. My point is the RH is not Microsoft, if you don't like the distro, use something else(I myself have been thinking about trying debian package management). If you are paranoid about Redhat having too much power, take a reality check, the mighty shall always fall (look at king Bill, I asure you he is going down). My last point is this, RH is priced about the same as all other distros (free if you have a few free days to download, $50 for the "official" version, or you can get $1.99 CD's from LSL). Don't wine, don't complain, put your dilusions of little green men in hats coming to take your freedom away back in the closet. We are all in this for basically the same reasons. It seems like a lot of you who post comments just want to piss and moan about something. Pissing and moaning, and calling people names is not constructive. To quote Silent Bob "Do something, OK". And I have ranted long enought, but in my opinion, it's all RIB (Righteousness, Ignorance, Blame.)
Don't tell me about the answer cause' then another one will come along soon. I don't believe you've got the answer, I've got ideas too, but if you've got enough naivate and you've got conviction tehn teh answer is perfect for you. .."
What they are saying is that because they keep a stranglehold on the source, the software runs (read mental fine print) therefore, if there is an open source tree, say like GNU/Linux/Unix/etc. then the software will NOT run. It's all perfectly logical when you think about it (sarcasm driping from my fingers as I type)
I just installed Enlightenment, got the RPM's off of one of the GNOME mirors. Try GNOME and Enlightenment together, it is prety impressive, although the whole layered desktop think seemed a little awkward.
I used to work at a surplus electronics store (used computer stuff). We had a lot of people coming in with proprietary motherboards (Pac Bell mostly) which had lost some function, such as video, or sound. The problem with integrated boards is that when something breaks, you can't fix it (replace the broken board or card) they are also harder to troubleshoot if there is a problem. If you really don't need a whizzo, top o' the line system, you can put something together for relatively cheap. I built a system for my mother out of scrap. Keep an eye out for good deals, if you don't have to do it all in a weekend, you could do it for really cheap.
Slashdot Mirror
Speaking as a mechanical engineering student, take a C or C++ class. Try to find a good class where they teach you some optimization and theory, and don't just give you a sheet of code and have you type it in. C and C++ are nice because they are very common, you can get compilers for them just about anywhere, and they are very fast (some may argue that fortran is faster for calcs, but it wont be much faster). Another advantage is that 75% of the languages I have seen are block structured languages (like C). Once you learn C you can learn just about any non OOP language in a couple hours. If you learn C++ and OO theory you can do just about any OO language. Someone made a good point about OO being a style, rather than being required by the language. In most cases I would agree, but if you want to do Java, you need to know OO. Other languages that are helpfull for MEs are Matlab (student version is relatively cheap), Maple (student version also cheap)and Python (lots of math libs). Stay away from basic, you will just code yourself into a corner.
While I disagree with a forced sharing of the fruits of ones labor, I also believe that a free exchage of information is imperative, especially when it comes to an operating system. I dissagree with the Microsoft FUD that the GPL is a virus (I mention this because your tone is similar to various interviews with MS personel that I have read).
If I release a piece of code I do so because I want to do so(notice the I there, this is my desire. Ayn Rands most important thesis is that of "rational self interset" or the "virtue of selfishness"). If someone wishes to make a derivative work, I do not want them to use my code, but keep their changes as their own, and not share, that is an act of bad faith. I do not pretend that the open source movement is a movement of benefactors; we all do things for our own selfish reasons; there is no other way. I use open source software. I think that this movement is great, especially after dealing with the likes of Microsoft for so long. If I were to give back to to the comunity it would be for selfish reasons; mainly bacause I want to increase the functionality of the tools I use. I do not pretend that I could write an entire operating system, but if I write a small part, even one tool, I am contributing to a larger whole. I do not do this for free, although I am not paid in cash.
The bottom line is that if you do not wish to release your works, you don't have to. As far as Slashdot goes, this is a free country, you can chose another news site if you wish. There are many who read this site (including me) who are interested in this subject (extinct/rediscovered species) and other subjects featured on this site. I for one would be very interested if a living Tasmanian Tiger were found.
Freewwweb works great (I am currently using it). The setup was prety easy. There is a page on how to do it under linux, but if you follow the "quick " setup instructions on their web page. The only stipulation is that they want you to set there page as your home. Not a big deal for a free service. Service is prety zippy, at least compaired to what I'm used to (school dialup). Netzero also works, but is a bit more tricky. You have to find a program to encript the password before it will work. Freewwweb seemed much more reliable, that is why I am using it right now, that and I am not outright violating their usage policies>
Let's look at what Redhat has done for the comunity. Redhat labs is got their hands into E and Gnome, both excelent projects. Redhat has also done what no one in the past has been able to do. When I first learned about linux I was shocked ("you mean I can run Unix at home, on the machine I already have, and it's free"), now there is a new linux site around every turn. I'm not saying that Redhat is responsible for all the ruckus, but seeing as how redhat holds the largest share of the market, and most new users get weened on it, do the math. My point is this, RH is not Microsoft, if you don't like the distro, use something else(I myself have been thinking about trying debian for it's package management).
If you are paranoid about Redhat having too much power, take a reality check, the mighty shall always fall (look at king Bill, I assure you he is going down). My last point is this, RH is priced about the same as all other distros (free if you have a few free days to download, $50 for the "official" version, or you can get $1.99 CD's from LSL). Don't wine, don't complain, put your dillusions of little green men in red hats coming to take your freedom away back in the closet. We are all in this for basically the same reasons. It seems like a lot of you who post comments just want to piss and moan about something. Pissing and moaning, and calling people names is not constructive. To quote Silent Bob "Do something, OK". I have ranted long enought, but in my opinion, it's all RIB (Righteousness, Ignorance, Blame.)
What they are saying is that because they keep a stranglehold on the source, the software runs (read mental fine print) therefore, if there is an open source tree, say like GNU/Linux/Unix/etc. then the software will NOT run. It's all perfectly logical when you think about it (sarcasm driping from my fingers as I type)
I just installed Enlightenment, got the RPM's off of one of the GNOME mirors. Try GNOME and Enlightenment together, it is prety impressive, although the whole layered desktop think seemed a little awkward.
I used to work at a surplus electronics store (used computer stuff). We had a lot of people coming in with proprietary motherboards (Pac Bell mostly) which had lost some function, such as video, or sound. The problem with integrated boards is that when something breaks, you can't fix it (replace the broken board or card) they are also harder to troubleshoot if there is a problem. If you really don't need a whizzo, top o' the line system, you can put something together for relatively cheap. I built a system for my mother out of scrap. Keep an eye out for good deals, if you don't have to do it all in a weekend, you could do it for really cheap.
I think I remember an artical a while back (think it was on CNN ) there linus said something to the efect of
If Bill gates ever comes to me and wants to make software for linux, that means that we have won.(not an exact quote, but something to that effect.)
I find this very amusing, although I don't see the point, they can't even produce stable software on their own platform.