"OSNews features an interesting interview with David Faure..."
Hey you've linked to so many interesting stories on osnews lately that I've changed my lynx homepage from slashdot to osnews.
Don't worry, though, I'll still open slashdot every day to *not* read the Jon Katz articles;-)
What is the point of a debian based commercial linux os? Debian is by far my favorite choice.
Others have answere this point, I just wanted to add that whilst I think it's great that other distributions are basing themse lves off of Debian, users should not forget that Debian itself is a community project, dependent upon voluntary effort.
If anyone would like to give something back and get involved - by maintaining a package, fixing bugs, translating something into a nother language or whatever, please do.
Get on the appropriate mailing list and join in:-)
I don't know where you live, but "kleenex" has effectively replaced "tissue" here. It's one of those things you just deal with, like "hey, go get me a
coke."
Yes, but where I live people can spot a joke - even the poor ones that I tell =o)
Hey Bill, I like the apps you did for the VR3, but knock off the advertising of well-known tissue brands. The/. crowd is not keen on gratuitous advertising.
Otherwise I'd be tempted to say that you can see a great feature on the Zaurus (and other Linux handhelds) in issue 24 of Linux Format, available in the UK on 21 January. Oh wait,... nevermind:-)
The Roland/Edirol UA-100 is a great solution.
Currently marketed as the RolandED Audio Canvas UA-100G, it's been around for a while and has good support under Linux and BeOS. You should be able to find a used one. It accepts analogue (mic/guitar) and MIDI inputs (and outputs) and is an all-round good piece of kit.
- Derwen
Monsanto and Microsoft (and perspective)
on
Monsanto and PCBs
·
· Score: 2
Ordinarily I roll my eyes when I see articles about "corporate evil" on Slashdot, but Monsanto is an exception.
Indeed. When I was involved in the seed industry (mid 90's) Monsanto's stated aim at the outset of their GM campaign was to have over half of all crops grown on the planet from their modified seeds within a decade.
It was and remains a frightening vision. Those who bleat about MS monopoly practices should remember that desktop software rarely kills or crippl es. There are far more serious battles going on in the world today.
- Derwen
Yeah, I wonder how long it will take for MS to release a version of the Exchange client that doesn't allow copying&pasting and screenshots...
That's nothing - next year's release of exchange pops up a dialog[ue] every time you press <CTRL><P> - asking you to raise your right hand and swear that you won't mail the printout to anyone on the list of disapproved journalists (they provide a hyperlink).
And if the mail contains copyrighted songlyrics - well just wait and see what is in store from the following years Exchange..
It's funny how marketing-speak has its meaning (if any) independent of the subject. For example: With the current economic times we are living in, just about every customer is looking into how they can get rid of those over-priced, legacy Unix systems and ride the PC economics wave.
Could have the subjects swapped to read: With the current economic times we are living in, just about every customer is looking into how they can get rid of those over-priced, legacy Windows systems and ride the Linux economics wave. - and still not really mean much (though many slashdotters may prefer the second version).
A small bottle of 12 year old whiskey can help you out.
But after a large bottle you shouldn't be messing with fuel cells or electrical equipment.
In fact I think I might log off and try some more of the Auchentoshan that I got for xmas =o)
Re:Arithmetic? [was Re:Congrats to the Brits]
on
The Euro
·
· Score: 2
Don't you think that it is better to export to countries closer to you, rather than those further away?
On environmental grounds alone? - yes.
So why can't the UK? Yes, you guessed it, because Sterling
is overvalued against the Euro.
Actually it may have something to do with the systematic destruction of the UK manufacturing industries which once exported to (the rest of) europe:-(
- Derwen
Re:Its recession if they don't join
on
The Euro
·
· Score: 2
Because British exports to the continent are just not going to be competitive unless they either
devalue or join the Euro zone.
When will this myth die? As I said
above , the UK is a net importer from the rest of the EU.
As for Oz - they would be more able to withstand external fluctuations if they hadn't made such a mess of their agriculture (the same could be said for the British Isles;-)
- Derwen
Arithmetic? [was Re:Congrats to the Brits]
on
The Euro
·
· Score: 2
Yeah, well done Britain, who now can't export anything as their currency is overvalued
against the Euro, and who will probably end up using the Euro whether they like it or not,
despite having no control over it.
Are you saying that weak currencies are good?
If exports are more expensive, then imports are cheaper. In the UK vs the rest of the EU, you will find that the UK is a net importer from the other european states. Exports mostly go to the USA and other former colonies:-)
- Derwen
Re:How does devaluing happen now??
on
The Euro
·
· Score: 2
It's no different from the different states in the US: people, goods, and services can move
freely among different states, but their laws and the economy are still different.
Not, alas, the laws.
If I am resident in, say Kansas, and wanted in, say, Texas for an act that is illegal in Texas but not Kansas, I will not be deported by the good officials of Kansas.
However if I live in Britain, France or Ireland I can be deported from there for something not illegal there (such as criticising the Church) to another eu state such as Greece or Italy.
It should be noted that no one in any european state voted for such measures - but then most Germans were against the Euro currency. Europe is separated from democracy by more than the odd chad:-/
- Derwen
Innovation dies, because now the receipe is out and there is no driving force to create a better
cheesecake when there's already a working product to sell...
Well, most food does not seem to sell on quality - particularly in the USA.
Nevertheless your argument does not hold for Free/ Open Source Software, in practice at least - as it just keeps getting better:-)
Obligatory disclaimer - I'm a British Conservative, which influences my view on Blair's
Britain a smidge.
I'd be genuinely interested to hear the British Conservative position on Free Software. Surely it was under Conservative stewardship that all the proprietary software was purchased by Queen Elizabeth's government? 8-P
- Derwen
Re:Picture of bills with US bill
on
The Euro
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
They are pretty cool looking.
Just a slight problem with reality, though?
On US (and much other) currency the buildings are national monuments symbolic of a nation's power and/or aspirations...
However the bridges and arches to nowhere on the Toytown Euro cash are entirely imagined
By the time the USA had fully standardised on the dollar (1870s - iirc - when it finally had the reserves to back it up) they certainly had enough symbols of national identity.
The Euro is part of the project to impose 'nationhood' on the united states of Europe, despite their being no such nation - and thus no symbolic bridges and buildings upon which everyone can agree:-(
OK, sorry for the bad etiquette in replying to my own post but I've just been sent a press release on the subject of government funding which is a good example of European states supporting Linux
---------- Forwarded Message ----------
Subject: kmLinux-2.1.1 - New version of German Linux distribution for
schools released
Date: Sat, 03 Nov 2001 11:23:35 +0100
http://www.lernnetz-sh.de/kmLinux
kmLinux is a complete Linux distribution for schools. It is in
development by the Landesbildungsserver Schleswig-Holstein
http://www.lernnetz-sh.de (a govermental organization of the
Bundesstaat Schleswig-Holstein) in close cooperation with the Verein
Freie Software und Bildung e.V. http://fsub.schule.de (Union for
Free Software and Education). kmLinux is very simple to install. In a
single automatically done installation process not only the operating
system will be installed but a lot of useful software and
documentation too. The whole system is preconfigured as far as
possible.
kmLinux comes with a new installer which is able to automatically
resize an existing windows partition (fat16/32). The software
collection is very uptodate: kernel-2.4.12, XFree-4.1.0, KDE-2.2.1
(objprelink), kOffice-1.1, StarOffice-6.0beta, gimp-1.2.2 and
Mozilla-0.9.5
i wasnt being sarcastic - sorry if I came off like that. Europe wont take their anti-trust case as
lightly as the US suddenly is.
That's OK:-)
Despite my comments on Prime Minister Blair the European Union as a whole looks likely to stand a lot firmer than President Bush.
However if Microsoft were a French company, well, who could say what the EU would do then?
[OT] Back in the Day [was Re:Never read it].
on
The Root of All Evil
·
· Score: 2
I, for one, am hiding behind my Hayes Micromodem//e at 300 baud.
300 baud - luxury;-)
Until they lay 'phone cables up this way I continue to communicate with my ISP via smoke signals. I have a paraffin burner at the end of my RS232 giving nearly one bps - it took six months to download this page. I get my U/F via weekly carrier pigeon:-P
To all of those who think it's OK because they happen to agree with him
on the views, how about if kernel maintainers started putting in comments about their
pro-life stance, their pro-Christian religious views, or their pro-gun views
Your argument is not relevant. Religion or gun laws have very little direct impact upon kernel development (for the most part - we can all make up spurious arguments to try and show otherwise). Copyright law has a direct impact not just on the programmers in the country passing the law but also, in the case of the DMCA, on hackers in other countries.
Whether one agrees or disagees with Cox and his tactics, the poloitics involved are affecting the development of Linux (the OS and the kernel) and other Free Software.
The word "and" should not be capitalized when used in a title. Please change accordingly.
Whilst not wishing to condone the generally apalling standard of English found on Slashdot (& that's just in my posts;-) I think you may be a little confused.
Rules of correct use of English are not prescriptive. They are guidelines, helping to ensure one is understood. Bad English is difficult to understand English. Your point, sir, is mere nitpicking.
Slashdot Mirror
But it's the BBC, old boy, they'd be analogue
- Derwen
Hey you've linked to so many interesting stories on osnews lately that I've changed my lynx homepage from slashdot to osnews.
Don't worry, though, I'll still open slashdot every day to *not* read the Jon Katz articles
- Derwen
If anyone would like to give something back and get involved - by maintaining a package, fixing bugs, translating something into a nother language or whatever, please do.
Get on the appropriate mailing list and join in
- Derwen
Yes, but where I live people can spot a joke - even the poor ones that I tell =o)
Hey Bill, I like the apps you did for the VR3, but knock off the advertising of well-known tissue brands. The
Otherwise I'd be tempted to say that you can see a great feature on the Zaurus (and other Linux handhelds) in issue 24 of Linux Format, available in the UK on 21 January. Oh wait, ... nevermind :-)
- Derwen
The Roland/Edirol UA-100 is a great solution.
Currently marketed as the RolandED Audio Canvas UA-100G, it's been around for a while and has good support under Linux and BeOS. You should be able to find a used one. It accepts analogue (mic/guitar) and MIDI inputs (and outputs) and is an all-round good piece of kit.
- Derwen
It was and remains a frightening vision. Those who bleat about MS monopoly practices should remember that desktop software rarely kills or crippl es. There are far more serious battles going on in the world today.
- Derwen
â
And if the mail contains copyrighted songlyrics - well just wait and see what is in store from the following years Exchange..
It's funny how marketing-speak has its meaning (if any) independent of the subject. For example:
With the current economic times we are living in, just about every customer is looking into how they can get rid of those over-priced, legacy Unix systems and ride the PC economics wave.
Could have the subjects swapped to read:
With the current economic times we are living in, just about every customer is looking into how they can get rid of those over-priced, legacy Windows systems and ride the Linux economics wave.
- and still not really mean much (though many slashdotters may prefer the second version).
In fact I think I might log off and try some more of the Auchentoshan that I got for xmas =o)
On environmental grounds alone? - yes.
Actually it may have something to do with the systematic destruction of the UK manufacturing industries which once exported to (the rest of) europe
- Derwen
When will this myth die? As I said above , the UK is a net importer from the rest of the EU.
As for Oz - they would be more able to withstand external fluctuations if they hadn't made such a mess of their agriculture (the same could be said for the British Isles ;-)
- Derwen
Are you saying that weak currencies are good?
If exports are more expensive, then imports are cheaper. In the UK vs the rest of the EU, you will find that the UK is a net importer from the other european states. Exports mostly go to the USA and other former colonies
- Derwen
If I am resident in, say Kansas, and wanted in, say, Texas for an act that is illegal in Texas but not Kansas, I will not be deported by the good officials of Kansas.
However if I live in Britain, France or Ireland I can be deported from there for something not illegal there (such as criticising the Church) to another eu state such as Greece or Italy.
It should be noted that no one in any european state voted for such measures - but then most Germans were against the Euro currency. Europe is separated from democracy by more than the odd chad :-/
- Derwen
Nevertheless your argument does not hold for Free/ Open Source Software, in practice at least - as it just keeps getting better
- Derwen
I'd be genuinely interested to hear the British Conservative position on Free Software. Surely it was under Conservative stewardship that all the proprietary software was purchased by Queen Elizabeth's government? 8-P
- Derwen
Just a slight problem with reality, though?
On US (and much other) currency the buildings are national monuments symbolic of a nation's power and/or aspirations... :-(
However the bridges and arches to nowhere on the Toytown Euro cash are entirely imagined
By the time the USA had fully standardised on the dollar (1870s - iirc - when it finally had the reserves to back it up) they certainly had enough symbols of national identity.
The Euro is part of the project to impose 'nationhood' on the united states of Europe, despite their being no such nation - and thus no symbolic bridges and buildings upon which everyone can agree
I did say it was OT, but what the hell - mod me down anyway ;-P
- Derwen
That's OK :-)
Despite my comments on Prime Minister Blair the European Union as a whole looks likely to stand a lot firmer than President Bush.
However if Microsoft were a French company, well, who could say what the EU would do then?
- Derwen
I assume that this is sarcasm in light of the track record of one EU country's leader. :-)
However some European countries are flying the flag for Free Software and open standards
- Derwen
300 baud - luxury ;-)
:-P
Until they lay 'phone cables up this way I continue to communicate with my ISP via smoke signals. I have a paraffin burner at the end of my RS232 giving nearly one bps - it took six months to download this page. I get my U/F via weekly carrier pigeon
Your argument is not relevant. Religion or gun laws have very little direct impact upon kernel development (for the most part - we can all make up spurious arguments to try and show otherwise). Copyright law has a direct impact not just on the programmers in the country passing the law but also, in the case of the DMCA, on hackers in other countries.
Whether one agrees or disagees with Cox and his tactics, the poloitics involved are affecting the development of Linux (the OS and the kernel) and other Free Software.
- Derwen
Whilst not wishing to condone the generally apalling standard of English found on Slashdot (& that's just in my posts ;-) I think you may be a little confused.
Rules of correct use of English are not prescriptive. They are guidelines, helping to ensure one is understood. Bad English is difficult to understand English. Your point, sir, is mere nitpicking.
Respectfully,
- Derwen