It's not so dumb if the user's IP changes with every request (a side effect from the proxies used by numerous ISPs, including AOL) or they refuse cookies (like most of us do). In fact, even my IP info isn't accurate, since I'm behind a firewall and every in my office accesses the web from the same IP address.
Remember kids, always be sure to learn a little something about how modern http browsing environments work before you call someone's web application dumb!
I would just like to congratulate Ian for sticking to his guns, and not backing down on the position of free and open discourse. He's madly idealistic, like many of us who are involved in free software, and he's not afraid to say "if you're afraid of completely free speech, this isn't for you."
Actually, it *is* really difficult to build the source for Netscape 6, since not all of it is open source. Remember that even though it is just a Netscape-branded version of mozilla, there are a handful of features and code that remain proprietary, and are only available from them. In binary form.
How am I supposed to./configure&&make that?
Then again, I think our best bet is to continue using plain mozilla anyway, in the long run. However, don't assume that I can magically pull a Linux/PPC version of Netscape 6 out of my ass. I can't. Only Netscape can do that. ^_^
I can't wait until the kids discover that calling in an anonymous tip is an ideal way to get back at someone for pissing you off.
You won't have to wait. Grade school kids (especially in junior high) can be quite vindictive, it's part of the culture. 13-year-old kids are *supposed* to be mean, that's how they assert their independence and become individuals. It sounds trite, but it really *is* just a phase. Even I had been known to say a few really heartless things in junior high just because everyone else did.
The point is, this W.A.V.E. program is just begging on it's knees for trouble. I can't think of a worse group to give this kind of power to than a bunch of grade school students. I certainly hope that the parents of these kids can realize that, and prevent this program from spreading.
I have several younger siblings who are in grade school, and you'd better believe I'll put my parents on alert.
Originally, the GNOME project had significantly different goals than it does now. It started out as a framework for building services with CORBA (more or less, I'm not an expert on the subject), and turned into a GUI environment that happened to use CORBA as it's underlying communication architecture.
Even right now, the name isn't really as inaccurate or overblown as it sounds, given the services that GNOME provides, and the way they interact with one another. But that's a more objective point anyway.
Um, I would just like to say that as a GNOME user, I don't hate the GNOME panel, so your comment about how "everyone hates" it is just inflammatory and inaccurate. You should avoid such comments, since they can turn an otherwise interesting question into flamebait.
First off, I'd like to say that I love GNOME, it's been my primary environment since 1.0 was released.
Now then, how do you think GNOME will evolve in terms of usability? GNOME has certainly conquered the stability mountain (anyone who argues otherwise probably isn't using release versions), which is almost certainly a side-effect of the Free Software development model. However, while Free Software is generally powerful and easy to use for experienced users, it's not generally the kind of thing a novice can operate easily.
I remember hearing about a "usability group" or something like that for GNOME, to concentrate on interface issues. This is a great idea, but I haven't heard much about this group since then. Are modern user-interface issues a concern for GNOME, or is it mainly trying to match the interface conventions of other popular GUIs (like NeXT, MacOS and Windows)?
This whole OSX thing is actually begining to look pretty interesting. I've seen betas of OSX running on my co-workers' machines, and it looks just like NextStep. And judging by this report, the similarities go even deeper than that. This isn't a surprise, given the circumstances, but it's pretty funny that the next (no pun intended) Apple OS is basically a BSD-based NeXT system. Hee.
If that's their motivation, I say tough shit: you either let your info be indexed freely, or you license the privilege -- no inbetweeners.
But the robots.txt file allows this! eBay can specify that they only want this or that search engine to index them. The robots.txt isn't all or nothing. I think you're giving them too much credit as it is. It's not that they want to have it both ways, it's just that they're too stupid to realize that it doesn't have to be all or nothing. ^_^
that's the problem with you guys. You think you have a good thing with open source
That's just it. I specifically said Free Software, not Open Source. Open Source is a movement that encourages people to release their source code without caring about the freedom associated with it.
I care about good software, but I care more about freedom. Certainly, I'm pragmatic when I need to be, just as most people are. However, I have never had a reason to ignore the issue of freedom altogether. I think that saying "we" (Free Software advocates) have a "problem" is a little insulting. We just have different priorities.
The only real enemies of Free Software are the ones that present a danger to it. Microsoft is not dangerous right now. This battle is about ideals in the sense that the only way to defeat Free Software is to make us not care about it any more. That's why I dislike Sun's attempts at a "compromise."
There are many open source products that are just crap. That's the real enemy to open source.
I agree, to a point. But what about "open source" products that aren't "open" at all? Is that not also an enemy to Open Source, maybe even a greater one? I think so.
But hey, opinions make the world go 'round. Or something. ^_^
I'll leave it to others to discuss whether Sun is *their* personal enemy, or even the enemy of Linux. However, as a major proponent of Free Software, I think that in many ways, Sun is a greater threat to Free Software than Mircosoft!
First of all, I believe that any company that produces only proprietary software is an enemy of Free Software, and freedom in general. I know this sounds Stallman-esqe, but that's because it is. Remember Free Software? It's what we believed in before open source turned us into proponents of a business model instead of an ideal.
But now, Sun has progressed beyond simply producing proprietary software. They have taken the same software and given you the source without giving you the right to use it as you see fit. Fine, that's their disgusting prerogative. Here's the worst part. They're calling it a community license. They can blabber all they want about how they never presented it as "open source." They know exactly what the word "community" implies, and they're spitting in the face of this concept.
This ladies and germs, is what makes them the enemy. I kept hoping that Sun would either rename or redesign the SCSL before they released more software under it, but I have given up hope after the Solaris announcement. As a Free Software proponent, I find Sun's actions disgusting, subversive, misrepresenting and manipulative.
I hope that other Free Software advocates see this as the gross ruse that it is, and spread the word about the SCSL and it's danger to the very community that it claims to represent.
The purpose of a vaccine is to stimulate a preemptive immune resonse to a future exposure to some dangerous substance. I don't see what GPL has in common with that, other than tertiary behavioral aspects listed above.
Actually, that's an excellent description of what the GPL does. Proprietary software is the virus. It encourages people not to share their knowledge with others, and in fact prevents them from doing so, even when they want to! By applying the GPL to a software product, you are inclulating it against future exposure to the extremely dangerous substance of proprietary software.
I guess I should have figured out how useless the American school system was when they wanted to hold me back in kindergarten because I couldn't tie my shoes... Never mind that I could do long division, at that age, it was shoelace tying that was important.
I couldn't let this one go without commenting on it. I am not a doctor, but the above seems like an excellent indicator of some type of autism.
I had already heard about the "geeks as autistics" theory months ago, and personally, I was comforted by it. In my case, it explains a lot Carl Sagan said that as a scientist, one must be cautious of results that you *want* to believe. The more you want to believe your results, the more careful you have to be with them. I'm not 100% sold on this theory, but I'm comfortable believing it for now, and besides, I'm not really a scientist. ^_^
I'll admit that I find the iMacs to be cute, attractive little machines. However, every single "concept" design I've seen from Intel is unrepentantly ugly. Does anyone else get the feeling they're trying too hard? I mean, at least you can tell that the iMac is a computer. Why do I want a PC that looks like a footrest?
Even funnier is the article. Somehow, the author thinks that the spread of ubiquitous PCs will somehow commoditize it to the point that nobody will care about them, a la the hand calculator. What a load of crap. Why don't we get excited about hand calculators anymore? Because we have computers! And we buy them from the same folks who used to make those old hand calculators!
Sowing the seeds of their own destruction indeed. Sheesh. Somebody's been reading Overdramatic Punditry for Dummmies.
You're right on many points, but I seriously disagree with you on one point:
Sooner or later something better will come along and people will use it because its the better tool. The OSS-religous types are stuck with linux, I just don't see a new OS coming out of the OSS community, linux is now as much a part of their religion as the GPL. I hope im wrong about that and a truly modern OS will emerge from the OSS model, but I doubt it.
Don't worry, I have good news. You are indeed wrong, and here's why. Linux is not irrevocably married to the Free Software community just because it use's the FSF's GPL. Far from it. All the things that make Linux sexy now will eventually be old news. It's inevitable. However, the lessons that we learned from Linux are going to stick with us (dare I say it?) permanently. By the time Linux reaches world domination, the virtues of Free Software will be well understood. That's why the next big thing in OS design (when it arrives) will be laughed right out of the running unless it's free:
"You expect me to run your proprietary OS? How am I supposed to get it to work without source code and an open developer community?"
That's right kids. By the time Linux wins, not only will there already be better alternatives available, they'll all be free.
Well, to be fair, Direct3D isn't a proprietary API, it's just not cross-platform. I'm rooting for OpenGL (and Mesa, natch) because it's a cross-platform API with a srtong future on XFree86.
Since Direct3D supports a wide number of cards, and anyone can write a driver/game for it, I don't think it's really proprietary, is it?
Just a thought. I can be even-handed because I haven't sat in front of a Windows box in over 3 months. Hee. ^_^
It seems as though the author missed the point of his own article. He spent about half of it telling us that he wasn't there to present blind Linux evangelism, and instead provide some contructive criticism. Then he proceeds to dispute all manner of FUD without ever presenting a single useful critique of the GNU/Linux system. Does this seem odd to anyone else?
I was really looking forward to reading some honest, even-handed criticism of the OS we all know and love, and instead I got to read several paragraphs of stuff that I already know, and that I've read 50 times elsewhere.
I've never been an avid JonKatz hater, but I've also found most of his work to be a little self-serving, and usually way too fanciful.
This article struck me as thoughtful and insightful, and it was a pleasure to read. Like another reader mentioned, this is one of the first JonKatz articles I've read all the way through, and stayed interested.
I think Katz represents a small but vital portion of the media that wants to understand and embrace the so-called "new media." While sometimes his efforts are awkward and even poorly expressed, he is showing a real affinity for this medium, and I think there's more than enough room for his vision of the future.
So keep it up, Jon! Continue to preach to the masses as well as the converted (if only so we can keep you grounded in reality once in a while!). And just so the message doesn't get lost in all this criticism, let me say again that I thought the article was excellent.
My very first experience with Linux was with Slackware 1.0. When I started using Linux regularly (a few years later), it was RedHat. During my first years in the industry, I was knee-deep in FreeBSD, so naturally my first linux was going to come from Walnut Creek. ^_^
Admittedly, Slackware doesn't interest me anymore. However, all of Rob's comments on Debian make me wonder if maybe I ought to check that distro out.
I recently moved about 30 mins south, where a different cable company rules the roost. I was quite relieved to be rid of MediaOne. In Santa Clarita, CA, it was almost exactly as Rob described it.
MST3K was an excellent show, and I'm sorry to see it go. I remember renting the movie (which was basically just another episode of the show) with some friends of mine. They could not understand what I thought was so damn funny.
On the other hand, it might be better to let the show exit gracefully, rather that waiting until the creative forces behind it get bored and stop producing the hilarious content they are now.
I think the advantage of IPP is that it specifies a portable (as in implemented on more than 2 architectures) standard.
There are a number of technologies that allow you to print via TCP/IP (I used to manage a network that used HPJetDirect, what a pain that was...), and other will doubtless show up.
I have high hopes for IPP simply because if all the printer manufacturers get excited about it, they'll implement it in hardware, and we'll have another unified interface for printing. The more driver functionality Linux programmers can consolidate, the better!
Slashdot Mirror
Remember kids, always be sure to learn a little something about how modern http browsing environments work before you call someone's web application dumb!
Just a little friendly advice,
-zack
It's available in public CVS. Always has been. It doesn't get much more available than that.
-zack
You go, son.
-zack
How am I supposed to ./configure&&make that?
Then again, I think our best bet is to continue using plain mozilla anyway, in the long run. However, don't assume that I can magically pull a Linux/PPC version of Netscape 6 out of my ass. I can't. Only Netscape can do that. ^_^
-zack
You won't have to wait. Grade school kids (especially in junior high) can be quite vindictive, it's part of the culture. 13-year-old kids are *supposed* to be mean, that's how they assert their independence and become individuals. It sounds trite, but it really *is* just a phase. Even I had been known to say a few really heartless things in junior high just because everyone else did.
The point is, this W.A.V.E. program is just begging on it's knees for trouble. I can't think of a worse group to give this kind of power to than a bunch of grade school students. I certainly hope that the parents of these kids can realize that, and prevent this program from spreading.
I have several younger siblings who are in grade school, and you'd better believe I'll put my parents on alert.
-zack
First of all, it's Model, not Modeling.
But that's beside the point.
Originally, the GNOME project had significantly different goals than it does now. It started out as a framework for building services with CORBA (more or less, I'm not an expert on the subject), and turned into a GUI environment that happened to use CORBA as it's underlying communication architecture.
Even right now, the name isn't really as inaccurate or overblown as it sounds, given the services that GNOME provides, and the way they interact with one another. But that's a more objective point anyway.
Hope this helps.
-zack
Regards,
-zack
Now then, how do you think GNOME will evolve in terms of usability? GNOME has certainly conquered the stability mountain (anyone who argues otherwise probably isn't using release versions), which is almost certainly a side-effect of the Free Software development model. However, while Free Software is generally powerful and easy to use for experienced users, it's not generally the kind of thing a novice can operate easily.
I remember hearing about a "usability group" or something like that for GNOME, to concentrate on interface issues. This is a great idea, but I haven't heard much about this group since then. Are modern user-interface issues a concern for GNOME, or is it mainly trying to match the interface conventions of other popular GUIs (like NeXT, MacOS and Windows)?
Thanks for your time,
-zack
-zack
But the robots.txt file allows this! eBay can specify that they only want this or that search engine to index them. The robots.txt isn't all or nothing. I think you're giving them too much credit as it is. It's not that they want to have it both ways, it's just that they're too stupid to realize that it doesn't have to be all or nothing. ^_^
-zack
I care about good software, but I care more about freedom. Certainly, I'm pragmatic when I need to be, just as most people are. However, I have never had a reason to ignore the issue of freedom altogether. I think that saying "we" (Free Software advocates) have a "problem" is a little insulting. We just have different priorities.
The only real enemies of Free Software are the ones that present a danger to it. Microsoft is not dangerous right now. This battle is about ideals in the sense that the only way to defeat Free Software is to make us not care about it any more. That's why I dislike Sun's attempts at a "compromise."
I agree, to a point. But what about "open source" products that aren't "open" at all? Is that not also an enemy to Open Source, maybe even a greater one? I think so.But hey, opinions make the world go 'round. Or something. ^_^
-zackFirst of all, I believe that any company that produces only proprietary software is an enemy of Free Software, and freedom in general. I know this sounds Stallman-esqe, but that's because it is. Remember Free Software? It's what we believed in before open source turned us into proponents of a business model instead of an ideal.
But now, Sun has progressed beyond simply producing proprietary software. They have taken the same software and given you the source without giving you the right to use it as you see fit. Fine, that's their disgusting prerogative. Here's the worst part. They're calling it a community license. They can blabber all they want about how they never presented it as "open source." They know exactly what the word "community" implies, and they're spitting in the face of this concept.
This ladies and germs, is what makes them the enemy. I kept hoping that Sun would either rename or redesign the SCSL before they released more software under it, but I have given up hope after the Solaris announcement. As a Free Software proponent, I find Sun's actions disgusting, subversive, misrepresenting and manipulative.
I hope that other Free Software advocates see this as the gross ruse that it is, and spread the word about the SCSL and it's danger to the very community that it claims to represent.
-zack
The Idiot's Guide to Linux for Dummies Unleashed in 21 Days
That covers all the bases, doesn't it?
Actually, that's an excellent description of what the GPL does. Proprietary software is the virus. It encourages people not to share their knowledge with others, and in fact prevents them from doing so, even when they want to! By applying the GPL to a software product, you are inclulating it against future exposure to the extremely dangerous substance of proprietary software.
Viola. Thank you and good night.
-zack
I couldn't let this one go without commenting on it. I am not a doctor, but the above seems like an excellent indicator of some type of autism.
I had already heard about the "geeks as autistics" theory months ago, and personally, I was comforted by it. In my case, it explains a lot Carl Sagan said that as a scientist, one must be cautious of results that you *want* to believe. The more you want to believe your results, the more careful you have to be with them. I'm not 100% sold on this theory, but I'm comfortable believing it for now, and besides, I'm not really a scientist. ^_^
-zack
I'll admit that I find the iMacs to be cute, attractive little machines. However, every single "concept" design I've seen from Intel is unrepentantly ugly. Does anyone else get the feeling they're trying too hard? I mean, at least you can tell that the iMac is a computer. Why do I want a PC that looks like a footrest?
Even funnier is the article. Somehow, the author thinks that the spread of ubiquitous PCs will somehow commoditize it to the point that nobody will care about them, a la the hand calculator. What a load of crap. Why don't we get excited about hand calculators anymore? Because we have computers! And we buy them from the same folks who used to make those old hand calculators!
Sowing the seeds of their own destruction indeed. Sheesh. Somebody's been reading Overdramatic Punditry for Dummmies.
-zack
Sooner or later something better will come along and people will use it because its the better tool. The OSS-religous types are stuck with linux, I just don't see a new OS coming out of the OSS community, linux is now as much a part of their religion as the GPL. I hope im wrong about that and a truly modern OS will emerge from the OSS model, but I doubt it.
Don't worry, I have good news. You are indeed wrong, and here's why. Linux is not irrevocably married to the Free Software community just because it use's the FSF's GPL. Far from it. All the things that make Linux sexy now will eventually be old news. It's inevitable. However, the lessons that we learned from Linux are going to stick with us (dare I say it?) permanently. By the time Linux reaches world domination, the virtues of Free Software will be well understood. That's why the next big thing in OS design (when it arrives) will be laughed right out of the running unless it's free:
"You expect me to run your proprietary OS? How am I supposed to get it to work without source code and an open developer community?"
That's right kids. By the time Linux wins, not only will there already be better alternatives available, they'll all be free.
I can't wait.
-zack
Since Direct3D supports a wide number of cards, and anyone can write a driver/game for it, I don't think it's really proprietary, is it?
Just a thought. I can be even-handed because I haven't sat in front of a Windows box in over 3 months. Hee. ^_^
-zack
I was really looking forward to reading some honest, even-handed criticism of the OS we all know and love, and instead I got to read several paragraphs of stuff that I already know, and that I've read 50 times elsewhere.
Honestly, what was his point?
-zack
This article struck me as thoughtful and insightful, and it was a pleasure to read. Like another reader mentioned, this is one of the first JonKatz articles I've read all the way through, and stayed interested.
I think Katz represents a small but vital portion of the media that wants to understand and embrace the so-called "new media." While sometimes his efforts are awkward and even poorly expressed, he is showing a real affinity for this medium, and I think there's more than enough room for his vision of the future.
So keep it up, Jon! Continue to preach to the masses as well as the converted (if only so we can keep you grounded in reality once in a while!). And just so the message doesn't get lost in all this criticism, let me say again that I thought the article was excellent.
-zack
Admittedly, Slackware doesn't interest me anymore. However, all of Rob's comments on Debian make me wonder if maybe I ought to check that distro out.
-zack
MST3K was an excellent show, and I'm sorry to see it go. I remember renting the movie (which was basically just another episode of the show) with some friends of mine. They could not understand what I thought was so damn funny.
On the other hand, it might be better to let the show exit gracefully, rather that waiting until the creative forces behind it get bored and stop producing the hilarious content they are now.
-zack
There are a number of technologies that allow you to print via TCP/IP (I used to manage a network that used HPJetDirect, what a pain that was...), and other will doubtless show up.
I have high hopes for IPP simply because if all the printer manufacturers get excited about it, they'll implement it in hardware, and we'll have another unified interface for printing. The more driver functionality Linux programmers can consolidate, the better!
-zack