Microsoft be free from viruses and worms? To the average reader of this article, the response is....there's a snowball's chance in hell of that happening. So there must be something else behind it (DRM......etc.), even when they deny that there's any tracking methodology built-in.
FWIW, the article screwed up on the PIII serial number. The more I think about that one, the less I care. Your proc has a unique ID that someone can retrieve over the 'net? Yah, in most cases, so does your NIC.
Caldera and TurboLinux are having problems, blah blah blah blah. UnitedLinux isn't going to solve the problems that exist for cross-portability among platforms. The way I see it, there are three camps -- Slackware, Debian and RedHat. Got an app that you want to run on Debian? $>apt-cache search foo Didn't find it? Okay, download the tarball and compile it yourself, and then make a.deb. RedHat? Use apt-for-RPM and do the same thing. Can't find it? Check rpmfind.net. You can risk it with a binary RPM, or you can get the source and do $>rpm --rebuild foobar.src.rpm --target athlon. That applies to any rpm-based distro, which all of the UnitedLinux participants are. Slackware? Just download the tarball and do your thing. If you don't have the right dependency stuff, you go from there. But really and truly, most distros already have what most people need -- cross-portability of 3rd party apps isn't all that important.
It is official. VNUNet confirms: UnitedLinux is dying
Another more crippling bombshell hit the already beleaguered UnitedLinux community when VNU confirmed that UnitedLinux market share has dropped yet again, now down to less than a fraction of 1 percent of sold distros. Coming on the heels of a recent Slashdot survey which plainly states that UnitedLinux has lost more market share, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. UnitedLinux is collapsing in complete disarray, as fittingly exemplified by failing Mandrake's refusal to join the project..
You don't need to be Major Ed Dames to predict UnitedLinux's future. The hand writing is on the wall: UnitedLinux faces a bleak future. In fact there won't be any future at all for UnitedLinux because UnitedLinux is dying. Things are looking very bad for UnitedLinux. As many of us are already aware, UnitedLinux continues to lose market share. Red ink flows like a river of blood.
Caldera is the most endangered of them all, having lost 93% of its core developers. The sudden and unpleasant departures of long time Caldera CEO Ransom Love only serves to underscore the point more clearly. There can no longer be any doubt: Caldera OpenDesktop is dying.
Let's keep to the facts and look at the numbers.
Slashdot conducted a poll asking people what they thought of UnitedLinux. Only 14% said that they thought it was a good idea. A full 39% said that they'd stick with RedHat or Debian. Even assuming the forthcoming CowboyNeal Linux is UnitedLinux-based, that only gives UnitedLinux 23% of the Linux market.
Due to the dismal sales of Caldera OpenDesktop, the company has been renamed and they are focusing on their sales of SCO Unix.
All major surveys show that UnitedLinux has steadily declined in market share. UnitedLinux is very sick and its long term survival prospects are very dim. If UnitedLinux is to survive at all it will be among OS dilettante dabblers. UnitedLinux continues to decay. Nothing short of a miracle could save it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, UnitedLinux is dead.
1 Mylar Balloon (you could use the heart-shaped one that your girlfriend gave you....) 1 Slingshot 1 pair tongs 1 burner (okay, so a zippo will probably work) 1 rock/nut (something you can easily shoot with the slingshot, and will get really, really hot over the burner)
Using the tongs to hold the rock, heat it over the burner until it is very hot. If you've got some really snazzy equipment, make it glow. (IMPORTANT: DO NOT USE A SANDSTONE ROCK!) Place balloon strategically so that it blocks something valuable (like a priceless painting on the wall). Carefully using the tongs, arm the slingshot with the rock/nut. Fire the slingshot at the balloon. See how long that plastic lasts upon encountering super-heated rock or metal, and how well the object behind fared.
Repeat the experiment if you miss the balloon. Record and analyze your results.
Re:The Constitution doesn't need amending
on
Want Freedom?
·
· Score: 2
The problem that we're having is not the erosion of our rights. It's the over-interpretation of the constitution that is creating implied rights.
I point you to the Ninth Amendment. It's kind of short and uninteresting, but it's important. So, too, is Amendment 10.
Now, the thing to which you (and others) have referred is to "new" rights which have been invented lately. The biggest one....or should I say the one that knee-jerk Conservatives typically point to....is the "right to privacy." I point to section VIII of the Court's opinion in Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973).
Bottom line.....you've got rights you didn't even know about, and they're just as valid as the ones enumerated in the Constitution.
I knew you could. RedHat, despite the upstarts around it, have succeeded. Mandrake aimed straight for the Desktop, and is in financial trouble, while RedHat went for the big bucks in the server market first, and will move to the desktop later. In no way has RedHat used the tactics that MS did to gain their position of dominance.
I use RedHat sometimes, but I prefer Debian. The only way that I could see that RedHat could be compared to Microsoft is that they aren't the best in everything, but they're decent in everything. If you want to set up a server, a RedHat CD works. If you want to show Linux off to a newbie, RedHat works.
You could probably say the same about SuSE....the only difference is that RedHat had a head start being based in the US. European software manufacturers have always been at a disadvantage in the US market (which is the majority of computer users, like it or not).
When I browse at work, I can't go look at any pr0n. But I get as many annoying ads and popups on legit sites as I did on pr0n sites before I started using galeon.:-) As for Spam, I get nearly as much from legit companies (Sony, Orbitz, Priceline, Alaska Air...) as I do from the snakeoil salesmen.
A bigger question, though, is why do we have to "save the Internet?" Many legitimate industries started out with less-than-honorable beginnings. And places can transform their images from sin to family.
What I have bought is a cabinet full of DVD's. ObAOL: Me too! Now when for $18 I can choose between a CD with less than 60 minutes of GOOD music You mean about ten minutes of good music, MAX. It's been a long time since I bought a CD that had more than three songs on it that I like (I can think of two CDs released in the past two years that fit that bill).
And no, I'm not really boycotting the RIAA. There's just nothing good out, lately. I *am* boycotting BestBuy for their copy protection support. But I'm not dl'ing that much music, either. I'm listening to the stuff I've got, or, weird radio.
Just a logical progression, really. They already get information (phone, mailing address) from various organizations (I once got mailers from the NRA and ACLU in one day...how's that for political diversity?); now they'll ask for the e-mail addresses too.
I will say this, though. While I'll tolerate political spam, I will never vote for a candidate who buys popup ads.:-)
This is something like patenting keys and locks. Obviously, if Microsoft ever tried to say something like: "No, you can't view your documents", I think the justice department would immediately step in and cry foul, much as if the person who invented the key demanded that all people who owned and used keys for operating locks pay him a surcharge or discontinue their use.
I'm not sure that Justice would be so quick to do that. The real concern is that a situation such as this would arise.....
1. You create document/opus/graphic with propriety tool X, document great_work.msx. 2. Propreitary software maker patents the file format, and includes methods (Palladium, anyone) which make it impossible to open in anything other than proprietary tool X. 3. You, as artist, no longer agree with the licensing terms (which changed during a bugfix that was automatically installed). 4. You're screwed.
Now, the old way of remedying this would be, 5. Write new program that can read file format so that you can continue to use your work, but then; 6. You've violated the DMCA if you do that.
Changelog: 0.1-3.5.89 "Osama Bill Laden" now has proper beard. 0.1-3.5.88 Changed OS Logos to "Axis of Evil" Flags. 0.1-2.7.34 Changed "Hand" cursor in XBill^H^H^H^H^HArmy of One to M-16 target.
While I have no fundamental problems with the GPL, the philosophy upon which this document is based is flawed.
That to secure these Rights, and in particular the last, Commercial Organisations are created to serve the People, deriving their just powers from the consent and free choice and will of the People.
Wrong. Not in America. While this sentiment is one of pure democracy, the United States is not a democracy. Commercial organizations can be formed for whatever purpose the founders intend them to be formed. It is not a proper role of government (via public sentiment in a democracy) to decide which businesses are apropro and which aren't. Businesses which do not operate via force or fraud, no matter how despicable otherwise, have a right to operate. And hopefully fail.
That whenever any Form of Commercial Organisation becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Forms of Commercial Organisation, laying their foundation on such principles and organizing their powers in such ways, as to them shall seem most likely to secure their personal autonomy and continued happiness.
See above. This kind of thinking gives creedance to things such as prohibition, elimination of gambling, banning tobacco companies, etc. etc. Anything that doesn't fit the tyrannical majority's view of "right" no longer is able to exist. These are not Capitalistic values. They are not free values. They are certainly not American values. They are not Communist or Socialist values, either. What they are are democratic values.
And despite what the politicians will tell you, democracy is not good. Democracy is two wolves and a sheep deciding who is for dinner. Majority rule, restrained by individual liberty (including the liberty to start a business) is fundamental to freedom. No individual can ever be free in a democratic society.
First server that gets DOS'd by a record company....ooh, I know about fifteen attorneys who'd love to get their hands on that case. Damages for loss of business, trespass, illegal taking, etc. etc.
And this says nothing about the legit filesharing that it'd potentially end.
Time to drop another letter to Rep. Boucher (D-VA), and Senator Leahy (D-VT)......this can be nipped in the bud.
If your intelligent enough to scare them with your l33t skillZ, you should know not to in the first place.
IIRC, I didn't put any of my 133t zkillZ down, nor anything but my then current employer for my job history. I did put down things like my HS diploma, my major in college, and my current GPA.
BTW, in your statement, "your" is incorrect, it's "you're." But then, you've proved my point by a) admitting you were hired by worldcom, and b) posting as an AC to flame, and c).....
I could go on and on. Good riddance. Even though WorldCom is one of the largest employers in my area, I find myself rooting for the other guys. This latest news just confirms my suspicions....
I was "overqualified" to work for them. Sadly, there was a point where I was looking for something else to do. I wanted something that was basically brainless, mundane, paid okay, and provided decent benefits. I figured that although I'd hate it, I could be a decent telemarketer (I can speak, unlike 80% of normal telemarketers). I took their little employment test, did the interview, and was told that I wasn't the type of person they were looking for -- overqualified. I suppose, however, that if corporate management is going to be doing questionable things, they prefer to have mindless drones working for them. Fewer people to make mental notes.
Is it totally accurate to call this a lake? What's known is that at some time in the past, a large body of liquid resided there. If it's freshwater, it's a lake. If it's saltwater, it's a sea. (Trying to recall geography....)
Then again, it could have been the little green guys' cellestial keg. Gives a whole new meaning to "Free as in beer."
Despite all the recent hype about tablets, I really can't forsee them selling well. I mean, wasn't this tried before? This is especially true when most of the ones I've seen reviewed cost more than a notebook (~$3000). Yeah, you can hang it on a wall, but is the extra grand really worth being able to type on a virtual keyboard with a stylus?
The actions of the UnitedLinux group will simply cause developers to state that their software is explicitly NOT CERTIFIED (by the developers) for use on UnitedLinux, which would be particularly damaging to the distro companies, if enough large projects made this statement.
From the GPL...
" 6. Each time you redistribute the Program (or any work based on the Program), the recipient automatically receives a license from the original licensor to copy, distribute or modify the Program subject to these terms and conditions. You may not impose any further restrictions on the recipients' exercise of the rights granted herein."
Emphasis added on my part. UL isn't in violation of the GPL, but developers who impose such restrictions are. They'd have to use a different license. I recall one of the *BSD firewall guys who didn't want his software used in military projects...it had to be pulled from a few things because of that restriction.
All that said, UL has noble goals but bad execution, and I blame most of it on Caldera. The concept of per-seat licenses is antithetical to what Linux is about. I don't have a problem with per-seat support. The concept of the BSA coming after people for using pirated copies of UL....disgusting.
Furthermore, I think much of the ire aimed at RedHat within the Linux community is misplaced (I use primarily Debian, but I've also got a box running RedHat and one running Mandrake). RedHat releases its code under the GPL and gives qutie a bit back to the community. What the hell has Caldera done? A unified set of core components is a good idea, but not the way that UL is going about it with Caldera's direction.
Hollywood will this, Hollywood wants that. Sounds very much like a dark force and I think that's the effect it will have on readers, especially those who wonder what in hell Hollywood is doing in the middle of what ought to be governmental functions.
Time to dig up 'ol Tailgunner Joe to deal with these Hollywood types.
But seriously, we're all in a tizzy right now about the bill's implecations. Yes, they're bad. Still, I don't think so long as the Democrats control the Senate (at least through January unless a Democrat Senator in a state with a GOP Governor assumes room temperature in the meantime), that this'll ever get to the floor.
Still, my two senators, a few of my local reps (I live in Va....drop Boucher's name in the letter "Dear Rep. So-and-so...talk to Rep. Boucher about this bill...it's worse than kiddy pr0n.") have gotten calls and e-mails, and will get letters soon as I get a printer (damn $50 printers don't last too long).
By completely screwing with a customer's windows installation, they were just innovating, providing the customer with what they want. I mean, who'd want to use anything other than AOL's default settings?/sarcasm
No, this proves exactly what happens when you cater to the lowest common denominator in computing. You try to make it so the customer can't fsck it up, and you end up fscking it up worse than if you hadn't made it easy.
It does, however, seem wrong to me that AOL is paying damages -- if the contention is that the software wouldn't let them use AOL (which they pay for), that's one thing. But a person wouldn't be able to collect from, say, a piece of shareware that screwed things up. "THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDE AS-IS...."
I agree with pretty much everything you've said, except for AbiWord. Don't get me wrong, I like it quite a bit, and have done quite a bit of work in it. But it still is lacking. OO.org or StarOffice would be better choices.
Same thing with Gnumeric. Good product....couldn't quite get everything to work just right when I was working on my statistics final a few weeks back. OpenOffice did what it was supposed to do.
I'm kind of faced with this situation where I work, also because we don't really have *many* legacy apps, but the ones we do have are funky. And about 65 percent of my users are salespeople (nice to look at, but not a whole lot going on upstairs), and the learning curve is steep. Migrating is tough, but it's not impossible. I just haven't found a way to make it as pain-free as it needs to be.....yet.
Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft be free from viruses and worms? To the average reader of this article, the response is....there's a snowball's chance in hell of that happening. So there must be something else behind it (DRM......etc.), even when they deny that there's any tracking methodology built-in.
FWIW, the article screwed up on the PIII serial number. The more I think about that one, the less I care. Your proc has a unique ID that someone can retrieve over the 'net? Yah, in most cases, so does your NIC.
Comes from being bored at work. If I'd been at home, I might very well have been looking at that on a non-UL distro. :-)
Caldera and TurboLinux are having problems, blah blah blah blah. UnitedLinux isn't going to solve the problems that exist for cross-portability among platforms. The way I see it, there are three camps -- Slackware, Debian and RedHat. Got an app that you want to run on Debian? $>apt-cache search foo Didn't find it? Okay, download the tarball and compile it yourself, and then make a .deb. RedHat? Use apt-for-RPM and do the same thing. Can't find it? Check rpmfind.net. You can risk it with a binary RPM, or you can get the source and do $>rpm --rebuild foobar.src.rpm --target athlon. That applies to any rpm-based distro, which all of the UnitedLinux participants are. Slackware? Just download the tarball and do your thing. If you don't have the right dependency stuff, you go from there. But really and truly, most distros already have what most people need -- cross-portability of 3rd party apps isn't all that important.
It is official. VNUNet confirms: UnitedLinux is dying
Another more crippling bombshell hit the already beleaguered UnitedLinux community when VNU confirmed that UnitedLinux market share has dropped yet again, now down to less than a fraction of 1 percent of sold distros. Coming on the heels of a recent Slashdot survey which plainly states that UnitedLinux has lost more market share, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. UnitedLinux is collapsing in complete disarray, as fittingly exemplified by failing Mandrake's refusal to join the project..
You don't need to be Major Ed Dames to predict UnitedLinux's future. The hand writing is on the wall: UnitedLinux faces a bleak future. In fact there won't be any future at all for UnitedLinux because UnitedLinux is dying. Things are looking very bad for UnitedLinux. As many of us are already aware, UnitedLinux continues to lose market share. Red ink flows like a river of blood.
Caldera is the most endangered of them all, having lost 93% of its core developers. The sudden and unpleasant departures of long time Caldera CEO Ransom Love only serves to underscore the point more clearly. There can no longer be any doubt: Caldera OpenDesktop is dying.
Let's keep to the facts and look at the numbers.
Slashdot conducted a poll asking people what they thought of UnitedLinux. Only 14% said that they thought it was a good idea. A full 39% said that they'd stick with RedHat or Debian. Even assuming the forthcoming CowboyNeal Linux is UnitedLinux-based, that only gives UnitedLinux 23% of the Linux market.
Due to the dismal sales of Caldera OpenDesktop, the company has been renamed and they are focusing on their sales of SCO Unix.
All major surveys show that UnitedLinux has steadily declined in market share. UnitedLinux is very sick and its long term survival prospects are very dim. If UnitedLinux is to survive at all it will be among OS dilettante dabblers. UnitedLinux continues to decay. Nothing short of a miracle could save it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, UnitedLinux is dead.
Fact: UnitedLinux is dying
I guess Jim Exon has moved to Bejing.
Materials Req'd:
1 Mylar Balloon (you could use the heart-shaped one that your girlfriend gave you....)
1 Slingshot
1 pair tongs
1 burner (okay, so a zippo will probably work)
1 rock/nut (something you can easily shoot with the slingshot, and will get really, really hot over the burner)
Using the tongs to hold the rock, heat it over the burner until it is very hot. If you've got some really snazzy equipment, make it glow. (IMPORTANT: DO NOT USE A SANDSTONE ROCK!) Place balloon strategically so that it blocks something valuable (like a priceless painting on the wall). Carefully using the tongs, arm the slingshot with the rock/nut. Fire the slingshot at the balloon. See how long that plastic lasts upon encountering super-heated rock or metal, and how well the object behind fared.
Repeat the experiment if you miss the balloon. Record and analyze your results.
The problem that we're having is not the erosion of our rights. It's the over-interpretation of the constitution that is creating implied rights.
I point you to the Ninth Amendment. It's kind of short and uninteresting, but it's important. So, too, is Amendment 10.
Now, the thing to which you (and others) have referred is to "new" rights which have been invented lately. The biggest one....or should I say the one that knee-jerk Conservatives typically point to....is the "right to privacy." I point to section VIII of the Court's opinion in Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973).
Bottom line.....you've got rights you didn't even know about, and they're just as valid as the ones enumerated in the Constitution.
I knew you could. RedHat, despite the upstarts around it, have succeeded. Mandrake aimed straight for the Desktop, and is in financial trouble, while RedHat went for the big bucks in the server market first, and will move to the desktop later. In no way has RedHat used the tactics that MS did to gain their position of dominance.
I use RedHat sometimes, but I prefer Debian. The only way that I could see that RedHat could be compared to Microsoft is that they aren't the best in everything, but they're decent in everything. If you want to set up a server, a RedHat CD works. If you want to show Linux off to a newbie, RedHat works.
You could probably say the same about SuSE....the only difference is that RedHat had a head start being based in the US. European software manufacturers have always been at a disadvantage in the US market (which is the majority of computer users, like it or not).
When I browse at work, I can't go look at any pr0n. But I get as many annoying ads and popups on legit sites as I did on pr0n sites before I started using galeon. :-) As for Spam, I get nearly as much from legit companies (Sony, Orbitz, Priceline, Alaska Air...) as I do from the snakeoil salesmen.
A bigger question, though, is why do we have to "save the Internet?" Many legitimate industries started out with less-than-honorable beginnings. And places can transform their images from sin to family.
Look at Vegas.
What I have bought is a cabinet full of DVD's.
ObAOL: Me too!
Now when for $18 I can choose between a CD with less than 60 minutes of GOOD music
You mean about ten minutes of good music, MAX. It's been a long time since I bought a CD that had more than three songs on it that I like (I can think of two CDs released in the past two years that fit that bill).
And no, I'm not really boycotting the RIAA. There's just nothing good out, lately. I *am* boycotting BestBuy for their copy protection support. But I'm not dl'ing that much music, either. I'm listening to the stuff I've got, or, weird radio.
Just a logical progression, really. They already get information (phone, mailing address) from various organizations (I once got mailers from the NRA and ACLU in one day...how's that for political diversity?); now they'll ask for the e-mail addresses too.
:-)
I will say this, though. While I'll tolerate political spam, I will never vote for a candidate who buys popup ads.
This is something like patenting keys and locks. Obviously, if Microsoft ever tried to say something like: "No, you can't view your documents", I think the justice department would immediately step in and cry foul, much as if the person who invented the key demanded that all people who owned and used keys for operating locks pay him a surcharge or discontinue their use.
.
I'm not sure that Justice would be so quick to do that. The real concern is that a situation such as this would arise.....
1. You create document/opus/graphic with propriety tool X, document great_work.msx
2. Propreitary software maker patents the file format, and includes methods (Palladium, anyone) which make it impossible to open in anything other than proprietary tool X.
3. You, as artist, no longer agree with the licensing terms (which changed during a bugfix that was automatically installed).
4. You're screwed.
Now, the old way of remedying this would be,
5. Write new program that can read file format so that you can continue to use your work, but then;
6. You've violated the DMCA if you do that.
It's not a pretty picture.
by William H. Gates.
--and--
Mostly Harmless by Douglas Adams.
Some lamebrain moderator actually modded up a *BSD is dying post.
Yeesh.
Changelog:
0.1-3.5.89
"Osama Bill Laden" now has proper beard.
0.1-3.5.88
Changed OS Logos to "Axis of Evil" Flags.
0.1-2.7.34
Changed "Hand" cursor in XBill^H^H^H^H^HArmy of One to M-16 target.
While I have no fundamental problems with the GPL, the philosophy upon which this document is based is flawed.
That to secure these Rights, and in particular the last, Commercial Organisations are created to serve the People, deriving their just powers from the consent and free choice and will of the People.
Wrong. Not in America. While this sentiment is one of pure democracy, the United States is not a democracy. Commercial organizations can be formed for whatever purpose the founders intend them to be formed. It is not a proper role of government (via public sentiment in a democracy) to decide which businesses are apropro and which aren't. Businesses which do not operate via force or fraud, no matter how despicable otherwise, have a right to operate. And hopefully fail.
That whenever any Form of Commercial Organisation becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Forms of Commercial Organisation, laying their foundation on such principles and organizing their powers in such ways, as to them shall seem most likely to secure their personal autonomy and continued happiness.
See above. This kind of thinking gives creedance to things such as prohibition, elimination of gambling, banning tobacco companies, etc. etc. Anything that doesn't fit the tyrannical majority's view of "right" no longer is able to exist. These are not Capitalistic values. They are not free values. They are certainly not American values. They are not Communist or Socialist values, either. What they are are democratic values.
And despite what the politicians will tell you, democracy is not good. Democracy is two wolves and a sheep deciding who is for dinner. Majority rule, restrained by individual liberty (including the liberty to start a business) is fundamental to freedom. No individual can ever be free in a democratic society.
Think about it.
First server that gets DOS'd by a record company....ooh, I know about fifteen attorneys who'd love to get their hands on that case. Damages for loss of business, trespass, illegal taking, etc. etc.
And this says nothing about the legit filesharing that it'd potentially end.
Time to drop another letter to Rep. Boucher (D-VA), and Senator Leahy (D-VT)......this can be nipped in the bud.
If your intelligent enough to scare them with your l33t skillZ, you should know not to in the first place.
IIRC, I didn't put any of my 133t zkillZ down, nor anything but my then current employer for my job history. I did put down things like my HS diploma, my major in college, and my current GPA.
BTW, in your statement, "your" is incorrect, it's "you're." But then, you've proved my point by a) admitting you were hired by worldcom, and b) posting as an AC to flame, and c).....
I could go on and on. Good riddance. Even though WorldCom is one of the largest employers in my area, I find myself rooting for the other guys. This latest news just confirms my suspicions....
I was "overqualified" to work for them. Sadly, there was a point where I was looking for something else to do. I wanted something that was basically brainless, mundane, paid okay, and provided decent benefits. I figured that although I'd hate it, I could be a decent telemarketer (I can speak, unlike 80% of normal telemarketers). I took their little employment test, did the interview, and was told that I wasn't the type of person they were looking for -- overqualified. I suppose, however, that if corporate management is going to be doing questionable things, they prefer to have mindless drones working for them. Fewer people to make mental notes.
Is it totally accurate to call this a lake? What's known is that at some time in the past, a large body of liquid resided there. If it's freshwater, it's a lake. If it's saltwater, it's a sea. (Trying to recall geography....)
Then again, it could have been the little green guys' cellestial keg. Gives a whole new meaning to "Free as in beer."
Despite all the recent hype about tablets, I really can't forsee them selling well. I mean, wasn't this tried before? This is especially true when most of the ones I've seen reviewed cost more than a notebook (~$3000). Yeah, you can hang it on a wall, but is the extra grand really worth being able to type on a virtual keyboard with a stylus?
"It's a drug that gives worms to ex-girlfriends!"
Exactly.
The actions of the UnitedLinux group will simply cause developers to state that their software is explicitly NOT CERTIFIED (by the developers) for use on UnitedLinux, which would be particularly damaging to the distro companies, if enough large projects made this statement.
From the GPL...
" 6. Each time you redistribute the Program (or any work based on the Program), the recipient automatically receives a license from the original licensor to copy, distribute or modify the Program subject to these terms and conditions. You may not impose any further restrictions on the recipients' exercise of the rights granted herein."
Emphasis added on my part. UL isn't in violation of the GPL, but developers who impose such restrictions are. They'd have to use a different license. I recall one of the *BSD firewall guys who didn't want his software used in military projects...it had to be pulled from a few things because of that restriction.
All that said, UL has noble goals but bad execution, and I blame most of it on Caldera. The concept of per-seat licenses is antithetical to what Linux is about. I don't have a problem with per-seat support. The concept of the BSA coming after people for using pirated copies of UL....disgusting.
Furthermore, I think much of the ire aimed at RedHat within the Linux community is misplaced (I use primarily Debian, but I've also got a box running RedHat and one running Mandrake). RedHat releases its code under the GPL and gives qutie a bit back to the community. What the hell has Caldera done? A unified set of core components is a good idea, but not the way that UL is going about it with Caldera's direction.
Hollywood will this, Hollywood wants that. Sounds very much like a dark force and I think that's the effect it will have on readers, especially those who wonder what in hell Hollywood is doing in the middle of what ought to be governmental functions.
Time to dig up 'ol Tailgunner Joe to deal with these Hollywood types.
But seriously, we're all in a tizzy right now about the bill's implecations. Yes, they're bad. Still, I don't think so long as the Democrats control the Senate (at least through January unless a Democrat Senator in a state with a GOP Governor assumes room temperature in the meantime), that this'll ever get to the floor.
Still, my two senators, a few of my local reps (I live in Va....drop Boucher's name in the letter "Dear Rep. So-and-so...talk to Rep. Boucher about this bill...it's worse than kiddy pr0n.") have gotten calls and e-mails, and will get letters soon as I get a printer (damn $50 printers don't last too long).
By completely screwing with a customer's windows installation, they were just innovating, providing the customer with what they want. I mean, who'd want to use anything other than AOL's default settings? /sarcasm
No, this proves exactly what happens when you cater to the lowest common denominator in computing. You try to make it so the customer can't fsck it up, and you end up fscking it up worse than if you hadn't made it easy.
It does, however, seem wrong to me that AOL is paying damages -- if the contention is that the software wouldn't let them use AOL (which they pay for), that's one thing. But a person wouldn't be able to collect from, say, a piece of shareware that screwed things up. "THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDE AS-IS...."
I agree with pretty much everything you've said, except for AbiWord. Don't get me wrong, I like it quite a bit, and have done quite a bit of work in it. But it still is lacking. OO.org or StarOffice would be better choices.
Same thing with Gnumeric. Good product....couldn't quite get everything to work just right when I was working on my statistics final a few weeks back. OpenOffice did what it was supposed to do.
I'm kind of faced with this situation where I work, also because we don't really have *many* legacy apps, but the ones we do have are funky. And about 65 percent of my users are salespeople (nice to look at, but not a whole lot going on upstairs), and the learning curve is steep. Migrating is tough, but it's not impossible. I just haven't found a way to make it as pain-free as it needs to be.....yet.
But that will happen soon.