"Linux users are not being barred from playing DVD movies on their systems. The professor obviously is not aware that all Linux users have available to them a licensed application to do precisely that."
I believe the "licesned player" he mentions is also known as... Microsoft Windows.
ahaning wrote (in part): "If everyone is buying these i-openers and installing Linux on them, Netpliance is not getting any profit That's why they can't target home-networkers who are looking for a cheap flatpanel system."
But they could make similar systems intended for home networkers that cost more, rather than ignore that market. Add a small harddrive and either an ethernet card or an external USB port for an ethernet adaptor. That's what many people are doing with them, and from the i-opener plus parts cost, probably spending $200-250.
If they sold one with that functionality -- a low-powered, cute, network-friendly thing -- for anything under $350, they would probably fly out the door.
"At this point, what we really need to know is what is the goal of the Linux community I mean, is it to get more apps ported, and running, on Linux? Is it to crush Microsoft? Well, this does neither
The way I see it, Linux is an operating system with a cool development system;)
I don't believe that there is a single overriding "goal" that everyone who uses Linux (or even a clear majority) can be said to share. Instead, there are lots of smaller groups within the circle of those who use Linux, who may have some of the goals you mention.
And as for mindshare... I agree that Quake has a bigger impact on users at large than custom hardware / software combos targeted at businesses do, but I don't understand your objection to someone using Linux in this application. After all, people still have to design the hardware, program the applications, and buy those systems -- and money always generates mindshare;)
You're right, the guy behind the counter probably doesn't care what OS runs his register, but then again, he probably appreciates a system that doesn't crash much.
There's a big NUMSAUI ("Not Until My Suppliers Are Using It"] problem with any particular operating system, file format, interface, etc.
You still hear lots of "industry analysts" (mind my scare quotes; I know a lot of them are fine, smart people, but it's the bad apples that stand out) that say Linux "isn't ready for the enterprise" or repeat silly FUD about the dangers of fragmentation. (I'm not saying that danger doesn't exist -- only that even legitimate complaints are often applied out of context.)
And it's not just the number of CPUs running it, it's a) public acceptance, or at least that subset of the public which forms opinions about purchasing computers and b) jobs. If there are thoursands of companies using free / Free software to build their apps and run them on, it means a different type of job market than one in which open-source stuff is viewed as a novelty.
And, my favorite is that the more OSes are experimented with, the more incentive people will have to create documents / data sets that aren't tied to only one platform, which should make it easier for programmers to experiment with The Best Way to do things in pragmatic and not only experimental contexts.
At the risk of giving away a not-at-all-secret source;), I'd like to suggest to anyone who does crave a nice IBM buckling-spring behemoth and is anywhere near Austin, TX to visit the Goodwill computer store on Research Blvd -- near the Dell Factory outlet, too, so you can get a Dell Precision(tm) WorkStation to go with the good keyboard, and only wish it would have as long a useful life.
I've purchased several keyboards there, all of the heavy, clicky, substantial variety. They tend to have quite a few 'ergonomic' split-halves variety, though exactly how ergonomic these are I leave for others to decide, since I don't really like them. And plenty of run-o-the-mill cheapies, too, but some people like that chicklet feel, I think. Anyway, lots of people don't care.
Among the keyboards I've purchased there are two IBMs 'retired' from govt. service at a) NASA and b) some other agency, I forget which. The stock is pretty fluid, though -- you get what you get, and the nicer ones are understandably more than the cheapies.
(Two more bonuses: 1) There's a mini computer 'museum' as you enter with some interesting hardware. For anyone who's only read about a Lisa here on Slashdot and knows Ronald Reagan only from Saturday Night Live re-runs, this is one place you can see one running. 2) Many of the PCs / Macs sold at the store are running Linux -- mostly or all Debian, I think.)
Well, that's a ramble, but I hope someone liked it. I'm sure Goodwill would be happy to be slashdotted with your donations of obsolete (to you) equipment...
You're right -- I wish I'd posted this with more notice.:( On the other hand, the alternative was not to put it up at all. Since the issue's timely and this protest will be in the nation's capital, "putting it up" won.
[Aside: The slashcode is out there, and would make a great basis for a site devoted to announcing political protests, for anyone who wants to start one...]
Signal 11 wrote: "It's a nice idea.. and having them use linux was a neat hack.. I would pressure them to come out with a "linux-ready" version at a higher price.. as you must recognize that they can't support their revenue model with us eating into it - $99 probably does not even cover wholesale costs of the device"
Granted, $99 was a come-on price designed to encourage the 1-choice ISP. But since home networks are becoming ever more common (outside of slashdot demographic, they're still sort of novel, really, though), and since Networks Need Nodes:) a cheap, integrated X-terminal (or maybe better yet, Qt/Embedded terminal) would be a hot seller, even at the original price of the iOpener, $300.
So if anyone from iOpener is reading, please consider making your company (which is already building something Close Enough) the one to take advantage of this opportunity to fill the need for nodes.
"... it looks like Plan B is to use their Slashdot mouthpiece to tell everyone how evil the competition is. I did find it pretty funny and revealing that Timothy even admitted that other people submitted the story, yet he went ahead and chose a particularly inflmmatory and dishonest one. Ya know, for all the bitching that Slashdot does about FUD, nobody wallows in it more consistently than Slashdot itself."
Couple things:
When possible, we try to post a particular story from the first person who submits it. For a number of reasons, that doesn't always happen -- sometimes a link is bad, sometimes the submission contains no content (only the word "link!" or a similarly ambiguous phrase) and sometimes we consider for a longer time whether to post a story at all, then pick from the available submissions. I didn't pick this submission because it was "particularly dishonest and inflammatory," but because I thought it was interesting and would be of interest to other people too. It was also the first one that I say on the topic. I'm sorry you didn't like the one that got posted, but boy -- some of the others really were inflammatory and dishonest.
Also, though I can't force you to believe this, as far as I know no one at VA proper even knows who I am, and they certainly don't give a fig what I post, and this not-caring is recursive.
If I'm part of a conspiracy, the voices in my head have not yet told me about it.:) Any thoughts I have about VA Linux are my own (I think they make very nice, rather pricey Linux boxes), any thoughts they have about slashdot are their own. And for the record, I don't have (and as of now have no plans to acquire) any shares of VA. Maybe one day, but right now, zippo.
"In terms of the non-game aspects of this machine, everything seems fine to me. Linux has already proven itself capable of internet-oriented tasks, and would, in my opinion, make a fine WebTV style device. However, to simply tack on "and it'll play your favorite games!" without thinking it through is not prudent, and I doubt it would sell, to either developers, or consumers."
Agreed.
If they said they'd created a Linux-based "mid-weight client" that happened to play games but more importantly had fast networking, support for multiple output devices, a convenient size and low price, maybe more people would buy in.
I'd like one of these for the living room, and one in the basement (two places currently computer-free in my house) so I could tap out email, check the Web, play a game... but I'm not sure I'd buy a $600 "game console" for that.
The list of specs on the Indrema page lists a standard video out (I think SVGA) as well as the TV outs.
And that makes sense, given the availability of cheap cards from ATi and others that offer the choice between S-video or standard video in addition to the reg. monitor out...
Raindeer wrote: "People assume that because it has been done in a lab it is therefore possible to do it anytime, any place, anywhere. Fact is, you can't. Most inventions are only proof of concept and need alot of work before they can be used by you or me. Now next time you see a cool invention, understand that it takes at least 2 to 3 years t end up on your desktop."
It's a good point that research can take a long time to reach the guy on the street -- on the while, though, I think the reaction here on slashdot is actually pretty reasonable.
It's natural to be excited about new technologies, and for them to suggest possibilities that might not be immediately feasable -- even when the new technology is itself sort of quixotic.
I'm all for tape-storage; I just want it to be on elephant tape so it never breaks.
eries wrote: "... unless they've had a really dramatic breakthrough, this technology is not really good for data entry, period. However, I think that it's _real_ utility could be in applications like digital signature recognition. Imagine that instead of having to remember you secret PGP key you just sign on your trackpad.... That would be cool. Anyone know what kinds of apps they've got planned?"
You're right that for text entry, a handwriting-recognition pad is not very helpful compared to a keyboard. Definitely!
But "data" in the sense of "communicable information" isn't all text. It's a lot easier to draw a little map or a schematic with a stylus than with a trackball or a mouse (IMO); and like you say, handwriting would be neat for signature recognition.
... is the same thing that a few other posters have named: high-quality recording.
MIDI is cool, but I don't know much about nor use it. My musical gene is stunted;) What I/am/ interested in is recording miked sources -- a school choir, a friend playing guitar, my grandmother's voice, interesting environments...
There are some audio-recording utilities for Linux (audiograb), but none that offer the functionality of a simple personal audio workstion like the Akai DPS12.
In fact, this could be a money maker for anyone who wants to sell it: I would really like to find a professional-quality card featuring two XLR inputs (perhaps on a breakout box) and GPLd software to access them, saving into a non-proprietary format. Better, make the interface to the computer a USB connection, and a decent laptop can become a much better tool than my DPS12.
Is usually described as "chocolately," which indeed it accurate, but chocolate I think is not the chief ingredient. It's actually a hazelnut spread. Rich, smooth, spreadable -- try it once and your toast will never be the same.
I'm not sure why it's so little-known in the US (though it's certainly not *unknown*), because I think it's moderately popular in Canada.
One thing that distinguishes these drives is that they have glass rather than aluminum platters.
Since these are soon-to-be available (right now, limited quant. / OEM only) in sizes of a more normal variety* the next hard drive you buy may have glass instead of aluminum holding the data.
That raises a question I hope someone knows the answer to: How do they make the glass strong enough? Is it somehow reinforced with strengthening fibers or similar? That seems logical, but at the thinness of hard drive platters, wouldn't that make them impractically thick? I'd just hate to drop the box with a new IBM drive in it and hear "CRASH! tinkle, tinkle"
timothy
*Though still/huge/ just a few months & years ago.
CrayDrygu wrote: "My immediate reaction, which I see someone else has also posted, was "What right does AOL have to say what Frankel can and can't work on in his off time?" Well, I don't know what kind of deal he signed with AOL, but there may very well be some sort of clause in there restricting this sort of thing."
Unless Frankel got AOL to agree to a non-restrictive employment agreement when he was hired, probably every right.
AOL, love it or hate it (with the choice among these being pretty easy), is a company with it's own goals, even if they're often short-sighted or constrictive. Programmers, to their credit, can and often do circumvent the officialdom of their workplaces to create new / better / fun software, and we all benefit. But it doesn't change AOL's right as contractural proprietor of software, or their right as a Web host to carry / deny any content they want.
Sometimes businesses just act like they were run by Mr. Burns and Dilbert's boss. Think *super* long term, and this could turn out to be mark an inflection point in public opinion about AOL. They've just created some bad blood for themselves on one front (Free software folks / anyone who wants to use Gnutella) while racking up points on another (Warner, RIAA).
A witty AC wrote: "Jon's admitted to committing a crime, lets lock him up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And never have to read one of his articles again."
Well, you don't have to read any of his stories, anyhow, of course:) but I don't think locking JonKatz up would have the effect you desire.
Gandhi, MLK, and Hitler wrote some of their most effective political thought while in prison. Imagine if Jon were to write "Mein Cyberletter From Sing-Sing, or, Why Many Prisons Are *Really* Banning Napster."
I'll gladly contribute some money toward a fund that would go for scholarships for young programmers, as long as it had terms I liked. Creating scholarships which recognize other than conventional success or goals is a tough task, because the reason that deserving people are often passed over as 'underachievers' is precisely because it's hard to tell from the outside what in particular makes a particular person deserving of support unless they wear it on their sleeve.
I'm far from a millionaire, or even a hundred-thousandaire;), but if a few hundred people gave $100 apiece to establish an interest-bearing fund, there could be money to fund several small scholarships. Maybe not $100,000, though you have to respect Intel for giving that much. Unlike scholarships from the NSA, Intel can't demand that you work for them after school:)
And I hereby suggest a domain name which has been floating in my head for a bit for an organization built to fund / sustain small scholarships or other funding projects: "cumulativity.org" (as in cumulative).
For the past few years, Slackware has steadfastly remained modular rather than go in for an idiot-savant installer package. (I'm not knocking either approach, so please, no flames!).
Does this make Slackware better suited than, say, Red Hat, for the creation of site- or institution-specific distro packages? I believe that CAEN Linux at the U of Michigan Engineering school is based on Red Hat, and obviously any open source OS *could* be made site-specific... but since Red Hat makes fewer big-picture demands re. dependencies, etc, I wonder if it'd be the (currently) obvious pick for such applications.
Thanks for doing this interview!
timothy
p.s. Like many others, Slackware (from a CD in the back of some book) was the first experience I had with Linux, and though it took me much wailing and gnashing of teeth, I eventually got it going and was happy at how much smoother and cooler a Linux system with X Window was than the Win3.1 which had come on the machine. Thanks.
I saw it with three friends on the day it opened, at a Sony Theatre in New York. To get to NYC, I we had all taken off our once-in-3-weeks day off from our jobs as camp counselors in Lancaster, PA to drive there. The friend who sat next to me and I started laughing almost from the first minute, and we didn't understand why the people around us weren't also laughing. We met up with the other two friends, who said "Hey, that was pretty good, eh?" Our shock was magnified when we realized those two didn't find anything bothersome about the nutty, nutty plot points which were not incidental but *vital* to the outcome.
a) where can I find information about the menu hack that disables region coding?
b) Will this machine play Video CDs? That's my biggest demand in a player, because I think video CDs are at present the best way to send the relatives a home video or something. (No, I don't have the capability to do this yet, but I'd like to.);)
bons made the excellent point that: "Creating a TLD for porn would go a long way to removing a decent chunk of the problem. Namely, it would make it easy to censor all those who are willing to be censored. Those who aren't willing to be censored will, of course, still be a problem. However, they're a problem regardless of the solution, much like spammers, they "know" that they're right, and that somehow gives them the right to behave as they choose to everyone else.
(First, I would amend that last sentence to read "they know they're in the wrong, but that the material gain they make alllows them to remain contemptous of the rights of others." Same difference.)
But this is an important point: the majority of pornographic sites would like to avoid legal liability for their content, and would probably *like* a way to be easily filtered by browsers who specifically don't want to see their content. Just not blocked to someone who specifically wants to. "Someone" in this case, though, really means some end user, even if it's an aggregate... when IBM buys / provides for / puts on employees desks Internet service, the end user in question is really IBM, rather than its employees. (Likewise, when the employees go home, and buy service on their dime, IBMs standards oughtn't apply.)
timothy
p.s. Tipper Gore, remember, isn't in favor of "censorship." She wants it all nice n' voluntary. ["Captain, captain! The BS meter's just exploded out of the console! We must have encountered a Black Hole of Honesty!"]
Slashdot Mirror
Jack Velenti also referred to this mystery "licensed player" here:
... Microsoft Windows.
He says, in part:
"Linux users are not being barred from playing DVD movies on their systems. The professor obviously is not aware that all Linux users have available to them a licensed application to do precisely that."
I believe the "licesned player" he mentions is also known as
timothy
ahaning wrote (in part): "If everyone is buying these i-openers and installing Linux on them, Netpliance is not getting any profit That's why they can't target home-networkers who are looking for a cheap flatpanel system."
:) )
But they could make similar systems intended for home networkers that cost more, rather than ignore that market. Add a small harddrive and either an ethernet card or an external USB port for an ethernet adaptor. That's what many people are doing with them, and from the i-opener plus parts cost, probably spending $200-250.
If they sold one with that functionality -- a low-powered, cute, network-friendly thing -- for anything under $350, they would probably fly out the door.
(I think
timothy
The way I see it, Linux is an operating system with a cool development system
I don't believe that there is a single overriding "goal" that everyone who uses Linux (or even a clear majority) can be said to share. Instead, there are lots of smaller groups within the circle of those who use Linux, who may have some of the goals you mention.
And as for mindshare
You're right, the guy behind the counter probably doesn't care what OS runs his register, but then again, he probably appreciates a system that doesn't crash much.
There's a big NUMSAUI ("Not Until My Suppliers Are Using It"] problem with any particular operating system, file format, interface, etc.
You still hear lots of "industry analysts" (mind my scare quotes; I know a lot of them are fine, smart people, but it's the bad apples that stand out) that say Linux "isn't ready for the enterprise" or repeat silly FUD about the dangers of fragmentation. (I'm not saying that danger doesn't exist -- only that even legitimate complaints are often applied out of context.)
And it's not just the number of CPUs running it, it's a) public acceptance, or at least that subset of the public which forms opinions about purchasing computers and b) jobs. If there are thoursands of companies using free / Free software to build their apps and run them on, it means a different type of job market than one in which open-source stuff is viewed as a novelty.
And, my favorite is that the more OSes are experimented with, the more incentive people will have to create documents / data sets that aren't tied to only one platform, which should make it easier for programmers to experiment with The Best Way to do things in pragmatic and not only experimental contexts.
Just thoughts,
timothy
At the risk of giving away a not-at-all-secret source;), I'd like to suggest to anyone who does crave a nice IBM buckling-spring behemoth and is anywhere near Austin, TX to visit the Goodwill computer store on Research Blvd -- near the Dell Factory outlet, too, so you can get a Dell Precision(tm) WorkStation to go with the good keyboard, and only wish it would have as long a useful life.
...
I've purchased several keyboards there, all of the heavy, clicky, substantial variety. They tend to have quite a few 'ergonomic' split-halves variety, though exactly how ergonomic these are I leave for others to decide, since I don't really like them. And plenty of run-o-the-mill cheapies, too, but some people like that chicklet feel, I think. Anyway, lots of people don't care.
Among the keyboards I've purchased there are two IBMs 'retired' from govt. service at a) NASA and b) some other agency, I forget which. The stock is pretty fluid, though -- you get what you get, and the nicer ones are understandably more than the cheapies.
(Two more bonuses: 1) There's a mini computer 'museum' as you enter with some interesting hardware. For anyone who's only read about a Lisa here on Slashdot and knows Ronald Reagan only from Saturday Night Live re-runs, this is one place you can see one running. 2) Many of the PCs / Macs sold at the store are running Linux -- mostly or all Debian, I think.)
Well, that's a ramble, but I hope someone liked it. I'm sure Goodwill would be happy to be slashdotted with your donations of obsolete (to you) equipment
timothy
You're right -- I wish I'd posted this with more notice. :( On the other hand, the alternative was not to put it up at all. Since the issue's timely and this protest will be in the nation's capital, "putting it up" won.
...]
[Aside: The slashcode is out there, and would make a great basis for a site devoted to announcing political protests, for anyone who wants to start one
timothy
Naw, but I should have phrased it differently, you're right. :)
...
It's just that research in the genome has advaned so far from their apprehension of its form I bet they're downright stupefied
The homepages you helpfully point to are interesting, not least for their modesty. Pretty low-key, considering hteir most famous achievement.
timothy
Signal 11 wrote: "It's a nice idea.. and having them use linux was a neat hack.. I would pressure them to come out with a "linux-ready" version at a higher price.. as you must recognize that they can't support their revenue model with us eating into it - $99 probably does not even cover wholesale costs of the device"
:) a cheap, integrated X-terminal (or maybe better yet, Qt/Embedded terminal) would be a hot seller, even at the original price of the iOpener, $300.
Granted, $99 was a come-on price designed to encourage the 1-choice ISP. But since home networks are becoming ever more common (outside of slashdot demographic, they're still sort of novel, really, though), and since Networks Need Nodes
So if anyone from iOpener is reading, please consider making your company (which is already building something Close Enough) the one to take advantage of this opportunity to fill the need for nodes.
timothy
Couple things:
When possible, we try to post a particular story from the first person who submits it. For a number of reasons, that doesn't always happen -- sometimes a link is bad, sometimes the submission contains no content (only the word "link!" or a similarly ambiguous phrase) and sometimes we consider for a longer time whether to post a story at all, then pick from the available submissions. I didn't pick this submission because it was "particularly dishonest and inflammatory," but because I thought it was interesting and would be of interest to other people too. It was also the first one that I say on the topic. I'm sorry you didn't like the one that got posted, but boy -- some of the others really were inflammatory and dishonest.
Also, though I can't force you to believe this, as far as I know no one at VA proper even knows who I am, and they certainly don't give a fig what I post, and this not-caring is recursive.
If I'm part of a conspiracy, the voices in my head have not yet told me about it.:) Any thoughts I have about VA Linux are my own (I think they make very nice, rather pricey Linux boxes), any thoughts they have about slashdot are their own. And for the record, I don't have (and as of now have no plans to acquire) any shares of VA. Maybe one day, but right now, zippo.
Hope this clarifies at least a little!
Cordially,
timothy
Thanks for spotting that broken link - I've fixed it now. :)
mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.
timothy
Sleep? ;)
I see that nowhere in my job description.
I'm unfortunately on Eastern Standard, too, but for people in Taipei it's early afternoon, and Islamibadians are already out n' about.
Anything that goes up late though really will be there for you to see in the morning!
timothy
Agreed.
If they said they'd created a Linux-based "mid-weight client" that happened to play games but more importantly had fast networking, support for multiple output devices, a convenient size and low price, maybe more people would buy in.
I'd like one of these for the living room, and one in the basement (two places currently computer-free in my house) so I could tap out email, check the Web, play a game
They're playing up the wrong aspects.
Warning: IAMNAMarketingManager type.
timothy
The list of specs on the Indrema page lists a standard video out (I think SVGA) as well as the TV outs.
...
And that makes sense, given the availability of cheap cards from ATi and others that offer the choice between S-video or standard video in addition to the reg. monitor out
timothy
Raindeer wrote: "People assume that because it has been done in a lab it is therefore possible to do it anytime, any place, anywhere. Fact is, you can't. Most inventions are only proof of concept and need alot of work before they can be used by you or me. Now next time you see a cool invention, understand that it takes at least 2 to 3 years t end up on your desktop."
It's a good point that research can take a long time to reach the guy on the street -- on the while, though, I think the reaction here on slashdot is actually pretty reasonable.
It's natural to be excited about new technologies, and for them to suggest possibilities that might not be immediately feasable -- even when the new technology is itself sort of quixotic.
I'm all for tape-storage; I just want it to be on elephant tape so it never breaks.
timothy
eries wrote: "... unless they've had a really dramatic breakthrough, this technology is not really good for data entry, period. However, I think that it's _real_ utility could be in applications like digital signature recognition. Imagine that instead of having to remember you secret PGP key you just sign on your trackpad.... That would be cool.
Anyone know what kinds of apps they've got planned?"
You're right that for text entry, a handwriting-recognition pad is not very helpful compared to a keyboard. Definitely!
But "data" in the sense of "communicable information" isn't all text. It's a lot easier to draw a little map or a schematic with a stylus than with a trackball or a mouse (IMO); and like you say, handwriting would be neat for signature recognition.
timothy
... is the same thing that a few other posters have named: high-quality recording.
/am/ interested in is recording miked sources -- a school choir, a friend playing guitar, my grandmother's voice, interesting environments ...
MIDI is cool, but I don't know much about nor use it. My musical gene is stunted;) What I
There are some audio-recording utilities for Linux (audiograb), but none that offer the functionality of a simple personal audio workstion like the Akai DPS12.
In fact, this could be a money maker for anyone who wants to sell it: I would really like to find a professional-quality card featuring two XLR inputs (perhaps on a breakout box) and GPLd software to access them, saving into a non-proprietary format. Better, make the interface to the computer a USB connection, and a decent laptop can become a much better tool than my DPS12.
timothy
Is usually described as "chocolately," which indeed it accurate, but chocolate I think is not the chief ingredient. It's actually a hazelnut spread. Rich, smooth, spreadable -- try it once and your toast will never be the same.
I'm not sure why it's so little-known in the US (though it's certainly not *unknown*), because I think it's moderately popular in Canada.
I was happy to see a project named after it:)
timothy
One thing that distinguishes these drives is that they have glass rather than aluminum platters.
/huge/ just a few months & years ago.
Since these are soon-to-be available (right now, limited quant. / OEM only) in sizes of a more normal variety* the next hard drive you buy may have glass instead of aluminum holding the data.
That raises a question I hope someone knows the answer to: How do they make the glass strong enough? Is it somehow reinforced with strengthening fibers or similar? That seems logical, but at the thinness of hard drive platters, wouldn't that make them impractically thick? I'd just hate to drop the box with a new IBM drive in it and hear "CRASH! tinkle, tinkle"
timothy
*Though still
CrayDrygu wrote: "My immediate reaction, which I see someone else has also posted, was "What right does AOL have to say what Frankel can and can't work on in his off time?" Well, I don't know what kind of deal he signed with AOL, but there may very well be some sort of clause in there restricting this sort of thing."
Unless Frankel got AOL to agree to a non-restrictive employment agreement when he was hired, probably every right.
AOL, love it or hate it (with the choice among these being pretty easy), is a company with it's own goals, even if they're often short-sighted or constrictive. Programmers, to their credit, can and often do circumvent the officialdom of their workplaces to create new / better / fun software, and we all benefit. But it doesn't change AOL's right as contractural proprietor of software, or their right as a Web host to carry / deny any content they want.
Sometimes businesses just act like they were run by Mr. Burns and Dilbert's boss. Think *super* long term, and this could turn out to be mark an inflection point in public opinion about AOL. They've just created some bad blood for themselves on one front (Free software folks / anyone who wants to use Gnutella) while racking up points on another (Warner, RIAA).
timothy
A witty AC wrote: "Jon's admitted to committing a crime, lets lock him up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And never have to read one of his articles again."
:) but I don't think locking JonKatz up would have the effect you desire.
Well, you don't have to read any of his stories, anyhow, of course
Gandhi, MLK, and Hitler wrote some of their most effective political thought while in prison. Imagine if Jon were to write "Mein Cyberletter From Sing-Sing, or, Why Many Prisons Are *Really* Banning Napster."
timothy
(smile! smile! smile! repeat.)
I'll gladly contribute some money toward a fund that would go for scholarships for young programmers, as long as it had terms I liked. Creating scholarships which recognize other than conventional success or goals is a tough task, because the reason that deserving people are often passed over as 'underachievers' is precisely because it's hard to tell from the outside what in particular makes a particular person deserving of support unless they wear it on their sleeve.
;), but if a few hundred people gave $100 apiece to establish an interest-bearing fund, there could be money to fund several small scholarships. Maybe not $100,000, though you have to respect Intel for giving that much. Unlike scholarships from the NSA, Intel can't demand that you work for them after school :)
I'm far from a millionaire, or even a hundred-thousandaire
And I hereby suggest a domain name which has been floating in my head for a bit for an organization built to fund / sustain small scholarships or other funding projects: "cumulativity.org" (as in cumulative).
timothy
Patrick:
... but since Red Hat makes fewer big-picture demands re. dependencies, etc, I wonder if it'd be the (currently) obvious pick for such applications.
For the past few years, Slackware has steadfastly remained modular rather than go in for an idiot-savant installer package. (I'm not knocking either approach, so please, no flames!).
Does this make Slackware better suited than, say, Red Hat, for the creation of site- or institution-specific distro packages? I believe that CAEN Linux at the U of Michigan Engineering school is based on Red Hat, and obviously any open source OS *could* be made site-specific
Thanks for doing this interview!
timothy
p.s. Like many others, Slackware (from a CD in the back of some book) was the first experience I had with Linux, and though it took me much wailing and gnashing of teeth, I eventually got it going and was happy at how much smoother and cooler a Linux system with X Window was than the Win3.1 which had come on the machine. Thanks.
I saw it with three friends on the day it opened, at a Sony Theatre in New York. To get to NYC, I we had all taken off our once-in-3-weeks day off from our jobs as camp counselors in Lancaster, PA to drive there. The friend who sat next to me and I started laughing almost from the first minute, and we didn't understand why the people around us weren't also laughing. We met up with the other two friends, who said "Hey, that was pretty good, eh?" Our shock was magnified when we realized those two didn't find anything bothersome about the nutty, nutty plot points which were not incidental but *vital* to the outcome.
Funny how that stuff works.
timothy
a) where can I find information about the menu hack that disables region coding?
;)
b) Will this machine play Video CDs? That's my biggest demand in a player, because I think video CDs are at present the best way to send the relatives a home video or something. (No, I don't have the capability to do this yet, but I'd like to.)
timothy
bons made the excellent point that: "Creating a TLD for porn would go a long way to removing a decent chunk of the problem. Namely, it would make it easy to censor all those who are willing to be censored. Those who aren't willing to be censored will, of course, still be a problem. However, they're a problem regardless of the solution, much like spammers, they "know" that they're right, and that somehow gives them the right to behave as they choose to everyone else.
... when IBM buys / provides for / puts on employees desks Internet service, the end user in question is really IBM, rather than its employees. (Likewise, when the employees go home, and buy service on their dime, IBMs standards oughtn't apply.)
(First, I would amend that last sentence to read "they know they're in the wrong, but that the material gain they make alllows them to remain contemptous of the rights of others." Same difference.)
But this is an important point: the majority of pornographic sites would like to avoid legal liability for their content, and would probably *like* a way to be easily filtered by browsers who specifically don't want to see their content. Just not blocked to someone who specifically wants to. "Someone" in this case, though, really means some end user, even if it's an aggregate
timothy
p.s. Tipper Gore, remember, isn't in favor of "censorship." She wants it all nice n' voluntary. ["Captain, captain! The BS meter's just exploded out of the console! We must have encountered a Black Hole of Honesty!"]