The thing about EA is that they've morphed from a game developer (as they were in the 80's) to a game publisher. They don't do any in-house work these days. The Origin buy was an attempt to revive their in-house work, and it's a pretty clear failure.
High pitch, rapid noises are an alarm indicator for pretty much all mammals on Earth. You probably want to reverse that: a low comforting drone when everything is OK, with high pitch when there is a high packet loss rate.
Well, not exactly. Even if you agree to a contract that stipulates you give up certain rights, that doesn't necessarily make it so.
The courts have often held that there are certain rights of which you cannot divest yourself. For instance, you could not sell yourself (or anyone else) into slavery, no matter what kind of contract you've signed.
I did this in my apartment at college during a New Year's Eve party. The thing nobody ever mentioned before that is it really, REALLY STINKS!
Do this outside or in a well-ventilated area. Do not chase your guests out into the cold dark night. Well, it was Pasadena, CA, so it wasn't that cold, but still -- beware the stinky pickle.
Also beware the stinky, half cooked pickle after it's sat out on the deck for the next month.
According to the IAU, as of 1999, the issue was settled. Pluto is both a planet and a member of the group tentatively called "Trans-Neptunian Objects" -- essentially close Kuiper belt objects.
Well, you did end up sounding very much like a troll.
In fact, the two reigning parties have built themselves a legislative and procedural fortress.
They have defined the election procedures such that it is almost impossible to get 3rd party candidates on the ballot. Dems & Reps get automatic slots on the ballot, but any other parties must collect tens or hundreds of thousands of signatures. The laws actually name the parties explicitly!
Furthermore, even if you get a 3rd party candidate elected, they have to "organize" with either the Democrats or Republicans. In other words, for the purposes of committee chairs and the right to appoint committee memberships, you still have to ally with one or the other -- even if you were elected as an independent!
When you look at the way that the system has been manipulated and distorted, it is really astounding. Despite their public disputes, these two parties have colluded to eliminate direct representation as a form of government.
So, we are stuck with two unacceptable alternatives. Other parties that more closely match my views are effectively excluded from the process.
It's even worse than that... now the doctrine is being interpreted as "You didn't infinge any copyrights, but you did nothing to prevent someone else from infinging, even though you had the means to do so.
There has been much brouhaha in the past 4 years about an apparent increase in the rate of expansion of the universe. (Type I-A supernovae in distant galaxies look redder than they ought to.)
Is there a relationship here? Could this fine structure deviation account for the anomalous supernova spectra?
Going way back to v1.0 of tCatB, the Cathedral was GCC and Linux was the bazaar. ESR was comparing two different free software projects. He was comparing the fast, vital development of the Linux kernel with the glacial pace of GCC and (dare I say it?) the HURD.
The original point was to look at the biological, evolutionary dynamic of the bazaar model -- swarms of coders throwing patches into the ecosystem, seeing which ones live and breed and which ones die on the vine -- as compared to the cathedral -- rigorously planned, multi-year efforts guided by a Supreme Architect and his cadre.
Putting "closed-source software" in the role of the Cathedral is sheer revisionism.
Thanks, that a good point. I missed those... probably because I am paranoid and spring-loaded to look for threats. I'm not being sarcastic - I really am looking for threats in everything I read these days. I think it comes from having my way of life constantly under assault.
Sometimes I think it was more fun before the rest of the world figured out that free software existed. It's better to be ignored than hunted.
Another thing I noticed is that this whole "Palladium" is still speculative vaporware. It's as if Microsoft wants *us* to define it with our hopes and fears, or as if they heard of another meme and wanted to claim that they thought of it first.
That's a very good point. I think that's exactly what they did with.Net. They announced a bunch of vague stuff a few years ago and listened closely to whatever dreams people projected onto the formless name. Then they built that, or at least relabeled other things to fulfill the half-expressed wishes that they got back from the community.
It's like marketing by sonar. Send out a flat ping, and see what shape it takes when it reflects off of the industry.
Re:Read the article...
on
Is Linux Dead?
·
· Score: 4, Interesting
It gives the appearance of balance, but still contains a tremendous amount of spin. Consider:
Open source is always written in quotes: "open source", giving a subtle message that this label isn't completely honest.
It describes Linux developers as a loose confederation of programmers who aren't paid for their work. (My emphasis.) Notice the reversal of power implied here, as if some external entity is withholding pay, rather than the programmer's themselves giving freely.
It is these type of subtle messages that constitute "spin control" of the part of the article's author.
I have to be brief, which is unfortunate. I don't have nearly enough time to present all the nuances I see at work here.
I understand your ire at the community at large. I share it. At the same time, I don't believe that Richard is choosing his battles wisely. He is certainly free to do so, but I regret the damage it is causing to the larger purpose.
It is in human nature that a name, once given, is irrevocable. Even if you apply new names, the old one lies just below the surface. This is not a battle he can win. It is only causing schisms and alienation within a community that needs to be united against the much more dangerous forces arrayed against it.
Yes, it is true that, through inattention and disregard, users may lose the freedom that they have only just regained. But, at least in my view, that threat pales in comparison to that posed by groups (well-known to us all) that are actively trying to strip away that same freedom. I would worry more about the enemy soldier shooting at me than my squadmate's second-hand smoke.
Anyway, I think it is clear that we are on the same side, but differ in our emphasis.
On the contrary, what you define as the "core operating system" is simply a definition that can easily change from one system to another. Take a look at Amoeba, for one example, or QNX, for another.
Your attempt to define the operating system as "the minimal components without which my computer is a chunk of metal" is insufficient. There have been successful installs of the Squeak Smalltalk that use just the Linux kernel, with none of the user-space programs commonly distributed with the kernel. That would indicate that glibc can be removed -- if done intelligently.
Now, as to your accusation of ad hominem attacks upon RMS, I suggest you read some of my other posts. Despite your ad hominem attack on me you will find that I like and admire Richard. From the first day I met him, I've appreciated his principled and uncompromising position. Believe it or not, I respect someone who can stick to his position over 17 years. Especially in the face of spiteful, ungrateful children who snatch at his creation while spitting in his face! A lesser man would have thrown up his hands and walked away in disgust.
Somehow, I don't think you were actually talking to me about "bending the truth", "spreading nonsense", "being ignorant", or "having a political ax to grind". If you were, you have no information whatsoever to base those personal, insulting, and offensive statements on. (Shall we discuss credentials?) I suspect you are attributing positions to me based on what you've read from others. Don't. You only end up alienating a potential ally.
The system is no longer GNU + Linux kernel. If it's about giving credit in proportional amounts, then X, perl, Berkeley, Apache, Netscape, and many other major contributors should also be recognized.
I do understand that some of these can be stripped away without impairing the OS, but some of them cannot.
While calling the whole ball of wax "Linux" may be overstating the importance of the kernel, calling it GNU/Linux understates the importances of all the other contributions.
I'm sorry, but this review doesn't really cut it. I've just finished reading the book, and there's a lot more involved than this thin (and inaccurate) plot synopsis indicates.
Perdido Street Station presents an intricately detailed world. The world may shock and repulse you (as it did me). It will certainly make you scratch your head. You may even wonder what the author was smoking to come up with creatures like the khepri and the Construct Council.
I would not want to inhabit this author's dreams.
In some ways, New Crobuzon and it's inhabitants remind me of "The Difference Engine", rolled together with a bit of "Brazil" and "Dark City". It is worth a read and well deserving of the Hugo nomination it just received. Even if you say nothing else about it, you will have to admit that it is not run-of-the-mill SF.
A lot of comments are debating whether the Linux kernel needed GNU tools more than the GNU tools needed the Linux kernel. Both are wrong.
The Linux kernel and the GNU tools are symbiotic. You cannot even compile Linux without GCC! Each needs the other to be complete. True, you can use the GNU tools with other kernels. (When is HURD going to reach 1.0 anyway?) and you can use the Linux kernel without the GNU tools. But, the value of each one is lessened when it stands alone.
I support the FSF, with money and code. I work to maintain my freedom. At the same time, though, I do regret that Richard has decided to make this a battle. The widespread popularity of the system called Linux has brought the FSF's message to more people than ever.
Sadly, as Joe's article illustrates, many members of the community now see themselves distanced from the FSF. For instance, how many of you with GPL-licensed projects would now assign your copyright to the FSF? In the 80's and early 90's, it was quite common. Not so much, now.
That's breathtakingly wrong. Americans invented copyright? I love this "oh no-one had ever heard of X until Americans invented it" view you USians have.
Whoa, slow down there, tiger. Yeah, the poster wasn't thinking too clearly -- no question. Just don't lump me in with him (or her). I don't eat pork rinds, watch wrestling, talk REALLY LOUDLY in English when I'm in France, or think Walt Disney invented the Notre Dame or hunchbacks.
Your broad brush has splattered paint on my shoes.
Excellent point! There are certainly scenes in 1984 which look so much like communist USSR that one can easily infer that Airstrip One is communist. Bread lines, not enough boots, communal farms, etc. Still, it's never actually stated as a communist economy. Just totalitarian.
But, for most of us alive today, our primary example of a totalitarian regime is the USSR. (Not that there aren't others; they abound. Just that the imagery (propaganda?) that we use comes from the long Cold War.) Therefore, images of a totalitarian state become correlated with images of Stalinist USSR.
I think just about everybody (in the US, at least) grows up with the mentality that says "I'll be making more money in the future, so it will be easier to pay off then." Only it isn't.
The biggest impediment to getting out of debt that I'm struggling with is health insurance. All of the HMO and PPO plans I'm looking at now want $1000+ every month. That's 2 car payments, one mortgage payment, or a 14 month payoff plan for the credit card debt.
Slashdot Mirror
Well said, Gleef!
Better to venerate those who create then those who exploit.
The thing about EA is that they've morphed from a game developer (as they were in the 80's) to a game publisher. They don't do any in-house work these days. The Origin buy was an attempt to revive their in-house work, and it's a pretty clear failure.
High pitch, rapid noises are an alarm indicator for pretty much all mammals on Earth. You probably want to reverse that: a low comforting drone when everything is OK, with high pitch when there is a high packet loss rate.
Version 2 will be based on a plug-in architecture.
Well, not exactly. Even if you agree to a contract that stipulates you give up certain rights, that doesn't necessarily make it so.
The courts have often held that there are certain rights of which you cannot divest yourself. For instance, you could not sell yourself (or anyone else) into slavery, no matter what kind of contract you've signed.
I did this in my apartment at college during a New Year's Eve party. The thing nobody ever mentioned before that is it really, REALLY STINKS!
Do this outside or in a well-ventilated area. Do not chase your guests out into the cold dark night. Well, it was Pasadena, CA, so it wasn't that cold, but still -- beware the stinky pickle.
Also beware the stinky, half cooked pickle after it's sat out on the deck for the next month.
According to the IAU, as of 1999, the issue was settled. Pluto is both a planet and a member of the group tentatively called "Trans-Neptunian Objects" -- essentially close Kuiper belt objects.
"No further debate is planned on this issue."
>groan<
Oh, ouch. You're killin' me.
Odd that no-one's posted this yet.
The company can be found at http://intentionalsoftware.com/ with some vague-but-cool-sounding stuff about changing the world.
Well, you did end up sounding very much like a troll.
In fact, the two reigning parties have built themselves a legislative and procedural fortress.
They have defined the election procedures such that it is almost impossible to get 3rd party candidates on the ballot. Dems & Reps get automatic slots on the ballot, but any other parties must collect tens or hundreds of thousands of signatures. The laws actually name the parties explicitly!
Furthermore, even if you get a 3rd party candidate elected, they have to "organize" with either the Democrats or Republicans. In other words, for the purposes of committee chairs and the right to appoint committee memberships, you still have to ally with one or the other -- even if you were elected as an independent!
When you look at the way that the system has been manipulated and distorted, it is really astounding. Despite their public disputes, these two parties have colluded to eliminate direct representation as a form of government.
So, we are stuck with two unacceptable alternatives. Other parties that more closely match my views are effectively excluded from the process.
It's even worse than that... now the doctrine is being interpreted as "You didn't infinge any copyrights, but you did nothing to prevent someone else from infinging, even though you had the means to do so.
There has been much brouhaha in the past 4 years about an apparent increase in the rate of expansion of the universe. (Type I-A supernovae in distant galaxies look redder than they ought to.)
Is there a relationship here? Could this fine structure deviation account for the anomalous supernova spectra?
Going way back to v1.0 of tCatB, the Cathedral was GCC and Linux was the bazaar. ESR was comparing two different free software projects. He was comparing the fast, vital development of the Linux kernel with the glacial pace of GCC and (dare I say it?) the HURD.
The original point was to look at the biological, evolutionary dynamic of the bazaar model -- swarms of coders throwing patches into the ecosystem, seeing which ones live and breed and which ones die on the vine -- as compared to the cathedral -- rigorously planned, multi-year efforts guided by a Supreme Architect and his cadre.
Putting "closed-source software" in the role of the Cathedral is sheer revisionism.
Thanks, that a good point. I missed those... probably because I am paranoid and spring-loaded to look for threats. I'm not being sarcastic - I really am looking for threats in everything I read these days. I think it comes from having my way of life constantly under assault.
Sometimes I think it was more fun before the rest of the world figured out that free software existed. It's better to be ignored than hunted.
Another thing I noticed is that this whole "Palladium" is still speculative vaporware. It's as if Microsoft wants *us* to define it with our hopes and fears, or as if they heard of another meme and wanted to claim that they thought of it first.
.Net. They announced a bunch of vague stuff a few years ago and listened closely to whatever dreams people projected onto the formless name. Then they built that, or at least relabeled other things to fulfill the half-expressed wishes that they got back from the community.
That's a very good point. I think that's exactly what they did with
It's like marketing by sonar. Send out a flat ping, and see what shape it takes when it reflects off of the industry.
It is these type of subtle messages that constitute "spin control" of the part of the article's author.
my statements here are inteded to be entirely jovial and not serious whatsoever
Which is not to say that they are Jovian. 'Cause they would be just as pale as the Lunarians, but a heck of a lot tougher.
Don't mess with a Jovian.
I have to be brief, which is unfortunate. I don't have nearly enough time to present all the nuances I see at work here.
I understand your ire at the community at large. I share it. At the same time, I don't believe that Richard is choosing his battles wisely. He is certainly free to do so, but I regret the damage it is causing to the larger purpose.
It is in human nature that a name, once given, is irrevocable. Even if you apply new names, the old one lies just below the surface. This is not a battle he can win. It is only causing schisms and alienation within a community that needs to be united against the much more dangerous forces arrayed against it.
Yes, it is true that, through inattention and disregard, users may lose the freedom that they have only just regained. But, at least in my view, that threat pales in comparison to that posed by groups (well-known to us all) that are actively trying to strip away that same freedom. I would worry more about the enemy soldier shooting at me than my squadmate's second-hand smoke.
Anyway, I think it is clear that we are on the same side, but differ in our emphasis.
On the contrary, what you define as the "core operating system" is simply a definition that can easily change from one system to another. Take a look at Amoeba, for one example, or QNX, for another.
Your attempt to define the operating system as "the minimal components without which my computer is a chunk of metal" is insufficient. There have been successful installs of the Squeak Smalltalk that use just the Linux kernel, with none of the user-space programs commonly distributed with the kernel. That would indicate that glibc can be removed -- if done intelligently.
Now, as to your accusation of ad hominem attacks upon RMS, I suggest you read some of my other posts. Despite your ad hominem attack on me you will find that I like and admire Richard. From the first day I met him, I've appreciated his principled and uncompromising position. Believe it or not, I respect someone who can stick to his position over 17 years. Especially in the face of spiteful, ungrateful children who snatch at his creation while spitting in his face! A lesser man would have thrown up his hands and walked away in disgust.
Somehow, I don't think you were actually talking to me about "bending the truth", "spreading nonsense", "being ignorant", or "having a political ax to grind". If you were, you have no information whatsoever to base those personal, insulting, and offensive statements on. (Shall we discuss credentials?) I suspect you are attributing positions to me based on what you've read from others. Don't. You only end up alienating a potential ally.
The system is no longer GNU + Linux kernel. If it's about giving credit in proportional amounts, then X, perl, Berkeley, Apache, Netscape, and many other major contributors should also be recognized.
I do understand that some of these can be stripped away without impairing the OS, but some of them cannot.
While calling the whole ball of wax "Linux" may be overstating the importance of the kernel, calling it GNU/Linux understates the importances of all the other contributions.
I'm sorry, but this review doesn't really cut it. I've just finished reading the book, and there's a lot more involved than this thin (and inaccurate) plot synopsis indicates.
Perdido Street Station presents an intricately detailed world. The world may shock and repulse you (as it did me). It will certainly make you scratch your head. You may even wonder what the author was smoking to come up with creatures like the khepri and the Construct Council.
I would not want to inhabit this author's dreams.
In some ways, New Crobuzon and it's inhabitants remind me of "The Difference Engine", rolled together with a bit of "Brazil" and "Dark City". It is worth a read and well deserving of the Hugo nomination it just received. Even if you say nothing else about it, you will have to admit that it is not run-of-the-mill SF.
A lot of comments are debating whether the Linux kernel needed GNU tools more than the GNU tools needed the Linux kernel. Both are wrong.
The Linux kernel and the GNU tools are symbiotic. You cannot even compile Linux without GCC! Each needs the other to be complete. True, you can use the GNU tools with other kernels. (When is HURD going to reach 1.0 anyway?) and you can use the Linux kernel without the GNU tools. But, the value of each one is lessened when it stands alone.
I support the FSF, with money and code. I work to maintain my freedom. At the same time, though, I do regret that Richard has decided to make this a battle. The widespread popularity of the system called Linux has brought the FSF's message to more people than ever.
Sadly, as Joe's article illustrates, many members of the community now see themselves distanced from the FSF. For instance, how many of you with GPL-licensed projects would now assign your copyright to the FSF? In the 80's and early 90's, it was quite common. Not so much, now.
That's breathtakingly wrong. Americans invented copyright? I love this "oh no-one had ever heard of X until Americans invented it" view you USians have.
Whoa, slow down there, tiger. Yeah, the poster wasn't thinking too clearly -- no question. Just don't lump me in with him (or her). I don't eat pork rinds, watch wrestling, talk REALLY LOUDLY in English when I'm in France, or think Walt Disney invented the Notre Dame or hunchbacks.
Your broad brush has splattered paint on my shoes.
Excellent point! There are certainly scenes in 1984 which look so much like communist USSR that one can easily infer that Airstrip One is communist. Bread lines, not enough boots, communal farms, etc. Still, it's never actually stated as a communist economy. Just totalitarian.
But, for most of us alive today, our primary example of a totalitarian regime is the USSR. (Not that there aren't others; they abound. Just that the imagery (propaganda?) that we use comes from the long Cold War.) Therefore, images of a totalitarian state become correlated with images of Stalinist USSR.
I think just about everybody (in the US, at least) grows up with the mentality that says "I'll be making more money in the future, so it will be easier to pay off then." Only it isn't.
The biggest impediment to getting out of debt that I'm struggling with is health insurance. All of the HMO and PPO plans I'm looking at now want $1000+ every month. That's 2 car payments, one mortgage payment, or a 14 month payoff plan for the credit card debt.