The general consensus seems to be "those evil Repbulicans! How DARE they invade the privacy of those well meaning Democrats!"
Sorry, but I think that if it were reversed, it would be "Heh, stupid Republicans. That's what they get for being, err, Republicans. The Dems exploited a hole. So what. All's fair in love and war, and the Republicans should have been smarter, big deal. Nothing to see here, move along."
Star Trek needs to rest for a decade or so. And when it comes back, we need a combonation of new blood and a fresh look at Gene Roddenberry's ideas. That's what made TNG so great. Cast wise, he went in a differnt direction, but stayed true to the original concept of Star Trek.
Oh, and can Rick Berman finally be fired now? Please? He should have absolutely NOTHING to do with Trek from here on out.
Send Bush to Mars, eh? Oh, that's so funny.....I'm just tearing myself up here.
Hey, will you guys come back after the November election, when Bush kicks Deans ass all the way to Mars, and the GOP gains in both houses? Please, just so I can mock you peckerwoods? Please? Thanks, I appreciate that.
I'm not much of a gamer, but I'd like to see a couple of titles....
- An Iron Man flight/combat sim, especially one with a view from inside the mask. Great tech-weaponry based game it could be, with all of the gadgets Tony Stark has in that armor (repulsors, radar tracking devices, etc...the list goes on). Being able to fight in the air or an the ground from that first person perspective would be awesome, and there's a nice list of villains to fight, Dr. Doom and HIS armor (and hey, even his magic) immiedietly coming to mind.
- A Silver Surfer game with cosmic themes could be incredible. Largely a first person combat game, but with villains like Terrax, Thanos, and Galactus (hey, even Mephisto) you've got endless possibilities there.
But what I'd REALLY like to see is....
- Avengers vs. JLA; hey, if Marvel and DC can team up on the fabulous series they're currently making (the only reasons this 35 year old has been to a comic book store lately, too), they can do it for the game as well. And I think it'd sell like mad. The comics featured some long awaited matchups we've always dreamt about, like Superman vs. Thor, Batman vs. Captain America. Wouldn't it be fantastic to see that in a game?
So Lucas may do another trilogy. Good on him. But hang on....Slashdot readers dissaprove! "He's just trying to gouge us, he's destroyed my fond childhood memories", etc, etc, lather, rinse, repeat.
Pull your heads out of your asses. If you don't like the movies, don't go see them. Star Wars belongs to Lucas. He created it, he owns the empire, and if he wants to film himself slinging handfulls of his own shit at a Slashdot logo, and call it Episode 7, he can.
I doubt we'll ever see those movies, but I'd like to see them get made. And I wont cry on the Internet that they're not the same as the original trilogy. Which kind of makes sense, being that the original trilogy is two decades old. People change, the industry changes, ideas change, technologies change. Get over it. Go watch Lord of the Rings again if you want purity. More than likely, some of you whining peckerwoods will be watching Yet Another Tentacle Rape Hentai flick.
So someone complains that Apple is now charging for what they used to give away for free.
And Apple users responses? So predictable. So what, pay for it, Steve says so, Steve is God, he knows whats best for us, and we should be GRATEFUL to pay for this stuff.
While I agree with most posters that an IT program should focus on important concepts rather than specific products, there are a couple of "products" that are so important that they should be included in ANY program
- Unix; Don't focus on one brand, or even on one kind of unix (such as linux), but you need to know the basics of all unix variants. Take an O'Reilly Nutshell Book approach to this.
- Windows; Same thing. There are basics that apply across the board, especially now that everything is based on the NT kernel.
- TCP/IP; these are the rules of the road, baby. Everything uses it to communicate now.
While products come and go, some things are going to be in use for a long time, and even if they're not proper "academic" subjects, their practicality and neccessity demands some study, even at Uni.
I've never understood it. It's a child's toy, and more than that, a little child's toy. I'm 35, and when I have the urge to build something, oh, I build a computer or something. BECAUSE I'M 35 AND I DON'T PLAY WITH BLOCKS ANYMORE.
Seriously, come on. Get some circuit boards, some metal, and an arc welder. You're ADULTS now.
Playing with your kid is fine for Legos, but I'm talking about adults without kids playing with Legos. Eh, what the hell?
If you want to conceptualize something, get pencil and paper, some modeling clay, or a CAD program.
There are things from our childhoods that we've carried with us into adulthood because they've adapted. Comic books are a good example. They used to be for kids, but now they're written for a wider audience.
But blocks? I mean, model kits are fine. Model rockets, hey great, fun for the whole family. But building blocks?
I shoudn't be surprised by now...Here I am prepared to celebrate the achievements of the Wright Brothers, when along comes Slashdot saying "Hang On! The were not the first! Here's some conspiracy theories saying, YET AGAIN, that America lied and stole the accomplishement from someone else!".
Thanks, yet again, Slashdot and its wonderful readers.
With a 533 Crusoe CPU, where do you see Faster at?
And I'll take my dinasaur steel frame mechanical AT keyboard over your El Cheapo membrane "smaller faster quieter" keyboards anyday. Sometimes newer isn't neccessarily better.
And as far as I'm concerned, Linux and BSD are Unix as well. If it looks like Unix, acts like Unix, etc. Now, had the question been "Will PROPRIETARY Unix die?", well, then maybe you'd have a point. But Linux and BSD have pretty much insured that Unix itself won't die.
" If everyone does everything that they can, no matter how small, then together we can make an impact. Together we can stop the Englobulators!"
What's he talking about? A Google search turned up this:
"Englobulators" is a term of art meaning the loose alliance of cartels, monopolies, and governments, which act against our right and power of private ownership of computers, and our rights and powers of free communication over the Net."
"...or yet another person, who's running Windows Me, and think "Wow, that person's a Republican"."
I guess that's why Limbaugh, G.W. Bush, and Tom Clancy use Macs, eh?
Info on conservative Mac users can be found here, but THIS Mac user says that using a Mac DOES equate to Communism...and that is a good thing, in his eyes.
"A real conservative should believe that anything done for any reason other than to make a profit is necessarily wrong."
That's a crock of shit. Conservatives are big believers in volunteer work and charitable causes. I've given money to, trained with, and volunteered for the Red Cross, among other organizations.
Or does that not count? One of the appealing things about Linux is the volunteer aspect. I don't always agree with the politics of the Linux community, but I admire the work, among other reasons, for the public good that results.
Liberals and/or Democrats do not have a monopoly on good works for the sake of good works.
What will they need the software to DO?
on
Linux for Non-Profits?
·
· Score: 4, Insightful
The first cardinal rule of informatin technology is that it's there serve us, and make things more productive (and preferably easier). If they have a requirement that mandates MS software, than that's that. If they're using Great Plains financial stuff, for instance, they have no choice.
Now, if they don't have any esoteric requirements, then your advocacy becomes much easier. Assuming that their needs are small, tell them:
* Older machines have plenty of computing power if they're not used for things like high end games or Photoshop.
* Linux and other free software comes with no strings attached (we're talking end user here, not code. No need to confuse them about that).
* That the free software is easy to use. Show them modern window managers and the Webmin app.
* Explain that Microsoft is not "computers" or the "Internet", and that many other platforms can fill their needs. This one is important. You'd be amazed how many people think you can't use the Internet without Windows.
* Demonstrate KDE/Gnome, OpenOffice, and Mozilla to them. Show them that they work pretty much like similar Windows up. Go through it with them from bootup to shutdown, to put them at ease and make them feel comfortable with the software.
* Explain that this kind of software comes from volunteers, and that, should they need help, or even some coding, that volunteer spirit might come into play. People are willing to work on their own time for a good cause.
* Point out the flexibility that this software gives them; freedom to use it however they like, with no worry of licensing issues, flexibility to expand their capabilities as they're able, without fear of the Business Software Alliance knocking on the door going "Let's see those licenses".
* Perhaps most importantly, point out the business that use Linux and other free software as successful examples, to stress that Linux/Open Source isn't a fringe product. When people see organizations they know about using Linux, it helps put them at ease.
* Point out the security benefits; far fewer vulnerabilities, and they won't be running virus traps.
* NICELY point out that "beggars can't be choosers". This is a fallacy, because they can choose not to use any computers at all. If you care about the mission of the organization, and you want them to adopt used computers and OS software to help them succeed, persuade them, don't deride them. As Winston Churchill said, "A fly will be more attracted to a spoonfull of sugar than a bucketfull of bile".
A proprietary software company goes out of business and screws its' customers along the way.
Thus, proprietary software is by nature a bad thing. AND, by the linked story's own formula, you're more likely to profit by going with open source.
This is simply foolish. If all proprietary companies did this, then yes, you could draw this conclusion. But this was one (very badly run) company, and a small one at that. Small businesses close their doors all the time, sometimes leaving their customers high and dry. You think Appgen is the only one that's ever done this?
How about all of the software companies that have suceeded? How about all of the companies that have supported their customers in good times and bad? For God's sake, IBM supported OS/2 for years, even when it was clear that few people were using it. There are hundreds of other examples I could give of software companies doing the RIGHT thing.
Open Source is a software development model and philosophy.You can argue that it's a morally superior way of business, but not a more profitable one.
And even if Appgen's code was open, that still doesn't get their customers off the hook. Where will those customers go for support? The VARs? There's only so much they can do. Even if the app was turned into a large coordinated open source project, it would still take time to assemble the proper volunteers and get the app back on track. And the customers are STILL screwed out of paid support.
I have to agree with some other posters here. Mod the article -1 GNU/Preachy.
How rediculous. There IS a Quebec seperatist movement. Some of them HAVE used terrorism in the past. This is comparable to using IRA terrorists in a game, and then backing off because Sinn Fein complained.
Someone at Sony needs to grow a sack, and tell these PC assholes to shove it.
Your ass is about to be raw from the flames forthcoming. You've just dissed the brothers. I say brothers, because this is slashdot, and the sisters are few and far between, but I digress....
I really must salute you for your honesty and courage, and I'll shed a tear for you as you get pounded down to -1 RIAA SHILL. You've violated one of the slashdot commandments.
Thou shalt not get in the way of *insert easily copied data here* Wants To Be Free
So down you go to Davy Jones locker, trusty sailor. Rest assured, most of the posters here will spit on your watery grave...
Slashdot Mirror
The general consensus seems to be "those evil Repbulicans! How DARE they invade the privacy of those well meaning Democrats!"
Sorry, but I think that if it were reversed, it would be "Heh, stupid Republicans. That's what they get for being, err, Republicans. The Dems exploited a hole. So what. All's fair in love and war, and the Republicans should have been smarter, big deal. Nothing to see here, move along."
"Green? Libertarian? Reform? Independent?
Power corrupts."
And PowerPoint corrupts absolutely.
At this rate, it'll get here in, oh, I don't know, 2012.....
Star Trek needs to rest for a decade or so. And when it comes back, we need a combonation of new blood and a fresh look at Gene Roddenberry's ideas. That's what made TNG so great. Cast wise, he went in a differnt direction, but stayed true to the original concept of Star Trek.
Oh, and can Rick Berman finally be fired now? Please? He should have absolutely NOTHING to do with Trek from here on out.
Send Bush to Mars, eh? Oh, that's so funny.....I'm just tearing myself up here.
....
Hey, will you guys come back after the November election, when Bush kicks Deans ass all the way to Mars, and the GOP gains in both houses? Please, just so I can mock you peckerwoods? Please? Thanks, I appreciate that.
4 more years, baby
I'm not much of a gamer, but I'd like to see a couple of titles....
- An Iron Man flight/combat sim, especially one with a view from inside the mask. Great tech-weaponry based game it could be, with all of the gadgets Tony Stark has in that armor (repulsors, radar tracking devices, etc...the list goes on). Being able to fight in the air or an the ground from that first person perspective would be awesome, and there's a nice list of villains to fight, Dr. Doom and HIS armor (and hey, even his magic) immiedietly coming to mind.
- A Silver Surfer game with cosmic themes could be incredible. Largely a first person combat game, but with villains like Terrax, Thanos, and Galactus (hey, even Mephisto) you've got endless possibilities there.
But what I'd REALLY like to see is....
- Avengers vs. JLA; hey, if Marvel and DC can team up on the fabulous series they're currently making (the only reasons this 35 year old has been to a comic book store lately, too), they can do it for the game as well. And I think it'd sell like mad. The comics featured some long awaited matchups we've always dreamt about, like Superman vs. Thor, Batman vs. Captain America. Wouldn't it be fantastic to see that in a game?
So Lucas may do another trilogy. Good on him. But hang on....Slashdot readers dissaprove! "He's just trying to gouge us, he's destroyed my fond childhood memories", etc, etc, lather, rinse, repeat.
Pull your heads out of your asses. If you don't like the movies, don't go see them. Star Wars belongs to Lucas. He created it, he owns the empire, and if he wants to film himself slinging handfulls of his own shit at a Slashdot logo, and call it Episode 7, he can.
I doubt we'll ever see those movies, but I'd like to see them get made. And I wont cry on the Internet that they're not the same as the original trilogy. Which kind of makes sense, being that the original trilogy is two decades old. People change, the industry changes, ideas change, technologies change. Get over it. Go watch Lord of the Rings again if you want purity. More than likely, some of you whining peckerwoods will be watching Yet Another Tentacle Rape Hentai flick.
So someone complains that Apple is now charging for what they used to give away for free.
And Apple users responses? So predictable. So what, pay for it, Steve says so, Steve is God, he knows whats best for us, and we should be GRATEFUL to pay for this stuff.
Apple users aren't users, they're cult members.
While I agree with most posters that an IT program should focus on important concepts rather than specific products, there are a couple of "products" that are so important that they should be included in ANY program
- Unix; Don't focus on one brand, or even on one kind of unix (such as linux), but you need to know the basics of all unix variants. Take an O'Reilly Nutshell Book approach to this.
- Windows; Same thing. There are basics that apply across the board, especially now that everything is based on the NT kernel.
- TCP/IP; these are the rules of the road, baby. Everything uses it to communicate now.
While products come and go, some things are going to be in use for a long time, and even if they're not proper "academic" subjects, their practicality and neccessity demands some study, even at Uni.
I've never understood it. It's a child's toy, and more than that, a little child's toy. I'm 35, and when I have the urge to build something, oh, I build a computer or something. BECAUSE I'M 35 AND I DON'T PLAY WITH BLOCKS ANYMORE.
Seriously, come on. Get some circuit boards, some metal, and an arc welder. You're ADULTS now.
Playing with your kid is fine for Legos, but I'm talking about adults without kids playing with Legos. Eh, what the hell?
If you want to conceptualize something, get pencil and paper, some modeling clay, or a CAD program.
There are things from our childhoods that we've carried with us into adulthood because they've adapted. Comic books are a good example. They used to be for kids, but now they're written for a wider audience.
But blocks? I mean, model kits are fine. Model rockets, hey great, fun for the whole family. But building blocks?
Come on........
...pregnant nuns will turn some people on here.
Add some tentacle rape hentai, and watch Slashdot get slashdotted...
In Cyberspace, no one can hear Wilhelm scream...
I shoudn't be surprised by now...Here I am prepared to celebrate the achievements of the Wright Brothers, when along comes Slashdot saying "Hang On! The were not the first! Here's some conspiracy theories saying, YET AGAIN, that America lied and stole the accomplishement from someone else!".
Thanks, yet again, Slashdot and its wonderful readers.
"Smaller, faster, QUIETER. That is the future."
With a 533 Crusoe CPU, where do you see Faster at?
And I'll take my dinasaur steel frame mechanical AT keyboard over your El Cheapo membrane "smaller faster quieter" keyboards anyday. Sometimes newer isn't neccessarily better.
All the UN needs to know about spam is right here. >:-)
That's funny....
Apple says it is.
And as far as I'm concerned, Linux and BSD are Unix as well. If it looks like Unix, acts like Unix, etc. Now, had the question been "Will PROPRIETARY Unix die?", well, then maybe you'd have a point. But Linux and BSD have pretty much insured that Unix itself won't die.
He was BORN in Maine, but was mostly raised in Texas.
From the article...
" If everyone does everything that they can, no matter how small, then together we can make an impact. Together we can stop the Englobulators!"
What's he talking about? A Google search turned up this:
"Englobulators" is a term of art meaning the loose alliance of cartels, monopolies, and governments, which act against our right and power of private ownership of computers, and our rights and powers of free communication over the Net."
"...or yet another person, who's running Windows Me, and think "Wow, that person's a Republican"."
I guess that's why Limbaugh, G.W. Bush, and Tom Clancy use Macs, eh?
Info on conservative Mac users can be found here, but THIS Mac user says that using a Mac DOES equate to Communism...and that is a good thing, in his eyes.
"A real conservative should believe that anything done for any reason other than to make a profit is necessarily wrong."
That's a crock of shit. Conservatives are big believers in volunteer work and charitable causes. I've given money to, trained with, and volunteered for the Red Cross, among other organizations.
Or does that not count? One of the appealing things about Linux is the volunteer aspect. I don't always agree with the politics of the Linux community, but I admire the work, among other reasons, for the public good that results.
Liberals and/or Democrats do not have a monopoly on good works for the sake of good works.
The first cardinal rule of informatin technology is that it's there serve us, and make things more productive (and preferably easier). If they have a requirement that mandates MS software, than that's that. If they're using Great Plains financial stuff, for instance, they have no choice.
Now, if they don't have any esoteric requirements, then your advocacy becomes much easier. Assuming that their needs are small, tell them:
* Older machines have plenty of computing power if they're not used for things like high end games or Photoshop.
* Linux and other free software comes with no strings attached (we're talking end user here, not code. No need to confuse them about that).
* That the free software is easy to use. Show them modern window managers and the Webmin app.
* Explain that Microsoft is not "computers" or the "Internet", and that many other platforms can fill their needs. This one is important. You'd be amazed how many people think you can't use the Internet without Windows.
* Demonstrate KDE/Gnome, OpenOffice, and Mozilla to them. Show them that they work pretty much like similar Windows up. Go through it with them from bootup to shutdown, to put them at ease and make them feel comfortable with the software.
* Explain that this kind of software comes from volunteers, and that, should they need help, or even some coding, that volunteer spirit might come into play. People are willing to work on their own time for a good cause.
* Point out the flexibility that this software gives them; freedom to use it however they like, with no worry of licensing issues, flexibility to expand their capabilities as they're able, without fear of the Business Software Alliance knocking on the door going "Let's see those licenses".
* Perhaps most importantly, point out the business that use Linux and other free software as successful examples, to stress that Linux/Open Source isn't a fringe product. When people see organizations they know about using Linux, it helps put them at ease.
* Point out the security benefits; far fewer vulnerabilities, and they won't be running virus traps.
* NICELY point out that "beggars can't be choosers". This is a fallacy, because they can choose not to use any computers at all. If you care about the mission of the organization, and you want them to adopt used computers and OS software to help them succeed, persuade them, don't deride them. As Winston Churchill said, "A fly will be more attracted to a spoonfull of sugar than a bucketfull of bile".
A proprietary software company goes out of business and screws its' customers along the way.
Thus, proprietary software is by nature a bad thing. AND, by the linked story's own formula, you're more likely to profit by going with open source.
This is simply foolish. If all proprietary companies did this, then yes, you could draw this conclusion. But this was one (very badly run) company, and a small one at that. Small businesses close their doors all the time, sometimes leaving their customers high and dry. You think Appgen is the only one that's ever done this?
How about all of the software companies that have suceeded? How about all of the companies that have supported their customers in good times and bad? For God's sake, IBM supported OS/2 for years, even when it was clear that few people were using it. There are hundreds of other examples I could give of software companies doing the RIGHT thing.
Open Source is a software development model and philosophy.You can argue that it's a morally superior way of business, but not a more profitable one.
And even if Appgen's code was open, that still doesn't get their customers off the hook. Where will those customers go for support? The VARs? There's only so much they can do. Even if the app was turned into a large coordinated open source project, it would still take time to assemble the proper volunteers and get the app back on track. And the customers are STILL screwed out of paid support.
I have to agree with some other posters here. Mod the article -1 GNU/Preachy.
How rediculous. There IS a Quebec seperatist movement. Some of them HAVE used terrorism in the past. This is comparable to using IRA terrorists in a game, and then backing off because Sinn Fein complained.
Someone at Sony needs to grow a sack, and tell these PC assholes to shove it.
I discounted the whole thing when George W. Bush got top weasel, and Saddam Hussein got only 2141 votes.
Even if you completely disagree with Bush, making him a bigger weasal than SADDAM?
What the hell is wrong with these people? That result speaks volumes about them.
Your ass is about to be raw from the flames forthcoming. You've just dissed the brothers. I say brothers, because this is slashdot, and the sisters are few and far between, but I digress....
I really must salute you for your honesty and courage, and I'll shed a tear for you as you get pounded down to -1 RIAA SHILL. You've violated one of the slashdot commandments.
Thou shalt not get in the way of *insert easily copied data here* Wants To Be Free
So down you go to Davy Jones locker, trusty sailor. Rest assured, most of the posters here will spit on your watery grave...
Salute