The first window manager I saw on Linux (before I even knew of such things) was Enlightenment. I think the distro was probably Slackware. When compared to my Win95 desktop I was used to seeing... I was blown away. I'm not sure FVWM95 is a fair representation.
Granted - some people prefer FVWM95; nothing wrong with that. Although I was wowed by E, I ended up choosing Windowmaker as my WM of choice when I first started using Linux as my desktop. That was sometime around 98.
I use this feature too. However, I also use the GoogleBar ability to highlight search terms (different colored highlights - just like a Google cache version of a page) on occasion. Sometimes it helps scan through a page and picking out groups of search terms that are significant versus the occasional hits that aren't significant. And I also use the clicky-clicky buttons to search within the page for terms... why retype?
It seems to me that if type-ahead (or / search) was sufficient, I wouldn't be using these features of Googlebar. But that's my personal preference. Your milage may vary. I invite you to try it out yourself if you haven't already.
Again - this isn't the point. The grandparent didn't takea swipe at Russian courts. They were simply stating that the Russian court should throw the case out - as should any court in any country fielding such a case. Yet the respondant tries to make this a US vs. Russia / World issue. Way to miss the point.
It's unfortunate, but any employee is automatically assumed to represent the company to some degree by the external public. It shouldn't be so, but the public mind isn't that discriminating.
That's why when you state personal opinion, you take pains to avoid connecting your opinion to your employer. Did this person note who is employer is? Did he communicate in any method that linked him to his employer (i.e. using an email address from his employer's domain or using a signiture block including his employer)? Did he directly criticize his employer? I don't see anything that would imply any of this happened.
I agree with what you're saying. But I don't see it as applicable in this case.
I work for a telecoms company. If I went on national TV and decried telephony, saying that everyone should communicate face to face or by writing letters, I'd expect my company to start to wonder if I was entirely suitable as an employee, too.
What do you do for that telecom company? If you're Public Relations, I would agree. But what if you're a system administrator? Does a belief in alternative communications systems really affect your ability to maintain the systems under your charge?
Likewise, did Mr. Hanff's belief in reformation (or even removal) of Copyright and associated "intellectual property" laws really affect his duties within the company? Or is this simply a personal call by someone within Management with an axe to grind against the opinions expressed by Mr. Hanff?
Also, keep in mind that Mr. Hanff seems to believe it was about possible pending litigation. From the article:
Newsnight interviewed him because in March he was served with legal papers by the Motion Picture Association of America for running a website called DVD-Core that pointed users to files of movies, some illegally copied, distributed using BitTorrent file-sharing software. It was this his employer objected to, saying he should have disclosed it when interviewed.
And this may be a legitimate concern. If Mr. Hanff is required to get a security clearance to work on Government contracts, legal entanglements may become an issue. But even then, this particular case is questionable. And it certainly isn't in line with the other statements from higher company management.
No one who only saw an episode or so of the show on TV really liked it. Almost everyone who's seen it in proper order on DVD loves it.
I watched the series in the time between its cancelation and release on DVD. According to the notes I saw, I had seen the series in its broadcast order. And I liked it. But I understand why some didn't.
The broadcast order left huge backstory holes. It was like finding yourself waking up on a speeding train with no idea where you're going, where you are, or where you came from. As characters on the show interacted, you got clues to everyone's backgrounds. The intended pilot episodes ended up being a treat - dropping in major pieces of the plot jigsaw puzzle.
As I said, I enjoyed this treatment. But it would seem that others found this experience to be too disjointed.
You don't think Whedon knows this? People who want to feel like they are involved in the making of the movie ARE the demographic Whedon is going after.
Sure - this sounds like it would be obvious. But it would seem that the concept is either lost on Hollywood or not so easy to pull off. You don't see the same thing going on with Star Trek, Star Wars, or the current run of superhero / comicbook movies.
Since corporations buy most word processors and they almost always buy their software instead of pirating, I doubt that piracy had much impact in the rise of Word over WordPerfect and the like. It was better than the competition, something hard to remember nowadays.
Sure... Work would buy a nice gen-u-ine IBM PC or maybe a box from Compaq (if they were smart). But when you wanted a home computer and wanted to run what you had at work - what did you do? At one point, it was actually cheaper to get a whitebox clone (especially if you built it yourself). You either installed a pirated copy of Windows on it yourself or part of the cheap price from the whitebox screwdriver shop involved a pre-installed illegal copy.
What about the Office suite from work? That involved either taking home the Microsoft floppies one evening or bringing in a box of blank floppies to make copies. So now you ran Office and work and at home. You're unlikely to change for two powerfull reasons. First and foremost - it's the software you're familiar with. Secondly, you have no financial incentive to change (which is one of the few things that can upset familiarity).
Now you're set with Microsoft. When your family wants additional functionality out of your home computer, they will need compatability with Windows. And when your company is looking at their next major workstation upgrades, you're not going to request anything but Microsoft architecture because 1) familiarity 2) you run it at home and changing would cost you personally.
Hmmm. Interesting point. It underlines the "Apple controls the OS and the hardware" observation. If you want an easy Linux experience - make sure you've got the most compatible hardware (and distro to some extent).
Life in Highschool changed for me when I adopted a new personal rule: there are only a few people who's opinions matter. Those people were good friends. Everyone else could get stuffed.
I suppose that this changed my outward personality. I ended up socializing with people easier. I even ended up making aquaintences with people of various cliques that I would never have interacted with in the past. I ended up going to occasional parties. I even had girlfriends.
Highschool will never be "golden years" like some staff and my friend's mother claimed they would be. But it was a better experience once I changed my overall attitude and philosophy.
Tonight, I'm heading down to Stranglethorn Vale with my wife. We're getting her leveled up now that between us we've got money for her mount. She wasn't keen on hitting 40 unless she had the coin on hand.
On hearing us talking about having mounts... my daughter wants her account to be reactivated for the summer.
There's no issues about understanding game time in my household.
I've served with an interesting collection of people during my (relatively short - 8yrs) military career. For the most part, they have very strong ideals. There would be a very large (if not vast majority) of military personnel who would not stand for this kind of activity. And they're the ones with the training and the equipment.
Sadly, there would be those who WOULD stand for it. Even support it under the rationalization of Chain of Command or whatnot. I've met those types. They exist. But I am glad that they are far fewer and far between than some seem to think they are.
But, for some reason I just cannot put my finger on, the experience wasn't pleasurable. It wasn't fun. It was dull.
To each their own, I suppose. I find my Linux desktops anything but dull. But then, I tend to take any generic install and add a few tweaks to the eye candy. When work is getting dull and I need a diversion, I dump 15 minutes in to toying with eye candy to change my desktop... and its amazing the subconcious change. I also enjoy dropping a few cycles in to writing the odd script or two.
But then, that's me. I wouldn't expect what makes me happy to make everyone else happy too.
I think Dvorak is on to something when he says the problem with Linux from a user's view is that it's created by Unix-heads who tend to have a different view of how things should operate.
I would agree to a point. There are plenty of Open Source projects out there that could use some user interface work. But then - that's hardly specific to Linux.
Having said that - I like the Unix way of doing things. When I go to other platforms, I miss it. My work-provided WinXP box ended up with numerous applications and interface tweaks in an attempt to make it operate like a Linux environment. Eventually I gave up, and moved it to Linux.
The trouble is, the Unix way is foreign to lots of folks. I've experienced it myself. I've observed the impact on family members and co-workers. I've seen zealots argue over "falures" in "Linux" when its simply that they expect it to operate like their own personal environment (namely Windows). Unix comes from a different culture which leads to a certain amount of culture shock for new users as they become accustomed to it. That doesn't mean it's wrong and must be changed.
The trick is that this resistance to dumping Unix culture shouldn't completely interfere with all change. And that seems to be a bit of a balancing act.
Sure, WINE will lag in features and bugs, but once the API infrastructure is there it's just laziness on the part of game developers to not test on that particular configuration when they release updates.
Transgaming currently has an interesting blurb on cross-platform development shaking out bugs. They note that as Transgaming works to maintain support for some of the current popular tittles, they've managed to uncover bugs that have apparently been less visible on Windows.
I think I understand your point. But I don't know if I would go so far as to directly compare DirectX and WINE.
Grab a copy of the latest Windows game. Install the version of DirectX they say is needed. Play. Now try to install that game and play it with WINE. Cross your fingers. Maybe play.
Don't get me wrong - I use WINE. I use Cedega. I play World of Warcraft on Linux. I have been fairly happy with the experience. But there is always the fear of the next patch breaking compatability or some feature; a valid fear based on the history of the game.
So while WINE (and associated projects) provide a rather handy bridge between mainstream software and Linux - it isn't something I would count on.
Dont' be fooled. This article has nothing to do with IT unions. Enderle's talk of unions is simply an attempt to establish some kind of single entity to attack, attribute certain shadowy powers to said entity, and even scare the horses of the CIOs who might feel guilty about:
In many companies there exists a huge difference in compensation between the management (particularly the CEOs) and the folks that actually make and service the products. There is also an increasing tendency for executives to treat employees (particularly IT employees) as disposable assets, and you have what appears to be an increasing lack of respect for the competence of management in the industry.
Linux, you see is an underworld agent threatening your profits. With that idea firmly planted, Enderle reaches for his current favorites in his arsenal.
SCO is a reasonable company besieged because they dared sue IBM. This is where Enderle gets to note DoS attacks and personal threats. It seems this alone has sunk SCO and not anything to do with their own buisness tactics or actual strength of their case against IBM. For some reason he also takes this time to mention Microsoft and point out that even this powerhouse is powerless in the face of such an onslaught.
Enderle also notes that companies who violate the GPL face union-like retaliation. And while it does point out "Linux" (which Enderle notes early on he doesn't wish to distinguish from other players) has managed to defend its license... the implication is certainly that this isn't business as normal.
Enderle's next favorite is the O'Gara incident. He generously describes the involved piece as an incomplete expose where O'Gara "implied, but did not prove, that PJ worked for IBM." What Enderle fails to note is that O'Gara also implied that PJ was a paranoid nutjob with generally frowned-on religious beliefs. The impression implied is that the Linux community apparently responded to unwelcome news rather than a personal hatchet job bordering on harassment. And again, Enderle gets a chance to trot out the DoS boogyman. Whats interesting is that he characterizes disapproving emails to advertisers supporting Sys-Con as an "attack". In the end, Enderle characterizes the negative response to this incident as power not even wielded by big corporations or governments. If demands aren't met, Linux moves against you.... and it would seem fits you for digital cement loafers.
You see - Linux is the new Mob. That is Enderle's subtle point. It's more subtle than his normal attacks. But it is a hatchet job, none the less.
One final comment - it's interesting how Enderle highlights the O'Gara incident as damning PR for the Linux community. The opinion is that if the community hadn't responded to O'Gara, the piece would have simply slipped past unnoted. But instead, it was picked up by major trades and gave Linux a black eye. Readers might want to question for themselves why the major news outlets picked this up and pay close attention to the players. Is this Enderle claiming that "suits are back"?
When I was growing up with computers in the 80's, User Groups had large libraries of Public Domain software. That code is still in the public domain today... assuming you can still find copies of it. And some continue to release code to the public domain. I don't see how RMS managed to kill it.
But maybe you're confused as to what Freeware is? I'm assuming you're referring to public domain software when you mention "freeware" since most of these came with code. But Freeware isn't always Public Domain. There have been and continues to be a sizable amount of Freeware that is proprietary and with no code. And there is a smaller collection of proprietary software that includes code, but in no way comes close to being Free Software or Open Source.
There are subtle yet very important differences between the terms Freeware, Public Domain, Open Source, and Free Software. I suspect you have a better understanding of this than you're letting on.
One final comment - it would be nice if we didn't have to worry about license bickering. But then, the legal landscape of software has drastically changed since the 80s. RMS didn't create today's environment - he simply provided a hack of that system.
Care to point out what is delusional about these stories? Don't get me wrong - you might have a point I can agree on. Switching over platforms isn't always easy. But I've done it. I hope you're not impying the ability to convert is fantasy?
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The first window manager I saw on Linux (before I even knew of such things) was Enlightenment. I think the distro was probably Slackware. When compared to my Win95 desktop I was used to seeing... I was blown away. I'm not sure FVWM95 is a fair representation.
Granted - some people prefer FVWM95; nothing wrong with that. Although I was wowed by E, I ended up choosing Windowmaker as my WM of choice when I first started using Linux as my desktop. That was sometime around 98.
I use this feature too. However, I also use the GoogleBar ability to highlight search terms (different colored highlights - just like a Google cache version of a page) on occasion. Sometimes it helps scan through a page and picking out groups of search terms that are significant versus the occasional hits that aren't significant. And I also use the clicky-clicky buttons to search within the page for terms... why retype?
It seems to me that if type-ahead (or / search) was sufficient, I wouldn't be using these features of Googlebar. But that's my personal preference. Your milage may vary. I invite you to try it out yourself if you haven't already.
Again - this isn't the point. The grandparent didn't takea swipe at Russian courts. They were simply stating that the Russian court should throw the case out - as should any court in any country fielding such a case. Yet the respondant tries to make this a US vs. Russia / World issue. Way to miss the point.
That's why when you state personal opinion, you take pains to avoid connecting your opinion to your employer. Did this person note who is employer is? Did he communicate in any method that linked him to his employer (i.e. using an email address from his employer's domain or using a signiture block including his employer)? Did he directly criticize his employer? I don't see anything that would imply any of this happened.
I agree with what you're saying. But I don't see it as applicable in this case.
What do you do for that telecom company? If you're Public Relations, I would agree. But what if you're a system administrator? Does a belief in alternative communications systems really affect your ability to maintain the systems under your charge?
Likewise, did Mr. Hanff's belief in reformation (or even removal) of Copyright and associated "intellectual property" laws really affect his duties within the company? Or is this simply a personal call by someone within Management with an axe to grind against the opinions expressed by Mr. Hanff?
Also, keep in mind that Mr. Hanff seems to believe it was about possible pending litigation. From the article:
And this may be a legitimate concern. If Mr. Hanff is required to get a security clearance to work on Government contracts, legal entanglements may become an issue. But even then, this particular case is questionable. And it certainly isn't in line with the other statements from higher company management.
I watched the series in the time between its cancelation and release on DVD. According to the notes I saw, I had seen the series in its broadcast order. And I liked it. But I understand why some didn't.
The broadcast order left huge backstory holes. It was like finding yourself waking up on a speeding train with no idea where you're going, where you are, or where you came from. As characters on the show interacted, you got clues to everyone's backgrounds. The intended pilot episodes ended up being a treat - dropping in major pieces of the plot jigsaw puzzle.
As I said, I enjoyed this treatment. But it would seem that others found this experience to be too disjointed.
Sure - this sounds like it would be obvious. But it would seem that the concept is either lost on Hollywood or not so easy to pull off. You don't see the same thing going on with Star Trek, Star Wars, or the current run of superhero / comicbook movies.
OSX x86? Or maybe there should be another space... OS X x86. :)
Sure... Work would buy a nice gen-u-ine IBM PC or maybe a box from Compaq (if they were smart). But when you wanted a home computer and wanted to run what you had at work - what did you do? At one point, it was actually cheaper to get a whitebox clone (especially if you built it yourself). You either installed a pirated copy of Windows on it yourself or part of the cheap price from the whitebox screwdriver shop involved a pre-installed illegal copy.
What about the Office suite from work? That involved either taking home the Microsoft floppies one evening or bringing in a box of blank floppies to make copies. So now you ran Office and work and at home. You're unlikely to change for two powerfull reasons. First and foremost - it's the software you're familiar with. Secondly, you have no financial incentive to change (which is one of the few things that can upset familiarity).
Now you're set with Microsoft. When your family wants additional functionality out of your home computer, they will need compatability with Windows. And when your company is looking at their next major workstation upgrades, you're not going to request anything but Microsoft architecture because 1) familiarity 2) you run it at home and changing would cost you personally.
"Piracy" has certainly had an impact.
Hmmm. Interesting point. It underlines the "Apple controls the OS and the hardware" observation. If you want an easy Linux experience - make sure you've got the most compatible hardware (and distro to some extent).
Life in Highschool changed for me when I adopted a new personal rule: there are only a few people who's opinions matter. Those people were good friends. Everyone else could get stuffed.
I suppose that this changed my outward personality. I ended up socializing with people easier. I even ended up making aquaintences with people of various cliques that I would never have interacted with in the past. I ended up going to occasional parties. I even had girlfriends.
Highschool will never be "golden years" like some staff and my friend's mother claimed they would be. But it was a better experience once I changed my overall attitude and philosophy.
Tonight, I'm heading down to Stranglethorn Vale with my wife. We're getting her leveled up now that between us we've got money for her mount. She wasn't keen on hitting 40 unless she had the coin on hand.
On hearing us talking about having mounts... my daughter wants her account to be reactivated for the summer.
There's no issues about understanding game time in my household.
Here, here. This should end now. I ask my fellow Slashdot readers to stand by me as I call for an end to this thread.
According to CNN, on the US-side of the pond, we get most of our news from CNN.
I've served with an interesting collection of people during my (relatively short - 8yrs) military career. For the most part, they have very strong ideals. There would be a very large (if not vast majority) of military personnel who would not stand for this kind of activity. And they're the ones with the training and the equipment.
Sadly, there would be those who WOULD stand for it. Even support it under the rationalization of Chain of Command or whatnot. I've met those types. They exist. But I am glad that they are far fewer and far between than some seem to think they are.
Does this open any new doors for IBM to move to all PPC / Linux solutions?
To each their own, I suppose. I find my Linux desktops anything but dull. But then, I tend to take any generic install and add a few tweaks to the eye candy. When work is getting dull and I need a diversion, I dump 15 minutes in to toying with eye candy to change my desktop... and its amazing the subconcious change. I also enjoy dropping a few cycles in to writing the odd script or two.
But then, that's me. I wouldn't expect what makes me happy to make everyone else happy too.
I would agree to a point. There are plenty of Open Source projects out there that could use some user interface work. But then - that's hardly specific to Linux.
Having said that - I like the Unix way of doing things. When I go to other platforms, I miss it. My work-provided WinXP box ended up with numerous applications and interface tweaks in an attempt to make it operate like a Linux environment. Eventually I gave up, and moved it to Linux.
The trouble is, the Unix way is foreign to lots of folks. I've experienced it myself. I've observed the impact on family members and co-workers. I've seen zealots argue over "falures" in "Linux" when its simply that they expect it to operate like their own personal environment (namely Windows). Unix comes from a different culture which leads to a certain amount of culture shock for new users as they become accustomed to it. That doesn't mean it's wrong and must be changed.
The trick is that this resistance to dumping Unix culture shouldn't completely interfere with all change. And that seems to be a bit of a balancing act.
Transgaming currently has an interesting blurb on cross-platform development shaking out bugs. They note that as Transgaming works to maintain support for some of the current popular tittles, they've managed to uncover bugs that have apparently been less visible on Windows.
I think I understand your point. But I don't know if I would go so far as to directly compare DirectX and WINE.
Grab a copy of the latest Windows game. Install the version of DirectX they say is needed. Play. Now try to install that game and play it with WINE. Cross your fingers. Maybe play.
Don't get me wrong - I use WINE. I use Cedega. I play World of Warcraft on Linux. I have been fairly happy with the experience. But there is always the fear of the next patch breaking compatability or some feature; a valid fear based on the history of the game.
So while WINE (and associated projects) provide a rather handy bridge between mainstream software and Linux - it isn't something I would count on.
Remarkably... books as a communication method tend to be much slower. Reading books as a communication method is even slower and considerably lossy.
Linux, you see is an underworld agent threatening your profits. With that idea firmly planted, Enderle reaches for his current favorites in his arsenal.
SCO is a reasonable company besieged because they dared sue IBM. This is where Enderle gets to note DoS attacks and personal threats. It seems this alone has sunk SCO and not anything to do with their own buisness tactics or actual strength of their case against IBM. For some reason he also takes this time to mention Microsoft and point out that even this powerhouse is powerless in the face of such an onslaught.
Enderle also notes that companies who violate the GPL face union-like retaliation. And while it does point out "Linux" (which Enderle notes early on he doesn't wish to distinguish from other players) has managed to defend its license... the implication is certainly that this isn't business as normal.
Enderle's next favorite is the O'Gara incident. He generously describes the involved piece as an incomplete expose where O'Gara "implied, but did not prove, that PJ worked for IBM." What Enderle fails to note is that O'Gara also implied that PJ was a paranoid nutjob with generally frowned-on religious beliefs. The impression implied is that the Linux community apparently responded to unwelcome news rather than a personal hatchet job bordering on harassment. And again, Enderle gets a chance to trot out the DoS boogyman. Whats interesting is that he characterizes disapproving emails to advertisers supporting Sys-Con as an "attack". In the end, Enderle characterizes the negative response to this incident as power not even wielded by big corporations or governments. If demands aren't met, Linux moves against you.... and it would seem fits you for digital cement loafers.
You see - Linux is the new Mob. That is Enderle's subtle point. It's more subtle than his normal attacks. But it is a hatchet job, none the less.
One final comment - it's interesting how Enderle highlights the O'Gara incident as damning PR for the Linux community. The opinion is that if the community hadn't responded to O'Gara, the piece would have simply slipped past unnoted. But instead, it was picked up by major trades and gave Linux a black eye. Readers might want to question for themselves why the major news outlets picked this up and pay close attention to the players. Is this Enderle claiming that "suits are back"?
Is it following these steps if you send out an email to your entire address book saying:
Sorry for all the email. To make amends, I've included a link to Crazy Frog Axel F.
When I was growing up with computers in the 80's, User Groups had large libraries of Public Domain software. That code is still in the public domain today... assuming you can still find copies of it. And some continue to release code to the public domain. I don't see how RMS managed to kill it.
But maybe you're confused as to what Freeware is? I'm assuming you're referring to public domain software when you mention "freeware" since most of these came with code. But Freeware isn't always Public Domain. There have been and continues to be a sizable amount of Freeware that is proprietary and with no code. And there is a smaller collection of proprietary software that includes code, but in no way comes close to being Free Software or Open Source.
There are subtle yet very important differences between the terms Freeware, Public Domain, Open Source, and Free Software. I suspect you have a better understanding of this than you're letting on.
One final comment - it would be nice if we didn't have to worry about license bickering. But then, the legal landscape of software has drastically changed since the 80s. RMS didn't create today's environment - he simply provided a hack of that system.
Care to point out what is delusional about these stories? Don't get me wrong - you might have a point I can agree on. Switching over platforms isn't always easy. But I've done it. I hope you're not impying the ability to convert is fantasy?
Once you pay the Dane-gelt, you never get rid of the Dane.