Well, I'm not an AC and I agree with him whole-heartedly. I used to be an avid (maybe even rabid) mac user. Now, I'm so disgusted with Apple (not only over this) that I doubt I'll ever go back.
Okay, so he didn't really phrase his arguement very well, but he has a very good point. Apple has done a lot of things in the last few years that thoroughly pissed off its at-that-time-loyal user base. I was an avid mac user until 2 years ago. Now my mac (clone) pretty much sits on my desk gathering dust while I use my Intel based systems. So for many of us, this is just one more time to see Apple shit on its customers. I do not have a long-standing prejudice toward Apple. I have, however, developed a deep-seated disgust for them. They kill very promising programs (cloning and CHRP). They stop talking to Be. The idea of the Mac platform as an open platform was a very appealing one, and it could have had great results. Unfortunately, Steve Jobs annihilated any chance of that when he took over.
So, when the previous poster says that Apple has their collective head up their ass, I agree with him. I think it's a pretty valid statement (even if it wasn't too well backed up).
You miss the point. I know that there are plenty of developers outside the US who could write crypto code. However, that doesn't invalidate the contributions that US developers could make. The whole point of this thread is how stupid the US legislation is. Sure, developers in other countries could do it, but that pretty much goes without saying.
As it happens, it's irrelevant because another responder pointed out that this tactic would still be illegal.
If I ssh into a machine that's outside the US and write crypto code, does that count as exporting it? Am I exporting a weapon one character at a time? If not, I guess that is a possible work-around, though one that would probably be pretty annoying for US developers.
Rumor has it that's because Juri was disappointed with the number of registrations, and dropped off the face of the earth. That said, Avara was a great product and really killed my GPA my freshman year in college. I'd love to see a sequel with good graphics.
I think you missed the entire point of the post. The writer isn't just whining. He's presenting his problems to Redhat in the hopes that they will fix them. And as far as I can tell, most of his complaints are completely valid. Alright, he should have read the product description for Power Tools, but it is still reasonable to complain about the package selection. That could even be helpful to Redhat. If they know that some users aren't too happy about what is in Power Tools, maybe they'll go looking for some better packages to add. (And yes, it would have been nice if the writer had made one more step and actually suggested some packages to install.)
As for the tech support bit, you are totally off base. I have had really excelent tech support from some companies (Dell and Origin Systems/Electronic Arts come to mind). It does exist. Companies that advertize tech support are obligated to supply it. It is unfortunate that most don't really, but we should not just accept that. The writer is trying to Do The Right Thing(tm) by writing to Redhat and informing them that there is a problem. And his complaint is absolutely valid. Tech support exists to help the user when he tries to do something a bit more complex than normal everyday use. If I ever head a tech support person say, "I don't know why you'd want to do that, so I'm not going to help you," I'd probably give him Hell and ask to speak to his manager. There is no excuse for a tech support person to take that attitude. They exist to help the user, and that is what they should do.
I'll finish by saying that I really do like Redhat. I just installed Redhat 6.0 on my workstation, and when I get around to taking it down, I'll install it on my server too. But, like all software, it has its share of problems. The whole point of this open letter was to help them solve some of the problems.
Cheers, Perrin.
Re:the option is called OFF TOPIC!
on
Slashdot Notes
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· Score: 1
Maybe, but is this always a bad thing? There are frequently so many serious posts on/. that it gets nice to find a funny one, even if it is off topic. As long as the humor's not harmful, I think it should be possible to mark it up even if it isn't completely on topic.
I disagree. I think anybody should be able to own a domain name. I own gondor.org. I offer email addresses there to any of my friends who want them. I also offer web space to friends. My EverQuest guild's web page is on gondor. And I don't charge for any of this. I use the email address aragorn@gondor.org and I like having the username and domain name fit into the same literary context. I don't think there is any reason why I shouldn't be alowed to own a domain name. The great thing about the internet is that it provides a forum where anybody can exercise their freedom of speech. Owning a domain name and the computer that responds to that address makes it easier to exercise that freedom.
I agree with you about the childishness, but if I was looking for an anti- website, I'd go to sucks.com. I'd be hoping for some actually reasonable objections to that person. I think that often I'd be able to find them (though I haven't tried that sort of thing in a while). Maybe I'm just naive, though.
Secondly, who would really use these domain names? Check out www.clintonsucks.com. There's an example of somebody who did buy a similar domain name. Kinda funny page too.
Heh, I don't think this is really an attack on free speech. He wants to make it harder to find anti-Bush web sites. That will make it a little harder. I think it's a pretty smart move. And it makes me laugh too. Way to go, George.
Actually, IMO, it's neither. It's too bad that Apple didn't release a Linux version of Quicktime. Does the java one work? But it's not really a reason to say that either sucks.
I agree with you that it is admirable to stand up for what you believe. There is, however, a limit. Lets take, for example, something completely unrelated to computers:
The IRA fights for Irish freedom. They stand up for what they believe. In my oppinion their cause is noble. BUT, I am absolutely opposed to the IRA. Using their methods they will never achieve independence for Northern Ireland. They actually drive people away from their cause because most people with a decent set of morals find their methods to be absolutely wrong.
Now, I'm not saying that RMS or any of the free software fanatics are as bad as the IRA. The point is that they actually drive people away from their movement and others affiliated with it by being too fanatical. I support free software. I think it's a great development model. But I don't think it's the only model. I think there are other perfectly valid models. My objection is to fanatacism so great that it actually drives people away from your cause.
Disclaimer: The mention of nVidia in my previous post was mostly by way of example, not so much to pick on a specific issue. Since the response was directly pertaining to the nVidia issue, this reply also will be.
I have no problem with people expressing their thoughts on slashdot. What do you think I'm doing now. That's what makes/. so great. And you certainly have every right to flame nVidia for their caution. You also have every right to be an asshole if you want to. Where you're wrong is in your statement that this is beneficial to the linux community. You point out that lots of companies have released specs. There're also lots of companies who completely ignore the linux scene. nVidia made a move toward support for the linux community, and people flamed them for it. Sorry, but if you expect every company to jump in feet first, then you're out of your mind. If you bitch and whine at nVidia after they make a move toward linux support, that sends entirely the wrong message. The management at nVidia says, "Look...we tried to support the linux community, and they cursed us and said they'd never buy our products again." Now, you're telling me this is helpful???? I think I definately missed something.
As for your bit about writing drivers being their job...bullshit. Sure, it is their job to write some drivers. But, then, they do. They have drivers for Windows 9x and for Windows NT. These are their target market. They have NO obligation to support any other OS. Sure, we think it might be in their best interests to support linux and BeOS and any other OS that comes along, but they make the economic decisions. They are free to make them as they choose. I have 2 Riva TNT based video cards. I'd like drivers for every possible OS (and I use Win98, WinNT, Linux, and BeOS). I'd say that nVidia has made remarkable progress toward support for alternate OS's. And they're doing more. It looks like they will be among the first vendors of integrated (2D/3D) video cards to provide a method for alternate OS's to accelerate 3D.
I don't think anybody's questioning the value of free software of FSF. I'm certain nobody would question the value of GNU software. But that's not really the issue here. The issue is ideology. I think it's perfectly reasonable to complain about the fanatacism of folks like Stallman and Perens. They have both made tremendous software contributions to Linux, and to the computer industry in general. For this I respect them. However, their intolerance of anything but Free Software(tm) does the industry nothing but harm. Look, for example, at the reaction on/. when nVidia pulled their Riva driver from Xfree and gave them one with obfuscated code. Sure, that kinda sucks, but look at the big picture here. Everyone screamed and cursed nVidia and threatened never to buy one of their products. WTF?!?!? We should be thanking nVidia for giving us drivers at all. All-in-all they've been very responsive to the Linux community. Thanks to the rhetoric of those like Stallman and Perens, our response was largely negative. I'll probably get flamed just for saying this, but nVidia had a perfectly valid justification for sticking with the Windows market. We have no divine right to have them write drivers for us. We have no divine right to their intelectual property. Out of the kindness of their hearts (and maybe some belief that it would improve business a bit) they did provide drivers, and they're still working on a way to access the 3d features of their chipsets. And yet, when they try to slow things down just a little, the Stallmanites scream and curse them like some sort of religious fanatic calling down the Wrath of God. Folks, I think somewhere all the noble ideals got lost and we were just left with the anger and self-righteousness. That is a tragedy.
Slashdot Mirror
Well, I'm not an AC and I agree with him whole-heartedly. I used to be an avid (maybe even rabid) mac user. Now, I'm so disgusted with Apple (not only over this) that I doubt I'll ever go back.
Cheers,
Perrin.
Okay, so he didn't really phrase his arguement very well, but he has a very good point. Apple has done a lot of things in the last few years that thoroughly pissed off its at-that-time-loyal user base. I was an avid mac user until 2 years ago. Now my mac (clone) pretty much sits on my desk gathering dust while I use my Intel based systems. So for many of us, this is just one more time to see Apple shit on its customers. I do not have a long-standing prejudice toward Apple. I have, however, developed a deep-seated disgust for them. They kill very promising programs (cloning and CHRP). They stop talking to Be. The idea of the Mac platform as an open platform was a very appealing one, and it could have had great results. Unfortunately, Steve Jobs annihilated any chance of that when he took over.
So, when the previous poster says that Apple has their collective head up their ass, I agree with him. I think it's a pretty valid statement (even if it wasn't too well backed up).
Cheers,
Perrin.
You miss the point. I know that there are plenty of developers outside the US who could write crypto code. However, that doesn't invalidate the contributions that US developers could make. The whole point of this thread is how stupid the US legislation is. Sure, developers in other countries could do it, but that pretty much goes without saying.
As it happens, it's irrelevant because another responder pointed out that this tactic would still be illegal.
Cheers,
Perrin.
If I ssh into a machine that's outside the US and write crypto code, does that count as exporting it? Am I exporting a weapon one character at a time? If not, I guess that is a possible work-around, though one that would probably be pretty annoying for US developers.
Cheers,
Perrin.
I wonder if there's any chance that all the politicians in the United States will all simultaneously self-Darwinate.
"We practice selective annihilation of mayors
and government officials
for example to create a vacuum
Then we fill that vacuum"
Once all the politicians were gone, then maybe we could replace them with people who actually have clues...?
Cheers,
Perrin.
Rumor has it that's because Juri was disappointed with the number of registrations, and dropped off the face of the earth. That said, Avara was a great product and really killed my GPA my freshman year in college. I'd love to see a sequel with good graphics.
Cheers,
Perrin.
I think you missed the entire point of the post. The writer isn't just whining. He's presenting his problems to Redhat in the hopes that they will fix them. And as far as I can tell, most of his complaints are completely valid. Alright, he should have read the product description for Power Tools, but it is still reasonable to complain about the package selection. That could even be helpful to Redhat. If they know that some users aren't too happy about what is in Power Tools, maybe they'll go looking for some better packages to add. (And yes, it would have been nice if the writer had made one more step and actually suggested some packages to install.)
As for the tech support bit, you are totally off base. I have had really excelent tech support from some companies (Dell and Origin Systems/Electronic Arts come to mind). It does exist. Companies that advertize tech support are obligated to supply it. It is unfortunate that most don't really, but we should not just accept that. The writer is trying to Do The Right Thing(tm) by writing to Redhat and informing them that there is a problem. And his complaint is absolutely valid. Tech support exists to help the user when he tries to do something a bit more complex than normal everyday use. If I ever head a tech support person say, "I don't know why you'd want to do that, so I'm not going to help you," I'd probably give him Hell and ask to speak to his manager. There is no excuse for a tech support person to take that attitude. They exist to help the user, and that is what they should do.
I'll finish by saying that I really do like Redhat. I just installed Redhat 6.0 on my workstation, and when I get around to taking it down, I'll install it on my server too. But, like all software, it has its share of problems. The whole point of this open letter was to help them solve some of the problems.
Cheers,
Perrin.
Maybe, but is this always a bad thing? There are frequently so many serious posts on /. that it gets nice to find a funny one, even if it is off topic. As long as the humor's not harmful, I think it should be possible to mark it up even if it isn't completely on topic.
Cheers,
Perrin.
Bush is exercising his own free speech by buying the domains and pointing them at his site. I really just don't see this as a free speech issue.
Cheers,
Perrin.
In a perfect world, yes. I'd never run a sucks site anyway.
Cheers,
Perrin.
Good, it's back up. When I posted the comment it was at -1.
Cheers,
Perrin.
LOL. I hope this one doesn't get moderated down like the last one. It's harmless and provides comedy relief.
Cheers,
Perrin.
I disagree. I think anybody should be able to own a domain name. I own gondor.org. I offer email addresses there to any of my friends who want them. I also offer web space to friends. My EverQuest guild's web page is on gondor. And I don't charge for any of this. I use the email address aragorn@gondor.org and I like having the username and domain name fit into the same literary context. I don't think there is any reason why I shouldn't be alowed to own a domain name. The great thing about the internet is that it provides a forum where anybody can exercise their freedom of speech. Owning a domain name and the computer that responds to that address makes it easier to exercise that freedom.
Cheers,
Perrin.
I agree with you about the childishness, but if I was looking for an anti- website, I'd go to sucks.com. I'd be hoping for some actually reasonable objections to that person. I think that often I'd be able to find them (though I haven't tried that sort of thing in a while). Maybe I'm just naive, though.
Cheers,
Perrin.
Secondly, who would really use these domain names? Check out www.clintonsucks.com. There's an example of somebody who did buy a similar domain name. Kinda funny page too.
Cheers,
Perrin.
Heh, I'm wondering why this got moderated down. I thought it was pretty funny. And I'm not opposed to bush at all.
Cheers,
Perrin.
Heh, I don't think this is really an attack on free speech. He wants to make it harder to find anti-Bush web sites. That will make it a little harder. I think it's a pretty smart move. And it makes me laugh too. Way to go, George.
Cheers,
Perrin.
Actually, IMO, it's neither. It's too bad that Apple didn't release a Linux version of Quicktime. Does the java one work? But it's not really a reason to say that either sucks.
Cheers,
Perrin.
Thank you for saying it. It's past time that people realize that what's good for the computer industry at large is good for all of us too.
I agree with you that it is admirable to stand up for what you believe. There is, however, a limit. Lets take, for example, something completely unrelated to computers:
The IRA fights for Irish freedom. They stand up for what they believe. In my oppinion their cause is noble. BUT, I am absolutely opposed to the IRA. Using their methods they will never achieve independence for Northern Ireland. They actually drive people away from their cause because most people with a decent set of morals find their methods to be absolutely wrong.
Now, I'm not saying that RMS or any of the free software fanatics are as bad as the IRA. The point is that they actually drive people away from their movement and others affiliated with it by being too fanatical. I support free software. I think it's a great development model. But I don't think it's the only model. I think there are other perfectly valid models. My objection is to fanatacism so great that it actually drives people away from your cause.
Disclaimer: The mention of nVidia in my previous post was mostly by way of example, not so much to pick on a specific issue. Since the response was directly pertaining to the nVidia issue, this reply also will be.
/. so great. And you certainly have every right to flame nVidia for their caution. You also have every right to be an asshole if you want to. Where you're wrong is in your statement that this is beneficial to the linux community. You point out that lots of companies have released specs. There're also lots of companies who completely ignore the linux scene. nVidia made a move toward support for the linux community, and people flamed them for it. Sorry, but if you expect every company to jump in feet first, then you're out of your mind. If you bitch and whine at nVidia after they make a move toward linux support, that sends entirely the wrong message. The management at nVidia says, "Look...we tried to support the linux community, and they cursed us and said they'd never buy our products again." Now, you're telling me this is helpful???? I think I definately missed something.
I have no problem with people expressing their thoughts on slashdot. What do you think I'm doing now. That's what makes
As for your bit about writing drivers being their job...bullshit. Sure, it is their job to write some drivers. But, then, they do. They have drivers for Windows 9x and for Windows NT. These are their target market. They have NO obligation to support any other OS. Sure, we think it might be in their best interests to support linux and BeOS and any other OS that comes along, but they make the economic decisions. They are free to make them as they choose. I have 2 Riva TNT based video cards. I'd like drivers for every possible OS (and I use Win98, WinNT, Linux, and BeOS). I'd say that nVidia has made remarkable progress toward support for alternate OS's. And they're doing more. It looks like they will be among the first vendors of integrated (2D/3D) video cards to provide a method for alternate OS's to accelerate 3D.
I don't think anybody's questioning the value of free software of FSF. I'm certain nobody would question the value of GNU software. But that's not really the issue here. The issue is ideology. I think it's perfectly reasonable to complain about the fanatacism of folks like Stallman and Perens. They have both made tremendous software contributions to Linux, and to the computer industry in general. For this I respect them. However, their intolerance of anything but Free Software(tm) does the industry nothing but harm. Look, for example, at the reaction on /. when nVidia pulled their Riva driver from Xfree and gave them one with obfuscated code. Sure, that kinda sucks, but look at the big picture here. Everyone screamed and cursed nVidia and threatened never to buy one of their products. WTF?!?!? We should be thanking nVidia for giving us drivers at all. All-in-all they've been very responsive to the Linux community. Thanks to the rhetoric of those like Stallman and Perens, our response was largely negative. I'll probably get flamed just for saying this, but nVidia had a perfectly valid justification for sticking with the Windows market. We have no divine right to have them write drivers for us. We have no divine right to their intelectual property. Out of the kindness of their hearts (and maybe some belief that it would improve business a bit) they did provide drivers, and they're still working on a way to access the 3d features of their chipsets. And yet, when they try to slow things down just a little, the Stallmanites scream and curse them like some sort of religious fanatic calling down the Wrath of God. Folks, I think somewhere all the noble ideals got lost and we were just left with the anger and self-righteousness. That is a tragedy.