Don't get me wrong, I would love to see GNU/Linux installed on every computer in the world, at gunpoint if necessary. But I can't but think that having China, with it's Zeitgeist of socialism, isn't the best advertisement for our cause.
The paradigm of GNU/Linux is one of throwing off the shackles of oppressive, business-savvy regimes. The image everyone has of China, and rightfully so, is of rattan-hatted peasants being whipped in a rice field by uber-lords who merely mouth the principles of sharing and openness. The reality of GNU/Linux is that we don't eat rice, we eat pizza.
I think a better approach to spreading The Word is to stop trying to convert masses of people through "monopoly"-busting lawsuits and start working harder on fixing the problems that GNU/Linux has. For instance, why must grepping for my IP address in resolv.conf be an Olog(n) operation when the file is linearly ordered? Somebody really dropped the ball on that one; it's almost bad enough to make me use that train-wreck Windows XP *shudder*.
Having read the article thoroughly, this startling news shows the flaws in the brewing Open Source Zeitgeist that is gripping the software community. Have you considered that providing software for free to countries such as China is essentially tacit support for oppressive regimes?
Far-fetched? Think about it: With MySQL, the People's Army will now be able to do multiple queries on their tables of democratic activists in Olog(n) time instead of lengthy searches in card catalogs. The bureaucratic overhead previously allowed activists enough time to flee the country. How about building cheap firewalls so the people can't get the unbiased reporting that CNN provides? Or using Apache to publish lists of Falun Gong people to their police forces instantly? I doubt that never crossed your minds when you were coding away in your parents' basements. Consider putting that little thought in your mental resolv.conf file.
If that does not concern you ( which it probably doesn't, since the lashout.org paradigm is publishing articles about how not to pay for things ), consider something else. When China eventually goes to war with Taiwan, we want to be able turn their command and control facilities into the computing equivalent of a train-wreck. One of the advantages of Windows never mentioned in the article is the ability of Microsoft to remotely deactivate Windows XP in the case of a national emergency. Thanks to GNU/Lunix, Taiwan will be on a collision course with the mainland in the near future.
Which throws into question Mr. Stallman's motives. A known proponent of socialism, the Chinese government and RMS are natural allies. Could it be a back door to Stallman's dream of an über-Socialist United States? We may never know for sure. Next time you consider contributing to an open source project, ask yourself this question: don't you want to make sure your work isn't used for nefarious purposes? Will you risk having blood on your hands?
I used to do programming for automated process lines used in the circuit board industry and quartz chip fabs (the chips used for timing purposes). One of the chemicals used is HF, since that's about the only thing that will etch silicon, which is really nasty. Also used are H2SO4, potassium permanganate, and other fun chemicals.
Important safety note: When working in such a place, always wash your hands up to the elbows before going to the bathroom, or rubbing your eyes. I've been told that sulfuric on the willy is an unforgettable experience...
If they had to. Given that Office already runs, somewhat, on Linux, they don't need to sell Windows to sell Office. And people care much more about the apps than they do about the underlying OS.
A front page story in the Sunday Washington Post. Figure that people in the offices of every Representative and Senator are going to read it. The White House will see it. Several thousand people at the Pentagon will read it. Thousands more throughout the government will read it. Plus all the journalists. Lobbyists.
I live here, grew up here, and know that I'm not the only one who reads every front page story in the Post every day.
Slashdot Mirror
And so do programmers, web page designers, and bandwidth providers.
The "Freedom From Interference With Commercial Speech Act"
Bayesian at the moon with this filter. The spammers will figure a way around it. Probably involving legislation,
Man, a perfect place for a goatse link, and you didn't put it in. Sigh. Kids these days.
Well, for suitably small definitions of "hefty". It's less than 5% in each house.
there's an override provision.
If it's a small business with only one employee the zoning laws probably don't apply. Otherwise telecommuting would be largely illegal.
talks about hardware quality as well as software quality.
The cover story was "Why PC's Crash, and Mainframes Don't". Still as true today as it was 8 years ago.
Never seen CKK before.
Support Global Thermonuclear War!
Oh, wait a minute, did you mean the gaming joystick, and not the, uhh, other kind?
The paradigm of GNU/Linux is one of throwing off the shackles of oppressive, business-savvy regimes. The image everyone has of China, and rightfully so, is of rattan-hatted peasants being whipped in a rice field by uber-lords who merely mouth the principles of sharing and openness. The reality of GNU/Linux is that we don't eat rice, we eat pizza.
I think a better approach to spreading The Word is to stop trying to convert masses of people through "monopoly"-busting lawsuits and start working harder on fixing the problems that GNU/Linux has. For instance, why must grepping for my IP address in resolv.conf be an Olog(n) operation when the file is linearly ordered? Somebody really dropped the ball on that one; it's almost bad enough to make me use that train-wreck Windows XP *shudder*.
Not just fabs. Circuit board shops are very dirty places. Board cleaning lines. Plating lines. Etc.
Far-fetched? Think about it: With MySQL, the People's Army will now be able to do multiple queries on their tables of democratic activists in Olog(n) time instead of lengthy searches in card catalogs. The bureaucratic overhead previously allowed activists enough time to flee the country. How about building cheap firewalls so the people can't get the unbiased reporting that CNN provides? Or using Apache to publish lists of Falun Gong people to their police forces instantly? I doubt that never crossed your minds when you were coding away in your parents' basements. Consider putting that little thought in your mental resolv.conf file.
If that does not concern you ( which it probably doesn't, since the lashout.org paradigm is publishing articles about how not to pay for things ), consider something else. When China eventually goes to war with Taiwan, we want to be able turn their command and control facilities into the computing equivalent of a train-wreck. One of the advantages of Windows never mentioned in the article is the ability of Microsoft to remotely deactivate Windows XP in the case of a national emergency. Thanks to GNU/Lunix, Taiwan will be on a collision course with the mainland in the near future.
Which throws into question Mr. Stallman's motives. A known proponent of socialism, the Chinese government and RMS are natural allies. Could it be a back door to Stallman's dream of an über-Socialist United States? We may never know for sure. Next time you consider contributing to an open source project, ask yourself this question: don't you want to make sure your work isn't used for nefarious purposes? Will you risk having blood on your hands?
Important safety note: When working in such a place, always wash your hands up to the elbows before going to the bathroom, or rubbing your eyes. I've been told that sulfuric on the willy is an unforgettable experience...
How so? Even in the US it would be legal if the police had the proper warrants.
Actually, in 93 I heard quite a few people calling SQL "squeal".
If they had to. Given that Office already runs, somewhat, on Linux, they don't need to sell Windows to sell Office. And people care much more about the apps than they do about the underlying OS.
If youse don't comply wit da contract, we're gonna put yerse fingers in da car door. Den we're gonna close da door. See?
I live here, grew up here, and know that I'm not the only one who reads every front page story in the Post every day.
Well, they do want some registration stuff, but nothing identifiable to you.
do penguins fly?
No. +4 Troll.
that's what I meant. I keep forgetting the second 'c'. Always fun when debugging.