Linux on the desktop will happen when its ready to happen. All this pushing does nothing to aide linux.
All that will happen is less experienced users will hear all the fuss and see phrases like "A free windows alternative" and attempt to give it a go.
Assuming they find their way through the installer, they will find that their modems, web cams etc dont work and various other niggly issues that still cause alot of problems.
The brave end-user that tried it out will head back to windows, never to enter linux territory again and whats more, will likely tell all his friends not to bother. The hype will be countered with anti-hype and things stay as they are.
When linux is viable on the desktop (for Joe Public) it will happen, trying to push it before this point will just be detrimental.
I cant understand the push anyway. Does the linux community need to validate its existance by taking on the evil empire?
Old McBride he has a company He calls it S.C.O and in that company he has some lawyers and into court they'll go With a FUD FUD here and a FUD FUD there Here a line, there a line, i'm telling you, this code is mine! Old McBride he had a company Farewell S.C.O
Thank you, Thank you... Im here all week... try the veal!
Well... even if they did develop it in house, and this other group provided them the algorithm for free, it didnt just fall into the software magically. There was integration work to be done.
Also there would have to have been some ongoing discussion/meetings with this other group, which was also a waste of time and money adding to adobe's overheads...
Yeah, it would be a shame if a restaurant as widely applauded for its cleanliness and wonderfully high quality products served in a sanitary environment had its good name ruined because of this...
I dont think this was an intentional copyright violation, someone probably just saw the words 'gotta give' labeled on the media and thought they were instructions.
At least when the sequal, "Dont copy this you theiving bastards", screeners become available the hole will be closed.
I have hundreds of pages of documentation proving you wrong, but im afraid I cant show you them, you will just have to trust me ok?
Yeah and we all know what happens next..
on
Growing Up With Lucy
·
· Score: 5, Funny
Steve's goal is to build an intelligent android inspired by his understanding of the human brain
Ok, ive seen this played out before. Eventually the android becomes self-aware and, along with its android pals, declares war on humanity. The world is saved a few times due to some ingenious time travel causing a couple of minor paradoxes which largely go unnoticed.
Finally the android settles down to a cushy political job which no-one seems to mind, despite its poor speech sythesis, tendancy towards sexual harrassment and the fact it is vastly underqualified...
The letters S, C and O are used many times by Novell, the fact they are seen in different orders and configurations throughout the letter just indicates the effort that Novell have expended to obsfuscate the violation.
That's a trademark issue, and is an entirely different can of worms. It's also still pending
It is a different issue from a legal perspective, yes. However it still provides a useful analogy.
If I steal some GPL code and include it as is, it is easy to determine my violation if you have access to my source code.
If I steal some GPL code, change all the variable names, add a few extra 'helper' methods. Move some code around etc etc it then becomes more more difficult to prove that I violated the GPL in the first place.
There is already an argument that two developers may potential come up with identical code to a given problem, but the chance of this is quite remote, but the more minor changes are applied to the original code the harder it becomes to prove that it just wasnt a case of two different developers with the same way of thinking.
Similarly, calling a product Windows (if you are not microsoft) is a clear trademark violation. Change a letter to make Lindows, is it still a violation of just a similar name? What about Lendox etc... eventually you change all the letters and there is no link at all... where is the line drawn...
So yes, different types of legal issues but conceptually the same thing.
I appreciate I am making an unpopular point here, but I am a realist, and this seems to be a problem to me.
Honestly, what can the judge compel the other side to produce except for source-code. Even there, what is to stop companies from making alterations to stolen GPL code to obfuscate it 'just enough' so that it can no-longer be assumes to be the same as the original.
Reminds me of the Lindows/Windows debate. What if it had been Lindox, Lendox etc... where is the line?
I guess the best-case-scenerio, is to compel the company to provide the details of a developer they allege worked on the software in question and ask them under oath if the software was their own work or taken from elseware, but I think you will be surprise how many developers that make their living from close source development will develop amnesia when asked to implicate their employer. That kind of thing does not look good on a resume!
I think the main reason that the GPL has never been tested in courst is because violations are very difficult to prove.
You can be sure that this isnt the only case of GPL code existing in commercial products, but the nature of closed source prevents us from being able to easly spot a GPL violation.
If I come around to your house and steal your television, you have no right to break into my house to see if I have it.
Its the SCO thing in reverse, SCO refuse to open out their code to prove the violation, KISS will obviously be reluctant to open theirs to disprove it.
It would be nice to live in a world where the hard work of voluteer developers was respected via the license they choose to license their work under, wouldnt it?
Unfortunatly, BSD/Apache style licenses are looking like more a viable option.
Sure, where there is a clear violation, the offender should be dealt with in court and made to pay whatever penalty is decided, it finding the offenders that is the trick.:o(
I simply mean that PHP is simply not designed to deal with the kind of issues that present themselves in large-scale web apps.
Firstly it is purely a web-development language, analogous to the JSP aspect of the J2EE, of the ASP.net aspect of.net.
J2EE (and to a lesser extend.net) do much that PHP doesnt. There is a comprehensive set of API for managing common problems such as two-phase commit over 2 databases and a messaging system. I am willing to be that PHP doesnt do that very easily, and if it does, it probably shouldnt, just as you should attempt this kind of task from within scriptlets in a JSP page.
Providing a full list of J2EE services and API's would not be practical and would be hugely off-topic.
I am simply saying that PHP fills the niche of a simple, quick, free dynamic web-site development platform and I applaud it for this.
Although ive not done too much with it, PHP seems to be fast becomming the de-facto standard for young programmers getting into true dynamic web development on the server.
Personally I feel that J2EE and JSP is a more 'enterprise' technology for this kind of development with large transactional systems but the nature of PHP tends to lend itself more to the lightweight, free web development and is supported by a growing number of hosting companies (even free hosting companies).
I do question the need for yet another book on the subject, but i prefer to see up to date copies of books such as this hitting the shelves than "1001 ways to do everything you need with.net".
Being a little more windows dependant that some slashdot folk, I always find trying to switch my laptop to 100% linux is a little like giving up smoking... I always seem to relapse to windows (or at best dual boot).
I like using unix style operating systems for work, but it can be hard to leave some of the games behind. I also get my fair share of driver issues and havent quite managed to get vid conf from a linux desktop to a windows desktop working.
The idea of having a CD that I throw in to boot an OS used for serious work seems like a good one to me, that way I still get windows (lets face it, most of us have already paid for it anyway!), its a best of both worlds.
I have one concern, presumably the OS needs a partition to write temporary data to, and even if it doesnt what good is an OS that cant save files to disk (before anyone gets smart, I will qualify that with a desktop operating system for your standard PC/Laptop).
So the $64'000 is, how reliable is the NTFS support? I read things like "Dont write to NTFS, it could trash the partition!", which basically is a show-stopper for me...
Maybe im way out of date, but a quick glance at the Mandrake move website didnt give me the info.
Instead of http://www.google.com/ one would just write ``Google'' (or maybe ``google''?), dropping the http://www which is fairly redundant when using a webbrowser (yes, I know that ``www'' indicates the hostname, but who cares what the hostname is, I just want the site), and the TLD which is basically meaningless
Great idea!! Cant wait to see what happens to 'whitehouse';o)
I just came up with the perfect name for your new game, unfortunatly the name that I thought of is already a registered trademark of Microsoft Corperation.
Slashdot Mirror
Linux on the desktop will happen when its ready to happen. All this pushing does nothing to aide linux.
All that will happen is less experienced users will hear all the fuss and see phrases like "A free windows alternative" and attempt to give it a go.
Assuming they find their way through the installer, they will find that their modems, web cams etc dont work and various other niggly issues that still cause alot of problems.
The brave end-user that tried it out will head back to windows, never to enter linux territory again and whats more, will likely tell all his friends not to bother. The hype will be countered with anti-hype and things stay as they are.
When linux is viable on the desktop (for Joe Public) it will happen, trying to push it before this point will just be detrimental.
I cant understand the push anyway. Does the linux community need to validate its existance by taking on the evil empire?
Let's take a good idea from TOS or TNG, update it with a new cast and new effects, and completely ruing the meaning!
;o)
Yeah, well thats just because the technologies of the time arent quite as advanced...
Its just an examine of 'doesnt matter replication'!!
Heh, I can hear those groans all the way from the delta quadrant!
Psssst... Now quickly, tell 'em about the viagra!
Old McBride he has a company
He calls it S.C.O
and in that company he has some lawyers
and into court they'll go
With a FUD FUD here and a FUD FUD there
Here a line, there a line, i'm telling you, this code is mine!
Old McBride he had a company
Farewell S.C.O
Thank you, Thank you... Im here all week... try the veal!
Look at it this way... if we cant work out what a "Darwinian reference architecture" is, the indians must be totally fucking baffled!
Well you can expect to see a considerable drop in the amount of abe lincon faked porn available.
Well... even if they did develop it in house, and this other group provided them the algorithm for free, it didnt just fall into the software magically. There was integration work to be done.
Also there would have to have been some ongoing discussion/meetings with this other group, which was also a waste of time and money adding to adobe's overheads...
Its still not free.
Yeah, it would be a shame if a restaurant as widely applauded for its cleanliness and wonderfully high quality products served in a sanitary environment had its good name ruined because of this...
I dont think this was an intentional copyright violation, someone probably just saw the words 'gotta give' labeled on the media and thought they were instructions.
At least when the sequal, "Dont copy this you theiving bastards", screeners become available the hole will be closed.
I have hundreds of pages of documentation proving you wrong, but im afraid I cant show you them, you will just have to trust me ok?
Steve's goal is to build an intelligent android inspired by his understanding of the human brain
Ok, ive seen this played out before. Eventually the android becomes self-aware and, along with its android pals, declares war on humanity. The world is saved a few times due to some ingenious time travel causing a couple of minor paradoxes which largely go unnoticed.
Finally the android settles down to a cushy political job which no-one seems to mind, despite its poor speech sythesis, tendancy towards sexual harrassment and the fact it is vastly underqualified...
been there, done that.
Well its an obviously violation of SCO's IPR..
The letters S, C and O are used many times by Novell, the fact they are seen in different orders and configurations throughout the letter just indicates the effort that Novell have expended to obsfuscate the violation.
Whether Lexmark will attempt to DMCA them?
;o)
Nah... they havent got a prayer!
It is a different issue from a legal perspective, yes. However it still provides a useful analogy.
If I steal some GPL code and include it as is, it is easy to determine my violation if you have access to my source code.
If I steal some GPL code, change all the variable names, add a few extra 'helper' methods. Move some code around etc etc it then becomes more more difficult to prove that I violated the GPL in the first place.
There is already an argument that two developers may potential come up with identical code to a given problem, but the chance of this is quite remote, but the more minor changes are applied to the original code the harder it becomes to prove that it just wasnt a case of two different developers with the same way of thinking.
Similarly, calling a product Windows (if you are not microsoft) is a clear trademark violation. Change a letter to make Lindows, is it still a violation of just a similar name? What about Lendox etc... eventually you change all the letters and there is no link at all... where is the line drawn...
So yes, different types of legal issues but conceptually the same thing.
I appreciate I am making an unpopular point here, but I am a realist, and this seems to be a problem to me.
Thats if you have anything at all.
Honestly, what can the judge compel the other side to produce except for source-code. Even there, what is to stop companies from making alterations to stolen GPL code to obfuscate it 'just enough' so that it can no-longer be assumes to be the same as the original.
Reminds me of the Lindows/Windows debate. What if it had been Lindox, Lendox etc... where is the line?
I guess the best-case-scenerio, is to compel the company to provide the details of a developer they allege worked on the software in question and ask them under oath if the software was their own work or taken from elseware, but I think you will be surprise how many developers that make their living from close source development will develop amnesia when asked to implicate their employer. That kind of thing does not look good on a resume!
Im not so sure.
:o(
I think the main reason that the GPL has never been tested in courst is because violations are very difficult to prove.
You can be sure that this isnt the only case of GPL code existing in commercial products, but the nature of closed source prevents us from being able to easly spot a GPL violation.
If I come around to your house and steal your television, you have no right to break into my house to see if I have it.
Its the SCO thing in reverse, SCO refuse to open out their code to prove the violation, KISS will obviously be reluctant to open theirs to disprove it.
It would be nice to live in a world where the hard work of voluteer developers was respected via the license they choose to license their work under, wouldnt it?
Unfortunatly, BSD/Apache style licenses are looking like more a viable option.
Sure, where there is a clear violation, the offender should be dealt with in court and made to pay whatever penalty is decided, it finding the offenders that is the trick.
I simply mean that PHP is simply not designed to deal with the kind of issues that present themselves in large-scale web apps.
.net.
.net) do much that PHP doesnt. There is a comprehensive set of API for managing common problems such as two-phase commit over 2 databases and a messaging system. I am willing to be that PHP doesnt do that very easily, and if it does, it probably shouldnt, just as you should attempt this kind of task from within scriptlets in a JSP page.
Firstly it is purely a web-development language, analogous to the JSP aspect of the J2EE, of the ASP.net aspect of
J2EE (and to a lesser extend
Providing a full list of J2EE services and API's would not be practical and would be hugely off-topic.
I am simply saying that PHP fills the niche of a simple, quick, free dynamic web-site development platform and I applaud it for this.
Although ive not done too much with it, PHP seems to be fast becomming the de-facto standard for young programmers getting into true dynamic web development on the server.
.net".
Personally I feel that J2EE and JSP is a more 'enterprise' technology for this kind of development with large transactional systems but the nature of PHP tends to lend itself more to the lightweight, free web development and is supported by a growing number of hosting companies (even free hosting companies).
I do question the need for yet another book on the subject, but i prefer to see up to date copies of books such as this hitting the shelves than "1001 ways to do everything you need with
Kudos to the PHP team.
Scientists have known about these advanced prediction techniques for decades...
Unfortunatly, the original research was destroyed in an earthquake in 1987.
Being a little more windows dependant that some slashdot folk, I always find trying to switch my laptop to 100% linux is a little like giving up smoking... I always seem to relapse to windows (or at best dual boot).
I like using unix style operating systems for work, but it can be hard to leave some of the games behind. I also get my fair share of driver issues and havent quite managed to get vid conf from a linux desktop to a windows desktop working.
The idea of having a CD that I throw in to boot an OS used for serious work seems like a good one to me, that way I still get windows (lets face it, most of us have already paid for it anyway!), its a best of both worlds.
I have one concern, presumably the OS needs a partition to write temporary data to, and even if it doesnt what good is an OS that cant save files to disk (before anyone gets smart, I will qualify that with a desktop operating system for your standard PC/Laptop).
So the $64'000 is, how reliable is the NTFS support? I read things like "Dont write to NTFS, it could trash the partition!", which basically is a show-stopper for me...
Maybe im way out of date, but a quick glance at the Mandrake move website didnt give me the info.
Can anyone clear this up?
Instead of http://www.google.com/ one would just write ``Google'' (or maybe ``google''?), dropping the http://www which is fairly redundant when using a webbrowser (yes, I know that ``www'' indicates the hostname, but who cares what the hostname is, I just want the site), and the TLD which is basically meaningless
;o)
Great idea!! Cant wait to see what happens to 'whitehouse'
So how did you turn the alarm off when you were actually awake???
I just came up with the perfect name for your new game, unfortunatly the name that I thought of is already a registered trademark of Microsoft Corperation.
I use linux because..
[ ] I am a communist
[ ] I am a terrorist
[ ] All of the above
Sometimes options are not good. Particually if you want to reach out to slightly less technical users.
Lets not forget that anyone that wants to use this distro with KDE should be able to compile and install it.
There are als many other distros that come with both.