"Microsoft's Tony Goodhew, project manager for Share Source CLI, said Microsoft is moving in the same direction as open source code advocates, but wishes to continue to protect its intellectual property from commercial exploitation by others."
Isn't this the sort of the same as authors of GPL software trying to protect their "intellectual property" from commercial exploitation by others? Of course Microsoft hates the GPL. They can't take good GPL software, and adapt it for their own use, like they can with less restrictive BSD licensed software. So they support FreeBSD because they believe in total freedom of the source code, and yet, don't like Linux and the GPL because it protects the coder's "intellectual property."
And by the way...
""It's an attack on Linux, which has market share as an operating system. FreeBSD has no market share, so they say, 'Oh, that's the good one,' " de Icaza said."
That's a pretty lame thing to say. FreeBSD does have market share, and the fact that it's being used by Microsoft and other big companies supports this fact. I mean, no need to get all up tight just because one company doesn't choose to use your favorite OS... It's all about choice, remember?
I definitly agree that Qt is an awesome product which the Windows opensource programming community definitly could use. Personally I think it's great that Trolltech has committed themselves to help keep software Free by releasing such a great tool to the community and helping gurantee that programs made with it go back to the community.
Of course, for companies to live, they have to make money, and this product is definitly worth more than the cost of a commercial development license. So if you're gonna make commercial software, it's only reasonable that you pay the company who gave you such a great start. As for Qt/Windows not being OpenSource:
"The GNU GPL and the Trolltech QPL are open-source, respectively Free Software licenses. Note the capital "F". We are not talking "free" as in "free beer", but "Free" as in "Free Speech". We released Qt/X11 under those licenses, because it runs as major component on totally Free operating systems, such as GNU/Linux and FreeBSD. Once Microsoft Windows is completely open source, we will reconsider." - FAQ
Well, that only applies to the Non-Commercial license, but if you purchase a Professional or Enterprise license, you do get the Qt source code with it.
And I must agree this movie rocked. It wasn't really what I expected, not having seen any trailers or previews. I just heard watching the local news (Wash DC) that it was a really great and original martial arts movie. So I saw it last night. I was a bit surprised at the narrow list of theaters where it was playing, but thankfully one was close (the joys of being in city) and so we went there and watched it. It was sold out too - a testament to its popularity. This is definitly one for the DVD collection.
wxWindows is a free (OpenSource, GPL) cross platform GUI toolkit. It supports Windows, *nix (through GTK and Motif), and Mac (although somewhat out of date). I've used it and it works quite well, and is very easy to program for (imo). I suggest you give it a look. Makes writing windows programs much easier... and it's crossplatform.
"...the fact is that people let themselves be seduced by TrollTech and compromised their open source principles..."
Open Source Cult...? Open Source is about freedom, not politics. KDE developers have the freedom to choose what toolkit to code for. Why do people get their underware twisted into knots for such bushwa? Let KDE use whatever it wants to. If someone loves KDE so much but just can't for the life of them get over the fact that Qt is open source, but a company and not random hackers made it (and made it well), then go forth and carry on with a Qt compatible alternative. Oh yea... you mention one that bombed. Why was that anyways? I think it was because no matter what TrollTech does to Qt... it's free. BSD license anyone? I guess there wasn't any point for Harmony anymore.
"Seduced" by TrollTech? It was the KDE developer's decision to use Qt not TrollTech's. Perhaps the developers were "seduced" by something that was technically superior than what was available. Don't think GTK was always there when Qt was do ya?
"TrollTech's greed and desire for control has doomed Qt and KDE in the long run, much as the other Unixes are doomed in the long run compared to Linux."
No one likes companies.:( That's so sad that people don't feel a company has a right to make money of its software. Are you just jealous you'll never have as much money as Billy G? If TrollTech was so greedy over their code... why are they giving it up for free use? So they want to make money by charging for people to develop commercial closed source software. Let 'em make the money. Sun is a partner of the GNOME foundation. They have their source code opened under a non-GPL license (barring StarOffice at this point). I'm sick of this crap.
"Whatever technical superiorities KDE has currently will be eroded as more developers are piled on to GNOME, or they will become irrelevent as GNOME is good enough for most people."
Heh heh... by reading all of KDE's responses to GNOME... they certainly feel that GNOME will be irrelevant as KDE "is good enough for most people." Most people aren't developers. Most people aren't interested in pissing matches such as this. Most people use what they like because they like it. As long as they like it they'll use it. Same with me.
As a matter of fact it does reuse Qt code. As do practically all of the redefined KDE classes. They extend the funtionality and help to make everything consistent with KDE as a whole. So instead of spouting off your 2 decades of experience, check up a bit next time so you won't be so biased.
...a MST3k movie about Hollow Man. That movie was some ass! I have got to plead ignorance when I forked over my $9.50 for that piece of shit. That is prime MST material. Too damn bad they're gone:( Come on can't we get a special or something? Please? Remember the invisible man getting torched, hit in the head with a crowbar, blown up... and still managing to climb the elevator shaft? I can only imagine the jokes about that sorry flick...
I don't want to read a book about how sorry a movie is... I want MST3k dissing it in real time. In a book if you haven't seen the movie... well you're not gonna get it.
I share your views. In my opinion I'd rather have the freedom to choose what software I would decide to use rather than being forced (ok so you're not being forced not to use it, just being inconvenienced) to use a particular "clone" because it's "free" as in GPL. I support open source software and free software and feel that's it's a very good thing, but I don't support this linux/gpl religious awakening. Too bad Slashdot happens to be the greatest supporter of them and a huge "instigator". A pity. James Crawford
First of all, this license change argument is bullshit. But I defer that for another post.
Second, I feel that TrollTech has every right to decide under what license they want to release their software. They are a company and as such they are out to make money. The thing I find that people don't often realize is that by offering a free edition of Qt for *nix developers, they are definitly helping the "community". So it's under a more restrictive license - but much less than say Motif (in the past) or various other toolkits. They want to make sure that their contribution to the "community" doesn't get taken advantage of and people use their product to sell commercial versions of Qt linked code. But then the Debian zealots (and other GPL zealots in general) feel that since the license isn't GPL it isn't "free". But then... hold on a second - the QPL is a license that protects FREE software. Qt is a good library (imo) and is definitly used by many people. People develop FREE applications with Qt because of things like the QPL. In fact, the GPL isn't as "free" as it appears to be. A point that underscores this is that if TrollTech is bought out (as you suggest as a possible "solution"), there still is the KDE Free QT Foundation (http://www.trolltech.com/company/announce/foundat ion.html) that will protect Qt from closedness. In fact, what license do they say Qt will then fall under if such a thing happens to TrollTech? GPL? Nope. BSD license. Go... read it for yourself. I think the issue here is not the QPL, but the GPL and it's religious afterglow.
Just because there is a new and improved format doesn't render something obsolete. VHS is not obsolete because there are Laserdiscs and DVDs. Broadcast television is not obsolete because we have cable and sattelite. I don't agree that DVDs are "already obsolete" due to this "new" HDTV standard. None of these new technologies will make any huge impacts for any amount of time to come because DVDs are the hot tip. It doesn't make any sense to me that the movie companies would abandon the DVD format now while thousands of players are sold each day. Many new movies that come out on DVD are also on VHS because they're not stupid enough to abandon the VHS format because DVDs are so superior. When the next new technology comes out that's better than HDTV is that going to make it obsolete? From where I stand I don't see a huge popularity with HDTV. Sattelite TV and DVDs can give you some damn good quality inexpensively and doesn't require a TV set that costs tens of thousands of dollars and makes television companies change their method of broadcasting. Sure HDTV will pick up, but by no means is it making anything obsolete. To me obsolete is when something isn't produced, used, or mainstream like it used to be. Beta tapes - obsolete. 8-Tracks - obsolete. My TRS-80 - obsolete. The slide rule - obsolete. VHS, DVDs, non-digital TV - not obsolete.
Still, we see people on Slashdot moaning "I can't legally watch the DVDs I paid for!!" -- and the only real answer for that is to stop buying the movies if it's a moral problem for you. People can get quite preachy about the whole thing, but the bottom line is that they are still giving their hard earned cash to the movie studios. Maybe an organized boycott would be pointless, but some people here should start personal boycotts just to avoid the hypocracy of the situation.
I agree that people should be able to view DVDs however they want that they legally acquired, but companies view things like DeCSS and mp3s as alternative ways of acquiring movies/music illegally. "But I paid for it I should be allowed to do what I want with it!!!" - I agree. But what about those thousands of people who are watching that same movie you paid for and didn't have to shell out any money. That's the dilemma for these companies. Should they allow ways for people to watch/listen to movies/music illegally even though some people may use them legally? Everyone talks about freedom, but where are the companies' freedom. People are so bent on making everything free that they begin to forget what puts food on their tables and clothes on their backs. Anything that limits people in any miniscule way makes that thing the object of hatred. ex: Taxes and laws. What's the moral issue with a company protecting its own privacy (i.e. secret technology) and then people get all up in arms about companies violating THEIR privacy. That's the hypocracy here. Boycott DVDs, if you wish. But continue buying VHS if you want... or going to the movies... or watching TV. You're still giving your hard earned cash to the movie studios -- in exchange for their provisions of entertainment -- no matter what format you watch something in.
Lots of people here promote alternatives like Linux because they want to maintain freedom in their personal computing. However, what Hollywood is trying to do is far worse than anything Microsoft has done with their closed and extended protocols. They want to turn your computer into their payola entertainment delivery device, their sealed, encrypted box. It time that the people of conscience start to realize this, and if they think it matters, at the very least stop supporting this thing with their dollars.
Hollywood sees the computer as another entertainment device and also knows how much more powerful it is than a VCR and a TV. What "people of conscience" should start to realize is that there are people who will abuse technology and who can possibly harm the people who provide the entertainment for us. Without safeguards what's the point of using the new technology if it will just make it that much easier for people to muck up the system. People (that is mainly these "freedom fighters") are blinded by their desire to be able to do anything they want without restriction because it "should be free" that they don't care what the economic consequences are for the people trying to make a living. You can't compare the movie business to the computer business. A protocol (like TCP/IP) should be "free" (open) because the whole purpose of it is to allow communication over the internet. The whole point of CSS and other forms of encryption is to prevent unauthorized access to some content, in this case the movie that took loads of money to make. Encryption prevents your boss from reading your email (if you choose to encrypt it, of course). What are you going to say if your boss breaks your encrpytion and starts reading your email without your permission? Don't you see similarities in anything here? People don't seem to get it that when they do something to protect their secrets that a company should be able to do the same exact thing.
I love and enjoy freedom. I am a consumer who doesn't like getting a raw deal. But I am openminded enough to see the "other side of the tracks." I expect that if I reverse engineered some technology to learn its secret that I should be responsible for its use -- legally or illegally. I dislike hypocracy as much as you do, but I don't think you realize all the levels of hypocracy that surrounds people's beliefes.
Disclaimer: These are my opinions which I am entitled to.
I believe that DVD is going to be the video standard for a long time to come. DVD is incredibly popular even after being out only several years. It's way better than anything out now and is cheap. DVD is not going away and will eventually replace VHS (albeit not for awhile yet). I don't believe there is any real reason to wait and not buy a DVD player now and start your new movie collection. Have you ever watched a movie in DVD that you have previously watched on VHS? If you have, I'm sure you'll find it very hard to go back. Like CmdrTaco and many other people, including myself have said, we won't buy VHS anymore. It's DVD or it's not getting bought. This is how it was moving from audio cassette tapes to CD. Get DVD.
On the MPAA issue:
I am not a "zealot" as many of these people here seem to be. I am not boycotting DVDs anymore than I am going to boycott buying music just because people are getting sued by record companies. Anything can be abused. MP3's, DeCSS technology, encryption, etc. I believe companies have the right to protect their technology and fight against pirates. Is everyone using mp3 to pirate music? No, but they view the format as the easiest way ever to pirate music. I think that's how the MPAA felt about this DeCSS bullshit. They see how mp3's have caused this mass influx of music trading over the internet, and I'm sure they see DeCSS as possibly creating a way for people to easily trade DVD's online. Just DeCSS and encode the movie into another format with great quality but allows you to fit a 2 hour movie in to a reasonable download. I am not going to stop buying DVDs just because the MPAA is defending their right to make money. I believe many people feel this way. I don't think it's worth boycotting DVD. A few people may do it, but the majority of the community (read everyone else besides people ranting on slashdot) will continue to buy DVD players and movies. My local video rental place has hundreds of DVDs. I can go online and buy DVDs for very good prices. (http://www.bargainflix.com) DVD is awesome. CD music is awesome. They're way better than their previous formats and everyone is using them. Companies will protect themselves. I feel there is no way that any boycott or any complaining will be productive. DVD is the hottest thing in video entertainment and a few zealots aren't going to do a damn thing, in my opinion (of course), to change this. Get DVD. Stop watching those crappy VHS tapes.
First of all Jon, let me just clarify that I meant no insult to you, I was just trying my hand at some cheap humor. Personally I do find your opinions thought provoking although I must admit that sometimes some of your ideas do seem to come from way out there... I can see where you are coming from in regards to the obsolesence of paper newspapers. I do believe that eventually newspapers as we know it will not exist. Living in the suburbs of Washington D.C. I subscribe to the paper edition of the Washington Post. Every morning the first thing I do is go out and grab that paper. Sure I may be geeky, but I like getting up and grabbing that paper and sitting down for some nice breakfast and watch the morning news and read the paper at the same time. It's sort of a morning ritual -- I LIKE reading the paper. The editorials and news depth are something you just can't get from television news programs. But then there is good ole washingtonpost.com (which they advertise like mad in TV and radio commercials). I think the Washington Post's web site is top rate. It's excellent. I can find almost all the news in the paper on their site (and certainly much more). But why do I still subscribe to the paper edition? I think it has something to do with the smell (it's great isn't it?) and the fact that I can read it in my dining room, or while driving (don't worry most of the time traffic isn't moving very fast), and I can take it where ever. Sure I could print out a copy of an online article, but it isn't really worth my time to search for articles online (only the really "important" tho not always "interesting" news is on the front page of the site), and then print it out, or read it on the monitor (scrolling every few moments which is annoying). And then, there's the SUNDAY Washington Post. The paper of papers! Four huge sections all in front of you without having to wait for pages to load or search for it. The array of ads and comics make it all worthwile. Until I can get that during my breakfast (without going on my computer and navigating the web, etc) and sitting in the comfort of my cozy couch, the paper edition of the Washington Post is for me. I believe many, many people feel the same way as I do. A little secret about me is that a couple years ago I actually delivered for the Washington Post. Over a thousand papers on sunday. And for every person that cancelled their subscription, 10 others subscribed. Newspapers have been around for centuries and although I don't believe they will be around for centuries more (in paper for anyway), they will be around for many, many years to come. And on young people reading newspapers... I agree that not many do, but I am one of them that does, and religiously. The paper is a great thing and I think we should be trying to get more people to read them (even offline in paper form) instead of worrying about how long newspapers will be still be here.
On another thing: On Katz bashing, believe me I am not one of them. As I already said that post was just to exploit a little humor (come on you DID leave yourself open for that one:). I like to write essays on my personal opinions all the time. (You should read the one I wrote on why I believe money is the most important thing in the world. It generated a lot of controversy (and even convinced a few people to see my "way") but I didn't care. I wrote what I felt was right and that's my personal opinion. It's my right. You have that right and I'm glad you exercise it like you do. People need these thought provoking articles to stimulate discussion, not this barrage of "Katz is a moron" posts.)
I haven't read your book(s) yet, but I do definitly read many books. Some of the best sources of computer info come from books. Sure you can get them online usually for free, but you have to search for it and you can't always find the info you're looking for. I read lots of science fiction too (don't all geeks?) and I also like the classics (what?! you haven't read Moby Dick???). Keep on writing. If people don't like what you have to say, then the best thing they could do is keep it to themselves, instead of flooding SlashDot with offtopic and unnecessary posts. I don't post a lot but I felt impelled to reply to your reply because I had something to say that I felt I needed to get out. And even though my original post was sort of offtopic and unnecessary, it got your attention. Oh and if you don't like it... don't complain.:)
Is it too late? Do any of you read Katz's books?? Do you see a future for them? Is there anything they could do that would make you want to buy and read them, either in hard copy or online form?
Well personally, I am sorry to hear that. At my school, I'm the network administrator and things are much different from the situation at your school. My high school has the benefit of bandwidth about equal to 3 T1's to the internet. Most of the servers for the county run on FreeBSD (i.e. web servers, cache servers). In the school though, we have around 400 machines with about 200 networked. Every science and technology related rooms are wired for network access. We have several computer labs with full network access. Most of the teachers have their own in-house email accounts. When I hear about schools with limited or no internet access, I kind of feel sorry for them because of the benefits they are missing. Now, without me, my school would probably not be anywhere near the level it is now, but other factors such as a superintendent with a huge budget and the fact that the school's administration actually listened to my ideas and let me implement them also helped greatly. (Not to mention being 3 miles from Washington D.C. (no it's not the 'ghetto' everyone thinks it is)).
When I first arrived, there were maybe 7 PC's and countless 10 yr old macs. Now 4 years later, we have chucked all the old macs, and have mainly new PC's. We also got about 100 new macs. (Macs are cool too:). We've gone from a token ring to 100Mbit ethernet. From a server running on a 486, to a dual ppro 200, a p3 500, and some other servers I don't remember.
I'm sorry to hear that for you it isn't a reality, but a "computer (and internet access) in every classroom" is something I don't think anyone in my school could live without.
I think when computer companies (even Microsoft) get involved and try to help schools improve their computer situation, it can only really help. Any effort is good. Sure you can download RedHat for free, but since they aren't doing it already, than giving the schools free boxed versions will only help to expand their horizons.
Hopefully you can be one of those people who will help your school. Hopefully your school will be one of those schools that pays attention to their students.
I agree completely. But the BSD documentation is also more technical thus supporting the original poster's comment that BSD has a higher learning curve.
I do agree the once people learn Linux well, using BSD becomes a simple and enjoyable task. Linux has much more documentation than BSD but many of the basic principals are the same. As a person who started off as a Linux user once I came into contact with BSD it totally consumed me (a good thing.) The more Linux users there are... the more potential BSD users there are.
"Geeks don't see it as 'cool' enough?" That's crap. I would venture to say that most "geeks" who check out BSD will (as myself) believe it to even be "cooler" than Linux. (I can see this comment being moderated down right now...) I've used Linux since around 1994 and BSD since around late 1995. Right now I am using BSD on all my computers. Why? Well first of all BSD provides everything for me that Linux provides. It is an extremely stable (even more stable than Linux) platform, and is highly secure and robust. Code throughout all three BSD projects are constantly being sifted through to make them better. Their developmental models are much to be praised. Things are very organized within the projects. The ability to have seperate "versions" (i.e. a -STABLE or a -CURRENT branch) is also nice. Sure I see there are also developmental versions of the Linux kernel but often they are not as seamlessly integrated with the rest of the operating system and sometimes can be quite unstable. (Yeah yeah.... I KNOW NOT ALL OF THE TIME...)
To say that BSD is waning is just not true. As Linux's popularity increases, so does the popularity of the BSD's. Many BSD users are FORMER Linux users. A question to you... have you even used BSD? Have you checked out with what versatility you can compile to kernel and so forth? Have you checked out the nicely formatted and standardized configuration scripts for BSD? Have you tried to do a cvsup or make world with it? I would guess that most people who have used BSD will see it as "cool." I began a popular linux channel on Efnet (and still frequent it) and even in there many of the ops use *BSD. (no not just FreeBSD I mean NetBSD and OpenBSD) I personally see this commercial support as a giant step forward for BSD. Look at what happened to Linux when it got those big name sponsors... BSD is up and coming. Whatever you base your argument on that BSD is "waning"... you've got to show me more evidence than it's not "cool" enough.
We can herd the electrons this way and that. Use electromagnetism in so many ways. Yes those are versatile. Hell, to do anything usually that's how it's done. But back to my original point is that it's the device (the PalmPilot) that's special... versatile... extraodinary... and not the language (Java) it was programmed in.
Even though the software was in Java, it's really the fact that the Palms can be used in such varying ways that is the coolest fact. I mean here we can control our TV's, print to IR printers, transfer files through air, unlock cars that use IR remotes, etc. This little device can do it all. The fact that the software was written in Java, IMO is of no consequence. The program to control the legos I'm sure could have just been written in another language. You've got to love how these companies tout their software by making is seem like something so revolutionary when it's not. C was revolutionary. Java is not.
I sure love my PalmIIIx. Never leave home without it.
I've used both Linux (RedHat, Slackware, Debian) and FreeBSD. I started with Linux and eventually found my way on to FreeBSD (version 2.1.5 at the time). Everything about it was great. Stability, upgradability, documentation, hardware support, strong community development, code auditing, etc. FreeBSD pretty much could do everything that Linux could do, but usually better. Linux may be receiving all the glory these days, but the *BSD's are still alive and strong. I've seen just as rapid development of FreeBSD as I have seen with Linux. The ability to upgrade everything in one centralized way to keep everything relating to the operating system up to date is awesome. FreeBSD also supports a wide range of hardware like Linux (tho maybe not as much you will generally get most anything to work).
It's good to see the word continuing to spread about BSD and I hope this incites some of them "die hard" Linux users to give BSD a try. If you don't like it at first... you probably haven't used it long enough. I definitly love it.
Slashdot Mirror
Isn't this the sort of the same as authors of GPL software trying to protect their "intellectual property" from commercial exploitation by others? Of course Microsoft hates the GPL. They can't take good GPL software, and adapt it for their own use, like they can with less restrictive BSD licensed software. So they support FreeBSD because they believe in total freedom of the source code, and yet, don't like Linux and the GPL because it protects the coder's "intellectual property."
And by the way...
That's a pretty lame thing to say. FreeBSD does have market share, and the fact that it's being used by Microsoft and other big companies supports this fact. I mean, no need to get all up tight just because one company doesn't choose to use your favorite OS... It's all about choice, remember?
I definitly agree that Qt is an awesome product which the Windows opensource programming community definitly could use. Personally I think it's great that Trolltech has committed themselves to help keep software Free by releasing such a great tool to the community and helping gurantee that programs made with it go back to the community.
Of course, for companies to live, they have to make money, and this product is definitly worth more than the cost of a commercial development license. So if you're gonna make commercial software, it's only reasonable that you pay the company who gave you such a great start. As for Qt/Windows not being OpenSource:
Well, that only applies to the Non-Commercial license, but if you purchase a Professional or Enterprise license, you do get the Qt source code with it.
And I must agree this movie rocked. It wasn't really what I expected, not having seen any trailers or previews. I just heard watching the local news (Wash DC) that it was a really great and original martial arts movie. So I saw it last night. I was a bit surprised at the narrow list of theaters where it was playing, but thankfully one was close (the joys of being in city) and so we went there and watched it. It was sold out too - a testament to its popularity. This is definitly one for the DVD collection.
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James Crawford
"...the fact is that people let themselves be seduced by TrollTech and compromised their open source principles..."
:( That's so sad that people don't feel a company has a right to make money of its software. Are you just jealous you'll never have as much money as Billy G? If TrollTech was so greedy over their code... why are they giving it up for free use? So they want to make money by charging for people to develop commercial closed source software. Let 'em make the money. Sun is a partner of the GNOME foundation. They have their source code opened under a non-GPL license (barring StarOffice at this point). I'm sick of this crap.
Open Source Cult...? Open Source is about freedom, not politics. KDE developers have the freedom to choose what toolkit to code for. Why do people get their underware twisted into knots for such bushwa? Let KDE use whatever it wants to. If someone loves KDE so much but just can't for the life of them get over the fact that Qt is open source, but a company and not random hackers made it (and made it well), then go forth and carry on with a Qt compatible alternative. Oh yea... you mention one that bombed. Why was that anyways? I think it was because no matter what TrollTech does to Qt... it's free. BSD license anyone? I guess there wasn't any point for Harmony anymore.
"Seduced" by TrollTech? It was the KDE developer's decision to use Qt not TrollTech's. Perhaps the developers were "seduced" by something that was technically superior than what was available. Don't think GTK was always there when Qt was do ya?
"TrollTech's greed and desire for control has doomed Qt and KDE in the long run, much as the other Unixes are doomed in the long run compared to Linux."
No one likes companies.
"Whatever technical superiorities KDE has currently will be eroded as more developers are piled on to GNOME, or they will become irrelevent as GNOME is good enough for most people."
Heh heh... by reading all of KDE's responses to GNOME... they certainly feel that GNOME will be irrelevant as KDE "is good enough for most people." Most people aren't developers. Most people aren't interested in pissing matches such as this. Most people use what they like because they like it. As long as they like it they'll use it. Same with me.
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James Crawford
http://developer.kde.org/documentation/library/2.0 -api/classref/kdeui/KMenuBar.html
Definition
#include
Inherits
QMenuBar (qt)
As a matter of fact it does reuse Qt code. As do practically all of the redefined KDE classes. They extend the funtionality and help to make everything consistent with KDE as a whole. So instead of spouting off your 2 decades of experience, check up a bit next time so you won't be so biased.
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James Crawford
...a MST3k movie about Hollow Man. That movie was some ass! I have got to plead ignorance when I forked over my $9.50 for that piece of shit. That is prime MST material. Too damn bad they're gone :( Come on can't we get a special or something? Please? Remember the invisible man getting torched, hit in the head with a crowbar, blown up... and still managing to climb the elevator shaft? I can only imagine the jokes about that sorry flick...
I don't want to read a book about how sorry a movie is... I want MST3k dissing it in real time. In a book if you haven't seen the movie... well you're not gonna get it.
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James Crawford
I share your views. In my opinion I'd rather have the freedom to choose what software I would decide to use rather than being forced (ok so you're not being forced not to use it, just being inconvenienced) to use a particular "clone" because it's "free" as in GPL. I support open source software and free software and feel that's it's a very good thing, but I don't support this linux/gpl religious awakening. Too bad Slashdot happens to be the greatest supporter of them and a huge "instigator". A pity. James Crawford
First of all, this license change argument is bullshit. But I defer that for another post.
t ion.html) that will protect Qt from closedness. In fact, what license do they say Qt will then fall under if such a thing happens to TrollTech? GPL? Nope. BSD license. Go... read it for yourself. I think the issue here is not the QPL, but the GPL and it's religious afterglow.
Second, I feel that TrollTech has every right to decide under what license they want to release their software. They are a company and as such they are out to make money. The thing I find that people don't often realize is that by offering a free edition of Qt for *nix developers, they are definitly helping the "community". So it's under a more restrictive license - but much less than say Motif (in the past) or various other toolkits. They want to make sure that their contribution to the "community" doesn't get taken advantage of and people use their product to sell commercial versions of Qt linked code. But then the Debian zealots (and other GPL zealots in general) feel that since the license isn't GPL it isn't "free". But then... hold on a second - the QPL is a license that protects FREE software. Qt is a good library (imo) and is definitly used by many people. People develop FREE applications with Qt because of things like the QPL. In fact, the GPL isn't as "free" as it appears to be. A point that underscores this is that if TrollTech is bought out (as you suggest as a possible "solution"), there still is the KDE Free QT Foundation (http://www.trolltech.com/company/announce/founda
Not a flame, just a thought.
Oh and yeah I use FreeBSD. Peace to ya.
Yes these are my opinions and yes I believe them.
Just because there is a new and improved format doesn't render something obsolete. VHS is not obsolete because there are Laserdiscs and DVDs. Broadcast television is not obsolete because we have cable and sattelite. I don't agree that DVDs are "already obsolete" due to this "new" HDTV standard. None of these new technologies will make any huge impacts for any amount of time to come because DVDs are the hot tip. It doesn't make any sense to me that the movie companies would abandon the DVD format now while thousands of players are sold each day. Many new movies that come out on DVD are also on VHS because they're not stupid enough to abandon the VHS format because DVDs are so superior. When the next new technology comes out that's better than HDTV is that going to make it obsolete? From where I stand I don't see a huge popularity with HDTV. Sattelite TV and DVDs can give you some damn good quality inexpensively and doesn't require a TV set that costs tens of thousands of dollars and makes television companies change their method of broadcasting. Sure HDTV will pick up, but by no means is it making anything obsolete. To me obsolete is when something isn't produced, used, or mainstream like it used to be. Beta tapes - obsolete. 8-Tracks - obsolete. My TRS-80 - obsolete. The slide rule - obsolete. VHS, DVDs, non-digital TV - not obsolete.
Still, we see people on Slashdot moaning "I can't legally watch the DVDs I paid for!!" -- and the only real answer for that is to stop buying the movies if it's a moral problem for you. People can get quite preachy about the whole thing, but the bottom line is that they are still giving their hard earned cash to the movie studios. Maybe an organized boycott would be pointless, but some people here should start personal boycotts just to avoid the hypocracy of the situation.
I agree that people should be able to view DVDs however they want that they legally acquired, but companies view things like DeCSS and mp3s as alternative ways of acquiring movies/music illegally. "But I paid for it I should be allowed to do what I want with it!!!" - I agree. But what about those thousands of people who are watching that same movie you paid for and didn't have to shell out any money. That's the dilemma for these companies. Should they allow ways for people to watch/listen to movies/music illegally even though some people may use them legally? Everyone talks about freedom, but where are the companies' freedom. People are so bent on making everything free that they begin to forget what puts food on their tables and clothes on their backs. Anything that limits people in any miniscule way makes that thing the object of hatred. ex: Taxes and laws. What's the moral issue with a company protecting its own privacy (i.e. secret technology) and then people get all up in arms about companies violating THEIR privacy. That's the hypocracy here. Boycott DVDs, if you wish. But continue buying VHS if you want... or going to the movies... or watching TV. You're still giving your hard earned cash to the movie studios -- in exchange for their provisions of entertainment -- no matter what format you watch something in.
Lots of people here promote alternatives like Linux because they want to maintain freedom in their personal computing. However, what Hollywood is trying to do is far worse than anything Microsoft has done with their closed and extended protocols. They want to turn your computer into their payola entertainment delivery device, their sealed, encrypted box. It time that the people of conscience start to realize this, and if they think it matters, at the very least stop supporting this thing with their dollars.
Hollywood sees the computer as another entertainment device and also knows how much more powerful it is than a VCR and a TV. What "people of conscience" should start to realize is that there are people who will abuse technology and who can possibly harm the people who provide the entertainment for us. Without safeguards what's the point of using the new technology if it will just make it that much easier for people to muck up the system. People (that is mainly these "freedom fighters") are blinded by their desire to be able to do anything they want without restriction because it "should be free" that they don't care what the economic consequences are for the people trying to make a living. You can't compare the movie business to the computer business. A protocol (like TCP/IP) should be "free" (open) because the whole purpose of it is to allow communication over the internet. The whole point of CSS and other forms of encryption is to prevent unauthorized access to some content, in this case the movie that took loads of money to make. Encryption prevents your boss from reading your email (if you choose to encrypt it, of course). What are you going to say if your boss breaks your encrpytion and starts reading your email without your permission? Don't you see similarities in anything here? People don't seem to get it that when they do something to protect their secrets that a company should be able to do the same exact thing.
I love and enjoy freedom. I am a consumer who doesn't like getting a raw deal. But I am openminded enough to see the "other side of the tracks." I expect that if I reverse engineered some technology to learn its secret that I should be responsible for its use -- legally or illegally. I dislike hypocracy as much as you do, but I don't think you realize all the levels of hypocracy that surrounds people's beliefes.
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James Crawford
Disclaimer: These are my opinions which I am entitled to.
I believe that DVD is going to be the video standard for a long time to come. DVD is incredibly popular even after being out only several years. It's way better than anything out now and is cheap. DVD is not going away and will eventually replace VHS (albeit not for awhile yet). I don't believe there is any real reason to wait and not buy a DVD player now and start your new movie collection. Have you ever watched a movie in DVD that you have previously watched on VHS? If you have, I'm sure you'll find it very hard to go back. Like CmdrTaco and many other people, including myself have said, we won't buy VHS anymore. It's DVD or it's not getting bought. This is how it was moving from audio cassette tapes to CD. Get DVD.
On the MPAA issue:
I am not a "zealot" as many of these people here seem to be. I am not boycotting DVDs anymore than I am going to boycott buying music just because people are getting sued by record companies. Anything can be abused. MP3's, DeCSS technology, encryption, etc. I believe companies have the right to protect their technology and fight against pirates. Is everyone using mp3 to pirate music? No, but they view the format as the easiest way ever to pirate music. I think that's how the MPAA felt about this DeCSS bullshit. They see how mp3's have caused this mass influx of music trading over the internet, and I'm sure they see DeCSS as possibly creating a way for people to easily trade DVD's online. Just DeCSS and encode the movie into another format with great quality but allows you to fit a 2 hour movie in to a reasonable download. I am not going to stop buying DVDs just because the MPAA is defending their right to make money. I believe many people feel this way. I don't think it's worth boycotting DVD. A few people may do it, but the majority of the community (read everyone else besides people ranting on slashdot) will continue to buy DVD players and movies. My local video rental place has hundreds of DVDs. I can go online and buy DVDs for very good prices. (http://www.bargainflix.com) DVD is awesome. CD music is awesome. They're way better than their previous formats and everyone is using them. Companies will protect themselves. I feel there is no way that any boycott or any complaining will be productive. DVD is the hottest thing in video entertainment and a few zealots aren't going to do a damn thing, in my opinion (of course), to change this. Get DVD. Stop watching those crappy VHS tapes.
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James Crawford
First of all Jon, let me just clarify that I meant no insult to you, I was just trying my hand at some cheap humor. Personally I do find your opinions thought provoking although I must admit that sometimes some of your ideas do seem to come from way out there... I can see where you are coming from in regards to the obsolesence of paper newspapers. I do believe that eventually newspapers as we know it will not exist. Living in the suburbs of Washington D.C. I subscribe to the paper edition of the Washington Post. Every morning the first thing I do is go out and grab that paper. Sure I may be geeky, but I like getting up and grabbing that paper and sitting down for some nice breakfast and watch the morning news and read the paper at the same time. It's sort of a morning ritual -- I LIKE reading the paper. The editorials and news depth are something you just can't get from television news programs. But then there is good ole washingtonpost.com (which they advertise like mad in TV and radio commercials). I think the Washington Post's web site is top rate. It's excellent. I can find almost all the news in the paper on their site (and certainly much more). But why do I still subscribe to the paper edition? I think it has something to do with the smell (it's great isn't it?) and the fact that I can read it in my dining room, or while driving (don't worry most of the time traffic isn't moving very fast), and I can take it where ever. Sure I could print out a copy of an online article, but it isn't really worth my time to search for articles online (only the really "important" tho not always "interesting" news is on the front page of the site), and then print it out, or read it on the monitor (scrolling every few moments which is annoying). And then, there's the SUNDAY Washington Post. The paper of papers! Four huge sections all in front of you without having to wait for pages to load or search for it. The array of ads and comics make it all worthwile. Until I can get that during my breakfast (without going on my computer and navigating the web, etc) and sitting in the comfort of my cozy couch, the paper edition of the Washington Post is for me. I believe many, many people feel the same way as I do. A little secret about me is that a couple years ago I actually delivered for the Washington Post. Over a thousand papers on sunday. And for every person that cancelled their subscription, 10 others subscribed. Newspapers have been around for centuries and although I don't believe they will be around for centuries more (in paper for anyway), they will be around for many, many years to come. And on young people reading newspapers... I agree that not many do, but I am one of them that does, and religiously. The paper is a great thing and I think we should be trying to get more people to read them (even offline in paper form) instead of worrying about how long newspapers will be still be here.
:). I like to write essays on my personal opinions all the time. (You should read the one I wrote on why I believe money is the most important thing in the world. It generated a lot of controversy (and even convinced a few people to see my "way") but I didn't care. I wrote what I felt was right and that's my personal opinion. It's my right. You have that right and I'm glad you exercise it like you do. People need these thought provoking articles to stimulate discussion, not this barrage of "Katz is a moron" posts.)
:)
On another thing: On Katz bashing, believe me I am not one of them. As I already said that post was just to exploit a little humor (come on you DID leave yourself open for that one
I haven't read your book(s) yet, but I do definitly read many books. Some of the best sources of computer info come from books. Sure you can get them online usually for free, but you have to search for it and you can't always find the info you're looking for. I read lots of science fiction too (don't all geeks?) and I also like the classics (what?! you haven't read Moby Dick???). Keep on writing. If people don't like what you have to say, then the best thing they could do is keep it to themselves, instead of flooding SlashDot with offtopic and unnecessary posts. I don't post a lot but I felt impelled to reply to your reply because I had something to say that I felt I needed to get out. And even though my original post was sort of offtopic and unnecessary, it got your attention. Oh and if you don't like it... don't complain.
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James Crawford
Is it too late? Do any of you read Katz's books?? Do you see a future for them? Is there anything they could do that would make you want to buy and read them, either in hard copy or online form?
What do you think?
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James Crawford
Well personally, I am sorry to hear that. At my school, I'm the network administrator and things are much different from the situation at your school. My high school has the benefit of bandwidth about equal to 3 T1's to the internet. Most of the servers for the county run on FreeBSD (i.e. web servers, cache servers). In the school though, we have around 400 machines with about 200 networked. Every science and technology related rooms are wired for network access. We have several computer labs with full network access. Most of the teachers have their own in-house email accounts. When I hear about schools with limited or no internet access, I kind of feel sorry for them because of the benefits they are missing. Now, without me, my school would probably not be anywhere near the level it is now, but other factors such as a superintendent with a huge budget and the fact that the school's administration actually listened to my ideas and let me implement them also helped greatly. (Not to mention being 3 miles from Washington D.C. (no it's not the 'ghetto' everyone thinks it is)).
:). We've gone from a token ring to 100Mbit ethernet. From a server running on a 486, to a dual ppro 200, a p3 500, and some other servers I don't remember.
When I first arrived, there were maybe 7 PC's and countless 10 yr old macs. Now 4 years later, we have chucked all the old macs, and have mainly new PC's. We also got about 100 new macs. (Macs are cool too
I'm sorry to hear that for you it isn't a reality, but a "computer (and internet access) in every classroom" is something I don't think anyone in my school could live without.
I think when computer companies (even Microsoft) get involved and try to help schools improve their computer situation, it can only really help. Any effort is good. Sure you can download RedHat for free, but since they aren't doing it already, than giving the schools free boxed versions will only help to expand their horizons.
Hopefully you can be one of those people who will help your school. Hopefully your school will be one of those schools that pays attention to their students.
Good luck.
James Crawford
drachen@thepcmaster.com
I agree completely. But the BSD documentation is also more technical thus supporting the original poster's comment that BSD has a higher learning curve.
James Crawford
drachen@thepcmaster.com
GNOME and KDE will run on it just fine.
I do agree the once people learn Linux well, using BSD becomes a simple and enjoyable task. Linux has much more documentation than BSD but many of the basic principals are the same. As a person who started off as a Linux user once I came into contact with BSD it totally consumed me (a good thing.) The more Linux users there are... the more potential BSD users there are.
James Crawford
drachen@thepcmaster.com
"Geeks don't see it as 'cool' enough?" That's crap. I would venture to say that most "geeks" who check out BSD will (as myself) believe it to even be "cooler" than Linux. (I can see this comment being moderated down right now...) I've used Linux since around 1994 and BSD since around late 1995. Right now I am using BSD on all my computers. Why? Well first of all BSD provides everything for me that Linux provides. It is an extremely stable (even more stable than Linux) platform, and is highly secure and robust. Code throughout all three BSD projects are constantly being sifted through to make them better. Their developmental models are much to be praised. Things are very organized within the projects. The ability to have seperate "versions" (i.e. a -STABLE or a -CURRENT branch) is also nice. Sure I see there are also developmental versions of the Linux kernel but often they are not as seamlessly integrated with the rest of the operating system and sometimes can be quite unstable. (Yeah yeah.... I KNOW NOT ALL OF THE TIME...)
To say that BSD is waning is just not true. As Linux's popularity increases, so does the popularity of the BSD's. Many BSD users are FORMER Linux users. A question to you... have you even used BSD? Have you checked out with what versatility you can compile to kernel and so forth? Have you checked out the nicely formatted and standardized configuration scripts for BSD? Have you tried to do a cvsup or make world with it? I would guess that most people who have used BSD will see it as "cool." I began a popular linux channel on Efnet (and still frequent it) and even in there many of the ops use *BSD. (no not just FreeBSD I mean NetBSD and OpenBSD) I personally see this commercial support as a giant step forward for BSD. Look at what happened to Linux when it got those big name sponsors... BSD is up and coming. Whatever you base your argument on that BSD is "waning"... you've got to show me more evidence than it's not "cool" enough.
James Crawford
drachen@thepcmaster.com
Hallelujah!@
We can herd the electrons this way and that. Use electromagnetism in so many ways. Yes those are versatile. Hell, to do anything usually that's how it's done. But back to my original point is that it's the device (the PalmPilot) that's special... versatile... extraodinary... and not the language (Java) it was programmed in.
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James Crawford
drachen@thepcmaster.com
Even though the software was in Java, it's really the fact that the Palms can be used in such varying ways that is the coolest fact. I mean here we can control our TV's, print to IR printers, transfer files through air, unlock cars that use IR remotes, etc. This little device can do it all. The fact that the software was written in Java, IMO is of no consequence. The program to control the legos I'm sure could have just been written in another language. You've got to love how these companies tout their software by making is seem like something so revolutionary when it's not. C was revolutionary. Java is not.
I sure love my PalmIIIx. Never leave home without it.
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James Crawford
drachen@thepcmaster.com
I've used both Linux (RedHat, Slackware, Debian) and FreeBSD. I started with Linux and eventually found my way on to FreeBSD (version 2.1.5 at the time). Everything about it was great. Stability, upgradability, documentation, hardware support, strong community development, code auditing, etc. FreeBSD pretty much could do everything that Linux could do, but usually better. Linux may be receiving all the glory these days, but the *BSD's are still alive and strong. I've seen just as rapid development of FreeBSD as I have seen with Linux. The ability to upgrade everything in one centralized way to keep everything relating to the operating system up to date is awesome. FreeBSD also supports a wide range of hardware like Linux (tho maybe not as much you will generally get most anything to work).
It's good to see the word continuing to spread about BSD and I hope this incites some of them "die hard" Linux users to give BSD a try. If you don't like it at first... you probably haven't used it long enough. I definitly love it.
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James Crawford
How can you even compare the two movies? They're both totally different and the point of them was totally different.