I'm not a big fan of GNU/Linux. I hope they ditch the new formula and bring back Linux Classic.
RMS is making himself look like a crybaby. It doesn't take too many thought cycles to realize that nobody's ever going to start calling it GNU/Linux. Granted, he's done some great things and whatever, but he's still obviously capable of acting like a total git.
I feel so bad for them. Imagine, not being able to charge $16 bucks for CDs that have one decent track on them. How will they live? They might have to get jobs!
It's their job to try and make money. They have to milk it for all its worth. Personally, however, I'd like to see a list of DNS registrars at internic.net
Microsoft still has the OEM's nuts in a blender; all they need to do is hit "frappe" and it's all over. I don't think that Gateway or Micron could survive having their license prices for Windows jacked up.
I mean, do you let the kids keep eating or do you gamble it because you have to push Linux right now? Besides, we can wait. Staying power is the OSS movement's biggest advantage.
Alright! This is a GoodThing(tm) if we ever need to prove what sort of monopoly control Microsoft has.
Besides, I don't think the OSS community ought to get involved in the marketing sham that is the PIII. I don't have anything against Intel anymore, they're not the monopoly they used to be, but this chip looks like a slightly souped up PII that they're selling for hundreds more and using to change sockets yet again...
I wonder if, in the long term, all this socket changing will hurt them instad of their competitors. I mean, AMD asking for their own socket a few years ago would have been suicide, but now....
The thing I mind about music is paying for tracks I'll never listen to -- I can see paying off the artist (who will still swear up and down that they're not doing it for the money) for the tracks while not getting ripped off by the record company.
They ought to have a larger selection -- build a central database of the zillion unknown bands out there so I can build their stuff on CD, too. Maybe I can avoid having to buy a CD burner...
Businesses spring up around open source projects in the same way that mold grows on my plates when I leave food in the fridge for too long -- they (the businesses) see a chance to make money and jump at it.
Like my unfortunate dishes, the open source projects can do just fine without the businesses cropping up. Think of them more as nonlethal (we hope) parasites.
You know, it'd be interesting to have the setup programs for the different distros have an option to "phone home" -- give us some idea of a census of the Linux comminuty. I wouldn't dream of it being this sneaky and underhanded, but I can't imagine why I *wouldn't* want to be counted in such a way.
At the end of the install process, just say something like "We are trying to get a reasonable count of how many people use Linux. To be counted, say "Yes" here. We won't keep any other info than which IP you're at and what distro you're using."
I don't see anything wrong with that, so long as the terms weren't violated.
The real reason we don't like to wear ties: we can get away with it.
Even while everyone else is wearing a suit and tie, we can waltz in wearing something comfortable (say, a t-shirt, shorts and tevas). It makes us feel better then everyone else to know we can get away with stuff they can't.
It's classier than standing atop your boss' desk and yelling, "I am the only one who understands the computer systems! Worship before me, slave!"
Just a point: none of the statements in this thread (so far) cross the line into libel by US definitions.
As for calling people stupid, I'd think that such an intelligent fellow as yourself could either rise above such name-calling or at least think of something original or entertaining.
Notice how they keep Berst tucked away on the web. Print mags still look at the web as being where they can dump shit and nobody'll notice it, or if they do they won't be expecting much.
Normally I'd slam ZD here, but we just got ZDTV and they've actually got some Linux devotees. In fact, I saw a show a few weeks back where they ran through the install process(!) on the Screen Savers. They talk about Linux all the time, had Gasse on last night... ZD finally doing something right.
Off subject, but join the people who will never trust Toshiba again since they won't uphold their basic contractual obligations (re: EULA) here: http://acm.cs.uwec.edu/~mizesh/openletter.html
Why is the X-Files theme stuck in my head all of the sudden? Why do I feel like I should be subscribing to alt.paranoia? Watch out for the black helicopters! AAAH!!!!!
The way this could suck is if they turn it into a heavy VA-Research site, link it directly to their own site, or write it up with selling machines in mind instead of promoting the platform.
That said, I think the folks at VA are probably froody enough to realize how badly they would suck if they pulled something like this.
More likely, I think we'll see a professional and useful page for the newbie or the kernal hacker, complete with links to the various flavor makers and project sites.
I think this guy's point is BS from the start, 'cause he makes one basic untrue assumption:
Linux is hard to use?
Sorry, pal. Linux may be different than Windows or Mac, but it takes no more effort to use these days. I mean, I set my computer-moron parents up with a Linux box with KDE installed and they love it.
Now, it's true that they're not hacking code with it, but they didn't hack code in Windows, either. They're not tinkering with the command line, but they don't need to. Hell, they even installed Netscape by themselves. They use their computer like 99% of the people out there: to check their email and buy stuff off the web.
The reason they like it so much is that I, 300 miles away, can fix it when it breaks without having to walk them through moronic wizard dialogs or phone conversations where "What does the screen say now?" makes up for my entire end of the conversation. Hell, I'll bet they've already saved a couple hundred bucks in phone charges.
Now, if you want hard to use, try to figure out how to make Windows do anything even moderately advanced. It's commercial code, but if you're trying to do anything beyond running prepackaged applications you're in for a tough ride.
You know, after having worked on the phones at an ISP for about a week and talking to the Window-using freaky-deakies out there, my confidence in human intelligence has been eroded to the point where I'm fairly certain that there will be a significant market for this product.
> "You don't need this kind of additional > capability [increased graphics processing] > unless you're playing games," said Kimball > Brown, an analyst at Dataquest Inc., in San > Jose. "To me, it comes down to clock speed, and > that's why people would want it."
This is why you should never hire MIS graduates to be your IT managers. After all, clock speed means zilch when compared to a real measure of speed like MIPS.
The article does make some decent points about the problems with modern PCs. I think SGI's probably gone further in the last few months than Intel has in the last ten years to correct these problems -- the way the Visual PCs handle things internally is awfully impressive.
Dear SGI: I'm sorry I accused you of becoming Just Another Wintel OEM.
I like the way the NeXT/openstep wm's look, but I gotta say I just can't get into the way they work. I dunno, I guess I just want a wm that'll get the hell out of your way if you want it to and let you easily juggle those dozens of sessions you have open at any particular time.
So far, the SGI wm manages to do that best (after some deal of tinkering, of course).
Don't mean to get too far off topic, but does anyone else look at the new console in KDE 1.1 and it's ability to switch between virtual consoles in the same window and ask themselves, "why didn't I think of that?"
It seems to me that I read another story like this, except the military was looking at using ultra-low frequency soundwaves to cause the enemy to lose control of their bodily functions.
I can picture it now: all COs will have to make sure that everyone in their company has gone to the bathroom before they go out on patrol...
Slashdot Mirror
RMS is making himself look like a crybaby. It doesn't take too many thought cycles to realize that nobody's ever going to start calling it GNU/Linux. Granted, he's done some great things and whatever, but he's still obviously capable of acting like a total git.
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I feel so bad for them. Imagine, not being able to charge $16 bucks for CDs that have one decent track on them. How will they live? They might have to get jobs!
----
I'm sorry; I don't believe that Apple is a capable company after some of the losses they've incurred and the glaring mistakes they've made.
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all they need to do is hit "frappe" and it's all
over. I don't think that Gateway or Micron could
survive having their license prices for Windows
jacked up.
I mean, do you let the kids keep eating or do you
gamble it because you have to push Linux right
now? Besides, we can wait. Staying power is the
OSS movement's biggest advantage.
----
----
to prove what sort of monopoly control Microsoft
has.
Besides, I don't think the OSS community ought to
get involved in the marketing sham that is the
PIII. I don't have anything against Intel anymore,
they're not the monopoly they used to be, but this
chip looks like a slightly souped up PII that
they're selling for hundreds more and using to
change sockets yet again...
I wonder if, in the long term, all this socket
changing will hurt them instad of their
competitors. I mean, AMD asking for their own
socket a few years ago would have been suicide,
but now....
----
The thing I mind about music is paying for tracks I'll never listen to -- I can see paying off the artist (who will still swear up and down that they're not doing it for the money) for the tracks while not getting ripped off by the record company.
They ought to have a larger selection -- build a central database of the zillion unknown bands out there so I can build their stuff on CD, too. Maybe I can avoid having to buy a CD burner...
----
Businesses spring up around open source projects
in the same way that mold grows on my plates when
I leave food in the fridge for too long -- they
(the businesses) see a chance to make money and
jump at it.
Like my unfortunate dishes, the open source
projects can do just fine without the businesses
cropping up. Think of them more as nonlethal (we
hope) parasites.
----
Give our boys in blue a break. It's hard to run a
police state with that pesky constitution getting
in the way all the time.
----
You know, it'd be interesting to have the setup
programs for the different distros have an option
to "phone home" -- give us some idea of a census
of the Linux comminuty. I wouldn't dream of it
being this sneaky and underhanded, but I can't
imagine why I *wouldn't* want to be counted in
such a way.
At the end of the install process, just say
something like "We are trying to get a reasonable
count of how many people use Linux. To be counted,
say "Yes" here. We won't keep any other info than
which IP you're at and what distro you're using."
I don't see anything wrong with that, so long as
the terms weren't violated.
----
get away with it.
Even while everyone else is wearing a suit and
tie, we can waltz in wearing something comfortable
(say, a t-shirt, shorts and tevas). It makes us
feel better then everyone else to know we can get
away with stuff they can't.
It's classier than standing atop your boss' desk
and yelling, "I am the only one who understands
the computer systems! Worship before me, slave!"
----
Just a point: none of the statements in this thread (so far) cross the line into libel by US definitions.
As for calling people stupid, I'd think that such an intelligent fellow as yourself could either rise above such name-calling or at least think of something original or entertaining.
In other words, don't be a troll, smeghead.
----
Normally I'd slam ZD here, but we just got ZDTV and they've actually got some Linux devotees. In fact, I saw a show a few weeks back where they ran through the install process(!) on the Screen Savers. They talk about Linux all the time, had Gasse on last night... ZD finally doing something right.
Off subject, but join the people who will never trust Toshiba again since they won't uphold their basic contractual obligations (re: EULA) here: http://acm.cs.uwec.edu/~mizesh/openletter.html
----
----
Why is the X-Files theme stuck in my head all of the sudden? Why do I feel like I should be subscribing to alt.paranoia? Watch out for the black helicopters! AAAH!!!!!
----
The way this could suck is if they turn it into a
heavy VA-Research site, link it directly to their
own site, or write it up with selling machines in
mind instead of promoting the platform.
That said, I think the folks at VA are probably
froody enough to realize how badly they would suck
if they pulled something like this.
More likely, I think we'll see a professional and
useful page for the newbie or the kernal hacker,
complete with links to the various flavor makers
and project sites.
Anyhow, cool deal (I hope).
----
Linux is hard to use?
Sorry, pal. Linux may be different than Windows or Mac, but it takes no more effort to use these days. I mean, I set my computer-moron parents up with a Linux box with KDE installed and they love it.
Now, it's true that they're not hacking code with it, but they didn't hack code in Windows, either. They're not tinkering with the command line, but they don't need to. Hell, they even installed Netscape by themselves. They use their computer like 99% of the people out there: to check their email and buy stuff off the web.
The reason they like it so much is that I, 300 miles away, can fix it when it breaks without having to walk them through moronic wizard dialogs or phone conversations where "What does the screen say now?" makes up for my entire end of the conversation. Hell, I'll bet they've already saved a couple hundred bucks in phone charges.
Now, if you want hard to use, try to figure out how to make Windows do anything even moderately advanced. It's commercial code, but if you're trying to do anything beyond running prepackaged applications you're in for a tough ride.
Linux hard to use? Compared to what?
----
life. The primary differences that make them less
noticable are that:
1. They've learned not to say they're female
online, lest all the sweaty 45-year-old losers out
there in their underwear start bugging them, and
2. They're not as desperate as the guys are.
----
life. The primary differences that make them less
noticable are that:
1. They've learned not to say they're female
online, lest all the sweaty 45-year-old losers out
there in their underwear start bugging them, and
2. They're not as desperate as the guys are.
----
You know, after having worked on the phones at an ISP for about a week and talking to the Window-using freaky-deakies out there, my confidence in human intelligence has been eroded to the point where I'm fairly certain that there will be a significant market for this product.
----
> capability [increased graphics processing]
> unless you're playing games," said Kimball
> Brown, an analyst at Dataquest Inc., in San
> Jose. "To me, it comes down to clock speed, and
> that's why people would want it."
This is why you should never hire MIS graduates to be your IT managers. After all, clock speed means zilch when compared to a real measure of speed like MIPS.
The article does make some decent points about the problems with modern PCs. I think SGI's probably gone further in the last few months than Intel has in the last ten years to correct these problems -- the way the Visual PCs handle things internally is awfully impressive.
Dear SGI: I'm sorry I accused you of becoming Just Another Wintel OEM.
----
gotta say I just can't get into the way they work.
I dunno, I guess I just want a wm that'll get the
hell out of your way if you want it to and let you
easily juggle those dozens of sessions you have
open at any particular time.
So far, the SGI wm manages to do that best (after
some deal of tinkering, of course).
Don't mean to get too far off topic, but does
anyone else look at the new console in KDE 1.1 and
it's ability to switch between virtual consoles in
the same window and ask themselves, "why didn't I
think of that?"
----
I can picture it now: all COs will have to make sure that everyone in their company has gone to the bathroom before they go out on patrol...
----
no way that Big Business could ever rule the 'net,
because everyone got an equal start?
I guess we were wrong.
----