Don't go there, Spyky. Are you *really* prepared to subject all employees of all distributions to an RPC (Religious and Political Correctness) test? Dealing with multitudes of licenses is bad enough without having to account for the beliefs and/or habits of everyone who had a hand in making my systems run.
Lotus is second only to Microsoft as an expression of pure Lovecraftian evil in the software industry. Consider their track record: - They effectively handed the PC software market to Microsoft by hamstringing their competitors with bogus "look and feel" lawsuits. Lotus was so hung up on this that they gave each of their own products a gratuitously incompatible interface. - They promptly murdered OS/2 immediately following their acquisition of IBM's PC software business (cleverly disguised as an IBM acquisition of Lotus), again handing the industry to Microsoft. If Lotus gets a foothold in the Linux market, we will live to regret it.
For the past year now, people like me have defended Red Hat with reason and evidence against complaints largely based on anecdotes, jealousy and wild conjecture. Yet week after week someone trots out the same tired story and we have to go through it all over again. Well, I've had it, and I've decided it might be more fun, as well as make me look more `31ee7', if I change sides and become an anti-`Red$at' basher on./ . The only problem is I don't know which wildly contradictory arguements I should use against this Evil Empire. Should I say "Red$at is just for newbies" or "Red$at makes me set up my own security"? Should I say "Red$at won't let me hack" or "Red$at makes me update errata", or how about "Red$at makes me use their Windows imitating GUI" or "Red$at won't give me MY Windows imitating GUI"? Obviously I can't spout *all* of these complaints at the same time, or I'll look as foolish and transparent as so much of the other anti-`Red$at' FUD around here. So please, advise me on how to be the best `Red$at' basher I can be! And in conclusion, picture me waving my finger as I say "I am not an astroturf agent of that company...Microsoft..."
Nothing new here. RMS has already written about the consequences of this type of attitude. Says some proprietary house, "Don't restrict my use of the code! Just trust that I'll never restrict *your* use. Give us your code and your labor and you'll be popular and sucessful!!!" Reference the X license debacle from last year when the Open Group attempted to claim commercial ownership of free code in the X distribution. Ultimately they backed down from a PR disaster, but legally nothing could have prevented it! Bah. This almost makes me ashamed to have a shelf full of O'Reilly at work and home.
Try to imagine Micros~1 turning their high-profile website into a portal. Now imagine that this portal prominently displays headlines like this one from another site. Now imagine if this other site included commentary from any and everyone filled with the typical lies we usually hear ( "Red$at is just for newbies" vs. "Red$at makes me fix bugs", along with "Red$at makes me use their stupid Win95 imitating GUI" vs. "Red$at won't give me MY stupid Win95 imitating GUI").
Hard to imagine M$ doing this. Red Hat has already shown an acceptance of Linux diversity and a remarkable tolerance for criticism, deserved or otherwise.
Support the distribution of your choice, but also support Red Hat.
I was looking forward to taking up Perl again, even bought the "Perl Cookbook" last week, and now this comes along to remind me why I dropped Perl in the first place. From now on, any money I might have spent on Perl-related material will be directly donated to the FSF, in gratitude and support.
Mr. Christiansen should be aware that it is far easier to run a Perl-free Linux than a GNU-free Linux.
Imagine Microsoft turning their website into a portal where one of the most prominent links is to a "news" site where clueless nitwits post all kinds of flaming ridicule against them, that is contradicted by all available evidence. Red Hat has already shown an acceptance of Linux diversity and a willingness to accept critisism, deserved or otherwise, that puts the lie to any claims of them as a monopolist. They have earned a steady customer in me.
Funny how the Trashdotters always single out Red Hat ( note the space between the two words, there is no such entity as RedHat! ) for flames and complaints. Don't Caldera and SuSE make money from Linux distribution?
Slashdot Mirror
Don't go there, Spyky. Are you *really* prepared to subject all employees of all distributions to an RPC (Religious and Political Correctness) test? Dealing with multitudes of licenses is bad enough without having to account for the beliefs and/or habits of everyone who had a hand in making my systems run.
---------------------
Lotus is second only to Microsoft as an expression of pure Lovecraftian evil in the software industry. Consider their track record:
- They effectively handed the PC software market to Microsoft by hamstringing their competitors with bogus "look and feel" lawsuits. Lotus was so hung up on this that they gave each of their own products a gratuitously incompatible interface.
- They promptly murdered OS/2 immediately following their acquisition of IBM's PC software business (cleverly disguised as an IBM acquisition of Lotus), again handing the industry to Microsoft.
If Lotus gets a foothold in the Linux market, we will live to regret it.
I propose that any future statements made by this company and/or individual be accompanied by the appropriate laugh track.
For the past year now, people like me have defended Red Hat with reason and evidence against complaints largely based on anecdotes, jealousy and wild conjecture. Yet week after week someone trots out the same tired story and we have to go through it all over again. Well, I've had it, and I've decided it might be more fun, as well as make me look more `31ee7', if I change sides and become an anti-`Red$at' basher on ./ .
The only problem is I don't know which wildly contradictory arguements I should use against this Evil Empire. Should I say "Red$at is just for newbies" or "Red$at makes me set up my own security"? Should I say "Red$at won't let me hack" or "Red$at makes me update errata", or how about "Red$at makes me use their Windows imitating GUI" or "Red$at won't give me MY Windows imitating GUI"?
Obviously I can't spout *all* of these complaints at the same time, or I'll look as foolish and transparent as so much of the other anti-`Red$at' FUD around here. So please, advise me on how to be the best `Red$at' basher I can be!
And in conclusion, picture me waving my finger as I say "I am not an astroturf agent of that company...Microsoft..."
Nothing new here. RMS has already written about the consequences of this type of attitude. Says some proprietary house, "Don't restrict my use of the code! Just trust that I'll never restrict *your* use. Give us your code and your labor and you'll be popular and sucessful!!!" Reference the X license debacle from last year when the Open Group attempted to claim commercial ownership of free code in the X distribution. Ultimately they backed down from a PR disaster, but legally nothing could have prevented it!
Bah. This almost makes me ashamed to have a shelf full of O'Reilly at work and home.
Hard to imagine M$ doing this. Red Hat has already shown an acceptance of Linux diversity and a remarkable tolerance for criticism, deserved or otherwise.
Support the distribution of your choice, but also support Red Hat.
-----------------------------------------------
Mr. Christiansen should be aware that it is far easier to run a Perl-free Linux than a GNU-free Linux.
s/Linux/GNU\/Linux/g
rpm -e perl
Imagine Microsoft turning their website into a portal where one of the most prominent links is to a "news" site where clueless nitwits post all kinds of flaming ridicule against them, that is contradicted by all available evidence. Red Hat has already shown an acceptance of Linux diversity and a willingness to accept critisism, deserved or otherwise, that puts the lie to any claims of them as a monopolist. They have earned a steady customer in me.
Thanks for putting the "ASS" in Astroturf...
Soon they'll be an interview with Troll Tech... "We can't promise we'll never sue Mozilla..."
Greetings, Mr. Gates! Hope you're not losing any sleep over the way Vinod's 'Nightmare Scenario' for M$ has just come to pass!
See subject.
See title. Enough said.
Signed,
An Old Fart
Funny how the Trashdotters always single out Red Hat ( note the space between the two words, there is no such entity as RedHat! ) for flames and complaints. Don't Caldera and SuSE make money from Linux distribution?
.