It's always a good thing to make sure you shut out any possible contamination of your community by screaming at the top of your lungs at the smallest mistake.
Sure, daemonnews.org gets it right because they've been around for a while. I didn't get the impression TUCOWS was trying to sabotage the BSD family. Oh well, I really liked seeing my beloved FreeBSD getting some mainstream attention. Silly me.
What a surprise this is coming from a community that already segregated the open version of BSDi into FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD, TrustedBSD, etc...
And, yes, I've heard all the reasons why the segregation of BSDs was felt to be neccesary. I'm not knocking one version and praising another. It's just unfortunate we still get to associate contention with BSD.
A former, nameless employer dealt with our on-call issues thusly...
We were paid overtime (of a sort) for hours worked above and beyond 40 hours in a week. "Sort of" means that we were paid on a sliding scale figured like this:
H/W/2 = weekly salary
H == hours per week
W == wages for the week
2 == yup, divided in half
in effect, a person who makes $800 per week in base salary and works 10 hours of overtime makes a total of $880 (or, each overtime is worth $8 using the above formula).
what this meant is that, in the case of relatively minor overtime, we were compensated fairly well. but, in clusterf**k weeks, we were screwed. it was a compromise. the company didn't want to pay more, but we weren't willing to offer 24/7 support for free (they didn't believe in comp time, either).
in fact, we called it "insult time", but to be fair, we were happy to get something whereas most support-types got zilch for extra hours.
the strings attached were thus. we were classed in federal terms as "technicians", not "professionals". according to federal law, we had to have a "clear and mutual understanding between employer and employee" that we were not required to work a 40-hour week if there weren't support issues. and, we were not allowed to have regular, recurring duties (swapping tapes).
the meter begain ticking on the insult time clock the minute a page arrived, so we were paid for any time it took to get from wherever we were to the office.
of course, my former employer absolutely expected me to work 40 hours a week and perform recurring tasks, despite what the feds said:)
and i'm not suggesting this as a model of some sort. but, afaik, this special classing was created by the feds specifically for us poor techies who work 80 hours a week when things break (and 79.5 when things don't). hope it's helpful.
I'm not suggesting that it isn't galling to have someone take your intellectual property without compensation, but isn't it a better idea to have more fans rather than fewer fans?
I know the reach and ease of Napster distorts this somewhat, but what are the odds the people trading mp3s would *actually* buy the CD instead of just record it from a friend?
By the way, while I've been a fan for at least a decade, the idea that you dislike your "art" being traded like a "commodity" kinda doesn't hold water. I've paid a lot of money for your art over 10 years. If you want to blame someone for commoditization, blame the record companies.
I agree. If your employer *forces* you to work from home against your will, find another employer. Likewise, if your job calls for considerable at home work, an employer who is unwilling to work with you on your ergonomic concerns is probably not a great employer anyway. Find one who is.
And, other posters are correct. This will hurt the overall push for telecommuting. Employers are loathe to spend even *more* money on employees when the end result is that they will see *less* of the employee.
Again, find an employer who is good to you and stick with them. I do not need big brother stopping by to see if my home office floors are non-slip and I am wearing steel-toed boots (might drop that monitor on my toes).
Jeepers Cripes! It's my home and my job. Get the heck out!
Good VCs make, maybe, 10 seed investments and decide which 2 should get a second round (as a rule -- your mileage varies).
VCs may tell you enough to get you off the market, but decide later whether they really want to make the investment. That leaves you hanging if you don't get the money quickly.
Even when it works out, they typically want at least 51% and you become VP of Marketing or Technology.
Case in point: what was Mark Andreesen's position with Netscape? VP of Technology... and it was his idea to steal -- er, borrow -- Mosaic as a commercial product. Jim Barksdale was the man with the money, so he got control.
If it wasn't for them, a lot of tech "startups" simply "wouldn't". Look for an angel. They're harder to find, want significant ownership but usually leave 51% to you (again, your mileage may vary!).
Ask around... and I mean friends of freinds and freinds of family. If you have a worthwhile idea and present it well, you might get lucky.
And if lack of control is not an issue, there are plenty of VCs to go around.
1) The new demo has network support with drivers for a few network cards
2) In the next month, they are supposed to have a "free for personal use" downloadable release so that you can actually install and configure the OS permanently.
Diss it if you like, but an HTML 4.0-compliant web browser with javascript, css and frames support that runs on a 386 with only 4MB of memory is pretty cool.
Think of operating systems like languages (spoken, not coded:). The BSD-en and Linux-en are regional dialects of the same "language" just as U.S. english has several regional dialects.
Now, I'm certain that hardcore speakers of the U.S. english Georgia dialect and the U.S. english Ohio dialect would vehemently disagree that they are speaking the same language.
And those regional dialects of Open Source operating systems can splinter into several smaller factions (FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, Redhat, Caldera, Debian, SuSE, yadda, yadda, yadda).
We must understand the "differences" but focus on the "sames". We are part of a much more powerful movement if BSD and Linux people hang together.
Focus on the big picture. Open Source operating systems are generally superior to their non-Open Source bretheren. And what makes Linux and BSD attractive, effective, powerful and affordable are the Open Source ideas on which they are built.
Hopefully, Solaris, MacOS and, heck, even BeOS could one day be included in that group.
11th Commandment of Open Source Advocacy: Thou Shalt Not Speak Ill of Another Open Source Operating System (without damaging one's own cause in the process)
Slashdot Mirror
It's always a good thing to make sure you shut out any possible contamination of your community by screaming at the top of your lungs at the smallest mistake.
Sure, daemonnews.org gets it right because they've been around for a while. I didn't get the impression TUCOWS was trying to sabotage the BSD family. Oh well, I really liked seeing my beloved FreeBSD getting some mainstream attention. Silly me.
What a surprise this is coming from a community that already segregated the open version of BSDi into FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD, TrustedBSD, etc...
And, yes, I've heard all the reasons why the segregation of BSDs was felt to be neccesary. I'm not knocking one version and praising another. It's just unfortunate we still get to associate contention with BSD.
A former, nameless employer dealt with our on-call issues thusly...
:)
We were paid overtime (of a sort) for hours worked above and beyond 40 hours in a week. "Sort of" means that we were paid on a sliding scale figured like this:
H/W/2 = weekly salary
H == hours per week
W == wages for the week
2 == yup, divided in half
in effect, a person who makes $800 per week in base salary and works 10 hours of overtime makes a total of $880 (or, each overtime is worth $8 using the above formula).
what this meant is that, in the case of relatively minor overtime, we were compensated fairly well. but, in clusterf**k weeks, we were screwed. it was a compromise. the company didn't want to pay more, but we weren't willing to offer 24/7 support for free (they didn't believe in comp time, either).
in fact, we called it "insult time", but to be fair, we were happy to get something whereas most support-types got zilch for extra hours.
the strings attached were thus. we were classed in federal terms as "technicians", not "professionals". according to federal law, we had to have a "clear and mutual understanding between employer and employee" that we were not required to work a 40-hour week if there weren't support issues. and, we were not allowed to have regular, recurring duties (swapping tapes).
the meter begain ticking on the insult time clock the minute a page arrived, so we were paid for any time it took to get from wherever we were to the office.
of course, my former employer absolutely expected me to work 40 hours a week and perform recurring tasks, despite what the feds said
and i'm not suggesting this as a model of some sort. but, afaik, this special classing was created by the feds specifically for us poor techies who work 80 hours a week when things break (and 79.5 when things don't). hope it's helpful.
- j
I'm not suggesting that it isn't galling to have someone take your intellectual property without compensation, but isn't it a better idea to have more fans rather than fewer fans?
I know the reach and ease of Napster distorts this somewhat, but what are the odds the people trading mp3s would *actually* buy the CD instead of just record it from a friend?
By the way, while I've been a fan for at least a decade, the idea that you dislike your "art" being traded like a "commodity" kinda doesn't hold water. I've paid a lot of money for your art over 10 years. If you want to blame someone for commoditization, blame the record companies.
Will Linux versions of the CorelDraw graphics suite be released?
I agree. If your employer *forces* you to work from home against your will, find another employer. Likewise, if your job calls for considerable at home work, an employer who is unwilling to work with you on your ergonomic concerns is probably not a great employer anyway. Find one who is.
:)
And, other posters are correct. This will hurt the overall push for telecommuting. Employers are loathe to spend even *more* money on employees when the end result is that they will see *less* of the employee.
Again, find an employer who is good to you and stick with them. I do not need big brother stopping by to see if my home office floors are non-slip and I am wearing steel-toed boots (might drop that monitor on my toes).
Jeepers Cripes! It's my home and my job. Get the heck out!
respectfully submitted IMHO, of course
Good VCs make, maybe, 10 seed investments and decide which 2 should get a second round (as a rule -- your mileage varies).
VCs may tell you enough to get you off the market, but decide later whether they really want to make the investment. That leaves you hanging if you don't get the money quickly.
Even when it works out, they typically want at least 51% and you become VP of Marketing or Technology.
Case in point: what was Mark Andreesen's position with Netscape? VP of Technology... and it was his idea to steal -- er, borrow -- Mosaic as a commercial product. Jim Barksdale was the man with the money, so he got control.
If it wasn't for them, a lot of tech "startups" simply "wouldn't". Look for an angel. They're harder to find, want significant ownership but usually leave 51% to you (again, your mileage may vary!).
Ask around... and I mean friends of freinds and freinds of family. If you have a worthwhile idea and present it well, you might get lucky.
And if lack of control is not an issue, there are plenty of VCs to go around.
1) The new demo has network support with drivers for a few network cards
2) In the next month, they are supposed to have a "free for personal use" downloadable release so that you can actually install and configure the OS permanently.
Diss it if you like, but an HTML 4.0-compliant web browser with javascript, css and frames support that runs on a 386 with only 4MB of memory is pretty cool.
- Smoke Me a Kipper, I'll Be Back For Breakfast
Think of operating systems like languages (spoken, not coded :). The BSD-en and Linux-en are regional dialects of the same "language" just as U.S. english has several regional dialects.
Now, I'm certain that hardcore speakers of the U.S. english Georgia dialect and the U.S. english Ohio dialect would vehemently disagree that they are speaking the same language.
And those regional dialects of Open Source operating systems can splinter into several smaller factions (FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, Redhat, Caldera, Debian, SuSE, yadda, yadda, yadda).
We must understand the "differences" but focus on the "sames". We are part of a much more powerful movement if BSD and Linux people hang together.
Focus on the big picture. Open Source operating systems are generally superior to their non-Open Source bretheren. And what makes Linux and BSD attractive, effective, powerful and affordable are the Open Source ideas on which they are built.
Hopefully, Solaris, MacOS and, heck, even BeOS could one day be included in that group.
11th Commandment of Open Source Advocacy: Thou Shalt Not Speak Ill of Another Open Source Operating System (without damaging one's own cause in the process)