You state my points are purely academic then say that some day in the future they will become valid
Yes, your point is academic today, it may (not will) be practical in the future. That's what academic means, it does not mean you are necessarily wrong. As you said you seemed to be overstating things and being overly optimistic. Again, academic traits. Time will tell but I would not underestimate the gov't, pla, etc.
If this is the effect of conventional mass media, and publishing from the west, consider what the effect the internet is having in China.
Again academic, the practical is being overlooked. Distributing paper is less centralized than the net. There is no *wire" that all printed articles must pass through. Radio is less centralized than the net. Again, not *wire*. The net is completely dependent on the *wire* and the government control that wire. Your points will become less academic some day in the future when we have long range wireless networking.
The current G5 XBox360 dev systems are temporary. Eventually MS will offer dev kits that are variants of the retail product. Even if this were not true, *current* G5 Macs are the dev systems. Future Macs are not needed, only what exists now.
You state no one suggested modifying the GPL, but the only way you could stop China using F/OSS software is to modify the GPL
That would have no effect. The software has already been released under a GPL version that has no such limitations. There would merely be a fork. And as you mention at the end of your post such actions would probably end in the marginalization of the GPL as authors move elsewhere.
In real practical terms (which after all is what matters) the F/OSS movement presents problems for China because by opening up protocols and methods they leave themselves open to loosing control of information flow.
I'm sorry but your point is not practical, it is academic. The protocols are irrelevant when the government controls the wiring. The bits can't flow unless the government allows it. Read the slashdot article all of this is in response to, the words "democracy" and "freedom" are being banned from a major portal.
The point is that there is a double standard that MS is expected to stand up to the Chinese government but F/OSS is not.
Regarding your argument that F/OSS is introducing radical ideas into China, well that is silly. Telling people to work collectively, that they do not own something, and that they must share is not exactly a new idea in China. Telling them that they own their work and may only share it if they wish to, that they may horde and profit from it, that is the new idea being (re)introduced. I think you are confusing F/OSS with the philosophies of some in the west. Importing the former does not open the door to the latter.
Remember that, according to the story, there is no Chinese law against the use of these words. Microsoft is doing it "proactively" (eh).
The story is naive. How much business have you done in China? When a representative of the government expresses concern over some issue that is as significant as something on paper. Reality is far more complex than academic arguments.
Re:The point of FreeBSD is the "Free" part
on
FreeBSD 5.4 Review
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· Score: 1
FreeBSD heaviliy depends on GPL software. It can't even exist (be compiled) without gcc and binutils. So saying that it is freerer is bullshit.
BSD predates GPL'd software. The use of gcc and whatnot is a convenience. It's all replacable. Switching from cc to gcc is not a one way trip. Intel's icc is a pretty good gcc replacement.
So what is this BSD over GPL stuff all about? Politics? It's funny to bash GPL while BSD itself can't exist without GPL tools.
Who bashed GPL? All that was said was that BSD is Free'er and that which one is better depends on what you want to do. If that is insulting you have some sort of inferiority complex. GPL has strings, that is less free. All you can argue is that the strings are benevolent for a portion of the population. That's not politics, that's reality. No one is preaching politics here except you.
To be fair and equitable why don't you ask Linus and Stallman to ask the Red Flag Linux developers to stop their work unless the Chinese government allows the word "democracy". They might be naive enough to do so but even they will know it is nothing more than a symbolic gesture that will amount to nothing. Red Flag developers will continue and the Linux community will embrace them even though they do nothing to further "democracy" in China, and that same community will criticize MS for not putting their head on the chopping block in a futile gesture.
Rather than tell MS how to put its ass on the line why don't you put your wallet on the line? Need to buy socks, don't by socks made in China, try to find something domestic. Same for that screw driver you need, try spending an extra couple of bucks to buy something made locally. That is how China you get China's attention, that is the only sort of action that they will respond to.
The point of FreeBSD is the "Free" part
on
FreeBSD 5.4 Review
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· Score: 2, Insightful
It looks like FreeBSD just tries to follow Linux
Actually Linux followed FreeBSD. While older, FreeBSD is also free'er (as in speech). That is its fundamental difference. Which is better entirely depends on what you want to do.
BUS speed secondary, need something to put on BUS
on
AMD Quad Cores, Oh My
·
· Score: 1
Remember kids, work smarter, not harder
One way to work smarter is to not accept the convention wisdom that more == better, faster == better, and actually educate yourself. The problem with multiple cores is not necessarily keeping them fed, it is having something to feed them. If you can't parallelize the job that you need done well enough it does not matter how fast the bus is. You need something to put on the bus first.
Each time you double the processing units you get a diminishing return. I think quad is about the practical limit for much current software. Stuff that benefits from more than 4 tends to be specialized.
"...fun to work through the ranks as an Empire pilot. Being indoctrinated, bringing peace, stability, and law-and-order to the galaxy."
Are you a U.S. citizen ?
Yes, but it was fun to view the world from the traditional European perspective of empire and order. It's so different from the US tradition of liberate, rebuild, pack up and go home.:-)
He saved Luke, thwarting the dark, advancing the light, was "redeemed" in the process, and got to watch the ewoks do their happy dance along side Ben and Yoda. Hey, don't blame me, I didn't write the story.
Yes but keep in mind that Darth turned to the dark side to save his wife, and then turned from the dark side to save his son. See, Darth's all about love. Or that his only loyalty is family and he'll betray anyone.;-)
So Anakin not only brought balance to the force, the light side was seriously overrepresented, but also the fans, the light side was seriously overrated.;-)
FWIW, when I played x-Wing vs. Tie Fighter long ago it was fun to work through the ranks as an Empire pilot. Being indoctrinated, bringing peace, stability, and law-and-order to the galaxy. A different perspective added a lot.
Yes, but it demonstrates one reason why there is no privacy when you send personal emails to/from work. The premise that you have privacy on a company computer is just plain false to begin with.
Also, when you say email is company property, I understand the technical principle that the bits and bytes are on the company owned servers but it's still a form of communication and people should have the right to a little privacy.
A company may record all emails for legal reasons. They may be compelled to turn them over to a court or some regulatory agency. The use of personal email could be viewed by a hostile plantiff, court, or agency as circumvention of data retention in order to hide misconduct or other illegal activities. Things are far more complicated than you suggest. If you want privacy don't use company computers and resources.
A lot of employers block access to gmail, hotmail, msn messenger etc. which leaves people with only one option, company mail.
No, another option is do your personal email at home not at work. When the company is blocking the webmail that might be a clue that they don't want you taking care of your personal business from their computer.
I believe it is far simpler than you suggest. You are using their computer and their bandwidth so they have the right to read it. If you want privacy use a computer and bandwidth that you paid for.
Besides, the possibility of the title catching his eye isn't far fetched...
Not just him, but his employees, and all their friends and family. Now toss in all his business associates (the musicians), and their friends and family,...
If a game is "too hard" to port to x86 linux (as was the case with Tribes Vengeance), then it will also be "too hard" to port it to x86 mac...
That is only one of many factors. There is also the potential market. While people estimate that the Linux market might be about the size as the Mac market there is no real way to separate servers and other non-desktop installs of Linux from the true desktop installs, only the later are part of the potential market. Apple users on the other hand are nearly exclusively desktop and have a well documented track record. The track record on the Linux side is quite negative given id's comments, Loki, etc. It's easier to make the business case for Mac.
... some companies *coughvivendi* just dont care.
It's not Vivendi it's the game's programmers. Blizzard is part of Vivendi and they develop Windows and Mac titles in parallel and release simultaneously.
Slashdot Mirror
You state my points are purely academic then say that some day in the future they will become valid
Yes, your point is academic today, it may (not will) be practical in the future. That's what academic means, it does not mean you are necessarily wrong. As you said you seemed to be overstating things and being overly optimistic. Again, academic traits. Time will tell but I would not underestimate the gov't, pla, etc.
If this is the effect of conventional mass media, and publishing from the west, consider what the effect the internet is having in China.
Again academic, the practical is being overlooked. Distributing paper is less centralized than the net. There is no *wire" that all printed articles must pass through. Radio is less centralized than the net. Again, not *wire*. The net is completely dependent on the *wire* and the government control that wire. Your points will become less academic some day in the future when we have long range wireless networking.
Actually getting a variant of a current chipset may be practical.
The current G5 XBox360 dev systems are temporary. Eventually MS will offer dev kits that are variants of the retail product. Even if this were not true, *current* G5 Macs are the dev systems. Future Macs are not needed, only what exists now.
You state no one suggested modifying the GPL, but the only way you could stop China using F/OSS software is to modify the GPL
That would have no effect. The software has already been released under a GPL version that has no such limitations. There would merely be a fork. And as you mention at the end of your post such actions would probably end in the marginalization of the GPL as authors move elsewhere.
In real practical terms (which after all is what matters) the F/OSS movement presents problems for China because by opening up protocols and methods they leave themselves open to loosing control of information flow.
I'm sorry but your point is not practical, it is academic. The protocols are irrelevant when the government controls the wiring. The bits can't flow unless the government allows it. Read the slashdot article all of this is in response to, the words "democracy" and "freedom" are being banned from a major portal.
No one suggested modifying the GPL.
The point is that there is a double standard that MS is expected to stand up to the Chinese government but F/OSS is not.
Regarding your argument that F/OSS is introducing radical ideas into China, well that is silly. Telling people to work collectively, that they do not own something, and that they must share is not exactly a new idea in China. Telling them that they own their work and may only share it if they wish to, that they may horde and profit from it, that is the new idea being (re)introduced. I think you are confusing F/OSS with the philosophies of some in the west. Importing the former does not open the door to the latter.
Remember that, according to the story, there is no Chinese law against the use of these words. Microsoft is doing it "proactively" (eh).
The story is naive. How much business have you done in China? When a representative of the government expresses concern over some issue that is as significant as something on paper. Reality is far more complex than academic arguments.
FreeBSD heaviliy depends on GPL software. It can't even exist (be compiled) without gcc and binutils. So saying that it is freerer is bullshit.
BSD predates GPL'd software. The use of gcc and whatnot is a convenience. It's all replacable. Switching from cc to gcc is not a one way trip. Intel's icc is a pretty good gcc replacement.
So what is this BSD over GPL stuff all about? Politics? It's funny to bash GPL while BSD itself can't exist without GPL tools.
Who bashed GPL? All that was said was that BSD is Free'er and that which one is better depends on what you want to do. If that is insulting you have some sort of inferiority complex. GPL has strings, that is less free. All you can argue is that the strings are benevolent for a portion of the population. That's not politics, that's reality. No one is preaching politics here except you.
To be fair and equitable why don't you ask Linus and Stallman to ask the Red Flag Linux developers to stop their work unless the Chinese government allows the word "democracy". They might be naive enough to do so but even they will know it is nothing more than a symbolic gesture that will amount to nothing. Red Flag developers will continue and the Linux community will embrace them even though they do nothing to further "democracy" in China, and that same community will criticize MS for not putting their head on the chopping block in a futile gesture.
Rather than tell MS how to put its ass on the line why don't you put your wallet on the line? Need to buy socks, don't by socks made in China, try to find something domestic. Same for that screw driver you need, try spending an extra couple of bucks to buy something made locally. That is how China you get China's attention, that is the only sort of action that they will respond to.
It looks like FreeBSD just tries to follow Linux
Actually Linux followed FreeBSD. While older, FreeBSD is also free'er (as in speech). That is its fundamental difference. Which is better entirely depends on what you want to do.
Remember kids, work smarter, not harder
One way to work smarter is to not accept the convention wisdom that more == better, faster == better, and actually educate yourself. The problem with multiple cores is not necessarily keeping them fed, it is having something to feed them. If you can't parallelize the job that you need done well enough it does not matter how fast the bus is. You need something to put on the bus first.
Each time you double the processing units you get a diminishing return. I think quad is about the practical limit for much current software. Stuff that benefits from more than 4 tends to be specialized.
"...fun to work through the ranks as an Empire pilot. Being indoctrinated, bringing peace, stability, and law-and-order to the galaxy."
:-)
Are you a U.S. citizen ?
Yes, but it was fun to view the world from the traditional European perspective of empire and order. It's so different from the US tradition of liberate, rebuild, pack up and go home.
He saved Luke, thwarting the dark, advancing the light, was "redeemed" in the process, and got to watch the ewoks do their happy dance along side Ben and Yoda. Hey, don't blame me, I didn't write the story.
Yes but keep in mind that Darth turned to the dark side to save his wife, and then turned from the dark side to save his son. See, Darth's all about love. Or that his only loyalty is family and he'll betray anyone. ;-)
The more important question is why do they wear armor that can't even take one hit.
From a blaster or an Ewok with a stick?
So Anakin not only brought balance to the force, the light side was seriously overrepresented, but also the fans, the light side was seriously overrated. ;-)
FWIW, when I played x-Wing vs. Tie Fighter long ago it was fun to work through the ranks as an Empire pilot. Being indoctrinated, bringing peace, stability, and law-and-order to the galaxy. A different perspective added a lot.
Yes, but it demonstrates one reason why there is no privacy when you send personal emails to/from work. The premise that you have privacy on a company computer is just plain false to begin with.
Hellooooo encryption. *nods head*
Hello reprimand or unemployment. *shakes head*
Yeah, make sure look like the person leaking company info or products, draw attention to yourself as someone who needs more surveilance.
Also, when you say email is company property, I understand the technical principle that the bits and bytes are on the company owned servers but it's still a form of communication and people should have the right to a little privacy.
A company may record all emails for legal reasons. They may be compelled to turn them over to a court or some regulatory agency. The use of personal email could be viewed by a hostile plantiff, court, or agency as circumvention of data retention in order to hide misconduct or other illegal activities. Things are far more complicated than you suggest. If you want privacy don't use company computers and resources.
A lot of employers block access to gmail, hotmail, msn messenger etc. which leaves people with only one option, company mail.
No, another option is do your personal email at home not at work. When the company is blocking the webmail that might be a clue that they don't want you taking care of your personal business from their computer.
I believe it is far simpler than you suggest. You are using their computer and their bandwidth so they have the right to read it. If you want privacy use a computer and bandwidth that you paid for.
Besides, the possibility of the title catching his eye isn't far fetched ...
...
Not just him, but his employees, and all their friends and family. Now toss in all his business associates (the musicians), and their friends and family,
If a game is "too hard" to port to x86 linux (as was the case with Tribes Vengeance), then it will also be "too hard" to port it to x86 mac ...
... some companies *coughvivendi* just dont care.
That is only one of many factors. There is also the potential market. While people estimate that the Linux market might be about the size as the Mac market there is no real way to separate servers and other non-desktop installs of Linux from the true desktop installs, only the later are part of the potential market. Apple users on the other hand are nearly exclusively desktop and have a well documented track record. The track record on the Linux side is quite negative given id's comments, Loki, etc. It's easier to make the business case for Mac.
It's not Vivendi it's the game's programmers. Blizzard is part of Vivendi and they develop Windows and Mac titles in parallel and release simultaneously.
Dec 2004 or earlier
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6667257/