Hell look at how Linux as an "OS" is managed, you got fifty billion little fiefdoms, NONE of which are ruled by one grouped or even really has to talk to one another on a regular basis, and then all these "little programs written by little groups with their own agendas" get slapped together and called an OS.
Ah, and the spewing of hate begins. These diverse distros don't really matter because all the "communication" happens in the projects that these distros are comprised of. But the only ones that really matter these days are Ubuntu, Mint, Debian, and Fedora. In the enterprise space, it's RHEL and SuSE. Your commentary here is toothless.
I'm sorry but Linux just isn't in the same league as OSX and Windows when it comes to ease of use, user friendliness, stability..its just not even in the same ballpark.
It's not there yet. So what. Say something insightful or original for once man, this certainly isn't. Of course, Canonical is trying hard to get there.
I would argue that "free as in freedom" all volunteer doing your own thing nature that so many in the Linux community prizes so highly also insures that it never ever will be up to the task of standing in the same arena with OSX and Windows
Which is why distros are so important.
you just can't have the level of QA and QC with everybody doing their own thing.
Most vocal criticism from someone who apparently fails to understand development. Each of the independent projects does its own thing and stable versions are codified into a distro release. That release is then QA'd.
The X-Server guys don't listen to the DE guys
Actually they are, which is why Wayland is coming along. The DE guys aren't using much of the functionality that exists from the days of X11 yore, so Wayland omits it.
who don't listen to the Pulse guys
You think in a very set and staid "the world works only when it is done like Microsoft or Apple" mindset. And they succeed mostly either because of marketing or monopoly force.
all it takes is ONE of these groups to change a pointer in the right spot and the whole thing falls down like a house of cards.
Bullshit. But this is coming from the guy who thought that some developer in a core library would be able to undetectably target Steam and cause it and only it to crash out of some misguided hate.
Go look up the rant Thom that runs OSNews had when he tried to watch a video while chatting and the whole system crashed, its THAT kind of shit, probably caused by the video player team expecting something to be A when the X-Server team changed it to B, that gives Linux a bad rep.
I'd be curious as to what graphics drivers he was using. If they were closed source, then it's the vendor's fault most likely.
the "Hairyfeet challenge"
And I suspect once one gets close you'll move the goalposts. I suspect you never actually want to see Linux pass.
Were it not for the lawsuit, rather. GNU was available and had a shell, compiler, and editor ready to go with no legal questions. GNU couldn't have blocked something that wasn't available at the time.
Big names like Dell have tried to market systems with alternative operating systems
They haven't, really. They make half-hearted attempts and go back and forth with Microsoft on it. In the server land it's another deal entirely but in the consumer world, Dell is pretty much balls-to-the-wall Microsoft.
It's silly because they would cease to complain about the firmware if it were stored on the device. Lack of this baseline capability (and simple things like the ability to play mp3/m4a) is what ensures I won't use it.
would the FSF rather someone stick with Windows if they are unable to use a FSF approved Linux distribution
The FSF is on the far end of things, anti-copyright, anti-patent and taking a "closed source software is immoral stance." They lead the charge, though, and we're way, way past the halfway point towards the walled garden, wholly proprietary camps of Microsoft and Apple so I won't begrudge them of their position.
Or is the goal to get people starting to move away from OSX and Windows, even if the first step is to what they consider an "imperfect" Linux distribution?
Awareness itself is often valuable on its own, particularly to consumers who don't know about anything but Windows or Apple.
Because the FSF doesn't support projects that integrate (or allow the integration of) proprietary bits and pieces. This includes firmwares that need to be loaded on a device prior to operation, so there's a fair amount of hardware with completely open drivers that don't work on Trisquel because they omitted the firmware.
Couldn't this serve to discourage ISPs from improving their infrastructure?
They don't need any prompting to not improve their infrastructure. Their "solution" is to impose arbitrary limits and offers slow service to stretch their profit margins by not improving their infrastructure. Competition is necessary for them to improve and they fight vigorously to deny it, suing municipalities to prevent them from offering their own lower cost, higher quality services.
Saying that "this is why Linux fails on the desktop" and pointing at a problem on Valve's end... is blaming Linux for factors outside the distro's control until proven otherwise.
For example, a 250 GB per month cap is the same as a 250 / 324 = 0.772 Mbps cap on sustained throughput.
Right. So with a 250GB cap you are locked into a plan that, at best, is worth the cost of 1Mbps service. Mind you, that cap is deducted from for all upstream traffic as well so it's actually half that.
You appear to be arguing against the concept of advertising a burst rate.
No, I'm not.
My local ISP, Comcast, advertises 24Mbps service. That's a solid 3MB/s, and it actually sustains it for an extended duration. Not short, 5-12 minute bursts. I've pulled down games from Steam at 3MB/s with no slowdown for upwards of an hour as it downloads.
The cap is consistent across all of their plans, however. 250GB, regardless of whether it's 8Mbit, 16Mbit, or 24Mbit. And each is more expensive than the other. That, quite frankly, is a farce like none other. Particularly given that you're being bulled with the cap to keep your effective usage down to 512Kbit. The honest thing to do would be to not oversubscribe so badly that the users of higher end plans DOS other users (which could totally happen even without the cap) and to actually place plans where you're willing to run your network (in Comcast's case, 512Kbit.) But Comcast is as far as you can get from "honest" these days.
I'm lucky in that my account is grandfathered in from 2008, so my account doesn't have the silly cap. As such I don't worry about what uploading to Dropbox, pulling down games from Steam, or the occasional Linux ISO will due to my cap.
Please, the easiest way to keep one person from using too much throughput is to put a hard cap on the max throughput and sell it as such. Anything else is just an underhanded way of saying "we're going to give you access to X bandwidth, but don't you dare actually use it."
Of course, if you use less than the cap you also don't get a refund of any sort. So it's BS all over the place.
It's more than that. It's a blatant violation of the 4th Amendment. They have no good reason to search so invasively each and every person in this country who flies. There's no basis for them to believe that every person is a possible terrorist. It's just a blatant, idiotic expansion of powers and a jobs program for the terminally unemployable so jackasses can stand behind the metal detectors and look like they're important.
The TSA has accomplished precisely shit in the entirety of its existence. It's successfully engaged in mission creep as it starts doing things for the DEA and whatnot, and managed to violate the dignity of a growing number of people. I have no respect for anyone that works for the TSA, on both a professional and personal level.
Except when dedicated h.264 hardware isn't available. I don't recall having any such decoder in my desktop. Oops, looks like I don't get h.264 support. Worse if you don't run Windows or OS X, then you're perpetually in a legal grey area.
Module signing has been in place with Fedora 18 and Ubuntu 12.10 as it's required to be compliant and get a signature on the bootloader for Secure Boot. I assume the code was backported.
Why do FOSS developers waste their time porting their hard work to Windows, of all platforms?
FOSS in more places is good, regardless. Proving out that there are good FOSS applications, and getting people using them, reduces the barriers to transitioning to a FOSS platform in time.
Why don't we just work on making VLC better for the Linux users?
If it's written properly, improving VLC should apply to all platforms.
Did you react in a similar manner towards Steam coming to Linux?
Precisely. The attack is intended to bias you against the person making the argument. They attack RMS so you ignore and discount what he says. It's an ad-hominem attack because they can't actually refute what he says.
It is the pettiest and least mature of all possible attacks, and is done because they hate him and no other reason.
The problem isn't corporate involvement. The problem is when corporate involvement leads down the path we're seeing Canonical take with Ubuntu, where they start shoving ads in your face.
It fundamentally disrespects the user as it becomes apparent that you've given up on making them the customer and decided to sell them like livestock. It's why Facebook is so reviled on Slashdot, and why I can't stand most handset manufacturers (they build for the carriers and not the people who actually use the devices.)
Far beyond "standards compliant" is simple binary compatibility between distros. While this isn't hard, it isn't guaranteed either. Not to mention that Ubuntu and its derivatives have far more users than other distros, all of which are of varying increases in difficulty to get going, let alone use.
Slashdot Mirror
Ah, and the spewing of hate begins. These diverse distros don't really matter because all the "communication" happens in the projects that these distros are comprised of. But the only ones that really matter these days are Ubuntu, Mint, Debian, and Fedora. In the enterprise space, it's RHEL and SuSE. Your commentary here is toothless.
It's not there yet. So what. Say something insightful or original for once man, this certainly isn't. Of course, Canonical is trying hard to get there.
Which is why distros are so important.
Most vocal criticism from someone who apparently fails to understand development. Each of the independent projects does its own thing and stable versions are codified into a distro release. That release is then QA'd.
Actually they are, which is why Wayland is coming along. The DE guys aren't using much of the functionality that exists from the days of X11 yore, so Wayland omits it.
You think in a very set and staid "the world works only when it is done like Microsoft or Apple" mindset. And they succeed mostly either because of marketing or monopoly force.
Bullshit. But this is coming from the guy who thought that some developer in a core library would be able to undetectably target Steam and cause it and only it to crash out of some misguided hate.
I'd be curious as to what graphics drivers he was using. If they were closed source, then it's the vendor's fault most likely.
And I suspect once one gets close you'll move the goalposts. I suspect you never actually want to see Linux pass.
Were it not for the lawsuit, rather. GNU was available and had a shell, compiler, and editor ready to go with no legal questions. GNU couldn't have blocked something that wasn't available at the time.
They haven't, really. They make half-hearted attempts and go back and forth with Microsoft on it. In the server land it's another deal entirely but in the consumer world, Dell is pretty much balls-to-the-wall Microsoft.
It's silly because they would cease to complain about the firmware if it were stored on the device. Lack of this baseline capability (and simple things like the ability to play mp3/m4a) is what ensures I won't use it.
The FSF is on the far end of things, anti-copyright, anti-patent and taking a "closed source software is immoral stance." They lead the charge, though, and we're way, way past the halfway point towards the walled garden, wholly proprietary camps of Microsoft and Apple so I won't begrudge them of their position.
Awareness itself is often valuable on its own, particularly to consumers who don't know about anything but Windows or Apple.
Because the FSF doesn't support projects that integrate (or allow the integration of) proprietary bits and pieces. This includes firmwares that need to be loaded on a device prior to operation, so there's a fair amount of hardware with completely open drivers that don't work on Trisquel because they omitted the firmware.
They don't need any prompting to not improve their infrastructure. Their "solution" is to impose arbitrary limits and offers slow service to stretch their profit margins by not improving their infrastructure. Competition is necessary for them to improve and they fight vigorously to deny it, suing municipalities to prevent them from offering their own lower cost, higher quality services.
Saying that "this is why Linux fails on the desktop" and pointing at a problem on Valve's end... is blaming Linux for factors outside the distro's control until proven otherwise.
Fuck you morons are insufferable. And illiterate.
Yup, it fails due to factors entirely outside its control...?
It's an open beta, file a bug report and post the core. Or avoid it until it exits beta.
Right. So with a 250GB cap you are locked into a plan that, at best, is worth the cost of 1Mbps service. Mind you, that cap is deducted from for all upstream traffic as well so it's actually half that.
No, I'm not.
My local ISP, Comcast, advertises 24Mbps service. That's a solid 3MB/s, and it actually sustains it for an extended duration. Not short, 5-12 minute bursts. I've pulled down games from Steam at 3MB/s with no slowdown for upwards of an hour as it downloads.
The cap is consistent across all of their plans, however. 250GB, regardless of whether it's 8Mbit, 16Mbit, or 24Mbit. And each is more expensive than the other. That, quite frankly, is a farce like none other. Particularly given that you're being bulled with the cap to keep your effective usage down to 512Kbit. The honest thing to do would be to not oversubscribe so badly that the users of higher end plans DOS other users (which could totally happen even without the cap) and to actually place plans where you're willing to run your network (in Comcast's case, 512Kbit.) But Comcast is as far as you can get from "honest" these days.
I'm lucky in that my account is grandfathered in from 2008, so my account doesn't have the silly cap. As such I don't worry about what uploading to Dropbox, pulling down games from Steam, or the occasional Linux ISO will due to my cap.
So how many times did you post this in the thread? Do you normally defend poor business practices or something?
Please, the easiest way to keep one person from using too much throughput is to put a hard cap on the max throughput and sell it as such. Anything else is just an underhanded way of saying "we're going to give you access to X bandwidth, but don't you dare actually use it."
Of course, if you use less than the cap you also don't get a refund of any sort. So it's BS all over the place.
That too. I always make sure to point out that I'd like for my stuff to not be stolen, and ask 'em to hurry up with calling over the ballgrabber.
It's more than that. It's a blatant violation of the 4th Amendment. They have no good reason to search so invasively each and every person in this country who flies. There's no basis for them to believe that every person is a possible terrorist. It's just a blatant, idiotic expansion of powers and a jobs program for the terminally unemployable so jackasses can stand behind the metal detectors and look like they're important.
The TSA has accomplished precisely shit in the entirety of its existence. It's successfully engaged in mission creep as it starts doing things for the DEA and whatnot, and managed to violate the dignity of a growing number of people. I have no respect for anyone that works for the TSA, on both a professional and personal level.
Except when dedicated h.264 hardware isn't available. I don't recall having any such decoder in my desktop. Oops, looks like I don't get h.264 support. Worse if you don't run Windows or OS X, then you're perpetually in a legal grey area.
No offense, but at the time of the incident reactor 4 was already offline. 5 and 6 hadn't even been built yet.
Such as? It's hard to have an actual discussion when you fail to cite or highlight something to back up your point.
I wonder how many actual terrorist incidents they've stopped, and if they're more effective than the magic rock on my desk.
To "pull" a patch is a git-ism because you use the command "git pull" to bring in changes from remote repositories.
Module signing has been in place with Fedora 18 and Ubuntu 12.10 as it's required to be compliant and get a signature on the bootloader for Secure Boot. I assume the code was backported.
FOSS in more places is good, regardless. Proving out that there are good FOSS applications, and getting people using them, reduces the barriers to transitioning to a FOSS platform in time.
If it's written properly, improving VLC should apply to all platforms.
Did you react in a similar manner towards Steam coming to Linux?
Precisely. The attack is intended to bias you against the person making the argument. They attack RMS so you ignore and discount what he says. It's an ad-hominem attack because they can't actually refute what he says.
It is the pettiest and least mature of all possible attacks, and is done because they hate him and no other reason.
The problem isn't corporate involvement. The problem is when corporate involvement leads down the path we're seeing Canonical take with Ubuntu, where they start shoving ads in your face.
It fundamentally disrespects the user as it becomes apparent that you've given up on making them the customer and decided to sell them like livestock. It's why Facebook is so reviled on Slashdot, and why I can't stand most handset manufacturers (they build for the carriers and not the people who actually use the devices.)
Most posts like that are explicitly done to discredit, in the hopes that people ignore everything he says.
Ad-hominem. Your entire post is invalid.
Far beyond "standards compliant" is simple binary compatibility between distros. While this isn't hard, it isn't guaranteed either. Not to mention that Ubuntu and its derivatives have far more users than other distros, all of which are of varying increases in difficulty to get going, let alone use.
Like what, exactly.