I'm not sure how many times this has already been posted, but isn't this pretty much the same idea as Neverwinter Nights? With NWN you can host your own 'module(s)' which are basically your own created world which you can DM or you can just let run off of scripts. Modules can be linked to each other, so eventually there could be 'persistant worlds' of modules linked together all over the internet.
Actually, the idea is basically just like the world wide web. Think of it, everyone has their own little site that is linked to lots of other sites creating a 'world.' Only now there games and applications like this one that do this in 3D instead of text.
Wow, I hope that trend does continue though--the 3D one that is. I'm not sure how my lynx browser would keep up!
I just wanted to second some of the thoughts brought up already. First off, as mentioned before, chosing your language before your tools is probably a BETTER idea. However, assuming your going to be working in several different languages, then here's some options:
1. Eclipse -- I would look at this one first. Still somewhat new on the block, it's probably got the most potential to it right now considering the community backing (not to mention IBM).
2. NetBeans (ie- Sun's Forte) Also very extensible, but you're going to be pulled more in a java direction with these tools. That may or may not be the right way to go.
3. Emacs -- After the initial investment of setting up your environment, emacs is a great tool to use. A huge user base, plenty of ability to extend. Runs of *nix, OS X, and Win32 (don't forget those cygwin tools though!).
Whatever tool you use, remember if you're taking advantage of the Open Source / Free Software tools available try to give something back. That's how these tool come into existance.
My BestBuy Pre-Order box says June 20th for the release date. Does anyone know how much documentation it's going to come with? I've looked at the beta and the scripting language is fairly complex.
And make sure you registar your LINUX copies so that BIOWARE knows that there are Linux gamers using this! The default assumption is that your purchase is for a Win32 platform.
Old news and an old problem...
on
Terapin Mine Review
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· Score: 2, Interesting
This really isn't news. The product has been on the market for a really long time. I remember reading about it last year. ThinkGeek.com has had it for sale for months. Why do we always post such old news?
Well, enough trolling, I do have a legitimate question that perhaps a few here have resolved. I've looked into this and other devices as an easy way to carry around a lot of my work, since I tend to bounce from using a computer at home, at work, and on campus. I have control over the computers at work and home, but not on campus. From what I understand, you would need to load certain drivers or other software to get this device to work with Windows, which is what they have on campus (please correct me if I'm wrong). So, since I can't load the drivers, I wouldn't be able to access any of my stuff stored on the drive when I on campus, right? Is there a solution to this? How do some of you carry large amounts of data around (other than zip disks or burned CD-ROMS)?
Someone might have pointed this out already, and if, so please point me to the comment.
The biggest technical problem I see Linux having breaking into the enterprise market is scalability. Look at Solarius. It scales rather well. In fact, it scales very well. Linux on the other hand has issues with more than 8 or so processors. Sure we can cluster, but that's different. Does anyone have any word on the current condition of Linux kernal scalability to multiple CPUs? (And I'm talking LOTS of CPUs here. For example, I'm currently doing work for a grad class on an old CRAY T3E with 512 alpha PEs. Is anyone looking at taking the Linux kernal to that kind of level?)
Potentially Neverwinter Nights could be a good game to run. There's lots of educational angles that could be played on this like:
- Developing new modules
- Programming scripts
- New 3D skins and frames (art)
- Developing plots and story lines
- Roleplaying (acting)
Also, the department could develop some of its own modules that emphasize problem solving instead of just killing demons. I think this could be really cool. My high school region had a competition using the pen & paper Robotech RPG. I thought it was a great way to combine fun with problem solving. Neverwinter Nights could offer the same thing with a computer interface.
They're not competing, they're cooperating. Granted Caldera's Ransom Love doesn't play nice and probably won't ever understand open source software. But they're doing exactly what they should do, what open source is designed to do: cooperate and work on successful standards rather than duplicate work. These distros are finally picking up the LSB and implimenting. They're saving time and energy buy working together. It'll help standardize Linux which will help ISVs and marketing. RedHat is welcome to join. People blow this whole little distros vs. Red Hat thing WAY out of proportion.
What's more, these companies are far from 'dying.' Struggling at times? Yes, but they have a global market that you may not be aware of.
You don't get it at all. That's okay, since most people don't get it.
The software that will make up the United Linux base is and will be FREE software. That's free as in speech. United Linux will provide the source code. You can compile it. You can get your binaries.
What United Linux doesn't want people doing is taking the binaries (which may or may not compise a fully working distro), slapping them on a CD and market them as "United Linux". First off, that infringes on their trademark. Secondly, it causes confusion about support and service. If you want the free as in beer binaries, then download the.iso of one of the member distros. I'm sure eventually at least one UnitedLinux distro will provide free.iso's.
Remember, United Linux is not ONE distro, currently, it's FOUR all using the same base.
Yes, you could make your own United Linux compliant distro, however, unless you we willing to fork out the cash for the United Linux 'brand' name, you couldn't advertize under the name of or use the logo of United Linux. Does that help?
I'm not part of UnitedLinux, but this is my take:
UnitedLinux is a brand. It is a consortium of several companies, current Caldera, SuSE, Conectiva, and TurboLinux. These, and any other future member companies/organizations, will each produce their own distribution under the UnitedLinux brand, i.e.- there will be SuSE United Linux, and Conectiva United Linux, etc. All these UnitedLinux branded distros will adhere to a set of standards defined by United Linux (ie- the member distros). These standards will include the Linux Standard Base, kernel release, libraries, filesystem layout, etc. Each distro will then take this UnitedLinux base system and add their own specialties to it. The UnitedLinux base system alone (not SuSE United Linux, or Conectiva's United Linux, just the base) should be a properly working system, but without a lot of bells and whistles. Just the basic foundation for a distro. It will be distributed in source format at least. Because all these UnitedLinux member distros are based on the same core, applications should the same on any of them. This makes development easier since ISV's don't need to target four or five different distros. This is a good thing.
The resulting "aim" of UnitedLinux is then to provide a standard base that is really implemented by several major distributions. It's not necessarily to target RedHat. RedHat can join UnitedLinux, and they may, who knows? But the real purpose is to provide some standards across distros so that it's easier to develop for and consquently market Linux.
Sorry this is so long, but so many people seem to misunderstand UnitedLinux.
This has nothing to do with the UnitedLinux Group being 'divided.' If you would actually READ their website, you'd understand that they are still SEPERATE companies and will still have SEPERATE products each with their own licenses and 'added value' content. The amount of FUD being spread about this project before it even really starts simply amazes me. Can we at least wait until there is actually a product out before passing judgement? Most of the bad press has nothing to do with SuSE, TurboLinux, or Conectiva, but is instead based on Caldera's plans. Don't mix up Ransom Love's messed up business ideas for the UnitedLinux business plan. They're seperate.
Okay, maybe someone pointed this out already, but how is this divided? UnitedLinux is NOT ONE distribution. It's a standard base that several distros will be based on. Just because Caldera doesn't understand the market and wants to compete with Red Hat using per seat licenses doesn't mean that SuSE, TurboLinux, Conectiva, and any others who join in the future have to follow this madness. They will STILL be SEPERATE distributions each with their own licenses and quirks. They'll just have some common components that will allow interoperability. This wouldn't be news if so many people would just quit jumping to conclusions about this project before much information is available.
I've posted something like this before and maybe this time I'll get a response.
Unless I misunderstand, United Linux is not ONE distribution. SuSE, Caldera, TurboLinux, Conectiva, and any others that join in the future will all still have their own distibution that will display the UnitedLinux logo, meaning it is compliant and built upon the UnitedLinux core specifications. So wouldn't this mean that say, SuSE (or one of the others) could release their distro with free binaries, while Caldera wouldn't. I'm not clear on whether the restriction on free binary distribution is tied to the United Linux base, or to each of the individual distros. Potentially, we're all getting upset here just because Ransom Love of Caldera doesn't play nice.
In either case, I think the idea of moving towards supporting the LSB and other standards is a good thing.
This question (or ones like it) has come up many times. This isn't the first time something like this has been posted on Slashdot. I'm currently looking at doing something like this myself and I'm obviously not the only one. While that lays the ground for a good open source project (ie- a distro that is set up for something like this, or a project that easily combines several tools to do this kind of thing), what I think we really need is a good HOW-TO. Maybe there already is one or are several related HOW-TO about setting up this type of file access. There have already been a number of good suggestions posted here on Slashdot. We need to get these and others together and put into a HOWTO so that it's not a research project every time someone starts exploring this idea of distributed data and somehow consolidating the mess. (And no, I'm not volunteering yet since I haven't done this yet and currently don't have the resources. But if something doesn't happen in a while, maybe I will...). If you know of a HOWTO or other site that covers this info, you should post it somewhere here.
Maybe someone's already pointed this out and I missed it, but it's important to remember that according to the United Linux page, United Linux is not one single distribution. It's a 'standard' that several distributions will adhere to. Caldera, SuSE, Conectiva, and TurboLinux will all still have their own respective products. Consequently, AFAIK someone could put together a distribution that is compliant with United Linux and not have a per seat license. Of course to be able to put the United Linux compliant 'mark' on their distro they could need to fork out the cash and join the project, but they don't have to just to follow the standards.
IMHO the idea behind United Linux, that is distributions actually following the LSB and being compliant is a good thing. As Ransom Love pointed out "The nice thing about this is that we stop competing in areas where we have no differentiator anyway." There will always be and should always be choice and variety in the Linux community. However, a lack of standards, or I should say I lack of compliance with standards is what is holding Linux back in many markets.
That said, per-seat licenses are not a good thing and as someone pointed out, if Caldera thinks it can take on Red Hat with per seat licensing then they've got quite a lesson still to learn.
And finally, as for RMS, he's not saying anything new here and he's not trying to kill United Linux. For those who value freedom, the GPL is really the only choice, especially if the goal is creating a completely free system.
However, one thing to think about is that even if every bit of software were GPLed, Caldera could still put together a distribution that would also use some of their own non-free software. Consequently, the distro as a whole could be licensed under any scheme Caldera dreamed up despite all the other bundled GPL applications.
Taken from their FAQ: Will UnitedLinux break existing compatibility with hardware and software?
Caldera, Conectiva, SuSE, and Turbolinux will collaborate on the development of the UnitedLinux distribution in order to provide migration pathes from their former releases to UnitedLinux. However, each UnitedLinux partner will still have its own Linux distribution that is "Powered by UnitedLinux." Existing long-term relationships with leading hardware and software companies - as well as the current UnitedLinux partners - guarantee the compatibility of UnitedLinux with relevant business solutions. HW and SW manufacturers have the opportunity to join the alpha and beta test circles, thus reassuring in an early stage that UnitedLinux supports their products.
This is the closest thing I could find on the site that states how they plan to provide a "united" linux and still have seperate distributions. My first question is though, "why don't I see anything mentioned about the Linux Standard Base?" If United Linux doesn't support the LSB, then the LSB may never take off. The Linux community may miss a real chance at providing a true standard.
Also interesting is the part of the FAQ that invites Red Hat and Mandrake to be part of the United Linux party. I wonder how many other distros will join in on this?
Okay, so XML is still quite the buzzword, but that aside, it might be a nice format for storing mail. XML is very cross-platform and it would be easy to write a number of front ends that would access the XML files, which can be organized like a database. Plus, with proper parsing, you could just link to all your attachments, storing them elsewhere and allowing you to compress the XML which is all text. Has anyone every done something like this?
Slashdot Mirror
I'm not sure how many times this has already been posted, but isn't this pretty much the same idea as Neverwinter Nights? With NWN you can host your own 'module(s)' which are basically your own created world which you can DM or you can just let run off of scripts. Modules can be linked to each other, so eventually there could be 'persistant worlds' of modules linked together all over the internet.
Actually, the idea is basically just like the world wide web. Think of it, everyone has their own little site that is linked to lots of other sites creating a 'world.' Only now there games and applications like this one that do this in 3D instead of text.
Wow, I hope that trend does continue though--the 3D one that is. I'm not sure how my lynx browser would keep up!
I just wanted to second some of the thoughts brought up already. First off, as mentioned before, chosing your language before your tools is probably a BETTER idea. However, assuming your going to be working in several different languages, then here's some options:
1. Eclipse -- I would look at this one first. Still somewhat new on the block, it's probably got the most potential to it right now considering the community backing (not to mention IBM).
2. NetBeans (ie- Sun's Forte) Also very extensible, but you're going to be pulled more in a java direction with these tools. That may or may not be the right way to go.
3. Emacs -- After the initial investment of setting up your environment, emacs is a great tool to use. A huge user base, plenty of ability to extend. Runs of *nix, OS X, and Win32 (don't forget those cygwin tools though!).
Whatever tool you use, remember if you're taking advantage of the Open Source / Free Software tools available try to give something back. That's how these tool come into existance.
My BestBuy Pre-Order box says June 20th for the release date. Does anyone know how much documentation it's going to come with? I've looked at the beta and the scripting language is fairly complex.
And make sure you registar your LINUX copies so that BIOWARE knows that there are Linux gamers using this! The default assumption is that your purchase is for a Win32 platform.
This really isn't news. The product has been on the market for a really long time. I remember reading about it last year. ThinkGeek.com has had it for sale for months. Why do we always post such old news?
Well, enough trolling, I do have a legitimate question that perhaps a few here have resolved. I've looked into this and other devices as an easy way to carry around a lot of my work, since I tend to bounce from using a computer at home, at work, and on campus. I have control over the computers at work and home, but not on campus. From what I understand, you would need to load certain drivers or other software to get this device to work with Windows, which is what they have on campus (please correct me if I'm wrong). So, since I can't load the drivers, I wouldn't be able to access any of my stuff stored on the drive when I on campus, right? Is there a solution to this? How do some of you carry large amounts of data around (other than zip disks or burned CD-ROMS)?
Someone might have pointed this out already, and if, so please point me to the comment.
The biggest technical problem I see Linux having breaking into the enterprise market is scalability. Look at Solarius. It scales rather well. In fact, it scales very well. Linux on the other hand has issues with more than 8 or so processors. Sure we can cluster, but that's different. Does anyone have any word on the current condition of Linux kernal scalability to multiple CPUs? (And I'm talking LOTS of CPUs here. For example, I'm currently doing work for a grad class on an old CRAY T3E with 512 alpha PEs. Is anyone looking at taking the Linux kernal to that kind of level?)
Potentially Neverwinter Nights could be a good game to run. There's lots of educational angles that could be played on this like:
- Developing new modules
- Programming scripts
- New 3D skins and frames (art)
- Developing plots and story lines
- Roleplaying (acting)
Also, the department could develop some of its own modules that emphasize problem solving instead of just killing demons. I think this could be really cool. My high school region had a competition using the pen & paper Robotech RPG. I thought it was a great way to combine fun with problem solving. Neverwinter Nights could offer the same thing with a computer interface.
Wrong nail.
They're not competing, they're cooperating. Granted Caldera's Ransom Love doesn't play nice and probably won't ever understand open source software. But they're doing exactly what they should do, what open source is designed to do: cooperate and work on successful standards rather than duplicate work. These distros are finally picking up the LSB and implimenting. They're saving time and energy buy working together. It'll help standardize Linux which will help ISVs and marketing. RedHat is welcome to join. People blow this whole little distros vs. Red Hat thing WAY out of proportion.
What's more, these companies are far from 'dying.' Struggling at times? Yes, but they have a global market that you may not be aware of.
You don't get it at all. That's okay, since most people don't get it.
.iso of one of the member distros. I'm sure eventually at least one UnitedLinux distro will provide free .iso's.
The software that will make up the United Linux base is and will be FREE software. That's free as in speech. United Linux will provide the source code. You can compile it. You can get your binaries.
What United Linux doesn't want people doing is taking the binaries (which may or may not compise a fully working distro), slapping them on a CD and market them as "United Linux". First off, that infringes on their trademark. Secondly, it causes confusion about support and service. If you want the free as in beer binaries, then download the
Remember, United Linux is not ONE distro, currently, it's FOUR all using the same base.
Yes, you could make your own United Linux compliant distro, however, unless you we willing to fork out the cash for the United Linux 'brand' name, you couldn't advertize under the name of or use the logo of United Linux. Does that help?
I'm not part of UnitedLinux, but this is my take: UnitedLinux is a brand. It is a consortium of several companies, current Caldera, SuSE, Conectiva, and TurboLinux. These, and any other future member companies/organizations, will each produce their own distribution under the UnitedLinux brand, i.e.- there will be SuSE United Linux, and Conectiva United Linux, etc. All these UnitedLinux branded distros will adhere to a set of standards defined by United Linux (ie- the member distros). These standards will include the Linux Standard Base, kernel release, libraries, filesystem layout, etc. Each distro will then take this UnitedLinux base system and add their own specialties to it. The UnitedLinux base system alone (not SuSE United Linux, or Conectiva's United Linux, just the base) should be a properly working system, but without a lot of bells and whistles. Just the basic foundation for a distro. It will be distributed in source format at least. Because all these UnitedLinux member distros are based on the same core, applications should the same on any of them. This makes development easier since ISV's don't need to target four or five different distros. This is a good thing. The resulting "aim" of UnitedLinux is then to provide a standard base that is really implemented by several major distributions. It's not necessarily to target RedHat. RedHat can join UnitedLinux, and they may, who knows? But the real purpose is to provide some standards across distros so that it's easier to develop for and consquently market Linux. Sorry this is so long, but so many people seem to misunderstand UnitedLinux.
This has nothing to do with the UnitedLinux Group being 'divided.' If you would actually READ their website, you'd understand that they are still SEPERATE companies and will still have SEPERATE products each with their own licenses and 'added value' content. The amount of FUD being spread about this project before it even really starts simply amazes me. Can we at least wait until there is actually a product out before passing judgement? Most of the bad press has nothing to do with SuSE, TurboLinux, or Conectiva, but is instead based on Caldera's plans. Don't mix up Ransom Love's messed up business ideas for the UnitedLinux business plan. They're seperate.
Okay, maybe someone pointed this out already, but how is this divided? UnitedLinux is NOT ONE distribution. It's a standard base that several distros will be based on. Just because Caldera doesn't understand the market and wants to compete with Red Hat using per seat licenses doesn't mean that SuSE, TurboLinux, Conectiva, and any others who join in the future have to follow this madness. They will STILL be SEPERATE distributions each with their own licenses and quirks. They'll just have some common components that will allow interoperability. This wouldn't be news if so many people would just quit jumping to conclusions about this project before much information is available.
I've posted something like this before and maybe this time I'll get a response.
Unless I misunderstand, United Linux is not ONE distribution. SuSE, Caldera, TurboLinux, Conectiva, and any others that join in the future will all still have their own distibution that will display the UnitedLinux logo, meaning it is compliant and built upon the UnitedLinux core specifications. So wouldn't this mean that say, SuSE (or one of the others) could release their distro with free binaries, while Caldera wouldn't. I'm not clear on whether the restriction on free binary distribution is tied to the United Linux base, or to each of the individual distros. Potentially, we're all getting upset here just because Ransom Love of Caldera doesn't play nice.
In either case, I think the idea of moving towards supporting the LSB and other standards is a good thing.
This question (or ones like it) has come up many times. This isn't the first time something like this has been posted on Slashdot. I'm currently looking at doing something like this myself and I'm obviously not the only one. While that lays the ground for a good open source project (ie- a distro that is set up for something like this, or a project that easily combines several tools to do this kind of thing), what I think we really need is a good HOW-TO. Maybe there already is one or are several related HOW-TO about setting up this type of file access. There have already been a number of good suggestions posted here on Slashdot. We need to get these and others together and put into a HOWTO so that it's not a research project every time someone starts exploring this idea of distributed data and somehow consolidating the mess. (And no, I'm not volunteering yet since I haven't done this yet and currently don't have the resources. But if something doesn't happen in a while, maybe I will...). If you know of a HOWTO or other site that covers this info, you should post it somewhere here.
Maybe someone's already pointed this out and I missed it, but it's important to remember that according to the United Linux page, United Linux is not one single distribution. It's a 'standard' that several distributions will adhere to. Caldera, SuSE, Conectiva, and TurboLinux will all still have their own respective products. Consequently, AFAIK someone could put together a distribution that is compliant with United Linux and not have a per seat license. Of course to be able to put the United Linux compliant 'mark' on their distro they could need to fork out the cash and join the project, but they don't have to just to follow the standards.
IMHO the idea behind United Linux, that is distributions actually following the LSB and being compliant is a good thing. As Ransom Love pointed out "The nice thing about this is that we stop competing in areas where we have no differentiator anyway." There will always be and should always be choice and variety in the Linux community. However, a lack of standards, or I should say I lack of compliance with standards is what is holding Linux back in many markets.
That said, per-seat licenses are not a good thing and as someone pointed out, if Caldera thinks it can take on Red Hat with per seat licensing then they've got quite a lesson still to learn.
And finally, as for RMS, he's not saying anything new here and he's not trying to kill United Linux. For those who value freedom, the GPL is really the only choice, especially if the goal is creating a completely free system.
However, one thing to think about is that even if every bit of software were GPLed, Caldera could still put together a distribution that would also use some of their own non-free software. Consequently, the distro as a whole could be licensed under any scheme Caldera dreamed up despite all the other bundled GPL applications.
Anyone notice that Gnome isn't listed on the Main Components, but KDE is?
* Kernel 2.4.18 or higher
* glibc 2.2.5
* gcc 3.1
* XFree86 4.2
* KDE 3.0
* Acrobat Reader
Taken from their FAQ:
Will UnitedLinux break existing compatibility with hardware and software?
Caldera, Conectiva, SuSE, and Turbolinux will collaborate on the development of the UnitedLinux distribution in order to provide migration pathes from their former releases to UnitedLinux. However, each UnitedLinux partner will still have its own Linux distribution that is "Powered by UnitedLinux." Existing long-term relationships with leading hardware and software companies - as well as the current UnitedLinux partners - guarantee the compatibility of UnitedLinux with relevant business solutions. HW and SW manufacturers have the opportunity to join the alpha and beta test circles, thus reassuring in an early stage that UnitedLinux supports their products.
This is the closest thing I could find on the site that states how they plan to provide a "united" linux and still have seperate distributions. My first question is though, "why don't I see anything mentioned about the Linux Standard Base?" If United Linux doesn't support the LSB, then the LSB may never take off. The Linux community may miss a real chance at providing a true standard. Also interesting is the part of the FAQ that invites Red Hat and Mandrake to be part of the United Linux party. I wonder how many other distros will join in on this?
Okay, so XML is still quite the buzzword, but that aside, it might be a nice format for storing mail. XML is very cross-platform and it would be easy to write a number of front ends that would access the XML files, which can be organized like a database. Plus, with proper parsing, you could just link to all your attachments, storing them elsewhere and allowing you to compress the XML which is all text. Has anyone every done something like this?