He avoids non-free software, he encourages others to do the same, and he supports those who do the best job of it.
It seems much more like "he encourages others to do the same, and if they don't he damns them to hell". There doesn't really seem to be much middle ground with him. I suppose he's like George Bush... You're either with us, or against us.
Semantics. Either way, a lot of Commercial software is in fact proprietary, especially the important/useful commercial software.
The real point of that was to say that software that RMS disagrees with and feels destroy's peoples "rights" to software, is software that could be used in linux to allow greater compatibility to the current market and environment.
For example: RealPlayer and its formats is certainly an asset, lobbying RealNetworks to "free" their software so that its acceptable by RMS as a condition to having it included in a desktop distribution is ridiculous. Not only because that is extreme, but I'm sure it would be just as useful and hardly noticed by most of the users who care.
Something a little more obscure: ATRAC developed by Sony. There is no support for it for linux, and thus nobody who owns a MiniDisc player can use theirs with Linux. Why is this? Because it is proprietary software. This format will never (as far as I see it) be opened or made "Free", however I would guarantee that any MD user that also uses linux would be more than happy to see this format working in linux.
The recent discovery that his servers had been breached and modified recently is perfect proof that certain things need to be protected and *closed*, and that decision is at the discretion of the maker.
Though my haphazard arguments may have holes, his hypocrisy and contradictory habits do not.
You may be right, but does it fully respect the merciless freedom he fights for? No, so how can he sleep at night using such a sinful package of software.
The point is that he speaks for certain "values" that he himself does not uphold. He expects certain things of others that make him a hypocrit.
He is one big mass of contradiction and is quite frankly annoying.
For someone who gives up jobs because they wanted him to use proprietary software/sign an NDA, he sure didn't see the fact that Debian wasn't "free" as a reason to not use it. Nor did he see it as a reason to strip it off his computer when LinEx was released. Isn't Hurd in development? If his "free" software is so superior to "non-free", shouldn't he be running THAT?
And contrary to what he said in my quote, he DOES have a link to Debian on gnu.org. So I think RMS is a wholly confused and messed up individual who says and does completely contradictory things.
"Debian is not free, so we do not like mentioning it or linking to it" > "I use debian on my laptop currently" > link to debian from gnu.org
*sigh* I can't beleive people still support this buffoon.
it might be possible for a network admin (who controls group membership) to keep local users from making changes to a local machine they should be allowed to control.
I don't know, but last time I checked it was up to the NETWORK ADMIN as to who can make what changes and what things they control.
By that token, chroot, chmod and more are not "free" because that allows the ADMIN to *wrench* control that apparantly users should have the *RIGHT* to have.
whatever, sysadminning is a dictatorship, if the users don't like it then they can eat it.
"...Your last statement implies that "free" software might be the only thing RMS ever uses. I think it is quite safe to say it is the only thing RMS uses. He is quite the zealot, he not only started Gnu/FSF, but gave up his employment at the time due to his refusal to sign NDA's and use proprietary software..."
Sorry, but apparantly he uses Debian which apparantly is evil Anti-FSF. According to his interview: "The Debian web site describes non-free programs, and their ftp server distributes them. That's why we don't have links to their site on www.gnu.org"
This may have nothing to do with price, I can agree with that. But not EVERYTHING should be "free". There are several good reasons to develop non-free software. For example, control over development and security (on various levels).
I'm all for free software, but not everyone can live with one man's ideals. To refuse to coexist is purely ignorant and will very likely be what keeps FSF down.
Commercial software makes complete sense, and should at the very least be ACCEPTED by the linux community. Until it is, the only people to use linux will be people who want to spend lots of time learning the Operating System, manoevring through newsgroups, search engines and irc channels for half-decent support. And none depending on the popularity of the software/device that isn't working.
To make linux accepted by the general public it has to be usable. Currently it is barely that, and without commercial contribution of the closed software to linux, there will be many problems. Realplayer and Shockwave being prime examples being used by the interviewer.
RMS's answer of "lobby them until they make it free" is COMPLETELY retarded.
Get a clue, the world can't work on one end of the spectrum. It may be cliche, but you cannot have good without evil, and if you cannot embrace this then there is much to learn.
I think that the things that RMS says and does contradict a lot of what he stands for. If you wish to provide software that is open and free completely so that others may use and abuse this software in virtually any way conceivable, you should be willing to accept that people are really going to do it.
Its like the US Army. They fight for freedom, and one of those freedoms is to dislike USA. They may or may not like it, but by fighting to allow people to feel they way they want to feel, to experience "freedom", is to accept the fact that some people will use this "freedom" to do things that the fighters disagree with, but are not necessarily wrong.
Free really is free, and if you want to promote it, you shouldn't be prejudiced against those that take it at face value and use it to its fullest.
I think its pretty funny that he was speaking out against debian in one of his answers, then revealed that he himself uses debian followed by a convenient excuse as to why he doesn't use GNU/LinEx (The availability of GNU/LinEx is a recent development). I know that if I was a FSF zealot I would not be using a system that I do not agree with.
I also don't see why RMS felt it necessary to point out that Ximian has a product that is "non-free". There was no place in the discussion to bring u and deliberately put down Ximian the way he did.
RMS is hypocritical and I think he is just as bad as everyone he speaks so harshly about. Using Debian because there is no "free" alternative is no excuse, at least according to him. And that is only a fraction.
Anyway, this is just my annoyed 2c after reading his interview (and the one linked off of it).
I fully agree. Users can't be expected to understand everything that goes on when it comes to computers and can easily be confused/misinformed.
I think another point that has been missed is, through internet advertising the vehicle the ads are being transferred to you isn't merely just some random static billboard on the side of the highway. Those ads are costing you money as they use your internet connection and computer resources as a vehicle to display the ad. It would almost be like you not only see the billboard in the middle of the road stating that "Your wheels are loose, come here to get them fixed", but you also get a bill in the mail because the billboard has a little camera that snaps your plates and you have to pay some minor fee per billboard viewing that was forced upon you.
I fully agree with this lawsuit, popup ads are sneaky to begin with, but ones that imitate system messages to fool users into clicking the ads are just plain stupid.
Its kind of sad that Microsoft bothers with lobbying these types of things, even with a law that states consideration is mandatory, that doesn't mean they wont still go the way of the higher cost.
You need to keep in mind, you are given budgets for things, if you do not spend the money in the budget it looks like you don't need all that money. As much as that makes sense and is true, departments that don't spend the full budget lose that extra money. So they find ways to spend the leftover cash.
I think its silly that they bothered to instate such a pointless law, all they have to do is say "Yea, we considered it BUT we're still going Microsoft". That will just feed MS adverts "We were chosen even when they were forced to consider open source!"
No matter what they spend the money on, the money is still going to them. Gov't knows how to spend their budgets;)
Sometimes I see duplicate stories on Slashdot. What's up with that? These are just mistakes on the part of the staff. They happen. We have posted over ten thousand stories in our history. The occasional duplicate is inevitable. If you see a duplicate, you can mail the story's author. If the story is still quiet, we may pull it down. However, once the comments are rolling in, we often leave the story up so that the discussion can continue.
Some people have suggested that there might be a software solution to this problem. If you think you've got one, visit the Slashcode site and submit a diff. As long as it isn't a performance hit, I'd consider using it. (Be aware however that the trick of searching for duplicate URLs isn't as helpful as you might think, since the same story can appear in multiple locations.)
Didn't get first post this time eh? SUCKER!!
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Re:where this will be really used....
on
Paper Mounted CPUs
·
· Score: 1
Too bad part of the core function of tracking would be some sort of a system for broadcasting the presence of the bills. The range for the antenna is so low that that would be completely pointless.
Besides, they are already tracking american bills without the use of this antenna/circuit-on-paper technology.
So conspiracy-paranoid people don't need to worry about this technology, since they're already being tracked, its useless!
Why do the majority of web sites run on Apache when Microsoft IIS is free??? (Okay, you need a license for the underlying Windows OS, admittedly.)
Also, you may wish to note that Apache is also available for Windows operating systems, and I'm fairly sure there are a large number of folks that do use this configuration. (Common OS interface, better-than-IIS web server).
JV: But you've already got a DVD. It lasts forever. It never wears out. In the digital world, we don't need back-ups, because a digital copy never wears out. It is timeless."
I'm sure all you slashdotters read the article a few days ago noting the decay of the DVD media. I think Jack Valenti needs to keep up with the times and realise that backups are important.
This guy seems like he's very technically illiterate, and is making stuff up as he goes (in his favor!).
Slashdot Mirror
He avoids non-free software, he encourages others to do the same, and he supports those who do the best job of it. It seems much more like "he encourages others to do the same, and if they don't he damns them to hell". There doesn't really seem to be much middle ground with him. I suppose he's like George Bush... You're either with us, or against us.
Semantics. Either way, a lot of Commercial software is in fact proprietary, especially the important/useful commercial software.
The real point of that was to say that software that RMS disagrees with and feels destroy's peoples "rights" to software, is software that could be used in linux to allow greater compatibility to the current market and environment.
For example: RealPlayer and its formats is certainly an asset, lobbying RealNetworks to "free" their software so that its acceptable by RMS as a condition to having it included in a desktop distribution is ridiculous. Not only because that is extreme, but I'm sure it would be just as useful and hardly noticed by most of the users who care.
Something a little more obscure: ATRAC developed by Sony. There is no support for it for linux, and thus nobody who owns a MiniDisc player can use theirs with Linux. Why is this? Because it is proprietary software. This format will never (as far as I see it) be opened or made "Free", however I would guarantee that any MD user that also uses linux would be more than happy to see this format working in linux.
The recent discovery that his servers had been breached and modified recently is perfect proof that certain things need to be protected and *closed*, and that decision is at the discretion of the maker.
Though my haphazard arguments may have holes, his hypocrisy and contradictory habits do not.
You may be right, but does it fully respect the merciless freedom he fights for? No, so how can he sleep at night using such a sinful package of software.
The point is that he speaks for certain "values" that he himself does not uphold. He expects certain things of others that make him a hypocrit.
He is one big mass of contradiction and is quite frankly annoying.
For someone who gives up jobs because they wanted him to use proprietary software/sign an NDA, he sure didn't see the fact that Debian wasn't "free" as a reason to not use it. Nor did he see it as a reason to strip it off his computer when LinEx was released. Isn't Hurd in development? If his "free" software is so superior to "non-free", shouldn't he be running THAT?
And contrary to what he said in my quote, he DOES have a link to Debian on gnu.org. So I think RMS is a wholly confused and messed up individual who says and does completely contradictory things.
"Debian is not free, so we do not like mentioning it or linking to it" > "I use debian on my laptop currently" > link to debian from gnu.org
*sigh* I can't beleive people still support this buffoon.
By that token, chroot, chmod and more are not "free" because that allows the ADMIN to *wrench* control that apparantly users should have the *RIGHT* to have.
whatever, sysadminning is a dictatorship, if the users don't like it then they can eat it.
Sorry, but apparantly he uses Debian which apparantly is evil Anti-FSF. According to his interview: "The Debian web site describes non-free programs, and their ftp server distributes them. That's why we don't have links to their site on www.gnu.org"
Poor RMS, a loser at his own game.
This may have nothing to do with price, I can agree with that. But not EVERYTHING should be "free". There are several good reasons to develop non-free software. For example, control over development and security (on various levels).
I'm all for free software, but not everyone can live with one man's ideals. To refuse to coexist is purely ignorant and will very likely be what keeps FSF down.
Commercial software makes complete sense, and should at the very least be ACCEPTED by the linux community. Until it is, the only people to use linux will be people who want to spend lots of time learning the Operating System, manoevring through newsgroups, search engines and irc channels for half-decent support. And none depending on the popularity of the software/device that isn't working.
To make linux accepted by the general public it has to be usable. Currently it is barely that, and without commercial contribution of the closed software to linux, there will be many problems. Realplayer and Shockwave being prime examples being used by the interviewer.
RMS's answer of "lobby them until they make it free" is COMPLETELY retarded.
Get a clue, the world can't work on one end of the spectrum. It may be cliche, but you cannot have good without evil, and if you cannot embrace this then there is much to learn.
I think that the things that RMS says and does contradict a lot of what he stands for. If you wish to provide software that is open and free completely so that others may use and abuse this software in virtually any way conceivable, you should be willing to accept that people are really going to do it. Its like the US Army. They fight for freedom, and one of those freedoms is to dislike USA. They may or may not like it, but by fighting to allow people to feel they way they want to feel, to experience "freedom", is to accept the fact that some people will use this "freedom" to do things that the fighters disagree with, but are not necessarily wrong. Free really is free, and if you want to promote it, you shouldn't be prejudiced against those that take it at face value and use it to its fullest. I think its pretty funny that he was speaking out against debian in one of his answers, then revealed that he himself uses debian followed by a convenient excuse as to why he doesn't use GNU/LinEx (The availability of GNU/LinEx is a recent development). I know that if I was a FSF zealot I would not be using a system that I do not agree with. I also don't see why RMS felt it necessary to point out that Ximian has a product that is "non-free". There was no place in the discussion to bring u and deliberately put down Ximian the way he did. RMS is hypocritical and I think he is just as bad as everyone he speaks so harshly about. Using Debian because there is no "free" alternative is no excuse, at least according to him. And that is only a fraction. Anyway, this is just my annoyed 2c after reading his interview (and the one linked off of it).
I fully agree. Users can't be expected to understand everything that goes on when it comes to computers and can easily be confused/misinformed.
I think another point that has been missed is, through internet advertising the vehicle the ads are being transferred to you isn't merely just some random static billboard on the side of the highway. Those ads are costing you money as they use your internet connection and computer resources as a vehicle to display the ad. It would almost be like you not only see the billboard in the middle of the road stating that "Your wheels are loose, come here to get them fixed", but you also get a bill in the mail because the billboard has a little camera that snaps your plates and you have to pay some minor fee per billboard viewing that was forced upon you.
I fully agree with this lawsuit, popup ads are sneaky to begin with, but ones that imitate system messages to fool users into clicking the ads are just plain stupid.
Its kind of sad that Microsoft bothers with lobbying these types of things, even with a law that states consideration is mandatory, that doesn't mean they wont still go the way of the higher cost. You need to keep in mind, you are given budgets for things, if you do not spend the money in the budget it looks like you don't need all that money. As much as that makes sense and is true, departments that don't spend the full budget lose that extra money. So they find ways to spend the leftover cash. I think its silly that they bothered to instate such a pointless law, all they have to do is say "Yea, we considered it BUT we're still going Microsoft". That will just feed MS adverts "We were chosen even when they were forced to consider open source!" No matter what they spend the money on, the money is still going to them. Gov't knows how to spend their budgets ;)
There's your answer.
Didn't get first post this time eh? SUCKER!! Important Stuff: Please try to keep posts on topic. Try to reply to other people's comments instead of starting new threads. Read other people's messages before posting your own to avoid simply duplicating what has already been said. Use a clear subject that describes what your message is about. Offtopic, Inflammatory, Inappropriate, Illegal, or Offensive comments might be moderated. (You can read everything, even moderated posts, by adjusting your threshold on the User Preferences Page)
Besides, they are already tracking american bills without the use of this antenna/circuit-on-paper technology.
So conspiracy-paranoid people don't need to worry about this technology, since they're already being tracked, its useless!
Also, you may wish to note that Apache is also available for Windows operating systems, and I'm fairly sure there are a large number of folks that do use this configuration. (Common OS interface, better-than-IIS web server).
I'm sure all you slashdotters read the article a few days ago noting the decay of the DVD media. I think Jack Valenti needs to keep up with the times and realise that backups are important.
This guy seems like he's very technically illiterate, and is making stuff up as he goes (in his favor!).