What about this article by RMS on the FSF website: The GNU GPL and the American Way. I know that the article is by RMS, but it reflects the official views of FSF.
The Free Software Movement was founded in 1984, but its inspiration comes from the ideals of 1776: freedom, community, and voluntary cooperation. This is what leads to free enterprise, to free speech, and to free software.
Patriotism is something that's been stirred into most Americans lately, and with good reason. An organization frequently reflects the views of the individuals from which it is composed, so don't fault Microsoft for being patriotic unless you're willing to fault the individuals therein.
If you carry a cell phone, you've added flexibility -- you can turn it off, you can not answer it, you can answer it, you can make calls. Without it, you can't do those things. I like to leave my options open, so I carry a cell phone near me all the time (pocket/desk/car).
Cell phones are no longer status symbols. I don't know where you live, but in any reasonably well populated area, especially cities, cell phones went out of style as a status symbol years ago. Pagers years before that. Virtually everyone I know has a cell phone now, whether they use it or not. Vaccuum cleaners and microwave ovens used to be status symbols, too.
Actually, I find this quite amusing. Usually, I'm the one that's knocking Linux zealots, but now I'm being accused of one.:) I, too, share the opinion that it's great for certain projects, but isn't ready to replace serious Unix machines and Windows desktops in many situations. Every one of my machines run Windows.
I didn't mention Linux in my article. I certainly think that the $19k HP machines are worth their pricetag. We both understand that $3k machines can't do the work of $19k machines (I have plenty of experience in the real world -- trust me). So how did $19k machines get replaced by $3k machines in just two years? I'm very skeptical of that. Either the new guy is underestimating the needs of the developers and isn't providing them with what they need or the old guy spent way too much money on machines that weren't being fully utilized, probably a victim of the go-go bubbling economy. Sorry if my post was unclear.
I have Windows Media Player v. 8.00.00.4477 installed on Windows XP Professional and when I try to copy music from a CD to WMA files, without ever having changed any options, it gives me a big warning in the middle of the screen:
Copy music protection
Windows Media Player is currently configured to protect content that is copied from a CD to your computer from unauthorized use. Protected content copied from CDs cannot be played on any other computer.
[ ] Do not protect content
I understand that by selecting this check box, I am turning off security feature for content that I copy from CDs to my computer.
I also understand that the content is protected by law, including U.S. and International copyright laws, and that I am solely responsible for appropriate use of the content.
Maybe the warning is only on my version of the software, but this seems pretty brainless to me.
To me, that suggests that somebody made a really stupid decision to buy $22k machines in the first place. So $3k machines isn't saving them $6M dollars... it's that they should have saved $6M in the first place by not buying such expensive machines in the first place. On top of that, if they're going to replace them, they're probably obsolete. This guy doesn't deserve a promotion for doing this job -- someone else needs to be fired.
Why? It's an easy to use program that the user had available to him. It worked as advertised. Just because he didn't RTFM, doesn't mean that it's the application's fault. If you want to criticize WMP for implementing DRM or using WMA for encoding, that's a different matter.
Well, most non-compete documents indicate that anything invented during their time belongs to them. This means inventions, innovations, or copywritten works that are done with corporate resources, including corporate time. If he went home, developed it at home, and could prove that he only worked at home, I think he'd have no problem. It's not clear to me whether or not he sat at his desk daydreaming about his solution, though burden of proof would suggest to me that Alcatel thinks so. It's hard to say.
That's not a special effect, that's raw CG. You know it's CG when you watch it. It's not designed to make you think that it's something else in reality.
I totally agree with you. You can't just look at the bottom line cost in dollars. If the SGI has better tools and can save the artist's time, it's worth a certain premium (depends on how valuable the artist's time i). TCO includes ALL kinds of costs, not just monetary: cost of budget, schedule, administration, learning curve, personnel training, etc. If you can save 50 hours of artist's time at $100/hour, you saved $5,000, which could justify the extra cost of the SGI machine vs a Linux machine. Not only that, but you've left yourself room for error and revision.
Actually, the 325iX cost $30k when new. That's still only ~26% of the original price. I think the Porsche example is an exception... they've always held their value pretty well.
If you bought a 1990 Honda Accord at the same time, you'd see about the same sort of depreciation in price. An Accord EX goes for maybe $4k these days (Edmunds reports $3,673 for private sale and $5,264 while eBay completed auctions suggest something lower than that). It cost about $17k new. Even at the $4k mark, it depreciated faster than the 325iX example. There are lots of examples, so it's hard to say for sure, but the Honda CRX Si depreciated more slowly and is still worth about a third of the original price.
These are actually my complaints exactly about IE! I hate having to clear the cache to view the source... it also takes several minutes to complete. And that annoying delay while a pop-up or new window gets processed. However, IE6 for me has been rock solid and I've had maybe a small handful of crashes since the beginning of the year when I switched over. I do a lot of development work and a lot of browsing on it, too.
Excellent insight... I find that many users have problems when the interface changes, even though it's something trivial. They're used to something and when things look different one day, they have to unlearn what they already learned and learn it again. For people that are good with computers, this happens in minutes. For people that aren't, it can take weeks. This puts Mozilla in a tough situation, but until Linux and open source software as a package gains greater acceptance, it will continue to be an uphill fight.
There's no point in using a standards-compliant browser while non-standards-compliant webpages are still being generated. People find websites broken all the time when using Mozilla, Opera, or some other browser, and find that the site becomes unusuable. I have never found a site that I couldn't read with IE. I'd rather deal with whatever implications you can think of for using a non-standards browser than use one that is standards compliant, but can't read a number of websites.
I can understand your desire to not have to jump through hoops to get to what you want to read. But sometimes, it's worth doing because the return is greater than the cost. So just use one of the pre-created Slashdot logins or just make a fake one yourself. Once you do it and save the cookie, they'll never ask you again.
If you read the article, you'd know: they can't put power right back into the third rail because the resistance of the rail is too high. And they can't put it into batteries because there aren't batteries big enough to solve the problem. So they use a flywheel.
Please read the article before posting, next time.
Nope, you're not a freak at all. Different people have different sensitivities to different kinds of sounds. If you can't hear the difference between CDs, MP3s, and the radio station, then it's all good... you're saving yourself quite a bit of money, time, and frustration. It took me a while to be able to tell the difference between CDs and radio, but now I can pick it out like black and white. A good mp3 sounds indistinguishable to me in most situations.
Part of good listening is good equipment. Most people have a hard time justifying a $2,000 pair of speakers. But, as the saying goes, most people have never really heard a $2,000 system. It's hard to give up when you've been exposed to it.
Get a pair of reference headphones. A $200 pair of headphones will probably sound better than most $2,000 speakers except bass will be lacking. The problem with speakers is that you end up with problems setting up the room properly. You have to be in the right place, facing the right direction, and have all ambient noise turned way down. I love listening to speakers, but when it comes down to only listening for the sake of listening, headphones are the way to go.
I believe your problems, but if you're implying that MS is blocking Google, that's flat out wrong. Installing MSN sets up all kinds of MSN-centric services, but it's not going to stop Google. Can you imagine the PR fallout if that ever happened? No company would ever do that. Not even Microsoft.
People aren't trying to tiptoe across your lawn. They're trying to burn your house down. Every single competitor is trying to take you out of the market and if you're merely content with where you are, you're gonna get broadsided. Guaranteed.
Though SSH is clearly faster, TS is remarkably fast considering all the interface that needs to be displayed. Every copy of Windows 2000 (Professional or Server) includes a license for 2 connections for remote administration -- licensing for its use as an application server is different and costs a lot more money.
Windows 2000 can be just as secure and just as stable as Linux. It also runs just fine on my Pentium II 300. If it works easier for you, that's a much better reason to use it than the other reasons that you stated.
That's exactly the point. Microsoft is just trying to make it clear that free software doesn't mean that you get something for nothing. They're not saying that the Microsoft stuff is any better. They're just saying that the GPL stuff isn't.
Which article did you read? There are two articles linked in the Slashdot blurb. The first article links to the original announcement of the discovery dated June 7, 1999. In that article, there's a link to the retraction, dated July 27, 2001. Today, July 15, 2002, there's an article reporting that the original discovery wasn't a discovery at all. It was fabricated data and the announcement was intentionally done based on fake information. That is fraud. That's a trust issue.
Had the original announcement was a discovery that they believed was based on real, bona fide data, that would be different -- just part of the normal scientific discovery process.
Those people do far more to harm the newbie Linux community than anyone else, since they waste the time of people who could be helping with genuine problems...
No, I disagree. If you ignore and piss off one newbie, you lose one Linux user. If you teach one newbie, he can educate a hundred others.
Slashdot Mirror
If you carry a cell phone, you've added flexibility -- you can turn it off, you can not answer it, you can answer it, you can make calls. Without it, you can't do those things. I like to leave my options open, so I carry a cell phone near me all the time (pocket/desk/car).
Cell phones are no longer status symbols. I don't know where you live, but in any reasonably well populated area, especially cities, cell phones went out of style as a status symbol years ago. Pagers years before that. Virtually everyone I know has a cell phone now, whether they use it or not. Vaccuum cleaners and microwave ovens used to be status symbols, too.
Actually, I find this quite amusing. Usually, I'm the one that's knocking Linux zealots, but now I'm being accused of one. :) I, too, share the opinion that it's great for certain projects, but isn't ready to replace serious Unix machines and Windows desktops in many situations. Every one of my machines run Windows.
I didn't mention Linux in my article. I certainly think that the $19k HP machines are worth their pricetag. We both understand that $3k machines can't do the work of $19k machines (I have plenty of experience in the real world -- trust me). So how did $19k machines get replaced by $3k machines in just two years? I'm very skeptical of that. Either the new guy is underestimating the needs of the developers and isn't providing them with what they need or the old guy spent way too much money on machines that weren't being fully utilized, probably a victim of the go-go bubbling economy. Sorry if my post was unclear.
Maybe the warning is only on my version of the software, but this seems pretty brainless to me.
To me, that suggests that somebody made a really stupid decision to buy $22k machines in the first place. So $3k machines isn't saving them $6M dollars ... it's that they should have saved $6M in the first place by not buying such expensive machines in the first place. On top of that, if they're going to replace them, they're probably obsolete. This guy doesn't deserve a promotion for doing this job -- someone else needs to be fired.
Well, most non-compete documents indicate that anything invented during their time belongs to them. This means inventions, innovations, or copywritten works that are done with corporate resources, including corporate time. If he went home, developed it at home, and could prove that he only worked at home, I think he'd have no problem. It's not clear to me whether or not he sat at his desk daydreaming about his solution, though burden of proof would suggest to me that Alcatel thinks so. It's hard to say.
Check out these high-quality shots:
http://www.feldoncentral.com/hdtv/
There are lots of great examples. It's just a still picture -- true video, of course, will be much nicer.
That's not a special effect, that's raw CG. You know it's CG when you watch it. It's not designed to make you think that it's something else in reality.
I totally agree with you. You can't just look at the bottom line cost in dollars. If the SGI has better tools and can save the artist's time, it's worth a certain premium (depends on how valuable the artist's time i). TCO includes ALL kinds of costs, not just monetary: cost of budget, schedule, administration, learning curve, personnel training, etc. If you can save 50 hours of artist's time at $100/hour, you saved $5,000, which could justify the extra cost of the SGI machine vs a Linux machine. Not only that, but you've left yourself room for error and revision.
Actually, the 325iX cost $30k when new. That's still only ~26% of the original price. I think the Porsche example is an exception ... they've always held their value pretty well.
If you bought a 1990 Honda Accord at the same time, you'd see about the same sort of depreciation in price. An Accord EX goes for maybe $4k these days (Edmunds reports $3,673 for private sale and $5,264 while eBay completed auctions suggest something lower than that). It cost about $17k new. Even at the $4k mark, it depreciated faster than the 325iX example. There are lots of examples, so it's hard to say for sure, but the Honda CRX Si depreciated more slowly and is still worth about a third of the original price.
Thank for the input; I'll give it a shot sometime soon.
These are actually my complaints exactly about IE! I hate having to clear the cache to view the source ... it also takes several minutes to complete. And that annoying delay while a pop-up or new window gets processed. However, IE6 for me has been rock solid and I've had maybe a small handful of crashes since the beginning of the year when I switched over. I do a lot of development work and a lot of browsing on it, too.
Excellent insight ... I find that many users have problems when the interface changes, even though it's something trivial. They're used to something and when things look different one day, they have to unlearn what they already learned and learn it again. For people that are good with computers, this happens in minutes. For people that aren't, it can take weeks. This puts Mozilla in a tough situation, but until Linux and open source software as a package gains greater acceptance, it will continue to be an uphill fight.
There's no point in using a standards-compliant browser while non-standards-compliant webpages are still being generated. People find websites broken all the time when using Mozilla, Opera, or some other browser, and find that the site becomes unusuable. I have never found a site that I couldn't read with IE. I'd rather deal with whatever implications you can think of for using a non-standards browser than use one that is standards compliant, but can't read a number of websites.
I can understand your desire to not have to jump through hoops to get to what you want to read. But sometimes, it's worth doing because the return is greater than the cost. So just use one of the pre-created Slashdot logins or just make a fake one yourself. Once you do it and save the cookie, they'll never ask you again.
If you read the article, you'd know: they can't put power right back into the third rail because the resistance of the rail is too high. And they can't put it into batteries because there aren't batteries big enough to solve the problem. So they use a flywheel.
Please read the article before posting, next time.
Nope, you're not a freak at all. Different people have different sensitivities to different kinds of sounds. If you can't hear the difference between CDs, MP3s, and the radio station, then it's all good ... you're saving yourself quite a bit of money, time, and frustration. It took me a while to be able to tell the difference between CDs and radio, but now I can pick it out like black and white. A good mp3 sounds indistinguishable to me in most situations.
Part of good listening is good equipment. Most people have a hard time justifying a $2,000 pair of speakers. But, as the saying goes, most people have never really heard a $2,000 system. It's hard to give up when you've been exposed to it.
Get a pair of reference headphones. A $200 pair of headphones will probably sound better than most $2,000 speakers except bass will be lacking. The problem with speakers is that you end up with problems setting up the room properly. You have to be in the right place, facing the right direction, and have all ambient noise turned way down. I love listening to speakers, but when it comes down to only listening for the sake of listening, headphones are the way to go.
I believe your problems, but if you're implying that MS is blocking Google, that's flat out wrong. Installing MSN sets up all kinds of MSN-centric services, but it's not going to stop Google. Can you imagine the PR fallout if that ever happened? No company would ever do that. Not even Microsoft.
People aren't trying to tiptoe across your lawn. They're trying to burn your house down. Every single competitor is trying to take you out of the market and if you're merely content with where you are, you're gonna get broadsided. Guaranteed.
Though SSH is clearly faster, TS is remarkably fast considering all the interface that needs to be displayed. Every copy of Windows 2000 (Professional or Server) includes a license for 2 connections for remote administration -- licensing for its use as an application server is different and costs a lot more money.
Windows 2000 can be just as secure and just as stable as Linux. It also runs just fine on my Pentium II 300. If it works easier for you, that's a much better reason to use it than the other reasons that you stated.
That's exactly the point. Microsoft is just trying to make it clear that free software doesn't mean that you get something for nothing. They're not saying that the Microsoft stuff is any better. They're just saying that the GPL stuff isn't.
Which article did you read? There are two articles linked in the Slashdot blurb. The first article links to the original announcement of the discovery dated June 7, 1999. In that article, there's a link to the retraction, dated July 27, 2001. Today, July 15, 2002, there's an article reporting that the original discovery wasn't a discovery at all. It was fabricated data and the announcement was intentionally done based on fake information. That is fraud. That's a trust issue.
Had the original announcement was a discovery that they believed was based on real, bona fide data, that would be different -- just part of the normal scientific discovery process.
No, I disagree. If you ignore and piss off one newbie, you lose one Linux user. If you teach one newbie, he can educate a hundred others.