There's a number of options out there. I'm going to speak as a developer for this reply.
Nobody and I mean nobody that allows development on their device is really and truly operating as an open source project. Them's the facts of the matter. There is definitely a sliding scale of open here with lots of gray areas here and there. Take the iPhone, at least as a dev you get access to early release software prior to release. For android can you go and find the 2.0 SDK anywhere? Nope. So much for Verizon's claims about 'droid being 'open'.
Be it Android, PalmOS, iPhone, Maemo, Moblin, whatever do any of these projects have open mailing lists setting directions of the project? Nope. Everyone of them get's an EPIC FAIL in my book for openness. Granted all of them at least allow you to develop apps. If you're someone making a living making apps, then that's going to be 'good enough'. As a developer you just nee to pick the ecosystem that makes the most sense to you.
However if you're a traditional open source developer looking to participate, the bad news is, "sorry"... no one is really catering to that in my opinion. But is that kind of "cold" treatment really something that has ever stopped open source developers? Let's not forget that a Maemo, Android, Moblin, Palm's WebOS all include open source packages at least does mean that they have to continue to get their code from the community. Granted they can effectively fork and port their patches forward time and again, but you'd hope over time they'll learn... get involved with the community, work with the community.. be open... time will tell. Least across the board things have come a long way and we're not saddled with a 90% windows (mobile) market share. Competition between OSes for cell phones sure makes for exciting times.
Now that this box is out is seems that many a DirecTV customer (including myself) is weighing their options and it seems to be coming down to two things:
1) Switch to cable and *HAVE* a choice of series 3 Tivo / build a Myth, etc....
or
2) Stick with DirecTV on hardware that's dictated to the customer, offered by a company with a less than stellar reputation for customer satisfaction.
Hmm is it any surprise that #1 seems to be the popular choice?
Looking at it deeper, when customers of DirecTV who have Tivo systems have been utilizing the programming, Tivo is effectively the interface to the TV for them now. It is well put together. It works. It's intuitive. Universally they like the interface. Even my non-technical wife is the same, and way back when we sunset our series 1 tivo I was told spot on, the only acceptable upgrade was something with Tivo, so getting an HR10-250 was a no brainer. (o darn!)
But as time went forward and the features of the series 2 Tivo have been kept out of DirecTV Tivo offerings, my displeasure with DirecTV has risen. I've always found it amazing that direcTV never enabled any of the home media capabilities even tho the Tivo hardware in our direcTV box could have done it. Customers begging for it, begging to pay for it even... and they say no?
When it comes down to it, one can get the same programming as DirecTV over cable. The cable companies on account of the FCC and the cable card standard effectively have to play nice with the Series 3 Tivo or other hardware. The cable card standard has enabled choice.
DirecTV... well if they are effectively going to force folks away from the well loved Tivo enabled hardware and only allow people to use the "one true hardware" that comes down to them from DirecTV, then they are going to force me and many others away as customers. As with many things it's about choice. The world of cable has choice, DirecTV does not. No Tivo choice, then it really starts to add up to a great big 'screw'em' sort of result for DirecTV as they switch over to MPEG4 and sunset their older hardware.
Companies that take this sort of brutal approach and ignore their customers like that just don't survive for long in today's world. It's another great example of open vs closed, and yet again, open wins.
One aspect that seems to be getting swept under the rug is that digital signals don't travel as far when using an antenna. When we upgraded to be all digital last year this was one of the "fun" aspects, what used to be our "local" channels suddenly weren't because their broadcast antenna was too far away.
To add to the issue of course is adding the NFL blackout rules to the mix. As it is currently today broadcasters happily enforce a blackout range never mind that under the capabilities of digital system the range of signals is less and thus things like directv where people would turn to pick up the slack suddenly cause a problem.
Consider directv says..no football for you since it's on your local channel, but since the digital range is less ooops... you get to see nothing.
I can understand how the folks at SourceForge feel and certainly can identify with the growing pains. Like CT and the poster say, it is hard being open and making those initial steps to recalibrate your brain into that mode.
OTOH, what also was not said in this piece (or maybe I missed it) and I've made this same comment on the SF forums is that not all the source for SF has been released. Their cron code which does alot of the background processing to sync what's in their database to the "state of the system", user id creation, mailing list creation, etc etc etc has not been released. There have been more than a couple of calls for it to be released but the SF staff for some reason doesn't want to do that. It would kinda be like Linus releasing a kernel minus the memory management code.
I don't think there's any question that SF is going to have to make the step and fully open up. If they don't, I think it's quite probable that they will see alot more critical commentary pointed their direction.
Now obviously the SF staff are a bunch of folks who should be commended for the great service they are providing for the community.
Yet now they are in the role of really a leader in the Open Source World, unfortunately it also means that they need to be a shining example of Open Source at it's best. It's time they take that step. Regards, Tom
While I'm not a lawyer and I don't play one on TV, if I remember rightly (My minor was Space Studies from UND) spacecraft are under the same salvage rules as abandoned ships at sea.
Now just cause Iridium is out of business doesn't classify these as abandoned craft. However if Iridium's offices etc is entirely shutting down and no more signals are sent to these craft then indeed it would seem that someone with "broadcast" capabilities could take over themselves a satellite provided they have the knowledge, software to do so.
I'm sure no matter what this will be a first in the realms of space law. If I were Iridium I'm most certainly want to give these satellites over to someone, otherwise it could be bumper cars in outspace. Certainly don't want somebody unqualified hacking on a spacecraft's navigations. (Scenes from MST 3K the Movie start rolling through my head)
Regards,
Refuse to sit in the back of the OS Bus
on
China and the MPA
·
· Score: 3
Not so many years ago there was separate but equal, until one person... just one decided that they weren't going to sit in the back of the bus.
The more things change the more they stay the same. We've been sitting in back of the OS bus for years. Since the media has discovered that Linux is "cool" and companies realize they can turn a buck on the hard work of the Open Source revolution, it is this revolution that is in a position of power and importance. It's time to change the world.
Katz is right. This is a fight we can and will win. We have to. We have no choice otherwise it's over. This is our Waterloo. Or rather I should say, this is their Waterloo. This is where we stand up and say, no we are in charge of our destiny and we're not going to tolerate the behavior of jackbooted thugs like the MPAA.
I wanna play DVDs on my Linux box. It's a simple yet tragic hard fought freedom. And if we all don't earn this freedom, what's the next one to fall?
I hope that come LinuxWorld this week that there are plenty of folks that take some time out of the convention and protest. Let the media know, blast the message, we're not going to sit in the back of the bus. We don't back down, and we're not going to tolerate some mega corperation dictating terms of what we can or can not do with our computers.
If the petigree of DeCSS is in doubt, time to make an alternative implementation and post it on the net.
Regards...
when time_t wraps in 2034
on
Apocalypse Not
·
· Score: 1
I suspect we'll get to go through all this hysteria again in about 2034 when time_t wraps. By then in theory I'll be "safely" retired, so looks like my kids will get to clean up after that mess.;-)
Still I suspect we in the Open Source world should probably be starting to take some action to fix it.
I have PHP3 running on a couple of sites that I have set up. (Sorry you can't get to them) I've found PHP3 does very well and handles all the tasks that I've thrown at it. I haven't had any performance issues yet but then my sites aren't high traffic as compared to what yours might be.
Aspects of PHP3 that I like are:
simple to learn, use, modify and deploy
plugs into pretty much any database
lots and lots of function there so you can do just about anything.
I think the real story here isn't RedHat and what's going on with the Open Source developers, it sure sounds like it's ETrade not letting their customers buy the stock they are plunking down good money for. That's the *WHOLE* point of ETrade isn't it to be able to buy and sell stock over net?
If there's some CGI at ETrade acting like net.mommie trying to save me from the possible loss of my piggie bank, Red Hat isn't the ones to be flamed, it's ETrade.
Maybe the bottom line is, ETrade doesn't deserve our business and time to route around it.
Slashdot Mirror
There's a number of options out there. I'm going to speak as a developer for this reply.
Nobody and I mean nobody that allows development on their device is really and truly operating as an open source project. Them's the facts of the matter. There is definitely a sliding scale of open here with lots of gray areas here and there. Take the iPhone, at least as a dev you get access to early release software prior to release. For android can you go and find the 2.0 SDK anywhere? Nope. So much for Verizon's claims about 'droid being 'open'.
Be it Android, PalmOS, iPhone, Maemo, Moblin, whatever do any of these projects have open mailing lists setting directions of the project? Nope. Everyone of them get's an EPIC FAIL in my book for openness. Granted all of them at least allow you to develop apps. If you're someone making a living making apps, then that's going to be 'good enough'. As a developer you just nee to pick the ecosystem that makes the most sense to you.
However if you're a traditional open source developer looking to participate, the bad news is, "sorry" ... no one is really catering to that in my opinion. But is that kind of "cold" treatment really something that has ever stopped open source developers? Let's not forget that a Maemo, Android, Moblin, Palm's WebOS all include open source packages at least does mean that they have to continue to get their code from the community. Granted they can effectively fork and port their patches forward time and again, but you'd hope over time they'll learn... get involved with the community, work with the community .. be open... time will tell. Least across the board things have come a long way and we're not saddled with a 90% windows (mobile) market share. Competition between OSes for cell phones sure makes for exciting times.
Now that this box is out is seems that many a DirecTV customer (including myself) is weighing their options and it seems to be coming down to two things:
... and they say no?
... well if they are effectively going to force folks away from the well loved Tivo enabled hardware and only allow people to use the "one true hardware" that comes down to them from DirecTV, then they are going to force me and many others away as customers. As with many things it's about choice. The world of cable has choice, DirecTV does not. No Tivo choice, then it really starts to add up to a great big 'screw'em' sort of result for DirecTV as they switch over to MPEG4 and sunset their older hardware.
1) Switch to cable and *HAVE* a choice of series 3 Tivo / build a Myth, etc....
or
2) Stick with DirecTV on hardware that's dictated to the customer, offered by a company with a less than stellar reputation for customer satisfaction.
Hmm is it any surprise that #1 seems to be the popular choice?
Looking at it deeper, when customers of DirecTV who have Tivo systems have been utilizing the programming, Tivo is effectively the interface to the TV for them now. It is well put together. It works. It's intuitive. Universally they like the interface. Even my non-technical wife is the same, and way back when we sunset our series 1 tivo I was told spot on, the only acceptable upgrade was something with Tivo, so getting an HR10-250 was a no brainer. (o darn!)
But as time went forward and the features of the series 2 Tivo have been kept out of DirecTV Tivo offerings, my displeasure with DirecTV has risen. I've always found it amazing that direcTV never enabled any of the home media capabilities even tho the Tivo hardware in our direcTV box could have done it. Customers begging for it, begging to pay for it even
When it comes down to it, one can get the same programming as DirecTV over cable. The cable companies on account of the FCC and the cable card standard effectively have to play nice with the Series 3 Tivo or other hardware. The cable card standard has enabled choice.
DirecTV
Companies that take this sort of brutal approach and ignore their customers like that just don't survive for long in today's world. It's another great example of open vs closed, and yet again, open wins.
One aspect that seems to be getting swept under the rug is that digital signals don't travel as far when using an antenna. When we upgraded to be all digital last year this was one of the "fun" aspects, what used to be our "local" channels suddenly weren't because their broadcast antenna was too far away.
..no football for you since it's on your local channel, but since the digital range is less ooops ... you get to see nothing.
To add to the issue of course is adding the NFL blackout rules to the mix. As it is currently today broadcasters happily enforce a blackout range never mind that under the capabilities of digital system the range of signals is less and thus things like directv where people would turn to pick up the slack suddenly cause a problem.
Consider directv says
Now that's what I call progress!
If you happen to purchase a p690 and do want to run linux on it, be sure to go to linuxppc64.org and pick up drop14.
Just works....
I can understand how the folks at SourceForge feel and certainly can identify with the growing pains. Like CT and the poster say, it is hard being open and making those initial steps to recalibrate your brain into that mode.
OTOH, what also was not said in this piece (or maybe I missed it) and I've made this same comment on the SF forums is that not all the source for SF has been released. Their cron code which does alot of the background processing to sync what's in their database to the "state of the system", user id creation, mailing list creation, etc etc etc has not been released. There have been more than a couple of calls for it to be released but the SF staff for some reason doesn't want to do that. It would kinda be like Linus releasing a kernel minus the memory management code.
I don't think there's any question that SF is going to have to make the step and fully open up. If they don't, I think it's quite probable that they will see alot more critical commentary pointed their direction.
Now obviously the SF staff are a bunch of folks who should be commended for the great service they are providing for the community.
Yet now they are in the role of really a leader in the Open Source World, unfortunately it also means that they need to be a shining example of Open Source at it's best. It's time they take that step. Regards, Tom
While I'm not a lawyer and I don't play one on TV, if I remember rightly (My minor was Space Studies from UND) spacecraft are under the same salvage rules as abandoned ships at sea.
Now just cause Iridium is out of business doesn't classify these as abandoned craft. However if Iridium's offices etc is entirely shutting down and no more signals are sent to these craft then indeed it would seem that someone with "broadcast" capabilities could take over themselves a satellite provided they have the knowledge, software to do so.
I'm sure no matter what this will be a first in the realms of space law. If I were Iridium I'm most certainly want to give these satellites over to someone, otherwise it could be bumper cars in outspace. Certainly don't want somebody unqualified hacking on a spacecraft's navigations. (Scenes from MST 3K the Movie start rolling through my head)
Regards,
Not so many years ago there was separate but equal, until one person... just one decided that they weren't going to sit in the back of the bus.
The more things change the more they stay the same. We've been sitting in back of the OS bus for years. Since the media has discovered that Linux is "cool" and companies realize they can turn a buck on the hard work of the Open Source revolution, it is this revolution that is in a position of power and importance. It's time to
change the world.
Katz is right. This is a fight we can and will win. We have to. We have no choice otherwise it's over. This is our Waterloo. Or rather I should say, this is their Waterloo. This is where we stand up and say, no we are in charge of our destiny and we're not going to tolerate the behavior of jackbooted thugs like the MPAA.
I wanna play DVDs on my Linux box. It's a simple yet tragic hard fought freedom. And if we all don't earn this freedom, what's the next one to fall?
I hope that come LinuxWorld this week that there are plenty of folks that take some time out of the convention and protest. Let the media know, blast the message, we're not going to sit in the back of the bus. We don't back down, and we're not going to tolerate some mega corperation dictating terms of what we can or can not do with our computers.
If the petigree of DeCSS is in doubt, time to make an alternative implementation and post it on the net.
Regards...
I suspect we'll get to go through all this hysteria again in about 2034 when time_t wraps. By then in theory I'll be "safely" retired, so looks like my kids will get to clean up after that mess. ;-)
Still I suspect we in the Open Source world should probably be starting to take some action to fix it.
I have PHP3 running on a couple of sites that I have set up. (Sorry you can't get to them) I've found PHP3 does very well and handles all the tasks that I've thrown at it. I haven't had any performance issues yet but then my sites aren't high traffic as compared to what yours might be.
Aspects of PHP3 that I like are:
Besides you really should get off NT....
I think the real story here isn't RedHat and what's going on with the Open Source developers, it sure sounds like it's ETrade not letting their customers buy the stock they are plunking down good money for. That's the *WHOLE* point of ETrade isn't it to be able to buy and sell stock over net?
If there's some CGI at ETrade acting like net.mommie trying to save me from the possible loss of my piggie bank, Red Hat isn't the ones to be flamed, it's ETrade.
Maybe the bottom line is, ETrade doesn't deserve our business and time to route around it.