Reducing human suffering is more important than writing GUIs.
That may be true, but that is not the issue here. The issue is whether or not Gnome is deserving of being catagorized by the U.S. government as a charity. Comparing it to other charities on grounds of 'which is more deserving' is purely subjective. The service that Gnome provides to the world as a whole for no cost is an important one, and the fact that the software and source code is given away for free, combined with the fact that it is probably the most popular Linux GUI, makes it a valid charity. Please read on for why I think this way...
The amount of money spent by third-world countries on software is insignificant compared to the cost of fighting famine, river blindness, AIDS, cancer, etc. If they got all of their computers for free, it would make little difference. The amount of money that, say, Sudan could save by using free software would make no significant difference to lives of the people of that country. None. Zero. Zilch. Nada.
I would like to see how you came up with this "fact". If the Sudan government could put Linux on every one of its computers, that would save them about $200 per computer, depending on what MS OS they might use. That adds up just as quickly as small $20 donations from generous souls like yourself. I am no anthropolgist, but I am willing to bet that EVERY charity, research clinic, and government agency that is "deserving" in your view uses computers and technology to help those who suffer. If they do not have computers (complete with software to make those computers useful), that is the first thing their budget should call for. Do not underestimate the need for technology, for it is the strongest answer to these terrible problems that you mention.
Gnome helps technology proliferate throughout the entire world and for no cost. To me, in this day and age where technoligcally advanced societies proliferate, that is a worthy cause.
Who cares? Lots of people benefit from the work of Intel and AMD, too, but it doesn't mean that they are morally entitled to tax-deductible contributions.
Intel and AMD don't give their product and source code away for FREE.
You lack the ability to differentiate between a deserving charity and a bunch of self-indulgent computer programmers. I do not. I don't need to assume that every organization from the Ku Klux Klan to Habitat for Humanity is equally deserving. I can look at what the organizations do to determine which ones are more deserving.
You lack the understanding of what this particular charity does. Gnome is an open source GUI for Linux, which makes Linux easier to use, which creates more Linux users, which helps to further the technology of humankind without secluding that technology from the masses. All for free. Gnome is a whole lot more than just "a bunch of self-indulgent computer programmers." In addition, it is a technology that helps improve the technology (Linux) that the internet is reliant upon by attracting users to Linux and making it easier to use. If you don't know what Open Source is, I suggest you read Eric Raymond's book before you go denouncing Open Source organizations as charities.
If you don't want to donate to Gnome, by all means donate to what ever charity you find worthy of your hard earned money. But don't call Gnome undeserving of being a charity just because it doesn't feed starving children in Africa.
Who cares? Lots of people benefit from the work of Intel and AMD, too, but it doesn't mean that they are morally entitled to tax-deductible contributions.
Intel and AMD don't give their product and source code away for FREE.
You lack the ability to differentiate between a deserving charity and a bunch of self-indulgent computer programmers. I do not. I don't need to assume that every organization from the Ku Klux Klan to Habitat for Humanity is equally deserving. I can look at what the organizations do to determine which ones are more deserving.
You lack the understanding of what this particular charity does. Gnome is an open source GUI for Linux, which makes Linux easier to use, which creates more Linux users, which helps to further the technology of humankind without secluding that technology from the masses. All for free. Gnome is a whole lot more than just "a bunch of self-indulgent computer programmers." In addition, it is a technology that helps improve the technology (Linux) that the internet is reliant upon by attracting users to Linux and making it easier to use. If you don't know what Open Source is, I suggest you read Eric Raymond's book before you go denouncing Open Source organizations as charities.
If you don't want to donate to Gnome, by all means donate to what ever charity you find worthy. But don't call Gnome an undeserving charity just because it doesn't feed starving children in Africa.
Re:Spielberg Over the Hill?
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Taken?
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· Score: 1
I know I'm walking a fine line here in arguing technical merits vs the writer's intent, but as far as the use of the hair for DNA I think most viewers (and writers) assume that their is usable DNA in hair. If they had wanted to clearly communicate that the mechas were just appeasing David then they would have had Teddy save a piece of her dress or a picture or something.
By that logic, we should assume that the audience wouldn't expect David to be upgraded either. Especially with no indication that that happened. Most audiences are not in the frame of mind that David's problems could have been so easily fixed by a software upgrade, just as people don't think about DNA not being in strands of hair.
The fact that David goes to sleep has two possible causes: he transcended his functionality on his own, or he was euthanized by the mecha. After reading Daivd's thoughts, the mecha really had no reason to keep him around, let alone bother with finding some way to upgrade him. As far as David transcending himself, I am in agreement that it would be out of theme of the movie.
As a film student, you should know that tragedies never end in happy endings, and this film was definately a tragedy, or at least a partial tragedy. I thought the ending was not entirely 'tragic' because David did get what he was programmed to desire, but David's implied death seemed to be more in theme with the tragedy style theme of the movie. A completely happy ending just wouldn't make sense.
I think the movie was about (or at least partially about) desire, and seeking fulfillment of that desire even when there is no realistic way to do so. In a way, it was a reflection of our own desires, and our seeking to fulfill those desires at any cost.
I think you are thinking of Pat Buchanan of the Libertarian party. Ralph Nader is, er was, the Greenparty presidential candidate last election, and is generally anti-naughty corporations. Hell, he even wanted to do away with lobbyists and cap campaign contributions.
So, uh, did you vote for Buchanan on accident by any chance?
Dan
P.S. I love the Screensavers. I think that the show deserves to have more Linux content. I made sure to catch the episode with Richard Stallman, and Chris DiBona appearances are always great. The Sreensavers' audience is ready for more Tux!
I am taking a class on Unix at my local community college over the internet. The textbook we are using is really a great text for learning the classic Unix/Linux shell utilities like grep, sed, awk, ls, etc. The book is "Unix Made Easy" by John Muster. It's a very thick book, but is highly interactive. You even learn how to write scripts.
The only downside that I see is that it doesn't have a lot of administrator type stuff, like how to install a distro or install programs. However, as someone who believes that all Linux users should learn the shell, I would recommend this book to any Linux beginner.
Some movie trivia for you:
The movie Casino was based on the tellings of Sam Rothstein (played by Rob Deniro), who was an actual casino manger of the Stardust in the 80's. I know because my mother's first husband worked for him and knew him on a semi-personal basis. Rothstein really did survive a car bombing. Nicky Santoro, played by Joe Pesci, and his brother were real life poeple as well. Yes, Santoro was a thug. Yes, he is burried out in some corn field. Yes, he was burried for being a loud mouth and drawing too much attention to the mob. I know because my brother used to drink in the downtown bar that Santoro owned.
From what I understand, Rothstein no longer sticks by his story of the whole mob bosses skimming their earnings (and not paying up their proper taxes to the Gaming Commission). He denies the whole thing or something, even though he wrote a book about it.
The good news (sorta) is that Vegas is truly ran by corporations and big money. These days at least.
Dan
Re:Player Tracking Technologies
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Net Vegas
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· Score: 1
They do this in just about every casino. The more you play, the more comps you get. I am not sure about the auto-champaine, but the time and type of machines that you play is kept track of if you participate in their promos.
And poeple who aren't participating in the promos are still being watched by the eye in the sky. That part of the movies is real, except its incredibley high tech. Every individual that walks into the casino is taped, every corner of the casino is seen. The cameras can focus in on tiny details like the face of your cards or the cuffs of your sleeves. Floormen and security keep an eye on every player, and its a simple word into the lapel before the security at the eye in the sky are made aware. Vegas's security is nearly perfect (and would be if there were such a thing), and if there is a Net Vegas implemented in Vegas, my guess is it will be five times more secure than any Linux system.:P
Dan
Re:Hah! I live in vegas!
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Net Vegas
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· Score: 1
I live in Vegas too. Here is about the best place I've found to find tech jobs in Vegas. They are out there, they just are hiding. Try this website and search Nevada:
http://www.jobvertise.com/search
Keep in mind that 9/11 hurt Vegas's economy more than a lot of other places because we depend so much on tourists taking plane rides. From what I hear, it's starting to get back to normal finally.
Dan
P.S. As a CS student with no professional experience, I have to go to Phoenix for a job. All of these local Vegas employers want experienced poeple.
Interesting encounter. This actually happens all the time in Vegas, its a standard. I'm talking about the goons in suits, not winning pull after pull. Winning pull after pull is not something the casinos are in the business for.
As one who has grown up with the gaming industry (in Vegas of course), it would be my guess that any casino or slot machine manufacturer that purposefully cheated the slots would not be treated lightly by the gaming industry. If such a thing is happening, and the public were to find out about it, Vegas would not benefit. For that reason, any casino that cheated would probably be treated like any cashier that steals gaming money: kicked out of Vegas by the Gaming Commission (who runs the town). And frankly, no casino would even think about taking that risk when they are making the kind of money they make. Hell, even local bars with 15 slot machines take in $15,000 a week easily.
Believe me, the gaming industry here does not like to take chances. They leave that up to the players.
Best wishes,
Dan Vegas is indeed corrupt, but not towards
Last month a programmer from a Vegas company done threw himself over the Golden State Bridge. Apparently, someone snitched on him for creating a backdoor on these new bingo machines; machines that he programmed. The machines are like little hand-held devices, and you just get one for however many bingo cards you buy. You enter the numbers as they come up, and the program places them for you on your virtual cards.
Anyway, this fellow created a password that allowed him 200+ cards. They caught him on camera at one casino, but didn't go after him... a week later, he did himself in.
Not sure why he did it... maybe he knew they would catch him or something. Moral of the story, don't fu** with the gaming industry in Vegas. Trust me on this one, I've lived in Vegas all my life.
Slashdot Mirror
That may be true, but that is not the issue here. The issue is whether or not Gnome is deserving of being catagorized by the U.S. government as a charity. Comparing it to other charities on grounds of 'which is more deserving' is purely subjective. The service that Gnome provides to the world as a whole for no cost is an important one, and the fact that the software and source code is given away for free, combined with the fact that it is probably the most popular Linux GUI, makes it a valid charity. Please read on for why I think this way...
The amount of money spent by third-world countries on software is insignificant compared to the cost of fighting famine, river blindness, AIDS, cancer, etc. If they got all of their computers for free, it would make little difference. The amount of money that, say, Sudan could save by using free software would make no significant difference to lives of the people of that country. None. Zero. Zilch. Nada.
I would like to see how you came up with this "fact". If the Sudan government could put Linux on every one of its computers, that would save them about $200 per computer, depending on what MS OS they might use. That adds up just as quickly as small $20 donations from generous souls like yourself. I am no anthropolgist, but I am willing to bet that EVERY charity, research clinic, and government agency that is "deserving" in your view uses computers and technology to help those who suffer. If they do not have computers (complete with software to make those computers useful), that is the first thing their budget should call for. Do not underestimate the need for technology, for it is the strongest answer to these terrible problems that you mention.
Gnome helps technology proliferate throughout the entire world and for no cost. To me, in this day and age where technoligcally advanced societies proliferate, that is a worthy cause.
Dan
Intel and AMD don't give their product and source code away for FREE.
You lack the ability to differentiate between a deserving charity and a bunch of self-indulgent computer programmers. I do not. I don't need to assume that every organization from the Ku Klux Klan to Habitat for Humanity is equally deserving. I can look at what the organizations do to determine which ones are more deserving.
You lack the understanding of what this particular charity does. Gnome is an open source GUI for Linux, which makes Linux easier to use, which creates more Linux users, which helps to further the technology of humankind without secluding that technology from the masses. All for free. Gnome is a whole lot more than just "a bunch of self-indulgent computer programmers." In addition, it is a technology that helps improve the technology (Linux) that the internet is reliant upon by attracting users to Linux and making it easier to use. If you don't know what Open Source is, I suggest you read Eric Raymond's book before you go denouncing Open Source organizations as charities.
If you don't want to donate to Gnome, by all means donate to what ever charity you find worthy of your hard earned money. But don't call Gnome undeserving of being a charity just because it doesn't feed starving children in Africa.
Dan
Intel and AMD don't give their product and source code away for FREE.
You lack the ability to differentiate between a deserving charity and a bunch of self-indulgent computer programmers. I do not. I don't need to assume that every organization from the Ku Klux Klan to Habitat for Humanity is equally deserving. I can look at what the organizations do to determine which ones are more deserving.
You lack the understanding of what this particular charity does. Gnome is an open source GUI for Linux, which makes Linux easier to use, which creates more Linux users, which helps to further the technology of humankind without secluding that technology from the masses. All for free. Gnome is a whole lot more than just "a bunch of self-indulgent computer programmers." In addition, it is a technology that helps improve the technology (Linux) that the internet is reliant upon by attracting users to Linux and making it easier to use. If you don't know what Open Source is, I suggest you read Eric Raymond's book before you go denouncing Open Source organizations as charities.
If you don't want to donate to Gnome, by all means donate to what ever charity you find worthy. But don't call Gnome an undeserving charity just because it doesn't feed starving children in Africa.
Dan
Because its open source. Read Eric Raymond's book. Dan
By that logic, we should assume that the audience wouldn't expect David to be upgraded either. Especially with no indication that that happened. Most audiences are not in the frame of mind that David's problems could have been so easily fixed by a software upgrade, just as people don't think about DNA not being in strands of hair.
The fact that David goes to sleep has two possible causes: he transcended his functionality on his own, or he was euthanized by the mecha. After reading Daivd's thoughts, the mecha really had no reason to keep him around, let alone bother with finding some way to upgrade him. As far as David transcending himself, I am in agreement that it would be out of theme of the movie.
As a film student, you should know that tragedies never end in happy endings, and this film was definately a tragedy, or at least a partial tragedy. I thought the ending was not entirely 'tragic' because David did get what he was programmed to desire, but David's implied death seemed to be more in theme with the tragedy style theme of the movie. A completely happy ending just wouldn't make sense.
I think the movie was about (or at least partially about) desire, and seeking fulfillment of that desire even when there is no realistic way to do so. In a way, it was a reflection of our own desires, and our seeking to fulfill those desires at any cost.
Dan
Linux's success is just plain dumb luck then? Wow, maybe God does exist afterall.
Dan
I think you are thinking of Pat Buchanan of the Libertarian party. Ralph Nader is, er was, the Greenparty presidential candidate last election, and is generally anti-naughty corporations. Hell, he even wanted to do away with lobbyists and cap campaign contributions. So, uh, did you vote for Buchanan on accident by any chance? Dan
Dan
P.S. I love the Screensavers. I think that the show deserves to have more Linux content. I made sure to catch the episode with Richard Stallman, and Chris DiBona appearances are always great. The Sreensavers' audience is ready for more Tux!
The only downside that I see is that it doesn't have a lot of administrator type stuff, like how to install a distro or install programs. However, as someone who believes that all Linux users should learn the shell, I would recommend this book to any Linux beginner.
Dan
Some movie trivia for you: The movie Casino was based on the tellings of Sam Rothstein (played by Rob Deniro), who was an actual casino manger of the Stardust in the 80's. I know because my mother's first husband worked for him and knew him on a semi-personal basis. Rothstein really did survive a car bombing. Nicky Santoro, played by Joe Pesci, and his brother were real life poeple as well. Yes, Santoro was a thug. Yes, he is burried out in some corn field. Yes, he was burried for being a loud mouth and drawing too much attention to the mob. I know because my brother used to drink in the downtown bar that Santoro owned. From what I understand, Rothstein no longer sticks by his story of the whole mob bosses skimming their earnings (and not paying up their proper taxes to the Gaming Commission). He denies the whole thing or something, even though he wrote a book about it. The good news (sorta) is that Vegas is truly ran by corporations and big money. These days at least. Dan
They do this in just about every casino. The more you play, the more comps you get. I am not sure about the auto-champaine, but the time and type of machines that you play is kept track of if you participate in their promos. And poeple who aren't participating in the promos are still being watched by the eye in the sky. That part of the movies is real, except its incredibley high tech. Every individual that walks into the casino is taped, every corner of the casino is seen. The cameras can focus in on tiny details like the face of your cards or the cuffs of your sleeves. Floormen and security keep an eye on every player, and its a simple word into the lapel before the security at the eye in the sky are made aware. Vegas's security is nearly perfect (and would be if there were such a thing), and if there is a Net Vegas implemented in Vegas, my guess is it will be five times more secure than any Linux system. :P
Dan
I live in Vegas too. Here is about the best place I've found to find tech jobs in Vegas. They are out there, they just are hiding. Try this website and search Nevada: http://www.jobvertise.com/search Keep in mind that 9/11 hurt Vegas's economy more than a lot of other places because we depend so much on tourists taking plane rides. From what I hear, it's starting to get back to normal finally. Dan P.S. As a CS student with no professional experience, I have to go to Phoenix for a job. All of these local Vegas employers want experienced poeple.
Interesting encounter. This actually happens all the time in Vegas, its a standard. I'm talking about the goons in suits, not winning pull after pull. Winning pull after pull is not something the casinos are in the business for. As one who has grown up with the gaming industry (in Vegas of course), it would be my guess that any casino or slot machine manufacturer that purposefully cheated the slots would not be treated lightly by the gaming industry. If such a thing is happening, and the public were to find out about it, Vegas would not benefit. For that reason, any casino that cheated would probably be treated like any cashier that steals gaming money: kicked out of Vegas by the Gaming Commission (who runs the town). And frankly, no casino would even think about taking that risk when they are making the kind of money they make. Hell, even local bars with 15 slot machines take in $15,000 a week easily. Believe me, the gaming industry here does not like to take chances. They leave that up to the players. Best wishes, Dan Vegas is indeed corrupt, but not towards
Last month a programmer from a Vegas company done threw himself over the Golden State Bridge. Apparently, someone snitched on him for creating a backdoor on these new bingo machines; machines that he programmed. The machines are like little hand-held devices, and you just get one for however many bingo cards you buy. You enter the numbers as they come up, and the program places them for you on your virtual cards.
Anyway, this fellow created a password that allowed him 200+ cards. They caught him on camera at one casino, but didn't go after him... a week later, he did himself in.
Not sure why he did it... maybe he knew they would catch him or something. Moral of the story, don't fu** with the gaming industry in Vegas. Trust me on this one, I've lived in Vegas all my life.
Dan