Richard M. Stallman, Linus Torvalds, and Donald E. Knuth engage in a discussion on whose impact on the computerized world was the greatest.
Stallman: "God told me I have programmed the best editor in the world!" Torvalds: "Well, God told *me* that I have programmed the best operating system in the world!" Knuth: "Wait, wait - I never said that."
--Erik Meltzer, rec.humor.funny
Found here (I couldn't reach the original page today; this is a link to google's cache of the page)
That is, that the number of lines of proprietary SCO-code in Linux increases exponentially every few months!
If this keeps up, the number of lines of stolen code will soon exceed the total number of lines in the entire kernel, all the modules, and the System V code itself.
I like Gentoo. I used Redhat for almost a year, and got frustrated by certain things consistently not working like I wanted them to; I tried Debian at one point, but I was still too much a n00b to stick with it and make it work.:-)
Maybe I've just learned more, but when I installed Gentoo, I didn't find it that difficult; I learned quite a bit about how linux works during the course of getting everything installed and working.
I will probably give debian another shot now that I'm less intimidated by the thought of recompiling a kernel or editing a bunch of config files, but Gentoo works so well for me, I'm sure I will always have at least one or more Gentoo box running at home.
Worth checking out, especially for those who are already contemplating moving away from redhat for whatever reason.
In a fit of geekiness awhile back, I started a list of all the SCO news, based on slashdot stories (since it was easiest to look up, that way) -- I soon became overwhelmed in the mountain of FUD and lost interest.
It makes interesting scanning though; you really just need to start with looking up Caldera topics, and then go back to March 03.
What was most interesting was the amount of posts each story would generate -- it started fairly small, back when it was usually, "Ha-ha, they're suing IBM," then started skyrocketing when it became, "WTF, they think they own linux!" until it eventually lowered and levelled off to the point it's at now(where outrageous SCO nonsense only generates 200-300 comments).
I agree, of course. Everything you said is quite true;
I guess what I was thinking when I wrote the post was the parent's sentiment of what was keeping him from switching over to linux. If someone wants to learn linux... well, I still don't think I'd suggest they start with Gentoo, but once they have their feet wet, if you follow the docs, you should be able to get it going. It does *force* you to learn (as would something like debian), which is why I brought it up.
Desktop ready.... no, I guess not. If we could come up with a system that responds and updates like Gentoo and installs like redhat, that would probably bite into some of the market, though.
Though I am currently emerging OOo-1.1.0-rc2, which just failed after about eight hours of compiling for inexplicable reasons. I'll just have to try again, and if that doesn't work, run to the forums.... Case in point why this may not be for newbies; but I like to learn:-)
... I didn't say it was a bad idea; but no matter how much of an `overview' you make it, it's work.
This issue is not giving away `details' -- you can get all those free online, from the library, from a bookstore, wherever. What's hard to give away (or even if you want to give it away, hard to find the time for) is the work involved in organizing a curriculum/outline/lecture series and writing it all down.
For those interested, there is already MIT courseware; the whole textbook to`Structure in and Interpretation of Computer Programs' is available.... that's a good start.
Please don't misunderstand me -- I'm all in favor of free information. It's just that this particular suggestion is actually soliciting a lot of work on the part of the parent of the parent (somewhere up the thread, there).... But hey, if he's interested, I'm presuming he can let everyone know, and I will, of course, gladly shut up.:-)
Just some thoughts... if IBM/et al. are just pushing one particular distro (or standard base)....
Need for standards: As long as all the default apps work well together, that will be the de facto standard; the new linux users will not know the difference, and as they get more experience, could experiment on their own.
Hardware support: I may have just been lucky in my choices of hardware so far.... But isn't this area fairly good right now? (Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong). Also, if Linux were pre-installed on desktops, the manufacturer would have tested ahead-of-time and presumably chosen only appropriate hardware.
DirectX equivalent: I guess I agree with you here.
Support for ACPI: Doesn't it already? I don't use firewire, but when I plug my USB printer into my gentoo box, it detects it. Maybe I lucked out again, I don't consider myself an expert by any stretch of the imagination....
So, I agree with you, but I guess I don't feel like linux could be very far from success in these areas.... IMHO.
I agree for the most part with your analysis (I am keeping in mind that it was off-the-cuff), but....
"Naive home user",... Linux: perfect...
Naive home user? Linux is perfect for them?
I'd like to meet some of these naive users for whom Linux is perfect. They should work here, it would make parts of my job (desktop support) a lot easier....;-)
I, for one, wouldn't consider someone with a problem to be lying or an asshole. I've had plenty of problems with linux, and have clawed my way up the learning curve slowly but surely, and I still don't consider myself to have everything `working'.
But all things considered, I'm happy with my current setup. I don't use XP for anything except to boot up if I need to call my ISP for support (they don't know how to help you if you're using linux). But that's just me.
(Warning: Gentoo plug)To be honest, I didn't have a distro that really did 90% of what I wanted until I tried Gentoo. It's a little arcane to begin with, but their documentation *rocks* and I think I learned more in the three days it took me to set up my system:) than I had in the five or six months I had messed around with redhat.
I don't know, I guess I'm just saying that trolls or zealots with screwed up attitudes shouldn't prevent you from switching to linux. Someone switches to linux (I'm thinking desktop) when they can make it do what they want it to, and not before.... IMHO.
Oh, I totally understand, and agree. My original post wasn't intended to be insightful.
It's not the scenes that were cut that bug me as much as those that were added or changed; and even though they bug me, there certainly don't prevent me from loving the movies.
The only thing is, given that it is unlikely another director will ever have the chance, in the near future, to protray LOTR on this scale, with this sort of budget -- there are a few things (Faramir's portrayal stands out) that I really wish he hadn't done.
What it's not is "verbatim from the book by J.R.R. Tolkien".... The fact that PJ took some events and made them his own is just something you'll have to deal with
I thought I had taken the time to say that I did like the movies. Some of the things PJ changed, however, such as Arwen, Faramir, Aragorn falling in a river and "returning from the dead", and elves of Lothlorien at Helm's Deep, I choose to deal with by thinking they are among the stupidest ideas I have ever seen.
PJ has explained well the reasons for cutting things out -- of course it would be too long. But I have never heard a good explanation for making stuff up.
Besides that, the original post was not intended to be insightful; it was a joke.
...the "based on the book by J.R.R.Tolkien" edition?
They are still fantastic movies, of course. But when I watched the Two Towers again, recently, with my wife, every time she asked me, "Was that in the book?" I found that I had to say, "Well, no, not really."
Absolutely correct. I came to the conclusion awhile back that `trolling' used to mean something far more interesting and humorous than it now is taken for, at least on/. kibo.com has some great examples of this sort of thing.
I have noticed, however, that the really clever, funny, `troll' posts (such as the one you replied to), are still usually modded up funny.
Even if we've changed the meaning of words a little, at least some people maintain a sense of humor...
Slashdot Mirror
Apparently I'm not quick enough to avoid being redundant.
Is that really two different things?
Yeah, something like: Don't ever create a programming "language" anything like this.
I took a quick glance at your recent posts; tell me, are these your real opinions, or do you troll for a living? :-)
Richard M. Stallman, Linus Torvalds, and Donald E. Knuth engage in a discussion on whose impact on the computerized world was the greatest.
Stallman: "God told me I have programmed the best editor in the world!"
Torvalds: "Well, God told *me* that I have programmed the best operating system in the world!"
Knuth: "Wait, wait - I never said that."
--Erik Meltzer, rec.humor.funny
Found here (I couldn't reach the original page today; this is a link to google's cache of the page)
I must be tired and this headline seemed to blur with the one below it, and for a second I thought it said Darl McBride's Hordes of the UnderDark...
If this keeps up, the number of lines of stolen code will soon exceed the total number of lines in the entire kernel, all the modules, and the System V code itself.
Oh well. :-)
Maybe I've just learned more, but when I installed Gentoo, I didn't find it that difficult; I learned quite a bit about how linux works during the course of getting everything installed and working.
I will probably give debian another shot now that I'm less intimidated by the thought of recompiling a kernel or editing a bunch of config files, but Gentoo works so well for me, I'm sure I will always have at least one or more Gentoo box running at home.
Worth checking out, especially for those who are already contemplating moving away from redhat for whatever reason.
It makes interesting scanning though; you really just need to start with looking up Caldera topics, and then go back to March 03.
What was most interesting was the amount of posts each story would generate -- it started fairly small, back when it was usually, "Ha-ha, they're suing IBM," then started skyrocketing when it became, "WTF, they think they own linux!" until it eventually lowered and levelled off to the point it's at now(where outrageous SCO nonsense only generates 200-300 comments).
"Is SCO still 'stupid|insane|suicidal'?"
"Yes"
I guess what I was thinking when I wrote the post was the parent's sentiment of what was keeping him from switching over to linux. If someone wants to learn linux... well, I still don't think I'd suggest they start with Gentoo, but once they have their feet wet, if you follow the docs, you should be able to get it going. It does *force* you to learn (as would something like debian), which is why I brought it up.
Desktop ready.... no, I guess not. If we could come up with a system that responds and updates like Gentoo and installs like redhat, that would probably bite into some of the market, though.
Though I am currently emerging OOo-1.1.0-rc2, which just failed after about eight hours of compiling for inexplicable reasons. I'll just have to try again, and if that doesn't work, run to the forums.... Case in point why this may not be for newbies; but I like to learn :-)
This issue is not giving away `details' -- you can get all those free online, from the library, from a bookstore, wherever. What's hard to give away (or even if you want to give it away, hard to find the time for) is the work involved in organizing a curriculum/outline/lecture series and writing it all down.
For those interested, there is already MIT courseware; the whole textbook to`Structure in and Interpretation of Computer Programs' is available.... that's a good start.
Please don't misunderstand me -- I'm all in favor of free information. It's just that this particular suggestion is actually soliciting a lot of work on the part of the parent of the parent (somewhere up the thread, there).... But hey, if he's interested, I'm presuming he can let everyone know, and I will, of course, gladly shut up. :-)
You forgot to quote
We came to the conclusion that the wild herd doesn't pay for stuff
I'm not saying it's a bad idea (though that is a LOT of work on his part), but it sure is validating his observation about paying for stuff....
Right, then.
But his post explains they .sig; I guess he didn't read LOTR, either.
So, I agree with you, but I guess I don't feel like linux could be very far from success in these areas.... IMHO.
Naive home user? Linux is perfect for them?
I'd like to meet some of these naive users for whom Linux is perfect. They should work here, it would make parts of my job (desktop support) a lot easier.... ;-)
I, for one, wouldn't consider someone with a problem to be lying or an asshole. I've had plenty of problems with linux, and have clawed my way up the learning curve slowly but surely, and I still don't consider myself to have everything `working'.
But all things considered, I'm happy with my current setup. I don't use XP for anything except to boot up if I need to call my ISP for support (they don't know how to help you if you're using linux). But that's just me.
(Warning: Gentoo plug)To be honest, I didn't have a distro that really did 90% of what I wanted until I tried Gentoo. It's a little arcane to begin with, but their documentation *rocks* and I think I learned more in the three days it took me to set up my system :) than I had in the five or six months I had messed around with redhat.
I don't know, I guess I'm just saying that trolls or zealots with screwed up attitudes shouldn't prevent you from switching to linux. Someone switches to linux (I'm thinking desktop) when they can make it do what they want it to, and not before.... IMHO.
It's not the scenes that were cut that bug me as much as those that were added or changed; and even though they bug me, there certainly don't prevent me from loving the movies.
The only thing is, given that it is unlikely another director will ever have the chance, in the near future, to protray LOTR on this scale, with this sort of budget -- there are a few things (Faramir's portrayal stands out) that I really wish he hadn't done.
I thought I had taken the time to say that I did like the movies. Some of the things PJ changed, however, such as Arwen, Faramir, Aragorn falling in a river and "returning from the dead", and elves of Lothlorien at Helm's Deep, I choose to deal with by thinking they are among the stupidest ideas I have ever seen.
PJ has explained well the reasons for cutting things out -- of course it would be too long. But I have never heard a good explanation for making stuff up.
Besides that, the original post was not intended to be insightful; it was a joke.
They are still fantastic movies, of course. But when I watched the Two Towers again, recently, with my wife, every time she asked me, "Was that in the book?" I found that I had to say, "Well, no, not really."
I have noticed, however, that the really clever, funny, `troll' posts (such as the one you replied to), are still usually modded up funny.
Even if we've changed the meaning of words a little, at least some people maintain a sense of humor...
I agree, actually. Just making a dumb joke. Not a funny one, apparently.
...until SCO agrees to refer to the alleged IP violations as `GNU/Linux'