The popular demo is not a 64kb demo, farb-rausch are good, but the popular demo is a 8Mb demo, as it can be seen if you just follow the link to pouet.net.
When I buy a piece of hardware, at least here in Spain, I buy the right to do whatever I want with it.
Recently a judge stated that modifying the hardware was perfectly legal, even if the warranty was then voided, of course, in a trial about the X-Box and the chips to execute non-authorized software (Linux, in this case).
If hardware is gratis, would it be free of rights for the owner too? With the rise of GNU/Linux and the free software community, gratis hardware plus free software is an unstopable combo.
There are many problems concerning the technology, and the legislators not understanding all the posible consecuences of a given law, of from not legislating about something.
Companies make profit of this, and we have to suffer abuse of our rights unconcevaible in other more known industries. Remember problem with software patents (I'm in Europe and it's a main problem now), or other abuses to common consumers in technology areas.
The question now is this money is enough, if not for Microsoft to be punished, at least for Opera to repair the damage done.
Is 12M$ enough money for a company like Opera to reinvent themselves?
With the IE as the widespread browser, and with that money to take a break, IMHO Opera should think about opening other branches, maybe give a try to open source solutions.
well, AAA batteries, 10,000 pages reades, 500 books in memory, why in Hell have they packed such a wonderful geek-toy with this poor memory and energy technology? For 350 euros more or less they should have put at least memory for enough books you cannot read in a lifetime and battery for reading them all.
Is not easier to locate you entirely by your phone signal? in a city, probably within seconds they can tell you exactly where you are, no need of cool-as-hell but expensive technology.
Well, you are answering yourself. The browser war is over, in the media player war there is competition still, but how much will last, given the experience of Netscape against IE? If this sets precedence, perhaps we won't have a monopoly over the contents in three or four years, at least in Europe if no one follows our example.
If the standard 'de facto' of MS is set and followed by RIAA and similars (SGAE in Spain, for example) then open source won't be able to play multimedia copyrighted content and this is the same as saying that it will be shot dead for domestic use.
Net has a lot of information, but excluding some projects as wikipedia or project gutenberg, you can't allways trust the source.
Here in Spain I've been hoaxes believed and reaching the mass media just because "Internet said it". Not everything in the net is trustable, and a good encyclopedia, at least, has a name you can cite. Also, encyclopedias use to have a neutral point of view, so important in wikipedia, some would remind, and it's not the same information and opinion.
Obviously encyclopedias, in printed format, are outdated quickly, but the problem is paper, not the thing itself, probably going online and digital is the best way to compete with a Google that is not what it used to and an Internet full of hoaxes and not so neutral points of view where finding truth is too hard.
I read the other day in my fortune something who said a CEO of a major japanese corporation around the eighties, he said the one who had control of software would control also the world.
The late nineties and the begining of this century have been controled by Microsoft, but now free software is starting to gain momentum. Big corporations supporting it, administrations changing to free models, like we have seen in Spain, Germany or Israel. If the FSF and RMS (the soul of the movement, IMHO) are gathering, I expect they do not only talk about present licenses situation, and the SCO incident, RMS has been advising Lula in Brazil and also was in India, the free software foundation and the free software in general is becoming something more political, and it all started in a very utopian idea.
I hope they think about strategy at medium or even large term, it's an advantadge over propietary software and increasing '%' each month and they (we) should benefit from that.
I'm sitting here, with Tanenbaum's Operating System (2nd ed) and I can't find the "web browser" nor the "media player" chapters. A lot of file systems, input output and the like, but nothing about this integral parts of an operating system.
MS "openness" gives me the creeps. I mean, it's like when they offer you "the first try for free" in drugs. They want everyone to work by their DRM, so they can ground their grip on the market, and use it as a standard "de facto" when negociating with the big content providers. All the little companies developing by their DRM are doing the dirty work for them.
Well, actually terrorism is using threats and violence to force someone to think or behave as you want.
Common virus-writers are more like random violence, they do not use to pursue economical or political agendas, more usually want recognition inside their own community.
I, for one, am fed up with this ciber-terrorists media propaganda.
Money seems to be the main problem here, and I think when things come to public administration money is not the most important thing.
The most important thing to a public administration should be citizens, and there are a few issues that propietary software doesn't do for citizens. First of all, doesn't let to audit the code, and this is a problem when you manage sensible information. Another thing that Microsoft don't does for Munich citizens is promoting local software industry, here in Europe, apart from free vs. propietary software we have another problem. Import vs. local development. Linux es the only horse we can ride. And it's from european origin, also:)
More money, maybe, but why spend this money in a foreign industry when you can spend it developing the local software industry?
It can sound zealot, but I mean it. How can you accept a voting booth if you can't count the votes. Same in the code. If you can't see the code, it the source isn't open for every citizen to look at it, how can it be call democracy?
Ok, reasons for using open source are well known, and I use Linux as a desktop both at work and at home, but when I bought a PDA if I wanted a Zaurus I had to expend a lot more money than for my Tungsten T2, but a PalmOS as operating sistem doesn't means I must use propietary software for everything else, it's like using OOo in a Windows, ok, it's not "pure", but it's free software with all it's advantages, open standards and compatibility.
Slashdot Mirror
The popular demo is not a 64kb demo, farb-rausch are good, but the popular demo is a 8Mb demo, as it can be seen if you just follow the link to pouet.net.
When I buy a piece of hardware, at least here in Spain, I buy the right to do whatever I want with it.
Recently a judge stated that modifying the hardware was perfectly legal, even if the warranty was then voided, of course, in a trial about the X-Box and the chips to execute non-authorized software (Linux, in this case).
If hardware is gratis, would it be free of rights for the owner too? With the rise of GNU/Linux and the free software community, gratis hardware plus free software is an unstopable combo.
There are many problems concerning the technology, and the legislators not understanding all the posible consecuences of a given law, of from not legislating about something.
Companies make profit of this, and we have to suffer abuse of our rights unconcevaible in other more known industries. Remember problem with software patents (I'm in Europe and it's a main problem now), or other abuses to common consumers in technology areas.
The question now is this money is enough, if not for Microsoft to be punished, at least for Opera to repair the damage done.
Is 12M$ enough money for a company like Opera to reinvent themselves?
With the IE as the widespread browser, and with that money to take a break, IMHO Opera should think about opening other branches, maybe give a try to open source solutions.
I'm running a Fedora Core 1 and a WXP in this laptop and have no problem about that.
or was Rusia?
well, AAA batteries, 10,000 pages reades, 500 books in memory, why in Hell have they packed such a wonderful geek-toy with this poor memory and energy technology? For 350 euros more or less they should have put at least memory for enough books you cannot read in a lifetime and battery for reading them all.
Is not easier to locate you entirely by your phone signal? in a city, probably within seconds they can tell you exactly where you are, no need of cool-as-hell but expensive technology.
and her final lucky dragons, was Orson S. Card a ponent?
Well, it's important that Joe Average sees alternatives to Windows in the Wallmart where he goes every saturday.
Media Player isn't near a monopoly in media players.
Say Media Player is not a monopoly YET.
Well, you are answering yourself. The browser war is over, in the media player war there is competition still, but how much will last, given the experience of Netscape against IE? If this sets precedence, perhaps we won't have a monopoly over the contents in three or four years, at least in Europe if no one follows our example.
If the standard 'de facto' of MS is set and followed by RIAA and similars (SGAE in Spain, for example) then open source won't be able to play multimedia copyrighted content and this is the same as saying that it will be shot dead for domestic use.
It's time to wear again those tin foil hats and ask our russian hacker friends how did they manage when KGB had similar powers.
Net has a lot of information, but excluding some projects as wikipedia or project gutenberg, you can't allways trust the source. Here in Spain I've been hoaxes believed and reaching the mass media just because "Internet said it". Not everything in the net is trustable, and a good encyclopedia, at least, has a name you can cite. Also, encyclopedias use to have a neutral point of view, so important in wikipedia, some would remind, and it's not the same information and opinion. Obviously encyclopedias, in printed format, are outdated quickly, but the problem is paper, not the thing itself, probably going online and digital is the best way to compete with a Google that is not what it used to and an Internet full of hoaxes and not so neutral points of view where finding truth is too hard.
I read the other day in my fortune something who said a CEO of a major japanese corporation around the eighties, he said the one who had control of software would control also the world.
The late nineties and the begining of this century have been controled by Microsoft, but now free software is starting to gain momentum. Big corporations supporting it, administrations changing to free models, like we have seen in Spain, Germany or Israel. If the FSF and RMS (the soul of the movement, IMHO) are gathering, I expect they do not only talk about present licenses situation, and the SCO incident, RMS has been advising Lula in Brazil and also was in India, the free software foundation and the free software in general is becoming something more political, and it all started in a very utopian idea.
I hope they think about strategy at medium or even large term, it's an advantadge over propietary software and increasing '%' each month and they (we) should benefit from that.
I'm not favouring Apple, only saying MS is not giving its SDK for free (as in beer) out of goodness.
I'm sitting here, with Tanenbaum's Operating System (2nd ed) and I can't find the "web browser" nor the "media player" chapters. A lot of file systems, input output and the like, but nothing about this integral parts of an operating system.
MS "openness" gives me the creeps. I mean, it's like when they offer you "the first try for free" in drugs. They want everyone to work by their DRM, so they can ground their grip on the market, and use it as a standard "de facto" when negociating with the big content providers. All the little companies developing by their DRM are doing the dirty work for them.
Well, actually terrorism is using threats and violence to force someone to think or behave as you want.
Common virus-writers are more like random violence, they do not use to pursue economical or political agendas, more usually want recognition inside their own community.
I, for one, am fed up with this ciber-terrorists media propaganda.
wellcome our new cibronic sillicon neuron overlords.
Money seems to be the main problem here, and I think when things come to public administration money is not the most important thing.
:)
The most important thing to a public administration should be citizens, and there are a few issues that propietary software doesn't do for citizens. First of all, doesn't let to audit the code, and this is a problem when you manage sensible information. Another thing that Microsoft don't does for Munich citizens is promoting local software industry, here in Europe, apart from free vs. propietary software we have another problem. Import vs. local development. Linux es the only horse we can ride. And it's from european origin, also
More money, maybe, but why spend this money in a foreign industry when you can spend it developing the local software industry?
It can sound zealot, but I mean it. How can you accept a voting booth if you can't count the votes. Same in the code. If you can't see the code, it the source isn't open for every citizen to look at it, how can it be call democracy?
And they are going to sue, for example, China if they did?
Industry standards-based security; I wonder what is that security, I don't see much security as a standard on industry.
Ok, reasons for using open source are well known, and I use Linux as a desktop both at work and at home, but when I bought a PDA if I wanted a Zaurus I had to expend a lot more money than for my Tungsten T2, but a PalmOS as operating sistem doesn't means I must use propietary software for everything else, it's like using OOo in a Windows, ok, it's not "pure", but it's free software with all it's advantages, open standards and compatibility.