A machine whose shell changes colour at the user's whim:) - that would be fun than the boring old grey box for sure!
However, I'm not sure how programmable this light device is (The light source is a collection of red, green and blue LEDs, capable of being used to generate any colour entered as an RGB value), but this bit from the article flummoxed me completely:
punters demanding too many blue and red models and too few green and yellow.
One wonders why someone that can't afford food would have spent money on a computer on which to play these games.
World Food Programme (WFP) seeks to capitalise on the popularity of video games to educate youngsters (target audience of children aged between eight and 13 years old) about hunger and the work of the aid agency, and not to those who cannot afford food. Presumably, greater awareness of the hunger problems in less fortunate parts of the world will make the kids/new-generation more sensitive to the world's problems.
Sounds idealistic? Yes, it does. But lets also not forget that this UN body last year fed more than 100 million people.
Food Force will be free, either as a CD or as a download from the internet. The WFP is also looking at distributing it in schools as an educational tool
Perhaps the warning bells for proprietary solutions/OS began to ring for MS at least, when the Indian government made public its affection for OSS.
#1The Department of Information Technology has already devised a strategy to introduce Linux and open source software as a de-facto standard in academic institutions, especially in engineering colleges through course work that encourages use of such systems. #2: Richard Stallman, founder of the Free Software Foundation, met on
Thursday with Indian President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam to discuss "the
ethical issues related to the use of proprietary software," according to
the Free Software Foundation of India. Stallman also met officials in
the state of Kerala to discuss the use of nonproprietary software in
government initiatives. Last year, Kalam spoke out in favor of
open-source software following a meeting with Microsoft Chairman Bill
Gates.
So, there is ample reason to worry. Now wonder why they'd have a strangulated version of OS as a low-cost option?
(warning: This is a inflammatory, trollish post. Mods, please mark it that way)
They are actually getting some of their sales people certified as Linux experts
So at least they will be expert in *something*. Some day these very skills may bail them out.
1/10th of their test servers now run Linux
Smart move then! Less down time, less security hassles...
There's no set architecture in Linux
So they accept there are architectures in Linux? Conversely, they acknowledge Linux is smart enough to have different architectures for different components/modules, and understands that an OS is not a straight-jacket one-size fits-all thing?
..All roads lead to madness
Which is why they are embracing that madness and studying it?...
This is by no means a complete list. I wish I had more time for this post, but I don't think its worth the effort
I also have no doubt whatsoever that your statement is bald zealotry
Oh really? How is musing about the subtle change in tones of software companies towards open source a fanatical devotion to cause?
If the current corporate adoption of OSS is what constitutes critical mass (ie a few marginal projects here and there), then continue to welcome our current microsoft overlords..
Sure, corporate adoption isn't what we'd like it to be. But neither do we expect things to change overnight. But the very fact that rather than standing firm against it, or suing it, they have started exploring it, smacks of a change in stance and outlook towards open source software. Pretty soon they will figure out way to make money with this change of stance. Which is what the ultimate success of open source software will be - availability of a larger pool of free software, yet the people developing it being paid.
Just to make it clear, it isn't a single "bounty" of $1 million:
CA will award five prizes totaling $1 million at CAWorld 2005 in Orlando, Fla., to individuals developing the best converters for moving customers from Oracle, Informix, DB2, SQL server, and Sybase databases to the Ingres database. The top prize could be worth as much as $500,000.
I suppose some time ago it would have been ironic that corporations are pushing their products into open source, rather than fighting it... however, now with open source software (and the movement) reaching the critical mass, they can no longer fight the tide, and have decided to ride with it.
This still made me smile though: "Linux has proved you can have a successful commercial business around open source," Barrenechea says. "The innovation model in high tech is no longer constrained to corporations, no longer constrained to universities, no longer constrained to venture capitalists, but now is open to a million developers strong who want to contribute."
(quote of Mark Barrenechea, senior VP of product development for CA. )
#1: US-Visit. This security program requires that most foreign visitors traveling to the United States on a visa have their index fingers digitally scanned and a digital photograph taken, so that immigration officers can verify their identity before the visitors are allowed entry into the United States - yeah right! that should stop Osama Bin Laden from getting in !!
#2: British gas - privacy rules prevented it from helping an elderly couple who were found dead of hypothermia in their home last winter, weeks after their gas service was cut off due to nonpayment of a 140-pound ($255) bill. - yes, this can happen only in good ol' england
Also rans:
1. Vodafone - which blocks customers from logging onto adult websites through their phone handsets
2. Lloyds TSB - which has been demanding that customers present themselves at their local branch office with proper photo ID or face having their bank accounts frozen.
That is a very interesting observation, and one that I agree with.
However, is it really a divide of the rich and the poor on internet? and what are the criteria for being the rich or the poor? it surely can't be software or AV updates, since there are a number of tools out there that are free..
Bigger, slower executable
HTML rendering/validation differences from *all* previous versions
More pain in developing webpages/sites, since there will be yet another browser in the market, and the yuppies in marketing and sales will scream their throats off for "compatibility" with it
So"cial*ism\, n. [Cf. F. socialisme.] A theory or system of social reform which contemplates a complete reconstruction of society, with a more just and equitable distribution of property and labor. In popular usage, the term is often employed to indicate any lawless, revolutionary social scheme. See Communism, Fourierism, Saint-Simonianism, forms of socialism.
[Socialism] was first applied in England to Owen's theory of social reconstruction, and in France to those also of St. Simon and Fourier . . . The word, however, is used with a great variety of meaning, . . . even by economists and learned critics. The general tendency is to regard as socialistic any interference undertaken by society on behalf of the poor, . . . radical social reform which disturbs the present system of private property . . . The tendency of the present socialism is more and more to ally itself with the most advanced democracy. --Encyc. Brit.
The "poor" in this regard are those without the best/latest updates or anti-virii software or firewalls.
Or are you one of these ignorant idealogues that equates socialism with "something bad" irrespective of the context or subject at hand?
If I was an "ignorant idealogue", I would have to concur that socialism in "something bad", which I did not, and looking at responses that I received on here, other seem to not interpret that either.
Or perhaps, anyone raising concerns or questioning a new concept/idea, is an "ignorant idealogue" ?
There is no excuse for Corporate security exploits. Unless the corporation just doesn't care about it's computing
I think the above statement was made in good faith and with good intentions. We all *know* that corporations should have the best resources - best admins, latest patches to all the workstations/hosts in the network, best firewalls, etc. We all *know* that these corporations should also have a well documented policy to watch out for new threats - viral or security.
Now, how many times have we heard of leaks, break-ins, trojan infections, DoS attacks, wormhole/securityhole penetrations in the corporations?
They might be well equipped, but I think the fact remains the best laid plans can be shot to pieces in the kind of world it is out there - now whether that's due to holes and vulnerabilities in the most popular OS, is another story.
Will the machines worldwide hooked up onto the web, and high speed connectivities, the time it takes for a virus/worm to spread, is faster than the time it takes to sense, monitor and plug that vulnerability.
1. What if a "White Knight" leaves or opens a new vulnerability?
2. How is one to know if the "White Knight" is actually what it claims to be? Better still, a "White Knight" closing a vulnerability, but opening a backdoor?
for most users, who experience bewildering slowdown of the internect connectivity, or the intranet access, which mysteriously disappears after a few days - for them, such "White Knights" may probably be useful. For grannys, gramps and other naive users it would be a blessing.
For others, who have mission critical application or other extensions on the target OS, such "White Knights" may send a shiver down the spine:
What if it plugs a hole, but breaks something else?
From what I have seen, such socialist stuff doesn't really go down well with corporations. They don't give away things for free, and they don't expect anything given to them for free.
To a large extent, what you said makes a lot of sense - any company, or the decision makers therein, will cater to the group that pays for the bread.
However, with intense cut-throat competition these days, and several such analysis of the profile of the players and their likes/dislikes etc., how long will it be, before MMORPG games have several "profiles" or "levels" that a player is slotted into, based upon his/her playing record. So instead of some people just playing for hours and hours and getting better and higher up the ladder, there will be competition in categories - like multiple game ladders in several categories.
This report has some coverage of the discussions for fighting GPL violations.
Interesting case in point made by Herald Welte that "If a company violates the GPL and negotiates with the FSF to stop, by the time they agree to stop the product is done and they're gone on to the next one -- which could also violate the GPL. Then they can go through the whole process again without really losing much. ".
What I'd like to know is, if there are any steps to identify GPL violations? There are companies all over the world using and modifying OSS tools (most notably from the Apache foundation) and selling them (or selling them as part of their product suites). Is there any initiative to counter this?
You're right that there is perhaps not a large enough demand to have user-replaceable batteries.
However, with more and more handheld devices, PDAs, phones, etc coming in, there is more and more stuff that one needs to recharge every alternate night at least - there's at least the handheld and the phone that I have to worry about
It may perhaps be cost effective this way, but I keep thinking have replaceable batteries saves this hassle (assuming the batteries last like a month or so)
Slashdot Mirror
A machine whose shell changes colour at the user's whim :) - that would be fun than the boring old grey box for sure!
However, I'm not sure how programmable this light device is (The light source is a collection of red, green and blue LEDs, capable of being used to generate any colour entered as an RGB value), but this bit from the article flummoxed me completely:
punters demanding too many blue and red models and too few green and yellow.
That should've been Education Via Video Games I must have been hungry!
Sounds idealistic? Yes, it does. But lets also not forget that this UN body last year fed more than 100 million people.
Food Force will be free, either as a CD or as a download from the internet. The WFP is also looking at distributing it in schools as an educational tool
..humans may be turned into a battery cell, but they may not necessarily generate a lot of power :D
..most governments over the world have realized the benefits of OSS.
To have a glimpse of OSS and governments all over the world, just use good ol' google
Interesting to read is CNET on Governments push open-source software
There's even a Getting Open Source Logic INto Governments (GOSLING) Community
Yeah, but I bet you wouldnt want to be seen flapping your arms vigorously and failing to lift-off!
Perhaps the warning bells for proprietary solutions/OS began to ring for MS at least, when the Indian government made public its affection for OSS.
#1The Department of Information Technology has already devised a strategy to introduce Linux and open source software as a de-facto standard in academic institutions, especially in engineering colleges through course work that encourages use of such systems.
#2: Richard Stallman, founder of the Free Software Foundation, met on Thursday with Indian President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam to discuss "the ethical issues related to the use of proprietary software," according to the Free Software Foundation of India. Stallman also met officials in the state of Kerala to discuss the use of nonproprietary software in government initiatives. Last year, Kalam spoke out in favor of open-source software following a meeting with Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates.
So, there is ample reason to worry. Now wonder why they'd have a strangulated version of OS as a low-cost option?
So at least they will be expert in *something*. Some day these very skills may bail them out.
Smart move then! Less down time, less security hassles...
So they accept there are architectures in Linux? Conversely, they acknowledge Linux is smart enough to have different architectures for different components/modules, and understands that an OS is not a straight-jacket one-size fits-all thing?
Which is why they are embracing that madness and studying it?
(aah, this feels good!)
Here are some others:
This is by no means a complete list. I wish I had more time for this post, but I don't think its worth the effort
Oh really? How is musing about the subtle change in tones of software companies towards open source a fanatical devotion to cause?
Sure, corporate adoption isn't what we'd like it to be. But neither do we expect things to change overnight. But the very fact that rather than standing firm against it, or suing it, they have started exploring it, smacks of a change in stance and outlook towards open source software. Pretty soon they will figure out way to make money with this change of stance. Which is what the ultimate success of open source software will be - availability of a larger pool of free software, yet the people developing it being paid.
I suppose some time ago it would have been ironic that corporations are pushing their products into open source, rather than fighting it... however, now with open source software (and the movement) reaching the critical mass, they can no longer fight the tide, and have decided to ride with it.
This still made me smile though:
"Linux has proved you can have a successful commercial business around open source," Barrenechea says. "The innovation model in high tech is no longer constrained to corporations, no longer constrained to universities, no longer constrained to venture capitalists, but now is open to a million developers strong who want to contribute."
(quote of Mark Barrenechea, senior VP of product development for CA. )
ok so they can see what a person is seeing, but will they be able to correctly pinpoint what connection the viewer's mind has made?
Or *exactly* what is he/she thinking?
Or what that sight/object in line of vision, has triggered?
#1: US-Visit . This security program requires that most foreign visitors traveling to the United States on a visa have their index fingers digitally scanned and a digital photograph taken, so that immigration officers can verify their identity before the visitors are allowed entry into the United States - yeah right! that should stop Osama Bin Laden from getting in !!
#2: British gas - privacy rules prevented it from helping an elderly couple who were found dead of hypothermia in their home last winter, weeks after their gas service was cut off due to nonpayment of a 140-pound ($255) bill. - yes, this can happen only in good ol' england
Also rans:
1. Vodafone - which blocks customers from logging onto adult websites through their phone handsets
2. Lloyds TSB - which has been demanding that customers present themselves at their local branch office with proper photo ID or face having their bank accounts frozen.
Not sure what he is advocating/saying, other than probably whining, but its interesting to see the guy has his own censorship ....leaves me speechless
for once no one here would say, "now imagine a beowful cluster of those!" haha! oh...damn!
That is a very interesting observation, and one that I agree with.
However, is it really a divide of the rich and the poor on internet? and what are the criteria for being the rich or the poor? it surely can't be software or AV updates, since there are a number of tools out there that are free..
Expect :
Bigger, slower executable
HTML rendering/validation differences from *all* previous versions
More pain in developing webpages/sites, since there will be yet another browser in the market, and the yuppies in marketing and sales will scream their throats off for "compatibility" with it
Socialism
So"cial*ism\, n. [Cf. F. socialisme.] A theory or system of social reform which contemplates a complete reconstruction of society, with a more just and equitable distribution of property and labor. In popular usage, the term is often employed to indicate any lawless, revolutionary social scheme. See Communism, Fourierism, Saint-Simonianism, forms of socialism.
[Socialism] was first applied in England to Owen's theory of social reconstruction, and in France to those also of St. Simon and Fourier . . . The word, however, is used with a great variety of meaning, . . . even by economists and learned critics. The general tendency is to regard as socialistic any interference undertaken by society on behalf of the poor , . . . radical social reform which disturbs the present system of private property . . . The tendency of the present socialism is more and more to ally itself with the most advanced democracy. --Encyc. Brit.
The "poor" in this regard are those without the best/latest updates or anti-virii software or firewalls.
If I was an "ignorant idealogue", I would have to concur that socialism in "something bad", which I did not, and looking at responses that I received on here, other seem to not interpret that either.
Or perhaps, anyone raising concerns or questioning a new concept/idea, is an "ignorant idealogue" ?
Now, how many times have we heard of leaks, break-ins, trojan infections, DoS attacks, wormhole/securityhole penetrations in the corporations?
They might be well equipped, but I think the fact remains the best laid plans can be shot to pieces in the kind of world it is out there - now whether that's due to holes and vulnerabilities in the most popular OS, is another story.
Will the machines worldwide hooked up onto the web, and high speed connectivities, the time it takes for a virus/worm to spread, is faster than the time it takes to sense, monitor and plug that vulnerability.
Some of the obvious reactions :
1. What if a "White Knight" leaves or opens a new vulnerability?
2. How is one to know if the "White Knight" is actually what it claims to be? Better still, a "White Knight" closing a vulnerability, but opening a backdoor?
for most users, who experience bewildering slowdown of the internect connectivity, or the intranet access, which mysteriously disappears after a few days - for them, such "White Knights" may probably be useful. For grannys, gramps and other naive users it would be a blessing.
For others, who have mission critical application or other extensions on the target OS, such "White Knights" may send a shiver down the spine:
What if it plugs a hole, but breaks something else?
From what I have seen, such socialist stuff doesn't really go down well with corporations. They don't give away things for free, and they don't expect anything given to them for free.
To a large extent, what you said makes a lot of sense - any company, or the decision makers therein, will cater to the group that pays for the bread.
However, with intense cut-throat competition these days, and several such analysis of the profile of the players and their likes/dislikes etc., how long will it be, before MMORPG games have several "profiles" or "levels" that a player is slotted into, based upon his/her playing record. So instead of some people just playing for hours and hours and getting better and higher up the ladder, there will be competition in categories - like multiple game ladders in several categories.
This report has some coverage of the discussions for fighting GPL violations.
Interesting case in point made by Herald Welte that "If a company violates the GPL and negotiates with the FSF to stop, by the time they agree to stop the product is done and they're gone on to the next one -- which could also violate the GPL. Then they can go through the whole process again without really losing much. ".
What I'd like to know is, if there are any steps to identify GPL violations? There are companies all over the world using and modifying OSS tools (most notably from the Apache foundation) and selling them (or selling them as part of their product suites). Is there any initiative to counter this?
You're right that there is perhaps not a large enough demand to have user-replaceable batteries.
However, with more and more handheld devices, PDAs, phones, etc coming in, there is more and more stuff that one needs to recharge every alternate night at least - there's at least the handheld and the phone that I have to worry about
It may perhaps be cost effective this way, but I keep thinking have replaceable batteries saves this hassle (assuming the batteries last like a month or so)