I don't see what so radical about encouraging people to cooperatively develop and share software. It's worked well to bring you the Linux kernel, Firefox, OpenOffice and so many other programs you use. It should also be noted that SoftwareFreedomDay.org like many efforts in free software are not "FSF projects" or the result of mind-control. I find the almost pure altruism in releasing software under the GPL or AGPL refreshing. It's a relief in a world where media, thought, and actions are increasingly controlled by relatively few, powerful interests.
Also, please do not confuse free software advocacy for Linux advocacy. We do not wish that everyone would use a certain kernel or one certain piece of free software. We wish that everyone would use only free software. It's not about technical superiority. It's about allowing each person to use their computer without strict dependence on any single non-free software provider.
The beauty of free software is you don't have to. You can spend about 10 minutes searching the internet to learn enough to want to try something out. Or you might learn that you already have free software on your system.
Your reaction is not universal. And handing out a leaflet is done because it is a method of getting a message to many people cheaply. Yes, many will throw such a leaflet away or not look at it, but some will. So if you look at it from a cost-per-impression basis it's quite effective. What alternative do you propose?
For being one of the most free-software-leaning discussion sites on the internet, the level of derision here for Software Freedom day is odd.
There is no requirement for Software Freedom day to pass out CDs or leaflets or get in anyone's face. It can be as simple as having a BBQ and inviting your geekiest friends. If you happen to print out some flyers like this or this or yikes! even burn a free-software-infested CD I don't think you'll be hurting anyone. If you do happen to have an event, take pictures...it'd be nice to see what SFD really look like rather than dwell on the fear posed by a burnt-CD.
On the other side of the equation, that 4 GB tells me they weren't really trying. You can get 16gb sd cards and I bet a pidgeon could carry 5 of them at least. So that'd be 80GB*10/7200 = 111 Mbps...half duplex as others have stated. Horses for courses, this entire idea is kind of ridiculous..22 Mbps is quite usable though, and I didn't read TFA, but perhaps cost is the issue.
It's a new idea and resources are being put together to support those who'd like to participate. The page is updated to go to a wiki and a mailing list will be available shortly.
If anyone's interested in going to a local Best Buy on 9/19/09 with CDs and flyers and encouraging people to try gnu/linux on their laptops before they buy, visit http://trygnulinux.com/sfd09
If Microsoft thinks it's a worthy battleground, perhaps we should as well.
I like this idea but instead of livecd, make it an encrypted bootable usb key. Then it can be updated, encrypted, signed and gnu/linux based. The password at boot? Just another pin.
This is great to see, very easy to compile and to play around with. During a little extra time about 5 years ago I explored particle simulations with forces similar to electrostatic and atomic forces. Also had fun doing some stuff with artificial life. That was all on Windows NT and used OpenGL but I wrote my own library in C++ so I'll have to hook that library up with this code and re-release some of those toys under the GPLv3. ForceMaster was what I called it back in the day.
Microsoft changed Office to bring their still-locked-in users to a new non-OpenOffice interface. OpenOffice implement it. Microsoft, your move.
On a more serious note, Microsoft claims to have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on changes to Office 2007 so it'll probably be better for users in the long run to have the ribbon in OpenOffice. I know it will become increasingly important if users are to be switched from $what_they_know.
I recently went for a swim with my iPhone of 17 months. Having this necessary decision point, I decided to try a Blackberry Curve 8900. Being intimately familiar with the iPhone both stock and jailbroken, I'm very impressed with the Blackberry. The Blackberry has a microsd card slot that supports up to 32gb. It gives you the option to be a mass-storage device and actually has a pretty decent media player. No OGG support but I can find the exact song I want in my 16gb card in half the time I could on the iPhone. There are all these annoying animations that look pretty on the iPhone but get in the way of getting stuff done.
Another thing that's great about the Blackberry is its ability to run J2ME applications of which there are many. Not to mention that some of these apps are free software. There's the App World if you want to go that way but you can also install things with the web browser.
Another big thing is buttons. All these buttons on the keyboard mean I can operate the phone/media player/flip through emails without having to look at/for the button. To sum up, it's nice to finally know why so many people have Blackberries. They're great for business and even though it doesn't show as well it's a lot more fun for a techy to play with and RIM clearly respects their users more.
Discussion is helpful to educate and to flesh out and refine arguments but frankly it doesn't accomplish as much as taking action. For example, for Free Software(and for user freedom) to get where it is today has required: Getting the word out. Providing free software to people. Installing it for them in some cases. Educating them about cases where their freedom has been limited. Writing good software and releasing it under a free software license. Helping document and support free software.
There are so many facets that everyone can find a way to help. If debate is your thing, cool. If you can write well, great. If you can code, awesome. If you can't do any of the above, you probably buy technology from time to time. Make sure free drivers are available or that it works with free software. Just do something. Freedom is unique in that one person can not have it without a significant number of others also being able to exercise theirs.
If a Blu-ray weighs the same as a CD (15g) and Blu-rays store 50GB per disk you'll need 20,000 of them. So that'll be a mass of 300kg or a weight of 660 lbs.
Now presumably you'll need a few drives and some sort of system for storing and swapping disks to actually read that DRM-encoded goodness but my info-gathering and synthesizing mojo is all worn out so I'll just leave you with that.
It's really hard to see how free software isn't relevant to "cloud computing" services when you can basically build your own using them. Apache/MySQL/Php can let you build quite a bit...maybe that's not enough to be cloud certifiable er...certified but it works for me.
The other issue here is market leadership and time-to-market. Admittedly this speed is somewhat lacking the free software world because the motivations are different but in the long run, free software will win out as it allows more of the best minds to collaborate to build better systems. I'm looking forward to a user/customer owned coop cloud solution and perhaps another one that consists of ready-to-download virtual machines that I can run on my own hardware wherever it may be. A project called Eucalyptus is a step in the right direction in this space.
Some of these network services are starting with the right ethics in mind and it's those we should be talking up. With identi.ca, libre.fm, Eucalyptus and other projects making progress each day, free software(not open source) is anything but dead.
Some people like the clean look of a Google homepage while others who want a little news go with Yahoo. Also, AT&T plugs a lot of people into a Yahoo homepage by default. For many, it's not about search, it's about homepages.
Both of these make me want to get back and code as soon as possible. Another idea is to stop trying to code and instead concentrate on what has inspired you in the past. Think of the possibilities! New ways to format or generate those TPS reports will have you coding again in no time!
The OP is trying to solve a political problem with technical analysis. We have plenty of technology. We just don't have the mass political will yet. What will make the difference? When the undesirables are taxed so the desirable energy sources are competitve. When those tax revenues are used to fund research and production of nuclear, solar, and wind, we'll end up with cheap and clean power sooner than we think.
Slashdot Mirror
And here's a spreadsheet showing the rate of climb/descent vs. altitude. Fairly simple with a little grep | cut | ...
http://trygnulinux.com/bear4-speed-vs-alt.ods
News at 11. Go crazy you two. It's kinda cute.
That n900 looks like it's about to replace laptops and desktops. Are there any plans to allow it to be docked to a keyboard, mouse, and monitor?
Yes and yes. Why is it so hard to start with respect for the user and work from there?
exhibits harmful behavior or has unforeseen effects
Doesn't sound like Windows Mobile and the Marketplace App are going to be with us for long.
I don't see what so radical about encouraging people to cooperatively develop and share software. It's worked well to bring you the Linux kernel, Firefox, OpenOffice and so many other programs you use. It should also be noted that SoftwareFreedomDay.org like many efforts in free software are not "FSF projects" or the result of mind-control. I find the almost pure altruism in releasing software under the GPL or AGPL refreshing. It's a relief in a world where media, thought, and actions are increasingly controlled by relatively few, powerful interests.
Also, please do not confuse free software advocacy for Linux advocacy. We do not wish that everyone would use a certain kernel or one certain piece of free software. We wish that everyone would use only free software. It's not about technical superiority. It's about allowing each person to use their computer without strict dependence on any single non-free software provider.
The beauty of free software is you don't have to. You can spend about 10 minutes searching the internet to learn enough to want to try something out. Or you might learn that you already have free software on your system.
Your reaction is not universal. And handing out a leaflet is done because it is a method of getting a message to many people cheaply. Yes, many will throw such a leaflet away or not look at it, but some will. So if you look at it from a cost-per-impression basis it's quite effective. What alternative do you propose?
For being one of the most free-software-leaning discussion sites on the internet, the level of derision here for Software Freedom day is odd.
There is no requirement for Software Freedom day to pass out CDs or leaflets or get in anyone's face. It can be as simple as having a BBQ and inviting your geekiest friends. If you happen to print out some flyers like this or this or yikes! even burn a free-software-infested CD I don't think you'll be hurting anyone. If you do happen to have an event, take pictures...it'd be nice to see what SFD really look like rather than dwell on the fear posed by a burnt-CD.
Happy Software Freedom Day!
On the other side of the equation, that 4 GB tells me they weren't really trying. You can get 16gb sd cards and I bet a pidgeon could carry 5 of them at least. So that'd be 80GB*10/7200 = 111 Mbps...half duplex as others have stated. Horses for courses, this entire idea is kind of ridiculous. .22 Mbps is quite usable though, and I didn't read TFA, but perhaps cost is the issue.
Where can I sign up?
It's a new idea and resources are being put together to support those who'd like to participate. The page is updated to go to a wiki and a mailing list will be available shortly.
If anyone's interested in going to a local Best Buy on 9/19/09 with CDs and flyers and encouraging people to try gnu/linux on their laptops before they buy, visit http://trygnulinux.com/sfd09
If Microsoft thinks it's a worthy battleground, perhaps we should as well.
Perhaps you were being facetious but they were referring to the ignition of the chemicals, not the speed of the "projectile".
I like this idea but instead of livecd, make it an encrypted bootable usb key. Then it can be updated, encrypted, signed and gnu/linux based. The password at boot? Just another pin.
This is great to see, very easy to compile and to play around with. During a little extra time about 5 years ago I explored particle simulations with forces similar to electrostatic and atomic forces. Also had fun doing some stuff with artificial life. That was all on Windows NT and used OpenGL but I wrote my own library in C++ so I'll have to hook that library up with this code and re-release some of those toys under the GPLv3. ForceMaster was what I called it back in the day.
Microsoft changed Office to bring their still-locked-in users to a new non-OpenOffice interface. OpenOffice implement it. Microsoft, your move.
On a more serious note, Microsoft claims to have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on changes to Office 2007 so it'll probably be better for users in the long run to have the ribbon in OpenOffice. I know it will become increasingly important if users are to be switched from $what_they_know.
badguy.com of course! (goes to check his list of root CAs)
I recently went for a swim with my iPhone of 17 months. Having this necessary decision point, I decided to try a Blackberry Curve 8900. Being intimately familiar with the iPhone both stock and jailbroken, I'm very impressed with the Blackberry. The Blackberry has a microsd card slot that supports up to 32gb. It gives you the option to be a mass-storage device and actually has a pretty decent media player. No OGG support but I can find the exact song I want in my 16gb card in half the time I could on the iPhone. There are all these annoying animations that look pretty on the iPhone but get in the way of getting stuff done.
Another thing that's great about the Blackberry is its ability to run J2ME applications of which there are many. Not to mention that some of these apps are free software. There's the App World if you want to go that way but you can also install things with the web browser.
Another big thing is buttons. All these buttons on the keyboard mean I can operate the phone/media player/flip through emails without having to look at/for the button. To sum up, it's nice to finally know why so many people have Blackberries. They're great for business and even though it doesn't show as well it's a lot more fun for a techy to play with and RIM clearly respects their users more.
Discussion is helpful to educate and to flesh out and refine arguments but frankly it doesn't accomplish as much as taking action. For example, for Free Software(and for user freedom) to get where it is today has required: Getting the word out. Providing free software to people. Installing it for them in some cases. Educating them about cases where their freedom has been limited. Writing good software and releasing it under a free software license. Helping document and support free software.
There are so many facets that everyone can find a way to help. If debate is your thing, cool. If you can write well, great. If you can code, awesome. If you can't do any of the above, you probably buy technology from time to time. Make sure free drivers are available or that it works with free software. Just do something. Freedom is unique in that one person can not have it without a significant number of others also being able to exercise theirs.
If a Blu-ray weighs the same as a CD (15g) and Blu-rays store 50GB per disk you'll need 20,000 of them. So that'll be a mass of 300kg or a weight of 660 lbs.
Now presumably you'll need a few drives and some sort of system for storing and swapping disks to actually read that DRM-encoded goodness but my info-gathering and synthesizing mojo is all worn out so I'll just leave you with that.
Yes, that's clearly Twitter territory.
It's really hard to see how free software isn't relevant to "cloud computing" services when you can basically build your own using them. Apache/MySQL/Php can let you build quite a bit...maybe that's not enough to be cloud certifiable er...certified but it works for me.
The other issue here is market leadership and time-to-market. Admittedly this speed is somewhat lacking the free software world because the motivations are different but in the long run, free software will win out as it allows more of the best minds to collaborate to build better systems. I'm looking forward to a user/customer owned coop cloud solution and perhaps another one that consists of ready-to-download virtual machines that I can run on my own hardware wherever it may be. A project called Eucalyptus is a step in the right direction in this space.
Some of these network services are starting with the right ethics in mind and it's those we should be talking up. With identi.ca, libre.fm, Eucalyptus and other projects making progress each day, free software(not open source) is anything but dead.
Some people like the clean look of a Google homepage while others who want a little news go with Yahoo. Also, AT&T plugs a lot of people into a Yahoo homepage by default. For many, it's not about search, it's about homepages.
Both of these make me want to get back and code as soon as possible. Another idea is to stop trying to code and instead concentrate on what has inspired you in the past. Think of the possibilities! New ways to format or generate those TPS reports will have you coding again in no time!
and there are ways to reduce the amount of waste: see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breeder_reactor
The OP is trying to solve a political problem with technical analysis. We have plenty of technology. We just don't have the mass political will yet. What will make the difference? When the undesirables are taxed so the desirable energy sources are competitve. When those tax revenues are used to fund research and production of nuclear, solar, and wind, we'll end up with cheap and clean power sooner than we think.