All I can say is "what the heck?" I thought the tittle of page was funny, I didn't know that somehow was some terrible statement aimed at marketing people everywhere?
The idea that "Without marketing, Linux is nothing" seems a bit of a broad statement, considering without something (Linux in this case) to market, marketing is also nothing.
Long before people were marketing Linux I was using it and enjoyed it (not an expert but I still had fun).
I'm sure marketing people work hard and all, but they're marketing other people's work, and that's something also. Your implication that I somehow didn't appreciate the hard work some marketing people did to come up with that page is accurate though. I think marketing with such far flung statements like the tittle of that article draws away from any real information that might be in there.
I agree, the term "merger" seems way inaccurate. From the info on VA's site it sounds more like an acquisition. Not to say that is somehow "bad" compared to a merger being "good." The end results can be positive or negative regardless of the acquisition or merger.
I can't see a reason Andover (or now VA) would ever want to divest/. Holding all the chips to in that pile keeps their net worth nice and high, selling some off would do the opposite.
Granted some important stuff is missed and comes much too slow and has been getting somewhat worse here. However I think an hour is pretty acceptable. If everything came up within a day of when the news broke I'd be quite content.
So I'm at VA's site and I see the following press release titled: "VA Linux to Acquire Andover.Net in Most Significant Transaction in Linux History" I can't help but giggle a little at the hype. I appreciate that this important to me and allot of other/. users but the tittle just seems to imply allot more than there is to it. I'm trying to picture Mr. T (Linus) and such people running around calling people saying "Oh my god! This is 'Most Significant Transaction in Linux History'" Sometimes corporate hype is just too darned funny to take seriously.
Well there are toll roads where someone else owns the roads and you have to pay to dive. It is a similar situation with music. Not to say I'm very fond of that particular system myself.
I remember back when years ago when the Inet was new and corporate interests played no part in site design and the big sites often changed they're logos and such around holidays. Not just the major holidays but groundhogs day and such too. I even remember some of the big ones playing April fools jokes. Now it seems that things are just a bit colder out there on the Inet. Sure sites toss up a little story about the holiday, but it's just not the same anymore. I say YAY to Google for keeping a little humanity and fun on the internet. It's not a big deal, but it's nice to see.
I once worked for a large PC manuf (gord help me) and I am a bit shocked that people feel that the systems should be cheaper. You also have to consider support costs to the company. They either have to hire and train their own employees or outsource the support, either way that's very costly to start from scratch and goes into the price. Support costs for PC manufs are massive. Just try teaching a pile of windows techs basics of Unix/Linux support, it's an UGLY undertaking, I've tried.
Support for such systems is a whole new world and companies accustomed to paying X amount of dollars for X amount of support may take some time to realize how they can't recycle most their current windows support staff resulting is some messes. I think this could be a stumbling block to many companies who's support may poor with windows (to say the least) and then attempt to do support for Linux/Unix. The alternative would be outsourcing, however with a limited # of such outsourcers the costs there will be prohibitive for some companies to start.
I once worked for a large PC manuf (gord help me) and I to am a bit shocked at people feel that the systems should be cheaper. You also have to consider support costs to the company. They either have to hire and train their own employees or outsource the support, either way that's very costly to start from scratch and goes into the price.
I once worked for a large PC manuf (gord help me) and I to am a bit shocked at people feel that the systems should be cheaper. You also have to consider support costs to the company. They either have to hire and train their own employees or outsource the support, either way that's very costly to start from scratch.
I think that the OSS community (if in the form of an open source scientific org) would have developed the atom bomb if given the chance and resources. The only difference would be that they would have let everyone else know how to do it and do it well . . .
If Ford(or any car company) put a tracking device on each of their cars and tracked their driver's personal information with driving habits and sold that info without telling anyone, they'd be in huge legal problems. Yet sadly it seems because the Inet is a new medium Doubleclick can for now get away with it.
I noticed that too. It did seem to be a bit gimmicky didn't it?
It's not like we're little Open Source Smurfs here who have to hear variations on the words Open Source in every sentence or we lose interest or gain anymore than we already have.
I wonder if this might have the same problem as VR headsets have had? Speaking with several people who do testing with VR headsets they've noted problems with depth perception and motor skills after using the headsets. They've even had to limit usage to make sure employees can drive home safely. Very basically put the problem tends to stem from the fact that the simulations are real enough to fool the senses (obviously the intent). However, the physically the body gets out of sync with the senses. They've suited the effect and have found that the effect takes place after only a few hours for a while afterward. While with after a few hours of such exposure the effects are negligible, they've recorded worse problems after exposure of a few hours each day over a few weeks that even employees noticed outside of testing. The effects so far do seem to wear off in a week or so, but studies of regular usage over more than a few months have not been completed (or at least they haven't released them).
I like that question. If I could dump the sum of all my knowledge and every reaction that I would have to whatever stimuli into a text file . . . it sure wouldn't be me. Even if I could somehow convert that into a program, would it grow? Could it move beyond all that data and use it? I think knowledge of how and why we work is just as important as simply finding a way to dump info from a brain into a computer.
I also wonder if inside a machine, or if machines make up a large part of me, am I still me? I'd personally think moods and feelings regarding our health, aging, and how we socialize, would change allot if I were somehow presented with the possibility of the benefits of such computer enhancement such as living forever (or a much longer time, say 500 years). Thus my theory that while some of "I" would be part of that machine, "I" would no longer be "me."
If you're waiting for a perfect world with no questionable lawsuits, you won't ever be celebrating. I enjoy it for what it is. *raise glass and take a drink*
This whole LinuxOne deal has gone beyond shocking to the point where it's just weird. To me it seems there's allot more going on than just what we've heard. A lawyer writing from a Hotmail account just screams of a prank (and not a very good one at that). I'm also a bit confused by Derek Simkowiak's stated intent to write "to clear up the nasty reputation they've received on the Internet" since he never actually explains how he intended to do so. This just seems awfully questionable since some key info is also not provided (i.e. the name of the investment firm he wrote). I'll wait until I hear some independent info before I believe this one. However regarding LinuxOne, I wouldn't' be shocked if the whole LinuxOne thing turns out to be a bizarre prank or something more than just a ploy to release an IPO and make some bucks, it just seems that there is something else there. Not to say it shouldn't be watched closely.
I just saw that CNN is running this story on their Airport News channel and Headline News channel as well. The story on there is much the same as the article. It seems to be getting allot of play by CNN, not just a page on the web. They do note AOL's recent deal with Time Warner and that CNN's parent company is Time Warner.
I would have to very much agree with your statement. Bill had some details wrong in that quote, but much of the theory seems to have come true so far. It is true that some things just do not get developed quickly or perhaps even not of quality when it comes to the less glamorous applications, documentation or niches of OSS software.
Everyone likes saying "You see that? I did that!" and your friend or coworkers reply "Wow cool, that's great!" It's a pain in the ass when you say, "Check this out!" and you pull up a file explaining why what was done where in such and such an app, and they reply "Uh, so?" Sitting there I know it's gonna be very helpful to someone sometime, yet I kind of feel like I just blew a week of work.
Quoting another slashdoter I once read: "How many more mp3 players do we need, when there is real work to be done?" I'm not implying that people shouldn't be doing what they want. But as an animal OSS doesn't get some things done as of yet. Perhaps a TBN (thankless bunch of nobodies) org needs to be developed to take on those crappy tasks that just don't get done but need to be.
Slashdot Mirror
And without marketing Crystal Pepsi would have been nothing too :-) Oh wait?
All I can say is "what the heck?"
I thought the tittle of page was funny, I didn't know that somehow was some terrible statement aimed at marketing people everywhere?
The idea that "Without marketing, Linux is nothing" seems a bit of a broad statement, considering without something (Linux in this case) to market, marketing is also nothing.
Long before people were marketing Linux I was using it and enjoyed it (not an expert but I still had fun).
I'm sure marketing people work hard and all, but they're marketing other people's work, and that's something also. Your implication that I somehow didn't appreciate the hard work some marketing people did to come up with that page is accurate though. I think marketing with such far flung statements like the tittle of that article draws away from any real information that might be in there.
I agree, the term "merger" seems way inaccurate. From the info on VA's site it sounds more like an acquisition. Not to say that is somehow "bad" compared to a merger being "good." The end results can be positive or negative regardless of the acquisition or merger.
I can't see a reason Andover (or now VA) would ever want to divest /. Holding all the chips to in that pile keeps their net worth nice and high, selling some off would do the opposite.
Granted some important stuff is missed and comes much too slow and has been getting somewhat worse here. However I think an hour is pretty acceptable. If everything came up within a day of when the news broke I'd be quite content.
So I'm at VA's site and I see the following press release titled: /. users but the tittle just seems to imply allot more than there is to it. I'm trying to picture Mr. T (Linus) and such people running around calling people saying "Oh my god! This is 'Most Significant Transaction in Linux History'"
"VA Linux to Acquire Andover.Net in Most Significant Transaction in Linux History"
I can't help but giggle a little at the hype. I appreciate that this important to me and allot of other
Sometimes corporate hype is just too darned funny to take seriously.
Well there are toll roads where someone else owns the roads and you have to pay to dive. It is a similar situation with music.
Not to say I'm very fond of that particular system myself.
If you listen an episode or two back they make some comments on it, with some humor.
I remember back when years ago when the Inet was new and corporate interests played no part in site design and the big sites often changed they're logos and such around holidays. Not just the major holidays but groundhogs day and such too. I even remember some of the big ones playing April fools jokes. Now it seems that things are just a bit colder out there on the Inet. Sure sites toss up a little story about the holiday, but it's just not the same anymore.
I say YAY to Google for keeping a little humanity and fun on the internet. It's not a big deal, but it's nice to see.
I once worked for a large PC manuf (gord help me) and I am a bit shocked that people feel that the systems should be cheaper. You also have to consider support costs to the company. They either have to hire and train their own employees or outsource the support, either way that's very costly to start from scratch and goes into the price. Support costs for PC manufs are massive. Just try teaching a pile of windows techs basics of Unix/Linux support, it's an UGLY undertaking, I've tried.
Support for such systems is a whole new world and companies accustomed to paying X amount of dollars for X amount of support may take some time to realize how they can't recycle most their current windows support staff resulting is some messes. I think this could be a stumbling block to many companies who's support may poor with windows (to say the least) and then attempt to do support for Linux/Unix. The alternative would be outsourcing, however with a limited # of such outsourcers the costs there will be prohibitive for some companies to start.
I once worked for a large PC manuf (gord help me) and I to am a bit shocked at people feel that the systems should be cheaper. You also have to consider support costs to the company. They either have to hire and train their own employees or outsource the support, either way that's very costly to start from scratch and goes into the price.
I once worked for a large PC manuf (gord help me) and I to am a bit shocked at people feel that the systems should be cheaper. You also have to consider support costs to the company. They either have to hire and train their own employees or outsource the support, either way that's very costly to start from scratch.
Note to /. users. Don't play this episode too loudly when Malda rants . . . elderly neighbors will call cops due to "domestic dispute" next door.
I think that the OSS community (if in the form of an open source scientific org) would have developed the atom bomb if given the chance and resources. The only difference would be that they would have let everyone else know how to do it and do it well . . .
That's a bit scary to me.
If Ford(or any car company) put a tracking device on each of their cars and tracked their driver's personal information with driving habits and sold that info without telling anyone, they'd be in huge legal problems.
Yet sadly it seems because the Inet is a new medium Doubleclick can for now get away with it.
Does anyone know what type of consulting services they provide to those companies?
I noticed that too. It did seem to be a bit gimmicky didn't it?
It's not like we're little Open Source Smurfs here who have to hear variations on the words Open Source in every sentence or we lose interest or gain anymore than we already have.
I wonder if this might have the same problem as VR headsets have had? Speaking with several people who do testing with VR headsets they've noted problems with depth perception and motor skills after using the headsets. They've even had to limit usage to make sure employees can drive home safely.
Very basically put the problem tends to stem from the fact that the simulations are real enough to fool the senses (obviously the intent). However, the physically the body gets out of sync with the senses. They've suited the effect and have found that the effect takes place after only a few hours for a while afterward. While with after a few hours of such exposure the effects are negligible, they've recorded worse problems after exposure of a few hours each day over a few weeks that even employees noticed outside of testing. The effects so far do seem to wear off in a week or so, but studies of regular usage over more than a few months have not been completed (or at least they haven't released them).
I like that question. If I could dump the sum of all my knowledge and every reaction that I would have to whatever stimuli into a text file . . . it sure wouldn't be me. Even if I could somehow convert that into a program, would it grow? Could it move beyond all that data and use it? I think knowledge of how and why we work is just as important as simply finding a way to dump info from a brain into a computer.
I also wonder if inside a machine, or if machines make up a large part of me, am I still me? I'd personally think moods and feelings regarding our health, aging, and how we socialize, would change allot if I were somehow presented with the possibility of the benefits of such computer enhancement such as living forever (or a much longer time, say 500 years). Thus my theory that while some of "I" would be part of that machine, "I" would no longer be "me."
If you're waiting for a perfect world with no questionable lawsuits, you won't ever be celebrating. I enjoy it for what it is. *raise glass and take a drink*
This whole LinuxOne deal has gone beyond shocking to the point where it's just weird. To me it seems there's allot more going on than just what we've heard. A lawyer writing from a Hotmail account just screams of a prank (and not a very good one at that). I'm also a bit confused by Derek Simkowiak's stated intent to write "to clear up the nasty reputation they've received on the Internet" since he never actually explains how he intended to do so. This just seems awfully questionable since some key info is also not provided (i.e. the name of the investment firm he wrote). I'll wait until I hear some independent info before I believe this one.
However regarding LinuxOne, I wouldn't' be shocked if the whole LinuxOne thing turns out to be a bizarre prank or something more than just a ploy to release an IPO and make some bucks, it just seems that there is something else there. Not to say it shouldn't be watched closely.
I just saw that CNN is running this story on their Airport News channel and Headline News channel as well. The story on there is much the same as the article. It seems to be getting allot of play by CNN, not just a page on the web.
They do note AOL's recent deal with Time Warner and that CNN's parent company is Time Warner.
Well thank you very much for the Phantom Karma! It's gotta count for something!
I'm not sure about you guys but I go straight to the man when I've got to confess someting!
http://thepope.org/
I would have to very much agree with your statement. Bill had some details wrong in that quote, but much of the theory seems to have come true so far. It is true that some things just do not get developed quickly or perhaps even not of quality when it comes to the less glamorous applications, documentation or niches of OSS software.
Everyone likes saying "You see that? I did that!" and your friend or coworkers reply "Wow cool, that's great!" It's a pain in the ass when you say, "Check this out!" and you pull up a file explaining why what was done where in such and such an app, and they reply "Uh, so?" Sitting there I know it's gonna be very helpful to someone sometime, yet I kind of feel like I just blew a week of work.
Quoting another slashdoter I once read: "How many more mp3 players do we need, when there is real work to be done?" I'm not implying that people shouldn't be doing what they want. But as an animal OSS doesn't get some things done as of yet. Perhaps a TBN (thankless bunch of nobodies) org needs to be developed to take on those crappy tasks that just don't get done but need to be.