Why should you care what other people do with their computers? When Microsoft rolls DRM into the OS, and marries the Windows to the BIOS, and congress decrees that all non-DRM-compliant computers are illegal "circumvention devices," then you will care very much that Linux failed to create a popular, open platform to prevent this from happening, even though the Linux development community was INCHES away from making it possible.
I have no problem with closed source software, but platforms and standards should remain open. Open standards are what made the Internet possible. They are what made the PC boom possible. And, if you care about open platforms and standards, then you should care about how many people use Linux.
I'm not talking about people who use Linux, or even people who evangelize Linux. I'm in both of those categories. I'm talking about the people who develop and maintain Linux and the software that Linux is dependent on. From the Kernel team to the major distributers to the desktop environments, down to the foot soldier coders, Linux has always been "by code-monks, for gurus." The culture has always been one that values tinkering with the guts of a system over a pleasant user experience.
I will admit I know sod-all about what makes for a good user experience in an OS desktop. I have no trouble at all with Linux, and can't comprehend why it's so much of a pain for ordinary folks. But I do know that I can sit an uninitiated down at a Windows machine and get him doing basic tasks quickly, whereas they are lost in front of any Linux setup I've tried.
You know what? If I were running a broadband-into-the-living-room service, I really wouldn't be crazy about some idiot listening with some totally unsecure server, getting 0wned, then blaming me for it. Furthermore, if I also sold hosting services, I'm not about to undercut my own business with my broadband service.
Comcast and RCN aren't preventing you form putting up a Geocities page. Or, lord forbid, shelling out $20/month for a dedicated, professionally managed and secured website. Even one that says "Comcast and RCN suck."
Besides that, all the bandwidth in the world is not going to fall into the hands of an evil overloard corporation. There will always be somewhere for you to host whatever content you want. The almighty dollar/sterling/euro/yen will reign supreme. Do you think any hosting service with a fascist, censorous AUP is going to last very long? The fact that you can STILL find just about any kind of sick, twisted stuff on the net is testament to the staying power of online freedom. It's not going anwhere.
The headline to this story should read "what took so long?" I consider the fact that Linux HASN'T made a major entry into the enterprise OR consumer desktop to be a MAJOR failing. Linux should, by now, be on 15-20% of desktops. What's the problem? Consider:
-Hardware isn't a problem. Linux pretty much supports just as much hardware as Windows does. And, if you are a desktop vendor, it really isn't a problem to write your own drivers. -Applications aren't a problem. Linux has perfectly functional word processors, spreadsheets, web browsers, instant messengers, and email/calendar/groupware. Plus, they're free! -File exchange isn't a problem. Any major file format that Windows/Mac users read/write and be read/written in Linux. -With the proliferation of sub-$500 computers, Windows and 3rd party software becomes a major portion of the price tag. Linux makes economic sense here.
And this has been the case for AT LEAST FOUR YEARS! I think by now we have to start asking hard questions about who's to blame for this. I can think of a few. I would start with the desktop environments, KDE and GNOME. They continue to present an environment that is far too complicated for the computer novice, and fail to cover up the weirdness of X. I would also blame the distributions, who could have, in turn, covered up the weirdness of KDE and GNOME. Application install/uninstall is still a nightmare for users who are skiddish of a command line. I should be able to download a program installer, open up a file browser and browse to where I put it, double click to do a graphical installation, and then find the program in an add/remove programs system contol, and click delete to get rid of it.
Finally, I blame the elitism of the Linux community, who continue to regard the OS as belonging to computing guru, and would much rather bring the user to Linux than Linux to the user. Making easy tasks easy does not "dumb down" Linux.
Sorry, mod me down if you want, but every so often I feel the need to rant about this. It's 2004, and there should be thousands of grandmas out there emailing and IMing on Linux. The fact that there aren't is a really sad thing.
Every day I am reminded why the universities consistently fail to produce programmers who can work in the real world (assuming this wasn't just a troll).
In the real world, code isn't handed in, marked, and that's that. Code is checked in, becomes part of a large, complicated system, and sometimes goes unvisited until years later, when entirely different personel have to take a gander at it and figure out what the heck it does, and why it was designed the way it was.
The more comments and documentation, the better.
In my current job, I'm in the middle of trying to untangle a badly-designed subsystem so it can be redesigned for new applications. There's no documentation, no unit tests. Only very high level descriptions of the I/O. The business logic is buried deep in the code, costing the company weeks of my time sifting through code. Some documentation on the outside would have cost a little bit more then, but saved a whole lot now.
Furthermore, if your interfaces between subsystems are well-designed, JUnit should be all you need to warrant that YOUR code will interact with the rest of the project according to the specification. And if there's a problem, it's the specification's fault, not yours. Granted, JUnit isn't really used class-by-class, but it is very useful a step above that, when it comes to integrating your code into a large project.
The problem in the academic world is there is no concept for how hugely huge projects get in the real world. No one is taught proper methodologies and good software engineering. Every assignment is a microcosm, and the short, quick, bang-out-the-code-and-ask-questions-later technique is what gets promoted in the process.
I'm sure there are schools that aren't like this, and I'm making sweeping generalizations, but this is what I have seen.
one where the corporate media cannot control all of your information
Apart from P2P file sharing (which is a legal issue, not a bandwidth-ownership issue), that's not really a problem, and I don't know if it will ever be. Last I checked, "corporate media" weren't stopping anyone from putting up websites, even ones that say "corporate media sucks!" They aren't forcing people to get their information from corporate-friendly sources.
Imagine a future in which all the world's bandwidth were under the control of SBCQwestVerizonVivendi (assuming for a minute that world governments would stand for that). Does that mean they "control all of your information?" That all of the bazillions of websites out there are going to be shut down, and the only information available is from SBCQVV-freindly sources?
If people end up getting most of their news and information from CNNBCBSkyFoxDisney, it is not because the corporations "control" the inforamtion. It is because the corporations present the information in such a way as to appeal to the information consumer.
I hear the fears again and again about the Internet being turned into cable television. I think such fears are paranoia.
Now, this has nothing to do with the economics of community-provided bandwidth vs. privately-provided bandwidth - I think community-provided bandwidth is a great idea. But it's not really going to have any bearing on what you can or can't say, and what you can or can't read.
The CPU still has to make all of those API calls to offload stuff to the graphics card. And I guarantee you, the CPU overhead for constantly doing 2D api calls for window drawing isn't going to be nearly as bad as the overhead for making 3D calls. Or maybe I'm wrong on that...
What aggrivates me is that WHY should we need to make 3D API calls just for windowing? I can see it for gaming or drafting, yes, but windowing? It just seems like more useless chrome to waste system resources.
...and the Sierra Club has been begging the State of Oregon to take up suit against Intel over Merced, Klamath, Deschutes, Mendocino, Williamette, etc...
Please tell me the Longhorn desktop is NOT going to be 3D only, with no 2D acceleration. I mean, I have no problem with a desktop having lots of 3D effects for people who like them, but at least give us the chance to TURN THE DAMN CHROME OFF!
It seems like every time a new class of CPUs come out that can keep up with bloated GUIs, Windows blows up the CPU power needed to drive its GUI exponentially.
Remember when a DX2-66 was all you needed to make Win3.1 draw fast? Along came 95 Remember when a P5-166 was all you needed to make Win95 draw fast? Along came Win98 Remember when a PIII was all you needed to make Win2K draw fast?...And so on...
I hope I speak for others when I say, I don't need fancy-schmancy glowing texture-wrapped widgets, window transparancy, or realtime updated iconified windows. I need to use my computer to get stuff done!
Honestly, we should have seen this one coming. What do you want to bet that the "new features" included in "Reloaded" are all going to be stuff that belongs in a gratis Service Pack? It's the Microsoft OS Production/Marketing Paragidm:
1. Release Buggy OS 2. Make $Umteen Million on OS 3. Fix some of the bugs 4. Release less buggy version of same OS 5. Make another $Umteen Million. 6. CYA by saying that anything not fixed in this will addressed in vaporware OS
(Han Solo: "I dunno, I can *imagine* quite a lot.")
Re:Just irresponsible...
on
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· Score: 5, Funny
Slashdot to Borg Cube Case Server:
We have anaylzed your bandwidth and computing capabilities as being unable to withstand our attack. We will add your website to our growing list of sites that have been slashdotted. Resistence is futile.
Slashdot Mirror
Why should you care what other people do with their computers? When Microsoft rolls DRM into the OS, and marries the Windows to the BIOS, and congress decrees that all non-DRM-compliant computers are illegal "circumvention devices," then you will care very much that Linux failed to create a popular, open platform to prevent this from happening, even though the Linux development community was INCHES away from making it possible. I have no problem with closed source software, but platforms and standards should remain open. Open standards are what made the Internet possible. They are what made the PC boom possible. And, if you care about open platforms and standards, then you should care about how many people use Linux.
I'm not talking about people who use Linux, or even people who evangelize Linux. I'm in both of those categories. I'm talking about the people who develop and maintain Linux and the software that Linux is dependent on. From the Kernel team to the major distributers to the desktop environments, down to the foot soldier coders, Linux has always been "by code-monks, for gurus." The culture has always been one that values tinkering with the guts of a system over a pleasant user experience.
I will admit I know sod-all about what makes for a good user experience in an OS desktop. I have no trouble at all with Linux, and can't comprehend why it's so much of a pain for ordinary folks. But I do know that I can sit an uninitiated down at a Windows machine and get him doing basic tasks quickly, whereas they are lost in front of any Linux setup I've tried.
That shouldn't happen.
You know what? If I were running a broadband-into-the-living-room service, I really wouldn't be crazy about some idiot listening with some totally unsecure server, getting 0wned, then blaming me for it. Furthermore, if I also sold hosting services, I'm not about to undercut my own business with my broadband service.
Comcast and RCN aren't preventing you form putting up a Geocities page. Or, lord forbid, shelling out $20/month for a dedicated, professionally managed and secured website. Even one that says "Comcast and RCN suck."
Besides that, all the bandwidth in the world is not going to fall into the hands of an evil overloard corporation. There will always be somewhere for you to host whatever content you want. The almighty dollar/sterling/euro/yen will reign supreme. Do you think any hosting service with a fascist, censorous AUP is going to last very long? The fact that you can STILL find just about any kind of sick, twisted stuff on the net is testament to the staying power of online freedom. It's not going anwhere.
Do you know where your Linux desktop is?
The headline to this story should read "what took so long?" I consider the fact that Linux HASN'T made a major entry into the enterprise OR consumer desktop to be a MAJOR failing. Linux should, by now, be on 15-20% of desktops. What's the problem? Consider:
-Hardware isn't a problem. Linux pretty much supports just as much hardware as Windows does. And, if you are a desktop vendor, it really isn't a problem to write your own drivers.
-Applications aren't a problem. Linux has perfectly functional word processors, spreadsheets, web browsers, instant messengers, and email/calendar/groupware. Plus, they're free!
-File exchange isn't a problem. Any major file format that Windows/Mac users read/write and be read/written in Linux.
-With the proliferation of sub-$500 computers, Windows and 3rd party software becomes a major portion of the price tag. Linux makes economic sense here.
And this has been the case for AT LEAST FOUR YEARS! I think by now we have to start asking hard questions about who's to blame for this. I can think of a few. I would start with the desktop environments, KDE and GNOME. They continue to present an environment that is far too complicated for the computer novice, and fail to cover up the weirdness of X. I would also blame the distributions, who could have, in turn, covered up the weirdness of KDE and GNOME. Application install/uninstall is still a nightmare for users who are skiddish of a command line. I should be able to download a program installer, open up a file browser and browse to where I put it, double click to do a graphical installation, and then find the program in an add/remove programs system contol, and click delete to get rid of it.
Finally, I blame the elitism of the Linux community, who continue to regard the OS as belonging to computing guru, and would much rather bring the user to Linux than Linux to the user. Making easy tasks easy does not "dumb down" Linux.
Sorry, mod me down if you want, but every so often I feel the need to rant about this. It's 2004, and there should be thousands of grandmas out there emailing and IMing on Linux. The fact that there aren't is a really sad thing.
Every day I am reminded why the universities consistently fail to produce programmers who can work in the real world (assuming this wasn't just a troll).
In the real world, code isn't handed in, marked, and that's that. Code is checked in, becomes part of a large, complicated system, and sometimes goes unvisited until years later, when entirely different personel have to take a gander at it and figure out what the heck it does, and why it was designed the way it was.
The more comments and documentation, the better.
In my current job, I'm in the middle of trying to untangle a badly-designed subsystem so it can be redesigned for new applications. There's no documentation, no unit tests. Only very high level descriptions of the I/O. The business logic is buried deep in the code, costing the company weeks of my time sifting through code. Some documentation on the outside would have cost a little bit more then, but saved a whole lot now.
Furthermore, if your interfaces between subsystems are well-designed, JUnit should be all you need to warrant that YOUR code will interact with the rest of the project according to the specification. And if there's a problem, it's the specification's fault, not yours. Granted, JUnit isn't really used class-by-class, but it is very useful a step above that, when it comes to integrating your code into a large project.
The problem in the academic world is there is no concept for how hugely huge projects get in the real world. No one is taught proper methodologies and good software engineering. Every assignment is a microcosm, and the short, quick, bang-out-the-code-and-ask-questions-later technique is what gets promoted in the process.
I'm sure there are schools that aren't like this, and I'm making sweeping generalizations, but this is what I have seen.
Apart from P2P file sharing (which is a legal issue, not a bandwidth-ownership issue), that's not really a problem, and I don't know if it will ever be. Last I checked, "corporate media" weren't stopping anyone from putting up websites, even ones that say "corporate media sucks!" They aren't forcing people to get their information from corporate-friendly sources.
Imagine a future in which all the world's bandwidth were under the control of SBCQwestVerizonVivendi (assuming for a minute that world governments would stand for that). Does that mean they "control all of your information?" That all of the bazillions of websites out there are going to be shut down, and the only information available is from SBCQVV-freindly sources?
If people end up getting most of their news and information from CNNBCBSkyFoxDisney, it is not because the corporations "control" the inforamtion. It is because the corporations present the information in such a way as to appeal to the information consumer.
I hear the fears again and again about the Internet being turned into cable television. I think such fears are paranoia.
Now, this has nothing to do with the economics of community-provided bandwidth vs. privately-provided bandwidth - I think community-provided bandwidth is a great idea. But it's not really going to have any bearing on what you can or can't say, and what you can or can't read.
The CPU still has to make all of those API calls to offload stuff to the graphics card. And I guarantee you, the CPU overhead for constantly doing 2D api calls for window drawing isn't going to be nearly as bad as the overhead for making 3D calls. Or maybe I'm wrong on that...
What aggrivates me is that WHY should we need to make 3D API calls just for windowing? I can see it for gaming or drafting, yes, but windowing? It just seems like more useless chrome to waste system resources.
...and the Sierra Club has been begging the State of Oregon to take up suit against Intel over Merced, Klamath, Deschutes, Mendocino, Williamette, etc...
Please tell me the Longhorn desktop is NOT going to be 3D only, with no 2D acceleration. I mean, I have no problem with a desktop having lots of 3D effects for people who like them, but at least give us the chance to TURN THE DAMN CHROME OFF!
...And so on...
It seems like every time a new class of CPUs come out that can keep up with bloated GUIs, Windows blows up the CPU power needed to drive its GUI exponentially.
Remember when a DX2-66 was all you needed to make Win3.1 draw fast? Along came 95
Remember when a P5-166 was all you needed to make Win95 draw fast? Along came Win98
Remember when a PIII was all you needed to make Win2K draw fast?
I hope I speak for others when I say, I don't need fancy-schmancy glowing texture-wrapped widgets, window transparancy, or realtime updated iconified windows. I need to use my computer to get stuff done!
Honestly, we should have seen this one coming. What do you want to bet that the "new features" included in "Reloaded" are all going to be stuff that belongs in a gratis Service Pack? It's the Microsoft OS Production/Marketing Paragidm:
1. Release Buggy OS
2. Make $Umteen Million on OS
3. Fix some of the bugs
4. Release less buggy version of same OS
5. Make another $Umteen Million.
6. CYA by saying that anything not fixed in this will addressed in vaporware OS
Let's see...
CPU: 4x8GHz
CPU Cache: 4x1GB
CPU-CPU bandwidth: 1 Tbps
CPU-DRAM bandwidth: 256 Gbps
DRAM: 64 GB
DRAM-HDD bandwidth: 64 Gbps
HDD: 200 TB
Network bandwidth: 4 Gbps
(Han Solo: "I dunno, I can *imagine* quite a lot.")
Slashdot to Borg Cube Case Server:
We have anaylzed your bandwidth and computing capabilities as being unable to withstand our attack. We will add your website to our growing list of sites that have been slashdotted. Resistence is futile.