Because there may be one of us (or our children) on a space mission some day.
I know that sounds rather trite, but consider our lack of memory of past space disasters. If history is a cruel teacher, then the lack of our history can be even more brutal.
I hope this article reappars in 5 years. The anniversaries of the Challenger will forever remind us not to take our technology for granted.
I remember Challenger for the crew who died on it. I also remember because of the others who died in a valiant attempt to push our species to the limits of our abilities.
If you forget Challenger, then you have also forgotten Apollo 1 and 13 (fortunately, no one died on mission 13). You have also forgotten the brave souls who died on missions from the former Soviet Union.
As a species, we learn from our collective mistakes. But only if we remember them.
"I knew there was a reason I stopped going to slashdot recently."
Did anyone see Taco pointing a gun at his head, forcing him to read this article?
I am too am tired of the M$/Linux holy war. IMHO, it would be better for everyone if there weren't a schism in the developer community that pitted one OS vs. another. But those feelings are tempered by the reality that anyone who really LIKES M$ products views anyone else with suspicion and unadulterated disdain.
Am I speaking as a Linux advocate? Yes, most assuredly. But I was also a Mac advocate when it was M$ vs. Apple, and a M$ advocate in the OS/2 wars.
I guess I'm just as guilty as the rest of you, eh?
I don't remember reading anywhere on the project announcement page that anyone should be *required* to use it.
The beauty of a non-copyrighted source of information is the ability to cite without fear of copyright restrictions. It is always the duty of the author to verify a fact or qualify an opinion. Taking information from one source exclusively is considered poor research even at the grade school level.
I expect that any contribution on history would be fraught with differences of opinion. If you check any encyclopedia published in the US, you will find varying levels of objectivity on any event, even the most recent ones. This is true dispite the enforcement of an editorial review board.
But facts will not change regardless of the source. I'm certain that the speed of light will be the same in the GNUpedia as it is in any other encyclopedia.
Strange... That picture looks amazingly like the drawings of Irish Catholics in the 19th Century, and Jews of the 20th Century.
You should really take a look at your family history. At one point in history your family was subject to the same pathetic attempt to put a bigot boot to their head.
The fact that you've posted anonymously only confirms my impression that you are afraid to confront your past. Its time for you to move beyond having to put down others to affirm your own existance. Be proud of something that isn't an artifact of your birth.
Or can you look in the mirror and find anything other than your skin color to be proud of?
I absolutely hated AOL users when they first started appearing on the Internet. Now I couldn't care less. I am hooking my grandmother up to AOL for one reason only - complete US coverage for local dial-up. She travels extensively and would like to save money on long distance charges by using local exchanges to do email and browse the web.
I'll admit, there is alot to dislike about AOL as an ISP. Nationwide coverage is about the only thing going for them (for me, at least). If I can get AOL on my grandmother's laptop running Linux, then there will be TWO things going for them.
I think that is the central point that many who "dislike" MS products have been making for years.
We should be able to make a *choice* in selecting our operating system. I find a GUI obnoxious for most administrative tasks. The command line and a few properly thought-out scripts can get more accomplished for me than scrolling through layers of menu selections on in a windowed dialog box.
If it were up to MS or Sun, we wouldn't have a choice of our operating system. There would be one OS and the innovation would come to a halt. If you have any doubt of that asertion, you weren't alive or aware of how bad computing was in the 1970's when only one serious computer vendor made 90% of the world's operating systems.
>I am an expert in monetarist economics, with a >particular emphasis on the politics and >philosophies of Milton Friedman, and his >latter-day successor in the United Kingdom, >Margaret Thatcher.
Horseshit appeal to authority (and an undocumented appeal at that - where's the TIFF of your diploma?)
>What these crypto-communist...
An ad hominem attack - that figures.
>- Work on a GPL or open source project what do >you get ? "The respect of your peers" "Kudos in >the community" ? Try taking that Kudos to your >local BMW dealership and see how far it gets you.
Well, first off, I wouldn't own a piece of dung like a BMW; I prefer a Mercedes. But since you consider monatary advantage as the only "real" reason for engaging in any activity, why should anyone want to engage in something like, say, scientific inquiry?
Yep, lets move BACK to the Middle Ages when only one rather isolated group of self-appointed theocrats decided what was worth studying.
Re:This Author is on a National Censor List
on
Author Unknown
·
· Score: 1
Actually, I don't accept the behavior from either party.
"Because the other guy did it" is not a relevant excuse for inappropriate behavior.
Just ask my kids. I don't let them use that lame excuse either.
Then I guess this would probably be the first recorded instance of M$ Word actually doing something beneficial. That stupid program is always trying to correct my writing style.
Now I'll start taking the suggestions more seriously.:>
Ummm... You either missed my point or you are ignoring it. I never said "copy" the CD. I said send it to friends in round-robin fashion.
I'll grant you that RH can come up with a million different strategies on how to restrict distribution of their Linux version but that would still miss the point - the impression that the GPL is inviolate.
Heck, since you've obviously given considerable thought on how to screw the consumer, let's try this one: RH purchases the rights to Conway Twitty's music. They burn one of his songs on a RH 7.0 CD and now the entire distribution is copyrighted against copying.
Of course this will not limit me from buying the said RH 7.0, installing the GPL-protected parts, then mailing the CD to a friend for them to do likewise (ala round-robin). The shareholders get nothing and I escape copyright enforcement.
What this proves is that the Linux-centric information is protected by the GPL. Currently, there is nothing to stop me from sending my legally purchased CD to as many friends as I see fit. The only way RH can plug this revenue hole is to fight the terms and conditions of the GPL. ONLY THE COURTS WILL DECIDE WHETHER THE GPL HAS MERIT - not the stockholders.
The mutation comment is what bothered me about the article. Seems the investigators view mutations as a 'bad' thing. Biologists tend to view mutatation as neither good nor bad but instead regard them as the keys to survival under changing environmental stresses.
Sometimes the mutations benefit the organism when the environment prefers them, sometimes they end up leading to extinction of the species.
I read the comments correctly. The limits to which RedHat can go in closing off distribution depend on the legal standing of the GPL. Since the GPL has never been tested (AFAIK) in court, this is still an open question.
Shutting down the FTP server is only one form of limiting the "free" exchange of the distribution. If I buy one copy of RedHat's disk and then send it in a round-robin fashion to friends and colleagues, I would be demininshing their revenue stream. Where does the distribution clause of the GPL end?
In short, only the courts would be able to limit the GPL and distribution of open source. The shareholders are mearly along for the ride.
My first exposure to Linux came in the form of a bundled shareware CD I purchased for $5US. The Linux release wasn't even 1.0. I bought a book on how to install and run Linux 5 years ago for $20US that came with 1.2.13. Two years ago, I bought a RedHat dist so that I could get glibc installed without spending countless hours with the mini-HOWTO.
In short, people have been making money off Linux for at least 7 years (by my own experience). The fact that RedHat has hit the jackpot shouldn't make a bit of difference to the developers (I know, wishful thinking). I am anxious, however, that the folks who have contributed the most to RedHat's windfall might be discouraged by the sudden rush of the public to own a piece of Linux. I fear that the "gold fever" that has ensued may spoil their enthusiasm and, eventually, their desire to contribute.
If there is any way I can convince those folks not to lose focus, let me at least try by making a few points.
1) Linux has given me the opportunity to use UN*X on a computer I could afford (i.e., an x86 PC). The unforseen benefit of my migration to Linux has been that I have been a participant in the explosive growth of an exceptional OS.
2) The fact that I can install Linux on as many machines as I can afford has given me the tools to build my own network.
3) I can scan across the globe and interact with people who have installed a world-class OS on scrap PCs. These folks have been able to enter the information age without having to mortgage their home in the process.
4) Distributions are available to fit user ability and NATIVE LANGUAGE without having to wait for Redmond.
For these reasons, and many more (so many they would hog bandwidth from their enumeration), Linux is a phenomenon that must succeed. Words alone cannot express the gratitude I feel for everyone who has ever posted a patch, beta tested a module, or has in any way been associated with Linux's success.
I can only hope that the individuals who have contributed to this success can see past the dollar signs. I am not a proficient programmer, so the only contribution I can make is to buy Linux-oriented products. I have done so in the past and will continue to do so in the future.
Slashdot Mirror
Because there may be one of us (or our children) on a space mission some day.
I know that sounds rather trite, but consider our lack of memory of past space disasters. If history is a cruel teacher, then the lack of our history can be even more brutal.
I hope this article reappars in 5 years. The anniversaries of the Challenger will forever remind us not to take our technology for granted.
I remember Challenger for the crew who died on it. I also remember because of the others who died in a valiant attempt to push our species to the limits of our abilities.
If you forget Challenger, then you have also forgotten Apollo 1 and 13 (fortunately, no one died on mission 13). You have also forgotten the brave souls who died on missions from the former Soviet Union.
As a species, we learn from our collective mistakes. But only if we remember them.
"I knew there was a reason I stopped going to slashdot recently."
Did anyone see Taco pointing a gun at his head, forcing him to read this article?
I am too am tired of the M$/Linux holy war. IMHO, it would be better for everyone if there weren't a schism in the developer community that pitted one OS vs. another. But those feelings are tempered by the reality that anyone who really LIKES M$ products views anyone else with suspicion and unadulterated disdain.
Am I speaking as a Linux advocate? Yes, most assuredly. But I was also a Mac advocate when it was M$ vs. Apple, and a M$ advocate in the OS/2 wars.
I guess I'm just as guilty as the rest of you, eh?
geomon
P.P.S. "I myself" is redundant.
I would love to see a copyleft law library. The information would be a nice *addition* to the copyrighted sources already available.
The advantage is not having to pay to review case law.
I don't remember reading anywhere on the project announcement page that anyone should be *required* to use it.
The beauty of a non-copyrighted source of information is the ability to cite without fear of copyright restrictions. It is always the duty of the author to verify a fact or qualify an opinion. Taking information from one source exclusively is considered poor research even at the grade school level.
I expect that any contribution on history would be fraught with differences of opinion. If you check any encyclopedia published in the US, you will find varying levels of objectivity on any event, even the most recent ones. This is true dispite the enforcement of an editorial review board.
But facts will not change regardless of the source. I'm certain that the speed of light will be the same in the GNUpedia as it is in any other encyclopedia.
Strange... That picture looks amazingly like the drawings of Irish Catholics in the 19th Century, and Jews of the 20th Century.
You should really take a look at your family history. At one point in history your family was subject to the same pathetic attempt to put a bigot boot to their head.
The fact that you've posted anonymously only confirms my impression that you are afraid to confront your past. Its time for you to move beyond having to put down others to affirm your own existance. Be proud of something that isn't an artifact of your birth.
Or can you look in the mirror and find anything other than your skin color to be proud of?
Or recent geophysics graduates?
I absolutely hated AOL users when they first started appearing on the Internet. Now I couldn't care less. I am hooking my grandmother up to AOL for one reason only - complete US coverage for local dial-up. She travels extensively and would like to save money on long distance charges by using local exchanges to do email and browse the web.
I'll admit, there is alot to dislike about AOL as an ISP. Nationwide coverage is about the only thing going for them (for me, at least). If I can get AOL on my grandmother's laptop running Linux, then there will be TWO things going for them.
"i think ill stick with windows..."
I think that is the central point that many who "dislike" MS products have been making for years.
We should be able to make a *choice* in selecting our operating system. I find a GUI obnoxious for most administrative tasks. The command line and a few properly thought-out scripts can get more accomplished for me than scrolling through layers of menu selections on in a windowed dialog box.
If it were up to MS or Sun, we wouldn't have a choice of our operating system. There would be one OS and the innovation would come to a halt. If you have any doubt of that asertion, you weren't alive or aware of how bad computing was in the 1970's when only one serious computer vendor made 90% of the world's operating systems.
>I am an expert in monetarist economics, with a
>particular emphasis on the politics and
>philosophies of Milton Friedman, and his
>latter-day successor in the United Kingdom,
>Margaret Thatcher.
Horseshit appeal to authority (and an undocumented appeal at that - where's the TIFF of your diploma?)
>What these crypto-communist...
An ad hominem attack - that figures.
>- Work on a GPL or open source project what do
>you get ? "The respect of your peers" "Kudos in
>the community" ? Try taking that Kudos to your
>local BMW dealership and see how far it gets you.
Well, first off, I wouldn't own a piece of dung like a BMW; I prefer a Mercedes. But since you consider monatary advantage as the only "real" reason for engaging in any activity, why should anyone want to engage in something like, say, scientific inquiry?
Yep, lets move BACK to the Middle Ages when only one rather isolated group of self-appointed theocrats decided what was worth studying.
Actually, I don't accept the behavior from either party.
"Because the other guy did it" is not a relevant excuse for inappropriate behavior.
Just ask my kids. I don't let them use that lame excuse either.
Then I guess this would probably be the first recorded instance of M$ Word actually doing something beneficial. That stupid program is always trying to correct my writing style.
:>
Now I'll start taking the suggestions more seriously.
The same economic argument can be made about farming.
Why would anyone farm when the down-stream distributors are making all of the money?
People still farm, though.
Ummm... You either missed my point or you are ignoring it. I never said "copy" the CD. I said send it to friends in round-robin fashion.
I'll grant you that RH can come up with a million different strategies on how to restrict distribution of their Linux version but that would still miss the point - the impression that the GPL is inviolate.
Heck, since you've obviously given considerable thought on how to screw the consumer, let's try this one: RH purchases the rights to Conway Twitty's music. They burn one of his songs on a RH 7.0 CD and now the entire distribution is copyrighted against copying.
Of course this will not limit me from buying the said RH 7.0, installing the GPL-protected parts, then mailing the CD to a friend for them to do likewise (ala round-robin). The shareholders get nothing and I escape copyright enforcement.
What this proves is that the Linux-centric information is protected by the GPL. Currently, there is nothing to stop me from sending my legally purchased CD to as many friends as I see fit. The only way RH can plug this revenue hole is to fight the terms and conditions of the GPL. ONLY THE COURTS WILL DECIDE WHETHER THE GPL HAS MERIT - not the stockholders.
That was my original point.
Re: Darwinism
The mutation comment is what bothered me about the article. Seems the investigators view mutations as a 'bad' thing. Biologists tend to view mutatation as neither good nor bad but instead regard them as the keys to survival under changing environmental stresses.
Sometimes the mutations benefit the organism when the environment prefers them, sometimes they end up leading to extinction of the species.
I read the comments correctly. The limits to which RedHat can go in closing off distribution depend on the legal standing of the GPL. Since the GPL has never been tested (AFAIK) in court, this is still an open question.
Shutting down the FTP server is only one form of limiting the "free" exchange of the distribution. If I buy one copy of RedHat's disk and then send it in a round-robin fashion to friends and colleagues, I would be demininshing their revenue stream. Where does the distribution clause of the GPL end?
In short, only the courts would be able to limit the GPL and distribution of open source. The shareholders are mearly along for the ride.
Doing what is in the interest of the stockholders only goes so far. They can only do for the stockholders what is legal.
Unless RedHat is willing to test the limits of the GPL, then there isn't much that the stockholders can do to hold the Board accountable.
comp.os.linux.*
Free support. Try it sometime.
My first exposure to Linux came in the form of a bundled shareware CD I purchased for $5US. The Linux release wasn't even 1.0. I bought a book on how to install and run Linux 5 years ago for $20US that came with 1.2.13. Two years ago, I bought a RedHat dist so that I could get glibc installed without spending countless hours with the mini-HOWTO.
In short, people have been making money off Linux for at least 7 years (by my own experience). The fact that RedHat has hit the jackpot shouldn't make a bit of difference to the developers (I know, wishful thinking). I am anxious, however, that the folks who have contributed the most to RedHat's windfall might be discouraged by the sudden rush of the public to own a piece of Linux. I fear that the "gold fever" that has ensued may spoil their enthusiasm and, eventually, their desire to contribute.
If there is any way I can convince those folks not to lose focus, let me at least try by making a few points.
1) Linux has given me the opportunity to use UN*X on a computer I could afford (i.e., an x86 PC). The unforseen benefit of my migration to Linux has been that I have been a participant in the explosive growth of an exceptional OS.
2) The fact that I can install Linux on as many machines as I can afford has given me the tools to build my own network.
3) I can scan across the globe and interact with people who have installed a world-class OS on scrap PCs. These folks have been able to enter the information age without having to mortgage their home in the process.
4) Distributions are available to fit user ability and NATIVE LANGUAGE without having to wait for Redmond.
For these reasons, and many more (so many they would hog bandwidth from their enumeration), Linux is a phenomenon that must succeed. Words alone cannot express the gratitude I feel for everyone who has ever posted a patch, beta tested a module, or has in any way been associated with Linux's success.
I can only hope that the individuals who have contributed to this success can see past the dollar signs. I am not a proficient programmer, so the only contribution I can make is to buy Linux-oriented products. I have done so in the past and will continue to do so in the future.
I don't want to go back to the dark days.