Some people think freedom is just for them, and ignore other nations. You seem to think that if Russia is not democratic, fall of the USSR means nothing. Tell it to people of Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, Baltic States, Ukraine --- they all can now (Ukrainians regained this possibility just week ago) freely choose their leaders and decide on their own how their countries will look like. Something not possible in the Soviet times.
I'd like to remind that it was this "lucrative indrustry controlling political candidates" which won the arms race, destroyed Soviet Union and brought freedom to nations of Eastern Europe.
What you may not do however is giving your software away, but without source code, and thereby take the freedom of someone else.
Now this is some really weird piece of reasoning. If I give a person my software with or without the code, I increase her possibilities: the person has the option to run my software. So there is no freedom being taken away. If I didn't give this person anything, would she have more freedom? Why? She would as unable to modify the source as if I gave the person only binaries.
RMS is consistently manipulating the meaning of the word "freedom": freedom means being able not to do something: I don't have to work for free, so I'm free from slavery. I don't have to ask for censor's permission to publish an article, so I enjoy freedom of speech. Freedom is not the possibility to do something: I enjoy freedom of speech, but may be unable to publish my book, because I can't afford the publisher's fees. Does it mean that freedom of speech does not exist for me? Certainly not. RMS seems incapable of understanding that thepossibility (privilege) of modifying and distributing source code is not a freedom, because it does not mean that I don't have to do something (e.g. no one can force me to do it), but it means that I have the option of doing something. Giving a prisoner bread does not make him more free, but letting him out of the cell does. Giving someone binary-only software does not limit neither his freedom nor his privileges, it only increases the latter to a lesser extent than giving both binaries and a source code. After downloading emacs and removing MS Word from my computer, I'm as free as before.
2. Support isolationist policy, starting in your local community and getting support to bring a good case to your state government and national representatives.
If isolationism (that is: turning a blind eye to genocide and tyranny abroad) is an example for morality in politics, then I wonder what world are we living in.
I'd hardly classify that as a religious level. Most people have certain principles that they won't compromise. For instance I refuse to work for the DOD or a company that is contracted by them. I refuse to work for any organization that develops weapons systems or supports them
Would you be so true to your convictions as to let the enemy kill you and your family without defending yourself?
This is a very cynical point of view, which ignores the difference between Hitler's IIIrd Reich and about every other country on this planet. I don't how this could get modded as 'Insightful'. Too bad I spent my mod points.
Old-style viruses aren't a big threat even under Windows, UNLESS you run software downloaded (==pirated) from P2P networks. I fail to see how my licensed copy of Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind could have viruses, or how a copy of Mozilla Firefox could, either. The problem lies with e-mail worms, Internet worms and VB scripts in MS Office files. Even if Linux had a >50% market share, at least five different mail clients would exist, none of them having the option of executing attachments. Internet worms are a security bug in the system, and we all know that Linux is much safer than Windows in that matter --- and that code base diversity (different kernels, glibcs, FTP daemons, mail daeomons and so forth) makes a "Code Red"-style attack on Linux machines less effective. So we're not immune, but much, much safer.
The correct phrase would have been "do not experience the virus problem because no one is currently writing viruses for them, and even if people did they would necessarily be limited in damage they could cause by proper use of privilege schemes."
This is not a correction, this is an additional explanation, which does not change the fact that Linux users are not experiencing the virus problem. Period.
W/r to your explanation, I would add that Linux is not affected by e-mail worms, IMHO because there are various mail clients used by the system, and they are written in much saner way than MS OE.
Define "behave normally". If by that you mean being safe from viruses and what not, then this is definitly the case, no matter what OS you are running.
Users of certain OS-es do not experience the virus problem at all. This is 'behave normally'.
I do. I bought a 15" iiyama about a year ago. There was an option that if I spot a dead pixel within 3 days from date of purchase, I can return the LCD. It's been over a year, and still no dead pixels. Now I bought a 17" LG monitor, and I can return it within 30 days if I have a dead pixel. What's the hype with Samsung?
Excel is probably from the verb 'to excel'. By Open Source standards, it's shameless and disgusting self-promotion.
Saying that OS is incapable of promoting good brand names is wrong. Apache, gimp, pine --- they are all names which are widely recognized, even by people who prefer Windows to Linux. And who didn't hear about emacs v. vi wars?
I still think that to win a market share, the most important thing is to have a good product. Microsoft had a cheap, not-so-bad product in the past and that's how it got where it is now. I have no doubts that were it called Trolltech, its success would still be as it were.
Back off the tangent to the thread - the eliteist attitude of *nix shows in so many ways, and it hurts widespread adoption, which is to its ultimate detriment. Auntie M may think a boot screen that says "GRUB" in plain text is funny, and slightly disturbing - leading her to choose the more "normal" operating system. Try selling your mainstream boss a development environment supported by some Scandanavian guys who call themselves Trolltech... all these little attitude statements add up to keep the rebels on the fringes of the galaxy.
In what way are names like Oracle, Microsoft or Peoplesoft better? Because they have a NY stock symbol attached to them?
The USA has different kind of schools. People who are bright enough to make lots of money out of their brains in the USA, can also afford to send their children to quality schools --- which costs a lot. My wife's family includes a couple living in the USA, which made the 'American Dream' thing: from cleaning floors to running a chemical analysis lab and owning two houses. They are sending their daughter to a private school, because the quality of public schools in their are (around NY) is horrible. Europe may have worse elite universities, but the average public school is certainly better. In Poland, at least you're not afraid that your schoolmate will shoot you with an AK-47.
It was mostly because of internal pressure from Polish Free Software movement and IT professionals, concerned that software patents would kill Polish emerging IT industry. Poland didn't stand out when it knew it could not change the outcome --- when it came out we can break the majority, we stood out.
However, Poland will not block the directive indefinitely. As soon as some changes are made to accomodate Poland's concerns (mostly lack of clarity in the directive), Poland is going to vote "yes" for the directive. Otherwise, we might face backlash in other areas which are as important for Poland.
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Don't worry, we physicists shall always find use for faster CPUs.
2.2 is not affected by the bug. If you're interested in rock stability, drop 2.4. Some people use 2.0 still.
Yes, and Via sell their CPUs under a new name... VIAgra CPU.
And what does it have to do with nuclear weapons and the arms race?
Some people think freedom is just for them, and ignore other nations. You seem to think that if Russia is not democratic, fall of the USSR means nothing. Tell it to people of Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, Baltic States, Ukraine --- they all can now (Ukrainians regained this possibility just week ago) freely choose their leaders and decide on their own how their countries will look like. Something not possible in the Soviet times.
I'd like to remind that it was this "lucrative indrustry controlling political candidates" which won the arms race, destroyed Soviet Union and brought freedom to nations of Eastern Europe.
What you may not do however is giving your software away, but without source code, and thereby take the freedom of someone else.
Now this is some really weird piece of reasoning. If I give a person my software with or without the code, I increase her possibilities: the person has the option to run my software. So there is no freedom being taken away. If I didn't give this person anything, would she have more freedom? Why? She would as unable to modify the source as if I gave the person only binaries.
RMS is consistently manipulating the meaning of the word "freedom": freedom means being able not to do something: I don't have to work for free, so I'm free from slavery. I don't have to ask for censor's permission to publish an article, so I enjoy freedom of speech. Freedom is not the possibility to do something: I enjoy freedom of speech, but may be unable to publish my book, because I can't afford the publisher's fees. Does it mean that freedom of speech does not exist for me? Certainly not. RMS seems incapable of understanding that thepossibility (privilege) of modifying and distributing source code is not a freedom, because it does not mean that I don't have to do something (e.g. no one can force me to do it), but it means that I have the option of doing something. Giving a prisoner bread does not make him more free, but letting him out of the cell does. Giving someone binary-only software does not limit neither his freedom nor his privileges, it only increases the latter to a lesser extent than giving both binaries and a source code. After downloading emacs and removing MS Word from my computer, I'm as free as before.
2. Support isolationist policy, starting in your local community and getting support to bring a good case to your state government and national representatives.
If isolationism (that is: turning a blind eye to genocide and tyranny abroad) is an example for morality in politics, then I wonder what world are we living in.
I'd hardly classify that as a religious level. Most people have certain principles that they won't compromise. For instance I refuse to work for the DOD or a company that is contracted by them. I refuse to work for any organization that develops weapons systems or supports them
Would you be so true to your convictions as to let the enemy kill you and your family without defending yourself?
This is a very cynical point of view, which ignores the difference between Hitler's IIIrd Reich and about every other country on this planet. I don't how this could get modded as 'Insightful'. Too bad I spent my mod points.
Old-style viruses aren't a big threat even under Windows, UNLESS you run software downloaded (==pirated) from P2P networks. I fail to see how my licensed copy of Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind could have viruses, or how a copy of Mozilla Firefox could, either. The problem lies with e-mail worms, Internet worms and VB scripts in MS Office files. Even if Linux had a >50% market share, at least five different mail clients would exist, none of them having the option of executing attachments. Internet worms are a security bug in the system, and we all know that Linux is much safer than Windows in that matter --- and that code base diversity (different kernels, glibcs, FTP daemons, mail daeomons and so forth) makes a "Code Red"-style attack on Linux machines less effective. So we're not immune, but much, much safer.
The correct phrase would have been "do not experience the virus problem because no one is currently writing viruses for them, and even if people did they would necessarily be limited in damage they could cause by proper use of privilege schemes."
This is not a correction, this is an additional explanation, which does not change the fact that Linux users are not experiencing the virus problem. Period.
W/r to your explanation, I would add that Linux is not affected by e-mail worms, IMHO because there are various mail clients used by the system, and they are written in much saner way than MS OE.
Define "behave normally". If by that you mean being safe from viruses and what not, then this is definitly the case, no matter what OS you are running.
Users of certain OS-es do not experience the virus problem at all. This is 'behave normally'.
I do. I bought a 15" iiyama about a year ago. There was an option that if I spot a dead pixel within 3 days from date of purchase, I can return the LCD. It's been over a year, and still no dead pixels. Now I bought a 17" LG monitor, and I can return it within 30 days if I have a dead pixel. What's the hype with Samsung?
Excel is probably from the verb 'to excel'. By Open Source standards, it's shameless and disgusting self-promotion.
Saying that OS is incapable of promoting good brand names is wrong. Apache, gimp, pine --- they are all names which are widely recognized, even by people who prefer Windows to Linux. And who didn't hear about emacs v. vi wars?
I still think that to win a market share, the most important thing is to have a good product. Microsoft had a cheap, not-so-bad product in the past and that's how it got where it is now. I have no doubts that were it called Trolltech, its success would still be as it were.
Back off the tangent to the thread - the eliteist attitude of *nix shows in so many ways, and it hurts widespread adoption, which is to its ultimate detriment. Auntie M may think a boot screen that says "GRUB" in plain text is funny, and slightly disturbing - leading her to choose the more "normal" operating system. Try selling your mainstream boss a development environment supported by some Scandanavian guys who call themselves Trolltech... all these little attitude statements add up to keep the rebels on the fringes of the galaxy.
In what way are names like Oracle, Microsoft or Peoplesoft better? Because they have a NY stock symbol attached to them?
Great! The more such stories, the less probable is that Europe will adopt software patents. Once again, we have the USA to show us what not to do.
The USA has different kind of schools. People who are bright enough to make lots of money out of their brains in the USA, can also afford to send their children to quality schools --- which costs a lot. My wife's family includes a couple living in the USA, which made the 'American Dream' thing: from cleaning floors to running a chemical analysis lab and owning two houses. They are sending their daughter to a private school, because the quality of public schools in their are (around NY) is horrible. Europe may have worse elite universities, but the average public school is certainly better. In Poland, at least you're not afraid that your schoolmate will shoot you with an AK-47.
You're a candidate to title "Author of the biggest exaggeration of the year".
It was mostly because of internal pressure from Polish Free Software movement and IT professionals, concerned that software patents would kill Polish emerging IT industry. Poland didn't stand out when it knew it could not change the outcome --- when it came out we can break the majority, we stood out.
However, Poland will not block the directive indefinitely. As soon as some changes are made to accomodate Poland's concerns (mostly lack of clarity in the directive), Poland is going to vote "yes" for the directive. Otherwise, we might face backlash in other areas which are as important for Poland.
The guys to start it were Polish mathematicians. Bletchley Park was later.
Wasa == Walesa. Stupid slashdot ignores my diacritical symbols.
I wouldn't say that Wasa is a typical Polish politician. There are other honest people in Polish politics, but Wasa is only one of a kind.
She loves you, that's what has her trapped.