This brave Coward has hit the real heart of the matter. We have (arguably un-constitutionally) created a complex system of protectionism that is not sustainable. Remember the inscription on the Statue of Liberty? It doesn't apply any more. We have to close our borders because we can't afford (un-constitutional) social programs for immigrants. This causes all kinds of weird "tests" that must be passed to join our elite club. It's a horrendous mess, and this is just one of the injustices that can never be remedied within our current system which is based on fear and bigotry.
It makes ESR's Libertarianism sound pretty good.
I have used Microsoft Natural keyboards, but the Silitek SK-6000 is much better for me (and my bursitis) because it has a much lighter touch. Dell sells them, and I've seen them for $40 at CompUSA.
Since I haven't seen any other mention of these, I 'll give it a shot.
Sorry I don't have URLS for all these, but that's what search engines are for. These are the ones I'm keeping my eye on for when my 2.5 year-old twigs can type:-)
When I upgraded to RH 5.2 and started using KDE/KPPP, the exact same thing happened. It was a permissions problem. If you "su -l root", then "export DISPLAY=:0.0" and then "kppP &" (or maybe "opt/kde/bin/kppp &" and it works, your problem is a permissions problem. I don't remember exactly how I fixed it, but your tech suppt should be able to fix that for you (I can't believe they didn't think of it).
OTOH, I disagree. You shouldn't have to hack to use Linux. You should always have the option, but you shouldn't have to.
I have gotten KPPP to connect to providers that I will probably never get Windows to connect to. Windows only allows you to connect to the types of service providers that MS wants you to, even with the add-on scripting capability. When it works, it's easy, when it doesn't, you have no options. Linux should be just as easy in most cases (long term), but always have the option to dig in for the less common cases.
When I read this article, I first thought it was the ramblings of an isolated Linux user who didn't understand the GPL. Then I read the comments. Now I'm depressed.
We all use Linux because it's difficult? Nobody is supposed to make money off Open Source? It's wrong to only use stable versions? RedHat can somehow own Linux and prevent Alan Cox and Linus Torvalds from releasing new kernels whenever they damn well please? If we (as a community) are going to worry about something, let's at least pull our heads out and worry about real threats.
Read RMS. Read ESR. Becoming complacent and allowing a little commercial code in the kernel, or allowing Big Company to violate the license a little, now those are threats to Linux. Commercial success alone isn't.
My single point of agreement with this article is that we may be focusing too much on Microsoft. Even if you think RMS is a religious zealot, you have to admit he has a point. Would you contribute code to the Linux kernel if M$ had the legal right to modify it, and then sell it as proprietary closed source software? I wouldn't. That's why the GPL works. That's why even those who don't program benefit because they get more robust software with better features because it was written to scratch someone's itch, not to satisfy marketing's checklist.
Free software is about choice. To say that only morons want stable systems that don't change very often, and that this shouldn't be allowed in the free software community is completely ludicrous. If you believe that someone, anyone, should be able to dictate what everybody wants, buy Windows. You agree with Bill Gates, you might as well line his pocket with you cash.
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This brave Coward has hit the real heart of the matter. We have (arguably un-constitutionally) created a complex system of protectionism that is not sustainable.
Remember the inscription on the Statue of Liberty? It doesn't apply any more. We have to close our borders because we can't afford (un-constitutional) social programs for immigrants. This causes all kinds of weird "tests" that must be passed to join our elite club. It's a horrendous mess, and this is just one of the injustices that can never be remedied within our current system which is based on fear and bigotry.
It makes ESR's Libertarianism sound pretty good.
OK, Titanic sucked, but Leo wasn't the only one. I think a reprise of his Romeo (cocky, young, handsome, bad karma) would be perfect for Star Wars.
His Romeo wasn't the best I've seen, but that and "Gilbert Grape" almost make me willing to forgive him for Titanic.
I have used Microsoft Natural keyboards, but the Silitek SK-6000 is much better for me (and my bursitis) because it has a much lighter touch. Dell sells them, and I've seen them for $40 at CompUSA.
Sorry I don't have URLS for all these, but that's what search engines are for. These are the ones I'm keeping my eye on for when my 2.5 year-old twigs can type :-)
OTOH, I disagree. You shouldn't have to hack to use Linux. You should always have the option, but you shouldn't have to.
I have gotten KPPP to connect to providers that I will probably never get Windows to connect to. Windows only allows you to connect to the types of service providers that MS wants you to, even with the add-on scripting capability. When it works, it's easy, when it doesn't, you have no options. Linux should be just as easy in most cases (long term), but always have the option to dig in for the less common cases.
My $.02
We all use Linux because it's difficult? Nobody is supposed to make money off Open Source? It's wrong to only use stable versions? RedHat can somehow own Linux and prevent Alan Cox and Linus Torvalds from releasing new kernels whenever they damn well please? If we (as a community) are going to worry about something, let's at least pull our heads out and worry about real threats.
Read RMS. Read ESR. Becoming complacent and allowing a little commercial code in the kernel, or allowing Big Company to violate the license a little, now those are threats to Linux. Commercial success alone isn't.
My single point of agreement with this article is that we may be focusing too much on Microsoft. Even if you think RMS is a religious zealot, you have to admit he has a point. Would you contribute code to the Linux kernel if M$ had the legal right to modify it, and then sell it as proprietary closed source software? I wouldn't. That's why the GPL works. That's why even those who don't program benefit because they get more robust software with better features because it was written to scratch someone's itch, not to satisfy marketing's checklist.
Free software is about choice. To say that only morons want stable systems that don't change very often, and that this shouldn't be allowed in the free software community is completely ludicrous. If you believe that someone, anyone, should be able to dictate what everybody wants, buy Windows. You agree with Bill Gates, you might as well line his pocket with you cash.
Not me.