For us? Probably nothing new. Linus has been interviewed a lot, and most of us Linux geeks have read most of the interviews. He'll probably be asked the same old questions that he's always asked.
And of course, he'll shoot back the same witty answers he always does, especially 'world domination'. Oh well. At least Linux is getting some coverage on the radio, bringing it to some people who've never heard of it. Perhaps it'll spark an interest in some. One can only hope.
While I can respect their goals, I do not believe that groups such as LinuxChix are really doing anything useful.
The solution is to make the open-source community accessible to women, rather than making "special" organizations for them. Many things suggested within this article are good ideas, especially fostering an analytical mindset.
The solution is complete integration into the community, not "Linux girls clubs" such as LinuxChix
Well, the idea here is that corel is working on WINE to improve it. Without the CVS, you have to wait weeks between each version to download their work.
CVS, on the other hand, can be updated daily. This means that you can watch (and download) the work that Corel's been doing, without waiting for them to pretty it up package it, and distribute it
If used properly, CVS is the ultimate "release early, release often" -- you have as much access to in-progress code as one of the corel programmers. This is a Good Thing (tm).
None of the stuff that you mentioned looks X86 compatible. As cool as G4 PPC and Motorola are, most of the cool stuff is for X86. (Many many Linux X86 apps, not as many for motorola or PPC).
I want a low power consumption wearable X86 linux box.;)
Now all we need is a mini-motherboard complete with Phoenix Bios, Crusoe processor, and integrated video and sound. Perfect for a do-it-yourself wearable computer.
First off, I apologize for not being very clear. I believe that we should make every effort to accomidate newbies, but making software that appeals to new users shouldn't be our #1 priority.
I believe that we should do our best to make a good interface, but that we should never trade of usability and power for ease-of-use.
How about all those good old Infocom games? I'm sure the source code could be had for a song, and someone could bundle a nice CD filled to the brimmed with the greatest text-based games all capable of running on Linux!
As far as recent stuff, I'd have to go for Half-Life and Starcraft.
The goal of open source, as I see it, is not to make software designed for the least common denominator. That's what Microsoft and AOL are for.
We are not failing if our software seems to complicated to a computer-illiterate newbie -- that's not who we designed the software for.
The goal of open source is to make software that doesn't suck. As long as we continue with this, we're doing fine.
Open source software is usually designed to be very powerful and flexible. With flexibility and power comes complexity. Do we sacrifice writing powerful software with writing "easy to use" software? It cannot always be both.
It doesn't seem to me like they want to use education to stop its use. Seems more to me like they intend to use censorship.
Following are some quotes from the article (the bolding and such is mine.)
Stockholm (Reuters) - European Leaders called for international cooperation to stop the Internet's use as a tool or spreading neo-Nazi and other racist propaganda
Three known neo-Nazis are currently on trial in Sweden for spreading racist propaganda, partly via the internet
I truly hate racism and all that it stands for, but censorship is not the solution. This article seems to indicate that various censorious solutions are being considered.
"I may disagree with what you say, but I'll defend to my last dying breath your right to say it."
To MPAA et al: I'll stop using DeCSS the minute I find a complete Linux DVD Solution
You're saying that you'd gladly trade an open-source solution for a closed source/proprietary DVD player solution?
The MPAA can kiss my ass. If I purchase a DVD drive, I want to know how it works. I want to see the source. Some people say that we wouldn't need DeCSS if they provided us with a Linux DVD player.
I bet that kid in Norway would still come up with DeCSS even if we had some sort of closed-source DVD player.
My whole problem with the DVD Assoc is not that they didn't provide a DVD player for Linux, but that they choose to employ idiotic methods of tightly controlling the technology they sell.
I'm not going to be happy until we have an open source DVD player that the DVD assoc does not harass about. One that is included in most Linux distributions. Some closed-source proprietary DVD player for Linux is not enough.
I agree. What about buttons made out of marble? Or maybe making the whole case about marble? Sure, it it heavy, and maybe fragile, but it'd look awesome.
along with two government agencies that helped fund the research
The method is being patented so that those who funded the research can use it as a source of revenue. The UK Government is funded by the people of the United Kingdom (obviously).
They should use the patent for what benefits the people the most: release it to the scientific community in general (for any use). The UK Government is not a business. It should not be trying to turn a profit.
Isn't there some sort of unwritten rule that says academic and government institutions work for the benefit of the scientific community, not in an attempt to gather revenue? Apparently not, or it's being ignored. Oh well.
I'm glad you had a good laugh. However, I found it irritating to have to constantly scroll sideways to read the comments, so I immediately ran for comments at 1 or higher.
Also, I'm very glad that you didn't have moderator points at the time (and I do hope you never get any). While you got a good laugh, moderating some of the thread up would force what you find funny on the people searching for serious discussion. Also, it makes the page look hideous in 'nested' mode.
Well, when someone's lawyer has to "ask" you to do something, there is the implied threat of a lawsuit.
I personally think that this is the right move. I imagine Linus wants the *linux* domain names used by the community, not a bunch of domain-name-squatting pigs.
When people grab *linux* domain names without a legitimate site, they harm the community by making it harder for someone to start a site. When they do this, it is time to play hardball and unleash the lawsuit-wielding lawyers. We have to play rough -- they do.
Linux is easier to use than windows, just more challenging to administrate.
My thirteen-year-old brother who often makes use of my computer has no trouble getting online with KDE and netscape. The only difference he notices is that it doesn't lock up like the windows box.
This being said, I agree with you completely that we need more applications to gain users.
Cheap? It's $22/month for unlimited access. Relative to other forms of dialup access, $22/month is very expensive. I pay less than $10/month for my dialup access.
In one of their issues a few months ago, AFA complained about their webpage being blocked by Cyber Patrol (and others) under the category Bigotry/Intolerance.
I find it rather ironic that they are working so hard to, in many cases, have their own web pages censored.
Also, I find it laughable that they work to keep the library internet terminals totally free of pornography when in fact the libraries have many softcover "erotica" books. [Those trashy romance novels you see prominently displayed in libraries, or at least the one in my town.]
AFA has sunk to new heights of stupidity. They are misinformed and very afraid of a new medium, and they're very politically active. Keep an eye on them.
>your forgetting the slashdot effect Now you aren't making any sense. We publicly posted RMS's "boycott amazon" message. Is amazon suffering (fiscally) because of that? No.
There's no way we'd be able to kill DVD's simply by us geeks boycotting DVD's. There's just too few of us. If us geeks/slashdotters were so influencial, most people would be using Linux, right?
Supposing our boycotts/"cluelessness" did have a noticable effect, the industry would relax its iron grip on the technology. Problem solved! No more reason to boycott! Sales go back up again and everyone's happy.
My boycotting DVD's is not an attempt to 'kill' the format. It's simply because the idea of my hard-earned greenbacks going to those who sue or otherwise harass open source developers turns my stomach.
Unless the DVD Control Association suddenly becomes clueful and opens up the technology, I have no intention of lining their pockets in any way by purchasing a DVD player. I just have a thing about buying things from people who sue open source developers;) -V
Also keep in mind that there is oodles and oodles of ignorance and stupidity on both sides of the fence. For example, the CDA was drafted by republicans and signed by a democrat president.
Slashdot Mirror
For us? Probably nothing new. Linus has been interviewed a lot, and most of us Linux geeks have read most of the interviews. He'll probably be asked the same old questions that he's always asked.
And of course, he'll shoot back the same witty answers he always does, especially 'world domination'. Oh well. At least Linux is getting some coverage on the radio, bringing it to some people who've never heard of it. Perhaps it'll spark an interest in some. One can only hope.
While I can respect their goals, I do not believe that groups such as LinuxChix are really doing anything useful.
The solution is to make the open-source community accessible to women, rather than making "special" organizations for them. Many things suggested within this article are good ideas, especially fostering an analytical mindset.
The solution is complete integration into the community, not "Linux girls clubs" such as LinuxChix
-V
Well, the idea here is that corel is working on WINE to improve it. Without the CVS, you have to wait weeks between each version to download their work.
CVS, on the other hand, can be updated daily. This means that you can watch (and download) the work that Corel's been doing, without waiting for them to pretty it up package it, and distribute it
If used properly, CVS is the ultimate "release early, release often" -- you have as much access to in-progress code as one of the corel programmers. This is a Good Thing (tm).
None of the stuff that you mentioned looks X86 compatible. As cool as G4 PPC and Motorola are, most of the cool stuff is for X86. (Many many Linux X86 apps, not as many for motorola or PPC).
I want a low power consumption wearable X86 linux box. ;)
Now all we need is a mini-motherboard complete with Phoenix Bios, Crusoe processor, and integrated video and sound. Perfect for a do-it-yourself wearable computer.
First off, I apologize for not being very clear. I believe that we should make every effort to accomidate newbies, but making software that appeals to new users shouldn't be our #1 priority.
I believe that we should do our best to make a good interface, but that we should never trade of usability and power for ease-of-use.
How about all those good old Infocom games? I'm sure the source code could be had for a song, and someone could bundle a nice CD filled to the brimmed with the greatest text-based games all capable of running on Linux!
As far as recent stuff, I'd have to go for Half-Life and Starcraft.
-V
The goal of open source, as I see it, is not to make software designed for the least common denominator. That's what Microsoft and AOL are for.
We are not failing if our software seems to complicated to a computer-illiterate newbie -- that's not who we designed the software for.
The goal of open source is to make software that doesn't suck. As long as we continue with this, we're doing fine.
Open source software is usually designed to be very powerful and flexible. With flexibility and power comes complexity. Do we sacrifice writing powerful software with writing "easy to use" software? It cannot always be both.
As can I. But we must make it clear to them that it is not the solution to fight an evil (Naziism) with another evil (censorship).
It doesn't seem to me like they want to use education to stop its use. Seems more to me like they intend to use censorship.
Following are some quotes from the article (the bolding and such is mine.)
Stockholm (Reuters) - European Leaders called for international cooperation to stop the Internet's use as a tool or spreading neo-Nazi and other racist propaganda
Three known neo-Nazis are currently on trial in Sweden for spreading racist propaganda, partly via the internet
I truly hate racism and all that it stands for, but censorship is not the solution. This article seems to indicate that various censorious solutions are being considered.
"I may disagree with what you say, but I'll defend to my last dying breath your right to say it."
To MPAA et al: I'll stop using DeCSS the minute I find a complete Linux DVD Solution
You're saying that you'd gladly trade an open-source solution for a closed source/proprietary DVD player solution?
The MPAA can kiss my ass. If I purchase a DVD drive, I want to know how it works. I want to see the source. Some people say that we wouldn't need DeCSS if they provided us with a Linux DVD player.
I bet that kid in Norway would still come up with DeCSS even if we had some sort of closed-source DVD player.
My whole problem with the DVD Assoc is not that they didn't provide a DVD player for Linux, but that they choose to employ idiotic methods of tightly controlling the technology they sell.
I'm not going to be happy until we have an open source DVD player that the DVD assoc does not harass about. One that is included in most Linux distributions. Some closed-source proprietary DVD player for Linux is not enough.
-V
I'll bet it can accurately simulate mition enough to cause motion sickness.
I'm sure parents will be pleased when their children vomit from too much video-game playing. ;)
I agree. What about buttons made out of marble? Or maybe making the whole case about marble? Sure, it it heavy, and maybe fragile, but it'd look awesome.
Oh well. Enough of my crazy ramblings.
-V
along with two government agencies that helped fund the research
The method is being patented so that those who funded the research can use it as a source of revenue. The UK Government is funded by the people of the United Kingdom (obviously).
They should use the patent for what benefits the people the most: release it to the scientific community in general (for any use). The UK Government is not a business. It should not be trying to turn a profit.
Isn't there some sort of unwritten rule that says academic and government institutions work for the benefit of the scientific community, not in an attempt to gather revenue? Apparently not, or it's being ignored. Oh well.
-V
Researchers patent the scientific method!
I'm glad you had a good laugh. However, I found it irritating to have to constantly scroll sideways to read the comments, so I immediately ran for comments at 1 or higher.
Also, I'm very glad that you didn't have moderator points at the time (and I do hope you never get any). While you got a good laugh, moderating some of the thread up would force what you find funny on the people searching for serious discussion. Also, it makes the page look hideous in 'nested' mode.
-V
Well, when someone's lawyer has to "ask" you to do something, there is the implied threat of a lawsuit.
I personally think that this is the right move. I imagine Linus wants the *linux* domain names used by the community, not a bunch of domain-name-squatting pigs.
When people grab *linux* domain names without a legitimate site, they harm the community by making it harder for someone to start a site. When they do this, it is time to play hardball and unleash the lawsuit-wielding lawyers. We have to play rough -- they do.
-V
Linux is easier to use than windows, just more challenging to administrate.
My thirteen-year-old brother who often makes use of my computer has no trouble getting online with KDE and netscape. The only difference he notices is that it doesn't lock up like the windows box.
This being said, I agree with you completely that we need more applications to gain users.
-V
Cheap? It's $22/month for unlimited access. Relative to other forms of dialup access, $22/month is very expensive. I pay less than $10/month for my dialup access.
-V
In one of their issues a few months ago, AFA complained about their webpage being blocked by Cyber Patrol (and others) under the category Bigotry/Intolerance.
I find it rather ironic that they are working so hard to, in many cases, have their own web pages censored.
Also, I find it laughable that they work to keep the library internet terminals totally free of pornography when in fact the libraries have many softcover "erotica" books. [Those trashy romance novels you see prominently displayed in libraries, or at least the one in my town.]
AFA has sunk to new heights of stupidity. They are misinformed and very afraid of a new medium, and they're very politically active. Keep an eye on them.
Valur
Could this be the first time a computer maker distributes a machine with %100 GPL'd software?
>your forgetting the slashdot effect Now you aren't making any sense. We publicly posted RMS's "boycott amazon" message. Is amazon suffering (fiscally) because of that? No.
There's no way we'd be able to kill DVD's simply by us geeks boycotting DVD's. There's just too few of us. If us geeks/slashdotters were so influencial, most people would be using Linux, right?
Supposing our boycotts/"cluelessness" did have a noticable effect, the industry would relax its iron grip on the technology. Problem solved! No more reason to boycott! Sales go back up again and everyone's happy.
My boycotting DVD's is not an attempt to 'kill' the format. It's simply because the idea of my hard-earned greenbacks going to those who sue or otherwise harass open source developers turns my stomach.
-VUnless the DVD Control Association suddenly becomes clueful and opens up the technology, I have no intention of lining their pockets in any way by purchasing a DVD player. I just have a thing about buying things from people who sue open source developers ;) -V
Also keep in mind that there is oodles and oodles of ignorance and stupidity on both sides of the fence. For example, the CDA was drafted by republicans and signed by a democrat president.