Frankly I'm amused and a little shocked that an organization of your caliber would be so irresponsible as to allow someone to write about something to which they are clearly not qualified.
In an article on August 2, 2000 (http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/tech/FredMoody /moody.html) Mr. Moody, (who obviously has a great many ties to Microsoft as he is the author of "A Year with Microsoft on the Multimedia Frontier",) makes unsubstantiated assertions in his column about Linux having the most bugs.
If Mr. Moody had actually learned about the open source methodology, rapid, iterative development methods, he would learn that at any given time there are several bugs in ANY operating system. In the Linux development process we develop quickly then submit to our peers for correction, testing and more testing. Only the best of the best code makes it through to the next version level.
Linux developers (Yes I said developers you know professional, educated people that actually do this for a living, or for the sheer joy of programming, are people who pay taxes and actually use the operating system we speak about), are honest about what is going on with their OS and this honesty makes it a more stable environment. The more honest we are, the sooner we can correct the issues. (i.e. No waiting 6 months for "Service Packs" which are nothing but BUG FIXES!)
Running a company that has actually deploys mission critical Linux servers and workstations, many of our servers have uptimes measured in years. I stress mission critical operations such as data-mining, secured financial transaction processing, medical research etc.
Linux is used by every branch of the military and by NASA. In fact scientists at NASA play a very large role in our development cycle, especially the networking code.
Please show me the Microsoft solution that can match that because in over 15 years in this industry I have yet to see it.
Now on to non-technology related things:
As a CEO of a technology company, with a wife, four kids living in the suburbs, I doubt people would look at me and call me a "zealot". I challenge Mr. Moody to educate himself, quit the childish name calling, and actually use the operating system he speaks of. Yes there are people in the Linux community, the Windows community whom are very proud of what they do for a living and some of the younger folks may at times take it to extremes. This applies universally kids. Should I call my brother in Wisconsin a "Zealot" because he is a fan of the Milwaukee Brewers baseball team? How many fisticuffs have happened because of sports? How many because of operating systems? I rest my case.
I've also made the observation as well that in a heavily liberal media, it seems to be "OK" to say disparaging remarks about "geeks" and "It people" because hey. after all, they not like the rest of us right?
As contributing members to society, I find it interesting that if this were some other group of people, be it a religious or ethnic minority no news agency would dream to call them "Zealots". I sense much hypocrisy here and ABC news, and Mr. Moody have much to answer to.
It's always easier to call names. It takes real initiative and intelligence to educate one's self.
Would you guys just GIVE IT UP!!! M$ employees ARE NOT very well paid. They usually are contract people working for VOLT technical services and it is considered a entry level technical position. Having worked for Microsoft usually means you have to retrain big time.
Microsoft was wrong in their business practices. READ THE SEC FILINGS of DEC and Microsoft DUH!!
They conspired to put all the messaging software from Lotus and sendmail to Exchange because M$ promised they would port Exchange to Unix. Or at least make it so that Unix could use Exhange.
They went out to sell over 100,000 copies and sold (with the help of SoftWare Spectrum) (whose origins I won't even touch here but they are shady at best) They sold over 2,000,000 and never ported aas they said they would. Well not karma has come to roost.
There are now products that run on Unix and Linux that can talk to exchange. Microsoft will at LEAST get heavy heavy fines and their reputation is gone forever. They have had this coming for a long time...
Linux has many services which must be secured. Installing ssh, or mod_ssl, shutting off some services, applying the latest patches are all part of good system administration. I dare say I've had boxes running for 4 years and more that people have attempted to crack but for good diligence they might have been successfull.
NT is not the worlds most secure solution either. Infact NT as installed flunked the security tests we placed on it as did Linux. Both systems need COMPETENT administrators. A computer is just a tool people. Although I must say (with bias on my part...to be honest) that Microsoft breeds the lazy mentality of "The computer is a magic box" and doesn't really encourage the user/admin to go into it in depth. I've had an MCSE say to me once. "I just want proxy services.. I don't want any IP packets routed accross the network." As though "Proxy Services" were a Microsoft magic or something...very strange indeed.
The real factor is reliability. NT just doesn't scale right now. Maybe it will in the future, but right now it does not. The company of which I am a part has done well over 3,000 installations in medium to large companies all of which have had heterogenous complement.
Lose the "My dog is better" stuff and subscribe to some security newsletters etc. Study systems security.
The one thing that really pisses me off is that these people who can not even pass the muster as a small town reporter are too chicken to debate.
I've challenged Jesse to debate me online and have never received an answer.
Remember this... Jesse Berst and the like have NO ACCOUNTABILITY! They can say any strange, bizarre thing that pops into their challenged minds without the mildest shred of proof under the guise of journalism.
They don't respond, nor do they take responsibility for their actions. Just typical arrogant Microsoft people.
You do know of course that ZD-Net is essentially a Microsoft flunky. After all... They are owned by SoftBank, and SoftBank (based out of Buffalo, NY) does a LOT of technical support for Microsoft.
I guess there is no such thing as conflict of interest, so they individual who has never touched Linux in his life, (jesse) can go right on saying what he is saying...
Remember his little article on "Can you get fired for recommending Linux?" No case studies, no proof...just towing the Microsoft party line...
Cheers,
Nicholas
PS: In case you haven't guessed a majority of so-called journalists are this way especially on the internet. If it is something they don't understand....oohhh..scary...let's talk bad about it...
Folks....hold up! The 6.1 release is not yet finished. Wait until they get a few more bugs worked out ok. The official pressing isn't until some days away so let the mirrors settle and the ISO images get created. Also there are some other small nigglies that have to be worked out. It is not done yet so please don't download it and then complain about it. Thanks, Nicholas
Not to get into immature semantics... however, I can take out Office 2000 in about 5 seconds with a macro via email. Star Office is much slower but I won't get into personal attacks as my contributions to Open Source speak for themselves.
First of all... according to Netcraft, Slashdot runs Apache/1.3.6 (Unix) mod_perl/1.20 on Linux I suggest you check it out at www.netcraft.com
Next... I find it amusing that some of these entries are traced back to Microsoft employees. Definately to MSN.com... Give it up guys. You've already lost. Star Office kicks Office 2000 but with no inherent vira breeding ground. Take your DOS and go home. You guys must be really desperate to post here. Also, I still get that stupid Microsoft Solutions Provider magazine. (yes were are licensed although we rarely use it) And the front cover reads.. "The Linux Threat."
Man are you guys ever scared or what? What until the Corel version of Linux and the next version of Mandrake come out. Linux on the server is already a done deal. Next is Linux on the desktop.
Time Frame: 9 Months
By the way, my company just sent the K-Office people around $6,000.00 worth of hardware for their efforts.
Don't take Mindcraft seriously. No one else in the IT field does even friends and collegues of mine who sell and advocate Windows products laughed at the incredible idiocy displayed by Mindcrafts feable attempt to redeem themselves after they were laughed at by many major news organizations.
Don't even bother writing to them folks. They are not even worth your time. They are a tiny company trying to pretend they're not.
Folks... Pat yourselves on the back. we have made it to stage 3 of the (ignore/laugh/fight) scenario. Microsoft is plenty scared now that the truth about them having no real development road map has finally leaked out. Paying for a study is an amusing and pathetic way to get attention.
Microsoft will be served papers soon by my company to immeadiately cease and desist using the words Open Source in conjunction with their products. I've contact Ralph Nader already and he is aware of this. Ed Muth said recently "...there are many definitions of Open source."
No Mr. Muth, there is only one. And it is a registered Service Mark. I suggest you conduct yourself accordingly.
Actually because Open Source is a registered service mark, you can sue on the basis that it is an issue that causes confusion in the mind of the public (consumers) as to the brand identity.
The registered service mark means that Microsoft is treading on thin ice right now with their ill inspired tactic of attempting to water down what Open Source means. Having spoken to many insiders at Microsoft I have been told they have NEVER had any intention of releasing the source code, rather this was a tactic cooked up by management to attempt to fight the OSS phenomena. I would still like a process of discovery upon a filing for disassempling or issuing a supenea for Microsoft Source Code for NT and for other products to see if any GPL code exists anywhere in them. If so Microsoft would not have a choice but to make their products Open Source. Not that I would particularly care for their products anyway but I detest Balmer, Muth & CO. arrogance.
Folks this is a test. It is a test of your resolve and the resolve of the whole Open Source Movement to fight for the ServiceMark of Open Source Software... M$ knows that Open Source is the best marketing tool we have right now...
They DO NOT have permission from Eric or anyone else I know of the use the term Open Source in relationship to their products. This is a legal fight folks... The first of many to come. Don't be reactionary, be responsive and overcome these idiots by using the media against them, and using the law! Because that is exactly what they are trying to do to you..
First they will create a confusion in the minds of consumers about who and what is open source, then they will use their little Linux think tank known at egg.microsoft.com to come up with some hair brained scheme to associate Linux with thin clients only and how their NT is just "Too Good" to be used as a thing client but Linux is a small, admirable, pitiful attempt to make a free thin client thus obscuring what OSS and Linux really is.... A SERIOUS THREAT to Microsoft's empire...
Let's get with it folks. Take it from a guy who bet his whole business on Linux... and won! I deal with the CEO's of other companies every day. They and the purchasing managers are the ones you have to make things clear to as they are the ones who write the checks. They are influenced by a number of things including public impression. Let's do this in a civil, appropriate and mature manner but fight this as a tradmark infringement which is what it is...
My company uses OSS and proprietary software such as Sybase and Oracle because they suit our needs. Frankly the thought of using Microsoft is just to risky as it is not really a supported product. I mean if something goes wrong who can I have come in and fix it? No one! I can trust Oracle as their products have never given me issues... Sybase so far has been good as well. In previous companies I have either managed or had ownership in we have tried Microsoft products but they proved to be too unreliable.
Often a company can release the preliminary API to the OSS community and let them cut their teeth on it. Guess what the Ethernet drivers in Linux are written for us by NASA. Some of out kernel code comes from guys from Australia to New Zealand to Zaire. Don't tell me that companies can't afford to have their people working on OSS. Often people work on it in their own time and the advances they make contribute to the companies overall code pool. I'd much rather have a Linux programmer than a Win32 only programmer as in my over 20 years in IT have shown me.... people that are from a Unix/Linux background tend to be more well rounded. Which is why Linux/Unix programmers and administrators are usually paid more as well..
Trust me folks....Microsoft is running very scared. Those of us who have been in the business for a while and can remember our first Altair, know that Bill Gates and Co. didn't "get it" 20 years ago and he still doesn't "get it" now.
His worst nightmare has come to pass. Those "hobbiest" programmers are giving away code! How dare they! Don't you know that when you do that it makes it hard for people like him (his coders) to write good software and sell it for a 200% mark-up? Needless to say we all know that a majority of people that work on the code for Linux and it's various apps. blow away the neophytes at Microsoft.
But hey as my martial arts teacher Shoto Tanemura once said to me..."If you were not scared...there would be no need of a defensive reaction, the person in control of himself can respond...not react. Remember that reaction is when your environment dictates you actions... Response is when YOU are in control of you.."
Redmond is scared silly....Bill's worst nightmare is here...and succeeding...
If economic stats make you feel any better, a senior IT market analyst from Forrester Research was on CNN a couple of nights ago and said something close to the effect of "The Open Source Software model is dynamic and effective. Even Microsoft with all it's money and resources can't out program or out perform it because they don't have the ability to harness the collective IQ power of programmers across the world." Microsoft is more into cable companies and DSL access now than Operating Systems folks... smile, relax, and run Linux. Cheers,
Nicholas Donovan President Linux Systems Group New York
Oh One more thing about ZD-Net..... No one that I know in IT even reads the damn thing... I mean come one give me a break..they have a cheesy place called the "Linux Briefing Center" I mean come on... do people really go there? Who? and WHY? Everyone knows the ZD-Net is a wholly owned subsidiary of SoftBank which is run by guess who...Microsoft!! wow what a revelation...get with the program son... no one takes ZD-Net seriously....
Of course I think your actually a Linux guy but hey that's just MHO...
But I wish he did! Then it would be easy to take over their market share...with people as dull witted as that!
Sorry but most of the people that I know in Microsoft right now are actually pretty pissed off at the company so.... me thinks this is a funny Linux guy...
We at LSG actually use, sell, and support both GNOME and KDE. They are excellent and have come a long way from their beginnings.
User interfaces are something that must also evolve accordingly and this is as good as any a time to announce a little project we have been working on at LSG.
We will soon be releasing to the LGPL a 3D interface that will be easy to write apps for and also easy to adapt IRED,touchscreens, and other neuro-muscular, or voice activated devices. The project, called VOOME (Virtual Object Oriented Manipulation Environment) was inspired by Dr. Stephen Hawkins and other users in need of an easier to use interface that would be more intuitive, and allow for the easy manipulations of work_objects from a large variety of the above said devices. This is not just for the physically challenged but will represent a break from the common taskbar/file manager/icons paradigm that has been prevalent throughout the industry.
We will be releasing the code and development API's soon and urge anyone interested in such a project to email us and they will receive access to the server.
Any ideas for the interface will be gladly accepted and openly discussed because that's the best way to write software, using the OSS model.
CORBA is object oriented. I don't know where this myth came from....lets look at the code for DCOM IDL
// uuid and definition of IGrid1 [ object, uuid(3CFDB283-CCC5-11D0-BA0B-00A0C90DF8BC), helpstring("IGrid1 Interface"), pointer_default(unique) ] interface IGrid1 : IUnknown { import "unknwn.idl"; HRESULT get([in] SHORT n, [in] SHORT m, [out] LONG *value); HRESULT set([in] SHORT n, [in] SHORT m, [in] LONG value); };
// uuid and definition of IGrid2 [ object, uuid(3CFDB284-CCC5-11D0-BA0B-00A0C90DF8BC), helpstring("IGrid2 Interface"), pointer_default(unique) ] interface IGrid2 : IUnknown { import "unknwn.idl"; HRESULT reset([in] LONG value); };
// uuid and definition of type library [ uuid(3CFDB281-CCC5-11D0-BA0B-00A0C90DF8BC), version(1.0), helpstring("grid 1.0 Type Library) ] library GRIDLib { importlib("stdole32.tlb"); // uuid and definition of class [ uuid(3CFDB287-CCC5-11D0-BA0B-00A0C90DF8BC), helpstring("Grid Class") ] // multiple interfaces coclass CGrid { [default] interface IGrid1; interface IGrid2; }; };
Now for A corba IDL
interface grid1 { long get(in short n, in short m); void set(in short n, in short m, in long value); };
What are the advantages of TogetherJ over Rational Rose? What things is it best suited for? Where can I find it? Does it run on Linux?
Thanks,
Nick Linux Systems Group
Linux UI's have much more power/potential
on
ClearCase for Linux
·
· Score: 1
For those who say that Microsoft has the lock on UI design, I say this. As a person who has actively studied UI design at a graduate level, I doubt you've seen REAL UI. One of the projects we're working on currently is a ergo-design station area with extremely enhanced UI's including 3d fully rendered FS plots, app. manipulation with retinal/nuero resistive reponse etc.
Let's look at words like "discoverable", "UI enhanced experience", "inititiveness", and a thousand other made-up M$ words lack have no substance but have thousands of sheaple that follow it.
First of all, M$'s interface is nothing new. They stole much from the X-Windows of Unix, not to mention much of the NT code is most likely a clone of some OS2 stuff... badly mangled at that.
GNOME & KDE represents power and configurability that doesn't talk down to the end user. Are they the end-all of UI? Of course not but we have to have some familiar ground to get the folks using windows to Linux and allow them to feel comfortable in an environment with familiar objects.
GNOME & KDE are also much more stable and functional than the MS-Windows UI and considering the fact that these UI's have been around for 2 years or less and have this much functionality says much for the OSS development process and less for Microsoft.
You may wish to refer to the GTE study of 1998. A call-center of 733 people all of whom were using MS-Windows based workstations were chosen. In this center down time cost approximately $480,000 USD$ per half 20 minutes. (when you call GTE you are calling this center) when these people were switched to Linux based workstations, with only 1 day of training, their productivity went up by 36%. This is a gain of over 3 Million dollars per week.
I believe that the next two years will have KDE and GNOME working on their wonderful desktops, coming out with much increased functions/features and others coming out with radical new UI's like those mentioned above. Linux lends itself naturally to these improvements by it's file system layount and it's OSS design paradigm.
Nick Linux Systems Group
Linux UI's have much more power/potential
on
ClearCase for Linux
·
· Score: 1
As a person who has actively studied UI design at a graduate level, I doubt you've seen REAL UI. One of the projects we're working on currently is a ergo-design station area with extremely enhanced UI's including 3d fully rendered FS plots, app. manipulation with retinal/nuero resistive reponse etc.
Let's look at words like "discoverable", "UI enhanced experience", "inititiveness", and a thousand other made-up M$ words lack have no substance but have thousands of sheaple that follow it.
First of all, M$'s interface is nothing new. They stole much from the X-Windows of Unix, not to mention much of the NT code is most likely a clone of some OS2 stuff... badly mangled at that.
GNOME & KDE represents power and configurability that doesn't talk down to the end user. Are they the end-all of UI? Of course not but we have to have some familiar ground to get the folks using windows to Linux and allow them to feel comfortable in an environment with familiar objects.
GNOME & KDE are also much more stable and functional than the MS-Windows UI and considering the fact that these UI's have been around for 2 years or less and have this much functionality says much for the OSS development process and less for Microsoft.
You may wish to refer to the GTE study of 1998. A call-center of 733 people all of whom were using MS-Windows based workstations were chosen. In this center down time cost approximately $480,000 USD$ per half 20 minutes. (when you call GTE you are calling this center) when these people were switched to Linux based workstations, with only 1 day of training, their productivity went up by 36%. This is a gain of over 3 Million dollars per week.
As a person who has actively studied UI design at a graduate level, I doubt you've seen REAL UI. One of the projects we're working on currently is a ergo-design station area with extremely enhanced UI's including 3d fully rendered FS plots, app. manipulation with retinal/nuero resistive reponse etc.
Let's look at words like "discoverable", "UI enhanced experience", "inititiveness", and a thousand other made-up M$ words lack have no substance but have thousands of sheaple that follow it.
First of all, M$'s interface is nothing new. They stole much from the X-Windows of Unix, not to mention much of the NT code is most likely a clone of some OS2 stuff... badly mangled at that.
GNOME & KDE represents power and configurability that doesn't talk down to the end user. Are they the end-all of UI? Of course not but we have to have some familiar ground to get the sheeple using windows to Linux and allow them to feel comfortable in an environment with familiar objects. GNOME & KDE are also much more stable and functional than the MS-Windows UI and considering the fact that these UI's have been around for 2 years or less and have this much functionality says much for the OSS development process and less for Microsoft.
You may wish to refer to the GTE study of 1998. A call-center of 733 people all of whom were using MS-Windows based workstations were chosen. In this center down time cost approximately $480,000 USD$ per half 20 minutes. (when you call GTE you are calling this center) when these people were switched to Linux based workstations, with only 1 day of training, their productivity went up by 36%. This is a gain of over 3 Million dollars per week.
Slashdot Mirror
I should have capitalized the "t" in "IT people"
Nick
Frankly I'm amused and a little shocked that an organization of your caliber would be so irresponsible as to allow someone to write about something to which they are clearly not qualified.
y /moody.html)
In an article on August 2, 2000 (http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/tech/FredMood
Mr. Moody, (who obviously has a great many ties to Microsoft as he is the author of
"A Year with Microsoft on the Multimedia Frontier",)
makes unsubstantiated assertions in his column about Linux having the most bugs.
If Mr. Moody had actually learned about the open source methodology, rapid, iterative development methods, he would learn that at any given time there are several bugs in ANY operating system. In the Linux development process we develop quickly then submit to our peers for correction, testing and more testing. Only the best of the best code makes it through to the next version level.
Linux developers (Yes I said developers you know professional, educated people that actually do this for a living, or for the sheer joy of programming, are people who pay taxes and actually use the operating system we speak about), are honest about what is going on with their OS and this honesty makes it a more stable environment. The more honest we are, the sooner we can correct the issues.
(i.e. No waiting 6 months for "Service Packs" which are nothing but BUG FIXES!)
Running a company that has actually deploys mission critical Linux servers and workstations, many of our servers have uptimes measured in years. I stress mission critical operations such as data-mining, secured financial transaction processing, medical research etc.
Linux is used by every branch of the military and by NASA. In fact scientists at NASA play a very large role in our development cycle, especially the networking code.
Please show me the Microsoft solution that can match that because in over 15 years in this industry I have yet to see it.
Now on to non-technology related things:
As a CEO of a technology company, with a wife, four kids living in the suburbs, I doubt people would look at me and call me a "zealot". I challenge Mr. Moody to educate himself, quit the childish name calling, and actually use the operating system he speaks of. Yes there are people in the Linux community, the Windows community whom are very proud of what they do for a living and some of the younger folks may at times take it to extremes. This applies universally kids. Should I call my brother in Wisconsin a "Zealot" because he is a fan of the Milwaukee Brewers baseball team? How many fisticuffs have happened because of sports? How many because of operating systems?
I rest my case.
I've also made the observation as well that in a heavily liberal media, it seems to be "OK" to say disparaging remarks about "geeks" and "It people" because hey. after all, they not like the rest of us right?
As contributing members to society, I find it interesting that if this were some other group of people, be it a religious or ethnic minority no news agency would dream to call them "Zealots". I sense much hypocrisy here and ABC news, and Mr. Moody have much to answer to.
It's always easier to call names. It takes real initiative and intelligence to educate one's self.
Sincerely,
Nicholas M.M. Donovan
CEO -
Versinet Corporation
Would you guys just GIVE IT UP!!!
M$ employees ARE NOT very well paid. They usually are contract people working for VOLT technical services and it is considered a entry level technical position. Having worked for Microsoft usually means you have to retrain big time.
Microsoft was wrong in their business practices.
READ THE SEC FILINGS of DEC and Microsoft DUH!!
They conspired to put all the messaging software from Lotus and sendmail to Exchange because M$ promised they would port Exchange to Unix. Or at least make it so that Unix could use Exhange.
They went out to sell over 100,000 copies and sold (with the help of SoftWare Spectrum) (whose origins I won't even touch here but they are shady at best) They sold over 2,000,000 and never ported aas they said they would. Well not karma has come to roost.
There are now products that run on Unix and Linux that can talk to exchange. Microsoft will at LEAST get heavy heavy fines and their reputation is gone forever. They have had this coming for a long time...
Read the SEC Filings THEN talk to me....
Niko
(I speak for myself, not my company)
It is what we use for large projects and it screams on Linux...what more could one want?
Linux has many services which must be secured.
Installing ssh, or mod_ssl, shutting off some services, applying the latest patches are all part of good system administration. I dare say I've had boxes running for 4 years and more that people have attempted to crack but for good diligence they might have been successfull.
NT is not the worlds most secure solution either. Infact NT as installed flunked the security tests we placed on it as did Linux. Both systems need COMPETENT administrators. A computer is just a tool people. Although I must say (with bias on my part...to be honest) that Microsoft breeds the lazy mentality of "The computer is a magic box" and doesn't really encourage the user/admin to go into it in depth. I've had an MCSE say to me once. "I just want proxy services.. I don't want any IP packets routed accross the network." As though "Proxy Services" were a Microsoft magic or something...very strange indeed.
The real factor is reliability. NT just doesn't scale right now. Maybe it will in the future, but right now it does not. The company of which I am a part has done well over 3,000 installations in medium to large companies all of which have had heterogenous complement.
Lose the "My dog is better" stuff and subscribe to some security newsletters etc. Study systems security.
Cheers,
Nicholas
The one thing that really pisses me off is that these people who can not even pass the muster as a small town reporter are too chicken to debate.
I've challenged Jesse to debate me online and have never received an answer.
Remember this... Jesse Berst and the like have NO ACCOUNTABILITY! They can say any strange, bizarre thing that pops into their challenged minds without the mildest shred of proof under the guise of journalism.
They don't respond, nor do they take responsibility for their actions. Just typical arrogant Microsoft people.
You do know of course that ZD-Net is essentially a Microsoft flunky. After all... They are owned by SoftBank, and SoftBank (based out of Buffalo, NY) does a LOT of technical support for Microsoft.
I guess there is no such thing as conflict of interest, so they individual who has never touched Linux in his life, (jesse) can go right on saying what he is saying...
Remember his little article on "Can you get fired for recommending Linux?" No case studies, no proof...just towing the Microsoft party line...
Cheers,
Nicholas
PS: In case you haven't guessed a majority of so-called journalists are this way especially on the internet. If it is something they don't understand....oohhh..scary...let's talk bad about it...
Folks....hold up! The 6.1 release is not yet finished. Wait until they get a few more bugs worked out ok. The official pressing isn't until some days away so let the mirrors settle and the ISO images get created. Also there are some other small nigglies that have to be worked out. It is not done yet so please don't download it and then complain about it. Thanks, Nicholas
I wrote an article on this before... This is just a sticking point with me ;-) http://linuxtoday.com/stories/9052.html
Not to get into immature semantics... however, I can take out Office 2000 in about 5 seconds with a macro via email. Star Office is much slower but I won't get into personal attacks as my contributions to Open Source speak for themselves.
Cheers,
Nick
First of all... according to Netcraft, Slashdot runs Apache/1.3.6 (Unix) mod_perl/1.20 on Linux
;-)
I suggest you check it out at www.netcraft.com
Next... I find it amusing that some of these entries are traced back to Microsoft employees.
Definately to MSN.com... Give it up guys.
You've already lost. Star Office kicks Office 2000 but with no inherent vira breeding ground.
Take your DOS and go home. You guys must be really desperate to post here. Also, I still get that stupid Microsoft Solutions Provider magazine.
(yes were are licensed although we rarely use it)
And the front cover reads.. "The Linux Threat."
Man are you guys ever scared or what? What until the Corel version of Linux and the next version of Mandrake come out. Linux on the server is already a done deal. Next is Linux on the desktop.
Time Frame: 9 Months
By the way, my company just sent the K-Office people around $6,000.00 worth of hardware for their efforts.
Having fun, Running Linux, Being happy!
Linux... Because a GPL is WAY better than a GPF!
Nicholas
Gang,
Don't take Mindcraft seriously. No one else in the IT field does even friends and collegues of mine who sell and advocate Windows products laughed at the incredible idiocy displayed by Mindcrafts feable attempt to redeem themselves after they were laughed at by many major news organizations.
Don't even bother writing to them folks. They are not even worth your time. They are a tiny company trying to pretend they're not.
Just some down to earth advice for you,
Nick
Folks... Pat yourselves on the back. we have made it to stage 3 of the (ignore/laugh/fight) scenario. Microsoft is plenty scared now that the truth about them having no real development road map has finally leaked out. Paying for a study is an amusing and pathetic way to get attention.
Microsoft will be served papers soon by my company
to immeadiately cease and desist using the words Open Source in conjunction with their products.
I've contact Ralph Nader already and he is aware of this. Ed Muth said recently "...there are many definitions of Open source."
No Mr. Muth, there is only one. And it is a registered Service Mark. I suggest you conduct yourself accordingly.
Cheers,
Nick
Actually because Open Source is a registered service mark, you can sue on the basis that it is an issue that causes confusion in the mind of the public (consumers) as to the brand identity.
The registered service mark means that Microsoft is treading on thin ice right now with their ill inspired tactic of attempting to water down what Open Source means. Having spoken to many insiders at Microsoft I have been told they have NEVER had any intention of releasing the source code, rather this was a tactic cooked up by management to attempt to fight the OSS phenomena. I would still like a process of discovery upon a filing for disassempling or issuing a supenea for Microsoft Source Code for NT and for other products to see if any GPL code exists anywhere in them. If so Microsoft would not have a choice but to make their products Open Source. Not that I would particularly care for their products anyway but I detest Balmer, Muth & CO. arrogance.
Any other thoughts on this?
Nick
Linux Data Systems
LSG
Folks this is a test. It is a test of your resolve and the resolve of the whole Open Source Movement to fight for the ServiceMark of Open Source Software... M$ knows that Open Source is the best marketing tool we have right now...
They DO NOT have permission from Eric or anyone else I know of the use the term Open Source in relationship to their products. This is a legal fight folks... The first of many to come.
Don't be reactionary, be responsive and overcome these idiots by using the media against them, and using the law! Because that is exactly what they are trying to do to you..
First they will create a confusion in the minds of consumers about who and what is open source, then they will use their little Linux think tank known at egg.microsoft.com to come up with some hair brained scheme to associate Linux with thin clients only and how their NT is just "Too Good" to be used as a thing client but Linux is a small, admirable, pitiful attempt to make a free thin client thus obscuring what OSS and Linux really is.... A SERIOUS THREAT to Microsoft's empire...
Let's get with it folks. Take it from a guy who bet his whole business on Linux... and won!
I deal with the CEO's of other companies every day. They and the purchasing managers are the ones you have to make things clear to as they are the ones who write the checks. They are influenced by a number of things including public impression.
Let's do this in a civil, appropriate and mature manner but fight this as a tradmark infringement which is what it is...
Nick Donovan
Linux Data Systems
LSG
I'll be very simple and very direct....
My company uses OSS and proprietary software such as Sybase and Oracle because they suit our needs.
Frankly the thought of using Microsoft is just to risky as it is not really a supported product.
I mean if something goes wrong who can I have come in and fix it? No one! I can trust Oracle as their products have never given me issues... Sybase so far has been good as well. In previous companies I have either managed or had ownership in we have tried Microsoft products but they proved to be too unreliable.
Often a company can release the preliminary API to the OSS community and let them cut their teeth on it. Guess what the Ethernet drivers in Linux are written for us by NASA. Some of out kernel code comes from guys from Australia to New Zealand to Zaire. Don't tell me that companies can't afford to have their people working on OSS. Often people work on it in their own time and the advances they make contribute to the companies overall code pool. I'd much rather have a Linux programmer than a Win32 only programmer as in my over 20 years in IT have shown me.... people that are from a Unix/Linux background tend to be more well rounded. Which is why Linux/Unix programmers and administrators are usually paid more as well..
Cheers,
Nick Donovan
Linux Systems Group
New York
Trust me folks....Microsoft is running very scared. Those of us who have been in the business for a while and can
remember our first Altair, know that Bill Gates and Co. didn't "get it" 20 years ago and he still doesn't "get it" now.
His worst nightmare has come to pass. Those "hobbiest" programmers are giving away code! How dare they! Don't you
know that when you do that it makes it hard for people like him (his coders) to write good software and sell it for a 200%
mark-up?
Needless to say we all know that a majority of people that work on the code for Linux and it's various apps. blow away the
neophytes at Microsoft.
But hey as my martial arts teacher Shoto Tanemura once said to me..."If you were not scared...there would be no need of
a defensive reaction, the person in control of himself can respond...not react. Remember that reaction is when your
environment dictates you actions... Response is when YOU are in control of you.."
Redmond is scared silly....Bill's worst nightmare is here...and succeeding...
If economic stats make you feel any better, a senior IT market analyst from Forrester Research was on CNN a couple of
nights ago and said something close to the effect of "The Open Source Software model is dynamic and effective. Even
Microsoft with all it's money and resources can't out program or out perform it because they don't have the ability to
harness the collective IQ power of programmers across the world."
Microsoft is more into cable companies and DSL access now than Operating Systems folks...
smile, relax, and run Linux.
Cheers,
Nicholas Donovan
President
Linux Systems Group
New York
Oh One more thing about ZD-Net.....
No one that I know in IT even reads the damn thing... I mean come one give me a break..they have a cheesy place called the "Linux Briefing Center" I mean come on... do people really go there? Who? and WHY? Everyone knows the ZD-Net is a wholly owned subsidiary of SoftBank which is run by guess who...Microsoft!! wow what a revelation...get with the program son... no one takes ZD-Net seriously....
Of course I think your actually a Linux guy but hey that's just MHO...
Cheers,
Nick
LSG
Nick
LSG
But I wish he did! Then it would be easy to take over their market share...with people as dull witted as that!
Sorry but most of the people that I know in Microsoft right now are actually pretty pissed off at the company so....
me thinks this is a funny Linux guy...
Nick
LSG
We at LSG actually use, sell, and support both GNOME and KDE. They are excellent and have come
a long way from their beginnings.
User interfaces are something that must also evolve accordingly and this is as good as any a time to announce a little project we have been working on at LSG.
We will soon be releasing to the LGPL a 3D interface that will be easy to write apps for and also easy to adapt IRED,touchscreens, and other neuro-muscular, or voice activated devices. The project, called VOOME (Virtual Object Oriented Manipulation Environment) was inspired by Dr. Stephen Hawkins and other users in need of an easier to use interface that would be more intuitive, and allow for the easy manipulations of work_objects from a large variety of the above said devices. This is not just for the physically challenged but will represent a break from the common taskbar/file manager/icons paradigm that has been prevalent throughout the industry.
We will be releasing the code and development API's soon and urge anyone interested in such a project to email us and they will receive access to the server.
Any ideas for the interface will be gladly accepted and openly discussed because that's the best way to write software, using the OSS model.
Anyway sorry for being somewhat off topic.
Cheers,
Nick
LSG
CORBA is object oriented. I don't know where this myth came from....lets look at the code for DCOM IDL
// uuid and definition of IGrid1
// uuid and definition of IGrid2
// uuid and definition of type library
// uuid and definition of class
// multiple interfaces
// multiple inheritance of interfaces
;-)
[ object,
uuid(3CFDB283-CCC5-11D0-BA0B-00A0C90DF8BC),
helpstring("IGrid1 Interface"),
pointer_default(unique)
]
interface IGrid1 : IUnknown {
import "unknwn.idl";
HRESULT get([in] SHORT n, [in] SHORT m, [out] LONG *value);
HRESULT set([in] SHORT n, [in] SHORT m, [in] LONG value);
};
[ object,
uuid(3CFDB284-CCC5-11D0-BA0B-00A0C90DF8BC),
helpstring("IGrid2 Interface"),
pointer_default(unique)
]
interface IGrid2 : IUnknown {
import "unknwn.idl";
HRESULT reset([in] LONG value);
};
[ uuid(3CFDB281-CCC5-11D0-BA0B-00A0C90DF8BC),
version(1.0),
helpstring("grid 1.0 Type Library)
]
library GRIDLib
{
importlib("stdole32.tlb");
[ uuid(3CFDB287-CCC5-11D0-BA0B-00A0C90DF8BC),
helpstring("Grid Class")
]
coclass CGrid
{ [default] interface IGrid1;
interface IGrid2;
};
};
Now for A corba IDL
interface grid1
{
long get(in short n, in short m);
void set(in short n, in short m, in long value);
};
interface grid2
{
void reset(in long value);
};
interface grid: grid1, grid2
{
};
hmmmm....
CORBA is much better at cross platform than DCOM.
Also, CORBA supports true inheritance, etc.
I say stick with Corba...
IMHO.
Cheers,
Nick
LSG
That Jesse always pulls this typical hit-and-run style of journalism when he needs to draw hits to his banner ads for his column?
That is the long and short of it folks...
Not to mention that ZD-Net is owned by SoftBank, the same SoftBank who provides technical support for almost all of Microsoft products....
So much for journalistic integrity..although ZD-Net isn't taken seriously by anone in IT anyway...
Nicholas Donovan
Linux Systems Group
What are the advantages of TogetherJ over Rational Rose? What things is it best suited for?
Where can I find it? Does it run on Linux?
Thanks,
Nick
Linux Systems Group
For those who say that Microsoft has the lock on UI design, I say this. As a person who has actively studied UI design at a graduate level, I doubt you've seen REAL UI.
One of the projects we're working on currently is a ergo-design station area with extremely enhanced UI's including 3d fully rendered FS plots, app. manipulation with retinal/nuero resistive reponse etc.
Let's look at words like "discoverable", "UI enhanced experience", "inititiveness", and a thousand other made-up M$ words lack have no substance but have thousands of sheaple that follow it.
First of all, M$'s interface is nothing new. They stole much from the X-Windows of Unix, not to mention much of the NT code is most likely a clone of some OS2 stuff... badly mangled at that.
GNOME & KDE represents power and configurability that doesn't talk down to the end user.
Are they the end-all of UI? Of course not but we have to have some familiar ground to get the folks
using windows to Linux and allow them to feel comfortable in an environment with familiar objects.
GNOME & KDE are also much more stable and functional than the MS-Windows UI and considering the fact that these UI's have been around for 2 years or less and have this much functionality says much for the OSS development process and less for Microsoft.
You may wish to refer to the GTE study of 1998.
A call-center of 733 people all of whom were using MS-Windows based workstations were chosen.
In this center down time cost approximately $480,000 USD$ per half 20 minutes. (when you call GTE you are calling this center) when these people were switched to Linux based workstations, with only 1 day of training, their productivity went up by 36%. This is a gain of over 3 Million dollars per week.
I believe that the next two years will have KDE and GNOME working on their wonderful desktops, coming out with much increased functions/features and others coming out with radical new UI's like those mentioned above. Linux lends itself naturally to these improvements by it's file system layount and it's OSS design paradigm.
Nick
Linux Systems Group
As a person who has actively studied UI design at a graduate level, I doubt you've seen REAL UI.
One of the projects we're working on currently is a ergo-design station area with extremely enhanced UI's including 3d fully rendered FS plots, app. manipulation with retinal/nuero resistive reponse etc.
Let's look at words like "discoverable", "UI enhanced experience", "inititiveness", and a thousand other made-up M$ words lack have no substance but have thousands of sheaple that follow it.
First of all, M$'s interface is nothing new. They stole much from the X-Windows of Unix, not to mention much of the NT code is most likely a clone of some OS2 stuff... badly mangled at that.
GNOME & KDE represents power and configurability that doesn't talk down to the end user.
Are they the end-all of UI? Of course not but we have to have some familiar ground to get the folks
using windows to Linux and allow them to feel comfortable in an environment with familiar objects.
GNOME & KDE are also much more stable and functional than the MS-Windows UI and considering the fact that these UI's have been around for 2 years or less and have this much functionality says much for the OSS development process and less for Microsoft.
You may wish to refer to the GTE study of 1998.
A call-center of 733 people all of whom were using MS-Windows based workstations were chosen.
In this center down time cost approximately $480,000 USD$ per half 20 minutes. (when you call GTE you are calling this center) when these people were switched to Linux based workstations, with only 1 day of training, their productivity went up by 36%. This is a gain of over 3 Million dollars per week.
Don't tell me about UI usability. Prove it!
Nick
Linux Systems Group
As a person who has actively studied UI design at a graduate level, I doubt you've seen REAL UI.
One of the projects we're working on currently is a ergo-design station area with extremely enhanced UI's including 3d fully rendered FS plots, app. manipulation with retinal/nuero resistive reponse etc.
Let's look at words like "discoverable", "UI enhanced experience", "inititiveness", and a thousand other made-up M$ words lack have no substance but have thousands of sheaple that follow it.
First of all, M$'s interface is nothing new. They stole much from the X-Windows of Unix, not to mention much of the NT code is most likely a clone of some OS2 stuff... badly mangled at that.
GNOME & KDE represents power and configurability that doesn't talk down to the end user.
Are they the end-all of UI? Of course not but we have to have some familiar ground to get the sheeple using windows to Linux and allow them to feel comfortable in an environment with familiar objects. GNOME & KDE are also much more stable and functional than the MS-Windows UI and considering the fact that these UI's have been around for 2 years or less and have this much functionality says much for the OSS development process and less for Microsoft.
You may wish to refer to the GTE study of 1998.
A call-center of 733 people all of whom were using MS-Windows based workstations were chosen.
In this center down time cost approximately $480,000 USD$ per half 20 minutes. (when you call GTE you are calling this center) when these people were switched to Linux based workstations, with only 1 day of training, their productivity went up by 36%. This is a gain of over 3 Million dollars per week.
Don't tell me about UI usability. Prove it!
Nick
Linux Systems Group