Doesn't this just reiterate why software patents are such a retarded idea in the first place? Once these patent trolls start bleeding the big companies dry, then maybe something will actually get done to address this ridiculousness?
Or am I just being naive?
I don't think it's a case of Linux being in or out of touch with the average user, but that the average user probably doesn't even know there is such an alternative, and I'd estimate that even of those that have heard of Linux, few really know enough about it to make an informed decision either way. Of course, it doesn't help that Microsoft pretty much has the OEM market wrapped up. Not to mention spreads FUD at every opportunity. Linux unfortunately has a lot of catching-up to do to gain mind share.
The perception is that Linux doesn't really offer any added value to the average user. Most new computers come with Windows preinstalled, and to Joe Bloggs, it does the job just fine. It runs his games, his word processor, web browser, email, you name it. Plus it all works out of the box. Linux's biggest advantage is freedom, but Joe, not being a developer, really couldn't care less that he's able to modify and redistribute source code, so the whole free-as-in-speech thing is a non-starter. In fact, to most users, open source means nothing, and frankly, it shouldn't. Doesn't even matter that it's free-as-in-beer either - most free alternatives to commercial software are available for Windows too. So really, to the uninitiated, Linux really doesn't provide any major benefit over Windows, if your system already has Windows installed (and the overwhelming majority do). One thing Linux does have over Windows though is security. But is that alone enough to be Linux's unique selling point?
Another downside to Linux (and I realize this is probably a controversial point) is that the community just appears so fragmented. You have hundreds upon hundreds of distributions out there, many of which are aiming for the same goals. I can understand different distros appealing to different markets, but I can't for the life of me see how Ubuntu, OpenSuSE, and Fedora have vastly different goals.
What Linux needs is a coherent marketing campaign, and to start acting like a market leader. If you market yourself as an alternative to Windows, you'll forever be playing catch-up. In short, Linux needs to stop looking at Windows' ass, and focus on the finish line.
This is a pretty good move on Intel's part. VoIP is really coming into its own, with Asterisk and Skype and others proving it's a truly viable alternative to the traditional telco. You just have to ensure you have an infrastructure in place that can guarantee availability. And it seems Intel want to make creating that infrastructure a whole lot easier.
We recently moved to an Asterisk based phone system at work, and true, there were a few teething problems, but it was definitely worth it. We get all the features of the expensive PBXs without the price tag that comes with it. There's also nothing that helps you get to know your phone system more intimately than hand-crafting your configuration from scratch.
What exactly is the whole premise behind this idea, if not to protect those who do wrong from being called out or caught? Isn't the whole point of being a whistleblower or informant that you can either help put bad guys behind bars or expose a corporate scandal or safety breach without fear of reprisal, because your identity is kept secret? Or am I completely missing the point here?
It just seems to be that the whole point of this website is to give bad guys the ability to track down and "punish" those who actually help the authorities curtail their wrongdoings.
We used thin clients where I work. They're very useful in the particular setting they're in, i.e. a production warehouse with lots of dust etc. as there are few (actually, no) moving parts. This makes my life as an administrator/maintainer a lot easier.
The moral here is that there's a place for everything. Use whatever is most fit for purpose and forget trying to predict what'll happen in years to come. Needs change and technology changes even quicker...who knows what the state of play will be like in 5 years.
...is that it is this "free market" we live in that will ultimately make the semantic web a non-starter. Businesses won't collaborate because it doesn't afford them a competitive edge. In the end the real losers are we, the great unwashed. Not that a free market is a bad thing, it just doesn't always align with what's in the peoples' best interests.
I think they do have an obligation to police the stuff posted on their site. Even if not a legal one, then at the very least a moral one. They are providing the means for people to break copyright law. If I kept a stash of guns outside my house, are you seriously suggesting I should be absolved of all responsibility if someone then uses them to go on a killing rampage? Maybe not a great example, but the fact of the matter is, like it or not, whilst Google might not be pulling the trigger, they own the guns. The users are just bringing their own ammo.
I wouldn't even consider using Vista as my primary OS until it reaches SP1 status. I worked as a 1st line tech back when XP was released, and it was a freakin' nightmare. But they've worked on it, and it's become a not-so-bad OS. Inferior to a GNU/Linux setup in almost every way but bearable nonetheless. I dare say Vista will eventually suck less once they're ironed out a few of the titanic kinks in it.
I used to be an early adopter type - couldn't wait to get my hands on the latest and greatest. But now I've matured, and I just want things to work. My computer is my living, so it needs to work with me, not against me. To be honest, what I've heard about Vista really isn't encouraging me to consider it as a serious alternative. I could care less about eye-candy - I spend most of my time in an IDE for goodness' sake. If experience has taught me anything - it's wait for service pack 1 before even considering it for serious use.
OEMs rarely provide support even for software they do install. I've worked on a warranty desk for one such OEM, and we weren't allowed to provide any support for software on the warranty line, preinstalled or not.
It's a vicious circle, as MS won't support OEM installed Windows either...so basically, you're screwed all around.
Suggesting that invasive surveillance could be justified because it can, on occasion, help catch a serial killer is akin to saying that conducting medical experiments on unwilling victims are justifiable because they'll save lives down the line. The ends simply don't justify the means. Just because something has the capacity to create a desirable result, it does not imply the said thing is any less repugnant as a result.
As far as I am aware, Oracle and MS aren't exactly great friends...is it me, or is it a little too convenient that this is announced just days after Oracle's latest foray into the Linux world? Does this mean we could start seeing SQL Server for Linux soon? God forbid!
Two different spellings of Ubuntu and neither one is right. By the way your assumptions about distro popularity are flawed. SuSE and Mandrake are consistently at the top, whereas Red Hat barely makes the top 30.
Slashdot Mirror
Doesn't this just reiterate why software patents are such a retarded idea in the first place? Once these patent trolls start bleeding the big companies dry, then maybe something will actually get done to address this ridiculousness? Or am I just being naive?
I don't think it's a case of Linux being in or out of touch with the average user, but that the average user probably doesn't even know there is such an alternative, and I'd estimate that even of those that have heard of Linux, few really know enough about it to make an informed decision either way. Of course, it doesn't help that Microsoft pretty much has the OEM market wrapped up. Not to mention spreads FUD at every opportunity. Linux unfortunately has a lot of catching-up to do to gain mind share.
The perception is that Linux doesn't really offer any added value to the average user. Most new computers come with Windows preinstalled, and to Joe Bloggs, it does the job just fine. It runs his games, his word processor, web browser, email, you name it. Plus it all works out of the box. Linux's biggest advantage is freedom, but Joe, not being a developer, really couldn't care less that he's able to modify and redistribute source code, so the whole free-as-in-speech thing is a non-starter. In fact, to most users, open source means nothing, and frankly, it shouldn't. Doesn't even matter that it's free-as-in-beer either - most free alternatives to commercial software are available for Windows too. So really, to the uninitiated, Linux really doesn't provide any major benefit over Windows, if your system already has Windows installed (and the overwhelming majority do). One thing Linux does have over Windows though is security. But is that alone enough to be Linux's unique selling point?
Another downside to Linux (and I realize this is probably a controversial point) is that the community just appears so fragmented. You have hundreds upon hundreds of distributions out there, many of which are aiming for the same goals. I can understand different distros appealing to different markets, but I can't for the life of me see how Ubuntu, OpenSuSE, and Fedora have vastly different goals.
What Linux needs is a coherent marketing campaign, and to start acting like a market leader. If you market yourself as an alternative to Windows, you'll forever be playing catch-up. In short, Linux needs to stop looking at Windows' ass, and focus on the finish line.
Now tell us, how do you really feel?
This is a pretty good move on Intel's part. VoIP is really coming into its own, with Asterisk and Skype and others proving it's a truly viable alternative to the traditional telco. You just have to ensure you have an infrastructure in place that can guarantee availability. And it seems Intel want to make creating that infrastructure a whole lot easier. We recently moved to an Asterisk based phone system at work, and true, there were a few teething problems, but it was definitely worth it. We get all the features of the expensive PBXs without the price tag that comes with it. There's also nothing that helps you get to know your phone system more intimately than hand-crafting your configuration from scratch.
The reason they're all pissy is because all this new-fangled P2P technology is forcing them to add more tubes to get their trucks through.
What exactly is the whole premise behind this idea, if not to protect those who do wrong from being called out or caught? Isn't the whole point of being a whistleblower or informant that you can either help put bad guys behind bars or expose a corporate scandal or safety breach without fear of reprisal, because your identity is kept secret? Or am I completely missing the point here? It just seems to be that the whole point of this website is to give bad guys the ability to track down and "punish" those who actually help the authorities curtail their wrongdoings.
We used thin clients where I work. They're very useful in the particular setting they're in, i.e. a production warehouse with lots of dust etc. as there are few (actually, no) moving parts. This makes my life as an administrator/maintainer a lot easier. The moral here is that there's a place for everything. Use whatever is most fit for purpose and forget trying to predict what'll happen in years to come. Needs change and technology changes even quicker...who knows what the state of play will be like in 5 years.
Sounds rather like the original democracies of ancient Greece.
...is that it is this "free market" we live in that will ultimately make the semantic web a non-starter. Businesses won't collaborate because it doesn't afford them a competitive edge. In the end the real losers are we, the great unwashed. Not that a free market is a bad thing, it just doesn't always align with what's in the peoples' best interests.
I think they do have an obligation to police the stuff posted on their site. Even if not a legal one, then at the very least a moral one. They are providing the means for people to break copyright law. If I kept a stash of guns outside my house, are you seriously suggesting I should be absolved of all responsibility if someone then uses them to go on a killing rampage? Maybe not a great example, but the fact of the matter is, like it or not, whilst Google might not be pulling the trigger, they own the guns. The users are just bringing their own ammo.
So that's why it hurts so much to watch American Idol.
There is no such thing...
I wouldn't even consider using Vista as my primary OS until it reaches SP1 status. I worked as a 1st line tech back when XP was released, and it was a freakin' nightmare. But they've worked on it, and it's become a not-so-bad OS. Inferior to a GNU/Linux setup in almost every way but bearable nonetheless. I dare say Vista will eventually suck less once they're ironed out a few of the titanic kinks in it. I used to be an early adopter type - couldn't wait to get my hands on the latest and greatest. But now I've matured, and I just want things to work. My computer is my living, so it needs to work with me, not against me. To be honest, what I've heard about Vista really isn't encouraging me to consider it as a serious alternative. I could care less about eye-candy - I spend most of my time in an IDE for goodness' sake. If experience has taught me anything - it's wait for service pack 1 before even considering it for serious use.
OEMs rarely provide support even for software they do install. I've worked on a warranty desk for one such OEM, and we weren't allowed to provide any support for software on the warranty line, preinstalled or not. It's a vicious circle, as MS won't support OEM installed Windows either...so basically, you're screwed all around.
Suggesting that invasive surveillance could be justified because it can, on occasion, help catch a serial killer is akin to saying that conducting medical experiments on unwilling victims are justifiable because they'll save lives down the line. The ends simply don't justify the means. Just because something has the capacity to create a desirable result, it does not imply the said thing is any less repugnant as a result.
Get used to it buddy. There's a record of pretty much everything you do online somewhere. Privacy is sooo 20th century.
So wait, Google are pushing their own products on their website? The nerve!
Don't you think this is exactly why the RIAA is doing this?
As far as I am aware, Oracle and MS aren't exactly great friends...is it me, or is it a little too convenient that this is announced just days after Oracle's latest foray into the Linux world? Does this mean we could start seeing SQL Server for Linux soon? God forbid!
So they only got $327 million for it. Gee, how can they afford the rent on that?
Two different spellings of Ubuntu and neither one is right. By the way your assumptions about distro popularity are flawed. SuSE and Mandrake are consistently at the top, whereas Red Hat barely makes the top 30.
Obviously Slashdot's QA department could learn a thing or two from Ubuntu's!