Wihhout wanting to troll too much, I don't see the need to focus a review of E3 on Linux gaming. OK, so there wasn't much of a Linux presence there so why not tell us what was at the show? Don't get me wrong, I love Linux, but does a story really need to have a Linux angle in order to get posted to Slashdot?
Linux is not currently a serious games platform and probably never will be. Linux is a great platform for servers, a good desktop system for those willing to make the effort to master it, and it may eventually become widespread on the corporate desktop. But games consoles provide the ultimate gamesplaying experience, and Linux isn't a truly viable alternative. Yeah, Loki has revolutionised LInux gaming, but Linux is still not a mainstream gaming platform. For example, AFAIK there are no sports sims available for Linux - the mass market loves sports sims, and sports sims have kept a huge company like Electronic Arts in business for many years. That's not to mention the lack of beat-em-ups, driving games etc. for Linux.
It seems to me that the majority of Linux games have a, dare I say it, "geeky" feel to them - most Linux games are cerebral, strategy type games which suits the demographics of the Linux market. But for mass-market acceptance as a gaming platform, Linux is going a lot of mindless shoot-em-up and beat-em-up games.
While your article provided an interesting insight into the state of Linux gaming, it would have been nice to know what else was demonstrated at E3.
Am I the only one to find the line "all the information is secure, it's encrypted" slightly amusing? I think it's fair to say that no encryption is ever 100% secure, and computing technology of the future (like quantum computers) may be able to easily do a brute force attack on the best of today's encryption algorithms. The security of this data is pretty much dependent on the abilities of the governments IT people. For all we know, their secure encryption algorithm could be rot13!
Even assuming that the encryption is secure, there's still the potential for disgruntled authorised users of this system to poke around in your record on the database, or to start selling bits of information to interested third parties.
I think that most governments probably keep "extraoradinarily detailed" databases on their citizens, but I would assume that your educational records, tax records and health records are all kept in separate databases, in separate servers and in separate locations. The sheer scale of this database, and the possible consequences of its abuse are the really worrying factors.
Thank you for your insightful suggestion about a novel use for the YOPY. I am sure that many Slashdot readers have not considered the potential of my ass for the storage of a PDA. However, I feel the need to correct you as I think there are a few practical considerations which you may have neglected.
While I agree that the YOPY is indeed a small piece of electronics, I do not think that it will fit up my ass (Please note that I have yet to try this out in practice, as I am still awaiting a review model). My ass conforms to all industry standards, which leads me to wonder whether the YOPY is really intended for ass-compatability? On the surface it appears that compliance with an ANSI standard ass may be a possibility - after all, I can speak out of my ass and so the YOPY's voice recognition software may be useful when it is shoved up my ass. However, despite the favourable lighting conditions in my ass (due to the fact that the Sun shines out of my ass) I am unable to see out of my ass and so will not be able to make full use of the colour screen. I also have reservations about the durability of a YOPY when subjected to the hostile environment of my ass.
I wonder if a Samsung representative would care to comment on the ass-compatibility of the YOPY?
Are you trying to troll or something? I'll discuss your points in order...
$99.99 is peanuts for most skilled computer people.
You don't seriously mean this do you? Do you realise how many skilled computer people are students and have very little money to spend on commercial software? I'm sure you wouldn't argue that Linus Torvalds was a skilled computer person when he wrote the first version of Linux, but he was a student at the time. Trust me, open source/free software is a lifeline to students on limited incomes. And that's not to mention people who are unemployed, or otherwise short of money through no fault of their own.
I hope you are happy when Linux fails due to lack of corporate investment and commercial software.
Linux has so far succeeded without commercial software, what evidence do you have to suggest that it needs commercial software to continue? Yes, there is commercial software for Linux, but the majority of Linux users don't use it. However, I would not argue that companies such as RedHat and SuSE who understand the community and the open source ethos are a bonus to Linux. Even in the absence of companies such as RedHat, there are still non-commercial distributions such as Debian. But at the end of the day, it does not matter whether Linux makes it into the mainstream, I think most of Linux's current users will continue to love it (and use it) anyway. Linux was never intended to be a method of world domination.
Think of Photogenics this way: you are paying $100 for a box, manual, support and feel good factor, and the software is free.
I am quite sure that Photogenics' manufacturers have never thought of Photogenics in this way.
I know that you don't get the source code, but why do you want it? To steal it and put it in the Gimp?
Are you serious? Open source is about more than "stealing code" as you put it. It's about empowering the user. Open source allows the user to find and fix bugs in the software without being reliant on the software company to do this for them.
The Gimp has the most goddammed awful GUI in the world, very illogical and poorly laid out.
A poor workman always blames his tools. GIMPs user interface is very simple to use, if you take the trouble to get used to it.
Gimp will never evolve to be a truly usable program for the end user.
GIMP already is a truly usable program for the end user. Many people already use it, and love it. It is one of the killer apps of the GNU system.
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Linux is not currently a serious games platform and probably never will be. Linux is a great platform for servers, a good desktop system for those willing to make the effort to master it, and it may eventually become widespread on the corporate desktop. But games consoles provide the ultimate gamesplaying experience, and Linux isn't a truly viable alternative. Yeah, Loki has revolutionised LInux gaming, but Linux is still not a mainstream gaming platform. For example, AFAIK there are no sports sims available for Linux - the mass market loves sports sims, and sports sims have kept a huge company like Electronic Arts in business for many years. That's not to mention the lack of beat-em-ups, driving games etc. for Linux.
It seems to me that the majority of Linux games have a, dare I say it, "geeky" feel to them - most Linux games are cerebral, strategy type games which suits the demographics of the Linux market. But for mass-market acceptance as a gaming platform, Linux is going a lot of mindless shoot-em-up and beat-em-up games.
While your article provided an interesting insight into the state of Linux gaming, it would have been nice to know what else was demonstrated at E3.
Even assuming that the encryption is secure, there's still the potential for disgruntled authorised users of this system to poke around in your record on the database, or to start selling bits of information to interested third parties.
I think that most governments probably keep "extraoradinarily detailed" databases on their citizens, but I would assume that your educational records, tax records and health records are all kept in separate databases, in separate servers and in separate locations. The sheer scale of this database, and the possible consequences of its abuse are the really worrying factors.
Thank you for your insightful suggestion about a novel use for the YOPY. I am sure that many Slashdot readers have not considered the potential of my ass for the storage of a PDA. However, I feel the need to correct you as I think there are a few practical considerations which you may have neglected.
While I agree that the YOPY is indeed a small piece of electronics, I do not think that it will fit up my ass (Please note that I have yet to try this out in practice, as I am still awaiting a review model). My ass conforms to all industry standards, which leads me to wonder whether the YOPY is really intended for ass-compatability? On the surface it appears that compliance with an ANSI standard ass may be a possibility - after all, I can speak out of my ass and so the YOPY's voice recognition software may be useful when it is shoved up my ass. However, despite the favourable lighting conditions in my ass (due to the fact that the Sun shines out of my ass) I am unable to see out of my ass and so will not be able to make full use of the colour screen. I also have reservations about the durability of a YOPY when subjected to the hostile environment of my ass.
I wonder if a Samsung representative would care to comment on the ass-compatibility of the YOPY?
$99.99 is peanuts for most skilled computer people.
You don't seriously mean this do you? Do you realise how many skilled computer people are students and have very little money to spend on commercial software? I'm sure you wouldn't argue that Linus Torvalds was a skilled computer person when he wrote the first version of Linux, but he was a student at the time. Trust me, open source/free software is a lifeline to students on limited incomes. And that's not to mention people who are unemployed, or otherwise short of money through no fault of their own.
I hope you are happy when Linux fails due to lack of corporate investment and commercial software.
Linux has so far succeeded without commercial software, what evidence do you have to suggest that it needs commercial software to continue? Yes, there is commercial software for Linux, but the majority of Linux users don't use it. However, I would not argue that companies such as RedHat and SuSE who understand the community and the open source ethos are a bonus to Linux. Even in the absence of companies such as RedHat, there are still non-commercial distributions such as Debian. But at the end of the day, it does not matter whether Linux makes it into the mainstream, I think most of Linux's current users will continue to love it (and use it) anyway. Linux was never intended to be a method of world domination.
Think of Photogenics this way: you are paying $100 for a box, manual, support and feel good factor, and the software is free.
I am quite sure that Photogenics' manufacturers have never thought of Photogenics in this way.
I know that you don't get the source code, but why do you want it? To steal it and put it in the Gimp?
Are you serious? Open source is about more than "stealing code" as you put it. It's about empowering the user. Open source allows the user to find and fix bugs in the software without being reliant on the software company to do this for them.
The Gimp has the most goddammed awful GUI in the world, very illogical and poorly laid out.
A poor workman always blames his tools. GIMPs user interface is very simple to use, if you take the trouble to get used to it.
Gimp will never evolve to be a truly usable program for the end user.
GIMP already is a truly usable program for the end user. Many people already use it, and love it. It is one of the killer apps of the GNU system.