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Penguin Car Earns Indy500 Spot

Posted by kdawson on Mon May 21, 2007 07:09 AM
from the not-bad-for-a-flightless-bird dept.
strredwolf writes "Despite generating over $12K in funds, well short of the $250K goal, the Tux 500 Project was able to secure a spot in the Indy 500 with driver Roberto Moreno piloting the Linux #77 Indy car. He's back in the pack in 31st place (only 5.5 MPH separates 31st place from 1st) but was able to secure it by re-qualifying with an average speed of 220.299 MPH. Will Moreno be able to pilot the penguin-tipped Indy car to victory next week at the 91st Indianapolis 500?"

Related Stories

[+] Linux (Car) Crashes At Indy 500 244 comments
thanksforthecrabs writes to let us know that the Linux-sponsored Indy 500 car had a rough day at the track this weekend: it was the first car to crash on the track and finished dead last. Joost sponsored a car that came in a respectable seventh.
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  • No thanks to you, Slashdot. (Score:4, Insightful)

    by suso (153703) * on Monday May 21, @07:10AM (#19207069)
    (http://suso.suso.org/ | Last Journal: Tuesday March 09 2004, @12:03AM)
    (I'm coming out of comment retirement to criticize Slashdot, not the community)

    Slashdot, you should be ashamed of yourself. Doing nothing to help, but claiming the rights after the fact. This was exactly the kind of grass roots project that you would have announced in the past, but choose to purposefully ignore it this time. You had a chance to announce this a long time ago, but according to Rob Malda himself, who said in full "there are so many reasons that this story doesn't interest me :)", the grass roots project wasn't worthy of your sacred pages. There were several times that a story about this project appeared in the firehose, but no story about the project's existance ever made it to the front page.

    All it would have taken from you is to accept one measley little story about the Tux500 project a few weeks ago and *bam*, it would have had the proper amount of publicity to energize the Linux community and raise enough money to fully sponsor the car. All it took was $1 from each person in just 1% of the community, so it would have worked even with 80% of the community doing their own thing. But since the project didn't get the good publicity it deserved, it only raised half the amount needed just to put a logo on the car. Fortunately the good will of the tux500 team seems to be allowing the logo to still be on the car. I guess they are better people than you.

    You know why so many community projects fail? Because the leaders don't believe in them.

    Just so the rest of you know for this discussion, I understand that sites like Slashdot are news sites. But IMHO, only half a news site. There have been hundreds of stories here over the years meant to mobilize the community (ie. Blender). I ask, why not this one?
    • Re:No thanks to you, Slashdot. by strider44 (Score:2) Monday May 21, @07:15AM
    • Re:No thanks to you, Slashdot. by smilindog2000 (Score:2) Monday May 21, @07:16AM
    • Re:No thanks to you, Slashdot. (Score:5, Interesting)

      by tbone1 (309237) on Monday May 21, @07:22AM (#19207141)
      (http://slashdot.org/)
      Oh, I submitted this a couple weeks ago, including how even a braindead news organization noticed Linux at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Apparently it wasn't newsworthy THEN.

      [ Parent ]
    • Re:No thanks to you, Slashdot. by Anonymous Coward (Score:1) Monday May 21, @07:25AM
    • Re:No thanks to you, Slashdot. by DrXym (Score:2) Monday May 21, @07:39AM
    • Re:No thanks to you, Slashdot. by Rogerborg (Score:2) Monday May 21, @07:40AM
      • Re:No thanks to you, Slashdot. by Otter (Score:2) Monday May 21, @07:51AM
      • Re:No thanks to you, Slashdot. by sheldon (Score:2) Monday May 21, @08:36AM
      • Re:No thanks to you, Slashdot. (Score:5, Informative)

        by tbone1 (309237) on Monday May 21, @08:44AM (#19207961)
        (http://slashdot.org/)
        Get your facts straight, for one thing. These are REAL race cars; they don't have fenders.

        Second, the Indy 500 is unique in motor sports, like the Kentucky Derby is in horse racing. People who know nothing about the sport and who never give it a thought will sit down and watch the Indy 500. There is also a buzz about the 500 after the last few races, particularly after last year's finish. (You can see the finish at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3l5-XKvL28E [youtube.com] if you haven't seen it yet.) Another thing to consider is the target market. The Indy 500 is a very middle-America, middle-class event; NASCAR is for po' folk and F1 is for elite snobs. (I live in Indy; I've seen the crowds; and while there may be exceptions, this is by and large the rule.) These people are the ones who are middle managers and start small businesses. Really, it's not a bad strategy to reach a target market.

        [ Parent ]
      • I've really enjoyed reading lot's of the ignorant comments people are making about the Indy 500, so in short let me explain why this is, not only important from a sporting perspective but also from and environmental and technical perspective as well.

        1. The Indianapolis is the biggest annual sporting event. Period. More people attend, and more people watch on TV worldwide then any other event. If you wanted to get the message about linux out there, this would be the place to do it.

        2. This year all Indy cars run on Ethanol 85. While this isn't solar, it's far better then the traditional Gas of the past (hell I believe NASCAR is just now *thinking* about phasing out leaded gas).

        3. The engineering involved in these cars is amazing, not only as far as engine development (Honda had relatively little time to develop these engines to run on Ethanol 85, and have done so admirably). Also, the engines themselves are interesting in that they are normally aspirated (i.e. no Turbo, so SuperCharger just incredibly engineered 8Cyl Engines That can drive none stop at high speeds for ling distances. FWIW Honda wasn't picked to be the only engine supplier for indy cars, they got that way through attrition. The last year there were multiple engine manufacturers Honda so blew away Chevy that it just didn't make sense for them to continue.

        4. Engineering! Since the engines these days are identical (as are the tires) there is a great deal of parity initially, however engineers get to figure out best race packages using aerodynamics, gear boxes, Tire Pressure etc, and on top of that figure in fuel mileage (which should be interesting since as mentioned, the fuel is different this year) tire wear, etc.

        5. Of course given all that, the Drivers and Pit Crews make the difference. Of all the drivers (33) my guess would be that only about half of them have the mental toughness and backing human element to actually have a realistic chance of winning (and of that only a handful would have good vegas odds).

        6. Then of course there's a shred of luck and the unexpected that always makes this totally unpredictable. Weather, Freak accidents, mechanical issues, human error, just being in the wrong place at the wrong time, all can have a hugh effect on the outcome.

        7. Finally... Indy Car racing is by far the most competitive racing series out there today. Lot's of passing, and lot's of skill (a minor mistake in an indy car, and you are in the wall with your car breaking away into pieces).

        8. Technological advancement. The Indy Car Series (and the IMS (Indianapolis Motor Speedway)) Have been at the forefront of many automotive advances. The Ethanol thing is one recent, but the technologies devised for driver safety have not only been adopted by almost every other racing series, but have also been instrumental in the development of safety features for all cars built today.

        [ Parent ]
        • Re:No thanks to you, Slashdot. by Mean Variance (Score:1) Monday May 21, @10:35AM
        • Re:No thanks to you, Slashdot. (Score:5, Insightful)

          Myopia is a wonderful thing...

          >1. The Indianapolis is the biggest annual sporting event. Period. More people attend, and more people watch on TV worldwide then any other event. If you wanted to get the message about linux out there, this would be the place to do it.

          I simply do not believe this. For example, the world cup and the olympics are both watched world wide. The Indy is a local USA thing.

          >2. This year all Indy cars run on Ethanol 85. While this isn't solar, it's far better then the traditional Gas of the past (hell I believe NASCAR is just now *thinking* about phasing out leaded gas).

          Who cares about the fuel? That's a geek detail.

          >3. The engineering involved in these cars is amazing, not only as far as engine development (Honda had relatively little time to develop these engines to run on Ethanol 85, and have done so admirably). Also, the engines themselves are interesting in that they are normally aspirated (i.e. no Turbo, so SuperCharger just incredibly engineered 8Cyl Engines That can drive none stop at high speeds for ling distances. FWIW Honda wasn't picked to be the only engine supplier for indy cars, they got that way through attrition. The last year there were multiple engine manufacturers Honda so blew away Chevy that it just didn't make sense for them to continue.

          The engineering in other formulas is also amazing compared to normal cars, but not compared to say a IC fab. I happen to have worked both for a F1 team and an IC manufacturer. So I know.

          F1 doesn't use Turbo either. They banned it to slow the cars down.

          >4. Engineering! Since the engines these days are identical (as are the tires) there is a great deal of parity initially, however engineers get to figure out best race packages using aerodynamics, gear boxes, Tire Pressure etc, and on top of that figure in fuel mileage (which should be interesting since as mentioned, the fuel is different this year) tire wear, etc.

          That's what race teams do in many formulas. It doesn't make Indy special.

          >5. Of course given all that, the Drivers and Pit Crews make the difference. Of all the drivers (33) my guess would be that only about half of them have the mental toughness and backing human element to actually have a realistic chance of winning (and of that only a handful would have good vegas odds).

          Mental toughness? BS. A team wins on testing and competence. Mostly testing. The more money you have, the more testing you can do, the more tweaking you can do and the more bugs you can iron out. That's how the wealthy teams stay wealthy. True for Indy and F1.

          >6. Then of course there's a shred of luck and the unexpected that always makes this totally unpredictable. Weather, Freak accidents, mechanical issues, human error, just being in the wrong place at the wrong time, all can have a hugh effect on the outcome.

          Also, true for other sports/motorsports. It doesn't make Indy special.

          >7. Finally... Indy Car racing is by far the most competitive racing series out there today. Lot's of passing, and lot's of skill (a minor mistake in an indy car, and you are in the wall with your car breaking away into pieces).

          Get real. It's an oval.

          >8. Technological advancement. The Indy Car Series (and the IMS (Indianapolis Motor Speedway)) Have been at the forefront of many automotive advances. The Ethanol thing is one recent, but the technologies devised for driver safety have not only been adopted by almost every other racing series, but have also been instrumental in the development of safety features for all cars built today.

          Give us the data. Check the dates on specific safety feature being put in the rules. You will find Indy was first on about 0 of them.

          [ Parent ]
        • Re:No thanks to you, Slashdot. by drinkypoo (Score:2) Monday May 21, @10:45AM
        • You make it sound exciting by Bromskloss (Score:2) Monday May 21, @10:51AM
        • Re:No thanks to you, Slashdot. by Anonymous Coward (Score:1) Monday May 21, @11:19AM
          • 1 reply beneath your current threshold.
        • Every Car Has Same Engine?!? by Black-Man (Score:2) Monday May 21, @11:20AM
        • Re:No thanks to you, Slashdot. by poormanjoe (Score:1) Monday May 21, @11:39AM
        • most viewed? try world soccer at 2B, vs 110M by SuperBanana (Score:2) Monday May 21, @12:23PM
        • Woefully inaccurate... by ocbwilg (Score:3) Monday May 21, @08:35PM
        • 5 replies beneath your current threshold.
      • 1 reply beneath your current threshold.
    • Re:No thanks to you, Slashdot. (Score:4, Insightful)

      by penp (1072374) on Monday May 21, @08:30AM (#19207805)

      Slashdot, you should be ashamed of yourself. Doing nothing to help, but claiming the rights after the fact. This was exactly the kind of grass roots project that you would have announced in the past, but choose to purposefully ignore it this time. You had a chance to announce this a long time ago, but according to Rob Malda himself, who said in full "there are so many reasons that this story doesn't interest me :)", the grass roots project wasn't worthy of your sacred pages. There were several times that a story about this project appeared in the firehose, but no story about the project's existance ever made it to the front page.
      I could have sworn this had already made it to the front page a few times in the last month or so. At any rate, I know there was a smear campaign going around saying that the tux500 project was a scam, but there was really nothing conclusive. In the end, I really didn't care. I don't think the Indianapolis 500 is the ideal place to be promoting Linux, especially in the form of a tiny sticker on a car (or even if they had raised all the money, for an entire Tux500 car). I doubt anyone at the Indianapolis 500 is going to care about the fact that tux is represented on a car, beyond "hay look thar's a penguin on that thar car!"

      All it would have taken from you is to accept one measley little story about the Tux500 project a few weeks ago and *bam*, it would have had the proper amount of publicity to energize the Linux community and raise enough money to fully sponsor the car. All it took was $1 from each person in just 1% of the community, so it would have worked even with 80% of the community doing their own thing. But since the project didn't get the good publicity it deserved, it only raised half the amount needed just to put a logo on the car. Fortunately the good will of the tux500 team seems to be allowing the logo to still be on the car. I guess they are better people than you.
      Just because you believe in the project so adamantly does not mean that so many other people would believe in it just because it got posted on slashdot. It got plenty of publicity, anyone who visits any kind of linux forum can tell you that. But as I said before, the status quo seems to think that it is absolutely absurd, and the idea that they even raised $1000, let alone $12000 is even more absurd.

      You know why so many community projects fail? Because the leaders don't believe in them.
      How excited would the linux community be about a project to put tux on a billboard at the Super Bowl, or better yet, a commercial during the event? I'm sure there are lots more dumb ideas, most of them just don't end up with the financial backing of Tux500. You can't place the blame on the linux "leaders" for not wanting to get behind an idea of advertising linux in a highly commercial environment. It could send the wrong signal. GNU/Linux isnt about commercialism, it's about the community, which is where this argument fails.

      Just so the rest of you know for this discussion, I understand that sites like Slashdot are news sites. But IMHO, only half a news site. There have been hundreds of stories here over the years meant to mobilize the community (ie. Blender). I ask, why not this one?
      Personally, I have no interest in racing, let alone the Indianapolis 500. Most of my friends who support Linux, also have no interest. Why support advertisement of linux in an event which I also do not support? This is completely different from a stance to mobilize the community about something which is already WITHIN the community (i.e. blender)
      [ Parent ]
    • by sheldon (2322) on Monday May 21, @08:40AM (#19207917)
      Or one of the other sites which are part of the OSDN empire.

      Then /. would gladly have pimped the story for ya!

      That'll teach you. Next time, learn how to play the /. game.
      [ Parent ]
      • 1 reply beneath your current threshold.
    • Re:No thanks to you, Slashdot. by neersign (Score:1) Monday May 21, @09:09AM
    • Re:No thanks to you, Slashdot. by drinkypoo (Score:2) Monday May 21, @10:40AM
    • slashdot has no feelings. by eshefer (Score:2) Monday May 21, @11:10AM
    • Donated by WillRobinson (Score:2) Monday May 21, @02:48PM
    • Re:No thanks to you, Slashdot. by chrismcb (Score:1) Monday May 21, @07:27PM
    • Re:No thanks to you, Slashdot. by SawyerLX (Score:1) Monday May 21, @09:11PM
    • Re:No thanks to you, Slashdot. by charlieman (Score:1) Monday May 21, @10:14PM
    • Re:No thanks to you, Slashdot. by im_thatoneguy (Score:2) Tuesday May 29, @03:39PM
    • Re:No thanks to you, Slashdot. (Score:4, Informative)

      by suso (153703) * on Monday May 21, @08:26AM (#19207763)
      (http://suso.suso.org/ | Last Journal: Tuesday March 09 2004, @12:03AM)
      And did Taco really say that about this story? I recall it being their policy not to comment on why stories are/aren't accepted.

      I actually emailed him personally and asked him if there was a reason why they weren't running a story on this. What I quoted him saying is exactly and all that he sent back.
      [ Parent ]
    • 7 replies beneath your current threshold.
  • Well done (Score:5, Funny)

    by LiquidCoooled (634315) on Monday May 21, @07:11AM (#19207075)
    The year of Linux on the racetrack is upon us!

    I just wonder how the pitstop will go

    apt-get new-tyres
    • Gentoo by HBI (Score:2) Monday May 21, @07:14AM
      • Re:Gentoo by smitty_one_each (Score:2) Monday May 21, @07:20AM
        • Re:Gentoo by simm1701 (Score:3) Monday May 21, @07:26AM
    • Re:Well done (Score:4, Funny)

      by dfdashh (1060546) on Monday May 21, @07:25AM (#19207181)
      I tried your command, but it gave me these problems... someone help!

      apt-get new-tyres

      The following packages have unmet dependencies:
      new-tyres: Depends: pit-crew (>= 5.0) but it is not going to be installed
      Depends: community-awareness (>= .01) but it is not going to be installed
      Depends: community-donations (>= .01) but it is not going to be installed
      [ Parent ]
    • Re:Well done by Constantine XVI (Score:2) Monday May 21, @07:34AM
    • Re:Well done (Score:5, Funny)

      by markov_chain (202465) on Monday May 21, @08:18AM (#19207653)
      It cannot work, because there will be a race condition!

      *rimshot*
      [ Parent ]
    • Re:Well done by OhHellWithIt (Score:1) Monday May 21, @08:31AM
    • Just not YUM! by wowbagger (Score:2) Monday May 21, @08:31AM
    • Re:Well done by savethelecture (Score:1) Monday May 21, @08:50AM
    • Go Tux Racer Go! by goombah99 (Score:3) Monday May 21, @09:52AM
    • 2 replies beneath your current threshold.
  • That sounds pretty good! Unless the race goes for, like, an hour.
    • Re:Only 5.5MPH behind! by pato101 (Score:2) Monday May 21, @07:25AM
      • Re:Only 5.5MPH behind! (Score:5, Informative)

        by BCW2 (168187) on Monday May 21, @07:38AM (#19207267)
        (Last Journal: Monday September 25 2006, @07:02PM)
        There is a big difference between qualifying trim and race trim. The cars that qualified at the front were running 4 - 5 MPH slower yesterday in race trim (more downforce added for handling in traffic = more drag). Hid chances are not good but it has been done from that far back before. Moreno is one hell of a good driver and has built a huge reputation as a substitute over the last few years, step into anyones car and go fast. If you see an interview he is also a nice guy.
        [ Parent ]
  • by whisper_jeff (680366) on Monday May 21, @07:16AM (#19207107)
    Will Moreno be able to pilot the penguin-tipped Indy car to victory next week at the 91st Indianapolis 500?

    I'm going to go with my gut instinct as a casual Indy fan and answer "no."
  • Obviously Microsoft... (Score:3, Funny)

    by packetmon (977047) on Monday May 21, @07:17AM (#19207115)
    (http://www.infiltrated.net/)
    Will Moreno be able to pilot the penguin-tipped Indy car to victory next week at the 91st Indianapolis 500? No they won't. Haven't you seen the latest latest latest news? Because the car is using Linux anywhere whether its on a sticker, under someone's breathe, it should be obvious that the car its owner, its pit crew, and the tires have infringed on MS patents. I thought you knew by now that Microsoft patented Indy 500.
  • by kkelly (69745) on Monday May 21, @07:26AM (#19207197)
    if the indy car was actually RUNNING LINUX, someone please correct me if I am wrong. At least have the car's ECU running linux and geeks might take an interest. I personally find no interest in donating money to see tux included in a sea of advertising, what are we talking here, a few stickers? Yes, I know ANY publicity is good publicity and I really am a capitalist at heart, but I need a little more to open my wallet.....
  • If it crashes... (Score:5, Funny)

    by mtec (572168) on Monday May 21, @07:35AM (#19207255)
    it'll probably be because of a faulty driver.
  • Finally (Score:3, Funny)

    a valid place story for car analogies!
    • Re:Finally by Yetihehe (Score:2) Monday May 21, @11:48AM
  • I know many of us Linux users would like to see it replace Windows as the dominate OS, but frankly, why should we care? We Linux users have a wonderful OS that does everything a big geek like me could want, and far more than Windows can do. Saving Joe Sixpack the $70 he pays Microsoft to buy a machine with Windows pre-loaded isn't a cause I get excited about.

    I love making predictions, and here's my prediction for the future of Linux: Linux will never beat Windows in the market place. Instead, a new market will emerge for ultra-cheap computers (as in OLPC). Super-cheap computers with lots of RAM and non-volatile storage will one day cost $100 (in 2007 dollars). When this happens, Microsoft will not be able to compete against free Linux as the dominant OS on these machines. There just isn't enough profit per device to support Microsoft-like company. Instead Linux, or a derivative of GNU/Linux software, will power our new ultra-cheap devices. I think Microsoft understands this low-end disruption threat, and that's why they're so desperate to push Windows CE derivatives. However, the bean counters at Microsoft will always try to kill off unprofitable efforts like Windows CE, as the market, margins, and profit just aren't there compared to selling high-end software for high-end machines.

    If you think this idea is crazy, have you heard about the iPhone? It may not run Linux proper, but it's clearly in the GNU/open-source camp. Operating systems are mature technology, no longer worth much money. Apple showed great insight in dumping their own, and running with the free stuff. This gives them a huge advantage over Microsoft in the future battle for smart consumer devices. Others will follow Apple's lead, and dump Windows for GNU/Linux as the super low-cost PC/personal-computing-device market emerges. In the end, GNU/Linux will prevail, but never on the traditional high-end desktop that Joe Sixpack buys for web surfing, games, and porn.
  • Why is the Linux community financing a race car? Why do something stupid like that?
  • Is this a joke? (Score:1)

    by timesearch (1097547) on Monday May 21, @08:08AM (#19207543)
    This car has about as much chance of winning at Indy as Linux has of relieving Windows of its 90+ percent desktop ownership. However, had the discussion been strictly about Indy racing and the level of funding a team needs (which is mind numbing), and to what ends team owners go to get funding, it would actually have been a good thread.
  • Despite? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by DaveCar (189300) on Monday May 21, @08:20AM (#19207689)
    "Despite generating over $12K in funds, well short of the $250K goal, the Tux 500 Project was able to secure a spot in the Indy 500"

    Hang on. Despite generating over $12K in funds ... the Tux 500 Project was able to secure a spot in the Indy 500? Did generating over $12K hinder them somehow?

    Do you mean that despite not getting anywhere near the $250k goal they still managed to secure a spot? If so, why not say something along those lines rather than the confusing babble presented?

    I'm not being a grammar Nazi here - the grammar looks fine to me (and mine isn't the best) - but it's just that it makes no sense and you have read the line 5 times to work out what it is trying to say. Could we have some, y'know, editor type stuff going on here?
  • 5 mph is a big difference (Score:3, Insightful)

    by porsche911 (64841) on Monday May 21, @08:21AM (#19207701)
    The "only 5.5 MPH" difference huge. That's about 4 seconds a lap which means that over a 500 mile race on a 2.5 mile track, the 1st place car will lap the 31st place car 5 times. When you factor in driver ability, strategy and pitstops, the difference will be much greater. The top 3 cars in the race will probably be within .25 second of each other after 500 miles.

    In general, the cars are much slower now than they used to be. The 225.817MPH of the 1st place car would have been very far back in the grid compared with the 240 MPH+ of 10 or 15 years ago. I wish him luck.
    • Re:5 mph is a big difference by Oswald (Score:2) Monday May 21, @08:38AM
      • Re:5 mph is a big difference (Score:5, Interesting)

        by tbone1 (309237) on Monday May 21, @09:08AM (#19208191)
        (http://slashdot.org/)
        The speeds were reduced mostly for safety but also cost. The fastest lap turned at the 500 was in 1996 by Arie Luyendyk, at more than 239MPH. He said that he wasn't sure he was going to make it through turn 1, and hitting a concrete wall at 240 MPH is not safe, no matter how the car is made. That year, Scott Brayton, the pole sitter, was killed in a practice crash where the high speeds contributed to the severity of the impact. All the drivers and teams in the race agreed that the speeds were just too high and welcomed the slower speeds. (Think about that for a second.)

        Since then, the league's emphasis has been on safety. (In fact, the first innovation at the track was in the first race, when Ray Herroun put a rearview mirror on the car since he didn't have a riding mechanic to look back.) They changed the specs, which resulted in reduced speeds, and started requiring more safety features in the chassis. Speeds have gone back up, since the engineers are clever and can figure out how to get more out of less as time goes on. (A couple years ago, someone figured out how to reshape the rear-view mirrors to allow for more downforce, to use but one example.) Tony George also spent his own money on the SAFER (Steel and Foam Energy Reduction) barriers that are now common on tracks; they certainly saved Rolf Schumacher's life at the 2005 USGP. One of the benefits touted about the new ethanol engines is that they get better mileage, so they can reduced fuel load which makes for safer cars. And so on. It's still a dangerous sport, but having seen the wrecks that Davey Hamilton and Kenny Brack, I'm amazed that both of them not only survived but came back to race later.

        I took the family to Pole Day qualifications, and there really isn't much difference you can see, sitting in the front row or high up, between 220MPH and 230MPH. I don't know if there will ever be a new track record at the 500, but I can live with that; the drivers are more likely to, as well.

        [ Parent ]
    • Re:5 mph is a big difference by ocbwilg (Score:2) Monday May 21, @09:01PM
  • by boyfaceddog (788041) on Monday May 21, @08:22AM (#19207719)
    (Last Journal: Friday April 06 2007, @12:32PM)
    Bill Gates is on his knees, right now. If you losten closely, you can hear his prayer;

    "Please please please, somone film the crash."
  • One Word (Score:2)

    by CharlieG (34950) on Monday May 21, @08:41AM (#19207935)
    (http://www.thegallos.com/)
    There is a word for this kind of race entry

    Backmarker

    Nuff said
    • Re:One Word by PrvtBurrito (Score:2) Monday May 21, @10:04AM
  • i wrote about it in my /. journal (Score:3, Insightful)

    by razpones (1077227) on Monday May 21, @08:48AM (#19208019)
    (Last Journal: Thursday May 31, @06:32PM)
    I for one wrote a little note asking if it was worth it to give money to this project. I did give them some money, and as a fan of racing (car and motorcycle and cycling), am exited to watch the race and root for the #77 car. Not only they are one of the under dogs out there (they even lost the first driver in a crash in the qualifying rounds) but a lot of the linux community was against them in a bad way, apparently even /., so more of an under dog IMHO. The new driver is a seasoned driver that has always been a "replacement" driver, but he is no doubt a good driver (better than the original in my opinion), also driving a formula one car, he even has won a few races in the champ car and the formula 3000 leagues. He also was running as of sunday morning practice in 13 place. I hope he does well, and just by being in the race it has proved that projects like this deserve the attention of the community, advertising anything in any media is very expensive and this is a good conduit to reach average people, or do we don't want to see Linux advertised at all?.
  • by HW_Hack (1031622) on Monday May 21, @09:00AM (#19208131)
    But probaly not toast - guys got plenty of experience - just not top finisher ... I'll say he finishes in 20th

    From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Roberto Moreno (born Roberto Pupo Moreno, February 11, 1959 in Rio de Janeiro) is a former Formula One driver from Brazil. He participated in 75 grands prix, achieved 1 podium, and scored a total of 15 championship points. He raced in CART in 1986, and was Formula 3000 champion (in 1988) before joining Formula 1 full-time in 1989. He returned to CART in 1996 and raced full-time until 2003. He currently drives as a temporary substitute and test driver in both Champ Car and IndyCar.

    Indy 500 results
    Year Chassis Engine Start Finish
    1986 Lola Cosworth 32nd 19th
    1994 Lola Ford-Cosworth Failed to Qualify
    1999 G-Force Oldsmobile 23rd 20th
    2007 Panoz Honda 31st
  • #77? (Score:1)

    by jemminger (914046) on Monday May 21, @11:38AM (#19209875)
    why not #1337
  • Nothing compares to MotoGP (Score:3, Interesting)

    by schwit1 (797399) on Monday May 21, @11:41AM (#19209911)
    Nascar is WWF on wheels(staged) Indy is a bunch of guys making boring left turns F1 doesn't have enough passing and too much depends upon the speed of the pit crew as opposed to driver skills. MotoGP has no pit stops and lots of passing. Every turn is a game of chicken and the bikes are close to what's available on the street.
  • by silvwolf (103567) on Monday May 21, @12:31PM (#19210489)
    I'm 28 and have been to probably 14 or 15 Indy 500's. It's the only race I go to each year even though my Uncle always has an extra ticket or two to the Brickyard and tickets for the USGP are pretty easy to come by. Don't know much else about the IRL except that they have some other races throughout the year.. I just have fun going to the race each year. Also happen to be a fan of Linux. So, I think it's pretty cool that there is a penguin car in the 500 and this is the first I've heard of the car. I can't so whether I would have donated to the cause or not had publicity been better, but I'll now be rooting for Tux on race day :)
  • I love linux, using it daily. But why are we advertising a product that won't work for a lot of people who are watching the race. Most people advertise things people can go out, buy and use right now.

    I have been using linux since slack on floppies and it has come a long way. But for the average consumer, it still needs work. Instead of 12k going to a bumper sticker on a car moving way too fast to read, why not put that money in projects that helps mature parts of linux. Lets get some working wifi broadcom drivers, being able to only connect at 11 mbs to an unencrypted network, its not fully finished. The people on those projects need funding. If you want people to switch, how about throwing that 12k towards the wine project? People won't give up old applications just like that. When ever you have to say "It's just like X, but..." then the project still needs work to replace the alternative.

    That 12k could have gone a long way to several projects. The proposed 250k could have gone even further. When I can install linux on any of my laptops or desktops and be able to work and play like I do under Windows and Mac OSX, then it is time to advertise to the masses.

     
  • by FelixElGatoLoco (1095369) on Monday May 21, @04:30PM (#19213633)
    See I like micro payments.

    I throw money at my waiter for serving me my food. I throw money at a blog that has good tutorials on it. I throw money at far fetched projects like SeaLand.

    I have never heard of the Tux500 project. I see it posted. I deemed it worthy of throwing money at it.

    "5 Bux for Tux!"
    --ElGatoLoco
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  • by antispam_ben (591349) on Monday May 21, @04:38PM (#19213749)
    (Last Journal: Tuesday April 19 2005, @12:29AM)
    The race has a car with a Penguin drawn on the hood?

    Give me a break!
  • by dubled (990054) on Monday May 21, @08:00PM (#19215791)
    Holy hot, she qualified 29. http://www.milkaduno.com/ [milkaduno.com]
  • Hah! (Score:2)

    by ocbwilg (259828) on Monday May 21, @08:44PM (#19216101)
    "Despite generating over $12K in funds, well short of the $250K goal, the Tux 500 Project was able to secure a spot in the Indy 500 with driver Roberto Moreno piloting the Linux #77 Indy car. He's back in the pack in 31st place (only 5.5 MPH separates 31st place from 1st) but was able to secure it by re-qualifying with an average speed of 220.299 MPH. Will Moreno be able to pilot the penguin-tipped Indy car to victory next week at the 91st Indianapolis 500?"

    In all honestly, securing a starting spot wasn't that difficult. Indy traditionally starts 33 cars, but there are only 20-22 cars who regularly compete in the series. The remainder of the field is what we in the business called "field-filler". Basically, it's people who show up with a car (often times a year or two old), and then manage to run 4 qualifying laps without crashing. Sure, they have to have an IRL license to compete, but many of them are former drivers well past their prime (Al Unser Jr and Roberto Moreno, for example) or drivers that weren't good enough to land a full season ride from a team (but could come up with a couple hundred thousand dollars in sponsorship money to just run Indy).

    To say that he's only 5.5 MPH slower than the fastest car is a minimizing statement. That's over 1 second per lap slower than the fastest car. The faster cars are turning laps in the 39-40 second range, so over 200 laps you can expect him to finish 5 laps down. Assuming that he doesn't get caught up in traffic or have handling problems, which is usually not the case. Then factor in that his team probably will be 2-3 seconds slower per pit stop than the top teams and I could see him easily finishing 7 or 8 laps behind.

    So will he be able to pilot his car to an Indy 500 victory? Only if he's incredibly lucky and 30 other cars crash out of the race.
  • Unfortunately, (Score:1)

    by Ziffelblict (966051) on Sunday May 27, @01:19PM (#19293421)
    He just crashed, around lap 40.

    Tried to pass slower traffic on the outside of turn 1, got wide and smacked into the wall. At least the nose cone was intact.
  • Re:Tux Car (Score:1, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 21, @07:40AM (#19207293)
    IRL cars run on 100% ethanol, no gasoline.
    [ Parent ]
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