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Television Software Media Linux

Open Source Gets Its Own TV Show 143

Posted by samzenpus from the must-see dept.
ChocLinux writes "A South African organisation has produced what it claims is the first television series dedicated to promoting open source software. The first episode of the show included an interview with Richard Stallman, who founded the GNU project, and Robin Rowe, who runs the Linux Movies Group, which promotes the use of Linux in Hollywood."
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Open Source Gets Its Own TV Show More

Open Source Gets Its Own TV Show

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  • Wow (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Smallest audience share ever. Maybe it can get on CNBC after McEnroe.

    • Re:Wow (Score:2, Insightful)

      by generic-man ( 33649 )
      "McEnroe" has twice recorded a 0.0 rating [wizbangblog.com]. At least the Open Source show couldn't get any worse; not even the XFL got negative ratings...

    • And Slashdot Re:Wow (Score:2, Informative)

      by PhYrE2k2 ( 806396 )
      It seems that it will eventually be on their web site (or maybe one day Bittorrent). So another http://www.slashdot.org/ [slashdot.org] article and they'll get every geek imagineable... at least the ones that care about OSS. "Go_Open will be broadcast on the South African television channel SABC 2 every Saturday at 5:30 p.m., but will soon be available for viewing on the Web site accompanying the series."
      • Unfortunately that is exactly when we all watch the rugby (and afterwards wish we hadn't). They could have chosen a better time, like maybe 10-11 AM when you are having the coffee after the night before and there is nothing better to watch than the agricultural show.
        Somebody at SABC listening out there?

  • Interesting Fact (Score:5, Insightful)

    by zerman ( 832210 ) <myslashdotemail@yahoo.com> on Wednesday November 24, 2004 @07:39PM (#10914525)
    Most FOSS advocates don't need to watch a TV show promoting FOSS, they already use FOSS as much as they can. People who are not FOSS advocates won't bother to watch. Even if FOSS advocates did want to watch, they would probably rather do something on the computer than watch this TV show.

    • Re:Interesting Fact (Score:5, Insightful)

      by sik0fewl ( 561285 ) <xxdigitalhellxx&hotmail,com> on Wednesday November 24, 2004 @07:56PM (#10914649) Homepage

      You're kinda skipping out on the people who are sort of interested in the topic of FOSS but aren't advocates.

      For example, I watch all sorts of shows on the Outdoor Life Network or Discovery, including shows like Killer Instinct and Crocodile Hunter, but I don't go out looking for wild animals.

      • Looking for wild animals vs looking for wild developers...
      • What is this "going outside" I hear about?

        Where is this "outside" place?

        -- (joke over) --

        One of the first concepts my daughter learned to verbalize at a very young age was that of "inside" and "outside". She began talking during the (canadian) winter and didn't make many excursions outside compared to the summer months. She would go to the windows low enough to look out of and point and say "outside". If one of us picked her up and she could see a tree or whatever, she'd just point and say "outside".

    • Re:Interesting Fact (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Quino ( 613400 ) on Wednesday November 24, 2004 @08:08PM (#10914710)
      I dunno ... personally I came across Richard Stallman, read and understood the basics of the GNU movement before even having heard of Linux. I, of course, decided to then try out Linux.

      A bunch of nerds (basically) putting together an OS for fun (well, for deeper reasons as well, but as likely to be driven to tinker as any other reason), and not minding if someone else used it, was too tantalizing to not try (what the #$^&, right?)

      I expected it to suck (I hadn't read The Cathedral and the Bazaar yet), since I fully expected the "too many cooks" syndrome. I was surprised to find that it worked well -- in some ways actually better than Windows (anger at MS started the search for an "alternative"), and in some ways not so well (several aborted attempts before I had both X and the net working out-of-the-box, using Mandrake many years ago).

      Anyways, my intro to Linux as a non-programmer, and PC-computer-illiterate started with something similar to this TV show. It may or may not be a terribly effective advocacy program for the-OS-known-as-Linux, but I wouldn't discount the fact that there are many people that haven't heard or understand the open source movement, but would still be interested in tinkering, learning a little bit more how computers work, and maybe just running Linux. Not all nerds interested in computers are trained as computer nerds! :)
      • If you came across the GNU movement before you found Windows; why not let the OS name credit both parties and remind users of the freedom that the FSF promotes.
    • It's fine if you don't watch it, you're not exactly the target audience. Windows users who don't know they have a choice, now that's the target audience. I'd consider the program a success if it makes Bill Gates lose even an hour of sleep.
    • RTFA - the show is aimed at youngsters and people who don't know anything programming.
    • I agree. It would have exactly the same impact as a program dedicated to combine harvesters. We should realize that ppl is not specially interested on computers. No more than they're interested on TV sets, for example.

  • Yeah, but... (Score:4, Funny)

    by Gogo Dodo ( 129808 ) on Wednesday November 24, 2004 @07:40PM (#10914529)
    ...is the show itself open source? Can I re-edit the show?

  • Truly good news for OSS. (Score:3, Interesting)

    by eeg3 ( 785382 ) on Wednesday November 24, 2004 @07:40PM (#10914530) Homepage
    The more press the better. Maybe even more organizations and companies will switch over now... surely it seems like this will sway a lot of people, now that it's getting such veneration. Hopefully, it will air in the states, too. I would definitely watch it.

  • are they going to have a Very Special Episode (Score:3, Funny)

    by Savatte ( 111615 ) on Wednesday November 24, 2004 @07:40PM (#10914532) Homepage Journal
    where the Linux source gets its first period?

  • Airing on the Fox network... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 24, 2004 @07:42PM (#10914543)
    It is tentatively titled "When Penguins Attack"

  • Ahh yes (Score:5, Funny)

    by TheKidWho ( 705796 ) on Wednesday November 24, 2004 @07:42PM (#10914546)
    On todays show "Configuring your TV to run open source Beowulf software" "In Soviet Russia Open Sources You!" "But can it play OGG?" "Welcoming our Open Source bearing Geek Overlords!"

  • Nooooooooo! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 24, 2004 @07:42PM (#10914548)
    Oh sweet Lord, no. Not a Linux sitcom. All we need is a precocious four-year-old with lines like "I guess we all got a lot of recompiling to do!"

    Guaranteed to jump the shark in Season Six when Stallman opens a taco stand.

    • Re:Nooooooooo! (Score:3, Funny)

      by isny ( 681711 )
      >>Guaranteed to jump the shark in Season Six when Stallman opens a taco stand.
      Better than in season 5 when Taco opened a stallman stand.
      • >>Guaranteed to jump the shark in Season Six when Stallman opens a taco stand.
        Better than in season 5 when Taco opened a stallman stand.

        Well, it could have been a Tacoman stall.
    • Not a Linux sitcom

      Well, each family member could be a distro. The father could be Fedora, or perhaps RHEL. The mother could be SuSE, the teenage boy could be Gentoo, the daughter could be skolelinux and the baby could be Damn Small Linux...

      • Well, each family member could be a distro. The father could be Fedora, or perhaps RHEL. The mother could be SuSE, the teenage boy could be Gentoo, the daughter could be skolelinux and the baby could be Damn Small Linux...

        Because the world really needs another stupid sitcom about another dysfunctional family.

  • You forgot something (Score:5, Informative)

    by russint ( 793669 ) on Wednesday November 24, 2004 @07:43PM (#10914550) Homepage
    I think a link to the shows own homepage might be a good idea, here you go: http://www.go-opensource.org/go_open/ [go-opensource.org]

  • eDonkey/Torrent ? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Can someone stick this series on eDonkey or set up a torrent ?

  • The Great Space Coaster (Score:4, Funny)

    by tiny69 ( 34486 ) on Wednesday November 24, 2004 @07:45PM (#10914567) Homepage Journal
    No g-news is good g-news unless its Gary Gnu's.
  • I can already see the line up: 10:30 PM - Barely Legal Slackware Camp 12:00 PM - Debian Does Slackware 1:30 PM - Little Redhat Riding Hood XXX series
  • I would say that The Screensavers used to advocate open source as well as Call for Help every now and then.

    Of course they didn't preach it like a zealot, but I think they did promote it nicely.

  • So what...open source is free right? That means no commercials because there is nothing to pay for? Or is it going to be one long commercial for open source?

    I don't think this is going to reach the right people...a big flashing banner on CNN.com or something with a cute little monkey that you're supposed to shoot for the "free OS" would get more people to switch.
  • Okay, I admit Tux [tamu.edu] is a very nice penguin, and shines in games like Pingus [seul.org], but give me good old Arnold Schwarzenegger [imdb.com] for the movies, okay?

    Sorry Tux, but you receiving awards at the Oscars? Please nooo....

  • Cmon slashdot (Score:4, Interesting)

    by bigberk ( 547360 ) <bigberk@users.pc9.org> on Wednesday November 24, 2004 @07:53PM (#10914627)
    I say slashdot bring back Geeks in Space [slashdot.org] (yeah that's right, I found the old school link).

  • I think Dickie got a little too much credit... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by PornMaster ( 749461 ) on Wednesday November 24, 2004 @07:54PM (#10914638) Homepage
    The first episode of the show included an interview with Richard Stallman, the man responsible for GNU/Linux

    Richard Stallman is the man responsible for GNU/Linux? Linux uses a lot of GNU programs in userland, but to call him "the man" responsible for GNU/Linux?

    He's responsible for Emacs and the movement, but not GNU/Linux as a whole by any stretch...
    • It would be refreshing to see people become comfortable by giving others credit for what they did instead of overstating the case. Linus Torvalds started writing the Linux kernel (which is not an operating system). Years before Torvalds began his work, RMS started a social movement called the free software movement, he began the GNU project, and (to make GNU a reality) he started writing a number of programs including GCC and Emacs (now GNU Emacs to differentiate it from XEmacs and the other Emacs variant

    • Richard Stallman is the man responsible for GNU/Linux? Linux uses a lot of GNU programs in userland, but to call him "the man" responsible for GNU/Linux?

      Although I strongly disagree with him being `the man behind GNU/Linux', according to zdnet he is:
      http://insight.zdnet.co.uk/software/0,39020463,391 74878,00.htm [zdnet.co.uk]

      ``Richard Stallman, the man responsible for GNU/Linux, tries to clear up the ethos of free software, explains where the GPL is heading and talks about the evils of software patents"

  • From the website [go-opensource.org]:

    Richard Stallman is -
    a) A famous Hollywood actor
    b) A male supermodel for Soviet Jeans
    c) The 'grandfather' of the Free Software Movement.

  • Open source TV would be great, as long as there aren't any Windows ads [ebaumsworld.com]
    • You mean like the ones that seem to keep slashdot afloat? Yes, the ones at the top the page about the TCO of windows being less than linux? Is this irony?
    • Novell is pretty much active in advertising on the radio here (Netherlands). Its only a 5-second ad though, but it gets advertized a lot.

      The ad is a woman saying: "Opensource. Novell. Jij wel." The latter means something in the sense of 'you would'.

      While its short, i think its a pretty good ad for its shortness. Also, it binds the term 'open source' to 'Novell' and it makes use of the 'current situation' in which it says 'dare to use something different'. However its by far not informative and its more of

  • Actually not the first... (Score:3, Informative)

    by sultanoslack ( 320583 ) on Wednesday November 24, 2004 @08:21PM (#10914787)
    The Turkish Technology Channel had a weekly show on Linux; I did an interview [kde.org] there a while back when I was in Turkey. It seems to be now defunt, or at least I assume as much from this page [pengueningunlugu.com] which I can't actually read...

  • And why not?! (Score:4, Interesting)

    by ashitaka ( 27544 ) on Wednesday November 24, 2004 @08:24PM (#10914802) Homepage
    It should be titled something like "An Alternate View" and not be preachy about open source but just show practical examples of what open-source applications are out there and how people are using them.

    They could pick a SourceForge "Project-Of-The-Week" which would hopefully serve the dual purpose of helping someone find a solution and recruiting developers to bring along projects that need a bit more attention.

    It wouldn't have to be the flashy projects either, simple stuff like the Meeting Room Booking System [sourceforge.net] could be presented and how users have taken this and applied it to airplane bookings, class schedules, etc etc.
  • I guess they're hard up for programming in South Africa.

  • EMACS the show (Score:5, Funny)

    by moosesocks ( 264553 ) on Wednesday November 24, 2004 @08:46PM (#10914951) Homepage
    Also coming soon, EMACS the show.

    Be warned, you'll need to map Ctrl-Alt-Meta-Play to your remote in order to do anything useful with the show.

    Vi pundits have also announced their own show. This one will automatically re-map all of the keys on your remote so that each key will have an unidentified cryptic function whose purpose is not revealed even after pressing the button.

    Once the show starts, the viewer is greeted by a blank screen. This blank screen will remain indefinitely until the user figures out the remote-key combination to quit the program. Don't mess up, because then you might not be able to quit at all!

    In order to actually watch the show, you will have to press an unidentified button on the remote which will allow you to watch the show.

    One
    Line
    At
    A
    Time

  • Maybe TechTV Canada can buy the rights and broadcast it in Canada, never to be seen by most Americans.

    Heh, it's working for Call for Help V2 so far...

    Then again, most Canadian-produced shows never get seen by Americans (except for maybe Due South - that one was a real stinker).

    /Troll

  • [ANNOUNCE] New religion. (Score:4, Funny)

    by rice_burners_suck ( 243660 ) on Thursday November 25, 2004 @12:35AM (#10916210)
    From the story:
    The first episode of the show included an interview with Richard Stallman, who founded the GNU project...
    That's it. I'm starting my own religion. I'm gonna call it Stallmanism. It will be exactly like Christianity, but instead of Jesus Christ, we have Richard Stallman.

    Remember, Richard Stallman loves you. He coded for your sins.

    To convert to this great new religion, simply send a Self Addressed Stamped Envelope, stuffed with hundred-dollar bills, to the address on your screen:

    Free Software Foundation

    59 Temple Place - Suite 330
    Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA
    ...

    Disclaimer: This retarded comment is not affiliated with, not is it sponsored in any way, by RMS or the FSF. It's just a joke. So get over it, asshole.

    • >Remember, Richard Stallman loves you. He coded for
      >your sins.

      I understand that this is supposed to be a joke...but the ironic and truly unfortunate thing is just how close it seriously is to the truth. From everything I've ever seen, Stallman DOES want people worshipping him...From that point of view, him being an atheist makes sense...
      "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."

  • The first program was not that interesting... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 25, 2004 @12:46AM (#10916250)
    Firstly, I don't know who this program was targeted at, but the presenter (who tries to be a comedian) made jokes that are too nerdy for normal people to understand, yet, not funny to the nerd crowd at all.

    Secondly, the interview with Richard was not introduced appropriately. One moment we're hearing that Linux is the best because it is open, next moment we hear that Linux is not the best, but only a small part of the bigger vision which is free (as in speach) software. I understand what's cooking, but my girlfriend doesn't.

    Thirdly, having an interview with the one of the "great" open source developers of South Africa turned out to be a chat with a guy who downloaded the Nokia SDK and developed a game for cellphones and are now trying to sell it to some distributor.
    There's nothing wrong with it - I just expected so much more...

    I was dissappointed up to the very end where they did not even number the possible answers to the competition question. Should I SMS '3', 'c' or 'The 'grandfather' of the open source movement'

    I'll watch the show this week again - it is followed by an animated version of Mr Bean and thereafter there is the rerun of Malcolm in the Middle...
    • but the presenter (who tries to be a comedian)
      Actually the presenter *is* a comedian - he's fairly well known in South Africa and had a great response from test audiences. Believe it or not, most people get the jokes ;)
      As for the developer - the purpose wasn't to show-off one of the "great" open source developers, but rather to show how regualar, everyday people are using open source to achieve good things. This guy was clearly very young and had used gimp and the nokia SDK to develop a game that is being
  • There's a neat open source show [woub.org] on PBS station WOUB. [woub.org]

    Disclaimer: I'm on it from time to time.

    They're lagging a bit on posting the shows, (the only one up so far is the first show from August 2004,) but they're posting more soon.

  • There will also be a printed magazine on free software in a few months:

    Free software magazine [freesoftwaremagazine.com]

  • Scripts (Score:2, Funny)

    by WebfishUK ( 249858 )
    As it is about open source, can I download the scripts from anywhere and upload my own alterations? Are the scripts under any form of version control? Is there a link to ScriptForge?

  • neat idea I think. G4/Tech TV's Screen Savers is so Windows loving it makes me sick so this show could fill a niche. Although maybe instead of being only about oss maybe the show should be "Slashdot TV" complete with a few talking heads to argue about something in the last 5 minutes of the show to represent the forums here. :)
  • I'm all happy that there's a new TV show dedicated to Open Source, but I would have hoped they could find a better musical act than Richard Stallman [gnu.org].
  • So when will it start showing on torrentocracy [torrentocracy.com] ?
  • So far official ratings have put the show at .05% market share, but the OSS community is confident that within 2 years OSS shows will serve the majority of the TV watching public...
  • In Turkey, long time ago (~ 2 years), a TV Program called "Penguenin Gunlugu" (Penguin's diary) boradcasted every week. This program is dedicated only open source, especially Linux.. But this channel (Technology Channel) only accesible with a paytv service "digiturk" (over satellite). I don't see this program, i can't have "digiturk" system. But, editor of this program is my friend Gorkem CETIN.

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