"The Ultimate Argument Against Linux" 104
GroundBounce writes "osOpinion has posted an article which basically refutes all of the FUD against Linux but then contends that the FUD itself may be enough to keep it from succeeding. I don't agree, but it's interesting reading anyway. "
OS Opinion (Score:1)
Sorry, it didn't get slashdotted, it got Microshafted.
distribution & GPL: employee's have rights too! (Score:1)
You might have to make it available to them, but how manny employees are going to go around asking for source code?
It doesn't matter. GPL requires any kind of distribution to be redistributable under GPL, so if giving software for employee is distribution then it's illegal to put any restriction on further distribution even if no one actually intends to distribute it.
TANSTAAFL (Score:1)
And why isn't it TINSTAAFL (There Is No Such Thing As A Free Lunch)?
There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.
Linux, M$ and FUD... (Score:1)
This is completly of topic, but what the hell...
M$ has become a master of FUD. The problem is, that's whats going to kill it.
His Billness has been dropping hints ( Read:FUD ) about M$'s "new and improved" 64-bit OS for the last 18 months.
I just love it. Whenever some PHB starts going on about Windows, I just say "...but ther's no point in wasting time developing win32 code, Bill Gates has already made it clear that M$ already has a 64-bit OS in the pipeline, so all of this Win32 code will just be legacy garbage code that we will have to maintain within the next 3-5 years and you know what *that* means...".
FUD is a two edged sword. Think about it. How many people have only just converted themselves over from 16-bit MS-DOS to 32-bit Windows? How do you think they feel about the fact that with W2K that they have to convert all of their Windows code to Windows NT ( an obvious attempt to force everyone to a common platform before forceing the transission to M$ 64-bit "whatever it's going to be called" ).
No, I haven't read the article ( it's been
Call me a hopless optimist if you like, but there is a change coming. M$ has already peaked, from here there is only one way for it to go.
Down.
Ignore the FUD. If you like Linux, then use it. Write code/test code/write documentation. Linux still has a way to go before it can become a contender in the desktop. Give it time people. It will get there when it's ready.
Where can M$ go? Nowhere. It's got 20 years worth of bad design descisions to carry with it. It's got 20 years of bloat and marketing "Whoo! Whoo!" to carry on it's back. I'll give you three guesses as to how portable cade will be between Win32 and Whatever64 - about as portable as betwwen VB 3.X and VB 4.X, which is about the same as from VB 4.X as to VB 5.X.
In other words - not at all.
Just my 20 years worth of cynisism gang.
P.S:"Beta?! This crap hardly RUNS!". Sorry for the bad grammer and spelling, but everything gets trashed is I use the "preview" button.
other OSs (Score:1)
He's probably referring to commercial UNIX (Solaris, HP-UX, Digital Unix, SCO, AIX) and mainframe/mini operating systems.
TedC
Amiga (Score:1)
Commadore killed Amiga. The only reason it lasted as long as it did is that it was way ahead of it's time, and people would put up with Commadore just to own one.
TedC
Windows 3.0 (Score:1)
The apps were important to Window's success, but one thing that's sometimes overlooked is that Windows didn't take off until OEMs started bundling it with their systems. This happened in early 1990 when MS released Windows 3.0.
TedC
User level argument. (Score:1)
I personally like having multiple text consoles, but I like the graphical features in XFree86 when I have to use it (playing games, say
Hmm..i guess their webserver crashed ;) (Score:1)
I didn't scan port 21 (ftp) because that times out, it looks like their web service (80) keeps dying. That box sucks.
% exscan -q www.osopinion.com 25 37 79 80 110 143
exscan - v0.3 - By PolarRoot [pi9@hotmail.com] [http://exscan.netpedia.net]
QueSO - Remote OS Identification - By Savage
QueSO code has been modified and integrated with permission.
Scanning Host: www.osopinion.com [38.185.217.81]
Port 25 Open: Simple Mail Transfer Protocol Service Running.
Data Returned:
220 wwmerchant.osopinion.com WindowsNT SMTP Server v3.03.0017/4c.adur/SP ESMTP ready at Fri, 26 Mar 1999 13:20:30 -0700
Port 37 Open: Time Service Running.
Port 79 Open: Finger Service Running.
Data Returned:
Error: Unknown user
Port 110 Open: Post Office Protocol 3 Service Running.
Data Returned:
+OK POP3 server ready
Port 143 Open: Interim Mail Access Protocol 2 Service Running.
Data Returned:
* OK NTMail IMAP4 server 3.03.0014 ready
Scan Completed Successfully.
My $0.02 (Score:3)
Social change still takes time, however quickly information can move. People still change gradually.
--Evan Vetere
The FUD that that is created "no such thing as a free lunch" is purely based upon ages and ages of paying for goods. We are entering a whole new age, where people CAN give their blood, sweat, and tears away for free, and still make money in another form (documentation, support, et al). :)
The only one I really disagree with is "Why would anyone write good software and give it away free?" The people that will/do say this are those that also say "How can anyone sit in front of their computer for 12 hours straight?!? I cant stand it for 2 hours!" They dont realize that this is something we love. I personally say to myself that I get to go to work, rather than I have to go to work. Its a hobby that we're lucky enough to make $$ from.
-----
If Bill Gates had a nickel for every time Windows crashed...
distribution & GPL: employee's have rights too! (Score:2)
I see nothing in the GPL that makes an exception for employees to have less rights. I can't even see how you could have an employment contract that could prevent the employee from asking for the modifications and distributing outside the company.
Why do painters paint? (Score:1)
Development will be concentrated in companies like RedHat (with dubious motives),
Universities, taking on the character of other kinds of research, or
The government. (Which may not so be as bad as it sounds.) Ideally, I think writing (good) software should be recognized for what it truly is: an art form. Hence it should get federal funding like PBS, NPR, and the NEA.
National Endowment for Free Software anyone?
--
As long as each individual is facing the TV tube alone, formal freedom poses no threat to privilege.
Uncompelling. (Score:1)
It's easy to bag on something because it isn't what you're used to, or not exactly what you want it to be. Fact is that Linux, like life, is exactly what you make of it.
Want a roadmap? An interface? A program that does [X]? A simplified command line? Make one! (or have one made)
There is nobody but nobody restricting you or anyone elses freedom to do so. (You might attract a lot of ire if you forked the kernel, but no challenge to your right to do so).
--
As long as each individual is facing the TV tube alone, formal freedom poses no threat to privilege.
Why do painters paint? (Score:1)
So what you're saying is that you're an unpaid volonteer.
I'm pro-OSS, and a programmer, and I agree with everything you said. What makes you think I was trying to troll you?
--
As long as each individual is facing the TV tube alone, formal freedom poses no threat to privilege.
The term ''FUD'' (Score:1)
Common misconception on the GNU GPL? (Score:1)
You can eat respect, ergo TANSTAAFL. (Score:1)
Yes, I have. I have done things to make myself feel better about myself, to convince myself that I am a worthwhile human being. That feeling is the benefit I am gaining from the opportunity cost (and other costs) of my activity. Once again, everything has a cost and benefit
I will agree with you about economics being a very murky realm, but I have yet to see a good refutation of its main premises.
You can eat respect, ergo TANSTAAFL. (Score:2)
Free software does have a price, and it is measured in standard units (dollars, euros, whatever) but you have to understand how the big picture works in order to see it in action. Even if someone does an activity for nothing more than personal satisfaction that is an economic activity; they have chosen to forgo doing something else (time is the only currency that really matters) and instead did something which gave them self-satisfaction and pleasure (comfort/pleasure and power being the major goals of most economic activity.)
In fact, there are whole sub-fields of economics dedicated to the analysis and explanation of mundane human activity in economic terms. All of these "intangibles" you describe can be explained as rational choices made for some form or another of personal gain. Sorry, but none of us are saints and, as always, TANSTAAFL.
FUD = Fear, Uncertainty, Death (Score:1)
oh well, eve tho' I'm forced to do windoze at work I can go back to some freedom of choice at home
I must admit... (Score:1)
I've been a multi-OS user for years. I've lived through and almost succumbed to the FUD at one point. I was that close to buying and HP windoze machine when Linux for the Mac became more than buggy junk and Apple became a revived company.
I'm happy with my dual setup of Mac OS and Linux, it works out perfectly for me. I'm also happily awating my NFR of OS X Server so I can give that the try out
Actually Linux has made it... (Score:1)
and M$ say theres 50 Million win98 users that 7 million is a respectable number! I'd bet it's higher. Right now I account for 5 os those 25 million Macs and only three of them run the Mac OS. Heck, even one of the ones that does I still use to log into the linux box with and run PowerMach on so that's more 1/2
/.-ed to heck & back. (Score:1)
-mike kania
Common misconception on the GNU GPL? (Score:1)
Congratulations! (Score:1)
The Ultimate Way To Get Your Tech Article Read... (Score:1)
(no matter how poorly written)...is to put
"Linux" in its title.
---------------------------------
"The Internet interprets censorship as damage,
Nice Article! (Score:2)
This is pro-linux all the way! Basically what it says is that linux is a mature and stable platform and the only reason left not to use it is because you're afraid to, chicken! heheheh...
TANSTAAFL (Score:1)
Linux has proven itself technically several times over. It is now battling social prejudices and entrenched corporate philosophies. As often occurs in such event, unless a significant industry event occurs, it will not progress much farther in! If linux is to gain widespread acceptance, it's community must produce a significant event which redefines the boundaries of the corporation and marketplace. Thus far, the closest thing is the the OSS movement itself - which now supports and develops linux.
--
/. In effect! Yeah! (Score:1)
Common misconception on the GNU GPL? (Score:1)
/.-ed to heck & back. (Score:1)
Virtually all of the arguments against Linux have recently been refuted (no support, no apps, etc).
The only thing that can kill Linux is things like FUD, peoples unwillingness to adapt to a new platform etc.
Of course the article had many more words, but that's the gist of it.
User level argument. (Score:1)
An example: At the company I used to work for, we did a lot of EDI, the EDI was processed by shell scripts on HP/UX boxes, and they ran, launched by cron, unattended, at all hours of the day.
This company was bought out by another company that also did EDI, but on NT. They actually had a small group of people that did nothing but drag and drop and process files by mouse all day! The little they did have automated (on NT) crashed constantly, either due to SQL server or something else. In short, they created a real mess.
What's worse was that some of them suggested replacing our "outmoded" Unix based method with their method!
User level argument. (Score:1)
I don't know why this is, most of the serious NT admins that I have met swear by the command line.
Hmm..i guess their webserver crashed ;) (Score:1)
Starting nmap V. 2.08 by Fyodor (fyodor@dhp.com, www.insecure.org/nmap/)
Interesting ports on (38.185.217.81):
Port State Protocol Service
25 open tcp smtp
TCP Sequence Prediction: Class=trivial time dependency
Difficulty=1 (Trivial joke)
Remote operating system guess: Windows NT4 / Win95 / Win98
TANSTAAFL (Score:1)
And why isn't it TINSTAAFL (There Is No Such Thing As A Free Lunch)?
~afniv
"Man könnte froh sein, wenn die Luft so rein wäre wie das Bier"
User level argument. (Score:3)
This has been my pro argument for Linux for a long while. I like the power of unix and the amount of customization. But I often find GUIs too darned clunky and difficult to use for certain tasks. The best method is to open multiple shells in a window manager to do your work. The best of both worlds scenario.
But for those folks who like the pure point and click, it's available (or will be). I don't think one can ever argue against GUIs, but rather one can argue against getting rid of the CLI. That won't happen in Linux.
I have to work with NT at work and I very much miss the "scalability" to use more CLI than GUI. Alas, that will not happen in NT.
~afniv
"Man könnte froh sein, wenn die Luft so rein wäre wie das Bier"
Amiga (Score:1)
My understanding was that the Amiga died because Commodore decided to fire its engineering department and milk the product for all it was worth until it ran into the ground. This is second-hand, but from a reasonably reliable friend.
Ten or more years ago, the Amiga was a wonderful system. It had the equivalent of a first-generation hardware-accelerated graphics card built into the box years before these became available on PCs, with a cleanly designed system architecture and a reasonably nice OS and interface. This was pre-Win3.1 (remember when 286s were cutting-edge?). Among home users, at least, there was a heated debate over which system (x86 or Amiga) was the more useful. PCs might or might not have had a slight number-crunching advantage, but there were more than enough nifty features on the Amiga to make up for it.
But, eventually, Amigas just faded away.
User level argument. (Score:1)
The only thing to FUD is FUD itself!? (Score:1)
Yes, people will say these things and stay away for a while but eventually they will talk to someone who uses Linux or visit a friend with it and be converted. And unless something better comes along or gnume and KDE still aren't ready (very unlikely), they will be converted for good.
To counter cliche with cliche: If you build it, they will come.
The site is back up at OSO (Score:1)
I contacted the webmaster.... Apparently He fixed the problem with the server .
Free Lunch? (Score:1)
Nevertheless, economists are keen on the notion of "free market". What is the price of a "free" market, and who pays it?
You can eat respect, ergo TANSTAAFL. (Score:1)
There is somthing far more amusing, which is economists themselves discussing it. Face it, economics is not an exact science, and it has many more quacks than any other field of human activity.
Of course, all of your rationale implies that we do everything for a purpose, which I cannot agree with. Haven't you ever done something gratuitously?
FUD for thought (Score:4)
Now I tell people I use Linux and it is hard for me to avoid having to explain that it isn't like Windows where everything is done for you. That owning a computer isn't always like using an appliance... However I can also tell a client that my system is running a Linux server, that it has Apache, and thus that it is THE TOP OF THE LINE as a web host.
Furthermore now when I install a custom programmed machine controling someones exhibit, I don't have to explain that Linux DOESN'T mean that I am the only person in the world who can fix it, it means that a permanent installation can be PERMANENT.
I don't hear people responding to Linux with fear. Most people are curious, want to know whether it is worth switching to, and if there is value for them. When they bought their Windows machine it was because it was the only name in the game. The very notion that with the same hardware they can now have a choice is extrodinarily persuasive and always has been. The dual boot machine with no risk...
The basic fact is that the status of Linux as a FREE alternative would not make a difference to a first time buyer, or someone buying a new machine. No one calculates the cost of Windows. It is free cause it is on the machine when you order it. To switch and actually PAY for another OS is to much trouble.
Linux has the advantage of taking away that cost, and allowing a user to TRY IT. Anyone who is frightened of it or doesn't trust it has THAT choice.
I remember when the DOS users pshawed the Macintosh. A Windowing interface was too clunky, they were so fast with text only that it a mouse was a hindrance. I still don't understand why Macintosh doesn't have more keyboard control. It seems so sensical. Now adays, they say, you can't have a CLI it is too complicated. True enough, the GUI did make machines accessible to people who can't remember how to do things or read manuals. But to talk about the GUI for an OS being the judgement of usefulness is a joke...
I don't think that anyone is scared of Linux but people who have a stake in its failure. Everyone else sees it as part and parcel to a world in which a 300 dollar PC can do everything you ever wanted. Back when I was a teenager the C64 was like that... We are FINALLY back into a world where the cheap computer isn't a real compromise. As long as Linux works on cheap commodity hardware then in the world of the PERSONAL computer, Linux will succeed in offering its one great value... ****FREE**** CHOICE
It takes time... (Score:2)
As much as people say that "UNIX is 20 years ago technology"
In twenty years we will hear that "Windows? God, thats an old piece of crap"
(today it's a new piece of crap)
The current hype, is in favor of Linux,
and it leeks into people's minds,
They begin to question Microsoft.
No matter how "I'll always use windows" drones act,
they won't use windows, they'll use what everyone else is using,
may it be windows, may it be BeOS, may it be Linux.
Yes, I admit, there are some people that wait until I say "god I just had to recompile a kernel",
and say "I told you windows is better".
(saying "how many BSoD's have you got while i compiled it" shut them down for awhile)
they will fade.
Fashion comes, fashion goes,
but even if it's not trendy, Linux is fun to use, and has a warm place in our hearts.
---
Here's a mirror to the article (Score:1)
People don't think respect is a payoff (Score:1)
The problem here is people will take both money and respect, and then forget about the respect and go for the money. MS is being killed by the lack of respect companies and people have towards them.
If you really want to shock a freeware author, send him money. Not much, but just a few dollars with a note saying thanks that you keep your software free. It seems paradoxal, but it helps.
The term ''FUD'' (Score:1)
FUD is a subset of propaganda. There are lots of types of propaganda that are not FUD. Microsoft, like most other companies uses the other types of propaganda in their advertising and PR. Not every company uses FUD, and of those that do some rely on it more and/or are better at it than others. IBM was the past master of FUD (the term was repudately coined one of IBM's mainframe competitors in the 70's). Microsoft relies heavily on FUD, but their record in using it successfully seems to be weaker than IBMs was.
The term ''FUD'' (Score:1)
Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt.
A particularly effective (if not properly countered) form of negative propaganda.
TANSTAAFL (Score:2)
As for the big event that can make the shift to Linux stronger, I think the release of Windows 2000 will be a cusp. If Microsoft can actually deliver on its promises (this would be a new thing for them), then they be able to push Linux back out the door. If Windows 2000 prooves to be robust and stable, then much of the argument for Linux may dissapear (except for the noteworthy price difference).
If on the other hand Windows 2000 is a big flop, and gets drowned by its own complexity, then Microsoft has nowhere to go. If it flops, it would be years before they could take a different approach and by that time its too late, and Linux will continue to spread like wildfire.
---
Excuse me??? (Score:1)
other OSs (Score:1)
Linux' success not related to Win2000 (IMHO) (Score:1)
Secondarily, so long as Microsoft has to support the Win95 legacy, I do not believe that they can deliver robustness and stability. I've used the C++ libraries in MFC off and on (preferably off) for about five years now, and while they have improved, in my book, the whole construct is bad. In contrast, both Gnome and KDE are improving rapidly, to the extent that I expect BOTH to pass the Windows API in terms of stability and usability within the year.
My guess is that the catch-fire point for Linux as an operating system for "the rest of the world" would/will be if Inprise (Borland) and Symantec choose to release their compiler and IDE environments in Linux, with effective porting tools for legacy apps developed under their previous tools for Win32. I would also predict a "catch fire" response if Lotus were to release it's top products for Linux platforms prior to Win2000's sliding release.
This brings me to my main thought which is that it doesn't matter "if Microsoft can actually deliver on its promises..." All that has to happen for Linux to move up to #1 is for RH, Caldera, Suse, etc. to be ready with a better quality array of basic consumer software MS operating systems will start the slide into irrelevancy which they deserve, as at that point I would expect virtually all the meaningful hardware and software companies to abandon Redmond because of their blatant monopolistic ugliness.
I (and at least 8,000,000 others) do not believe that MS will EVER be able to "push Linux back out the door."
My ultimate argument FOR Linux (Score:1)
Whay Many People Don't Realize... (Score:1)
It is definitely easier, though, to automate with a CLI than with a GUI. Under a GUI, you have to worry about more than text; you have to worry about when to click and where to click. A window might take longer to come up than it did when you originally tried to automate the task. A window can be resized, or moved, which makes it nearly impossible to determine where the pointer should point.
Anyway, given that little disagreement over language, I definitely agree that it is easier to automate tasks using a CLI than a GUI.
Common misconception on the GNU GPL? (Score:1)
The project would not be "polluted" if they had not first chosen to include GPL code. In order to include GPL code, you MUST agree to the licensing terms. If they did not understand the licensing terms before they began including the code, that makes them stupid. The terms are very clear and available for all to see.
distribution & GPL: employee's have rights too! (Score:2)
So I guess here is the question I would ask: If I own a computer, and I install GPL software on it, and I permit someone else to use that computer, does that constitute distribution to the other person under the GPL as it is currently written?
I know that if I modify the source code and fail to share those modifications, I violate the spirit of the GPL, but I'm not sure I violate the letter of the GPL.
Common misconception on the GNU GPL? (Score:3)
However, it is unclear to me whether or not internal distribution is considered distribution. In other words, if a corporation, which legally is a single individual, puts a modified version of GNU/Linux on all their computers, are they then required to let their employees have the source code and redistribute it? Would installing GNU/Linux on a system that another individual will use be considered distributing it? I don't think so, but the license isn't clear.
User level argument. (Score:1)
I don't believe you. I can't believe you. Something like this is too unreal. It's just wrong!
Don't get me wrong...I'm not saying you're a liar. I'm just saying that this is so incompatible with my worldview that it cannot occupy my thoughts. It would crash me. I become visibly irritated when I think about it. I picture this group of poor saps, ordered to drag and drop all day and I shudder. I thought data entry was bad. [shivering]
Mike
--
Here's a mirror to the article (Score:3)
http://haughey.com/linux.html
Free Lunch? (Score:3)
It's a common misconception among non-economists that prices equates to money. Free software does have a price, but it's not measured in dollars, marks or yen.
Richard certainly got paid for creating Emacs. Linus got paid for Linux. Larry got paid for Perl. And they got paid full worth according to the value of their software. But they didn't get paid with money, they got paid with respect, adulation and other valuable intangibles.
My ultimate argument FOR Linux (Score:2)
But frankly, I could give a rats ass what people say about Linux.
I USE IT BECAUSE I LIKE IT.
I will continue to contribute in whatever manner possible because I want others to like the same things I do. If Linux goes away as yet another flash-in-the-pan, I wont care. I WILL STILL LIKE IT. I will continue to use it until I no longer LIKE IT. Then I will find something else I like.
Maybe that is too simple for some. But I have been in this game way too long to use something just because it its the most popular or has the best "reputation". If it didn't work FOR me, I would use one of to the other choices out there.
Whay Many People Don't Realize... (Score:1)
Yes, but... (Score:1)
split vs. xcopy (Score:1)
Agreed, sort of... (Score:1)
That said, it's true that not everyone will be able to become proficient at it, but by having the capability available, it makes it possible for one person to automate something for another, which in effect has made that person's task easier even thought they didn't know how to do it themselves.
a new M$ trick? (Score:1)
Before you start throwing flames keep in mind that I'm mostly just trying to be entertaining here, not really looking for any new MS conspiracies (I believe there are enough of those without my help).
My $0.02 (Score:1)
Heh... work for me consists of a bunch NT servers I am responsible for maintaining; I don't get to play with the 3 AIX machines =( So often I find myself wanting to stay home and tinker with Linux (I am relatively new to it, first installed in December 98), poking through it, learning it (partly in hopes to get to work with the AIX servers at work)... so, I guess until I get something else to do than pray over NT servers for deliverance from the "Mighty Blue Screen of Death"(c), I guess I'll want to stay home more than go to work.
As for the rest of you post... right on! I mean, I can say the same about people who watch the NASCAR races... after all, how many times can you watch a mid-sized car you'll never own go around in circles (or oval, or whatever the track configuartion is)? I can't stand it for 2 laps (guess I got a short attention span with that).
-G.
Why do painters paint? (Score:1)
>hands of purely unpaid volonteers forever.
"Unpaid volunteers"?! It's all you think programmers with free time are? Troll!! I don't try to understand women, and would never try to understand programmers/geeks. Yes we do work for 8 hours in front of a computer, and when we get home what we do? More computer time!
If I help develop open software it's not just because I'm a "volunteer" for the open source movement, it's far more than that. Sometimes just plain curiosity:
- "let's check how this dude did that function" Hey, it's wrong, if I change this two lines of code the routine will be a lot faster. And let's write an e-mail with thanks to the author for this great program and with this code correction.
Sometimes is the "and if". You're using a program, ang think: "AND IF the program could do X thing automatically?". Then you open the code and implement some feature that the author didn't planned/needed, and voila, a better program.
And once a year, you use a program and it doesn't work with that videocard or HD driver, then you strech-a-itchy and make the thing work.
And a lot more different reasons can make someone collaborate with the authors to improve a program, because it's fun, because it's cool, because have nothing to do on sundays, and none of the reasons above are related to money.
Common misconception on the GNU GPL? (Score:1)
Common misconception on the GNU GPL? (Score:2)
Common misconception on the GNU GPL? (Score:1)
whole, even if the code never sees the light of
external day. Just look at the different impacts
of
distribution & GPL: employee's have rights too! (Score:1)
Realistically, you want to send back to the community any bug fixes or generally useful extensions. So much easier the next time around. Anything proprietary^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H private goes nowhere further. The employees have no more rights than the general public.
I think the key to understanding it is that the company itself, not the employees, owns the binaries.
The above opinions are my own. GPL has no responsibility for them.
Ultimate Argument FOR linux (Score:2)
Open Source software AND its data will live beyond the 'company' that produced it.
.
Think about it. I create a Program X (say a database) if I stop supporting it, the customer will still be able to modify/update and use that product. I make my money supporting it because I am the one most knowledgable about it.
It also allows the customer to have safer data. (done any data conversion between systems?) I have converted data for many reasons including: version/hardware obsolescence, Y2K/programming issues.
Open-Source also means Open-Data
I've never used Linux but am convinced of it, why? (Score:2)
I am a java programmer and web developper. (eg http://www1.loom.net.au/home/fish/ )
I dont know all that much about inner workings of OS's, and I have never used Linux or even seen it on a box in RL.
Yet I am about to tackle it. I am setting up a home server , Linux & apache.
what convinced me of this?.... 3 things
1. sick of Microsoft's patronising attitude.
2. Astonishing level of support potential from the linux community
3. A very apparent "love of labour" which effectively removes the need for any enforced "quality control" and (to me) garanties a quality product.
The best thing the Linux community can do is DISPLAY its labour of love, it is very endearing (especially in an over-capitalist society) DANGER : dont become "Mac dags"
The bulk of the PC using public are sheep, they'll go with whatever has the numbers.
M$ has demonstrated the power of markting intelligence.
in a MARKETING vs LOVE OF LABOUR battle, if the love of labour doesn't win then I'm stuffed!
just PLEASE dont swap "love of labour" for "M$ hating"
its about Linux not M$
distribution & GPL: employee's have rights too! (Score:1)
e.g. What if a company modifies a GPL'ed web server and makes that server available to all of us on the net. If one of us asks for the source code, do we legally have a right to it? I wouldn't think so, but I'm not a lawyer, nor do I play one on tv.
Common misconception on the GNU GPL? (Score:3)
The author states that no company would want to modify GPL'ed code because the GPL requires them to provide the source to the public. However, isn't this the case only if the software is distributed? e.g. If a company wants to modify the linux kernel for internal use only, and does not try and sell it or make it available for public use, then they wouldn't have to release the modified source, correct?
Someone please whack me back into line if I'm way out of it...
I remember thinking that (Score:1)
It IS a new concept for many people.
Even if (Score:1)
Another factor is the Unix-like heritage of GNU/Linux. There is already a significant number of sysadmins who know how to make the OS sing. Why spend the money on an MS-sponsored training course to learn a new OS that will change in 2-3 years anyway?
Geez, I'm getting partisan lately. I need to go back and re-read some TechNet, MSDN and Windows Magazine articles.
Java on Linux (Score:1)
I've found GNU/Linux to be an outstanding platform for development. It just "feels right" to programmers. For Java, I think the Blackdown Organization has done an absolutely OUTSTANDING job with their JDK (haven't tried others).
Another factor for Java developers to consider is Microsoft's attitude towards Java. While MS supports Java, I think they clearly do so against their will. I also tend to believe claims that MS has attempted to sabotage Java.
Dang -- That was honest! (Score:1)
distribution & GPL: employee's have rights too! (Score:1)
Here's a mirror to the article (Score:1)
What about us Windows users (Score:1)