Recent Posts

901

Living Room / Re: Approaches to computer builds

« Last post by Paul Keith on June 05, 2010, 12:53 AM »

Well, I've never scratched computer building in the first place but lately I feel like if you're going to be cheap, you're better off buying two computers or more.

A portable one and one purely for high end capability.

Albeit the cloud isn't that powerful and server and power users aside, I haven't heard of a pure usb slot PC that can allow for several netbooks/sticks/gadgets to be inserted simultaneously but it seems the less messier route.

You take browsing off of your PC and you remove a huge need for RAM. You take files into your e-book reader and you remove a huge need for space. Even movies can be ripped into HDs. Gaming rigs can be left for consoles or if you're not into power house games, a netbook or hacked PSP can support many of them. You may even separate your file space from your work space with Virtualized OS. Security by dual booting into Linux.

Sorry if I missed your question. I couldn't narrow it down and I interpreted that you want a perspective of how different people approach their computer building. Note that the above is just assuming that you're not upgrading now but waiting for years where all these gadgets become cheap but feature full enough that the simplicity of separate PCs beats out the need for wanting a powerful PC while avoiding bleeding edge and power user know how. Not to mention Linux know how.

902

Living Room / Re: How to Sell Linux to Schools

« Last post by Paul Keith on June 05, 2010, 12:37 AM »

I'd like to insert another side to the problem now that I thought about:

All these "standards in the real world" talk reminds me of how some people like Ken Robinson insists more art in schools.

Do you think the problem goes beyond FOSS and is actually a problem of introducing philosophy and creativity in schools and for this same reason, maybe the clues of introducing Linux can be found there too?

The mention of Photoshop reminds me of how if you weren't into drawing manga, you probably wouldn't have heard of Manga Studio before and it extends to everything else about schools from the evolution-intelligent design debate to the simple standard that there should only be one version of history told in schools.

Like in that other thread I made, someone mentions FOSS is a philosophy. Philosophy is almost a banned or disrespected subject in most schools and when it is allowed or taught, it's a subject that relies on the instructor's vision rather than the curriculum.

To that extent, philosophy is very anti-standard. Philosophy asks that you must ask the why in a standard and maybe even create the gap in your student to rebel against the standard in order to support it with the understanding of why it is a necessity. I have not been to many schools especially those with high prestige but I would assume had I enrolled in a school and asked teachers all around of this issue I may eventually encounter one who will say something like what Renegade is saying but that same teacher probably wouldn't mention it to any of his students until someone asks the right question.

Now the better schools and the better instructors seem to have a will to insist upon the philosophy of their course and the greater ones have a knack of pushing these lessons into their students but for the better part institutions aren't there to provide anyone with understanding, they're there to provide anyone with rigid materials for rigid results in the real world and let the real world for the most part, teach students of that something else that might be related to philosophy.

Even FOSS advocates seem to make the mistake or is it developed cynicism in such a way that they will pursue cost as the main issue to have such applications in institutions but when asked about the merit of necessity, they eventually lead to philosophy. Philosophy that has no room as a standard but equally philosophy-in-a-closet in the sense that they are content with pushing FOSS apps without FOSS philosophy as long as said applications are able to co-exist and maybe replace current standards thus narrowing the argument into a case of wanting an inferior application to replace the superior accepted application.

The resulting conclusion is that cost is only mentioned in the beginning but the reasons fall into philosophy while the necessity for philosophy is ignored in the beginning but the reasons for introducing philosophy is used over the reasons for cost and it turns into a paradoxical propaganda rather than anything related to education.

903

Living Room / Re: A warning from History

« Last post by Paul Keith on June 04, 2010, 06:57 PM »

Thanks! Just the article I was searching for all my life. 

904

Living Room / The cost of free is emotional attachment

« Last post by Paul Keith on June 04, 2010, 01:07 AM »

Source: http://www.linuxjour...ers-vs-linux-culture

Using a forum board or IRC channel is a lot like trying to solve your problems by walking down a dorm room hallway. Room by room you poke your head in, say hi to everybody, and ask around quickly to see if anyone has an idea. The responses can vary depending on which door you knock on.

A lot has changed since I first started knocking on doors to solve my problems. First and foremost, there are a LOT more doors. Second, there are a lot more people to ask as open source finds itself becoming more and more mainstream. What doesn't seem to have changed much are the responses.

There will always be the self righteous neighbors. I knocked on one of these doors the other day. The first response was "why don't you just come out and tell us what you broke...". There's the newbie rooms full
of happy people that are just as lost as you are and have huddled together in the kiddie pool. There's the oh-so-elite rooms (you know who you are Gentoo users!) who only have one response for any question "RTFM". Remind me to further rant on these types some other time.

Occasionally (and less and less by accident of late) you get lucky and find a room full of sympathetic techies. These rooms are filled with people who can explain your problems simply enough to enable you to actually fix something.

All of this leads to my point: those of us who are passionate about open source projects are by nature, somewhat evangelistic.

Comment:

Really I am just one guy with one PC and really don't care in general about the evil empires... profit, since I need to profit from something to live myself or any of that stuff. I bought a new PC with touchscreen, just for fun.. with windows7 on it. I am fine. Works fine also. It's not light years different than anything.. it's really good though. I don't need a flavor of people in a community. I am not in any kind of community of users in using windows. I do look for news about Linux... but I hit articles like this and it reminds me how much Linux is not about an OS, it's about membership and philosophy. And it's hard to escape it because there is no profit motivation to propagate it. So the motivation is to endear oneself to it and all users of it for some greater good. I just can't get into it that way. I do understand it.. but don't really want to mess with the issues like "real" Linux people do. The cost of free is emotional attachment. I don't have it. Never will. If Linux is not better in most ways... and if I can afford a decent PC and not an old piece of crap.... I really just think I will use windows and not mess with this group mostly. It's just so self involved.. even just users who don't even write any code at all for it... who just love that turning on a PC and didn't pay one dime to people who make a living in the software industry, seems a bit weird. Personally I feel a little relieved that I paid for my OS and have it and can bitch and moan and otherwise forget about where it came from.

If I had to be part of a community of all the tools I use in life I would go nuts. Thanks so much for the free toaster... you guys are the best... but it is not toasting on one side... can ya please help a brother out? Thanks for the help... it kinda works I think... those people who paid for that other toaster are sure sheeple aren't they? Talk later... off to my free as in whatever, fridge forum ... I have frozen milk...

905

The Getting Organized Experiment of 2009 / Re: Advantages of Chrome's Session Saving Extensions over other browsers

« Last post by Paul Keith on June 04, 2010, 12:43 AM »

Yeah, I wouldn't touch Chrome back then for that reason.

I'm not sure if it's better now but I could attest to at least FreshStart doing some form of crash recovery.

I was confused why my session didn't recover especially when I closed it properly and then I spotted the restore previous session option on that extension and it recovered it.

That said, even today, I don't trust Firefox's sessions over session manager's.

906

Living Room / Re: Has SEO ruined the web?

« Last post by Paul Keith on June 03, 2010, 10:47 PM »

I apologize if the above was just a repeat of what I said (I didn't recheck), it's just that I'm currently reading this article and it made me want to post something like that to your (40hz's) post:

The case of South Korea also illustrates another peculiarity of successful modernity. When the Communists grabbed control of North Korea, this looked like a case of historical bad luck. Korean families were divided and the North was turned into a withdrawn and menacing state that enslaved its citizens. Yet, as Machiavelli observed, virtue is what you make of your fortune – whether that fortune happens to be good or bad.13 What makes a society virtuous in Machiavelli’s sense – able to master fortune and ride its ups and downs – is strong culture. Sometimes strong culture expresses itself through the medium of art, sometimes through philosophy, and sometimes through religion. It was Hegel who observed the crucial stimulating role that art, religion and philosophy play in highly dynamic societies.

What allowed South Korea to capitalize (literally) on its (bad) fortune? Calvinism imported from America played a part; so did Christianity more generally. Korean Christians took a leading role in the resistance to the Japanese Occupation, and became a major social force after World War II.14 Around 20 per cent of South Koreans are Protestants and ten per cent are Catholic. There is a clear relationship between the extraordinarily rapid spread of Christianity in Korea after 1945 and the emergence of a highly energetic Korean modernity. What is being suggested here is not that the Protestant ethic equals capitalism, but rather that great and dynamic societies have an enigmatic culture core.15 Protestantism in South Korea in part provides this because of the Protestant metaphysic in which individual conscience and free will are combined with a powerful sense of predestination and necessity.

907

Living Room / Re: Old: Shirky on Walled Gardens

« Last post by Paul Keith on June 03, 2010, 10:38 PM »

Thanks. I also had my hunch too but I wasn't sure.

It was just something that got clogged up in my to-do list.

Probably forgot to check it off.

908

Living Room / Re: Has SEO ruined the web?

« Last post by Paul Keith on June 03, 2010, 10:33 PM »

Google is just one more sad example of how there has never been a system so respected, useful, or worthwhile that somebody didn't eventually show up and start gaming it for their own advantage.

It's even sadder when the people who created the system start doing it themselves.

And many do.

-40hz (June 03, 2010, 10:28 AM)

That begs the question though. Was Google ever so respected, useful and worthwhile?

In the limited space of a fad or a well-reviewed item sure but does it hold up to a classic?

If anything Google merely superseded Yahoo and that sets the precedent for everything else.

I think Wikipedia did a better job of uprooting the mystique of Britannica despite having a shorter life span and even today it isn't as expected to be the better model but rather merely an alternative model.

Google though was merely a search engine. If it started to filter out search engines in the beginning, it would have not penetrated through and beat out Yahoo.

I think there is more evidence that humanity has never been so united that it was ever able to counter the social problems brought by technology compared to the technical problems.

For every one out there that works on Antivirus companies, you're most likely going to stumble upon spam methods from either an acquaintance or from being exposed long enough on the internet on your own.

In this same sense, for every customizeable blacklist and whitelist feature of a browser or instituted by a government, there is rarely the unity that benefits individual preferences over technological pragmatism.

What I mean by this is that from a non-techie perspective, if someone doesn't go out there and actually change or create something, the knowledgeable users of the internet who already possess the knowledge to bypass many of those annoyances won't go out of their way to make it easier for everyone else.

Yes, they will create malware blocklists and parental controls but they won't attempt to try and create a "You're better off with these site than these Google first page search results" site for people other than themselves but on the other side of the issue, it's because there's no truly solid culturally bound society that also thinks "this is such a bad problem that we all need to unite to help these blacklists/whitelists makers to better understand what sites we deem should be blocked."

Even worse so, IF there is a community that's been set up, it often becomes overtaken by censorship philosophy rather than for the name of progress. That is, to use guns and drugs as an analogy, it's much more tempting and effective to divide the issue between pro-gun/drug and anti-gun/drug rather than pro-education and anti-education of said things.

Such separation therefore allows for gaming to prosper not because human nature exist but because human unity does not find it as dedicated to producing a counter-gaming mentality. On a smaller more pop culture scale, it would be like crying that 3d gaming ruined the demand for 2d gaming but not saving 2d gaming by going beyond a mere social network for 2d gamers or actually providing superior 2d games that edge out 3d games.

It's also in human nature to provide better alternatives and to continue going against the flow. After all, that is how Google started in the first place. The dilemma though is that it's rude maybe ignorant or idealistic to mention this stuff because we for the most part don't want to hear the concept of "If you have a better idea, pursue it".

...or it's much more realistic to say, the more talented and knowledgeable people do pursue it but they pursue it to rid themselves of the problem. They pursue the problem by becoming a better or equally competent gamer of search results rather than collaborate their knowledge on upgrading the current model thus leaving it back to the same model of "waiting until a competitor of Google manages to develop something radical enough that it will beat out Google and repeat what Google did to Yahoo in a more modern context."

909

Living Room / Hyper Realism

« Last post by Paul Keith on June 03, 2010, 08:43 AM »

Source: http://www.chilloutp...ealist-sculptor.html

910

Living Room / Wii blamed on Child's Death: Guns looks like Controller

« Last post by Paul Keith on June 03, 2010, 08:28 AM »

I don't usually post links of this blog to this site but the details of this story seem like it would interest members here.

Source: http://www.sankakuco...ller-looks-like-gun/

(Other sections are NSFW)

911

Living Room / Re: Has SEO ruined the web?

« Last post by Paul Keith on June 03, 2010, 07:57 AM »

Well there's this: http://www.marketsamurai.com/ but they also host lots of interesting things in their blog. (Sometimes free. I tried a free program made by another person that was promoted in their blog but I forgot the name and I didn't use it much.)

I don't think it's a minefield as much as necessity but I don't even have my own domain to verify the outcome.

From what I gather though, it's mostly backlinks and linkpages and being on the popular social networking pages although I think being on youtube and having a series of videos with lots of views edges out everything else except maybe Wikipedia if you can find a way to be notable and not be seen as spam.

Edit: I also heard this search engine mentioned but I don't know how reliable it is nowadays.

912

Living Room / How Much Americans Spend on Entertainment

« Last post by Paul Keith on June 03, 2010, 07:47 AM »

<a href="http://www.visualeco...ds-on-entertainment/"><img src="http://www.visualeco...penses-americans.jpg" alt="entertainment-expenses-americans"/></a>

Direct link: http://www.visualeco...ds-on-entertainment/

PopUrl: http://www.pop.is/txxn

913

Living Room / Old: Shirky on Walled Gardens

« Last post by Paul Keith on June 03, 2010, 07:42 AM »

I apologize if this has already been posted:

Source: http://www.shirky.co...ing-the-unthinkable/

Revolutions create a curious inversion of perception. In ordinary times, people who do no more than describe the world around them are seen as pragmatists, while those who imagine fabulous alternative futures are viewed as radicals. The last couple of decades haven’t been ordinary, however. Inside the papers, the pragmatists were the ones simply looking out the window and noticing that the real world increasingly resembled the unthinkable scenario. These people were treated as if they were barking mad. Meanwhile the people spinning visions of popular walled gardens and enthusiastic micropayment adoption, visions unsupported by reality, were regarded not as charlatans but saviors.

When reality is labeled unthinkable, it creates a kind of sickness in an industry. Leadership becomes faith-based, while employees who have the temerity to suggest that what seems to be happening is in fact happening are herded into Innovation Departments, where they can be ignored en bloc. This shunting aside of the realists in favor of the fabulists has different effects on different industries at different times. One of the effects on the newspapers is that many of their most passionate defenders are unable, even now, to plan for a world in which the industry they knew is visibly going away.

914

Living Room / Linux based E-book reader with two touchscreens about to be released.

« Last post by Paul Keith on June 03, 2010, 06:14 AM »

Source: http://en.akihabaran...wo-14-1-touchscreens

Video: http://vimeo.com/12223465

915

Living Room / Ifs of Operating Systems

« Last post by Paul Keith on June 01, 2010, 01:19 AM »

Comment Section: http://linuxlock.blo...-brand-poisoned.html

I am a GNU/Linux user. I am also a Windows user. I also work with Apple computers. I also have an old SPARC-based Sun server at home. There is no perfect OS, no perfect computer. There are countless features of every platform that I think should be "standard" on all computer systems. But they are not. And that is the unfortunate reality.

This unfortunate reality manifests itself as series of "if" statements when talking about every OS/system/platform.

Windows is a great OS. IF you know where to get drivers. IF you know where you can and cannot go on the internet. IF you never use IE. IF you disable pop-ups and ads with Firefox extensions. Etc.

GNU/Linux is a great OS/system. IF you know enough about computers to be able to install your own OS. IF you can provide at least half of your own tech support and know where the help forums are. IF you can compile your own programs in order to get the latest versions. Etc.

Mac OS X is a great OS/platform. IF you do not play a lot of computer games. IF you do not mind paying a large price premium in return for hand-holding tech support. IF you have no idea what "vendor lock-in" means (or you do not care). Etc.

916

Living Room / Linux vs. Genome in Network Challenge

« Last post by Paul Keith on June 01, 2010, 12:48 AM »

Source: http://www.wired.com...Blog+-+Wired+Science)

917

Living Room / Re: How to Sell Linux to Schools

« Last post by Paul Keith on June 01, 2010, 12:46 AM »

Ok, I've modified the topic.

I guess I just find it more annoying to click an extra link and then be disappointed that the individual sections don't hold up to the entirety of a topic.

918

Living Room / How to Sell Linux to Schools

« Last post by Paul Keith on June 01, 2010, 12:19 AM »

Source: http://linuxandall.w...x-to-schools-part-2/

Table of Contents

What would be the Incentive?

How Cost Effective would it be?

How quickly could new users Adapt?

What Software would be pre-installed?

What Distro would be used?

919

Living Room / Re: It's Official: Apple Is Now Worth More Than Microsoft*

« Last post by Paul Keith on May 31, 2010, 11:01 PM »

Apple is not the Microsoft of Mobile:
http://www.theinquir...ple-microsoft-mobile

920

Living Room / Semantics is Restricting Linux Desktop Adaptation

« Last post by Paul Keith on May 31, 2010, 09:30 PM »

Link: http://linuxlock.blo...g-linux-desktop.html

Semantics:

The meaning or relationship of meanings of a sign or set of signs; especially : connotative meaning b : the language used (as in advertising or political propaganda) to achieve a desired effect on an audience especially through the use of words with novel or dual meanings (emphasis mine).

This has been gestating within me for over a year.  An incident yesterday brought it to full term and I thought I would share some thoughts on this topic with you...maybe to complete derision...

Maybe not.

Regardless, I am going to broach the subject here.

Her name is Margie and she is the Grandmother to three small boys, ages 7, 9 and 11.  I went there yesterday as part of our Twenty Computers in Twenty Days project and installed a desktop computer for these kids.  The mother and father of these boys haven't been seen since mom dropped the kids off three years ago.  She was "going out for the evening" and Grandma agreed to babysit.

It appears that her evening isn't over yet...She wrote once from Los Angeles and said that she was going to be sending for the boys as soon as she got her first paycheck.  That was in 2008.

The boys are well-adapted though...outwardly you wouldn't know that the most important person in their world had betrayed them in the most insidious of ways.  Their grades are good and they are all bilingual between Spanish and English.

Outwardly you wouldn't know...

They were thrilled that they were getting a computer.  It took me only a few minutes to set it up and get it going.  Margie had arranged for internet service prior to my arrival so when the machine came on, it was fully connected to the internet.

That's when the questions started.

Shortly after the Desktop was established, the obligatory popup appeared, stating that "Restricted Drivers" were available for installation.

Margie asked me then:  "What does that mean?"

This has happened easily over 100 times in the five years we've been doing this.  Most people never notice it but some do, and some are disturbed by it.

Margie was.

Even after I took the time to fully explain the whole proprietary driver thing to her, that word still lingered.

Restricted.

See, most people to my experience take words literally.  When someone is faced with the term "Restricted" it forms in their mind that they are not to use whatever is deemed "Restricted".  Even after my lengthy explanation and after telling her that some desktop functionality and most of the games wouldn't work right without the "Restricted" drivers, she still insisted that she did not want them installed.

Again, from Merriam-Webster:

Restricted

c : not intended for general circulation or release

And from Thesaurus.com - restricted:

Definition:   confine, limit situation or ability to participate
Synonyms:   bind, bottle up, bound, chain, check, circumscribe, come down on, constrict, contain, contract, cool down, cramp, curb, decrease, define, delimit, delimitate, demarcate, demark, diminish, encircle, enclose, hamper, handicap, hang up, hem in, hold back, hold down, impede, inclose, inhibit, keep within bounds, keep within limits, moderate, modify, narrow, pin down, prelimit, put away, put on ice, qualify, reduce, regulate, restrain, send up, shorten, shrink, shut in, surround, temper, tether, tie

To Margie, Restricted translated simply to illegal or forbidden.  To her mind, if the system was telling her that something is "Restricted" then it should not be used.  End of discussion.

Again, this isn't the first time this has happened.

Look...there are a number of reasons that Linux as a Desktop alternative hasn't gained more popularity...but to bottle ourselves off from mainstream use over a badly chosen word is goofy.

Yeah, and I know..."but that's the way it's done"... and "The majority of people understand"..."It's not that big of deal...blah blah blah.

To just over 10 percent of the people I've installed for, it is a big deal.

Just stop and think for a minute...think about how outsiders perceive the Linux infrastructure.  It is foreign enough with the file system, not to mention the application names....to associate any application or data in Linux as "Restricted" isn't helping our cause.  Of course, some of you could not care less.

Oh yeah...applications...let's get into that for a minute.

About six months ago, we did a long distance deal where CPS (Child Protective Services) asked us to provide a laptop to a 17 year old girl in San Antonio who needed one badly.  I explained that these things never worked well as I could not physically go to San Antonio for the setup and familiarization session.  Against my better judgment, I FEDEX'ed the laptop there.  I was assured that this would not be a problem as someone there would be available to help her with a Linux Desktop.

Obviously there wasn't.

I started getting emails from her, complaining that she couldn't "download" anything.  Remember that to the Windows user, "download" and "Install" have some definite blurred lines.  The "run" option once the download is completed usually keeps the user in the dark as to where the actual download landed.  They most times don't touch the EXE file...Windows does that for them.

Bless their hearts.

Hide the most basic of functions from your users in the name of convenience.  That pretty much insures you propagate the Stupid User Syndrome.  Can't see any obvious motive for that anywhere around...

So I explained to her that Linux handled the installation of software differently.  I took over an hour to "familiarize" her with her desktop and the functions therein.  

By the end of the call, I wanted to run red-hot knitting needles through my eyes.  

Multiple times.

Chewing a rounded cup of shattered windshield glass was my second choice, given the scarcity of knitting needles.

To be fair, I have to admit that I suspect this child couldn't run her Windows computer with much more skill than a Linux machine.  She is not a "computer user".  She is what I describe as a "task-set mouse clicker".  She's learned to do a limited set of tasks such as Facebook, MySpace, email and Pogo.com.  Everything else pretty much mystifies her.  Anything after that is mostly Voodoo.

But still...we could do better and we could start at the beginning.

Synaptic.  What in the hell is "Synaptic"?  Aside from a term used in describing or talking about the nervous system.

Sure...we know what it is, but what in the actual word "Synaptic" tells us that it is the system's primary software management system.  Agreed, it is sometimes listed that way in the menu but to the uninitiated, the word "synaptic" has no mental match with "software installation".

Look, I am far from the first to bring this up.  We've been talking about it since the early to mid 2000's and still not much has been done about it.

Gimp?

Wengo?

Kopete?

I'll leave the rest for comments.  I could click my gnome menu and list a dozen cryptic application names but ya'll know them as well as I do.  Again in the name of fairness, my distro of choice as well as Ubuntu has went a long way in putting side-tags on these names to better describe them.

But still "We" could do better.  It's obvious that most Linux application authors don't put a lot of thought into their app naming or if they do, they do so to amuse their peers.  

Whaddaya say we take the New Linux User into consideration.

They are your future and I have enough field experience with this to confidently tell you that they are confused.  Sometimes to the point of shrugging off Linux and becoming just one more of the "Linux Sucks" crowd.

Again, some of you don't particualarly care about new users...I mean, you already know what you need to know about running your system.  You rest assured of your geek superiority and glance over your glasses in condescending glances.   To you, all is right with the world and the rest of them can eat cake.

All-Righty Then.

Notable Comments:

trombonechamp:

I'm sorry, but I have to disagree with you on the "Restricted Drivers" aspect of it. If proprietary software was seen as equal to free software, GNU/Linux as we know it would not exist. The point of GNU/Linux and free software is that the user is always free. Adding proprietary software to your system destroys this. Without the free flow of knowledge, a system like GNU/Linux would never get developed. Understanding the concept of computing freedom is the least we can do for the developers who spend countless hours developing software for the community to use. Even if someone disagrees with the concept of using only free software, they cannot deny that installing additional non-free software creates only more restrictions. Allowing new users to understand the importance of those restrictions and make the decision based on personal beliefs is something that can certainly be improved, but hiding the reality of the software helps nobody in the end.

5/31/10 12:58 PM

Mike Regan:

By your comments, I am assuming you are one of the ones Ken describes at the end of his blog, Your argument is more stallmanistic than it is pragmatic. We are talking about new users here. They don't CARE about our philosophy or religion. What is your suggestion to replacing the word "Restricted". Are you happy that 10 percent or more people who see this "restricted" tag are bothered by it or that they can't understand "our" interpretation of "Restricted"?

I tend to agree with Ken here although I admit I had not given it much thought in the past. We need to replace the badly-placed word restricted.

If you tell me something is restricted, I tend to think that it is not to be used by me. I don't think that satisfying a small group of purists is in our best interest here. Explain it on a document on the desktop. Don't scare them off before you get the chance.

5/31/10 4:15 PM

Anonymous:

GNU Linux is all but worthless without restricted and proprietary apps and drivers. It's basically a crippled operating system meant to only used in its own environment. Like it or not, this is a world dominated by Microsoft software and Linux needs to cross that platform barrier. To further cripple the system with esoteric language and philosophies does nothing to further Linux as a viable alternative. Sure I agree with most of the FOSS dogma, idealistically I do but I was also a communist when I was in college. Sometimes you have to sacrifice or even abandon your philosophies when they hinder or harm you in the real world. That's where Linux Developers should spend more of their time.

5/31/10 5:03 PM

Chelle Menkin:

Ken, I don't think any amount of name changing in applications is going to do anything about the Windows User who is completely indoctrinated with Windows. Any variation of ritual is going to evoke a negative response in these people. They're just lazy and would rather deal with what they already know vs what they don't. While I agree with you on the Restricted thing, I don't think there is anything you are going to be able to do about slovenly Windows users.

To Anonymous, I like the "external drivers" thing. That should be passed on but I'm afraid the FOSS powers that be have it just the way they want it. Scary indeed.

5/31/10 5:29 PM

My Reply:

I disagree. I think it is equally lazy to ignore the influence of a label.

This is not to say that the above comment holds no truth but then it's there to pigeonhole for pigeonhole's sake as a reverse attempt to not address the issue or god forbid, even considering changing it.

I'm not involved with Linux Mint but to quote their FAQ:

What about proprietary software?

We believe in the open-source philosophy and release the source code for all of our work. We owe a lot to the Free Software movement and to the GPL but we also owe a lot to all developers who have had good ideas and created great tools and who have been working to make software better. Some of them have released their source code as well and have thus granted us more freedom and more flexibility. Others released their software with proprietary licenses and no source code, and although this doesn't give us the freedom we would like, it still contributes to make software better. We like Software in general, Free Software even more, but we do not believe in boycotting Proprietary Software.

P.S. I didn't realize that there are more comments underneath the post so this are the comments I've read after I've posted my reply in the topic.

elronxenu:

I believe it is classed as "restricted" because the software is of dubious legality, e.g. patent-encumbered. If the word "restricted" were changed to "illegal", would that help?

Linux has a basic message: when you get the software you are FREE to do pretty much what you like with it - you can give it to your friends, install on more machines, change it and/or sell it. Use of proprietary software invalidates this message, particularly if the user isn't fully informed of the licensing.

I think that grandmother was quite right to refuse the restricted software: she wants to be safe, and the best way to be safe is to use only Free Software.

5/31/10 5:58 PM

Anonymous wrote:

"GNU Linux is all but worthless without restricted and proprietary apps and drivers. It's basically a crippled operating system meant to only used in its own environment. Like it or not, this is a world dominated by Microsoft software and Linux needs to cross that platform barrier."

By "cross that platform barrier" you mean ... become Windows, right? Why don't we just give up and port all our applications to Windows. Then there'll be no need for a Free Software philosophy, we can all buy Windows from Microsoft and buy our proprietary apps from vendors. That's what you mean by "sacrifice or abandon your philosophies", isn't it?

How do you feel about that, Helios? As possibly the world's biggest Linux advocate, how do you feel about throwing away your hard-won computing rights so proprietary apps can compete with free software on a level playing field? So end users don't have to be intimidated by scare words such as "Restricted Drivers"?

Aren't you just opening your users to a world of pain - the pain we are telling people they can leave behind with linux - by introducing proprietary software? Every application will have its own license agreement that the user has to accept before it may operate. Every application - different terms and conditions. Different restrictions on what you may do. You may not give this software to your friends. You may make only a single backup. You may not install on multiple computers. You agree to being audited by the BSA. You agree that this agreement is made according to the law in Alaska and any issues are subject to jurisdiction of an Alaskan court.

I would expect that the typical Windows user has accepted so many licenses and restrictions that they can't keep track of what they are allowed to do any more. They probably have no idea how many rights they have signed away.

Where do you want to go today? Straight into proprietary software?

I think "Restricted Drivers" is a fine word because it points out that they restrict your actions henceforth. Far better one word alerting to this than the morass of hundreds of different proprietary licenses in the Windows world.

5/31/10 6:21 PM

InaTux

Firstly, the drivers are restricted, you cannot modify them, and you should not use them. If the term "Restricted Drivers" makes people uncomfortable about installing them, than we have only done a good deed calling them that.

Secondly, "External Drivers" aren't what they are, they are proprietary, but most people don't understand what proprietary software is, so "Restricted" is the best replacement term. "Non-Free Drivers" might work better.

And thirdly, GNU+Linux isn't a crippled system without the proprietary drivers, gNewSense installs and works just fine with an Intel/AMD and ATI based system, that is "Intel or AMD processor with a new ATI video card" you may also use an nVidia video card, but only 2D video is accelerated with the free drivers.

I am currently running on an AMD Sempron processor with an nVidia Geforce 6200 with Linux-libre.

Linus' pragmatism is not needed, and unappreciated by many Free Software advocates.

5/31/10 6:58 PM

Adam:

I think that this article is based on a false paradigm. That paradigm? "Linux should be an operating system accessible to the masses."

I'm not a "superiority geek" as described at the end of this article . . . I can appreciate the position of people for whom using Windows or Mac OS is the best choice. In fact, I would argue that most computer users fall into this category.

Ubuntu and other distributions have made it their goal to become a Linux-based operating system with a very low learning curve for access, and good for them. Perhaps aspirational Linux users with the ability but without the experience can use these as stepping-stones. Nonetheless, I argue that non-technical, "stupid user syndrome" sufferers, as you describe them, should not use Linux. To do so would be wasting their time and effort.

Linux is a free UNIX alternative, plain and simple. When you advocate that an individual should use Linux as their primary operating system, stop and ask yourself, "would I recommend that this person use Solaris? Do they have the need for features of a full UNIX OS, or are they looking for a simple, end-user workstation?"

5/31/10 7:04 PM

Anonymous:

With all due respect you are missing the point. This isn't about 'slovenly indoctrinated Windows users (nice name calling btw), it's about new users.

The Grandmother who doesn't know one end of a computer from another. The young user, who wouldn't know Windows from Mac OS, and just wants to access their socal networking site. The non-geek, for whom computers are new a tad bit overwhelming.

In other words, ordinary every day people who don't know, care or are even aware of the politics of the situation but are never the less are being lost in the crossfire in this battle of semantics.

5/31/10 7:06 PM

Anonymous:

Is it possible that the grandmother understood your explanation and the implications of "restricted" drivers better than you are giving her credit for, and simply made a choice, that you obviously don't agree with, that whatever games, etc, broke, to her, it was worth it?

That's the feeling I get based on the information available in the blog. Of course, you were there and I wasn't, but do you always interpret a choice not to do the restricted as a misunderstanding? Perhaps they're the ones that actually do understand... and care!

Duncan (who had to learn the difference between "Linux driver" and "freedomware Linux driver", the hard way).

5/31/10 8:57 PM

921

Living Room / Re: Google Ditches Windows on Security Concerns

« Last post by Paul Keith on May 31, 2010, 09:12 PM »

True but I think such link is missing the context of the article. (Although that is not to say I disagree with the link/links)

To quote the article: It would have made more people upset if they banned Macs rather than Windows.

That said, I just copy pasted the link as soon as I read it and I'm not sure of the validity of the article.

922

The Getting Organized Experiment of 2009 / Request: Please share your prioritization methods here

« Last post by Paul Keith on May 31, 2010, 07:59 PM »

I don't know how one can, in honesty, tout a prioritization scheme that says starting a blog is more important than making friends.

Source: http://www.reddit.co....com/comments/1sxv8/

I think it's a valid criticism and since I don't know how to use SpreadSheets, I've never bothered with complicated or over-simplified grid comparing techniques.

I think this holds true for Project Management too.

For the most part, the prioritization methods I've found are either too focus-centric on tasks to the point that they are more self-reflective projections on what you know or intend on doing first anyway or they are as rigid as GTD contexts and it ends up serving those who can already achieve their tasks rather than help those who have problems with prioritizing...or simply put, it's an optimization hack rather than a "help me!" technique and that's no good for those actually searching for a how to.

923

Living Room / Google Ditches Windows on Security Concerns

« Last post by Paul Keith on May 31, 2010, 07:30 PM »

http://www.ft.com/cm...c8-00144feab49a.html

Google is phasing out the internal use of Microsoft’s ubiquitous Windows operating system because of security concerns, according to several Google employees.

The directive to move to other operating systems began in earnest in January, after Google’s Chinese operations were hacked, and could effectively end the use of Windows at Google, which employs more than 10,000 workers internationally.

“We’re not doing any more Windows. It is a security effort,” said one Google employee.

“Many people have been moved away from [Windows] PCs, mostly towards Mac OS, following the China hacking attacks,” said another.

New hires are now given the option of using Apple’s Mac computers or PCs running the Linux operating system. “Linux is open source and we feel good about it,” said one employee. “Microsoft we don’t feel so good about.”

In early January, some new hires were still being allowed to install Windows on their laptops, but it was not an option for their desktop computers. Google would not comment on its current policy.

Windows is known for being more vulnerable to attacks by hackers and more susceptible to computer viruses than other operating systems.

Employees wanting to stay on Windows required clearance from “quite senior levels”, one employee said. “Getting a new Windows machine now requires CIO approval,” said another employee.

In addition to being a semi-formal policy, employees themselves have grown more concerned about security since the China attacks. “Particularly since the China scare, a lot of people here are using Macs for security,” said one employee.

Employees said it was also an effort to run the company on Google’s own products, including its forthcoming Chrome OS, which will compete with Windows. “A lot of it is an effort to run things on Google product,” the employee said. “They want to run things on Chrome.”

The hacking in China hastened the move. “Before the security, there was a directive by the company to try to run things on Google products,” said the employee. “It was a long time coming.”

The move created mild discontent among some Google employees, appreciative of the choice in operating systems granted to them - an unusual feature in large companies. But many employees were relieved they could still use Macs and Linux. “It would have made more people upset if they banned Macs rather than Windows,” he added.

Google and Microsoft compete on many fronts, from search, to web-based email, to operating systems.

While Google is the clear leader in search, Windows remains the most popular operating system in the world by a large margin, with various versions accounting for more than 80 per cent of installations, according to research firm Net Applications.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010. You may share using our article tools. Please don't cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web.

924

The Getting Organized Experiment of 2009 / Re: Advantages of Chrome's Session Saving Extensions over other browsers

« Last post by Paul Keith on May 31, 2010, 07:27 PM »

No problem. I mostly held back on Chrome too until the stable Linux version was released and FreshStart supported exporting and importing of sessions.

I also didn't realize session manager has turned buggy. That's too bad, it was my preferred session manager on FF because it was the most stable.

Opera didn't help matters either. The new default chrome user interface is worse than Chrome's. There's a little bit of space above the tabs and I nowadays keep missing my mouse click when trying to switch tabs.

925

Living Room / Re: It's Official: Apple Is Now Worth More Than Microsoft*

« Last post by Paul Keith on May 31, 2010, 02:55 AM »

Okay, Apple is worth more than Microsoft (thanks to gadgets, not software). So what. Shouldn't change a thing for Microsoft except -- in my opinion -- to embrace more open standards and open formats to counter Apple's closed ecosystem built around that Sunday School called "App Store."

-zridling (May 26, 2010, 06:57 PM)

It's a game of cat and mouse IMO. Long term-wise, Microsoft's DirectX keeps Linux from having a much equal ground in game support.

The only huge difference is that Microsoft was the dominant leader then.

In a way, Apple's gadgets allow their software to have exposure like Itunes and they are far nearer to Microsoft than they were in any other period precisely because of the way software and hardware is intertwined nowadays.

It's really the price that has kept them back but it's uphill for MS too. You can only milk Windows 7 until you have to match up with the demands and then once the OS playing area gets evened out, it's much more of a reality for Apple to pull the Firefox of gadgets to catch up to Microsoft. Sure, Firefox is open source so the comparison is off except Firefox became this way after Netscape found a trick to breathe life to a dead horse.

With the way the App Store is working out for them, the only reason Apple is giving Google a chance is because they are open but nothing changes stubborn business like being out-competed in a near monopoly-level setting.