FreeOS Opinions

Linux : Opinions : Intel: Linux has 'no place' on desktop
Posted: ( Fri 22nd Jun 2001 01:35:31[AM] UTC )
Intel chief executive, Craig Barrett, concedes that Linux has its uses, but doesn't see much of a future for it on the desktop until it can compete with Windows in the number of applications available.

Linux : Opinions : On writing about linux
Posted: ( Wed 20th Jun 2001 07:44:12[PM] UTC )
"It is utterly astonishing to me that people who are forever going on about "free speech" and the like would now suggest that a medium whose purpose is to cover things, Linux should not cover anything inconveniently embarrassing or that casts a bad light on what they wish people would believe, as they do, about Linux. This suggests to me that these poor, real-life-less specimens are merely conduits, who devote little or no time to thought and absolutely none to independent thought -- whose next original notion will be their first," says Dennis Powell.

Linux : Opinions : Richard Stallman: Science must push copyright aside
Posted: ( Wed 20th Jun 2001 02:22:59[AM] UTC )
"It should be a truism that the scientific literature exists to disseminate scientific knowledge, and that scientific journals exist to facilitate the process. It therefore follows that rules for use of the scientific literature should be designed to help achieve that goal. The modern technology for scientific publishing is the World Wide Web. Articles should be distributed in non-proprietary formats, with open access for all. And everyone should have the right to `mirror' articles; that is, to republish them verbatim with proper attribution," says Richard Stallman.

Linux : Opinions : License to FUD
Posted: ( Wed 20th Jun 2001 02:06:48[AM] UTC )
Use of the GNU GPL may be based more on fear than on freedom, but that fear is justified says Evan Leibovitch.

Linux : Opinions : Monkey do, KDE do, too (Mosfet opens fire on KDE)
Posted: ( Wed 20th Jun 2001 01:25:31[AM] UTC )
The same week that smoldering hostilities in the GNOME development community burst forth, a longtime KDE developer has opened fire on that desktop project. The two desktops have long engaged in heated competition, which now seems to entail which can do the most damage not to the other but to itself. Both disputes highlight potential problems in large development projects staffed in whole or part by unpaid volunteers, and the KDE dispute underlines the ambiguities surrounding the rights of individual developers involved in such projects.

Linux : Opinions : Moving beyond Linux vs. Windows
Posted: ( Wed 20th Jun 2001 12:00:21[AM] UTC )
According to the Meta Group analysts organizations should focus on mainstream environments and treat Linux as a tactical solution for embedded systems and special uses, unless they are operating in countries with a large and available skilled IT labor pool that does not demand high wages. They say that Linux is unlikely to displace Windows or the proprietary versions of Unix now used on virtually all desktops and servers in commercial environments.

Linux : Opinions : Hot air won't make a polar bear from a Linux penguin
Posted: ( Tue 19th Jun 2001 11:23:26[PM] UTC )
"Last week I was flamed by dozens of Linux users for simply reporting on the results of a recent survey of Australian IT managers that indicated that usage of Windows 2000 is growing strongly, and that Unix is declining a little. Linux users often get religious about their operating system, and they don't like facts that are contrary to their prejudices. Since time immemorial religion has provided people with a rationale for their existence and meaning to lives that would otherwise comprise little more than the proverbial sham, misery and broken dreams. And when their self-righteousness manifests itself as poorly expressed hate mail it merely indicates the mental state and personalities of those who pen such tripe" writes Graeme Philipson.

Linux : Opinions : Why Microsoft is wary of open source
Posted: ( Tue 19th Jun 2001 10:00:23[PM] UTC )
There's more to Microsoft's recent attacks on the open-source movement than mere rhetoric: Linux's popularity could hinder the software giant in its quest to gain control of a server market that's crucial to its long-term goals.

Linux : Opinions : The trouble with Microsoft IE Smart Tags
Posted: ( Mon 18th Jun 2001 02:05:48[AM] UTC )
Librenix has a piece on Microsoft's oposed "Smart Tags," (the author is against them and proposes a way in which they'd be more palatable) and a more interesting bit of related information, which is the license under which all the site's content is provided: changes to presentation details allowed by the W3C HTML specification are permitted, but "reproduction in a web browser" in such a way that URL's are added or links otherwise provided are not.

Linux : Opinions : If desktop Linux is viable, thank some unlikely spokespeople
Posted: ( Fri 15th Jun 2001 02:17:30[AM] UTC )
"Journalists who know Linux and free software systems? There aren't any, not in the mainstream media, and there may never be any, because of the nature of commercial publishing. Commercial publishers, by the nature of the very game, have to chase markets, and Linux is a technology, not a market. On the other hand, there's journalistic ethics. That means printing stuff that no one paid you to write, but that you think represents the closest thing to "the truth" that can be discovered on deadline with minimal expense," says Henry Kingman.

Linux : Opinions : Coming kicking and screaming into digital photography
Posted: ( Wed 13th Jun 2001 08:30:33[PM] UTC )
"Every so often I encounter someone who is using Linux but who hasn't taken part in any of the mailing lists. These groups are missing a lot and they're denying other users a lot. So, if you're new to Linux, or if you've been using it awhile but haven't found out that it's more than just an operating system and applications, consider this to be both advice and an invitation: Look around at the various mailing lists, then join as many as your mail-reading time can handle and participate in the community. You, and it, will be richer for it," says Dennis Powell.

Linux : Opinions : Want Linux on your desktop? Nine reasons to forget about it
Posted: ( Tue 12th Jun 2001 09:04:04[PM] UTC )
David Coursey offers some ideas for reforming people's, what he calls, "wrong-headed notions of Linux" and says that Linux will never become common as a desktop os, and no amount of believing will change that. It only makes adherents look stupid. Linux is too complex, and there isn't enough money to make it worth someone's time to build a really great environment for desktop apps. And then software companies would need to build applications, but how large a market is there?

Linux : Opinions : Learning from hackers
Posted: ( Sun 10th Jun 2001 10:52:19[PM] UTC )
"Managers can learn much from open-source practitioners, or hackers. Open-source hackers are people who `solve problems and build things.' Most engineers would be proud to be described that way. So would most project managers. So should we replace professional management ethics codes with the five hacker attitudes? I suggests starting with the last one and working backward. As a reward for your competence, support of freedom, reduction of others' drudgery, and appreciation that people should not waste their time and brainpower, you get to manage attacks on fascinating problems," says Cioffi.

Linux : Opinions : Linux at a turning point?
Posted: ( Sun 10th Jun 2001 09:47:02[PM] UTC )
According to Neal Leavitt, although Linux has grown in popularity, it may have reached a turning point at which it can either address several important challenges or face problems that could limit future adoption. Among the chief reasons for its limited future growth are fragmentation (there are close to 200 Linux distributions), a lack of mainstream commercial Linux applications, almost no groupware and limited support for databases containing more than a terabyte of data.

Linux : Opinions : Linux on an iPAQ
Posted: ( Sun 10th Jun 2001 09:24:40[PM] UTC )
"Though not properly considered a `Linux handheld' because it ships with WinCE, Compaq has designated it an "open handheld" and provided support for projects seeking to run Linux on it. For power users who want more, the iPAQ running Linux is a very versatile platform. Anyone interested in mobile, `personal' computing would be well rewarded giving Linux on an iPAQ a try. While not quite ready for end users yet, it is definitely worth experimenting with," says Chris Halsall in an overview of the Compaq iPAQ.