FreeOS Opinions

Linux : Opinions : An open and shut case. What is behind Microsoft's attack on open-source software?
Posted: ( Fri 11th May 2001 12:04:31[AM] UTC )
The Economist has turned an unhappy eye on Microsoft in this piece, noting that open source software isn't something that exists merely to thwart Redmond as much as it is a natural result of the Internet "which means that it is here to stay." Those looking for a concise, lucid account of what open source is all about might want to check this out.

Linux : Opinions : Miguel de Icaza: "Can't we all just get along?" -- Response to Dennis Powell's comment
Posted: ( Wed 9th May 2001 10:32:36[PM] UTC )
"I was disappointed and dismayed to read Dennis Powell's recent piece on GNOME (Wanna Invest in a Bridge...?"). Unfortunately, he presents a very different picture of what the GNOME community in general, and Ximian in particular, are trying to do. I'd like to address and bring clarity to some of the issues surrounding GNOME and Ximian in Dennis column, especially as they regard the control of GNOME, the role of my and other companies," says Miguel de Icaza, CTO, Ximian.

Linux : Opinions : A tale of two packages
Posted: ( Wed 9th May 2001 10:18:55[PM] UTC )
One key difference between Linux and the Unixes that have come before it is its very real potential as a desktop operating system for everybody, and SuSE is a good example of a distribution doing the work to make that happen. So what to make of the fact that something like PCMCIA seems to work "out of the box" while XFree86 4, despite all its enhancements, continues to present daunting configuration challenges? Dennis Powell explains.

Linux : Opinions : Fishy business and salmon.
Posted: ( Wed 9th May 2001 12:33:55[AM] UTC )
John Everitt has some questions about the "Shared Source" philosophy, like who owns the improvements you make, and how much you'll end up paying to take advantage of the corporate adherent's largesse when you set out to build that five inch orange zombie that repeatedly says "Where Do You Want To Go Today?" as it marches around the screen. He sums up saying shared source is rather like a salmon swimming up stream only to have its young sold back by a third party for profit,

Linux : Opinions : Making C++ ready for the desktop
Posted: ( Tue 8th May 2001 11:37:01[PM] UTC )
In this paper Waldo Bastian brings to attention an important performance bottleneck in the ld.so linker on GNU/Linux systems wrt C++ programs. He offers some suggestions for improvement and hopes that this paper will lead to a discussion in the GNU/Linux community that eventually will lead to a solution that addresses this problem. According to him the problem is that ld.so wasn't designed for todays Linux Desktop.

Linux : Opinions : Linux is the future, say former MS execs
Posted: ( Tue 8th May 2001 04:14:43[AM] UTC )
While Microsoft pours buckets of vitriol over open source, some of its most distinguished former executives are backing Linux. Eric Engstrom was one of a number of key management who departed as the MS anti-trust trial wore on. He started and led the Direct X project, was general manager at MSN, and testified on behalf of the Evil Empire in the trial. Now, with a group of former Redmond colleagues, he's backing Linux.

Linux : Opinions : How Linux could lose to Microsoft
Posted: ( Tue 8th May 2001 03:37:52[AM] UTC )
I want Linux to succeed because I believe Linux is an excellent operating system, that the GPL is a cool thing, and that open source in general is something worth building upon. But does success for Linux have to come at the price of ripping down Microsoft? No, it doesn't. But, when they try to distort reality with their perceptions, we need to counter their statements with the truth. Not with scathing flames and rants, but with our own calm and reasonable statements. We have to get the word out beyond our little community and into the mindset of the wider public view. That is where this argument will be won, not on the PC.

Linux : Opinions : A first look at IBM's Linux Community Development System
Posted: ( Tue 8th May 2001 03:10:17[AM] UTC )
Within the next few days, IBM is slated to open the doors to the new Linux Community Development System (LCDS), giving away free access to a high-end S/390 mainframe with very few strings attached. The aim is to spur development of Open Source applications on S/390 Linux. Many Open Source projects of any size -- can't afford to buy a System/390 or zSeries mainframe to test their code for portability. IBM wants to help small-scale developers test their code on the big iron. So they've dedicated a beast of a machine to the LCDS project and are giving a free S/390 Linux instance, with full root privileges, to just about anyone who asks.

Linux : Opinions : This is how free software works : A response to Craig Mundie
Posted: ( Fri 4th May 2001 02:16:45[AM] UTC )
So is 'Microsoft Shared Source' a failed attempt at Open Source? No. It is a demonstration of how far Microsoft are from grasping the entire concept of Open Source. The very language they use to describe 'Shared Source' misses the point of Free Software. To them 'Shared Source' remains about control and 'owning code'. Free Software is about generating revenue from doing work the customer wants and will pay for. It recognizes that much of the software world is now commodity and that proprietary software with all its overheads is in fact not a sustainable business for commodity products.

Linux : Opinions : The monkey has landed: The Ximian desktop experience
Posted: ( Fri 4th May 2001 12:29:50[AM] UTC )
We acknowledge that, however incrementally, the "average Linux user" is creeping more and more toward the vast middle ground of computer users each day: the onus any desktop project has on it, especially one hoping to profit from migration to Linux desktops, is to provide a compelling set of reasons to make the migration at all. It's clear from Ximian GNOME, though, that the company is building the expertise it needs to provide definitive motivation to make that move, even if small bumps remain.

Linux : Opinions : Beware the Microsoft shell game
Posted: ( Thu 3rd May 2001 12:51:51[AM] UTC )
Craig Mundie of Microsoft is going to make a major speech in New York attacking open-source software -- specifically, attacking the GNU General Public License. I haven't seen the speech it is supposed to be embargoed. But I'm expecting it to be a masterpiece of FUD. You watch; it's going to be a studied and ingenious attempt to create fear, uncertainty, and doubt in the minds of software users and the public -- and to obscure Microsoft's underlying motives by cloaking them in affected concern for the public welfare.

Linux : Opinions : Linux code warriors march to the beat of a different drummer
Posted: ( Wed 2nd May 2001 11:03:37[PM] UTC )
Linux users say it runs computers more efficiently, proficiently and reliably and it isn't prone to the kind of lockups and system crashes that Windows is infamous for. Yet, for all its pluses, Linux can be daunting to all but the savviest computer users. It's an operating system -- no, a culture -- that's completely foreign, if not downright scary, to many of us in the point-and-click crowd. In Linux land, people talk about "kernels," "distributions" and "open-source software" and throw "installfests," where experienced users help newbies load Linux onto their machines. Better get used to it. Linux is playing more of a role in our computing lives than we may realize, even if we don't use it on our personal computers. And its role is only going to get bigger.

Linux : Opinions : Open source's black hole
Posted: ( Wed 2nd May 2001 10:07:12[PM] UTC )
"The year's Big Lie is the assertion that Apple has embraced open source software. Sure, Apple's next generation OS X is based on its Darwin project, which is based on the open source Mach operating system. But the embrace is actually a chokehold. Apple's only interest in open source is what it can extract, both in technology and publicity. Despite appearances, Darwin's dependence on free software doesn't indicate that Apple has changed its self-serving attitude towards the community," says Evan Leibovitch.

Linux : Opinions : Wanna invest in a bridge? Okay, how about a donation?
Posted: ( Wed 2nd May 2001 09:19:33[PM] UTC )
"I learned from Michael's column Eazel is soliciting payment for its software. It's nothing so formal as setting a price and refusing to ship product until that price is paid, but it's payment nonetheless. The company has set up a PayPal account so that people who want to do so can give the company money. And the message from Eazel is plain enough: You want us to stick around and keep producing "free" stuff, you're gonna have to send us some money. The only thing wrong with it is its Orwellian, Free Software Foundation, convoluted misuse of the word "free," says Dennis E. Powell

Linux : Opinions : Tux, my hero
Posted: ( Wed 2nd May 2001 03:35:05[AM] UTC )
"I submit that within this transition period is an excellent time for Linux developers to get their ducks in a row and start really churning out the apps that will attract disenfranchised Windows users, whether they are server administrators or desktop users. In times of upheaval, fortune may favor Linux with more serious looks from serious users," says Brian Proffitt.