Linux Opinions

Linux : Opinions : A little housekeeping
Posted: ( Mon 25th Jun 2001 07:53:32[PM] UTC )
"My theory for this short release cycle is that SuSE was trying to sync its release versions with the new Itanium flavor that was scheduled to be released last week. In other words, they opted to use the SuSE Linux 7.2 number for the Itanium release, and wanted to avoid confusion with the Intel version numbers. If this is the case, then this makes more sense. But if we see SuSE 7.3 in a September/October timeframe, then we'll know its something else," writes Brian Proffitt as he takes a quick look at SuSE 7.2 and questions if its purchase is necessary for SuSE veterans.

Linux : Opinions : SuSE Linux 7.2 - Linux for the desktop?
Posted: ( Mon 25th Jun 2001 07:13:18[PM] UTC )
The author talks of how Linux can succeed on the desktop. According to him Linux will not succeed on its own merits and that its only shot is attracting disaffected Windows users. "Is it ready for the consumer desktop? Well, unfortunately it's difficult to see where the demand would come from. Its geeky image will still be off-putting for consumers, despite the price advantage, and vendors will probably prefer the markup they get from bundling Windows with their systems, rather than Linux."

Linux : Opinions : Linux: the other OS for your laptop
Posted: ( Sun 24th Jun 2001 11:26:01[PM] UTC )
"Linux is more stable, about as fast, every bit as pretty, and almost as easy to install as anything Microsoft has produced. However, far fewer office productivity applications are written for Linux, and peripheral support is still furlongs behind that of Windows. And to be honest, Linux isn't quite as easy to use. But there's light at the end of the open-source tunnel. I give Linux a year or so before it closes the usability gap. Linux is definetly here to stay. If Linux makes the kind of progress it has in the network operating-system realm, it could be a viable alternative for laptop users," writes Jon L. Jacobi.

Linux : Opinions : Revolution and evolution in the PC industry
Posted: ( Fri 22nd Jun 2001 01:44:52[AM] UTC )
If you spend enough time in and around the personal computer industry, you will invariably get so jaded that very few things can evoke interest, enthusiasm, or even excitement. But it's worth crawling out of this trap of cynicism, since there are still plenty of smart people designing and creating cool stuff. Some of this neat stuff is evolutionary, some of it occasionally borders on, or even is, revolutionary. This column is about one of each

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.