Linked by Thom Holwerda on Fri 22nd Dec 2006 11:14 UTC, submitted by brewin
In the News Hans Reiser, the prominent Bay Area Linux programmer charged with murdering his wife, says he's seeking to sell off his open-source file system company, Namesys, to help pay mounting legal costs. In the first interview since his arrest, Reiser spoke this week about the future of his company and his legal travails from within the walls of Santa Rita Jail, where he is being held without bail.
Order by: Score:
buy what?
by butters (7.08) on Fri 22nd Dec 2006 11:52 UTC
butters
Member since:
2005-07-08
Fans: 34

I can't figure out why anyone would want to buy Namesys. It has no brand recognition outside of its DARPA sponsorship, it doesn't have a lead developer, and the medium-term prospects for Reiser4 uptake continue to be grim.

The only reason to buy an OSS firm is to acquire its human and/or capital assets. Reiser4 has great potential, but you're not buying Reiser4: anyone can take up its development and sell commercial plugins or support services.

If Namesys came with Hans Reiser, and if Hans Reiser wasn't in prison awaiting trial, then it might be a good investment. Without Hans, Namesys has nothing.

RE: buy what?
by osjohn (1.86) on Fri 22nd Dec 2006 12:09 UTC in reply to "buy what?"
osjohn Member since:
2006-07-12
Fans: 0

I agree with some of your points as Reiser4 could simply be forked and carried on under the GPL. As mentioned in the article though the company also own some proprietry software (such as a file compressor) that could not be forked.

Hans also isn't the lead programmer (at least according to the namesys website) so development on the FS could continue.

I would say though, that ReiserFS does indeed have some brand recognition, particularly in techie circles, and if the benchmarks for Reiser4 are to be believed then it would seem a good chance to own a good file system at a good price...

Edited 2006-12-22 12:27

RE: buy what?
by crazybob (2.92) on Fri 22nd Dec 2006 15:57 UTC in reply to "buy what?"
crazybob Member since:
2006-11-25
Fans: 0

You could buy the company for the copyrights and then you can release the code under other licenses. That would be the main reason, I can see, to buy the company.

Good bye, Hans Reiser
by sbergman27 (3.56) on Fri 22nd Dec 2006 12:01 UTC
sbergman27
Member since:
2005-07-24
Fans: 35

Not much of an interview. The sum total of what he actually says is:

"I just keep thinking that I'm stuck in George Orwell's 1984," he said while shackled, dressed in a red, prison-issue jumpsuit, and locked in a cement room. "The government has taken away my kids, invaded my house, held me in solitary confinement and caused me all sorts of financial problems."

Well, Hans, you are the prime suspect in a murder investigation, and rightfully so. You've been charged, and rightfully so. Somehow, I just don't see the injustice. Then again, I suspect you're guilty as sin.

That said, this is probably the best possible news for Reiser4. The new owner would likely be much easier to work with, not go out of their way to antagonize the LK developers, *FIX* Reiser4 where it is needed, *rename* it, get it included into the mainline kernel, and make an honest living supporting it and adding custom features.

Congratulations to all of you who care about that filesystem... except for Hans, of course.

RE: Good bye, Hans Reiser
by robinh (2.16) on Fri 22nd Dec 2006 12:04 UTC in reply to "Good bye, Hans Reiser"
robinh Member since:
2006-12-19
Fans: 0

Well, Hans, you are the prime suspect in a murder investigation, and rightfully so. You've been charged, and rightfully so. Somehow, I just don't see the injustice. Then again, I suspect you're guilty as sin.

..guilty until proven innocent? Any proof of your assertions?

--Robin

RE[2]: Good bye, Hans Reiser
by sbergman27 (3.56) on Fri 22nd Dec 2006 12:12 UTC in reply to "RE: Good bye, Hans Reiser"
sbergman27 Member since:
2005-07-24
Fans: 35

"Innocent until proven guilty" is an excellent policy for the law and for the courts. Holding individuals' opinions to it is just silly. Circumstantial evidence is perfectly good evidence, especially when there is a *lot* of it. However, in a legal conviction, there really should be no doubt.

My personal opinion will not convict Mr. Reiser, and I am perfectly free to come to a reasonable conclusion based upon the evidence available. And it looks to me like he is guilty as sin.

RE[3]: Good bye, Hans Reiser
by raver31 (4.56) on Fri 22nd Dec 2006 13:33 UTC in reply to "RE[2]: Good bye, Hans Reiser"
raver31 Member since:
2005-07-06
Fans: 13

yeah, his filesystem hosed my machine. he must be guilty.

hang ihm now !

</sarcasm>

RE[4]: Good bye, Hans Reiser
by Clinton (2.68) on Fri 22nd Dec 2006 18:26 UTC in reply to "RE[3]: Good bye, Hans Reiser"
Clinton Member since:
2005-07-05
Fans: 1

I've been running ReiserFS for years and never had a problem. It is also faster than some of the other options.

Are you sure it was the FS?

RE[3]: Good bye, Hans Reiser
by somebody (3.24) on Fri 22nd Dec 2006 14:09 UTC in reply to "RE[2]: Good bye, Hans Reiser"
somebody Member since:
2005-07-07
Fans: 0

"Innocent until proven guilty" is an excellent policy for the law and for the courts. Holding individuals' opinions to it is just silly. Circumstantial evidence is perfectly good evidence, especially when there is a *lot* of it. However, in a legal conviction, there really should be no doubt.

First, I'm not judging if Reiser did it or not. Couldn't care less. That's for others to decide.

Your logic sounds great until you're on the other side of the fence. A lot of circumstantial evidence can be gathered on any topic. And in Hanses case? He was living in that house (who doesn't argue at least few times, and especially if divorce is in question?). He was driving that car (hell, I seriously cut my self few times in my car, meaning if I disappear there will be dna evidence in it) He was never what you would call "people person", more like "dissociative arguing eccentric", so he's bound to look strange when his personality is taken to question. Another example, I bought few books about perfect murder too, not because I would be interested how should I do it, but rather because I was more intrigued by puzzle of algorithm which would cover all the facts.

I seem to fit your profile, but am I guilty?

It is like SCO case, except that for difference from SCO case where they say "We know you did it, now tell us how" here "He seems strange and this is why we suspect..." drives the court case.

It is hard to go against circumstantial evidence. Facts you can fight, global descriptions? much harder

Edited 2006-12-22 14:12

RE[4]: Good bye, Hans Reiser
by sbergman27 (3.56) on Fri 22nd Dec 2006 14:25 UTC in reply to "RE[3]: Good bye, Hans Reiser"
sbergman27 Member since:
2005-07-24
Fans: 35

Perhaps I was not clear enough. What part of:

"""
"Innocent until proven guilty" is an excellent policy for the law and for the courts
"""

is so hard to understand?

My opinion doesn't mean diddly squat to the court. And I would not want it to.

Finchwizard posted this good link earlier in the thread:

http://tinyurl.com/yhqqge

Hans' strangeness is irrelevant.

Now, could we possibly talk about how this affects Reiser4?

Edited 2006-12-22 14:26

RE[3]: Good bye, Hans Reiser
by fsckit (4.56) on Fri 22nd Dec 2006 17:17 UTC in reply to "RE[2]: Good bye, Hans Reiser"
fsckit Member since:
2006-09-24
Fans: 0

What's up with modding people down for voicing their own opinion? This post wasn't off topic or inflammatory in any way. There's no excuse for modding it down. I happen to agree with sbergman27 on this one, but even if I didn't I like to think I have a bit more discretion with the mod down button.

RE[4]: Good bye, Hans Reiser
by archiesteel (3.68) on Fri 22nd Dec 2006 18:46 UTC in reply to "RE[3]: Good bye, Hans Reiser"
archiesteel Member since:
2005-07-02
Fans: 23

Please, guys, complaining about modding is off-topic. As you can see, sbergman27's post has been modded back up.

I've found that the modding system works pretty well: when people mod posts down for dubious reasons, others usually mod the posts back up a little later.

RE[4]: Good bye, Hans Reiser
by justin.68 (3.12) on Fri 22nd Dec 2006 20:15 UTC in reply to "RE[2]: Good bye, Hans Reiser"
justin.68 Member since:
2006-09-16
Fans: 0

Saying that somebody is as guilty as sin without anything upon which to found one's statement is nowhere close to voicing an opinion: that's identical with making an accusation and defaming a man who has not yet been found guilty and condemned. In a private tête-à-tête conversation all this may be an inconsequential incident, but I'm not so sure it is in a public forum.

RE: Good bye, Hans Reiser
by Morin (2.76) on Fri 22nd Dec 2006 12:21 UTC in reply to "Good bye, Hans Reiser"
Morin Member since:
2005-12-31
Fans: 2

> Well, Hans, you are the prime suspect in a murder investigation, and
> rightfully so. You've been charged, and rightfully so. Somehow, I just
> don't see the injustice. Then again, I suspect you're guilty as sin.

Well... can anyone here translate the german word "Stammtischniveau"? That's the only thing that comes to my mind when I read such nonsense.

So he is rightfully the prime suspect... because he is the prime suspect?

He is charged rightfully... without proof? Right, who needs proof when we already have a scapegoat.

It doesn't matter if he is guilty or not. Without *proof* that he is guilty, he should not be affected. Or better, you could just admit that he does not live in a consitutional state, and stop talking about rightfulness.

sbergman27, you used to post in this forum at a migh higher level than you do now. I wonder if your account got hijacked...

RE[2]: Good bye, Hans Reiser
by rayoleary (1.2) on Fri 22nd Dec 2006 17:17 UTC in reply to "RE: Good bye, Hans Reiser"
rayoleary Member since:
2006-12-22
Fans: 0

I can translate that, although it makes little sense. A "stammtisch" is a table reserved for regulars in German and Austrian pubs. "Niveau" is a lenition (loan word) from French meaning "level".

RE[3]: Good bye, Hans Reiser
by Cloudy (2.68) on Sat 23rd Dec 2006 23:47 UTC in reply to "RE[2]: Good bye, Hans Reiser"
Cloudy Member since:
2006-02-15
Fans: 9

"Level table" is like "level playing field" meaning 'fair', I would guess, from context.

It would seem to be an admonishment to hear out both sides before deciding the guilt in this story.

RE: Good bye, Hans Reiser
by Ford Prefect (3.04) on Fri 22nd Dec 2006 12:24 UTC in reply to "Good bye, Hans Reiser"
Ford Prefect Member since:
2006-01-16
Fans: 6

I guess you don't even live some 100 miles close to Reiser's home. But sure, anyone on the internet, as you are, knows first, who is guilt in a murder trial without even the body found.


Sorry, but even "clearer" cases can have a big twist. For example: http://www.truthinjustice.org/Paul-House.htm


Heiser is in a bad position. Sure he seems to be the killer. But you can't know if it's the truth, especially not just because you didn't like him before. And although this is only your opinion, I have to raise the question how much/less evidence you need to form your opinion?

Edited 2006-12-22 12:26

RE[2]: Good bye, Hans Reiser
by sbergman27 (3.56) on Fri 22nd Dec 2006 12:55 UTC in reply to "Good bye, Hans Reiser"
sbergman27 Member since:
2005-07-24
Fans: 35

"""But you can't know if it's the truth..."""

Of course not. And I have not claimed that I do. Others have jumped to the conclusion that I have said so. (Ironic, when you think about it, huh?)

I have said that I "suspect" he is guilty. I have said that "it looks to me like he is guilty". I have *not* said that I know he is guilty, bloody sleeping bags in the back seat aside.

Time will tell, I suppose. Or maybe it won't if he hid the body well enough. ;-)

No one has commented on my assertion that this is a good thing for Reiser4, BTW.

RE: Good bye, Hans Reiser
by melkor (2.68) on Sat 23rd Dec 2006 23:43 UTC in reply to "Good bye, Hans Reiser"
melkor Member since:
2006-12-16
Fans: 3

You pretty much hit the nail on the head. Of course, you really should wait a bit - a man is innocent until proven guilty.

Dave

Not good
by Finchwizard (2.32) on Fri 22nd Dec 2006 13:13 UTC
Finchwizard
Member since:
2006-02-01
Fans: 1

It's never good to see someone go through this, but reading some sites it's not looking good.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/12/21/BAG29N3...

You always want to hope that it's not the case but time will tell that's for sure.

v lol
by Duffman (0.84) on Fri 22nd Dec 2006 13:15 UTC
RE: lol
by sbergman27 (3.56) on Fri 22nd Dec 2006 13:19 UTC in reply to "lol"
sbergman27 Member since:
2005-07-24
Fans: 35

"""
Linux, the only one operating system running on a filesystem designed by a murderer.
"""

You'd never make it in marketing.

Reiser4: The Killer Filesystem! ;-)

RE[2]: lol
by stooovie (2.28) on Fri 22nd Dec 2006 13:25 UTC in reply to "RE: lol"
stooovie Member since:
2006-01-25
Fans: 0

LOL sbgerman27, I was about to write the exact same :o)

RE[2]: lol
by Sphinx (2.84) on Fri 22nd Dec 2006 14:36 UTC in reply to "RE: lol"
Sphinx Member since:
2005-07-09
Fans: 12

You're hired!

RE: lol
by merkoth (4.28) on Fri 22nd Dec 2006 13:25 UTC in reply to "lol"
merkoth Member since:
2006-09-22
Fans: 1

Edit: Sorry, completely misread the comment.

I don't really know what to think. But this is sad, I don't really think he's gonna be able to sell anything from the jail :-S

Edited 2006-12-22 13:28

v RE[2]: lol
by raver31 (4.56) on Fri 22nd Dec 2006 13:35 UTC in reply to "RE: lol"
RE[2]: lol
by computrius (3.12) on Sat 23rd Dec 2006 08:29 UTC in reply to "lol"
computrius Member since:
2006-03-26
Fans: 1

umm.. reiser is not the main filesystem in linux. Its ext3. Or did I miss something?

Accusations and slander
by p13. (1.88) on Fri 22nd Dec 2006 14:30 UTC
p13.
Member since:
2005-07-10
Fans: 1

Good people of OSNews,

Let us refrain from judging this man, it is not our plight, nor our right.
It is all too easy to come out jumping on whatever situation that presents itself just because you have something to say about it. I am a strong and devoted proponent to free speech, yet free speech does in itself not warrant us the right to go about and force this on anyone thinking it is the absolute and unquestionable truth.

Fact is, we are nowhere near Hans nor anyone related to this case.
Everyone would be better off if we'd reserve judgement until it is appropriate to provide input.
I'm not saying it is inappropriate to have an oppinion on this matter, i'm saying that relaying these oppinions has been done in an utterly tactless and tasteless manner so far.

People should be treated with respect even when they don't deserve it in your eyes. No one is forcing anyone to admire Hans or anything, just as no one is really asking for anyone's oppinion.

People don't listen, people never listen, they only seen their own truths.

I sincerely wish this case to be investigated fully and this to be done in an honest UNBIASED manner.
To pass unargumented judgement on anyone at this stage is to mock justice and it's ways.

- Kevin

Edited 2006-12-22 14:40

RE: Accusations and slander
by sbenitezb (3.08) on Fri 22nd Dec 2006 15:07 UTC in reply to "Accusations and slander"
sbenitezb Member since:
2005-07-22
Fans: 2

Yeah, burn him! ;)

RE[2]: Accusations and slander
by sbergman27 (3.56) on Fri 22nd Dec 2006 16:15 UTC in reply to "RE: Accusations and slander"
sbergman27 Member since:
2005-07-24
Fans: 35

"""
Yeah, burn him! ;)
"""

I believe they use lethal injection in California. However, it appears that Hans may be in luck. According to Wikipedia:

"In February of 2006, a de facto moratorium on capital punishment was enforced in California as the state was unable to obtain the services of a licensed medical professional to carry out the execution of Michael Morales. The occurrence came as a result of an injunction made by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals which held that an execution could only be carried out by a medical technician legally authorized to administer IV medications, as the lethal injection procedure if wrongfully performed could lead to suffering for the condemned, potentially constituting cruel and unusual punishment."

What if...
by mcmv200i (1.95) on Fri 22nd Dec 2006 23:37 UTC in reply to "Accusations and slander"
mcmv200i Member since:
2006-12-14
Fans: 0

I absolutely agree with your statement, 100%.

But what if he is not guilty,
what if his wife got killed by somebody else, she simply flew or whatever..., and let us even assume the court to be fair and the case will be investigated fully and in an honest unbiased manner and he gets acquited.

He lost

* his company,
* and therefore his job,
* his kids,
* his reputation,
* ...

it won't help him too much anyway.

Hans Reiser
by Donny_S (2) on Fri 22nd Dec 2006 15:12 UTC
Donny_S
Member since:
2006-12-22
Fans: 0

"i'm saying that relaying these oppinions has been done in an utterly tactless and tasteless manner so far."

That's for sure!

This is too similar to the Andrew Pakhomov case in Huntsville Alabama. Pakhomov is a laser physicist at UAH and was also having marital problems.

http://www.whnt.com/Global/story.asp?S=5653749&nav=1VPuZHVb

I'd wager that there are more than a few cases where really smart researchers had severe domestic problems with the spouse which led to separation or divorce, but not murder. The key difference here is that both Pakhomov and Reiser were doing research (perhaps secretly) for the Pentagon. Reiser was with DARPA, and Pakhomov the Air Force. It could be that both men became security risks and the DOD decided to set them up using the domestic dispositions as leverage, a crazy but not altogether untenable hypothesis. Given the extreme similarity of these two cases, I've come to the conclusion that it is rather premature to declare Hans Reiser "guilty as sin".

RE: Hans Reiser
by dekernel (1.8) on Sat 23rd Dec 2006 20:59 UTC in reply to "Hans Reiser"
dekernel Member since:
2005-07-07
Fans: 0

Dude, you really need to take the tin foil hat off and go outside (the black helicopters won't shoot). Do you really think that the government is behind this? Please tell me you aren't serious!

Sad for Hans and sad for Linux
by Anonymous Penguin (3.28) on Fri 22nd Dec 2006 15:54 UTC
Anonymous Penguin
Member since:
2005-07-06
Fans: 6

Sad for Hans because of the hell he is going through, maybe undeserved.
Sad for Linux because it badly needs a new file system (IMHO)

RE: Sad for Hans and sad for Linux
by linux-it (1.96) on Fri 22nd Dec 2006 16:31 UTC in reply to "Sad for Hans and sad for Linux"
linux-it Member since:
2006-07-13
Fans: 0

skipping the Hans Reiser stuff -- why does it need a new filesystem ? reiserfs itself doesn't cut it really, unless you like botched filesystems now and then....

there are a lot of oher filesystems to choose from.

RE[2]: Sad for Hans and sad for Linux
by sbergman27 (3.56) on Fri 22nd Dec 2006 16:39 UTC in reply to "RE: Sad for Hans and sad for Linux"
sbergman27 Member since:
2005-07-24
Fans: 35

"""why does it need a new filesystem ? reiserfs itself doesn't cut it really, unless you like botched filesystems now and then...."""

Agreed about the botchedness. Hopefully, a new owner, with less "vision" and less attitude would fix the botched parts and get the (long stalled) Reiser4 show on the road.

Personally, I'm more excited about ext4, which is not suffering from such a severe case of impedance mismatch with the rest of the kernel.

Anonymous Penguin Member since:
2005-07-06
Fans: 6

"there are a lot of oher filesystems to choose from."

Basically we are left only with ext3, which I don't like because of many reasons.

Compare it with OS X which has now HFS+ and should have ZFS soon...

archiesteel Member since:
2005-07-02
Fans: 23

Basically we are left only with ext3, which I don't like because of many reasons.

There are more filesystems available for Linux than that...what about JFS and XFS? Isn't HFS also available?

sbergman27 Member since:
2005-07-24
Fans: 35

"""Isn't HFS also available?"""

I was going to say no, I don't think so. But then I checked. There is an hfs and hfsplus in my /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/fs directory.

So what are hfs(+)'s pros and cons? I'm curious.

Anonymous Penguin Member since:
2005-07-06
Fans: 6

"Isn't HFS also available?"

To my knowledge the Linux kernel has read-only support for HFS. In any case I have never seen an installer which offered HFS as an option (and I believe I have tried all Linux installers)

Re: 1984
by aGNUstic (1.04) on Fri 22nd Dec 2006 23:21 UTC
aGNUstic
Member since:
2005-07-28
Fans: 2

Well, with the goober-wad they have in the executive the concept of habeus corpus was neutered. Innocent or guilty, once you enter the prison industy in the US you're royally screwed.

Probably...
by melkor (2.68) on Sat 23rd Dec 2006 23:52 UTC
melkor
Member since:
2006-12-16
Fans: 3

Best to buy Namesys. Hopefully Redhat will buy it, own the copyright, and make sure it stays out of the hans of Microsoft and Co.

Dave