Linked by David Adams on Mon 2nd Aug 2010 03:53 UTC, submitted by fsmag
We are heading towards a world where we no longer own the hardware we buy -- and there is no point in having free software if you can't own your hardware.
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Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/18/13 21:33 UTC
Why does Google get so much credit in the technology industry? Why, despite the company's many obvious failings, do many geeks and enthusiasts still hold a somewhat positive view on the all-knowing technology giant? A specific talk at Google I/O this week provides the answer.
Linked by David Adams on 05/16/13 4:23 UTC
OSNews is a sponsor of this year's O'Reilly OSCON in Portland, Oregon, USA. A lucky OSNews reader will win a free three-day pass, including two tutorials days. To win the pass, post a comment on this story saying something about Open Source Software or OSCON. We'll pick a winner at random next week. If you don't have an OSNews account, you may email us your entry. Part of the conference is the 9th annual Open Source Awards, and today the 16th is the deadline for nominations. If you'd like to nominate an outstanding open source contributor, do it here. Read on for more information about OSCON. Update: The 20% discount code for OSNews readers is "OSN."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/11/13 21:41 UTC
"Windows is indeed slower than other operating systems in many scenarios, and the gap is worsening." That's one way to start an insider explanation of why Windows' performance isn't up to snuff. Written by someone who actually contributes code to the Windows NT kernel, the comment on Hacker News, later deleted but reposted with permission on Marc Bevand's blog, paints a very dreary picture of the state of Windows development. The root issue? Think of how Linux is developed, and you'll know the answer.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/08/13 14:22 UTC
This is one of those news items that's fun to write, fun to read, fun to comment on, and where no one will be able to say anything unkind. It's all just one big ball of awesome fluffiness. TuneTracker, the BeOS radio automation software, has just released something very special: TuneTracker System 5, the first version designed entirely and specifically for Haiku. In fact, it actually includes Haiku in the software package. Better yet, TuneTracker also unveiled several system-in-a-box products - which have Haiku and TuneTracker pre-installed.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/02/13 15:28 UTC
Exactly twenty years ago, a document was published that played a huge role in establishing the web as we know it today. Twenty years later, and this simple and straightforward document is proof of an irrefutable fact: while closed technologies can change markets, open technologies can change the world.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/29/13 21:06 UTC
Oh multitasking. That staple of computing that got thrown out the window with many modern smartphones. We got some rudimentary thing in its place - but even as multitasking on phone and tablets improves, its user-visible side remains cumbersome. Windows 8 has a neat implementation, and now it's time Android follows in it footsteps.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/24/13 22:24 UTC
They're here! Whether that excites you or not remains to be seen, but the Galaxy S4, which will most likely become the best selling Android smartphone of the year by a huge margin, has been reviewed by all the major sites, and there's lots of interesting conclusions in there - although I think most of you will get the gist.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/18/13 11:21 UTC
Nokia has posted its quarterly results for the first quarter of 2013, and just like the quarters that came before, there's not a whole lot of good news in there. The rise in Lumia sales still can't even dream of making up for the sales drop in Symbian phones, and when broken down in versions, the sales figures for Windows Phone 8 Lumias in particular are very disappointing. In North America, Nokia is getting slaughtered.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/16/13 9:29 UTC
The day has finally come: Google has started shipping Google Glass to the lucky few early adopters. Now that it's shipping, Google has also unveiled a lot more about the API and the specifications of the device itself. While the company had already given out substantial details at earlier occasions, there are still a few surprises here.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/15/13 22:44 UTC
Almost exactly three years ago, I wrote about why OSNews was no longer OSNews: the alternative operating system scene had died, and OSNews, too, had to go with the times and move towards reporting on a new wave of operating systems - mobile, and all the repercussions that the explosion of smartphones and tablets have caused. Still, I was wondering something today: why aren't we seeing alternative operating systems on mobile?More Features »
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2010-05-06
I had to pirate my Turbo Pascal, you insensitive clod ;-).
That is inaccurate. In the beginning of computer industry, all software was free under MIT like license, under public domain or with no license at all, which again meant public domain at the time. Not distributing source code would be a deal breaker. Just look to testimonials of DEC employees and PDP users. Watch Jon Maddog Hall speeches sometimes. DEC was praised for collaborating with their users on software and even hardware designs. IBM mainframes also shipped with free software until 1978. Just look at this list http://www.ibiblio.org/jmaynard/
The dark era started in second half of 1970s and event that marked start of proprietary software is Bill Gates letter to hobbyists http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Bill_Gates_Lette...
Other event could be AT&T's commercialization of UNIX.
Before that, something distributed in object code only form, was not even called software.
Most programmers found this new world order despicable but they got prisoner dilemma when the got offered jobs at newly founded proprietary companies. So they stopped complaining 'couse they at least got access to source code. Nevermind that others didn't.
But big number of programmers didn't want to remove fun from computing just to make money (because money can also be made without removing fun), and one guy particularly got frustrated when he didn't get printer driver he needed just because nasty EULA which his friend choose to obey. He did some thinking about situation and made his move. He quited MIT, started working on his own OS and then he wrote GNU manifesto in 1983 asking people to join him. We know who that is.
We call that system Linux today because some dude felt he can get all the credit just because he wrote the kernel and slotted it into nearly complete system which he didn't wrote.
Edited 2010-08-04 17:29 UTC