Linked by Thom Holwerda on Wed 10th Oct 2012 22:37 UTC
Donating to software projects - or, more accurately, open source projects. It's hardly new, it's hardly rare, and I'm sure most of us have donated at some point. That's probably why Canonical has opened Ubuntu up for donations - but with a twist.
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RE[4]: My Opinion is is Mine.
by ze_jerkface on Thu 11th Oct 2012 19:18
in reply to "RE[3]: My Opinion is is Mine."
Member since:2012-06-22
I'm sorry Lucas, but you are looking at this with heavily MS colored glasses. As such, you can only see diversity as fragmentation.
You can find plenty of posts from Linux advocates decrying fragmentation.
The diversity of Linux doesn't seem to matter on tablets, routers, super computers, wrist watches, space stations and a plethora of other things.
Tablets are all using the same Android base, even Kindle and Nook tablets. So they basically use the same distro with some API and UI differences, they aren't fighting each other over basics like sound APIs or program folder locations. Android tablets also have a proprietary friendly software deployment system. Linux distros are still built with the assumption that everything is open source.
Servers and space stations are managed by experts and don't have the same requirements as consumer devices. Wristwatches and toys only require a very slim command line Linux base that doesn't need to be updated.
It's just on the desktop that it fights an uphill battle against the incumbent OS supplier.
Having hundreds of distros results in redundant work. That's an inescapable fact. Now if all those distros had a specific purpose it might be justifiable but the vast majority are general purpose desktops.
The incumbent OS supplier already dropped the ball with Vista and Linux wasn't there to return. Windows 8 won't be any different.
The problem is not Windows, it is Linux. The desktop isn't ready for mainstream use and is in fact too late for the party. Android with a mouse and keyboard will be as close as it gets.
RE[5]: My Opinion is is Mine.
by r_a_trip on Fri 12th Oct 2012 13:38
in reply to "RE[4]: My Opinion is is Mine."
Member since:2005-07-06
The fragmentation is not in the number of Distro's. All distributions are in essence (re)packaging of upstream code (in that sense there is only minimal duplication of effort). They are all source compatible.
The fragmentation sits at the library level. There is no common target base, but this is a failure in consensus and collaboration, not in the number of distro's. Of course killing all distro's but one would solve this problem instantly (nobody is confused about the direction under a dictator), but it would also destroy the beneficial variety in the distro ecosphere.
That Linux doesn't make significant inroads when MS falters, isn't because e.g. Ubuntu isn't ready for the desktop. It's because Linux isn't used to push affordable and believable desktop systems to the consumer. There are a few vendors like ZaReason, System76 with halfway comparable systems to Windows machines, but you also pay a premium for them. Then we have some small community projects like KDE's vivaldi tablet or Linux Mint's mintBox.
The systems of dedicated sellers like ZaReason and System76 are overpriced from a consumer perspective. The smaller community projects have the right idea with smaller, more affordable machines, but they don't have reach.
If a systems manufacturer/vendor could produce something like a mintBox, be it x86 or ARM based, complete with a (modest) screen and mouse + keyboard for an affordable price and push this in the market as the affordable, hassle free Everyman's PC, I think it could have a shot. But it would need to be marketed right and the vendor should have a long term plan.
RE[4]: My Opinion is is Mine.
by lucas_maximus on Fri 12th Oct 2012 13:11
in reply to "RE[3]: My Opinion is is Mine."
Member since:2009-08-18
News
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/18/13 22:33 UTC
Official Apple statement on PRISM and privacy: "Regardless of the circumstances, our Legal team conducts an evaluation of each request and, only if appropriate, we retrieve and deliver the narrowest possible set of information to the authorities. In fact, from time to time when we see inconsistencies or inaccuracies in a request, we will refuse to fulfill it." This is basically Apple re-publishing their earlier statement in a more official manner. You either believe it, or you don't.
Linked by Anonymous on 06/18/13 22:26 UTC
The open source Contiki operating system and its commercial Thingsquare distribution are making strides towards the connected home. According to a Computerworld article, a new LED light bulb manufacturer is putting small computers into their light bulbs. Each computer runs the Contiki OS, which gives each bulb an IP address and allows them to be controlled with a smartphone application. To connect the bulbs to the application, the bulbs use both Wi-Fi and the much lower power IEEE 802.15.4 mesh technology.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/18/13 22:25 UTC
"Google asked the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court on Tuesday to ease long-standing gag orders over data requests it makes, arguing that the company has a constitutional right to speak about information it's forced to give the government. The legal filing, which cites the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech, is the latest move by the California-based tech giant to protect its reputation in the aftermath of news reports about sweeping National Security Agency surveillance of Internet traffic." Draining the ditch after the cow has drowned in it.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/18/13 17:45 UTC
"I can't find one person who has been using the Nexus 7 for an extended period of time, and hasn't seen a massive downgrade in performance. Just what kind of downgrade are we talking here? I cannot pick up my Nexus 7 without experiencing problems like a lag of ten seconds, or more, just to rotate the display; touches refusing to acknowledged; stuttering notification panel actions; and unresponsive apps." Fully and utterly agreed. My Nexus 7 was blazing-fast and awesome for a few months, and at some point, it just started sucking. Just like that. I've tried loads of ROMs, and nothing helps.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/18/13 17:32 UTC, submitted by poundsmack
A new release of the hobby operating system MenuetOS! The release notes are a bit non-descript, but you'll have to take what you can get: "updates and improvements (picview, httpc, ehci, ...)".
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/17/13 17:58 UTC
"The Internet is one of the most transformative technologies of our lifetimes. But for 2 out of every 3 people on earth, a fast, affordable Internet connection is still out of reach. And this is far from being a solved problem. There are many terrestrial challenges to Internet connectivity - jungles, archipelagos, mountains. There are also major cost challenges. Right now, for example, in most of the countries in the southern hemisphere, the cost of an Internet connection is more than a month's income. Solving these problems isn't simply a question of time: it requires looking at the problem of access from new angles. So today we're unveiling our latest moonshot from Google[x]: balloon-powered Internet access." Insane.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/17/13 17:52 UTC
"MineAssemble is a tiny bootable Minecraft clone written partly in x86 assembly. I made it first and foremost because a university assignment required me to implement a game in assembly for a computer systems course. Because I had never implemented anything more complex than a 'Hello World' bootloader before, I decided I wanted to learn about writing my own kernel code at the same time. Note that the goal of this project was not to write highly efficient hand-optimized assembly code, but rather to have fun and write code that balances readability and speed. This is primarily accomplished by proper commenting and consistent code structuring." Just cool.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/14/13 21:03 UTC
Jon Rubinstein, former CEO of Palm: "Well, I'm not sure I would have sold the company to HP. That's for sure. Talk about a waste. Not that I had any choice because when you sell a company you don't get to decide that. Obviously, the board and shareholders decide that. If we had known they were just going to shut it down and never really give it a chance to flourish, what would have been the point of selling the company? I think the deal we had with Verizon really hurt us, but who knew that at the time? These things are all hindsight."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/14/13 20:46 UTC
"And so it is with Dell's Alienware X51 R2, a small form factor gaming PC in console digs. It's shaped similar to Microsoft's Xbox 360 Slim, and though it's slightly larger than either a 360 or PlayStation 3, the X51 R2 would be right at home in a living room setting nestled next to a large screen TV. Indeed, it's adept at running Steam's Big Picture mode, and if your primary objective is to play games in the living room, go ahead and consider the X51 R2 a hybrid game console." This is obviously not the only machine like this - still, these are very valid console alternatives even for those that don't like being hunched over with a cramped WASD-claw. Also, PC gamers among us: could you get away with the $699 model for gaming?
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/14/13 17:32 UTC
From Bloomberg: "Microsoft, the world's largest software company, provides intelligence agencies with information about bugs in its popular software before it publicly releases a fix, according to two people familiar with the process. That information can be used to protect government computers and to access the computers of terrorists or military foes." The lid has officially been blown off.More News »
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Member since:
2005-07-06
I'm sorry Lucas, but you are looking at this with heavily MS colored glasses. As such, you can only see diversity as fragmentation.
From a FOSS community member I expect a bit more. We should know better than trying to press Linux in an MS mold.
The diversity of Linux doesn't seem to matter on tablets, routers, super computers, wrist watches, space stations and a plethora of other things. It's just on the desktop that it fights an uphill battle against the incumbent OS supplier.