Bad Thing or Good Thing
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| rht Aug 16, 2006 3:14 PM EDT |
When I read this article my gut reaction was Bad Thing. But, my second reaction was Good Thing. The enterprise, for the most part, still does not understand the basic precepts underpinning FOSS. "You gets what you pays for" seems to be their mantra -- which makes explaining the difference between libre and gratis an exasperating and fruitless exercise. Now add the rightly held paranoia of the enterprise regarding "viruses" and the prime directive of Management ("pay someone else to take the fall"). It follows that Linux cannot possibly be considered for the desktops of the Great Unwashed unless they are protected by a suite of fully-paid-up, card-carrying, auto-updating, colossally-expensive, security applications. Let the enterprise protect their Ubuntu servers and their employees' Ubuntu desktops, and their management's asses, at huge expense. They will eventually discover that there are cheaper alternatives. Maybe, just maybe, they might even discover libre and gratis, and applications that work. |
| henke54 Aug 17, 2006 2:29 AM EDT |
Open source guru advocates ideological shift
Eric Raymond calls for compromise...
Quoting:Eric Raymond, one of the high priests of open source, has told the community that painful compromises are needed to the way it deals with closed source platforms and formats to avoid losing ground on desktops and new media players.http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/08/17/eric_raymond_linux_c... |
| Sander_Marechal Aug 17, 2006 3:11 AM EDT |
We are dealing with closed source platforms - by opening them up. People are working on open source BIOSes, Video accelleration. Intel open sources (almost all) their drivers, and rumor has it that AMD is contemplating doing just that with ATI. The Helix project is delivering open source Windows and Apple media. There's open source flash on the way, open source java promised by the end of 2006 (but let's see it that actually gets delivered), etcetera. I think we're doing fine as it is. Surely, a bit more haste would be welcome, but there's no need to embrace the closed source. |
| dcparris Aug 17, 2006 7:00 AM EDT |
Is Raymond stuck in the 1990's? |
| SFN Aug 17, 2006 7:09 AM EDT |
Quoting:Raymond warned that Linux risks getting locked out of new hardware platforms for the next 30 years unless it proves it can work with iPods, MP3s and WMP. I suppose a case could be made that the perception among the average dunderhead...oh, excuse me...user is that Linux doesn't work with those things. The fact of the matter though is that it does. Various distros have various degrees of success and ease getting to that success but I can say for sure that I am able to view WM files, listen to MP3s and communicate with an iPod. |
| jdixon Aug 17, 2006 7:35 AM EDT |
> The fact of the matter though is that it does. Yep. I can't speak for the IPOD, but in any case, that's for Apple to fix; they're the ones users should be yelling at for Linux support. But I've been able to play MP3's and WMV files for ages. |
| Sander_Marechal Aug 17, 2006 8:10 AM EDT |
SNF & jdixon: I think ESR was referring to Free Software implementations of those, not the half-legal codecs you install afterwards. That still invalidates ESR's main point though, since it would appear as if the compromises have already meen made on that front (and soon we won;t have to compromise there - ref. Helix) |
| r_a_trip Aug 17, 2006 8:15 AM EDT |
Raymond, a champion of all things open, said it is vital to the future uptake of Linux that the community compromise to win the new generation of non-technical users aged younger than 30. This group is more interested in having Linux "just work" on their iPod or MP3 player and "don't care about our notions of doctrinal purity". Well if the core tenets are immaterial, why don't we do ourselves a favor and just ditch FL/OSS. When it comes to the new iPod generation, nothing will do if they have to lift one finger. If we have to sign a deal with the devil to gain a few souls, why bother. We will have become what we intended to avoid. In which case everybody is better off with Windows Vista, where monetary interests and a lack of core values make things "just work", most of the time. Before anybody gets all smart and stuff and wants to state that GNU/Linux works almost all of the time... Yes it does now, but what will happen to that if we allow a lot of proprietary blackbox code into the core infrastructure? Which we "need" to do, in order to attract the typical consumer-drone. |
| jimf Aug 17, 2006 9:05 AM EDT |
> Which we "need" to do, in order to attract the typical consumer-drone. The question is does Linux 'need' to do this to become a successful segment of the OS landscape, and if we do, are we still Linux. Frankly, Raymond has his head where the sun don't shine on this one. Linux will be far healthier without that brand of user, and just maybe, MS has a future is servicing guys like that. I sure won't miss them. both MS and the drones will get exactly what they deserve... Poetic justice. |
| jdixon Aug 17, 2006 9:11 AM EDT |
> not the half-legal codecs you install afterwards. Well, AFAIK, there's nothing illegal about the Windows codecs as long as you have a license for some version of Windows, which I do. I don't think Microsoft's EULA prohibits using them outside of Windows. As for MP3's, the code for them has been open source for quite a while now. It's the patents that are the problem, not the code. |
| Sander_Marechal Aug 17, 2006 2:13 PM EDT |
> It's the patents that are the problem, not the code. It's still a legal problem. |
| henke54 Aug 18, 2006 3:20 AM EDT |
Quoting:OSDL accepts GPL proliferationhttp://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/08/18/gpl_3_torvalds/ |
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