poo review
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| tuxchick Nov 19, 2006 7:56 PM EDT |
The review mentioned in the LWN article one big piece o poo, because what the reviewer really wants is Windows only something else: "I appreciate the fact that distributions like Fedora Core are still focused on free-as-in-rights software, but.." You don't have to read past the "but". Yes-but arguments are inherently dishonest. LWN summed it up nicely: "So criticism of Fedora - or any other distributor which sticks to free software principles - is, at best, misplaced. There are proprietary systems out there for people who want to run them, but Linux is about free software. It makes no sense to try to push proprietary code onto a distribution which has set a goal of being 100% free, and it is silly to criticize such a distribution for containing only free software. We should, instead, be appreciative of the vast amount of work that has gone into giving us a 100% free system - and help to improve that system." |
| dinotrac Nov 19, 2006 8:07 PM EDT |
I agree. I don't have your qualms about non-free software on my Linux box -- I have the NVidia driver, acrobat reader, and flash 9 beta on mine -- but I think it's ridiculous to criticize Fedora for being all free. If you want a distribution with the non-free bit in place, you can buy Linspire or several other boxed up distros. If you're going to take the work that people have integrated for free, take it upon yourself to add the extra pieces you want and don't carp. |
| jdixon Nov 20, 2006 2:45 AM EDT |
Agreed on both counts. I have the NVidia drivers, Flash, and IE all installed on my system. My system, my choice. But Fedora works hard to produce a Free distribution. Complaining that they don't include the closed source bits you want is like complaining that Slackware doesn't include dependency checking. If you want that, use another distribution. |
| rijelkentaurus Nov 20, 2006 2:53 AM EDT |
>If you want that, use another distribution. And this is why I tell people that choice is good. My Windows colleagues complain that there are "too many distributions." I liken that (though not as horrible) to saying that things would be easier if there weren't so many races of people. If things were the same, there'd be less problems, right? They make the argument sound intuitive, but it'd be the only time that would count as intuitive...and it's COUNTERintuitive. Toyota makes a great car...but only because Honda will pounce in a second if Toyota's quality slips. Choice is good. A rich and varied environment is good. It's good for competition and will give you best-of-breed quality in the short and long terms. Yes, I agree. Use another distro. There's something out there for you that will work perfectly, just look for it and quit harping on this garbage. |
| dinotrac Nov 20, 2006 4:00 AM EDT |
>if there weren't so many races of people. If things were the same, there'd be less problems, right? And that's just in the clothing store. I hate seeing a shirt I like, then discovering it don't look so hot against my clammy caucasion covering. |
| rijelkentaurus Nov 20, 2006 5:07 AM EDT |
>And that's just in the clothing store. I hate seeing a shirt I like, then discovering it don't look so hot against my clammy caucasion covering. Story of my life. My great grandmother was Cherokee, but I'm all honkey. |
| tuxchick Nov 20, 2006 7:28 AM EDT |
Cry me a river. Just try shopping for women's clothing. Overpriced, poorly-made, and designed by woman-hating mentally-ill designers. What really tees me off is the junk sells. Fortunately, as with FOSS, there are choices. (LL Bean rox!) |
| Abe Nov 20, 2006 9:25 AM EDT |
Messed up again. I have been away from Lxer for too long. It makes more sense to see my post here http://lxer.com/module/forums/t/24099/ |
| devnet Nov 20, 2006 9:32 AM EDT |
Quoting:If you're going to take the work that people have integrated for free, take it upon yourself to add the extra pieces you want and don't carp.Hey! I love extra carp! Fish is full of HDLs! :D |
| dinotrac Nov 20, 2006 9:38 AM EDT |
Abe - Fair enough -- though I think you meant for this response to go over in the other thread. Moglen has definitely done good stuff and is one of the good guys, but I'm puzzled by the recent past. And yes, I came down pretty hard on him. He's earned a few respect points a long the way. Still... I wonder if some people haven't gotten a little full of themselves. Or...maybe it's the old saw "When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail." I know that the FSF can't magically make the Microsoft's of this world respect our freedom. They can't rewrite the laws or do a lot of things they would like to do. Writing a license is one thing that they actually can do, but... There is a software phenomenon with regards to the second release of anything. I could be wrong...but I think Fred Brooks wrote about it in the Mythical Man Month. It goes something like this: A programmer's first release of anything will tend to be leaner and better than the second release. While doing the first release, the programmer doesn't know what he doesn't know, and tends to play it close to the vest. With the second release, flushed with the knowledge of all he would like to have done in the first release, things that he didn't like in the first release, and just plain cool ideas, he starts working on something bigger, better, and more wonderful than the first time around. Except that...it's slower, buggier, and less usable than the first release. Shiny things on the horizon draw eyes off the priize. That's what I worry about. The GPLV2 wasn't the first GPL, but it might as well be. It's the first release to make a large impact on the IT world at large. The world certainly has changed since the license first came out, but the GPL has accomplished much good. Will second release syndrome cause the FSF to reach for too much and, as a result, accomplish less than what they already have? Will they remember that some things in life really aren't nails, no matter how much they wish it weren't so? I really don't know, but this stuff doesn't look good to me. |
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