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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| rgviza Apr 22, 2008 8:47 AM EDT |
But given that the Foundation pays Linus Torvalds and a couple of other key developers, one can't help but feel that there would just be that little bit of pressure on these kernel folk to satisfy their benefactor. ----------- They already try to make the kernel as useful as they can for everyone. They'd be doing this with or without the foundation. I'm pretty sure their goals haven't changed. Since they are getting paid to do it, it just means they get to do it full time, instead of in their spare time. One trip to kerneltrap.org and the mailing list will show you just how dedicated they are to solving the various hardware problems and kernel bugs that people find. They even make modifications and options to handle, for example, motherboards made with buggy southbridges such as the MCP-55. The fact they are handling things like chips that don't work right says a lot about their dedication to providing the most useful kernel possible. They could have said "get a motherboard that's not broken" if all they wanted to do was stuff that just interested them (or their employer) personally. -Viz |
| dumper4311 Apr 22, 2008 9:44 AM EDT |
That's not what this article is about. This author is pissed that the powers that be are ignoring his version of "freedom", and Linux is straying from what he considers to be "it's roots". He seems to have completely forgotten that since the code is free, he's still welcome to use and promote it in any way he chooses. It's just much easier to bash individuals that are actually using the code to serve the interests of software users, which I always thought was the WHOLE POINT of software in the first place. So much for "freedom". It's come to mean "free, as long as we approve of how you proceed". |
| theboomboomcars Apr 22, 2008 10:06 AM EDT |
I don't think I am following his logic very well. He says that the kernel developers don't care about desktop usage of the kernel and only pay attention big iron. But yet in this new release of the kernel one of the main points is a vast improvement for wireless networking. Somehow I don't think that that was for big iron, I could be wrong though... |
| number6x Apr 22, 2008 10:09 AM EDT |
the last big release had the scheduler re-written, resulting in multimedia improvements. |
| Bob_Robertson Apr 22, 2008 2:03 PM EDT |
Linus, in interviews, has pointed out that he first wrote Linux as a terminal program, that it's what he uses for his workstation, and that the "desktop" is where he has always used it. He doesn't own a server. The fact that Linux is as stable as an operating system can be, that it can be pared down to minimal configurations and therefore be exceptionally fast, that it has been _used_ on servers to fantastic success, just goes to show the flexibility of the system. Linux is not a "server" OS. It is a general purpose OS with an exceptionally wide range of effective use. As Dino has pointed out, refining the scheduler increases the functionality for both server and interactive use. |
| azerthoth Apr 22, 2008 6:27 PM EDT |
Quoting:So much for "freedom". It's come to mean "free, as long as we approve of how you proceed". Dumper, so true. This is why we have GPL3. |
| dumper4311 Apr 22, 2008 9:49 PM EDT |
@azerthoth: It would be more accurate to say "that's why we have the GPLv2". The controversial changes introduced in the GPLv3 are specifically about restricting the USE of free code. They do nothing to enhance or protect the freedom of the code, simply limit the ways it can be used. Specifically because it's supporters feel obligated to redefine "freedom" into something they approve of. Sadly, it's a natural outcropping of the attitude of entitlement we now see as being so prevalent in the "free" software community. While it's certainly everyones right to release their software under whatever restrictions they deem appropriate (just like Microsoft does), it's disappointing to see it promoted as "free" software, where "mostly free" is much more appropriate. I'm afraid that the GPLv2 was the last truly free license we'll see from the FSF, so long as they continue to enforce ideology rather than promote freedom. This is a very old argument, I won't waste any more of your time with it other than to say "be careful what you wish for". Personally, I'd hate to see the schism within "the community" widen any further, as the GPLv3 really isn't too bad. I just feel it's heading in the wrong direction, as is evidenced by the "those guys don't do things the way we think they should, and we're entitled to better than this" tone of the article we're commenting on here. |
| tracyanne Apr 22, 2008 11:26 PM EDT |
Quoting:They do nothing to enhance or protect the freedom of the code, simply limit the ways it can be used. Specifically because it's supporters feel obligated to redefine "freedom" into something they approve of. I think you fail to understand what the freedoms are that the GPLV2 implied, and which the GPLV3 spells out. There is certainly nothing about the GPLV3 that has any affect to deny any ordinary user, or downstream contributor, of that code any freedoms, the license does restrict certain business practices, which in and of themselves do restrict peoples freedoms to use the code. From where I sit GPLV3 rather seems to enhance my freedoms. If you want the sort of freedoms you seem to require of code, I suggest you use and release your code under a BSD license. |
| Sander_Marechal Apr 23, 2008 2:18 AM EDT |
Can we please not have yet another GPLv2 - GPLv3 - BSD three-way flamewar? This issue has been rehashed to death here. We all know where we stand individually. PS: Not that I consider your posts flames, but I can see this going downhill fast. |
| tracyanne Apr 23, 2008 3:24 AM EDT |
not another word from me then. |
| rijelkentaurus Apr 23, 2008 5:44 AM EDT |
Quoting: Can we please not have yet another GPLv2 - GPLv3 - BSD three-way flamewar? Discussions on this topic will continue to happen and they will need to continue to happen, and as you said there have been no flames yet. Can't be skeered of what might happen, and you can't avoid this discussion coming up a lot, it is a very important discussion within the FOSS world. |
| Sander_Marechal Apr 23, 2008 7:03 AM EDT |
Yeah, but they all boil down to what freedom means to you. Freedom of code or freedom of the user who's using the code. You can't argue taste :-) |
| rijelkentaurus Apr 23, 2008 7:15 AM EDT |
True, true. |
| gus3 Apr 23, 2008 7:42 AM EDT |
Quoting:You can't argue tasteI've tasted them. I decided I don't need that much fiber in my diet. |
| jdixon Apr 23, 2008 7:42 AM EDT |
> ...but I can see this going downhill fast. Gee that slope looks slippery. Whoops!... [Insert sound of person falling]... |
| dinotrac Apr 23, 2008 7:53 AM EDT |
FLAME ON!!!! GPL, BSD, MIT and ARTISTIC all suck. The only good license is a dead license. Why would free software types care about licenses? They're all Commies anyway, so everything belongs to everybody so long as everybody is the state's officials and all those not meeting that criterion are nobody and hence own nothing. And, while I'm at it -- shouldn't the Constitution be re-written in C#/.Net? The thing is too freakin' old to keep up with the times. The founders only used java because they refused to buy tea. |
| tuxchick Apr 23, 2008 7:56 AM EDT |
Puppies and kittens are tasty with a bit of curry, and oh so tender. |
| Bob_Robertson Apr 23, 2008 8:00 AM EDT |
"Some are anarchists, like Mr. Paine. Some are internationalists, like Dr. Franklin. But YOU? You are merely a rabble rouser. Your 'taxes are too high'. Well, sir, so are mine."
--- John Dickenson, 1776 |
| gus3 Apr 23, 2008 8:51 AM EDT |
@tc: I'll bring the Ewoks. |
| rijelkentaurus Apr 23, 2008 9:08 AM EDT |
Mmmmm....Ewoks...... |
| dinotrac Apr 23, 2008 12:03 PM EDT |
TC - Could use a good puppy recipe. Broke down a couple of months ago and bought a German Shepherd pup, fondly remembering my childhood dog. What I forgot is how freakin' rambunctious, curious, mischievous, and willful a Shep pup is. And, of course, he's 3 1/2 months old now, so he's also starting to g-r-o-w. I thought my daughter's pug pups were bad -- he's definitely more mellow than they are, but he's bigger than both of them put together and that equals a handful. Hope I survive til he grows up. |
| rijelkentaurus Apr 23, 2008 12:11 PM EDT |
When I was growing up my oldest sister had a gigantic Great Dane...it was so wild and clumsy as a puppy, yet so gentle, docile and graceful as a fifty-foot tall adult (seriously, it was big even for a Dane)...do the Shepherds grow into something along those lines or do they maintain the strong will? |
| tuxchick Apr 23, 2008 12:22 PM EDT |
heh, my little Layla pup is 13 weeks old. The world is her chew toy, especially big brother. Rambunctious is definitely the word of the day- little bugger has endless energy. Very good for obsessive computer geeks who don't get up out of the chair enough on their own. She's some kind of border collie mix- I suspect some Australian shepherd, and she looks like she's going to be a big girl. Not like the typical little black and white cow dogs that maybe hit 30 pounds in a rainstorm, but more like 45- 50 pounds. What was the topic again? |
| dumper4311 Apr 23, 2008 12:44 PM EDT |
Ewoks, I think. |
| rijelkentaurus Apr 23, 2008 12:57 PM EDT |
Curried Ewoks, wasn't it? |
| Bob_Robertson Apr 23, 2008 1:02 PM EDT |
I saw StarWars ep.6 recently for the first time in a decade, and By Cromm! I'd forgotten just how annoying Ewoks are.... Even my 5-year old was offended. |
| tracyanne Apr 23, 2008 2:05 PM EDT |
MMFFMMUhFF- Trying not to say anything. |
| jdixon Apr 23, 2008 2:42 PM EDT |
> Could use a good puppy recipe. http://distro.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/distributions/puppylinux... Download and burn to CD. :) |
| jdixon Apr 23, 2008 2:44 PM EDT |
> What was the topic again? Topic? We have topics??? Why does no one tell me these things. Oh, that's right someone did. What was his name again?.... |
| dinotrac Apr 23, 2008 3:35 PM EDT |
>do the Shepherds grow into something along those lines or do they maintain the strong will? I'd say the answer is yes. It's very important to socialize them properly as they grow up, and to demonstrate clearly just who's in charge. However, properly raised adults are wonderful, obedient, intelligent and fearless dogs. My boyhood dog always kept a mischievous streak and had to get out for a good run in the field now and then, but absolutely mellowed nicely. |
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