Monthly Archives: November 2006
Linux On Laptops Myths
Random Abyss has an article on the Top 5 Linux On Laptop Myths. Good information there for anyone considering loading Linux on their new laptop. Most interesting to me was the bit about Dell’s warranty: If you buy a Dell notebook and run Linux on it, does Dell’s hardware warranty still apply? Absolutely. You’ll need to demonstrate you’re having a hardware problem using the Dell Diagnostics CD. Will Dell (today) provide full Linux software support for that system? No. You’ll be counting on a community support model for software issues, but many people are already a part of that global community and it suits them just fine. Ubuntu’s Hardware Support list, Linux-Dell-Laptops at Yahoo!, tuxmobil, and other sites noted at http://linux.dell.com/desktops.shtml demonstrate a vibrant user community and a development model radically different than the “full vendor support” model we use for servers and workstations, but one that fits the needs (and cost sensitivity) of this… Read more
The Satisficer’s Manifesto
Modern life is organized around economic principles and the current dominant principle is consumerism; in which the act of accumulating, not the object, is supposed to create satisfaction, and is based on the assumption that one can (and should) have the best of everything…. Read more
Becoming Our Own Ideal Adult
There is a period in everyone’s childhood when we begin to look for the notice and approval of some older, adult person. We want them to be impressed by us, to see the seriousness and validity of ourselves and our thoughts, and to engage us as adults. Most of our adolescence is spent thinking of, at least subconsciously, this ideal adult…. Read more
Bruce Perens Says Linux Infringes MS Patents
In an open letter to Novell’s CEO, Bruce Hovsepian, Bruce Perens dismisses Hovespian’s statement, made in his own open letter, that Novell does not agree with Microsoft’s assertion that Linux users are infringing on Microsoft’s intellectual property by saying: Let’s be truthful about software patents: there can be no non-trivial computer program, either proprietary or Free, that does not use methods that are claimed in software patents currently in force and unlicensed for use in that program. He then goes on to say: Several years ago, attorney Daniel Ravicher, now of the Software Freedom Law Center, reported finding 283 patents with claims that could read on the Linux kernel. That kernel represents only a few percent of the overall collection of software in Novell/SuSE Linux. It is likely that there are many thousands of unlitigated potential infringements within the entire Novell system. Only a minority of those patents are owned by Microsoft, your recent agreement does nothing… Read more
Ethical Objections To Rangel’s Proposal
When I wrote earlier of the immorality and unconstitutionality of the proposed draft, I was questioned by an astute reader as to why I did not include the word “unethical” in my list of negatives…. Read more
Rangel Misses The Mark
Rep. Rangel has recently reintroduced his bill to reinstate the draft, saying that: “There’s no question in my mind that this president and this administration would never have invaded Iraq, especially on the flimsy evidence that was presented to the Congress, if indeed we had a draft, and members of Congress and the administration thought that their kids from their communities would be placed in harm’s way”… Read more
Novell Responds to Microsoft, Groklaw FUD
Linux Watch, always on top of things, has a piece on the Open Letter to the Community from Novell that was released yesterday in response to the growing brouhaha over the Microsoft/Novell agreement. Not wasting time, the letter states: “Our agreement with Microsoft is in no way an acknowledgment that Linux infringes upon any Microsoft intellectual property. To claim otherwise is to further sow fear, uncertainty and doubt, and does not offer a fair basis for competition. When we entered the patent cooperation agreement with Microsoft, Novell did not agree or admit that Linux or any other Novell offering violates Microsoft patents. We strongly object to the usage of our agreement to suggest that members of the Linux community owe Microsoft any remunerations.” It seems to me that the uproar over this agreement is less about whether or not Novell is becoming another SCO and more about opening another front in the GPL v3 holy war. It is interesting to note how much of the criticism of… Read more
What You Can Learn From Hunting
In our daily lives, whether at our jobs or in our homes, we are so bombarded with distractions, that even our “quiet time” is packed full of things that refuse to let go of our attention, to be part of the background. We may not realize it, but we spend almost all of our time in a state of distraction, of dissipation. If you don’t believe me, go spend an entire day in a remote forest. No laptop, no cell phone, no mp3 player. Just you and the forest…. Read more
More Asshattery From The Google Mail Team
I have written before about the crappy response from Google I got when I tried to reclaim my misappropriated gmail account. Eventually they (supposedly) disabled the account instead of trying to help me. How do I know? Because I followed their instructions as outlined on their own blog, and here is the response I get: Your message To: security@google.com Cc: gmail-abuse@google.com Subject: Cannot access Gmail account Sent: Sat, 14 Oct 2006 03:31:34 -0800 was deleted without being read on Mon, 13 Nov 2006 20:29:55 -0800 Final-Recipient: RFC822; cory@exchange.corp.google.com Disposition: automatic-action/MDN-sent-automatically; deleted X-MSExch-Correlation-Key: LHJry58TnUS80y9EIQVeNw== Original-Message-ID: <2853.82.14.87.44.1160825494.squirrel@64.20.42.194> It took them two months to delete the email without reading it, only a month longer than it took to supposedly close the account…. Read more
The Ballmer FUD Machine Revs Up
According to Computerworld, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer Thursday declared his belief that the Linux operating system infringes on Microsoft’s intellectual property. “Novell pays us some money for the right to tell customers that anybody who uses SUSE Linux is appropriately covered,” Ballmer said. This “is important to us, because we believe every Linux customer basically has an undisclosed balance-sheet liability.” The Novell/Microsoft deal continues to… Read more