Original Advogato Article (2002)

Posted by garym on Sat, 03/03/2007 - 17:59
Barnraising your IT
Posted 16 May 2002 at 16:18 UTC by garym

When people buy a software product, they say they get a sense of security they say is missing from opensource and free software. Not only is this myth-information at it's worst, but it also betrays an old-world thinking that misses the point of open source software.

There's a common argument against open source software which is typified by the following quote:

... free software is sometimes not very well maintained. I buy the Eudora package from Qualcomm so I can feel justified in complaining to them when a bug needs fixing, for example, rather than using the free version.

With all due respect to the author, this Eudora story is missing the point, it's spreading un-called-for FUD, and at best betraying an "old-world" way of looking at our software ownership.

There is only we

Ok, this is advogato, so I'm preaching to the converted to some degree, but bear with me. There's a point which a lot of us need to take home from this, and one which many of those seeking to "make money from free software" seem to miss: Free software is not about selling a service, it is about a community activity, a shared commons. If some software we are using is broken, or needs work, like any commons, it is our failing, not a failing of the "vendor".

There is no "vendor" in this world, there is only "we".

That the users don't participate, that is the crime, that is the sad omission. We are so accustomed to being sold to, we don't recognize when a neighbour comes up to shake our hand.

Helping the Helpers  read more »

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Flashback: Prime Time Linux

Posted by garym on Sat, 11/04/2006 - 11:19

From the backpages of Linux.com, January 13, 2000; so tell me, was I right, or what.

What are our prospects for Linux in the mainstream market? Are we closing in on the days of Linux in "prime time?" I happen to think it is inevitable, but before you rush out to buy more shares, I'll add a caveat that, for very real reasons that may even be natural laws, it may not happen as soon as we might hope....

[ via Linux.com Article DB: Prime Time Linux - 1/1 ]

Microsoft Formally Confesses: Windows was Crap

Posted by garym on Tue, 06/13/2006 - 11:35

For over a decade I had told people that the Windows operating system was never intended to be used on a network computer, that it was dangerous and irresponsible to do so. I was told this first in 1989 by a Microsoft engineer sent to school us about Windows 3.x, and again beta-testing Win95; I've seen the quote in print several times since then, clearly saying "Not recommended for Untrusted Connections" -- Did anyone listen to me?

Not to my knowledge, no. And here now today, believe it or not, Microsoft is coming clean about the whole thing, confessing their incompetence and finally formally retracting that code base which has seduced and frauded us into our virus laden reality of modern computing. Or maybe it's just a money-grab stunt to scaremonger the tardy into dropping another grand or two to upgrade into the newest bestest next pot of similarly 'expert-crafted' OS wares. Am I making this up? Nope, sorry:

Microsoft said it wasn't feasible to make extensive changes to eliminate a security vulnerability since the underlying architecture of Windows Explorer for older versions of Windows is much less robust, wrote Christopher Budd, a program manager with Microsoft's security response center.

"Due to these fundamental differences, these changes would require reengineering a significant amount of a critical core component of the operating system," Budd said.
[ via PCWorld.com - Users of Aged Windows Face Risk ]

read it again. louder. and as of July 11, Microsoft says they wash their hands of the whole scam, no fixes, no apologies, no reimbursements, just cut it loose, wave goodbye, so long suckers, and move on to new game.

Drupal: The Book

Posted by garym on Sun, 05/28/2006 - 09:28

So ... you want a website like this one, do you? Well, at long last, now you don't have to be ringing me up late-night to beg or bribe advice, you can just buy the book and enjoy the adventure yourself ...

Written by David Mercer, this book is a complete guide to every aspect of creating a variety of different websites using Drupal. The book has been written against the latest release v4.7.

Packt are big supporters of open source and are keen to support the Drupal project in more ways than just publishing a book on the subject. Therefore, as part of their Open Source Royalty Program, the project will receive a percentage of every book sold.
[ via Drupal: Creating Blogs, Forums, Portals, and Community Websites ]

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