Article speaks for itself.
http://technocrat.net/d/2008/1/10/33518
X^[]
I this on BBC world news last night - I was disappointed that mega-corporations do not always have the best intentions in mind - but at least the children are getting a computer and a future.
man, thats just sad. 
==on a side note it lets you get a glimpse of the future, where someone has to reinvent the computer (or create a new one without any! desire to make money out of it) from ground up using the fsf model or a better one.==
of course im not really shocked, i kinda expected something like that. we live in a material world like madonna used to sing, its natural to cover expenses. but yeah, it kinda still sucks.
It’s a threat Microsoft can’t let stand: the entire third world learning Linux as children, and growing up to use it. And Microsoft is going to get its way.
haha! that is the most idiotic statment I have ever heard… If you want to make someone a die hard windows fan, just force them to use Linux for a week or two.
Drank the kool-aid too much?
Martin
I don’t know the dude that wrote the article but he didn’t quite get his facts straight.
The law suit thing wasn’t a real biggy… just some nigerian company sueing cause they say they had the keyboard design… I mean… nigerian… yah
But olpc does seem to have a hard time. One of the main devs has sorta started a company of her own http://www.pixelqi.com/ And they’re aiming for a $75.- laptop.
In all honesty… the fact that olpc got people rattled a bit is good… Apparently its a gap in the market that may need filling… which, hey… isn’t a bad thing.
Bruce Perens is a notable Debian developer.
Very sad turn of events.
well generally i try to stay out of this kinda discussions but this time i will say, for a few good years i have been giving linux a try kinda like, when it’s yet again the time to make a format, you know? about every year or so, that is, and install linux for a day again, then reinstall windows again, and in the beginning of 2007, i did it again, and for some reason, i just didn’t want to go back to windows, as there was nothing wrong with linux, and the small annoyances in windows had really gotten way to annoying, finally.
anyway’s works for me… 
and to be honest, if you actually really compare the os’s and not some 3’rd party developed software running on the os, then TBH linux wins, no hands used so-to-say.
so yeah, ive been a happy user of linux for a year now.
I think Apple made an offer for this too at one point but were turned down on the hardware front.
As for Windows vs Linux, they can both gain from this and this gain is in no way beneficial to the cause so which is really the more ethical choice?
What I don’t understand are statements like this:
“The folks I have the most sympathy for are those students who might have been offered a way to take control of their own destiny, and make their nation self-sufficient for the IT infrastructure they need to participate in worldwide trade.”
Microsoft are taking away the destiny of these poor children by not forcing them to use Linux in a world where 90%+ of the world’s computers run, uh Windows. How will they survive the incompatibility?
You can’t get any Adobe software for Linux so what about teaching things like Photoshop, Premiere or After Effects?
As much as I dislike Windows/Microsoft and the way they try to dominate everything, I think in this case it’s simply the best option for the recipients if they are to have any chance of gaining valuable skills and not just downloading porn and scamming the hell out of ebay.
That wasn’t meant to stereotype Linux users btw, but you have to admit that the philosophy of the Linux platform is that everything is or should be free. If something isn’t free then to comply with the philosophy, you have two options: copy it and make that free or steal it. Add extreme poverty to that equation and it will always be one of those.
Commercial operating systems at least encourage users to accept that some software is free and some is not and that both are perfectly acceptable.
As soon as Linux becomes a commercially viable platform for developers through standardization, these debates won’t even be considered. For that to happen, you guys need to start buying software. I’d like to ask how many Linux users have ever paid for a piece of software? If you have, how much did you pay and how regular are your software purchases?
Once Linux becomes financially sound from a developer’s perspective, the support will come all on its own. Support from hardware vendors to support medical equipment and 3rd party devices like webcams. Support from software vendors to run things like all the children’s learning software that’s out there and higher end graphics software.
There’s a reason why this will never be free. The last Adobe CS suite revision took around 16 million lines of code changes in the space of say 2-3 years. If you consider that Blender is one of the most coherent open source developments and in its entirety is around a million lines of code - at best 100,000 LOC changes a year, that kind of feat just couldn’t be pulled off in a disjointed development community.
So I’d say to ensure that Linux is always the number one choice, you have to get rid of the problems. Pick one distro and make it clear where this distro comes from. Standardize the core OS components for media support and driver/device support. Provide adequate documentation for this so that developers know what to do.
All that’s really needed is an open source version of OS X. If you saw the amount of people who go to the Mac forums and say can they just run OS X on a PC. That’s what people want. A simple OS with easy installers and no hassle and decent compatibility on cheap hardware. Google are doing this with their g-phone.
It’s just a single standard OS to take on Symbian and Windows mobile and the reason they can succeed is because of that simplicity and standardization. Who knows, maybe they will develop a single standard desktop OS - OS X runs on the iphone so maybe it’ll be the same gphone OS. Given Google’s advertising links, I probably wouldn’t want it though - they’re talking about cheaper calls using advertising already. That’s all we need, popups on the move with those stupid talking smilies shouting from your pocket.
When commercial companies are taking open source unix cores and building single distros that are more popular than Linux, which as a package has been around much longer then something is fundamentally wrong with the way the open source community is handling Linux.
Windows has Microsoft behind it, OS X has Apple, gphone OS has Google. What commercial organization or standards body is behind Linux? The Free Software Foundation? Linus? There needs to be a certain level of control and stability to balance out the chaos of absolute freedom.
At least if the machines are dual-boot, they can decide for themselves which OS suits their needs better but like Mmph says Linux may actually drive them to use Windows. I’ve certainly had better experiences with Windows myself for the simple reason that it’s about the software at the end of the day - the OS itself is largely transparent.
Well, i don’t really agree with that, and i know for a fact that many Linux users besides me also don’t mind commercial software, on the contrary there are many who for an example would love to have PhotoShop natively on their Linux boxes.
And obviously they would be ready to pay for it if it only would exist for linux.
And in no way is Linux’s philosophy that all software should be free, now your just mixing Linux up with GNU Hurd(though i wouldn’t be surprised if ninja Richard Stallman would now suddenly jump out from somewhere and kick my ass for accusing Hurd in such a way). 
good news tbqh
A friend working on Maya told to me that the code base is so huge that no one knows what’s going on, and new coders just keep adding to the snowball.
Why should I pay for a software? Regardless what you want to believe, it sounds ridiculous. Let’s buy Anger, and please stop stealing my ideas.
Haha…now THAT is the most idiotic statement I’ve ever heard. Here’s a tip for the future though, next time you’re calling someone idiotic (or making a general statement regarding it) make sure you’re expressing fact and not your opinion…or you might be the one taken for the idiot.
I can run off at least 10 names of ppl I know that started out using windows then were introduced to linux and stuck with it. Hell damn near everyone that is using linux NOW, started out with windows. Linux is not for everyone…it does take common sense to use most distro’s of linux…which is something the majority of the people alive today lack. For others its more the control they get FROM running linux instead of windows. To each his own. But statements like yours are founded in personal experience, and shouldn’t be expressed as truth.
OH…and for the record. People being intorduced to linux first and grow up knowing only linux would be a big slap in the face to microsoft. The only thing microsoft has over linux is the unlimited amount of distro’s of linux…which to most people attempting to switch for the first time is the most intimidating part of linux…which one to pick? Everything else belongs to linux. Don’t have your fav program in linux? Do what everyone else that came before you did…code your own, or ask someone that shares the same interest to code it. But those are the only real downsides to linux. Picking one to work with (when you know nothing about it), and not having an essential program with cross platform capabilities
How long did it take you to learn blender? I’m going to assume longer than a week or two. And I can almost garuntee that if you used any other 3d software prior to blender…that first 2-3 weeks was almost enough to get you to go back for good.
*Makes arrangements to send Mmph! to /dev/null
Ha, ha.
This article is dripping with hate for Microsoft, which makes me highly doubt its credibility.
I use Windows and Internet Explorer though I have nothing against Linux or Firefox. The only reason I don’t use Linux is because it can’t run the majority of the software I use. If it could run Windows software I would use it because I hear it runs more efficiently then Windows. However, I still wouldn’t hate Microsoft.
Linux users do buy software.
Myself, I bought Moho (before it was acquired by a bigger company and tripled in price).
At work I use a Flint, (which runs on linux).
Then there’s Maya on Linux.
The list goes on.
Thing is, if the software is useful enough, I will honour whatever license the software developers choose to release it under (as long as I have the money.) If Adobe somehow saw the light and released AE and/or Flash for linux, I would probably buy it (although I think it is overpriced), because it is good and useful software.
I used to use windows because at the time it was my best option for what I wanted to do. (…and yes at the time bought all the graphics software I used for my business) Nowdays I use linux, not because it’s free, but because it’s better.
Same with blender. I used to use MAX, but got sick of constant updates that didn’t have much in them and found that the prices they were charging didn’t add up to what they delivered. Now I use Blender, not because it’s free, but because it’s better. It has better support (thanks BA), faster development and is basically more stable and useful.
It really sounds strange to hear blender users arguing against open source.
Blendroid: That sounds fair and reasonable. I just want to point out that the chip on the average Linux users’ shoulder about MS generally stems from the view that they have used various tactics over the years which seem to involve using their monopoly to shore up there position as the default OS supplier. i.e. a lot of people use windows not because it’s the best OS, but because it’s the default OS. That really bugs some people.
e.g. I’m in the market for a laptop right now. In my country there are no suppliers who will sell you a laptop with Linux on it, or even with no OS on it. MS have made deals with all the major suppliers (outside of Apple, of course) that their laptops will all be sold with Windows preinstalled. So basically I have to buy a copy of Windows, just to replace it with the OS I actually want.
It’s annoying. I don’t HATE Microsoft, I’m just annoyed by them.
Yea yea yea,
I have been using Unix since the late 70’s… its illegitimate little brother Linux is pretty cool and all, but it still has a long way to go before I would start recommending it to serious people.
We use Linux in a production environment at work, and if everything is working it is nice. But when things go wrong, or we get new hardware, or it is time to update our software it is a complete nightmare every time.
For Collage students it is great! For enthusiasts is is nice too… You can do lots of things with it. It is growing by leaps and bounds every day.
But that dose not change the fact that it is still half baked, and you get much better driver support overall in windows. It takes a 10th of the time to train people to use windows, and there is much, much more software for it.
With the exception of compiz/beryl/fusion… and Cinlerra, I can run all the cool application’s for Linux in windows.
The only person from our office that actually uses Linux on his home system is my boss. Even our IT guy runs Windows, and OSX at home.
As soon as I am forced to switch to Vista, I am thinking of switching over to linux. By then Zbrush should have a linux version, so I should be right at home.
I give it about 5 years, and I bet we start seeing linux taken seriously on the “average persons” desktop. But right now it is just one big pain in the ass to get things done with.
@social,
Yea I heard the bit bucket/ Black hole joke in the early 80’s it was pretty funny then.
The post I pulled this quote from had actually the oposite effect on me after reading the first one I replied to…now I’m starting to think you do know something about that which you talk.
However the quoted statement above was said about 1 1/2 years late. Linux has already been taken seriously as an alternative to windows. Why do you think, since Vista came out (thank god for that flop) that desktops are SOLD with linux being the only OS on them. If that’s not serious…I’m not sure what you want…maybe a copy of linux sitting next to windows at your local electronics stores…oh wait…its already there, and with FREE tech support…imagine that. Doesn’t windows charge 35 dollars before you’re allowed an answer to any of your technical questions?
Your example of things never working right after changing hardware or software is right in line with what I was saying earlier. Learn the software…the ONLY issue I’ve EVER had with linux was actually with my home machine. No linux drivers for my nostromo…so I coded my own. Linux hackers also need to stop pushing out a new distro every time they desire new functionality. That way the companies that actually desired to make drivers for linux would be able to pick one they KNEW everyone was using instead of picking the one that has been downloaded the most, and coding for that cluster of distro’s. Because lets face it…just because a code works for ubuntu doesn’t mean if you pop it into redhat it’s going to run, unless the coder knew what the hell he was doing. My nostromo hack is proof of that.
Last time I heard, DELL was selling a few systems to the general masses, BUT it had docked tech support, and by installing your own drivers you voided your warranty on some components.
You cant really blame them either, Nvidia is supposed to have the best linux drivers around, but it is still possible for you to set your refresh rate improperly and fsck up your monitor. In windows, they have a safety , it is still possible to set them wrong, but you have to go out of your way, and you get a warning before it goes into effect.
Recently i saw that Shuttle, and a couple of others are joining into the linux game. They look like neat little systems. I might grab one for my kitchen.
Dunno, I have been eyeballing a mini-ITX system for the last year… I love the idea of no fans, or moving parts… the 12 second bootup time into puppy linux would make me giggle uncontrollably. It can run Zsnes, and MAME… plus brows the internet! man it would be perfect for the kitchen 
(I like to cook, and printing out recipes is a waste of ink and paper)
As far as my desktop is concerned though, If anyone uninstalls my windows X64, they are going to have a major fight on their hands
Mmph: Noone is proposing to break in to your house and uninstall your software.
It is of no importance to me what software you choose. What is important to me is that we all have the right to choose.
The annoying situation of mandatory preinstalled Windows (and yes I know about Dell and the others, but they are restricting their supply to certain countries) is just one example of the right to choose being restricted by a software monopoly. Fortunately it is slowly changing.