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Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> espoused:
> __/ [ Mark Kent ] on Thursday 07 December 2006 14:46 \__
>
>> begin oe_protect.scr
>> Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> espoused:
>>> __/ [ Roy Schestowitz ] on Thursday 07 December 2006 13:13 \__
>>>
>>>> PlayStation 3 support now standard in Linux 2.4
>>>>
>>>> ,----[ Quote ]
>>>> | Sony-contributed patches aimed at adding machine-specific features
>>>> | for the PlayStation 3 (PS3) have been merged into the stable 2.4.20
>>>> | kernel tree. The patches should greatly simplify maintaining Linux
>>>> | kernels for the PS3, which is already supported under Linux by at
>>>> | least one distribution.
>>>> `----
>>>>
>>>> http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS6521115697.html
>>>
>>> Kernel patches from Sony also reach the 2.6 kernel:
>>>
>>>
> http://git.kernel.org/git/?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git;a=commit;h=f58a9d171a346afb1b09190427e6c28c6118703e
>>>
>>> I think that Microsoft made a mistake by competing with Sony. Linux has
>>> just earned a new super-wealthy friend. They use Linux in other products
>>> too, e.g. the Mylo.
>>
>> Hence the terror we see around here, I suppose :-). It would appear
>> that Sony have fully understood the potential value of linux to
>> themselves, and are acting accordingly. The only companies which should
>> be afraid of such progress are those whose models are based on vendor
>> locks, as open-source us busy undoing all the locks.
>> Tivoisation/Novellisation is trying to fight back, but I cannot see
>> either approach being successful, and I think we need to see the GPL3
>> adopted in a form all stakeholders are happy with in order to prevent
>> those two threats.
>
> Yes, even Sun (yes, SUN!) has decided to embrace GPLv3. They evolve. They
> seek to improve. To be honest with you, seeing Microsoft's interest in the
> OLPC project after they aggressively ridiculed it makes me wonder if
> Microsoft will embrace true Open Source within a few years. Never say never.
> Think GPL Java, Microsoft-Novell, Red Hat-Oracle....
Oh, make no mistake about this, Microsoft have no choice but to adopt
open-source, it's the only way that they can survive. If you take a
look around, you'll note that almost every major proprietary vendor is
involved in open-source in some way - the ones which are not will soon
have to be. How do you compete with free?
The OLPC project could well be the most dangerous thing to happen to
Microsoft since the GPL was invented - I'm not sure anyone's really
clocked the significance of it, but it's got linux *pre-installed*.
This is a critical point, something which Microsoft have worked
incredibly hard to prevent happening by bribing and threatening the
OEMs, but this time, their approach was all wrong - for the first time
ever, they completely missed the importance of it, instead of embracing
and extending OLPC, they tried to dismiss it, ridicule it and publicly
slam it.
Now, Microsoft are in a complete panic; as OLPC goes out, millions of
children in the developing world will get their hands on a PC which will
boot linux. They will neither know nor care that it is windows, *but*,
they will not be getting hooked on the Microsoft drug. Microsoft are
now working hard on trying to undo the damage done by Bill Gates on
this, they've apparently managed to persuade the project to include an
SD slot in the PC, presumably so that Windows could be added later, as
it's unlikely to ever run in the kind of footprint which Linux can.
I strongly suspect that Microsoft will dump millions of SD cards with
Windows on into the countries which have these PCs, in an effort to
fight back against the pre-installed linux. I also suspect that they'll
provide a binary image in downloadable form somewhere - perhaps on a
torrent or something. Of course, they'll hide it well, it'll be from
some unofficial source, and MS will claim that it's illegal and worth a
huge amount of money, in order to make it seem more appealing to those
who might try to download it - "illegal" downloaders will be given the
impression they're getting some amazingly valuable thing for free.
Microsoft will then be working on some way of "collecting" later.
>
> If that ever became a reality, Microsoft would have _a lot_ of catching up to
> do. More catching up than required at the moment after this abysmal product
> called Vista was released. IIRC, even Gates was appalled to discover what a
> resource hog it had become. And it's not even secure, which means more SPAM.
> It turns out that I'm not the only one who says he retired to escape
> shameful predctions... and things only get worse. SPAM is actually bringing
> down my sites now because the amounts are breaktaking. A friend of mine said
> she got over a million a month. The ISP is hopeless.
>
Vista is a castle on sand. It might have some aspects which look pretty,
but you can only redocorate your house so many times before the rotting
foundations collapse and the whole thing is lost. Windows Vista looks
much like that to me, another, perhaps final, round of decoration/refit
on a building which is going to be demolished within a couple of years.
The refit will not have significantly affected it's security weaknesses,
as they're the result of at least a decade of poor coding practice. The
solution here is to scrap the code-base and start again, but Microsoft
are hoping for a final round of lock-in before they have to get onto the
free software wagon.
--
| Mark Kent -- mark at ellandroad dot demon dot co dot uk |
Our business in life is not to succeed but to continue to fail in high spirits.
-- Robert Louis Stevenson
|
|
