[Reader-list] .Net / Hailstorm Initiative

[Pankaj Kaushal]

On Fri, Jul 06, 2001 at 03:18:32AM +0200, Menso Heus wrote:
>On Thu, Jul 05, 2001 at 03:29:04PM +0530, pankaj at sarai.net wrote:
>
><snip>

>I didn't say it was hard to install, I said that, for the average 
>Joe Blow it would be hard thing to get everything working the way
>(Phone being the player, phoning being the content).

Most (if not all) things work on linux . The Hardware that does not
work is obiviously from vendors who don't think opensource people 
should use there hardware. Earlier when I wanted to install Linux and 
a particular h/w is givin me problems What I do was change the hardware
and make sure to tell *others* about it and to ignore it and use some 
alternative that works. 

>Correct, drivers are often not available. Blame it on the manufacturer
>if you want, but that's not Joe Blow's problem. Joe Blow only sees that
>it doesn't work and Joe Blow wants things to work. 

Slowly as the user's will increase the h/w vendors will realise the 
market and things will start working.

till then joe blow *who wishes to use linux* can ask the Local Linux Guru
about what h/w to buy for his linux box.

>The question I was trying to raise was not whether it's an 'experimental
>OS that kids play with' but whether it's suitable as a desktop OS for 
>Joe Blow.

We need enough Joe Blow to give back complaints.

What you don't understand here is Linux does not work on the philosophy 
that all the *hackers* are here to work for Mr Joe Blow and his Desktop PC.
and to make sure that every thing works.It works on the philosophy of give
and take If Joe Blow tells on the *kernel mailing list* that this dos'nt work
I'm sure some one will take a weekend to try and sort it out.

>There *is* no opensource streaming format that can compete with Windows Media
>Player or even Real. This is not a question of monopoly or whatever other 
>anti-payware slogan you want to use, it simply does not exist.

Then Why don't you try to contact people who think the same and want to do
something about it. Try to attract attention of *hackers* who are comming to 
HAL and see what happens . 


People who run Linux machines, who code for GNU and who do publicity
are not responsible for Joe Blows problem but If Joe tries to be a part
of the community and help them do his work maybe things would work out.

I was once like Joe myself :) .

<snip>
>For some reason people started saying Office 2k would be XML compliant, I didn't ever
>see MS make this claim. They use a new XML like structure for all their office 2k

I never said that MS was comatible with XML its Not. And the point is Why Not?
When an open Standard exists then why use something that is slightly different
then the standard.

Clearly the reason is to capture the users *who don't know the underlaying tech*
into that ring. Software based on closed technologies is like a virus. If you want
to share content with ur friends they have to buy that technology too.

Its like saying You can Not share the apples that you buy with your friends just
because I own the apple tree and I will decide who eats apples.


>documents so that they are easily interchangeable with other office 2k programs
>(e.g. from word to excell to powerpoint without losing anything). 
>Thus, their goal was not to make an XML compliant application (whether or not 

Yes, Thats what I am saying out loud  there goal was not to make it compatible
with XML. because they don't want an open technology reaching the users. 


>Thus, they never claimed that the output of Office 2k programs would be things 
>compatible to the XML standard and anybody saying "when you produce a html with 
>word 2000 it produces XML" are obviously no up to date on the facts.
>If they continue with "and Obiviously it is Incompatible with every other XML
>parser" they are right, since it's *not* XML and nobody ever claimed it was.

oke it was my mistaque to call it XML its something that looks like XML.
but the point is not technical at all the point is not that if it is XML or not
the point is Why Not?

ok  MS has all the right in the world to use whatever and write there software 
 how they want to write it. 

But Joe Blow also has the right to know what is happenning. but normally Joe
dos'nt know.

The point is not wether Linux is a better Desktop OS then windows.
neither it is that MS is evil.


-- 
X Windows:	Don't get frustrated without it.
................................
 Pankaj Kaushal <pankaj at fig.org>
 Proud to use GNU <www.gnu.org>