redhat

And for those who are not "make menuconfig" and processor impaired,
there is always http://www.linuxfromscratch.org/ :-)

What has intrigued me most is, with most fairly modern distros
making the leap to gcc3, how important it is to make use of architecture
specific optimizations. The whole point was that with newer chip
architectures (P4, Athlon-XP, Xeon, and, for another thing
on my wish list to play with, Opteron), lowest-common
denominator binary distributions "dumb" down your nice
shiny new processor.

As a young padawan :-), I was told "Use the Source..."

Again, my shameless plug for my newfound distrubution gentoo,
this is core to their build process. Ports is one of those innovations
that makes the {Net/Open/Free}BSDs stand out.
and yes, I'm sure people remember painful days of downloading kernels
and source via diaulup, and processing it on P90's or worse.
Days and days. And wasted time if your compile failed, and you needed to
revisit your problem and start over.
But on my 2.66Ghz P4 (1Gb RAM), a kernel compile is <7 minutes. ;-)
even less if i don't have to remake modules, et alii.

My own painful experiences of trying to setup an up2date server,
to update disparate (6.2, 7.x, 8.x amd 9.0) RedHat systems,
reminded me some of the grief I've had supporting M$ products.

The name "RedHat" makes them sounds a bit more socialist than
they really are. Again, great Newspeak. ;-)
I do not begrudge them their desire to make money, pay bills,raise their
families, but that is different than some of the moves and changes that
RedHat has initiated in its drive for their branded and market-saavy
self-appointed stewardship.

My bent is a bit more philosophical, in that, ideally, control of the
computing process/system, should not belong to any one single entity.
Again, I like the idea of FreeBSD maintainers over Monarchs, but
Linus so far has been an enlightened dictator. :-P

Arguments about the resiliency of the system alone should substantiate
the argument about decentralized and non-authoritarian stewardship of
major bodies of code. I like what blender did in its drive for both
commercial and technical excellence http://www.blender.org/bf/deal.html
OK, it could be spun that they are "ransoming" the open-source nature
of their "product", but taking their work-product as a "work of art",
which good code is, a one-time fee for that work of art to then be
shared with the world I think is a workable compromise.
I think if a programmer can pay his bills, and write the code they
really want to be coding, only good things can come of this.

I know RedHat has deals with IBM, and alot of large scale commercial
companies that have a serious investments in linux. Linux is the
battleground, as SCO has most readily gone to war to command. One of
standing pet peeves is of Cisco's use of VRRP, and how patented and/or
proprietary code creeps into "standards", and subverts the whole RFC
process. Life is too short for me to write the novel to explain why
there is a seperate layer in Purgatory, where senior Microsoft-level
executives can expiate their sins. (remember the scene in "Dogma" with
the Mooby-franchise execs? Kevin Smith is a genius.)

I think RedHat, in "enterprising" their product line, and EOL'ing their
products so quickly, are guilty of the same unilateral decision-making
that makes Microsoft, Network Solutions, Cisco,
Name-Your-Favorite-Evil-Multinational-Conglomerate, dangerous to
the standards making process.

RedHat should provide it to educational institutions free, in
perpetuity, because the branding game plays well for them.
Apple and Microsoft learned quickly how it pays to give
software to schools to "hook" people on their architectures.
Microsoft is doing the same now with C#, their response
to the Java Community Process. And I know, once they get
everyone to product test and develop code for their for
free, they will shrink wrap it and try to sell it back
to them. There is an obvious logical error in this method
of production and distribution.

I look at this is as an issue about the control of a language,
a medium of exchange, a method of communication, a protocol.
If someone can control what words you can use (like, `its not "global
warming", its "climate change"`... 1984 Newspeak thought crime)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newspeak
http://www.disinfopedia.org/wiki.phtml?title=Doublespeak
well, then you really are a made a slave by the machine.

The internet is a great leveling force in mass communication.
Whether it breaks down walls of tyranny, or lays low the meek,
is the gist of my Manichean-like diatribe/rambling.
http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/heresy03.htm

I didn't realize how this suddenly became so long, and preachy. ;-)

I really like the news I have heard around the world of state supported
and sanctioned open-source software and hardware projects.
Well, the U.S. has http://www.nsa.gov/selinux/
Any sarcasm perceived or implied is strictly left to the imagination
of the gentle reader. ;-)

------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following was automatically added to this message by the list server:

For information about Micronet, including subscribing to
or unsubscribing from its mailing list and finding out
about upcoming meetings, please visit the Micronet Web site:
<http://micronet.berkeley.edu/>.
Received on Wed Dec 3 19:15:16 2003