Happy 15th Birthday Linux 117
An anonymous reader writes "It's 15 years already! On August 25th, 1991 Linus Torvalds submitted the famous message to comp.os.minix: 'Hello everybody out there using minix — I'm doing a (free) operating system (just a hobby, won't be big and
professional like gnu) for 386(486) AT clones. This has been brewing
since april, and is starting to get ready. I'd like any feedback on
things people like/dislike in minix, as my OS resembles it somewhat
(same physical layout of the file-system (due to practical reasons)
among other things)' Happy Birthday Linux!"
Well, that's great (Score:5, Funny)
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First usable version of Windows? (Score:5, Funny)
I don't expect the first usable version of Windows until 2022.
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I get nasty bluescreens once or twice a week. Not only that, they are the type of bluescreen that automatically tries to fill all available disk space with a memory dump unless I hit the "power off" button real quick. Hardware support? Not bad, but I did recently get a printer that had drivers for 98 but did not work with XP. I find those every once in a while.
Re:First usable version of Windows? (Score:4, Insightful)
For every example you can throw out about Linux/Mac/Windows/etc being better, someone else can throw out a counter example thats every bit as valid.
Use whats best for you, and drop the fanatical fanboyism. Windows/Linux/Mac/PS3/360/Wii/whatever -- whats best for YOU isn't going to be best for EVERYONE and claiming it is just makes you look petty.
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If you are making a case for a certain situation, and the examples directly depict that situation, then the only "stupid" thing would be NOT to argue such examples.
"For every example you can throw out about Linux/Mac/Windows/etc being better, someone else can throw out a counter example thats every bit as valid."
Straw man. Where did I compare Windows' usability to anything else? I didn't. Feel free to go off on some unrelated tangent about fanboy wars. Oh wait.... you
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Example/counter-example arguments based on personal experiences an opinions almost always end up with "my opinion is more valid than your opinion because I think more of myself than you."
Its petty and stupid REGARDLESS of what you're arguing, it just shows up more often with the windows/mac/linux and Wii/PS3/360 topics.
Everything Sucks (Score:2)
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Re:Wonky drivers (Score:2)
unless I use the kX Project open source drivers. Creative drivers make games bluescreen
shortly after starting.
I have seen XP crash randomly outside of those problems, though. You can't always pin
down the fault. Sometimes it's bad hardware, sometimes Windows responds badly to me
switching off both my firewire and USB external drives (BSOD, even if I haven't been
writing to those drives for hours). WinXP still needs nurturing t
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Re:First usable version of Windows? (Score:4, Insightful)
FWIW, it was Slackware, and whatever the latest version was in about 98. I await the "well try a n00b distro like Ubuntu" - well, sorry, I can't be bothered any more. I use Ubuntu a bit at work, and it's very nice, but at home I'm passed caring because XP does the job for me. Back in 98 I found it fun to use my computer pretty much for the sake of using my computer, which is why I wanted to try Linux, but now I just want to use some apps and get things done, and Windows suits me just fine in that regard.
Anyway you're (all) missing my point, which wasn't to bash Linux exactly, but just to that this "OMG ROFL Winblowz Sux0rz!" attitude is really not +5 funny because it's quite obviously wrong. You guys saw 98 bluescreen seven years ago. That's great. But I failed to get X to load seven years ago. Now, when I come along and offer that silly (and admittedly completely trivial one-data-point) anecdote, you're falling over yourselves to dismiss it. (With cheap personal attacks on my level of computer competence no less. No, I'm not "learning the computer", I've been programming since I was 6.) But when you come along and harp on the same old judgements based on 7 year old Windows, it's +5 moderation all the way.
That was my essential point. Not a "this OS is better than yours" thing - just saying ungrounded MS-bashing as a quick route to popularity around here is pretty lame.
Like you say - both Windows and Linux are decent OSes these days. Why is that? Because both have come a long way since 1998, or, to get back to where we started - since 1991.
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Basically, there are things to justifiably bash MS for. Biggest on my horizon is the creeping DRM, which may well be the factor that does eventually persuade me to bother switching to Linux. So, focus on those genuine issues, and you might persuade people. But come out with nonsense, like suggesting Windows has made no improvement between v3.0 and XP, and it just undermines your credibility.
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"Actually, I did try, thank you very much: I spent about a week on it IIRC. I also asked for help on the interwebs, although I didn't get anything more helpful than "RTFM n00b" type remarks."
This is definitely an area where general linux has improved considerably since '98. It's rare to see 'RTFM N00b' on a forum/mailing list nowadays.
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Now, I'm a linux-user myself, but I can see how trying to get X running on Slackware could be a daunting task NOW, not to mention 8 years ago. Incidentally, I tried Slackware first myself, and was extremely annoyed with it. I was ready to give up on Linux and go back to WinME (See why I wanted Linux?) when a friend suggested I try Debian. I did, and it was MUCH easier. As a matter of fact, it's my main system today.
Bah. Statistic of one. (Score:3, Interesting)
The bluescreened daughter (Score:1)
Don't tell me. You let her put that cheap off-brand USB drive in her mouth again, didn't you? The one without the proper drivers?
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I prefer linux to windows but every year or so
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I just have to wonder how those advances compare against Linux when compared on a dollars to develop per feature basis...
I personally think that when you compare the advances each OS has made over the years vs. the amount of $$ paid to create the product... MS starts looking like a bunch of amateurs. (Ironically, they are the one being paid... the "professionals")
MS may be great at generating a profit, but they suck at efficient software production.
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What does any of this have to do with Which was the *entire* point?
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I'm still looking forward to a day when I can tell my parents it's finally reasonable to make the switch to Linux. Now, however, I have to point them to pages and pages of instructions on how to download ndis wrapper and recompile the kernel just to be able to use their wireless card, or tell them to purchase a new wireless card that is compatible. It's simply not a reasonable o
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If you plan on buying something for Linux then you have very little problems. You just google for something that works on Linux then order it.
However, if you expect to be able to buy any strange peripheral (USB powered hamster washer) on a whim and then expect it to work at home, then you may be out of luck.
The only exception to this rule
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I'm still looking forward to a day when I can tell my parents it's finally reasonable to make the switch to Linux. Now, however, I have to point them to pages and pages of instructions on how to download ndis wrapper and recompile the kernel just to be able to use their wireless card
That day is nigh...errr passed I mean. You don't have to recompile your kernel to get drivers working with Linux. This myth just won't quit.
or tell them to purchase a new wireless card that is compatible. It's simply not
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While funny it is far from truthful.
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Thin glass windows. (Score:2, Funny)
Glass? Are you referring to how the OS is easily broken, or how the DRM schemes are easily shattered?
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Second try (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Second try (Score:5, Funny)
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Month-long party (Score:1)
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don't forget (Score:5, Funny)
Good thing Linus didn't decide to just wait for GNU to finish their OS instead...
Re:don't forget (Score:4, Funny)
And while I am here, let me just reiterate that "hurd" is a poor choice of name for a kernel.
to be fair (Score:1)
Re:to be fair (Score:5, Interesting)
Right now, there is an ongoing effort to use Coyotos ( http://coyotos.org/ [coyotos.org] ) to create the first operating system with the proved correctness of its kernel.
Besides, message-passing interfaces (the core feature of microkernels) can be potentially very efficiently implemented on multicore processors. For example, ARM Fast Address Space Switching (FASS) can potentially make microkernels FASTER than common monolythic ones.
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Why it's so good, you hardly know it's there.
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desktop readiness (Score:3, Funny)
(recycled from last year
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Only if entertainment centers count as desks, and then DVRs can count as Linux desktops.
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This year - 3 people.
Last year - 1 person.
2 years ago - 0
I really don't know why that is, I used to "preach" more about Linux pre-2000 and just sort of gave up. No one switched and really, I didn't feel like forcing the issue and Win2000 was pretty good. I really don
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Possibly because nobody wants Vista. After playing with the beta 2, I have a feeling that a hell of a lot of people will be switching to either Linux or OS X.
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More recycling... (Score:2)
You gotta love /. (Score:4, Insightful)
Ha, Ha. (Score:2)
10 years of announcing minor point Linux Kernel releases, and then Linux's 15th birthday doesn't even make it to the front page.
Ah, but each point revision of Linux does more than five years of waiting for the next Windoze version. A birthday next to that is not a really big deal. You should try it some time.
You know how I can tell you are not using free software? Because you misspelled announcing. Well, OK, you could be using dillo or similar on a pocket device but I don't think so. Have you tweak
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If you have some very esoteric hardware and a bug that needs fixing in kernelspace, perhaps.
Now if you mentioned KDE's point releases, you would have a point.
Never trust guys (or girls) who use nested clauses (Score:5, Funny)
Aw, how cute (Score:4, Funny)
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Stay off the roads. (Score:4, Funny)
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Re:Stay off the rNext year, Linux drives a caoads. (Score:1)
At least it's not likely to crash.....
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Happy 15th Birthday! (Score:2)
HB (Score:1, Redundant)
Awwwwww
The Rocco of Operating Systems (Score:1)
Ok ok, too much pr0n...
just promise me (Score:1)
Just let me know the day this happens. I'll make sure NOT to turn the computer on until THAT freak show is OVER!
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And with Linux you don't have to worry about that staying up all the time part... it... just... stays... up.
P.S. I consider the share anything with anyone easily "feature" to be a bug. Then again, my default policy is "go the fsck away" (deny all).
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It is also recognized by many people as the absolute best default state for any network device.
I'm not surprised that as a happy Win98 user you don't know this...
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And I'm absolutely thrilled that for once... they have to pay for their stupidity by paying for an OS.
So, you can be happy that your computer will share it's printer to everyone that happens to be within spitting range of it's network... and I'll be happy mine won't give you the time of day.
portable... (Score:4, Interesting)
people wouldn't call what I write C. It uses every conceivable feature
of the 386 I could find, as it was also a project to teach me about the
386. As already mentioned, it uses a MMU, for both paging (not to disk
yet) and segmentation. It's the segmentation that makes it REALLY 386
dependent (every task has a 64Mb segment for code & data - max 64 tasks
in 4Gb. Anybody who needs more than 64Mb/task - tough cookies).
And now it is running on, what, 20 different architectures?
With or without MMU, running hundreds...thousands of tasks of up to
gigabytes in size. Of course, of that version nothing will have
remained. Not even the name, because that came later.
Hatneck? (Score:1)
Happy Anniversary of Announcement! (Score:1)
Has it been that long? (Score:2)
Calgary LUG Party (Score:1)
I'm so going to jail ... (Score:2, Funny)
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