Actually, they end up being both.

There's a set of tools for each build of VMware, but then you usually need to build/install kernel modules inside the guest that will be kernel-specific.

But if you're using a supported Linux distribution in your guest OS, the default tools installer has precompiled versions of the modules for a LOT of kernel revs (nearly all, near as I can tell).

I have re-read the parent post, he says "the vmware tools" won't build on 2.6.32 without "happy fun patching time".

I'm saying I'm using "the vmware tools" on kernels 2.6.32 (specifically 2.6.18 variants provided in RHEL/CentOS5) with no difficulties whatsoever.

I don't know about that statement. I'm running VMware tools on CentOS versions from 5.1 to 5.5, all of which are running 2.6.18 variants, and never had a single lick of problem installing the vendor-provided tools.

Yeah, I meant majority there. :-)

There was no scientifically valid survey, obviously, smart-ass.

But if you read history books about the era, the "rule of thumb" (and you'll note that I used that same phrase in my original post) most books seem to use is that it was about 1/3 each of "loyalist", "revolutionary", and "just wanna do my thing". "The Long Fuse" is a great book on this topic, because it delves deeply into all the things the Brits screwed up that could've won over the necessary folks to make a revolution simply not viable, but egos got in the way and it didn't happen.

My point is simply that "enough people wanting to vote for change" is a meaningless statistic when it comes to revolution. People often give up on the political process and don't bother voting right before they decide to find a wall to start lining people up in front of. :-)

In the latter half of the 18th Century, only about 33% of the Colonial population supported overthrowing the chains of British rule. As a rule of thumb, 1/3 were happy, 1/3 were mad, 1/3 didn't give a shit.

You don't need a plurality of motivated people to have a successful revolution.

Almost certainly. I'd be really curious to see if someone calculates that. :-)

Two people who made my first forays into silicon valley interesting retiring in the scope of 24 hours, Jobs and Malda. Now, admittedly, I'm not in any way trying to put them both on the same scale at all, but for a lot of geeks who around in the late 90s, the rise of Slashdot, and the resurgence of Apple as a viable entity are sort of "the defining moments" as it were of those heady days.

I may have drifted away from Slashdot over the years, but it still holds a special place in my heart, and Rob's efforts have a lot to do with that.

Enjoy your sabbatical, dude. Check out of technology and go somewhere nice... get a cabin in the mountains for a while, experience all of that sort of thing again free of the shackles of 'being reachable'. You'll be amazed at how much it reinvigorates you when you finally return to civilization.

But that's THEIR decision to make, not yours or mine.

The reason a lot of these things will never be open sourced is simply because the technology is still economically viable, and will be used for other things, even if the PRODUCT involved isn't. The AIBOs and Deep Blues of the world aren't the "endgame", they're a way of getting the tires on a given technology to be kicked for a bit.

If your local town board has sold your free-market up the river by granting someone a monopoly, bring that up at your next town board meeting.

You can break up the duopolies starting TOMORROW. Go run for your local town board and wait for the Franchise Agreement to come up for renewal. Insist that they allow competitors access to the outside plant at a wholesale/cost-basis if they want a renewal.

It really is that simple.

You have freedom to use what you paid for within the terms of the usage agreement you've got with your provider. If they say "we may filter or traffic shape your traffic", then you're free to accept that or find some other carrier with preferable terms.

As for "built with your tax money". Not really. The network that was "built with your tax money" was a whole mess of 128kbps links that wouldn't even handle your iPad's traffic demands, let alone be a "network backbone".

And besides, EVEN IF there were subsidies, etc., (as the other AC replier mentioned), blame your congress-critters for not negotiating better terms before they gave your money away. EVEN IF your local municipality is granting a monopoly, blame your local town-board for doing so and not insisting that the cable provider accommodate competitive content providers on the outside plant.

This is a vote for freedom. Freedom of the organizations that INVEST in the infrastructure to be the ones who get to decide how that infrastructure is used. Freedom for you to set the rules for the use of the thing which you built with your money and sweat.