Want to read Slashdot from your mobile device? Point it at m.slashdot.org and keep reading!

 



Forgot your password?
typodupeerror
×

Comment Re:problem is, Unity is a disaster (Score 1) 511

It does take a little getting used to. I still tap Super to bring up the Dash and then start typing away, but for casual browsing, well, I'm hoping there are improvements to be made. :) I don't think Unity is confusing at all. In fact, after using it for about two months I really enjoy it--although I really did have to give it a try and it's only been the last 3 weeks where it's really felt solid.

I don't see anything wrong with the GNOME 2 desktop with panels, but between Unity and GNOME Shell I definitely greatly prefer Unity. But what I'm most grateful for in Linux is that the desktop environment and window managers are all decoupled from each other and the OS itself so that we really do have as much choice as we're willing to configure.

Comment Re:Linuxconf (Score 5, Insightful) 539

I never had the pleasure of using it. However, making things easier in Linux isn't "dumbing down" the operating system. It's simply making things more accessible. Done properly, the fancy GUI stuff just snaps together with the existing CLI and config file stuff and then you get to choose the most appropriate way to manage and configure your system. That's a win for absolutely everyone.

And that's what will keep Linux competitive--the ability to meet novice computer users alongside having the power and the efficiency for die-hard CLI lovers.

Comment Re:We will when MS does. (Score 1) 325

The first freedom of Free Software is the freedom to run and use a program for any purpose you see fit. If you restrict commercial usage, then that software is no longer Free. In addition, the GPL forbids this type of additional restriction from being placed on the software when you distribute it.

Other software licenses may be more permissive in this regard.

Comment Open! (Score 4, Insightful) 85

The beautiful thing, though, is that because development discussion is held in open, publicly archived mailing lists and all development is done in logged, publicly accessible source code repositories, the interested observer can investigate and come to the real conclusion on his own to see whether either party's explanation makes sense.

Education

Why Teach Programming With BASIC? 709

chromatic writes "To answer the perennial question 'How can we teach kids how to program?', we created a web-based programming environment. As we began to write lessons and examples, we surprised ourselves. Modern languages may be powerful and useful for writing real programs, but BASIC and Logo are great languages for demonstrating the joy of programming."

Comment Excellent! (Score 4, Insightful) 217

The games are fun, they work on Windows, Mac, and Linux, and the charities are good causes.

This is pretty much just win-win for everyone, a great way to not only *get* some nice games on Linux but *support* games on Linux, and to support a bunch of good causes as well. I'm less familiar with these games than the last bundle but I'll check them out and likely donate if I like even one of them.

Programming

How Should a Non-Techie Learn Programming? 346

CurtMonash writes "Nontechnical people — for example marketers or small business owners — increasingly get the feeling they should know more about technology. And they're right. If you can throw up a small website or do some real number-crunching, chances are those skills will help you feed your family. But how should they get started? I started a thread with the question on DBMS2, and some consistent themes emerged, including: Learn HTML + CSS early on; Learn a bit of SQL, but you needn't make that your focus; Have your first real programming language be one of the modern ones, such as PHP or Python; MySQL is a good vehicle to learn SQL; It's a great idea to start with a project you actually want to accomplish, and that can be done by modifying a starter set of sample code (e.g., a WordPress blog); Microsoft's technology stack is an interesting alternative to some of the other technology ideas. A variety of books and websites were suggested, most notably MIT's Scratch. But, frankly, it would really help to get more suggestions for sites and books that help one get started with HTML/CSS, or with MySQL, or with PHP. And so, techie studs and studdettes, I ask you — how should a non-techie go about learning some basic technological skills?"

Comment Fantastic! (Score 4, Interesting) 278

This would be a fantastic idea. Not only would the rules be transparent and non-ambiguous, but the potential for experimentation and self-analysis would be incredible. Python is definitely one of the better languages to use for this, as it tends to be very readable and self-explanatory as far as programming languages go.

Comment Not really affecting the code... (Score 4, Insightful) 207

While I don't think what they're doing is good or smart, I suspect this would really only affect the GPLed clients accessing the Second Life servers run by Linden Labs and not client use on any private servers that are running. And Linden does have the right to manage the data they store on their servers as they see fit.

The beauty of the GPLed client is that users and developers can choose which servers to point their clients at--and pick the ones that have terms they agree wtih.

Submission + - UbuntuWomen International Women's Day Competition (ubuntu.com)

elkbuntu writes: There's a competition going for Women Ubuntu users to tell the tech community how they discovered Ubuntu. By doing so they can help to raise the visibility of women within the Ubuntu community, celebrate International Women's Day 2010, oh, and win one of 2 cool prize packs.

Comment Re:Misleading summary... (Score 5, Interesting) 39

Frankly, I'd much rather see OpenMicroBlogging being used and promoted rather than the Twitter API. It's used in StatusNet and identi.ca and allows for seamless subscriptions between various OpenMicroBlogging-enabled sites. It's sort of like the XMPP/Jabber of microblogging.

StatusNet also supports the Twitter API, but I don't know of any clients that let me point to identi.ca instead of Twitter. I use Gwibber, though which natively supports both of them and more.

Slashdot Top Deals

Anyone can make an omelet with eggs. The trick is to make one with none.

Working...