Dunno why you're asking me, just read the article:

"In Babylscript, there are different language modes. When Babylscript is configured to be in a certain language mode, keywords and function names will be in that language. Babylscript initially defaults to the English language mode. In the English language mode, Babylscript behaves like normal JavaScript.
...
When in a different language mode, objects will change their APIs to match the current language. For example, in the English language mode, an object will have English method names. But when in a French language mode, those same objects will expose French method names instead."

I assume that you have to stick to generic names for your own functions if this is going to work, but they might be able to cover a lot of use cases with a broad enough dictionary.

From TFA: "Unlike other multilingual programming languages, Babylscript allows people to write programs in a mix of different languages. A programmer can take a library written in French, mix it with their own program written in Spanish, and use code snippets they found on a Chinese help forum."

...if it really is that easy, going from one language to another should be trivial (and presumably built into the interpreter). Code comments are another thing, obviously.

LibreJS currently requires developers to self-identify javascript as freedom-respecting, using a few different formats (such as javascript web labels). I wouldn't be surprised if future versions identify popular libraries (jQuery, Modernizr, HTML5 Shiv, etc.). Most of the big javascript libraries are hosted by Google and are MIT/Expat licensed, so it shouldn't be too difficult to identify them and, although linking to the libraries directly on Google Code etc. is a really bad idea, a lot of sites do it.

There *might be* more than one scientist in the bunch.

Yes, there are violent people who call themselves anarchists. There are anarchists who oppose a caricature of science (in my experience, they're much-confused about the history of science, especially the Enlightenment). Ask yourself these questions: How much violence has been done by self-proclaimed Christians and capitalists? How many Christians and capitalists have tried to attack or twist science?

Although "anarchist" has become a byword for "bombthrower", it derives from anti-labor propaganda in the 19th Century and (apparently) continues up until today.

And let's not forget that anarchism may be much closer to the heart of the free software/free culture movement than many would like to admit.

Gnome and KDE easily allow the user to add or remove the main menu/"start button"...xfce, lxde and openbox, etc. allow for customization as well and it doesn't blow anyone's mind. I've seen plenty of "average users" adapt to these interfaces without struggling.

Would it radically alter the Windows documentation and training to include the option of pinning a start menu to the taskbar? It seems there are plenty of other customization options they're willing to throw at users in the past few years. I understand Microsoft likes to cram interfaces down everyone's throats in an attempt to make them the de facto standard, but this Metro move seems to be shooting them in the foot; so much negative press before the product even ships, and I would think they'd still have the bad taste of Vista in their mouths.

I intend to use ghod from now on :)

Like comment on /. eh? ;)

In all seriousness, I just log into WordPress and change a URL if a feed stops working, something you'd have to do with any RSS reader as well. It doesn't have all the "gadgets" that iGoogle had, but I only found myself using the news feeds anyway.

Anything that can be a WordPress widget you could display as well, so you could do a lot more with it than I do, and still the only maintenance is keeping your plugins and WordPress core updated (trivial nowadays).

It's certainly not more maintenance than iGoogle, where the gadgets had the same flaw you're pointing out: they relied upon other websites for content, if those websites or Google sloppily changed something, the gadget broke.

Sure, you have to install WordPress and do the initial configuration, and that takes time...I do it for a living so it's not a big deal to me. As far as maintenance is concerned, however, I have just spent more time replying to you than I have on that WordPress installation in (at least) 6 months.

Greeting From The Secretary General Of The UN
Greetings In 55 Languages
UN Greetings & Whale Greetings
The Sounds Of Earth
J. S. Bach - Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 In F, First Movement
Java, court gamelan - Kinds Of Flowers
Senegal, percussion - Tchenhoukoumen
Zaire - Pygmy Girls' Initiation Song
Australian Aborigine songs - Morning Star And Devil Bird
Mexico - El Cascabel (performed by Lorenzo Barcelata)
Chuck Berry - Johnny B. Goode
Papua New Guinea - Men's House Song
Japan, shakuhachi - Cranes In Their Nest (performed by Coro Yamaguchi)
J. S. Bach - Gavotte En Rondeaux, from the Partitia No. 3 In E Minor For
Mozart - The Magic Flute, Queen Of The Night Aria, No. 14

Georgia, chorus - Tchakrulo
Peru - Panpipes And Drum Song
Louis Armstrong & His Hot Seven - Melancholy Blues
Azerbaijan Bagpipes - Ugam
Stravinsky - Rite Of Spring, Sacrificial Dance
J. S. Bach - The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude And Fugue In C, No. 1
Beethoven - Symphony No. 5 In C Minor, First Movement
Bulgaria - Izlel Je Delyo Hagdutin (sung by Valya Balkanska)
United States - Navajo Night Chant
Holborne - Fairie Round, from Paueans, Gaillards, Almains, And Other Short A
Solomon Islands - Melanesian Panpipes
Peru - Wedding Song
China, Ch'in - Flowing Streams (performed by Kuan P'ing-hu)
India, Raga - Jaat Kahan Ho (sung by Surshri Kesar Bai Kerkar)
Blind Willie Johnson - Dark Was The Night
Beethoven - String Quartet No. 13 In B Flat, Opus 130, Cavatina

...if you're looking for either "Murmurs of Earth" or the CD-ROM, just ask a Swedish website and click on a magnet or two.

If you have access to a web server, there are a number of ways to set something similar up yourself. I've done it at seandiggity.com using WordPress + Aggregator theme + some extra plugins. There are definitely simpler ways, but I like the flexibility of WordPress's widgets.

I used iGoogle years ago, primarily for the RSS feeds. If you have access to a web server, there are a number of ways to set something similar up yourself. I've done it at me.seandiggity.com using WordPress + Aggregator theme + some extra plugins. There are definitely simpler ways, but I like the flexibility of WordPress's widgets.

Although it was obvious the FSF would take this position, as it should, isn't it strategically wise to have multiple solutions for users to load a (mostly) free software OS on hardware with UEFI? For similar reasons, I think it's good to have Android devices running ClockworkMod so that they may boot CyanogenMod/Replicant. I understand that we (free software advocates) should always be encouraging consumers to make smart choices and purchase devices that will run free software (and a complete free software stack, when that's possible).

However, free software would become an "oasis in a desert", rather than a large and thriving ecosystem, if binary blobs, non-free drivers, non-free BIOS's, firmware hacks, etc. weren't around. It would become increasingly difficult to bring in more users. Those who have developed free software implementations to replace proprietary ones originate from all over the free software spectrum, so the pool of developers would also shrink.

I think you always want both: the hardcores who will run free software and free software only, and those who will make compromises on devices until (if/when) stable free software is developed for those devices. The FSFE's advice on installing CyanogenMod seems like a sensible approach that takes this into consideration. Likewise, why not help someone install as much free software as possible on a device with a non-free BIOS/bootloader?

It seems to me that UEFI will die a quick death if we A) fight very vocally against it, B) convince powerful corporations and governments that it's bad for them, C) ignore it where/when we can, and D) help others to circumvent it when necessary. It doesn't seem much different than the DRM problem in that way.

I would be very happy with Canonical's UEFI strategy if the following from this past /. comment can be done:

That unfortunately-complex method of chaining together multiple bootloaders seems to allow for any OS, even legacy ones, to boot (or at least attempt to boot) on UEFI hardware. Such a door might be closed if Canonical decides it won't play ball with Microsoft, and that seems like a door worth having open. However, I welcome any rebuttals...I don't know nearly enough about the issue.

It's only contradictory because you've forgotten about aquifers/wells, and seem to underestimate the amount of groundwater the modern industrial world relies upon. TFA specifically mentions groundwater.

TFTFY

There was a short window a few years ago where I might have agreed with you. However, things are different now...take a look at the effectiveness of Internet policing and takedowns, stronger internal policies by Big Media (more attention paid to who gets DVD screeners, etc.), and a change in social attitudes and purchasing habits by American consumers (I suspect my generation, those born in the 80s, carries a large part of the blame). This has been accompanied by changes in the way that pirated content is spread online...maybe you haven't spent much time on the PirateBay recently, but talk to those who have and they'll tell you the juiciest torrents are moving "underground".

As far as books are concerned, perhaps the largest collections out there were hosted in phpBB-style forums that linked to MegaUpload, RapidShare, etc. and vanished a few months ago.

Correct me if I'm wrong, I'd very much like to be.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_Aircraft_Released_Into_Space

TFTFY. The headline was "BOSS" :P