Another aspect of the problem - Corporate policy in most large companies is to treat all of your IT programmers as identical widgets. This policy stems from HR, Finance, and IT efforts to 'normalize' positions so they can be circumscribed enough to allow 'efficient' allocation of resources, or more damaging, the allocation of resources that can be outsourced wholesale. Ultimately it all comes down to cost reduction. Poor results of IT, coupled with IT being strictly a cost center - leads to this outcome (the cost vs. value proposition as seen through the eyes of the heads of the business).

This of course, drags down everyone with it causing many good people to leave or get caught in the outsourcing net. If they are lucky - they do manage to move up into management (architects etc) - and hopefully they can influence the designs - but again - what is left behind is tragically impossible of effiently implementing even the best designs - so the problem feeds itself as your best get pulled away from programming.

Indications are CTOs are starting to see how this is not working...here's hoping they can get the HR and Finance people to turn this around, but I doubt it. .

Too bad you posted anonymously. I would have modded you up. This is absolutely the truth.

My recommendation for anyone: if you love the carreer you want to get into - then do it. However, if you only see a bunch of dollar signs - then it is better off for you and the rest of us in STEM if you would put your energy into something else.

We are plaugued with a glut of people who cause more inefficiency than the 'solutions' they create... causing me, and others who know what they are doing to spend extra cycles fixing their broken systems. The problem is most of the time, they don't even know why their choices are a bad thing, or worse - if they do, they don't care allowing expediency to take precedence over quality.

On a positive note: this will keep me employed well beyond my retirement as a contractor fixing other people's code.

Technically, isn't EMACS the granddaddy of all IDEs? In comparison, Eclipse is 'Johnny Come Lately'.

It's funny you say that - but it is true. We definitely need more STEM people in jobs not only in the technology fields (like IT) - but those jobs that interface with it as well (such as Project Management, Marketing et al). I can't tell you how many non-technical people I have to deal with in the course of a day. Some of them are actually holding technology positions...most are just collecting a paycheck for all the positive effect they have on the business. I have to get work done in spite of them. On the flip side - if a person got a STEM degree to make money (and whose heart is not into their field) - by all means stay away from technology...please...

If, as you say, "Open source is a development methodology; free software is a social movement." in your article: Why Open Source Misses the Point of Free Software, why do you advocate not using the term 'open source', particularly if it is being used in a technical/development methodology context only?

Do you object to the use of the term 'Free/Open Source Software' (FOSS)?

What if anything do you think Linux should do to improve network security?

The reason I ask this question is runtime environments allow and require (depending on the tools your using) programmers to be experts in memory management and systems programming, but by and large the vast majority are not. This leads to zero day exploits hiding in various applications - including application layer parts of the OS. Is anyone giving thought to prevention, instead of chasing bugs after the fact, and what will that look like in the future?

For most of us who have been around Unix and Linux for any length of time, Unix and/or Linux is not the GUI. It is the kernel and all of the other Single Unix Specification/POSIX compliant parts that make up the command shell, tools, and system programming APIs. The GUI is not specified in the standard - and the variance in GUIs makes that problematic at best, and confusing at worse.

As a result, I think it reasonable when someone asks 'what's the best distro to learn Linux?' - the response should be a distro that is 'no frills' - and allows users to dig in and learn the command line interface and tools - hence the answers seen that focus on that area.

Perhaps for some people the question should be, 'what's the best distro for a desktop user?' - then more feature-rich GUIs might be applicable.

This has nothing to do with elitism. It has to do with a misperception about what is the goal of the person asking. Perhaps Linux geeks should take the time to clarify what the person asking really means.

You get what you pay for. 'nuff said.

Interesting - failure of user space in this way is exactly why we have zero-days.

I would like to see this happen - but several things make it improbable:

1. Von Neuman architecture. As long as data and instructions exist in the same space - poorly written apps will allow abuse of it.

2. Complexity of current software. The more complex the software, the more likely a bug will exist in it that allows #1. Given how programmers stitch together preexisting modules without understanding what is being done on the underlying system - I only expect that to continue expanding.

It should be instructive that Java was supposed to be that sandboxed layer...and it has so many zero-days it looks like swiss cheese.

Now - how would we avoid that and make an unhackable userspace?

From the interview - Michael Dell lumped tablets into a bucket called 'PC'. If they are selling more tablets, that means the cost of their Desktop PCs will have to go up given slackening volumes. Volume of demand sets price - particularly if the business becomes a non-volume business.

Let's face it - if you want to have a desktop system, while its price may be less than a server with the same capabilities (you are really paying for redundancy and maintenance with servers), it will cost more than we are used to paying today - regardless if you build your own, or buy a name brand (and given the downgrade on performance and expansion capabilities of most desktops - you'll probably want to build your own).

I run Linux at work - and here is what I would classify as my Pro Applications:

Emacs
Eclipse
Codeblocks
GCC suite
Python
Perl
Bash
Open Office

I can also handle email from my Android based phone.

Our servers are also running Linux.

Therefore the argument that Linux can't get real work done is silly to the point of absurdity.

/agreed Mr. Torvalds is not the problem - if anything, he has held Linux together under outrageous intrusions from application space.

I perceive what is happening as signaling a sea change. Comercial interests (Redhat, Canonical, etc) see now as the time to push their agendas - if they control something - then they can control it's evolution. However, they are forgetting one thing: linux users want results. It is plain to me that most of these large distros don't give a rat's patootie about the average user.

I think the time is ripe for new distros to emerge - and if they address a number of key issues for the users they can cause the big boys problems they may be institutionally incapable of resolving. Time for a shake-up in the Linux space.

I think you're lumping everyone into the same boat. I love Linux - but not really happy with the way most of the UIs on top of it are going. I also am not a fan of Windows. I also have Macs - and OSX's UI is close - but I'm not really happy about the iron-fist Apple has over it (e.g. I would prefer to hover my mouse pointer and have the window become active - but not bring to front - like I've done with every Unix/Linux system I've ever used).

I've finally come to the conclusion that the only solution for me is to build my own distribution that has all the best parts that I do like - and some things that I want that no distro has today.

I'm not broken - I'm just hard to satisfy. Of course, that is what leads to innovation. I guess the difference is, don't just sit there and complain about it - do something about it!

PC roles that other devices can't currently do:

Cost effective software development/compilation *check*
Cost effective scientific computing *check*
Hard core simulation/gaming (high fidelity/realistic MMO Combat/FPS, flight simulation, etc - where you need more commands than are available on a common game controller - and where the graphics go beyond anything a game console can currently deal with while also providing large maps and large user bases sharing the same spaces) *check*

Can other devices do these things - yes if COST or other limiting factors are not an issue for you (Angry Birds on tablets, or console versions of various FPS titles are not at all comparable to a complex 3D simulation on a dedicated general purpose PC in any way shape or form). For those of us without a silver spoon in his/her mouth - that is not an option.

For most of us - buying a server grade system at $5000+ to do hobby coding isn't worth it - nor is springing for an equivalent cloud based VM to do the same. If it is over $1000 USD over the course of several years, it is too much.

Lumping desktop/server PCs in with laptops is not useful - laptops are not meant to run 24/7 and have automation for doing infrastructure things - like nightly builds, automatic updates for repositories, or other automation (spidering etc). Laptops are made to be mobile, and don't make good servers due to constraints placed on energy consumption and processing power. As for other devices - due to DMCA regulations - there are no legal means of turning them into general purpose devices any longer. That only leaves the PC as the bastion of general purpose computing.

Too many people don't realize what they would be giving up if cheap PCs are not available - they will be limiting the options of small developers (who historically generate more creative output - and the next big thing [e.g. Linux wouldn't exist if Linus didn't have access to a general purpose PC]) while strengthening the strangle hold large companies have over software development (app stores barriers to entry).