Slashdot

I distinctly remember voicing the opinion that Mozilla was nothing more/less* than a corporation, and their stance on developing Firefox while ending the same for the Suite was based on the idea that Firefox was more commercially viable.

Well, that is exactly the case. The Mozilla Foundation created the Mozilla Corporation. What does the Mozilla Corporation do?
1. Oversee relations with other commercial entities
2. Oversee development of Firefox and Thunderbird (non-productizable Mozilla software like Camino and Seamonkey will remain with the Foundation)
3. Make profit

Straight from the Lizard's mouth:

What is the role of the Mozilla Corporation?

The Mozilla Corporation is responsible for productizing and distributing Firefox, Thunderbird, and related branded products built on the Mozilla open source code base. The Mozilla Corporation's mission, shared by that of the Mozilla Foundation, is to promote choice and innovation on the Internet.

Only 3 employees are left at the Foundation, with 36 at the Corporation. To me, this clearly displays the Foundation's intent and where they stand on issues.

I'm not against companies. I am against the productization of open-source software. When you productize open-source software, the consumer, not the developer, is always right. I am against running open-source institutions like corporations, because then the bottom-line, not the lines of code become important.

What really annoys me is that there are Slashdotters who think that this is a good idea, simply because it was done by Mozilla.

*delete as appropriate

What do you know? Stay off Slashdot for awhile and you get mod points again. There's something seriously wrong when people who don't post regularly get mod points.

I guess Slashdot editors made it that way so they'd get tons of mod points with their infinite karma and minimal posts.

My tin-foil hat has mercury in it

Which do you think is faster:

London to Oslo via France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Denmark and Sweden in a McLaren Mercedes SLR

OR

London to Newcastle in an A340, Newcastle to Kristensand (Norway) in a 17-hr boat trip and Kristensand to Oslo in a racing boat?

Find out on Top Gear! (linked to torrent)

Being Indian in a Chinese city, I'm surrounded with Asians, and I see the reality, or at least as much as I can, of India and China, their pitfalls and their progress.

However, I find it disturbing that many (but by no means the majority) in America have a negative view of Asians in general. Non-Japanese Far-Easterners are generally regarded as Communists for no real reason. There is a growing fear of China even though it has yet to act aggressively outside its own neighborhood.

The case is worse with India. Many would rather forgo business than talk with an Indian call-center operative. Indians are thought of as stealing American jobs, even though Americans have no claim on them and it is a small minority of jobs that have been outsourced. Indians who have visions of visiting the moon and improving their technology are looked down upon at Slashdot and at other sites who believe they should focus on their poor first.

In Asia however, many regard both India and China as relatively belligerent giants. They're good markets and are not hostile if the status quo is maintained. Despite being bitter rivals for decades, China and India are opening up to each other.

I, for one, will never be able to travel in the US, because I'm big, brown and I look menacing. There's no way I'd step on US soil without a strip-search and I like the sanctity of my ass. I know that the majority of Americans have no problems with Indians and Chinese, but there are many who do.

The question remains, what drives this wedge between the East and Americans? Is it philosophical or economic? Is it fear or misunderstanding?

That's it. I'm done with posting in Slashdot, and like my friend, FidelCatsro, I'm moving to JEs (and Fark and Digg) entirely.

I can't believe how this got marked as flamebait. This is Slashdot, where sarcasm is supposed to reign. At least that's what I thought this was.

That and Manny Ramirez is the man.