BusinessWeek on LinuxOne 172
lactose_intolerant writes "Another "mainstream" look at LinuxOne by BusinessWeek. They too are suspicious. " Pretty icy review right there. Apparently the business world thinks as much of this company as we do. Still it will be interesting to see what happens with this.
Why the hatred? (Score:1)
Maybe everyone would have a different outlook if they were offering shares back to the community? Probably....
Oh, and maybe possibly first post.
Re:Why the hatred? (Score:2)
that evil, I don't think. Just a couple guys seeing dollar signs... Give them a chance.
I think a great deal of people think that if you offer the exact same thing as someone else you are perhaps cheating by using their product. If I can get a distribution from the original company and someone else sells it then why?
Maybe everyone would have a different outlook if they were offering shares back to the community? Probably....
I for one really don't buy stock at the present time at all. Is there a way that you can say spend about 10 bucks on the stock market by yourself without getting one of those fat cat brockers to do it for you?
Oh, and maybe possibly first post.
As usual all the people who have no lives got that first anyway.
BusinessWeek deserves praise (Score:2)
Brilliant, all-round, and hopefully another nail in the coffin of a -very- suspicious IPO.
2 can play at this game. (Score:5)
Shoeboy: The Next Open Source, eCommerce IPO
Seattle, WA Shoeboy, a producer of gametes used in meiotic reproduction, hopes to be one of the next individuals to benefit from the Open Source and eCommerce surges on Wall Street as he readies himself for an IPO.
Shoeboy, based in Seattle, Washington, sells packages of DNA called gametes (or more specifically sperm) that, in conjunction with other gametes known as eggs can produce an embryo that can eventually learn to play the piano and perform integral calculus. The sperm delivery market has traditionally been highly competitive, with even market leaders like Wilt Chamberlain only able to service 20,000 customers. Part of this is due to the primitive and inefficient delivery system know as sex. According to Shoeboy, this is the main reason for Wall Street's dismissal of reproduction as a "hobbyist market."
Shoeboy hopes to overcome these limitations by abandoning sex and selling his sperm over the internet. " eFertilization makes sense as a way to eliminate complexity for customers who have a hard time finding the time and resources for traditional reproduction," said International Data Corp. analyst Jean Bozman. "There's less need for people at the user site to interact with their reproductive system," she said.
"Shoeboy next month plans to file with the Semen Exchange Commission for an initial pubic offering," announced Shoeboy. The IPO itself is scheduled roughly for the end of March.
An IPO, in which an individual sells genetic stock to the public, provides an infusion of cash, but historically has also placed the individual at increased risk of syphilis. This is another area in which Shoeboy's internet solution is preferable to sex. "Sex is too risky," says Bozman. "Increasingly, consumers are going to say, 'Why do we want to fool around with other people when we can get something prepackaged, and it's no muss, no fuss?'"
Skeptics have argued that Shoeboy's plans reflect desperation rather than innovation. "This is simply a last ditch effort after the catastrophic failure of Shoeboy's 'One Size Disappoints All' marketing campaign," said Technology Business Research analyst Joe Ferlazzo. "Additionally, Shoeboy has a history of dissatisfied customers. He just doesn't have the equipment to do the job well."
Shoeboy admits that his record is not a successful one, but he argues that the problems he encountered do not apply to the internet business model. "First off, equipment isn't an issue. My equipment is the most compact in the industry, and I have extremely low latency - were talking 8 seconds here. Then there's bandwidth - In the last year I've managed to fill 36 pint jars - any more and I'd have to get a bigger freezer. The real obstacle to my sperm distribution has been the unwillingness of my customers to be in the same room with me. With the internet, now they don't even have to be in the same state! What could go wrong?"
Shoeboy is also quick to point out that his product is completely open source. "Since all future products based on my DNA source code will (by age 13 or so) feel a nearly uncontrollable urge to redistribute their own DNA source code, I am in compliance with the terms of the GPL - just like Linux." Linux, an open-source operating system that competes with Windows NT, was the basis for several successful IPOs in 1999, including Red Hat, VA Linux Systems and Cobalt Networks. VA Linux, in particular, had a record first trading day last month.
Shoeboy hopes to raise nearly $35 million dollars through the IPO. This money will be used to purchase several jars of Vaseline, a subscription to "Barely Legal" and the Shoeboy.com domain.
--Shoeboy
It's not hatred, it's contempt (Score:3)
Jenny
They've earned the hatred (Score:1)
They've earned it. They were unknown until they filed for they're IPO, they didn't even have a product at the time. Everything about it says two-bit operation, and it appears they just want to cash in on the popularity of the "Linux" name. Contrast this company with VA Linux, who has been around for years, with a solid reputation built around their products. Linux One doesn't deserve empathy.
They are maggots ! (Score:1)
How likely is it? (Score:3)
ouch! (Score:1)
LINX (Score:1)
But, expect these to sell off very quickly after the initial opening, when people start wondering what exactly they are holding.
Damn Scam-artists.
Are they offering anything to the community? (Score:1)
Say what you want about RedHat, but they do pay the salaries of Linux developers, and their web page if informative.
Doesn't VALinuxhost a lot of Linux oriented web pages for free?
I'm afraid LinuxOne will make Linux become a ghetto for flim flam artists and scammers, like web page design was in the 90's.
George
There IS value to LinuxOne (Score:3)
That could be worth something to someone. Not necessarily a lot, and if the actions of the company sully the names, the names lose value.
But for someone wanting to start a Linux company, buying LINX out would represent an interesting way of getting onto the stock market, so long as their price wasn't too high.
I'd think a million dollars to be "too high," personally...
ROFL! (Score:1)
fly by night (Score:1)
Re:Why the hatred? (Score:2)
Um, cause they could sell it cheaper by having company X do their R&D?
Cluestick or LART? Just another symptom (Score:2)
Regardless, the price on internet companies, legitemate or not is overinflated, this sort of thing just points out how ridiculous the actual stock market behavior is.
J. Lartbait: Hey this web stuff is the hot new thing
T. Clueless: Yeah, let's get in on the action
J. Lartbait: but running an online store is to much work and I can't figure out this whole HTML thing, and we'd need lots of startup capital.
T. Clueless: Maybee there's something that's available for free that we can sell for a profit... like air.
J. Lartbait: Right, I heard about something like that Linux.
T. Clueless: But how do we get Linux? It's free right...
J. Lartbait: Don't worry about that. People are so blinded by the
the rest is just a story.
Honestly, who wouldn't want to make a million dollars?
Re:2 can play at this game. (Score:4)
It's well-earned. (Score:2)
Then, there's the cut-and-paste filing. Sorry, but there's nothing virtuous about being able to use Windows Notepad.
Third, there's this little matter of return. What are the shareholders going to be getting for their hard-earned cash? At present, sod all.
Fourthly, there's that ticker marker - LINX. Don't tell me that they couldn't have found a different set of letters that would denote their company just as well, if not better, without obviously trying to confuse non-tech investors into buying into what they think is the Linux OS itself.
Fifthly, there's that leeetle "lie" about Linux Lite running under Windows. Look it up in their FAQ. It doesn't actually run under Windows at all. Linux Lite is nothing more than "loadlin" with window-dressing.
Last, but by no means least, they say they've 10 employees, earning between $60-$80K -EACH-, and they only had the cash left to spend $4K on development. You'd blow more than $4K on computers and other necessary junk, just to start the damn company up! In short, they really didn't spend a cent on developing a single line of code. That's what they're saying.
They -are- allowed to resell Linux, sure. A lot of people do. Cheapbytes has probably made a mint on the process. What they are -not- allowed to do is defraud investors or prosopective customers by outright deception. And, yes, even the few "half-truths" are still deception. Either a claim is honest and open or it isn't. And theirs ain't.
More proof of human gullability (Score:1)
=======
There was never a genius without a tincture of madness.
Re:There IS value to LinuxOne (Score:3)
The market as it is now, especially the high-tech Internet market (never mind the Linux one) is one big Ponzi scheme. And as any Ponzi scheme its success or failure doesnt depend on economics but perception, in which case, a cute ticker symbol may be all you need.
LinuxOne isn't even the worst one... eHow.com (or was it HowTo.com or How2.com?) filed for an IPO selling themselves as a portal while their revenue came from rebate processing offline. And then there was that ISP (eff-something or other) that had no revenue, no infrastructure, no clients, just some hot-shot big-name CEO, and they filed an S-1 claiming that they will use the proceeds to buy other, real ISPs... I just hope that this lunacy continues till I vest
engineers never lie; we just approximate the truth.
My company is going IPO (Score:4)
My Company, Nothing Inc, is planning on making a Initial Public Offering on the NASDAQ exchange.
We do not produce anything, we do not offer any services, and we do not distribute anything. Essentially, we make nothing, do nothing, sell nothing. Our annual turnover is zero, profits zero, however we have great potential for making future profits, as you must have realised by now.
Given the high demand for stocks from such companies, such as thisandthatportal.com and Linuxone, we believe you are making the right decision by investing in our stock.
Our initial asking offer is US$10.00 per share, but we believe that before the end of the first day of trading, our shares are going to be worth US$100.00 each.
Thank you very much for your interest
(signed)
N. Othing
CEO
Nothing Inc.
Re:They are maggots ! (Score:1)
With that in mind, you could hardly call AOL or Time Warner a maggot. Perhaps a better comparison to a bug-like creature would be a dung beetle which AFAIK, nothing eats except other dung beetles.
They are a threat to free speech and must be silenced! - Andrea Chen
Hatred? (Score:4)
LinuxOne is cashing in on the hype (duh), but rather than taking a relaxed whats-the-worst-that-could-happen-to-me approach we ought to be out there telling people not to make a bad business decision. If we play our cards right the "linux community" (cough) would come out with a greater credibility - not only do we know the technology, but we know how to use it in the marketplace. If investors are NOT burned as a result of listening to us, they'll be willing to do it again when a company that *really can* make money comes along. Our support (think: CUSTOMERS) ought to be something a company in this market strives for.. not something to be easily discounted. If we want a community, we've gotta fight for it, and we have to act like one. This starts with a condemnation of those who are out to damage it.
linuxone's Webserver (Score:2)
$ telnet www.linuxone.net 80
Trying 216.101.248.91...
Connected to rinoa.LinuxOne.NET.
Escape character is '^]'.
HEAD / HTTP/1.0
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2000 19:38:38 GMT
Server: Apache/1.3.6 (Unix) (Red Hat/Linux)
Last-Modified: Sat, 08 Jan 2000 03:26:04 GMT
ETag: "dc003-3642-3876ae4c"
Accept-Ranges: bytes
Content-Length: 13890
Connection: close
Content-Type: text/html
Connection closed by foreign host.
Marvellous! (Score:2)
Nah.
Where are the script kiddies when you need 'em? (Score:1)
Its up to the investors to get a clue (Score:2)
Unfortunately, If people still go ahead and invest in that company.. then there is not much that can be done, and the scam will have succeeded. Their plan is one of misinformation of investors. Counter measure? Information. =)
Also, This kind of scam could not happen over "strongly licensed" software, since the company who owns that software would certainly not allow it. However, in a free software world, people are bound to like their new-found software liberties, and some will unfortunately abuse them to make a quick capitalist buck.
Why will LinuxOne hurt the rest of the community? (Score:3)
A couple of weeks ago, when there was speculation about RedHat buying Corel, everyone here was saying how much credence some people in the investment community give to the discussions on Slashdot. If the majority of the comments regarding LinuxOne say that the company adds no value to the Linux community and will not help Linux expand its presence in any market, won't the "smart money" avoid the stock? (And, what could anyone do to protect the dumb money? Even the SEC can't stop every scam.)
If anything, I would argue that LinuxOne could benefit the community by clearly pointing out the value that companies like RedHat, VA Linux, and LinuxCare are bringing to the market.
--
Dave Aiello
Re:The Slashdot Theme (Score:1)
That's good stuff. Ignore those without humor who mark you as flamebait. A few of us here appreciate the funny lyrics.
How to make money on LINX (Score:1)
2. Short LINX at 10
3. Wait for bubble to burst
4. Buy To Cover at
--
sporter
Has no one read the GPL? (Score:1)
and change, as long as they post those changes on the Internet so that
anyone else can use them.
Obviously wrong. This is when I stop wasting my time reading poorly researched material.
Is BW's Sam Jaffe a Slashdot reader? (Score:2)
Re:Its up to the investors to get a clue (Score:1)
Careless Investors' Tarbaby (Score:1)
A break? (Score:1)
"Aw, the poor thing's just trying to 'make a living'"?
or do you swat the irritating parasite.
That's all these people are, parasites. Sucking life from the media frenzy surrounding Linux. And they need to be swatted.
LinuxOne at SVLUG! (Score:1)
"Paranoid Conspiracy" Daemon (Score:1)
Why doesn't anyone else get it? Microsoft is behind LinuxOne. They want to destroy Linux, and driving the "Linux" name into the mud is the best way to do it. It's such a simple plan. Have a few thousand people loose their nest eggs to "Linux" and suddenly there's more bad word of mouth floating around the world than Microsoft could buy with $30 million in marketing and advertising.
The end is here ladies and gentlemen. Linux will be slaughtered in the stock market. It will be banned by business as a "phony who can't deliver," Microsoft will use the LinuxOne saga in ad campaigns.
Start porting all your apps to BSD and GNU/HURD. GNU will rise from the ashes of Linux and defeat the vile Antichrist Gates! Linus will be avenged my friends! GNU will avenge us with the righteous sword of Open Source!!!!
Sending KILL signal to "Paranoid Conspiracy" Daemon
"Paranoid Conspiracy" Daemon is now shut down
Re:How to make money on LINX (or lose?) (Score:2)
Linuxone is bogus (Score:1)
I would challenge someone to explore that situation a little more and report back their results.
That $4677 is probaby a new computer and ADSL and hosting costs.
Re:How to make money on LINX (Score:3)
Why I hate LinuxOne already (Score:1)
Re:2 can play at this game. (Score:1)
None the less. . . This is very funny!
Give me a f*cking break.... (Score:1)
Re:threading change (Score:1)
Re:Has no one read the GPL? (Score:2)
-Rich
Re:linuxone's Webserver (Score:1)
They don't even have that! (Score:1)
In actuality . . . (Score:2)
These guys are so many flavors of shady it hurts.
Linux "Community"? (Score:4)
We're starting to sound like a Religion.
Now, I think it's important to have a sense of unity and be able to do things together, but all this blather about the Community makes it sound like we are all the same, or at least, we all have common goals and ambitions. It sounds like we're all here to defend the Linux "name brand", to uphold the Faith, to chase the Infidels back to the dark holes they have emerged from.
Excuse me, but I already have a religion, and it's not Linux. I am here (1) to make money (i.e., my work), (2) to have a good time using software that's fun and (3) help out some other people (like kids in schools or NFP organizations). Linux happens to be the best tool I've found to do this, but that doesn't mean I worship the Brand Name.
If some stupid investors lose their shirts on a bobus IPO, I'll shed no tears over them. It won't affect my goals (1), (2) or (3) above. If anything, it will deflate the incredible hype over all things Linux, and perhaps we can all get back to real work again.
No. People hate LinuxONE either because (1) they are jealous ("Why can't I make millions like they do?"), or (2) because they are taking it as a slap in their collective faces (the "community" thing) or (3) because they are honestly bothered by the lies and broken promises that this guy has left in his wake.
This is not my Crusade however. I am glad that the news is getting out, and it sounds like this whole thing is going to flop, but I'll lose no sleep over it. I have more important things to worry about than some sheister taking advantage of my favorite hobby.
I doubt they used Notepad (Score:1)
Re:Give me a f*cking break.... (Score:1)
Jenny
I've Seen LinuxOne (Score:3)
The product selection has a flea-market/surplus feel to it (a box of XT floppy controllers for $1 each, used diskettes for $0.10 - just peel off the old MS Windows label). The list of CDs includes about a dozen linux-related labels but the back of the CD on the shelf touts it as one of the most complete distributions for 1997.
I asked for one of the well-known distributions and was told that "we have our own" and was directed to two stacks of boxes.
One stack was labeled Winlinux. A box was open and I looked inside. There is a bright yellow CD with www.super-telecom.com on it. That domain does not appear to exist though it also appears in some of PSs print ads. The instructions were a short center-folded 8.5x11 photocopy of rather bad quality. From what I could read, the purchaser was supposed to contact eilink [eilink.com] to "activate" the product. Nobody was available who could answer my questions but it appeared to be some sort of pre-configured version of Linux that was designed to connect a small office to the eilink ISP.
Next to that stack was a stack of LinuxOne. The box appeared to be vintage generic flea-market with bright colors and superlatives such as Super Value on the back and a boilerplate shrink-wrap license on the front. The only thing that indicated what product was inside was the LinuxOne manual (another cheesy-looking photocopy number) shrink-wrapped to the front of the box.
I didn't feel like shelling out the $30 to buy either product so I can't comment on what is on the disk or on the quality of any available technical support. Using the look of the packaging and manual as a guide, however, I wouldn't expect much.
Better plan (Score:1)
http://www.segfault.org/story.phtml?mode=2&id=3
Jazilla.org - the Java Mozilla [sourceforge.net]
Re:Give me a f*cking break.... (Score:1)
LinuxOne's second product (Score:4)
Apropos satire: zilch.com (Score:1)
Boojum
Re:LinuxOne's second product--no shit (Score:1)
LinuxOne story from Taipei (Score:1)
Re:Why will LinuxOne hurt the rest of the communit (Score:2)
That could be a delicate matter -- would Linus want to start distinguishing between companies and people authorized to use the Linux mark and ones which are not? That's a slippery slope. Is that even possible now given the multitude of "Linux" products and the usual requirements that trademark rights be defended vigorously?
LinuxOne (Score:1)
think of idea
get funding
create product
ipo
else
bring in spin doctors
ipo
Still looking fishy (Score:1)
Jenny
Wow (Score:2)
--
Re:Has no one read the GPL? (Score:1)
Re:LinuxOne's second product (Score:3)
Keep your eyes open for a Win32 AOL client by LinuxOne. With 100 FREE HOURS!!
Warning about above link... (Score:2)
In case you were wondering why that post was moderated as a "Troll." Thought those of you at work might especially appreciate the warning.
Can you say "Dead in the water" boys and girls? (Score:1)
LinuxOne DOES have a product (Score:1)
linux one ordering page (Score:1)
Who would it hurt? (Score:1)
Now who does this really hurt, except other idiots? I hate to break this to you, but when it comes down to it, the incompetent by their very nature are not going to make one bit of difference. Those intelligent enough to judge something on its own merit will reap the benefits of it. And if that means less people using Linux, I'd be fine with it.
Re:Linux "Community"? (Score:2)
Due to the overwhelming popularity of the recent appearence of the Son of God, we here at JesusOne are offering something completely off the bandwagon of the newly founded Chriatian Community: Christ Soap.
It is a revolutionary new concept in bathing experience. All of your sins can be washed away with one shower with Christ Soap.
end of parody
Now do you see why people are a little upset with the LinuxOne IPO. They are cashing in on the naive people who think that everything that Linux touches turns to gold. Linux is a great operating system, and yes our "community" is a bit fanatical about how our beliefs are used and shared. If someone went out and bastardized the name of Jesus Christ then you can bet that the Bible Belt would speak up about this. Along with the Catholic Church and many other "communities." When someone tries to take advantage of our sense of identity and use it for a purpose that we feel is not within the bounds of our personal beliefs, then we call foul.
------------------------------------------
Is there a Linux driver for this? (Score:1)
Re:Still looking fishy (Score:1)
This is a Chinese/Taiwanese operation so don't expect them to operate the way American businesses do. You'll make a BIG mistake if you do. A friend of mine in Taipei used to have a company operating out of his house. He'd fly to the States, buy memory, pack it in his suitcase and fly back to Taiwan to sell to the highest bidder. He had 2 employees, his brother and girlfriend. He now owns one of the largest network card/hub manufacturing companies in Taiwan. His products are sold all over the world. He doesn't work out of his living room anymore
This reminds me of Eddie Murphy (Score:1)
"A Florida con man uses the passing of the long time Congressman from his district who he just happens to share a name with, to get elected to his version of paradise, Congress, where the money flows from lobbyists. But soon he learns the nature of the game and decides to fight back the only way he knows how, with a con."
Yep, he used a well known name and got elected. Let's hope reality doesn't copy fiction!
Re:Its up to the investors to get a clue (Score:1)
See
http://www.fool.com/portfolios/rulemaker/2000/r
for great insight from the Motley Fool.
-tara
Linux "Community"! (Score:3)
Source Code exist, and you know that they abound and give to your computer its most reliable operating system. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Linux Community! It would be as dreary as if there were no Slashdot.
I am a member of any number of "communities" and I'm happy to say that in none of them is everyone all the same. We share the defining characteristic, but often little else.
Getting the truth out about LinuxOne is a real sucess story for the Linux Community. It has happened because Bruce Perens put information on technocrat.net and in large part because there were discussions here.
LinuxOne's doing much better (Score:1)
In my articles about this company for The Register [theregister.co.uk] and LinuxWorld Online [linuxworld.com], I raised questions about LinuxOne's fulfillment of its GPL obligation to provide access to source code. I'm happy to report that the company appears to have substantively corrected its omission, in this area: The on-line order form now includes a checkbox to request source code, at no extra charge.
That is a welcome development, and I applaud it.
Credit where due, folks: It's only fair.
As to the rest: As I mentioned in my (and Eileen Cohen's) LinuxWorld article, if LinuxOne can carry through on its ambitions to produce and distribute Chinese- and Japanese-language versions, I'll be the first to cheer them on.
And I won't be investing in this firm, for reasons amply described, but I nonetheless wish them luck.
The BW article repeats misinformation from the SEC (Score:4)
This is complete nonsense, and demonstrates how totally bogus information is fed to us by the "most prestigious" media outlets in the country. I'm not a lawyer, but I've been writing and publishing tech articles and books for over 20 years.
Neither the SEC nor any other body has the right or power to remove copyright protection from ANY written work. Copyright protection is provided by an international treaty that has been signed by almost all of the countries of the world except China. Before we could approve the treaty, we were required to bring the U.S. copyright statues into conformance with international law. For example, our copyright protection was extended from 29 years until the author's death, and then to the death of the person who first inherited the right from the author. This prevented classic works from passing into the public domain before the author's death, something that happened routinely to authors who didn't understand their requirements to re-register the work after 29 years.
The salient part of the treaty here is something called "common law copyright." Under this provision any original work, whether written by an individual or a company, is protected by common law copyright from the instant that it is placed in a form accessible to human beings -- that is, when it is written down or recorded. The process of registering your work with the Copyright Office is simply a legal protection, so that you can prove that you claimed authorship from such and such a date. It is absolutely not required that you apply for or be granted an official copyright in order for your work to protected>/B>. All you must prove is original authorship.
Notice the following disclaimer on SlashDot: "The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. Slashdot is not responsible for what they say." This little bit of legalese simply restates the common law copyright rule: if you wrote it, you own it!
I hope people do get burned. (Score:1)
maybe it's my sadistic streak
but I feel if people do get burned
the linux hype will cease
Which can only be a good thing
surely.
Re:How likely is it? (Score:1)
Homer Simpson, Inc (Score:1)
Does this remind anyone of the Simpsons episode where Homer starts an Internet business? He has nothing but a desk and a pencil behind his ear.
The comic store guy asks him for T-1 this and multiplex gigabit that and can Homer provide that for him? Homer stares back at him blankly and says "Can I please have some money now?"
I never thought I'd see it done just like that in real life, but here it is. LinuxOne.
Re:Why will LinuxOne hurt the rest of the communit (Score:1)
Re:Still looking fishy(er) (Score:1)
Guilt by Association? (Score:1)
I don't think so. The world is full of both suckers and those who take advantage of suckers. If someone uses the "Linux" name to take advantage of suckers, they might generate some bad press, but as you can see by the current crop of news articles, most journalists can recognize an obvious sham when they see one.
What worries me more is the possibility of a legitimate company like RedHat or VA Linux running into problems (real or perceived), which will do a lot more to create deep down distrust for "free" software. Another possibility is a big news story about someone planting a serious Trojan inside an Open Source program. Again, this could cause a deep seated distrust for Open Source - products which are not tightly controlled by a corporate entity which can be held responsible.
Of course, the fact that MS has hidden functions in its systems to download customer information to MS hasn't appeared to hurt its ability to sell huge quantities of software... ;-/
Re:Cluestick or LART? Just another symptom (Score:2)
Phase 1: Name "LinuxOne" and announce IPO
Phase 2: ?
Phase 3: Profit!
:-) Methinks Mr. X or whomever over there has watched too much Southpark.
---
These actually exist, you know (Score:1)
Disagree (Score:1)
Taking Ourselves Too Seriously? (Score:2)
However, I still think we take ourselves too seriously. When I start reading, "we ought to be out there..." or "If we play our cards right...", I start to worry. I do not consider myself an anarchist, but even I like a little anarchy now and then. After all, it is a fundamental building block of the Internet. There are a lot of things in life worth fighting for, but I don't think a "loose-knit but well-connected community" is one of them. Working for? YES! But let's focus our attention and energy on making Good Software, not on punishing people who might damage our "brand name".
After all, isn't it the "battle mentality" that got Microsoft into the state it's in now???
Re:Still looking fishy(er) (Score:1)
Re:Still looking fishy(er) (Score:1)
Too bad we cannot fast forward the clock to see what history will say about all this ;-)
Re:They intend to "extend" the kernel (Score:1)
someone got it right! (Score:1)
-JA
Re:Still looking fishy(er) (Score:1)
Check this out!: (Score:1)
interesting, eh?
---
Caution! Read before investing in shoeboy.com! (Score:2)
One problem with distributing DNA source code via gametes is that in that form it won't even compile, much less run. Gametes need to be combined with their corresponding gametes (sperm with egg, f'rinstance) in order to result in usable output. By distributing only sperm over the Internet, Shoeboy cannot guarantee the quality of the resulting product.
This problem might be partially remedied if Shoeboy were to distribute both sperm and eggs over the internet. Since this is probably not feasable in the immediate future, Shoeboy might have to contract with - or even merge with - another company which specializes in egg production. Given Shoeboy's past performance, this doesn't seem likely.
Shoeboy is also quick to point out that his product is completely open source. "Since all future products based on my DNA source code will (by age 13 or so) feel a nearly uncontrollable urge to redistribute their own DNA source code, I am in compliance with the terms of the GPL - just like Linux."
Since only 1/2 (on average) of any resulting zygotes' DNA would be based on Shoeboy's code, it's impossible to say whether they would comply with the terms of the GPL. While some of them might be compelled to "redistribute their own DNA source code" by age 13 or so, experience suggests that many others - particulary those with redundancy in the so-called X chromosome portion of the code - might take far longer to experience this urge. Others might lack it entirely. While it can be argued that, without exception, all previous implementations of Shoeboy's code succeeded in redistributing themselves, it's important to remember that "past performance does not guarantee future results". The past is littered with failed implementations of open-source DNA code.
It's a clever (not to mention laugh-out-loud funny) idea, but given the problems inherent in meiotic reproduction, it is doubtful that internet distribution of gametes will be any better than doing it the old-fashioned way. Personally, I favor the mitotic approach, avoiding the use of gametes entirely. If some company (drox.com, perhaps?) found a way to eliminate the need for random-chance recombination of the DNA source code, the usefulness of future distributions could be more easily assured.
Re:There IS value to LinuxOne (Score:2)
Re:LinuxOne's second product--no shit (Score:2)
mount
cp
WOW. Try harder next time, guys.
Good for y'all to complain.. but... (Score:2)
Investors almost always do *some* research before sticking their money in a company.. they don't just say 'I like this stock symbol.. I'll invest'. That's what *daytraders* do.. and most of them lose money, and they don't significantly alter the market, nor do they provide much capital.
Why was redhat so successful? Well... linux seemed like a potential big thing (I can't argue with that) and redhat was fairly well respected (still is...). When investors asked their techies, or whoever, what about redhat... they would hear 'yeah.. redhat is kinda cool... '..... so it's a fairly good bet that if you were going to invest in the future of linux, redhat would be a start.
Now, things might be a bit different. I dare say that, being a Nevada corporation, without much in the way of disclosure laws, and without some big names on their board, they aren't going to be looking at very much capital during IPO.
Re:How to make money on LINX (Score:2)
Re:Retard haiku (Score:2)
either a troll
or a haiku.
I'm getting really pissed off with moderators
Re:How to make money on LINX (Score:2)
whether this is an e*trade issue or an SEC issue, I dunno, but I can't imagine the SEC would allow this sort of thing.