Someone posted a comment that struck me as obserd at the time but later on with reflection I understand where the idea came from.

There is a whole philosophy around Linux that is almost cult like in folowing.
Linux folows the philosophy of knowladge being the access key and ignorence being it's own restriction.
You can't drive unless you know how. You can read or write untell you learn to do so. That is the restriction. There are no others. The idea of keeping knowladge from wemen is obsolete and proven to be an artifical limitation by means of artifically induced ignorence.

If you can't drive you obveously can't get anywhere. If you can't code you can't write programs. If you don't know how to use a computer you can't.

Historicly this is a falty approch but it works.
Let us remember the green card spammers used Unix shell acounts. Not MacOs not Windows and not even Linux but an honnest to goddess Unix account. With code in perl to do the grunt work.

However we had more problems with "newbe" users when AoL provided Internet access with some AoL users thinking Usenet was all there was to the Internet and one AoL user actually clamming America Online created the Internet.

Microsoft has a diffrent approch.
With Microsoft ignorence is not a restriction and knowladge is not a liccens.
We are told time and time again if the kind of users that used Windows were using Linux there'd be a lot more problems in the Linux world.
An intresting charge... Solarus land would argue that Linux land has such users and they provide quite remarkable proof thow I hardly needed it myself as I can tell you for a fact such people do use Linux with out any problems at all.
Where is my proof? Me. I'm not some uber geek. I got kicked off my first Unix shell account in the week I signed up.
What makes me specal that rises me above the "avrage user" isn't my brains or some geek quest. I use Linux becouse I refuse to pay for software. If I were to use Windows I'd be pirating it and quite frankly Linux is the legal route for me rather than the cheaper route.

But I do use Linux and it challanges me to understand what I'm doing. I can't fling about in ignorence. I need to learn how to use my computer so that I may use my computer. It's just that simple.

The Microsoft philosophy is that of "trusted computing" the computer manufacter is in charge. They get to deside if you should have access to the Internet or not. They deside what software you should use they deside what websites you can visit they deside what e-mail you can have they deside what features are good and what are evil.

The computer manufacter is the ultimate judge of what you should have.
Becouse the avrage user is dumb. The avrage user dosen't have a certification or specal trainning.
The oversight philosophy. One large monolythic entity that can be sure all are good. Virus writers are individuals outside the loop and one way to stop them is to forbid them access to software develupment tools.
Annother way is to develup a secure operating system.

Then there is the Apple philosophy....
(Apple users always feel left out and in this case I think the Apple philosophy really matters to the topic)

Ignorence isn't a limitation...
But knowladge IS the liccens.

Apple provides the foundation. The computer the operating system etc. You can start up reasonably quick.
From there if you want to code you learn to code. If you want to do something you learn how.
But unlike the Linux philosophy it dosen't require the study of a bunch of unrelated things.

I'd liken Linux to a University with a bunch of BS courses to get to what you really want.
Windows to a toltalitarian government where the gatekeepers are in charge.
Apple to "real life" just do it.

But other anologs work...
Linux is the school of hard knocks.. Learnning the hard way.
Windows is the DMV pass a test get a liccens.
Apple is Nike.. Just do it..

Linux is the Internet download compile research and study.
Windows is the TV or radio "We deside what to will or won't know"
Apple is the libary and book store. Find a nice big fat book on the subject and if it's not enough find annother nice big fat book.

Linux is your car and the tools to repair it. How is something you must learn.
Windows is the macanic who fixes it for you.
Apple is the "how to fix your car" book.

Thies are not perfict anologs of course...

The eductaion system is Linux with all the BS courses.
The education system is Windows with "We will deside what you need to learn" adadtude.
The education system is Apple with "No child is left behind"
The education system is IBM a large monolythic entity who is beaten up and largly the target of much aggression.
The education system is BeOS sabotoged yet doing the best it can to survive and failing.
The education system is BSD a long tradition and history.
The edication system is Geoworks.. nobody believes in it anymore.

And that shows you how an anolog can go anywhere you want to take it...
I may be in love with anologs but I know the weakness. So use it as an oversimplication....

The Mac Os of examples....

Ouch.... Sorry Apple users.... Ouch...
Hay Don't blame me Apple for years sold Mac as "Newbe only"... at least your not like Amiga.. sold as a toy...

Every now and then I see a moderation I disagree with. Ok thats not a big deal it's going to happen from time to time.
But it's been happening with am amazing frequency as of late and I'm wondering of Darl McBride hasn't dumpped some of his stash into the drinks of some /. mods.

I'll give you three wonderful examples.

1. +5 Funny (We don't know why)
One of my posts was modded up +5 funny and I'm seeing this happen a lot. I'll ignore it for others. But I know for a fact that post of mine wasn't funny. I don't think it was deserving of any sort of moderation to be honnest.

Then someone replied to it saying basicly they didn't understand what I was saying. Well if anything that's an automatic mod DOWN.
There is nothing funny about incoherent ramblings and I'll say that even if the ramblings are my own.

2. It also appears someones modding his opinion. One post of mine was modded down 'Troll' and why? Apparently becouse the mod has a diffrent opinion. Gezz you don't get mod points to mod down people for having a diffrent opinion.

Now I put this all aside. It's not a big deal. So a few mods suffered temporary brain damage or something. Or maybe I'm just missing something I don't know.

3. I don't care what you think The "Overrated" and "Underrated" moderations are for correcting moderation. When something is modded up to much you get to nock down a point.

Now I've seen some articals were we get mod wars. I'd get +5 and a few mods would "-1 overrated" me down to +2 or +3 then more mods would bring me back up and so on. This tug of war is nothing more than obnoxous. No I don't aprove. If an artical gets enough attention to have a tug of war I've earnned that +5 in spades.

But that's just a disagreement. You must know I'm going to disagree with every mod down on me. Thats not fair to snipe at.

How about -1 overrated when I've not accepted my automatic +1 and nobody has moderated me up. Now I realise some people have some ideas as to what each moderation level means and thats why people mod -1 overrated but you shouldn't even be allowed to -1 overrated a post at 1.

If it's mod 1 and not a troll or off topic it's not overrated.

In summery...

I've been seeing a lot of strange mods. Not just on me but everywhere and a few recent mods that make Darl McBride look rational.

Edit:
And annother "-1 overated" moderation for no apparent reason.
I'm going to make a guess here that this a mod with a grudge against me.
What could that be? Dose it matter?

People who think abusing the Slashdot moderation system for revenge is effective aren't rational to start with.
I can think of a bunch of reasons someone might hate me. Many of them external to Slashdot. Not a one justifys vengence.

Ok so everyone makes a big fitt over using the same os you try to get everyone else to use.
Well makes sense really. I mean if SCO is trying to get everyone to use SCOs products shouldn't they use SCOs products themselfs?

Well in the same vain Microsoft has recently switched it's main website over to Linux.

I'd drop this on Slashdot but they just did it recently and may switch back.
I still find this slightly funny.

At work I've been working on a night vision camra for the last few days. The camra works the capture card in the computer works the software however. Still looking. Using Windows.

So while I'm setting up the camra someone desides to tell me how someone on the news clames the camra can be destroied by a laser pointer.
Just a quicky on that. The lens on a camra scatters the pointers beam so yes it will blind the camra so will a flashlight. But it won't damage it.

Instead of arguing the point* I point out the computer is programmed to record the persons picture.
*(After all I know how strongly he clings to his myths)

He insists it won't do anything at night untill I point out it's a night vision camra.
(I know better than to try and explain infer red to someone who believes obveous myths)
He then insists it won't work during the DAY. I point out I can turn night vision off.
(I know better than to try an explain how an infer red camra to someone who could think that night vision means 'dosen't work at day time)

Then he clames the night vision image can't be used for facal recognition becouse it's not photograph quality.

All I said at that point is "I've had no such problems" and he just repeates his clame.

It's pritty scarry when someone can say "facal recognition" and "phorograph quality" and not know what he is saying.

("Facal recognition" by means of software. The human eye can pick detail from the most burry of images hence the term has no meaning here.
Of course the camra dosn't produce photograph quality. Nither dose my digital camra. This has pritty much nothing to do with security camras. Unless of course someone invents a servalence camra that can record at photograph quality.)

He's basicly throwing around technical terms he heard and thinks he knows what they mean.

On a side note I didn't want to talk anymore becouse the camra had some sort of defect reguarding the range of it's infer red vision. I'm working on a hack to fix that. It involves a battery powered infer red flood lamp.

How perfictly Slashdot. Yet annother SCO analasis that really dosen't mean anything to the public at large. Do I care? Nope.

At the core of this is the clame that IBM put SCOs intelectual property into Linux and as a result violated SCOs liccens.
Some of that intelectual property turns out to in fact be IBMs property liccensed to SCO not the other way around.
At the same time SCO violates the GPL and it's own liccens with Novel to resell Unix.

Looks like SCO thinks only SCOs liccenses matter.

Thhht Oh boy do I feel dorkish right now.
The Linux destro project is on hold due to unexpected difficultys I'll eventually resolve.
You know what? I should keep this under my hat untill I have something becouse I may never get this off the ground and really do you need more vaperware?

I've switched to a new project for now. What is it? Vaperware.. ok so don't ask. I'll post it up on freshmeat if it ever reaches release stage and it probably won't so it's not something to even care about.

I'm working on my own Linux Destro. I've been discussing it back on MZDM but that is an inappropreate forum for the subject so I've taken to Slashdot to discuss it.

So far I've desided to call it Opti as it's a source destro. This means the system is installed entirely from source code optomised and costume fit for the end user.
It's also a user destro so it's not aimmed at servers (Like LFS and Rock) but for the avrage user.

I don't have a working version ready but it's also been desided that I'll be doing an open beta.
As for the source code. Well obveously I have to give you the source for it to work at all. The install CD is the source CD.

I also plan to have a live automatic update and I want to create an installation archive so you can add software that didn't make it to the CD using smart download/compile and again all from source.

I hope to have a beta CD soon.

Let's face it I'm an oppinionated jerk.
Your going to hate something I have to say and quite often it's really off topic to point out my foobles in a reasonable well thought out mannor.
Well guess what kiddys. I care. Hah blow your mind don't it.
Selfish arrogent self centered yep all true but I care.
No your fealings are like mulch to me. It's the clue stick applyed when I'm in full BAKA mode that helps create the illusion that I'm a sain reasonable human.

So lash away... Oh yes whip me beat me make me write bad checks.