Finally. I'm fairly sure that the only thing holding us back from colonising space is a means of buying things over the internet.

Whether or not it's legal is a different matter, but the spirit of the GPL is clearly the proliferation of open source software. Split licence variations have always been very much a compromise on the ideals of the GPL. The line gets muddier when GPL'd software relies on third party extensions to operate effectively. However, at the end of the day, if you're a developer and you don't like the idea of split licence models, then don't develop code for them. There are thousands of other projects out there which are pure GPL.

If there is one rule to running a successful group of any kind it is to be committed to running it on schedule, without fail. In the early days, you may get 2 people to turn up. You may get none. Don't stop, keep hosting it. Just sit there and read a magazine or write a cool script. Getting past the early discouragement you may encounter can be hard, so be ready for it. Give yourself at least a year.

As for activities, ask the early joining members what they want to do. If you engage people and include their input in the direction of your group then they will remain members for a long time to come and they will be inspired to recruit others because they will be proud of the group.

Good luck!

Q. And what do you think will drive better battery technology? A. The *need* for better battery technology. If the world subscribed to your point of view we probably wouldn't have invented the wheel yet because we were waiting to come up with a good enough axle. Most technologies are highly dependent on other technologies which means they improve iteratively over time. Do you know how inferior early internal combustion engines were compared with today's? And yet we didn't give up on the car altogether.

Spoken by someone who clearly has no idea what car enthusiasts think or how much influence they have on the industry. The Tesla model S goes from 0-60 in 4.4 seconds which puts it in the seriously quick category. Now, exactly what makes you think it's slow? Or are you just playing internets?

No, that is not Tesla's job. Tesla are fulfilling a very important part of getting the industry to take electric cars seriously by appealing to the car enthusiasts. This group represents a big barrier to green technology cars because they are traditionally seen as pokey, boring machines. Tesla are changing that perception and there are plenty of other companies who are now starting to produce cheaper electric vehicles. Tesla should keep doing what they are doing - challenging the dominance of the petrol driven sports car.

You're sarcastic response not withstanding, the point you make is correct. However, in reality a review of something on this scale will necessarily be accompanied by a review of the software. MS has a bad history when it comes to supporting open standards - they like to tweak and extend them - html, css, c++ just for starters. This will make the adoption of ODF by the govt less appealing because they will be relying on MS to behave. So, what are they left with? OpenOffice, AbiWord LibreOffice. If these get rejected as non-business suitable then ODF may follow quickly behind them.

I want to make it clear that I agree with the idea of moving to ODF, but I have seen how these things get killed off in their infancy time and time again because of entrenched systems.

I doubt it. I worked in R&D for the Aussie government for many years and we were not supposed to accept so much as a free coffee from vendors. There is a very strict set of tendering and purchasing protocols and general sense of paranoia about showing any kind of favouritism or cutting deals. That's not to say it never happens, but for something on this scale I would say it is highly unlikely.

I should also say that this exact question of moving to OpenDocument has come up several times before in Aus gov and got nowhere. The problem is that in the small sample trials they run, the software just fails miserably to deliver on multiple levels. I know this is probably going to upset those of you who are blinded by fanboism, but the fact is that MS office is super super stable and open office hasn't reached that level yet. Hopefully one day it will.

Haters gonna hate.

In Australia, where this article is about, the police *don't* decide the laws. But as enforcers of the law they are an important part of the consultation process for developing laws - they are often the ones who encounter these things first hand in their day to day work.

Ok, so not only did you not RTFA, but you misunderstood the summary. The police aren't banning 3D printing. They're not banning the material used in 3D printing. They are banning 3D printed guns. That's it.

I'm so glad that today's social media options didn't exist when I was at school. I shudder to think of the things I would have thought would be fun to post on the internet.

Is that comment for real???! It also happens to help if you're one of the most successful and insightful businessmen walking the planet regardless of where you come from.

Yeah man. It's a total conspiracy man. Those dictionary guys are totally in the pocket of those copyright holders. I'd keep going, but I'm worried that the aliens will hear my thoughts.

If that is what you *really* think then you need to update your dictionary.
If you know perfectly well that piracy has more than one meaning, then stop trying to combat FUD with FUD. It does not serve your purpose well.