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Richard Stallman on Steve Jobs

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Re: Richard Stallman on Steve Jobs

#101

Post by gatlin »

nxn wrote: post #76

"We can only hope his successors, as they attempt to carry on his legacy, will be less effective." Or perhaps the hope should be to make more "effective" free software instead of having ill wishes towards your competitors. I mean, Stallman can really preach about free software all he wants, but most people in the consumer world probably wont turn down a superior closed source product based on that merit alone. The bi…

Fun with circles:

Nobody cares about free software. Free software then becomes the domain of technical folks paid by big companies and amateurs. Because of this, nobody cares about free software, so it remains the domain of:

Re: Richard Stallman on Steve Jobs

#102

Post by gatlin »

lurch_mojoff wrote: post #91
Greg12x wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow. How really? He was writing his opinion. Is that considered psychopath?

Lack of empathy is the definition of psychopathy. A psychopath will look at someone ran over on the street and think "too bad it ruined that nice jacket" or something similarly disjointed form the fact that a human being is dead. Stallman's comment is similarly unempathetic.

A psychopath might also feel kinship with someone they've never met and defend them like family.

*

Or we could stop calling each other psychopaths.

Re: Richard Stallman on Steve Jobs

#103

Post by thetruthsayer »

Toady wrote: post #73
flarg wrote: post #33

Stallman is consistent and vastly intelligent and whilst his comments can be seen as insensitive he is quite correct that Steve Jobs did suppress software freedom. We don't go to Stallman for sensitivity (you're a dolt if you do), we go to him for the truth, no matter how painful. We can all do with that sometimes - http://www.skepticblog.org/2011/10/06/steve-jobs-succumbs-to...

Equating the iPhone to a "jail" is goofy political hyperbole. Normal people don't even view software in that context. It's just a piece of hardware and software they choose to use or not use. Stallman represents the strain of computer nerds who want to view their hobby as the bold movement of a freedom fighter. They are out-of-touch and don't understand what normal people think and feel. They want their nerd playgrou…

No it's the difference between buying a computer and a fucking toaster that screws you with DRM, vendor lock in and a paywall before you can add any value to it.

Re: Richard Stallman on Steve Jobs

#104

Post by bluekeybox »

gatlin wrote: post #102
lurch_mojoff wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lack of empathy is the definition of psychopathy. A psychopath will look at someone ran over on the street and think "too bad it ruined that nice jacket" or something similarly disjointed form the fact that a human being is dead. Stallman's comment is similarly unempathetic.

A psychopath might also feel kinship with someone they've never met and defend them like family. * Or we could stop calling each other psychopaths.

> A psychopath might also feel kinship with someone they've never met and defend them like family

No, psychopaths don't feel kinship with anything but themselves.

Re: Richard Stallman on Steve Jobs

#105

Post by gatlin »

bluekeybox wrote: post #104
gatlin wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A psychopath might also feel kinship with someone they've never met and defend them like family. * Or we could stop calling each other psychopaths.

> A psychopath might also feel kinship with someone they've never met and defend them like family No, psychopaths don't feel kinship with anything but themselves.

I lost a point for suggesting that we not bandy about a medical term as a pejorative. I apologize for offending anyone.

Re: Richard Stallman on Steve Jobs

#106

Post by srdev »

RexRollman wrote: post #51
api wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And yet, the market has spoken, and here's why: Only technology monarchism has been able to deliver a good user experience. The organized chaos of OSS has delivered excellent technology but a piss-poor user experience by comparison. I can't imagine using Linux as anything other than a web-netbook without having a thorough understanding of it, and the UI still blows by comparison with anything by Apple. Microsoft's UI…

When it comes to computing, it seems to me that most people would rather have a pretty prison than freedom.

A closed computing environment isn't a prison. I have the choice of using an iPad or something more open. If I choose an iPad and later wish for something more open, then I can replace it with a more open tablet or a laptop. I find the implication that I "prefer a prison to freedom" disingenuous and off-putting.

Re: Richard Stallman on Steve Jobs

#107

Post by bluekeybox »

gatlin wrote: post #105
bluekeybox wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> A psychopath might also feel kinship with someone they've never met and defend them like family No, psychopaths don't feel kinship with anything but themselves.

I lost a point for suggesting that we not bandy about a medical term as a pejorative. I apologize for offending anyone.

No hard feelings; nice little site you have. I would drop reference to bitter humor from "hire me" page though; not many bosses I know like bitter people.

Re: Richard Stallman on Steve Jobs

#108

Post by gatlin »

gatlin wrote: post #105
bluekeybox wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> A psychopath might also feel kinship with someone they've never met and defend them like family No, psychopaths don't feel kinship with anything but themselves.

I lost a point for suggesting that we not bandy about a medical term as a pejorative. I apologize for offending anyone.

(Reply to bluekeybox). I appreciate the compliment and advice. I may tone my language down but I figured I should be honest! :)

Re: Richard Stallman on Steve Jobs

#109

Post by RobertKohr »

SkyMarshal wrote: post #100
brlewis wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

...I would expect the stories and comments to move to a full and varied spectrum of views....there needs to be room for a larger conversation. You said this well, but it's been said better: "Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote…

I find myself wondering which one you're referring to with that quote - Jobs or Stallman. That's probably a good thing.

It is obvious he means both.

Re: Richard Stallman on Steve Jobs

#110

Post by T-hawk »

marshray wrote: post #94
richcollins wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

His claim is that the negatives outweigh the positives and that its a good thing that Steve Jobs no longer actively influences computing. I can't disagree with this sentiment more. Making technology that people can actually use is far better than making unusable technology that is open.

But it's a false dichotomy. There's nothing inherent about usability that requires jailed computing. I submit two examples: 1. The Apple Mac was unquestioningly a pioneer in computer usability. Yet it didn't need a kernel that refused to run apps that weren't "approved" with a cryptographic signature from some central authority. (Yes the original Mac case was closed but there was a high voltage monitor in there and i…

> There's nothing inherent about usability that requires jailed computing.

Not a requirement, but there is a correlation. Programming for an unjailed ecosystem takes more effort to support the vastly wider environments on the devices. Classic example (in an industry largely orthogonal to Apple, to factor Apple out of the discussion): game programming for a PC versus a console. The PC game company has to support a million different combinations of video and sound and input hardware and operating system, which takes mountains of effort (or cost) that the console company can put into the actual game experience instead (or save the costs.)

This happens at smaller scales too. An iPhone developer has to support exactly one form factor, exactly one screen size, exactly one input method. An Android developer needs to contend with a wide range of screen sizes and resolutions and keyboards and touch responsitivity. Sure, it's possible for the Android developer to accommodate all those devices. But we live in the reality of the capitalist market, where the resources to make that investment of time and effort may not be available.

Taking choice away from the user, imposing a jailed environment, can indeed lead to a better experience overall, in that the content producers can focus more tightly.

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