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Richard Stallman's Computer Setup

richard.stallman.usesthis.com

171–180 of 262 posts

Re: Richard Stallman's Computer Setup

#171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Richard Stallman is to software what Jean-Paul Sartres was to philosophy during his time and still now. JPS like RMS was living through his convictions and ideas to the point of refusing the Nobel prize because it would have tinted his motivations. RMS would do the same without any questions. Don't get them wrong: these people are not fanatic, they are just living and breathing a cause they started for a good reason.…

Don't forget that Sartre supported Stalin (and that Orwell despised him for that). The more I live, the more I realize that old men without or with messed up sex lives are not to be trusted as gurus or guides in life. It's the Pied Piper of Hamelin all over again.

Sartre's relevance or value depends on the relevance or value his arguments, not his age or affiliations or sex life. It happens that I think he was full of steam, but it wouldn't make him any better simply to be a woman, or young.

Re: Richard Stallman's Computer Setup

#172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow. I think that's the stupidest thing I've heard in a while. Yes, Steve Jobs, the guy who wants absolute control over every single device that he sells you FOR MONEY - on both software AND hardware level is JUST LIKE Stallaman. I have to say, the quality of HN has gone so downhill recently, I might have to seek an alternative community.

If people were to pick one reason HN has 'gone downhill', disrespectful comment replies would top the list. A controversial feature request- when a new account reaches a negative karma level within a certain period, HN will display all other usernames associated with the IP address of the throwaway.

I'd suggest something different. Reduce the value of throwaway logins by making it impossible to comment for, say, 40 days. We can then modulate the quarantine period according to the level of hostility present on the site. Of coursesmart, flagging and hellbanning remains as usual.

Re: Richard Stallman's Computer Setup

#173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree. Disrespectful comments are just a symptom of the disease. The disease is people saying unbelievably idiotic things, with no regard to fact or logic. Now, if no one were to post retarded bullshit like "Steve Jobs is so much like Stallman", it would be damn difficult for me to disrespect him/her. PS - The mere fact that many people decided to downvote the obvious facts in my previous post just says this pla…

You're making it worse.

@rhizome:

Please return to sticking your head back up your ass and pretending that what you do on Rails is actually "coding".

Re: Richard Stallman's Computer Setup

#174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't take this the wrong way but I personally feel that the GPL is not a free software license, I feel it's a community software license. BSD is a free software license, BSD code is truly yours, you want to create a proprietary fork you can do it, you want to create a GPLed fork you can do it, you want to expand the BSD code base you can do it. One thing I really love about BSD licensed code is that I feel like I ow…

>you want to create a proprietary fork you can do it Why should you be allowed to take away the Freedoms of others? The one thing the GPL restricts is your Freedom to restrict the Freedom of others. That's the foundation of copyleft: your rights stop where mine begin, and that includes being granted the four Freedoms of software as defined by the FSF. In an ideal world, we would not need the GPL. Everyone would have…

How do you take away anybody's freedoms without coercion?

Re: Richard Stallman's Computer Setup

#175
post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

..and let me guess, you don't mind the company doing the proprietary fork, sue/threaten the open source forking guys, use software patents as a weapon/threat against open source developers. and you don't mind getting someone else's work, and giving nothing back. In short your freedom is an egoistic tactic where you take, use and even abuse but dont care. There are people like RMS who think otherwise; they want a worl…

That's quite the extrapolation. When did I ever say I don't mind those things? I mind them very much. I also mind being forced to do something. I can make a proprietary fork and still give back; when are those two things mutually exclusive? In your quest for "freedom", you're endorsing a license that forces people to do something. Isn't that the very antithesis of freedom?

It's a little hard to argue that the GPL forces anyone to do anything.

It certainly places conditions on the use of code which has been released under it, but it doesn't take away the choice to not use that code.

Re: Richard Stallman's Computer Setup

#176

Stallman reminds me more of Steve Jobs than anyone else does: - 70's wunderkind - simple, clear belief about what computing should be - realized his vision, creating permanent improvement enjoyed directly or indirectly by every computer user - uncompromising in his determination to control his environment Personally I believe he has some major blind spots -- so did Jobs. The failure of this community to hold him in c…

Wow. I think that's the stupidest thing I've heard in a while. Yes, Steve Jobs, the guy who wants absolute control over every single device that he sells you FOR MONEY - on both software AND hardware level is JUST LIKE Stallaman. I have to say, the quality of HN has gone so downhill recently, I might have to seek an alternative community.

I wouldn't call it stupid, so much as superficial. Those qualities, apart from the temporal connection, could be applied to most people who have achieved any notable stature.

Re: Richard Stallman's Computer Setup

#177
post #32

The Lemote link was broken when I was reading the article. This may be the updated link? http://www.lemote.com/en/products/Notebook/2010/0310/112.htm...

I guess, that's the same one I came down here to post. Looks like it might be a pretty neat little machine.

Re: Richard Stallman's Computer Setup

#179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow. I think that's the stupidest thing I've heard in a while. Yes, Steve Jobs, the guy who wants absolute control over every single device that he sells you FOR MONEY - on both software AND hardware level is JUST LIKE Stallaman. I have to say, the quality of HN has gone so downhill recently, I might have to seek an alternative community.

I wouldn't call it stupid, so much as superficial. Those qualities, apart from the temporal connection, could be applied to most people who have achieved any notable stature.

For me, it is right up there with "Europe is a country".
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