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RMS lifestyle

stallman.org

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Re: RMS lifestyle

#141

Post by suhastech »

pjscott wrote: post #111
suhastech wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This kind of thinking did happen to me when I tried to generate a consistent world view. At this point, there are just too many contradictions, I'd rather forget and simply accept the absurd . For example, being an atheist, I don't particularly believe in holidays myself. I do enjoy myself with my family even if it mean a few capitalists make a little more money during the season. On the whole, a meaningless event ma…

I don't see the absurdity. You like having holidays because you find them fun. You're happy to go along with religious and/or relentlessly capitalistic holidays for the sake of expediency, because (as mentioned in the previous sentence) holidays are fun for you. There's not a single part of this that doesn't make sense.

I was referring to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absurdism#cite_ref-6

Re: RMS lifestyle

#142

Post by simula67 »

yason wrote: post #99
IvyMike wrote: post #2

It annoys me how willing he is to push the externalities of his decisions onto other people. ("I won't carry a cell phone, but fortunately everyone else does and I can just mooch off of them"). It's like that friend who won't own a car but sure as hell will mooch a ride. This reminds me of a story my friend told me. Back in the early 90's(?) my friend had his lunch eaten by RMS, several times. I don't think it was ma…

It is not a problem if his friends don't object to borrowing him a phone, nor is it Stallman's responsibility to carry a phone so that his friends don't even have to not object. If someone doesn't like him asking for a phone or lunch or whatever, then I assume it would be up to that someone to reject his request. It's not like Stallman goes around grabbing people's phones or lunches without asking first.

Let me put forth another analogy from 'Surely You are Joking Mr Feynman':

Lets say you believe killing someone is evil. Then would you think it is OK to ask some else to kill someone for you ?

There is a reason people may not object to Stallman's request. Whatever that reason is it helps promote the surveillence mechanism that Stallman believes to be cellphones.

Re: RMS lifestyle

#143

Post by Nyubis »

supergauntlet wrote: post #73
derleth wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> RMS has thought deeply through these issues for decades, you aren't going to discredit him with 5 minutes of snark. But he has weird personal hygiene. Certainly that invalidates one or two of his moral/philosophical points! /s

Based on the comments I've seen so far I'm surprised nobody has linked the YouTube video of him eating something out of his foot.

For the curious: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I25UeVXrEHQ

Re: RMS lifestyle

#144

Post by sigzero »

jrabone wrote: post #130
gohrt wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Huh. I thought he had a free-libre cell phone at some point. Anyway, one can buy a throwaway cell phone in cash, and power it down when not in use, I thought. Like drug dealers do. Still surveillable, but no more than any borrowed phone.

I discovered a couple of years ago (when my phone, er, met with a nasty firmware accident) that you cannot buy a phone in the UK over the counter without also buying a Pay-As-You-Go SIM with a traceable means of payment (ie. card). They simply refused to sell the phone to me unless I forked over £10 for a SIM I didn't want. Apparently the French are to blame for this little piece of legislation. I politely told them…

> but I never said I was a nice person

No, apparently you're a dick.

Re: RMS lifestyle

#145

Post by glaze »

gohrt wrote: post #50
IvyMike wrote: post #2

It annoys me how willing he is to push the externalities of his decisions onto other people. ("I won't carry a cell phone, but fortunately everyone else does and I can just mooch off of them"). It's like that friend who won't own a car but sure as hell will mooch a ride. This reminds me of a story my friend told me. Back in the early 90's(?) my friend had his lunch eaten by RMS, several times. I don't think it was ma…

Huh. I thought he had a free-libre cell phone at some point. Anyway, one can buy a throwaway cell phone in cash, and power it down when not in use, I thought. Like drug dealers do. Still surveillable, but no more than any borrowed phone.

Some cellphones can be wiretapped even when powered off.

http://news.cnet.com/2100-1029_3-6140191.html

Re: RMS lifestyle

#146

Post by belorn »

reedlaw wrote: post #135
belorn wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Covert_listening_device . Most phones can be remotely updated with software by the carrier, and the GSM protocol allows for remote update of the firmware.

What if you have a stock Android, like a Nexus or a rooted phone?

To my understanding, the GSM firmware can be remotely updated through the GSM protocol. If such firmware update has access to the memory, it can then do any type of exploits including accessing the microphone.

Through I suspect there are much easier methods, such as attacking the software stack itself like: https://www.usenix.org/system/files/conference/woot12/woot12...

Re: RMS lifestyle

#147

Post by quesera »

interject wrote: post #137
kunai wrote: post #27

While his eccentricities mirror those of a mad scientist (or really just an institutionalized person, depending on whom you ask), you cannot deny that RMS is a genius. His work in free software has enabled much recursive work in the computer science fields that wouldn't be possible without his contributions. gcc is without a doubt still the most advanced compiler available today. The GNU coreutils are nowhere near th…

I'd just like to interject for a moment. What you're referring to as Linux, is in fact, GNU/Linux, or as I've recently taken to calling it, GNU plus Linux. Linux is not an operating system unto itself, but rather another free component of a fully functioning GNU system made useful by the GNU corelibs, shell utilities and vital system components comprising a full OS as defined by POSIX. Many computer users run a modif…

I think most folks here know all of the above.

The point you might be overlooking is that the GNU userland was established back in the 80s. Most UNIXes (there were many, and at least a dozen "common" ones) shipped with AT&T or custom or (later) BSD versions of these userland tools.

GNU was brilliant because it was portable to most of those pathologically differentiated UNIXes, and it meant that arguments and behaviors were predictable, after you installed the GNU tools.

Then along came Linux. Of course it used the GNU tools. Everyone used GNU tools. The different part was that the kernel was free and not BSD (which had recently emerged from serious political and licensing drama, and -- if the old story is to be believed -- Linus was completely unaware of).

Soon there were dozens of operating systems sharing that kernel. The important categorization of them is that they were all Linux. And yeah, they ran the GNU userland, like every other non-pathological UNIX that wasn't BSD. Any other choice would have been hugely surprising (and doomed Linux).

So yes, GNU deserves prominence. But "GNU" wasn't omitted from the common naming due to any hostility or ignorance. It was just obvious, and not new or noteworthy in that sense.

It hurt RMS's feelings, and he has been vocal about it. Everyone agrees that GNU deserves much respect, but many people are turned off by the way RMS has reacted to his feelings of disappointment.

It's not fair, but few things in life are, and many people have difficulty sympathizing with RMS.

Re: RMS lifestyle

#148

Post by claudius »

pmarin wrote: post #84
gohrt wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Huh. I thought he had a free-libre cell phone at some point. Anyway, one can buy a throwaway cell phone in cash, and power it down when not in use, I thought. Like drug dealers do. Still surveillable, but no more than any borrowed phone.

Anyway, one can buy a throwaway cell phone in cash you can not do it in many countries like Spain where you have to provide your ID (because of terrorism).

Hm, curious. In Germany (and Austria, wherefrom I got my N9), it is perfectly fine to buy a phone. What you cannot do (legally) is buy a SIM card without ID – however, most shops just require you to fill in some form and don’t bother checking any form of ID.

Re: RMS lifestyle

#149

Post by claudius »

interject wrote: post #137
kunai wrote: post #27

While his eccentricities mirror those of a mad scientist (or really just an institutionalized person, depending on whom you ask), you cannot deny that RMS is a genius. His work in free software has enabled much recursive work in the computer science fields that wouldn't be possible without his contributions. gcc is without a doubt still the most advanced compiler available today. The GNU coreutils are nowhere near th…

I'd just like to interject for a moment. What you're referring to as Linux, is in fact, GNU/Linux, or as I've recently taken to calling it, GNU plus Linux. Linux is not an operating system unto itself, but rather another free component of a fully functioning GNU system made useful by the GNU corelibs, shell utilities and vital system components comprising a full OS as defined by POSIX. Many computer users run a modif…

While I agree that GNU software makes up an important part of a Linux system, I do not see a reason to include it in the name – doing so with every important part of my computer would result in the short and easily pronounceable name Opera/Pidgin/Claws-Mail/Xfce/Debian GNU/Linux. Or something like that.

So I really think that it is perfectly fine to name a system by it’s lowest possible encapsulated unit of software (kernel). In my case, this is Linux.

Re: RMS lifestyle

#150

Post by dreamfactory »

mwfunk wrote: post #68

I see a lot of shock at the negative comments about RMS here. Those who are appalled at the lack of respect here need to understand that there are a lot of people within the tech world that have developed very complicated feelings about RMS over the course of the past 20-30 years. I mean, sure, a lot of people who don't know a whole lot about him or haven't had to deal with him over the course of decades might have s…

He's just a guy with his own opinions; obviously we won't all agree. The main disapproval I see (sometimes dressed as disappointment) is that he isn't at all conventional (and that includes living up to some kind of societal expectation around leadership).
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