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Richard Stallman reveals he has cancer in the GNU 40 Hacker Meeting talk [video]

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Re: Richard Stallman reveals he has cancer in the GNU 40 Hacker Meeting talk [video]

#821

Post by fennecfoxy »

garba_dlm wrote: post #575
PostOnce wrote: post #322

Stallman's character is one of the reasons I have repeatedly considered establishing some kind of "Church of Computing", i.e. an organized "religion" solely to secure religious protections and rights as they apply to the modern world. For example, the right not to have to use some random company's app to interact with a government agency or a public school (and agree to said company's EULA, etc). It only takes a few…

what we really need, is for "engineering" as a discipline to rise to the same status as arts and sciences. computer science is not real. computers are not found in nature. they're not a natural object, hence the methodology of study (from a philosophy of science standpoint) cannot be the same. similarly to how math is not subjected to experimentation; but to intelligibility (a modern math proof is accepted if mathema…

Well, realistically we need the world to care about STEM as much as it cares about the Kardashians.

Almost every human being reaps the benefits of our technological and scientific progress in some way, but only a small portion of us contribute to it.

Of course, there are plenty of other important areas of work, but it certainly wouldn't hurt to have a higher percentage of people be interested in this stuff.

It's just so crazy, that using "cutting edge integrated circuit R&D" as an example, there are maybe what, a dozen people in the world who are intensely familiar with that ecosystem? And yet it forms one of the pillars of our entire modern world.

I think people in the medical field are probably the most important, though. Can't do science or write code if you're sick, so I have an intense appreciation for them; they help all of us.

Re: Richard Stallman reveals he has cancer in the GNU 40 Hacker Meeting talk [video]

#822

Post by thiagoharry »

robertlagrant wrote: post #780
Qwertious wrote: post #675

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't want to defend Mao/Stalin, fuck em both, but: If you're counting deaths by starvation under a communist regime as "death by communism", then you have to count deaths by starvation under capitalism as "death by capitalism". Poverty kills a whooooole lot of people, and the current system is broken specifically because the billionaires who benefit are specifically blocking any attempts to fix the system - like o…

> If you're counting deaths by starvation under a communist regime as "death by communism", then you have to count deaths by starvation under capitalism as "death by capitalism". No you don't. It's not all starvation deaths. Mao deliberately - through the insane power Communism bestows on the state - told farmers what to farm and how to farm, and punshed harshly those who disobeyed. And because they obeyed, and only…

So you agree to put the bigger death toll of Chinese famine from 1850 to 1873 in "death by capitalism"? It was the capitalist powers that caused this destroying the country infrastructure after a war because such powers wanted to open markets in the country and were even sponsoring drug trafficking for this end.

Re: Richard Stallman reveals he has cancer in the GNU 40 Hacker Meeting talk [video]

#823

Post by oblio »

d_tr wrote: post #692
op00to wrote: post #416

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I posted elsewhere in the thread he came to my university for a talk, and spent the time staring at women's chests.

Yeah you 're petty, we get it.

> Yeah you 're petty, we get it.

Really? Should OP just bask in Stallman's glory and not notice things that were bad etiquette even in the Victorian era?

Stallman's done some amazing somethings, some average things and some repugnant things (including the field of software engineering/Free Software; see the Emacs and GCC forks, his maintanership of Emacs in the latter part of his time as main maintainer, etc).

Re: Richard Stallman reveals he has cancer in the GNU 40 Hacker Meeting talk [video]

#824

Post by vladislavv »

omgmajk wrote: post #361
leansensei wrote: post #320

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Since 1997 here -- still my OS of choice, for desktops, laptops, and servers. I enjoy FreeBSD and NetBSD too, but Debian feels like "home". No surprises, no gotchas, no telemetry, no nonsense. Every time I have to use my Windows 10 corporate laptop, I become even more bewildered that people actually tolerate such a farce as their daily computing environment.

You and I are quite alike it seems, Linux always on some device, server, laptop since 1997 - Debian is home. I do tolerate Windows to some extent however, it doesn't bother me too much. But that might be the gaming nerd inside talking.

With steam and proton why bother?

Re: Richard Stallman reveals he has cancer in the GNU 40 Hacker Meeting talk [video]

#825

Post by 93po »

sentientslug wrote: post #815
93po wrote: post #771

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I personally think the more appropriate request would be to first research instead of asking him to answer your question, and if incomplete, secondly to kindly show interest in him, at some further point, discussing this more in a public way when he feels ready to do so. Obv he doesn't seem to mind the question. Just my approach.

It sounds like you’re not familiar with Stallman. He balks at such social constructs. Watch any video of him speaking and you’ll understand.

I appreciate the feedback - you're right I'm not familiar. I appreciated learning that.

Re: Richard Stallman reveals he has cancer in the GNU 40 Hacker Meeting talk [video]

#826

Post by fragmede »

luma wrote: post #353
fragmede wrote: post #312

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just want an IoT plug so I can switch things off and on. It should expose a tcp port and allow me to send packets to it via wifi with some level of authentication. I don't want any cloud shit with it. Just a simple (okay, it's not actually that simple) device that connects to wifi and lets me throw packets at it to control it. Without GNU, that's just a fever dream. Many cancers are survivable these days. I hope he…

Check out the Sonoff S31: https://sonoff.tech/product/smart-plugs/s31-s31lite/ You get an ESP8266 micro with wifi plus a power supply, relay, momentary button, current and voltage sense, and a couple LEDs all for about $8. Serial debug and flash headers are broken out for easy access on the PCB. They ship with chinese firmware but the headers and standard hardware make them dead simple to flash with your own firmware…

Boughted! Now to take them apart.

Re: Richard Stallman reveals he has cancer in the GNU 40 Hacker Meeting talk [video]

#827

Post by garba_dlm »

fennecfoxy wrote: post #821
garba_dlm wrote: post #575

Earlier quoted context omitted.

what we really need, is for "engineering" as a discipline to rise to the same status as arts and sciences. computer science is not real. computers are not found in nature. they're not a natural object, hence the methodology of study (from a philosophy of science standpoint) cannot be the same. similarly to how math is not subjected to experimentation; but to intelligibility (a modern math proof is accepted if mathema…

Well, realistically we need the world to care about STEM as much as it cares about the Kardashians. Almost every human being reaps the benefits of our technological and scientific progress in some way, but only a small portion of us contribute to it. Of course, there are plenty of other important areas of work, but it certainly wouldn't hurt to have a higher percentage of people be interested in this stuff. It's just…

as a person who has wished they could have studied microchip design, I assure you that the fact there are so little people able to do that is no accident.

the less people can do it the more valuable the skill is, or maybe they're really smart people and I just ain't got what it takes.

Re: Richard Stallman reveals he has cancer in the GNU 40 Hacker Meeting talk [video]

#828

Post by d_tr »

oblio wrote: post #823
d_tr wrote: post #692

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah you 're petty, we get it.

> Yeah you 're petty, we get it. Really? Should OP just bask in Stallman's glory and not notice things that were bad etiquette even in the Victorian era? Stallman's done some amazing somethings, some average things and some repugnant things (including the field of software engineering/Free Software; see the Emacs and GCC forks, his maintanership of Emacs in the latter part of his time as main maintainer, etc).

> Should OP just bask in Stallman's glory and not notice things that were bad etiquette even in the Victorian era?

No. But I 'm not sure whether you 've read OP's other comments in this topic (about Stallman's cancer), some of which are hidden due to downvotes.

Re: Richard Stallman reveals he has cancer in the GNU 40 Hacker Meeting talk [video]

#829

Post by fennecfoxy »

garba_dlm wrote: post #827
fennecfoxy wrote: post #821

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, realistically we need the world to care about STEM as much as it cares about the Kardashians. Almost every human being reaps the benefits of our technological and scientific progress in some way, but only a small portion of us contribute to it. Of course, there are plenty of other important areas of work, but it certainly wouldn't hurt to have a higher percentage of people be interested in this stuff. It's just…

as a person who has wished they could have studied microchip design, I assure you that the fact there are so little people able to do that is no accident. the less people can do it the more valuable the skill is, or maybe they're really smart people and I just ain't got what it takes.

Maybe I'm reading it wrong but do you believe there's some conspiracy to stop so many people from getting into such a field? I wouldn't think this is the case seeing as the industry is crying out for young blood atm.

I think realistically, the reason I never got into that sort of thing, and probably for the same for you, is that it requires a lot of intelligence (probably more than I have aha), but for the most part some of the most extreme levels of dedication and specialisation of any field.

I like technology _in general_ too much and I don't think I'd have ever had the mental capacity nor willpower to dedicate myself to such a narrow but incredibly deep slice in such fashion as those who are at the forefront of that field.

Re: Richard Stallman reveals he has cancer in the GNU 40 Hacker Meeting talk [video]

#830

Post by MikeRichardson »

tmccrary55 wrote: post #473
vasco wrote: post #319

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd bet there will be a blockbuster movie about this guy within 10 years of him dying and it'll be in the pop culture, and maybe even stoke a temporary privacy / freedom focus for a while in common consciousness. Unfortunately the world doesn't know how to really appreciate people as much when they're alive for some personality types.

Nick Offerman as Richard Stallman.

Yes.
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