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Richard Stallman: How I do my Computing

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Re: Richard Stallman: How I do my Computing

#91

Post by fleitz »

joshAg wrote: post #9
fleitz wrote: post #3

If you're reading hacker news it probably means you don't share the same rigid commitment to free software as rms and thus his recommendations are virtually useless. I wonder where rms stands on airtravel or using a crosswalk given the non-free software that operates these devices.

"I firmly refuse to install non-free software or tolerate its installed presence on my computer or on computers set up for me. "However, if I am visiting somewhere and the machines available nearby happen to contain non-free software, through no doing of mine, I don't refuse to touch them. I will use them briefly for tasks such as browsing. This limited usage doesn't give my assent to the software's license, or make…

And exactly what does he pay bank fees for if not for the bank to setup ATMs and such to enable him access to his cash. He could keep his cash under his mattress, but chooses not to instead of just admitting cash under a mattress is too inconvenient and that he's rather pay his bank to setup ATMs with non-free software for his benefit.

Skype is an exception but the PSTN is not? This is intellectual BS to the highest degree for RMS to maintain his hoity toity attitude instead of just admitting that it's too inconvenient for even RMS to live the life that RMS preaches. RMS uses A LOT of non-free software by choice when he could choose not too.

Whatever RMS does is pro-freedom, but when I run OS X I'm supporting fascism.

It's a bunch of holier than thou (for christ sakes the guy thinks he's St. Ignutious) assholes making up rules so they can pretend they're better than the rest of us. When you point out how they don't really give a shit about the principles which they shove down your throat they then make exceptions miles wide to avoid looking like the pretentious assholes they are.

Re: Richard Stallman: How I do my Computing

#92

Post by hackermom »

It's like it was still 1980 around him. To me, freedom also includes choosing what I feel like and what I desire, and allowing myself to move with the times rather than against, instead of fooling myself that I strike a blow for freedom by tethering myself to the floor in every single question. All he does is putting restrictions on himself (and in the process also on other people who blindly follow his fundamentalism) rather than removing restrictions and bonds. But that's just me and where I draw my line.

Re: Richard Stallman: How I do my Computing

#93

Post by sgift »

IvoGeorgiev wrote: post #90

I cannot even believe that there are people who agree with this moron. First of all, he's chasing an ideal that's not even THAT valid: not all of the crappy-written software is knowledge, not all source code is worth reading. Plus, proprietary software improves industry. Industry feeds people. Not to mention, in today's world, it is impossible to live without depending on corporations. The only way to live without so…

Let me just paraphrase your words the same way you've paraphrased Stallman: "If something is hard, don't try it! And if you try it: You're a moron!"

You may note that this doesn't accurately reflect your words. That's the risk of paraphrasing without context and argumentation.

Re: Richard Stallman: How I do my Computing

#94

Post by heidar »

jp_sc wrote: post #73
unabridged wrote: post #60

He seemed to cover everything but what phone he uses. Is the closed hardware of android acceptable? Or does he just stick with nonsmart phones?

He doesn't own a cell phone at all. "Stanlin's dream" he calls them. http://www.geekosystem.com/richard-stallman-cell-phones-stal...

I listened to a talk he gave a few years ago and he started by going "Please turn off your global tracking devices." or something of that sort. People laughed but come to think of it, I don't think he was only joking.

Re: Richard Stallman: How I do my Computing

#95

Post by b1daly »

I've only read a few writings by Richard Stallman. It seems plain to me that he is an egomaniac with some kind of rigid obsessional thinking patterns. People like this are very annoying, and ironically undermine their own case if they intend to persuade others of their views.

The willingness with which he labels the practices of large swaths of the population (of the US) "unethical" would be very disturbing if he was a political leader with significant power.

Oddly, the patterns I see evidenced in his writings (that I have read) remind me of the thinking used to justify totalitarian states!

I think his views on his core issue of the badness of copyrighted software are not well thought out and absurd on their face. He makes a point of pointing out that the copyright laws are arbitrary, they are not some kind of natural right. One of his main arguments is that making a copy of a digital good does not destroy the usefulness of the original, or harm the person who has it in his "possession."

What he is apparently oblivious to is that a system of laws is entirely a social construct. It contains huge amounts of arbitrariness. The whole concept of property is extremely abstract, unless you consider it in some kind of caveman scenario. "It is wrong to take this food that a person has in their hands because then they will be deprived of the ability to eat it." As far as I can tell that's how he thinks about property.

I think a lot of his confusion is because he is an absolutist. He thinks laws should be "ethical." There is certainly an overlap between law and morality. But there are major areas of disunion.

IMO, the ability to accept ambiguity in the areas of law, ethics, and personal conduct is needed to keep society humane.

Just writing this to think through my thoughts. I usually try to not be judgmental of others being a fallible human, but I make exception in cases of people who have chosen a career as self appointed judges of their fellows.

Re: Richard Stallman: How I do my Computing

#96

Post by waterlesscloud »

b1daly wrote: post #95

I've only read a few writings by Richard Stallman. It seems plain to me that he is an egomaniac with some kind of rigid obsessional thinking patterns. People like this are very annoying, and ironically undermine their own case if they intend to persuade others of their views. The willingness with which he labels the practices of large swaths of the population (of the US) "unethical" would be very disturbing if he was…

I understand what you're saying...and yet the internet as we know it wouldn't exist without this influence.

It's an odd paradox.

Re: Richard Stallman: How I do my Computing

#97

Post by wazoox »

X-Istence wrote: post #67
homosaur wrote: post #42

The one thing I get kind of annoyed with Stallman at is that he keeps mentioning this Leemote machine he has, which runs free software even in the BIOS. He might as well say that he runs Linux on a magical unicorn. I have tried and never been able to get my hands on one of these things. I'd really like to see Stallman jump off his insistence on free for one second and maybe suggest something realistic for users who c…

I've wanted to purchase a Leemote laptop/computer for a while now, and each time I go searching for them I come back empty handed. That being said, a quick Google search did return valid results this time around, particularly that it is for sale on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Screen-Lemote-Yeeloong-8101_B-Netbook/... It is a $499 dollar 10.1" netbook that runs at 1 Ghz with 1 GB of ram and a 160 GB hard disk. With…

I have an (old) aspire one with about the same characteristics, but for the processor which is an Atom and the RAM which is 512MB. Limited memory is the only seriously annoying factor for web browsing, but I have no problem running vim or emacs on this machine... And you can connect it to a bigger screen. And it's really lightweight.

Re: Richard Stallman: How I do my Computing

#98

Post by pgeorgi »

jff wrote: post #85
homosaur wrote: post #42

The one thing I get kind of annoyed with Stallman at is that he keeps mentioning this Leemote machine he has, which runs free software even in the BIOS. He might as well say that he runs Linux on a magical unicorn. I have tried and never been able to get my hands on one of these things. I'd really like to see Stallman jump off his insistence on free for one second and maybe suggest something realistic for users who c…

Get a laptop capable of running Coreboot. Then you can install Coreboot and Linux (I won't say GNU/Linux, sorry, the GNU tools are the worst part of Linux) and have free software all the way down. The new Chromebooks from Google should be running Coreboot, Linux, and Chromium, all of which are free software. I guess that's also an option. Edit: also, I think this netbook, coupled with Stallman's 40 years of EMACS use…

The dirty little secret of the Chromebooks is that they won't be "free enough" for RMS.

However with manageable effort AMD notebooks should be coreboot-capable (and in fact, one developer aims at coreboot support for one of the HP 635 models)

Re: Richard Stallman: How I do my Computing

#99

Post by kasbah »

jakeonthemove wrote: post #23

Stallman is a smart man, a genius - that's exactly why his way of computing will never be used by most other people. I do my computing in a terribly inefficient way - Windows and GUI as much as possible to avoid text/code and throw as many apps and resources at a task as possible to make it easier/faster - I've managed to outgrow a T9600 Core 2 Duo in daily use (it's 100% loaded all the time), and now I'm on the way…

>If RMS saw me, he'd probably shoot me on the spot

You must be thinking of ESR: http://www.catb.org/~esr/guns/

Re: Richard Stallman: How I do my Computing

#100

Post by fleitz »

ktizo wrote: post #7
fleitz wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Last time I checked iOS (the router OS) is not free, he probably does violate his own principles connecting to the Internet. Rms is like a vegan always preaching some moral high ground and always violating it whenever it becomes inconvenient.

oh noes! we are doomed! Run for the hills, we might get a better view. (yes, you are no doubt correct. I do still view him as an unusual type of rare bearded canary that has decided to take up residence in the coal mine through some form of altruistic bloody-mindedness) [edit] Plus, whatever you may think of him, he is bloody smart.

He may have a high IQ but I wouldn't call him smart. If he was that smart people would be using his system instead of Gates and Jobs system. Gates and Jobs are smart, he's a loud mouth with a PhD. Listening to RMS talk about Windows and iOS is like listening to Tenenbaum lecture Torvalds on how monolithic kernels are a thing of the past.

His system fails to fundamentally solve problems people actually have. I'm sure RMS's systems perfectly solve RMSs problems, and that's great if you're a self-centered pretentious asshole focused solely on your own needs. Unfortunately, if you're a regular joe with average needs his system doesn't solve very many of your problems. Gates and Jobs wisely recognized that catering to the needs of others is actually better for society than focusing solely on one's own needs.

Software freedom for the vast majority of people is having their spreadsheet save them hours of manual calculations so they can catch their kids ballet recital.

Freedom is a tradeoff, that's why we don't live in a society ruled by natural law.

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