The Register – August 17, 2006:
Eric Raymond, one of the high priests of open source, has told the community that painful compromises are needed to the way it deals with closed source platforms and formats to avoid losing ground on desktops and new media players.
Raymond said the community is not moving fast enough to engage with non-technical users whose first-choice platform is either an iPod, MP3 player or Microsoft desktop running Windows Media Player.
With iPod holding a massive market share and Windows Vista coming down the pipe, Raymond warned that Linux risks getting locked out of new hardware platforms for the next 30 years unless it proves it can work with iPods, MP3s and WMP.
It was an unexpected reality check from the unorthodox Raymond, author of the famed Cathedral and the Bazaar, participating in a spirited panel at LinuxWorld in San Francisco, California.
I don’t believe software is a religion, I l think you use the right tool for the job. I’ve been using linux for 10 years now and it is so wonderful right now but it still falls short. Especially when you have tools you need to use on it that only run on Windows. Mac is no different, you have office but not Outlook or other tools. I think open source is a good thing to a certain extent but sometimes you just need the tool and have to keep the politics out of it.
-PD
Mac is no different, you have office but not Outlook
Some might consider that a good thing. Outhouse is known for is vulerabilities. Entourage is just as good if not better then Outhouse.
Why would “Linux” care if it’s locked out of Ipods for the next 30 years. Linux is a free operating system. Free as in beer and free as in freedom. If Linux loses it’s freedom then what’s the point? If iPods don’t like the Linux license then they can write their own propriety OS or pay Microsoft.
One thing: I give a rat’s butt as to the itunes/ipod SOFTWARE combo, but I admit that in hard disk MP3 players, the IPOD’s basically got the market sewn up (eg: who else has a 60GB model up).
That being said, I can’t wait for the ROCKBOX software to be reasonable complete for the bigger ipods. The software is open source, and once its ported to the IPODS, I think it’s going to be a big deal for a lot of people. Of course, the software doesn’t support apple’s DRM, but a lot of people have a lot of regular old MP3 files.
Post #1 actually represents the biggest problem Linux has. Ordinary users are led to beleive that if their particular application of choice is not running as-is on Linux that they can’t use Linux. Hence one must respond to such allegations if interested in well beeing of Linux. Linux OS typically comes with a truckload of free applications that can do everything you are doing now on any other system. Additionaly, truckloads of other good software for whatever you imagine is made and provided freely. All by programmers who do that for love of it (mostly). Hence most of these programs are both more capable and safer than anything coming out from the corporate world. Knowing this post #1 simply makes no sense. Particularly quoting example of clumsy unsafe Outlook (there are dozens of e-mail applications for Linux that do more and in a safer way than Outlook, in most of them you can transfer your existing setup/data for seemless transition).
As for propreitary DRM/iPod/RIAA assault on the Linux, the answer is simple. We will be able to use all that hardware/software on Linux if enough people are interested. In a same way as DVDs were dealth with. As result, one will be able to use those media or equivalents with much more freedom on Linux. This can only attract more people to it.
Verdict? Leave propreitary stuff out of Linux. If wise companies decide to make executables to reach this market, better for them. Otherwise, same will happen with small delay and more freedom for users…
If it doesn’t support apples DRM then it will never have mainstream penetration. It’s that simple.
The problem isn’t with Linux anyhow, you can use proprietry software on it if you want, the problem is with the users and developers.
905 of the problem ISNT linux,
Its the Groups that make the MP3, AAC, and the rest of the Codecs..
They make them to run ONLY on specific machines, and iwht ONLY specific players.
To get Access to these codec, TO USE on another OS…SOMEONE is going to need to PAY MONEY…
Want to SOLVE this problem…??
ALL software should have a 5 YEAR copyright…ONLY THEN it becomes OPEN to anyone that wishes to use it…
But THIS is a backdoor to WINDOWS also…They will HOLD BACK, until the copyright ends, and just TAKE what they want.
Does Linux really want to be “mainstream”? There are many commercial distributions of Linux out there, people make money off them, and that’s ok, but do the Linux enthusiasts really want their techno toy to be Windowized? Make the thing end user proof and what you have is just another Windows emulator, and not a very good one, either. I’ve got some left over parts from a rebuild project, and I’m thinking of making a Linux box, but I doubt I’ll do any serious work with it. If I was planting a server farm I might think differently. Thing that gets me, is it seems the assumption is that every consumer, everywhere, just has to spend his/her life 24/7 surrounded by entertainment, and all software/hardware has to play any song, any movie, ever made, on demand. Kinda creepy, really.
Real Networks is going to make it easier to play Windows Media formats in Linux by including support for them in their next release of Real Player for that operating system. However, I believe the Linux version of Real Player still lacks support for portable players.
Linux doesnt want to BECOME a hacker OS, by using and making progs that work, but they dont pay the Royalties for Codecs..
This is a Legit question..
Its holding them back, wanting to be FREE. And wanting the Programs to be free.
Maybe if Linux was not infested with “geniuses” who believe that you should be an outstanding C++ programmer in order to be able to use the OS…
This guy has obviously been ‘turned’ by some viral marketing firm to say this.
Umm, WHAT???
And you have to PAY how much for C++??
And HOw much for Visual Basic, MS Edition, and all the UPDATES and changes…AND STILL cant make a optimized GAME..??
I WANT, a release of ALL the games made under LINUX then PORTEd to DirectX, but Never released under Linux…
SEE the word WANT?? I would be happy for the NEXT 10 years, playing them..
#11 Angel…..I have to agree. What a lot of the Geeks in here forget is that 94% of non-business Internet/Computor users aren’t Geeks. They are simply normal folks who just want to be able to surf, send hassle free emails to Grandma, maybe sneak into a porn site when the wifey/hubby is picking up the kids at band practice. They don’t live and breath techie stuff, they have lives.(flame on) 🙂
I have a group of Uni friends that blog for just ourselves to read(maybe 25 people) and 2 of the guys are true Geeks and use Linux. We tend to kid them a lot because they can go into Geek speak on a moments notice, but it’s just fun. But the one thing we all agree on is that Linux isn’t for the faint of heart. I understand the benifits and the down side of using it, but I can’t get by all the techie stuff that it appears I need to know in order to have a relatively good experience using it. And this is the crux of the Linux problem……..common folks can’t be arsed setting it up and stroking it all day just to do normal things on the net. And having to add all the other things that would be needed to use an iPod, or Mp3 or other stuff just makes it not worth it…even if it’s free.
#14 – you’re forgetting about one thing that all those non-geeks, the 94% of users that many times don’t know how to even install or un-install program (under Windows) got their PC preconfigured with Windows. If you give them pre-configured Linux box with some nice distro they won’t know the difference. And I did test this theory (on my wife 🙂 ) as long as she can see her firefox, thunderbird and printer icons she is all happy, if she needs to do something more complicated she will ask me regardless of what system she’s using at the moment. She couldn’t care less if she’s using Windows or Linux …and I can only imagine faces of her non-geek friends when she tells them that she is using Linux :).
OK,
90% of machines that are sold, ONLY get minor changes to software, AFTER they are used.
Its the original configuration, with monor changes…
Add a printer,
Add a USB device
Add a Cam,
Or Upgrade a device…
change an ISP
THATS ALL…
They might add some software, but nothing that CHANGES the hardware configuration.
It would be hard to be more wrong about this issue than Dusan Maletic is. The iPod is five years old. If there were going to be killer aps that support it in Linux without substanial change in the open source movement, they would already exist. Instead, there’s some lame ass sort of stuff and a plan to try to bully major companies not to use DRM. The DRM matter aside, open source software rarely works as well with most products as their own proprietary software does. So, it is in a less powerfull position to begin with.
Furthermore, reality is that DRM exists for good reason. It is not going to go away. If the open source community wants to play with the cool kids, it will have to accept hybrid open and proprietary applications. Otherwise, the open source guys will be left standing on the sidelines, raking the cooties out of their unkempt beards.