26 Aug
2005
26 Aug
'05
12:24 a.m.
Pete Bessman wrote:
On Fri, 2005-08-26 at 10:12 +1000, Shayne O'Connor
wrote:
<snip>
sorry to snip so much, but as i said ... who wants/needs to use
GNU/Linux in everyday conversation and in general discussion. i only
suggest that if you're getting some sort of wiki or web page that is
going to be a primer in all things related to linux software, then gee
- it's pretty damned easy just to write GNU/Linux. seriously, if the
concept of Free software is that hard to grasp, then i doubt anyone's
going to have any luck with the stuff that *actually is confusing* -
like getting a piece of software installed.
it's got nothing to do with ideology, and everything to do with reality.
GNU/Linux. Three letters and a backslash. The FSF is so much more than
just a pain in the arse - as its name implies, it is a foundation on
which *lots* of stuff has been built.
when yr mate asks how you roll beats in future, shouldn't you just say
"with a program called Specimen"?
shayne
by all means, do what you want - but you can have
yr fruitcake and eat
it, too.
If you don't think "GNU" and "Free Software" are stumbling blocks
to
mainstream adoption of the fruit of our community's labor, then I must
conclude, to borrow a concept from Samizdata, that you and I exist in
alternate realities. I have been a non-stop evangelist for our platform
in Real Life (TM), in many bands and with many musicians (and the
occasional fan). And based on my Real Life (TM) experience with these
groups, I find the results of "GNU/Linux," "Free Software," et al, to
be
exceedingly suboptimal.
Here's my recollection of how an exemplary conversation went down with a
bassist I once worked with:
"Hey man, that beat is pretty slick, whadja use to roll it?"
'A free software sampler I wrote for GNU/Linux.'