26 Aug
2005
26 Aug
'05
11:09 a.m.
On Fri, 26 Aug 2005 12:25:25 +1000, "Shayne O'Connor"
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.
Where are you going with this? I just wrote a long ass email about why
GNU-approved terminology is a stumbling block to adoption. The fact
that it's a subtle concept which is not immediately grasped was only
part of the picture. And ease of typing has nothing to do with it.
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.
*I* had trouble with "GNU/Linux" and "Free Software," and I *wrote*
Specimen. A task which, in my experience, is almost as confusing as
installing software.
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.
You've got it backwards. The reality is that the use of GNU/Linux pales
in comparison to Linux, and that's not changing. A further aspect of
this reality is the use of GNU/Linux is a stumbling block to adoption by
the "unwashed masses." A musician contemplating the use of Linux is not
going to expect freeaudiosoftware.org to have a damn thing to do with
it. Hell, even the Gnome home page says "Linux" instead of
"GNU/Linux,"
and it's a fraggin' GNU project.
You think that, to some fuzzily defined extent, we should say
"GNU/Linux" because that's The Right Thing. This is ideological.
I think that, to an absolute extent, we should say "Linux" because
that's what the rest of the world says. This is realistic.
when yr mate asks how you roll beats in future,
shouldn't you just say
"with a program called Specimen"?
These days, I say "I use an open source program called Specimen that I
wrote for Linux," and everybody understands me fine.
-Pete