Screw the Year of the Linux Desktop.

Are you still wondering if 2010 will be the year of the Linux desktop? Who cares?

Firstly, The Linux Desktop is progressing by leaps and bounds. In fact it verges on blissful perfection. It doesn't matter if your Grandma or work is using it. It still works and it's still cool as hell. It's not fringe, it's not a stigma. It's here, it's now and it kicks ass.

Secondly, There are cooler things on the horizon that make worrying about acceptance silly.

Sure the G1 was cool and relatively open. But how about the upcoming Android phones? Sure the iPhone gobbled up the smart phone market but Floss is catching up and will soon be dominant.

See, there is something that proprietary can't compete with. Free software is all about what the user want's. It's free, it powerful, it doesn't leave them stranded with vendor lock in and they won't be left unsupported when the next wave of innovation gets crammed down our throat.

It brings up an interesting use case for freedom over closed ideology. As something like the iPhone, iPod or iTunes takes over a market. It can benefit from locking things down. They create a bottle neck that funnels all income to one source. That's great for the company but sucks for the consumer. A recent trend is to use freedoms as a market getting alternative. Creating competition where there wasn't any before.

One such instance is the Amazon mp3 store. They used freedom from DRM to change the game. Now mobile phone companies are doing the same with Android because free software easily fits the bill. You can take it right now and deploy it with a minimum of resources and get it to market. Also, the open development means you will attract enough developers to start catching up with the App Store.

The next cool device running Android is the Barnes and Nobel Nook. An e-book reader that will take on the Amazon kindle. Creating a interesting irony that Amazon stole market share with more freedom and now B&N will steal market share doing the same.

When will they learn that the more freedom they afford their users the more competitive they will be in the future.

So anyways, back at the point. This is the year of the Linux personal device. When the coolest devices that your friends drool after aren't Apple or Microsoft but Linux.

Slacker Madness!

The is a secret scourge that has been attacking the underbelly of our free culture community for too long. Oh, how I've sat idly by and watch my friends descend into madness because of a substance more potent than any drug known to man. I'm talking of course about Slackware.

Sure you saw a buddy using it at a party and you where curious. You though to yourself "Hey, he's cool and he uses it, what harm could it do!" So you took it home and got loaded.

At first you where just using it casually, nothing serious. You felt like it helped you get things done, made you more productive. You used it a little before school, then a little after work. You looked cool in front of all your friends.

But then things started changing. You noticed that you couldn't get through the day without it. You used it more and more alone in your room. Compiling kernels and hacking .conf files. Soon, your friends started to worry about you. You would disappear over the weekends feeding your addiction with injections of slackbuilds and install scrips. Still every now and then you show up at a party but you spend all night huddled in the corner starring at a gcc compiling screen.

Pretty soon your making excuses to everyone about how you don't have a problem. You just need to get the web-cam working and then you can give it up. But then your back to your old habits trying to setup servers and configure your new gadget.

What I'm trying to say is. You're a junky man and you need help.

My Secret Favorite Movie

So here is my confession. There is a movie that I have watched probably 30-40 times and enjoyed it as much the first time as I did the last time. I never considered it my "favorite movie." However, it was on the TV last night and I had an epiphany. That's it! It is my favorite movie of all time. I don't know why I haven't been able to come to grips with it but I'm ready to say to the world....I LOVE "THE FIFTH ELEMENT".

That's right! Every time I watch it I giggle like a school girl inside at everything that is great about it. I love the story, the characters, the style, the humor.....everything.

So, my top three list is thus.

1. The Fifth Element
2. Reservoir Dogs
3. Boondock Saints

What are your favorite movies?

Being A Responsable Community Member

Ok, so you read my post a while back and now you are thinking "Hey, I've tryed to be involved and you freetards are jerks!" or "I want to try this thing out what should I know?" Very good questions. So let's dive in shall we.

First, all communitys have a culture and if you are starting as an outsider it can be a bit of a learning curve. One of the main things I see people do is have the attitude "Dude, it's just software!" To many people in this neck of the woods it isn't "just software." It's a way of life. A large amount of the work that is done in free software is done out of passion not out of economics. People pour their heart and soul into this stuff. It represents an ideal more than a tool. Respect peoples passion when talking to them.

Asking for help is the first hurdle I see people stuggling to get over. If you are used to dealing with "traditional" software support then you might come across in a way you don't intend. If you jump in an IRC channel or post on a forum, remember most of the help in free software is volunteer and be respectful of that. Many projects offer many ways of getting help. However, some of those tools rarely get used. Some projects prefer IRC, some mailing lists, some forums and some wiki's. If you are asking for help in the wrong place and not getting an answer try to find out the projects communication process.

The second sticking point, as I see it, is the approach to that question. The motivation to help is quickly sapped when you ask in a disrespectful way. Remember, very few projects are trying to create a direct replacement for a proprietary Windows or Mac app. The apps might have similar goals, but asking why feature X in software Y isn't in their program can sound insulting. Especially when you follow there response with something like "Well, your program is never going to be as good as Y if you don't put that feature in!" If you are lacking a feature it's ok to ask if you are just missing it and if it doesn't exist ask if it's planned for a future release. If it is of severe importance to you offer to pay a developer to implement it or if you have the skills do it yourself. Hey, it's Open Source, right?

Lastly, if you find that people are still pretty harsh ask yourself "Am I asking about things I should be reading about?" A lot of projects have pretty good documentation. Read it. It frustrating to have some one ask you basic questions that are all ready covered in the FAQ on their website. Asking for help should be a last resort or for those who just don't know better. Don't be lazy.

I'm sure if you are respectful and take your time you will find a home in the community just like everyone else.

OSM Live

So, recent events that have come out of the community around my podcast have lead to the creation of a media experiment for us. See, we set up a streaming server so we could put up a live stream of the podcast as we recorded it. This isn't unique as quite a few of our podcasting friends do this all ready. However, having a server setup means that you could use it to stream anything anytime! That led my co-host to think that he could do a some live performances. Then the though comes to us "Hey we are all musicians, why couldn't we setup some live shows?"

After some experiments I discovered that it's brain dead simple to stream using my Zoom H4 and my Asus eeePC using the program BUTT. Another friend of the show, who is an amazing bass player and an owner of an H4 and EEEpc setup, streamed a rehearsal and a couple of his bands shows live. So right now we have about 3 musicians that are streaming live music.

This has given birth to a fun project called OSMLive. It's a chance for musicians in the Free Culture community to share their art. The concept is simple, we handle the scheduling of great artists and you tune in. Simple, right? The streams are all using the free ogg vorbis format that can be played in the latest Firefox or using the very popular and cross platform VLC media player.

More information on how and when to tune in as well as schedualing your own show can be found at http://live.pipemanmusic.com. There is a calendar and an rss feed for the shows. You can contact us about the show at live at pipemanmusic.com

Why I chose Linux!

Another podcaster in the linux community has been doing a series of shows called "How I found Linux" that contains user contributed audio clips of people telling the story of how they found their way into the free software community. It's very likely when I get the time I will record my story and submit it and I hope you do the same.

Thinking about this it led me down the path of thinking not just about how but about why.

I have a firm belief that one of the strongest human emotions is the need to feel like you belong to something that is greater than yourself. I think that this need is more intense for some than others and is a driving force for good and evil. It could even explain some of the darker times in human history. But, that's a discussion for another post, or maybe not.

For me, I've always had deep need to feel like I belong and am accepted. I can think back on many periods of my life where this has had a profound effect on the trajectory of my life. I think it's the human need to be a part of the community that draws most people into the Linux/free culture. Not the geekyness of it or the software itself. Computers are cool but I don't think that is why free software is successful. Further more, I don't think the thing that will win people over to Linux will be more or better apps. I think it will be the draw that everyone has a place in the community and everyone is important to its success.

What people don't use as an argument for free software enough is:

1. No matter what your interest there is a sub-community that is dying to have you as a member.
2. No matter how insignificant your contribution to free software might seem, it's the rich tapestry of different abilities that make Linux great. We will always need wide diversity in the community.
3. Free software people are not just friendly, they take great pleasure in helping you find a place in community. We love it when some one new finds that feeling of acceptance that we do.
4. Black, white, skinny, fat, pretty, ugly, rich, poor, genius, average, cool, geek, religious, agnostic, political or not? No one gives a crap. I've never heard anyone not getting accepted because of their background.
   

So, If you feel like you need to find some where that people not only accept you but need you. Where you can find people just as exited about your interests as you are. We would love to have you as one of our own. We want you! We need you! Jump in, the water is just fine. What are you waiting for?

Conversational Kung Fu

Do you suffer from holding an opinion that you have no real argument for?
Do you loose debates simply because there are no fact to support your case?
Are you sick of your stupidity not being listened to by "main stream media"?

By following my special brand of Conversational Kung Fu you can be sure to take over any debate your idiotic mind can dream up. Why have a sensible argument when you can kick someone in their metaphorical nuts! Put them in a soliloquy choke hold till they tap out from intellectual exhaustion. Beat them about the brain till they can't help but accept you poorly thought out conclusions and ignorant illogical positions on popular topics.

For example:

If someone has a well thought out and researched opinion about a popular social issue that differs from your crack pot sensibilities. Just use what I call the "spoken round house!". It's a simple maneuver that even the most uneducated illiterate back woods yokel can pull off. Call them a "Nazi!". Sure it might sound a little harsh to compare their compassion for the homeless, concern for the future of human existence or want to provide basic human rights to all people to an icon of hate who orchestrated one of the worst acts of democide in recorded history. But hey, you don't have any rational at all so anything goes. Right? This also works by inserting any other demonic historic figure, Joseph Stalin(more on him in a moment), Pol Pot and if you want in give a slight impression you might actually know what you are talking about us more obscure dictators like Genghis Khan or Mao Zedong.

Once you have launched your initial attack it's time to move into what I call "annoying chop". Here you try to drown out their rational arguments by making references to the initial attach such as....

Where are your Jack Boots?
Typical Nazi rhetoric!
You want to send us all to work in the Gulag?

If they haven't shaken their heads and walked away in disgust it's time to pull out the big guns. This is the "rhetoric leg sweep" stage and should at the very least halt all progress in the discussion and put the spot light on you and your brain dead point. This technique is the hardest to master and may take some time since you obviously haven't mastered any of the other learned arts. In this stage we try to string as many of the following words into a nonstop rant that is impossible to counter.

Pinko, Commy, Nazi, Unpatriotic, Fascist, Bastard, Socialist, Tree Hugging, Liberal, Nut Job, Wacko.....ect.

For example: "You pinko, commy bastards just don't get it. Your too busy hugging trees with your other liberal, wacko, nut jobs to see you unpatriotic, fascists are turning America into the Soviet Empire." (Note: If the person you are arguing with notices that you can't be both Communist and Fascist pay them no mind and keep on trukin'. Your almost there!)

If none of these tactics work then there is probably no hope for you and your fellow dumb asses so you might as well go watch NASCAR.