[LINK] World Domination 201

Rick Welykochy rick at praxis.com.au
Fri Jan 12 22:25:18 AEDT 2007


Fred Pilcher wrote:

 > An interesting treatise on the potential of Linux to take over the world by 2008.
 > http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/world-domination/world-domination-201.html#id247970

Very interesting reading. There is quite a lot to digest but the gist of
Linux World Domination 201 is that the desktop will not be ready for the 64-bit takeover
that is coming up in December 2008 if Linux does not provide the FULL multi-media
package, i.e. including Quicktime 7, Real Player, MP3 and other patented technologies.

The solution that Raymond grudgingly admits is to (for the time being until certain
patents expire) is to offer a not-quite-totally-free version of Linux and find a corporate
sponsor to pay the the required licence fees. And he has done just that through
Linspire and Freespire:

http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/world-domination/world-domination-201.html#id288946

I had a read of the Freespire FAQ which touches on this very topic
<http://wiki.freespire.org/index.php/FAQ_Category:_About_Freespire_and_The_Freespire_Project>
and it turns out there are now two free as in beer versions of Freespire,
one which includes legal copies of proprietary codecs and device drivers, etc, and a
complete OSS version which does not. The list of proprietary pieces to the puzzle that
can make Linux a competitive and killer desktop is here:

http://wiki.freespire.org/index.php/Summary_of_Proprietary_Components

There are only 20 such pieces, i.e. less than 1% of the entire Freespire distro.
And with those pieces, Freespire can now compete for the first time with Windows
and Mac OS X. And of course, one can pruchase Linspire if full support is required.

Has anyone tried Freespire? I am inspired to do so. It might just be the killer
Debian distro. One would have to be an ultra-purist to forgo these 20 proprietary
components and use a substandard multimedia desktop. But who am I to judge?

cheers
rickw


-- 
_________________________________
Rick Welykochy || Praxis Services

Does Bush check the Rapture Index daily, as Reagan did his stars?
We don't know, but would anyone be surprised?
      -- Richard Dawkins




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