Try CTRL+ESC

Oh yeah I finally decided to install gentoo tonight. Just downloaded the AMD 64 Install CD and the Packages as well, wish me luck! Hopefully nothing bad will happen.... :-/

Quote:Original post by Simian Man
Closed source software is like (perhaps I'm dragging the analogy into the ground) renting an apartment. You only live there, you can't change it.

Not entirely true. Closed source software is like buying a condo, since you generally don't have recurring costs associated with ownership/use (though the idea of a subscription model for general-purpose software has been floated about for quite a while, albeit generally unsuccessfully). Further, the open/closed source division is an overgeneralization; there are commercial products that deliver source and grant you the right to modify the product for local use, but not distribute your changes.

These open/closed source debates are generally underinformed and unproductive. As end users or developers, consider the pros and cons of the licensing and usage terms of the product you wish to purchase/acquire/employ and make a decision as to whether or not to buy/use on that basis. Software acquisitions, in my opinion, should be on the basis of usability and economics, not ideology and/or philosophy.


As for the upside of open source, it is simply the best common store of knowledge. Open source serves as a repository of capability, and I think it should become a natural part of the lifecycle of all software. Initial innovation should, at the innovators' prerogative, be rewarded financially. Following that, once the capability becomes common place, the core functionality should be open sourced with a commerce-friendly license, enabling a subsequent generation of innovations to build upon them.

But that's just me.

Quote:
Oh yeah I finally decided to install gentoo tonight. Just downloaded the AMD 64 Install CD and the Packages as well, wish me luck! Hopefully nothing bad will happen.... :-/

I would strongly advise against that. Anyone suggesting that a n00b should install Gentoo, is most likely a troll, trying to discourage people from getting started with Linux. Gentoo is very good if you know exactly what you are doing. But if you are unfamiliar with Linux there is a risk that you will fail with the dual boot configuration and lose data.

So please, start with something that has a more user friendly install procedure. Try Fedora or Mepis for example.

I recommend Ubuntu. It's a debian based distribution and comes with most everything you'll need. It's also extremely easy to get up and running. If you want there's a live CD you can use to try it out first. The advantage of Ubuntu is that it is very clean, polished, and very often works "out of the box". It has at least on all the machines I've tried it on so far. Also, Ubuntu is very friendly if you're migrating from a Windows environment.

Quote:Original post by Basiror
on the other hand when you see how security aspects have been implemented on linux in comparsion to its counterpart windows

And how do you see that, considering you don't have access to the Windows code?

Little known fact is that parts of the Windows source code is avaiable to certain companies (of course for some good cash), and I've heard it is not as bad as people generally assume.