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Grex > Cyberpunk > #24: Inf0rmati0n is p0wer..p0wer t0 the pe0ple..>>>>>>>>> | |
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matts
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Inf0rmati0n is p0wer..p0wer t0 the pe0ple..>>>>>>>>>
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May 29 19:07 UTC 1995 |
I think within the next year we are going to see a revolution.
Communication will come int the hands of the public domain, and for
the better. Information must become free. And we will win here. Software
piracy is what will win the war. Programmers will program for the
self benifit of mankind. This will be a digital utopia. What could never
happen among the standard populus could happen among us. Imgagine, with
the disolving of a few companies (AT&T, Microsoft, etc.) this dream could
become a reality. Join me! We are the revoltion! This is a war we
can win!
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| 13 responses total. |
srw
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response 1 of 13:
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May 30 02:11 UTC 1995 |
This will never happen. Only independently wealthy programmers will
work for free. They have to eat like everyone else.
On the other hand information technology already has played an important
role in the opening up of repressive governments. Fax technology
spread counterrevolutionary messages in China in the late 80s.
Now countries like Vietnam want to get on the internet, but it
will open them up to information their government wants to suppress.
There's an article about this in todays NY Times (5/29 front page)
It's a double edged sword - that internet!
Technology promotes information. Information promotes freedom.
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matts
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response 2 of 13:
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May 30 04:27 UTC 1995 |
I think in the future, programers will become the artists of today. Sure,
an artist makes a little from the first he sells, but we've all seen the
Mona List, and havn't paid a dime. This is weere programs will be.
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mju
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response 3 of 13:
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May 30 05:58 UTC 1995 |
I tend to doubt that. For one, programming is something that is much
easier and more commonplace than painting; almost anyone can write
a half-decent program with a bit of training, whereas only people
with true talent can produce lasting art. Many programming contracts
are now being farmed out to India and other locales in the Far East,
where labor is cheap and plentiful. Why pay American programmers
$10-$20/hr when you can pay an Indian programmer that much a day?
(No, I don't know that the salary gap is that wide; it's a guess.)
The days when a bunch of geeks would stand around an admire a
50-line chunk of assembly code for its beauty and efficiency
are gone, I think. These days it matters more that code works
and is released on time; there will always be a faster CPU to throw
at the code if it isn't fast or efficient enough.
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srw
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response 4 of 13:
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May 31 05:19 UTC 1995 |
"...bunch of geeks ... admire assembly code..." I resemble that remark!
Those geeks are still employed, though, writing optimizing code generators for
RISC C++ compilers nowadays. This way their true appreciation of the hardware
can be worked to the advantage of all.
They are the elite, the artists, but they like to have the good things in life.
Only fsf has figured out how to get them to work for nothing.
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mju
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response 5 of 13:
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May 31 15:53 UTC 1995 |
Regarding your last sentence: not necessarily. It's frequently the case
that the code generator that comes with the vendor's C compiler is
much better than the GCC code generator for that architecture. I
know it's the case for the Alpha C compiler, Sun's new SPARCcompiler,
the DEC MIPS C compiler, and the HP C compiler. This means that
the few artists who know how to optimize a code generator are working
for DEC, Sun, and HP, rather than the FSF. GCC is great if your
vendor didn't ship an ANSI C compiler and you don't want to buy
the commercial one (i.e., for SunOS or Solaris), and on 68K-family
machines. But usually the vendor's C compiler is better on newer
RISC CPUs.
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srw
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response 6 of 13:
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Jun 1 12:54 UTC 1995 |
GCC is a remarkably good product, considering that it is free.
Somewhere in fsf-land there is a starving geek-artist-hacker or two.
I don't doubt your reviews of the various codegens, though.
Most people will choose to be paid for a skill they have rather than
make a political statement by not being paid. This is how our
economic system works.
The importance of the quality of the codegen is not to be dismissed
lightly, as it essentially determines the efficiency and sometimes
the bugginess of all the programs on the computer.
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dadyo
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response 7 of 13:
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Jun 5 03:15 UTC 1995 |
the first thing need is people to want to be "Man Thinking" because taht is
what hackers are "Man Thinking" (no sexist intented)..and companines lik mall
bell and Microsoft to actualy try to make a good computer..not just brain wash
ppl that a personal cpu is better than a minamanfram for a company..and that
ppl realy need a use for a computer..not a game player but a part of life..also
the cpu made are not great art of engering but use of faster procers..the
connection are not like the wiring of the apple screen taht woz did...also a
difference need to be made between some one who steals an account for a use
like jumping a fence to play b-ball oo for harm. (sorry by the time i realized
this place had no word wrap...and for the typoes)dadyo
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srw
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response 8 of 13:
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Jun 6 07:28 UTC 1995 |
(type :e on a line by itself to drop into an editor to finish a response.
also, if you use a good editor with word wrap, it'll solve that for you, too)
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orinoco
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response 9 of 13:
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Aug 14 14:45 UTC 1995 |
I think that it is reasonable to belive that information will soon become
more important than monetary wealth, but you do have to eat...
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vago
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response 10 of 13:
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May 7 03:38 UTC 2003 |
Whoever thinks that a programmer is a kind of artist is kind of in a small
trouble... tech can`t be considered art, no matter how much imagination you
invest on it. Tech is the mere compilation of former knowledge applied to
a particular problem, meaning you can`t make it"artistic"or anything
similar.
As a lamer I am I might be babbling stupidites, but anyway.
By the way, does anybody know which distribution of linux is more friendly
to the beginners?
>>Charly<<<
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scott
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response 11 of 13:
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May 7 12:41 UTC 2003 |
Programming can indeed be art. Some programmers even put "jokes" in the code.
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abcdef
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response 12 of 13:
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Jul 2 01:00 UTC 2003 |
I dont think it can be. It doesnt matter if they put jokes in. If i made a...
uh... handwasher, and put some cartoon on it, would it be art? Programming
is only art to the person writing, not to the user, therfore it isn't art.
Hey this got a bit off topic didnt it?
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danny
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response 13 of 13:
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Mar 1 08:28 UTC 2004 |
SunOS can be downloaded freely from www.sun.com I fail to see if you can
download it for free where or why you should need to buy a copy. Sure maybe
if you have a fortune500 company that needs sunsparc's you might have to buy
them, but if its just you at home its usually free. Now if only Micro$oft
follow suit, open source windows.. Wouldnt that be something!
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