[Ubuntu Chicago] Insight from Dr. Dobbs

[Patrick Green]

Hee hee!

On 5/8/07, John Becker <jleebecker at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> Swaine's Flames
>
> Another pleasant evening at the Foo Bar, where Tux once again has one too
> many.
>
> By Michael Swaine,  Dr. Dobb's Journal
> Mar 14, 2007
> URL:http://www.ddj.com/dept/linux/198000918
>
> "I won't have it," Erickson growled around the stub of a cigar. "We're
> being
> scooped on this GPL3 business by everybody from Apress to Zdnet." When he
> shot me a certain look from under his green eyeshade, I knew what was
> coming
> next. "I think it's time," he said, "for another chat with your little
> friend."
>
> I groaned. "Boss, he's not really my—"
>
> "Yeah, yeah, nobody can stand the blasted bird. But you seem to be the
> only
> person on the planet who can get an interview with him." He took a swig of
> whatever he puts in that Kansas State Fair mug of his and waved me toward
> the door. "Git. Invite him to that bar where you hang out, take him to a
> hockey game, whatever it takes, just get me a story."
>
> And so that very night at Foo Bar, the Silicon Valley night spot where I
> sometimes moonlight as relief bartender for the (news) tips, I heaped raw
> herring in the peanut dish and waited with mixed feelings—mixed between
> trepidation and deeper trepidation—to see if the legendary Linux penguin
> would once again accept my invitation.
>
> At 8:30, he waddled in.
>
> "You're looking well, Tux," I lied as he climbed awkwardly onto a stool
> and
> sagged into a fair imitation of a deflated soccer ball.
>
> "I am not. I'm a little pale," he snapped, plunging a fin into the peanut
> dish. "I think I've got Mono." He jabbed me in the ribs with the other
> fin.
> "Get it? Mono?"
>
> "I got it," I said, rubbing the jabbed spot. "Miguel de Icaza's Open
> Source
> take on .NET. Speaking of Open Source, what's your take on the controversy
> over Version 3 of the GNU Public License?"
>
> "You're not really chewing that kelp, are you? There's no story there."
>
> I'd never heard the expression "chewing that kelp" before, but I got the
> idea. "You think there will be satisfactory compromises in the language of
> the license?"
>
> "Everybody'll adapt, then they'll adopt. Eventually. Like water runs down
> a
> drain. Like all Windows users will eventually pony up to Microsoft for
> Vista. Like Verizon will eventually kiss Steve Jobs's ring. No, the real
> story isn't GPL whatever; it's all the advances in the Linux desktop
> market
> this year."
>
> "Really?"
>
> "You don't have to sound so skeptical. Look at all the new drivers and
> codecs and the improvements in printing technology and technology to take
> advantage of new graphics cards. Those under-the-snow tweaks really
> position
> desktop Linux for a landslide this year. And we're seeing Linux
> preinstalled
> in new machines more and more, especially from Lenovo. Plus new apps—"
>
> "Okay, okay, I get it that you're bullish on desktop Linux. And I guess
> you're considerably more sanguine about GPL3 than Linus is."
>
> He reached across the bar with surprising speed and grabbed my by the
> collar. "Don't mention that Finnish gnome in my presence again. I do all
> the
> work, commuting all over the world promoting an operating system named
> after
> that slacker while he hides out up there in Oregon or some such primitive
> backwater sitting on his butt and swilling microbrews and taking all the
> credit. Speaking of which, can't you give me something to wash this down?
> What kind of bar are you running here? And remember, don't mention him
> again."
>
> "I won't mention him again." I slid a Steelhead Amber across the bar. "How
> was the herring?"
>
> "It was all right," he admitted grudgingly. "Shall I regurgitate some for
> you?"
>
> "Maybe another time. So there's a lot of travel in your work?"
>
> "Jeez, do you ever think before you talk? I live in the Southern
> Hemisphere,
> kid. In case you haven't noticed, very few of the big Linux sites are
> located in Antarctica or Tierra del freaking Fuego. You haven't
> experienced
> jetlag until you've had the longitudinal variety. The time doesn't just
> change, the seasons do."
>
> "I suppose you have to pack multiple wardrobes."
>
> "Watch it, kid. One tuxedo joke and I'm outta here."
>
> I tried not to show how much that thought warmed my heart. "Any thoughts
> on
> the Microsoft-Novell deal or Oracle's move on Red Hat?"
>
> "Old krill. That stuff only serves to legitimize Linux. But I want to
> correct something I said. There is one big Southern Hemisphere market for
> Linux among the BRIC countries. Brazil."
>
> "Brick countries?"
>
> "Brazil, Russia, India, and China, dummy, the big market opportunities of
> the 21st century. And three of them are gonna be huge, because you humans
> breed like cod."
>
> Whereupon he burped emphatically and waddled out the door, leaving me to
> ponder how I was going to spin this into anything the boss would accept.
>
> Michael Swaine
>
> Editor-at-Large
>
> mike at swaine.com
>
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