lix blog

Congratulations, Linus Torvalds, and thanks for inventing and writing the GNU/Linux Kernel since 23(!) years!

Hello everybody out there using minix –

I’m doing a (free) operating system (just a hobby, won’t be big and
professional like gnu) for 386(486) AT clones. This has been brewing
since april, and is starting to get ready. I’d like any feedback on
things people like/dislike in minix, as my OS resembles it somewhat
(same physical layout of the file-system (due to practical reasons)
among other things).

I’ve currently ported bash(1.08) and gcc(1.40), and things seem to work.
This implies that I’ll get something practical within a few months, and
I’d like to know what features most people would want. Any suggestions
are welcome, but I won’t promise I’ll implement them 🙂

Linus (torv…@kruuna.helsinki.fi)

PS. Yes – it’s free of any minix code, and it has a multi-threaded fs.
It is NOT protable (uses 386 task switching etc), and it probably never
will support anything other than AT-harddisks, as that’s all I have :-(.

Source: usenet comp.os.minix

I consider that the golden rule requires that if I like a program I
must share it with other people who like it. I cannot in good
conscience sign a nondisclosure agreement or a software license
agreement.

So that I can continue to use computers without violating my principles,
I have decided to put together a sufficient body of free software so that
I will be able to get along without any software that is not free.

30 years ago Richard Stallman started GNU with his announcement of the GNU’s not UNIX project.

Congratulations, Richard!

This evening Richard Stallman was giving a talk at the ETHZ. It was nice to see how the lecture hall was filled with young ICT students and hackers. Richard started his talk by saying that if anybody wants to record the talk or take pictures should publish it only by using free formats, such as ogg. – Well he’s substantially right by saying this. I was just wondering why it has to be said, as I think it’s self-evident.

It appears that even one of the most respected education institutes, such as the ETHZ, does not take Freedom for granted. And there lies the socio-political deception: Governments and regulation authorities have pushed surveillance and media control as far as we’re accepting debates about freedom to be discussed in mediocre circles. People using GNU/Linux are seen as outcast, rebels and extremists. – Though freedom ought to be one of the most basic principles of humankind!

There’s a massive lack of intellectuals and authors, interfering into the public political and cultural debates, as it has become difficult to avoid the mass media and, – therefore, – disinformation. The economical thirst for growth managed to incorporate writers and readers to subordinate their belief for the sake of media-control. Academics and brains subordinated with self-absorbed researches, funded by lobbyists and obscure organisations, to abandon their principles of liberty and freedom.

At the shift from information society to knowledge society, it’s not enough to just present the four freedoms of Free Software to the tomorrows system administrators and technoly adepts. Richard might be substantially right in his exposure of the principles of free software, while “Big Brother“, – as he calls it, – has ever since found new means of control. (Which are implemented into the todays information technology structures, without letting users know. Whereafter a large part of society argues “I’ve nothing to hide”!)
Richard seems to have become “commensurable” to a large audience, without being contradicted, without disruptive moments and “Etat de Siege“, which are needed to shake the public. – Literally!

Humankind has to understand that the dialectic rapidly has to change and that we’re not willing to be instrumentalised by capitalism. Culture is defined by self-determination, innovation, transparency, freedom and human rights. Richard, the whole free software and civil liberty society have to take the step to the next level and start to take back, 0wn and rule this planet!

[Update]

Recordig

Photos by Udo (CC-NC-BY-SA)

More photos at Sven’s Photostream,

Michael Schmid’s (x-photo.ch) Flickr site

and Simon Bierwald’s Flickr

“The concert” was my ultimate congress high point, and I’m sorry to say that the video is unlikely to communicate the magic that happened in Saal 1 on the evening of Day 2. But I predict that this isn’t the last time you’ll see Lix, Corey Cerovsek and Julien Quentin put on this piece they premiered at 27c3. I wouldn’t be surprised if they hadn’t done TED by the end of next year.

Becky Hogge

[…] a breathtaking classical music concert and loads of other geeky and amazingly cool stuff that you have never seen before.

Door Axel Ambak

“Corey Cerovsek (Violine) und Julien Quentin (Piano) spielten ein wunderbares Konzert klassischer Musik. Dazu wurden von Lix’ Folien zum Thema Copyright und freie Musik gezeigt. Die drei haben uns eine sehr kreative Vorstellung geboten, was vom Publikum mit Standing Ovations belohnt wurde.

Matou

The best experience was The Concert, by no doubt.

Mikael Nordfeldth

Das Konzert heute war super. Die haben es echt hinbekommen das da alle sassen und gebannt ein klassisches Konzert angehört haben. Finde ich toll.

Emonk

Und inzwischen steht das Programm des 27c3; meine Lieblingsvorträge sind zweifellos Das Konzert, eine Aufführung eines klassischen Konzertes unter der Fragestellung “wie sähe die Klassik, wie wir sie heute kennen und schätzen, aus, hätte es im 17. Jahrhundert bereits die Copyright-Gesetze des Jahres 2010 gegeben”.

HC

Ich fand das Konzert grossartig, gerade weil es so anders war als die sonstigen Veranstaltungen, und die Musiker sich bewusst waren, wo sie sind.

duckd

The highlight of today’s 27C3 was the world premiere of “The Concert“, a disconcerting moment for free culture. […]

wiwowo

The Concert by Corey Cerovsek and Julien Quentin spiced with visuals by Lix It was a brilliant concerto and a nice counterpoint to the usual content you would expect on a hacker meeting.

Tobias Dieckershoff

Neben den zu erwartenden Highlights (PS3 Epic Fail, mahas Sprache des Politischen Verrats, Stuxnet) ist mir insbesondere (weil unerwartet) “The Concert” in Erinnerung geblieben. Ich hatte das vorab nicht gegoogelt, und es hat mich weggeblasen. Kongeniale Konzeption und Ausführung. Darüber hinaus sind das auch noch Leute, die nicht nur exzellente Musiker sind, sondern exzellente Solomusiker, für die Leute viel Geld bezahlen, wenn sie ein Konzert geben.

Chef

C’est, peut-être, une utopie, et elle connaît mille formes: ce soir, pendant une heure et demie, un violoniste et un pianiste ont surpris le public en interprétant Mozart et Beethoven, soulignant qu’il n’aurait pas de musique classique possible sans l’invention du domaine public.

Shao-Lyn

Normalerweise sieht man auf dem Hacker-Getümmel ja vor allem Computerheinis (wie meine Großmutter sagen würde) und ihre Ansammlungen and Rechnern und sonstiger Gadgets, sowohl auf – als auch vor den Vortragsbühnen. Es gab allerdings einen Vortrag, der sich von allen Anderen absetzte und der von vielen Besuchern des Kongresses als ein Highlight, wenn nicht sogar DAS Highlight beschrieben wurde.

diminuendo

Einige Künstler hatten sich wohl an den CCC gewendet und den Vorschlag gemacht, ein kleines Konzert mit Klavier (Steinway) und Geige (Stradivari) zu spielen. So kamen einige Hacker dann in den Genuss eines großartigen Konzerts. Immerhin die Zugabe erfreute noch meine Ohren.

Qbi’s Weblog

[…] a breathtaking classical music concert and loads of other geeky and amazingly cool stuff that you have never seen before.

bits of freedom

… see more comments on Twitter.