Re: [gentoo-amd64] Re: How To Play WMV?

[Daniel Iliev]

Duncan wrote:
> "Boyd Stephen Smith Jr." <bss03@××××××××××.net> posted
> 200609280212.48872.bss03@××××××××××.net, excerpted below, on  Thu, 28 Sep
> 2006 02:12:44 -0500:
>
>
>> [1] Actually, I've seen a Debian package that claims to allow 64-bit
>> konqueror to use 32-bit flash (and other nsplugins) but I don't know if
>> that package is available for Gentoo.
>>
>
> I think it might be as I've read of the package as well.  However, I don't
> do slaveryware, and most freedomware (everything I use minus grub, which
> is a special case due to amd64 initially booting in 16-bit real-mode, not
> even 32-bit protected mode, for compatibility reasons) has already been
> ported to amd64, so I compile it 64-bit.  Thus I have no use for that
> 32-bit kludge and didn't worry about retaining the details.
>
> As for video drivers, I'm running a very stable Radeon 9200 series card,
> an r200 series chip, which ATI released specs on so it has supported
> hardware 3D for awhile.  It's AGP.  I'm not upgrading mobo for several
> more years yet (I'll be upgrading to dual dual-core Opteron 285s later
> this year or early next, as they continue to move down the pricing scale,
> I have 8 gig memory and 4x300 gig SATA in RAID, so with the 2x dual-cores,
> I figure I'll be good for another 3 years, perhaps more, and will likely
> upgrade to single CPU 8-core when it gets mid-range), and if the situation
> hasn't changed by then -- which I'm hoping it will with AMD buying ATI --
> I'll likely be switching back to Intel for the first time since the
> mid-90s, since they have good free video drivers.  I'd definitely be
> buying Intel if I were in the market today, for that reason.  I didn't
> switch to Linux after a decade on slaveryware just to be enslaved by a
> different master, and enslaved it is, when the lack of ATI and NVidia
> drivers is the only reason xorg-7.1 is not yet stable on x86 or amd64,
> and it's the same thing with other distributions -- their actions are
> holding a large segment of the would-be free software world hostage.  Call
> it what you like, I call choosing to be a hostage to the whims of a
> software overlord choosing to be enslaved, and I both refuse to do it,
> and refuse to have my money go toward funding the slave-masters!
>
>
Come on, guys! Those are very strong words: "hostages", "slavery",
"freedom".

As far as I have free access to the necessary information to make my
choice and the possibility to live by that choice I consider myself
free. You choose one thing over another - this means you have the
information about those things and you are free to make choices about
them. By definition slavery doesn't give choice.
About the hostage situation, AFAIK X.org has decided to move ahead and
not to wait for the biggest companies to release their binary drivers. I
believe it is the right political decision because this way the
manufacturers are forced to play the race "Who will release the driver
first".

Now let me put here a funny example about freedom and convenience.
Suppose you have a very dear friend from the childhood. Life separated
you as each one took a different path. After many years accidentally you
find your buddy in The Internet.
-Hey! Glad to meet you! How you doin'!
-I'm fine, I have a wife and two kids, what about you?
-Fine, thanks! I also got married. Have one kid. Wanna see it - I just
made a movie with my new camera?
-But yes of course! Here's my e-mail address.... - and he sends you a
wmv compressed clip...

Now what? You gonna tell your friend "Sorry, man, but I'm not gonna see
your family 'cause I like my freedom!"
Come ooon! ;-)))))))))))))

I hope you get my point and take it with smile.
The last thing I want is to start some useless discussion titled "what
should I sacrifice for freedom".


-- 
Best regards,
Daniel


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