[Fsf-friends] Sly -stories in Madhyamam

[Praveen A]

Hi all,

        Today there was an article in Madhyamam daily (in special page
-- I guess Kudumba madhyamam) about Sarath Lakshman and 'his' slynux
[Linux is the trade mark of Linux Torvalds --who developed the linux
kernel for the free (swathanthra) gnu syatem]. The writer's knowledge
about Free Software and Linux is very pathetic. He saya Richard Stall
man wrote Linux !!! It is a pity that he didn't go though the sites
and learned what is free software and linux. There is nothing new in
slynux (probaly  malayalm fonts that knopper couldn't include). The
writer says the mounting of windows partitions has become easy. It is
easy in every other distributions too. All the features he calim for
'his' slynux is availabe with knoppix (transpond compression of 2 GB
to 700 MB). For those who are in doubt check the knoppix site
http://www.knoppix.org 

GNU/Linux has grown at a very rapid rate that it has come to a level
as user friendly or even in cases more user friendly (you can install
softwares from internet with a click) and inovative (Project looking
glass, enlightenment ...)

But people don't change easily and many stick to the
windows-till-death attitude.

Knoppix has all these features and it was there for a long time. 

Anyway one thing is that

I really appreciate Sarath's efforts but the media's response has been
really sickening. Of course it helped to spread the message of free
software and GNU/linux (mistakenly used as linux -- which is only one
of the many kernels available for the gnu system. It is like the
engine of a car -- though most important, useless without other
accessories). It is really  a nice thing he has done, but what I'm
criticising is the media. It is not his fault that knoppix already had
all these options and nobody cared to look at it !!! I hope this
publicity (though not the right thing) will have good effect on the
masses about free softwares, especially among students.

The thing is that, when you are writing something for the public,
atleast think that some people will be out there who knows what he is
talking about. For God's sake when write about something please read
the basics !! Check the relevant sources


-- 
            "There is no system but GNU, and Linux is one of its kernels."
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