Darkelve Posted December 1, 2003 Report Share Posted December 1, 2003 (edited) It will come as no surprise to you when I say that Open Source/Linux software has grown at an incredible speed. Often born out of the desire to 'scratch what itches you', it still delivers software of very good quality and really 'understands' the users needs. Some have also suggested that the Open Source way of doing things might work for hardware design as well. I am not going to comment on that last statement, but it does lead me to my following question: Software: yes. Hardware: perhaps. And that leaves us with... ideas. Software needs ideas. Sure you have the 'I feel it ich here, so I am going to scratch there'-idea, but that only works in one direction. Furthermore, this process does not benefit from comments, suggestions and criticism from other people (+- peer review of your ideas). That is, unless you discuss it with your group of friends who are all Linux geeks at heart. I therefore wonder why a centralized repository for submitting ideas does not exist. For memory's sake, let's call it the 'Linux Think Tank', possibly in the form of a website. I see the following advantages to this: 1. Anyone with a creative idea can post it and let it be known to the community 2. Ideas can be commented upon, improved or mutated into other ideas. 3. The ideas can give substance to programmers looking for projects 4. 'Armed against patents': if a website holds all of the creative ideas the community has submitted, it will be easier to prove a certain idea or technology already existed. It will, of course, be very important to archive this then. 5. The pool of ideas may -hopefully- be able to lead to an ever wider range of 'innovative' software, getting close or surpassing the quality and speed of traditional R&D. [6. Allow for a place for non-developers to speak their wishes, maybe or not seperated from the 'main' ideas] There are two things in my mind that are important here: 1. There have to exist some simple rules about what can be submitted and how to submit it 2. The content must be continually archived and dated. These are just some musings without thouroughly thinking it over. I'm still adapting to the concepts of Linux and Open Source as well. Yet I would appreciate your opinions on why/not this could be a good idea and what other avenues exist. Darkelve Edited December 1, 2003 by Darkelve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kuchwas Posted December 1, 2003 Report Share Posted December 1, 2003 I have one. It's full of Guiness! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre Baco Posted December 1, 2003 Report Share Posted December 1, 2003 I think (and therefore I am) it's a very good idea. Wonder why such a thing does not exist yet. I admit it must be complex to manage, except for expert moderators like ours... First ideas: - a free virtual system like VMware. - a new device to replace keyboard and mouse (no speech recognition) - an horizontal, waterproof, ashproof, 3D multi layered display device emulating my desktop mess (i.e. MY way to sort things) -and a virus to kill ugly avatars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iphitus Posted December 1, 2003 Report Share Posted December 1, 2003 Are you hinting at your avatar Pierre? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kuchwas Posted December 1, 2003 Report Share Posted December 1, 2003 Are you hinting at your avatar Pierre? I figure he talk'n bout me... Can't hep it, flippin over 2.6 kernel! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Counterspy Posted December 2, 2003 Report Share Posted December 2, 2003 (edited) I believe that there are a number of such 'think tanks" operating now. One is the Free Software Foundation. Another is the Gnu Project. Another could be said to be built around Debian. While there is no question that these organizations have different agendas, they are all necessary at this stage of Linux development. The great area of failure is touched on in another thread here and that is the lack of vertical applications. Until Linux can replace Windows in the specialist areas of the economy, it will not displace M$. Counterspy Edited December 4, 2003 by Counterspy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamCat Posted December 2, 2003 Report Share Posted December 2, 2003 Yup, there is a very powerful Linux think tank. Here's the link; http://www.mandrakeusers.org/ But, I know what you mean. We need an eccentric billionaire to become a Linux fanatic. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkelve Posted December 2, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2003 But, I know what you mean. We need an eccentric billionaire to become a Linux fanatic. :) Well, I didn' really mean that... although it couldn't hurt B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkelve Posted December 2, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2003 I believe that there are a number of such 'think tanks" operating now. One is the Free Software Foundation. Another is the Gnu Project. Another could be said to be built around Debian. While there is no question that these organizations have different agendas, they are all necessary at this stage of Linux development. Counterspy Yes, but: - does it allow everyone in the community (e.g. not only developers) to spawn ideas - is it possible for these ideas to 'live their own life', e.g. even if an idea is not very good from a practical point of view, it might give birth to other, better ideas. - do they keep archives, so valuable information on this will not get lost after some time? - one of my points is exactly that this 'think tank' shouldn't *have* an own agenda. I guess the 'I want to do a project, but what?'-question is already answered in these other 'Think tanks'. I'm also not disputing they are not necessary, I think there are very capable people out there. But wouldn't it be nice that, when you've run out of ideas or want to compare/confront them with other opinions, there would be 1 central (not meant in the sense of 'official') place you could go? And I would not underestimate the collective creativity of our community, developers or not. Another thought: perhaps an advantage of the think tanks you are talking about, is that these ideas are less easily 'hijacked' ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre Baco Posted December 4, 2003 Report Share Posted December 4, 2003 Are you hinting at your avatar Pierre? Looks like yours is already equipped for that!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qchem Posted December 4, 2003 Report Share Posted December 4, 2003 >But, I know what you mean. We need an eccentric billionaire to become a Linux fanatic. A bit like this one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkelve Posted December 4, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2003 Yes, exactly. Hmmm... there should be more of them (people are so greedy :P ) I really like what the guy is doing. What do they call that again? Philanthropist? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SK_pt Posted December 4, 2003 Report Share Posted December 4, 2003 Well, there is one thing that if it worked on Linux, in this case Mandrake, it would kick every OS out of the market, this is somethng that some companies are doing now, but everyone to their own side, without thinking to cooperate. A full integrated system that can control everything you need in your office or home. Means that must be created a 500Kb Linux OS that works with Bluetooth and WiFi, and that can be freely programmed for each kind of machine by its manufacture. you can adapt this 500Kbs Linux to a device where your lamps are attached, to another where your Microwave is attached, every single company can use it freely no Jinis from Sun, each company can adapt it to their fridge, lamps control, microwave, wash machines, gadgets, windows, TVs, Hi-Fi, DVD players, computers each companie just adapts it to their needs completely FREE, no Jinis, no Symbians no J2ME this is all belonging to big companies so other ones won't touch it. Than the desktop software in Mandrake would recognize all the ones that are in the area as WiFi, and from that moment you could group them, execute tasks, schedulles for them to work, make regulations in everything like sensitivity of lamps to light of day, and the windows, like a huge linux domotic system, and even in your car, if the car is near you could even make a kind of synchronization of your mp3 at home and the ones in the car (having the car a WiFi mahcine with a HDD) so the car is always updated with the new stuff u can hear, and stuff like that... you could even upgrade de Linux OS in all the devices downloading upgrades from Internet and then updating the one su want, like the wash machine that could have a new control for it This could be great business, and some companies could sell like 400 euros PDAs machines to control all that without need of desktop computer, only PDAs with Linux and the software for control. This can be done with MSFT or Sun programming Jinis and J2ME but let's face it microsoft or sun would never get less than 20% of the overall price of the machines that could have the system to be controlled. So if we want this things to be more available to the public all should be free for the machines owners the ones that build the devices that can be controlled, but the software to control it remotely should be the thing that should cost a minimum of 100 euros, because there must be a revenue for the company that will give freely the 500Kbs Linux that will let itself be controlled. SK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qchem Posted December 4, 2003 Report Share Posted December 4, 2003 Judging by MS's schenanigans with FAT and cleartype it looks like the Linux (in fact the whole open source community) really need something to keep track of prior use... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fissy Posted December 4, 2003 Report Share Posted December 4, 2003 The Internet is our thinktank, and i love it. Qchem: the beast surely isn't claiming they invented anti-aliasing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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