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Editorial Software Linux

Linux Geeks To Take Over World 511

B'Trey writes "According to this story by Rob Enderle of TechNewsWorld, Linux geeks are one of the most powerful forces in the world and are set to become the next Mob. Does this mean I get to wear a cool fedora and carry my distro CDs in a violin case?"
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Linux Geeks To Take Over World

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  • by grub ( 11606 ) <slashdot@grub.net> on Wednesday June 01, 2005 @09:39PM (#12700843) Homepage Journal

    Does this mean I get to wear a cool fedora and carry my distro CDs in a violin case?

    If your stick-on Vulcan ears don't interfere with the hat and if there's ample room in the violin case for your fake lightsaber... why not?
    • by Anonymous Coward
      I for one welcome our new geeky overlords.
      Oh wait, thats me! :)
    • by 1010011010 ( 53039 ) on Wednesday June 01, 2005 @09:58PM (#12701012) Homepage
      No, it means Rob Enderle is a fucking moron. That's what his columns always mean.

      Vroom vroom, Rob. Fire up your stupid Ferrari laptop and go from zero to troll in 3.4 seconds.
      • I like how he spends a few paragraphs talking about the idea of a software labor union and then apparently completely forgets about that idea instead focusing on how mad people writing letters got an article pulled. Maybe his next labor union will be formed by christians angry at broadcast TV?
        • by croddy ( 659025 ) on Wednesday June 01, 2005 @10:33PM (#12701252)
          I, for one, won't be joining any sort of Linux Labor Union. I was drawn to Linux-based operating systems because of the freedom and diversity they offered -- why would I join an organization that promotes a skill-set monoculture, restrictions on my work and others', and then charges me for it?

          Open source hackers -- the old "cathedral" FUD notwithstanding -- have always been a collection of individuals who relied upon their own unique skills to bring new ideas to the table and to share them with others.

          Perhaps this union would better suit the MCSE crowd.

          • A labor union for Linux geeks would not necessarily need to operate like the union that you describe. We probably shouldn't get a union like the teamsters to represent us, for example.
            • Unfortunately, the Teamsters et al. have already purchased a system of legislation that strongly favors unions that operate in such a manner. It would be difficult to avoid a descent into corruption and greed -- better just to avoid the union altogether.
              • by berzerke ( 319205 ) on Wednesday June 01, 2005 @11:33PM (#12701598) Homepage

                ...It would be difficult to avoid a descent into corruption and greed -- better just to avoid the union altogether.

                No big organization is entirely free of corruption and greed and unions are no different. For all their flaws, they have done some good. Look at history. What were conditions in the factories like before unions? It was these horrible conditions that gave rise to unions in the first place.

                Unions are far from perfect, but so is management at most companies. Just look at the US Airways story [timesonline.com] to see why unions are still needed.

          • This guy can hear me. Ergo, here's what I have to say:

            You're dead wrong. You're so wrong it's amazing. In creating comparisons between unions, large corporations, and movements, you are being more than mildly unwise, and making yourself look like, in so many ways, someone who is both paid to know what he's talking about, and completely unaware of what he is talking about. Your article is more of a 'run away from Linux' pile of steaming bison-dung than almost anything else I have read in years. The pa
      • by crazyphilman ( 609923 ) on Thursday June 02, 2005 @01:24AM (#12701976) Journal
        Yeah, no kidding. This Enderle guy rolled out three or four issues he clearly didn't understand or take the time to research, described them from a very limited and bent point of view, and tried to make one bad point while sneakily trying to advocate several more.

        This is the kind of article that, if presented to a freshman composition instructor, would be returned with red text in the margin saying "I'm not accepting this until you actually do some research. This work is unacceptable."

        He was so far off the mark it was almost comical. He reminded me of an old man sitting in the park, mumbling about how we "oughta just nuke all them arabians, and dem Frenchies, too". You hear him talk, you marvel at the absolute lack of clue, and you wonder if he's just putting you on... Then you realize, no, he really IS that feeble-minded.

        And you go have lunch, completely putting the weird old fart out of your mind.


        • He's NOT "off the mark" - it's FUCKING PROPAGANDA!

          Propaganda is not "off the mark" - it's deliberately deceptive crap. He knows PRECISELY that he is completely full of shit and he spouts it anyway.

          In that, he is EXACTLY like Bill Gates and George Bush.

          He makes Larry Ellison look like Pinochio.
      • by Lonewolf666 ( 259450 ) on Thursday June 02, 2005 @05:32AM (#12702625)
        I think Enderle does "miss the point" on purpose, in an attempt to paint the Linux community as dangerous criminals.
        Of course, his argumentation is weak enough to make him look like a moron. Which he probably is, otherwise he would act in a more subtle and difficult to disprove way.

        Let's have a look at his technique:

        1) He starts with the probably valid point that the emergence of a Software Labor Union is not unlikely, due to reasons he lists IMHO correctly.

        2) "Linux: Critical Mass Requirement Met"
        Here, he jumps to talking about a union of Open Source developers, conveniently ignoring that the worst working conditions are reported from (closed source) game development studios. Which is where I would expect the first Software Labor Unions to pop up.
        He goes on to talk about "Linux and open source has penetrated most technical schools, government IT shops, and technology companies", in order to make it sound more dangerous.
        In order to buy this so far, you have to be uninformed or stupid. But this paragraph could still be excused as a slip in wording by a guy that needs a bit of pep in his article ;-)

        3) "Linux: Organization Requirement Met"
        Much talk about the trouble SCO is in, and vague accusations about criminal activities for which the Open Source is supposedly responsible.
        Again, he conveniently ignores that SCO made most of the trouble for itself. Sueing a company like IBM who can afford excellent lawyers itself, plus pissing off your own (ex-)business partners is hardly a good strategy.
        More talk about how "its [Microsofts] supporters often appear as an endangered species during a government-approved hunting season". By now, we are clearly in propaganda country.

        3) "Linux: Power Requirement Met"
        Here, Enderle talks about how Maureen O'Gara wrote an article about PJ of Groklaw and the resulting backlash forced Sys-Con to pull the article.
        "Linux effectively made good on a threat that is beyond even Microsoft's reach, and often beyond the U.S. government's reach. That threat is putting your company out of business if the desired result is not achieved"

        Wrong on two accounts:
        a) There were no "threats" in the way a mobster would make them.
        b) Microsoft has done similar things before. By other means, but they have put companies out of business that got in their way. Remember Netscape?

        "What is even more amazing is the effort was so powerful it may have eliminated a sister publication as collateral damage. LinuxWorld may no longer be a viable publication after the voluntary departure of its entire editorial staff."
        And the editorial staff explicitly said that they were leaving due to lack of journalistic integrity on part of the publisher. Forgot to mention that, Mr.Enderle?

        4) "Linux: Leadership Unmet"
        Here, he tries to pass of the Open Source community as fanatics and lunatics who use their power irresponsibly. To back up his argumentation, he gives a few links to media who have picked up the story about O'Gara and claims the effort backfired.
        But if you actually follow the links, O'Gara does NOT look like the good girl in this controversy.

        Overall, Enderle comes off as a second-rate propaganda writer rather than as an analyst.
      • No, it means Rob Enderle is a fucking moron. That's what his columns always mean.

        Vroom vroom, Rob. Fire up your stupid Ferrari laptop and go from zero to troll in 3.4 seconds.

        Hear, hear. After actually reading TFA my mouth kinda dropped open. Judging from the description in the Slashdot post this was supposed to be "a good thing". The Enderle by-line made me suspicious. And rightly so: a misguided article claiming that Linux has done all these bad things, and should be feared!

        I definitely liked t

    • Obviously, Enderle is referring to people who carry real light sabers.
  • Umm... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Skye16 ( 685048 ) on Wednesday June 01, 2005 @09:43PM (#12700869)
    "Does this mean I get to wear a cool fedora and carry my distro CDs in a violin case?"

    Sure, but the jocks are still going to kick your ass.
    • Re:Umm... (Score:2, Funny)

      by Seumas ( 6865 )
      You know, I kind of resent the constant insinuations that geeks and jocks can't be one-in-the-same. I was an accomplished wrestler for a decade, but still maintained great grades, enjoy reading and writing, play two instruments and work in the software world (as an engineer - not a sales or marketing dork).

      I'm as geeky as they come, without really being into Star-Trek, Star-Wars, comic books and anime (I like them, I'm just not nuts about it all). I think it does a disservice to geeks to suggest they can't
    • Re:Umm... (Score:3, Funny)

      by Black Art ( 3335 )
      "Does this mean I get to wear a cool fedora and carry my distro CDs in a violin case?"

      Sure, but the jocks are still going to kick your ass.

      Not when I have my high power, full auto CD disc gun! Let them laugh when they have old Knopix discs and Fedora test releases sticking out of bloody wounds.

      "But pity stayed his hand. It is a pity my gnu has run out of bullocks." - Bilbo Stallman
  • by fembots ( 753724 ) on Wednesday June 01, 2005 @09:44PM (#12700875) Homepage
    While all these powers are good, if one cannot successfully reproduce offsprings, any geeky genes are likely to disappear.
    • "While all these powers are good, if one cannot successfully reproduce offsprings, any geeky genes are likely to disappear."

      Slashdot: The Last Generation. *whoosh* *trumpets*
  • ...I've been planning on taking over the world with Linux for years. Just a matter of time...
  • by Raindance ( 680694 ) * <johnsonmx@@@gmail...com> on Wednesday June 01, 2005 @09:45PM (#12700885) Homepage Journal
    The article tells a good story about how Linux is at the center of a massive nexus of script-kiddies who are eager to destroy anyone standing in their way. And how unions are powerful things.

    I don't think, however, that this has much to do with IT unionization.

    There will always be vandals. There will always be workers who would benefit from a union. The story failed to connect these ideas.

    Meh.
    • I'll agree with you on that point. I'd also like to point out that the author doesn't consider that fact that right now the collective group of linux users is more or less out of reach from retaliation. If they were to combine into a single entity they then could be easily attacked. That's why a comparision between them and the mob is more apporiate than them and a labor union. Here's to hoping that we get IT unions and that we don't suffer the same faults as airline workers when we do.
    • I can't believe anybody is giving a microsecond of thought to what enderlee and his ilk say. Has he said anything in the last five years that proved to be insightful, interesting, or informative?

      Let it /. nobody cares what this loser thinks and you should not either.
    • by khasim ( 1285 ) <brandioch.conner@gmail.com> on Wednesday June 01, 2005 @10:51PM (#12701360)
      The article tells a good story about how Linux is at the center of a massive nexus of script-kiddies who are eager to destroy anyone standing in their way.
      You got any evidence to support that statement?

      Enderle is still trying to work that meme but no one has shown it to be factual.

      The majority of zombies are WINDOWS boxes.

      None of SCO's claims of "threats" or "attacks" have been substantiated. Yet if they WERE attacked, it would be ultra-easy to post the logs showing it.

      SCO's "evidence" of the "attacks" are the same as the "millions of lines" of "stolen" code they've claimed. Non-existant.
    • The point of the article is to demonize the Linux community by comparing it to the one social edifice most feared and despised by management types in organizations on the cusp of Linux acceptance - labor unions. The extent to which the comparison makes sense is that which the author believes will create maximum fear in the target audience.

      I think this is representative of the FUD side of Microsoft having begun to realize that Linux is very much about passion. The argument is no longer going to be about t
  • Or wear a cool Fedora Core? haha!
  • Flattery is like cologne water, to be smelt, not swallowed.

    --Josh Billings
  • the population slowly dies off because none of them know how to reproduce..due to lack of experience with the opposite sex..
  • Author (Score:5, Funny)

    by atomic-penguin ( 100835 ) <wolfe21@@@marshall...edu> on Wednesday June 01, 2005 @09:46PM (#12700902) Homepage Journal
    The author has a disturbing resemblance to Dr. Phil.
  • Much better to keep the violin in the case and download the distro of your choice as and when you need to.
  • I have secretly placed a ring of 50 satellites in orbit around the planet, and from my space station, I will release a terrible rain of Linux discs upon the unworthy little worms and wipe out all traces of Windows(R) on earth!!

    Love, Hugo.
  • by ValourX ( 677178 ) on Wednesday June 01, 2005 @09:51PM (#12700941) Homepage
    Enderle does not make phone calls and get facts; he prints opinions. Opinions are not required to be logical or intelligent, and they can run rampant with untruths and stupidity. There's nothing inherently wrong with publishing opinions and commentary.

    The reason why this is a commentary and not an article is because there are few or no facts to back up the majority of what Rob Enderle says. I personally consider that unprofessional, even if it doesn't technically break the rules.

    -Jem
  • That nobody cares about his crappy articles enough to even bother getting mad at the stupid allegations he makes, the bad analogies he draws, the frankly ludicrous conclusions he comes to and the unashamed shilling he does.

    Maybe you should just come right out and call us all nazi nigger homo terrorists Rob?

    Maybe that will give you the reaction you so desperately crave?

  • No one is forcing you to use Free / Open Source Software. I am sorry you are so threatened by customers stepping up and solving their own problems instead of giving their hard earned money to vendors that do not provide good products, do not listen to their customers and then feel threatened when the 'Open Source Community' commodifies their products. Guess who the 'Open Source Community' is, Rob? IT'S THE FARKING CUSTOMERS!!!

    They are using Free / Open Source Software and spending time instead of money. Gu
  • Heh. (Score:3, Funny)

    by NanoGator ( 522640 ) on Wednesday June 01, 2005 @09:54PM (#12700969) Homepage Journal
    "Does this mean I get to wear a cool fedora and carry my distro CDs in a violin case?"

    I guess, but I'd recommend replacing that condom in your wallet once a year.
  • Mob??? My MANDRIVA vanity license plate better arrive before Linux geeks get all Reginald Denny on me!
  • From TFA:

    The Most Powerful Labor Union in the World: Linux?

    Great, now Linux geeks are going to be called communists AGAIN.

  • Enderle is the most quoted "analyst" ever. He has accomplished this status by virtue of his always absurd pronouncements. He has no credentials other than the ability to string inflammatory buzzwords together.

    I don't need to make a case against Enderle. Google will do it for me.
  • I'm not sure if I'm proud of this or embarassed. I'm sure glad 'Linux' (as the article refers to all of us in the community) can put up a good fight, but I'd hate to think that DoS attacks and bad publicity are our best weapons.
  • This is one of the worst articles I've read in a long time. I couldn't even figure out what this guy was talking about. He starts talking about a union, then he says let's call it "Linux" for no apprent rhyme or reason.

    That, and this guy, writing for an online mag I've never met, is a bit delusional about this massive mob of millions of Linux people who all work together.

    But it's a great way to sell advertising.
  • ... and we can be sure that Mr. Pretenderle will be chasing down those young linux whippersnappers in his beloved Ferrari [eweek.com].
  • by Cytlid ( 95255 )
    I actually RTFA, and I must say it's dumb. This sounds like more MS (or someother) funded FUD ... oooh Linux is bad because people DOS'ed SCO. Nice. All the people in a community are judged by the worse case scenarios. Almost akin to saying the president of the US must be a crackhead beacuse we have crackheads in the US. None of the consequences of the negative things that happened to people (ie SCO going out of business) were completely due to the fact that they were bogus, wrong, immoral, illegal o
  • It would be nice. (Score:4, Insightful)

    by jd ( 1658 ) <imipak@ y a hoo.com> on Wednesday June 01, 2005 @09:59PM (#12701028) Homepage Journal
    Geeks are frequently taken advantage of. Which is why many geek jobs got pushed onto overseas countries with less than minimal wages and few skills to speak of. If geeks had enough clout to be able to stand on their own two collective feet, sure, India may well have developed a high-tech industry to just the same degree in just the same amount of time, but nobody would have been impoverished over the deal.


    The problem is, a good number of geeks are anti-union. Not for any clear reason, as unions originally formed in England in the times of King Charles (in coffee houses, no less, which is why he banned them), as a means of providing health insurance. Members donated money towards a fund, and when someone got sick, the union payed for the best care they could afford.


    Today, there are health providers for that, working in a closed fashion, picking providers by means of a closed algorithm, choosing whether to pay or not by a closed review based on closed criteria you will never see. For some reason, many geeks find this preferable to a member-run union system, which could be as open as you liked.


    Unions also guarantee that employees have reasonable rights. Not everything in the book, but reasonable rights. At present, equal rights at work is something that's put on a poster, but rarely practiced. With a union that is balanced in membership and structure, that could be reversed very rapidly. Of course, there are some who would object to equality and employment by merit, but I think most people are out of the Middle Ages at this point.


    Of course, there are corrupt Unions. America is filled with them, where there is virtually no balance, little honesty or integrity, and just as much closed-mindedness as they were intended to defeat.


    So? Are you telling me that the nation's brightest and best (cos to be a geek, you practically have to be!) can't build a better Union? They've wiped the floor with proprietary software, overwhelmed and "Turned" many corporate giants, but can't even come up with a working system to govern their own lives?


    If the only Unions in history had been Evil Monsters, I might be sympathetic. But ignorance produced by closed-source attitudes is the very Evil that geeks are commited to destroying.

  • POWER (Score:2, Funny)

    This is power that Microsoft, Oracle, IBM and many governments could only dream of having.

    Got root?
  • Joking aside (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Dancin_Santa ( 265275 ) <DancinSanta@gmail.com> on Wednesday June 01, 2005 @10:00PM (#12701039) Journal
    Let's look at the whole concept of an IT union. That's what the article is really trying to get at, though it seems to be unable to connect the dots.

    Unions have historically been necessary in professions where the employees have been at a severe economic disadvantage to the employer. In such cases, the employee would suffer more greatly by being punished by the employer than by doing some odious task. A great example is the auto industry where thousands upon thousands of workers would be literally unable to support themselves if the factory left town. The management is able to use this knowledge and leverage it into forcing longer hours for worse pay upon the workers. It is only through unionization and the threat of collective/mass work stoppage that the management is kept in check.

    In the modern age, unions have been a device to demand better treatment for worse productivity. They have ceased to be helpful guardians of employee rights and have become oppressive bureaucracies in their own right. This is not really a good direction, IMO.

    If the primary goal of a union ought to be the protection of worker rights and the establishment of a partnership in which both management and the employees receive favorable outcomes. It should seek to balance the power of the employers with the needs of the employees.

    However in the software world, the employees are not hamstrung by monetary concerns. Any Joe Programmer can pick up a cheap $200 bare bones PC and a copy of Linux and be programming the next great thing. He doesn't need management to do this.

    So management, despite its seeming power, does not actually have very much leverage over any IT employee. It is not the case that if the company packs up and leaves town that the computer engineer is suddenly out on his ass. Rather, he still has the tools at his disposal to continue productive work on his own.

    Because of this natural balance in the IT industry, it will never make sense to have an industry-wide union.
    • Re:Joking aside (Score:4, Interesting)

      by benjamindees ( 441808 ) on Wednesday June 01, 2005 @10:41PM (#12701297) Homepage
      There are great examples of useful unions for people who make more than the average salary, especially in highly technical jobs.

      Aircraft mechanics, for instance, have fantastic unions. They guarantee their members have the necessary skills and training, as well as pay, that they need to perform their highly stressful jobs well. They know that, without a union, the money would not be spent on important aspects of their jobs, and that, when things went wrong, the mechanics would be the first ones to take the blame. So, they band together to say "If you fire the guy who cleans parts, or replace him with your retarded son-in-law, you fire all of us," and this makes sure the job is done correctly.

      This sounds like the most useful aspect of a technical union, imho. Managers and PHBs will cut costs until wires are sparking and nobody is left working at the company who knows how to use whatever program the business is 90% dependent upon. Traditionally, consultants have filled this niche by providing a reliable supply (at inflated prices) of technical knowledge and fire-fighting services for when the cost-cutting goes a little too far and the last competent IT guy quits to become a BMX biker. Normally, at this point, a consultant would come in with the newest version of $BIG_BIG_SOFTWARE and switch the entire company, or at least provide transition services until new staff can be found and trained.

      With Open Source, that model doesn't work as well. Yet, there is still a need for highly competent technical know-how of the types of things that only come up every couple of years. How does an Open Source shop guarantee that the boss doesn't fire the only guy who knows how to debug a kernel?
    • In a country where everyone doesn't have health care, unions are perfectly understandable IMHO. Dental is even worse. Sure, Americans get paid a good deal because the cars, real estate and generally all markets have vastly inflated prices, but none of that matters if you're sick and can't get care.


    • "However in the software world, the employees are not hamstrung by monetary concerns. Any Joe Programmer can pick up a cheap $200 bare bones PC and a copy of Linux and be programming the next great thing. He doesn't need management to do this."

      Don't worry, software patents are here to close this loophole. That way all you will need to start your own software company is $200 for your PC and $x millions to license various roadblock patents.
    • Re:Joking aside (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Ahem. I'm going to pick on part of what you said.

      Before you or any other keep on going with the anti-union stance, let me tell you something. I've been in IT for 20+ years, contracting, consulting and working in corporate IT depts. before the Y2K meltdown. I think I've essentially seen it all, from the last days of punched card systems to the current M$ techno dead land (or desert, whatever. It's worse than the bad old days of "Snow white and the seven dwarfs", something the younger crowd here on /. wi
  • More Enderle FUD. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Jaywalk ( 94910 ) on Wednesday June 01, 2005 @10:01PM (#12701045) Homepage
    Enderle has proven time and again that he is pro-Microsoft, anti-IBM and anti-Linux. He has as much as said so in his SCOForum [sco.com] speech. Furthermore, he has stated [eweek.com] that he feels SCO will win because the case won't be decided on the facts of the case. His "analysis" of Linux needs to be read in this light.

    My read is that this is a pathetic attempt to link "Linux" and "union" in the minds of IT management. The article is absurd on it's face. It relys on a redefinition of the words "Linux" and "union" in order to make it work, thus rending the entire ridiculous screed meaningless.

    "When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean, neither more nor less."

    "The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things."

    -- Lewis Carroll, "Alice Through The Looking Glass"

  • SCO has experienced massive Denial of Service attacks, the company's customer base has been inundated, their funding sources have been strangled, their executive leadership has been threatened, and their ability to function has been almost completely eliminated. In what has been a massive and loosely coordinated effort, a multi-million dollar company backed by a strong legal team has been all but put out of business, and this couldn't have happened without some form of organization.

    SCO's problems are due

  • This is WAR! (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Calibax ( 151875 ) * on Wednesday June 01, 2005 @10:03PM (#12701062)
    Enderle seems to have declared war on Linux. There is so much wrong with this article that it's hard to know where to start commenting or when to stop. Linux supporters are not terrorists (in the main), but the article clearly portrays them as such.

    At no time in history has a technology firm been as thoroughly attacked as SCO.

    In 2003, SCO started a lawsuit against IBM, began spreading FUD, and demanded $699 for every copy of Linux. Their lies have been attacked, as they should be. SCO's business has suffered because of this, but that's just collateral damage. If you offend a lot of people, a large number of them will respond negatively.

    their executive leadership has been threatened, and their ability to function has been almost completely eliminated.

    That's what happens when you attack a community. But it was wrong to make physical threats. Please don't imagine that because someone made a threat then all people against SCO must all be terrorists.

    In addition, companies using Linux technology and not complying with the GPL generally face a combination of legal and public relations exposures

    EXACTLY. People who commit civil torts should face legal sanctions. Why is the article suggesting it's wrong to enforce a licence? Should Microsoft or IBM not enforce their licences?

    Let's take the most powerful software company in the world, Microsoft, and imagine a scenario where they had a problem with a negative article. Generally they could call and complain

    And that's pretty much what happened - a large number of people complained to the publisher and the advertisers. It is their right, isn't it? It's not mob rule to complain when someone pisses you off.

    The O'Gara/PJ saga also demonstrates the lack of mature leadership.

    There was no leadership... just a large number of individuals who expressed their views on MOG's article. Linux folks don't need no stinking leadership. Linux isn't a union or a political party.

    Without strong leadership any organization with this much power can easily find itself with an image more similar to that of organized crime

    I really can't see anyone organizing Linux folks on anything other than a technical level. Too diverse, too independent, too spread out across the globe, too focused on technical issues, too apolitical probably.

    I have to wonder if this is just another round in the MS/Linux war. Enderle seems to have picked his side - the one with the money - and is attacking the enemy to the best of his ability. Fortunately, that's not a big threat.
    • It's not mob rule to complain when someone pisses you off.

      Apparently when one persons complains it's okay, but when many complain it's mob rule...

      I really can't see anyone organizing Linux folks on anything other than a technical level. Too diverse, too independent, too spread out across the globe, too focused on technical issues, too apolitical probably.

      The real question is what he means with "mature leadership", should a company with their marketing slimers take on this cat hearding task? The gove

  • by nickgrieve ( 87668 ) on Wednesday June 01, 2005 @10:07PM (#12701075) Journal
    As much as I'd like to be in an IT union... I don't think it fits. Collective payrates, strikes... rules... all that stuff.

    Unions are for sheep, IT people are cats... we don't hurd well.
    • There's a kernel of truth in what you say.
    • Unions are for sheep, IT people are cats... we don't hurd well.

      Yeah, I tried installing the Hurd once and it wasn't pretty.
    • by Moraelin ( 679338 ) on Thursday June 02, 2005 @04:12AM (#12702445) Journal
      The problem with nerds is:

      1. Being disconnected from reality, and believing in nutjob ideals of purity and perfection, instead of more realistic compromises that work.

      Which is at least mildly entertaining when it comes to "vi vs emacs vs Eclipse vs VS.NET" flame wars, in which some small detail is inflated to mean "it's not 100% perfect, so it 100% sucks." But it's less funny to see people shaft themselves and screw up their own life in pursuit of that pure utopia and relentless shunning anything less than perfect. Between something like (A) having a boss that shits on you, demands 84 hour weeks, makes "YOUR job could be the next to move to India" a corporate motto, and generally makes Dilbert's PHB and Catbert look like good compassionate folks, and (B) a union, a nerd will keep option A because B isn't 100% perfect.

      2. Disconnected from reality again, in the form of believing in nut-job extremist theories, of course dressed up to look like some 100% perfect ideal as mentioned above. You're pretty much not a nerd if you don't really believe in some oriental religion, or magic, or global conspiracies, or... some bullshit idealization of pure unregulated capitalism, 19th century style. Which is what we're seeing waved around every time someone mentions unions.

      "Noo, unions just let people demand more pay for worse performance! They get in the way of capitalism! Let's get rid of minimum wages, unemployment benefits, medical insurance, etc, too! Make those lazy bums work harder!"

      Well, guess what, folks? That unregulated capitalism didn't work _that_ great for the country. It just served to funnel most of the benefits into the pockets of a small oligarhy, while 90% of the population was living only _barely_ better than slaves on a plantation, and were left to literally starve the instant they had an accident and couldn't work any more.

      Using _that_ model to rise productivity and GDP, yeah, would work, except it wouldn't be _you_ who sees any benefits out of it. You'd just have over half the factories producing bigger yacht and personal planes for CEOs while you're starving on a miserable wage. That's what historically did happen.

      3. Insecure. Nooo, maybe the boss will fire me if I don't kiss his ass and lick his boots. Or god forbid join a union that says "no, sorry, 110% unpaid overtime is right out." Better keep a low profile instead, not stand out from the crowd, and line up for the daily boot licking routine like everyone else.

      Instead let's whine on /. and in blogs about how the boss sucks, and hope that somehow miraculously the problem will just fix itself.

      Guess what, folks? It won't. If you're even vaguely tempted to compare your job to Dilbert comics, chances are that your management already knows you're spineless. They won't grow a compassionate side, they'll keep piling shit upon you and thinking it's _normal_. That's how you got there in the first place.

      4. Hidden behind a "Nice Guy" (TM) facade. Nah, can't do something as nasty as, ugh, a strike to the boss. Would tarnish that "Nice Guy" facade and all that.

      5. In reality not that nice, and self-centred to ridiculous extremes. Just you're the smart guy, everyone else is a retard, right?

      The sad reality is that your average nerd doesn't want to fight for _others'_ rights. "Whaaat? And end up having to do a strike too, to support workers from another company? Why would I want to go on strike when it's not about _me_?" seems to be another major theme that pops up on these boards and others each time someone even mentions unions.

      Well, guess what, folks? You're not really the centre of the universe. The Real World (TM) is a give-and-take place. People will help you if you help them. That's what it's all about. If you want it all to be only about _you_, then you're on your own. And that's how the IT worker conditions got to be the mess that they are.
  • If you read TFA you can see that the article is not on the side of Linux, as they tell it as a threat to society (i.e. society being companies like weak little Microsoft, who has little power in the author's opinion).

    Also it seems he's a fan of the journalism standards of Maureen O'Gara. hmm.

    I think it's one of those PR marketing "hits" more than an article.

  • Would he really publish that article if he would believe what he writes?
  • If you take this argument further, you get something that looks a little like this. [taoriver.net] You're going to have to scroll down a ways to part 2: Hive Mind Independence, which takes place somewhere between 2013-2023 by the scenario timeline.

    The basic idea is this: What if the smart mobs take over? Not just software, but everything?

    We see these open developments happening first in software, then elsewhere.

    First Open Source software, then Open Source encyclopedia, then Open Source manufacturing, etc., etc.,. It d
  • Someone else to take money out of my check, scream at me who I should vote for, and make life hell for my employer..
  • Let's speculate about a future labor union, let's call it "Linux". Now let's talk about the actions of a few individuals whom the the general Open Source movement definitely does NOT approve of. A few idiots DOS attack SCO and Enderle describes it as :

    In a coordinated combination of attacks which included a broad DOS attack on Sys-Con and an e-mail attack on Sys-Con's advertisers, Linux effectively made good on a threat that is beyond even Microsoft's reach, and often beyond the U.S. government's reach.
  • Does this mean I get to wear a cool fedora

    Only is you are using RedHat Fedora. :+>

  • two words [wikipedia.org]
  • It seems to me that this is exactly the way that the internet was supposd to empower the people. We were supposed to be able to collectively gather the information and arrive at a conclusion and collectively have our voices heard. This isn't so much about Linux as it is about what happens when you strike a nerve with technologically savvy people -the very people who nursed the internet through it's infancy. The author misses that point, and assumes that because the first chord struck (loud enough for him to
  • Enderle still thinks the virus attacks against SCO were orchestrated by the Linux "mafia" or what have you. Not to mention this crap about poor little Microsoft:
    "its supporters often appear as an endangered species during a government-approved hunting season. "
    Not one comment about how people are leaving Microsoft for...just pulling an example out of thin air here but setting up an Exchange server. First you need to buy the Exchange media. Then the licenses to connect to it. Then the Outlook lice
  • How fitting the slogan of the Linux section is all of a sudden. Check the top left corner of this page.
  • This guy is infuriating. Not one word about the blatant unprofessional attack on PJ. Nothing about posting her address/phoen number on the Internet. he just sits there and implies that someone is directing "attacks."
    I think he's directing these columns. I think Maureen O'Gara directed a extremely personal attack. But Maureen's victim doesn't have deep pockets. No sympathy from Rob for you, PJ!
  • Danger danger Will Robinson! Unsubstantiated accusation based upon faulty logic ahead! Swerve damn you! SWERVE!!!

  • This guy is a shill for MSFT/SCOX and he is always floating some poorly thought out stuff that can be distilled down to "MSFT should be able to tax us".

    This particular article tries to equate Linux with the union movement of the early twentieth century in an effort to stir up U.S. politicians. Notice the veiled indication that Linux users are a 'terror organization'.

    Rob has made some attempts to characterize FOSS as 'communist', when in truth MSFT has a sort of monarchial structure, while FOSS is a
  • Linux Geeks To Take Over World
    Narf.
  • Enderle has (or rather, should have) no credibility whatsoever. About a year ago he gave a keynote at SCO Forum entitled "Free Software and the Idiots Who Buy It."

    It took logical and rhetorical fallacies to a whole new level. I picked it apart line-by-line, and for a little while it was on the first page of the Google search for "enderle".

    Here it is again [fallinggrace.com], in case anyone needs convincing that this man should not be taken seriously.

    - Neil Wehneman
  • It's GPL, in other words, all your code base are belongs to us!

  • by _Sprocket_ ( 42527 ) on Wednesday June 01, 2005 @10:58PM (#12701414)
    Dont' be fooled. This article has nothing to do with IT unions. Enderle's talk of unions is simply an attempt to establish some kind of single entity to attack, attribute certain shadowy powers to said entity, and even scare the horses of the CIOs who might feel guilty about:

    In many companies there exists a huge difference in compensation between the management (particularly the CEOs) and the folks that actually make and service the products. There is also an increasing tendency for executives to treat employees (particularly IT employees) as disposable assets, and you have what appears to be an increasing lack of respect for the competence of management in the industry.

    Linux, you see is an underworld agent threatening your profits. With that idea firmly planted, Enderle reaches for his current favorites in his arsenal.

    SCO is a reasonable company besieged because they dared sue IBM. This is where Enderle gets to note DoS attacks and personal threats. It seems this alone has sunk SCO and not anything to do with their own buisness tactics or actual strength of their case against IBM. For some reason he also takes this time to mention Microsoft and point out that even this powerhouse is powerless in the face of such an onslaught.

    Enderle also notes that companies who violate the GPL face union-like retaliation. And while it does point out "Linux" (which Enderle notes early on he doesn't wish to distinguish from other players) has managed to defend its license... the implication is certainly that this isn't business as normal.

    Enderle's next favorite is the O'Gara incident. He generously describes the involved piece as an incomplete expose where O'Gara "implied, but did not prove, that PJ worked for IBM." What Enderle fails to note is that O'Gara also implied that PJ was a paranoid nutjob with generally frowned-on religious beliefs. The impression implied is that the Linux community apparently responded to unwelcome news rather than a personal hatchet job bordering on harassment. And again, Enderle gets a chance to trot out the DoS boogyman. Whats interesting is that he characterizes disapproving emails to advertisers supporting Sys-Con as an "attack". In the end, Enderle characterizes the negative response to this incident as power not even wielded by big corporations or governments. If demands aren't met, Linux moves against you.... and it would seem fits you for digital cement loafers.

    You see - Linux is the new Mob. That is Enderle's subtle point. It's more subtle than his normal attacks. But it is a hatchet job, none the less.

    One final comment - it's interesting how Enderle highlights the O'Gara incident as damning PR for the Linux community. The opinion is that if the community hadn't responded to O'Gara, the piece would have simply slipped past unnoted. But instead, it was picked up by major trades and gave Linux a black eye. Readers might want to question for themselves why the major news outlets picked this up and pay close attention to the players. Is this Enderle claiming that "suits are back" [paulgraham.com]?
    • What I find most amusing:

      In what has been a massive and loosely coordinated effort, a multi-million dollar company backed by a strong legal team has been all but put out of business, and this couldn't have happened without some form of organization.

      Yeh, a criminal organization. Called The Canopy Group.
  • Seriously, why does slashdot feed this troll pageviews?

    This clown is in the same short list of paid shills for SCO/Microsoft that MOG was in before she went a little too far and got her head handed to her.

    He is just trying to put the idea that Linux folk are unstable sorts who shouldn't be allowed to be near the mission critical infrastructure into pointy haired heads.
  • Hot Mob Flashes (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Doc Ruby ( 173196 ) on Thursday June 02, 2005 @01:16AM (#12701951) Homepage Journal
    Enderle is a clown, with powertrip fantasies only a nerd could muster. Linux geeks can't even all agree on how to pronounce "Linux", let alone the kind of organization he talks about. Most of the effects of this "organization" (of what, exactly?) on his chosen example, SCO, were perpetrated by IBM's lawyers, or SCO itself. The DDos attacks pale in comparison to the spambot zombie waves across the Net every day, and the rest of it is a joke, too. Linux geeks are a vast, arguing herd of cats, and the "power vacuum" he describes in the leadership is likely to remain more like a quantum foam than an office into which someone ever moves.

"Protozoa are small, and bacteria are small, but viruses are smaller than the both put together."

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