Name-calling and accusations are nothing new on the Linux blogs, but lately the mud-slinging has become so intense that it seems fair to say a good cleaning is in order, for the walls and floors are covered. Much of the recent ferocity has sprung up over the seemingly never-ending Mono debate, which we here at LinuxInsider Indeed, such was the fever pitch the debate had already reached on that topic by late last month that at least one blogger had already raised the question of whether debates like this one might derail FOSS.

Jeeesh didn’t I mention a while back? Baldy

Shill-Shocked: The Dark Side of Community Discussion

Going back to the article concerning the demise of CompuServe one of the early providers that lost out was also Sprite, one that was costly and hard to access. There was one more that I really have let slide to the back of the tiny little brain but if some one can think of it feel free to drop me a note. Baldy

Well, the Mono debate has been raging in the Linux blogosphere for some time now, and it shows no sign of abating. Ever since RMS himself stepped into the fray to proclaim his own opinion, the fires have been burning higher than ever — as we noted last week. Close to 150 fresh comments appeared on the topic in just four days last week on LXer, for example, with no end in sight. In the midst of all the din, however, a small, clear voice rang out with an idea we here at LinuxInsider couldn’t resist picking up and examining a little more closely.

Hum didn’t I mention this the day the article came out? Baldy

Are Contentious Debates Derailing FOSS?

Click pic to embiggen

The original CompuServe service, first offered in 1979, was shut down this past week by its current owner, AOL. The service, which provided its users with addresses such as 73402,3633 and was the first major online service, had seen the number of users dwindle in recent years. At its height, the service boasted about having over half a million users simultaneously on line. Many innovations we now take for granted, from online travel (Eaasy Sabre), online shopping, online stock quotations, and global weather forecasts, just to name a few, were standard fare on CompuServe in the 1980s.

CompuServe users will be able to use their existing CompuServe Classic (as the service was renamed) addresses at no charge via a new e-mail system, but the software that the service was built on, along with all the features supported by that software, from forums for virtually every topic and profession known to man to members’ Ourworld Web pages, has been shut down. Indeed, the current version of the service’s client software, CompuServe for Windows NT 4.0.2, dates back to 1999.

Darn I have been in computers way to long I remember( old guy moment) when the only options for the Internet was AOL and CompuServe and then came the local dial ups. Now I know it might be time to retire. Baldy

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R.I.P. CompuServe

By default, Firefox (or Swiftfox) crashes when trying to view a full-screen video on say… YouTube. At least for me it used to crash until I found a fix. If that is the case for you also, you may want to read on.

Okay this has been a problem since the release of 3.5 (32 bit) so take a look folks, Baldy

How To Fix Full-Screen Flash Videos in Linux & Firefox (or Swiftfox)

You know a controversy is a big one when none other than RMS weighs in with his opinion, and sure enough, that’s what happened in the Mono debate late last week. “Debian’s decision to include Mono in the default installation, for the sake of Tomboy which is an application written in C#, leads the community in a risky direction,” RMS wrote on the Free Software Foundation’s site. Of course, rather than settling the debate, Stallman’s proclamation only fanned the flames higher, resulting in a raging inferno.

And this is the best front man we can find? Good old Richard spends more time saying what is wrong as opposed to smoothing the bumps he really gets to be a old record, Baldy

Is Software Installation on Linux ‘Broken’?

As the Debian project releases a second update of its Debian GNU/Linux 5.0 (“Lenny”) distribution, a controversy has broken out over the next version, “Squeeze.” GNU guru Richard Stallman has warned that by including a Mono-based note-taking application called Tomboy, Debian runs the risk of Microsoft litigation over C# patents.

Yikes of all people Debian for goodness sake. But hey if it works without the problems I say let it roll. Baldy

Debian plans draw sharp warning from GNU guru

Conficker is one nasty Virus! It is able to spread on the LAN, infect other machines, and even auto-update itself! Learn how scan your network using the open-source nmap tool, and identify machines which are possible infected with Conficker

Hey it is late but it works just fine and great to show those at the top you do know what you are doing with all that money they pay you. LOL Baldy

Scanning your LAN for conficker using nmap