7 ms·

Revolution OS [video]

89 points by zitstif 16y ago

chrismsnz 16y ago
I actually own this on DVD and watch it every now and again, pretty cool documentary on the history of GNU/Linux
boyter 16y ago
Worth watching for those who have even a slight interest in GNU or Linux. It is however very left wing, and fails to mention any flavor of BSD but you can't have it all.
- javert 16y ago
  In this film, Richard Stallman presents his ideas very directly in interviews, so any left-wing bias is not really "hidden." This is a good way to learn about his views.
  - boyter 16y ago
    I meant more towards the very anti large non free software business messages that are in it. For example (all microsoft examples here off the top of my head) Raymond giving the thousand yard stare at Microsoft exec Bill Gates open letter Richard talking about MS being a small player initially The Microsoft free software refund meeting All were made large closed source businesses look like the enemy. So the show is very biased especially towards Microsoft. Richard is indeed very open but the movie can be seen as a propaganda piece rather then purely factual.
    - davidw 16y ago
      Eric Raymond is not someone you could really describe as "left wing".
    - loewenskind 16y ago
      So being against huge corporations is a left wing thing now? Was Adam Smith left wing?
      - javert 16y ago
        Americans and Europeans mean different things by "left wing" and "right wing." In Europe, the spectrum goes from socialists to fascists. In America, the spectrum is much more narrow. It goes from a highly regulated state to a highly deregulated state, speaking economically. So in America, being against huge corporations is basically a left wing thing.
        loewenskind 16y ago
        I'm American myself, it's just that this viewing huge mega corps as a good thing by the right feels relatively new.
    - loup-vaillant 16y ago
      The free/proprietary dichotomy is not the same as the left/right (or communist/capitalist) dichotomy. They're mostly orthogonal, in fact. Unless having any kind of ethic makes you left wing, but I doubt you think that. Also, if the film doesn't look balanced, that's probably because the facts aren't. But to the point of looking like a mere propaganda piece? Only the background music gave me that impression.
      - pstuart 16y ago
        Ack! left/right != communist/capitalist. I consider myself a progressive and am pro-capitalism.
deleted 16y ago
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some1else 16y ago
Despite the criticism directed towards Stallman's overly ideological emacs project managment and the failure to produce a widely adopted GNU micro-kernel, the values expressed in this video are fundamental knowledge for anyone creating software. I hope people don't forget this part of history in times of all the nascent walled gardens.
tbrooks 16y ago
The background music and dramatic reading of Gate's Open Letter to Hobbyist's was annoying.
- JeremyHerrman 16y ago
  I couldn't stop thinking the same thing. What killed me was the Free Software Song live performance at the end. These are late 90's nerds at their nerdiest.
oomkiller 16y ago
FYI, you can stream this from Netflix in high quality. Watched it on my friends Xbox the other day.
bstar 16y ago
I love the scene at the end where Stallman is going on one of his gnu rants on stage, and linus brings his kids out completely upstaging him. This is one of my favorite documentaries, would definitely like to see a sequel.
- points 16y ago
  Yeah that scene was pretty good. Linus comes across as a really good guy. Stallman (as usual) comes across (to me anyway) as slightly unhinged and bitter.
jawngee 16y ago
Pretty interesting. I actually think the most interesting thing is what happened to VA after the documentary. They've gone from a servers company to thinkgeek.com - weird. Here is a pretty good story about it: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13505_3-10413589-16.html http://news.cnet.com/8301-13505_3-10413589-16.html
zbruhnke 16y ago
great documentary i thought ... interesting to see the press it got in the beginning, i did not realize how mainstream linux was at some point
jlgbecom 16y ago
Wow, ESR. Haven't heard from him in a while. Someone should write an updated counter-point to the cathedral and the bazaar. A lot of it's theories seem dated nowadays.
dman99 16y ago
The very first week in my Operating Systems class the assignment was to watch this video and write a report about it. It was only once I dug deeper I realized how absolutely insane Richard Stallman is.
- loup-vaillant 16y ago
  Could you define "insane", please? I've read the "Free Software, Free Society"[1] compilation, and Stallman appeared to me as very balanced and cautious (at least when it comes to his political views). [1]: http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/fsfs/rms-essays.pdf http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/fsfs/rms-essays.pdf

89 points by zitstif 16y ago

I actually own this on DVD and watch it every now and again, pretty cool documentary on the history of GNU/Linux

Worth watching for those who have even a slight interest in GNU or Linux. It is however very left wing, and fails to mention any flavor of BSD but you can't have it all.

javert 16y ago
In this film, Richard Stallman presents his ideas very directly in interviews, so any left-wing bias is not really "hidden." This is a good way to learn about his views.
- boyter 16y ago
  I meant more towards the very anti large non free software business messages that are in it. For example (all microsoft examples here off the top of my head) Raymond giving the thousand yard stare at Microsoft exec Bill Gates open letter Richard talking about MS being a small player initially The Microsoft free software refund meeting All were made large closed source businesses look like the enemy. So the show is very biased especially towards Microsoft. Richard is indeed very open but the movie can be seen as a propaganda piece rather then purely factual.
  - davidw 16y ago
    Eric Raymond is not someone you could really describe as "left wing".
  - loewenskind 16y ago
    So being against huge corporations is a left wing thing now? Was Adam Smith left wing?
    - javert 16y ago
      Americans and Europeans mean different things by "left wing" and "right wing." In Europe, the spectrum goes from socialists to fascists. In America, the spectrum is much more narrow. It goes from a highly regulated state to a highly deregulated state, speaking economically. So in America, being against huge corporations is basically a left wing thing.
      - loewenskind 16y ago
        I'm American myself, it's just that this viewing huge mega corps as a good thing by the right feels relatively new.
  - loup-vaillant 16y ago
    The free/proprietary dichotomy is not the same as the left/right (or communist/capitalist) dichotomy. They're mostly orthogonal, in fact. Unless having any kind of ethic makes you left wing, but I doubt you think that. Also, if the film doesn't look balanced, that's probably because the facts aren't. But to the point of looking like a mere propaganda piece? Only the background music gave me that impression.
    - pstuart 16y ago
      Ack! left/right != communist/capitalist. I consider myself a progressive and am pro-capitalism.

deleted 16y ago

[deleted]

some1else 16y ago

Despite the criticism directed towards Stallman's overly ideological emacs project managment and the failure to produce a widely adopted GNU micro-kernel, the values expressed in this video are fundamental knowledge for anyone creating software. I hope people don't forget this part of history in times of all the nascent walled gardens.

tbrooks 16y ago

The background music and dramatic reading of Gate's Open Letter to Hobbyist's was annoying.

JeremyHerrman 16y ago
I couldn't stop thinking the same thing. What killed me was the Free Software Song live performance at the end. These are late 90's nerds at their nerdiest.

oomkiller 16y ago

FYI, you can stream this from Netflix in high quality. Watched it on my friends Xbox the other day.

bstar 16y ago

I love the scene at the end where Stallman is going on one of his gnu rants on stage, and linus brings his kids out completely upstaging him. This is one of my favorite documentaries, would definitely like to see a sequel.

points 16y ago
Yeah that scene was pretty good. Linus comes across as a really good guy. Stallman (as usual) comes across (to me anyway) as slightly unhinged and bitter.

jawngee 16y ago

Pretty interesting. I actually think the most interesting thing is what happened to VA after the documentary. They've gone from a servers company to thinkgeek.com - weird. Here is a pretty good story about it: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13505_3-10413589-16.html http://news.cnet.com/8301-13505_3-10413589-16.html

zbruhnke 16y ago

great documentary i thought ... interesting to see the press it got in the beginning, i did not realize how mainstream linux was at some point

jlgbecom 16y ago

Wow, ESR. Haven't heard from him in a while. Someone should write an updated counter-point to the cathedral and the bazaar. A lot of it's theories seem dated nowadays.

dman99 16y ago

The very first week in my Operating Systems class the assignment was to watch this video and write a report about it. It was only once I dug deeper I realized how absolutely insane Richard Stallman is.

loup-vaillant 16y ago
Could you define "insane", please? I've read the "Free Software, Free Society"[1] compilation, and Stallman appeared to me as very balanced and cautious (at least when it comes to his political views). [1]: http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/fsfs/rms-essays.pdf http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/fsfs/rms-essays.pdf