Humor Archives - FOSS Force

I No Longer Hate Microsoft

By Robin "Roblimo" Miller on October 26, 2017 |

microsoft windows blue screen of death bsod

Why should you let Microsoft ruin an otherwise perfect day?

Roblimo’s Hideaway

When I was younger, I got together with friends now and then for an evening of drinking beer and discussing the perfidy of Microsoft and just how bad Windows was technically, especially considering the endless amount of R&D money poured into it.

Robin "Roblimo" Miller

Robin “Roblimo” Miller is a freelance writer and former editor-in-chief at Open Source Technology Group, the company that owned SourceForge, freshmeat, Linux.com, NewsForge, ThinkGeek and Slashdot, and until recently served as a video editor at Slashdot. Now he’s mostly retired, but still works part-time as an editorial consultant for Grid Dynamics, and (obviously) writes for FOSS Force.

SUSE Vs Funny People Wearing Red Hats

By Christine Hall on August 29, 2017 |

Business, Humor and Video

Watching this video from SUSE, you might be excused for thinking you’re watching a trailer for a new Netflix original which looks suspiciously like “Game of Thrones.” To paraphrase an old Dodge commercial: “You can tell they’re bad guys because they all wear Red Hats.”

SUSE

Okay, it’s a funny little five minute parody of House of Thrones. But it looks to me as if SUSE has thrown down the gauntlet and is challenging Red Hat…or a bunch of medieval guys wearing red hats…to who knows what. Are the gals and guys in Germany growing a little tired of being the perennial second fiddle — or now third fiddle now that Ubuntu is in server rooms everywhere, especially in Amazon’s cloud.

Christine Hall

Christine Hall has been a journalist since 1971. In 2001, she began writing a weekly consumer computer column and started covering Linux and FOSS in 2002 after making the switch to GNU/Linux. Follow her on Twitter: @BrideOfLinux

FOSSForce.com

Finding an Ergonomic Computer Chair an Ubuntu User Can Afford

Finding an Ergonomic Computer Chair an Ubuntu User Can Afford

By Robin "Roblimo" Miller on August 3, 2017 |

Humor

Are you looking for a chair that’s guaranteed to work with any and all Linux distros and at a price you can afford? Ask Roblimo, he’ll steer you in the right direction.

Roblimo’s Hideaway

I loved seeing an article by our friend Bruce Byfield about buying an ergonomic office chair. Bruce is a smart guy, a Linux user to the max, and author of the excellent book, Designing with LibreOffice. But what’s all this about choosing a Herman Miller chair? Those things are priced for SuperMac UltraPro users!

Robin "Roblimo" Miller

The Many Loves of Richard M. Stallman

The Many Loves of Richard M. Stallman

By Robin "Roblimo" Miller on July 13, 2017 |

Community and Humor

Here’s a blast from the past. A tale about RMS from back in the days when Roblimo was young — younger than he is now at least — and Stallman was…well, Stallman.

Roblimo’s Hideaway

This is a true story about something that happened at a Department of Commerce treaty hearing in Washington D.C., the kind of event that gets (nearly) zero press even though it’s important. In fact, I was the only reporter there, covering it for Linux.com because some of the proposed treaty language had to do with software patents and licensing — and also because two people I knew were testifying, namely Jamie Love and Richard M. Stallman.

Robin "Roblimo" Miller

An Ode to the Coming of the 4K Board

An Ode to the Coming of the 4K Board

By Phil Shapiro on July 4, 2017 |

Hardware, Humor and Video

Our irrepressible Phil Shapiro thought you might like to hear something on the Fourth that isn’t a national anthem or the 1812 Overture. And who knew he could sing or play an instrument? We’re considering renaming his column, The Penguinista Minstrel.

The Screening Room

Every jump in computer resolution technology brings with it a cornucopia of new creative and business opportunities. When I noticed recently that an affordable 4K hobby computer board was being launched on Kickstarter, I felt moved to compose this song — Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory of the Coming of the 4K Board.

Phil Shapiro

For the past 10 years, Phil has been working at a public library in the Washington D.C.-area, helping youth and adults use the 28 public Linux stations the library offers seven days a week. He also writes for MAKE magazine, Opensource.com and TechSoup Libraries. Suggest videos by contacting Phil on Twitter or at pshapiro@his.com.

Heed the Prophet Stallman, oh Software Sinners!

Heed the Prophet Stallman, oh Software Sinners!

By Robin "Roblimo" Miller on May 11, 2017 |

Humor and Opinion

We’re reasonably certain this wasn’t written by the hand of any god. Then again, we haven’t personally met any gods, so how would we know? All we know for sure is that as some good book almost said, “The truth shall make you chuckle.”

Roblimo’s Hideaway

“REPENT!”

It’s easy to imagine Richard M. Stallman yelling “Repent, ye software sinners!” as he stands on a mountaintop, wearing flowing robes and raising a hand-carved wooden staff toward the sky — with lightning and thunderheads swirling around him, of course. Meanwhile, the Israelites — I mean computer users — cower in the valley below, worried that The Lord shall smite them for the sin of using proprietary software.

Robin "Roblimo" Miller

Posts published in “Humor”

I No Longer Hate Microsoft

Why should you let Microsoft ruin an otherwise perfect day?

Roblimo’s Hideaway

SUSE Vs Funny People Wearing Red Hats

Watching this video from SUSE, you might be excused for thinking you’re watching a trailer for a new Netflix original which looks suspiciously like “Game of Thrones.” To paraphrase an old Dodge commercial: “You can tell they’re bad guys because they all wear Red Hats.”

Finding an Ergonomic Computer Chair an Ubuntu User Can Afford

Are you looking for a chair that’s guaranteed to work with any and all Linux distros and at a price you can afford? Ask Roblimo, he’ll steer you in the right direction.

Roblimo’s Hideaway

The Many Loves of Richard M. Stallman

Here’s a blast from the past. A tale about RMS from back in the days when Roblimo was young — younger than he is now at least — and Stallman was…well, Stallman.

Roblimo’s Hideaway

An Ode to the Coming of the 4K Board

Our irrepressible Phil Shapiro thought you might like to hear something on the Fourth that isn’t a national anthem or the 1812 Overture. And who knew he could sing or play an instrument? We’re considering renaming his column, The Penguinista Minstrel.

The Screening Room

Heed the Prophet Stallman, oh Software Sinners!

We’re reasonably certain this wasn’t written by the hand of any god. Then again, we haven’t personally met any gods, so how would we know? All we know for sure is that as some good book almost said, “The truth shall make you chuckle.”

Roblimo’s Hideaway