[nycbug-talk] fbsd orb?

[George R.]

Mikel King wrote:
> 
> On Nov 2, 2005, at 9:16 AM, csnyder wrote:
> 
>> On 11/1/05, Matthew Terenzio <matt at jobsforge.com> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> I'm almost scared to ask as if someone told a joke and I'm the  only one
>>> who didn't get it.
>>> But what is that new logo? I see they are horns I guess on an orb.
>>>
>>> http://logo-contest.freebsd.org./result/640-1.png
>>
>>
>> In design theory, abstraction provides an avenue for people to map
>> their own ideas and preferences onto a logo. Too much detail, and they
>> will find something to object to. But give them a smooth surface, and
>> they can see anything they're looking for.
>>
>> The orb is a simple, clean logo, very much in keeping with
>> straightforwardness of the OS. It has a playful side, but the level of
>> abstraction will allow pinhead CEOs to see elements of Apple where you
>> or I see elements of Beastie.
>>
>> I love that it's transparent -- open, one might say -- and that you
>> can see that there is a system within the system (the orb within the
>> orb: the kernel, perhaps? or a shell?). The horns appear through two
>> open ports, a metaphor that any of us will understand.
>>
>> I'm sure this logo is controversial within the community of core
>> users, engineers who have a well-deserved distrust of marketing and
>> visual slickness. But FreeBSD is a great product. The orb speaks to
>> that on many levels, without being overly corporate or completely
>> abstract. The designer has done a remarkable job.
>>
>>
>> -- 
>> Chris Snyder
>> http://chxo.com/
> 
> 
> 
> Ok not to waste much more bandwidth here but I agree for my purposes  
> the logo is unimportant. Still the same great bsd inside. On the  other 
> hand some of what Chris says here makes sense, one would almost  think 
> he designed it himself...;-)
> 
> Maybe though it will make it easier to convince the pinheads to adopt  
> bsd over something else. Sad as that sounds I guess it's a positive.
> 
> In either case it's something to drink to...
> 
> Cheers,
> Mikel King

Okay. . . this thread has shown some unfortunate resilience, so I think 
it's necessary to bring up some old history about the daemon. . . . a 
story that some may not have heard. . .



  Newsgroups: alt.humor.best-of-usenet
  Subject: [comp.org.usenix] A Great Daemon Story
  From: Rob Kolstad <kolstad at bsdi.com>
  Newsgroups: comp.org.usenix
  Subject: A Great Daemon Story

     Linda Branagan is an expert on daemons. She has a T-shirt that 
sports the daemon in tennis shoes that appears on the cover of the 
4.3BSD manuals and The Design and Implementation of the 4.3BSD UNIX 
Operating System by S. Leffler, M. McKusick, M. Karels, J. Quarterman, 
Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Reading, MA 1989.

     She tells the following story about wearing the 4.3BSD daemon 
T-shirt: Last week I walked into a local ``home style cookin' 
restaurant/watering hole'' in Texas to pick up a take-out order. I spoke 
briefly to the waitress behind the counter, who told me my order would 
be done in a few minutes. So, while I was busy gazing at the farm 
implements hanging on the walls, I was approached by two ``natives.'' 
These guys might just be the original Texas rednecks.

     ``Pardon us, ma'am. Mind if we ask you a question?''

     Well, people keep telling me that Texans are real friendly, so I 
nodded.

     ``Are you a Satanist?''

     Well, at least they didn't ask me if I liked to party.

     ``Uh, no, I can't say that I am.''

     ``Gee, ma'am. Are you sure about that?'' they asked.

     I put on my biggest, brightest Dallas Cowboys cheerleader smile and 
said, ``No, I'm positive. The closest I've ever come to Satanism is 
watching Geraldo.''

     ``Hmmm. Interesting. See, we was just wondering why it is you have 
the lord of darkness on your chest there.''

     I was this close to slapping one of them and causing a scene--then 
I stopped and noticed the shirt I happened to be wearing that day. Sure 
enough, it had a picture of a small, devilish-looking creature that has 
for some time now been associated with a certain operating system. In 
this particular represen- tation, the creature was wearing sneakers.

     They continued: ``See, ma'am, we don't exactly appreciate it when 
people show off pictures of the devil. Especially when he's lookin' so 
friendly.''

     These idiots sounded terrifyingly serious.

     Me: ``Oh, well, see, this isn't really the devil, it's just, well, 
it's sort of a mascot.

     Native: ``And what kind of football team has the devil as a mascot?''

     Me: ``Oh, it's not a team. It's an operating--uh, a kind of 
computer.'' I figured that an ATM machine was about as much technology 
as these guys could handle, and I knew that if I so much as uttered the 
word ``UNIX'' I would only make things worse.

     Native: ``Where does this satanical computer come from?''

     Me: ``California. And there's nothing satanical about it really.''

     Somewhere along the line here, the waitress noticed my 
predicament--but these guys probably outweighed her by 600 pounds, so 
all she did was look at me sympathetically and run off into the kitchen.

     Native: ``Ma'am, I think you're lying. And we'd appreciate it if 
you'd leave the premises now.''

     Fortunately, the waitress returned that very instant with my order, 
and they agreed that it would be okay for me to actually pay for my food 
before I left. While I was at the cash register, they amused themselves 
by talking to each other.

     Native #1: ``Do you think the police know about these devil 
computers?''

     Native #2: ``If they come from California, then the FBI oughta know 
about 'em.''

     They escorted me to the door. I tried one last time: ``You're 
really blowing this all out of proportion. A lot of people use this 
`kind of computers.' Universities, researchers, businesses. They're 
actually very useful.''

     Big, big, big mistake. I should have guessed at what came next.

     Native: ``Does the government use these devil computers?''

     Me: ``Yes.''

     Another big boo-boo.

     Native: ``And does the government pay for 'em? With our tax dollars?''

     I decided that it was time to jump ship.

     Me: ``No. Nope. Not at all. Your tax dollars never entered the 
picture at all. I promise. No sir, not a penny. Our good Christian 
congressmen would never let something like that happen. Nope. Never. Bye.''

     Texas. What a country.