[image of a Brave GNU World]
《勇敢 GNU 世界》 - 〈第 48 期〉
Copyright © 2003 Georg C. F. Greve <greve@gnu.org>
[中文] 翻譯:劉 昭宏 <chliu@gnu.org>
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Welcome to issue #48 of the Brave GNU World. Given one issue every month and 12 issues every year, this obviously means that the Brave GNU World celebrates its four year anniversary with this issue. More about this towards the end.

歡迎來到《勇敢 GNU 世界》的第 48 期。由於每個月〔出刊〕一期,一年就有十二期,這很明顯地表明《勇敢 GNU 世界》要在本期慶祝它的四週年。更多有關這個〔的資訊〕在〔本期〕的後面〔可以看到〕。

MagiConf( GNU/Linux 的圖形化硬體組態程式)

One of the points raised frequently by critics of GNU/Linux is that configuration of hardware is too complicated and not simple enough for beginners.

經常地被 GNU/Linux 的評論家所提及的其中一個論點就是:硬體的組態(configuration)太過於複雜,並且對初學者來說不夠簡單。

MagiConf [5] by Marc Boris Dürner, Ramesh Panuganty and Richard Ibbotson seeks to close this gap for the Debian GNU/Linux [6] distribution, which is the favorite of many people in the community, but not exactly known for its "end user suitability."

MagiConf [5] 是 Marc Boris Dürner 、 Ramesh Panuganty 和 Richard Ibbotson 尋求著為 Debian GNU/Linux [6] 彌合這個缺口〔而完成的〕。這個散佈件在社群中是許多人的最愛,但是它的“對於終端使用者的合適性”( end user suitability )則完全沒有被〔大家〕認識到。

Thanks to a library written in C/C++, significant part of system components can be administrated easily by means of graphical user interfaces (GUI) based on GNOME/GTK or KDE/Qt<./p>

- based on GNOME/GTK or KDE/Qt<./p>
+ based on GNOME/GTK or KDE/Qt.

感謝一個以 C/C++ 所撰寫的程式庫,系統元件( system components )的重要部份可以經由基於 GNOME/GTK 或 KDE/Qt 圖形使用者介面( graphical user interfaces ; GUI )的方式輕易地加以管理。

Currently supported is configuration of the network card and settings, the sound card, mouse and keyboard for the XFree86 graphical surface, as well as connected PCMCIA and USB devices.

???
- surface, as well as
+ interface, as well as

目前支援的組態有:網路卡和設定、音效卡、 XFree86 圖形介面的滑鼠和鍵盤,以及連接的( connected ) PCMCIA 和 USB 裝置( devices )。

It should be said that in terms of sound cards, only "Open Sound System" (OSS) drivers are currently supported. The more modern and soon to be standard part of the Linux kernel "Advanced Linux Sound Architecture" (ALSA) [7] is not yet supported. Also configuring the graphical desktop (XFree86) is not yet possible.

應該要說明的是就音效卡來說,目前只有“開放音效系統”( Open Sound System ; OSS )的驅動程式被支援。更為現代,且很快就會成為 Linux 內核的標準部份的“進階 Linux 音效架構”( Advanced Linux Sound Architecture ; ALSA ) [7] 還沒有支援。同時也還不能對圖形桌面( XFree86 )進行組態。

Most likely it is just a matter of time until these will be supported, however. And if things are not developing fast enough for your liking, you can certainly speed things up by (also ideal) support. Today, MagiConf is already supporting the hardware detection system Discover 2.0 [8] — this will certainly allow a high degree of automation and providing useful presets to the users.

然而「這些最終會被支援」似乎只是時間〔早晚的〕問題罷了。並且如果事情並不合您的意般地足夠快速的話,您肯定可以經由(同樣理想的)支援來加速它。今天, MagiConf 已經支援了硬體針測系統 Discover 2.0 [8] — 這肯定將會允許一個高度的自動化( automation ),並且提供給使用者有用的預先調整〔裝置〕( presets )。

The project began more than two years ago as a pure Qt project. But after the essential functionality had been moved into a library, the authors were quick to also provide a Gtk+ front end, so both of the major desktops are supported equally now. As often projects and distributions only support one of them well, the authors have some reason to be proud of this.

這計畫在兩年以前作為純粹的 Qt 計畫而開始。但是在必要的功能被移到程式庫後,作者也很快地提供了一個 Gtk+ 的前端( front end ),所以現在作為主要桌面〔環境〕的兩者都被平等地支援了。由於散佈件計畫通常都只有對它們其中一個支援地較好,作者對此〔的確〕有一些理由是值得自豪的。

As a programming language, C++ was used for both the KDE and via GTKmm also the GTK clients. Licenses used in the project are the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL) for the library and the GNU General Public License (GPL) for the clients. So the project is entirely Free Software.

作為一個程式語言, C++ 同時為 KDE 以及經由 GTKmm 的 GTK 客戶端(從端; clients )所使用。在這計畫中所使用的許可證為 GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL) 用於程式庫,以及 GNU General Public License (GPL) 用於客戶端。所以這個計畫是個完全的自由軟體。

Moon-Buggy(越過滿佈坑洞的月球表面的駕駛遊戲)

After introducing a ncurses based ASCII clone of the console classic "Space Invaders," here is some new food for friends of this genre.

在介紹了一個以 ncurses 作為基礎的主控台( console )經典“空間入侵者”( Space Invaders )的 ASCII 仿製品( clone )之後,這裡有一些「食糧」提供給這個「流派」(genre)的朋友。

Moon-Buggy [10] by Jochen Voss is an ASCII clone of the game being very successful under the same name on the Commodore C64 and Amstrad CPC 464 (sold in Germany under the name "Schneider CPC 464") [11].

由 Jochen Voss 所完成的 Moon-Buggy [10] 是一個以相同名稱( Commodore C64 和 Amstrad CPC 464 ;在德國則是使用“ Schneider CPC 464 ”)發表的非常成功的遊戲的 ASCII 仿製品。 [11]

The player is given the task to drive a Moon-Buggy across a crater-ridden moon surface without crashing it, so the concept is not very hard to grasp. But like so many simple games, this one seems highly addictive.

玩家被給予一項「駕駛 Moon-Buggy 在不破壞坑洞的情況下,越過滿佈它的月球表面」的任務,所以這概念並不難理解。但是就像許多簡單的遊戲,這一個看起來好像很容易上癮。

Proof for that is the grown and true Moon-Buggy fan community, which even went so far to write robots that could play Moon-Buggy for them. This came out when following up on a bug report [12] in which a player reported that the highscore list can only handle 5 digit scores.

證據就在於成長的以及真實的 Moon-Buggy 愛好者社群,〔他們〕甚至已經沈迷到〔自己〕撰寫可以幫他們玩 Moon-Buggy 的〔軟體〕機器人( robots )。這情況是在當追蹤一份「由一位玩家回報了最高成績列表只能夠處理五個數位( digit )的成績」的臭蟲報告 [12] 時〔才〕被〔大家〕知道。

That bug report did cause some surprise because noone expected that anyone might be able to get that far. Since it takes the robot two days of continuous play to reach it, that seems quite understandable.

那份臭蟲報告確實讓〔大家〕感到訝異,因為沒有人預期有任何人可以得到那樣的成績。由於那〔成績〕花了機器人兩天的時間才取得,〔這樣〕看起來還蠻能夠瞭解的。

The game was written around Christmas 1998, when Jochen Voss had some time to waste. Since then there have been several improvements and a Debian package by Christian T. Steigies; the project itself is now essentially stable.

這遊戲大約在一九九八年聖誕節時被寫成的,那時 Jochen Voss 有一些時間可以消磨。從那開始,有數次的改進以及一個由 Christian T. Steigies 完成的 Debian 套件;這計畫本身則實質上已經穩定了。

It was written in C with ncurses and runs on pretty much all somewhat POSIX compliant Unix systems on the shell and console as well as over ssh connections.

它是以搭配 ncurses 的 C 語言寫成的,並且可以在差不多所有的合於 POSIX 〔標準〕的 Unix 系統上,在外殼( shell )以及主控台上以及經由 ssh 連接( connections )來執行。

Provided he finds time time for it, Jochen plans to make some final improvements and maybe even add the Ufo, which is present in the original, but missing in his program. Then it should finally be ready for the version 1.0 release.

time time
time

只要他找到時間可以進行, Jochen 打算要作出一些最後的改進,並且也有可能加入在原始〔版本〕中有的,但是在他的程式中不見的幽浮(Ufo〕。然後它應該終於可以準備以第 1.0 版加以發行了。

If you enjoy these little games, Moon-Buggy, which is published as Free Software under the GNU General Public License (GPL), is your friend.

如果您喜愛這些小遊戲,以 GNU General Public License (GPL) 發行作為自由軟體的 Moon-Buggy 是您的好朋友。

cdcover( CD 盒的封面)

Nowadays, CD writers are spread widely and certainly found in a large part of homes, so many people will probably know the problems associated with trying to avoid losing track of all the CDs.

現今,〔由於〕 CD 燒錄器( CD writers )擴散地十分廣泛,可以肯定在大部份的家庭中都能發現〔它〕,所以許多人將很有可能知道與「試著避免失去所有 CDs 的〔內容資訊〕追蹤」相關的問題。

The program cdcover [13] by Roland schäuble allows creation of covers and inlets for CD jewelcases in an interactive, comfortable and easy way. Provided fields are: title, subtitle, text on front- and backside, footnote and date.

由 Roland schäuble 所完成的 cdcover [13] 這程式,允許以一種互動式、舒服的以及簡單的方式製作出給 CD 盒( CD jewelcases )所使用的封面( covers )和插入物( inlets )。提供的欄位有:標題( title )、次標題( subtitle )、前面以及後面的文字( text )、腳註和日期。

Based upon templates, the program generates postscript files from that data, which can either be printed directly or viewed in ghostview.

根據範本(templates),這程式由那資料製作出可以直接地被印出來或是在 ghostview 中被觀看的postscript 檔。

The project is written in Python; a logical consequence of Rolands motivation to learn Python by starting this project. He was especially careful to preserve the platform independence of Python and make cdcover usable on GNU/Linux (Unix) systems and Win32 alike.

這計畫是以 Python 撰寫而成的;「開始這個計畫」是 Rolands 學習 Python 的動機的邏輯〔思考〕結論。他特別小心地保持 Python 的平台獨立性,並且使 cdcover 在 GNU/Linux ( Unix )系統和在 Win32 上都可以使用。

His personal experience with this was that even using Python it is not very easy to retain platform independence, for instance he has failed to get the Python-CDDB module to run on Win32 so far.

他就此的個人經驗是:就算使用 Python ,保持平台的獨立性還是相當不容易的〔一件事〕,舉例來說,他到目前為止還是無法使 Python-CDDB 模組在 Win32 上執行。

So the binding to the CDDB data base is currently only available on GNU/Linux and other Unices, allowing on these platforms to import the artist, title and index of audio CDs from the internet.

所以存取( binding to ) CDDB 資料庫( data base )目前只有在 GNU/Linux 以及其它的 Unices 中才能取得,這允許了這些平台〔得以〕從網際網路導入音樂 CDs 的藝術家( artist )、標題以及目錄。

This project, which is released as Free Software under the GNU General Public License (GPL), is a family project in some way, as the web page [13] was created by Rolands son, Michele Schäuble.

這個以 GNU General Public License (GPL) 發行作為自由軟體的計畫,就某方面來說是個家庭計畫,因為網頁 [13] 是由 Rolands 的兒子 Michele Schäuble 所建立的。

Roland sees possible room for improvement of the project especially in the configuration, which is still done by means of a ".cdcover" text file.

Roland 看到了這個計畫的可能改進空間,〔其中〕特別是在組態(configuration)上〔的改進〕,因為現在仍然要以編輯文字檔案“ .cdcover ”的方式進行。

Working on this as well as adding support for saving data in a more portable format, for instance XML, is part of Rolands plans for the future.

致力於這個以及增加儲存資料到一個更具有可攜性的格式(portable format)(如: XML )是 Rolands 未來打算的一部份。

Help would be quite welcome, especially in terms of more users and feeback, as well as more templates.

非常歡迎特別是「更多使用者以及反饋」以及「更多範本」這兩種形式的幫忙,。

GeniusTrader(股票交易系統)

There are many niches that have not yet been freed by Free Software and sometimes projects set out to change that. GeniusTrader [14] by Fabien Fulhaber is such a project, released under the GNU General Public License (GPL) as Free Software.

有許多地方還沒有被自由軟體所解放,〔因此〕有時候就會有一些計畫開始著手來改變那〔情形〕。由 Fabien Fulhaber 所完成的 GeniusTrader [14] 就是一個這樣子的計畫,並且在 GNU General Public License (GPL) 下發行作為自由軟體。

Supported by volunteers like Oliver Bossert, Fabien has begun creating a toolset for creating and testing automatic trade systems. According to himself, his project will benefit "people who wish to get rich on the stock exchange by following signals generated by a computer."

由像是 Oliver Bossert 這樣的志願者所支援, Fabien 已經開始建立了一個工具組( toolset ),以用來建造與測試自動交易系統( automatic trade systems )。根據他自己〔的說法〕,他的計畫將會使“想要經由跟隨著由電腦所產生的信號,而在股票交易中變得有錢的人”獲得益處。

Even if the stock fever has cooled down somewhat as a result of the current depression, the project remains fascinating. Comparable software currently only exists as very expensive proprietary solutions, which are not really accessible to normal people.

即使當股票狂熱者由於最近蕭條的結果而導致有點「退燒」,這個計畫仍然是很迷人的。與其相當的軟體目前只存在於非常昂貴的私權解決方案中,而這〔通常表示〕實際上對於一般人們〔而言〕是無法取得的。

GeniusTrader offers interested people to simulate and evaluate trade strategies. So even without the risk of real financial losses a lot about the stock exchange can be learned.

GeniusTrader 提供了有興趣的人們「模擬」( simulate )以及「評估」( evaluate )交易的策略。所以即使沒有了財務損失的風險,也可以學到許多有關於股票交易的知識。

The project began in 1998, but has been declared dead twice in the course of its existance, every time because the approach was too broad and no end in sight. Fabien made the third approach in 2002 and focused himself on the trade system, around which everything was assembled.

這個計畫開始於一九九八年,但是在它存在的過程中曾經有兩次被宣告死亡,每一次都是由於〔採取的〕方式(approach)太過於廣泛,並且在可見的範圍內〔看不到可以完成的〕目標〔在哪〕。 Fabien 在二○○二年嚐試了第三次,並且將他自己專注在交易系統上,這麼一來每一件事就都就定位了。

He currently sees the largest weakness of the project in its exclusive usage of the commandline, its not providing any graphical user interface.

他目前所看到的這個計畫的最大的弱點在於“它只能在命令列( commandline )下使用”,它並沒有提供任何的圖形使用者介面。

Also the project is written in Perl, which requires serious users to also be proficient in this language; for instance to modify the module for access to the data base.

同時這個計畫是以 Perl 寫成的,這使得較為深入的使用者( serious users )也需要精通這個語言;像是要修改存取資料庫的模組(module)時。

Recently some structural changes have been made, so the current focus is on adapting the remaining modules. Afterwards Fabien hopes to be able to implement a web frontend.

最近已經作了一些結構性的改變,所以目前的焦點在於“改寫剩餘的模組”。在此之後, Fabien 希望能夠實作一個網路的前端( web frontend )。

For this he is still seeking help in form of user feedback and development contributions by others. In his search for help he even went as far as buying an ad on LWN, which said: "Want to make money with free software? Learn Perl and try GeniusTrader".

為了這個〔目的〕,他還在尋求“使用者反饋”( user feedback )以及“由其他人所完成的開發貢獻”這兩種形式的幫忙。在尋找幫忙的過程中,他甚至有點走火入魔地在 LWN 上購買了一幅廣告,上面寫道:「想要以自由軟體來賺錢嗎?學 Perl ,然後試看看 GeniusTrader 」。

Unfortunately, the reactions were not as numerous as he would have liked them to be, so he now hopes that this issue of the Brave GNU World will be able to raise some more interest.

很不幸的,回應並不如他所希望的那樣多,所以他希望本期的《勇敢 GNU 世界》將能提起更大的興趣。

Therefore I'd like to ask all readers to maybe also pass this article on also to others, who might normally not read the column, but have interest in the stock exchange and its workings.

因此我想要請求所有的讀者,也許也能夠將這一篇文章傳遞給其他正常來講並沒有閱讀這個專欄,但是對於股票交易和它的運作有興趣的人。

信託許可同意書( Fiduciary Licence Agreement ; FLA )

Securing the legal aspects of Free Software has become increasingly central recently and its significance increases with more and more people coming to realize the benefits of Free Software.

「護衛著自由軟體的法律看法」近來已經變成了愈來愈為中心的議題,並且它的重要性也隨著愈來愈多的人們開始理解到自由軟體〔所帶來的〕益處而逐漸增長。

Most visible are certainly the spectacular cases, like Jon Johansen, who was dragged to court in Norwegen on order of the US media lobby, a case that quickly began revolving around the central question of whether buying a DVD in a store entitles someone to also view it. [15]

大部份具有能見度的必然是某些重大的案件,像是 Jon Johansen ,他在挪威由於美國媒體遊說團的要求而被拖進法院。這一個案件很快地就開始在中心問題打轉,也就是“是否在商家裡購買了一張 DVD ,同時也給予了某個人能夠觀看它的權利呢?”。【譯註:當然, Jon Johansen 認為他有權利觀看他“合法”購買的 DVD ,而美國媒體遊說團則認為不行,因為他沒有用他們認為他“應該使用”的設備。】 [15]

But also cases like the struggle between MySQl and NuSphere or trademark issues made news. Be it Adobe forcing kIllustrator to change their name, or the publisher of the well-known Asterix and Obelix comics, "Les Éditions Albert René" In the latter case, Werner Heuser, who runs an information portal for mobile Unix systems, was threatened with 50.000 EUR or six months in jail. [16]

但是也有像是「在 MySQl 和 NuSphere 之間的鬥爭」或「商標的議題」成了新聞。如 Adobe 強制 kIllustrator 更改它們的名稱,或是著名的 Asterix 與 Obelix 漫畫的出版者“ Les Éditions Albert René ”。在後面這個案例, Werner Heuser 這個從事給予行動 Unix 系統( mobile Unix systems )以資訊的可攜帶性( information portal )的〔供應〕者,被威脅著要被處以五萬歐元的罰金或在監牢裡待上六個月〔的處份〕。 [16]

One of the reasons these cases are increasing is because Free Software becomes more visible on the one hand, but seems to be defenseless against such attacks on the other. In fact Werner Heuser, who is still fighting against the overmighty publisher, is the exception.

這些案例逐漸增加的其中一個原因,是因為自由軟體在一方面變得較具有能見度,但是似乎在另一方面對於這些攻擊並不具有抵抗力。事實上, Werner Heuser 還在抵抗〔實力〕超強的出版者〔的事實〕是個〔出乎意料〕的例外。

The everyday legal needs of Free Software are usually much less spectacular, but not less important, as a legally secured fundament is a necessary prerequisite for commercial use, for instance.

自由軟體的每一天的法律需求比較起來通常很不重大,但是並不因此而較不重要。舉例來說,一個受到法律所護衛著的基礎,才是商業使用的必要前提。

If we want prevent seeing Free Software pushed into the hobbyist corner, easily condemning it to insignificance, we must think about how to preserve the legal security of Free Software.

如果我們想要避免看到自由軟體被推入到「很容易就宣判它為不重要的」“業餘愛好者的偏僻角落”,我們就必須思考關於如何保存自由軟體的法律維護。

In this, Free Software has different needs than proprietary software, which is normally written by a single company, sold for a while and then discontinued.

就此,自由軟體與私權軟體就有了不同的需求。私權軟體通常是由單一間公司所撰寫,販賣了一陣子之後,然後就不再存續了。

Opposed to this, Free Software often has many contributors and is used for a period that can be seen as "eternal" in the IT sector. Several of the standard components in use on all GNU/Linux systems today, are 10-20 years old or even older in some cases.

與此相反,自由軟體通常有許多貢獻者,並且能夠在資訊科技部門( IT sector )中,一個可以被視為“永久”(eternal)的期間內被使用。有數個使用在今天的所有的 GNU/Linux 系統中的標準組成( standard components ),都已經有了十到二十年的歷史,在某些情況下甚至更久。

During their useful life, they are in permanent evolution, but not only the technical aspects change, the legal basis, on which also the legal aspects of Free Software are based, is in permanent devlopment, as has been explained in issue #38 [17] of the Brave GNU World under the term "Legal Maintainability."

在它們有用的生命期間內,它們持續地繼續發展,但這並不只有技術觀點上的改變,同時也是「自由軟體法律觀點所奠基的」法律基礎,也在持續地發展,也就是如同《勇敢 GNU 世界》第 38 期 [17] 中以“法律維護性”(Legal Maintainability)這個術語所作出的解釋。

As briefly announced already in the aforementioned issue, the FSF Europe has been working on the "Fiduciary Licence Agreement" (FLA) to address these questions, which has been released on February 4th 2003. [18]

如同已經在前述的一期中所作出的簡短宣布, FSF 歐洲致力於一份“信託許可同意書”( Fiduciary Licence Agreement )來闡述這些問題,並且已經在二○○三年二月四日發布了。 [18]

This agreement allows authors of Free Software to declare the FSF Europe the legal fiduciary for their projects.

這份同意書允許自由軟體的作者聲明 FSF 歐洲為他們的計畫的法律信託者。

This not only secures projects against the disappearance of authors, the FSF Europe also takes a significant part of the legal risks. This allows Free Software to stand eye in eye with companies, for instance.

這並不只護衛了「作者可能會消失」的計畫, FSF 歐洲同時也承受了法律風險的一個重要部份。舉例來說,這允許了自由軟體能夠與公司站在同一個基準點上( to stand eye in eye )〔競爭〕。

For how many projects this can be done naturally depends on the support and resources, which the FSF Europe will be able to spend on this task.

有多少計畫能夠依此作成,自然地會依賴著〔所有的〕支援和資源,而 FSF 歐洲將能夠在這項任務上付出心力。

In any case the agreement will create the possibility to further the legal security of Free Software significantly.

在任何的狀況下,這份同意書將能夠相當程度地為“自由軟體法律維護”的更進一步創造出可能性。

自由軟體膝上型〔電腦〕( Free Software Laptops )

In the first days of 2003, when I was busy preparing the first Free Software tours of the year, one week before I had to leave my old laptop died emitting well-known, unpleasant fumes.

在二○○三年開頭的幾天,當我忙著準備這年的第一趟自由軟體旅程時,就在我必須要離開的前一個禮拜,我舊的膝上型電腦冒出了著名的令人不舒服的煙之後,毀了。

As two weeks on the road without a laptop would have meant not being able to work for two weeks, we tried (unfortunately without success) to find a company that might quickly provide a laptop. So on Friday before the Monday I had to leave, I made my way to a large electronics discounter.

由於沒有了膝上型電腦,表示在路上的兩個星期的時間將沒有辦法工作,因此我們試著找一間可以很快地供應一台膝上型電腦的公司,但很不幸地沒有成功。所以在必須離開的星期一之前的星期五,我自己到了一間大型的電子折扣賣場。

They had a special offer for a Sony VAIO, which had a very nice large screen and space for an optional second battery. As working time without power is a prime criterion for me, I discussed using GNU/Linux on that machine with one of the salespeople, which he had nothing really to say about. So I decided to risk it and bought the laptop.

他們有一個 Sony VAIO 的特別提供,它有一個非常好的大螢幕以及額外的第二顆電池的空間。由於在工作時間內沒有了電力對我而言是個主要的衡量標準,因此我與其中一個銷售人員討論了使用 GNU/Linux 在那一部機器上〔的議題〕,但他真的對此沒有什麼可說的。所以我決定冒點險將這一台膝上型電腦買回家。

At home I immediately set to installation, but I couldn't get APM or ACPI to run no matter what I tried. As neither the handbook nor the web site contained any useful technical information about the laptop, I tried until around 3am until I realized that the BIOS of that particular laptop was crippled in terms of power management, it did have no functionality for that whatsoever.

回到家裡,我馬上進行了安裝,但不管我怎麼嚐試都無法使 APM 或 ACPI 運作。同時使用手冊( handbook )以及網站也都沒有包含任何有關於這台膝上型的有用技術資訊,我〔繼續〕試著,直到凌晨三點我才理解到那個特定的膝上型的 BIOS 就電源管理而言並無法作用( was crippled ),它確實對那功能一點都沒有用。

All the power management was apparently done by the (preinstalled) Windows and of course there was no GNU/Linux support. The laptop was essentially useless.

所有的電源管理顯然都由(預載的) Windows 所完成,當然那並沒有 GNU/Linux 的支援。這台膝上型實際上〔對我〕是沒有用的。

Next day I brought it back and had them give me back my money, which I took to another computer store, where I — after some testing and consideration — got myself an Asus laptop that obviously had a fully ACPI capably BIOS.

隔天我將它帶回去,並且要他們把錢退還給我,然後我把錢帶到了另一間電腦商店。在那裡,我“經過了一些測試和考慮之後”,給了我自己一台顯然具有完全的 ACPI 相容 BIOS 的華碩( Asus )膝上型。

With a little persuasion, I got that laptop to give me some of the functionality that define the usefulness of a laptop. Thanks to a wasted weekend even in time to be able to get on board my plane with a fully installed laptop.

經過了一點小小的說服,我讓那膝上型給了我「定義一台膝上型電腦是“有用的”」的一些功能。感謝這浪費掉的週末,〔我〕甚至能夠在擁有一台完全安裝好的膝上型的情況下,即時地趕上我的飛機。

Only suspend-to-disk, also called hibernation, I have never been able to get to work. The AWARD BIOS shipped by Phoenix clearly has these capabilites, but it is not documented how to let the BIOS know where to write the memory contents on the hard disk.

只有“暫停磁碟”( suspend-to-disk ),也稱為“冬眠”( hibernation )〔的這一項〕,我從來無法使它可以運作。由 Phoenix 隨裝的( shipped ) AWARD BIOS 清楚地具有這些功能裝置( capabilites ),但是「如何使 BIOS 知道到哪裡去寫入在硬碟中的記憶體內容」並沒有加以文件化。

So a somewhat bad feeling remains; especially since I dare doubt that all people will or would be willing to spend as much time on installing their laptop as I (forcedly) did.

所以還是有一些不好的感覺在;特別是我有點懷疑是否所有的人可以像我這樣逼迫自已,將要或是想要花這麼多時間來安裝他們的膝上型。

Would cars be sold with special adapters that only allow getting gas at the gas stations of one specific oil company, this would hardly be accepted. For laptops this is apparently industry standard.

汽車可以在「只具有特殊的接頭,而這接頭只容許在一間特定油公司的加油站中加油」的情況下賣出嗎?這〔景況〕是很難讓人接受的。但對膝上型來說,這明顯是〔他們所謂的〕工業標準。

A situation such as this is inacceptable. It must not be the task of a hardware vendor to force their customers to use only a specific piece of software.

像是這樣的情勢是「無法接受的」。硬體的賣方絕對不能將「強迫他們的顧客只能使用軟體中的一個特定部份」作為任務。

Hardware vendors don't have to actively support all operating systems, normally it would be entirely sufficient if alternatives weren't blocked intentionally. Currently we have a situation in which all operating systems but one are deliberately barred from running fully by hiding essential information about the laptop.

硬體的賣方沒有必要主動地支援所有的作業系統,正常來說只要「替代品沒有被刻意地封殺」就已經足夠了。目前我們所有的情勢是,除了一個以外,【譯註:這個幸運兒就是 Windows 。】所有的作業系統都被經由「隱藏關於那台膝上型的必要資訊」而排除在〔得以〕完全地執行〔它之外〕。

Thanks to the high degree of integration with laptops, the BIOS is strongly entwined with the hardware. Not to provide information about how to reach power management functionality is comparable to anonymize the graphics adapter and hiding information about vendor, model and specifications.

感謝 BIOS 與膝上型的高度整合,它與硬體彼此強烈地互相纏繞著。不提供有關於如何觸及電源管理功能裝置的資訊,就如同隱匿圖形接頭( graphics adapter )以及隱藏起有關於供應者( vendor )、模型( model )和規格說明( specifications )等資訊一樣。

I would very much like to be able to commend to my readers a vendor of laptops that does not make headlines by aggressive lobbying for software patents and offers laptops that truly give their users freedom and mobility.

我非常想要推薦我的讀者一間「沒有積極地遊說軟體專利權,並且提供真的給予它們的使用者“自由”以及“行動性”( mobility )」的供應者。

Therefore I ask all vendors offering laptops: Give us a laptop with the necessary specifications and information to be able to use it entirely! Support the projects for ACPI implementation and integration with information and allow employees to work with them!

因此我請求所有的供應膝上型的供應者:給我們一台具有必要的規格說明和資訊的膝上型,〔讓我們〕可以完全地使用它!支援「以〔足夠的〕資訊進行 ACPI 實作以及整合」的計畫,並且允許雇員〔可以 〕與他們一起工作!

Should some vendor be willing to cater to the needs of the constantly growing Free Software community and make their laptops entirely usable, I gladly offer to make this known here and elswhere, so people can make a good and informed purchase decision.

供應者應該會想要滿足不斷成長的自由軟體社群並使他們的膝上型完全地可用( entirely usable ),我很高興能夠提供並使這個〔議題〕在這裡或其它地方被認識,這樣人們就可以〔經此〕作出一個好的且經過告知資訊的採購決定。

One good way to reach me is by email. [1]

與我取得聯繫的一個好方式是經由電子郵件。 [1]

《勇敢 GNU 世界》四週年

So now the Brave GNU World exists for four years — one more month if you count the issue that I wasn't able to write. I'd like to use the occasion to thank all those who have remained true to the colum as volunteers for translations, proofreaders, web pages, project recommendations or as readers.

《勇敢 GNU 世界》現在已經存在了四年了 — 如果您再數到下一期,我就沒辦法寫〔這些〕了。我想要利用這個機會感謝所有作出了貢獻的翻譯、驗證、網頁、計畫推薦的志願者還有讀者。

The steady interest during the years was a main factor for me to keep taking the time for the column every month even when chaos had broken out or important deadlines were closing in.

這些年來不變的興趣,對我而言是使我繼續地每個月即使發生了暴動或是重要的截止期限快到期了,仍然花時間在這個專欄上的主要因素。

After all the time, there are still contributions for the "We run GNU" initiative [4] started in issue #6 [1]. And there are still new volunteers who wish to make translations, so recently a translation into Chinese has been added and soon we may also have a translation into Catalan. This would bring the number of language the column is available in up to 10.

- in issue #6 [1].
+ in issue #6 [19].

經過了這麼長的時間,還是有從第 6 期 [19] 開始的「我們經營 GNU」原創 [4] 〔繼續地〕作出貢獻。並且仍然有新的志願者想要進行翻譯,因此最近中文的翻譯已經被加入,而且很快地我們也可能會有加泰羅尼亞文的譯本。【譯註:已經有了。】這將會使這個專欄的語文數目可以最多十種被取得。

I'd like to emphasize that all these helping hands are volunteers who work in their spare time to make the Brave GNU World accessible to more people. So if you discover that a translation into some language is missing, it would clearly be in the spirit of Free Software and the column to simply get active and get it done.

我想要強調的是,所有這些的“伸出援手”,都是在他們的空閒時間工作的志願者所作出的,以使《勇敢 GNU 世界》得以為更多人所取得。所以如果您發現某個語言的翻譯文本找不到,那麼很清楚的以自由軟體和這個專欄的精神來說,就是採取行動,並且把它給完成。

Everyone who has contributed over the years in one way or another: you have my personal and very special thanks!

每一個在這些年來以不同方式貢獻了的人:您有著來自於我個人的非常特別的感謝!

It seems I should at some point start thinking about what to do next year, because when the column was started, I considered the danger of a 5 year anniversary to be quite low, actually.

看起來我應該找個時間開始想一下:下個年度要做些什麼,因為當這個專欄開始時,我“真的”認為:〔面臨到〕五週年的“危險”非常地低。

足夠了

Enough Brave GNU World for this month, as usual I'd like to encourage comments, ideas, questions and suggestions by mail, [1] please keep your eyes open for projects that could be made available to more people through the column.

《勇敢 GNU 世界》這個月份〔已經〕足夠了,如同往常,我想要〔請求大家〕以郵件送來意見、想法、問題和建議。 [1] 請幫忙注意著可以經由這個專欄,而使更多人瞭解的計畫。

資訊
[1] 請將想法、意見和問題送到 《勇敢 GNU 世界》 <column@brave-gnu-world.org>
[2] GNU 計畫的首頁 http://www.gnu.org/home.zh.html
[3] 喬格的《勇敢 GNU 世界》首頁 http://brave-gnu-world.org
[4] 「我們經營 GNU」原創 http://www.gnu.org/brave-gnu-world/rungnu/rungnu.zh.html
[5] MagiConf 首頁 http://magiconf.sheflug.co.uk
[6] Debian GNU/Linux http://www.debian.org
[7] ALSA 計畫首頁 http://www.alsa-project.org/
[8] Discover 2.0 http://archive.progeny.com/progeny/discover/
[9] 《勇敢 GNU 世界》 - 〈第 46 期〉 http://brave-gnu-world.org/issue-46.zh.html
[10] Moon-Buggy 首頁 http://www.mathematik.uni-kl.de/~wwwstoch/voss/comp/moon-buggy.html
[11] Amstrad CPC 464 (以德文撰寫) http://www.bernd-leitenberger.de/cpc464.html
[12] Moon-Buggy “最高成績的臭蟲” http://bugs.debian.org/75275
[13] cdcover 首頁 http://cdcover.sf.net/
[14] GeniusTrader 首頁 http://www.geniustrader.org
[15] EFF “Free Jon Johansen” 運動 http://www.eff.org/IP/Video/DeCSS_prosecutions/Johansen_DeCSS_case/
[16] Obelix 及 MobiliX http://mobilix.org/mobilix_asterix.html
[17] 《勇敢 GNU 世界》 - 〈第 38 期〉 http://www.gnu.org/brave-gnu-world/issue-38.en.html
[18] 信託許可同意書(Fiduciary Licence Agreement;FLA) http://fsfeurope.org/projects/fla/
[19] 《勇敢 GNU 世界》 - 〈第 6 期〉 http://www.gnu.org/brave-gnu-world/issue-6.en.html

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Copyright (C) 2003 Georg C. F. Greve
[中文] 翻譯:劉 昭宏

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Last modified: Mon Feb 24 11:54:49 CET 2003