The Linux world is shaken today by reports that Novell is forking OOo and adds MS’ new XML office file format to it. The FUD and ignorance comes from the part where that’s not a fork, but merely a plugin/addon. In fact, back in the day when Ximian (now bought by Novell) had created a Gnome-look for OOo, that required more code changes on OOo’s main codebase than this XML addon requires. In other words, that Gnome look for OOo (that only years later became part of the main OOo codeline) was technically more of a fork than this XML addon today is. But hey, everyone likes to troll about this or that. Linux guys found a new enemy to do just that: Novell.

I have an inherent fear for danger. I don’t go to dangerous places and I don’t like risking in general. This is why I was afraid when JBQ went to the wilderness of Lassen, Yosemite, Sequoia & King’s Canyon last August for a few days, at a place where there is no cellphone coverage at all (there’s a little bit on one parking lot in Lassen (big view toward the central valley), but otherwise nothing).

These days I am reading online about the Kim family, lost in the snowy Oregon mountains. They just found the mother and two daughters alive, but the father is still missing. If the family had a satellite phone, their ordeal would have been over before it had even started.

Honestly, satellite phones are useful for those who seek adventure in potentially dangerous places. Unfortunately, Globalstar’s pricing scheme ($40 a month, $1.49 a minute) makes it unsuitable as a solution that you’d only want to use as an emergency. $5 a month plus $5 a minute would have a lot more appeal for emergency situations.