[BALUG-Talk] Linux references in an essay

[jim]

"Linux, as an operating system, provides...." 
The appositive phrase set in commas doesn't make sense, 
Linux is an operating system. 
Your use would only make sense if Linux were 
also something else, such as a car wash or 
a desert or an article of clothing (these 
are absurd examples, meant partly as humor, 
partly to show there's no need for the 
phrase as you've expressed it. 
   You could have written "Linux is an operating 
system that provides...." if you feel that the 
reader might not know Linux is an operating system. 

"...for knowledgeable users, in opposition to 
Apple's Mac OS..." seems incorrect as a matter 
of fact. instead of "in opposition to" you 
probably mean "in comparison with". 

"Even though it isn't as famous, it is...." you 
have the punctuation correct, but semantically 
the phrase doesn't seem to fit. Fame has little 
or nothing to do with organizations' needs, at 
least not for those who try to plan well. delete 
the initial phrase and the sentence will make 
more sense (i.e. the reader won't be tempted to 
stop reading and puzzle about the fame business). 

"specificsettingsof" i'm guessing is an artifact 
that doesn't exist in your text: it should be 
"specific settings of". 

"googleincreases its power by opening its sources" 
should be something along the lines of 
"google increases its power by using open source 
software" or "google increases its power by opening 
its source code." proper writing demands that you 
justify the claim that using open source products 
increases power in some specified way. 

note your question, "is it right to say opening 
their sources" has a problem: "their". the "it" 
references "google", which is a single company, 
so your question should be written "is it right 
to say opening its sources", to use "its", which 
is singular, rather than "their", which is plural 
(google is one company, singular). 

"open source systems" strikes me as acceptable. 

jim 


On Wed, 2009-02-11 at 11:31 -0800, Baptiste wrote:
> Here are sentences about Linux I wrote in an essay. I'd like to know
> what you think of those..
> The essay is about the principle of open sources as applied to the
> education system.
> It's not scientific.. it's for an eng.1A class....
> 
> 
> Parts of my essay:
> 
> << * Linux, as an operating system, provides a more customizable
> environment for knowledgeable users, by opposition to Apple's Mac OS
> and Microsoft Windows. Even though it isn't as famous, it is widely
> used for organizations that need secured and specificsettingsof
> computer networks.>>
> 
> - this is a footnote in my text. The aim is to connect it to something
> the reader might know.
> - I should add something about the "one laptop per child" to it..
> 
> 
> + can I say: Googleincreases its power by opening its sources??
> Is it right to say opening their sources here?
> 
> or is it right to say :     "Open source systems"
> 
> 
> Thank you so much!
> 
> 
> baptiste
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