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Yes, multimedia is certainly something we'd like the desktop to do well. However, it's not realistic to expect comprehensive multimedia support from a Linux desktop today with open source software. It's a very difficult and costly problem to solve comprehensively. There are some positive signs, such as helix community, but you don't really have a single piece of software that does it all as well as the Windows variants.

Ummm...I'm not sure how to respond to this. How about mplayer? That has to be the best movie player I have ever used. And didn't it receive some sort of award recently? Or how about Xine?

Let's see...what else? The GStreamer framework is coming along nicely and will probably mature before the end of the year. There are several audio players available, some more usable than others, though. There are also more specialized programs like the Bedevilled Audio System. So I would hardly say linux is deficient in multimedia software.

I searched the web for about an hour and I wasn't able to find much. The UPNP vulnerabilities in Windows XP seemed to have scared many people away.

I was able to find this http://eimp.sourceforge.net/, but rendezvous support isn't fully integrated. The feature status is at 50% now and the developer hasn't posted anything in 4 months. There are rendezvous libraries in the latest release.

I'm in the process of trying out Eimp. Its not a very robust program, but it does seem to offer rendezvous support. I'm testing it now, I'll reply with results.

There is also JXTA - a jabber/rendezvous/zeroconf chat protocal being developed by sun.

I'm just curious: What's wrong with Fink?

Hundreds of ports, doesn't interfere with the rest of your system (at least not with mine), and a nice front end.

The program he used is called wvWare, obviously a handy little tool. He also gives links to some documents that supposedly yield interesting results. They are reproduced here:

1,

2,

3,

4,

5

So get cracking and have fun!

Ahhh.... good old days.... can share iTunes library across the Internet until some suckers like ileech and itunsdl come out, forcing Apple to downgrade the feature.

Meanwhile, you can setup a rendezvous proxy with ileech, work on Mac and PC.

Meanwhile I'm happy with my iPod....

Ultima IV and Ultima V in particular had awesome music. I think the music stands the test of time better than the games themselves. You can get midi files for the Ultimas here. Check out the Ultima IV remake project too.

The remixes in the new version are pretty nice too ,)

http://sc2.sourceforge.net/

The next toolkit that will be anything other than a rehashing (from an UI designer standpoint) of our current ones will be one based on the science of interface design. For a good overview read Jef Raskin's amazing book The Humane Interface and an implementation try THE. It seems like it is only for the Mac, grab the source and compile it. Such things as applications and file systems have got to go. It will be as fast or faster than the command line and at least as easy and usually easier than any GUI we have today.

The next toolkit that will be anything other than a rehashing (from an UI designer standpoint) of our current ones will be one based on the science of interface design. For a good overview read Jef Raskin's amazing book The Humane Interface and an implementation try THE. It seems like it is only for the Mac, grab the source and compile it. Such things as applications and file systems have got to go. It will be as fast or faster than the command line and at least as easy and usually easier than any GUI we have today.

The question is, with superior free codecs out there, would you really want to go back to mp3?

They say that "Windows" (meaning WIMP) on top of "UNIX" is a bad idea. Why? It's exactly what Raskin's former employer is currently doing. (emphasis mine)

And that's one of the main reasons why it is a former employee. He didn't want a mouse, he wanted a powerful keyboard (maybe by now we cuold have found a better way to use the mouse than to select from menus, which is most efficiently done with a LEAP-enabled keyboard) He had many differences with the MAcintosh project, and just now we are starting to use his better ideas (Incremental search (kind-of-LEAP) is to me the best thing since sliced bread, or bread of any kind, in any case). In his project, he explains his ideas, which he implemented many years ago, but with which we are just starting to catch up.

But that's not even considering that you can still use non-AA fonts with GTK2. Use the fonts that come with X, and don't set GDK_USE_XFT. Enjoy some nice jaggy fonts :)

If you're gonna promote non-AA fonts, at least let's do it properly. Actually, yes, it can be a nice experience to only activate AA from a certain size upwards, say 10 or 12 pixels. And the way to do that is either through Gnome's own configuration, or by changing your FontConfig settings via ~/.fonts.conf. And using some quality TTF fonts will make everything look even better. Seriously, I don't use AA under 12px. Jagged edges don't have an effect unless the font is really big or the font is really ugly. In all other cases, small fonts are much easier to read without AA.

The commercial / non-commercial isn't the reason - it's that mp3 is a proprietary format, and Fedora is still backed by RedHat. Royalty issues for mp3 have been talked about before on slashdot, and I don't see RedHat giving the nod to distributing mp3 decoders in Fedora any more than in the RedHat Enterprise distributions. It's the same as distributing the NTFS modules. New Fedora releases shouldn't effect this decision.

Just grab XMMS RPMS for Fedora from their home page and let RedHat worry about what they distribute. NTFS module RPMS are available as well.

The QT2 (now QT3) on Windows Project

The source for Qt in X is already available. It becomes a GPL/QPL port for developers to have fun with. Not that it hasn't been done already by the TT guys, but like any other unavailable backscratchers for that annoying itch, somebody will build it.

You can get a preowned Dreamcast (DC) at EBGames for $15 at a physical store or $19 online. Scope out DCEmulation for tons of homebrew ports and games (Mame, other emu's, mp3 player, divx player and many others) or fire up alt.binaries.cd.image.dreamcast for some commercial rips and work released by others. It even runs Linux (although a little dated) to a VGA monitor with KB support. The DC does not require any "chips" or internal hacks to run anything and has an internal modem.

Even further offtopic but I use my DC often, mostly for NES emulation and simply playing the games I've bought for it over the years.

Now, why is this troll?

It can run linux.

Is it really?

Absolutely!. Mmm: cheap webservers....

Well, if you think it sucks for GUIs, then don't use it for GUIs.

There are plenty of good GTK bindings for OO languages

Well, if you think it sucks for GUIs, then don't use it for GUIs.

There are plenty of good GTK bindings for OO languages

I'm surprised redhat has stuck with gnome this long as their DE of choice. It is more usable, and that's why I am glad personally they have.

With so many of the gtk programs riviling the qt equivalents, I wonder why companies always flock towards Qt.

No. Qt hasn't had annoying license restrictions in years, as it was released under the GPL four years ago, allowing for such projects as a GPL'd Qt3/Win32.

Somehow, this is still news to people...

The games Im working on are much better than text adventures. As of last night I have solitaire working.

Then again, I have access to the whole pseudo-OS of my iPod, they can only work with what apple gives them

But can I get DopeWars for it? I have yet to meet the platform that DopeWars hasn't been implemented for...has it for the iPod?

Nobody is forcing you to use Gnome or KDE desktop.
If you want a ligh one use fluxbox or if you uber-cool-unix-hacker ratpoison

Nobody is forcing you to use Gnome or KDE desktop.
If you want a ligh one use fluxbox or if you uber-cool-unix-hacker ratpoison

I came across a fantastic game the other day "Stair Dismount". You have to push a guy down some stairs to see how much damage you can inflict upon him.

It looks like a rag doll physics test bed that the author decided would make a great game. It uses the Open Dynamics Engine.

The plot:

Download at http://jet.ro/dismount/ (Windows only, although it does mention that some people have had luck running it under Wine).

Ace fun.

Roger

Internet junkbuster does this also for EVERY COMPUTER IN YOUR HOUSE or office. even better if you have a linux machine available.. use privoxy

easier, faster and you can issue rules to all broswers instantly

From the steps the OP stated, the card appears to be based upon the Atheros 511x chipset, requiring the use of the (IMO very good, but some assembly required) madwifi driver. Madwifi is the only driver that uses the athx designation. FYI, that driver requires that you use the CVS version. Project can be found at Madwifi's project page .

And let's assume that the EFF gets their way.

I think you assume too much from my previous responses. I do not think the EFF approach would work. It is essentially suggesting a subscription based service that you pay for voluntarily. As we've seen already, subscription based services aren't working well and voluntary payments are even less likely to succeed.

The solution is not more bureaucracy. The solution will be technological and will remove the recording industry from their position as the gatekeepers of music. Sure, they'll still be in control of the old stuff. But within 5 years, all new music will travel through a medium that will be something like a blend of iRate, eBay and P2P. You will be able to find/advertise, buy/sell, and distribute/acquire music all in one place. All without big labels, and without MTV and Clear Channel to force feed people what they 'think' people want to hear. The control over music will be returned to those who actually create it, and that leaves the big labels out of a job. In the end, everyone except the copyright cartels will be better off for it.

Obviously, by attempting to criminalize the protocol itself, they are trying to prevent their own demise through force of law. The sensible thing for them to do would be to get there first and try to carve out a niche, but they can't see the forest for the trees. They're too busy throwing money at lawyers, legislators, and con men who promise them magical files that can be unlocked yet can't be unlocked.

Elgato just released EyeHome which streams audio/video from your Computer(Mac Only) via Ethernet to a TV for the same price. It looks sweet, XLR8YourMac has had a bunch of users review it. It only accepts Mpeg1, Mpeg2(non-VBR), and DIVX streams from their "EyeHome Media Server". The same company Sells nice firewire tuners with TIVO like software that incorporates into the setup.

Seriously though, if you want a good TV frontend for your computer, get an Xbox and put Linux on it (no, you don't need to buy a mod-chip). It costs less than any other option and is a lot more flexable.

Sorry, no. It does not become a video player.

It seems it becomes a remote control with a nice LED display.

You still have to "add a way to get your PC's Video & Audio signals to your living room
TV set." ( that's from the link )

It's a cool use of the box, but since the box itself is not actually playing the video or outputting the video (or even the audio) signal, they shouldn't call it a video player.

There are tons of free solutions out there on the web that you can freely download for generating PDFs. PDFCreator (all apps - installs vitual printer) and Ghostview (office only) come to mind.

PDFCreator is the easy way of creating PDFs out of common software Like Word, StarCalc oder every other Windows Application that uses the Windows Printers.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator/

Free, for windows, no need to pay for pricy adobe utilities. ;)

All right, let Courtney say it again.

The internet gives bands a way to finally break clear of record companies, and here you come along telling us that we need them. Do you work for the RIAA, by any chance?

Distributing CDs cost $4, you charge your customer however much you want and pocket the difference.

Recording your music doesn't cost a fortune, either, as long as you have the gear to make the music (which you obviously already have if you're playing gigs) and can make the basic connection from your gear to your computer's mic jack.

Any questions?

Yeah, but WASTE is intended for relatively small groups of trusted users, so it's only good for some purposes.

Kind of a cool program though.

In prison, they'll just learn how to be better at pirating music online!

There is one, and it's called KMeleon. Its development is a bit slow, though...

Just in case anyone is interested (or still reading this article), I am in the process of developing a GCC front end for BCPL. Yes, crazy indeed.

Check out the Sourceforge project home page.

Just in case anyone is interested (or still reading this article), I am in the process of developing a GCC front end for BCPL. Yes, crazy indeed.

Check out the Sourceforge project home page.

The Plone LiveCD is based on Knoppix and will run without needing a hard-drive installation.

The author mentions doing something like you did (reading the raw code directly from the serial port) and then was forced to switch to USB mice because the serial ones are pretty much impossible to find now.

No bindings for python, but those shouldn't be too difficult to write... swig maybe?

I've been using Edna for a few years now, and it works like a charm. Made with python and runs in Linux and Windows (as a service).

Windows supports multiple mice (plug in as many as you want) and multiple mouse cursors using CPN Mouse. http://cpnmouse.sourceforge.net/

Like Freenet?

don't you think any body of laws represents a moral code?

That depends on what actions the laws are trying to prohibit, and whose moral code they're trying to support.

Laws are made by people and enforced to control people. And people have agendas. Sometimes these agendas are good and fair (ban murder), sometimes their purpose is entirely self-serving (ban oral sex), and sometimes they're just peculiar (banning taking lions to the movies).

Ask people how the laws should be changed, and you won't get just one or two answers. Many people will want new laws, many will want laws repealed, and most will want a combination.

(Do you know where I see this kind of argument the most? Freenet, where every kind of speech is possible but not all are welcome. Some speech, certain users argue, should not be allowed, but given the environment of free-wheeling and anonymity, it's awfully hard to define some of the "bad" forms, much less define them.)

The biggest problems arise when a coalition gets into government, or a government starts acting on the whims of a coalition. Suddenly laws and policies start serving one and only one group. The rest of the population becomes disenfranchised as the one group gleefully gives up everyone's right to do something that they never would do.

I won't say I'm religious, nor will I say I'm not religious, but this is the basis for my argument supporting the separation of church and state: the state can not afford to act in the interest of only one segment of the population, no matter how religious or righteous (or self-righteous) that one group may be.

Killing a man, stealing what he earned, etc are all wrong because we believe them to be morally reprehensible and thus created laws to punish those who do it.

That is the part that practically everyone will concede to. I believe in moral absolutes. I just believe in fewer moral absolutes than many.

Does the belief that gambling is a vice have to be predicated on religion in everyone's mind? It clearly has roots there, but not everyone who opposes its legalization is religious.

Like the fact that anyone who can figure a mathematical expectation won't touch the average gambling game with a ten-foot pole? Like the fact that online gambling can be too easily rigged in favor of the house or otherwise buggy? (Have you ever seen a perfect random number generator in a computer program? Funny, me neither.)

Frankly, I don't understand this mandate... except of course it's an internationalization of the state-by-state trend of introducing progressively more and more gambling games to the public. Horse racing seems noble enough, but then you get into paramutual betting, then you get lotteries, then slot machines will want to come in... Worst of all, it's all a symptom of a common condition: tax addiction. Most governments have it.

I will have to second that statement. It is very easy to set up and use. It is also easy to have several different streamers at the same time going to different ports. I use it on a home Linux server to stream music to other computers within my house and to stream MP3 audio from a Senior Adult Sunday School class that I teach. I do have some adults that might miss the class and want to catch up on what was said. You need to get GNUMP3D. I only have one complaint - I haven't quite figured out how to get the correct sort order to come out on the HTML page it generates. Maybe I will try the new 2.7 version. Nice job Steve.

I like Apache::MP3 also. Namp! is the name of the project when all the bits are rolled together (apache, mod_perl, perl, Apache::MP3). Also CPAN is your friend.

There's a demo site so you can see the default interface and try some streams (Apache::MP3 includes a "demo" mode which stops the streams after 30 seconds).

You can block casual access with a simple .htaccess file. I'm pretty sure it *will* work on Windows, Apache, perl, & mod_perl are all available on the platform, it's just more work because all those components aren't already there.

I'll tell you two problems I've run into. If you use username/passwords in .htaccess to secure it, the username & password will be a part of the URL for each streamed track and may be clearly visible on the desktop, depending on which streaming client you're using. Also some older clients may not work with URLs that include the user:pass in it. It's been a while but I think Windows Media Player was the one that gave me the most trouble.

Embedded album art in a track may also cause trouble for some clients, specifically iTunes and RealOne (v9 at least, haven't tried the beta). In my testing the album art was added by MusicMatch and iTunes adds them another way (so each app can't see the other's album art) so how the art is added to the track may be a factor. Actually, I think it's more likely that some clients just can't handle streaming tracks with too many bytes of ID3 tag data but I haven't tried any experiments to prove it.

Whether or not you can fast forward or rewind *within* a track depends upon the client. WinAmp does it like a champ. I'm pretty sure Xmms does too. iTunes does not. Someone has told me RealOne Player can do it but it hasn't worked for me.

iTunes is a bad streaming client because it permanently adds each streamed track to your Library. You have to manually select and delete them to clean it up.

If you don't want to bother streaming your own music, I recommend the "Internet radio station" RadioParadise. 128Kbps (or lower in a variety of formats, eclectic, listener-supported, no ads.

Personally I used edna, which is an MP3 server written in Python.
Were easy to install, works well, playlists are supported, Winamp and XMMS work well with it.

Edna "allows you to access your MP3 collection from any networked computer. This software streams your MP3s via HTTP to any MP3 player that supports playing off a remote connection". It's about 1,000 lines of Python code, no database needed. It takes about 10 seconds to get up and running.

Just in case you haven't gotten enough suggestions yet, I thought I'd post my favorite. The only reason I ever found it was so that I could stream music to my Rio Receiver without a windows box, but it has evolved much since then and can now stream any kind of media(including shoutcast and other stream sources)to multiple clients. It can do much more than that...Just check out the home page.

Since I know the /. crowd loves screenshots here's one of a client streaming music, checking out the server status(who is streaming what song), and editing a couple playlists. Here's an architecture overview of how it all works.