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User: higuita

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  1. Re:Thoughts on Windows Virtual PC? on Ask Slashdot: Best Anti-Virus Software In 2015? Free Or Paid? · · Score: 1

    If you neeed a virtual machine, use qemu+kvm !! is free, it works, it is fast

    Of course, you also need linux!! :D

  2. OFFTOPIC: Re:Learn, Mozilla! on User Plea Means EISA Support Not Removed From Linux · · Score: 1

    You really don't want CA that aren't trusted in your browser... even if it breaks some sites... a broken CA can break ALL your https sites

    We should have killed SSL3 years ago, but to avoid breaking some sites, we found later that SSL3 bug could break all sites, even if they had already TLS1.2
    When something should die, let it die or you will pay for it later

  3. Re:Nvidia to blame on Assassin's Creed: Unity Launch Debacle Pulls Spotlight Onto Game Review Embargos · · Score: 2

    simple... AMD have not enough money to pay others to do that.

    When you have profits, you can do that, when you are losing money, downsizing and trying to recover. That money should be used to PR the game studios for better optimization and improve the drivers (that they know that have problems in several places)

  4. Re:Classic Samsung... on Samsung Acknowledges and Fixes Bug On 840 EVO SSDs · · Score: 1

    samsung lcd's also are built like crap. one after another, their electrolytics die (fake china caps; like so many others).
    (...)
    but dammit samsung, why do you have to be SO cheap??

    Because when something fails, most users will buy a new one instead of repairing the last one... and guess what... probably they will buy another samsung device! So instead of selling one TV each 15 years, they sell one each 3-5 years... even if just 1/3 of original buyers buy again samsung, it is still a win situation for then.

    Of course, the solution is to first repair the old devices (samsung is also making sure that it is harder and harder to do that! thin devices is the excuse to use hard to replace hardware... see apple and how to repair their devices) and when buying, choose a little more expensive tv (many of times just 20$ to 50$ more) from other good brand. If something fail in short time, complain to that brand and buy from another brand.

    If known brands use the same quality from cheap chinese brands, then there is no need to buy known brands

  5. Re:April Fools? on Adobe: Click-to-Play Would Have Avoided Flood of Java Zero-days · · Score: 1

    Yeh right, then all the security problems with Acrobat reader plugin were my imagination!!
    I still don't understand why a READ-ONLY print format needs a programming language and interactivity (hint: it doesn't! and that is why almost all other pdf reader ignore that)

  6. Re:I hadn't heard of Mangalyaan on Update: Mangalyaan's Main Engine Test Fired, Maven In Orbit · · Score: 0

    India is both a rich and poor country... is acts like a rich country when doing big projects and acts like a poor country when requesting money and support. The true is that they have very rich people and very poor people... and the power usually don't care much about the poor (other than it is cheap labor)

  7. Re: Biggest archaeological event? on Northwest Passage Exploration Ship Found · · Score: 2

    or titanic!!

  8. Re:Surprise? on Munich Reverses Course, May Ditch Linux For Microsoft · · Score: 1

    Then try a clean firefox profile, without extensions. I too have a lot of tabs opens for weeks and i have got any crash for months...
    both firefox and thunderbird crashing may point to a common (system) file that is broken.

    Also check your smart status (smartctl -a /dev/sd?) and do some tests.

  9. Re:Surprise? on Munich Reverses Course, May Ditch Linux For Microsoft · · Score: 0

    Ubuntu have it own problems, but you case is clear: you have something broken in your system, with so many different systems failing, including known stable apps like firefox, thunderbird and rsync, you have a corrupted system.... something like rsync will not lockup in any system, so is something below (ie: the kernel, the filesystem or the hardware) that is failing i. Try:

    1 run a mentest86 for some hours... if it reports any error, your hardware is broken... you can try to play with the bios settings to see if something is pushing too much the system. The AHCI will not be detected by mentest86, but also try to revert that and test... you should check for corrupted FS (fsck from a liveCD) and files (debsums) after that, as is AHCI is giving errors, you may have corrupted files
    2 try to reset your profile - login as a different user, move your current user home to /home/username.backup and create a new home (mkdir /home/username ; cp -r /home/skel/ /home/username/ ; chown -R username /home/username) - and test
    3 try to clean your system, upgrade any package, check if any ppa is messing (installing) new or older version of libraries
    4 if all fails, reinstall ubuntu
    5 if still fails, install a LTS ubuntu and test
    6 if still fails, install again 10.04 ubuntu and test
    7 if still fails, sorry, but something is broken in your hardware... after 10 years is not surprising if something like RAM, cpu capacitors or power source start to give problems

    good luck

  10. Re:bad for standards on Firefox 33 Integrates Cisco's OpenH264 · · Score: 1

    They are doing that, that is why the H264 battle is being abandoned, it's a waste of resources, mostly because the hardware support on phones and a W3C taking way too long to decide what format will be the standard (each day waiting is one more victory to H264).

    So mozilla is using this solution as a good workaround, the closed source plugin can be controlled, the code reviewed, only the patent is still a issue. they will now try to setup the next battle in better ground.

  11. Re:Flash support on Firefox 33 Integrates Cisco's OpenH264 · · Score: 1

    mozilla have a project (can't recall its name, sorry) to play most flash without plugin, using html5 and javascript. it can already play many of the flash out there, but not yet the flash videos and more complex flash games

  12. Re:bad for standards on Firefox 33 Integrates Cisco's OpenH264 · · Score: 1

    Mozilla, as a US based company/foundation, can't directly add a patent code, but can add support to use external tools.
    They already have done that for all major OS, but at least in android is a problem, as you can't install "other" tools to help firefox (for normal users, a rooted device you can always do other things)

  13. Re:bad for standards on Firefox 33 Integrates Cisco's OpenH264 · · Score: 1

    OGG Vorbis changed the license to BSD to try to push if to replace mp3 and other closed source formats. It is much better than mp3 is similar to most closed source audio format... yet most of the hardware and software out there still don't support it... all of then support the weaker and patented lock mp3 format.

    Timing have always to be perfect to gain the critical mass, but with all groups trying to reach the same goal, it's very hard to change this

    So no, the problem is not the license, it's the groups behind each format and their power. Apple with macosx/safari and iphones, MS with windows and iexplorer, and google with youtube have the power to allow or block a format. Apple and MS both have shares in the H264 patent owners, so they clearly don't want to support any other format.

    google could try to battle others (and with a good probability of winning) by first downgrade H264 quality over open formats and warn users to use chrome and firefox (to pressure MS and Apple to support the open formats) or install some plugin to support it. As youtube is so big and important, it is the perfect weapon for this. Of course, W3C should also be pressured to finally define the (correct) video standard. Sadly google is playing both sides, it's not doing enough to counter H264 nor promoting open formats and that makes Apple and MS stronger in to blocking any other open formats and leave Mozilla alone, fighting for open standards.

    Alone, the open source community will have a hard time trying to fight this closed source/patented formats, as there are always lack of resources to developer as fast as companies that their only work is that. With support from big companies, friendly to open source, like google, cisco, ibm, facebook, twitter, redhat, etc, things could be better, but those companies always have dual standards and not always really support the open standards

  14. Re:Trusting a binary from Cisco on Firefox 33 Integrates Cisco's OpenH264 · · Score: 1

    Don't forget that the GMP only have access to a certain number of firefox functions and runs inside a sandbox. That code is treated as insecure and as it have a very defined objective, is easier to sandbox (ie: no filesystem access, no network, etc).

    Yes, is not perfect, but it's a good workaround for those software patents and DRM.

    Those that still don't trust it, can choose to not install the Cisco OpenH264, its a "plugin" after all

  15. Re:Relieve pressure? on Mt. Fuji Volcano In 'Critical State' After Quakes · · Score: 1

    you have at least to extract the gas, that is very dangerous and turn a calm volcano into a explosive one... drilling is hard, as it too depth and too hot... explosions could help for the final steps, but even the small breach, at that depth, can cause the critical failure and a full eruption ... even if manage to do it, injecting huge amount of water to extract the heat it would only extract a very small quantity of the total, remember that there are volcanos under water too. Also, cooling one side might just deflect the magma flow to other place, creating more quakes, and create a new volcano where you really don't want.

  16. Re: our Universe shouldn't exist. on The Higgs Boson Should Have Crushed the Universe · · Score: 1

    There is no spoon!!

  17. Re:Who is that? on Wikipedia Editors Hit With $10 Million Defamation Suit · · Score: 1

    and now slashdot will be sued too!! :)

  18. Re:What was the point? on Freecode Freezeup · · Score: 1

    Agree, what would help a lot freshmeat would be a automatic link to sourceforce, github and friends. Developers would upload a new version and (if possible) flag it as a release and freshmeat would publish it automatically. Or allow the "update via new release mailling list". Forcing someone to enter freshmeat to update is a pain and push away many projects or keep the DB from showing obsolete versions.
    Also, with this integration, better changelogs could be possible
    Finally, keep a list of possible alternative software would help people searching, as one project can be dying and one can quickly find alternatives to it.

    Simple things that could improve frehmeat and increase his traffic.

    But no, instead they try to catch windows users by changing the name... and let it die
    if they really wanted to catch windows users, they would need to add the most common windows software and create a "freshmeat" application that would flag and update the windows software (think ninite, but with both the closed source software and all the open freashmeat software)

    I too will miss it

  19. Re:Better open source drivers, eh? on NVIDIA Is Better For Closed-Source Linux GPU Drivers, AMD Wins For Open-Source · · Score: 1

    CURRENT open source drivers should work well on that card, get a more update distro or manually update the kernel, libdrm, mesa and possibly the xorg-ati driver. Also, this open drivers status is for Linux, for BSD the open status may not be as good due the missing/incomplete lower level support in the kernel

    If it is failing on a recent distro, with recent kernel and mesa , you should open a bug (sometime fixing a bug on new cards can create another on older cards due the different features available)

  20. Re:Lock-in? on Microsoft Cheaper To Use Than Open Source Software, UK CIO Says · · Score: 1

    Agree, that is why i think people should report bugs when they find then and not simply complain and wait that they are fixed magically.
    Even if the project don't seem to fix/care about the bugs, it can help other developers to see that is a common bug and fix it anyway.

  21. Re:Do any of those apply? on New Battery Tech From Japan Could Supercharge EVs · · Score: 1

    so?

    what matters in a battery usually is the "reactive" surface, not how thick it is.

    The real problem right now for graphene is how to produce it! :)

  22. Re:Intense skepticism. Fraud? on New Battery Tech From Japan Could Supercharge EVs · · Score: 1

    That means there is little electrical resistance, which seems impossible if both electrodes are made of carbon. Metal has low electrical resistance. The electrical resistance of carbon is much higher.

    Tell that to the graphene, to the nanotubes and to any superconductors build with high resistance (isolated) materials.

    Most of the time, each material have different behaviour than simply the sum of all parts, the interaction between different atoms change their global proprieties

  23. Re:Intense skepticism. Fraud? on New Battery Tech From Japan Could Supercharge EVs · · Score: 1

    what the problem of a HTML site?!

    Not everyone likes flash, javascript and php/ruby/whatever

    You can build a good site using some scripts and templates and building HTML pages when they are needed (say using a Makefile)

  24. Re:Why swapping stations don't exist on New Battery Tech From Japan Could Supercharge EVs · · Score: 1

    No, the battery charge cycle is really the main problem!

    everything is expensive when is new, old gas station where also expensive, but when demands grow, so will the deployment.

    The problem is that batteries are EXPENSIVE and that price must be paid during the lifetime of the baterry. This makes the all process very expensive, the price of gas is for many people cheaper than having a "monthly" subscription to replace batteries on "gas" stations. This keep the sales and the demand low and everything will keep being expensive and rare.

    With longer batteries, their cost can be paid during more time, making everything cheaper (think in airplanes). With cheaper subscription more willl buy EV cars and the demand for gas stations will go up, reducing the deployment cost.

    Standardization is quickly solved by the car builders if there is demand, or by the government (think in Europe) to speed up things. Just look to the LPG/GPL cars, they aren't many, but a standard for gas station was created without much trouble.

    This problem is always the same: better batteries will solve most problems by improving the demand, being best by much higher energy density, or by being much cheaper or last much longer. If you can get 1 of this, is good, 2 is great, 3 would be as finding the holy grail

    Also don't forget that you can also combine batteries, you can use the long lasting battery for the small charge cycles (breaking, plug-in anywhere, solar, etc) and use the high density ones for the nightly charge (and if needed, to keep the other battery on the optimum charge level)

  25. Re:Cheaper beer on The Man Behind Munich's Migration of 15,000 PCs From Windows To Linux · · Score: 1

    The old hardware is a useful metric, as no company or public entity will replace desktops each year, they must survive for several years.

    in no place i said that one must buy only old hardware, just that companies have then and can use then longer than in windows.

    if you want to buy recent machines, why not?
    what hardware is missing linux support today? brand new 3D cards? Nvidia and AMD support then but closed drivers, Intel support then with open drivers ( AMD is in each new hardware iteration is releasing faster the open drivers, with the final objective of any latest distros version already have at least basic support for any hardware released). Those cards also don't show up in office workstation
    The only things not supported i remember are "retina" displays, but those aren't also found in office workstations yet.

    So in linux you can support BOTH older and new hardware. Top level, brand new hardware might not be perfect in linux... but people that want brand new high end machines right now will probably don't want linux too... is just not their style! :)