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Comments · 285

  1. so... would it be possible on MS SQL Server Worm Wreaking Havoc · · Score: 1

    to write a variant of this virus to propagate itself to all these servers, delete the bad virus, then after a few hours, download and install the security fix patch and delete itself?

  2. Oh no. on Tom's Hardware Reviews First Player for DivX Video · · Score: 1

    A great majority of the DivX currently available, nearly all of the hundreds I own, are encoded in DivX 3. Very sad news indeed. Guess I'll keep my multimedia PC hooked to my TV afterall.

    Course, that does have the added advantage of keeping well over 150 full length DVD quality movies online and ready to play at anytime thanks to a large hard drive.

  3. my cable internet installer told me what it was on What Software Do Cable Installers Place on Your PC? · · Score: 2
    he showed up 20 minutes late, then had to run 200 feet of cable through my back yard, then through my garage into my office, so by the time he got to my pc it was after 7pm. And he was pissed at working so late. He told me I should sign a disclaimer so he didnt have to screw with installing the client software for charter. I asked him wtf the software was that I was signing a paper saying I refused to have it installed on my PC, and he told me that it was a backdoor for them to access my PC for helpdesk calls and such... but said that I didnt hear it from him.

    So, I didnt end up with that software, which is good, but in the process I also didnt get a username or login for email or web space.

    Course, I didnt get a copy of the sheet I signed stating that I refused the software, so I dont knwo if it was the truth or not.

  4. why no DVD players with DivX ability? on Get Ready For Divx On Xbox · · Score: 2

    sure, they'll hit the same lawsuits and such that the first mp3 players hit, but I'd pay a premium for an APEX player that could play DivX, and the legitimate market for people who want to author their own home movies without a DVD burner would be pretty good as well.

    I'm thinking that projectmayo.org would be happy to allow use of the codec for a minimum rate.

  5. not worth it on Bootleg Star Wars AotC Debuts on Internet · · Score: 0, Troll

    no way I'd ever get a copy on my l33t dialup connection anyway, but the quality is supposedly not even up to "crap" standards.

  6. Next step. on Mods: "Lifeblood of Gaming Industry"? · · Score: 2

    Right now, mods come after games, basically just using their engines, then modding everything but the core engine itself.

    An upcoming title, Legends just may be the next step in the evolution of gaming. Basically a mod that just skips the first step of buying a different game just to get the engine.

    The game is based off the tribes 2 engine, and will be released for free. People can modify it however they want and contribute to the project in any matter they see fit.

    Will be interesting to see how their experiment goes. Could revolutionize online gaming, and change the way mods are developed forever, or it could fail miserably and accomplish little.

  7. Oregon trail. on Creative Games sans Violence? · · Score: 5, Funny

    Worked great for us oldtimers. :D

  8. more! more!! on Office-Worker Linux: It's Here and It Works · · Score: 2, Insightful
    That's the single largest remaining obstacle to Linux as a desktop OS... Userbase.

    It's a big hurdle though. Every bit helps.

    If Openoffice gets up to speed, the transition will be even easier.

  9. My favorite fixed episode on Junkyard Wars Nominated For Emmy · · Score: 1
    Was when they found a brand new roll of ultra-lightweight silver material to build a blimp in the back of a rusted out car.... Just after mentioning how they didn't think they'd be able to finish their job without it. :)

    ________

  10. Re:Just plain sad. on The Sliderule As Paleo-Geek Artifact · · Score: 1
    If California's energy crisis turns computers into pricey paperweights and makes AA batteries as scarce as vacuum tubes, Tom Wyman will still be able to perform vital calculations such as finding the square root of 144 or figuring the value of 2 to the power of 10.

    The truly sad part is that none of these so-called geeks even considered using solar cells instead of AC or batteries in the event of a power outage.

    If your thinking is that confined inside "the box" then knowing a few basic mathematical formulas isn't going to be very useful in any practical sense.

    ________

  11. Re:Pilots use them all the time on The Sliderule As Paleo-Geek Artifact · · Score: 1
    heh. I forgot about that, and I own one of those too.

    kind of a funky metal sliderule thing with a big wheel on it.

    I'd say most people who would need to use one more than a few times probably use the electronic version though.

    ________

  12. houston we have a problem... on Movies in Space? · · Score: 2
    Wouldn't the vomit comit be a LOT cheaper than sending an entire crew into space? is there even room? Worked fine for Ron Howard and Apollo 13.

    ________

  13. Re:remember the noise? on Building the Quiet PC · · Score: 2
    I do remember hearing stories about an old PC of some type, possibly from Xerox? which had no CPU or case fan because it was designed well.

    Turns out, people thought that meant it wasn't as powerful, so the company put a case fan in anyway to loudly blow air around the case for no real purpose other than to make noise so people would buy it.

    Anyone know what I'm talking about enough to correct the inaccuracies?

    ________

  14. remember the macs? on Building the Quiet PC · · Score: 3
    I remember starting out on the old slimline macs which had no fans, they were of course completely silent, when I used my first PC, I couldn't imagine why it was so loud.

    Of course, like many people, now I run my PC with 6 fans, 3 loud hard drives, and with the case cover off, so I'm more than used to a little noise.

    ________

  15. Bravo! Well said. on Another Look at Life On The Jovian moons · · Score: 2
    If we had billions in *extra* money lying around, and were looking to blow it on something, that'd be fine.

    But in the real world, education is being cut, law enforcement is under staffed, and we are spending billions on rockets that do nothing. Private business can and will pick up the slack where needed.

    It's too bad the reality is unpopular here, and will be silenced by people who don't agree. I'd mod your post up if I could.

    ________

  16. Why not save yourself $24,998.00 ? on Arcade History -- Dragon's Lair #00001 · · Score: 1
    And get this instead.

    You could even write #000001 on the CD and stand up while playing it if you wanted.

    ________

  17. And to think... on Nasubi - The Ultimate Survivor · · Score: 3
    we are the same people who preach how it's unthinkable that the romans watched gladiators fight to the death for sport. how far away from that are we really?

    ________

  18. Good read. on Computer and Technology Show · · Score: 2
    Pretty hard not to sense the obvious bias in the article, but definitely an encouraging story overall.

    ________

  19. Re:Please reconsider. on Talking With KDE Developer Martin Konold · · Score: 1
    If you think import/export filters make files "compatible" then you most certainly don't have enough experience in that area. I deal with compatibility issues every day, and they are a MUCH bigger deal than you seem to understand. A simple thing like text wrapping, or line format will always get through a "filter", and minifest itself in a critical portion of a file that has been converted.

    The interface is also very important, the koffice interface is amateurish at best, and downright clumsy and ineffective at worst. And above that, convincing someone to use a linux box and switch to a limited, clumsy tool like KOffice, when they've been using windows with microsoft office, or open office, just isn't an effective choice, and isn't going to happen in most cases.

    ________

  20. Re:Please reconsider. on Talking With KDE Developer Martin Konold · · Score: 1
    Open office is *not* star office. But of course, you should put your efforts in the area you find most enjoyable. It's simply unfortunate that you wouldn't enjoy the same efforts directed at a larger goal.

    ________

  21. Re:Please reconsider. on Talking With KDE Developer Martin Konold · · Score: 3
    I teach software classes, and do support for these types of applications. KOffice is extremely simplistic, to the point of being ineffective.

    perhaps, very light home use, but for an office environment, these programs just aren't on the same level, and are lacking a large number of the features which are critical to good productivity.

    It's a commmendable effort, and at the time they started the project it was a good idea. But at this point, even if they managed to put the remaining 90% of features in, and rework the interface so it wasn't as clumsy, they would lack the most critical piece, which is compatibility.

    Open office can offer compatibility not only across desktop environments within linux, but also with windows users, and soon mac users. Teaching, files, interface, all compatible. And in the area of productivity tools for office use, without that, it doesn't matter how good your product is, cause you'll still be the betamaxx and you'll be doing a disservice to your users.

    ________

  22. Please reconsider. on Talking With KDE Developer Martin Konold · · Score: 2
    "Essentially, the (openoffice) code is just too big and unwieldy to be worked on. So, we're concentrating on the KOffice suite of applications, which are looking quite good. "

    Understanding that quite a lot of work has gone into the Koffice suite, and the desire not to lose some of that effort, this is still a very bad choice.

    KOffice is many, many years from being in a state of usability for any serious production purposes. With all due respect, it's just not nearly good enough to be considered for any real world use. Sorry, but it's just not even close. Sure it will take effort to clean the openoffice code, but nowhere NEAR the effort it would take to get KOffice into a usable state.

    As most linux users (and most macintosh users) can tell you, a viable office suite is the single most critical link in desktop usage.

    Of course the open source community is rooted heavily in duplication of efforts, so that's not a compelling argument here, but in this case, you should seriously consider the costs vs. the advantages.

    A standardized office suite, compatible across distributions, and platforms is the boat Linux needs, and it will decide, possibly for good, whether we are all on that boat, or it sails without us because of pride or short-sightedness.

    A KDE desktop with a native Openoffice would be the closest thing Linux has ever seen to becoming a competitive desktop alternative to windows. Ya, I'll probably just have to switch to Gnome like everyone else, but I've always preferred KDE, and hate to see it shoot itself by missing an opportunity like this, not to mention lose all the potential here.

    ________

  23. Denied Layoffs? on Slashback: Apple, Lawyers, Backbones · · Score: 1
    What company has ever not taken that step before finally going public with the truth about a week later?

    I love mandrake 8, so I wish them my full support, but I must say hearing a company deny layoffs is hardly reassuring, since it's a normal step in the downward spiral of doomed companies.

    Hopefully it's true in their case though, cause I'd hate to lose Mandrake, it'd be a big blow to Linux.

    ________

  24. That's why it's so critically important on The Linux Desktop Obituary · · Score: 2
    for the linux community to support Openoffice.org.

    That is the last, good shot at anyone making a dent in the microsoft office empire. If you've used it, you know it's extremely compatible with microsoft office documents, so you can reasonably use it to open and edit documents created by windows users, and it's free, so it's got a good advantage over the microsoft competitor, and to top that off, it's on Linux.

    Yet, it gets very little help, and almost no press from the Linux community.

    If the community is serious, it will throw as much support as it can gather behind openoffice.org. I'd love to see the KDE team drop the well-intentioned, but highly impractical KOffice to contribute to the Openoffice.org effort, a KDE native version for example.

    Go to the website... Try Openoffice. If you want to be involved with a project that really will change the standings in the software game, that project is probably the one with the highest potential to make a real difference at this point, yet it's getting very little publicity or support.

    ________

  25. failure of open source? on Red Hat: Who Needs Netscape? · · Score: 2
    How does this reflect on Netscape's decision to open the netscape source? How would it affect other companies? The result in this particular situation is that netscape, with all it's advertising, all it's preset home portal home page, etc. Is out a little business and a few customers.

    Good or bad?

    ________