Hardware acceleration now can only be done using other APIs. That is how Creative Labs does it. They implement OpenAL (their own API) on their cards in parallel to the Windows APIs. It talks straight to the card, bypassing Windows's processing.
OpenAL was made by Creative? Interesting.
I know many games choose to use it. Seems like a solid API - seems to work well on anything.
That's not the only big usermode DirectX related change though, the graphics subsystem was moved in to user mode too. Though this still does hardware acceleration, of course, the drivers were all moved up to user space. One side effect of this that you notice is that when you install new drivers, you don't need to reboot.
This isn't strictly true. The problem in XP is unloading graphics drivers. If you get locked to the VGA graphics driver, you can point it to an nVidia driver from devmgmt.msc, install that driver, and immediately have access to full-resolution 32bit colour and hardware acceleration for games. Without a reboot.
But uninstalling the old nVidia driver before installing the new requires at least one reboot.
I remember reading about the audio quality of OSSv4. Apparently it's wonders better than Alsa.
I believe it. Alsa has noticeable hissing when playing movies. I've temporarily switched to PulseAudio, which seems to have cured it, but it's still not as good as in Windows.
I might try converting to OSSv4. I just wish the process was easier.:P
I think the real moral here is to use Java rather than.net!:P
In all seriousness, it's only a matter of time before more.net exploits are discovered. Java is the more open solution, with a better security track record. *shudder*
Just tossing it out there. I'm more inclined to believe your explanation - but maybe someone knows more about how global temperature would affect worldwide humidity?
I'm guessing that by better quality they mean materialistically.
Being an American, you would think that. Believe it or not, some cultures don't care much about all that materialistic stuff. It could be the smell of the air(big US city = horrible), travel time to work every day(under 15 mins please!), hostile neighbours, etc.; or the desire to reunite with friends and family from their home country. There's probably a hundred or more reasons that would be right up there with cash.
Being a US citizen I would prefer to live in a place where human rights are championed, personal liberty is maximized and freedom of speech and freedom from government oppression is paramount. So, I guess I'm saying where should I move to?
Canada! =P
No wait - we don't want you. You have too much pride in your own nation. Stay in the US - the only nation with true freedom of speech...blah blah blah.
And imagine those brains that become "inelastic" and slower to learn. Imagine having a body that is immortal, but a brain that is slowly losing function.
Being 25 years old until I die of stupidity/old-age at 90? (Maybe I burned my house down? =P )
It's possible that the licensing fee is/was higher, and they're just taking what they can get. Perhaps the 200 million is for to-date violations, and now those companies will also be licensing at a higher cost?
Because of the confidential terms, we won't be able to confirm either scenario.
I'm in Canada. I pay $30/mo for 3mbit/512kbit ADSL, with a 200GB cap. The cap came in really handy when one of my HDDs died, and I had to re-download a lot of steam games.
Canada has had such a law for a long time. After all - the major backbones were funded by the government, and therefore taxpayers, so why should we be locked in to monopolies? Unfortunately for us, just as the US is considering such a law, Canada is considering revoking it.
Sure I can get 30MB access for $65, but that's like buying a 40 seat bus to carry your family of 4. More than you need is great if you don't have to pay for the extra.
Right now you can get 3-6mbit ADSL for $30/mo without a contract. With a contract, $40/mo will give you ADSL speeds of up to 15mbit. $45-$55/mo will give you the same speed with cable.
Considering that we have less population density than the US (and therefore higher upkeep costs per subscriber), I think the law is doing its job quite effectively.
You're absolutely correct. It's far more dangerous editing a linux conf file than it is editing the registry. (I should know - all my mounts vanished when I used spaces rather than tabs in fstab)
But some stupid person will go crazy and delete everything in the registry if you don't put up those scary warnings.
In all my years of windows use, and frequent registry editing, I've never caused a serious problem by deleting stuff. I always make a backup of keys, just in case, but I've never needed to restore one.
Not to mention, I don't want a high power radio device right next to my head.
Bluetooth is one thing, but have you seen how hot some of those Wifi chipsets/antennas get? Now imagine all that stuff being blasted through your head. If you believe any of the cancer claims, stick with lower output wireless like Bluetooth.
I prefer Youtube. Signed, dated, and viewed by 25,000+ people?
Good luck patenting something like 10/GUI after so many have watched that video! If a company like Microsoft comes out with something remarkably similar, we'll all know where they got the idea.
Hey, paper can be forged, but cached sites don't lie about dates.;)
That certainly helps explain their router prices! Good to hear of a company doing it the proper way. Many companies try to only respect IP law when it benefits them.
20GB monthly cap? I'd blow through that just from browsing webpages. Downloading steam games would be the nail in the coffin - I can easily surpass 100GB in a single month.
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It's HE. AAC LC at 48kbit is pitiful compared to 160kbit ogg vorbis. It's very hard to miss! :P
Alsa fizzes for my soundcard. Other mixers don't. Other operating systems don't.
Hardware acceleration now can only be done using other APIs. That is how Creative Labs does it. They implement OpenAL (their own API) on their cards in parallel to the Windows APIs. It talks straight to the card, bypassing Windows's processing.
OpenAL was made by Creative? Interesting.
I know many games choose to use it. Seems like a solid API - seems to work well on anything.
That's not the only big usermode DirectX related change though, the graphics subsystem was moved in to user mode too. Though this still does hardware acceleration, of course, the drivers were all moved up to user space. One side effect of this that you notice is that when you install new drivers, you don't need to reboot.
This isn't strictly true. The problem in XP is unloading graphics drivers. If you get locked to the VGA graphics driver, you can point it to an nVidia driver from devmgmt.msc, install that driver, and immediately have access to full-resolution 32bit colour and hardware acceleration for games. Without a reboot.
But uninstalling the old nVidia driver before installing the new requires at least one reboot.
Note: Have not tested this on ATI hardware.
I remember reading about the audio quality of OSSv4. Apparently it's wonders better than Alsa.
I believe it. Alsa has noticeable hissing when playing movies. I've temporarily switched to PulseAudio, which seems to have cured it, but it's still not as good as in Windows.
I might try converting to OSSv4. I just wish the process was easier. :P
I think the real moral here is to use Java rather than .net! :P
In all seriousness, it's only a matter of time before more .net exploits are discovered. Java is the more open solution, with a better security track record. *shudder*
Posting anonymously does not preserve mod points - unless you do it from a different IP.
Also, I'm not lying - there's a long thread on the Ubuntu Forums where people are trying to help me figure out why.
But like a typical linux elitist, you take the stance that the documentation must be infallible, and it's always the user's fault.
(where did all that water go, I wonder?).
Into the air?
Just tossing it out there. I'm more inclined to believe your explanation - but maybe someone knows more about how global temperature would affect worldwide humidity?
I'm guessing that by better quality they mean materialistically.
Being an American, you would think that. Believe it or not, some cultures don't care much about all that materialistic stuff. It could be the smell of the air(big US city = horrible), travel time to work every day(under 15 mins please!), hostile neighbours, etc.; or the desire to reunite with friends and family from their home country. There's probably a hundred or more reasons that would be right up there with cash.
Being a US citizen I would prefer to live in a place where human rights are championed, personal liberty is maximized and freedom of speech and freedom from government oppression is paramount. So, I guess I'm saying where should I move to?
Canada! =P
No wait - we don't want you. You have too much pride in your own nation. Stay in the US - the only nation with true freedom of speech...blah blah blah.
And imagine those brains that become "inelastic" and slower to learn. Imagine having a body that is immortal, but a brain that is slowly losing function.
Being 25 years old until I die of stupidity/old-age at 90? (Maybe I burned my house down? =P )
Sign me up!
I've seen something similar, too: http://www.esquire.com/features/best-and-brightest-2008/bringing-back-the-dead-1208
Shit, I didn't have to use my real name!?
The annoyance with Java is the installation of "Quickstarter" bits
Yes! You have to manually turn those off in services.msc, or they keep coming back!
It's possible that the licensing fee is/was higher, and they're just taking what they can get. Perhaps the 200 million is for to-date violations, and now those companies will also be licensing at a higher cost?
Because of the confidential terms, we won't be able to confirm either scenario.
I'm in Canada. I pay $30/mo for 3mbit/512kbit ADSL, with a 200GB cap. The cap came in really handy when one of my HDDs died, and I had to re-download a lot of steam games.
Canada has had such a law for a long time. After all - the major backbones were funded by the government, and therefore taxpayers, so why should we be locked in to monopolies? Unfortunately for us, just as the US is considering such a law, Canada is considering revoking it.
Sure I can get 30MB access for $65, but that's like buying a 40 seat bus to carry your family of 4. More than you need is great if you don't have to pay for the extra.
Right now you can get 3-6mbit ADSL for $30/mo without a contract. With a contract, $40/mo will give you ADSL speeds of up to 15mbit. $45-$55/mo will give you the same speed with cable.
Considering that we have less population density than the US (and therefore higher upkeep costs per subscriber), I think the law is doing its job quite effectively.
Links/proof:
http://www.teksavvy.com/en/abc_resdsl.asp?ID=2&mID=1
http://www.teksavvy.com/en/resdsl.asp?ID=7&mID=1
http://www.bell.ca/shopping/internet.portal;GEMSESSIONID=vMQVKY3XsKBv1cQyx2xmKTJn322pxDn1LNp2yfw84xGM2wpQNg2n!1182660780?_nfpb=true&_windowLabel=PrsShpInt_NewAccess_internetBrowse_portlet&PrsShpInt_NewAccess_internetBrowse_portlet_actionOverride=%2Fportlets%2Fpersonal%2Finternet%2Fbrowse%2FgetDetailPage&_pageLabel=PrsShpInt_NewAccess
http://www.telus.com/portalWeb/inlineLink/CP_SCS/General/Internet/High_Speed/General/Compare_Plans/?_region=BC
http://www.shaw.ca/en-ca/ProductsServices/Internet/High-Speed/
Technically the plugin is installed in a sneaky unapproved manner, and opens up vulnerabilities. The title fits.
You're absolutely correct. It's far more dangerous editing a linux conf file than it is editing the registry. (I should know - all my mounts vanished when I used spaces rather than tabs in fstab)
But some stupid person will go crazy and delete everything in the registry if you don't put up those scary warnings.
In all my years of windows use, and frequent registry editing, I've never caused a serious problem by deleting stuff. I always make a backup of keys, just in case, but I've never needed to restore one.
Handy - but for me the Java plugin wasn't there.
Not a problem though - I don't mind Java. It's certainly more secure than anything dotNet.
Minus the cool taskbar.
Not to mention, I don't want a high power radio device right next to my head.
Bluetooth is one thing, but have you seen how hot some of those Wifi chipsets/antennas get? Now imagine all that stuff being blasted through your head. If you believe any of the cancer claims, stick with lower output wireless like Bluetooth.
The question is also where do you publish?
I prefer Youtube. Signed, dated, and viewed by 25,000+ people?
Good luck patenting something like 10/GUI after so many have watched that video! If a company like Microsoft comes out with something remarkably similar, we'll all know where they got the idea.
Hey, paper can be forged, but cached sites don't lie about dates. ;)
Different country, my dear friend!
And getting money back for that technology will reduce the bill to the taxpayers in the future.
That certainly helps explain their router prices! Good to hear of a company doing it the proper way. Many companies try to only respect IP law when it benefits them.
So CISCO was using CSIRO technology without licensing it? Shame!
Very true!
Although you might be able to provide general guidance based on genre.
I'm in Canada. I get 3mbit/512kbit ADSL with a 200GB cap from Teksavvy for $30/mo.
But because of our stupid CRTC, that might change: http://www.consumersforinternetcompetition.com/business/the-issue-in-a-nutshell.aspx
20GB monthly cap? I'd blow through that just from browsing webpages. Downloading steam games would be the nail in the coffin - I can easily surpass 100GB in a single month.