I'm sorry, but my bullshit meter is pegged on this story. While Microsoft may be evil, they aren't that stupid, and the story is completely unsubstantiated - TFA is a blog that is linking to another unsubstantiated blog that alleges that some first line OneCare peon told him this.
It wouldn't be surprising if the whole thing was a hoax. At best it's some OneCare peon trying to socially engineer a customer into installing WGA.
Someone needs to beat Sun hard with the clue stick really. Open source (and free software) in the main has ALWAYS been about directed self interest - the old saw about scratching an itch. Even RMS would admit that the Free software movement is certainly partly from directed self interest: after all, I'm sure RMS gains pleasure in working on GCC and sharing the results of his work with others.
These comments by a prominent Sun officer show that Sun still doesn't get it - that Sun's upper management is clue resistant. It's a real shame - their clue resistance is driving them into the ground. Don't take this as anti-Sun: I own some Sun kit, and I really want to see Sun finally Get It and survive as a company. It's also a bit confusing them still not Getting It, particularly in the light of some of the really cool things they've done recently, such as releasing the code for Solaris.
There is more than one Slashdotter you know. The people who complain about the first issue are NOT NECESSARILY the same people who are complaining about the second.
No, I doubt Linux would bullshit like the store salesman. Instead, he'd probably say "I don't know", which is what the store salesman should have said.
Well - not quite. VHS to DVD had these advantages, which were clearly understandable:
- More convenient form factor - Don't need to rewind - Picture looks better on your current TV set - Random access, menus, special features all easily accessable - Doesn't get chewed up occasionally in the machine - Rentals more likely to be good quality
DVD to HD-DVD has these advantages over DVD:
- Better looking picture if you're willing to shell out a four-digit figure on a new TV.
The barriers to entry for DVD were _much_ lower than it ever will be for HD-DVD or BluRay. Additionally, there were fewer drawbacks to getting a DVD player since you didn't have to spend a four digit sum to upgrade the TV too. But now people are in a Betamax situation with two competing formats, neither having an advantage over DVD unless you're willing to spend a four digit sum on a new TV.
The difference between VHS->DVD and DVD->HD-DVD/BluRay is like night and day. They are hardly comparable.
I don't buy audio CDs much, but that has NOT been my experience. My first audio CD is from 1989 - it plays as well as it did the day I bought it. Out of 50-odd audio CDs since then, only one went bad.
A better fix would be to instead of putting "5 days 3 hours 2 minutes and 15 seconds" remaining on this item, eBay puts something like "Approximately 5 days left for this item". If a seller puts up a listing, and say the standard is 6 days for a listing (I don't know, I've never sold on ebay and have only made 3 purchases in 4 years) then make the period a minimum of 6 days but up to 6 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds. It would essentially make sniping impossible because there is an uncertainty of 86400 seconds over when the auction will really end.
Actually, it's the other way around. The six year olds usually fight over a toy rather than "just talking about it".
Unfortuantely, international politics (and this isn't a recent thing either) resembles a bunch of six year olds. More unfortunately still, some of these six year olds in crusty 60 year old bodies have nuclear weapons.
Re:But it could be a lot easier....
on
Fedora Core 6 Preview
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· Score: 3, Interesting
If you really need to do it via the GUI, just point your browser at http://rpm.livna.org/livna-release-5.rpm - Firefox as installed on FC5 understands by default what program needs to handle RPM packages.
I'm sure the Fedora team has thought of putting some 'install illegal codecs' button somewhere in the GUI, but RedHat's lawyers probably say it's a very bad idea. If Livna does it all independently then RedHat can easily claim clean hands and get the case dismissed if Fraunhofer tries to sue them. It might be harder to get the suit dismissed if they do as you suggest, and that means lots of money - a patent holder's lawyer would be able to argue that it is tantamount to Microsoft putting a link on the GUI to the Pirate Bay in Windows.
Actually, I think this is what the RIAA and co. are absolutely terrified of - someone building a better model.
The RIAA's wet dream would be DRM which is mandatory on all players - and DRM-less content unplayable, and the keys only being held by the RIAA. So if you record something as simple as you playing the piano, to allow the masses to download and play your performance, you have to go via an RIAA member because they hold all the DRM signing keys. The RIAA knows well that the Internet could in the next few years seriously reduce the traditional record label's role - not through piracy, but legitimate recordings sold direct by bands or by small record labels. Mandatory DRM would prevent anyone from putting out their own music without going through a large record label. This would ensure the status quo remains because small labels and bands would be prevented from having a low cost route to their listeners that bypasses traditional record companies.
Fortunately, the RIAA and co. are probably too late. Hopefully. Emusic - the second largest online music seller by volume after iTMS does not use DRM - the files they sell are unencrypted high bitrate VBR MP3 files. So there are already a large number of music listeners who'd be up in arms if they couldn't put unencrypted content they legitimately bought on their MP3 player. Then you've got other services that seem to be standing on their own two feet like Magnatune (which is not only not DRM encumbered, but everything is under the Creative Commons Non-Commerical ShareAlike license, and when you buy a record off them they encourage you to share with friends - and not only that you get a choice of formats including FLAC. Importantly, they have a lot of good quality music on the books).
Resist the temptation to bother arguing with Marxist Hacker 42; he simply doesn't get it and never will. What he wants is no trade, not even local - but yet he still thinks the Internet can continue to exist under these conditions. Also he seems to not understand that it is human nature to trade.
No, you've not had to jump through ridiculous hoops since at least Fedora Core 2, probably earlier. There _is_ just a repo you can add - it's called the Livna repository. It contains all the 'patented' codec support (sound, video, DVD playing etc.) as well as proprietary video card drivers from nvidia and ATi.
and you've added the Livna repository. All the stuff in Livna now appears in GUI software installer (Applications -> Add and Remove Software) as well as on the command line (using 'yum'). Couldn't be simpler. Livna is an essential repository for a home user of Fedora Core.
Fedora is really for those who want to be on the bleeding edge. If you want a Redhattish distro that is NOT bleeding edge, try CentOS 4.3 (which is built from Red Hat Enterprise 4.3) or the other RHEL descendents like WBEL. CentOS is very solid - but it does not tend to have the bleeding edge stuff (and it will remain supported for years).
Planes do NOT collide due to an FAA (not FCC) radar outage. Besides - the vast majority of planes being separated will be covered by a single RADAR site (because to need separation they have to be close enough together, and if they are close together, they'll be being covered by the sweep of a single radar station). A telephone switch has nothing to do with the separation of aircraft in close proximity. In any case, if the weather is clear, the crew are looking out of the window.
I was born and grew up in an area where there was no poison ivy. Later on, I moved to an area where it was common. I didn't realise I had been tramping through the stuff for years - in fact, I'd never heard of it until a co-worker complained of getting a rash from poison ivy, and then he told me what it was. It's unlikely any of my ancestors have been exposed to the stuff but it doesn't bother me anyway.
There is nothing obviously different about me (well, so long as you leave a mental assessment aside:-)) but I didn't even know what poison ivy was until someone pointed it out after I'd been happily tramping through it for years.
On the other hand, certain types of pollen make me miserable, but not quite to the extent I bother with medication.
Not to mention it's totally impractical for really small cameras (like cell phone cameras) or expensive cameras (digital SLRs). In the case of the small - because the CCD is damn difficult to see at any distance. In the case of a digital SLR, there is a mirror in the way of the CCD until you press the shutter release. The device would have to be fast enough to detect the CCD during the actual exposure (unlikely). Not to mention you can just DOS the device by having multiple cameras in the area.
Just a curiosity: why not get a small, fun to drive car for the 99% of the time you're the sole occupant of the vehicle, and rent an SUV for those rare occasions you need to carry 6 people and haul a trailer?
Because it's all ultimately aircooling anyway. Where does your water radiate its heat to? The air. If you can air cool it directly, it cuts out the middle man and the cost of water cooling.
The interesting thing about LED traffic lights in Britain, is they actually simulate the glow down of the old incandescent! Instead of going from on to off instantly, the LEDs are dimmed over a period of about half a second to give the effect of the old incandescent lamps. They don't bother doing this for the turn on though (presumably because the turn on even with an incandescent is almost instant).
Slashdot Mirror
I'm sorry, but my bullshit meter is pegged on this story. While Microsoft may be evil, they aren't that stupid, and the story is completely unsubstantiated - TFA is a blog that is linking to another unsubstantiated blog that alleges that some first line OneCare peon told him this.
It wouldn't be surprising if the whole thing was a hoax. At best it's some OneCare peon trying to socially engineer a customer into installing WGA.
Someone needs to beat Sun hard with the clue stick really. Open source (and free software) in the main has ALWAYS been about directed self interest - the old saw about scratching an itch. Even RMS would admit that the Free software movement is certainly partly from directed self interest: after all, I'm sure RMS gains pleasure in working on GCC and sharing the results of his work with others.
These comments by a prominent Sun officer show that Sun still doesn't get it - that Sun's upper management is clue resistant. It's a real shame - their clue resistance is driving them into the ground. Don't take this as anti-Sun: I own some Sun kit, and I really want to see Sun finally Get It and survive as a company. It's also a bit confusing them still not Getting It, particularly in the light of some of the really cool things they've done recently, such as releasing the code for Solaris.
Too bad it's going to Marvell - these guys are apparently pretty hostile towards open source software, not releasing specs.
There is more than one Slashdotter you know. The people who complain about the first issue are NOT NECESSARILY the same people who are complaining about the second.
No, I doubt Linux would bullshit like the store salesman. Instead, he'd probably say "I don't know", which is what the store salesman should have said.
Well - not quite. VHS to DVD had these advantages, which were clearly understandable:
- More convenient form factor
- Don't need to rewind
- Picture looks better on your current TV set
- Random access, menus, special features all easily accessable
- Doesn't get chewed up occasionally in the machine
- Rentals more likely to be good quality
DVD to HD-DVD has these advantages over DVD:
- Better looking picture if you're willing to shell out a four-digit figure on a new TV.
The barriers to entry for DVD were _much_ lower than it ever will be for HD-DVD or BluRay. Additionally, there were fewer drawbacks to getting a DVD player since you didn't have to spend a four digit sum to upgrade the TV too. But now people are in a Betamax situation with two competing formats, neither having an advantage over DVD unless you're willing to spend a four digit sum on a new TV.
The difference between VHS->DVD and DVD->HD-DVD/BluRay is like night and day. They are hardly comparable.
Saying 'gonads' and 'penetrate' in the same sentence is a bit of a double entendre - especially since Apple will fuck everyone with DRM!
I don't buy audio CDs much, but that has NOT been my experience. My first audio CD is from 1989 - it plays as well as it did the day I bought it. Out of 50-odd audio CDs since then, only one went bad.
A better fix would be to instead of putting "5 days 3 hours 2 minutes and 15 seconds" remaining on this item, eBay puts something like "Approximately 5 days left for this item". If a seller puts up a listing, and say the standard is 6 days for a listing (I don't know, I've never sold on ebay and have only made 3 purchases in 4 years) then make the period a minimum of 6 days but up to 6 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds. It would essentially make sniping impossible because there is an uncertainty of 86400 seconds over when the auction will really end.
Actually, it's the other way around. The six year olds usually fight over a toy rather than "just talking about it".
Unfortuantely, international politics (and this isn't a recent thing either) resembles a bunch of six year olds. More unfortunately still, some of these six year olds in crusty 60 year old bodies have nuclear weapons.
If you really need to do it via the GUI, just point your browser at http://rpm.livna.org/livna-release-5.rpm - Firefox as installed on FC5 understands by default what program needs to handle RPM packages.
I'm sure the Fedora team has thought of putting some 'install illegal codecs' button somewhere in the GUI, but RedHat's lawyers probably say it's a very bad idea. If Livna does it all independently then RedHat can easily claim clean hands and get the case dismissed if Fraunhofer tries to sue them. It might be harder to get the suit dismissed if they do as you suggest, and that means lots of money - a patent holder's lawyer would be able to argue that it is tantamount to Microsoft putting a link on the GUI to the Pirate Bay in Windows.
Actually, I think this is what the RIAA and co. are absolutely terrified of - someone building a better model.
The RIAA's wet dream would be DRM which is mandatory on all players - and DRM-less content unplayable, and the keys only being held by the RIAA. So if you record something as simple as you playing the piano, to allow the masses to download and play your performance, you have to go via an RIAA member because they hold all the DRM signing keys. The RIAA knows well that the Internet could in the next few years seriously reduce the traditional record label's role - not through piracy, but legitimate recordings sold direct by bands or by small record labels. Mandatory DRM would prevent anyone from putting out their own music without going through a large record label. This would ensure the status quo remains because small labels and bands would be prevented from having a low cost route to their listeners that bypasses traditional record companies.
Fortunately, the RIAA and co. are probably too late. Hopefully. Emusic - the second largest online music seller by volume after iTMS does not use DRM - the files they sell are unencrypted high bitrate VBR MP3 files. So there are already a large number of music listeners who'd be up in arms if they couldn't put unencrypted content they legitimately bought on their MP3 player. Then you've got other services that seem to be standing on their own two feet like Magnatune (which is not only not DRM encumbered, but everything is under the Creative Commons Non-Commerical ShareAlike license, and when you buy a record off them they encourage you to share with friends - and not only that you get a choice of formats including FLAC. Importantly, they have a lot of good quality music on the books).
Resist the temptation to bother arguing with Marxist Hacker 42; he simply doesn't get it and never will. What he wants is no trade, not even local - but yet he still thinks the Internet can continue to exist under these conditions. Also he seems to not understand that it is human nature to trade.
No, you've not had to jump through ridiculous hoops since at least Fedora Core 2, probably earlier. There _is_ just a repo you can add - it's called the Livna repository. It contains all the 'patented' codec support (sound, video, DVD playing etc.) as well as proprietary video card drivers from nvidia and ATi.
See http://rpm.livna.org/
The ridiculous hoop you have to jump through is to simply type:
rpm -ivh http://rpm.livna.org/livna-release-5.rpm
and you've added the Livna repository. All the stuff in Livna now appears in GUI software installer (Applications -> Add and Remove Software) as well as on the command line (using 'yum'). Couldn't be simpler. Livna is an essential repository for a home user of Fedora Core.
Fedora is really for those who want to be on the bleeding edge.
If you want a Redhattish distro that is NOT bleeding edge, try CentOS 4.3 (which is built from Red Hat Enterprise 4.3) or the other RHEL descendents like WBEL. CentOS is very solid - but it does not tend to have the bleeding edge stuff (and it will remain supported for years).
Planes do NOT collide due to an FAA (not FCC) radar outage. Besides - the vast majority of planes being separated will be covered by a single RADAR site (because to need separation they have to be close enough together, and if they are close together, they'll be being covered by the sweep of a single radar station). A telephone switch has nothing to do with the separation of aircraft in close proximity. In any case, if the weather is clear, the crew are looking out of the window.
China isn't a communist regime: it's a capitalist dictatorship.
I was born and grew up in an area where there was no poison ivy. Later on, I moved to an area where it was common. I didn't realise I had been tramping through the stuff for years - in fact, I'd never heard of it until a co-worker complained of getting a rash from poison ivy, and then he told me what it was. It's unlikely any of my ancestors have been exposed to the stuff but it doesn't bother me anyway.
There is nothing obviously different about me (well, so long as you leave a mental assessment aside :-)) but I didn't even know what poison ivy was until someone pointed it out after I'd been happily tramping through it for years.
On the other hand, certain types of pollen make me miserable, but not quite to the extent I bother with medication.
Not to mention it's totally impractical for really small cameras (like cell phone cameras) or expensive cameras (digital SLRs). In the case of the small - because the CCD is damn difficult to see at any distance. In the case of a digital SLR, there is a mirror in the way of the CCD until you press the shutter release. The device would have to be fast enough to detect the CCD during the actual exposure (unlikely). Not to mention you can just DOS the device by having multiple cameras in the area.
Just a curiosity: why not get a small, fun to drive car for the 99% of the time you're the sole occupant of the vehicle, and rent an SUV for those rare occasions you need to carry 6 people and haul a trailer?
I know that. That's why I said "almost instant".
Because it's all ultimately aircooling anyway. Where does your water radiate its heat to? The air. If you can air cool it directly, it cuts out the middle man and the cost of water cooling.
The interesting thing about LED traffic lights in Britain, is they actually simulate the glow down of the old incandescent! Instead of going from on to off instantly, the LEDs are dimmed over a period of about half a second to give the effect of the old incandescent lamps. They don't bother doing this for the turn on though (presumably because the turn on even with an incandescent is almost instant).