Because, for example, many internet radio stations use WMA as codec. With the help of this decoder you could listen to them (and maybe don't even break a law while doinng this).
RIAA closed napster because their users offered copyrighted files without authorization. But the WMA decoder is something completely different. I don't know how the developer(s) obtained the information about format, but if they did it in an illegal way (e.g. decompiled the windows decoder) they may have a problem. And, of course, they may have a problem when MS has patents related to decoding their files. But I guess the ffmpeg don't care much about that, as all the MPEG algorithms are patented as well.
I think the easiest example why patents are bad is the recent JPEG patent: JPEG is, without any doubt, the most widespread compression format for images. Every expert should know it. But just last month, after over 10 years of existence, some company came up with a patent that has valid claims against JPEG. How can any company build a product without violating somebody else's patent when nobody noticed JPEG's patent violation for 10 years, not even the 'inventor' of the patent?
The main problem is that the concept of patent seems to assume that it is impossible that two people have the same idea. If somebody uses a patented technique, he must have 'stolen' it. But that's not the way it is in reality, because people 'reinvent' things without knowing the existing patents all the time. Often you just need to think about a problem set and get the same, patented idea. And this is exactly the thing that should be changed of a patent: when you use something that is patented, and you have never seen the patent's content before, you should not have to pay royalties or damages unless the patent holder can prove that you 'copied' his invention and not reinvented it yourself.
Yup. Most apps dont need a 64-bit address space, so why should anyone bother and provide two versions of the software (32&64 bit)? But operating systems will support 64-bit, because some customers need 64 bit support, and usually those who are willing to pay a lot for it. And databases will, of course, support 64 bit because they need it as well.
Not surprising... he works for Transmeta, and they licensed x86-64... So what else should he say? Beside that, who cares for the CPU's instruction set? Nobody, except compiler designers and very few assembler programmers. And they already know x86 and the tools exist. So the only argument for Itanium can be performance/price. And ATM it looks like Opterons will be cheaper.
if there is any, it would be cool to be able to enter "vnc://password@111.222.111.222" into Konqueror, for sure
You can, but the syntax is vnc://somenamethatwillbeignored:password@111.222.1 11.222
(if you just write someword@address it is a username, not a password)
Hmm... i started krfb before I knew the Remote Assistance feature in WinXP. But when I saw it I got a number of ideas from RA, no doubt. The question is: dont you want a feature anymore just because MS implemented it first?
One of the reasons why MS gets the cool stuff first is because KDE still needs to catch up. Many people claim that Linux/KDE is already competitive, but that isnt true. There are many things that Windows has and Linux/KDE doesnt, so be prepared to see even more copied features before KDE gets the big features that Window lacks.
The server uses libvncserver which has a quite complex history, but supports TightVNC. The client is based on TightVNC's clients, but with many new goodies.
Actually krfb was a x0rfbserver port, originally. The problem with x0rfbserver is that the codecs are extremely bad compared to newer ones like TightVNC. krfb will use much less bandwidth which is quite important if you use it over a dialup or ISDN connection. And it's also easier to use for end-users, much like WinXP's Remote Assistance.
There are reasons for the limitation: for true transparency you need update several layers for each pixel which requires a much more complex dialog between X11 server and the client. The server must send an update request to the first client, then the client will paint and send an message to the server that it is finished. Then the server goes to the next client and so on. Right now the server just sends an redraw request to the client that owns the pixel(s) and that's it.
You dont want a cable hanging out of your mouth when loading the telephone's batteries
You cant see the display without a mirror
You need a tooth pick to dial
You cant phone while you are eating
With a vibrating alarm you could lose your tooth
Using it since 14 days / kernel problems
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I am using it since 14 days now (live in Germany and subscribed it). It's ok, not many noticable improvements over 7.3 beside KDE 3.0. But what really annoys me is that the kernel is not very stable, at least for some activities. When trying to rip a CD my system freezes after a few minutes. I ripped several dozen CDs with 7.3 without a single problem. Another good way to crash the kernel is to listen to audio using an USB audio device. Sometimes it crashes after 5 minutes, sometimes after 60 minutes, but it will always crash. Since 7.3's had a bug that prevented USB audio from working it's still an improvement, but not a very good one. Playing Tribes 2 with the Nvidia drivers is better, it only crashes after several hours, and I had the same problems with Suse 7.3 as well, at least after the last driver update.
I think the answers are quite obvious (unless I am missing something, of course):
To prevent central control you need to store it at the service provider of your choice. Who says that everybody's information must be stored at the same place?
In order to protect your privacy it must be encrypted. As bandwidth will matter you can not, of course, put all you personal data into a single file and encrypt it, you need a more clever scheme that allows random access to structures/blocks
Because it is encrypted and your provider is not able to decode it for, e.g., a web interface, you need smart client that understands, manages and displays the data to you.
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Because, for example, many internet radio stations use WMA as codec. With the help of this decoder you could listen to them (and maybe don't even break a law while doinng this).
RIAA closed napster because their users offered copyrighted files without authorization. But the WMA decoder is something completely different. I don't know how the developer(s) obtained the information about format, but if they did it in an illegal way (e.g. decompiled the windows decoder) they may have a problem. And, of course, they may have a problem when MS has patents related to decoding their files. But I guess the ffmpeg don't care much about that, as all the MPEG algorithms are patented as well.
Actually the KDE League is a US organization, KDE e.V. is the European.
Then dont use it. Kaplan just embeds KMail...
A similar looks doesnt help much. (Red Hat doesnt seem to get it as wel)
Yes, Outlook will be supported. You need the Bynari connector thing though.
Yes, the KDE client will be GPL'd. It will re-use a lot of code/components from KMail, KOrganizer etc
I think the easiest example why patents are bad is the recent JPEG patent: JPEG is, without any doubt, the most widespread compression format for images. Every expert should know it. But just last month, after over 10 years of existence, some company came up with a patent that has valid claims against JPEG. How can any company build a product without violating somebody else's patent when nobody noticed JPEG's patent violation for 10 years, not even the 'inventor' of the patent?
The main problem is that the concept of patent seems to assume that it is impossible that two people have the same idea. If somebody uses a patented technique, he must have 'stolen' it. But that's not the way it is in reality, because people 'reinvent' things without knowing the existing patents all the time. Often you just need to think about a problem set and get the same, patented idea. And this is exactly the thing that should be changed of a patent: when you use something that is patented, and you have never seen the patent's content before, you should not have to pay royalties or damages unless the patent holder can prove that you 'copied' his invention and not reinvented it yourself.
Let Kendra return, this would be good news. She was cool, in fact she the only reason to watch the boring show.
Yup. Most apps dont need a 64-bit address space, so why should anyone bother and provide two versions of the software (32&64 bit)?
But operating systems will support 64-bit, because some customers need 64 bit support, and usually those who are willing to pay a lot for it. And databases will, of course, support 64 bit because they need it as well.
Not surprising... he works for Transmeta, and they licensed x86-64... So what else should he say?
Beside that, who cares for the CPU's instruction set? Nobody, except compiler designers and very few assembler programmers. And they already know x86 and the tools exist. So the only argument for Itanium can be performance/price. And ATM it looks like Opterons will be cheaper.
if there is any, it would be cool to be able to enter "vnc://password@111.222.111.222" into Konqueror, for sure1 11.222
You can, but the syntax is vnc://somenamethatwillbeignored:password@111.222.
(if you just write someword@address it is a username, not a password)
Hmm... i started krfb before I knew the Remote Assistance feature in WinXP. But when I saw it I got a number of ideas from RA, no doubt.
The question is: dont you want a feature anymore just because MS implemented it first?
One of the reasons why MS gets the cool stuff first is because KDE still needs to catch up. Many people claim that Linux/KDE is already competitive, but that isnt true. There are many things that Windows has and Linux/KDE doesnt, so be prepared to see even more copied features before KDE gets the big features that Window lacks.
Yes, good fonts are extremely difficult to make and VERY expensive. Feel free to create one, many people will love you for this.
SVG icons are supported. But there is no SVG icon set ATM.
The server uses libvncserver which has a quite complex history, but supports TightVNC. The client is based on TightVNC's clients, but with many new goodies.
Actually krfb was a x0rfbserver port, originally. The problem with x0rfbserver is that the codecs are extremely bad compared to newer ones like TightVNC. krfb will use much less bandwidth which is quite important if you use it over a dialup or ISDN connection. And it's also easier to use for end-users, much like WinXP's Remote Assistance.
There are reasons for the limitation: for true transparency you need update several layers for each pixel which requires a much more complex dialog between X11 server and the client. The server must send an update request to the first client, then the client will paint and send an message to the server that it is finished. Then the server goes to the next client and so on.
Right now the server just sends an redraw request to the client that owns the pixel(s) and that's it.
It is fully VNC compatible and supports the latest codecs.
Yes, the project is called Kalypso. It is far from being usable though.
I am using it since 14 days now (live in Germany and subscribed it). It's ok, not many noticable improvements over 7.3 beside KDE 3.0. But what really annoys me is that the kernel is not very stable, at least for some activities. When trying to rip a CD my system freezes after a few minutes. I ripped several dozen CDs with 7.3 without a single problem. Another good way to crash the kernel is to listen to audio using an USB audio device. Sometimes it crashes after 5 minutes, sometimes after 60 minutes, but it will always crash. Since 7.3's had a bug that prevented USB audio from working it's still an improvement, but not a very good one. Playing Tribes 2 with the Nvidia drivers is better, it only crashes after several hours, and I had the same problems with Suse 7.3 as well, at least after the last driver update.
The article says that the documents are on the W3C Website, but I cant find them. Where are they, and what exactly is patented?
Accidentally I am working on a KDE app/feature called KRFB/Desktop Sharing. You can find it here: www.tjansen.de/krfb