I know this is offtopic here, but I looked at it and at first glance, it looks like hex to me. It's a 22x22 matrix of characters ranging from 0-6 and b-f, 12 characters in all. This falls within the definition of hex. I haven't done much analysis yet, but it looks to me to be converted to hex after being created in either decimal or binary (or I could be completely way off base). _______ Scott Jones Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT Commodore 64 Democoder
Remember DiVX? That evil little play-for-play disk that Circuit City and (Sony? refresh my memory....) tried to foist on us? Did we not squash it like a bug? can we not do it again? Are we men, or are we Logitech?
Logitech??What in the world to they have to do with DIVX?
The reference is to the old line 'Are we men, or are we mice?' or something to that effect. Logitech manufactures mice, so there...:)
I still use my 10-year old Logitech MouseMan bus mouse--3 buttons all the time without having to mess with the configuration! They always were better than M$ anyway (well, at least until the IntelliMouse {which was a dumb name, if you ask me}).
I use a Logitech Marble Mouse (the cheapest ones with two buttons:) Works great, I clean off the contacts where the ball sits about once a month (whenever I notice that it's acting sluggish).
Of course the home recording act or whatever it's called will never prevent me from ripping my cd's--they'll stop me from doing that when they pry my PLEXTOR from my cold dead fingers...
No, but the RIAA can make it hell for you. There are many CDROMs that do not support transfer of CDDA over the data cable. I finally found a program that rips from my USDrives 24x CDROM, but it takes forever to rip (if you know about/use it, it's Exact Audio Copy). However, the quality of the MP3's that I get using BladeEnc at 256kbps is superb (especially for lossy compression). I'll be damned if the RIAA tells me I can not rip CD's that I legally purchased through a record store or a CD club to my own hard drive for use only on my PC. I keep my CD's in the car (unfortunately) so I can listen to them, while the MP3's are at the house on my PC. Of course, I know I could always copy a CD analog (through the audio cable from CDROM<->soundcard), but believe it or not I can tell a difference (I have sensitive ears and eyes, mostly from working 2.5 years in the TV industry).
The RIAA scares me. I believe I'm going to start a website sometime in the next couple of months to debunk this crap (there's probably a few already out there but I certainly can't hurt the cause:). . . . . Anybody willing to host?:) _______ Scott Jones Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT Commodore 64 Democoder
Read the page. It's based on ActiveX and requires IE 4 or better.
Yet another small attempt to make Windows the 'better' OS for the Internet...
This is just *another* case of Linux falling behind due to it's lack of support for common Internet standards. Where is our ActiveX? COM?
Falling behind? I'm grateful that Linux doesn't have ActiveX (read: a huge security hole).
Granted, I can occasionally watch as the Java ads on Slashdot cause Netscape for Linux to crash, but that seems to be the extend of Linux's so-called internet connectivity.
What? The extent of Linux's 'internet connectivity'? What crack have you been smoking lately? Linux is more intimately tied to the net than any other OS (except for other Unixen) due to the fact that TCP/IP is an integral part of Linux/*BSD/etc. Just because Linux doesn't support a Microsoft-developed technology, it's all of a sudden not suitable for the Internet?
And you wonder why people are forced to use windows+IE?
It has much more to do with the fact that there are no 'major' apps available for Linux (by major, I mean the industry standard - Photoshop, Illustrator, most M$-crap) than it does about ActiveX. Before anybody jumps at me and says 'What about The GIMP?', Adobe Photoshop is the industry standard for pixel-based graphics design and photo editing. Most professionals (including myself) are experienced with Photoshop. To retrain oneself for a different program is harder than learning it from scratch.
If they want to make use of the latest technologies, for example 'Robust URLs' (though maybe they should have invested in a Robust Server), then Linux, sadly, can't keep up. We as a community are being left behind in the Internet arms race.
Why? I'm sure that someone will develop a Linux/*BSD implementation of Robust URLs and the incompatibility is solved. The Linux community is not being left behind at all, just because that can't use a few CraptiveX controls.
Fortunatly, I have a few ideas: Get a task force composed of Richard Stallman, Bruce Perens, and ESR to develop and debug ActiveX support for Linux. Estimated time: 2 months.
Bad idea! Supporting ActiveX on Linux is (in my eyes, FWIW) tantamount to giving out your root password. Anything that allows automatically downloaded/embedded code to have FULL ACCESS to my hardware is inherently evil and should be destroyed. And Authenticode? Give me a break...that only tells you who to blame if you get a trojan and not whether the control is safe or not...
Form an Open Source Browser Committee to create a new, Open Source web browser that supports all the latest standards (CSS, DOM, DNA) Estimated time: 3 months.
Well, we do have Mozilla, even though it is not GPL'ed, it's Open Source.
Push for Perl to be embedded in all new web browsers so that CGI programs can be run on the user's machine, which will reduce server loads. Estimated time: 1 month.
Should be quicker than that - just provide an interface to the existing Perl implementation.
Design a new, Internet-ready desktop for Linux, Give it a web browser, probably the new one I described above, and embed it in everything: file manager, word processor, start button, etc. Estimated time: 4 months.
This is a great idea, which will (if implemented correctly) make the barrier-to-entry much lower than it currently is. Graphical configuration tools are also needed (but don't change the underlying architecture, let those who want to use the console).
I think that with these items accomplished, Linux will truly begin to shine as a web platform, even for the newest users.
I fully agree, except for the ActiveX support. Just because Microsoft develops it doesn't mean that Linux should strive to be compatible (else we will eventually have another Windows).
Disclaimer - My comments do not represent the views of ABC19 WKPT and are my own. _______ Scott Jones Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT Commodore 64 Democoder
Well, 1X is 150rpm, so 150x24=3600rpm. Not too terribly fast in terms of drives, but still wouldn't want to get hit with one while it's spinning:) _______ Scott Jones Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT Commodore 64 Democoder
...does not have any clauses stating what you can do with the software, unless you are distributing that software. You can use GPL'ed software anyhow you like as long as you don't distribute it. _______ Scott Jones Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT Game Show Fan / C64 Coder
Oh, wait. I just thought of a reason why they wouldn't release an emulator for the PSX: PSX2.
Which isn't exactly all that great in terms of PSX games...
Since the PSX2 is supposed to be fully compatible with the PSX game titles, it would be a poor marketing move to release a software-PSX right around the time of the PSX2 release... this would dilute the feature set of the PSX2 a little, marketing-wise, and thus detract from the launch.
Well, from what I have heard lately in the console scene, the PSY in it's current state is only compatible with games that 'conform' to Sony's API. If a game bangs on the hardware, tough luck - the PSY won't play it. This would be the perfect application for a PSX-emu in my opinion, to make the PSY 100% compatible (and with Sony's intricate knowledge of the PSX, they can do it).
Bummer for Sony. Too bad they didn't think of doing the software-PSX thing a year ago, but then that's the breaks in the high tech world, and I guess they were already raking it in anyway with the game title profits...
IMHO, Sony is probably not pissed off at the fact that somebody wrote an emulator - they're pissed off because bleem!/VGS/PSEmuPro beat them to it. Also notice that the two commercial PSX emulators - bleem! and VGS - were taken to court by Sony, while the major freeware emulator - PSEmuPro - has hardly seen anything from Sony if at all. Not to mention that while bleem! and VGS only operate with authentic PSX CD's (and don't require a BIOS dump), PSEmuPro will play any CD-R backup you have (illegally obtained or not), and requires a BIOS dump (which you would think Sony would be furious about). _______ Scott Jones Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT Game Show Fan / C64 Coder
You're probably talking about the same thing here. Opera allows you to have a user defined CSS override the document CSS so you can define how each page you visit appears.
Well, not quite. The feature I'm referring to allows you to disable images, GIF animations, and much more on a page-by-page basis. You can see a screenshot here (link to Software Hut's website).
And a PC browser too.
Opera is a damn good browser, I haven't had much experience with it because I don't have the money to purchase it:) I have checked out the time-limited version, and it is quite good. Kinda has that Amiga feel, even tho it is for other OS's. One thing - anything come of Amiga Opera? That would be sweet.
Oh, and on the subject of user-defined CSS - IE3 supported it, but they removed the feature in IE4. Don't know if Netscape ever supported it or if Mozilla does/will. _______ Scott Jones Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT Game Show Fan / C64 Coder
Bah, DP4 AGA destroys DP3. HAM support, limited morphing, more screenmode support.
I've yet to find a paint package for Unix thats as nice to use.
Agreed. The GIMP is nice, but I want something more like my good old DP.
Of course, I really just miss the way Amiga Paint programs allowed you to use anything as a brush
I highly miss that feature. What about the animation features of DP3/4? Animbrushes came in very handy at times when creating animations.
Oh, by the way, there actually is DP3 for DOS. However, don't try to find it, as it sucks compared to the Amiga version. And it might not be DP3, but rather DP2. I will have to check my home box to see. It bites though...very bad. _______ Scott Jones Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT Game Show Fan / C64 Coder
Well, of course you'd say that the C64's not dead -- according to your sig, you'd be partial to the platform.
And I don't deny that. However, I do know from first-hand experience that there are still thousands of C64 hackers - not bad for a system that 'died' in the early 90's.
And what bragging rights does Amiga still have?
1. The Amiga is still the only platform that allows you to have multiple screens open at different resolutions and to have them displayed at the same time independently of the other screens. 2. The core OS would fit on a single 880KB diskette. I know, I know, Linux itself (meaning the kernel) will fit on a floppy disk (tomsrtbt is a fine example) but the OS itself that is stored on disk takes up very little room (I would say around 100-200KB). 3. Can we say FULL SCREEN ANIMATION? The Amiga did full screen animation LONG before the PC even did 15fps postage-stamp animation. 4. Instant TV-OUT. I know that PC's can be bought with a video card that supports it, but the A1000 (the first Amiga) supported this out of the box in 1985.
I could name others, but this list should be sufficient.
Maybe it still plays those old demos real well, but can it run the latest games? No.
And what is the importance of this? Just because it can't play the newest games, it sucks? I find fault in that argument for two reasons.
1. Maybe Amiga owners don't have a desire to play Half-Life or Unreal. Ever played Scorched Earth on the PC? Well, Scorched Tanks on Amiga makes 'Earth look like an Atari 2600 game. The Amiga has thousands of classic games that beat the living crap out of most PC games today. 2. While games are a decent measure of how fast the computer is, speed isn't all that matters. My A3000 is more stable and reliable at 25MHz than my Win98 PC is at 333MHz. Of course, Linux makes up for that difference, but in general it takes a PC lots more horsepower to do what an Amiga could do in '85.
What about web browsers that support up-to-date standards, like CSS? No.
Umm...maybe you've never heard of VoyagerNG or iBrowse. iBrowse 2.1 (the most recent version) supports JavaScript 1.2, HTML 4.0, as well as a feature you don't see on PC browsers - the ability to define how each page you visit appears. I will concede that no mention has been made of CSS yet, but I would rather have no implementation of CSS than two different incompatible versions (MS vs. NS)
Or even recent versions of Lightwave (it's on what, 6 now)? No.
I will have to concede this point to you, because it's the truth. But that doesn't mean that older versions of LW that are available on the Amiga are useless, just because a new version came out.
Just because you're stuck on old platforms and still get a nostalgia fit every time someone says the name "Commodore" doesn't mean the Amiga story should be right on the front page. Slashdot can only put so many stories there, and I'd much rather it had been something besides Amiga.
I'm not 'stuck on old platforms' - I simply use platforms that I enjoy using, such as the C64, Amiga, and PC (believe it or not, I do have a PC, contrary to what you might be thinking). Besides, if you have a username, then you can log in and disable the Amiga news in the preferences. And if you're worried about people knowing who you are, there is a small checkbox above the submit button labeled 'Post Anonymously'. Besides, what if six years from now, Linux/*BSD/Windows/Mac/BeOS is regarded the same way by somebody and you take offense? My point is, just because you don't want to see Amiga news on the front page, doesn't mean there aren't many people who would like to see Amiga news on the front page, and that is the whole purpose of the preferences section, to tailor Slashdot to your tastes. _______ Scott Jones Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT Game Show Fan / C64 Coder
I believe that's DOpus 5, but still DOpus 4 has a similar concept to that. DOpus 5 became a WB replacement as well as a filemanager. I'll get a DOpus 4 screenshot off my A3k tonight or tomorrow and post it. The interface is simpler than DOpus 5. _______ Scott Jones Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT Game Show Fan / C64 Coder
I wonder how difficult it would be to port DOpus to Linux/*BSD/etc., since the AmigaOS, while different, is quite Un*xish from what I have gathered over the years. I'm not a C programmer, so I couldn't port it myself, but I'm just wondering how hard it would possibly be. _______ Scott Jones Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT Game Show Fan / C64 Coder
I don't currently have any screenshots, but I can tell you what is is. DirectoryOpus is a file-browser much like X-Tree for all you x-DOS people, that allows you to copy, move, rename, delete, archive, and launch files among other things. It is highly configurable and scriptable via ARexx. I could fire up my A3000 at the house tonight and grab you a screenshot of my DOpus, but for now you will have to imagine:) _______ Scott Jones Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT Game Show Fan / C64 Coder
How is this news? I don't get why Slashdot keeps on posting stories about Amiga. Sure, Amigas may have been cool at the time, but they haven't been made for years, and with all the advances in computing technology since then, I don't understand why everyone keeps fawning over them, much less why they're still relevant to any of us.
Just because they're not made anymore doesn't mean they are dead. The life of a system is based on it's userbase, not how many corporations throw money behind it. To use another classic computer as an example - the C64. You may say it is dead, and it is commercially in my eyes. However, if you tell me that the 64 is dead based on the sheer number of users it still has, then I will laugh in your face, sir.
I can sort of understand why the story about the PET was posted -- that was a true original revolution in personal computing
And the Amiga wasn't? It was 15 years ahead of it's time (the Amiga still has bragging rights on certain capabilities that haven't happened anywhere else), the only problem it had was Commodore.
But the Amiga is a dead platform, yet Slashdot has a whole category for Amiga posts.
That's because many geeks were brought up on the Amiga, such as myself. The Amiga platform is still fairly popular if you consider how long ago Commodore filed for bankruptcy, and also the fact that when a PC is obsoleted, many people just trash them and upgrade. I can give you a list of things that the Amiga is capable of out of the box that PC manufacturers just haven't figure out how to do yet.
Doesn't anyone else here get tired of constantly hearing about Amiga?
No, I used an Amiga ever since AmigaDOS 1.2, and I was amazed at the speed and stability of the system, so amazed that even after I had sold all my Amigas (yes, I did:) and bought a PC, I still yearned for more. So now I have an A3000 sitting in my home, that does things running at 25MHz and with only 4MB of RAM that my 333MHz K6-2 can't with 128MB of RAM. So yes, I do still own an Amiga, and yes, I enjoy hearing news about it, at least it still gets some press coverage.
Rob & Co., I appreciate all the effort you put into Slashdot, but I think all of us would like stories that cover what we're interested in today.
If you're not interested in the Amiga, then pass by the article instead of trying to raise a stink. Some people actually still like the Amiga, you know. _______ Scott Jones Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT Game Show Fan / C64 Coder
I still don't see how you can blame them for trying to supress CSS. Whether they are trying to keep people from copying their intellectual property or controlling how people view their intellectual property, it is still their right to do so. You don't have a right to view their intellectual propery.
You would be right, with the exception of one thing - if I purchase a DVD, I then have the right to view that intellectual property any way I like. It's been said millions of times, and I will say it one more time - this is not about piracy, it is about controlling how you and I view entertainment, and controlling who provides entertainment.
Of course, this comment is based on my limited understanding of American law, so if you do not reside in the U.S., then this may be wrong for you. But at least in the U.S.A., where I live, there is this little thing called fair use that, among other things, allows me to do whatever I have to do in order to view or use a piece of software or data (CD/DVD/VCD/whatever). Think about it. _______ Scott Jones Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT Game Show Fan / C64 Coder
One of the CBS affiliates had run a story on the 10pm news about Jon J. Needless to say i'm a little infuriated about the misrepresntation (DeCSS is used for pirating DVDs). I'm a member of Lafix.org, a local linux users group. I'm pushing for a rebuttal to the news story last night. Does anyone have any advice to offer about how to approach a local news affiliate in these kind of manners? I do NOT intend to flame them. In fact i would like to approach them with the latest information and the utmost *CIVILITY* Any and all advice will be taken into consideration. I have read up on opendvd.or, LiViD, and many other online resources. Please respond prompty.
Well, first thing you should do is find out who the news director is and contact them, since they are the head of the news department. Explain to them the situation (and be able to back up your statements with research or other proof, maybe give them references to the laws concerning fair use, and the DMCA as well) and ask for a rebuttal. If that fails, then you can try going above their head, I would suggest contacting the general manager. If you have to go to the owner, do it, but make them your last resort. I hope you have success in getting a rebuttal from them.
Fortunately, we haven't run anything on the matter yet, but if we do I will be sure to try to prevent any misrepresentation (if it causes them to kill the story, oh well:)
Also, make sure you contact the news director and not a newscast director. Newscast directors have to talk to the news director anyway, so you would just save a step and increase the likeliness that you will succeed. _______ Scott Jones Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT Game Show Fan / C64 Coder
...they didn't run it at 6:30pm EST - I'm rolling a tape on the 7pm EST feed in case they decide to run it for some strange reason. I didn't get a chance to catch it at 6:30pm so I personally don't know if it ran or not. If it does run at 7pm, then I will capture the story and post it on the net. If not, oh well:) _______ Scott Jones Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT Game Show Fan / C64 Coder
...so I can post it on the net:) Seriously, I want to see it, and I might be doing the news when it's on (we tape our 11pm news:) so I have to tape it.
Moderate down if you wish, but this was meant to be OT and slightly humorous. I already have negative karma, so it won't really hurt.:) _______ Scott Jones Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT Game Show Fan / C64 Coder
How is this DeCSS different from any number of prior/LEGAL/ reverse engineering attempts?
Well, for one they are giving away the product of their reverse engineering...Reverse engineering has a precedent...but giving the results away might not
should it matter?
IANAL, but I don't see how it should. To use another 'illegal'* activity that involves reverse engineering, emulators have been found to be legal in court. I agree it's a grey area, but look at Apple Computer vs. Readysoft (c. 1989) and see that emulators in their own right have been found legal.
One thing that has usually (certainly, not in all cases) permeated these laws is the idea that 'non-commercial, free things done by individuals are usually *exempt* from these laws, or the concept that the law should not inhibit progress, only protect someone to a *reasonable* extent.
The problem is.. it says that anyone making a device/method/whatever that has a primary purpose of defeating a technological mechanism used to prevent copies is illegal. It is exempt, if it has a *commercial* purpose other than that. So.. in one way, they have a very valid claim about the DVD stuff.
Well, think about it. DeCSS does have a commercial purpose other than "illegal copying" or DVDs. It allows users of non-supported OS's to view DVDs, which in turn makes them more likely to buy DVDs, which puts money in the movie industry's pocket.
OTOH... we must twist the words in our own favour. The primary purpose of this software, though it could, and most likely will, be easily used to *copy* video off dvd, is to allow the OSS community to develop DVD player software, and to get access to the data for *whatever reason they want*.
I am considering setting up a site on one of the free web hosting domains (what's a good one?) that, on the front page, states in huge letters that this software is not intended for copying DVDs, but rather to play them on unsupported OSs. Of course, I will probably get a cease-and-desist letter, but the more people that do this, the more the public will be aware.
The problem, of course, is that even if it's purpose is to enable us to make a DVD player... the primary purpose of the code being linked to *IS* to defeat the CSS scheme, nobody can really argue that, and the CSS scheme is the copy protection mechanism.. or so they say.
Well, not exactly. It's always been possible to make a bit-for-bit copy with the encryption intact. CSS is more like region-lockout technology than copy protection.
I know this has been said hundreds of times, but I will say it again - vote with your dollars, people. If you don't like the greediness of the movie industry, don't buy DVDs.
Prime example - DIVX. People in general hated DIVX, so they bought DVD. Now DIVX is dead. DVD could go the same way (and I really hate to see it die, it's a great consumer format) if the film industry doesn't get their head out of their @$$. _______ Scott Jones Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT Game Show Fan / C64 Coder
One problem here, which has been posted all over..
on
Hole in GNU GPL?
·
· Score: 1
IANAL, so if you use this as legal advice and I'm wrong, don't say I didn't tell you so. I repeat - IANAL.
Licenses don't apply to individuals but rather to legal entities, which can be a corporation, a person, an organization, etc. The only way a license is violated is when distribution to a separate, other legal entity occurs.
I'm not sure though - would a family be considered a legal entity?
Of course, notwithstanding what corporations are fighting for, it is always legal to do whatever you want with anything you own for personal use, period. But that's a whole other argument:) _______ Scott Jones Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT Game Show Fan / C64 Coder
Yeah, I noticed this about 5 seconds after I hit submit...anyway, he owns Charter, and I understand he's throwing millions of $$ at my area alone. _______ Scott Jones Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT Game Show Fan / C64 Coder
Not because the TVs are so expensive, but rather the equipment necessary to transmit DTV is so incredibly expensive, even for the video industry. _______ Scott Jones Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT Game Show Fan / C64 Coder
I live in upper east TN (Kingsport area) and the local cable company (Intermedia, now Charter) has offered digital cable in parts of Kingsport for a year and the whole city has had it for about 8 months. We use a General Instrument box. _______ Scott Jones Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT Game Show Fan / C64 Coder
Slashdot Mirror
http://users.intermediatn.net/localh/cp4break
http://users.chartertn.net/localh/cp4break
(both resolve to the same server, but intermediatn.net could die anytime)
_______
Scott Jones
Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT
Commodore 64 Democoder
I know this is offtopic here, but I looked at it and at first glance, it looks like hex to me. It's a 22x22 matrix of characters ranging from 0-6 and b-f, 12 characters in all. This falls within the definition of hex. I haven't done much analysis yet, but it looks to me to be converted to hex after being created in either decimal or binary (or I could be completely way off base).
_______
Scott Jones
Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT
Commodore 64 Democoder
- Logitech??What in the world to they have to do with DIVX?
The reference is to the old line 'Are we men, or are we mice?' or something to that effect. Logitech manufactures mice, so there...- I still use my 10-year old Logitech MouseMan bus mouse--3 buttons all the time without having to mess with the configuration! They always were better than M$ anyway (well, at least until the IntelliMouse {which was a dumb name, if you ask me}).
I use a Logitech Marble Mouse (the cheapest ones with two buttons- Of course the home recording act or whatever it's called will never prevent me from ripping my cd's--they'll stop me from doing that when they pry my PLEXTOR from my cold dead fingers...
No, but the RIAA can make it hell for you. There are many CDROMs that do not support transfer of CDDA over the data cable. I finally found a program that rips from my USDrives 24x CDROM, but it takes forever to rip (if you know about/use it, it's Exact Audio Copy). However, the quality of the MP3's that I get using BladeEnc at 256kbps is superb (especially for lossy compression). I'll be damned if the RIAA tells me I can not rip CD's that I legally purchased through a record store or a CD club to my own hard drive for use only on my PC. I keep my CD's in the car (unfortunately) so I can listen to them, while the MP3's are at the house on my PC. Of course, I know I could always copy a CD analog (through the audio cable from CDROM<->soundcard), but believe it or not I can tell a difference (I have sensitive ears and eyes, mostly from working 2.5 years in the TV industry).The RIAA scares me. I believe I'm going to start a website sometime in the next couple of months to debunk this crap (there's probably a few already out there but I certainly can't hurt the cause
.
.
.
.
Anybody willing to host?
_______
Scott Jones
Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT
Commodore 64 Democoder
Read the page. It's based on ActiveX and requires IE 4 or better.
Yet another small attempt to make Windows the 'better' OS for the Internet...
This is just *another* case of Linux falling behind due to it's lack of support for common Internet standards. Where is our ActiveX? COM?
Falling behind? I'm grateful that Linux doesn't have ActiveX (read: a huge security hole).
Granted, I can occasionally watch as the Java ads on Slashdot cause Netscape for Linux to crash, but that seems to be the extend of Linux's so-called internet connectivity.
What? The extent of Linux's 'internet connectivity'? What crack have you been smoking lately? Linux is more intimately tied to the net than any other OS (except for other Unixen) due to the fact that TCP/IP is an integral part of Linux/*BSD/etc. Just because Linux doesn't support a Microsoft-developed technology, it's all of a sudden not suitable for the Internet?
And you wonder why people are forced to use windows+IE?
It has much more to do with the fact that there are no 'major' apps available for Linux (by major, I mean the industry standard - Photoshop, Illustrator, most M$-crap) than it does about ActiveX. Before anybody jumps at me and says 'What about The GIMP?', Adobe Photoshop is the industry standard for pixel-based graphics design and photo editing. Most professionals (including myself) are experienced with Photoshop. To retrain oneself for a different program is harder than learning it from scratch.
If they want to make use of the latest technologies, for example 'Robust URLs' (though maybe they should have invested in a Robust Server), then Linux, sadly, can't keep up. We as a community are being left behind in the Internet arms race.
Why? I'm sure that someone will develop a Linux/*BSD implementation of Robust URLs and the incompatibility is solved. The Linux community is not being left behind at all, just because that can't use a few CraptiveX controls.
Fortunatly, I have a few ideas:
Get a task force composed of Richard Stallman, Bruce Perens, and ESR to develop and debug ActiveX support for Linux. Estimated time: 2 months.
Bad idea! Supporting ActiveX on Linux is (in my eyes, FWIW) tantamount to giving out your root password. Anything that allows automatically downloaded/embedded code to have FULL ACCESS to my hardware is inherently evil and should be destroyed. And Authenticode? Give me a break...that only tells you who to blame if you get a trojan and not whether the control is safe or not...
Form an Open Source Browser Committee to create a new, Open Source web browser that supports all the latest standards (CSS, DOM, DNA) Estimated time: 3 months.
Well, we do have Mozilla, even though it is not GPL'ed, it's Open Source.
Push for Perl to be embedded in all new web browsers so that CGI programs can be run on the user's machine, which will reduce server loads. Estimated time: 1 month.
Should be quicker than that - just provide an interface to the existing Perl implementation.
Design a new, Internet-ready desktop for Linux, Give it a web browser, probably the new one I described above, and embed it in everything: file manager, word processor, start button, etc. Estimated time: 4 months.
This is a great idea, which will (if implemented correctly) make the barrier-to-entry much lower than it currently is. Graphical configuration tools are also needed (but don't change the underlying architecture, let those who want to use the console).
I think that with these items accomplished, Linux will truly begin to shine as a web platform, even for the newest users.
I fully agree, except for the ActiveX support. Just because Microsoft develops it doesn't mean that Linux should strive to be compatible (else we will eventually have another Windows).
Disclaimer - My comments do not represent the views of ABC19 WKPT and are my own.
_______
Scott Jones
Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT
Commodore 64 Democoder
Well, 1X is 150rpm, so 150x24=3600rpm. Not too terribly fast in terms of drives, but still wouldn't want to get hit with one while it's spinning :)
_______
Scott Jones
Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT
Commodore 64 Democoder
...does not have any clauses stating what you can do with the software, unless you are distributing that software. You can use GPL'ed software anyhow you like as long as you don't distribute it.
_______
Scott Jones
Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT
Game Show Fan / C64 Coder
Oh, wait. I just thought of a reason why they wouldn't release an emulator for the PSX: PSX2.
... this would dilute the feature set of the PSX2 a little, marketing-wise, and thus detract from the launch.
Which isn't exactly all that great in terms of PSX games...
Since the PSX2 is supposed to be fully compatible with the PSX game titles, it would be a poor marketing move to release a software-PSX right around the time of the PSX2 release
Well, from what I have heard lately in the console scene, the PSY in it's current state is only compatible with games that 'conform' to Sony's API. If a game bangs on the hardware, tough luck - the PSY won't play it. This would be the perfect application for a PSX-emu in my opinion, to make the PSY 100% compatible (and with Sony's intricate knowledge of the PSX, they can do it).
Bummer for Sony. Too bad they didn't think of doing the software-PSX thing a year ago, but then that's the breaks in the high tech world, and I guess they were already raking it in anyway with the game title profits...
IMHO, Sony is probably not pissed off at the fact that somebody wrote an emulator - they're pissed off because bleem!/VGS/PSEmuPro beat them to it. Also notice that the two commercial PSX emulators - bleem! and VGS - were taken to court by Sony, while the major freeware emulator - PSEmuPro - has hardly seen anything from Sony if at all. Not to mention that while bleem! and VGS only operate with authentic PSX CD's (and don't require a BIOS dump), PSEmuPro will play any CD-R backup you have (illegally obtained or not), and requires a BIOS dump (which you would think Sony would be furious about).
_______
Scott Jones
Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT
Game Show Fan / C64 Coder
You're probably talking about the same thing here. Opera allows you to have a user defined CSS override the document CSS so you can define how each page you visit appears.
:) I have checked out the time-limited version, and it is quite good. Kinda has that Amiga feel, even tho it is for other OS's. One thing - anything come of Amiga Opera? That would be sweet.
Well, not quite. The feature I'm referring to allows you to disable images, GIF animations, and much more on a page-by-page basis. You can see a screenshot here (link to Software Hut's website).
And a PC browser too.
Opera is a damn good browser, I haven't had much experience with it because I don't have the money to purchase it
Oh, and on the subject of user-defined CSS - IE3 supported it, but they removed the feature in IE4. Don't know if Netscape ever supported it or if Mozilla does/will.
_______
Scott Jones
Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT
Game Show Fan / C64 Coder
And Deluxe Paint 3.
Bah, DP4 AGA destroys DP3. HAM support, limited morphing, more screenmode support.
I've yet to find a paint package for Unix thats as nice to use.
Agreed. The GIMP is nice, but I want something more like my good old DP.
Of course, I really just miss the way Amiga Paint programs allowed you to use anything as a brush
I highly miss that feature. What about the animation features of DP3/4? Animbrushes came in very handy at times when creating animations.
Oh, by the way, there actually is DP3 for DOS. However, don't try to find it, as it sucks compared to the Amiga version. And it might not be DP3, but rather DP2. I will have to check my home box to see. It bites though...very bad.
_______
Scott Jones
Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT
Game Show Fan / C64 Coder
Well, of course you'd say that the C64's not dead -- according to your sig, you'd be partial to the platform.
And I don't deny that. However, I do know from first-hand experience that there are still thousands of C64 hackers - not bad for a system that 'died' in the early 90's.
And what bragging rights does Amiga still have?
1. The Amiga is still the only platform that allows you to have multiple screens open at different resolutions and to have them displayed at the same time independently of the other screens.
2. The core OS would fit on a single 880KB diskette. I know, I know, Linux itself (meaning the kernel) will fit on a floppy disk (tomsrtbt is a fine example) but the OS itself that is stored on disk takes up very little room (I would say around 100-200KB).
3. Can we say FULL SCREEN ANIMATION? The Amiga did full screen animation LONG before the PC even did 15fps postage-stamp animation.
4. Instant TV-OUT. I know that PC's can be bought with a video card that supports it, but the A1000 (the first Amiga) supported this out of the box in 1985.
I could name others, but this list should be sufficient.
Maybe it still plays those old demos real well, but can it run the latest games? No.
And what is the importance of this? Just because it can't play the newest games, it sucks? I find fault in that argument for two reasons.
1. Maybe Amiga owners don't have a desire to play Half-Life or Unreal. Ever played Scorched Earth on the PC? Well, Scorched Tanks on Amiga makes 'Earth look like an Atari 2600 game. The Amiga has thousands of classic games that beat the living crap out of most PC games today.
2. While games are a decent measure of how fast the computer is, speed isn't all that matters. My A3000 is more stable and reliable at 25MHz than my Win98 PC is at 333MHz. Of course, Linux makes up for that difference, but in general it takes a PC lots more horsepower to do what an Amiga could do in '85.
What about web browsers that support up-to-date standards, like CSS? No.
Umm...maybe you've never heard of VoyagerNG or iBrowse. iBrowse 2.1 (the most recent version) supports JavaScript 1.2, HTML 4.0, as well as a feature you don't see on PC browsers - the ability to define how each page you visit appears. I will concede that no mention has been made of CSS yet, but I would rather have no implementation of CSS than two different incompatible versions (MS vs. NS)
Or even recent versions of Lightwave (it's on what, 6 now)? No.
I will have to concede this point to you, because it's the truth. But that doesn't mean that older versions of LW that are available on the Amiga are useless, just because a new version came out.
Just because you're stuck on old platforms and still get a nostalgia fit every time someone says the name "Commodore" doesn't mean the Amiga story should be right on the front page. Slashdot can only put so many stories there, and I'd much rather it had been something besides Amiga.
I'm not 'stuck on old platforms' - I simply use platforms that I enjoy using, such as the C64, Amiga, and PC (believe it or not, I do have a PC, contrary to what you might be thinking). Besides, if you have a username, then you can log in and disable the Amiga news in the preferences. And if you're worried about people knowing who you are, there is a small checkbox above the submit button labeled 'Post Anonymously'. Besides, what if six years from now, Linux/*BSD/Windows/Mac/BeOS is regarded the same way by somebody and you take offense? My point is, just because you don't want to see Amiga news on the front page, doesn't mean there aren't many people who would like to see Amiga news on the front page, and that is the whole purpose of the preferences section, to tailor Slashdot to your tastes.
_______
Scott Jones
Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT
Game Show Fan / C64 Coder
I believe that's DOpus 5, but still DOpus 4 has a similar concept to that. DOpus 5 became a WB replacement as well as a filemanager. I'll get a DOpus 4 screenshot off my A3k tonight or tomorrow and post it. The interface is simpler than DOpus 5.
_______
Scott Jones
Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT
Game Show Fan / C64 Coder
I wonder how difficult it would be to port DOpus to Linux/*BSD/etc., since the AmigaOS, while different, is quite Un*xish from what I have gathered over the years. I'm not a C programmer, so I couldn't port it myself, but I'm just wondering how hard it would possibly be.
_______
Scott Jones
Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT
Game Show Fan / C64 Coder
I don't currently have any screenshots, but I can tell you what is is. DirectoryOpus is a file-browser much like X-Tree for all you x-DOS people, that allows you to copy, move, rename, delete, archive, and launch files among other things. It is highly configurable and scriptable via ARexx. I could fire up my A3000 at the house tonight and grab you a screenshot of my DOpus, but for now you will have to imagine :)
_______
Scott Jones
Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT
Game Show Fan / C64 Coder
How is this news? I don't get why Slashdot keeps on posting stories about Amiga. Sure, Amigas may have been cool at the time, but they haven't been made for years, and with all the advances in computing technology since then, I don't understand why everyone keeps fawning over them, much less why they're still relevant to any of us.
:) and bought a PC, I still yearned for more. So now I have an A3000 sitting in my home, that does things running at 25MHz and with only 4MB of RAM that my 333MHz K6-2 can't with 128MB of RAM. So yes, I do still own an Amiga, and yes, I enjoy hearing news about it, at least it still gets some press coverage.
Just because they're not made anymore doesn't mean they are dead. The life of a system is based on it's userbase, not how many corporations throw money behind it. To use another classic computer as an example - the C64. You may say it is dead, and it is commercially in my eyes. However, if you tell me that the 64 is dead based on the sheer number of users it still has, then I will laugh in your face, sir.
I can sort of understand why the story about the PET was posted -- that was a true original revolution in personal computing
And the Amiga wasn't? It was 15 years ahead of it's time (the Amiga still has bragging rights on certain capabilities that haven't happened anywhere else), the only problem it had was Commodore.
But the Amiga is a dead platform, yet Slashdot has a whole category for Amiga posts.
That's because many geeks were brought up on the Amiga, such as myself. The Amiga platform is still fairly popular if you consider how long ago Commodore filed for bankruptcy, and also the fact that when a PC is obsoleted, many people just trash them and upgrade. I can give you a list of things that the Amiga is capable of out of the box that PC manufacturers just haven't figure out how to do yet.
Doesn't anyone else here get tired of constantly hearing about Amiga?
No, I used an Amiga ever since AmigaDOS 1.2, and I was amazed at the speed and stability of the system, so amazed that even after I had sold all my Amigas (yes, I did
Rob & Co., I appreciate all the effort you put into Slashdot, but I think all of us would like stories that cover what we're interested in today.
If you're not interested in the Amiga, then pass by the article instead of trying to raise a stink. Some people actually still like the Amiga, you know.
_______
Scott Jones
Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT
Game Show Fan / C64 Coder
I still don't see how you can blame them for trying to supress CSS. Whether they are trying to keep people from copying their intellectual property or controlling how people view their intellectual property, it is still their right to do so. You don't have a right to view their intellectual propery.
You would be right, with the exception of one thing - if I purchase a DVD, I then have the right to view that intellectual property any way I like. It's been said millions of times, and I will say it one more time - this is not about piracy, it is about controlling how you and I view entertainment, and controlling who provides entertainment.
Of course, this comment is based on my limited understanding of American law, so if you do not reside in the U.S., then this may be wrong for you. But at least in the U.S.A., where I live, there is this little thing called fair use that, among other things, allows me to do whatever I have to do in order to view or use a piece of software or data (CD/DVD/VCD/whatever). Think about it.
_______
Scott Jones
Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT
Game Show Fan / C64 Coder
One of the CBS affiliates had run a story on the 10pm news about Jon J. Needless to say i'm a little infuriated about the misrepresntation (DeCSS is used for pirating DVDs). I'm a member of Lafix.org, a local linux users group. I'm pushing for a rebuttal to the news story last night. Does anyone have any advice to offer about how to approach a local news affiliate in these kind of manners? I do NOT intend to flame them. In fact i would like to approach them with the latest information and the utmost *CIVILITY* Any and all advice will be taken into consideration. I have read up on opendvd.or, LiViD, and many other online resources. Please respond prompty.
:)
Well, first thing you should do is find out who the news director is and contact them, since they are the head of the news department. Explain to them the situation (and be able to back up your statements with research or other proof, maybe give them references to the laws concerning fair use, and the DMCA as well) and ask for a rebuttal. If that fails, then you can try going above their head, I would suggest contacting the general manager. If you have to go to the owner, do it, but make them your last resort. I hope you have success in getting a rebuttal from them.
Fortunately, we haven't run anything on the matter yet, but if we do I will be sure to try to prevent any misrepresentation (if it causes them to kill the story, oh well
Also, make sure you contact the news director and not a newscast director. Newscast directors have to talk to the news director anyway, so you would just save a step and increase the likeliness that you will succeed.
_______
Scott Jones
Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT
Game Show Fan / C64 Coder
...they didn't run it at 6:30pm EST - I'm rolling a tape on the 7pm EST feed in case they decide to run it for some strange reason. I didn't get a chance to catch it at 6:30pm so I personally don't know if it ran or not. If it does run at 7pm, then I will capture the story and post it on the net. If not, oh well :)
_______
Scott Jones
Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT
Game Show Fan / C64 Coder
...so I can post it on the net :) Seriously, I want to see it, and I might be doing the news when it's on (we tape our 11pm news :) so I have to tape it.
:)
Moderate down if you wish, but this was meant to be OT and slightly humorous. I already have negative karma, so it won't really hurt.
_______
Scott Jones
Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT
Game Show Fan / C64 Coder
How is this DeCSS different from any number of prior /LEGAL/ reverse engineering attempts?
:)
Well, for one they are giving away the product of their reverse engineering...Reverse engineering has a precedent...but giving the results away might not
should it matter?
IANAL, but I don't see how it should. To use another 'illegal'* activity that involves reverse engineering, emulators have been found to be legal in court. I agree it's a grey area, but look at Apple Computer vs. Readysoft (c. 1989) and see that emulators in their own right have been found legal.
Moderate me down if you really have to.
* Illegal meaning the way the GameCorps© view it
_______
Scott Jones
Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT
Game Show Fan / C64 Coder
One thing that has usually (certainly, not in all cases) permeated these laws is the idea that 'non-commercial, free things done by individuals are usually *exempt* from these laws, or the concept that the law should not inhibit progress, only protect someone to a *reasonable* extent.
The media industries (music, film, television, etc.) want to be the sole source of entertainment for the people of This Fine Country©. The real issue isn't piracy, but rather control of entertainment sources. Even the television industry is heading back that way with the transition to DTV. Look for digital-capable video recorders to have some kind of system to where you can't copy anything, even though the law gives you that right.
The problem is.. it says that anyone making a device/method/whatever that has a primary purpose of defeating a technological mechanism used to prevent copies is illegal. It is exempt, if it has a *commercial* purpose other than that. So.. in one way, they have a very valid claim about the DVD stuff.
Well, think about it. DeCSS does have a commercial purpose other than "illegal copying" or DVDs. It allows users of non-supported OS's to view DVDs, which in turn makes them more likely to buy DVDs, which puts money in the movie industry's pocket.
OTOH... we must twist the words in our own favour. The primary purpose of this software, though it could, and most likely will, be easily used to *copy* video off dvd, is to allow the OSS community to develop DVD player software, and to get access to the data for *whatever reason they want*.
I am considering setting up a site on one of the free web hosting domains (what's a good one?) that, on the front page, states in huge letters that this software is not intended for copying DVDs, but rather to play them on unsupported OSs. Of course, I will probably get a cease-and-desist letter, but the more people that do this, the more the public will be aware.
The problem, of course, is that even if it's purpose is to enable us to make a DVD player... the primary purpose of the code being linked to *IS* to defeat the CSS scheme, nobody can really argue that, and the CSS scheme is the copy protection mechanism.. or so they say.
Well, not exactly. It's always been possible to make a bit-for-bit copy with the encryption intact. CSS is more like region-lockout technology than copy protection.
I know this has been said hundreds of times, but I will say it again - vote with your dollars, people. If you don't like the greediness of the movie industry, don't buy DVDs.
Prime example - DIVX. People in general hated DIVX, so they bought DVD. Now DIVX is dead. DVD could go the same way (and I really hate to see it die, it's a great consumer format) if the film industry doesn't get their head out of their @$$.
_______
Scott Jones
Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT
Game Show Fan / C64 Coder
IANAL, so if you use this as legal advice and I'm wrong, don't say I didn't tell you so. I repeat - IANAL.
:)
Licenses don't apply to individuals but rather to legal entities, which can be a corporation, a person, an organization, etc. The only way a license is violated is when distribution to a separate, other legal entity occurs.
I'm not sure though - would a family be considered a legal entity?
Of course, notwithstanding what corporations are fighting for, it is always legal to do whatever you want with anything you own for personal use, period. But that's a whole other argument
_______
Scott Jones
Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT
Game Show Fan / C64 Coder
Yeah, I noticed this about 5 seconds after I hit submit...anyway, he owns Charter, and I understand he's throwing millions of $$ at my area alone.
_______
Scott Jones
Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT
Game Show Fan / C64 Coder
You do know that Charter is owned by Steve Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, don't you? :)
If you look at the logo, it even resembles Microsoft's logo style.
_______
Scott Jones
Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT
Game Show Fan / C64 Coder
Not because the TVs are so expensive, but rather the equipment necessary to transmit DTV is so incredibly expensive, even for the video industry.
_______
Scott Jones
Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT
Game Show Fan / C64 Coder
I live in upper east TN (Kingsport area) and the local cable company (Intermedia, now Charter) has offered digital cable in parts of Kingsport for a year and the whole city has had it for about 8 months. We use a General Instrument box.
_______
Scott Jones
Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT
Game Show Fan / C64 Coder