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  1. Re:large servers on Preview Of Linux 2.5 · · Score: 3
    Provide stronger multimedia support

    With the appropriate patches, linux can acheive a level of latency that is better than any version of Windows and even gives MacOS and BeOS a run for their money. Search Kernel Traffic for the appropriate discussions. The fact is linux could be used for professional multimedia. The foundation is already there.

    You want better support? Get on the vendor's ass to pump out a real fully functional driver for their hardware. Creative anyone?

    Bring a graphical interface into kernel land

    This will never happen and the design reasons why it shouldn't are sound. Why people don't look at Windows and just admit that it is an object lesson of why it shouldn't be done boggles me.

    Hide all of the system nastiness (do I really care how many bogoMIPS I have?)

    Already done. If you want a nice splashscreen while the system boots up and not see all that boot information you can.

    Basically, change Linux from Unix clone to something more along the lines of BeOS, MacOS, or WinNT (but done right, of course ;-) ).

    Can be done and there was a /. story on this. Linux is a kernel. There is nothing preventing someone from creating a new userspace for it.

    I don't think that is what Linus wants, though - if he did, I don't think he'd care about getting Linux to run on all that heavy iron.

    More like there are a ton of people out there that want linux to run on heavy iron and are getting it done by contributing. The fact that you can run linux in everything from a wristwatch to a supercomputer is a testament to its design. Not a flaw.

    IMHO, all the DE's we have right now are just big hacks...yes, Gnome and KDE are rather sophisticated hacks, but a "true" desktop isn't layer after layer of services running on a kernel, its a more thought out and planned OS. You make sacrifices - you might only go down to one widget set, one way of doing audio, etc.

    And it is your opinion to have. I just completely disagree with it. A DE should stay in userspace. KDE and Gnome are much more than just hacks and the fact that we have them along with GnuStep, CDE and the like *is* a good thing. I'm pleased as punch that at this stage of the game there is competition and exploration into different designs. The concept that we need one true desktop to rule them all, right here, right now, is deeply flawed imho. You call KDE and Gnome hacks but you offer nothing to replace them.

    Oh, and a true desktop is a thought out and planned set of layered services running atop a kernel.

  2. There is no opps. on EvansData can't tell BSD from Linux · · Score: 1

    An explanation is available on this website. You can find it if you look.

  3. Re:Damn it I'm not trolling ! on AOL vs. Open Source AIM Clones · · Score: 1
    No, most of the stuff at -1 is f1st p0st flamewars and goatse.cx links. A significant portion of that shit stays at 0 too but at least you get some content. Even at 1 you still have to watch your links.

    Despite the goal of rewarding the intelligent or pithy post, the need for moderation is to have a bunch of people making sure that the sewer doesn't back up. The other side to this is you get moderators w/o the maturity to leave dissenting content alone.

    Welcome to the abuse of anominity, the rejection of civic responsibility, and the corruption of community in an online setting.

  4. Re:So we can now yell "FIRE!" in a crowded theater on "Nuremberg Files" Decision Overturned · · Score: 1
    Unless, for example, the theater is on fire. In which case you would be stupid not to.

    Or that you hated that guy in front of you with the cell phone and that you really, really hated the 14-year old in the back row with the laser pointer fetish.

  5. Re:You are so right. on "Nuremberg Files" Decision Overturned · · Score: 1

    Yeah, and instead we elected a President that doesn't mind poisoning the water so that industry can save a few million. First world nation with third world standards for arsenic. Pathetic.

  6. Re:Isn't this kinda anti debian? on But You Can Download It For Free, Right? · · Score: 2
    Anywho why use this debian when you can use the *real* thing for free?

    Maybe to have a real installer that doesn't feel like pre-RH 5.2? Or to be able to have something better than aptitude/debconfig which will detect your video card and, at least, offer you a selection of monitors to choose from instead of inputing sync rates? Or to have software which is more up-to-date than what is offered in stable and packaged better (i.e. no conflict/broken dependancies) than the stuff in testing or unstable?

    I use Debian every day and truth be told once it's installed it is, for the most part, a dream to work with. But the install is definately not Debian's selling point and it is an issue that may or may not be resolved when Woody is stable for all I can tell.

    Going back to configuring XFree, why haven't the maintainers ripped the monitor values from RH's configuration utility which is GPL'd and incorporate that information into a user-friendly interface? Part of OSS is to stop reinventing the wheel. If somebody has done the legwork and got that data in an easy to access format then run with it! I'm not asking for RH's utility but I am asking for something better than what Debian currently offers and the pieces are out there for the taking.

    Truth be told, while I use Debian I know I'll purchase Progeny and I might even purchase Libranet. Their efforts to make an easily installable distribution can go back into Debian which will benefit everyone. Heck, $15 is less than two tickets to a movie. Add in popcorn and some sodas and $30 bucks ain't that much. I can easily toss that into the communal kitty to improve Debian and add in a bug report or two just for kicks.

  7. Re:Cybercrime Treaty is a positive step on Reading the Fine Print on the Cybercrime Treaty · · Score: 2
    I have two children, ages 5 and 9, and I'd love for them to be able to experience the wealth of knowledge that is available on the Internet, but as it stands, I am hesitent to allow them access because of all the filth and perversion that is present out there.

    Then friggin' monitor their time on the Internet for pete's sake! You are the parent, it is what you are supposed to be doing. Think about what you want to allow and what you don't want to allow then sit your kids down and set the groundrules. I work in an IT department and every parent with children your age do this. When my son id at that age I will have to do the same thing. Heck I have one co-worker who has set up VNC on his teen's PC and occassionally checks to make sure the chat conversations are appropriate. Hint, your children are too young to be on the Internet without some parental supervision and even with the cybercrime treaty that issue wouldn't change.

    What is the difference between telling a child not to trust every person they meet in a chatroom and telling the child not to wander off with a stranger in a mall?

    What is the differnce between telling your child to be home by the time the streetlights are on and saying Internet time is over at 8 pm?

    What is the differnce between having a rule that your 5 year old must stay in the yard within your sight and only allowing the child to visit the Disney and Teletubbie websites?

    And what do you do when your child breaks one of their "real world" rules? I doubt nothing. And what do you do when your child is exposed to something you consider inappropriate? Daddy, why did that man call that other man a *insert obsenity here*. Or they see the news and hear about a rape/murder victim.

  8. Re:DeCSS on DeCSS Reply Brief Posted · · Score: 3

    Jon Johansen's testimony and depostition was never contested during the 2600 trial. Say what you will but the reasoning he gave for why MORE did the RE the way they did was reasonable and despite the way Kaplan portrays the testimony I find no reason to think Jon perjured himself.

    As for what you consider to be /. crap I suggest you read Kaplan's ruling. He uses the term DeCSS to cover a lot more than just the original code made by MORE. Oh, and there are over 400 of those 40 "bit thingies" on a DVD. MORE, after getting the Xing key, were able to RE over half of the keys before finally getting bored with it. They included only the Xing key in the original DeCSS program by choice. The newer programs out use other keys.

    I'd be surprised if someone hasn't RE all of the CSS keys by now. Also what is nice about the perl code is you can use any key.

    OMS, Livid's DVD player software, doesn't use DeCSS though you can add it in. And, iirc, it doesn't use the Xing key.

    Your validation sentence doesn't make any sense. And I still haven't seen that closed sourced DVD player software available for purchase yet so afaic it might as well not exist and the only available linux player is closed source and the only way to watch CSS protected DVDs is to use DeCSS. And what solution are you talking about anyway?

    This rant has some things right but for the most part has too much wrong and the rest incoherent.

  9. Re:This is big news! (For losers, of course.) on XFree 4.0.3 Released · · Score: 2
    4MB of ram will certainly run Win95 but most certainly not make it useable. I got acceptable performace on a 486DX33 with 24Meg which at the time also gave me acceptable performance running RedHat 5.0 and X.

    Btw, you are comparing apples to oranges. Skip Win95, which is two versions behind what MS puts out now, and compare linux v. NT. But just for grins, the minimum requirements for WinME is 32Meg and a P150 or higher. Getting your MCP would require you to know that the min requirement for WinNT was 12Meg and, fwiw, Win2K Pro requires a minimum of 64Meg.

    OS X will require 128Meg and Mac OS 9.1 requires 32Meg. Overall I think Linux+XFree isn't that bad with its memory requirements.

    And I'd love for you to put a machine running Mac "Runs in a Meg" OS and a machine running OS 9.1 in front of Joe Average and see which one they want to use. So much for those "pure and uncrufty" GUIs of yore.

  10. Re:Progeny Fucking Sucks on Progeny Debian Release Candidate 1 · · Score: 1

    Come back when you're over the development of your first pubic hair and can compose an articulate flame without having to get assistance from your baby sister.

  11. Re:Finally on Progeny Debian Release Candidate 1 · · Score: 2
    Yes i know you can always run testing or unstable, but guess what, that's not stable.

    Huh. And neither is a x.0 version of Red Hat. The common wisdom is you have to wait until version x.2 for everything to settle. So that's half a year to get a new version and another year to get it stable. Debian doesn't look that bad if you ask me.

  12. Re:Progeny Fucking Sucks on Progeny Debian Release Candidate 1 · · Score: 1
    Have you even tried this distribution? I have and currently use Beta3 at work. It's stable and hasn't given me the dpkg problems that woody gives me at home.

    I found the installer to be a major improvement over what Debian offers currently.

    And what is this bitch about KDE being on the second cd? It's in the distribution so get over yourself. And I'd rate you as flamebait. How about we say "who needs another Red Hat rip-off that pastes KDE in as a default desktop?" It's effectively has the same amount of content as you put in your post.

  13. Re:DMCA? on Debian, XPDF and Copyrights · · Score: 2

    A better question is should the Debian maintainers have to endure a legal fight to find out?

  14. Ummm... on DoubleClick Banner Ad Patent Busted · · Score: 2
    Didn't anybody else notice that this patent hasn't been overturned? Nor has anybody forked up the legal costs to do so. Say IANAL which is true, but DoubleClick still has a legally enforcable patent. Except for a pr0n mongul getting paid I.. Well, I don't really see anything to crow about right now.

    Talk to me again when an appeals court rules against DoubleClick.

  15. Blame Kaplan on Descrambling CSS w/ 7 Lines Of Perl A DMCA Violation? · · Score: 2
    IIRC, authorization to view DVDs is discussed in his ruling. According to the judge, it the purchase of the DVD player, not the DVD disc, that provides you with the right to access the content.

    Personally, I consider that way of thinking bassackwards but that's just me. Playing Devil's Advocate I could see arguements in favor of such a viewpoint.

  16. Re:Aussies wierd. on More Australian Insanity: Forwarding Mail Illegal (updated) · · Score: 1
    And how do you explain Pauline Hanson?

    I'm suspecting a bad batch of Fosters hit the unsuspecting voter population. You know I envision a new commercial. A picture of Pauline hanging on some drunk guy's arm as they leave the bar and then emblazoned on the screen we see "Wolf Date" then cut to a Fosters can. "Fosters. Australian for beer."

  17. Re:Sure... on Sauce for the Gander: Aimster Uses DMCA to Its Advantage · · Score: 2
    If the DMCA is used in a way that defeats it's spirit, you can't reinterpret it in a way that does not flow from the language of the act itself just because it's convenient - if it has been misformulated and can therefore be exploited in this way, it has to be reformulated or amended - not even the highest court in the land can choose to interpret it in a way that does not flow from it's language - it can only declare it unconstitutional. "It wasn't intended to be used in this way" is exactly the point I think needs to be made - it's formulation and it's interpretation have gone too far, and in my opinion have infringed on constitutional rights (although the courts disagree with me so far on that one).


    Obligatory disclaimer IANAL and this begins to go way past my knowledge.

    The DMCA does not exist in a vacuum and has to co-exist with previous case law. This allows for interpretation. Just look at the briefs and rulings handed down in the DeCSS case. Each one has a section of previous rulings to support the authors' conclusions. The DMCA is unconstitutional and here is case X, Y, and Z to prove my point. Or here is my ruling against 2600 and here is case 1, 2, and 3 to clarify why X, Y, and Z are not pertinent to the discussion.Then it is up to a judge or judges to determine which arguement has more signal then noise so to speak.

    IMHO, that means it is possible to get a ruling that, no, the DMCA does not allow someone to protect their lawbreaking by using encryption and such a paradox was never implicit in the wording.I agree that the DMCA's forulation has gone too far and I don't like how the court interprets it atm but I don't see Aimster's hack of the DMCA legal proof of a damning loophole in the act itself.

  18. Re:Strip it down, fer chrissakes on Update to the Mozilla Roadmap · · Score: 2
    I open tasks and see Navigator, Composer and Address Book on my linux install of Mozilla....

    I run the installer and actually choose to install only navigator. It is an option button and then I have to click next.

    Here's my suggestion. We add another phase to the installer to implement "Purist" mode. This will change the descriptions on the option buttons to

    • All the shit
    • No extra shit
    • Only the shit I want

      aka Don't bother me with details mode

      Seriously. Forget the tarballs and stick with the installer. You will be happier.

  19. Re:Sure... on Sauce for the Gander: Aimster Uses DMCA to Its Advantage · · Score: 2
    The first thing is that they're making the point, implicitly, but quite clearly, that the DMCA was a law passed to serve a certain group of people rather than the people as a whole - and now that they've used its provisions to protect themselves, the law has to either take the bullet, accept that it's there to serve the interests of the RIAA and cohorts, or feign ignorance and let this happen.

    I don't see why this has to be so. If you use encryption to hide a crime do you actually think that you will be protected by the DMCA. You will have a 1000 page brief by the government to the judge in less than a week. Just like the government did when Napster tried to use the Home Recording Act as a defense. "No your honor. The DMCA was not meant to be used this way."
    Secondly, for this to be illegal, it has to be proven that it is being used to copy music/films/copyrighted information. This cannot be done without someone finding out about the content being transferred - and this cannot be broken without invalidating the case against DeCSS.

    Again, why must this be. The MPAA could not prove DeCSS was being used to pirate DVDs. The idea they had to sell is that it was likely DeCSS could be used to pirate DVDs. What would stop the RIAA saying "Well your honor this fellow had 1 gig worth of 4-5Meg files in his shared folder and that looked suspiciously like a MP3 warehouse. We downloaded and decrypted a few and sure enough we found Metallica songs." Being a civil case, the burden of proof would likely be on the defendant not on the RIAA.
    It's an interesting cross-over of the DeCSS case with the Napster case, and it uses the law very intelligently to say that if these provisions can protect one party, they can protect all parties.

    Interesting, yes. Intellegent? I'm not sure. There is the letter of the law and the spirit of the law. Aimster, from a certain standpoint, is breaking the spirit of the law. I'm simply not convinced that this legal "hack" would stand up in court.
    ...sales of singles are down something like 10% in a strengthening economy...

    I don't know which country you live in but in the US we're having an economic slowdown which will likely require months to dig out of and has been going on since the fourth quarter of 2000. I suggest you look at the recent cover of Fortune magazine.
    All we've really done is said: "Look, the DMCA allows us to prevent you from proving that people are breaking the law", and that's a really good point proving that the DMCA goes much too far.

    Again, I don't buy this. Simply having some lame TOS agreement with no teeth and then encrypting data so concerned parties can't "legally" inspect it comes off as a flim-flam job. I envision this getting to court and the judge pulling a stunt out of Miss Congeniality "You think I'm stuuupid. You don't like me. I should issue an injunction..."
  20. Re:Piracy on DataPlay - Flash Killer or Copy-Control Nightmare? · · Score: 2
    That would be some trick and reminds me of:
    Bullwinkle/RIAA: "Hey Rocky! Wanna see me pull a rabbit out of my hat?"

    Rocky/Clued Consumer: "But that trick never works!"

    Bullwinkle/RIAA grabs hat and rolls up sleeve "Nothin' up my sleeve.... Presto!"

    Pan to large tiger head being pulled from tophat. Pan back to moose as he quickly stuffs tiger back into tophat.

    Bullwinkle/RIAA: "Opps. Looks like I need another hat."

    Get close-up of Rocky's face

    Rocky/Clued Consumer "Now here's something we hope you really like..."


    I also had a vision of some RIAA Rube Goldburg machine to stop copying but what can I say I'm in a nostalgic mood.

    Maybe Mr. Peabody can take his boy Sherman in the time machine and stop Napster before it becomes a hit?

  21. Re:So TRUE on Berkely Breathed Interview · · Score: 1

    I think there are some gems out there. Boondocks is a riot, especially the Nader bit, and Get Fuzzy is great. Bucky is the ultimate cat.

  22. Re:subscription ware helps the consumer and the SA on How Will Subscription-Ware Affect OEMs? · · Score: 1
    So, what you are saying is I should pay money to get my software automagically patched? Windows can't supply an apt-get update; apt-get upgrade I can 'at' everyday to keep my software current? They can't put it an option in the installer to look for patches daily or give me a 'check for patch' option under help?

    And I have to pay for this? Their software has bugs and I have to go get a subscription to have those bugs fixed?

    Can we say *whap!* "Homey don't play that." I thought we could.

  23. Re:Riddle me this... on European Record Industry Goes After Personal Computers · · Score: 1

    That sparked a twisted idea in my head. Here in the US you hear the phrase "No taxation without representation." Does that mean taxes like the ones being discussed which go directly to corporations get me some voting stock or a vote on the board? If so, when do we have the shareholder meeting to fire Hilary Rosen?

  24. Re:1 down, so many more to go! on Appeals Court Puts Amazon 1-Click Patent in Question · · Score: 3
    The problem is this isn't one down. It is more like a timeout. The real trial happens in September and while the current decision looks promising it does not mean the patent will be overturned.

    And I hate to say it but you shouldn't expect the courts to reverse the trend. The current opinion is that everything under the sun which is made by man can be patented. That paraphrase comes from Diamond v. Chakrabarty which iirc went to the Supreme Court. While the patent is for a micro-organism that statement from the Supreme Court was used to uphold a business model patent which atm, I cannot recall. :P

    The only way to fix the patent system, imo, is to ammend patent law. Being the cynic I am, I cannot see that ever happening. Be prepared to fight business model patents a few million dollars and a decade at a time.

  25. Re:1 down, so many more to go! on Appeals Court Puts Amazon 1-Click Patent in Question · · Score: 1

    No. That's just a typo. Now this is ironic.