It would be my guess that both Apple and Microsoft would want to do the same thing - use music to promote and sell their products. However, if Microsoft bought Vivendi Music, would that not somehow be in violation of the anti-trust rulings? Couldn't Microsoft use their monopoly on desktop OS's to create a monopoly in legal music downloading?
I might be completely wrong, but somehow the prospect of Microsoft owning such a big label seems much scarier than Apple doing the same thing.
I've installed Opera 7.1 for both Windows and Linux, and am very impressed. Does anyone know how to create a note? I see the Copy to Note and Paste To Note options, but they don't do anything:-(
Also, Opera still doesn't display my ISP's homepage properly. Hopefully it will be fixed in the next release:-).
Here is why I like having lots of different applications on the install cd's. It saves time! When I need to install something, like mplayer, here is how I do it (this is under Mandrake 9.1):
1. su to root in console.
2. urpmi mplayer
3. Insert CD's as needed (it uses supermount to make it really easy)
4. log out of root
5. Done! urpmi creates the menu entries in all environments (kde, gnome, windowmaker) for all users, making it 3 clicks to launch what I installed.
Of course, it would be different if I had a decent internet connection to my box, but I don't, so the CD's are a lifesaver. Of course, more than 3 CD's might be a little excessive, but if they save me time and are useful, I say bring 'em on!
Just because all of the itmes that we will now carry must be supported my XP, does not mean that those items will not work in alternate OS's...it just means that if an item is not 100% XP compliant, we won't carry it.
It seems like that this statement confirms the worst of the possible outcomes... that Office Depot will not carry Linux distros. Does anyone know if Office Depot will make an exception for things that are not supposed to work with Windows?
And that their parents listen to the teenagers and not the marketing and commercials. Unfortunately, many parents underestimate the knowledge that many teen's have, simply becuase they don't understand just how much there is to know. For example, I have some relatives who are looking for a replacement for their PIII 700 (!). They think that new hardware will fix their software problems, which is not the case. They have fallen into the trap of the marketers, and hardly anything will change their minds.
Unfortunately, I have the feeling that more people are like this than the/. crowd will care to admit.
...then what will prevent spammers from taking and exporting the list to where they aren't affected by any consequences, like Asia? And if it's not avalible easily, then how will the spammers know not to send email's to a specific address? Seems like a catch-22.
How about a DVD and a (Red Book) CD sold together?
Off the top of my head: Our Lady Peace, Sum 41, and The Foo Fighters all have CD's out that have both the music CD and a 'Bonus' DVD. The pricing seems competitive; The Special Edition version of "Gravity" by Our Lady Peace with the DVD was only about $18 (CAD) at Future Shop.
CBC has a great radio show called Quirks and Quarks. If you live in Canada, you can listen on CBC 1 Saturdays @ noon. Best of all, you can download each segment in ogg, mp3, or real formats, put them in a playlist, and create your own custom show!
2. Turn the disc back to the store, claiming it's useless. (it is, sort of)
Unfortunately, many stores, such as HMV have stopped accepting returns on opened CD's, claiming that there is the possibility that they have been copied. At least we know that the CD stores are smart enough to know that any copy protection can and will be broken.
In my mind, Mandrake has come close, but who knows how long they will continue to be around.
I don't think the actual software is the big problem. Most things are not too different from the various Windows OSes. The two main issues for the desktop are:
1. Command line fear. Let's face it. As easy as something like "ifup eth0" is, the idea of typing commands scares users. Sometimes, it can almost be more difficult for newbies to navigate a GUI, especially when you get multiple windows open. It would be really cool if there was a shell that understood straight english and was able to execute commands based on them, ex "connect to the internet", "delete file called xxx", etc.
2. Documentation A lot of the documentation for *nix is very good. However, most newbies wouldn't even think to look on the web, much less in on line help. Sort of like the Mandrake Installer, a desktop OS should have help integrated EVERYWHERE, with the option to turn it off once the user is comfortable with the system.
I remember when the GeForce 3 came out, and it was supposed to be THE card to run Doom III. Now it's looking like it won't be even close to powerfull enough.
While we all know that Doom III will be out eventually, I would say that it's been delayed enough to be considered vapourware.
At least we know from the leaked alpha that the game will ROCK:-)
Dell makes some pretty good hardware, and I generally respect their products, but in this case I was completely screwed over. I bought a PIII 450 with Win98SE several years ago for a company. Later, they needed to upgrade to Win2K. *Should* be no problem. No matter what I tried, the install would always fail. Eventually, we determined that the only thing left that could cause problems would be the mother board. So we called Dell, hoping to get a replacement (the computer was still under warranty, and this company owned over 20 boxes). The system was shipped with 98SE, and that was all they would support. No matter what, they would not help with what was obviously a hardware problem.
The ironic thing is that the sticker on the box said Windows98SE and Windows2K compatible!
In the end, we set it up as a basic browsing machine. The experience definately soured my opinion of Dell, and taught me just how picky big OEM's can be when it comes to support and warranties.
Very cool examples. Except, none of them show a tounge! There were portions of the speech where the lips weren't moving, and the tounge would have been.
Once a tounge is added to the render, this tech will be sweet for games. Imagine playing someone in UT and seeing their mouth move properly as they talk to you. Cool for sure.
Lets say that Massachusetts ends up getting everything that Open Source advocates, Linux users, etc want in terms of penalties against Microsoft. Does this apply to all states after they have settled? Or would Microsoft have to have seperate product lines and "features", depending on the legal conditions in each state?
I have relatives who send documents in the ever-so-evil MS Works 2000 format. Much to my surprise, MS Office 2000 does NOT read Works 2K docs naitively. Luckily, there is a patch you can download that adds support.
But what's really cool...
I noticed on my Linux box that Star Office 5.2 and OpenOffice both have builtin support for Works documents! For the first time, I have seen a feature that is *very* useful and not avalible in MS Office. It's features like this that will win the open source battle.
Windows XP's 4 measly desktops are too little, too late, sorry. I have barely enough space on KDE's 16 desktops.
Check out multiDesk 2001. It allows up to 9 desktops, and moving a window is as simple as a focus--> right click on desktop number. It's at least better than 4...
Make sure that you apply to all services, which is a checkbox at the top of the window.
I find that trillian is very good on my PII 233 with 64mb ram. In the end, it saves me having to open MSN, ICQ, IRC in seperate programs. It is also much more feature-rich when compared to msn, especially when window-managing.
As a bonus - most (if not all) config files are XML based. Each user has a seperate folder with preferences, etc, so it is REALLY EASY (as in change the default directory) to use trillian on multiple computers with the same config files, given that the computers are networked with SMB.
And a related question... what if you got Darwin running on an x86 chip with a PowerPC emulator? Could you, theoretically, get aqua to run on such a system?
This could only happen if someone could succesfully create a PowerPC emulator. So far, no one has been able to do so.
As per running Aqua on such a system, I would assume that Aqua needs to interact with the Apple ROM chips. In the past, part of the OS has been stored in the ROM chip, and it would make sense that OSX would continue to do so.
It is even legal to copy CDs from your local library.
My local (canadian) library allows borrowing of CD's for a modest 25 cents "insurance fee". You have to return the cd after a week. In many ways, this is better than downloading music off of P2P services, because you get CD quality sound! Some CD's I've bought, some I've ripped to ogg, and some I listened to three songs and returned the next day.
So it seems like that a great distribution model for record companies exists. Allow people to sample what they want for a modest fee, and give them the opportunity to buy the cd (or oggs or mp3s or whatever) after sampling.
I live in Canada, and my ADSL ISP limits my monthly transfer to 5 gigs a month. After that, I pay 10$ a gig. So...
5 gigs = ~7 movies @ 700 MB each = 40$ (monthly rate for adsl) + 4 US$ * 7 movies * 1.5 exchange rate = 42$ = 82$ total (plus tax)
82$ for 7 movies? That I can only watch for 24 hours each? When I can buy NEW DVD'S for ~20$ each! It seems that the movie companies are shooting themselves in the foot multiple times with a plan like this...
The poster was right - this is not Verdi. Music is not just an expression of mathematical equations. What these compositions are missing is the feeling, the tension, the journey that music should take you on. Serious music lovers like myself all would say that the best music is that which is filled with emotion. That includes classical music like Beethoven and Handel; it also (at least IMHO) includes newer music from bands like The Tea Party, Our Lady Peace, or my favourite indie band, Das Radio.
The true breakthrough will be when equations can be used to create music with emotion. Unfortunately, that will probably be years away...
The Bank of Montreal's website does not block browsers. They do offically recommend IE or NS, but they don't force anything. Most functions work all right in Opera 6, but anything that uses a popup doesn't work (no windows comes up, page goes blank). The way I see it, I usually only check my balance, so I would rather use the more secure Opera and lose a little bit of functionality than use IE and be hit by one of the numerous security flaws.
What I find ironic: after I log out, the bank site tells me to close all windows and clear cache, history, etc. In Opera, it's a simple File-->Delete Private Data-->OK. It takes about 5 steps to completely clear IE. When will they ever learn...
Slashdot Mirror
It would be my guess that both Apple and Microsoft would want to do the same thing - use music to promote and sell their products. However, if Microsoft bought Vivendi Music, would that not somehow be in violation of the anti-trust rulings? Couldn't Microsoft use their monopoly on desktop OS's to create a monopoly in legal music downloading?
I might be completely wrong, but somehow the prospect of Microsoft owning such a big label seems much scarier than Apple doing the same thing.
I've installed Opera 7.1 for both Windows and Linux, and am very impressed. Does anyone know how to create a note? I see the Copy to Note and Paste To Note options, but they don't do anything :-(
:-).
Also, Opera still doesn't display my ISP's homepage properly. Hopefully it will be fixed in the next release
Here is why I like having lots of different applications on the install cd's. It saves time! When I need to install something, like mplayer, here is how I do it (this is under Mandrake 9.1):
1. su to root in console.
2. urpmi mplayer
3. Insert CD's as needed (it uses supermount to make it really easy)
4. log out of root
5. Done! urpmi creates the menu entries in all environments (kde, gnome, windowmaker) for all users, making it 3 clicks to launch what I installed.
Of course, it would be different if I had a decent internet connection to my box, but I don't, so the CD's are a lifesaver. Of course, more than 3 CD's might be a little excessive, but if they save me time and are useful, I say bring 'em on!
And that their parents listen to the teenagers and not the marketing and commercials. Unfortunately, many parents underestimate the knowledge that many teen's have, simply becuase they don't understand just how much there is to know. For example, I have some relatives who are looking for a replacement for their PIII 700 (!). They think that new hardware will fix their software problems, which is not the case. They have fallen into the trap of the marketers, and hardly anything will change their minds.
Unfortunately, I have the feeling that more people are like this than the
...then what will prevent spammers from taking and exporting the list to where they aren't affected by any consequences, like Asia? And if it's not avalible easily, then how will the spammers know not to send email's to a specific address? Seems like a catch-22.
CBC has a great radio show called Quirks and Quarks. If you live in Canada, you can listen on CBC 1 Saturdays @ noon. Best of all, you can download each segment in ogg, mp3, or real formats, put them in a playlist, and create your own custom show!
2. Turn the disc back to the store, claiming it's useless. (it is, sort of)
Unfortunately, many stores, such as HMV have stopped accepting returns on opened CD's, claiming that there is the possibility that they have been copied. At least we know that the CD stores are smart enough to know that any copy protection can and will be broken.
In my mind, Mandrake has come close, but who knows how long they will continue to be around.
I don't think the actual software is the big problem. Most things are not too different from the various Windows OSes. The two main issues for the desktop are:
1. Command line fear.
Let's face it. As easy as something like "ifup eth0" is, the idea of typing commands scares users. Sometimes, it can almost be more difficult for newbies to navigate a GUI, especially when you get multiple windows open. It would be really cool if there was a shell that understood straight english and was able to execute commands based on them, ex "connect to the internet", "delete file called xxx", etc.
2. Documentation
A lot of the documentation for *nix is very good. However, most newbies wouldn't even think to look on the web, much less in on line help. Sort of like the Mandrake Installer, a desktop OS should have help integrated EVERYWHERE, with the option to turn it off once the user is comfortable with the system.
Perhaps #2 is why OSX is so great?
I remember when the GeForce 3 came out, and it was supposed to be THE card to run Doom III. Now it's looking like it won't be even close to powerfull enough. While we all know that Doom III will be out eventually, I would say that it's been delayed enough to be considered vapourware. At least we know from the leaked alpha that the game will ROCK :-)
Dell makes some pretty good hardware, and I generally respect their products, but in this case I was completely screwed over. I bought a PIII 450 with Win98SE several years ago for a company. Later, they needed to upgrade to Win2K. *Should* be no problem. No matter what I tried, the install would always fail. Eventually, we determined that the only thing left that could cause problems would be the mother board. So we called Dell, hoping to get a replacement (the computer was still under warranty, and this company owned over 20 boxes). The system was shipped with 98SE, and that was all they would support. No matter what, they would not help with what was obviously a hardware problem.
The ironic thing is that the sticker on the box said Windows98SE and Windows2K compatible!
In the end, we set it up as a basic browsing machine. The experience definately soured my opinion of Dell, and taught me just how picky big OEM's can be when it comes to support and warranties.
Very cool examples. Except, none of them show a tounge! There were portions of the speech where the lips weren't moving, and the tounge would have been.
Once a tounge is added to the render, this tech will be sweet for games. Imagine playing someone in UT and seeing their mouth move properly as they talk to you. Cool for sure.
Lets say that Massachusetts ends up getting everything that Open Source advocates, Linux users, etc want in terms of penalties against Microsoft. Does this apply to all states after they have settled? Or would Microsoft have to have seperate product lines and "features", depending on the legal conditions in each state?
Here is the same thing I saw on a separate page on the site, in hopefully a less slashdotted form... ;-)
I have relatives who send documents in the ever-so-evil MS Works 2000 format. Much to my surprise, MS Office 2000 does NOT read Works 2K docs naitively. Luckily, there is a patch you can download that adds support. But what's really cool... I noticed on my Linux box that Star Office 5.2 and OpenOffice both have builtin support for Works documents! For the first time, I have seen a feature that is *very* useful and not avalible in MS Office. It's features like this that will win the open source battle.
All sites on atarimagazines.com with atari in the text. Just remember to click on the "cached" link!
I use both GAIM and Trillian, and BOTH have the autologging capability. I'm not sure what the defaults are in each program.
In Trillian, to turn off autologging, go to:
Preferences-->Message History-->Automatically log-->none
Make sure that you apply to all services, which is a checkbox at the top of the window.
I find that trillian is very good on my PII 233 with 64mb ram. In the end, it saves me having to open MSN, ICQ, IRC in seperate programs. It is also much more feature-rich when compared to msn, especially when window-managing.
As a bonus - most (if not all) config files are XML based. Each user has a seperate folder with preferences, etc, so it is REALLY EASY (as in change the default directory) to use trillian on multiple computers with the same config files, given that the computers are networked with SMB.
As per running Aqua on such a system, I would assume that Aqua needs to interact with the Apple ROM chips. In the past, part of the OS has been stored in the ROM chip, and it would make sense that OSX would continue to do so.
So it seems like that a great distribution model for record companies exists. Allow people to sample what they want for a modest fee, and give them the opportunity to buy the cd (or oggs or mp3s or whatever) after sampling.
I live in Canada, and my ADSL ISP limits my monthly transfer to 5 gigs a month. After that, I pay 10$ a gig. So...
5 gigs = ~7 movies @ 700 MB each = 40$ (monthly rate for adsl)
+ 4 US$ * 7 movies * 1.5 exchange rate = 42$
= 82$ total (plus tax)
82$ for 7 movies? That I can only watch for 24 hours each? When I can buy NEW DVD'S for ~20$ each! It seems that the movie companies are shooting themselves in the foot multiple times with a plan like this...
The poster was right - this is not Verdi. Music is not just an expression of mathematical equations. What these compositions are missing is the feeling, the tension, the journey that music should take you on. Serious music lovers like myself all would say that the best music is that which is filled with emotion. That includes classical music like Beethoven and Handel; it also (at least IMHO) includes newer music from bands like The Tea Party, Our Lady Peace, or my favourite indie band, Das Radio.
The true breakthrough will be when equations can be used to create music with emotion. Unfortunately, that will probably be years away...
The Bank of Montreal's website does not block browsers. They do offically recommend IE or NS, but they don't force anything. Most functions work all right in Opera 6, but anything that uses a popup doesn't work (no windows comes up, page goes blank). The way I see it, I usually only check my balance, so I would rather use the more secure Opera and lose a little bit of functionality than use IE and be hit by one of the numerous security flaws.
What I find ironic: after I log out, the bank site tells me to close all windows and clear cache, history, etc. In Opera, it's a simple File-->Delete Private Data-->OK. It takes about 5 steps to completely clear IE. When will they ever learn...