In this case the Lab is locked 24/7 and the few (6 or 7) people allowed in it have a key... and those few people are also authorized to do whatever they like to the machines so there are no further physical protections.
A lot of the people use the "Lab" remotely... ssh-ing through our NATing firewall/gateway to get to the machines... and while even that group of people is fairly small (10 or so) it is enough that we do think about security... and actually run a pretty tight ship... so when I see stories like this one that affect us I usually go looking for a solution.... of which there was _none_ given!
We actually have them subnetted behind a NATing firewall... but somewhere else in these threads people were talking about how just a malicious website or some such could possibly use the exploit... so it really doesn't matter how you protect your machines from the world...
The lab is all 32-bit Fedora Core... because we still have some fairly fast 32-bit only machines (and since we do a lot of parallel compiling/running it helps to have homogeneous OSes)... but they are slowly getting replaced.
At home I run the 64-bit Nvidia drivers on Gentoo and haven't had any problems in a long time. I mostly use it for gaming (either native or Cedega) so it does get a work out...
My whole research lab (currently about 15 computers) runs Nvidia cards (several different flavors) all in various Dual-Head modes... and in all the time I've been there (over a year and a half now) I have _never_ seen the Nvidia driver cause a problem. I don't know what whack-ass computer you've been using... but if X is locking up you might want to invest in something better.
Also.. I agree with others... saying "Use the 'nv' driver" is non-advice. Some of us use Linux to do 3D stuff all day long (in my case visualizing 3D fluid simulations) and need the binary driver. I'm personally not phased about these problems, and I'm sure they'll get fixed quickly... but it would be nice to have some better advice than "Just don't use it".
Gmail is great at spam filtering... currently I have 4073 pieces of spam in my Gmail account from the last 30 days (it automatically removes spam older than 30 days)... and all of my real mail gets through just fine.
I highly recommend it to anyone.
Friedmud
(PS - I'm _very_ promiscuous with my email address... all because I know that Gmail will take care of it...)
I don't know why you're bashing Gentoo here... it's the same for us.... dependencies get pulled in automatically...
Sure every once in a while there is a hiccup... but that's the case with most distros and their packaging managers. I help run my research lab at school... we're all Fedora Core5... and while yum, apt for rpm, and smart update manager do help... I find that RPM's are woefully out of date and lacking in features compared to my Gentoo install at home. In general it takes me a lot longer to install new stuff on FC5 just because of RPM hell (yes, it does still exist! maybe normal desktop users don't see it, but anyone doing anything above and beyond email and web usage will run into it).
Anyway... my point is that if you're going to bash anyone... bash on people still using RPM. It's an old and kludgy system that just needs to get replaced.
I can guarantee you that my Gentoo system will have this downloaded, compiled, installed and working LONG before we see it many other distros.
In short... why the hating on Gentoo? If it's not the distro for you that's fine... but leave the rest of us out of it.
Vista is coming down the pipe... and it includes a "Downloads" directory in the user's directory (which is pretty much like the/home/user directory in Linux) by default... and IE is set to download to it by default.
I'm sure that Firefox will similarly be set to download to it by default by the time Vista comes out.
The whole restructuring of the User directories in Windows is one of the best improvements in Vista... by default you get: Contacts, Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Favorites, Links, Music, Pictures, Saved Games, Searches and Videos... which will all go a long way towards helping people deal with the clutter. If apps are set to use these folders by default then I predict things will improve...
As for working with Vista RC1... try just installing the Windows XP drivers.... it works for my Live! 24-bit! (The vista drivers creative puts out worked in Beta2... but stopped working in RC1 for me... so I had to search for solutions)
Also note that there is a lively Vista forum for creative labs owners over here:
I do like Kate for programming though... it atleast still provides the terminal that "moves" when you select different files... which is an absolute must for me.
I did read the article before I posted... but like I said... I don't care what they "claim" to be doing... I don't want them using my microphone _at all_. It's just a personal choice though, and I'm sure some will make it.
I mean... what if the "graph" they send back translates to "How much do you want for killing my wife?" from some movie a person is watching... and then the next day their wife get's killed.... that could look pretty bad. Since the recording isn't kept... only a graph you can't tell who said it... but it still doesn't look good.
Whatever they send back still has to be recognizeable to them as _something_ or else there isn't a point. Sure they aren't sending back actual recordings... but if they send back "graphs" that represent the words that were recorded or the sounds heard.... then it really doesn't matter.
Like I say... these are just my personaly feelings _for now_. Maybe things will change once things actually get announced... but for now I just don't want them recording things from my house.
Let's say it hears a rerun of "Lost" in the background... and then the next time it goes to show you text ads it shows you some for buying the Season1 DVD set.... sounds like a good idea (for them) to me.
Now... I'm not a very paranoid person. I use Google services _ALL_ the time and so far trading a little bit of privacy has been worth the return in personalized services. But, for me, I think this goes a bit far. I just plain don't want anyone recording _anything_ from the microphone on my computer. I don't care what they claim to do or not do with it... but I just don't want it to happen. If any google service I use says that I have to let them record audio from my house.... that's the first day I switch to a competitor.
There are some intrusions that are helpful (for instance, I like personalized search... while others may think that gives Google too much info, I find that my search results are drastically improved therefore outweighing the loss in privacy) but this just goes too far.
While it doesn't have the same "grain" you can't tell unless you get up next to it... I was really happy with the way it just blends into the front of my computer (as opposed to a beige or black one....).
I'm also a huge Kdevelop fan... been using it for _years_.
Sure it has it's quirks... but it gets the job done.
Some features I like are: 1. Tabbed view of open files 2. The expandable/collapseable side panels 3. the konsole that automatically cd's to the directory of the current file as you change tabs (it's a panel at the bottom) 4. great debugging 5. when you compile it opens up a small panel at the bototm of the app that shows the compiler output... including highlighting different lines of output in different colors and if there are errors you can just double click on the error and it will take you to that file and that line so you can fix it 6. good intellisense 7. Automake integration (has a whole panel on the right where you can easily edit targets or create new ones) 8. syntax highlighting 9. good indenting options 10. doxygen integration 11. Good templating system... so when you make new classes the header files all have the same "look"
I'll stop there... there is more, but I think you get the point.
One thing I will note is that since this is a _fully_ functional IDE there is a lot to learn. Give yourself some time and take it slow... the first project you create probably won't actually get too far... don't be afraid to destroy it and make another one.
I've been thinking about setting up my own tracker to allow my family to download home videos from me...
I know that sites like YouTube are popular right now... but I really don't like the quality restrictions... and would rather family members could just download a nice sized full copy themselves so they could burn it to DVD if they like or whatever.
Bittorrent would be ideal for doing this... and this software sounds like just the ticket. All I would have to do is point my family at the page it generates... and when I finish editing a home movie drop it in the "upload" folder and wham... it goes out to everyone.
All it needs now is an "auto client" that you just give it the URL of the automatically created website and it will automatically download anything new that arrives (that's a lot of "auto" going on;-) That way I could go around to all of my families computers and set them up with the software and then just leave it alone. Every once in a while they can look in the "Home Videos" folder for new videos....
I think it's funny that people around here always cry "Bittorrent doesn't have to be for illegal purposes" and then any time a bittorrent story comes up all they can do is argue the finer points of what would/wouldn't be illegal/enforceable if you use the new tech... sigh.
Here's my personal take on the "Rent a Song" thing....
What about 10/20 years from now?
Have you ever picked up a tape/record/old cd that you used to listen to and pop it in? It's a great experience to be "teleported" back to Junior High or whenever...
When I buy music, I buy it forever (forever being a really long time of course). Yeah, it's cool to have a music service that you can download shitloads of music from _for now_ but 10 years from now you might look around and wish you had spent that monthly fee on physical cd's instead of renting ones and zeros.
Like I said... this is just my personal opinion... but it's personally the thing that keeps me from buying DRM'd stuff. I want to "own" what I pay for as much as possible... so I can do what I like with it and keep it and use it as long as I like. But maybe I'm in the minority.
I would just like to point out that Firefox works _right now_ with the Vista beta... it was one of the first things I installed (as is always the case)....
As for working with Live... isn't that Microsofts problem? Make them code to the standard like the rest of us are...
I don't quite agree with that. I agree that you lose "something"... but you also gain a lot.
For instance, my friends and I are now fairly spread out... it would be great to be able to bust out a 4 player Settlers game over the internet sometimes... for me this is the best reason to move a boardgame to the computer/console.
But nothing will beat actually sitting at a table with your friends all around a board and physically placing/moving pieces around... there is just nothing like seeing the look on my friends face when I cut off his road he's spent so much time building;-)
I play on Steam almost daily (HL2:CTF) and it's been interesting to watch the new games come in... Valve is definitely trying something here... and I, for one, hope it works out.
Just the other day I noticed that X2: The Threat was available for $15 and X3: Reunion for $20 both by Egosoft. That's not bad at all (I bought X3 for around $45 dollars earlier this year). It's good to see an easy way to get ahold of cheap older games than bin diving at wal-mart.
Looking right now I also see that SiN 1 (the original) is available... which is interesting... I wonder if my computer now has enough horsepower to load a level in less than 20 minutes;-)
All in all, I was wary of Steam at first, but have since grown to love it... and I hope they have continued success!
"something which has almost NO chance of success in the early game where sheep are almost entirely useless and wood is very valuable"
This is not necessarily true... if you play on a map with lots of water and few wool resources sheep can be very valuable early in the game. But that's not to downplay the role of wood... which is just as important if there is lots of water (need both wood and sheep to build a boat).... but if the sheep are rare enough it can often be useful to trade some wood for sheep early in the game...
But I've specifically been looking at the Samsung A900 from sprint... which does allow you to put arbitrary MP3's on it (even if the internal storage is a bit small... not a problem for me because when I need a lot of music I still have my iPod).
I have seen several phones from Sprint that allow you to put your own MP3s on the phone.... so maybe the industry is starting to change?
I would also like to point out that iTunes can rip to MP3 (Under Edit->Preferences->Advanced->Importing you can choose AAC, MP3, AIFF, Apple Lossless, and WAV... you can also choose the bitrate).
I have mine set to MP3 at 160kbps... this way if I ever do get something other than an iPod (or my wife does) it's easy to switch. For instance, I've been looking at phones recently (my 2 year contract is almost up... and my phone is starting to die) and it's nice that a lot of phones nowadays come with Mp3 support... and since all my music is in MP3 I'll be able to take advantage of it.
Further.... iTunes allows you to _easily_ convert all of your music from AAC to MP3... just highlight the songs you want to convert... right click them and say "Convert to MP3"... couldn't be easier.
Back on topic... I was actually having a conversation with a friend about he Sansa e200 yesterday. We both agreed that it looks great and has some great specs (the miniSD port is nice, along with a huge battery life, and user replaceable battery). We both own iPods but this is the first device that has come along and actually made us wonder if the iPod isn't the best device for us. The only drawback we could find was that you can't use iTunes with it. iTunes really is a great product, it's easy to find the music you want to play and create playlists and whatnot... but the best thing of course is the auto-syncing with your iPod.
I plan on having my iPod for a long time... but when it finally dies I'm going to have to reassess just how much I like iTunes...
"But my two main gripes of the game are that it is REALLY easy to cheat"
More than any other game... Oblivion is what _you_ make it.
In this thread and others I hear a lot about things like "fast travel ruins the game" and "it's too easy to fire up the included editor and give yourself a 'hugebeatstick of fire'".
The thing is... this is a _single player_ game. Meaning that the only person you are cheating is yourself. Now, if that's what's fun to you then that's fine... but you can also place your own limitations on your actions and play a different kind of game.
For instance, I refused to use fast travel for a large portion of the game. Why would I do that? Well... because I wanted to explore and I wanted to get to know the land and villages and people. So I just told myself that I wasn't going to use it and I didn't (I did eventually start using it, after I had walked pretty much every damn square inch of the world). Now there are even mods that remove fast travel... just in case you easily give into temptation! (along with horse mods that allow your horse to level up the more you ride him so he gets faster... this can add a lot to the game!)
I also like to actually "role play"... as in I decide on an alignment (like in D&D) and I try as hard as possible to always play that alignment. I also like to think up silly backstories like "I was born with an axe in my hand... and no other weapon shall ever replace it" in order to give my character a little more purpose in the world (instead of just "oooh! Shiny! me wants!").
So like I say... I might be in the minority... but for me the complete open ended freedom allows me to use my imagination a bit and just do as I damn well please... which is what is fun for me.
Slashdot Mirror
In this case the Lab is locked 24/7 and the few (6 or 7) people allowed in it have a key... and those few people are also authorized to do whatever they like to the machines so there are no further physical protections.
A lot of the people use the "Lab" remotely... ssh-ing through our NATing firewall/gateway to get to the machines... and while even that group of people is fairly small (10 or so) it is enough that we do think about security... and actually run a pretty tight ship... so when I see stories like this one that affect us I usually go looking for a solution.... of which there was _none_ given!
Friedmud
We actually have them subnetted behind a NATing firewall... but somewhere else in these threads people were talking about how just a malicious website or some such could possibly use the exploit... so it really doesn't matter how you protect your machines from the world...
Friedmud
Not in the lab... but I do at home.
The lab is all 32-bit Fedora Core... because we still have some fairly fast 32-bit only machines (and since we do a lot of parallel compiling/running it helps to have homogeneous OSes)... but they are slowly getting replaced.
At home I run the 64-bit Nvidia drivers on Gentoo and haven't had any problems in a long time. I mostly use it for gaming (either native or Cedega) so it does get a work out...
Friedmud
My whole research lab (currently about 15 computers) runs Nvidia cards (several different flavors) all in various Dual-Head modes... and in all the time I've been there (over a year and a half now) I have _never_ seen the Nvidia driver cause a problem. I don't know what whack-ass computer you've been using... but if X is locking up you might want to invest in something better.
Also.. I agree with others... saying "Use the 'nv' driver" is non-advice. Some of us use Linux to do 3D stuff all day long (in my case visualizing 3D fluid simulations) and need the binary driver. I'm personally not phased about these problems, and I'm sure they'll get fixed quickly... but it would be nice to have some better advice than "Just don't use it".
Friedmud
Gmail is great at spam filtering... currently I have 4073 pieces of spam in my Gmail account from the last 30 days (it automatically removes spam older than 30 days)... and all of my real mail gets through just fine.
I highly recommend it to anyone.
Friedmud
(PS - I'm _very_ promiscuous with my email address... all because I know that Gmail will take care of it...)
I don't know why you're bashing Gentoo here... it's the same for us.... dependencies get pulled in automatically...
Sure every once in a while there is a hiccup... but that's the case with most distros and their packaging managers. I help run my research lab at school... we're all Fedora Core5... and while yum, apt for rpm, and smart update manager do help... I find that RPM's are woefully out of date and lacking in features compared to my Gentoo install at home. In general it takes me a lot longer to install new stuff on FC5 just because of RPM hell (yes, it does still exist! maybe normal desktop users don't see it, but anyone doing anything above and beyond email and web usage will run into it).
Anyway... my point is that if you're going to bash anyone... bash on people still using RPM. It's an old and kludgy system that just needs to get replaced.
I can guarantee you that my Gentoo system will have this downloaded, compiled, installed and working LONG before we see it many other distros.
In short... why the hating on Gentoo? If it's not the distro for you that's fine... but leave the rest of us out of it.
Friedmud
Vista is coming down the pipe... and it includes a "Downloads" directory in the user's directory (which is pretty much like the /home/user directory in Linux) by default... and IE is set to download to it by default.
I'm sure that Firefox will similarly be set to download to it by default by the time Vista comes out.
The whole restructuring of the User directories in Windows is one of the best improvements in Vista... by default you get: Contacts, Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Favorites, Links, Music, Pictures, Saved Games, Searches and Videos... which will all go a long way towards helping people deal with the clutter. If apps are set to use these folders by default then I predict things will improve...
Friedmud
As for working with Vista RC1... try just installing the Windows XP drivers.... it works for my Live! 24-bit! (The vista drivers creative puts out worked in Beta2... but stopped working in RC1 for me... so I had to search for solutions)
r d.id=Vista
Also note that there is a lively Vista forum for creative labs owners over here:
http://forums.creative.com/creativelabs/board?boa
Friedmud
At _least_ use kdbg for debugging..... jeez. ;-)
I do like Kate for programming though... it atleast still provides the terminal that "moves" when you select different files... which is an absolute must for me.
Friedmud
I did read the article before I posted... but like I said... I don't care what they "claim" to be doing... I don't want them using my microphone _at all_. It's just a personal choice though, and I'm sure some will make it.
I mean... what if the "graph" they send back translates to "How much do you want for killing my wife?" from some movie a person is watching... and then the next day their wife get's killed.... that could look pretty bad. Since the recording isn't kept... only a graph you can't tell who said it... but it still doesn't look good.
Whatever they send back still has to be recognizeable to them as _something_ or else there isn't a point. Sure they aren't sending back actual recordings... but if they send back "graphs" that represent the words that were recorded or the sounds heard.... then it really doesn't matter.
Like I say... these are just my personaly feelings _for now_. Maybe things will change once things actually get announced... but for now I just don't want them recording things from my house.
Friedmud
Let's say it hears a rerun of "Lost" in the background... and then the next time it goes to show you text ads it shows you some for buying the Season1 DVD set.... sounds like a good idea (for them) to me.
Now... I'm not a very paranoid person. I use Google services _ALL_ the time and so far trading a little bit of privacy has been worth the return in personalized services. But, for me, I think this goes a bit far. I just plain don't want anyone recording _anything_ from the microphone on my computer. I don't care what they claim to do or not do with it... but I just don't want it to happen. If any google service I use says that I have to let them record audio from my house.... that's the first day I switch to a competitor.
There are some intrusions that are helpful (for instance, I like personalized search... while others may think that gives Google too much info, I find that my search results are drastically improved therefore outweighing the loss in privacy) but this just goes too far.
I hope it never happens.
Friedmud
You're definitely right... that would be a good thing to include.
Just wanted to point out to some of the people out there that might have an aluminum case that that drive makes a pretty good fit.
And it's highly rated for a reason! I love this drive... it's performed flawlessly for me thus far... even working spectacularly in Linux.
Friedmud
I have a brushed aluminum Lian Li case and bought this DVD Writer to go with it:
2 E16827152060
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N8
While it doesn't have the same "grain" you can't tell unless you get up next to it... I was really happy with the way it just blends into the front of my computer (as opposed to a beige or black one....).
Friedmud
I'm also a huge Kdevelop fan... been using it for _years_.
Sure it has it's quirks... but it gets the job done.
Some features I like are:
1. Tabbed view of open files
2. The expandable/collapseable side panels
3. the konsole that automatically cd's to the directory of the current file as you change tabs (it's a panel at the bottom)
4. great debugging
5. when you compile it opens up a small panel at the bototm of the app that shows the compiler output... including highlighting different lines of output in different colors and if there are errors you can just double click on the error and it will take you to that file and that line so you can fix it
6. good intellisense
7. Automake integration (has a whole panel on the right where you can easily edit targets or create new ones)
8. syntax highlighting
9. good indenting options
10. doxygen integration
11. Good templating system... so when you make new classes the header files all have the same "look"
I'll stop there... there is more, but I think you get the point.
One thing I will note is that since this is a _fully_ functional IDE there is a lot to learn. Give yourself some time and take it slow... the first project you create probably won't actually get too far... don't be afraid to destroy it and make another one.
Friedmud
True... but will it use bittorrent?
I know that solutions like this exist... but it was the bittorrenting that was interesting to me.
Friedmud
I've been thinking about setting up my own tracker to allow my family to download home videos from me...
;-) That way I could go around to all of my families computers and set them up with the software and then just leave it alone. Every once in a while they can look in the "Home Videos" folder for new videos....
I know that sites like YouTube are popular right now... but I really don't like the quality restrictions... and would rather family members could just download a nice sized full copy themselves so they could burn it to DVD if they like or whatever.
Bittorrent would be ideal for doing this... and this software sounds like just the ticket. All I would have to do is point my family at the page it generates... and when I finish editing a home movie drop it in the "upload" folder and wham... it goes out to everyone.
All it needs now is an "auto client" that you just give it the URL of the automatically created website and it will automatically download anything new that arrives (that's a lot of "auto" going on
I think it's funny that people around here always cry "Bittorrent doesn't have to be for illegal purposes" and then any time a bittorrent story comes up all they can do is argue the finer points of what would/wouldn't be illegal/enforceable if you use the new tech... sigh.
Friedmud
Here's my personal take on the "Rent a Song" thing....
What about 10/20 years from now?
Have you ever picked up a tape/record/old cd that you used to listen to and pop it in? It's a great experience to be "teleported" back to Junior High or whenever...
When I buy music, I buy it forever (forever being a really long time of course). Yeah, it's cool to have a music service that you can download shitloads of music from _for now_ but 10 years from now you might look around and wish you had spent that monthly fee on physical cd's instead of renting ones and zeros.
Like I said... this is just my personal opinion... but it's personally the thing that keeps me from buying DRM'd stuff. I want to "own" what I pay for as much as possible... so I can do what I like with it and keep it and use it as long as I like. But maybe I'm in the minority.
Friedmud
I would just like to point out that Firefox works _right now_ with the Vista beta... it was one of the first things I installed (as is always the case)....
As for working with Live... isn't that Microsofts problem? Make them code to the standard like the rest of us are...
Friedmud
"I really hate playing boardgames on a computer"
;-)
I don't quite agree with that. I agree that you lose "something"... but you also gain a lot.
For instance, my friends and I are now fairly spread out... it would be great to be able to bust out a 4 player Settlers game over the internet sometimes... for me this is the best reason to move a boardgame to the computer/console.
But nothing will beat actually sitting at a table with your friends all around a board and physically placing/moving pieces around... there is just nothing like seeing the look on my friends face when I cut off his road he's spent so much time building
Friedmud
I play on Steam almost daily (HL2:CTF) and it's been interesting to watch the new games come in... Valve is definitely trying something here... and I, for one, hope it works out.
;-)
Just the other day I noticed that X2: The Threat was available for $15 and X3: Reunion for $20 both by Egosoft. That's not bad at all (I bought X3 for around $45 dollars earlier this year). It's good to see an easy way to get ahold of cheap older games than bin diving at wal-mart.
Looking right now I also see that SiN 1 (the original) is available... which is interesting... I wonder if my computer now has enough horsepower to load a level in less than 20 minutes
All in all, I was wary of Steam at first, but have since grown to love it... and I hope they have continued success!
Friedmud
"something which has almost NO chance of success in the early game where sheep are almost entirely useless and wood is very valuable"
This is not necessarily true... if you play on a map with lots of water and few wool resources sheep can be very valuable early in the game. But that's not to downplay the role of wood... which is just as important if there is lots of water (need both wood and sheep to build a boat).... but if the sheep are rare enough it can often be useful to trade some wood for sheep early in the game...
Friedmud
'tis very true...
But I've specifically been looking at the Samsung A900 from sprint... which does allow you to put arbitrary MP3's on it (even if the internal storage is a bit small... not a problem for me because when I need a lot of music I still have my iPod).
I have seen several phones from Sprint that allow you to put your own MP3s on the phone.... so maybe the industry is starting to change?
Friedmud
I would also like to point out that iTunes can rip to MP3 (Under Edit->Preferences->Advanced->Importing you can choose AAC, MP3, AIFF, Apple Lossless, and WAV... you can also choose the bitrate).
I have mine set to MP3 at 160kbps... this way if I ever do get something other than an iPod (or my wife does) it's easy to switch. For instance, I've been looking at phones recently (my 2 year contract is almost up... and my phone is starting to die) and it's nice that a lot of phones nowadays come with Mp3 support... and since all my music is in MP3 I'll be able to take advantage of it.
Further.... iTunes allows you to _easily_ convert all of your music from AAC to MP3... just highlight the songs you want to convert... right click them and say "Convert to MP3"... couldn't be easier.
Back on topic... I was actually having a conversation with a friend about he Sansa e200 yesterday. We both agreed that it looks great and has some great specs (the miniSD port is nice, along with a huge battery life, and user replaceable battery). We both own iPods but this is the first device that has come along and actually made us wonder if the iPod isn't the best device for us. The only drawback we could find was that you can't use iTunes with it. iTunes really is a great product, it's easy to find the music you want to play and create playlists and whatnot... but the best thing of course is the auto-syncing with your iPod.
I plan on having my iPod for a long time... but when it finally dies I'm going to have to reassess just how much I like iTunes...
Friedmud
The BG series is probably the most widely played RPG of all time... I think quite a few people would get the reference.
;-)
Not only that but the obscurity would add to the attraction in my eyes. Kind of like "Mr. Game and Watch"...
Not that I'm voting for Minsc...
Myself, I would love to see somebody like Sarge from Q3A... Rocket Launcher FTW
Friedmud
"But my two main gripes of the game are that it is REALLY easy to cheat"
More than any other game... Oblivion is what _you_ make it.
In this thread and others I hear a lot about things like "fast travel ruins the game" and "it's too easy to fire up the included editor and give yourself a 'hugebeatstick of fire'".
The thing is... this is a _single player_ game. Meaning that the only person you are cheating is yourself. Now, if that's what's fun to you then that's fine... but you can also place your own limitations on your actions and play a different kind of game.
For instance, I refused to use fast travel for a large portion of the game. Why would I do that? Well... because I wanted to explore and I wanted to get to know the land and villages and people. So I just told myself that I wasn't going to use it and I didn't (I did eventually start using it, after I had walked pretty much every damn square inch of the world). Now there are even mods that remove fast travel... just in case you easily give into temptation! (along with horse mods that allow your horse to level up the more you ride him so he gets faster... this can add a lot to the game!)
I also like to actually "role play"... as in I decide on an alignment (like in D&D) and I try as hard as possible to always play that alignment. I also like to think up silly backstories like "I was born with an axe in my hand... and no other weapon shall ever replace it" in order to give my character a little more purpose in the world (instead of just "oooh! Shiny! me wants!").
So like I say... I might be in the minority... but for me the complete open ended freedom allows me to use my imagination a bit and just do as I damn well please... which is what is fun for me.
Friedmud