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  1. Actually, that is a bad example for mom on Who Invests in Spyware Companies? · · Score: 1

    I wouldn't use that article to try to convince mom. Bill Gates gave into AOL demands that WeatherBug isn't spyware!

  2. Re:Weatherbug is not awadare on Who Invests in Spyware Companies? · · Score: 1

    Spybot search and destroy. I consider it to have a slight edge over Adaware in finding stuff. Although both will still find things the other may not. Spybot also has very handy tools in it to fix things that neither exactly find, and when you are in the business of removing this stuff, you will absolutely have to be able to remove stuff manually anyways. So I'd say you should use both.

  3. Re:Weatherbug? on Who Invests in Spyware Companies? · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Ouch. The article says that AOL complained to Microsoft over the spyware classification of WeatherBug, and Microsoft is going to remove the signatures for it now.

    Lesson learned by spyware and affliated companies: reputable companies will give in and remove you from their scanner if you pay them off.

    Our lesson: We cannot allow people to trust and buy into Microsoft AntiSpyware when it is starting to sell. (I'd say WinXP for that matter, to begin with, but that will take years to undo the damage already done)

  4. Re:Weatherbug? on Who Invests in Spyware Companies? · · Score: 1

    You're right. They might be doing that now, as I've just seen that occur for the first time on a machine recently.

  5. Re:Gaming on a PC is going away on Does Linux Have Game? · · Score: 1

    If PC gaming is gonna die somehow, then I say it would be only _commercial_ PC gaming. There is not an open console system you can program for yet. So if commercial PC gaming dies, then windows gaming might die, but linux gaming will grow, because linux already has a growing open-source games group (to the gamer it's just lots of free games) and linux has lots of hobbiest programmers. So yes, PC gamers will still be just as geeky, but PC games will be still cheaper. So Linux will likely be a gaming platform that can compete point for point against consoles. So as long as you like computers, you'll likely do PC games. But most people will do both, so I don't see a strong drop in PC gaming -- only the environment will change.

  6. Re:Do I smell bullshit? on Does Linux Have Game? · · Score: 1

    You're right, it is ATI's fault. The point is clear when people were using the DRI driver to play doom3 when the linux port came out. This part of the article irritated me too.

  7. Re:Exactly the problem that a lot of people have on Does Linux Have Game? · · Score: 1

    Wine supports SecuRom (Diablo 2) copy protection for almost 2 years now.

  8. Re:ET runs well on Does Linux Have Game? · · Score: 1

    Grab the latest DRI cvs because it supports hyperZ. DRI is virtually as fast as the official driver now, and I have no problems with speed.

  9. Re:One guy gets sick and an OS project suffers?? on Patrick Volkerding Back to Work · · Score: 1

    That is not what happened. Slackware probably has the most unofficial package contributions besides Red Hat (er maybe Debian too, but *I* don't see many unofficial packages for it). linuxpackages.net [LINK]. Pat designated a way as well on how security updates should be made while he was out. The distro did not simply get stranded -- the community would not allow that. The only reason for the talk about Pat's health and waiting for his return is from our respect of the man.

  10. $100 PC already in stores on Steve Ballmer's $100 PC, Sans Windows · · Score: 1

    My local frys electronics is now advertising a $100 machine. Though granted it is reduced from $200 because of after-thanksgiving sales and it probably has no monitor like most people expect. It does comes with linspire. The price may go back up, but chances are such that it may drop back down to $100 again. The way I see it, $100 PC has already been for some time.

  11. Re:Add Kodak to the boycott list... on Kodak Wins $1 Billion Java Lawsuit · · Score: 1

    o Blizzard/Vivendi Games

    PS Why Creative Labs?

  12. Re:Why I don't even try to play games on Linux on Is the Key to Linux a Games-Based Distro? · · Score: 1

    People see it as this constant linux-has-to-catch-up-to-windows before they stop using windows, and they continue to use windows and buy new programs (thus cycle continues)

  13. Re:Why I don't even try to play games on Linux on Is the Key to Linux a Games-Based Distro? · · Score: 1

    Aha! cdemu is exactly the kernel module I described in the previous message to get emulation working.(though I did also say that it should work with ide). I didn't know about it at the time before you said. Now I don't have to write my own =)

    The current packaged release of cdemu has a bug, it's annoying, but not critical. CVS fixes it, which I am now trying.

    I used cdrdao to create an image of Warcraft III in cue format. The current release has a simple bug in toc2cue, and I fixed that too.

    Load it up in wine, it fails in QSubChannel "no disc". This is the same as when it's mounted through loopback. Reading the source it is apparent wine only supports accessing IDE or SCSI cd-roms. It doesn't know what to do with loopback/cdemu. So either cdemu has to initialize itself on like /dev/hd? or wine needs to be patched (probably better anyway), before I can go further.

    I can mount warcraft III using /dev/cdemu/0 just fine. Seems like cd-emulation works for me, just that wine needs to be patched.

    As for my old argument, I'm not saying that you shouldn't use your old windows programs, but I am saying that if you keep buying new ones, the cycle won't end. Same with cd-copy protection. People see it as this constant linux-has-to-catch-up-to-windows, except that linux is it's own OS and it shouldn't be expected to do the same things. Windows doesn't define what linux should be. Throwing out your windows stuff would be a foolish thing if you had no replacement and I'm not arguing that either.

    I know what daemon-tools is. I used to use it when I had windows. However I thought you were meaning to say you wanted cd-emulation for linux programs just because windows had it. And it would make no sense that you'd use it for linux programs. However if you want to use it for windows games to migrate I have no problem with that. Maybe I read "Why I don't even try to play games on Linux" to mean Linux games, when you were really saying "Why I don't even try to play [Windows] games on linux" which is a slightly different topic for this slashdot article. I play linux games fairly frequently (and read happypenguin and such). So when I approach the topic of linux gaming distro, I think of a distro that has linux games. Maybe this has to do with being a linux user for so long now... =)

  14. Re:Why I don't even try to play games on Linux on Is the Key to Linux a Games-Based Distro? · · Score: 1

    I'm sorry but I frankly find it backwards. I don't have any linux game that requires a CD. Even the ones I have that comes on a CD.

    I'm not saying that using wine is a crutch. I'm saying relying on archaic windows pratices such as CD-cloning under linux is a crutch.

    There's nothing wrong with using wine with a program that doesn't try to restrict your use through copy-protection. But unfortunately people don't realize they don't have to buy a game from a manufacterer on a certain platform that sells broken discs! Buying broken discs tells the manufacterer that it is ok to make broken discs. Don't buy broken discs.

    But if you are like me, which I'm sure you are and still have these old windows games, and don't mind trying to play them on linux, then sure copy protection support might be nice. I can tell you that Warcraft III works perfectly fine under wine, including copy-protection. Unfortunately, virtually no one in the linux world seems to realize this. (maybe this is a good thing) Now that Warcraft III works perfectly under vanilla linux/wine setups, I know that emulating a CD-rom device with an iso file should be ridicously easy. Still, no one has done it. All it would take is writing a linux module to fake an ide-cd on top of a iso9660 loopback OR hacks on wine to trick the program. It would require exposing "circumvention" of the horribly useless copy-protection schemes. It would probably violate the DMCA, perhaps that's why no one has done it.

    But since copy-protection is dependent on windows, and it is always changing, you are always gonna need windows, if you keep buying those games. That's why I say it's a crutch. You just need to let go of buying new games, and then you can sure come on over to linux, and we can get you running with the old games in time... this is what I work on fairly regularly so there is help out there.

  15. Re:Why I don't even try to play games on Linux on Is the Key to Linux a Games-Based Distro? · · Score: 1

    I don't know of any linux game that has copy protection. Even if it did, it would be defeated in open source in an instant.

    I don't know why you need to hold onto your CD-cloning crutch, as it isn't needed in the linux environment*.

    (*Note: I don't consider wine a solution to the game problem, nor a practical thing either, as you have to resort to broken windows practices)

  16. Re:It's simple. on What Differentiates Linux from Windows? · · Score: 1

    Yes. Also try swapping different video cards. Or setting up dual video cards/displays. Or swapping different motherboards. These give problems for windows 2000/XP. Linux does it very easily. PCI configuration has gotten better on windows, but it's still behind, so I still think it is easy to break it. I've never seen a driver disappear or hardware shutoff with no warning on linux. But I have seen that on windows.

  17. Re:It's simple. on What Differentiates Linux from Windows? · · Score: 1

    Hardware installation? You're kidding right? Linux with Hotplug is far better than Windows. I know because I setup linux and windows on the same machine, and linux got all the hardware running on first boot, no questions asked. And I changed hardware later and it is instantly configured again. Windows took several hours. And changing hardware broke the driver system because the kernel is brainless here.

    Dependencies? Sounds like you should try slackware.

    Software installation? Linux has package management. Windows does not. As for finding ready packages and not compiling, just pick a distro that has all the packages, official and unofficial, you need before install. If you can't find one, then linux is not for you I suppose

    I don't think a grandparent is going to run MySQL. Since you are having/had trouble with MySQL, just make sure the installed setup is clean in your distro. But since this argument is part of the "dependencies" issue I think you should try slack again.

  18. Re:Most advanced and powerful? on KDE 3.2.1 Released · · Score: 1

    What is it with Mac OS/X?
    I agree in questioning. And this is coming from someone who learned the "high res GUI" first on Mac OS. At the time I got my first Mac, Windows was also available (well was out the same time the first Mac model anyways), but I just happened to get a Mac first. I was also already experienced in the CLI.

    I didn't find the GUI anything revolutionary. But I did and still do accept the abilities a high resolution GUI does give and it was nice when you needed that sort of thing. I'm sure windows worked the same way, it's just the Mac did it differently.

    Then come a few years later, I got windows. No big deal, just a PC GUI, which it was perfectly capable of. Then many years later I try linux. I try the Linux gui's they're OK. The linux CLI is great. But when I want to use a high res mode, I use TWM, because I find that the best suited for my tastes. Now when I use Mac OS, and now Mac OS X, I find it rather cumbersome to use, this coming from someone who learned first on this OS! When I see people say that Mac OS X is the best, I cringe. Sure you may like Mac OS X, but there is no best UI.

    Since I use TWM, I do like it alot and it works for me, but I'd rather not advocate it because people may not like it. In fact, when people see my linux machine, they think linux IS TWM. Hopefully I would point out there is KDE, and GNOME, so they don't think linux is so archaic (heh-heh). Now in light of the recent KDE release, 3.2, and now 3.2.1, I find KDE a very usuable UI. I'm sure many people like it more than Mac OS X, so there is certainly no best UI.

  19. So you have chosen ignorance on The Impact of Technophobes · · Score: 2, Insightful

    You believe Mac's are a better platform? Fine.

    Try convincing the rest of the world. You'll find that when you tell the next PC user that you only support Mac is that he won't "get it". That is because you won't take the time to go a little bit onto the PC side of the world, and help him through his problem. If you help him through his problem, he might actually gain your trust and consider your advise on Macs. Empathize with him. Don't put him off, or you'll come off as ignorant, and your words will go right past his ears.

    We need more people to help others regardless of situation. Just the first few comments was how to get out of the being-leeched-tech-helper situation. No one becomes any less of a technophobe if they aren't given a chance.

    I support all platforms, even when I hate Mac, and have a strong distate for Windows. But I never approach a question to being, "your using the wrong platform." I fix their problem, and swallow my thoughts before they become words. I recommend ways to keep using their computer without losing IE, OE, for example, or their other old work-horses. I don't force them to change. If they seem interested in alternivates, I may suggest mozilla. It may seem backwards to have them keep using IE and windows, but maybe, I'll save them time and frustration moving to another setup. And it will save me time showing them how to use it. I'll fix the problem, right out, and show that I do have skill, and gain their trust, so maybe I can give them real help when times are more desperate.

    I frankly believe, we need more honest and capable tech support people. And definately not be a bad tech support like some else said, or put them off. Because what will happen, is people will flock to the few that do give honest help, and overload them, or continue picking up the bad apples out of the bunch. If we don't approach being a good tech support seriously, there will continue to be the so called technophobe impact, regardless of what platform.

  20. Re:At least better than the KB article :) on Microsoft Security Patch Fixes URL Security Flaw · · Score: 1

    I wouldn't mind a dialog box to handle it better either, but it's obviously not being consider or not ready yet. Considering how long this took, I don't think we'll see it in quite some time.

  21. Re:At least better than the KB article :) on Microsoft Security Patch Fixes URL Security Flaw · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Read the new knowledge base article for more goodies. They say URL's in username:password format are no longer supported -- I read that as they removed the support for the format to fix the bug! And then read how they suggest to switch scripting (ActiveX?) to prompt before running. So with IE, they no longer have the URL parameters other browsers safely support, and you have to wade through a bunch of "Scripts are normally safe? Run anyways?" popups. =/ Don't seem like a solution for me.

  22. Re:Port Blocking on More MyDoom Gloom · · Score: 1

    Port 25 is blocked inbound for me still. It's been blocked since Aug 2002.

    This goes to show the ports are blocked because of windows worms:
    Cox port blocking

  23. Re:Port Blocking on More MyDoom Gloom · · Score: 1

    To me, it has just been an attempt to make extra bucks. Maybe $30/month didn't cover their costs, and that I can understand, but I haven't seen any real indication so

    Actually, I take that back. Code Red probably wrecked havoc on their network, and caused bills and many headaches. And the first of the restrictions occured after this ended, and the rate increase. It's probably why @home seemed to crash so hard.

  24. Re:Port Blocking on More MyDoom Gloom · · Score: 1

    Thanks for the info. I'm sure it's worth it compared to DSL. But what about bandwidth limitations? Are they gone?

    Though none of this occured during the early period of service and none of this was listed in the agreement (no blocks, no bandwidth usage limits, static ip !). It was $30/month. It wasn't anything promotional either. Now it's $40 with a bunch of limitations. To me, it has just been an attempt to make extra bucks. Maybe $30/month didn't cover their costs, and that I can understand, but I haven't seen any real indication so.

    I guess I could go with DSL if I wanted to be cheap. Less than the business account with Cox, but more than regular Cox. But I don't want the pain of DSL, and it's faster too anyway =)

  25. Re:Port Blocking on More MyDoom Gloom · · Score: 1

    Possibly. But what if you want to use the local sendmail MTA? Yeah sure I can make it send through another MTA, but what if I want to send an email directly? Most sites expect port 25, so there is not one general solution for secondary ports.

    Though it is still irritating, because before, I was sending and receiving email from my machine. No, I was no open relay either.