I mean, what is Vista about these days? First, they gutted out the Monad shell and WinFS, two features that would have possibly made me wait for Vista and get a PC instead of switching to a Mac.
Windows Vista is going to have a ton of innovative features not available anywhere else!:
Windows Aero/Windows Shell (Aqua/Finder clone)
Windows Search (Spotlight clone)
Windows Sidebar (Dashboard clone)
Windows Internet Explorer 7--now with improved web standards support and tabbed-browsing! (Safari clone)
Windows Media Player 11 (iTunes clone)
Windows Calendar (iCal clone)
Windows Photo Gallery (iPhoto clone)
Windows DVD Maker (iDVD clone)
Parental Controls (OS X standard feature)
Speech Recognition (OS X standard feature)
Windows Mail (Mail.app)
Windows Meeting Space (iChat/Apple Remote Deskop)
Until Vista, none of these things have been available to mere mortals! (Well, other than in OS X for years). Don't forget about the new User Account Control which allows users to easily run software under a non-admin account! (Standard feature of OS X). And what about the fun you'll have dealing with product activation, Windows Genuine Advantage, and more restrictive DRM! (Admittedly, Mac OS X has none of these "features").
I don't know why anyone wouldn't want to upgrade to Vista! (Erm, unless the steep hardware requirements will force you to purchase a new computer--so rather than "upgrading to Vista", you are simply "buying a new computer"). So upgrade you hardware, place your pre-orders now and wait until Vista is *finally* released! (Or just head down to your local Apple Store or CompUSA right now and get yourself a Mac and have all these features now plus have the option of dual-booting Windows with BootCamp or running it Parallels).
I have to deal with WebSense on a daily basis. Yes, "proxy avoidance" sites are blocked, but only ones that they know about. The solution is simple: create your own proxy server outside of the filtered network--and keep it secret.
The way I did it was download CGIProxy from my home computer and dropped into the cgi-bin directory of an unfiltered remote webserver that I control. Now whenever some seemingly arbitrary site is blocked (usually under the category of "Personal Sites"), I just go to my own personal (and secret) proxy server and enter the blocked URL. Note: you may have to change all text instances of the word "proxy" within the CGIProxy file to something else for it to work.
MP3 blocking is a little harder to get around, but is possible as WebSense only looks at the extension after the last dot of the filename. The solution is to have your proxy respond to a "fake" URL like "http://somesite.com/somemp3.mp3.prx" and have it pipe the real file located at "http://somesite.com/somemp3.mp3" through the fake URL. I've modified my copy of CGIProxy to do just that, and it works like a champ.
Of course, all this information is for educational purposes only.;)
As a result of this, for me as a Linux user, it is illegal for me to watch movies from "copy-protected" DVDs that I bought and paid for, but it is legal to watch the same movies if I download them off the 'net for free.
Well, it seems to me that your duty is clear. You must stop buying DVDs and get your movies from the tubes--unless, of course, you want to be a criminal.
I remember when Windows 95 came out, with its weak, obviously-an-afterthought "web browser" (IE 3.0).
You remember incorrectly, my friend. Actually, when Windows 95 came out on August 24th, 1995, it didn't even include a web browser. Internet Explorer 2.0 was part of the optional ($49) Plus! pack. (IE 3.0 was later and signified IE's shift away from its NCSA Mosaic roots and down the path of the IE we all came to know and hate).
Tell me about it. I bought a widescreen HDTV CRT set for $3500 six years ago, and every time I've seen the price of plasma screen drop or the quality of LCD screen improve, all I have is the past 72 months of actually enjoying my purchase rather than lamenting what is on the horizon.;)
But then Microsoft perpetrated the crime that is Internet Explorer on the world and broke the platform-agnostic Internet standards in subtle ways. Expect more of the same as MS tries to woo IE defectors back with a seemingly good IE 7--only to eventually break things again with IE 8. (And then let it again languish for years until somebody starts making inroads to its dominance with a superior product).
If I write a program which takes two integers as input and spits out their sum, should I be able to patent it? The reasonable answer is: no; it's just a mathematic algorithm. However, my specific implementation of the algorithm--the particular instructions to the computer of what binary digits to move around--is subject to copyright. And I believe that is all the "intellectual property" protection anyone needs. I don't want anyone using my work without permission or compensation, and copyright takes care of that just fine.
Under the current patent system, it is possible to patent an algorithm if it is "complicated enough". So, at what point does my non-patentable (but nonetheless copyrightable) addition algorithm become patentable? It's not quite clear, but apparently adding "on the Internet" is a valid criteria.
So what is the point of software patents? The only one I can see is: to limit competition; which is neither good for the advancement of the field nor for those dependent on its products. However, it's great at lining the pockets of software patent holders.
Of course we all know that movies looked better on vinyl anyway.
I know you were joking, but there is some truth to that statement. The first letterboxed widescreen home video was released as an RCA SelectaVision video disc. For those who never heard of SelectaVision, it was a video playback system developed by RCA using specialized discs (PVC blended with carbon to allow the disc to be conductive), in which video and audio could be played back using an analog needle groove system similar to a phonograph record.
Most women that I've talked to are convinced that all techie guys are ugly, overweight, unwashed 30-year-old nerds who sit in their parents' basement and look at porn.
Actually, I'm an ugly, skinny, unshaven 29-year-old sitting in my mom's basement and replying to a Slashdot post... but point taken.
If not a full-fledged email harvester, it may well be a simple proof of concept. I went to the above site from a sandboxed browser on an obscure platform and other than an innocent enough looking graphics site, I found it was hosting a webstats4u counter. If not after the (relatively spam-laden) Yahoo email addresses, this may well be what the originator of the virus was targeting--just a test to see what kind of traffic this virus could achieve. Looking at the following graph: Page views per day, it appears the site had virtually no traffic on or before June 10th. All of a sudden (when the virus was released, I assume), it got 34,925 hits on June 11th and then an incredible 149,438 hits on June 12th. Not surprisingly, the majority of this traffic originated from the United States (that is where Yahoo's servers are, right?). Interestingly, 5% of the total hits came from Iran.
The studios listed for HD-DVD are *also* listed for BR ("CYA group"), but Sony's got more lined up for BR only. When little Joey wants his Disney fix in HD, and the parents find out it's only to be had on BR, guess what wins?
Are we forgetting the clusterf*ck that was DIVX (the proprietary pay-per-view "DVD" format)? Disney titles were exclusively on DIVX for awhile too--that is until consumer backlash forced them to support standard DVD.
You obviously never tried to install OS/2 Warp 4 from CD-ROM on a Celeron 600 with an ATI Rage Pro AGP, a SoundBlaster AWE64, a Linksys LNE100TX, and 10GB hard drive in a dual-boot configuration with DOS 6.22/Windows for Workgroups 3.11.
Next you told us MacOS was the only way to make the x86 Intel CPU's work well, then you released a tool so we could all install windows and see it run much faster than MacOS.
If "runs faster on the same hardware" is the metric by which we are determining what is better, then why aren't we all still running DOS or CP/M?
Slashdot Mirror
What I wonder is does this apply to console manufacturers? Because if it does, Nintendo will have to recycle all its Wii's thanks to WEEE.
Windows Aero/Windows Shell (Aqua/Finder clone)
Windows Search (Spotlight clone)
Windows Sidebar (Dashboard clone)
Windows Internet Explorer 7--now with improved web standards support and tabbed-browsing! (Safari clone)
Windows Media Player 11 (iTunes clone)
Windows Calendar (iCal clone)
Windows Photo Gallery (iPhoto clone)
Windows DVD Maker (iDVD clone)
Parental Controls (OS X standard feature)
Speech Recognition (OS X standard feature)
Windows Mail (Mail.app)
Windows Meeting Space (iChat/Apple Remote Deskop)
Until Vista, none of these things have been available to mere mortals! (Well, other than in OS X for years). Don't forget about the new User Account Control which allows users to easily run software under a non-admin account! (Standard feature of OS X). And what about the fun you'll have dealing with product activation, Windows Genuine Advantage, and more restrictive DRM! (Admittedly, Mac OS X has none of these "features").
I don't know why anyone wouldn't want to upgrade to Vista! (Erm, unless the steep hardware requirements will force you to purchase a new computer--so rather than "upgrading to Vista", you are simply "buying a new computer"). So upgrade you hardware, place your pre-orders now and wait until Vista is *finally* released! (Or just head down to your local Apple Store or CompUSA right now and get yourself a Mac and have all these features now plus have the option of dual-booting Windows with BootCamp or running it Parallels).
I have to deal with WebSense on a daily basis. Yes, "proxy avoidance" sites are blocked, but only ones that they know about. The solution is simple: create your own proxy server outside of the filtered network--and keep it secret.
;)
The way I did it was download CGIProxy from my home computer and dropped into the cgi-bin directory of an unfiltered remote webserver that I control. Now whenever some seemingly arbitrary site is blocked (usually under the category of "Personal Sites"), I just go to my own personal (and secret) proxy server and enter the blocked URL. Note: you may have to change all text instances of the word "proxy" within the CGIProxy file to something else for it to work.
MP3 blocking is a little harder to get around, but is possible as WebSense only looks at the extension after the last dot of the filename. The solution is to have your proxy respond to a "fake" URL like "http://somesite.com/somemp3.mp3.prx" and have it pipe the real file located at "http://somesite.com/somemp3.mp3" through the fake URL. I've modified my copy of CGIProxy to do just that, and it works like a champ.
Of course, all this information is for educational purposes only.
Tell me about it. I bought a widescreen HDTV CRT set for $3500 six years ago, and every time I've seen the price of plasma screen drop or the quality of LCD screen improve, all I have is the past 72 months of actually enjoying my purchase rather than lamenting what is on the horizon. ;)
Not unless Spamhaus gets an intergalactic domain name by then...
You're right.
But then Microsoft perpetrated the crime that is Internet Explorer on the world and broke the platform-agnostic Internet standards in subtle ways. Expect more of the same as MS tries to woo IE defectors back with a seemingly good IE 7--only to eventually break things again with IE 8. (And then let it again languish for years until somebody starts making inroads to its dominance with a superior product).
Under the current patent system, it is possible to patent an algorithm if it is "complicated enough". So, at what point does my non-patentable (but nonetheless copyrightable) addition algorithm become patentable? It's not quite clear, but apparently adding "on the Internet" is a valid criteria.
So what is the point of software patents? The only one I can see is: to limit competition; which is neither good for the advancement of the field nor for those dependent on its products. However, it's great at lining the pockets of software patent holders.
It began when websites started to get "dugg".
I think you meant to say: Nintendo, the beleaguered video game console maker...
Well, what about the "Tunes" part? I suggest iTubes Media Store.
iTubes Media Store.
What!? And I just bought a **SUPER RARE** E.T. Atari 2600 cartridge from eBay.
You would have to get FAA clearance to fly it if it does not fall under the classification of an ultralight aircraft.
If not a full-fledged email harvester, it may well be a simple proof of concept. I went to the above site from a sandboxed browser on an obscure platform and other than an innocent enough looking graphics site, I found it was hosting a webstats4u counter. If not after the (relatively spam-laden) Yahoo email addresses, this may well be what the originator of the virus was targeting--just a test to see what kind of traffic this virus could achieve. Looking at the following graph: Page views per day, it appears the site had virtually no traffic on or before June 10th. All of a sudden (when the virus was released, I assume), it got 34,925 hits on June 11th and then an incredible 149,438 hits on June 12th. Not surprisingly, the majority of this traffic originated from the United States (that is where Yahoo's servers are, right?). Interestingly, 5% of the total hits came from Iran.
Area Man Constantly Mentioning He Doesn't Own A Television.
You obviously never tried to install OS/2 Warp 4 from CD-ROM on a Celeron 600 with an ATI Rage Pro AGP, a SoundBlaster AWE64, a Linksys LNE100TX, and 10GB hard drive in a dual-boot configuration with DOS 6.22/Windows for Workgroups 3.11.
I still wake up in cold sweats over that ordeal.
You forgot to add