Slackware indeed is not easy, but is close to ideal for someone who wants to learn about Linux and *nix in general. Of course, if you really wanted to learn, you could do it yourself and compile, install, and administer the whole system. But Slack is simple enough that, given a noob who can read man pages, the internet, and can do some CLI, he will learn enough without the steep learning curve of, say, LFS.
I don't want to start an Xine vs. MPlayer flame war, but they both do exist, and both aren't bad. I've never really tried to play with them too much but they work. I haven't used Xine in a while, but MPlayer is sweet for DVDs (no menus, though), is network aware, and claims that it is the most complete media player, with codecs and drivers for about everything, a GUI and it wouldn't be too hard to make another frontend. I'll have to try Xine again soon, too. Xine actually has a GTK+ front end. And I think that the GNOME project is working on some sort of multimedia framework, too. XMMS works pretty well too, but is rather light in features, I think. It all depends on what you define as "decent" though. I think, however, that MPlayer is pretty complete if you compile it with a GUI.
Because "everyone" wanted IBM to do it because of its deep pockets and clout. People feel that Red Hat is going to be broke at the end of this and not make it. They are also much smaller, and SCO may be able to finagle a lot out of them. Actually, it makes sense for Red Hat to sue SCO, because SCO is attacking their livelyhood and would be screwed if SCO was able to pull this off. It would be nice to see other distros chip in too. Maybe IBM will join in too.
Think about it. You are running native x86 code, you're just using WINE to provide the API's. Of course, there is more latency (theoretically) by using WINE to provide an abstraction layer above GNU/Linux, and there may be inefficiencies due to the differing models that each OS uses. However, all the filters and stuff is basically algorithm and I/O AFAIK (which isn't much), and the algorithm is still native, and the I/O is good enough, it shouldn't be bad.
Filesharing is indeed not stealing, because stealing only applies to physical things, such as devices, media, etc., not information. Copyright infringement is different because the government defines it as being different.
When you walk into Walmart, pick up Green Day's "Warning" album on the rack and walk out, that is stealing because you are depriving the owner, the store, of the benefits of doing what it wants with the CD, which is selling it. It is not copyright infringement, because nobody in this process copied information at all; it was the media that was taken. The owner of the copyright, Green Day (I know it's really their label, but meh), is not being deprived of the benefits of owning his copyright. My sentance about the CD could apply just as well to a lawnmower.
Now, when you go on Kazaa and download the songs on Green Day's "Warning", you are not stealing because the physical media is already paid for: you worked out a deal with your ISP to let you use their network, and you already paid for you hard drive. However, you are infringing on copyright, because you are indeed depriving Green Day of the benefit of owning the copyright.
Okay, now this may not seem like a big difference, but let me remind you that in the USA, there is a big difference between how property and how information are treated. Property you own until you die, when your will states who gets to be the next owner of your property, a cycle that goes on indefinately. However, as copyright was originally envisioned, any information you create you do not even own. You own an exclusive right to copy it, for a limited amount of time, so that you can profit from it. After that time period, you lose all rights to that information and it reverts to the public domain, where anyone can do anything with it.
I think the idea is that copying of information is totally free, barring the cost of the media to hold it, while copying a device or physical object is very expensive.
So, there is indeed a huge difference between stealing, and copyright infringement, which the RIAA tries to hide by calling the later the former, and using terms like "Intellectual Property", which makes no sense because you don't own the information.
You are correct, but Ogg and Xiph.org have worked it all out:
Q: Isn't vp3 a patented technology?
A: Yes, some portions of the vp3 codec are covered by patents. However, the Xiph.org Foundation has negotiated an irrevocable free license to the vp3 codec for any purpose imaginable on behalf of the public. It is legal to use vp3 in any way you see fit (unless, of course, you're doing something illegal with it in your particular jurisdiction). You are free to download vp3, use it free of charge, implement it in a for-sale product, implement it in a free product, make changes to the source and distribute those changes, or print the source code out and wallpaper your spare room with it. from the Ogg Theora FAQ.
...notation is an accidental issue -- that you can't gain, say, an order of magnitude improvement by chaning notation alone.
Sort of like how things are added to C like dynamically typed object oriented programming (GObject), namespaces (by prefixing functions with a namespace), generic lists, hash tables, UTF-8 string manipulation, etc (GLib), arbitrary precision math (GMP). They are added not by syntax, which may make things somewhat simpler, but not significantly so.
Why is it that DVD's are so easy to copy but so hard to decode or change? The encryption is only on the information and no information is embedded into the DVD media that says "This DVD is magic and can be played". You can easily "cp/dev/dvd dvd.iso" and then "cdrecord dvd.iso", assuming that you have a DVD[+-]R drive. But is impossible to play the DVD on a system that has no closed-source CSS decoder (so you don't break the DMCA) or change the content that you payed for, even if you don't plan on distributing. So, I'm not legally able to play my DVD's on GNU/Linux for no reason at all! Does that make sense?
Bonobogui is a way to turn CORBA servers (the way GNOME allows different programs to talk to each other) into GTK+ widgets (graphical stuff used mostly in GNOME). I have never actually used any of this stuff, but according to EggToolbar and EggMenu, the stock bonobo stuff doesn't allow for cool stuff that is used by browsers a lot:
Some desired toolbar layouts are impossible.
Right aligned items.
items that expand (such as the location bar in a web browser).
I complained about this before, and someone (admittedly on/.) told me to mount ReiserFS with the notail option, to basically stop it from using parts of blocks for different files (I think). I haven't had a problem yet, but I haven't really tested it. Time to open 100+ test files and cycle power a few times, hehehe.:->
Xine isn't bad, but it does take a little while for the plugins to load when it starts. It does compile well under Slackware 9, as it did on 8.1, supports ALSA (go ALSA! I got a non-flakey VIA southbrige sound driver from them:-) ) I couldn't figure out how to get Xine to recognize the decrypting DVD driver though. Oh, and any skipping is not the fault of XMMS, windowmaker, or really anything other than the kernel with preemptibility and latency stuff that should be fixed in 2.6.
I live in probably the last rural area in New Jersey. I personally wish that someone would clean up the cities to make them livable. I wouldn't mind living in the city, but I'm only 17 and not on my own yet, so I don't have that choice. You'd think that in a state with > 1000 people/mile^2 that we would have some sort of public transportation system. But no, we have none at all. You really do need a car to go anywhere.
But New Jersey is also one of the most corrupt states with the most apathetic population, probably due to the massive numbers of New Yorkers who live here but don't care because they work and play in NYC. Therefore, the politicians can break any laws they want and nobody will stand up to them.
The thing that most people don't remember is that the energy comes from somewhere. So what if it doesn't produce any pollution or use any gas? It still uses energy, which probably came from a coal or oil burning power plant, dumping toxic fumes from its smokestack in the midwest so they get stuck over the eastern seaboard and give us cancer and stuff. IANAE (IANA Environmentalist), but I am pretty sure that powerplants are not as regulated to be clean like cars are.
What would be an ideal solution would be a methane or N-ane fuel cell small enough to fit in a car. Of course, it has to be strong enough to last and be quick-starting, not just small. What would be the best for now is a hybrid car because they are much more efficient.
I never realized that you could do real object oriented programming in C until I used GTK+. Admittedly, I'm an ameteur programmer who taught myself C by way of C++ (screwy, ain't it?), but with C you can do all your OOP and with GLib, it's not too bad. I just wish there was decent documentation on GObject, which might be a nice idea to me if I know how to use it. From my viewpoint of not being able to use it, though, it seems very overcomplicated. Oh, and libxml is really a great programming library too.
Seriously, it just feels good when something you put so much work and hope into just clicks. Besides, when you're on as long a trip as Mars Express is, you have to play with something until you get there.
I like the philosophy some people are using here in New Jersey, where nobody cares about how corrupt our government gets. It's called GRIP, or Get Rid of Incumbent Polititians. The theory is that anyone already in office has been corrupted, no matter how good they seem. Therefore, just turn over everybody in all offices before they have time to get too entrenched in the system.
That sounds almost exactly like what they patented. Basically, they patented the idea of a loopback filesystem, by which a file on a filesystem is used as an entire filesystem. Someone needs to take M$ to court. It seems too easy to prove that there was prior art.
Slashdot Mirror
Slackware indeed is not easy, but is close to ideal for someone who wants to learn about Linux and *nix in general. Of course, if you really wanted to learn, you could do it yourself and compile, install, and administer the whole system. But Slack is simple enough that, given a noob who can read man pages, the internet, and can do some CLI, he will learn enough without the steep learning curve of, say, LFS.
Who's that guy who keeps posting "CAUSALITY != CORELATION"? Anyway,
CAUSALITY != CORELATION
I don't want to start an Xine vs. MPlayer flame war, but they both do exist, and both aren't bad. I've never really tried to play with them too much but they work. I haven't used Xine in a while, but MPlayer is sweet for DVDs (no menus, though), is network aware, and claims that it is the most complete media player, with codecs and drivers for about everything, a GUI and it wouldn't be too hard to make another frontend. I'll have to try Xine again soon, too. Xine actually has a GTK+ front end. And I think that the GNOME project is working on some sort of multimedia framework, too. XMMS works pretty well too, but is rather light in features, I think. It all depends on what you define as "decent" though. I think, however, that MPlayer is pretty complete if you compile it with a GUI.
Maybe Homer's CompuGlobalHyperMeganet would have come up with this if Gate hadn't bought him out. Damn you, Bill Gates!
Homer: "I reluctantly accept your proposal."
Gates: "Alright boys. Buy him out!"
I wonder how the tactile feedback is on one of these.
Because "everyone" wanted IBM to do it because of its deep pockets and clout. People feel that Red Hat is going to be broke at the end of this and not make it. They are also much smaller, and SCO may be able to finagle a lot out of them. Actually, it makes sense for Red Hat to sue SCO, because SCO is attacking their livelyhood and would be screwed if SCO was able to pull this off. It would be nice to see other distros chip in too. Maybe IBM will join in too.
Think about it. You are running native x86 code, you're just using WINE to provide the API's. Of course, there is more latency (theoretically) by using WINE to provide an abstraction layer above GNU/Linux, and there may be inefficiencies due to the differing models that each OS uses. However, all the filters and stuff is basically algorithm and I/O AFAIK (which isn't much), and the algorithm is still native, and the I/O is good enough, it shouldn't be bad.
The Universe II: The Search For More Money.
Can I have mine in Hypercube form, please?
Filesharing is indeed not stealing, because stealing only applies to physical things, such as devices, media, etc., not information. Copyright infringement is different because the government defines it as being different.
When you walk into Walmart, pick up Green Day's "Warning" album on the rack and walk out, that is stealing because you are depriving the owner, the store, of the benefits of doing what it wants with the CD, which is selling it. It is not copyright infringement, because nobody in this process copied information at all; it was the media that was taken. The owner of the copyright, Green Day (I know it's really their label, but meh), is not being deprived of the benefits of owning his copyright. My sentance about the CD could apply just as well to a lawnmower.
Now, when you go on Kazaa and download the songs on Green Day's "Warning", you are not stealing because the physical media is already paid for: you worked out a deal with your ISP to let you use their network, and you already paid for you hard drive. However, you are infringing on copyright, because you are indeed depriving Green Day of the benefit of owning the copyright.
Okay, now this may not seem like a big difference, but let me remind you that in the USA, there is a big difference between how property and how information are treated. Property you own until you die, when your will states who gets to be the next owner of your property, a cycle that goes on indefinately. However, as copyright was originally envisioned, any information you create you do not even own. You own an exclusive right to copy it, for a limited amount of time, so that you can profit from it. After that time period, you lose all rights to that information and it reverts to the public domain, where anyone can do anything with it.
I think the idea is that copying of information is totally free, barring the cost of the media to hold it, while copying a device or physical object is very expensive.
So, there is indeed a huge difference between stealing, and copyright infringement, which the RIAA tries to hide by calling the later the former, and using terms like "Intellectual Property", which makes no sense because you don't own the information.
You are correct, but Ogg and Xiph.org have worked it all out:
Q: Isn't vp3 a patented technology?
A: Yes, some portions of the vp3 codec are covered by patents. However, the Xiph.org Foundation has negotiated an irrevocable free license to the vp3 codec for any purpose imaginable on behalf of the public. It is legal to use vp3 in any way you see fit (unless, of course, you're doing something illegal with it in your particular jurisdiction). You are free to download vp3, use it free of charge, implement it in a for-sale product, implement it in a free product, make changes to the source and distribute those changes, or print the source code out and wallpaper your spare room with it.
from the Ogg Theora FAQ.
I believe that Vorbis is done in the same way.
Sort of like how things are added to C like dynamically typed object oriented programming (GObject), namespaces (by prefixing functions with a namespace), generic lists, hash tables, UTF-8 string manipulation, etc (GLib), arbitrary precision math (GMP). They are added not by syntax, which may make things somewhat simpler, but not significantly so.
That's not too much different from C++:WOOHOO!! My name is the magic word for everything!!
Why is it that DVD's are so easy to copy but so hard to decode or change? The encryption is only on the information and no information is embedded into the DVD media that says "This DVD is magic and can be played". You can easily "cp
</rant>
Bonobogui is a way to turn CORBA servers (the way GNOME allows different programs to talk to each other) into GTK+ widgets (graphical stuff used mostly in GNOME). I have never actually used any of this stuff, but according to EggToolbar and EggMenu, the stock bonobo stuff doesn't allow for cool stuff that is used by browsers a lot:
I complained about this before, and someone (admittedly on /.) told me to mount ReiserFS with the notail option, to basically stop it from using parts of blocks for different files (I think). I haven't had a problem yet, but I haven't really tested it. Time to open 100+ test files and cycle power a few times, hehehe. :->
Xine isn't bad, but it does take a little while for the plugins to load when it starts. It does compile well under Slackware 9, as it did on 8.1, supports ALSA (go ALSA! I got a non-flakey VIA southbrige sound driver from them :-) ) I couldn't figure out how to get Xine to recognize the decrypting DVD driver though. Oh, and any skipping is not the fault of XMMS, windowmaker, or really anything other than the kernel with preemptibility and latency stuff that should be fixed in 2.6.
There hasn't been anything good on since Power Rangers displaced Bugs Bunny and The Road Runner. Meep meep!
I live in probably the last rural area in New Jersey. I personally wish that someone would clean up the cities to make them livable. I wouldn't mind living in the city, but I'm only 17 and not on my own yet, so I don't have that choice. You'd think that in a state with > 1000 people/mile^2 that we would have some sort of public transportation system. But no, we have none at all. You really do need a car to go anywhere.
But New Jersey is also one of the most corrupt states with the most apathetic population, probably due to the massive numbers of New Yorkers who live here but don't care because they work and play in NYC. Therefore, the politicians can break any laws they want and nobody will stand up to them.
The thing that most people don't remember is that the energy comes from somewhere. So what if it doesn't produce any pollution or use any gas? It still uses energy, which probably came from a coal or oil burning power plant, dumping toxic fumes from its smokestack in the midwest so they get stuck over the eastern seaboard and give us cancer and stuff. IANAE (IANA Environmentalist), but I am pretty sure that powerplants are not as regulated to be clean like cars are.
What would be an ideal solution would be a methane or N-ane fuel cell small enough to fit in a car. Of course, it has to be strong enough to last and be quick-starting, not just small. What would be the best for now is a hybrid car because they are much more efficient.
Who modded him informative? Of course it won't work because he uses C++ keywords as variable names! IT'S A JOKE! LAUGH!!!
I never realized that you could do real object oriented programming in C until I used GTK+. Admittedly, I'm an ameteur programmer who taught myself C by way of C++ (screwy, ain't it?), but with C you can do all your OOP and with GLib, it's not too bad. I just wish there was decent documentation on GObject, which might be a nice idea to me if I know how to use it. From my viewpoint of not being able to use it, though, it seems very overcomplicated. Oh, and libxml is really a great programming library too.
There's water on Earth?! When did that happen?
Seriously, it just feels good when something you put so much work and hope into just clicks. Besides, when you're on as long a trip as Mars Express is, you have to play with something until you get there.
I like the philosophy some people are using here in New Jersey, where nobody cares about how corrupt our government gets. It's called GRIP, or Get Rid of Incumbent Polititians. The theory is that anyone already in office has been corrupted, no matter how good they seem. Therefore, just turn over everybody in all offices before they have time to get too entrenched in the system.
That sounds almost exactly like what they patented. Basically, they patented the idea of a loopback filesystem, by which a file on a filesystem is used as an entire filesystem. Someone needs to take M$ to court. It seems too easy to prove that there was prior art.