This is the problem with Linux: What company in their right mind would port to the platform that is both hardest to develop for and has the smallest user base?
I'm not sure, but Sony has managed to convince companies to do it in the console market.
Then again, Sony was first during the previous generation...
Thats for lawyers to spend 4 or 5 years deciding. By then it wont matter because even if Apple loses they'll get fined a few thousand in money off vouchers. Easily worth it to stop jailbreaking for a few years.
Yes, and the lawyers for the prosecution would likely push for an injunction at the start to prevent Apple from selling any devices that have this "feature."
Not the same at all. Google has never claimed they have implemented Java, hasn't licenced the tech from Sun, hasn't used the Java trademark or logo. Microsoft did and proceeded to make their version incompatible. Android uses Java as the programming API but the actual bytecode and VM it runs under is completely different.
Partly this is to skirt around this issue, but also I suspect because it is genuinely more efficient. Dalvik is an incredibly lightweight VM, perfectly suited for its use.
Google's going to run into a few speedbumps. Among them are the following claims from Android's Dev Guide:
"All applications are written using the Java programming language."
This has an implication that the implementation of Android is close enough to Java to implement its quirks, which are likely covered by Oracle patents.
"Android includes a set of core libraries that provides most of the functionality available in the core libraries of the Java programming language."
Same as previous, but this time explicitly naming the class library rather than the language.
However, by far the most damaging quote is this one: "The VM is register-based, and runs classes compiled by a Java language compiler that have been transformed into the.dex format by the included "dx" tool."
Up until this point, Google could have used a different method of doing a number of things internally, bypassing Oracle's patents. However, as soon as it became clear that Google is converting the Sun-compatible* bytecode to Dalvik bytecode, it also became clear that to do so, Google would have to know how Oracle's patented code works, thus said code would be in violation of said patents.
*because it could be compiled by Eclipse or IBM JVMs rather than Sun's
Please, mod up the submitter. Submitting is his good right, and we should reward his efforts.
Please, mod timothy down for accepting a boring, not-even-a-story.
There is a logical disconnect here. You're saying we should mod up the submitter for submitting a story that sucks, and mod down the editor who accepted it? Why wouldn't I mod down both, if only to discourage said behavior from being repeated?
(Yes, I know this is just theoretical, since the story itself and comments are the only things we can mod up/down.)
I was under the impression that very few Windows applications were statically compiled... so why can't this just be updated in whatever shared object it uses again?
I know he says
There may be fixes that can be applied at the OS level, but these are likely to break existing applications.
I honestly don't see why people can't understand the huge difference between requiring malicious software to be installed on your PC by a software updater that _already runs as root and can change any file on the system_ and requiring you to open a malicious Word document.
I honestly don't see why you seem to think that the XOrg vulnerability has something to do with your software updater, rather than being one where any GUI app run by any user can run anything as root.
Hey there , you might want to note that the backup option works for people who want to.. say... back up their current games? It's not an ISO loader, it will allow you to copy games to the hard drive and run them. If you have the disc, you most likely own it. Worst case, you borrowed it from a friend which puts you back on par with a guy who borrows a DVD from his friend an watches it on his player in his house instead of yours.
Most PS3 games already have the option to install to the Hard Drive, and the system itself can back up the contents of the hard drive to any external USB drive.
And since neither of them list Ogg Theora in their codecs on this review and that's what browsers I care about support so far in HTML 5, I'd have to weigh storing videos in multiple codecs...
So, in other words, you were never seriously considering either Flash or Silverlight and just used the article as an excuse to post a comment to evangelize Theora?
More importantly, is there a difference? Red Hat 9 had - and perhaps distros still have - this nice system where cron would, once a day, run programs dropped into a directory in/etc with root privileges. Very useful for various packages that required periodical maintenance; but if a filesystem corruption bug would allow one to link an arbitrary file to those directories...
I assume you mean/etc/cron.daily which is still around, along with its hourly, weekly, and monthly counter-parts.
Interesting article. It's a shame the author hasn't updated it since Windows 7 RC1. As far as we know, some or all of the bugs it mentions have been fixed... or that none of them have been.
Nowhere. But right now it's the most widely adopted and implemented (pretty much everyone but Firefox either does or is planning to support it). Until there is an alternative that all the major browsers support, Firefox is going to continue to lag behind. WebM is promising. But without MS onboard, it's going nowhere.
Really, there are two options:
1. MS chooses to adopt WebM. This is not unreasonable, especially as it starts to get rolled out more across the web. Part of MS's reluctance is probably due to the novelty of the technology.
2. MS doesn't ever adopt WebM. In that case, a FOSS plugin to IE will certainly end up being made (probably by Google, a la Chrome Frame) that adds WebM support, and any sites that use WebM will direct IE users to that plugin.
Either way, I don't see MS's explicit WebM support as a serious hurdle.
Microsoft has already stated that IE9 will support VP8, but will not be bundling the codec with the OS or browser. I would think this would include WebM as well.
If Firefox for doesn't have GPU graphics acceleration it will be a generation behind Microsoft Internet Explorer.
All the Javascript speed in the world won't make up for last generation webpage rendering that nails the CPU while the GPU sits idle.
RTFA
Specifically:
derStandard.at: Firefox 4 is going to use hardware acceleration through Direct2D and DirectWrite on Windows, are similar things coming up for Linux and Mac OS X?
Chris Blizzard: Within what's provided: Yes. We're trying to give the best experience possible on each platform. So for Windows Vista and 7 we see huge improvements when doing certain graphically intensive stuff. On OS X for example we have support for OpenGL for doing compositing, on Linux we do the same. But generally the Windows APIs that we have are better and more rich than what we have on other platforms. To give you an example: On Linux Cairo and Pixman were supposed to be fast, but unfortunately the underlying infrastructure never really got fast. On OS X we are actually pretty fast but Direct2D gives the performance advantage to Windows at the moment.
if they think that Google, who provides about 85% of Mozilla's total revenue, is going to sit back and let them take the technical lead over Chrome, they're nuts.
Except that Google benefits from faster Javascript engines in any browser, not just Chrome. Firefox is a popular browser, and if Firefox can execute Javascript faster, that means that Google's web apps (which I am just going to guess account for more revenue than Chrome) will perform better. It also means that Google could potentially do more, i.e. have heavier Javascript programs, without worrying that people are going to get annoyed at how slow their applications are. How does Google lose here?
Who said Google would lose?
No, Google will still win, but not as big. And that is why Chrome won't just sit there and languish.
I have no iDevices, but one of the destinations on my computer when I'm bored and no friends want to do something is Kongregate. Kongregate is a site that hosts flash games. Thousands upon thousands of Flash games.
While I'm sure SOME of them could be done in HTML5 + JS + canvas, the authoring tools for it just aren't there.
Of course, Kongregate also has an achievements API...
Meanwhile, HTML5 is an open standard meaning that everyone is free to implement it, including... huh... well... maybe IE's engine. Some day. Eventually.
Isn't that the entire point of IE9? I mean, other than trying to recapture the market in order to extinguish it?
And keep in mind Hollywood's interests, says Cote: "They saw what an open format like MP3 did to their music buddies and are not interested in that kind of disruption. People who own movies and TV are going to want as much DRM as possible, and new video formats that don't satisfy those requirements are going to be tough to spread."
So I wonder if this Cote guy is entirely ignorant of public opinion on DRM or if he is just playing the role of a corporate cheerleader using newspeak.
I thought it was clear that he was actually talking about the movie studios (as if they were people) here.
With both IE9 and Safari* picking up their video codecs from the system, and it being incorporated directly into Firefox 4, Opera 10.10, and Chrome 6, I'd have to say VP8.
Point in case: Apple's OS-X 10.3.9 hasn't received updates in years, and afaik is not supported any more by Apple. They want you to pay and install another OS instead. My iBook still works fine though.
It won't, but in my experience, corporate and government offices (which the GGP was talking about) like support contracts, particularly since they are likely to be attached to a network, which in turn is likely connected to the Internet.
Slashdot Mirror
The OS has source I can view, great!
That makes it SO much easier to develop games for. After all, who needs APIs when you can view the OS source?!
(insert sarcmark here)
Really? as funtapaz pointed out, Valve's Doug Lombardi confirmed earlier this month that they were not working on a Linux port.
I'm not sure, but Sony has managed to convince companies to do it in the console market.
Then again, Sony was first during the previous generation...
Yes, and the lawyers for the prosecution would likely push for an injunction at the start to prevent Apple from selling any devices that have this "feature."
Google's going to run into a few speedbumps. Among them are the following claims from Android's Dev Guide:
"All applications are written using the Java programming language."
This has an implication that the implementation of Android is close enough to Java to implement its quirks, which are likely covered by Oracle patents.
"Android includes a set of core libraries that provides most of the functionality available in the core libraries of the Java programming language."
Same as previous, but this time explicitly naming the class library rather than the language.
However, by far the most damaging quote is this one: .dex format by the included "dx" tool."
"The VM is register-based, and runs classes compiled by a Java language compiler that have been transformed into the
Up until this point, Google could have used a different method of doing a number of things internally, bypassing Oracle's patents. However, as soon as it became clear that Google is converting the Sun-compatible* bytecode to Dalvik bytecode, it also became clear that to do so, Google would have to know how Oracle's patented code works, thus said code would be in violation of said patents.
*because it could be compiled by Eclipse or IBM JVMs rather than Sun's
There is a logical disconnect here. You're saying we should mod up the submitter for submitting a story that sucks, and mod down the editor who accepted it? Why wouldn't I mod down both, if only to discourage said behavior from being repeated?
(Yes, I know this is just theoretical, since the story itself and comments are the only things we can mod up/down.)
I was under the impression that very few Windows applications were statically compiled... so why can't this just be updated in whatever shared object it uses again?
I know he says
but what and why?
I honestly don't see why you seem to think that the XOrg vulnerability has something to do with your software updater, rather than being one where any GUI app run by any user can run anything as root.
Most PS3 games already have the option to install to the Hard Drive, and the system itself can back up the contents of the hard drive to any external USB drive.
So, in other words, you were never seriously considering either Flash or Silverlight and just used the article as an excuse to post a comment to evangelize Theora?
FTFY
Because we, as humans, use a decimal numbering system.
I assume you mean /etc/cron.daily which is still around, along with its hourly, weekly, and monthly counter-parts.
Interesting article. It's a shame the author hasn't updated it since Windows 7 RC1. As far as we know, some or all of the bugs it mentions have been fixed... or that none of them have been.
Google gets let opportunities to collect data from you if you use Firefox than if you use Chrome, hence they don't win as big.
Make StarCraft: Ghost apparently.
Microsoft has already stated that IE9 will support VP8, but will not be bundling the codec with the OS or browser. I would think this would include WebM as well.
RTFA
Specifically:
Who said Google would lose?
No, Google will still win, but not as big. And that is why Chrome won't just sit there and languish.
I have no iDevices, but one of the destinations on my computer when I'm bored and no friends want to do something is Kongregate. Kongregate is a site that hosts flash games. Thousands upon thousands of Flash games.
While I'm sure SOME of them could be done in HTML5 + JS + canvas, the authoring tools for it just aren't there.
Of course, Kongregate also has an achievements API...
Isn't that the entire point of IE9? I mean, other than trying to recapture the market in order to extinguish it?
I thought it was clear that he was actually talking about the movie studios (as if they were people) here.
err... sorry, I meant WebM, not VP8. Whoops.
With both IE9 and Safari* picking up their video codecs from the system, and it being incorporated directly into Firefox 4, Opera 10.10, and Chrome 6, I'd have to say VP8.
*or so I've heard.
It won't, but in my experience, corporate and government offices (which the GGP was talking about) like support contracts, particularly since they are likely to be attached to a network, which in turn is likely connected to the Internet.