So we will go from being dependent on foreign oil to being dependent on foreign rare-earth metals? So much for alternative energy setting us free from political messes over energy?
Re:Carrier Exclusivity Might Kill It
on
Palm Pre Reviewed
·
· Score: 3, Insightful
> A 6-month exclusivity on Sprint means many people won't purchase one right away. > why limit it to a single CDMA carrier?
Um... think about what you just said for a few minutes. The iPhone is *STILL* exclusive to AT&T. Didn't seem to kill the iPhone. The G1/Android is effectively exclusive to T-Mobile. There are lots of phones that are introduced to a single carrier for a while after launch. I am not saying I like this behavior- I think phones should be completely decoupled from carriers, completely (and without subsidies and contracts). But this is certainly nothing new or unusual. Sprint has always been Palm's greatest champion, so it is only logical they would work out a deal for exclusivity for a while (most people think it will be less than a year).
Sprint needs Palm just as much as Palm needs Sprint- they are both "gambling" on each other. Hopefully they will both do well for taking the chance.
>To activate the phone on Sprint's network (or any other CDMA network for that matter) they would have to take it into a store.
I don't believe that is correct at all. Sprint can and will activate their phones via the phone. You don't have to take it into a store.... they just need to know the ESN you read to them and then they give you a code. Done.
Granted, I much prefer the GSM/SIM type concept, but Sprint and Verizon don't do that. In any case, it is probably a good betn there will be a GSM version of the Pre at some point.
Re:Prepare to be blinded
on
Palm Pre Reviewed
·
· Score: 2, Informative
> Actually it's a pretty useless website that doesn't do anything but mumble some useless facts.
Um, welcome to Marketing 101. And, apparently, the number one use for Flash on websites. It seems that [generally] the more Flash a site or page has, the more useless the content is likely to be to the user.
For *useful* information about the Palm Pre, I suggest going to http://www.precentral.net/ They are a little hyper to post just about everything known to man about the Pre, but there is no lack of useful information (and very little Flash:) )
I suspect the keyboard is going to be extremely similar to the Treo line (it certainly looks like it).
My long experience with Treo's is- yes, the keys are close together, but the keyboard really does work OK for thumb-entry. The Pre's version is nearly identical, just sunken (which might be a problem for some people). That said, I agree with you that it probably would have been better had it slid out the long side (landscape).
There are plenty of reviews of the Pre. The one sited by Slashdot is probably one of the least useful.
when the resolution is at least 1024 wide (1280 preferable) and it can project with more than 10 lumens of light! (Their Macromedia Flash demo thing on the website is waaaaaay optimistic about how bright it will look). The slashvertisement site "specs" also conveniently leaves off critical information such as what resolutions it can accept (and downscale), what types of cables are included, what type of battery and real estimates of battery life, exactly how much power does it pull (can you operate it live with the usb or just charge), what the image latency/persistence is like, how it deals with 4:3 ratios, etc.
4: You can effectively run the application remotely like any other X client (think also- thin clients and multiuser)
5: The application can be administered like other native applications (think: kill, nice, ps, etc)
6: You can't have to purchase a license for MS-Windows
7: You don't have to worry about violating some type of obscure or cryptic license
8: You don't have to throw away half your RAM and many GB of HD space to run a single application (like you do with a VM)
Hey- I think VirtualBox is a really neat technology, and it has come in handy many times. But in many cases it is like bringing in a bulldozer to push aside a handfull of dirt.
The wild concept of Minority Report aside, I wouldn't terribly mind providing my retinal scan (or possibly iris scan) for identification, because I can know and control when my eye is examined. However, I also believe that people should not have to identify themselves for everything, either.
Fingerprints and DNA are a whole different story. Those can be used to monitor and track people's ID without their knowledge or consent. I don't go around leaving my eyes, but we all leave fingerprints and DNA all over the place. You can be a suspect in a crime, just because you happened to be nearby. People can easily plant DNA and fingerprint "evidence". And DNA can be abused for a LOT more things than just ID'ing someone without their knowledge or consent....
All the laws in the world trying to protect privacy will be meaningless... if the government has access to the data, they are GOING to use it. And it is likely big business will, too.
Time to watch GATTACA again (and their vision of the future is nowhere near as bad as it could be).
So, a horse and buggy is an automobile? Well, they didn't have engines back then. But it got one from point A to point B. It seated multiple people. Etc...
Going backwards in time and calling a Libretto a "Netbook" is just about as silly. It didn't have wireless networking, didn't come loaded with Linux, and didn't have solid state storage... dismissing those is throwing away much of the whole concept of a Netbook.
My point was (and still is), that Asus essentially invented the term, and applied it to a particular type of machine with a combined feature set and positioning that didn't really exist before. Even Asus violated the principles of a Netbook when then started making them as large as other sub-notebooks, adding hard drives, loading them with MS Windows, and jacking up the price.
Back when I was drooling over the Libretto, we called them "palmtops", since even the term "sub notebook" had not been invented yet. On the flip side, I think it is funny people calling these desktop-replacement luggables with 17" screens "laptops"... not something *I* would want to try and put on my lap!
You are correct that many of the more recent EEE's fail #4 and #5, and thus are not Netbooks at all, they are just sub-notebooks. But I was never "criticizing" the Libretto. It was what it was. I liked it, too. I have always loved small machines and have used lots of them.
Determining when "Netbooks" arrived completely depends on your definition of what a Netbook is. In my definition, the Libbreto was/is not a "Netbook". Everyone will argue over what makes something a "Netbook" or not. I prefer to base it on concepts and specs from what was FIRST called a Netbook (which were the original Asus EEE's):
1) Physically small sub-notebook 2) Modest processor (compared to low-end main-line) 3) Smaller/lower res screen (smaller than typical sub-notebooks) 4) Solid state hard drive (Flash-based, rugged, lower power) 5) Runs Linux (no additional OS cost, better performance) 6) Lower costs (compared to low-end main-line) 7) Excellent battery life (compared to low-end main-line)
Those are the 7 things that opened the market and created the concept of the "Netbook". I have been running many small, sub-notebooks for well over a decade (Sony, Dell, etc), yet, none of them combined the above elements. They were generally MUCH MORE expensive than other notebooks, had hard drives, forced MS Windows bundled, and mediocre battery life.
Take a Netbook, add more memory, add MS Windows, replace the flash drive with a hard drive, jack the price up 33-50%, and it is still a Netbook? Not to me- it is just a sub-notebook at that point.
If it is that important to you, then "remove" it yourself. Probably the easiest thing to do is to find a thin sheet of plastic the same color as the case and epoxy and small piece of it over the camera. This pretty much permanently disables it and doesn't overly mess up the look of the machine.
Although it sounds interesting, I doubt most people are going to want to look at the world through blue-colored glasses. What would be far more useful would be glasses that the *user* can decide when they turn dark and by how much. 80% of the time I wear sunglasses is in the car, and Transitions and other UV activated glasses are useless for that purpose because they won't change dark.
I also find that polarized sunglasses are *far* more valuable than just plain darkening glasses. Yet, there is no way to have changing, polarized lenses (right now). So.... give me glasses that can change from 100% clear to full polarized (50% dark at least), on-demand, instantly, and I will then get very excited:)
>I could get around most of the constant need for IE by using Crossover Office or IES4Linux. However, more and more sites are requiring IE7 or plugins which don't work in Wine.
That is a legitamate problem. But one that has nothing to do with Linux/FOSS and everything to do with companies designing proprietary websites.
>Running VirtualBox or VMWare works but drags the computer down way too much.
Nonsense. VirtualBox runs MS-Win faster than native MS-Win in every experience I have had with it. As long as you give it (and have) enough RAM, it hardly bothers the host OS at all.
>Since switching the laptop to Vista (after almost two years on openSUSE), I've noticed a few things. First, it never fails to connect to my wireless (WPA encrypted/no SSID broadcast) network at home. Under openSUSE, I would routinely connect instead to my neighbor's network and have serious trouble connecting to mine, unless I went to the CLI and typed in su rcnetwork restart.
I agree that wireless HAS been a continuous, royal, PITA for many people. At least my experience hasn't bee that bad, because I simply don't use WPA, and my laptops do seem to all work much, much better with general wireless than 5 years ago. Some of the wireless problems have been the "fault" of Linux, and others are the fault of hardware manufacturers.
On a similar note, my experience with Linux suspend/resume has been pretty dismal at times; yet stellar on others. On many laptops running more recent Linux, it works great. On others, it is completely broken, unreliable, or just slower than doing a real shut-down and later clean boot.
>Second, I can now finally fill in PDF forms and save teh data. You wouldnt' think this was a big deal, but it is for me. (I'm a PHB.) There is an OSS java program but it would routinely fail for me.
You can do this under Linux by simply printing the PDF to a file, which creates postscript. You can then use ps2pdf to turn it right back into a PDF. It isn't perfect, but I have done it many times.
>Third, I can actually get on my corporate WAN via the new Juniper web-based VPN. (Yes, I've written to Juniper to ask them not to use ActiveX for this.)
Yep- VPN's are, again, a PITA. And again, not Linux's fault but proprietary software corporations' refusal to support Linux. Of course,the typical end user don't care WHY it doesn't work, it just doesn't work and they blame it on Linux. Either way, the user is still "stuck".
>Fourth, flash based and java based web applications work faster and better.
That has not been my experience. But experience will vary- depending on sites, programs, etc.
>Now, in fairness, I've had my share of issues. After installing Office2007 (only because OOo 3.x doesn't support comments and versions in documents)
OO does, indeed support versioning and comments. And that support is quite strong. It might not work the same was as MS-Office, but don't claim it isn't there. Edit->changes. Edit->changes->comments. Edit->compare. File->versions.
>I started crashing. I even got a few bluescreens. Also, on about every other day, my laptop will simply shut off. I have no idea why.
That *has* been my experience with many, many MS-Windows machines. Again, it is not always the case, but there is a reason that stereotype has permeated.
>Mark me down as a troll if you wish, this is simply my $0.02.
I don't think you are a troll. You have overstepped some facts a few times, but generally are just telling your experience. I think it underlines what I have been saying for many, many years:
The problem with Linux/FOSS has much less to do with what Linux/FOSS capabilities and design and much more with limitations placed on it by companies who design software and hardware with little or no concern for Linux/FOSS or how it affects interoperability. What came first- the chicken or the egg.
I don't think Handbrake will work with ARCCOS and other types of copy protection based on intentionally corrupting certain DVD sectors. So it might not be "all you need".
In any case, the HandBrake site has a Linux command line binary that will run on most any Linux. But the GUI version (ghb) is only offered as a.deb. And even if you use "alien" to install it on non-Debian based distros, it might not work (ghb: error while loading shared libraries: libxcb-render-util.so.0: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory).
I didn't invent or originally define what a "Netbook" was. Companies like Asus did.
An 11" 1.6Ghz 2GB RAM, 160GB hard drive, XP notebook is not a "Netbook". It is just a small notebook, no different than the small (sub) notebooks that have been out for many years before the term "Netbook" came on the scene to describe a non-MS-Windows, small, inexpensive, flash based sub-notebook.
So, the answer to the questions is: just change the definition of a "netbook" to the same specs as a regular entry-level notebook, ressurect XP, give XP away for nearly free, and then marvel at the market penetration. Sorry, I am not impressed.
>What's to stop you pulling the hard drive out and making a backup?
Because
1) That would void the warranty 2) It is not easy 3) It requires a large drive 4) It would take forever, because it is not backing up just the settings 5) It can't be used to restore settings to another TiVo because of DRM & serial numbers 6) It requires taking the system down
I am sure there are lots of other reasons I didn't think of right now...
I want to plug in a USB key (prob 1GB or larger is enough), click a few buttons on the remote, and a few minutes later have everything that makes the TiVo my TiVo on the key (except the video, of course). Then if my TiVo fails, when it is repaired or replaced, I put in the key and say "restore from key" and wham, I am back in business!
I simply don't understand why there is still no such option!
Sorry, but this just sounds incredibly stupid.. a feature I (and probably 99% of people) would NEVER use on my TiVo.
I do wish they would concentrate on features that matter. Instead of worrying about 30 seconds in the future, why not plan for months or years in the future..... For example, why is it that I can't backup my programming of my TiVo HD to a USB drive? Like many customers, I have spent many, many hours customizing channels, season passes, ratings, searches, and other settings. When the hard drive fails, it will all be lost forever.
Knock on wood- my TiVo HD has never failed yet, but all my other TiVos have, over the years, because hard drives fail.
This is not to say they don't add nice features... I just streamed a movie from Netflix in HD to the TiVo HD and it was better looking than Cox Cable's HD! Neat.
>But for the actual browsing experience, IE8 has the upper hand-- for now
Perhaps for the moment. But it has NO upper hand at all if you are not running MS Windows. If you are using Linux, BSD, Solaris, MacOS, or any other system, IE is not, has not, and will not be an option.
1) I wouldn't say it was "obvious" that you can't run XP Home under VM. I bet if you asked people (only that even know what a VM is) maybe 80+% had no clue it wasn't within the license. *I* didn't know you couldn't legally do that until a few years ago (granted, I avoid using MS-Windows as much as humanly possible, but there was a case I had to set up some XP-under-Linux machines and had to determine which MS-Windows licenses to buy; that is how I learned).
2) You are right that I didn't click on the link, though- now I did, and it lists all MS-Windows products, it is not a pointer to just Pro or Ultimate. Plus, that $89 price is an illegal sale of a Dell OEM license. OEM licenses, branded and customized by OEM's, are NOT allowed to be sold separately nor run on other (in this case Dell) platforms. A more realistic street price for a non-locked-to-platform XP Pro OEM is $140 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116515
3) I didn't mention IEs4Linux, although I should have- I have used it in the past. Sometimes it works great, sometimes not. But it is certainly a nice option to have when you simply must use IE under Linux.
4) I only mentioned Linux, because it seemed like he knew what he was doing and could benefit from running MS-Windows 2000 under Linux instead of under another MS-Windows. It would all be free, and give him even more options to use. But he certainly could also use Virtualbox, free, under MS-Windows to run another MS-Windows.
5) You're welcome for mentioning Linux.
6) You are right, I should have ignored the Anonymous Coward. Sometimes I am a sucker.
Technically, MS-Windows XP Home is "not allowed" to be run in a virtual session. Read the license. You have to use the more expensive MS-Windows XP Pro or ultimate, and even then, there are draconian restrictions.
Me? I just use Linux. Free. And no need to have snapshots in a VM to protect my system from typical MS-Windows snafu's. But if you want, you can run MS-Win under Virtualbox under Linux; also free, but in addition, it is open source (while just as fast and capable).
Load up Linux and Virtualbox. Then you can run any number of MS-Windows snapshots under it as needed. If you get infected, just revert to a previous snapshot and your problem is solved.... instantly.
Meanwhile, you have the opportunity to learn and experiment with a newer, more enjoyable, free, and open OS (and VM) instead of just being "stuck" with MS-Windows 2000. And it will be an OS that will likely not be compromised by virii, spyware, and malware.
Slashdot Mirror
Oh fun... what irony.
So we will go from being dependent on foreign oil to being dependent on foreign rare-earth metals? So much for alternative energy setting us free from political messes over energy?
> A 6-month exclusivity on Sprint means many people won't purchase one right away.
> why limit it to a single CDMA carrier?
Um... think about what you just said for a few minutes. The iPhone is *STILL* exclusive to AT&T. Didn't seem to kill the iPhone. The G1/Android is effectively exclusive to T-Mobile. There are lots of phones that are introduced to a single carrier for a while after launch. I am not saying I like this behavior- I think phones should be completely decoupled from carriers, completely (and without subsidies and contracts). But this is certainly nothing new or unusual. Sprint has always been Palm's greatest champion, so it is only logical they would work out a deal for exclusivity for a while (most people think it will be less than a year).
Sprint needs Palm just as much as Palm needs Sprint- they are both "gambling" on each other. Hopefully they will both do well for taking the chance.
>To activate the phone on Sprint's network (or any other CDMA network for that matter) they would have to take it into a store.
I don't believe that is correct at all. Sprint can and will activate their phones via the phone. You don't have to take it into a store.... they just need to know the ESN you read to them and then they give you a code. Done.
Granted, I much prefer the GSM/SIM type concept, but Sprint and Verizon don't do that. In any case, it is probably a good betn there will be a GSM version of the Pre at some point.
> Actually it's a pretty useless website that doesn't do anything but mumble some useless facts.
Um, welcome to Marketing 101.
And, apparently, the number one use for Flash on websites. It seems that [generally] the more Flash a site or page has, the more useless the content is likely to be to the user.
For *useful* information about the Palm Pre, I suggest going to http://www.precentral.net/ They are a little hyper to post just about everything known to man about the Pre, but there is no lack of useful information (and very little Flash :) )
I suspect the keyboard is going to be extremely similar to the Treo line (it certainly looks like it).
My long experience with Treo's is- yes, the keys are close together, but the keyboard really does work OK for thumb-entry. The Pre's version is nearly identical, just sunken (which might be a problem for some people). That said, I agree with you that it probably would have been better had it slid out the long side (landscape).
There are plenty of reviews of the Pre. The one sited by Slashdot is probably one of the least useful.
when the resolution is at least 1024 wide (1280 preferable) and it can project with more than 10 lumens of light! (Their Macromedia Flash demo thing on the website is waaaaaay optimistic about how bright it will look). The slashvertisement site "specs" also conveniently leaves off critical information such as what resolutions it can accept (and downscale), what types of cables are included, what type of battery and real estimates of battery life, exactly how much power does it pull (can you operate it live with the usb or just charge), what the image latency/persistence is like, how it deals with 4:3 ratios, etc.
Neat product though!
4: You can effectively run the application remotely like any other X client (think also- thin clients and multiuser)
5: The application can be administered like other native applications (think: kill, nice, ps, etc)
6: You can't have to purchase a license for MS-Windows
7: You don't have to worry about violating some type of obscure or cryptic license
8: You don't have to throw away half your RAM and many GB of HD space to run a single application (like you do with a VM)
Hey- I think VirtualBox is a really neat technology, and it has come in handy many times. But in many cases it is like bringing in a bulldozer to push aside a handfull of dirt.
The wild concept of Minority Report aside, I wouldn't terribly mind providing my retinal scan (or possibly iris scan) for identification, because I can know and control when my eye is examined. However, I also believe that people should not have to identify themselves for everything, either.
Fingerprints and DNA are a whole different story. Those can be used to monitor and track people's ID without their knowledge or consent. I don't go around leaving my eyes, but we all leave fingerprints and DNA all over the place. You can be a suspect in a crime, just because you happened to be nearby. People can easily plant DNA and fingerprint "evidence". And DNA can be abused for a LOT more things than just ID'ing someone without their knowledge or consent....
All the laws in the world trying to protect privacy will be meaningless... if the government has access to the data, they are GOING to use it. And it is likely big business will, too.
Time to watch GATTACA again (and their vision of the future is nowhere near as bad as it could be).
So, a horse and buggy is an automobile? Well, they didn't have engines back then. But it got one from point A to point B. It seated multiple people. Etc...
Going backwards in time and calling a Libretto a "Netbook" is just about as silly. It didn't have wireless networking, didn't come loaded with Linux, and didn't have solid state storage... dismissing those is throwing away much of the whole concept of a Netbook.
My point was (and still is), that Asus essentially invented the term, and applied it to a particular type of machine with a combined feature set and positioning that didn't really exist before. Even Asus violated the principles of a Netbook when then started making them as large as other sub-notebooks, adding hard drives, loading them with MS Windows, and jacking up the price.
Back when I was drooling over the Libretto, we called them "palmtops", since even the term "sub notebook" had not been invented yet. On the flip side, I think it is funny people calling these desktop-replacement luggables with 17" screens "laptops"... not something *I* would want to try and put on my lap!
You are correct that many of the more recent EEE's fail #4 and #5, and thus are not Netbooks at all, they are just sub-notebooks. But I was never "criticizing" the Libretto. It was what it was. I liked it, too. I have always loved small machines and have used lots of them.
Determining when "Netbooks" arrived completely depends on your definition of what a Netbook is. In my definition, the Libbreto was/is not a "Netbook". Everyone will argue over what makes something a "Netbook" or not. I prefer to base it on concepts and specs from what was FIRST called a Netbook (which were the original Asus EEE's):
1) Physically small sub-notebook
2) Modest processor (compared to low-end main-line)
3) Smaller/lower res screen (smaller than typical sub-notebooks)
4) Solid state hard drive (Flash-based, rugged, lower power)
5) Runs Linux (no additional OS cost, better performance)
6) Lower costs (compared to low-end main-line)
7) Excellent battery life (compared to low-end main-line)
Those are the 7 things that opened the market and created the concept of the "Netbook". I have been running many small, sub-notebooks for well over a decade (Sony, Dell, etc), yet, none of them combined the above elements. They were generally MUCH MORE expensive than other notebooks, had hard drives, forced MS Windows bundled, and mediocre battery life.
Take a Netbook, add more memory, add MS Windows, replace the flash drive with a hard drive, jack the price up 33-50%, and it is still a Netbook? Not to me- it is just a sub-notebook at that point.
If it is that important to you, then "remove" it yourself. Probably the easiest thing to do is to find a thin sheet of plastic the same color as the case and epoxy and small piece of it over the camera. This pretty much permanently disables it and doesn't overly mess up the look of the machine.
Although it sounds interesting, I doubt most people are going to want to look at the world through blue-colored glasses. What would be far more useful would be glasses that the *user* can decide when they turn dark and by how much. 80% of the time I wear sunglasses is in the car, and Transitions and other UV activated glasses are useless for that purpose because they won't change dark.
I also find that polarized sunglasses are *far* more valuable than just plain darkening glasses. Yet, there is no way to have changing, polarized lenses (right now). So.... give me glasses that can change from 100% clear to full polarized (50% dark at least), on-demand, instantly, and I will then get very excited :)
>I could get around most of the constant need for IE by using Crossover Office or IES4Linux. However, more and more sites are requiring IE7 or plugins which don't work in Wine.
That is a legitamate problem. But one that has nothing to do with Linux/FOSS and everything to do with companies designing proprietary websites.
>Running VirtualBox or VMWare works but drags the computer down way too much.
Nonsense. VirtualBox runs MS-Win faster than native MS-Win in every experience I have had with it. As long as you give it (and have) enough RAM, it hardly bothers the host OS at all.
>Since switching the laptop to Vista (after almost two years on openSUSE), I've noticed a few things. First, it never fails to connect to my wireless (WPA encrypted/no SSID broadcast) network at home. Under openSUSE, I would routinely connect instead to my neighbor's network and have serious trouble connecting to mine, unless I went to the CLI and typed in su rcnetwork restart.
I agree that wireless HAS been a continuous, royal, PITA for many people. At least my experience hasn't bee that bad, because I simply don't use WPA, and my laptops do seem to all work much, much better with general wireless than 5 years ago. Some of the wireless problems have been the "fault" of Linux, and others are the fault of hardware manufacturers.
On a similar note, my experience with Linux suspend/resume has been pretty dismal at times; yet stellar on others. On many laptops running more recent Linux, it works great. On others, it is completely broken, unreliable, or just slower than doing a real shut-down and later clean boot.
>Second, I can now finally fill in PDF forms and save teh data. You wouldnt' think this was a big deal, but it is for me. (I'm a PHB.) There is an OSS java program but it would routinely fail for me.
You can do this under Linux by simply printing the PDF to a file, which creates postscript. You can then use ps2pdf to turn it right back into a PDF. It isn't perfect, but I have done it many times.
>Third, I can actually get on my corporate WAN via the new Juniper web-based VPN. (Yes, I've written to Juniper to ask them not to use ActiveX for this.)
Yep- VPN's are, again, a PITA. And again, not Linux's fault but proprietary software corporations' refusal to support Linux. Of course,the typical end user don't care WHY it doesn't work, it just doesn't work and they blame it on Linux. Either way, the user is still "stuck".
>Fourth, flash based and java based web applications work faster and better.
That has not been my experience. But experience will vary- depending on sites, programs, etc.
>Now, in fairness, I've had my share of issues. After installing Office2007 (only because OOo 3.x doesn't support comments and versions in documents)
OO does, indeed support versioning and comments. And that support is quite strong. It might not work the same was as MS-Office, but don't claim it isn't there. Edit->changes. Edit->changes->comments. Edit->compare. File->versions.
>I started crashing. I even got a few bluescreens. Also, on about every other day, my laptop will simply shut off. I have no idea why.
That *has* been my experience with many, many MS-Windows machines. Again, it is not always the case, but there is a reason that stereotype has permeated.
>Mark me down as a troll if you wish, this is simply my $0.02.
I don't think you are a troll. You have overstepped some facts a few times, but generally are just telling your experience. I think it underlines what I have been saying for many, many years:
The problem with Linux/FOSS has much less to do with what Linux/FOSS capabilities and design and much more with limitations placed on it by companies who design software and hardware with little or no concern for Linux/FOSS or how it affects interoperability. What came first- the chicken or the egg.
I don't think Handbrake will work with ARCCOS and other types of copy protection based on intentionally corrupting certain DVD sectors. So it might not be "all you need".
In any case, the HandBrake site has a Linux command line binary that will run on most any Linux. But the GUI version (ghb) is only offered as a .deb. And even if you use "alien" to install it on non-Debian based distros, it might not work (ghb: error while loading shared libraries: libxcb-render-util.so.0: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory).
If you need an RPM that will work on Mandriva, and probably on Fedora & SuSe, see this: http://home.linuxtech.net/downloads/handbrake_mandriva_rpm.html it is a build from SVN, but it seems to work.
I didn't invent or originally define what a "Netbook" was. Companies like Asus did.
An 11" 1.6Ghz 2GB RAM, 160GB hard drive, XP notebook is not a "Netbook". It is just a small notebook, no different than the small (sub) notebooks that have been out for many years before the term "Netbook" came on the scene to describe a non-MS-Windows, small, inexpensive, flash based sub-notebook.
How is it possible? Because what MS (and many companies) are calling a "netbook" are *NOT* netbooks. Netbooks were supposed to be:
1) Small, light
2) Inexpensive
3) Lower specs/speed/ram/resolution
4) Solid state storage
and in all original incarnations
5) Linux based
So, the answer to the questions is: just change the definition of a "netbook" to the same specs as a regular entry-level notebook, ressurect XP, give XP away for nearly free, and then marvel at the market penetration. Sorry, I am not impressed.
>What's to stop you pulling the hard drive out and making a backup?
Because
1) That would void the warranty
2) It is not easy
3) It requires a large drive
4) It would take forever, because it is not backing up just the settings
5) It can't be used to restore settings to another TiVo because of DRM & serial numbers
6) It requires taking the system down
I am sure there are lots of other reasons I didn't think of right now...
I want to plug in a USB key (prob 1GB or larger is enough), click a few buttons on the remote, and a few minutes later have everything that makes the TiVo my TiVo on the key (except the video, of course). Then if my TiVo fails, when it is repaired or replaced, I put in the key and say "restore from key" and wham, I am back in business!
I simply don't understand why there is still no such option!
Sorry, but this just sounds incredibly stupid.. a feature I (and probably 99% of people) would NEVER use on my TiVo.
I do wish they would concentrate on features that matter. Instead of worrying about 30 seconds in the future, why not plan for months or years in the future..... For example, why is it that I can't backup my programming of my TiVo HD to a USB drive? Like many customers, I have spent many, many hours customizing channels, season passes, ratings, searches, and other settings. When the hard drive fails, it will all be lost forever.
Knock on wood- my TiVo HD has never failed yet, but all my other TiVos have, over the years, because hard drives fail.
This is not to say they don't add nice features... I just streamed a movie from Netflix in HD to the TiVo HD and it was better looking than Cox Cable's HD! Neat.
You don't need a lot of cores for VM hosts. But you do need lots of RAM, since each VM can take a huge chunk.
So, essentially, you don't need anything "special" hardware wise to use VM's. And I recommend using Linux + VirtualBox. http://www.virtualbox.org/
>But for the actual browsing experience, IE8 has the upper hand-- for now
Perhaps for the moment. But it has NO upper hand at all if you are not running MS Windows. If you are using Linux, BSD, Solaris, MacOS, or any other system, IE is not, has not, and will not be an option.
Wake me up when it is multi-platform...
1) I wouldn't say it was "obvious" that you can't run XP Home under VM. I bet if you asked people (only that even know what a VM is) maybe 80+% had no clue it wasn't within the license. *I* didn't know you couldn't legally do that until a few years ago (granted, I avoid using MS-Windows as much as humanly possible, but there was a case I had to set up some XP-under-Linux machines and had to determine which MS-Windows licenses to buy; that is how I learned).
2) You are right that I didn't click on the link, though- now I did, and it lists all MS-Windows products, it is not a pointer to just Pro or Ultimate. Plus, that $89 price is an illegal sale of a Dell OEM license. OEM licenses, branded and customized by OEM's, are NOT allowed to be sold separately nor run on other (in this case Dell) platforms. A more realistic street price for a non-locked-to-platform XP Pro OEM is $140 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116515
3) I didn't mention IEs4Linux, although I should have- I have used it in the past. Sometimes it works great, sometimes not. But it is certainly a nice option to have when you simply must use IE under Linux.
4) I only mentioned Linux, because it seemed like he knew what he was doing and could benefit from running MS-Windows 2000 under Linux instead of under another MS-Windows. It would all be free, and give him even more options to use. But he certainly could also use Virtualbox, free, under MS-Windows to run another MS-Windows.
5) You're welcome for mentioning Linux.
6) You are right, I should have ignored the Anonymous Coward. Sometimes I am a sucker.
Oh yes, and your anonymous coward comments were so constructive and on-topic too.
Technically, MS-Windows XP Home is "not allowed" to be run in a virtual session. Read the license. You have to use the more expensive MS-Windows XP Pro or ultimate, and even then, there are draconian restrictions.
Me? I just use Linux. Free. And no need to have snapshots in a VM to protect my system from typical MS-Windows snafu's. But if you want, you can run MS-Win under Virtualbox under Linux; also free, but in addition, it is open source (while just as fast and capable).
Load up Linux and Virtualbox. Then you can run any number of MS-Windows snapshots under it as needed. If you get infected, just revert to a previous snapshot and your problem is solved.... instantly.
Meanwhile, you have the opportunity to learn and experiment with a newer, more enjoyable, free, and open OS (and VM) instead of just being "stuck" with MS-Windows 2000. And it will be an OS that will likely not be compromised by virii, spyware, and malware.