Regardless this is fantastic news, it's been a many, many years since we've seen genuine competition in the OS market.
Really? I've been reading articles for YEARS about how Linux was Microsoft's biggest threat. Starting with those insane "Linux IPOs" in 1999/2000. And Microsoft pointed at Linux in the anti-trust trial. (ok, that was self-serving, but it ended up being true anyway). This isn't really anything new at this point. The numbers are just confirming it.
I've had an iPaq 3650 in a dual-pcmcia sleeve, running handhelds.org Linux as my wireless router for several years. I've never had to reboot it, either. It's silent, fits on my windowsill, and has a built-in UPS.:)
That's true, and I certainly wasn't intending to minimize that. My post was specifically referring to the value adds that give people a reason to buy their product instead of using the free version of wine.
They not only contribute, they employ full-time the Wine maintainer! Anyone who disses on Codeweavers for being "proprietary" is either a troll, or doesn't have a good handle on the facts. (probably both)
Actually because Wine is LGPL, Codeweavers is forbidden to make proprietary changes to the main codebase (and they supported this change, it used to be a more liberal license). All the really do is package it up, make nice installers, provide support, same as any other "good" company based on FOSS software.
MS Office has been runnable with Wine for years, so your argument kinda goes down the drain.
On Sprint, it's easy to get around the ringtone expiration, at least on some phones. Just grab a data cable, a copy of BitPim and you can back up all the files on your phone. Then, you can send the ringtone back to your phone later. Bye-bye expiration date.
Have you tried Netfront? I've never used the PocketPC version, but I use the Linux version on my Zaurus and I like it very much. Way better than Pocket IE and it does an excellent job of formatting pages.
Too bad it's commercialware. There are some small enhancements I'd like to make...
The Zaurus, and other embedded Linux distros tend to use Qtopia instead of X. Although X can be installed, it's sort of a power user thing right now, and believe it or not, not all Zaurus owners are Linux experts, and some who are don't want to deal with all the extra bloat that installing X requires. Minimo would gain a lot of users if they made a Qtopia port.
I believe the Yahoo case I mentioned proves otherwise. IANAL, but I have taken some law classes, and jurisdiction issues are far more complicated than your argument would imply. Its one thing to sue a someone in your own country and get a judgement against them. Its quite another thing to enforce it.
Just another case of France trying to impose its laws on an American company. When will they learn that nobody else cares? It was like that case where they sued Yahoo over Nazi images, won in French court, and then Yahoo got a US judge to say they didn't have to follow the order.
I've been thinking about buying a new Dell laptop. Most of them come with a choice of Intel or Broadcom wireless adapters. Now, the availability of an Intel open source driver is good news, however, the Broadcom adapters offer better performance (802.11g vs 802.11b) and lower power usage for the same price.
I'll probably be modded to hell for saying this, but I think I would still buy the Broadcom, since it can also be made to work using the various NDIS wrapper projects.
I think the issue of backwards compatibility is going to give Sony a huge advantage. In the case of the PS2, the compatibility with PS1 cames gave it a big headstart in terms of supported titles. Given that Microsoft is going to find it hard to maintain compatibility with the Xbox 1, (see article) , Sony should press that advantage for all its worth. It makes the consumer feel like they're getting the most bang for the buck when their shiny new toy works with old games as well as new games.
I used Java stored procedures a lot back when I was working at a.com. For someone who's already using Java its a lot easier than learning each database vendors proprietary language. It's also good for keeping MySQL feature competitive with open source dbs, since Java stored prcedures have already been implemented for PostgreSQL
The sad thing is, this depends on so many technicalities, it is not likely there will be another "victory" like this for a long time to come, becuase the relevant laws have all been strengthened in the last 20 years. In the US, Copyright lasts (practically) forever now, with no registration or renewal requirements. Unless there is a major shift in the laws, there is nothing being produced today that will come this close to becoming public domain in 20-30 years.
So, while I'm glad the MT-32 emulation project can continue, I don't see much chance of any other more cheerful stories like this coming out.
Is a multimedia machine running Linux, with a DVD drive, and all the right connections for HDTV (SPDIF, component video, etc) onto which mplayer or xine is either pre-installed, or easily installed via an "unofficial" update (for legal reasons) Furthermore, I want it to have the appearance of a DVD player box so it fits in comfortably with the other equipment. A hacked X-Box comes close, but I want a machine that is
1) more professional looking 2) that is actually intended for this use (don't want to fiddle with mod chips, warentee voiding, etc).
but the payment should be non-monetary. It should be something that most people think of as free: time and CPU cycles. There have been various schemes to this effect proposed, but most people still seem to be unaware of it. It requires no money, and no centralization, and doesn't interfere with the anonyminity of email. The basic idea is, that if your SMTP server tries to send me an email, and you are not on my whitelist, my server responds with a challenge of a "moderately" hard problem. Something like factoring the product of two 50 digit primes. Once this is done, you can send me the email.
This system could be put in place at most ISPs transparently, users who send a few emails a day won't notice the difference, but suddenly the spammers can't just sit in their bedroom with a 486 and spew millions of spams a day anymore.
Slashdot Mirror
Regardless this is fantastic news, it's been a many, many years since we've seen genuine competition in the OS market.
Really? I've been reading articles for YEARS about how Linux was Microsoft's biggest threat. Starting with those insane "Linux IPOs" in 1999/2000. And Microsoft pointed at Linux in the anti-trust trial. (ok, that was self-serving, but it ended up being true anyway). This isn't really anything new at this point. The numbers are just confirming it.
I've had an iPaq 3650 in a dual-pcmcia sleeve, running handhelds.org Linux as my wireless router for several years. I've never had to reboot it, either. It's silent, fits on my windowsill, and has a built-in UPS. :)
That's true, and I certainly wasn't intending to minimize that. My post was specifically referring to the value adds that give people a reason to buy their product instead of using the free version of wine.
They not only contribute, they employ full-time the Wine maintainer! Anyone who disses on Codeweavers for being "proprietary" is either a troll, or doesn't have a good handle on the facts. (probably both)
Actually because Wine is LGPL, Codeweavers is forbidden to make proprietary changes to the main codebase (and they supported this change, it used to be a more liberal license). All the really do is package it up, make nice installers, provide support, same as any other "good" company based on FOSS software.
MS Office has been runnable with Wine for years, so your argument kinda goes down the drain.
That URL should be
http://bitpim.sf.net
/me bangs head on wall.
On Sprint, it's easy to get around the ringtone expiration, at least on some phones. Just grab a data cable, a copy of BitPim and you can back up all the files on your phone. Then, you can send the ringtone back to your phone later. Bye-bye expiration date.
Sorry to reply to my own post, but here's a review if you're interested.
Have you tried Netfront? I've never used the PocketPC version, but I use the Linux version on my Zaurus and I like it very much. Way better than Pocket IE and it does an excellent job of formatting pages.
Too bad it's commercialware. There are some small enhancements I'd like to make...
The Zaurus, and other embedded Linux distros tend to use Qtopia instead of X. Although X can be installed, it's sort of a power user thing right now, and believe it or not, not all Zaurus owners are Linux experts, and some who are don't want to deal with all the extra bloat that installing X requires. Minimo would gain a lot of users if they made a Qtopia port.
I believe the Yahoo case I mentioned proves otherwise. IANAL, but I have taken some law classes, and jurisdiction issues are far more complicated than your argument would imply. Its one thing to sue a someone in your own country and get a judgement against them. Its quite another thing to enforce it.
Just another case of France trying to impose its laws on an American company. When will they learn that nobody else cares? It was like that case where they sued Yahoo over Nazi images, won in French court, and then Yahoo got a US judge to say they didn't have to follow the order.
Er, its also mentioned on the project homepage:
http://ndiswrapper.sourceforge.net/
Here's a source:
In general the following chipsets are supported:
* Broadcom
* Intel PRO/Wireless Lan (Centrino)
* Atheros
* Admtek 8211
I've been thinking about buying a new Dell laptop. Most of them come with a choice of Intel or Broadcom wireless adapters. Now, the availability of an Intel open source driver is good news, however, the Broadcom adapters offer better performance (802.11g vs 802.11b) and lower power usage for the same price.
I'll probably be modded to hell for saying this, but I think I would still buy the Broadcom, since it can also be made to work using the various NDIS wrapper projects.
I think the issue of backwards compatibility is going to give Sony a huge advantage. In the case of the PS2, the compatibility with PS1 cames gave it a big headstart in terms of supported titles. Given that Microsoft is going to find it hard to maintain compatibility with the Xbox 1, (see article) , Sony should press that advantage for all its worth. It makes the consumer feel like they're getting the most bang for the buck when their shiny new toy works with old games as well as new games.
I used Java stored procedures a lot back when I was working at a .com. For someone who's already using Java its a lot easier than learning each database vendors proprietary language. It's also good for keeping MySQL feature competitive with open source dbs, since Java stored prcedures have already been implemented for PostgreSQL
There was a funny Australian movie called The Man Who Sued God . It's quite funny and worth watching... you guys already basically nailed the plot.
:)
You know, it would be funny if the defendants in the Australian lawsuits used that movie in their defense.
The sad thing is, this depends on so many technicalities, it is not likely there will be another "victory" like this for a long time to come, becuase the relevant laws have all been strengthened in the last 20 years. In the US, Copyright lasts (practically) forever now, with no registration or renewal requirements. Unless there is a major shift in the laws, there is nothing being produced today that will come this close to becoming public domain in 20-30 years.
So, while I'm glad the MT-32 emulation project can continue, I don't see much chance of any other more cheerful stories like this coming out.
Is a multimedia machine running Linux, with a DVD drive, and all the right connections for HDTV (SPDIF, component video, etc) onto which mplayer or xine is either pre-installed, or easily installed via an "unofficial" update (for legal reasons) Furthermore, I want it to have the appearance of a DVD player box so it fits in comfortably with the other equipment. A hacked X-Box comes close, but I want a machine that is
1) more professional looking
2) that is actually intended for this use (don't want to fiddle with mod chips, warentee voiding, etc).
Any takers out there?
but the payment should be non-monetary. It should be something that most people think of as free: time and CPU cycles. There have been various schemes to this effect proposed, but most people still seem to be unaware of it. It requires no money, and no centralization, and doesn't interfere with the anonyminity of email. The basic idea is, that if your SMTP server tries to send me an email, and you are not on my whitelist, my server responds with a challenge of a "moderately" hard problem. Something like factoring the product of two 50 digit primes. Once this is done, you can send me the email.
This system could be put in place at most ISPs transparently, users who send a few emails a day won't notice the difference, but suddenly the spammers can't just sit in their bedroom with a 486 and spew millions of spams a day anymore.
Asteroid? Not worried. Vaguely worried. Sorta worried. Kinda worried. Somewhat worried. Fairly worried. Worried. FEAR FEAR FEAR