Only one small nitpick with your rebuttal. On security, I think you're half right. In-person, at-the-computer security, you are spot on. No login - turn it on, and you're in, unless you had some 3rd-party security tools installed. If security was at all a concern, your physical security is what made any difference. However... It had no command-line, no SSH, no telnet, no http, no ftp, etc. No real network services (by default) at all. That, by default, made the original branch of Mac OS *very secure* from a *network* security standpoint.
I agree with this AC's comments on the quality of the PVR-350's output. Unmatched in quality for SD. Yes, other cards have S-Video out. It doesn't appear to matter, to my eyes, on my decent Sony WEGA 27" TV. The PVR-350's S-Video output is almost the same sharpness, color trueness, brightness, transition integrity, etc. as the original signal from my Dish; no perceptable difference if the bitrate is high enough. And, I like that I have the ability to have S-Video Sat Output -> PVR-350 -> S-Video TV Input (no Composite and its "softness").
When I got this card back in 8/2004, I did this test. Plug in your Sat/Cable to your TV. Watch a bit. Plug in the output of the PVR-350 to the TV and the input from your Sat/Cable to the PVR-350. Then switch back. See a difference? I didn't.:)
Oh and having a recorded format ready-made to burn DVDs from (no transcoding) rocks, too. But that might be offered in other cards. The working remote also helps to keep the price shock down.
Also, one other thing. Many people here are complaining that using a dedicated card for the video/audio processing was a waste of money and could have been handled by the main CPU. Yeah, you are probably right (though this one is a bit of a challenge). But, don't you realize how *nice* it is to have surplus cycles? For me, it means I can record a show, my girlfriend can watch a show on the TV, and I can *stream* a show with MythStreamTV remotely (which requires on-the-fly transcoding with VLC) without worrying about one process trashing another's work. I know that if I want to do some crazy SQL with the MySQL DB on this box, it's not going to bring the box to it's knees and muck up a recording. You get my drift, I'm sure.
Using an IR Blaster will enable the PVR to control the set top box, but this is an extra, and complex, installation.
Nah, just get this: http://www.mytvstore.com/product_id_004.html. The MyBlaster/Serial eliminates needing LIRC for the IR Blaster (which the article's author could then leave for just his PVR-350's remote, as I have). Use the excellent Perl script that is found here: http://www.mytvstore.com/mythtv_linux.html, set the device smack in front of your cable/sat boxes IR reciever (I find a small patch of double sided tape lasts for over a year, at least;) ), and you're all set. No muss, no fuss.
And did I say that this requires *no* LIRC fiddling? OK, just making sure.
I appreciate the effort that everyone involved in MythTV is putting in, but I think you have to be careful advocating something that's still at an early enough stage that it's a bit of a project to set up. If what you want is just a PVR, that is, the PRODUCT and not a PROJECT, there might be better alternatives out there.
I was not advocating it, I was just sharing my experience. Maybe you're not ready or willing to put the time in, or you don't like what MythTV gives you. Life is about choices. I'll leave it up to those people involved in making PRODUCTS to make their case that their stuff is available and Better For You(tm), since they'll have Marketing, Research, Engineering, QA and a call center ready to make that happen.
Nowhere on Mythtv's official site or in its official docs does it say that MythTV is anything but a project.
Re:Perhaps they can make it possible to configure
on
MythTV 0.19 Released
·
· Score: 0, Redundant
I'm sorry for your troubles. I've had MythTV running solid since August of 2004. No crashes outside of the few days needed to configure it. What you are asking for is for a nicely boxed product that has an army of QA testers and UI analysts to make a very polished product geared for non-technical users. MythTV is, as stated on mythtv.org, geared towards developers.
Of course, anyone is free to try to create what you are asking for out of MythTV and sell it. You are welcome to join the project and submit solid code to implement the features you suggest are important to MythTV.
...the single Windows machine in the house (my girlfriend's) to Trend Micro's PC-cillin a few nights ago. The box had been using McAfee for over a year, and I really didn't like how it seemed to refuse to auto-update, and manual update's often buggy use of Active X controls (i.e. IE). I really liked their Scanmail for Exchange product, and I'm glad to use it for client use now, as they appear to have worked out some kinks that were present in earlier versions.
Yes, I can tell that PC-cillin also appears to use Active X for manual updates (would love to be corrected), but, in my case, the auto update works well, so there is no need to use the manual update. And I personally believe that the Trend Micro labs are quicker on the draw on new viruses and trojans, which, in the end, is what I pay for.
Re:and it's completely useless on OS X because...
on
Blender 2.40 Released
·
· Score: 2, Informative
Isn't building the interface on OpenGL exactly what Apple says Mac OS X can do? Apple itself uses OpenGL for many of its core technologies, like Expose, Core Video, Core Image, etc. Check it: http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/opengl/
As far as the "finger-pointing" goes... I'm not going to look at the code, and I'm not a Blender user, but I have to ask: If Apple says Mac OS X can support an OpenGL API (which is a standard), and hasn't set some arbitrary limit on the support the OS gives to that standard, then any application that subsequently breaks _by actually following the standard_ is blameless, and the supporting OS and OS libraries are to blame, no? How can one "push the limits" with a standard? An application either follows them, or it does not, right?
Now, I'll give you that if the standard itself is *incomplete*, the blame falls on the standards team. Of course, Blender may not be using the OpenGL API correctly, and the blame would then fall squarely on the Blender devs for the error. But, Apple is to blame if their implementation of OpenGL is busted and can't perform what Blender expects of a standards-compliant OpenGL implementation.
I just want to make sure that we kick off the finger-pointing on a firm foundation.;)
"The best lesson he taught us was "embrace new technology -- because that's what your job really is."
The same applies to many parts of IT, including mine. Systems Administrators, so I've heard, can lose up to 1/4 of their "skills" each year to "attrition", so learning new technologies is, indeed, a core part of the work for us, too. I'm picking up Ruby again (after grabbing Programming Ruby in '01 and never cracking it open again), and Ruby on Rails. Now, I don't really expect to craft crazy-good code, but I *do* expect that I'll probably have to support sites that revolve around this new technology, since wherever the Devs go, SysAdmins are the guys who clean up after.
Hmm... If they can predict forward in time what sites Sober will seek, can not they also look backward in time to see what sites the worm sought in the past? If so, could they not then check the registration records for each of those sites and... find the author?
They've lost touch with the fact that people don't care about any of that anymore.
Yes, most people never cared about "any of that", now or ever. But, luckily for all of us, some people happily lose touch, and make interesting things.
If people are screaming at you, and you don't like what they are saying, you should probably hang out with some different people. Or at least walk away.
Forgive my naivete, but couldn't one determine something at least close to the full list of contributors to a project by writing a script (Perl seems like a good candidate for the job) and some regex-fu to parse all source control logs/mailing list archives/etc. and collecting all e-mail addresses and names that are listed there? Why would this be "impossible"? Yes, it might take some massaging of the data set, and some disk space/cpu grunt, but it seems like that could work, yes?
Yes, but could you imagine using Linux without the GNU toolset, or at least some component of it? And who says that KDE/YUM/Apache/GUIs are required to make use of Linux (the Kernel)? These extra tools are, though many may this hard to believe, tangential to the basic use of a computing system, and, in many cases, make use of the GNU toolset themselves to do their magic.
OK, so, IF what Blair wants is true, then it should be proved the next time they encounter a suspected terrorists PC. Yeah, they'll let the person go, and they may or may not do the dastardly act they are suspected of plotting. But, keep cracking. Once they've completed the crack (and they cannot do anything different just because the person has been released, since that would not be in the interests of the country), they will know how long it can take. Then Blair can have hard evidence to bring to the debate, rather than a nice, even, out-of-thin-air 90 days.
I am not a Kernel Developer, but I know some.;) I guess that my open question is how this would benefit kernel users? Yes, I see it would reduce the workload of kernel devs. Yes, I see it would allow driver developers to not have to go through the kernel code vetting process. But, the kernel code vetting process is what is a strong benefit of using Linux, from a user perspective, as I know that the code is well tested by an army of users and developers.
Once you push driver development out of the kernel, yet give access to kernel internals in this way, you introduce a level of uncertainty in so far as stability and robustness is concerned. One must question why these big comapnies are pushing for this, but most human kernel devs are not.
And qemu works without any kernel changes. I just installed 0.7.2 last night, and I was amazed at how it could convert and run my VMWare Workstation *5* raw disk images.
Slashdot Mirror
OK, here goes. In one model, I have to trust you that what you say is true. In the other, I can see for myself. I like seeing for myself.
Only one small nitpick with your rebuttal. On security, I think you're half right. In-person, at-the-computer security, you are spot on. No login - turn it on, and you're in, unless you had some 3rd-party security tools installed. If security was at all a concern, your physical security is what made any difference. However... It had no command-line, no SSH, no telnet, no http, no ftp, etc. No real network services (by default) at all. That, by default, made the original branch of Mac OS *very secure* from a *network* security standpoint.
I agree with this AC's comments on the quality of the PVR-350's output. Unmatched in quality for SD. Yes, other cards have S-Video out. It doesn't appear to matter, to my eyes, on my decent Sony WEGA 27" TV. The PVR-350's S-Video output is almost the same sharpness, color trueness, brightness, transition integrity, etc. as the original signal from my Dish; no perceptable difference if the bitrate is high enough. And, I like that I have the ability to have S-Video Sat Output -> PVR-350 -> S-Video TV Input (no Composite and its "softness").
:)
When I got this card back in 8/2004, I did this test. Plug in your Sat/Cable to your TV. Watch a bit. Plug in the output of the PVR-350 to the TV and the input from your Sat/Cable to the PVR-350. Then switch back. See a difference? I didn't.
Oh and having a recorded format ready-made to burn DVDs from (no transcoding) rocks, too. But that might be offered in other cards. The working remote also helps to keep the price shock down.
Also, one other thing. Many people here are complaining that using a dedicated card for the video/audio processing was a waste of money and could have been handled by the main CPU. Yeah, you are probably right (though this one is a bit of a challenge). But, don't you realize how *nice* it is to have surplus cycles? For me, it means I can record a show, my girlfriend can watch a show on the TV, and I can *stream* a show with MythStreamTV remotely (which requires on-the-fly transcoding with VLC) without worrying about one process trashing another's work. I know that if I want to do some crazy SQL with the MySQL DB on this box, it's not going to bring the box to it's knees and muck up a recording. You get my drift, I'm sure.
Nah, just get this: http://www.mytvstore.com/product_id_004.html. The MyBlaster/Serial eliminates needing LIRC for the IR Blaster (which the article's author could then leave for just his PVR-350's remote, as I have). Use the excellent Perl script that is found here: http://www.mytvstore.com/mythtv_linux.html, set the device smack in front of your cable/sat boxes IR reciever (I find a small patch of double sided tape lasts for over a year, at least
And did I say that this requires *no* LIRC fiddling? OK, just making sure.
Sssh! Someone in Redmond might hear you!
...one of the most phenomenal trolling episodes in the history of desktop computing.
I was not advocating it, I was just sharing my experience. Maybe you're not ready or willing to put the time in, or you don't like what MythTV gives you. Life is about choices. I'll leave it up to those people involved in making PRODUCTS to make their case that their stuff is available and Better For You(tm), since they'll have Marketing, Research, Engineering, QA and a call center ready to make that happen.
Nowhere on Mythtv's official site or in its official docs does it say that MythTV is anything but a project.
I'm sorry for your troubles. I've had MythTV running solid since August of 2004. No crashes outside of the few days needed to configure it. What you are asking for is for a nicely boxed product that has an army of QA testers and UI analysts to make a very polished product geared for non-technical users. MythTV is, as stated on mythtv.org, geared towards developers.
Of course, anyone is free to try to create what you are asking for out of MythTV and sell it. You are welcome to join the project and submit solid code to implement the features you suggest are important to MythTV.
Of course, you can share the recordings with Winblows boxes via Samba. There's even a script included to make human-friendly filenames for the shows.
Why should we trust what you say, or what your company says?
...the single Windows machine in the house (my girlfriend's) to Trend Micro's PC-cillin a few nights ago. The box had been using McAfee for over a year, and I really didn't like how it seemed to refuse to auto-update, and manual update's often buggy use of Active X controls (i.e. IE). I really liked their Scanmail for Exchange product, and I'm glad to use it for client use now, as they appear to have worked out some kinks that were present in earlier versions.
Yes, I can tell that PC-cillin also appears to use Active X for manual updates (would love to be corrected), but, in my case, the auto update works well, so there is no need to use the manual update. And I personally believe that the Trend Micro labs are quicker on the draw on new viruses and trojans, which, in the end, is what I pay for.
Isn't building the interface on OpenGL exactly what Apple says Mac OS X can do? Apple itself uses OpenGL for many of its core technologies, like Expose, Core Video, Core Image, etc. Check it: http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/opengl/
;)
As far as the "finger-pointing" goes... I'm not going to look at the code, and I'm not a Blender user, but I have to ask: If Apple says Mac OS X can support an OpenGL API (which is a standard), and hasn't set some arbitrary limit on the support the OS gives to that standard, then any application that subsequently breaks _by actually following the standard_ is blameless, and the supporting OS and OS libraries are to blame, no? How can one "push the limits" with a standard? An application either follows them, or it does not, right?
Now, I'll give you that if the standard itself is *incomplete*, the blame falls on the standards team. Of course, Blender may not be using the OpenGL API correctly, and the blame would then fall squarely on the Blender devs for the error. But, Apple is to blame if their implementation of OpenGL is busted and can't perform what Blender expects of a standards-compliant OpenGL implementation.
I just want to make sure that we kick off the finger-pointing on a firm foundation.
The same applies to many parts of IT, including mine. Systems Administrators, so I've heard, can lose up to 1/4 of their "skills" each year to "attrition", so learning new technologies is, indeed, a core part of the work for us, too. I'm picking up Ruby again (after grabbing Programming Ruby in '01 and never cracking it open again), and Ruby on Rails. Now, I don't really expect to craft crazy-good code, but I *do* expect that I'll probably have to support sites that revolve around this new technology, since wherever the Devs go, SysAdmins are the guys who clean up after.
Nope. But, it might provide a trail to try to follow, no?
Hmm... If they can predict forward in time what sites Sober will seek, can not they also look backward in time to see what sites the worm sought in the past ? If so, could they not then check the registration records for each of those sites and... find the author?
They've lost touch with the fact that people don't care about any of that anymore.
Yes, most people never cared about "any of that", now or ever. But, luckily for all of us, some people happily lose touch, and make interesting things.
If people are screaming at you, and you don't like what they are saying, you should probably hang out with some different people. Or at least walk away.
Forgive my naivete, but couldn't one determine something at least close to the full list of contributors to a project by writing a script (Perl seems like a good candidate for the job) and some regex-fu to parse all source control logs/mailing list archives/etc. and collecting all e-mail addresses and names that are listed there? Why would this be "impossible"? Yes, it might take some massaging of the data set, and some disk space/cpu grunt, but it seems like that could work, yes?
Yes, but could you imagine using Linux without the GNU toolset, or at least some component of it? And who says that KDE/YUM/Apache/GUIs are required to make use of Linux (the Kernel)? These extra tools are, though many may this hard to believe, tangential to the basic use of a computing system, and, in many cases, make use of the GNU toolset themselves to do their magic.
Because we are vicious? They picked nits, we picked rocks. And sticks. And a blood-curdling war whoop.
OK, so, IF what Blair wants is true, then it should be proved the next time they encounter a suspected terrorists PC. Yeah, they'll let the person go, and they may or may not do the dastardly act they are suspected of plotting. But, keep cracking. Once they've completed the crack (and they cannot do anything different just because the person has been released, since that would not be in the interests of the country), they will know how long it can take. Then Blair can have hard evidence to bring to the debate, rather than a nice, even, out-of-thin-air 90 days.
Never search the Internet for that sort of thing again. Try Gentoo.
I am not a Kernel Developer, but I know some. ;) I guess that my open question is how this would benefit kernel users? Yes, I see it would reduce the workload of kernel devs. Yes, I see it would allow driver developers to not have to go through the kernel code vetting process. But, the kernel code vetting process is what is a strong benefit of using Linux, from a user perspective, as I know that the code is well tested by an army of users and developers.
Once you push driver development out of the kernel, yet give access to kernel internals in this way, you introduce a level of uncertainty in so far as stability and robustness is concerned. One must question why these big comapnies are pushing for this, but most human kernel devs are not.
And qemu works without any kernel changes. I just installed 0.7.2 last night, and I was amazed at how it could convert and run my VMWare Workstation *5* raw disk images.
http://fabrice.bellard.free.fr/qemu/
So, I use GAIM, and I never use the Chat rooms. Should I worry?
You don't think strip-mining of the Earth-facing side of the Moon would change its face?