I started out with RedHat 6.x, and kept with it until about Fedora Core 2, at which point I started looking around at some other distros. I settled on Ubuntu, and while I think Fedora is great for certain people, I think Ubuntu is a better general-purpose distro.
There's one install disc, which contains everything most users need to get started, then users can use the "Add/Remove Programs" app or Synaptic to get whatever else they need from the repos. Fedora on the other hand, has 5 or 6, unless you use a dvd iso (hope you don't run into bandwidth cap problems), and if you try to skip burning one CD, but the installer decides it needs one package off that CD you're screwed (I don't think there's even a way to cancel the install at that point, or go back and change which packages you want installed). On the other hand, it looks like Fedora offers a network install option, which would be very handy, I think.
I don't know about Fedora 7, but I do know that the latest Ubuntu has put a lot of effort into making it easy to get binary drivers and proprietary codecs if you want them, whereas past versions of Fedora didn't include those.
Ubuntu, on the other hand, doesn't include any development packages by default, so if you want to even consider building anything from source, you have to install the build-essential package. Fedora includes most of the common development stuff by default (or at the very least, you can choose to include it during the install).
For me, I just prefer the look and feel of Ubuntu's default Gnome setup over Fedora's. The default Fedora desktop gives me a headache. Same goes for the respective KDE desktops.
So, in all, I think Ubuntu is a better all-purpose user distro, especially for those new to Linux. Fedora would probably be better for developers, or for someone who wants to customize their installation more, to get exactly the type of system they want.
Do you think it's it a smart move to further complicate an operating system to take advantage of multiple cores, or should Microsoft stick to its knitting while applications take advantage of (possibly) more resources?
If Vista was any indication, we'll get the complication and the delays, but that feature will still be removed before release.
On the few occassions that a program goes belly up and I close it Via the task manager my system will generally hiccup for a few minutes and then recover and go on back to what it was doing.
Not if it's Internet Exploder... Everytime IE gets stuck you have to restart explorer.exe
I agree. There's a discussion about this over on Slashdot, you should join in on it... you can find it here. There's a whole bunch of people talking about how bad it is, with a few people saying they don't mind, and the rest are either talking about how to work around it, spouting off random useless facts or posting obscene links. You should really check out this Slashdot website I'm talking about.
And if the coffee cup driver isn't digitally signed by Microsoft, you'll get a warning message every time you set it on the table.
Actually, I'd be pissed if someone set their coffee cup on my $10,000 electronic multi-touch coffee table anyway. I think the warnings should say "Even if this driver is signed by Microsoft...USE A COASTER!!.
Not much of a coffee table if you can't set your coffee cup on it.
So, Apple's going to release a product which was officially announced with tremendous fanfare 5 months before release, and now supposedly they're going to release the second rev 3 months after the release? And the 2nd rev order has already been placed with the manufacturer, even though the first rev won't be released for another month still? And it has a different case design (boy, that would piss off the accessories manufacturers)?
There are so many things wrong with this "story" I don't know where to begin. I think one of two things is happening here:
1) As someone above mentioned, this is a widescreen iPod (which has been rumored in the past to be released in September), not a new iPhone. Remember, both revisions of the Nano were announced in September as well. Or more likely,
2) There is absolutely nothing to this rumor at all.
You have a 5 year old desktop that runs Vista with Aero? I'm guessing it's not using the original video card, then? My problem with not being able to run Aero on mine was that it was only a 32MB video card, and that's not supported by Aero.
The laptop is a Toshiba Satellite. Both of the Satellite laptops I've used in the last few years worked great with Ubuntu and with XP. When I installed Vista, it was right after the release, and Toshiba didn't have much in the way of Vista-specific drivers, at least not for this laptop.
In any case, Ubuntu supports it well out of the box (and makes it easy to get the NVidia driver installed), XP works well, but I have to use Toshiba's NVidia driver. Vista was just lousy. You'd think they could support 3 year-old hardware pretty easily.
In the case of the modems, I just ran through the configurations for both of the desktops, and never even saw an option to select a modem. When I got to the end, it said "No Modem", so I don't think you'll need to worry about your money going to a closed modem product.
On the Graphics side, there's not a whole lot of options for graphics from anyone. I'm not familiar with the Intel graphics chip on the Dimension desktop, but if it doesn't have open source drivers or 3D drivers, then that's a problem to take up with Intel (If they can open source the . I'm not really familiar with the Intel graphics chip in your link, either, but it says that it is a mobile chipset, so I'm not sure who we (or Dell) can even look to for 3D open source drivers in the desktops.
This is just the initial offering from Dell. If things go well for this program, they will expand it with more models and more hardware choices. The more Linux customers they get, the more they'll be able to influence component manufacturers. Also, if things go well, maybe the other large PC builders will start Linux programs of their own.
I can appreciate your moral stance of not wanting to reward manufacturers that don't provide open source drivers, but doesn't Stallman himself say that using closed software is acceptable if there is no other option? I think the only way to get the ball rolling with these big PC companies is to support as much as we can in their current offerings, then things will get better.
Now, with YOUR reasoning... since the zune has the exact same capability, PLUS the ability to copy MP3's back to ANY PC without special software, shitty wireless, radio.... how is the ipod any better, given that their features are identical?
I'm sorry if I'm wrong, I'm not really trying to fan the flames, so much as clarify something... Doesn't the Zune require the Zune software to use it at all? I thought that it doesn't show up as a removable drive (like the iPod can). I also thought that the Zune cannot be used with Windows Media Player. Why in the world would Microsoft build a device that requires a whole separate program from the one they've spent so many years building up as the center of the Digital Lifestye? It sounds to me like the Zune does require special software.
By the way, since the iPod can show up as a removable drive, you can copy all of your songs off of it. The file names are all changed, but the metadata is there, so you can re-import the songs back into iTunes on another computer. It's also supported by a number of apps in Linux such as Floola, Rhythmbox, gtkpod and Amarok.
An ATI graphics card might mean something in Windows, but you wouldn't want it in Linux, as the driver support is notoriously lousy. I they had an NVidia option for the laptops, though. They offer Nvidia cards in the desktops, so hopefully it will be an option in a future laptop.
There you go. It's not installed out of the box, and you have to enable some of the additional repos (check a box in the Synaptic settings), but I'd say that's worth a $30 difference. Admittedly, the mythmusic plugin is really not that well done... so far. I'm hoping it gets some big upgrades in the future.
But mythweb, mythDVD, mythgame, mytharchive and mythvideos are all really handy to have.
My 3 year old 2.6 GHz Toshiba laptop (from work) with 32 MB NVidia handles Ubuntu with Beryl just fine. It's a pleasure to use. When I installed Vista (Ultimate) on the same machine, Aero was not even an option because the graphics card wasn't supported. Also, the Vista Media Center refused to play videos at all (which would play under WMP), citing missing files. It would suggest a reboot, but of course that never fixed it.
The whole Vista interface was sluggish, especially in Media Center. Now, Ubuntu, on the other hand, was great. And I could install the Myth Frontend to watch TV I had recorded on my backend at home. It all works great, and is very responsive.
Really this argument is probably somewhat offtopic, because I'm sure most currently selling PCs will handle Vista just fine, and Dell isn't selling 3 year old PCs. But as far older hardware goes, you really don't need to worry as much about system resources as much with Ubuntu as with Vista... and when you consider options like XFCE, the requirements go down even further.
If you know enough about Linux to be an anti-Gnome snob, I'm sure you know how to
A) Install KDE, or XFCE or IceWM or Enlightenment or whatever or DE/WM you want or
B) Install whichever entire distro you want.
Personally, I like Gnome, after switching to KDE and back a few times... but I know not everyone does, so to each his own. But Gnome is a great place for people who are new to Linux to start. And if you don't like it, this is Free software, on pretty standard PC hardware, which means you can replace it without losing any real value (with Windows if you want to).
Two of the major good things about this product is that a) a major PC company is making Linux available pre-installed for everyone, and b) all the hardware in those machines is guaranteed to work under Linux. Not always with open source drivers, but it will be able to be Linux-compatible. Therefore, anyone who doesn't like the default configuration can install whatever Linux flavor they want, or any other x86 OS, or they can change the default Desktop Environment.
Can we please have people stop complaining because Dell isn't offering a default setup in exactly the l33t configuration you would have set it up on your own?
Thanks for clarifying my point. I would also like to add that VoIP has some significant value as a replacement for POTS telephones (and no, you don't have to pay for an active phone line to have DSL service). The FCC sees telephones as being important enough that they established the Universal Service Fund in 1996 "to promote the availability of quality services at just, reasonable, and affordable rates; increase access to advanced telecommunications services throughout the Nation; advance the availability of such services to all consumers, including those in low income, rural, insular, and high cost areas at rates that are reasonably comparable to those charged in urban areas." It follows that VoIP, as a low-cost replacement for POTS service should also be considered to be an important "advanced telecommunications service" that needs to be available and as reliable as possible.
I was going to post the same thing. They're not giving preferential treatment to some P2P video apps or companies (or to their own P2P video services), they're degrading the service for that entire type of traffic. I think certain types of traffic should be given more or less preference, because I need my VoIP calls to stay connected, and have a reasonable level of sound quality, and I think that is important enough that it can take a few extra seconds for someone to download their videos.
I have to say, I really don't care for the attempt in the summary to rally the Slashdot troops around the call of Net Neutrality, when NN really doesn't have anything to do with it.
I haven't personally used this card, but apparently (according to the link) full support is in the kernel as of 2.6.20. And there's a link on that page to the page on the MythTV wiki about setting up this card (non distro-specific). There's also specific howto's for Ubuntu and Fedora. The distro-specific links do seem pretty old (FC2 and Ubuntu 2.10?), but hopefully things have only gotten easier since then.
Of course a fix for this would be handled promptly, competently, and completely... and probably before lunch. But if your service was out, it would be sometime on Friday, between 10 AM and 4 PM.
That's for non-premium/unencrypted cable. CableCard is for encrypted cable
Well... until this article came out CableCard was for encrypted cable... what's it for now that you can't record the encrypted cable?
The thing is, obviously CableCard will still let you record most of the encrypted HD stuff (at least, it had better, otherwise it is a total, utter, and complete failure). But if you don't know when a show is in the minority of shows that aren't allowed to be recorded, that is absolutely unfair, and there should be a good stink about it. Also, if more shows start migrating over to being unrecordable, then that's bad too.
The funny thing about this is that anyone can record Lost, CSI, 24, Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, or Deal or No Deal in HD if they want to, and they don't have to pay anyone any subscription fees for anything to do it. But when you pay for HBO, for that "premium" content, and you have less options for what you can do with that content, even after ponying up lots of $$$ for a CableCard certified Vista megaPC, how messed up is that? Are HBO/Showtime exclusive shows that much better than the OTA content? Not likely. Maybe good enough to have to pay a monthly fee to subscribe to, but not so much better that we should have to give up our rights for them.
The problem with CableCard is that it's more inconvenient that the damn STB's. I'd rather have a separate box that I can move myself than have a card that a Cable Company installer has to come out and set up anytime I want to use it in a different device. It only screws things up. Not to mention the reduced functionality: STBs give you On Demand and interactive program guides. But the existing CableCard solutions will only give one-way communication, so you don't get those features. Vista, for all of its self-proclaimed greatness will only work with the one-way version.
The funny thing is, a lot of the point of CableCard is for these PVR's. Vista made such a big deal over CableCard support, since now you could finally record your HD programming that you already pay so much for, instead of just the OTA stuff. But woops -- you can't really record it (But we tricked into into buying a bunch of hardware for that purpose, didn't we!). It's insane. So far, you can only use CableCard with certified products like Media Center; Several high-end companies have sprung up selling high-end Media Center PC's, with a lot of the focus on the Cable Card support, so you spend several thousand dollars to be able to record any of the HD cable programming you paid for. And now, after you've jumped through the hoops and bought the "certified, hassle-free, and legal" solution, they still block you from doing what you paid for. And for what? To prevent piracy? Yeah right, all of those shows you can't record will still be available via bittorrent. Congratulations to the content providers, Cable Labs, and Microsoft. You just scammed the honest people in the name of fighting piracy, while completely losing the battle with the people who don't pay you anyway.
Now on MythTV:
The only hardware that really needs to be standardized is the tuner. And some tuners are supported remarkably easily. Hauppage cards are known for being a great fit with MythTV. I know mine works pretty easily. Also, check out the pcHDTV card for HD, which is made specifically for Linux, and is also supported very well under MythTV. And if you want something that's really easy to set up, try out the HDHomeRun. It's a simple network box that just streams the unencrypted OTA HD signal over Ethernet. MythTV knows all about it, so all you have to do to set it up is tell Myth that's what you're using, and type in the IP address. Also, there's two tuners, so it's a great deal.
It's not hard to find out which hardware is well-supported in MythTV. I've only heard good things about those three devices. You don't need a whole standardized platform. Just find a tuner that works well.
Oh, and the problem with the AppleTV box is that it's not a tuner so by itself, it's nothing like a TIVO. Saying that "the platform is cheap at least" isn't really true, since it's $300 just to stream content from your PC to your TV. It won't get any of the content for you, unless you buy it off the iTunes store, which still costs money for each show you get. You can pair it with something like EyeTV for a little more complete DVR experience, and that would probably work pretty well. But on its own, Apple hasn't made a DVR solution. I would bet they don't plan on doing it any time soon, either.
I live in a Utah city with its own fiber network (separate from UTOPIA), and I currently live about one block past the edge of the network. I'm not that bummed about it, though. The speeds they advertise aren't that much faster than my current cable connection, and they're the same price. Plus, it's completely mismanaged and hemorrhaging money. The city's website lists several ISPs, but of those, one of the links they give points to some parked advertising page, and some of the others have broken links all over their pages or they have 1996-style frames. There's only one ISP that looks like it keeps an updated, professional-looking website, but they don't offer any services beyond basic web and e-mail. No IPTV, no VoIP (although they have links to Dish Network and Packet8).
As I understand it, the city is looking for someone to buy up the network. Hopefully they sell it to someone with the vision to actually provide some really useful services, and who will actually expand it one block to my house. As it is, the city has something really great and they don't have a clue what it's for, so all that fiber is just about wasted.
I'm not convinced... What if this ends up being the next zip drive... only since it's optical, instead of getting a "Click of Death", we'll get the Flash of Death. It's an awful feeling, sitting at your desk, backing up 600 GB of hard work, when all of a sudden your $18,000 optical drive starts emitting bright flashes of light, and you know that both disk and drive are toast.
Slashdot Mirror
Distrowatch, maybe?
I started out with RedHat 6.x, and kept with it until about Fedora Core 2, at which point I started looking around at some other distros. I settled on Ubuntu, and while I think Fedora is great for certain people, I think Ubuntu is a better general-purpose distro.
There's one install disc, which contains everything most users need to get started, then users can use the "Add/Remove Programs" app or Synaptic to get whatever else they need from the repos. Fedora on the other hand, has 5 or 6, unless you use a dvd iso (hope you don't run into bandwidth cap problems), and if you try to skip burning one CD, but the installer decides it needs one package off that CD you're screwed (I don't think there's even a way to cancel the install at that point, or go back and change which packages you want installed). On the other hand, it looks like Fedora offers a network install option, which would be very handy, I think.
I don't know about Fedora 7, but I do know that the latest Ubuntu has put a lot of effort into making it easy to get binary drivers and proprietary codecs if you want them, whereas past versions of Fedora didn't include those.
Ubuntu, on the other hand, doesn't include any development packages by default, so if you want to even consider building anything from source, you have to install the build-essential package. Fedora includes most of the common development stuff by default (or at the very least, you can choose to include it during the install).
For me, I just prefer the look and feel of Ubuntu's default Gnome setup over Fedora's. The default Fedora desktop gives me a headache. Same goes for the respective KDE desktops.
So, in all, I think Ubuntu is a better all-purpose user distro, especially for those new to Linux. Fedora would probably be better for developers, or for someone who wants to customize their installation more, to get exactly the type of system they want.
If Vista was any indication, we'll get the complication and the delays, but that feature will still be removed before release.
I agree. There's a discussion about this over on Slashdot, you should join in on it... you can find it here. There's a whole bunch of people talking about how bad it is, with a few people saying they don't mind, and the rest are either talking about how to work around it, spouting off random useless facts or posting obscene links. You should really check out this Slashdot website I'm talking about.
Or, you could use AtomicParsely or MP4Box to clear out the atom that contains that information, without affecting the quality of the music.
And if the coffee cup driver isn't digitally signed by Microsoft, you'll get a warning message every time you set it on the table.
Actually, I'd be pissed if someone set their coffee cup on my $10,000 electronic multi-touch coffee table anyway. I think the warnings should say "Even if this driver is signed by Microsoft...USE A COASTER!!.
Not much of a coffee table if you can't set your coffee cup on it.
They should have used OpenBSD
So, Apple's going to release a product which was officially announced with tremendous fanfare 5 months before release, and now supposedly they're going to release the second rev 3 months after the release? And the 2nd rev order has already been placed with the manufacturer, even though the first rev won't be released for another month still? And it has a different case design (boy, that would piss off the accessories manufacturers)?
There are so many things wrong with this "story" I don't know where to begin. I think one of two things is happening here:
1) As someone above mentioned, this is a widescreen iPod (which has been rumored in the past to be released in September), not a new iPhone. Remember, both revisions of the Nano were announced in September as well. Or more likely,
2) There is absolutely nothing to this rumor at all.
You have a 5 year old desktop that runs Vista with Aero? I'm guessing it's not using the original video card, then? My problem with not being able to run Aero on mine was that it was only a 32MB video card, and that's not supported by Aero.
The laptop is a Toshiba Satellite. Both of the Satellite laptops I've used in the last few years worked great with Ubuntu and with XP. When I installed Vista, it was right after the release, and Toshiba didn't have much in the way of Vista-specific drivers, at least not for this laptop.
In any case, Ubuntu supports it well out of the box (and makes it easy to get the NVidia driver installed), XP works well, but I have to use Toshiba's NVidia driver. Vista was just lousy. You'd think they could support 3 year-old hardware pretty easily.
In Soviet Russia, satellite watches you watching the satellite watching YOU!
In the case of the modems, I just ran through the configurations for both of the desktops, and never even saw an option to select a modem. When I got to the end, it said "No Modem", so I don't think you'll need to worry about your money going to a closed modem product.
On the Graphics side, there's not a whole lot of options for graphics from anyone. I'm not familiar with the Intel graphics chip on the Dimension desktop, but if it doesn't have open source drivers or 3D drivers, then that's a problem to take up with Intel (If they can open source the . I'm not really familiar with the Intel graphics chip in your link, either, but it says that it is a mobile chipset, so I'm not sure who we (or Dell) can even look to for 3D open source drivers in the desktops.
This is just the initial offering from Dell. If things go well for this program, they will expand it with more models and more hardware choices. The more Linux customers they get, the more they'll be able to influence component manufacturers. Also, if things go well, maybe the other large PC builders will start Linux programs of their own.
I can appreciate your moral stance of not wanting to reward manufacturers that don't provide open source drivers, but doesn't Stallman himself say that using closed software is acceptable if there is no other option? I think the only way to get the ball rolling with these big PC companies is to support as much as we can in their current offerings, then things will get better.
I'm sorry if I'm wrong, I'm not really trying to fan the flames, so much as clarify something... Doesn't the Zune require the Zune software to use it at all? I thought that it doesn't show up as a removable drive (like the iPod can). I also thought that the Zune cannot be used with Windows Media Player. Why in the world would Microsoft build a device that requires a whole separate program from the one they've spent so many years building up as the center of the Digital Lifestye? It sounds to me like the Zune does require special software.
By the way, since the iPod can show up as a removable drive, you can copy all of your songs off of it. The file names are all changed, but the metadata is there, so you can re-import the songs back into iTunes on another computer. It's also supported by a number of apps in Linux such as Floola, Rhythmbox, gtkpod and Amarok.
OK, I guess I am fanning the flames. Flame on!
An ATI graphics card might mean something in Windows, but you wouldn't want it in Linux, as the driver support is notoriously lousy. I they had an NVidia option for the laptops, though. They offer Nvidia cards in the desktops, so hopefully it will be an option in a future laptop.
sudo apt-get install mythtv mythplugins
There you go. It's not installed out of the box, and you have to enable some of the additional repos (check a box in the Synaptic settings), but I'd say that's worth a $30 difference. Admittedly, the mythmusic plugin is really not that well done... so far. I'm hoping it gets some big upgrades in the future.
But mythweb, mythDVD, mythgame, mytharchive and mythvideos are all really handy to have.
My 3 year old 2.6 GHz Toshiba laptop (from work) with 32 MB NVidia handles Ubuntu with Beryl just fine. It's a pleasure to use. When I installed Vista (Ultimate) on the same machine, Aero was not even an option because the graphics card wasn't supported. Also, the Vista Media Center refused to play videos at all (which would play under WMP), citing missing files. It would suggest a reboot, but of course that never fixed it.
The whole Vista interface was sluggish, especially in Media Center. Now, Ubuntu, on the other hand, was great. And I could install the Myth Frontend to watch TV I had recorded on my backend at home. It all works great, and is very responsive.
Really this argument is probably somewhat offtopic, because I'm sure most currently selling PCs will handle Vista just fine, and Dell isn't selling 3 year old PCs. But as far older hardware goes, you really don't need to worry as much about system resources as much with Ubuntu as with Vista... and when you consider options like XFCE, the requirements go down even further.
If you know enough about Linux to be an anti-Gnome snob, I'm sure you know how to
A) Install KDE, or XFCE or IceWM or Enlightenment or whatever or DE/WM you want or
B) Install whichever entire distro you want.
Personally, I like Gnome, after switching to KDE and back a few times... but I know not everyone does, so to each his own. But Gnome is a great place for people who are new to Linux to start. And if you don't like it, this is Free software, on pretty standard PC hardware, which means you can replace it without losing any real value (with Windows if you want to).
Two of the major good things about this product is that a) a major PC company is making Linux available pre-installed for everyone, and b) all the hardware in those machines is guaranteed to work under Linux. Not always with open source drivers, but it will be able to be Linux-compatible. Therefore, anyone who doesn't like the default configuration can install whatever Linux flavor they want, or any other x86 OS, or they can change the default Desktop Environment.
Can we please have people stop complaining because Dell isn't offering a default setup in exactly the l33t configuration you would have set it up on your own?
Thanks for clarifying my point. I would also like to add that VoIP has some significant value as a replacement for POTS telephones (and no, you don't have to pay for an active phone line to have DSL service). The FCC sees telephones as being important enough that they established the Universal Service Fund in 1996 "to promote the availability of quality services at just, reasonable, and affordable rates; increase access to advanced telecommunications services throughout the Nation; advance the availability of such services to all consumers, including those in low income, rural, insular, and high cost areas at rates that are reasonably comparable to those charged in urban areas." It follows that VoIP, as a low-cost replacement for POTS service should also be considered to be an important "advanced telecommunications service" that needs to be available and as reliable as possible.
I was going to post the same thing. They're not giving preferential treatment to some P2P video apps or companies (or to their own P2P video services), they're degrading the service for that entire type of traffic. I think certain types of traffic should be given more or less preference, because I need my VoIP calls to stay connected, and have a reasonable level of sound quality, and I think that is important enough that it can take a few extra seconds for someone to download their videos.
I have to say, I really don't care for the attempt in the summary to rally the Slashdot troops around the call of Net Neutrality, when NN really doesn't have anything to do with it.
How about this one?
I haven't personally used this card, but apparently (according to the link) full support is in the kernel as of 2.6.20. And there's a link on that page to the page on the MythTV wiki about setting up this card (non distro-specific). There's also specific howto's for Ubuntu and Fedora. The distro-specific links do seem pretty old (FC2 and Ubuntu 2.10?), but hopefully things have only gotten easier since then.
Of course a fix for this would be handled promptly, competently, and completely... and probably before lunch. But if your service was out, it would be sometime on Friday, between 10 AM and 4 PM.
Well... until this article came out CableCard was for encrypted cable... what's it for now that you can't record the encrypted cable?
The thing is, obviously CableCard will still let you record most of the encrypted HD stuff (at least, it had better, otherwise it is a total, utter, and complete failure). But if you don't know when a show is in the minority of shows that aren't allowed to be recorded, that is absolutely unfair, and there should be a good stink about it. Also, if more shows start migrating over to being unrecordable, then that's bad too.
The funny thing about this is that anyone can record Lost, CSI, 24, Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, or Deal or No Deal in HD if they want to, and they don't have to pay anyone any subscription fees for anything to do it. But when you pay for HBO, for that "premium" content, and you have less options for what you can do with that content, even after ponying up lots of $$$ for a CableCard certified Vista megaPC, how messed up is that? Are HBO/Showtime exclusive shows that much better than the OTA content? Not likely. Maybe good enough to have to pay a monthly fee to subscribe to, but not so much better that we should have to give up our rights for them.
On CableCard:
The problem with CableCard is that it's more inconvenient that the damn STB's. I'd rather have a separate box that I can move myself than have a card that a Cable Company installer has to come out and set up anytime I want to use it in a different device. It only screws things up. Not to mention the reduced functionality: STBs give you On Demand and interactive program guides. But the existing CableCard solutions will only give one-way communication, so you don't get those features. Vista, for all of its self-proclaimed greatness will only work with the one-way version.
The funny thing is, a lot of the point of CableCard is for these PVR's. Vista made such a big deal over CableCard support, since now you could finally record your HD programming that you already pay so much for, instead of just the OTA stuff. But woops -- you can't really record it (But we tricked into into buying a bunch of hardware for that purpose, didn't we!). It's insane. So far, you can only use CableCard with certified products like Media Center; Several high-end companies have sprung up selling high-end Media Center PC's, with a lot of the focus on the Cable Card support, so you spend several thousand dollars to be able to record any of the HD cable programming you paid for. And now, after you've jumped through the hoops and bought the "certified, hassle-free, and legal" solution, they still block you from doing what you paid for. And for what? To prevent piracy? Yeah right, all of those shows you can't record will still be available via bittorrent. Congratulations to the content providers, Cable Labs, and Microsoft. You just scammed the honest people in the name of fighting piracy, while completely losing the battle with the people who don't pay you anyway.
Now on MythTV:
The only hardware that really needs to be standardized is the tuner. And some tuners are supported remarkably easily. Hauppage cards are known for being a great fit with MythTV. I know mine works pretty easily. Also, check out the pcHDTV card for HD, which is made specifically for Linux, and is also supported very well under MythTV. And if you want something that's really easy to set up, try out the HDHomeRun. It's a simple network box that just streams the unencrypted OTA HD signal over Ethernet. MythTV knows all about it, so all you have to do to set it up is tell Myth that's what you're using, and type in the IP address. Also, there's two tuners, so it's a great deal.
It's not hard to find out which hardware is well-supported in MythTV. I've only heard good things about those three devices. You don't need a whole standardized platform. Just find a tuner that works well.
Oh, and the problem with the AppleTV box is that it's not a tuner so by itself, it's nothing like a TIVO. Saying that "the platform is cheap at least" isn't really true, since it's $300 just to stream content from your PC to your TV. It won't get any of the content for you, unless you buy it off the iTunes store, which still costs money for each show you get. You can pair it with something like EyeTV for a little more complete DVR experience, and that would probably work pretty well. But on its own, Apple hasn't made a DVR solution. I would bet they don't plan on doing it any time soon, either.
Don't forget mtyh2ipod. My favorite Unofficial Plugin... now this is what makes TV convenient.
I live in a Utah city with its own fiber network (separate from UTOPIA), and I currently live about one block past the edge of the network. I'm not that bummed about it, though. The speeds they advertise aren't that much faster than my current cable connection, and they're the same price. Plus, it's completely mismanaged and hemorrhaging money. The city's website lists several ISPs, but of those, one of the links they give points to some parked advertising page, and some of the others have broken links all over their pages or they have 1996-style frames. There's only one ISP that looks like it keeps an updated, professional-looking website, but they don't offer any services beyond basic web and e-mail. No IPTV, no VoIP (although they have links to Dish Network and Packet8).
As I understand it, the city is looking for someone to buy up the network. Hopefully they sell it to someone with the vision to actually provide some really useful services, and who will actually expand it one block to my house. As it is, the city has something really great and they don't have a clue what it's for, so all that fiber is just about wasted.
1) Longevity/reliability
I'm not convinced... What if this ends up being the next zip drive... only since it's optical, instead of getting a "Click of Death", we'll get the Flash of Death. It's an awful feeling, sitting at your desk, backing up 600 GB of hard work, when all of a sudden your $18,000 optical drive starts emitting bright flashes of light, and you know that both disk and drive are toast.
I can't wait.