Re:Hardware Issues
on
Moving To Linux
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
Another thing to be considered is that these live CDs are basically tuned for one specific purpose, live booting. Try installing one of these distros (if you can) and we encounter slow bootup (because of hardware detection each time) and conflicts if any of the modules are compiled in the kernel and autoconfig messes up the things.
When we have a live cd that can install 'smartly' and continously optimize its configuration (pretty much like windoze) is when joe average be happy and content.
Question is, do I want to watch videos on a 2-4" screen?. If you say, I can connect it to a big tv, I can do the same with my dvd player, kind of defeats the whole purpose, doesnt it.
Once a small video player comes with an equivalent to headphones for sound (goggles?), it may be practical. Im not holding my breath!
iPod isn't popular because it can do a lot, rather, because it is simple to use and very limited in what it can do. But what I can do, it does it very well. I don't need 3 rocking buttons, 5 regular silver buttons, one jog dial having a zillion functions to play my music.
Walkman, before this, was popular not because it offered equalizer (it didnt), radio (initially, it didnt), multiple headphone jacks etc. It was popular because it was simple.
If you want to make a iPod killer, make a device that is simple to use, good 'OS' (that has AI like remember my favorites and gives them priority in random mode), practical capacity (not insane sizes like 40GB, who has or wants 10,000 songs on their palm?).
Oh, it also has to look cool and not be a commodity. And, did I say, no DRM?
I have seen it being reported many times as a UL, but it is not really that unlikely.
We all know, spammers are the first to use a practical technology to uniquely identify where the mail goes to (thanks in a large part to HTML/Rich text mails) with the use of either micro images or real images. The server just needs to keep track of your IP (easily retrieved from the HTTP header when your email program tries to get that image) to know who are receiveing it and reading it.
I would not be surprised if reputable companies start using these to find who are their target audience for a promotion and target them directly with ads through google or advertising.com etc.
Remember, the above statement constitutes prior art and hence this idea cannot be patented
I have seen it being reported many times as a UL, but it is not really that unlikely.
We all know, spammers are the first to use a practical technology to uniquely identify where the mail goes to (thanks in a large part to HTML/Rich text mails) with the use of either micro images or real images. The server just needs to keep track of your IP (easily retrieved from the HTTP header when your email program tries to get that image) to know who are receiveing it and reading it.
I would not be surprised if reputable companies start using these to find who are their target audience for a promotion and target them directly with ads through google or advertising.com etc. Remember, the above statement constitutes prior art and hence this idea cannot be patented
Firstly, I fully support linux and what it stands for (free as in speach). However, this being slashdot, readers are usually predisposed against MS. So here are a few counterpoints
- Number of worms/security issues in Windows
Reminds me of the age old saying that rich people dont die of (NameYourDisease). It is not because they are a better breed, just that they have the means and money to get the cure. Poor people just can't. Most of the virus' and worms exist in windows environment because 1)it is more popular, so offers the biggest bang for the buck to the writers, and 2)windows machines are more likely to be used by novices and hence not well protected. Once Linux reaches the tipping point and we have more people buying walmart sold linux boxes, we will have simillar problems. perhaps a tad more, since not all average Joe's will fix their kernels/applications whereas MS is getting there by automatically performing windowsupdate
- Open source vs Shared Source
Open source is not really open in terms of who can contribute and what. There still exist certain people or groups (like linus for the kernel) who double check to make sure there are no malware introduced. I for one would definitely stay away from somebody offering a latest version of (NameYourAppHere) build offering special features. Of course, you can look at the linux/GNU sources, but I would rather have 'experts' certify applications as good before I use them. With MS, they are this expert and usually people trust them (they may make mistakes, but not deliberate malware attempts)
- Cost
The only advantage of GNU is the initial price (usually zero). Support, IT, maintenence etc still costs real money. Perhaps a tad more for linux since programmers/administrators are a bit more expensive (you can dispute, but look at any job board for the offered salaries for admins in these platforms). As a business model, GNU/free would find it very difficult to survive. I contribute to some open source projects in my free time since I get to pay my bills with the money earned with my paid job working on closed source. Once I dont have a job, chao open source development, I'd rather spend my efforts finding a job that pays me money. Working on open source projects is just a hobby for me and perhaps many others. I'm willing to let it 'cost' me something (time/money) but this cost needs to be underwritten with an income (derived from real paying activities)
I think MS is a necessary evil just as we needed an adversary during the cold war. Without one, we may become complacent and innovation may not continue at this speed.
Mod me down or believe what you want to believe. I believe I am the necessary evil in this discussion
Finally, great news. I can now buy these disks and every couple of months since there would be some scratches on the disk, which cannot be recovered from by the error correction. Finally, I can enjoy music as it was designed to be heard, from brand new scratchless CDs.
I think we owe it to the record companies for empowering us with these technological marvels. Screw the artist who produced the music, he should get royalty/credit only once (for my original purchase). The record execs are the ones who created this new performance and they need to get paid too.
BTW, this comment applies to the recent self-destructable DVDs too. Keep up the good work [RM][IP]AA groups.
Is it conceivable that SCO is coming up with new product lines in case the judge says they do not have an IP case since they do not have any product that can use the IP.
Reading the release, it doesn't look like these announcements are major in any way, just run of the mill upgrades or versions that possibly have very few (if any) takers. Not sure companies would want to do (new)business with such litigious companies.
I doubt if even if the plaintiffs verifiably read the privacy document, their case would have merit. As demonstrated numerous times, the patriot act does give the government considerable leeway in subpoenaing information from private companies on the basis of national security
Much as I hate to believe it, 1984 is here and although I'm not a pessimist, things are not going to get any better. We have ISPs, banks and other entities with whom we do business with a certain expectation of privacy, being forced to give out their records on a mere request (from the RIAA or the government to look for money laundering.
Freedom is the absence of constraints on the acts you perform and not the presence of rules that govern the actions you are permitted to perform
One of the key things to consider would be the media reliability
Magnetic media (like tape) are extremely reliable in the sense that I can slip a bit here, scratch a bit there but still hear or view the content with minimal distortion. They can also be 'overburned' by recording and playing at lower speeds.
Low density optical media (like CD) are also reasonable fault tolerant (with the built-in 8/13 and error checking) to the extent that radial scratches do not effect the content. There is also sufficient 'extra' space to permit overburning.
Medium density optical media (like DVD-R) are more stringent in terms of error checking. There is very little ECC and other error handling mechanisms and small scratches or smudges can really mess up the content. Also, there is no space for any overburning, the disks are 'maxed'
Now with these 25GB/110cm^2 disks, the disks are very error prone and I for one would be very careful of scratches or marks.
This plus the format of the data (MPEG-4) means that one small piece of data loss, I cannot view any frame till the next I frame (FYI, MPEG frames are I-full, P-delta and B-reverse delta. P and B depend on the prior/next frames and a typical sequence is IPBPBPBPBPBPBI and many videos have about 10 seconds or so between the I frames)
iTunes Europe might not be as successful as in the US since not all people listen to music in English. Until iTunes finds a way to customize the selection based on geography, I for one would not be willing to navigate through the site searching for my music.
Also, many artists have their recordings in multiple languages (like Eros/Laura in italian/spanish/portugese etc). Would be interesting to see how they unify or resolve the cultural differences
You might want to consider the underlying reason for this 'service'. The service is not renting or selling video/dvd and hence not replacing the traditional rental or sales. Look at the service more like a subscription to a premium channel, except that, you get to decide what you want to watch and when. Of course, regular STARZ with a TIVO would satisfy the same goals, but there are a lot of us who do not have a TIVO and perhaps do not know how to program the VCR.
I would gladly pay for a service (like I would for STARZ) to get the ability to pick and choose the movies I want to watch, download them and watch at a later time.
Since the video would be DRMed, there is no point in storing it in a CD. Also, the quality at 600Kbps is considered to be quite good for even large screen TV viewing (though 1400Kbps is almost DVD quality)
I think comparing Divx/Xvid to Real is like comparing apples to oranges.
Divx/Xvid looks better since it is usually encoded at a higher bitrate (about 0.2bits per pixel or 1200 Kbps) versus a typical real clip encoded at 128kbps. Obviously it is going to look like crap
If you follow video compression (look at the forums in doom9.org (http://forum.doom9.org) and you will realize that real is quite comparable with any other MPEG4 compression.
I have quite a few of my home videos compressed with DIVX and later with Real (since it is more common) at 400kbps and it looks fantastic on regular TV
Real trying (successfully too) to monopolize my machine, is another story. but there are ways around that if you know where to look.
The main reason why I use a DE like KDE is the consistency in look/feel and responses it brings to the bundled applications. This is the same reason people prefer to use the unified MS office or IE because they look similar compared to some 3rd party apps which has a totally different UI.
If I had an older computer, I would rather use just the command prompt or a simple WM and then get a bundle of other applications which may not behave consistently
The main reason linux is gaining momentum is the configurability it offers in terms of having a 5MB distribution like http://www.geexbox.org/en/index.html for quick media player. Boot from CD to play movie in under 30 seconds. Try that even with Win95!
You will never know what you are missing until you look without prejudice.
I personally resisted the move to firefox (on non IE browser) for long, trying alternative browsers and giving up because one small function/feature is missing. The last straw with IE was when the web sites started getting popups inspite of the google blocker. That plus the undesirable images that come in webmails or websites made me switch.
FYI, the killer feature I like in firefox is its ability not to load any image in the current site/page that is not from that site, sure fire way to kill all those ads.
Only problem I see is the way firefox works in linux (KDE) vs windoze (esp the backspace key). guess, I just need to learn to use alt-arrow
Slashdot Mirror
When we have a live cd that can install 'smartly' and continously optimize its configuration (pretty much like windoze) is when joe average be happy and content.
Once a small video player comes with an equivalent to headphones for sound (goggles?), it may be practical. Im not holding my breath!
Walkman, before this, was popular not because it offered equalizer (it didnt), radio (initially, it didnt), multiple headphone jacks etc. It was popular because it was simple.
If you want to make a iPod killer, make a device that is simple to use, good 'OS' (that has AI like remember my favorites and gives them priority in random mode), practical capacity (not insane sizes like 40GB, who has or wants 10,000 songs on their palm?).
Oh, it also has to look cool and not be a commodity. And, did I say, no DRM?
We all know, spammers are the first to use a practical technology to uniquely identify where the mail goes to (thanks in a large part to HTML/Rich text mails) with the use of either micro images or real images. The server just needs to keep track of your IP (easily retrieved from the HTTP header when your email program tries to get that image) to know who are receiveing it and reading it.
I would not be surprised if reputable companies start using these to find who are their target audience for a promotion and target them directly with ads through google or advertising.com etc.
Remember, the above statement constitutes prior art and hence this idea cannot be patented
We all know, spammers are the first to use a practical technology to uniquely identify where the mail goes to (thanks in a large part to HTML/Rich text mails) with the use of either micro images or real images. The server just needs to keep track of your IP (easily retrieved from the HTTP header when your email program tries to get that image) to know who are receiveing it and reading it.
I would not be surprised if reputable companies start using these to find who are their target audience for a promotion and target them directly with ads through google or advertising.com etc.
Remember, the above statement constitutes prior art and hence this idea cannot be patented
- Number of worms/security issues in Windows
Reminds me of the age old saying that rich people dont die of (NameYourDisease). It is not because they are a better breed, just that they have the means and money to get the cure. Poor people just can't. Most of the virus' and worms exist in windows environment because 1)it is more popular, so offers the biggest bang for the buck to the writers, and 2)windows machines are more likely to be used by novices and hence not well protected. Once Linux reaches the tipping point and we have more people buying walmart sold linux boxes, we will have simillar problems. perhaps a tad more, since not all average Joe's will fix their kernels/applications whereas MS is getting there by automatically performing windowsupdate
- Open source vs Shared Source
Open source is not really open in terms of who can contribute and what. There still exist certain people or groups (like linus for the kernel) who double check to make sure there are no malware introduced. I for one would definitely stay away from somebody offering a latest version of (NameYourAppHere) build offering special features. Of course, you can look at the linux/GNU sources, but I would rather have 'experts' certify applications as good before I use them. With MS, they are this expert and usually people trust them (they may make mistakes, but not deliberate malware attempts)
- Cost
The only advantage of GNU is the initial price (usually zero). Support, IT, maintenence etc still costs real money. Perhaps a tad more for linux since programmers/administrators are a bit more expensive (you can dispute, but look at any job board for the offered salaries for admins in these platforms). As a business model, GNU/free would find it very difficult to survive. I contribute to some open source projects in my free time since I get to pay my bills with the money earned with my paid job working on closed source. Once I dont have a job, chao open source development, I'd rather spend my efforts finding a job that pays me money. Working on open source projects is just a hobby for me and perhaps many others. I'm willing to let it 'cost' me something (time/money) but this cost needs to be underwritten with an income (derived from real paying activities)
I think MS is a necessary evil just as we needed an adversary during the cold war. Without one, we may become complacent and innovation may not continue at this speed.
Mod me down or believe what you want to believe. I believe I am the necessary evil in this discussion
Right click on CD drive
Select Properties
Select AutoPlay tab
For Mixed Content - select 'Take No Action'
Now, your music plays OK but these types of cds are handled
*On XP, though I know of ways in Win2000, just don't have a win2k machine handy
I think we owe it to the record companies for empowering us with these technological marvels. Screw the artist who produced the music, he should get royalty/credit only once (for my original purchase). The record execs are the ones who created this new performance and they need to get paid too.
BTW, this comment applies to the recent self-destructable DVDs too. Keep up the good work [RM][IP]AA groups.
Is it conceivable that SCO is coming up with new product lines in case the judge says they do not have an IP case since they do not have any product that can use the IP.
Reading the release, it doesn't look like these announcements are major in any way, just run of the mill upgrades or versions that possibly have very few (if any) takers.
Not sure companies would want to do (new)business with such litigious companies.
As demonstrated numerous times, the patriot act does give the government considerable leeway in subpoenaing information from private companies on the basis of national security
Much as I hate to believe it, 1984 is here and although I'm not a pessimist, things are not going to get any better. We have ISPs, banks and other entities with whom we do business with a certain expectation of privacy, being forced to give out their records on a mere request (from the RIAA or the government to look for money laundering.
Freedom is the absence of constraints on the acts you perform and not the presence of rules that govern the actions you are permitted to perform
Magnetic media (like tape) are extremely reliable in the sense that I can slip a bit here, scratch a bit there but still hear or view the content with minimal distortion. They can also be 'overburned' by recording and playing at lower speeds.
Low density optical media (like CD) are also reasonable fault tolerant (with the built-in 8/13 and error checking) to the extent that radial scratches do not effect the content. There is also sufficient 'extra' space to permit overburning.
Medium density optical media (like DVD-R) are more stringent in terms of error checking. There is very little ECC and other error handling mechanisms and small scratches or smudges can really mess up the content. Also, there is no space for any overburning, the disks are 'maxed'
Now with these 25GB/110cm^2 disks, the disks are very error prone and I for one would be very careful of scratches or marks.
This plus the format of the data (MPEG-4) means that one small piece of data loss, I cannot view any frame till the next I frame (FYI, MPEG frames are I-full, P-delta and B-reverse delta. P and B depend on the prior/next frames and a typical sequence is IPBPBPBPBPBPBI and many videos have about 10 seconds or so between the I frames)
iTunes Europe might not be as successful as in the US since not all people listen to music in English. Until iTunes finds a way to customize the selection based on geography, I for one would not be willing to navigate through the site searching for my music.
Also, many artists have their recordings in multiple languages (like Eros/Laura in italian/spanish/portugese etc). Would be interesting to see how they unify or resolve the cultural differences
One response and slashdotted already?
I would gladly pay for a service (like I would for STARZ) to get the ability to pick and choose the movies I want to watch, download them and watch at a later time.
Since the video would be DRMed, there is no point in storing it in a CD. Also, the quality at 600Kbps is considered to be quite good for even large screen TV viewing (though 1400Kbps is almost DVD quality)
Divx/Xvid looks better since it is usually encoded at a higher bitrate (about 0.2bits per pixel or 1200 Kbps) versus a typical real clip encoded at 128kbps. Obviously it is going to look like crap
If you follow video compression (look at the forums in doom9.org (http://forum.doom9.org) and you will realize that real is quite comparable with any other MPEG4 compression.
I have quite a few of my home videos compressed with DIVX and later with Real (since it is more common) at 400kbps and it looks fantastic on regular TV
Real trying (successfully too) to monopolize my machine, is another story. but there are ways around that if you know where to look.
If I had an older computer, I would rather use just the command prompt or a simple WM and then get a bundle of other applications which may not behave consistently
The main reason linux is gaining momentum is the configurability it offers in terms of having a 5MB distribution like http://www.geexbox.org/en/index.html for quick media player. Boot from CD to play movie in under 30 seconds. Try that even with Win95!
I personally resisted the move to firefox (on non IE browser) for long, trying alternative browsers and giving up because one small function/feature is missing. The last straw with IE was when the web sites started getting popups inspite of the google blocker. That plus the undesirable images that come in webmails or websites made me switch.
FYI, the killer feature I like in firefox is its ability not to load any image in the current site/page that is not from that site, sure fire way to kill all those ads.
Only problem I see is the way firefox works in linux (KDE) vs windoze (esp the backspace key). guess, I just need to learn to use alt-arrow
Perhaps the invisibility of these concentric circles have something to do with the new anti-piracy/counterfeiting measures? (Mod funny please)