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Messages - Lashiec [ switch to compact view ]

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51
I guess it's because of its proprietary image format, UIF. Most people won't care about it, anyway, just a "select" few *cough*

If you want to know what the hullabaloo about the format is all about...
This is a verbatim extract from the UIF2ISO documentation, by Luigi Auriemma:

======================================
2) Shame on MagicISO and GPL violation
======================================

The chinese program called MagicISO has created the UIF format in the
2006 and, exactly like PowerISO already did at the beginning of that
year, this format has been slowly started to be used to re-diffuse
copyrighted material through BitTorrent... with the right effect that
anyone hates this format (which is totally useless and, being closed,
it should be NOT used on file sharing networks).

This is a shameful marketing strategy made by the same author of
MagicISO (a certain Gang JiaPing) for forcing the users who download
these torrents to buy and use his program.

These facts have been confirmed just recently due to the introduction
of various senseless encryption mechanisms in the UIF files released
on BitTorrent, all encryptions which have nothing to do with the UIF
format but have been inserted only for trying to avoid the usage of my
uif2iso alternative... without success 8-)

For example the recent 5.5.272 version of MagicISO has introduced well
"8" customized encryption algorithms plus other modifications JUST
with the target of making the UIF format unreadable (again without
success, look at uif2iso 0.1.6) and has also introduced support for
the DAA image format.
Unfortunately most of the code used by MagicISO for handling the DAA
format has been "taken" from my other open source daa2iso tool
violating my GPL license and showing how much ehmmmm "unprofessional"
is the author of that program:

  http://aluigi.org/misc/magiciso_gpl_violation.txt

Luckily that code which was copied was old and not compatible with the
newer versions of the DAA format so it fails to handle these files
correctly.

My best suggestion is to spread the voice about the shameful actions
of MagicISO and its author and avoiding to download or keep the
seeding of torrents of UIF or DAA images.

And remember that uif2iso has been created only for supporting the UIF
format and *NOT* for playing "cat and mouse" with an idiot who
modifies this stupid zipped format each time for becoming the only
program able to read it...


Then again, it could be because of its Chinese origin, who knows. Anyway, my personal favourites are VirtualCloneDrive, DaemonTools and MagicDisc in that order. DaemonTools is far more featured than the other two, but it's also a bit more intrusive. If you do not care about games of any kind, give MagicDisc a whirl.

52
General Software Discussion / Re: Opera 11.5 Released
« on: June 29, 2011, 08:54 AM »
Pretty light on features, but that probably makes it the most stable Opera x.5 build in recent years. The new skin could use some work, though, it still has a few niggles here and there.

53
General Software Discussion / Re: Google+
« on: June 29, 2011, 08:28 AM »
Well, a popular product has more chances of attracting and retaining eyeballs, doesn't it? :P

54
General Software Discussion / Re: Google+
« on: June 29, 2011, 07:28 AM »
Looks good, I guess. Otherwise, it does not seem to do anything Facebook can't do. If it gets enough traction, it's just another Google service I get to use, if it does not, well, I can easily ignore like I do with Buzz and Google Profiles. Ah, yes, yet another sound idea from Google that didn't get enough attention.

Thing is, I'm pretty ambivalent towards social networks. To me it's just another tool to stay in touch with friends, just like forums, IRC and instant messaging continue to be. But everyone insists on treating it like the next big thing despite being clear that there's no game changer here, with profound effects for the evolution of society at large, it's just another addition to a digital toolbox. I often wonder if the people building these things are so crazy about them as the diggerati always are, and if their experience or even their social life match the experience they're trying to market.

55
Living Room / Re: Anyone Using Bitcoins Yet?
« on: June 24, 2011, 06:12 AM »
Bitcoin is already experiencing big problems. Even without those, I don't see the point in using such a volatile virtual currency, there's a reason why pretty much any currency is tightly controlled, virtual or not (see ISK in EVE Online). And even without the volatility, I have PayPal and no way of buying objects under a veil of anonymity, which is nearly impossible anyway.

56
It's telling that the company that develops that OS for idiots is smart enough to keep their desktop and tablet/smartphone OS offers separate instead of offering everything and the kitchen sink. And Lion won't include as many tablet-inspired features as Windows 8.

But then again, Windows 7 was highly flexible, and you could add and remove a great number of components, so I expect Windows 8 to follow its example, making the above problem a non-issue. And system requirements are said to be even lower, which is highly impressive on its own.

I would pay to see someone developing software with a tablet, though. Using Eclipse. Or doing software modeling with Visual Paradigm. Or using a virtual machine running any other operating system. Again, seriously guys, do you really think someone is going to force users to run tablets? Now, high-end tablets with their own monitor and peripherals is another matter entirely.

57
Seriously guys, do you really think the desktop version of Windows 8 is going to ship with the tablet UI as the default interface?

59
DC Gamer Club / Re: Terraria
« on: June 01, 2011, 04:34 PM »
That Rift game looks like a better proposition :D

60
DC Gamer Club / Re: Terraria
« on: May 22, 2011, 11:21 AM »
Does anyone know if there are plans for a demo of this?

61
Living Room / Re: PORTAL 2 AVAILABLE NOW FOR PRE-ORDER
« on: May 15, 2011, 11:38 AM »
It has wide adoption, but not in all fields. When it comes to professional games on consoles and the PC, there are a bunch of reasons why DirectX eventually won the upper hand, and then some more like better tools for DirectX and the fact that DirectX is not as closed as it may seem, as newer specifications are always developed in close association with hardware makers, who know exactly what developers demand from new technologies.

The Wikipedia also has another relevant articlew.

62
I don't think you can really compare R&D figures between the two different companies. As I understand, the R&D division at Apple is focused on researching new technologies that later can be used in any of Apple's current products, as well as trying to come up with new products that Apple could commercialize in the future. This approach is understandable considering Apple status as a consumer electronics company that specializes in a very narrow set of products.

Compare this with Microsoft's vast line of both consumer and business products. Its R&D division operates very much as a traditional laboratory in that much of what they research there it's not supposed to have a commercial application, maybe something will come out of it or not. Couple this with the encompassing nature of Microsoft's businesses, and it's natural their R&D figures end up being many times that of Apple's.

63
Living Room / Re: PORTAL 2 AVAILABLE NOW FOR PRE-ORDER
« on: May 13, 2011, 12:40 PM »
I swear DC is teeming with Apple heathens these days (sorry, can't help bugging you a bit :P)

There's a demo for Portal, but its Mac system requirements are significantly higher than those of Portal 2, so you may not even be able to install it, thus not really concluding if your computer can run Portal 2. But I understand the Source engine was greatly optimized in Portal 2 so the game could run well even on integrated graphics chips, provided they're new enough. You should complete the first Portal before playing the second one, anyway :D

64
Though I'm far from developing RSI on various parts of my body despite making heavy use of computers, they say prevention is the best medicine so I try to take a break every once in a while. The problem is that one tends to lost track of the time, so I cannot tell when should I take one.

Thankfully, software is there to help. On Linux, I do not have this problem thanks to GNOME's typing break feature, but on Windows things are not so straightforward. I know of the existence of Workrave, but I feel it's a pretty heavy solution to what it's a simple problem.

So, does anyone know of an alternative?

65
Living Room / Re: After PSN. Who's next?
« on: May 06, 2011, 06:06 PM »
How am I supposed to log into my e-mail account to get the verification e-mail when my 40 character password to my e-mail account is stored away in my LastPass account that I can't log in to until I verify my e-mail?

And this why you should always know what the password to your e-mail account is, since it's your ID around the web. And a 40 character passphrase should be strong enough, I guess :D

66
Living Room / Re: After PSN. Who's next?
« on: May 05, 2011, 09:20 AM »
I guess they should change their motto, huh?

"LastPass. The TWO last passwords you'll ever need" :D

Security breach or not, the PSN and SOE fiascos should be the wakeup call for many companies to thoroughly review their security infrastructure, specially after the several high-profile incidents that occurred during the past months. So props to LastPass for acting when someone cries wolf.

67
General Software Discussion / Re: ARS reviews Linux Gnome 3.0
« on: April 12, 2011, 07:18 PM »
GNOME 3, codename "Pointless waste of space". What's up with the humongous widgets and the insane amount of wasted space in the different windows? Is everyone in the GNOME team using 30" monitors or what? I hope the different Linux distros will come up with sane themes, because I should not be using XFCE just to avoid this horror.

I wonder if the new app launcher will be competing with GNOME Do in terms of features and extensibility?

68
If you were using KeePass all this time to store your passwords, migrating them from Firefox to Opera is a piece of cake. As long as you use the Auto-Type feature, that is, which, judging by your comments, you don't seem to. You would not need to migrate anything even, since the app is cross-browser and cross-platform (not as much as LastPass, though).

Also, LastPass can read at least one of the two KeePass database formats and import the passwords without going through so much hassle :)

69
Dexpot included an Exposé-like function with live previews in the newer versions (1.5 and up). It has a truckload of other different features, but IIRC they can be disabled, so use whichever you like the most.

70
I gave the article another quick read this morning, and I kinda understood it all. I think my commentary on its obtuseness stems from the fact that I was quite a bit sleepy when reading the article yesterday, and didn't catch any of the explanations, except that the mutalisk seemed like a very important unit for the AI :-D

I watched a few videos of StarCraft II a couple of weeks and they bored me to tears ;D. It's not a game very attractive for spectators, specially if you don't intend to use the videos as a learning tool.

71
DC Gamer Club / NightSky
« on: January 06, 2011, 10:45 PM »
Nifflas new game, NightSky, has been released a couple of days ago. Previously believed to be developed solely for the Wii, turns out Nicklas also planned versions for both PC and Mac. Unlike his previous titles, NightSky seems to be much more of a puzzler, as you have to guide a sphere through levels filled with various mechanical contraptions.

Screenshot - 07_01_2011 , 5_40_06_thumb.jpg

The game is available for 10 bucks, but until Monday, Nifflas is offering the game for a mere $7.2.

72
General Software Discussion / Re: Opera to support extensions in V11
« on: December 16, 2010, 12:22 PM »
And the final version is up already. I don't know about Roboform support, but the LastPass team published an extension for their service a couple of weeks ago, so that will have to do for the moment :)

Looks like a strong release so far, not many new major features, but plenty of small touches like Google search suggestions and the ability to disable plugins (at last!). Plus the Desktop Team is getting better and better at polishing new major versions, which is a relief.

73
Living Room / Re: Fast Food: Ads vs. Reality
« on: December 09, 2010, 01:29 PM »
Nothing surprising here. Apart from the fact that I'm cheating since it's not the first experiment of this kind I see, for someone like me, who has been eating burgers for years, but never ate in any fast food chain until a few years ago, I'm shocked McDonald's still claims that what they're serving is a "burger". First time I ate one there, even the meat didn't look like what any butcher shop is selling, and the burgers as a whole can't hardly hold a candle to the ones served at the local restaurants.

That said, even if the photo is a lie, it's perfectly possible to have a burger like that. Home-made ones are as, if not, delicious and good-looking as that one. Pretty fast to make as well, and not that expensive either... now I'm hungry for one :D

74
Living Room / Re: Windows Mobile 7 Review
« on: October 25, 2010, 04:53 PM »
Here is another review: http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/reviews/2010/10/windows-phone-7-the-ars-review.ars

Better set aside a big chunk of time for this one...it's almost 20 pages!

I see it, and I raise you AnandTech's own. It's worth your time just to see all the nice photographs of the devices and the OS, which are much better than the ones at Ars Technica (no fingerprints everywhere :D)

Gotta say I'm extremely surprised with the quality of the final product, being Microsoft and all. It's a shame Microsoft requires the use of the Zune player for firmware updates and music syncing, because otherwise it looks like a very serious contender against the iPhone and Android phones.

75
Living Room / Re: Facebook, The vein of all our lives.
« on: October 23, 2010, 08:39 PM »
So, how about using Diasporaw as the base?

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