Topics

226

General Software Discussion / Is the party over for Microsoft?

« on: July 26, 2009, 11:35 AM »

Although the demise of Microsoft has been written about often, John Dvorak makes the case that the Microsoft's decade of attention deficit disorder has been a mess for consumers and bad news for investors:

• Years ago in the pre-Internet era, AOL was the talk of the town, so Microsoft had to copy it with MSN. No money was made; no strategic advantage was gained.
  .
  
• Netscape was the rage for a while, so Microsoft threw together a browser and got in that business. The browser was given away for free. No money was made; the strategy got the company in trouble with government trustbusters.
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• During the early days of the Internet, new online publications appeared. Microsoft decided to become a publisher too, rolling out a slew of online properties including a computer magazine and a women's magazine. They were all folded.  
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• Computer books became popular; Microsoft began Microsoft Press. After an early splash and success, the company soon lost interest and the division now languishes.
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• Teddy Ruxpin became a hot toy. Microsoft rolled out a couple of robotic plush toys, including the creepy Barney the Dinosaur who sang "I love you and you love me." The company soon lost interest and dropped the whole thing.  
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• AOL-TV appeared, along with other device-centric TV-delivery mechanisms in the 1990s. Microsoft created a Microsoft-TV division as well as a device. It soon lost interest.  
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• Adobe Photoshop became a huge success, so Microsoft hired Alvy Ray Smith to develop photo-editing software. Smith quit when the company lost interest in the idea.
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• Yahoo and Google showed that a search engine could be a money maker, so Microsoft copied that idea; it now has Bing.  
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• Cloud applications are currently trendy, along with notions about software as a service. Microsoft decides to go into that business.
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• The Apple rolled out a MP3 player, the iPod. Microsoft came up with its own MP3 player, the Zune. The company also says it wants to stream music.
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• Now Microsoft wants to open retail stores, all of them next to or near an Apple store.

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Part of this is attributable to the sheer size of corporations these days; they have a finger in diverse industries, not the one they started with. For example, how would one define Google -- as a search engine, a media company, a software developer, or advertising medium? You might also say that Dvorak is playing the "Damn if you do, damned if you don't" game with Microsoft here. Yet, compared to Apple's focus on iPhone/iPod/iTablet, i.e., a gadget company, Microsoft is all over the map.

After the success of Win7, where does Microsoft go -- back to software, or to what should it turn its focus?

227

General Software Discussion / What Windows needs: fully streamlined application installation at setup

« on: July 16, 2009, 04:05 PM »

There are so many things wrong with this idea, I won't start there. But here's what I have in mind. Although I no longer use Windows, all my rowdy friends do, and I get asked to be their tech support and repair guy (imagine that). But a good deal of time is spent reloading and setting up Windows on a given system for that friend, relative, their friend/roommate, et al. Win7 doesn't take long to install, but downloading, installing, registering, and then tweaking even a half dozen Windows apps after installation is a huge time sink. With most Linux distros, 95%+ of the apps you want are either installed during setup automatically, or you're allowed to click on which additional ones you want installed from the DVD. Boom, DONE! After that, I only need to grab Komodo Edit from their site and I'm truly done in 20 minutes, 30 if I'm not paying attention.So,

Wouldn't it be great if Win7 allowed users to burn their own ISOs that included their favorite software?



SUSE Studio is already doing this for Linux and it's really cool. It has so far proved quite powerful, and apart from adding packages from the regular openSUSE repositories of the latest stable release version, you can add/remove your own [software] repositories. Moreover, you can customize the artwork and share this custom distribution with the world. This video shows how to use SUSE Studio to build a custom Linux distribution based on openSUSE. All this is setup in the cloud, where it can be shared and downloaded by anyone. But for proprietary Windows application software, merely having a XML file that contains each app's registration info would likely be necessary to save the installation time I'm looking for.

It would be great not merely to install Win7, but to create a custom installation that would also install almost anything short of 8.5Gb DVD -- DC apps, your favorite file manager, graphics apps, music player, latest codecs, favorite IDE or text editor, VM, and so on. I can only imagine the:

PROS:
-- User control, less bloat, and caters to different user audiences -- beginners, advanced, or a specific industry.
-- Allow for specialized configurations (image developers, audophiles, programmers, gaming, video editing, etc.)
-- Allow users to pre-select which services Windows will enable.

CONS:
-- Possible licensing issues for proprietary software.
-- Server space (who could host such a thing short of Microsoft itself?)
-- Microsoft would find numerous legal issues against it, I'm sure.

I'm sure there's a lot to be shot down here. But I'm guided by the KISS Principle due to my unbelievably endless laziness. Could this work, though, for Windows?

228

General Software Discussion / Hannah Montana Linux -- about time!

« on: July 15, 2009, 04:13 PM »

Oh lord, well it's funny in a sad way, and true. As if you need any more excuses to avoid Linux, this one ain't it: Hannah Montana Linux distro. It should go great with my Hannah Montana home repair toolkit. I feel bad now.

229

Living Room / Is online access a right or a privilege?

« on: July 09, 2009, 12:56 PM »

If online access is viewed as a right,
then it should be free to all. However, this would imply government/national control (which it does already to a large extent!) of the web. If the government bans your access to the web, then you're effectively crippled in this century with regard to information, all other sources being either under government or corporate control and serving their interests.

If online access is viewed as a privilege,
then it should remain as is, and suffer the arbitrary cost imposed on users by often very large corporations. Any online liberty is controlled by the market, which is controlled by one pure motive: profit.



This is not merely an economic issue. I'm wondering if it's time to start thinking that, in a world where we are already carrying devices (phones, blackberries, netbooks, etc.) that allow us to be more efficient, informed, and safe through communication and interaction, should a government or corporation be able to deny someone this right/privilege? By the way, it was this French story that got me thinking about this.

230

General Software Discussion / The mess that MS-OOXML has created for ISO and Microsoft

« on: April 30, 2009, 01:13 PM »

Very good debate at CyberTech Rambler on the farce that is OOXML and the mess it has created for both ISO and Microsoft. Never mind that Office 2007 never followed MS-OOXML strictly.



This increasingly looks like a road that Microsoft should have never traveled; does the company really need this kind of time-sink in the cloud era? The comments are informative if you're interested.

231

Living Room / The need to unplug and recharge is upon me

« on: April 16, 2009, 12:14 PM »

Every now and then, I have to turn off the computer and go outside. Spring is here. Other projects call. Things get really busy at work, and so on. This same urgency to get away will hit me again in the Fall. Is the same true for you?

232

General Software Discussion / What is the new desktop?

« on: April 10, 2009, 12:25 AM »

What is the new desktop?



Is it the:
Cloud?
Smart]phone?
Browser?
Netbook?
Blackberry?
HDTV?
Car?

Whatever it is, the economy has shut down my future upgrade plans until further notice. That's okay. Linux runs my 3-year old computer as fast as I like, along with any of these other devices. Still, the "desktop" has definitely expanded beyond my mid-tower case and 24-inch monitor. If you also include Google Android and the Linux-based Moblin platforms, even the concept of desktop operating systems has morphed into an always-on computer existence. As a result, it seems that so many of the old arguments are losing their relevance.

233

Developer's Corner / Finding developer projects and other work in this economy

« on: April 06, 2009, 03:13 PM »

Looking to post a few helpful resources for those looking to work on individual dev projects/temp work for companies. Here's what I've found.



What others are out there that are helpful?

Sologig
http://www.sologig.com/
Sologig.com is a niche website specializing in connecting contract-to-hire, contractors, freelancers, and consultants with quality employers looking for independent professionals. Registration is free, and unlike other project based websites, we never charge you project fees. There’s also no bidding on Sologig - you choose which projects you are interested in and negotiate pricing directly with the employer.

Authentic Jobs (hat tip to April!)
http://www.authenticjobs.com/
Authentic Jobs is a targeted destination for web and creative professionals, and the companies seeking to hire them.

VisualCV.com
http://www.visualcv.com/
VisualCV.com has revolutionized the resume forever by radically improving the ways in which resume data is presented, accessed and shared. Use video, photos, demos, etc. to enhance and demonstrate your skills to employers. Also, it's free.

Glassdoor.com
http://www.glassdoor.com/index.htm
No matter what career field you're exploring, you'll want to do your homework. Glassdoor.com has anonymous company reviews and employee ratings as well as real time compensation data.

234

General Software Discussion / When was your last BSOD? I'm betting it was a long time ago

« on: March 31, 2009, 03:29 PM »

I'm thinking Windows is more stable than its reputation? I asked my friend and she said only twice with Vista-SP1, but that both times were when she was using IE. Last time was last week, after IE8 was installed, and then uninstalled for her.



When was your last BSOD?

235

General Software Discussion / OpenOffice has its own aggregated news 'Planet' site -- cool!

« on: March 21, 2009, 04:44 AM »

It's about time if you're looking for a one-stop news site on the OpenOffice suite:

http://planet.services.openoffice.org/

236

Living Room / Best explanation of the New Zealand internet blackout

« on: March 21, 2009, 04:40 AM »

Best New Zealand internet blackout explanation I've found:

I would agree that denying my right to information (in this century) via the internet is a human rights violation. All other info -- at least in the US -- is politically filtered media. And this kind of action just makes lawyers rich and keeps them busy.

237

General Software Discussion / UltraEdit for Linux? Could it (finally) be?

« on: March 19, 2009, 10:36 AM »

The long-rumored UltraEdit for Linux (and Mac), officially named UEX, has only been vaporware to date. But the alpha has been announced and beta testers are being called for.



IDM is already signaling how serious it is about UltraEdit’s cross-platform debut by claiming that UEX will in some ways be better than its Windows version. As a lifetime registrant of two copies of UltraEdit for Windows, I can get an initial upgrade discount, and better, there will be a lifetime licensing option for the Linux version, or you can opt for an annual subscription model. The catch is that users must purchase a separate license for UEX. Although the screenshot shows Ubuntu, an .rpm file will be offered for RedHat/Fedora and openSUSE users.

What is not mentioned in the announcement but is “IN” the commercial release is substantial… Full Font control, spelling checker with Spell as you type, Web tools/toolbar, Word Wrap, and so on and on… This is not an ordinary initial offering since UEX takes all of it DNA from its Windows counterpart. As the application seasons, and we make our planned point releases through the year and beyond, UEX will come to be practically
identical in features of its Windows counterpart, and on some cases, exceed UltraEdit’s present capabilities.



Linux users' current built-in editors are modular, allowing for virtually any plugin, and if you really need more, then Vi and Emacs are for the true edit-fu masters. Just viewing readers’ comments suggest over and over what users want most is consistent licensing among platforms. But more important is that UEX could really be a leader for more Windows shareware to go cross-platform and still make a profit. For IDM’s founder, Ian Mead, the key is listening to customers. If he keeps doing that, his whole IDM franchise will see success as far as the eye can see.
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If you’re interested in beta testing UEX, sign-up by emailing at [email protected]

238

Living Room / Scenes of the Recession from around the world

« on: March 18, 2009, 10:27 PM »

Some good photography on the effects of the recession. Where I live (in a small Ozark mountain town in Missouri, US), I get no more junk mail (woohoo!) and more than half the residents do their banking at check cashing/payday loan places, because they're unable to keep enough money for a checking account with a bank. Talked to the best real estate lady in town in a line at the post office yesterday and she said she had sold only one house in the past 14 months. Wow.
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How have things changed where you live?

239

General Software Discussion / Making the switch from Windows to Mac? Read this first.

« on: March 10, 2009, 08:28 AM »

PCMag.com's David Epstein provides a very handy list for those moving to Mac. (single page).



Macs are elegant; Macs are powerful; Macs are, for the time being, remarkably safe from infection. But when people tell you that Macs are "intuitive," you're well within your rights to sneer. In my ten years of using Macs, I've found them no more intuitive than Windows PCs, perhaps even a little less so. If you're a recent or prospective switcher, you might avoid some trial and error by dipping into the following grab bag of factoids and advice.
...
Well, that just about scratches the surface. Mac aficionados will note with displeasure that I haven't said a word about Time Machine, Dashboard widgets, Spaces, Automator, or any of several thousand other things you're probably going to like.

240

Developer's Corner / Anyone tried Google Code Search?

« on: March 01, 2009, 04:18 AM »

I'm curious if anyone has tried Google's Code Search, and if it has been any help to you.

241

General Software Discussion / Command-line-fu is a brilliant idea (Linux)

« on: February 19, 2009, 07:32 AM »

Command-line-fu "is the place to record those command-line gems that you return to again and again. Delete that bloated snippets file you’ve been using and share your personal repository with the world. That way others can gain from your CLI wisdom and you from theirs too. All commands can be commented on and discussed - digg-esque voting is also encouraged so the best float to the top." The site is still in alpha, but it’s quite exciting.



And if you like that site, you may also enjoy Snipt.

242

General Software Discussion / Overcoming the Cloud’s limits

« on: February 17, 2009, 03:04 AM »

Carol has been one of the clearest voices on the limits of cloud computing, so this paper caught my eye. It lays out how cloud computing can win if it overcomes the following ten obstacles (PDF), so say UC Berkeley researchers.

• 1. Availability of service
  
• 2. Data lock-in
  
• 3. Data confidentiality and auditability
  
• 4. Data transfer bottlenecks
  
• 5. Performance unpredictability
  
• 6. Scalable storage
  
• 7. Bugs in large distributed systems
  
• 8. Scaling quickly
  
• 9. Reputation fate sharing
  
• 10. Software licensing

The biggest obstacle is #2: data lock-in via proprietary formats. That's exactly why the more ODF we see, the more we will be free (to leave). Richard Stallman, warns us of the cloud's dark side: It’s stupidity. It’s worse than stupidity: it’s a marketing hype campaign. Somebody is saying this is inevitable — and whenever you hear somebody saying that, it’s very likely to be a set of businesses campaigning to make it true. (- The Guardian, 29 September 2008)

243

Living Room / [Humor]: 10 Ways Microsoft's Retail Stores Will Differ From Apple Stores

« on: February 16, 2009, 08:06 AM »

[via SunMink] 
10 Ways Microsoft's Retail Stores Will Differ From Apple Stores
Brennon Slattery, PC World; 13 Feb 2009

Microsoft announced plans to open retail stores, hoping to boost visibility of many of its products and its brand. The move seems to be an effort to mimic the success that Apple has had with its retail stores. The news is just too tempting not to have some fun with. So here are some yet-to-be-officially-revealed details about the Microsoft stores.

(1) Instead of Apple's sheer walls of glass, Microsoft's stores will have brushed steel walls dotted with holes -- reminiscent of Windows security.

(2) The store will have six different entrances: Starter, Basic, Premium, Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate. While all six doors will lead into the same store, the Ultimate door requires a fee of $100 for no apparent reason.

(3) Instead of a "Genius Bar" (as Apple provides) Microsoft will offer an Excuse Bar. It will be staffed by Microsofties trained in the art of evading questions, directing you to complicated and obscure fixes, and explaining it's a problem with the hardware -- not a software bug.

(4) The Windows Genuine Advantage team will run storefront security, assuming everybody is a thief until they can prove otherwise.

(5) Store hours are undetermined. At any given time the store mysteriously shuts down instantaneously for no apparent reason. (No word yet on what happens to customers inside).

(6) Stores will be named Microsoft Live Retail Store with PC Services for Digital Lifestyle Enthusiasts.

(7) Fashioned after Microsoft's User Account Control (UAC) in Vista, sales personnel will ask you whether you're positive you want to purchase something at least twice.

(8.) Xbox 360 section of the store will be organized in a ring -- which will inexplicably go red occasionally.

(9) DreamWorks will design a scary in-store theme park ride called "blue screen of death."

(10) Store emergency exits will be unlocked at all times so people can get in anytime they want even if the front doors are locked.

244

Living Room / DC should be Twittering its new topic posts!

« on: February 15, 2009, 04:14 AM »

Sure, Twitter is the latest fad; however, its traffic has grown exponentially in the last two months. Perhaps in large part it's due to the fact that it's a no-spam/no ad medium. DonationCoder.com should have a presence on it by posting new topics as posts and gaining exposure to its smart programmers and its interesting posts by members. There are plenty of plugins for WordPress to auto-tweet blog posts; why not develop the same for DC?

245

General Software Discussion / "National" operating systems; what's up with that?

« on: February 15, 2009, 03:43 AM »

- Turkey has developed Pardus Linux (based on latest stable release of the kernel) <-- thanks to gorinw13 for the tip!
- The Philippines has developed Bayanihan Linux (based on Debian GNU/Linux) <-- thanks to Paul Keith for the tip!
- China has developed Red Flag Linux (based on Fedora)
- Cuba is developing Nova (based on Sabayon Linux)
- Brazil has developed Litrix Linux (based on Gentoo Linux)
- Russia is developing ALT Linux (based on the free GNU/Linux code)

As is often the case, the key advantage that would flow from the creation of such a "national OS" is the control that it would give governments -- something it doesn't have with Windows, say, or even generalized free software produced elsewhere. The move is designed to reduce a country's need to rely on foreign software and licensing agreements. And the open code solution for Russia, a Linux/GNU derivative, will give it a greater degree of customization, as well as increased control over how the potentially free OS is used and accessed.

This all seems like a huge development, especially if these governments fund open source software (FOSS) at the school and government level as is done in Brazil.
________________________________________________
Here's the mascot for Russia's national OS? A penguin bear! 


(Is he about to drown himself?)

246

General Software Discussion / Angry shareholders say Microsoft squanders billions on pointless R&D projects

« on: February 11, 2009, 07:26 AM »

I missed this story:

"During 2007, Apple spent $782 million on R&D, Oracle spent $85 million while Microsoft spent about $7.5 billion. In 2007, Apple annual revenue amounted to $24 billion and net income totaled $3.5 billion," says Montgomery. "According to 2008 annual report, Apple increased revenue to $32 billion and net income to $4.8 billion. During the same period Microsoft spent $8 billion on R&D and increased revenue from $51 billion to $60 billion. Therefore, Apple has a R&D budget that equates to approximately 10% of Microsoft’s; however, during this period Apple increased revenue by $8 billion and Microsoft increased revenue by $9 billion."
___________________________
Tech stocks are rarely profitable on the long side. Don't they know this?

247

Living Room / Incredible photo from Australian wildfires

« on: February 11, 2009, 02:39 AM »

This picture of a fireman giving water to a parched koala bear speaks volumes. Look at the koala's tongue, and the koala's paw on the fireman's hand! The koala seems so polite and so grateful. This makes me want to truckjack a water truck and drive through the ocean to Australia. [backstory] The koala friend was rescued by firefighters after it was found roaming a burned up forest 90 miles from Melbourne. The koala friend had burnt paws, but she's doing better now and will hopefully be released back into the wild in about 5 months.

248

Living Room / Is World of Warcraft the only depression-proof industry?

« on: February 09, 2009, 11:45 AM »

Is World of Warcraft the only depression-proof industry?



Is World of Warcraft, Blizzard Entertainment’s Gem, the single depression-proof industry? Yes, because people who lose their jobs will have more time to play. Furthermore, those on unemployment won’t give up their graphics cards and flashing computer images of the Lich King. In a recent poll of WOW subscribers (who now number 11.5 MILLION), when asked what they would be willing to give up to survive difficult times, respondents said they could give up cable TV, professional sports, restaurants, vacations…. but no one would give up World of Warcraft.
_____________
via Bob Sutor

249

General Software Discussion / Nice Twitter app for Vista, looks like AIM

« on: February 08, 2009, 10:09 PM »

Very nice Twitter app called blu for Vista/Win7. Looks great.



I haven't perused the DC profiles to see who's Twittering. If you are, I'm zaine_ridling on there.

250

Living Room / Hot geek love - holy smokes! [just sad]

« on: February 06, 2009, 05:02 AM »

Love is where you find it, but these poor guys don't have a clue as to what it even is, I suspect. See for yourself via the profiles.


How can you love another if you don't love yourself?


What exactly does he mean by 'Megaman'?

Are there other geek love/dating sites out there?