Recent Posts

1101

Living Room / Re: Murdoch and Microsoft: When no one wants to buy your content, take it offline!

« Last post by zridling on November 24, 2009, 01:37 AM »

Good points, Jimdoria. It's no secret here in the US that Google wants what's best for it, which happens to be on the left side of many issues. Among them net neutrality, DMCA/copyright law revision (how come copyrights only go in one direction: up?), and they run their server farms on their own version of Linux. Much of that behavior does directly compete with Microsoft's (business) interests, who has enjoyed a hegemonic control over software and standards.

Yet I don't see what Microsoft gains from the partnership. Murdoch's not in the business of sharing money.

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Living Room / Re: What are you waiting for?

« Last post by zridling on November 23, 2009, 03:47 PM »

I'm waiting for:
— openSUSE 11.2

-zridling (October 21, 2009, 01:54 PM)

That's Robb linux of choice here - so it is awaited here too

-iphigenie (October 28, 2009, 11:52 AM)

It was worth the wait! Not a problem yet.

1103

Living Room / Re: Murdoch and Microsoft: When no one wants to buy your content, take it offline!

« Last post by zridling on November 23, 2009, 03:41 PM »

Exactly! Having a position on the Google News home page -- at no charge to any content provider -- is probably the single best way to drive vast amounts of traffic to Murdoch's own sites, where he does get advertising revenue. If no one "sees" Murdoch's content anywhere, how will they know it exists to subscribe to?

How long before NewsCorp says, "You helped us, but we've been thinking about it, and not only do we not want our content on your index, but we don't want to see you serving any sites that rewrite or offer synopses of our content/reporting." Where would that leave Microsoft Bing? Recall when the NYTimes walled its columnist and Sunday content off, there were dozens of anonymous blogs that reprinted every word within 30 seconds of their posting. I never missed a word if I wanted. No matter what NewsCorp writes about, a hundred other blogs will discuss it, adding their own take and research.

Instead of partnering up with Murdoch to scrub its visibility from Google, Microsoft should have frank talk with Murdoch about a more rational future for online content, newspapers, and subscription revenues.

1104

General Software Discussion / Re: Chrome OS preview looks pretty cool

« Last post by zridling on November 23, 2009, 03:29 PM »

i worry that when google hear's that, it translates to "it doesnt have an easy way to plaster ads on it" ....people go ballistic when you put ads inside applications, and yet have no problem with the fact that every site on the web is filled with them. so that happens when all apps are web apps?  is it like dividing by zero?

-mouser (November 23, 2009, 02:24 PM)

Depends on the app, I suppose. Chrome OS will neither dislodge Windows, Linux, or OSX nor their [powerful] apps. It's just a kernel built to run one foundational app: the browser. But its Chrome browser need not solely run Google Apps. You could use it to run Windows Live apps (one of the videos shows how awesome and fast the web version of Office 2010?/07 is on Chrome) or anything else.  Browsers as we've known them to date aren't enough. That's why we need HTML 5 and Adobe AIR to make the experience "richer" than the bare bones you get with Google Docs, for instance.

Web apps won't supplant local apps. The (local) ones that will fall behind are those that are dependent on one platform. The web, of course, erases that restriction. For now, Chrome OS will be a way to build a true netbook device. Unless you're playing an excellent flash game, World of Warcraft and Halo ain't never going to happen.

Welcome to the future of computing:
WebTVw
MSN Companionw
Chrome OS

-app103 (November 23, 2009, 02:24 PM)

Microsoft isn't standing still on this. OSX really isn't innovative enough to give it any competitive jolt. This will be good. Here is Microsoft's take on an OS for web apps (Gazelle).

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General Software Discussion / Re: Chrome OS preview looks pretty cool

« Last post by zridling on November 23, 2009, 02:21 PM »

Microsoft's Ray Ozzie asked a good question:

...If you were going to design an OS today, what would it look like? The OS that we’re using today is kind of in the model of a ’70s or ’80s vintage workstation. It was designed for a LAN, it’s got this great display, and a mouse, and all this stuff, but it’s not inherently designed for the Internet.

1106

Living Room / Murdoch and Microsoft: When no one wants to buy your content, take it offline!

« Last post by zridling on November 22, 2009, 08:41 PM »

Rupert and the last buggy whip maker....
http://www.ft.com/cm...78-00144feabdc0.html
http://www.businessi...-from-google-2009-11
http://www.dailytech...ent/article15906.htm  (earlier story from August)



Good luck with walling off the internet. Basically Microsoft is going to pay companies for the sole right to index their content. I'm guessing that aside from being a waste of money, I'm pretty sure "I won't index you if you ask me politely not to" is more of a courtesy than a concern arising out of genuine copyright claim fears. Reminds me of professional sports in the US: charge more and more until fans stop coming, and when the fans don't show up, blackout the games from TV viewers, too! Now ask them to pay for news and stories about teams they won't watch and can't see.

Makes sense! Not. If you ask me, Rupert should pay the subjects of his stories since they're the ones creating the actual content he's writing or reporting on (and making money off of someone else's life and work).

1107

General Software Discussion / Re: Chrome OS preview looks pretty cool

« Last post by zridling on November 21, 2009, 09:11 PM »

Good source, cmpm, thanks. Here's some background by Stephen O'grady on similar ideas/attempts to bring a "network computer" to market in the past 13 years. He also gives his analysis of Chrome:

http://redmonk.com/s.../07/08/chrome-os-qa/

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General Software Discussion / Re: Chrome OS preview looks pretty cool

« Last post by zridling on November 21, 2009, 04:27 PM »

(Treat it like a Radio or TV) That's the part I find horrifying, because any chance of securing the thing goes right down the drain the instant Joe User gets the impression that a lackadaisical attitude is okay.

-Stoic Joker (November 20, 2009, 06:36 PM)

http://www.chromium.org/chromium-os
Google announced that Chrome OS will feature a sandbox approach -- this video explains the technical aspects in less than 4 minutes: (http://www.youtube.c.../watch?v=A9WVmNfgjtQ). According to Google's announcement, the company will be "going back to the basics and completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS so that users don't have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates."

1109

Living Room / Re: Microsoft decries standards grandstanding

« Last post by zridling on November 21, 2009, 04:16 PM »

Open standards make the world go 'round, at least make the web possible. Sinofsky was pissed about something in that interview, but I agree that there's no need to talk about the next version when you're elbow deep in building it. IE8 was a great improvement, and let's hope 9 will make it two in a row.

1110

Developer's Corner / Apple's App Store Mistake

« Last post by zridling on November 21, 2009, 03:29 PM »

Paul Graham's latest essay on how Apple is treating the programmers who develop Apps for the iPhone/iTouch is characteristically on target. Here's how it begins:

I don't think Apple realizes how badly the App Store approval process is broken. Or rather, I don't think they realize how much it matters that it's broken.... The way Apple runs the App Store has harmed their reputation with programmers more than anything else they've ever done. Their reputation with programmers used to be great. It used to be the most common complaint you heard about Apple was that their fans admired them too uncritically. The App Store has changed that. Now a lot of programmers have started to see Apple as evil.... How much of the goodwill Apple once had with programmers have they lost over the App Store? A third? Half? And that's just so far. The App Store is an ongoing karma leak.



Find time to read the whole thing if you can.

The only way to break Apple’s stranglehold on the "App Store" business is to find a way of making the Android platform attractive to developers. Maybe a smart strategy would be for Google (or Motorola or other handset manufacturers who aim to offer Android phones) to identify developers and offer them free Android phones.

1111

General Software Discussion / Re: Chrome OS preview looks pretty cool

« Last post by zridling on November 20, 2009, 03:08 PM »

Well, but this is the paradigm shift that Google (cloudsters) have talked about for a couple of years now. Chrome is not so much OS as ad medium. Right now, it's just a foundation, making up in speed what it (purposefully) lacks in extras. When the Google guys say the browser is the OS, they're not joking: they've created a free, easy-to-use, efficient browser that pushes users to the Web -- and Google's ads -- as quickly as possible. In return for text ads, you get "free."

With Google's Chrome OS business model, the OS isn't a revenue-generating product. It's hardly a commodity per se. It's not even a service, as Microsoft's Office Web apps try to be. Under Google, the OS is a medium, like television, radio or the Internet. That's the revolutionary idea, and one that we should take time to ponder. 

Being open source, Microsoft would be smart to simply build its own version, inserted IE where the Chrome browser is. The only other option is for them to sue the socks off Google in Federal courts (like they've done by funding SCO) for the next decade or two. This is indeed an interesting time to be computing!

1112

General Software Discussion / Re: Chrome OS preview looks pretty cool

« Last post by zridling on November 19, 2009, 11:02 PM »

Exactly. This would only be targeted to a limited set of users, and for them not all of the time. This would make a great traveling, short trip, kitchen, waiting room(!) or TV-room device in my opinion. Being open source, it'd be great if other browsers tweaked the code to include their own versions.

1113

General Software Discussion / Chrome OS preview looks pretty cool

« Last post by zridling on November 19, 2009, 10:41 PM »

Google previewed its Linux-based ChromeOS Thursday and though it won't replace the big three desktop OSes, it will serve as a superfast thin client on netbooks and mobile devices. "Chrome OS is also fully open source, and will run on a wider variety of hardware than standard x86-based PCs."



Google is working with multiple partners on commercial devices, including Acer, Asus, Freescale, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, and Toshiba. Google has very specific ideas on how these machines will be designed. The OS does not support hard drives, just SSDs (solid state devices), on which files, and much content can be cached. With a boot time of 7 seconds to an open browser, this could be exciting for business travelers. Full release [might be] expected in late Summer or Fall 2010.
..........................................
Cade Metz provides an excellent counterargument to Chrome OS.

1114

General Software Discussion / Re: [rant] Seriously? Software pricing is officially nuts

« Last post by zridling on November 19, 2009, 04:49 PM »

Wow, thanks for the quote, and the math, mwb. I've used the calculator to make a lot of sound decisions in my life:

-- Is it cheaper to buy new, or fix and maintain the old?
-- Is that certification going to earn me a raise, or will it be resume fodder, and in two years mean spit?
-- Should I spend my last five dollars on a gallon of chocolate milk now, or five "Piss-It-Aways" lotto tickets?

1115

General Software Discussion / Re: chrome getting extensions makes even more evident why Opera doesn't get it

« Last post by zridling on November 19, 2009, 04:35 PM »

...I will be moving to chrome. Firefox is nice but chrome is just far more responsive, quicker to startup, and feels more fluid. Overall, chrome feels great.

-Josh (November 18, 2009, 08:52 AM)

Based on the nightly Linux builds of Chrome, I'll likely move that direction, too. I do the Google Docs, Calendar, email, and Chrome/Linux also does twitter well, too. Simplify my computing and you simplify my life.

1116

General Software Discussion / Re: Worst Win7 reviews (ongoing)

« Last post by zridling on November 18, 2009, 05:36 PM »

I love this headline from The Guardian:

Windows 7 review: like Vista, but good.

1117

General Software Discussion / Re: [rant] Seriously? Software pricing is officially nuts

« Last post by zridling on November 18, 2009, 05:24 PM »

There's a cutpoint to what any individual program is worth. Josh makes a good point: if you need it, you need it. Justify the cost. Carol the flip side: if you don't need it, enjoy the last good version as long as you like.

Also consider that most DC members are extraordinary users, i.e., they use more than one program that requires annual licensing or subscription fees. To me it's similar to going to a restaurant and being served an $90 steak. That better be one damn fine steak! Moreover, I feel bad paying that much for a steak, when I could cook my own perfectly to my liking for $15.

1118

Living Room / Re: Choosing a new PC package for a relative.. Post your recommendations

« Last post by zridling on November 18, 2009, 05:10 PM »

Depends on the relative. If it's someone in the family who doesn't need a laptop (I don't "do" laptops), then I use the opportunity as an excuse to build myself another system -- sans the cost of Windows, of course -- and hand over my old one to them. I always max out the RAM and put a big HD in them, so when they want to upgrade the system, all they have to do is buy an $80-$110 new videocard if needed down the road.

Yet as we all agree, it all depends on whom and how they will use the computer. My wife, for example, requires a laptop and takes a netbook on the road. My mom knows nothing, yet wants to buy the $4000 Mac with a $500 printer for some weird reason. Walmart sells cheap laptops. Check their online store, select your system, input your area code, and see which store closest to you has one in stock. Or have it delivered to your local store for $1.  If they need further cost control, such as a kid, a student, or retired person, I strongly urge them to install a nice Linux distro. Comes with all the software they'll need for free and none of those nasty crapware and licensing, validating, registering, activation hassles.

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General Software Discussion / [rant] Seriously? Software pricing is officially nuts

« Last post by zridling on November 18, 2009, 09:40 AM »

I've seen several shareware programs double and triple their prices recently and I'm shocked that they have the chutzpah. Here's the latest in my inbox:



The guys at IDM want $280 for a lifetime license now, hey, but it's on sale for $180 if you hurry. All hail donationware, freeware, and a bunch of open source apps, otherwise, I'm saying a big "Hell naw" to these prices. Sorry folks, I have a limit, and lately I'd rather pay the bills.

 

1120

General Software Discussion / Re: Linux/Unix multimedia codecs

« Last post by zridling on November 17, 2009, 08:03 PM »

@Innuendo:
Yea, it does, doesn't it! But in today's patent-drowning, copyrighted world, at least it's available and guaranteed to work. Of course, you can always click through the "kicker" dialog and download them freely if you want.

1121

General Software Discussion / Re: chrome getting extensions makes even more evident why Opera doesn't get it

« Last post by zridling on November 17, 2009, 08:00 PM »

Add to the fact that users are looking for browsers to provide speed on top of features they can only get by building the extensions themselves. Compared to Opera, basic Firefox doesn't impress me. However, add any number of killer extensions to Firefox and suddenly it's an exciting app.

1122

General Software Discussion / Re: Linux/Unix multimedia codecs

« Last post by zridling on November 17, 2009, 05:32 PM »

Under their original licenses. Fluendo sells a variety of codec packs for Linux users, presumably US users given the restrictions there.

1123

Living Room / Re: Best tech news sites?

« Last post by zridling on November 17, 2009, 05:27 PM »

Okay, there's two I was not aware of. Thanks 40hz!

1124

Living Room / Best tech news sites?

« Last post by zridling on November 17, 2009, 08:56 AM »

I love Ehtyar's tech news reviews, and while I have a few sites I visit for news, most fall short. Help me by sharing your favorite tech news sites.


pic unrelated

1125

General Software Discussion / Re: Is ubuntu's windowing/redrawing slower than windows? Is this X, or Gnome?

« Last post by zridling on November 17, 2009, 08:47 AM »

It's got to be hardware related. I build my own machines and tend to stock them with the fastest and fattest videocards, but Ubuntu has rarely liked them since 6.10. Fedora, however, loves them and is fast as hell, as does sidux (a debian-based distro). Go figure. Good luck!