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1126

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, 08:43 AM »

I second that emotion. I have long loved Opera on Linux and Win, but I see it falling behind since their kickass version 9, and it's all because of extensions. It's what people want. Extensions are like building sidewalks where people have trod paths, rather than building them where no one walks.

1127

General Software Discussion / Linux/Unix multimedia codecs

« Last post by zridling on November 17, 2009, 08:37 AM »

Fluendo has released a new set of their Codec Pack which includes improvements in the Windows Media codecs, aimed at enhancing the support of MSB Streaming, generating a GstIndex while demuxing, and improving seeking functions. The MPEG pack has been enhanced as well by increasing video fluidity for MPEG2. Many other fixes and updates have been included, making the Fluendo Codec Pack one of the most efficient and complete solutions to playback audio and video on a wide variety of devices and formats.



Offering the Linux/Unix community stable solutions and a quality experience when playing multimedia is not an easy task. Among those for sale are the full pack, which includes:

• The new Fluendo codec pack V7 includes Windows Media Audio Decoder (Windows Media 7, 8, 9, 10, Pro, Lossless and Speech)
• Windows Media Video Decoder (Windows Media 7, 8, 9 and VC1)
• Windows Media ASF Demuxer
• Windows Media MMS Networking
• MPEG2 Video Decoder
• MPEG4 Part 2 Video Decoder
• DivX 3.11 Alpha Video Decoder
• H.264/AVC Video Decoder
• MPEG2 Program Stream and Transport Stream demuxer
• MPEG4 ISO Demuxer
• MP3 Audio Decoder
• AAC Audio Decoder
• LPCM Audio Decoder

Great stuff.

1128

General Software Discussion / Re: Linux Desktop Turns 10: World Yawns?

« Last post by zridling on November 13, 2009, 03:27 PM »

Mike Doyle has had enough of Macs. Here's another switcher in progress. Both good arguments for open computing. (It's my hardware; it's my data. I should be able to take it with me when I leave.)

I Am a Future PC: Why I’m Dumping Apple after 15 Years
http://www.chicagoca...pple-after-15-years/

Control Issues: Why Apple Doesn’t Want You to Use Linux
http://www.chicagoca...nt-you-to-use-linux/

1129

General Software Discussion / Re: Linux Desktop Turns 10: World Yawns?

« Last post by zridling on November 13, 2009, 03:24 PM »

I ended up replacing my Cisco with a Linksys that has gigabit WAN and LAN ports, wireless G & N, a faster CPU, and runs Linux for a fraction of what a Cisco router costs. Seems very fitting given the tone of this topic.

-Innuendo (November 13, 2009, 10:22 AM)

Thanks for the tip, Innuendo. I'm shopping for a new router by January.

1130

Living Room / Re: Portable computer

« Last post by zridling on November 13, 2009, 03:19 PM »

What PPLandry  said. And if you're in the US, go to Walmart and spend $400-$500 on an Acer 12.1" notebook. They also have an Acer 11.6" subnotebook for $298. Both come with 2Mb of memory and a 320Gb HD.

Here are more:
http://www.walmart.c...90&catNavId=4070

1131

Living Room / Re: a gmail system that works for me.

« Last post by zridling on November 13, 2009, 02:35 PM »

Wouldn't it be cool if we had a home grown web mail app? Gmail-like, but just run on your own server. That's stupid talk, forgive me.

1132

General Software Discussion / Re: Linux Desktop Turns 10: World Yawns?

« Last post by zridling on November 12, 2009, 05:26 PM »

I remember that Corel Linux clearly. It had prominent placement in the PC stores for a brief time, and then in less than a year, it was dead. Problem was, they were trying to sell you WORDPERFECT!!! through Linux. One or two apps wasn't enough to make the switch back then. I think that was about the time that Apple began its second life as a gadget design company (neon bubble Macs).
.............................
@40hz: Cisco is one of "those" code thief companies this past decade who thinks they can dip into open code and not return the favor. Been in court for a while now.
.............................
On the desktop side, whenever I show others my Linux setup -- great fonts, good scripts, KDE, integrated Firefox, several good screen fonts, easy Win7 virtualization through VirtualBox, etc. -- they wonder where all this has been hiding. Like those Mac switchers, I'm having a blast on the platform.

1133

General Software Discussion / Linux Desktop Turns 10: World Yawns?

« Last post by zridling on November 12, 2009, 09:10 AM »

Got a kick out of this SJVN article: "while there are many excellent Linux desktops available, including Ubuntu, Fedora, openSUSE and SLED, the Linux desktop remains a niche player. "



Methinks Steven a bit harsh and perhaps expects too much for what is effectively an unfunded [desktop] OS effort. I loaded openSUSE a couple of days ago and it's very Microsoft-friendly, comes with the cool Droid font by Google, KDE 4.3, and am running Win7 inside VirtualBox without a hitch. Firefox is the default browser; OpenOffice the suite. Best of both worlds, man!

1134

General Software Discussion / Re: 10 things to do after installing Linux

« Last post by zridling on November 09, 2009, 09:55 PM »

I should add that under the Linux Help blogroll section of my blog, I have a few great links for new users and tips. Grokdoc also has an outline for businesses switching to Linux.

1135

General Software Discussion / Re: Switching to Linux: A Windows developer’s view

« Last post by zridling on November 06, 2009, 10:12 PM »

Maybe I should have posted it in the 'Developer's Corner,' but I never go there. I should. I really should!

1136

General Software Discussion / Re: Time to kill the OS upgrade disc?

« Last post by zridling on November 06, 2009, 10:09 PM »

Can't find it now -- maybe it was on the NeoWin site -- but Microsoft actually wants vendors to sell a clean PC. Microsoft takes the brunt of this criticism when vendors pile those pantloads on the system.

1137

General Software Discussion / Re: If shareware prices double in 2010, can you still afford to upgrade?

« Last post by zridling on November 06, 2009, 09:52 PM »

If I were a shareware author in this economy, I might try the opposite tack and cut prices in half throughout 2010 and try to snag new users. A measurable percentage would extend their licenses to the next [2011] upgrade I'm sure. Codeweavers gave away 650,000 copies of their Crossover app last year, and have timed it perfectly with all the OS updates in October and November.

I am already picky on the applications I buy. But I will buy an application if it does the job and it does it well.

-Josh (November 06, 2009, 04:05 AM)

No argument there.

I use both Windows and Linux on a daily basis and just received an email from Ultra Edit for their UEX (Ultra Edit for Linux) software. I already own a lifetime license for the Windows editor and was shocked to see that the cost for a lifetime license for UEX was $179.95. This has left me to make a decision of using regular gedit (which does most of what I need), or to fork out a lot of money for a product I have grown comfortable with for over 10 years. Given today's economy, this is not a simple decision anymore. ~Chris

-cjseymour (November 06, 2009, 08:33 AM)

Love UltraEdit and used it for a number of years. Glad to hear they finally released the long-promised Linux version, wow! But at $180, they won't find many takers. $50/year or $40/year if you already own a license. That's not good considering that Gnome's gEdit is built like Firefox and has tons of add-ons to customize it however you need, and I use KDE's highly configurable Kate text editor. I don't spend nearly as much time in an editor as I used to, so I can't imagine have $180 -- or $50 each year -- to spend on just one app today, given several cloud options. Still, this is only one of two apps I'd want native to Linux (NewsLeecher being the other), and I might have to give it a shot.

1138

Living Room / Re: Do you need to know more about who is tracking and online privacy?

« Last post by zridling on November 06, 2009, 06:39 PM »

I understand your very valid concerns, kartal. Google took a decent step this week by creating a dashboard for users to control how much or little privacy they want to share. Dashboard is more of an info aggregator, but at least gives us insight into what information that Google has on us its databases, and gives us the opportunity to change privacy settings and to delete services we don't want anymore. However, here is what Dashboard doesn't reveal yet.

Since anyone -- if they really want to -- can follow me online and track my movements, purchases, emails, key inputs, passwords, etc., it's important I practice safe computing, but much of that starts by not using Windows to surf the web with.

1139

General Software Discussion / If shareware prices double in 2010, can you still afford to upgrade?

« Last post by zridling on November 06, 2009, 01:16 AM »

Would you keep buying a shareware app if its price doubles in 2010?



I've seen a few programs already pre-announce new prices for next year (or their next version) that is twice the cost. Perhaps some of this can be attributed to high transaction fees (PayPal, etc.) or to the USDollar's drastic decline. There may be other reasons, but will you be able to continue to upgrade at twice the current price?

1140

General Software Discussion / Re: Time to kill the OS upgrade disc?

« Last post by zridling on November 03, 2009, 12:25 PM »

HP's crapware took me several hours to remove from my wife's netbook. Why the hell does a netbook need 26Gb of sheer unregistered crap?! It even had both office and MS Works on it, but once you opened either, you were immediately asked to pay for them. It's a huge waste of time, we all agree.

1141

General Software Discussion / Re: The next cool thing: Web Open Font Format (WOFF)

« Last post by zridling on November 03, 2009, 12:21 PM »

I have always turned font styles off and used my own CSS style which lists my LinoType fonts. WOFF would greatly improve the look of the web, if not its readability.

1142

Living Room / Re: Google vs. the rest: Is it fair?

« Last post by zridling on November 02, 2009, 09:31 AM »

So emails are "just such a virtual thing" and in no way comparable to actual letters to you?

-Tuxman (November 02, 2009, 07:34 AM)

For me, yes. About the only thing of importance I receive via email is an occasional Amazon receipt or shipping notice. No company business is done through it, although I know of several people using Google's premium business accounts to administer their email.

1143

General Software Discussion / The next cool thing: Web Open Font Format (WOFF)

« Last post by zridling on November 02, 2009, 07:40 AM »

Web Open Font Format (WOFF) combines the work that Leming and Blokland on embedding a variety of useful font metadata with the font resource compression that Kew had developed. The end result is a format that includes optimized compression that reduces the download time needed to load font resources while incorporating information about the font's origin and licensing. The format doesn't include any encryption or DRM, so it should be universally accepted by browser vendors—this should also qualify it for adoption by the W3C.

.....................
The video in the article explains how it works. Since most of my online time is spent simply reading text and (data) numbers, this should be a big boost. Firefox will get a boost by being first to implement it. More linked at the photo below.

1144

Living Room / Re: Google vs. the rest: Is it fair?

« Last post by zridling on November 02, 2009, 06:59 AM »

One thing that does reassure me about Google's fair actions is that they have yet to abuse the privacy of their users to date. Being a search company, its spiders are logging and instantly linking everything, including the content of your emails. Never had a problem with their apps, viz., email. But if they do start horning in on my hermetic life, then I'll act.

I'm far more worried about government action/inaction on issues of DNA databases, copyright, and patents, where tech faces increasing danger of being criminalized.

1145

Living Room / Re: Linux based applications

« Last post by zridling on November 02, 2009, 06:47 AM »

Thanks Tuxman! I was thinking too much. One of the things I really love is being "ready to go" after installation. At most, there's 2-4 apps I install from other repositories and that's it.

1146

General Software Discussion / Re: Time to kill the OS upgrade disc?

« Last post by zridling on November 02, 2009, 06:42 AM »

Then again, perhaps Microsoft wants you to buy a new Win7 PC instead. You figure that most people don't change the OS except when they buy a new computer. The OEM version on a new system is what, $50? But if you're a consumer, the only choice you have at the store is either pay Microsoft or Pay Apple (whose OS is tied to its hardware).

If you're thinking the math doesn't add up, then consider when a small business upgrades 100-500 PCs. Pay the $220 for the upgrade (or $1500[?] for the volume license), or simply buy new machines with it already loaded.

1147

Living Room / Re: Linux based applications

« Last post by zridling on October 30, 2009, 10:03 PM »

Tuxman, I don't understand your reply. Could you elaborate?

dhayfule, congrats on the switch! Are you using Gnome or KDE (I presume Gnome since you said Ubuntu).

1148

Living Room / Re: Google vs. the rest: Is it fair?

« Last post by zridling on October 30, 2009, 09:59 PM »

Lashiec: [Google's] lack of a price can seriously damage these companies in little time, possibly putting them out of business. It may be nice to have superb services available for nothing, but man, it obliterates any competition it may have.

Google takes advantage of open source code and open development unlike those other companies. Look no further than their Linux-based Android "OS" this week for Verizon. That phone is seriously cool, and unlike the proprietary iPhone, its software isn't locked down. But that same open source model that Google uses provides: open formats, which lend to reliability; low-cost, because development is shared; and since the code is available to all, security problems are easier to snuff out. Finally, since Google doesn't have to wait on other things to release at the same time, they get benefit of faster deployment. Those competing companies just have to find another way to make money -- usually on the service, not the [traditionally] closed/proprietary code.

1149

General Software Discussion / Re: Time to kill the OS upgrade disc?

« Last post by zridling on October 30, 2009, 09:29 PM »

However, on the local shelves here, the full version (for Win7) is only $20 more than the upgrade! All the while, piracy glides along, with the starter/32/64 versions already cracked and posted online.

1150

General Software Discussion / Re: Top 10 Windows 7 Booster Apps

« Last post by zridling on October 30, 2009, 06:51 AM »

Really? I love that it empties out histories and browser files and other trash all at the same time.