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1851

General Software Discussion / Re: Linux Shootout: 7 Desktop Distros Compared (InformationWeek)

« Last post by zridling on May 08, 2008, 07:14 PM »

Excellent points, Gothi[c]. The variety of available distros belie the very nature of what is "best." I can easily see myself using a different distro every year (it's the same OS under the desktop environment). And in this shootout, he compared the newest Ubuntu with older versions of most of the other distros. Is that fair?

Also, I wouldn't call this a review, but rather a quick summary. DC does reviews!

1852

General Software Discussion / Re: What makes software 'good'?

« Last post by zridling on May 08, 2008, 07:08 PM »

Jimdoria, here's a good example of a Windows user sitting down for the first time and installing Ubuntu. The Canonical folks should listen to his suggestions.

1853

Living Room / Re: 10 Dirty Little Secrets

« Last post by zridling on May 08, 2008, 07:05 PM »

[Carol]: #3 ... rule of thumb ... if you want a quiet life stay at least one generation (and preferably two or three) out of date.

So true, Carol. I think that's already happening with Vista-SP1, since except for one remote hardware glitch, it smoothed out many of its rough edges.

1854

General Software Discussion / What makes software 'good'?

« Last post by zridling on May 07, 2008, 10:27 PM »

It's an abstract question, but what are the elements of good software?

Spoiler

There's even an international standard for evaluating quality software!

1855

General Software Discussion / Linux Shootout: 7 Desktop Distros Compared (InformationWeek)

« Last post by zridling on May 07, 2008, 01:53 PM »

InformationWeek reviews and compares 7 desktop distros:

"We tested openSUSE, Ubuntu 8.04, PCLinuxOS, Mandriva Linux One, Fedora, SimplyMEPIS, and CentOS 5.1. All performed well, and each had at least one truly outstanding feature. Ubuntu 8.4 remains one of the best desktop distributions for many good reasons: it works with almost any hardware you throw at it, and has tons of features for both existing Linux users and prospective converts from Windows."



The author also gave openSUSE points for ease of use on the desktop, and Mandriva kudos for ease of administration.

1856

Living Room / Re: Kitty break

« Last post by zridling on May 07, 2008, 01:24 PM »

Man, those are funny, and jeez, some very smart/lucky cats!!

1857

Living Room / Re: Fred Langa bows our (and bikes off in to the wide blue yonder ...)

« Last post by zridling on May 02, 2008, 12:53 PM »

I definitely like his advice: chill out, don't sweat the small stuff, and don't fight your software, just patch and roll with it.

1858

Living Room / Re: Fred Langa bows our (and bikes off in to the wide blue yonder ...)

« Last post by zridling on May 02, 2008, 12:07 PM »

Hey, you know what they say: Smart women are the sexiest ones!

1859

Living Room / Re: Knock, Knock, It's the FBI

« Last post by zridling on May 02, 2008, 08:51 AM »

Tekzel: You ARE guilty even if proven innocent.

That's the reality. On TV, they try to make it seem otherwise, but most juries are predisposed to find you guilty, thinking, "You wouldn't have been arrested and charged and incarcerated if you were innocent!" For some reason, false imprisonment is perhaps my worst fear in life. Almost feel like the Sean Veil character in the movie Freeze Frame.

1860

Living Room / Re: Fred Langa bows our (and bikes off in to the wide blue yonder ...)

« Last post by zridling on May 02, 2008, 08:46 AM »

Rumor is, Fred bought a winning lotto ticket at the Kwikie-Mart, and will be buying his own island somewhere off the coast of Newfoundland. Lucky sucka.

Thirty years of writing a tech column or newsletter or articles on deadline is sheer torture. I can't believe Fred held up this long. For example, how he had time every week to research readers' specific tech questions and troubleshoot them, I've no idea. Beyond that, I can attest to the brute fact of boredom. After a while, you just want to do something else, change directions. Thus, I've been neck deep in chess play for the past year and it's been a healthy distraction for my brain.

1861

Post New Requests Here / Re: Petrol prices around the world

« Last post by zridling on May 02, 2008, 08:38 AM »

It's $3.69/gal. this morning in southern Missouri. Ugh. That's wasted money imo, but not living in a big city, I've no option.

1862

Living Room / Re: SkyScraperPage.com: For those that appreciate art & architecture

« Last post by zridling on April 29, 2008, 10:53 AM »

One of my all-time favorite web pages. The older I get, the more I'm fascinated by architecture. Thanks app.

1863

Living Room / Re: Knock, Knock, It's the FBI

« Last post by zridling on April 29, 2008, 10:43 AM »

One name illustrates this fear: Pete Townshend.

There's a guy who spent his life with children's charities, researched one book about the subject, and among a lifetime of public service around the globe, he still got clobbered. The press never prints those retractions and follow-up stories in the same above-the-fold screaming headlines as the first go-round.

1864

General Software Discussion / Re: Vista Aero vs. Linux Compiz

« Last post by zridling on April 29, 2008, 10:36 AM »

MrCrispy: Microsoft is not responsible for making sure your hardware works, although as a customer it'd be nice! They try very hard to test and certify all kinds of hardware, beyond that what can they do?

Excellent point. What say we give GNU/Linux the same benefit of the doubt, since this has always been a hit against its adoption.

MrCrispy: The lack of adoption in the enterprise is I'm sure a big concern to the executives.

Vista just arrived about a year late. By late 2006, companies knew that 2007 would likely not bring better profits, and as we know, IT is never a priority. For the majority, they had upgraded and spent their money on XP and Office 2003, and for their needs, they were satisfied. Nothing wrong with a happy customer. I think Win7 will be a big hit in the enterprise sector by 2011 because that's the far side of their software half-life.

MrCrispy: Microsoft didn't make a big deal of Vista's rollout ??!!

I meant "compared to Windows 95." I should have stated that. I may be wrong, but I think SP1 takes Vista to an XP-SP2 level of solid performance and security tweaks, and when we look back at Vista-SP1 in 3-5 years, it will be seen as pretty solid.

MrCrispy: WHS is not a server product by any means so don't hold it to the same standards. And it does far more than Linux+Samba.

Fair enough. Distinction noted.

MrCrispy: I don't like the trend that all software is moving towards a license+activation model rather than me owning it.... Modern computing is complex, but at least with Windows, it's the devil I know.

You're right: Microsoft has long had a subscription-type licensing model for business clients, and I hope they don't apply it to home users. If I want to use XP until 2010 or Vista until 2015, I should be allowed to do so (without support, of course).

And yes, modern computing is complex. Can you imagine if you introduced a computer to a 30-year old today? Wait, it's not 1990. Kids grow up as familiar with the computer as I was with the telephone in my youth (1960s-70s). So maybe not. This is why I want programmers to think about design and UI first, and then go write their program around it, rather than the other way around, which results in a lot of fugliness.

Thanks.

1865

Living Room / Re: Knock, Knock, It's the FBI

« Last post by zridling on April 28, 2008, 01:36 PM »

Renegade makes a good point. Laws surrounding computer forensics in the US are also terrifying. For example, when the FBI comes to search your house and you erase/wipe your HD, that act is considered a guilty plea, similar to running from the cops. So that suspects who wipe their HD when they are suspected of downloading or sharing child porn are often convicted without any other evidence than they erasing their HD in a secure manner so that law enforcement can't recover the data.

This stuff truly freaks me out — and I have nothing to hide! (I just don't like snoops, period.)

1866

General Software Discussion / Re: How much should Microsoft charge for its Home software subscription?

« Last post by zridling on April 28, 2008, 01:27 PM »

That's a fantastic price, Carol, half of what it's selling on amazon.co.uk (£79.98 for the mere 3-PC home/student edition. The Standard and Pro editions jump to £330 and £415 respectively). For the pro edition as an equivalent annual subscription, however, that translates into £35/mo. (or $69/mo.).

Seems the price would have to come way down, as I don't know anyone who would pay £35, $70, or €43 a month for an Office subscription.

1867

General Software Discussion / Re: How much should Microsoft charge for its Home software subscription?

« Last post by zridling on April 28, 2008, 02:19 AM »

Cool! Thanks for the link support, mediaguycouk.

1868

General Software Discussion / How much should Microsoft charge for its Home software subscription?

« Last post by zridling on April 28, 2008, 01:50 AM »

Two weeks ago, Microsoft announced it would start testing a software subscription that combines its OneCare anti-virus package, the home version of its Office suite, and some other features in one package, called Albany.

Microsoft doesn't answer the biggest question about the bundle: how much it will cost?



Right now OneCare has a list price of $50 a year, and Microsoft Office Home and Student lists for $150 in the version you can use forever, and is licensed for three PCs. (Amazon is currently selling a one-year OneCare subscription for $30 and the home Office version for $120.) The news release (linked above) says that Albany also includes Microsoft Live Mail, Messenger and Photo Gallery, services that are already free. In any case, how much would this package be worth to you? Assume that Microsoft upgrades Office every three years. So for people who wanted the most up-to-date version, the list price of $150 for the home edition of Office would come to $50 a year. So the combination of Office and OneCare, at $50 a year, assuming you wanted it, would bring the price to $100 a year, list, or $80 a year, based on the Amazon discounts.

1869

Living Room / Re: Knock, Knock, It's the FBI

« Last post by zridling on April 28, 2008, 01:34 AM »

I think the worst FBI scam I've seen in the US is where the FBI or SEC deposits a large sum into your bank account — say, more than $20,000 — and then if you don't report the discrepancy within 10 days, you're charged with grand theft larceny among other crimes. Even if you didn't spend a dime of it, you're charged with intent or attempted or whatever. Insanity.

1870

Living Room / Re: Knock, Knock, It's the FBI

« Last post by zridling on April 28, 2008, 01:30 AM »

You'd think that law enforcement would use their time and resources to fight crime rather than lure citizens to commit them!

"Hey buddy, want some free crack?"

1871

Living Room / Re: My New website ...

« Last post by zridling on April 26, 2008, 07:01 AM »

Good colors. Easy to navigate. Clear set of services offered, and news to boot. Excellent!

1872

General Software Discussion / Re: Vista Aero vs. Linux Compiz

« Last post by zridling on April 26, 2008, 06:59 AM »

Thanks for the correction, and the links, Edvard!

1873

General Software Discussion / Re: Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron? Hardly

« Last post by zridling on April 26, 2008, 06:58 AM »

Software should be released when it's ready, not to meet a deadline or schedule. (Hint to Microsoft: don't "rush" to Win7 just because of Vista's bad press.)

Some say until it becomes a game platform, Linux on the desktop won't take off. But at this point, I'd rather do gaming on a console. Seems cheaper than the [PC] videocard power needed these days to run the best games. Fortunately, I never turned on to Ubuntu, despite testing it over and over.

1874

General Software Discussion / Re: Ubuntu 8.04 "Hardy Heron"

« Last post by zridling on April 26, 2008, 06:51 AM »

Definitely prefer Xfce over KDE and to a lesser extent, Gnome. Seeing this, now I can't wait for Linux Mint 5!

1875

General Software Discussion / Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron? Hardly

« Last post by zridling on April 25, 2008, 01:34 AM »

Sam Varghese takes the newest Ubuntu release (8.04) to task for its buffet of completely annoying bugs that have been patched elsewhere. This is the problem with sticking to fixed release schedules, something that Red Hat doesn't hold Fedora to, nor do most other distros. So if you're installing it on a laptop, beware as usual.

If you're installing it, share your experience.