Recent Posts

826

Living Room / 20 years later, the movie "Total Recall" still kicks butt

« Last post by zridling on June 11, 2010, 11:24 PM »

What made Total Recall so special was how, for a Hollywood blockbuster, the film was so very smart and at the same time so gratuitous and graphic in all the most offensive ways—F-bombs and body counts earned the film, as the legend goes, an initial X rating. But that's only one reason to love Total Recall, which went on to inspire a TV series, the film Minority Report and a possible remake planned for 2011.

http://scifiwire.com...ns-we-still-love.php



The link is complete with film clips and tons of links. I love it. The movie is so bad I can't help but watch it. But then, I'll watch almost any sci-fi movie twice. However, since I can't find DC Cab (1983) on any cable channel, I ordered the cheap DVD. It's not sci-fi, it's just 80s goofy, and I can't get enough.

827

Living Room / Re: WeTab - Linux based iPad competitor

« Last post by zridling on June 11, 2010, 11:12 PM »

Why do I get a bad feeling that eventually tablet hardware will be free; you'll just have to tolerate constant ads in return.
 

828

Living Room / Re: Microsoft lashes out at Googler for making Windows vulnerability public

« Last post by zridling on June 11, 2010, 11:08 PM »

Problem is, Tavis Ormandy has submitted numerous security bugs and larger issues for years, and in return has waited months and years for patches. Seems like he just got tired of waiting on someone at Microsoft to write better code.

Search result: Tavis Ormandy Windows kernel vulnerability

PS: @Renegade -- There are no "good corporate citizens." They'll all get away with whatever they can, just as Microsoft has always done. Karma ain't so fun when it's due.

829

General Software Discussion / Re: Apple, you win: we're pulling out of the App Store (Appsfire)

« Last post by zridling on June 10, 2010, 01:32 PM »

But how ironic is it that you have an "App Store" where you market tens of thousands of apps, yet you don't want an app within that will help you buy more apps! There can be no good reason except "LULZ" and "You've been punked."

830

General Software Discussion / Apple, you win: we're pulling out of the App Store (Appsfire)

« Last post by zridling on June 10, 2010, 11:36 AM »

Here's today's anti-Apple story ending by Appsfire founder Ouriel Ohayon, who effectively accuses Apple of not approving its latest update because Apple wants to keep discoverability to itself:



more...

___________________________
Well at least we know where developers stand with Apple (under their feet). Still, I really don't want AOL, Microsoft, Apple, Google, AT&T, or [name your corporation] controlling access. I'm thinking back to that 1984 Macintosh commercial and what a lie it is now. I'm sure if Steve Jobs watched the commercial now, he'd say: "Whatever."

831

General Software Discussion / Re: Want to build a new OS today? It's going to cost you $1.4bn (or more)

« Last post by zridling on June 09, 2010, 08:45 PM »

I also think it would depend on what you would want the OS to do. But it does seem that so much of the innovation in the last ten years -- mobile, embedded, server, appliance -- starts with the kernel and peels off whatever is not needed. No need to reinvent the wheel, so to speak. Especially if it scales.

832

General Software Discussion / Want to build a new OS today? It's going to cost you $1.4bn (or more)

« Last post by zridling on June 08, 2010, 03:31 PM »

Amanda McPherson, marketing and developer programs VP at the Linux Foundation recently released a paper, Estimating the Total Development Cost of a Linux Distribution, in which she estimated that it would cost $1.4 billion for a company to build the Linux kernel from scratch today, and $10.8 billion to build an entire Linux distribution similar to Fedora 9.

Will we ever see another new OS in the next 25 years?
___________________________________
http://eftu.co.cc/co...ee-what-value-linux/

833

Living Room / Re: More anti-apple fodder

« Last post by zridling on June 08, 2010, 03:13 PM »

While I favor Google's services (for now), I'm really tired of every mainstream tech media story being about either Apple or Google.

Has the world passed the office suite by? Office 2010 is coming soon and Microsoft can't buy a story on it.

834

General Software Discussion / Re: Google's Chrome browser gets a stable tag in version 5

« Last post by zridling on June 06, 2010, 11:19 PM »

i wish Chrome and other Chronium variants had proper tabs management so that users don't have to resort to hacks like this.

• https://chrome.googl...ikaollhjobhchdbhfhgf

-lanux128 (June 06, 2010, 07:01 AM)

I'm with you there. Google eats its own dog food, and I'm surprised this isn't "fixed" for good. A silly behavior for any app.

835

Living Room / Re: Is a college education worth the money?

« Last post by zridling on June 06, 2010, 11:12 PM »

In my opinion, education is extremely important. But college isn't necessarily a good way to get an education.

-Deozaan (June 06, 2010, 09:59 PM)

Well said, at least not a cost effective one. A Bachelor's Degree in the US is nothing more than a qualifier degree within some career fields. As far back as the 1920s and '30s, scholars were complaining about the disparity between schooling and education. The latter need not involve the former.

836

Living Room / Re: Why do we always wait for apple's stuff before making a i[blank]-killer??

« Last post by zridling on June 06, 2010, 07:39 PM »

Renegade and mouser have noted it well, but another element in Apple's continued success is that their entire fanbase consists of early adopters. In their string of gadget wonders, every one of them fell from the tree pre-sold to the salivating masses.

And never underestimate the allure of the user interface. You feel "cool" using it, being in the presence of their icons and dialogs. I don't get it because I've always seen the computer as a tool, not a toy, for utility, not play. But Apple focuses on the playful aspect of computer. I urge every one of you to go into one of the Apple stores the next time you're in a city that has one. It's an "experience" all right, a cult one. But it's entirely built -- in my opinion -- to separate upper middle class 40-somethings from their credit cards. If you buy into the "experience," you will want to spend $4,700 before you walk out.

If you're like me, however, you can think of a million better ways to spend $4,700, and pride yourself on using Linux and not wasting it on an underpowered, locked-down machine or device.

837

General Software Discussion / Re: Google's Chrome browser gets a stable tag in version 5

« Last post by zridling on June 05, 2010, 10:27 PM »

Yea, Deozaan, here's mine (for the Linux version):

838

Living Room / Re: Is a college education worth the money?

« Last post by zridling on June 05, 2010, 10:24 PM »

What Oshyan said. I have a PhD, have taught college. But given the Return-On-Investment of today's degrees, I would only recommend college to those who have a specific plan for actual employment with their degree. The skilled trades -- carpentry, plumbing, roofing, electricians, general home renovation, Heating/AC, etc. will put money in your pocket far faster and with virtually no debt by comparison.

Mind you, my degrees are in Philosophy, but I did it for my own personal quest, knowing that landing even a philosophy teaching job would be tough. (That's why I taught undergraduate statistics courses for a decade!) But I would never recommend my path to anyone. If I were 20 years old, I'd buy and read the great books. Then I'd reread them. Then I'd set about learning a trade. If you're good at something, you'll stay busy enough to make as much money as you want. If you're waiting for someone to hire you for that "Communications" major, unless you're dropdead gorgeous, it's not going to happen (in this economy).

839

General Software Discussion / Google's Chrome browser gets a stable tag in version 5

« Last post by zridling on June 04, 2010, 10:03 AM »

Google's Chrome browser is updated to its Stable 5 version and there are some welcome changes for Linux and Mac users.

• Tabs have more flexibility -- dragging to the desktop automatically opens the site in the new window, or you can drag it back to the original window without interruption.
• Bookmarks are managed in a humane and sane way now with a simple file manager/folder view.
• You can synchronize both bookmarks and browser preferences across multiple PCs.
• And of course, it gets even faster, which is great considering I had to downgrade my ISP service recently.

For Linux users, refresh your Google repository (http://dl.google.com...ux/rpm/stable/x86_64) or download here. (If you're on another platform, I'm sure your browser will point you correctly from here. With all the available comparable extensions, I've left Firefox behind for now.

840

Developer's Corner / How to get rejected from the App Store

« Last post by zridling on June 04, 2010, 09:16 AM »

Neil McAllister thinks he's figured out how.



It seems as if a week doesn't pass without a new story of some app being rejected from Apple's iPhone App Store. Should developers really be surprised? Steve Jobs never wanted third-party developers tinkering with his platform in the first place -- he thought Safari-based Web apps would be enough. Little wonder, then, that when Apple launched the App Store in 2008, it was under strict conditions.

Still, it'd be nice for Apple to make those conditions clear. Apple has been tinkering with the language of its iPhone SDK license agreement lately, but that hasn't done much to clarify the rules -- unless you're Adobe. For everyone else, the App Store's requirements seem as vague and capricious as ever.

So let's try to tally the score. There's no guarantee that anyone's app will be accepted, but as near as I can tell, here are a few things you can do to get you booted off the App Store....

841

Living Room / Re: How to Sell Linux to Schools

« Last post by zridling on June 04, 2010, 09:07 AM »

Here's an article making the argument on how Linux could (cost) effectively replace Windows in the schools:
http://www.linuxinsi...for-Linux-70139.html

842

Living Room / Re: How The Mainstream Media Stole Our News Story Without Credit

« Last post by zridling on June 04, 2010, 09:02 AM »

TV media personalities never miss an opportunity to tell everyone how everything on "the internets" is stupid and what idiots bloggers are, but entire channels (and newspapers) provide no original content you can't find on hundreds of sites online. And they wonder why they have fewer viewers/readers every year!

843

Living Room / Re: Linux based E-book reader with two touchscreens about to be released.

« Last post by zridling on June 04, 2010, 08:59 AM »

I admit, it'd be great to have a tablet PC to carry around the house, in the car, in the big box hardware store to compare prices, and all number of things. If it also doubled as an ereader, all the more power to it. Can I get that with an i7 chip and 32Gb of RAM, though?
 

844

Living Room / Re: How to Sell Linux to Schools

« Last post by zridling on June 04, 2010, 08:52 AM »

I'm curious as to how Oracle is killing OpenOffice. I've not really been paying any attention there. Could you post back about it?

-Renegade (June 03, 2010, 02:57 AM)

Oracle bought Sun (back in August 2009?) and despite press releases that assured the management of OpenOffice would not change and there would be a cloud version (why?), Oracle has done absolutely nothing since. Both Novell (go-OO) and IBM (Lotus Symphony) have forked their own versions. But despite 132mn downloads for the 3.0 version and from all appearances, it seems Oracle is willing to let OpenOffice wither.

I could take it or leave it, since most of my document creation is done online for sharing within the company, not within a certain suite. But I realize that's not the majority.

845

Living Room / Re: How to Sell Linux to Schools

« Last post by zridling on June 04, 2010, 08:37 AM »

Don't get hung up on OpenOffice, think ODF. It's only one program in 25 that uses ODF as its native file format. Sure, MS-OOXML was approved as a standard, but not a single program outside of the Microsoft family has implemented it. That may also tell you how difficult it is for someone else to write a converter (free) for MS-OOXML's 7,000+ page file specification. And Microsoft doesn't even adhere to its own "standard" in Office 2010.
__________________
As for school funding of proprietary software, is Microsoft Office even needed anymore? What exactly is a 10th grader going to input that another format cannot handle? I don't see hardly any MS-OOXML documents online. Any case you might make for Microsoft products purchased with taxpayer funds can also be made by Adobe (the children MUST have Photoshop skills; how else are they going to create memes on chan sites!) or Apple (the children MUST have iPads; how else are they going to afford their AppStore and data provider fees?) Next time you see a school bond increase, ask yourself why they don't cut any of the vast array of athletic programs that include enormous maintenance and travel costs. Point is, the "schools" never need less money, always more, more, more. Therefore, take the money spent on proprietary software to give to teachers, and any other thing students can live without.  Voters in several states are rejecting school funding increases this year. I hope mine (Missouri) does the same. Mind you, I'll gladly pay for school infrastructure and capital improvements, but don't ask me to build a new football stadium where only five or six games get played each year.

Again, if you want that for your kid, fine, pay for it out of your pocket. But when there are viable, free alternatives to every proprietary software app (and OS) now used in schools, I know that simply having the proprietary app is mere luxury.

PS: In my perfect(ly twisted) world, those who have kids would have to fund their education, athletic events, and post bail (ha!).

846

Living Room / Re: How to Sell Linux to Schools

« Last post by zridling on June 03, 2010, 12:24 AM »

(allowing a tangent)

[Renegade]: Why would anyone want to learn software that once they get out in the real world, they'll never use again? OpenOffice is a good example. While it does have its foot in some poor markets, it's simply not used widely in the corporate world. Has anyone ever received a "Calc file" from anyone, or did you receive an "Excel file"? Actually, OpenOffice is done pretty well, and the skills you learn in it will translate into Microsoft Office pretty easily, so it's not really all that great of an example in that aspect.

It's neither the program nor the OS so much as its adherence to open document formats and open standards. If I have to buy your software (Excel) just to read your file, I will never do that. Why [do school boards] force taxpayers to fund a private corporation's products? Simply put, we're all broke out here. It's time to tell Microsoft to get its money from someone else, even if it's only $3.*
___________________________
*In full disclosure, I also don't want my tax dollars funding wars, AIG, GM, Dick Cheney's Secret Service Secret Service protection, and any number of things. But I realize that realpolitick doesn't offer me a choice.

PS: Oracle is doing a good job already of killing off OpenOffice.

847

Living Room / Re: Linux vs. Genome in Network Challenge

« Last post by zridling on June 01, 2010, 07:33 AM »

Nice find, Paul. Thanks!

848

Living Room / Re: How to Sell Linux to Schools

« Last post by zridling on June 01, 2010, 07:31 AM »

I've long bitched about the fact that my taxes go to pay Microsoft's license fees (or Apple's) at public schools. If students and their parents want to pay for proprietary software for use in their private schools or homes, more power to them. But a public school should be free from the legal constraints, the tech support required, and as always, the costs involved. Once you buy into proprietary software, it's nearly impossible to get out of its subtle lock-in.

I haven't lived a year yet when property taxes (the method for funding public education throughout most of the US) didn't rise. Schools always claim they need more money than a Wall Street banker. Let's at least save money on software when free alternatives can do the same work.

849

Living Room / Re: Ifs of Operating Systems

« Last post by zridling on June 01, 2010, 07:20 AM »

I'll jump in, despite it being a strange blog post by the Helios author. I could get the same result if I walked up to random "business" people and asked them what a sliding T-bevel is used for. At least he later admits the limits of his question. In the future, don't ask, show! (The comments are worth perusal.)

GNU/Linux is a great OS/system.

Yes, it is. I enjoy it immensely.

IF you know enough about computers to be able to install your own OS.

You don't even have to burn a CD/DVD. You can buy one for $1-$2. If you can install a program, you can install a major Linux distribution in less than 15 minutes, most with less than a half dozen mouse clicks. Seriously, if you can't do this, pay Steve Jobs his ransom.

IF you can provide at least half of your own tech support and know where the help forums are.

Or just know how to fill in a search request on any site like Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc.

IF you can compile your own programs in order to get the latest versions. Etc.

Huh? My programs are updated automatically after giving permission, or I can update my entire desktop environment with about four clicks or a simple command. Never compiled a program in my life. Never will.
________________________
As for the others.
Windows: Drivers? Really? Depends on how you use IE (settings/options). What's popup ads got to do with Windows!

Mac: The same limitations of any proprietary platform that uses DRM.

850

Living Room / Re: It's Official: Apple Is Now Worth More Than Microsoft*

« Last post by zridling on May 30, 2010, 11:04 PM »

The reason Apple is so profitable is because of their MP3 players and their cell phone. Without those Apple would probably yet again be perilously close to bankruptcy and waiting for Microsoft to bail them out again with another check.

-Innuendo (May 30, 2010, 09:48 AM)

Which is why I consider Apple a gadget company, not a computer company. At least since the advent of the iPod. Their computer division is less than 10% of their annual revenue.