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Comment Easier Cross-Platform Development Environment (Score 1) 710

by jj00 (#27833097) Attached to: Shuttleworth Says Ubuntu Can't Just Be Windows
How about an easier development platform for building cross-platform applications. That would make it easier for developers to sell apps that work for a larger audience. Why work so hard to move Windows apps over to Linux when you could encourage builders to build a dedicated-platform application with an environment that has this cross-platform functionality built in from the start.

(I have no intentions of starting a Java debate)

Comment Re:Not to mention... (Score 1) 652

by jj00 (#27560761) Attached to: Tesla CEO Says Gov't Loan Is 99% Sure and Deserved
I think it would be interesting to see a competition where the goal would be to provide a practical efficient 4 door hatchback (i.e. Rabbit, Matrix, etc).

Each team would have certain rules to follow, such as limited to a 4-cylinder 120-hp engine, 4 seats, etc. Then they could be rated on a combination of efficiency, speed, comfort, and a number of other factors.

My point is that this seems to be the model that Lotus uses - put together the lightest car with a 4-cylinder engine. I love to see companies like Tesla challenging the market, but I'd also like to see challengers pushing what we currently have to it's limits.
Music

Submission + - Amazon enters DRM-free online music biz

Submitted by frdmfghtr
frdmfghtr writes: E-Commerce reports that Amazon.com is getting into the DRM-free music business.

The company announced today it plans to launch a digital music store where people can buy and download songs. The files will be in the MP3 format, and they will not contain digital rights management (DRM) coding that limits the number of times users can copy downloaded music and which devices can play the songs.
The article goes on to say that there are over 12,000 labels will be represented, including some offerings from EMI. No other major labels are following in EMI's footsteps, but one analyst has pointed out that the big labels could team up to offer their own DRM-free online storefront.

"That would be a heck of a competitive advantage right there," [Alan] Chapell told MacNewsWorld. "But even if the record companies were to do that, they would horribly mess it up."
Music

Submission + - Pandora stopped streaming to Canada

Submitted by torviz
torviz writes: "Much to our chagrin, on the heels of our being forced to block virtually our entire international listening audience, we now have to add Canada to the list (beginning May 16th). We had been hopeful that the licensing situation with our Northern friends might have some hope of imminent resolution. However, after a tough week, and in the wake of the substantial attention the blocking has clearly brought to this issue, it's been made clear to us that we cannot continue streaming into Canada. No need to reiterate just how difficult this is. It's just a terrible thing for music that there's not even a licensing structure available that would allow a webcaster to stream legally outside the U.S. I'll reiterate our commitment to fighting as hard as we can to fix this absurd problem — we only hope that reform will come soon so that we can get back to the business of listening and discovery."
Windows

Submission + - Vista not selling well because of...piracy?

Submitted by techmuse
techmuse writes: DailyTech reports that Steve Ballmer blames the slow sales of Windows Vista (down 60% compared to the launch of Windows XP) not on the 5 year delay in shipping, the failure to ship before the holiday season, the high system requirements, the poorly implemented user account control, the significantly harsher licensing restrictions, the price increase, the increased interest in Mac OS and Linux, or the much stricter antipiracy technologies already built into the OS. Rather, he blames the entire drop in sales on piracy, and promises to step up antipiracy efforts. What do you think?
Television

Submission + - Can the NFL control Super Bowl broadcast?

Submitted by
youvegottobekidding
youvegottobekidding writes: "The Indy Star has an article ( http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID= 2007702010431 )about Super Bowl Party Rules. It appears the NFL is ready to bust churches for holding Super Bowl parties because they: use "Super Bowl" in the promotion, show the game on a TV larger than 55", and are not a sports bar. Can they really control how the broadcast is shown when it is sent over the airwaves? It's not like this is pay tv. Call out the ACLU!!!"
Programming

Submission + - Is my IT department unusual?

Submitted by
Mike
Mike writes: "I'm the IT Director of a small manufacturing company. Three of the eight people on my staff (including me) spend most of their time programming. Our core application is an ERP system that was purchased, installed, and heavily modified before I joined the company. Because implementing ERP systems is costly and full of risk one of my goals is to keep my company from ever having to replace the ERP system. We never modify the ERP system directly, but instead focus on writing interfaces that communicate with in-house developed systems. This allows us to provide new functionality without having to modify the ERP system. I rarely use consultants or contract programmers and when I have I've almost always regretted using them. We use a lot of open source and we shy away from the use of propriatary products. My feeling is that so much development in a small department is unusual, but is it? I also think my strategy of trying to avoid replacing or upgrading the ERP system is unique, but is it? Please, share your thoughts."
Businesses

Submission + - Communicating with companies like Verizon?

Submitted by
chaoskitty
chaoskitty writes: "Ok — so you run a mail server or 10, and you've gotten all of the bugs ironed out. You are confident that your email delivery and reception are working perfectly — after all, you pass hundreds of thousands of legitimate email a day. Then, one of your users contacts you telling you that mail from your server is not getting delivered. You ask for a copy of the error report so you can see what's going on, and you see something like this:

(reason: 550 You are not allowed to send mail:sv25.verizon.net)

So you look in the mail logs, and it's clear that the problem is on Verizon's end:

... Jan 29 12:12:25 bigtime sm-mta[17704]: l0TJwls8005690: to=, ctladdr= (10001/10000), delay=00:13:38, xdelay=00:00:01, mailer=esmtp, pri=213168, relay=relay.verizon.net. [206.46.232.11], dsn=4.0.0, stat=Deferred: 450 Requested mail action not taken-Try later:sv18pub.verizon.net
Jan 29 12:22:41 bigtime sm-mta[6426]: l0TJwls8005690: to=, ctladdr= (10001/10000), delay=00:23:54, xdelay=00:00:12, mailer=esmtp, pri=303168, relay=relay.verizon.net. [206.46.232.11], dsn=5.0.0, stat=Service unavailable Jan 29 12:22:41 bigtime sm-mta[6426]: l0TJwls8005690: l0TKMRb4006426: DSN: Service unavailable

So you decide to contact Verizon. But email to postmaster@verizon.net and support@verizon.net aren't answered. You try to call the numbers in the WHOIS, and you get shuffled to Verizon Support, who obviously won't help you because you don't have a Verizon account regardless of how patiently you try to explain that the problem is on their end.

You look up 550 errors and Verizon in Google, and you see that LOTS of other people are having the same problems. But nobody knows why Verizon is randomly rejecting email. It's not even consistent, as your user corresponds with the same Verizon accounts all the time.

What do you do now? Is there a way to get a company like Verizon to respond to seemingly ongoing mail server problems on their end? How do you get someone at Yahoo to read the email you send them to tell them that they're registering and hosting phishing sites and phishing-collecting email addresses?

What do YOU do when that huge company offers no way to communicate? Is it time to start advising people to AVOID email accounts from large providers?"
Microsoft

Submission + - Hotmail to start charging for use

Submitted by
KindredHyperion
KindredHyperion writes: "The BBC has an article on Microsoft's apparent intent to start charging it's users for the use of the service. From the article: " Microsoft's UK managing director told the Independent on Sunday that fees could be introduced within 12 months. Any move by MSN to start fee-charging would pave the way for its competitors yahoo.com and aol.com to follow suit.""
Windows

Submission + - OS Comparisons from the BBC

Submitted by igb
igb writes: The BBC are covering the launch of Vista. Last week they asked people to submit descriptions of the benefits of their chosen operating systems, and today they've posted responses from two Vista users, a Linux user and an OSX user. There's nothing earthshattering, but it's interesting to see the operating systems compared on a level playing field, and nice that the BBC is given equal time to alternatives.

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