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Comment Re:Think Different! (Score 1) 696

by wanderingknight (#26163951) Attached to: 2009, Year of the Linux Delusion
In my work machine with 512 MB of RAM, spoiled by the multitasking I'm accustomed to in my home machine, I've got Windows dropping over 700 MB of virtual memory on the page file. When I had 512 MB of RAM on my desktop (a couple of months ago), with even higher usage I barely slipped over 400 MB of swap space used.

With my kind of usage, it's sluggish as hell, especially if you tend to multitask a lot (say thanks to Windows' "Oh, let's nice all minimized apps!" mentality). On 512 MB of RAM.
Hardware Hacking

Submission + - Western Digital Sells DRM'ed External Hard Drive (wired.com)

Submitted by wanderingknight
wanderingknight writes:
Western Digital's 1TB MyBook external hard drives won't share media files over network connections (UPDATE: Don't install the "required" client software! See workaround below). From the product page: "Due to unverifiable media license authentication, the most common audio and video file types cannot be shared with different users using WD Anywhere Access." It doesn't matter what the files are: If you try to share these formats over a network, Western Digital assumes not just that you're a criminal, but that it is its job to police users. Workarounds: The manual's appendix and online support site provide setup instructions for SAMBA, allowing access over IP instead of with the DRM-infested and poorly-reviewed client app, elsewhere claimed to be "required. Samba not enough? Gut the firmware and install made-to-measure Linux: An entire community of folks is here to help you hack your MyBook: mybookworld.wikidot.com.
Linux Business

Submission + - Torvalds on where Linux is headed in 2008

Submitted by Stony Stevenson
Stony Stevenson writes: In this new interview, Linus Torvalds is excited about solid-state drives, expects progress in graphics and wireless networking, and says the operating system is strong in virtualisation despite his personal lack of interest in the area.

From the article: "To get some perspective on what lies ahead in 2008, we caught up with Linus Torvalds via email. His responses touched on the Linux development process, upcoming features, and whether he's concerned about potential patent litigation."

Torvalds on Linux biggest strength: "When you buy an OS from Microsoft, not only you can't fix it, but it has had years of being skewed by one single entity's sense of the market. It doesn't matter how competent Microsoft — or any individual company — is, it's going to reflect that fact. In contrast, look at where Linux is used. Everything from cellphones and other small embedded computers that people wouldn't even think of as computers, to the bulk of the biggest machines on the supercomputer Top-500 list. That is flexibility. And it stems directly from the fact that anybody who is interested can participate in the development, and no single entity ends up being in control of where it all goes.
First Person Shooters (Games)

Submission + - COD 4 price doubles on Steam for Australian gamers (on.net)

Submitted by ginji
ginji writes: Activision has made Valve increase the price of Call of Duty 4 on Steam for Australian customers from USD49.95 (The same price US customers get it for) to USD88.50 saying that the original price was a mistake and it was supposed to be this the entire time.

For exactly the same content, delivered by exactly the same servers, at exactly the same cost to Activision, this price rise seems to be purely to make more money off the game through increased sales in brick and mortar stores, and those that are now stupid enough to buy it on Steam. The new price when converted into AUD, is above the recommended retail price of the physical media, and you don't get the manual or an actual DVD.
Anime

Submission + - Comcast targets unlicensed anime torrents (animesuki.com) 3

Submitted by
SailorSpork
SailorSpork writes: "According to the linked thread on the forums of AnimeSuki, a popular anime bittorent index site, Comcast has begun sending DCMA letters to customers downloading unlicensed (meaning that no english language company has the rights to) fan-subtitled anime shows via bittorrent. The letters are claiming that the copyright holder or an authorized agent are making the infringement claims, though usually these requests are also sent to the site itself rather that individual downloaders.

My question is have they really been in contact with Japanese anime companies, or is this another scare tactic by Comcast to try and reduce the bandwidth use of their heavier customers now that their previous tactics have come under legal fire?"
Announcements

Submission + - GIMP 2.4 Released 3

Submitted by Enselic
Enselic writes: After almost three years since the release of GIMP 2.2, the GIMP developers have just announced the release of GIMP 2.4.

The release notes speaks of scalable bitmap brushes, redesigned rectangle/ellipse selection tools, redesigned crop tool, a new foreground selection tool, a new align tool, reorganized menu layouts, improved zoomed in/zoomed out image display quality, improved priting and color management support and a new perspective clone tool.
Operating Systems

Submission + - 2.6.24-rc1 Adds Up to Be Biggest Ever (kerneltrap.org)

Submitted by
eldavojohn
eldavojohn writes: "The latest release candidate of the Linux kernel is massive. One reader pointed out it is 1,565,010 lines of code & Linus Torvalds noted, "In short, we just had an unusually large amount of not just x86 merges, but also tons of new drivers (wireless networking stands out, but is by no means the only thing — we've got dvb, regular wired network, mmc etc all joining in), and a fair amount or architecture stuff, filesystems, networking etc too." Well, hopefully all these improvements — especially the wireless improvements — bring the Linux kernel one step closer to the general public."
Censorship

Submission + - Italian government draft law for Web-censorship (beppegrillo.it) 1

Submitted by feanor981
feanor981 writes: Italian government, led by a leftist coalition, proposed a draft law (complete text here, in italian) that would virtually enable complete censorship of every web site and blog, also non-commercial one, by means of heavy bureaucratic requirements on every content published to the Web.

The law proposal suspiciously comes after harsh criticism received by italian political establishment in a mass-protest laid out in Italy in September, 8 called "V-Day", entirely organized through the web by cyber-activists.

Mass media, mainly controlled or influenced by italian political leaders (RAI, the state television controlled by the government, has about 50% share, while about the other half is held by Mediaset, property of past-prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, leaving just breadcrumbs to third-party tvs), are silently ignoring the law draft without reporting anything about it.

Read the whole story here (in english).
Media (Apple)

Submission + - Apple iPhone contains hazardous chemicals

Submitted by Stony Stevenson
Stony Stevenson writes: The environmental advocacy group Greenpeace says Apple's new iPhone contains a number of hazardous chemicals that could become significant pollutants.

"Apple is not making early progress toward its 2008 commitment to phase out all uses of these materials, even in entirely new product lines," Greenpeace said in a report published Monday. The group said the iPhone, which Apple introduced earlier this year amid considerable hype, contains chlorinated plastic polyvinyl chloride and "brominated flame retardants" that can be harmful to the environment.
It's funny. Laugh.

Submission + - Bill Gates Denied Visa to Nigeria (gizmodo.com) 1

Submitted by
Xight
Xight writes: "Gizmodo recently wrote an article about Nigeria recently denying Bill Gates a visa to travel there on his recent trip to Africa proving that money can't get you everything. Whats even more amusing is that he was at "initially denied the Microsoft kingpin's application on the premise that they required proof he would not reside in Nigeria indefinitely, causing a strain on social services and a general nuisance for immigration.". I guess those Nigerian 419 scams really do pay off for them."
Education

Submission + - Schools Placing at 99th Percentile for Cheating 3

Submitted by
theodp
theodp writes: "Time reports that sometimes No-Child-Left-Behind really means No-Test-Scores-Left-Behind, creating opportunities for data forensics firms like Caveon (check out their Ten Most Wanted Cheaters poster). Take Houston's Forest Brook H.S., which was a shining example of school reform. In 2005, after years of rock-bottom test scores, 95% of its 11th graders passed the state science test. Teachers were praised and the school was awarded a $165,000 grant by the governor. But an investigation found a host of irregularities and last year's testing was monitored by an outside agency. Test scores plunged and only 39% passed science."

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