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Comment One Thing: Win32 (Score 1) 865

by Oriumpor (#25946715) Attached to: What Needs Fixing In Linux

Transparent Win32 Execution, by default on install.

Take the grandma scenario. She wants Word, A photo applicaion and quickbooks. No it doesn't matter that there are alternatives, she's got a copy from 2002 that she uses with backups, and she doesn't care to learn a new product. If the average Joe PC can pop the CD in and double click the CD (autorun) and the setup pops right up (wine) without having to go too a command line you have immediately expanded your audience.

The same thing applies to WoW, and pick your latest release game. Hell Fallout3 might run better under wine than it does in windows!

Why not adopt microsoft's implementation strategy on Win32 only applied to Linux. Right now a Linux machine running wine is only little more effective than a Windows 98 Virtual Machine... This should change Dramatically to expect people to come to linux in droves.

Don't get me wrong I run Linux in a medium sized datacenter in all the places it's right for, but until my desktops are all linux we still need Active Directory to manage the systems, and expensive Anti-Virus products running on every endpoint chewing up cycles. Give users an apples to apples experience to vista, make Wine work on 99% of software without the user having to do a damn thing. You do that, and you've got the same compatibility Windows on Windows emulation gives Vista64 and XP64.
Games

Blizzcon 2008 Wrap-Up 173

Posted by Soulskill from the tldr dept.

This year's Blizzcon saw 15,000 gamers descend from 27 different countries to take part in two days of discussions, tournaments, and sneak peaks at upcoming releases. Several big announcements were scattered among a raft of new details about Diablo 3, Starcraft 2 and Wrath of the Lich King. The new information went a long way toward drumming up interest for what already appear to be worthy successors to old favorites. Read on for more.
Security

San Fran Hunts For Mystery Device On City Network 821

Posted by CmdrTaco from the they-just-can't-get-a-break dept.
alphadogg writes "With costs related to a rogue network administrator's hijacking of the city's network now estimated at $1 million, city officials say they are searching for a mysterious networking device hidden somewhere on the network. The device, referred to as a 'terminal server' in court documents, appears to be a router that was installed to provide remote access to the city's Fiber WAN network, which connects municipal computer and telecommunication systems throughout the city. City officials haven't been able to log in to the device, however, because they do not have the username and password. In fact, the city's Department of Telecommunications and Information Services isn't even certain where the device is located, court filings state."
Security

"Crimeserver" Full of Personal/Business Data Found 114

Posted by kdawson from the gotta-store-it-somewhere dept.
Presto Vivace sends news of a server found by security firm Finjan that contained a 1.4-GB cache of stolen data, accumulated over a period of less than a month from compromised PCs around the world. The "crimeserver," as Finjan dubs it, "provided command and control functions for malware attacks in addition to being a drop site for data harvested from compromised computers. ... The stolen data consisted of 5,388 unique log files including 1,037 from Turkey, 621 from Germany, 571 from the United States, 322 from France, 308 from India and 232 from Britain." Oddly enough, the data was stored in the open, with not even basic auth to protect it. Finjan notes in their press release that this huge trove of data gathered over a short period of time indicates that the crimeware problem is far larger than most observers have been assuming. Update: 05/08 12:29 GMT by T : Note, the security firm involved is spelled "Finjan," not "Finjin" as originally shown.
Movies

Toshiba Making Funeral Plans for HD DVD 452

Posted by Zonk from the cue-taps dept.
Blue Light Special writes "With HD DVD on life support, Toshiba is reportedly preparing to bow to the inevitable and allow HD DVD to expire quietly. 'While denying that a decision on the fate of HD DVD has been made, a Toshiba marketing exec left the door wide open. "Given the market developments in the past month, Toshiba will continue to study the market impact and the value proposition for consumers, particularly in light of our recent price reductions on all HD DVD players," Jodi Sally, VP of marketing for Toshiba America Consumer Products, said.'" A few folks have also noted that Wal-mart is joining the Blu-ray train, further lowering the stock of HD DVD.
Biotech

Genetically Engineered Mouse is Not Scared of Cats 286

Posted by Zonk from the good-for-the-cat-not-so-much-the-mouse dept.
Gary writes "A team from the University of Tokyo has genetically engineered a mouse that does not fear cats. By tweaking genes to disable certain functions of the olfactory bulb (the area of the brain that receives information about smells directly from olfactory receptors in the nose) the researchers were able to create a 'fearless' mouse that does not try to flee when it smells cats, foxes and other predators. 'The research suggests that the mechanism by which mammals determine whether or not to fear another animal they smell -- and whether or not to flee -- is not a higher-order cerebral function. Instead, that decision is made based on a lower-order function that is hardwired into the neural circuitry of the olfactory bulb.'"
Security

Tracking Online Cheaters in Poker 150

Posted by Zonk from the dirty-way-to-play dept.
prostoalex writes "MSNBC has a special report on discovering online cheats at AbsolutePoker.com. A Costa Rican company belonging to a Canadian tribe at first denied all the accusations of any cheating going on, but after Serge Ravitch made a scrupulous analysis of the games' events, the reputation of AbsolutePoker.com was at stake. A detailed log file provided investigators with necessary details: an employee and partial owner of the site was one of the players involved, and having direct access to other players' cards allowed him to improve his game substantially."
Software

Computer Software to Predict the Unpredictable 287

Posted by samzenpus from the zombo-com dept.
Amigan writes "Professor Jerzy Rozenblit at the University of Arizona was awarded $2.2Million to develop software to predict the unpredictable — specifically relating to volatile political and military situations." From the article: "The software will predict the actions of paramilitary groups, ethnic factions, terrorists and criminal groups, while aiding commanders in devising strategies for stabilizing areas before, during and after conflicts. It also will have many civilian applications in finance, law enforcement, epidemiology and the aftermath of natural disasters, such as hurricane Katrina."
Patents

Working Around Patents with Evolutionary Design 121

Posted by CowboyNeal from the survival-of-the-most-original dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Using computational trial-and-error allowed a Stanford team to come up with a patent-free WiFi antenna. Patent rules are tricky to formulate as self-interest dictates that the claim is as general as possible. Patent fences effectively can build a substantive competitive barrier to markets. Using evolutionary tactics may be a way to legally and ethically bypass these roadblocks."
Space

Do You Need a Permit to Land on the Moon? 223

Posted by Zonk from the space-papers-please dept.
Billosaur writes "With the recent announcement of Google's X-prize for a successful private landing of a robot on the Moon, someone has asked the Explainer at Slate.com if permission is required to land something on the Moon? Turns out that while there is no authority that regulates landing objects on another world, getting there does require the permission of the national government from where the launch takes place. This is in accordance with the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, signed by 91 nations, which regulates the uses of outer space by the nations of Earth. Specifically, Article VI enjoins: 'The activities of non-governmental entities in outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, shall require authorization and continuing supervision by the appropriate State Party to the Treaty.' Start your paperwork!" J adds: The relevant quote from Destination Moon is "If we ask for permission, they'll find a way to block us. So we go now, as soon as we can!"
Privacy

Surveillance Cameras Get Smarter 186

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the walk-without-rhythm-and-you-won't-attract-the-one dept.
kog777 writes to mention that the IB Times is taking a look at where surveillance camera technology is headed. Soon researchers tell us that cameras will be available that not only record, but are able to interpret what they see. "The advancements have already been put to work. For example, cameras in Chicago and Washington can detect gunshots and alert police. Baltimore installed cameras that can play a recorded message and snap pictures of graffiti sprayers or illegal dumpers. In the commercial market, the gaming industry uses camera systems that can detect facial features, according to Bordes. Casinos use their vast banks of security cameras to hunt cheating gamblers who have been flagged before."
Microsoft

Journal Journal: IE goes bye bye

Journal by Oriumpor

EDIT:July 9, 2004

I have tried this with Firefox .9 and have had success... I would ammend this entry to change the install directory for firefox to the internet explorer directory as it makes the over-writing process much cleaner... and some apps are fooled more easily that way.

User Journal

Journal Journal: Prediction #1

Journal by Oriumpor

I believe, that today and yesterday's results on ISC (internet storm center) will show that port 135 attacks have nearly halved as the Nachi worm drops off the face of the earth.
User Journal

Journal Journal: Moderation

Journal by Oriumpor

I am a little concerned. Pretty much every time I see the meta-moderate option on my home-page I click and try my best to meta-moderate effectively. Every once in a while I troll on some topic that ticks me off, but nothing overly offensive In fact, normally my trolls should be moderated "redundant" but whatever. What does bother me is that around the same time I ran out of my subscription ad-blocking page-views I t

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