Comment Never Actually (Score 1) 483
I've dowloaded Ubuntu, Debian, Red Hat, Fedora etc.. but never heard of X Linux.
Submission + - Amazon Wants Patent for Inserting Ads into Books
theodp writes: "Three Amazon inventors set out to correct what they felt was a real problem — i.e., that "out-of-print or rare books...typically do not include advertisements...the content is fixed and, therefore, has not been adapted to modern marketing." Their solution is spelled out in newly-disclosed Amazon patent applications for On-Demand Generating E-Book Content with Advertising and Incorporating Advertising in On-Demand Generated Content. From the patent apps, here's what the future of reading may look like: "For instance, if a restaurant is described on page 12 of the requested printed content 114, the advertisement page image 116 next to page 12, i.e., either on page 11 or page 13, may include advertisements about restaurants, wine, food, etc., which are related to restaurants and dining." So what would a delightfully-tacky-yet-unrefined Hooters ad do for your Hemingway experience?"
Comment Hardware (Score 1) 1365
Some of the big problems are wifi, bluetooth, sound and video related. Most of these problems are a result of proprietary drivers/hardware. I have problems with bluetooth that my keyboard won't connect after a reboot. Configuring the spdif raw output is a pain(eventually got it running properly with a custom .asound configuration). Cheaper sound cards only support one channel, thus causing one application to block another (there are workarounds, but even for the tech-savvy this is a pain). Video support, you are at the mercy of the hardware.
For me, Linux is ready for the desktop, it's just that some hardware's not ready for Linux.
For me, Linux is ready for the desktop, it's just that some hardware's not ready for Linux.
Comment Audio problems (Score 0) 488
VLC lately has had some big audio issues. On OS X as well as Ubuntu it hijacks the audio preventing access for other programs (flash, iTunes). It is quite annoying and I hope they've fixed it in this release.
Comment Slow performance (Score 4, Funny) 316
The server is taking too long to respond; please wait a minute or 2 and try again.
Mmmh, must be a big problem
Comment I wonder (Score 5, Funny) 83
User: fap fap fap fap fap
Web: Oh Yea baby!
User: fap fap fap fap fap
Web: Wow that's it yea!
Web: Oh Yea baby!
User: fap fap fap fap fap
Web: Wow that's it yea!
Comment Will they really? (Score 1) 363
What prevents them from still requiring a proprietary signal from the usb port or psu to put the device in charge mode. Hence requiring a "certified" power source. Take for instance the PS3 controller, it doesn't charge from a regular mini usb power supply.
Submission + - Security researcher reveals iPhone design flaws
rootnl writes: Apple's iPhone has two design flaws that could pose potential security problems, according to a researcher.
http://www.macworld.co.uk/ipod-itunes/news/index.cfm?RSS
One of the biggest problems is that the email client loads remote images and there is no way to disable it.
Sending Secret Messages Via Google's SearchWiki 160
We discussed the advent of Google's SearchWiki when it was introduced a few days back. Now Lauren Weinstein offers a thought experiment in transmitting coded messages using SearchWiki, with a working example encoded into the results of this Google search.
GTA IV DLC Announced 49
Rockstar Games recently announced upcoming downloadable content for Grand Theft Auto IV, entitled The Lost and Damned. It's due out on February 17th, and it focuses on a member of a Liberty City biker gang, rather than Niko Bellic. Joystiq has some early screenshots. "In the original game, Niko crossed paths with The Lost several times. This time, Niko has only a bit part, [Rockstar's Dan Houser] says. 'The story is not directly impacted by decisions you took in the main game,' he says. But 'tons of details and mysteries from the main story get explained, so it will add a lot of color to the main story.'"
Linux 2.6.27 Out 452
diegocgteleline.es writes "Linux 2.6.27 has been released. It adds a new filesystem (UBIFS) for 'pure' flash-based storage, the page-cache is now lockless, much improved Direct I/O scalability and performance, delayed allocation support for ext4, multiqueue networking, data integrity support in the block layer, a function tracer, a mmio tracer, sysprof support, improved webcam support, support for the Intel wifi 5000 series and RTL8187B network cards, a new ath9k driver for the Atheros AR5008 and AR9001 chipsets, more new drivers, and many other improvements and fixes. Full list of changes can be found here."
Submission + - Ubuntu 8.40 Released Today (ubuntu.com) 2
damienhunter writes: "Canonical Ltd. announced the upcoming availability of Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Desktop Edition for free download on Thursday 24 April. In related news, Canonical also announced the simultaneous release of Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Server Edition.
Ubuntu 8.04 Long Term Support (LTS) provides a stable platform for software and hardware vendors, developers and users. With three years of support and maintenance on the desktop, 8.04 LTS is a great choice for large-scale deployment. A substantial and growing ecosystem of free and commercial software built for Ubuntu provides a rich set of choices for desktop users. This is the eighth desktop release of Ubuntu. Ubuntu's track record in delivering — on a precise schedule every six months — a commercial operating system that is free, stable, secure and fully supported, remains unique."
Submission + - Bill Gates: "the GPL, which we disagree with&# (arstechnica.com) 2
Dionysius, God of Wine, writes: ""There's free software and then there's open source," he suggested, noting that Microsoft gives away its software in developing countries. With open source software, on the other hand, "there is this thing called the GPL, which we disagree with." Open source, he said, creates a license "so that nobody can ever improve the software," he claimed, bemoaning the squandered opportunity for jobs and business. (Yes, Linux fans, we're aware of how distorted this definition is.) He went back to the analogy of pharmaceuticals: "I think if you invent drugs, you should be able to charge for them," he said, adding with a shrug: "That may seem radical."
http://arstechnica.com/journals/microsoft.ars/2008/04/23/bill-gates-the-gpl-which-we-disagree-with"
http://arstechnica.com/journals/microsoft.ars/2008/04/23/bill-gates-the-gpl-which-we-disagree-with"
Submission + - IBM's Pilot Program for Internal Use of Macs
geoffrobinson writes: "Roughly Drafted has obtained internal IBM documents detailing the results of a small pilot program for internal use of Macs. Positive and negative results were detailed. But, overall, most participants were happy with their experience. The pilot will be expanded this year. One advantage cited: they will be less reliant on Windows. So it seems a mix of Macs, PC's, and Linux boxes are in IBM's future.
Given the history between the two companies, this is quite interesting."
Submission + - Windows is 'collapsing,' Gartner analysts warn (computerworld.com)
rootnl writes: In a presentation a Gartner-sponsored conference in Las Vegas, analysts Michael Silver and Neil MacDonald said Microsoft has not responded to the market, is overburdened by nearly two decades of legacy code and decisions, and faces serious competition on a whole host of fronts that will make Windows moot unless the software developer acts.
"For Microsoft, its ecosystem and its customers, the situation is untenable," said Silver and MacDonald in their prepared presentation, titled "Windows Is Collapsing: How What Comes Next Will Improve.
"For Microsoft, its ecosystem and its customers, the situation is untenable," said Silver and MacDonald in their prepared presentation, titled "Windows Is Collapsing: How What Comes Next Will Improve.
