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Comment Re:Where can I buy Linux games? (Score 1) 483

Hahha, i think we are getting a little flamewarry :)
OK, i admit, there are not a lot of great native games for Linux.
"Then why aren't games written for LINUX to run on Linux?"
Because there is no Demand for it? I really don't have a better answer for that. Linux makes up a very small percentage of the PC world, and many people run linux on sub par hardware. My thinkpad has built in graphics, and that good enough for me. I don't want my Linux OS for games.

But there are still some fun ones. Nexiuz is one that comes to mind. old school UT type game. What next, demanding why there isn't a Gaming community for Solaris?

There arn't games for Linux, because, there isn't a Market for games for Linux.
I Use Linux for work, and I used to use it for school. I still use it a lot at home for browsing/music/media related things. When I want to play games, I boot into Windows.
I Use Linux for productive things. Just like some people boot up their PS3 to play games, i see nothing wrong with booting up my Windows box.

Oh, and SDL and Allegro are no where near what you can with DirectX10...or probably 9 for that matter. The biggest problem is there isn't demand, or any developers willing to supply. I don't see the issue which makes this a Game changer for using Linux.

Comment Re:I keep trying (Score 1) 483

Well,

Install Ubuntu
Install Flash/restricted packages
Install non-default packages(pidgin, xchat, compilation tools)(all done via apt)
Do a system upgrade
Customize my Appearence settings
Get a few Firefox addons

A Base linux install is quicker then Windows, and it comes with 1/2 of your software installed. I meant a fully configured setup.

On Windows, first you install the OS, then you need to hunt down all of your Driver CDs(Obviously drivers are an issue in Linux as well, but can't say i have ever had a 10/100 NIC not work in Linux, i have in Windows). Then install Office, install Firefox, Install antivirus, install windows updates, install Flash, install Java. There is no options to send one apt-get install command with a list you want, you have to crawl the web, looking for the latest version of every tool you want.

Personally, i'll go with APT

Comment Re:I keep trying (Score 2, Insightful) 483

"Games are a common one."

People keep bringing up the Games issue. Games are written for WINDOWS, they will run on Windows. You can't expect developers to spend enough time to copy DirectX to match the one included with Windows today(although Wine does a fairly good job).
Complaining that Linux can't run Windows games, is like complaining that my Xbox360 games won't run on my PS3, it makes no sense. You can't play windows games without buying windows, just like you can't play PS3 games without buying a PS3. So i don't accept that argument.

"Yes: Windows 3.1. But nowadays PCs"

Again, you started on 3.1 and have had...15ish... years to learn the ins and outs of Windows. Come back after using Linux for 15 years, and it will be simple. There is plenty of hardware out there that even in Windows requires that I go hunting online for software/drivers. Network cards included.

At least Linux does not popup when i'm trying to install networking drivers, asking "Would you like to search online for this software?" :)

Comment Re:I keep trying (Score 1) 483

Then stop trying? Clearly you have too many Windows related requierments.
It takes me about 2 hours to go from Format, to fully running Linux Distro, with browsers, drivers, office software, chat software, and several other things that I need.
If you don't want to take the time to learn a new system, and find the tools you need, then go use Windows where you are happy. Do you remember the first time you ever installed Windows. Was it all happy and great and everything worked? No, I'm sure it took you some time to learn it too. Now that you've been using it for a few years, you say its easy and you know what you need for it. Same thing happens with Linux. Its not like the linux people just magically installed the OS and knew everything form day one.
I've been using Linux, alongside Windows, for almost 6 years now, and obviously at first it was a challenge. But with practice, and patience, it now works great.
Now, again, if you don't have the time or willingness to invest in learning a new Operating System, then don't try, and complain about how its not usable.
Just like learning any new skill(and using an operating system effectively is a skill in my opinion), it takes Time, Interest, and Effort.
If you have hardware issues, that another story, but personally i have not had any hardware issues since Ubuntu 8.04 on my thinkpads or PCs.

I admit i run XP in a wmware session on my Linux laptop, but that for things such as outlook and Office, and the rest of my tasks are done in Linux, and many of them couldn't be done in Windows. To each his own :)

Government

Submission + - Vancouver embraces open data, standards and source (www.cbc.ca)

humble writes: "Vancouver city council has endorsed the principles of making its data open and accessible to everyone where possible, adopting open standards for that data and considering open source software when replacing existing applications.

"So it's great," said Andrea Reimer, the city councillor who proposed the motion that passed Thursday afternoon. "The local online community was all very, very happy, and now we just have to look forward on implementation and figuring sort of the order with which we do that."

The story from CBC including the full text of the motion after the jump."

Comment Network Access Control (Score 1) 1117

If you have the money, you should look into some Network Access Control(NAC), or enterprise firewall solutions. Something by companies like Mirage, ForeScout, or Fortinet(among others). This way, you can force any laptop on the network to authenticate, either AD, 802.1x, or captive portal. You can then run a host check to check for up to day Virus scanning software, as well as many other things.
While they are at school, the laptop has certain policies. You can push firewall, etc to the host. As well they can have Single Sign on for network resources.
At home the user has a client to connect into school resources through IPSec or SSL VPN. Policies can be put in place for home use, or can be allowed full access, as long as when you reconnect to the network you meet your policy.

Look into these companies and find a distributor to help you install it. Each devices servers different needs.
My company has deployed a similar solution for a School board in Ontario in the last year, and so far they like it.

United States

Submission + - President Bush is at it Again!

DeadManCoding writes: "Seems that the Bush administration has found conclusive evidence that the Iranians are assisting Shiite fighters in Iraq. Oddly enough, the administration used the excuse that Hussein had weapsons of mass destruction to invade Iraq. Now Iran is helping insurgent forces in Iraq. So does history normally repeat itself so quickly? Story available at NY Times."
Education

Submission + - Substitute teacher gets 40 years for porn popups

alphamugwump writes: Substitute teacher Julie Amero faces up to 40 years in prison for exposing kids to porn using a classroom computer.
From the Arstechnica article:

Amero was substituting for a middle-school English class and asked the regular teacher permission to use the computer to e-mail her husband. The teacher granted her permission, and asked her not to log him out of the computer. Amero, the self-professed techno-noob, then left the room to use the restroom, and upon her return says that she found several students gathered around the machine looking at a web site. A series of unfortunate events occurred from this point on, resulting in a slew of pornographic pop-ups appearing on the screen. The onslaught continued despite Amero's attempts to close the windows.

According to The Register

When the students told their parents what had happened, they told the administration, who vowed that Julie would never work in the classroom again. But they went further. The 40-year-old substitute teacher was arrested, indicted, tried and here is the kicker on January 5, 2007, she was convicted of four counts of risk of injury to a minor, or impairing the morals of a child (Conn. Gen. Stat. 53-21). Indeed, she was originally charged with exposing 10 children in the seventh grade class to the materials on the internet, but six of the charges were dropped.

I guess "Ambush Porn" really is dangerous.
Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft Outlaws 3rd Party IM Clients

An anonymous reader writes: With the latest update to the MSN Instant Messenger client, now called Windows Live Messenger, Microsoft has required all users to sign a new contract which among other things forbids the use of 3rd party instant messenger clients to connect to the MSN messenger service, such as the AJAX Meebo client, Gaim, and Trillian among others. Worth noting, they do provide a list of authorized 3rd party clients, such as Yahoo Messenger, that are allowed access to the service.

Excerpt: "In using the service, you may not use any unauthorized third party software or service to access the Microsoft instant messaging network currently known as the .NET Messenger service."

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