skaet - Slashdot User

Comment Re:Layoffs (Score 0) 640

by skaet on Thursday January 01, 2009 @11:26PM (#26296403) Attached to: IE Market Share Drops Below 70%

The demise of MS will only lead to better software, more competition, lower prices, and no more annoying unpaid tech support calls from your parents/grandparents/brother/etc.

I'm sorry, I have a problem with this. If anyone honestly expects this to happen then you are frighteningly mistaken. I really hate to point out that Linux needs Windows. It wouldn't be the same beast without Windows, none of this "free and open source" alternative ideal that Linux inspires. Without Windows, the allure isn't there - "the grass is greener" so-to-speak.

There are some god-awful Linux programs out there, don't preach about "better software" - each platform has their good and bad code. How many Linux programs would be crippled or rendered completely incompatitble with a kernel update. It happens with Windows too and automatic updates but you don't see "Requires Windows XP SP2 w/ KB###### and libX" in ReadMe.txt...

More competition, why? What's stopping me from picking up Visual Studio and banging out a Windows program for free and releasing the source code? If anything, there's should be more competition on Windows due to market saturation. I can't argue with lower prices, but what happens when a company decides to release Linux Office 2010 boasting 101% compatitbility with MS Office and then charge $200 for it? We'll be no better off than we are now.

How many of us are going to receive phone calls from family when they can't get printer or wireless drivers? What about a lot of programs distributed only as source? Do you really trust your grandma to be able to compile anything? Even the most noob-friendly distros require a shell prompt and that's where why there's never going to be a "Year of Linux on the Desktop." Though I would love to be proved wrong.

Comment Re:Prior Art? (Score 1) 261

by skaet on Monday December 29, 2008 @10:15PM (#26264479) Attached to: Worlds.com Sues NCSoft Over MMO-Patent

IANAL but it's hard to deny there's plenty of prior art that's for certain. Though the patent clearly states (paraphrased) "a three-dimensional graphical, multi-user world where each user executes a client to view a virtual world from the perspective of that user."

This suggests that text-based MUDs are excluded because they're not three-dimensional (although certainly graphical and multi-user in nature) and don't display the virtual world from the perspective of the user.

Atheros Releases Free Linux Driver For Its 802.11n Devices 155

Posted by timothy on Saturday July 26, 2008 @06:29PM from the a-pleasant-present dept.

mcgrof writes "Atheros has released a shiny new Atheros driver for all their 11n devices aimed for inclusion in the Linux kernel. This new driver has no proprietary HAL and is licensed under the ISC license, so the BSD community should be able to benefit as well. Note: no firmware required!"

IPhone 3G Jailbreak Released, Paves Way For Open Source Apps 382

Posted by timothy on Sunday July 20, 2008 @06:48PM from the coming-up-apples dept.

PainMeds writes "iPhone Atlas is reporting that the first jailbreak for the iPhone 3G has been released, and includes the popular Cydia community installer for distributing free games and applications. Since Apple's SDK was released, web sites have criticized Apple for the restrictions placed on both what developers could write and what APIs they were allowed to use. Others have noted the SDK's incompatibility with the GPL. The Cydia installer has provided a distribution channel for both open source software and software that would otherwise be impossible to build using the restricted SDK. A few applications are already out, including MobileTerminal and NES.app, a Nintendo game console emulator. In just over a week, open development is finally here for the iPhone 3G!"

A DIYer's Quick Guide To Cheap Wireless Extension 148

Posted by timothy on Thursday July 17, 2008 @01:17PM from the use-genuine-zip-loc-bags dept.

An anonymous reader writes "This piece is described in one of the comments on it as 'a little piece of genius'... and I have to agree! Although Peter Cochrane seems a bit of a crack pot, the ways that he comes up with to get connected when he's out of range in the sticks are pure genius and he makes them appear really simple! Think old satellite dishes, USB dongles and plastic bags and you'd be on the right tracks to upping wi-fi signal by 4 bars." A perfect excuse to link to one of my favorite sites, if you want more details and photos on similar jury-rigged long-distance connections. However, your meterage may vary — I've found USB Wi-Fi devices to be pretty fickle under Linux, with some distros working way better than others.

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