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Comment Re:People will move to Apple. (Score 1) 695

by pshuke (#24405675) Attached to: Windows Is Dead – Long Live Midori?
My grandparents are dead, so I can't really speak for them (insert bad bsd joke here), but I know my mother has no problems clicking on the wifi icon in ubuntu. Really, while wifi can be nuisance in some distributions, ubuntu has come a long way. Even a generic acer laptop which one of my neighbors uses, complete with a (reputedly horrible) broadcom wnic, worked out of the box on. While I'm sure there are still some black spots on the linux wifi map, you have to be pretty unlucky to get something which doesn't work out of the box on said distribution. And if you want to eliminate luck as a factor, you can spend five minutes extra the next time you buy a computer, and make sure you get one with atheros or intel chipsets.

While Apple hardware may be excellent, their macbook line is still overpriced by $3-400 compared to a similarly spec-ed Lenovo. This I believe, is the biggest rationale for not choosing apple. If you can get a similar or better non-Apple computer for less price than an Apple, why would you go with the Apple? Especially if all you do is play solitaire and flash games, which you can do on ubuntu just as well as on osx (easier according to my mother, as the dock confused her).

On a side note, as I'm sure some will suggest installing OSX on non-Apple PC's. When I recently installed 10.5.* on my T60, the wifi (iwl3945) refused to work. I don't think the drivers were ready. On the other hand, ubuntu immediately recognized the card and configured it; so I can only assume that the whole OSX "just works" experience only applies to Apple produced PC's.
Education

Submission + - EPA: Cellular eCycling Campaign

Submitted by
Joe Martin
Joe Martin writes: "Greetings, My name is Joe Martin and I am contacting you on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). I have a press release, but I am first sending the brief introduction. Most people don't realize that the old cell phone that's sitting in their drawer is actually contributing to climate change. Recycling, or what has become known as "eCycling" an old cell phone can be a quick and easy way for Americans to help protect the environment. By recycling or reusing old cell phones, consumers can help reduce climate change, save energy and conserve natural resources by reducing the amount of precious metals and copper that are mined for the manufactures of new phones. According to the U.S. EPA, if 100 million Americans recycled cell phones that are no longer in use, we could save enough energy to power 194,000 homes for a year. Currently Americans are replacing their cell phones every 18 months on average. Despite the large number of manufacturer and retailer-led collection programs across the country, many of these consumers still do not know where or how they can recycle their unwanted cell phones. With an estimated 250 million cell phones in use nationwide and less than 20 percent of unwanted cell phones being recycled each year, EPA realized the need to educate the public on the importance of eCycling their old or unwanted cell phones. To help consumers identify easy recycling and donating options, EPA is partnering with leading cell phone makers, service providers and retailers to launch the Plug-In To eCycling "Recycle Your Cell Phone" campaign on January 8th. Program partners include: AT&T, Best Buy, Dell, eBay's Rethink initiative, HP, Intel, JVC, Lexmark, LG Electronics, Motorola, NEC Display, Nokia, Office Depot, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, Sony Ericsson, Sprint, Staples, Toshiba, and Wal-Mart. Through the national take back program, consumers can drop off their old cell phones or mail them into participating organizations. In 2007, through Plug-In To eCycling, retailers and electronics manufacturers voluntarily recycled more than 47 million pounds of electronics including computers and televisions. As part of the cell phone program, Sprint recycled 3 million phones and accessories through an in-store and online program. Samsung also collected used cell phones and portable rechargeable batteries to recycle 100,000 pounds of electronic equipment. These are just a few examples of how the program is making a difference. To help Slashdot readers discover cell phone recycling options that can make an impact on climate change, please contact me. I am happy to put you in touch with the EPA between now and January 8th. Additionally, we can coordinate interviews with program partners Staples, AT&T, and Nokia who can speak to their national cell phone recycling and reuse programs and accomplishments in conjunction with their partnership with EPA's Plug-In program. The EPA will also be at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, NV. If you will be present at this event, we can certainly set up a face to face interview. Thank you for your time. To learn more about the recycling campaign and to obtain a list of partners and their scheduled events and programs visit: http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/osw/conserve/plugin/partners.htm Click on partner logos to learn more on specific eCycling programs. Sincerely, Joe Martin on behalf of the EPA (Tel) (206) 623 0232 x231 (Cell) (206) 384-0852"
Amiga

Submission + - Open Source Amiga clone pricing announced

Submitted by
downix
downix writes: "For those who have not been following, Dennis VanWeeren created the first cloned Amiga hardware earlier in 2007. Up until now, the only way to have one of these MiniMigs was to build it yourself, not an easy task for all people. But, ACube systems, the guys developing the SAM440 PowerPC motherboard, have stepped up, making available a fully assembled Minimig for the cost of 138 euro. The idea of having your own, brand new, Amiga is exciting to some, but a full open-source hardware platform should be exciting to all of us."
Microsoft

Submission + - OOXML or ODF - BIS debates on its vote to ISO (indiatimes.com)

Submitted by Karthik
Karthik writes: The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has formed a commitee to decide on its ISO vote for document standards between Microsoft's OOXML and IBM & Sun backed ODF. Various high profile Indian institues and companies have joined different sides of the debate as the September 2 deadline for submission to ISO nears.
Microsoft

Submission + - Linux Foundation Calls for 'Respect for Microsoft' (vnu.co.uk)

Submitted by
kripkenstein
kripkenstein writes: "Jim Zemlin (executive director for the Linux Foundation) has said at LinuxWorld that the open source community should stop poking fun at Microsoft:

Open source vendors have to recognise that Windows is here to stay and that together with Microsoft it will form a duopoly in the market for operating systems. This also requires that the Linux community respects Microsoft rather than ridicule it.

"There are some things that Windows does pretty well," Zemlin said. Microsoft for instance has excelled in marketing the operating system, and has a good track record in fending off competition.
An interesting perspective, but saying Microsoft has "a good track record in fending off competition" is like saying Muhammad Ali was "good at hitting his opponents in the ring"."
Nintendo

Submission + - Carmack's Rage, plus games for the Wii & DS

Submitted by ILikeRed
ILikeRed writes: In a Quakecon 2007 interview, John Carmack introduced his new high end game Rage, and then went on to call the Wii "a spark of newness". He talks about creating a Quake Arena themed game for the DS, and porting Orks & Elves to the Wii. He was less than happy with current cell phone hardware and Java however.
Communications

Submission + - Net radio battles royalty ruling with silence (theglobeandmail.com)

Submitted by
Raver32
Raver32 writes: "To paraphrase a well-used joke: if an Internet radio station falls in cyberspace, does anybody hear it? That's the question many online radio listeners around the world will try to answer after U.S. Internet radio stations will go offline Tuesday to protest an upcoming royalty rate hike threatening to wipe out Internet radio. So far, 45 radio stations representing thousands of channels have agreed to go silent or play a series of public service announcements to fight against a ruling made by the U.S. Copyright Royalty Board last March that raises royalty payments by 300 to 1,200 per cent, retroactive to June 2006. The ruling, which will go into effect on July 15, is expected to cost large webcasters such as Yahoo and Real Networks millions of dollars, drive smaller websites like Pandora.com and Live365.com out of business and leave a large chunk of the 72 million Net radio listeners in the dark."
Movies

Submission + - Germany bans Tom Cruise

Submitted by psysjal
psysjal writes: The BBC reports that Germany has banned Tom Cruise from filming at military sites in the country. The reason for the ban is Tom's "religion"; Cruise has "publicly professed to being a member of the Scientology cult".
Books

Submission + - The Panties Which Altered My Life (mydesiclub.org)

Submitted by
nik8853
nik8853 writes: "My name is Priti and I am an 18 year old GUY. I am a short kid who does not have too much experience with dating because of my height. Girls tend to ignore me, calling me "cute" for the wrong reasons. I went to one of those "indian parties" with my parents during a break from college, and I was asked to talk with the others in the family room. A girl there, Hina Patel. was a family friend for a long time, as her parents and I have been friends for the longest of time. It was her parents that invited us for this party. I was always ignored by her, as I just knew she thought lowly of me. She was so gorgeous, yet I had no respect for her. She was a ****in' bitch liike the rest of them. I just could not stay in the same room as her, for i knew that I would go insane. Her beauty was too much to handle, and she was a childhood crush of mine since day one."
Movies

Submission + - DVD group proposes copy ban (eetimes.com)

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: The DVD Copy Control Association will vote today on an amendment to its bylaws that would explicitly forbid OEMs from selling systems that make copies of movies, even for secure internal storage on a hard disk or archival.
Media

Submission + - DVD group proposes copy ban (eetimes.com)

Submitted by wilsonjd
wilsonjd writes: The DVD Copy Control Association will vote Wednesday (June 20) on an amendment to its bylaws that would explicitly forbid OEMs from selling systems that make copies of movies, even for secure internal storage on a hard disk. The move is seen as a reaction to the group's loss in a key civil suit it brought against startup Kaleidescape earlier this year.
Censorship

Submission + - Kids can't hug anymore (cnn.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: VIENNA, Virginia (AP) — A show of affection almost landed a teenage boy in detention.

Hugging was 13-year-old Hal Beaulieu's crime when he sat next to his girlfriend at lunch a few months ago and put his arm around her shoulder. He was let off with a warning, but the cost of a repeat offense could be detention.

A rule against physical contact at Kilmer Middle School, about 10 miles west of Washington, is so strict that students can be sent to the principal's office for hugging, holding hands or even high-fiving.

"I think hugging is a good thing," said Hal, a seventh-grader. "I put my arm around her. It was like for 15 seconds. I didn't think it would be a big deal."

Unlike some schools, which ban fighting or inappropriate touching, Kilmer Middle School bans all touching.

But that doesn't seem necessary to Hal and his parents. They've sent a letter asking the county school board to review the rule.

But at a school of 1,100 students that was meant to accommodate 850, school officials think touching can turn into a big deal. They've seen pokes lead to fights, gang signs in the form of handshakes and girls who are uncomfortable being hugged but embarrassed to say anything.

"You get into shades of gray," Kilmer Principal Deborah Hernandez said. "The kids say, 'If he can high-five, then I can do this.' "

Hernandez said the no-touching rule is meant to ensure that students are comfortable and that crowded hallways and lunchrooms stay safe. She said school officials are allowed to use their judgment in enforcing the rule. Typically, only repeat offenders are reprimanded.
Privacy

Submission + - Keylogger Hardware Embedded in New Dell Laptop (virus.org.ua)

Submitted by
kendbluze
kendbluze writes: "Here's an EE who was doing a simple repair to a nearly-new Dell 600m laptop when he noticed something a bit curious. Turns out he found a hardware keylogger sitting between the keyboard and ethernet controllers! See what Homeland Security didn't have to say about it."
The Courts

Submission + - AntiVirus kills PCs? Have some more, Symantec says (texyt.com)

Submitted by Tort reformation
Tort reformation writes: Dubious 'compensation' settlements from companies that have done wrong are nothing new (examples: 1,2,3). But Symantec may have hit a new low. After tens of thousands of PCs in China were crippled by Symantec's Norton AntiVirus when it went beserk last month and decided Windows XP was a virus, users demanded financial compensation for lost data, days of lost business, and repair fees. Symantec's counter-offer: a further year's free use of Norton Antivirus.
Privacy

Submission + - How to Stop Pirates: Ask Nicely

Submitted by BillGatesLoveChild
BillGatesLoveChild writes: When Trey Harrison found his music lighting software 'Salvation' had been pirated, he was taken aback. Being an Independent Software Developer, there wasn't much he could do. So he contacted the Warez Group and asked them nicely. They wrote back and said sorry, that they at least hoped more people got to see it and that in accordance with his wishes, they wouldn't release it again.

But what of the Anti-Piracy tool "Armadillo Software Passport" that was supposed to have protected Trey's Software? Unlike the Pirates who responded straight away, Trey says he never heard a peep back from Armadillo. Seems the Pirates have better "customer support" than the Anti-piracy agents!

Of course, "Ask Nicely" may not work for the RIAA who as Orson Scott Card's famous essay pointed out have perhaps irreversible ill-will due to their history of ripping off artists and consumers and buying off Congressmen. But for smaller companies and independents, perhaps it's worth a try? There's even hope for the industry heavies. Mark Ishikawa of Anti-P2P Company BayTSP says 85% of people he sends a gentle warning on behalf of the MPAA "do not come back, with no headlines and no public relations blowups."

Could a softly-softly approach work better for IP owners that heavy-handed threats and lawyers?

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