A_Mythago - Slashdot User

Submission + - Linux Distro Used By Snowden Designed for Internet Anonymity Has 2.0 Release 1

Submitted by A_Mythago on Friday January 29, 2016 @09:36AM

A_Mythago writes: The Amnesic Incognito Live System (Tails) has finalized version 2.0 which has several improvements and updates to continue to meet their mission of preserving privacy, anonymity and circumventing censorship without a trace using a Debian 8.0 custom live distro.

More details about Edward Snowden's use of Tails and the distro itself can be found at a previous Slashdot story from 2014
here.

Submission + - Apple releases surprise update for no-longer-supported OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard (betanews.com)

Submitted by Mark Wilson on Friday January 29, 2016 @08:00AM

Mark Wilson writes: When it comes to supporting older operating systems (or not), it is usually Microsoft that we are talking about. But this week Apple took its users by surprise by releasing an update to Snow Leopard — the lengthily-named Mac App Store Update for OS X Snow Leopard.

If you are wondering why an OS update should come as a surprise, it is because support for Snow Leopard came to an end in the latter half of 2013. It is an update that is ostensibly about ensuring continued access to the Mac App Store, but it also helps to give Snow Leopard users an easier path to upgrade to El Capitan.

Destroy Entire Websites With Asteroids Bookmarklet 65

Posted by Soulskill on Wednesday September 29, 2010 @02:50AM from the take-that,-ads-with-sound dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Have you ever visited a website and been so frustrated by the content, layout, or adverts that you'd love to destroy it? Well, now you can. If you head on over to the erkie GitHub page there's a JavaScript bookmarklet you can drag and add to your bookmarks toolbar. Then just visit any website and click the bookmarklet. An Asteroids-style ship should appear that you can move around with the arrow keys. Press space and it will start firing bullets which destroy page content."

A Mixed Review For Google Chrome On Linux 223

Posted by timothy on Tuesday December 29, 2009 @04:54PM from the but-on-the-5th-hand dept.

omlx contributes this link to LinuxCrunch's short review of Google Chrome on Linux, writing: "The summary of it is that although Google Chrome is in a beta stage, it is fast, stable, and has a simple, clean, and effective GUI design. On other side, Google Chrome has a small number of extensions, doesn't support RSS, lacks integration with KDE, and doesn't support complex scripts very well. Personally, I didn't succeed in using Flash Player on Google Chrome beta 1 (I am using OpenSUSE 11.2) and I wonder how the quality of Google Chrome OS will be, especially if it's based on Linux and Google Chrome."

Games Workshop Goes After Fan Site 174

Posted by Soulskill on Tuesday December 01, 2009 @05:03AM from the don't-anger-your-base dept.

mark.leaman writes "BoingBoing has a recent post regarding Games Workshop's aggressive posturing against fan sites featuring derivative work of their game products. 'Game publisher and miniature manufacturer Games Workshop just sent a cease and desist letter to boardgamegeek.com, telling them to remove all fan-made players' aids. This includes scenarios, rules summaries, inventory manifests, scans to help replace worn pieces — many of these created for long out of print, well-loved games...' As a lifelong hobby gamer of table, board, card and miniature games, I view this as pure heresy. It made me reject the idea of buying any Games Workshop (read Warhammer) products for my son this Christmas. Their fate was sealed, in terms of my wallet, after I Googled their shenanigans. In 2007 they forbid Warhammer fan films, this year they shut down Vassal Modules, and a while back they went after retailers as well. What ever happened to fair use?"

Comment The MPAA Stimulus Package (Score 1) 466

by A_Mythago on Thursday November 12, 2009 @01:14PM (#30074730) Attached to: MPAA Asks Again For Control Of TV Analog Ports

Actually, this is a great idea! By giving the ability to close the analog hole they can drive an increase of the purchase of HDMI capable televisions in this country and improve retail sales throughout the country. This will help save and/or create jobs at high paying employers such as Walmart, getting more money flowing to the entertainment industry.

Sure it might affect your grandparents or people too poor to afford a new TV but then again they would not be buying these premium services anyway. Just a 1 percent jobs increase would give us 14,000 jobs at Walmart alone making it well worth the minor inconveniencing of a few people.

It is our patriotic duty to contact the FCC and support SOC. Forget the rhetoric about corporate profits and control and think of the little people.

Stimulate the economy by stimulating the MPAA...everyone wins!

Submission + - Toy trains 'Star Wars' fans to use The Force (usatoday.com)

Submitted by A_Mythago on Saturday January 10, 2009 @12:21PM

A_Mythago writes: Ever wanted to unlease your "Inner Jedi" but have been put off by that pesky lack of midi-chlorians? Fear not, your salvation is at hand with a new EEG-controlled toy developed by Uncle Milton Industries that allows you to use "the Force" to move a ball up and down in a tube using only the power of your mind. With levels of difficulty from Padawan to Jedi, it is sure to be a hit with the Star Wars geek in your life!

Submission + - Ubuntu - A New Users First Experience

Submitted by A_Mythago on Saturday September 01, 2007 @11:40PM

A_Mythago writes: A coworker has been going on about Ubuntu Linux nearly every day I work with him and my curiosity finally got the best of me this weekend. Although I am more familiar with FreeBSD and RPM-based distributions, I had no doubt I would be up to the challenge of installing what everyone is saying is one of the easiest distributions to configure. Besides being a little unfamiliar should allow me to give it a fair evaluation from a layman's standpoint.

That being said, on with the review!

The victim...I mean willing volunteer...is a Dell Inspiron 2650 running a 1.8 GHz P4, 512 MB RAM, 20 GB HDD, Nvidia Geforce 2 Go 32MB graphics and a DVD/CD-RW combo drive. In addition there are in use a WPC54Gv2 PCMICA wireless adapter, 128 MB flash drive and Microsoft USB mouse (5 button with scroll). This system is no stranger to Linux but due to past problems finding a distribution that works to my satisfaction it usually ends back with Windows XP within a short period of time. Can this be the distribution that finally breaks the shackles of my system?

When I first decided to do this project I could not decide if I wanted to use the standard install of Ubuntu or use Kbuntu since I am partial to KDE. I decided to let random chance decide and started burning the LiveCD discs on two separate computers. Ubuntu won by about 1 ½ minutes so I dropped the disc into the system and restarted.

After the LiveCD booted on the laptop I spent a few minutes playing with the system to make sure I had the basics in place. I was not surprised the wireless card was not detected but I did verify my on-board network card was operational and the system could lease an address. The maximum resolution was only 1024 x 768 but the system did inform me there was an "unsupported" driver available that enabled hardware acceleration. No need to download that now but it was nice to know the system could find it when I needed it.

The desktop had an icon for install and I started the program. The questions are self-explanatory and a novice could safely choose the default choices if unsure. My first real difficultly was when it came time to partition the hard drive.

My intention was to wipe the system clean and make Ubuntu the sole OS on the computer. I told the installer to use the whole drive and for some reason it could not create the partitions. After a few minutes of trying variations I simply cleared the old NTFS partitions and restarted the computer. The second time it was able to format and copy the installer files to the computer without issue. Installation took about 30 minutes to format, copy files and restart the system.

The system came up with no visible error messages and prompted me for my user name and password, then displayed the basic desktop. My screen resolution was still only 1024 x 768 but I hoped the driver the system mentioned would fix that. The wireless card was powered and detected as a Broadcom-based device but was not working. Other than that, the basics functions of the laptop were operational. Now for the tweaking.

The system flashed a message that updates were available. I clicked on the message and was notified there was 119 updated for a total of 189 MB. This made me glad once again I had broadband as this would have been a huge drawback for a dial up user. I could have pared it down somewhat I am certain but I was trying to get a "click and go" feeling from this distribution.

Twenty minutes later the update was complete and I went ahead and installed the Nvidia drivers as suggested by the system, which also warned me it was "restricted" and could not be automatically updated. Small price to pay to use my whole screen and not be forced to "stretch" it using Fn+F7. Another reboot and a quick resolution change and my laptop was now at the native of 1400 x 1050.

With the core functions accounted for, it was time to attempt to get my wireless adapter working. This has always been a major stumbling block as the Linksys WPC54G is famous for being a decidedly unfriendly device to Linux. After a moment searching through Google I found step-by-step instructions for setting up the driver with ndiswrapper. It seemed too easy to be true but I a few minutes later the system was detecting my wireless network. There had been a brief moment of panic when my output results were different than the examples given but everything seemed to be working. Once my network key was in place the system now had access to the network.

Installation to this point had taken less than 90 minutes and with the software provided it was nearly a complete unit. Only a little command line work required for the ndiswrapper, otherwise completely painless and intuitive to any user with basic computer skills.

Of course I am a "real world" user and not a purist that avoids any proprietary software (besides the system was already "tainted" by my video drivers), so now it was time to download a few more applications.

I decided to delve into the Synaptic Package Manager to search for plug-ins for Firefox and found Java 6, Flash, Mplayer, gxine and Helix. This gave me support for most formats with the exception of midi files. A few minutes again on Google suggested installation of mozplugger and playmidi, again both found in the package manager.

My first crash/lockup! They system hung when trying to install mozplugger, completely non-responsive for over 15 minutes when I finally killed the system power and rebooted. Once the system was up and running I went back into the package manager and installed mozplugger and playmidi without problems. I started up Firefox to test and discovered I had no internet access. A moment later I realized my wireless card was no longer detected.

This was my first major frustration of the install and for a while it seemed it was going to be a show stopper as ndiswrapper kept insisting the driver was installed one moment and then claiming it was missing the next. After about 2 hours of troubleshooting and searching for solutions online I finally got the card working again and configured ndiswrapper to automatically start. After three reboots I considered the card stable and ready for use. On a positive note I did discover my midi functionality now worked flawlessly in Firefox.

My last primary objective was to get DVD video to play on the laptop. I had hoped someone in the industry would have finally released a commercial Linux DVD player but it became painfully obvious this was still a dream despite all the fuss DeCSS had caused. A search revealed a solution in libdvdcss2 and provided instructions on how to access it from the Medibuntu package repository. A few minutes later I was able to watch a commercial DVD on the laptop. Not the best solution for the "morale high ground" but my only option at this time.

At this time I could consider my laptop "feature complete" and a more than adequate replacement for Windows since most of the games I take "mobile" have either Linux versions or work in Wine. For the first time I can honestly say this laptop is very likely to stay Windows free.

The Good: Simple straight forward installer, easy to understand controls and utilities and a wide selection of packages available with an automatic update feature. Nice selection of default applications to get a user started. USB flash drive automatically detected and an icon placed on desktop. System performance is around 20% faster than with Windows XP.

The Bad: System had two freezes during this process and one failure to format drive. This may be a problem with the hardware but both freezes occurred when attempting to install packages using the Synaptic Package Manager (once during reinstall of ndiswrapper after card stopped working). No apparent support for side buttons on mouse. No legal support for DVD movies and the typical user would expect this to work "out of the box".

The Ugly: Although the wireless card I use on this laptop is notorious for being difficult to install, the chances of a novice Linux user to fix the problem I encountered with ndiswrapper would be slim. Most Windows users are completely unfamiliar with the command line and would quickly get lost in technical troubleshooting of this nature. There is a graphical driver installation tool for ndiswrapper in the package manager and I may try it out at some point in the future and see if the process is any easier.

Credit Where Credit is Due: The following pages were of great assistance to me in getting the system up and running:

http://antonym.org/node/89 and http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=5645 (Linksys WPC54g)
http://www.yolinux.com/TUTORIALS/LinuxTutorialMozi llaConfiguration.html (Firefox plugins)
http://www.linuxquestions.org/linux/answers/Applic ations_GUI_Multimedia/Three_Steps_to_MIDI_on_Linux (Enabling midi support)
Medibuntu (DVD support, link not provided for legal reasons)

Submission + - Giant squid caught near Japan

Submitted by Frankenbuffer on Friday December 22, 2006 @08:58AM

Frankenbuffer writes: Researchers on a quest to find a live giant squid succeeded in filming one south of Tokyo. They used a smaller bait squid to lure the giant squid to the water's surface. [Globe & Mail http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM .20061222.wbigsquid1222/BNStory/Science/home%5D

The giant squid, a young female about 7 metres long, put up quite a fight as it was brought aboard the research vessel. It died in the process. The researchers believe that giant squid may be more plentiful that believed previously.

Submission + - The Ryzom MMORPG won't be free

Submitted by

Per Abrahamsen

on Friday December 22, 2006 @08:41AM

Per Abrahamsen writes: "The bid to make Ryzom live on as the first free MMORPG has failed, despite raising 170.000 Euro in donation pledges.

From the announcement:

I have bad news this time. Our offer has been declined by the court. At the end, there were three offers presented, and the other two were bigger than our's. They are keeping more employees than we do, and offer more money. We should get the details of the other offers soon, so I should be able to tell you more then. In the meantime, I'd like to personally congratulate the winner, Gameforge, and I wish them good luck.

"

Sun Releases First GPLed Java Source 206

Posted by CowboyNeal on Friday December 22, 2006 @07:21AM from the beginning-of-an-era dept.

An anonymous reader writes "You can now get GPLed JVM sources from Sun. Everyone seemed to be expecting the desktop version (J2SE) but J2ME has been released first. It looks to be buildable for Linux x86, MIPS, and ARM platforms. Sun now calls it 'phoneME.' Enjoy."

Submission + - Google Blogger Leaves Beta

Submitted by

VE3OGG

on Friday December 22, 2006 @04:36AM

VE3OGG writes: "It would seem that Google's famed, award-winning blogging software, Blogger, has just left beta, ABC reports, and entered a growing (but still short) list of Google products to move out of beta. Of course, with this change is status also came a few crucial new features for Google's blogging agent, specifically Google account integration, "Web 2.0" code free updates, and tagging."

Best (and Worst) High-Def Discs of 2006 173

Posted by CowboyNeal on Friday December 22, 2006 @04:34AM from the buyer-beware dept.

An anonymous reader writes "High-Def Digest has released their first annual 'Best (and Worst) of the Year' list of movies released on HD DVD and/or Blu-ray. Not surprisingly, the 'best' list is heavy on superheroes. Superman, Batman, and the Hulk all made the list. Not a bad cheat sheet for those of us with a Blu-ray capable PS3 or an XBox 360 HD DVD add-on on our Christmas lists."

Submission + - What gadgets differentiate nerds nowadays?

Submitted by

wikinerd

on Friday December 22, 2006 @01:10AM

wikinerd writes: "In the last few years several gadgets that were previously commonly used mostly by nerds and geeks have been welcomed by the mainstream. Many ordinary people have GPS, camera phones, 3G broadband, PDAs, and other gadgets. I use my PDA for playing with PythonCE, but the device itself is not a nerds's-only gadget anymore, as many people use PDAs nowadays for calendaring and similar uses. The same is true for laser pointers, GPS receivers, and other stuff, which are now becoming commonplace. What gadgets, especially handheld devices, do self-respecting nerds and geeks use nowadays, and what mobile devices do you own? I am not talking about nerdy innovative uses of commonplace devices, or just more powerful PDAs or high-resolution cameras, but rather about mobile gadgets that are too new, strange, or especial to be ever used by mere mortals."

Hans Reiser to Sell Company 583

Posted by CowboyNeal on Friday December 22, 2006 @01:09AM from the will-order-bits-for-cash dept.

DVega writes "Due to increasing legal costs, murder suspect Hans Reiser is seeking to sell his company. His lawyer William DuBois said he is running out of money to pay for his defense. DuBois added, 'This is a unique opportunity for someone to buy the company for pennies on the dollar. We welcome all vultures.' This is a good opportunity to own a filesystem and rename it after your own."

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