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Red Hat Vows To Stand Up To Patent Intimidation 168

Posted by Zonk from the stiff-upper-lip dept.
mrcgran writes "Eweek is reporting on Red Hat's assurances that can continue to deploy Linux without fear of legal retribution from Microsoft. This, despite the increasingly vocal threats emanating from Redmond. 'In a scathing response to Ballmer's remarks, Red Hat's IP team said the reality is that the community development approach of free and open-source code represents a healthy development paradigm, which, when viewed from the perspective of pending lawsuits related to intellectual property, is at least as safe as proprietary software. "We are also aware of no patent lawsuit against Linux. Ever. Anywhere," the team said in a blog posting.'"
Software

Submission + - 2008: Year of the Linux Desktop

Submitted by
rstrohmeyer
rstrohmeyer writes: "Over at Maximum PC, we're betting that Linux will pick up unprecedented momentum in the coming year. With phenomenal new distros, swelling international support, and a little extra momentum from Dell, we think Linux is poised to exploit the current atmosphere of doubt surrounding Vista and pick up serious traction in '08. But we want to know what you think. Head over and weigh in with your comments."
Windows

Vista Media Center Plus CableCard Equals No TV 262

Posted by Zonk from the that's-some-bad-math dept.
notthatwillsmith writes "ATI's internal CableCard readers are finally available, and Maximum PC got hands-on time with a couple of Vista-powered systems built using the FCC-mandated technology. The short version? It doesn't work. From the article: 'The tech told me he'd receive training direct from Microsoft, but none of it covered internal tuners. We both agreed that the process should be the same, since the only difference is that the slots are inside the case, versus in an external box. The tech then proceeds to install the CableCards, connect the tuners to coax line, fire up the PC, and begin the software configuration. This step involves activating the TV Wonder with a product-activation code, and calling the Comcast office to exchange some information. We should have had a picture at this point, but we didn't.'"
Windows

Submission + - Vista Media Center + CableCard = No TV

Submitted by notthatwillsmith
notthatwillsmith writes: ATI's internal CableCard readers are finally available, and Maximum PC got hands on time with a couple of Vista-powered systems built using the FCC-mandated technology. The short version? It doesn't work.
Spam

Spammer Robert Soloway Arrested 383

Posted by samzenpus from the that-should-fix-it dept.
Mike writes "Yahoo is reporting that US prosecutors captured Robert Soloway, a prolific Internet marketer responsible so much junk e-mail they called him "Spam King." Soloway was arrested in Seattle, Washington, a week after being indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of identity theft, money laundering, and mail, wire, and e-mail fraud. Soloway is accused of using botnets to disguise where e-mail originated and of forging return addresses of real people or businesses for his mass mailings. If convicted as charged, Soloway will face a maximum sentence of more than 65 years in prison and a fine of 250,000 dollars."
Technology (Apple)

Submission + - Music Listening Tests: 128kbps vs. 256kbps AAC (maximumpc.com)

Submitted by notthatwillsmith
notthatwillsmith writes: Maximum PC did double-blind testing with ten listeners in order to determine whether or not normal people could discern the quality difference between the new 256kbps iTunes Plus files and the old, DRM-laden 128kbps tracks. But wait, there's more! To add an extra twist, we also tested Apple's default iPod earbuds vs. an expensive pair of Shure buds to see how much of an impact earbud quality had on the detection rate. The results were not at all what we expected.
Operating Systems

Submission + - A Newbie-Friendly Guide to Switching to Linux

Submitted by notthatwillsmith
notthatwillsmith writes: I just posted Maximum PC's June cover story, a practical feature explaining exactly what a typical user needs to switch to Linux. I used Ubuntu Feisty as our example distro, but our instructions should work with most any Debian-based distro. While we did include the standard install walkthrough, we also spent a lot of space introducing the apps that people will need to handle common Windows tasks, like ripping CDs, editing and managing photos, and watching videos. Also, we've released the entire article under a Creative Commons license, so if you don't like our instructions, feel free to rewrite them and re-release them yourself!
Microsoft

Submission + - Latest MS updates reset default browser

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: I have installed the latest round of Microsoft critical updates (http://update.microsoft.com) to a couple of computers, and in both case the default browser was changed from Firefox to IE. That doesn't seem like a critical update...
Portables

Submission + - Hands on with Asus's upgradeable notebook

Submitted by notthatwillsmith
notthatwillsmith writes: Maximum PC went under the hood of Asus's new C90S notebook. This desktop replacement comes equipped with a standard LGA775 socket (to make CPU upgrades simple) as well as an upgradeable videocard. The notebook even sports extra cooling to make it easy to overclock your CPU!
Hardware Hacking

Submission + - No-blood method for adding magnetic sense

Submitted by
Bill Bumgarner
Bill Bumgarner writes: "You can feel magnetic fields and the like without taking a knife to a finger.

Just rip apart a hard drive and grab the head park magnet (if there is one — might have to rip apart more than one drive! Fun!). Tape it to your finger. Very faint, but works. You can also use a "magnetic wedding band", which some companies sell, to detect fields off of transformers quite easily.

Write up with pictures here: http://www.friday.com/bbum/2007/03/27/magnetic-fin ger-a-sixth-sense/"
Space

Submission + - US Spaceflight record Broken

Submitted by
Josh Fink
Josh Fink writes: "Today, astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria has been living and working in space for 197 days. The previous record of 196 days was held by expedition 4 crew members Carl Walz and Dan Bursch. When Lopez-Alegria returns to Earth on April 20, he will have spent 214 days aboard the IIS. From the article:

"You know it's kind of being like Barry Bonds and...Albert Pujos playing on the same team," Lopez-Alegria, an avid baseball fan, said referring to professional ballplayers. "I have a feeling my record isn't going to last very long, and I know exactly who is going to break it."

While the US may have broken its own record, it still has a long way to go to catch up with the world record of 438 days held by Valery Polyakov, a MIR crew member. You can view the article located at space.com here."
Software

Submission + - Maximum PC's Best Software Awards

Submitted by
notthatwillsmith
notthatwillsmith writes: "Every year, the Maximum PC editors pick the best software applications and utilities to laud in the annual Softy awards. Instead of focusing on high-profile commercial products, the Softys heap praise on lesser known apps that make a big impact on users. This year, we awarded Softys to several open source favorites, including Gaim and Thunderbird."
Upgrades

Submission + - Prototype Train Reaches 575 kph

Submitted by necro81
necro81 writes: The NY Times is reporting that the French train manufacturer, Alstom, today demonstrated its next-generation prototype train, the V150, in a test that reached 574.8 kph (357 mph), a new rail speed record. Although the V150 is just a demonstration platform, "[h]igh-speed trains are a potentially lucrative market in developing countries — China and India are the biggest markets, with China spending about 15 billion euros a year on its rail sector, while India is looking at developing a high-speed train network."

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