• latest news
  • Car tech
  • Cell phones and smartphones
  • Computers and hardware
  • Digital photo and video
  • Gadgets
  • Gaming
  • Green tech
  • Home theater
  • MP3 and portable video players
  • Televisions
• awards
  • Best of CES
  • People's voice
• video
• photos

About me

My posting summary

1 to 10 of 101

My comments

• Remy, you can tell your friends they can get Vista 7 for only $10 if they work at Best Buy and take part in the Microsoft "Anti-Linux Training" course they give for BB employees.
  
  Sit through a brainwashing session and get Vista 7.
  
  Its like listening to Paris Hilton's TV show and getting the lifelong herpes for free. In reply to: "BOL 1058: Windows 7: Set it and forget it"

  September 9, 2009

  0 replies

• Linux.
  Whether it be a full KDE, Moblin, Android or Chrome OS.
  
  I discovered at work that I could live without Windows (we have a few Macs), then I bought the Acer One and discovered that I could live with Linux. I then dual booted every desktop and laptop in the house with Linux/XP and Linux/Vista and now with Virtualbox Ive moved to full time Linux (writing on Kubuntu Linux desktop now) with XP running virtually.
  
  You can live without Windows, Mac users and Linux users do it every day. Web based apps make it easier and easier.
  
  I know web based OS like gOS exist and many people only need web apps but if I can run a full Linux desktop on my Dell Mini netbook, Id prefer that to the simply web option. I dont see myself doing either/or but rather a combination of web based and computer based apps. but for many, those will be enough.
  
  Wake me up when the ARM based netbooks come out.
  RIght now theyre back to hovering around 350-400$ and Im not impressed by the prices.
  A $199 ARM based netbook that runs web apps sounds ok though. In reply to: "Which OS would you want in a Netbook?"

  July 15, 2009

  0 replies

• Ive worked on Free Software for over a decade and not once have I cared what the OSI does so this will be one more thing I wont care about.
  I pick the A/L/GPL because I believe that whole 'standing on teh shoulders of giants' stuff. I like the idea that my work could benefit others down the line and so on and so on. As a son of a research scientist, the idea of collaboration with one's peers was always engrained in me.
  And no, I dont have problems wtih IBM or Intel employees working on the same projects because they follow the same rules as the college kids working with us.
  
  There is no 'community', there are hundreds of communities in free software which have little do with each other so I can see the OSI wanting to corral them for the benefit of business, just as I can see developers give the OSI the middle finger. Do kernel developers have much in common with KDE theme specialists? Do people working on some notetaking apps have anything to do with people working on KDEnlive video editing software?
  We all work on free software projects and some might be close to others and have rapport while others dont. So this community thing is bogus. But I understand why business wants to corrall them in.
  And yes, if you are going to claim some kind of ownership of 'community', then there needs to be a HEAVY representation of developers AND users on the board.
  
  As for open source, its the perfect example of corraling for the benefits of business that does nothing for us. BSD is a fine license for some but I have no use for it and even Redmond got their own MS-PL license so they can now claim that theyre 'open' so the term open source is really even more meaningless. Some people didnt like the name 'free software' and they changed it for us. Really? And Im just supposed to go along with it and revel in the confusion? No thanks. You might try to insult me by calling me an extremist (and I can call you a sellout) but the fact remains, Im doing the same thing I was 15 years ago, writing the same code and nothing has changed except how YOU want me to call myself because it doesnt suit some people. The word you are looking here is orthodiox, not extremist.
  But of course, you dont get to fan the flames as much with your title.
  
  More debate? Oh god no!!! Please, we have enough of them. Name me one other OS that has as many debates as we have. Some of us actually work for a living on top of working on free software, so debates are left for the self serving demagogues in various self appointed foundattion, organizations and groups.
  
  As for having MS on the board? Pass the bong Asay, I want some of your stuff.
  You can have them participate if you want WITHOUT having them be a member of the board but the past 15, 10, 5, 2 years have shown us what Microsoft thinks of us (Im still waiting for my bill since Ballmer claimed about 12-8 months ago that Red Hat USERS owe MS money because Linux has stolen their IP). Like with teh mob, you keep your friends close and your enemies even closer, I get it.
  Except you dont give a chronic criminal the keys to the house and your PIN number.
  
  Cmon, be original if youre going to try to get people riled up.
  Do some topics that have neeeeeeeever been done before.... like KDE vs Gnome or Alsa vs Pulse, binary blobs or not... In reply to: "Open-source extremism, and how the OSI can help"

  July 15, 2009

  0 replies

• I have to agree. I bought an EEE and an Acer One for the same price as you did so I was expecting these to be closer to 200$..
  Im writing from one right now using Mandriva 2009 with KDE4.2 and its not only stunningly beautiful but its a workhorse on the road. I have FF, OO, Thunderbird, Kopete, Skype, Amarok, Dolphin open right now and will be using later on Digikam to DL/edit photos and Audacity to edit some interviews I did for a science podcast.
  
  Im pretty sure I couldnt do as much with the arm processor but instead of buying a portable DVD player for the kids for 100-150$, I would rather get them each their own netbook for 199$.
  My wife uses hers for web-email as well as viewing pictures at her mom's so she would also be a good candidate for one too. (wifey and kids didnt miss a beat when we switched to KDE desktops)
  
  Of course, we all expect these prices to drop eventually, but its just the starting price is too close to what we paid for the.... beefier (!) netbooks .
  Still, 250$ this summer could very well be 199$ by Xmas which is what we almost paid for the Wii Board and that snowboard game last Christmas. In reply to: "Report: First Android Netbook to cost $250"

  April 27, 2009

  0 replies

• I agree that the FUD is real and hasnt ever stopped.
  
  Very often when people are told about Microsoft's tactics, the first reaction is that things dont work like that, that its only our imagination but the documents from Comes v. Microsoft show us that everything we thought Redmond did was true, and then some.
  Boycottnovell.com has tons of great documents from this court case and you can read internal memos and emails by heads of Microsoft written by the people themselves, not some interpretation.
  
  As for your story about ambulance chasers trying to scare up business, I am shocked that this happens. Shocked I say. I mean, we all love lawyers (as much as foot fungus), dont we? In reply to: "Debunking a law firm's open-source FUD"

  April 20, 2009

  0 replies

• Im pretty happy with Picasa for Linux and Gwenview (KDE viewer) but Cooliris was THE eye candy FF extension I wanted for Linux.
  Now that you can view files from your own HD, it looks this has gone from cute extension to something that could be more useful. Of course, whenever there is an update and I see a 5MB download for a browser extension, I wince a bit.
  
  Of course, if youre gonna announce a Linux version like did on their blog, it would really help if they actually had a Linux version on their site. None of the versions offered is : http://www.cooliris.com/download-all.php In reply to: "Cooliris gets local file support, Linux version"

  April 14, 2009

  0 replies

• >mindless and endless wrangling over just what "open" means in open source
  
  Right, its better to have people think it is what they want to think it is.
  
  BSD, Gnu-Linux and MS-PL are open source licenses and they are all different things which is ok but 'open source/sauce' is perfect in its mudiness because now Microsoft can claim they are open source too.
  
  As a matter of fact the word 'open' has lost all meaning, its becoming nothing more than marketing thing to say that you are a progressive company.
  Myspace too now has an Open Platform now:
  http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20090330006021&newsLang=en
  
  Even I've gotten into the game and have an Open Beer.
  I basically took the cap off, so it is open.
  
  Words. Thing lawyers, politicians and marketing goblins love controlling. In reply to: "Open source is its own worst enemy"

  April 3, 2009

  0 replies

• Good to see that some Mac users will use free software.
  
  VLC's biggest attraction when it came out is that it made people format agnostic.
  Wmv, mov, avi, it played all the net popular formats.
  That was what people appreciated the most when they installed it.
  No need to have software from each of the proprietary companies simply to play a certain format or worry about the latest divx codec when this little program would do it all. It worked and it was simple to use. Oh, and it worked really well.
  
  Fast forward to now. It works and its simple to use and you dont even need to see the interface, just click the file into full screen and play-pause with the Space bar. Of course, if you want to remap the shortcuts, that's easy too.
  
  Are there better video players? To do what?
  Watch Dr Who and Stargate (rip) episodes?
  How much easier and better can it get?
  Which is a question I ask myself of VLC, so I will be downloading the Wayne Gretzky edition now.
  
  The great thing about VLC is it made formats, codecs and video players kind of unimportant.
  
  One of the advantages to VLC has been the multi-platform aspect and has made migrating my friends and family to Gnu-Linux less scary. For quite a few years, I've been telling friends about free software alternatives on Windows such as Firefox, Thunderbird, OO and VLC. So once you have them switch to the Linux side on a KDE desktop (which is more recognizalbe to Windows user) all you need is to get them an mp3 player that looks like Winamp (the old amarok1.4 or XMMS) and Kopete which is similar to Trillian for chatting. Throw in a few programs like Picasa and Skype and the switch is pretty much effortless. Good cross-platform software makes OS differentiation less relevant.
  
  I like VLC most of all because... I rarely think about it.
  It works. It's free/libre and its gratis/free.
  Win. Win, Win. In reply to: "VLC 0.9.9: The best media player just got better"

  April 3, 2009

  0 replies

• >As has been the case for more than a year, we remain committed to a licensing solution
  
  Licensing solution? Sounds like extortion plain and simple.
  They did it with Novell and others "Linux has stolen our IP and you are guilty. However, if you pay us money we promise not to sue you." And the beautiful part of this FUD game is that you have to prove nothing, Is that a gun in your pocket or just your finger? Its really the same thing if you THINK my finger is a gun.
  They've done it with Brother and other manufacturers and are in a way taxing the companies who use Linux.
  
  Of course, NOTHING has changed in the past 24 months. The head of Microsoft hasnt changed his stance one centimeter but a few low level managers are saying nice things and they are throwing a few pennies at some conferences and open source projects (never of course, anything to do with copyleft licenses like the GPL) and its enough for some to forget even recent history and claim that things have changed.
  How often do you follow the lead of Steve Jobs when you want to know where Apple stands and how often do you listen to some pencil pusher?
  
  So why should we believe that Microsoft has changed its stance since its "Linux stole 235 of our patents but we wont say which ones"?
  Nothing has changed since Ballmer has claimed that Red Hat users owe Microsoft money (and in the same clip reminds people who it was who signed their extortion deal and is the only 'legal' Linux) in this clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5B0GTYfPoMo
  
  We've seen all those recently released court documents which show the internal messages from Gates, Ballmer and other top brass and the lengths they go to make sure that the 'cancer' doenst win.
  We know all of their legendary methods and those documents show that the worst case scenario about Microsoft is usually the right one.
  
  Those who know the Scorpion and the Frog parable know that the scorpion cant change its nature. In reply to: "TomTom countersues Microsoft in patent dispute"

  March 19, 2009

  2 replies

• @seven7dust: A Mac is a PC. Same components.
  
  It was stupid enough when it was using the magical Motorola bits but now its just idiotic.
  
  Same chips, memories, HD, video cards, screens and components as other companies except for the OS and the case finish.
  
  You want to say that the outer case makes it a different beast to justify yourself? Fine.
  
  Mac vs PC is so 90's that you might as well call a fax a facsimile machine too. In reply to: "New Mac Minis: Still too expensive"

  March 4, 2009

  0 replies