92911
General Discussion Area / Re: I still think that Vista sux.
« on: 29 October 2007, 21:07:09 »Quote
Anyone use Ubuntu :questionUrgh! Linux!
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92912
General Discussion Area / Re: I still think that Vista sux.
« on: 28 October 2007, 10:35:51 »Quote
That was so even before broadband. Microsoft emplyees have always made thier software available before MS can get it to the end of the production line. The competition is how fast they can get it out, was it XP they had to pull from production when they discovered that Tywan was listed before China, caused a lot of embarresment.Yes, piracy existed long before broadband, even the internet. Fast connections have given it a much larger footprint.
Isnt the back bone of the web unix based, very very raerly re-booted, that would be a novelty for windows users.
No matter how good the protection manufacturers use, there are better coders out there than they employ or will ever employ. I have never seen a failure to date.
A lot of coders disagree with MS and support the open licence, which is why MS does everything it can to throw a spanner in the works. local and government depts being advised to use open source rather than MS products, think of the revenue it would loose. But of course having the so-called IT people to use it is the biggest problem to it's use.
I look at it no diffrent to OOF a collection of people with the same interest. Coders are no different they live & breath coding, they reverse engineer all windows products and will show you where DOS still plays a part they know the product better than MS. It is truly amazing to see what a rushian can do with even a 282 absolutly truly unbelivable.
And no I am not a coder but still prefer the command line.
As to Unix and the Internet, yes (proper) Unix is used extensively. Yes, I support many servers with uptimes of 4yrs plus (rarely given maintenence windows
). Remember, though, that infrastructure servers will be running a minimal amount of software, perhaps for example, the kernel and Bind.4yr uptimes is wrong. Utterly wrong. No OS is without flaws, and an OS that is running 4yrs out of date must be vulnerable to a whole host of remotely exploitable flaws.
Saying that, my brothers old NT4 server was up for over 4yrs (as a closed system, patching less important), and his Windows 2000 Server systems likewise, until it all became Internet connected and hence (usually) monthly reboots for the patching.
Windows uptime is let down not be the OS, but by the applications. Most of the time you can kill the misbehaving app, but sometimes you need to reboot. No different to Unix.
Note, I have specifically not mentioned Linux, as that is an entirely different beast, and shows that disorganised development is not a recipe for stable software.
Agreed, every protection system is overcomable (temporarily), but thats the point of WGA. A determined person will keep cracking it every time. The people who won't pay for anything will keep searching the virus/malware ridden crack sites for cracks. Most of Joe Public will not bother and get a licence. As said, small PC shops don't dare to put on cracked copies, as the next set of updates will show that.
The Open Licence (forgetting MS Open Licencing scheme which is something different), The Free Software Foundation, and the GNU Pulic licence etc does not mean 'free' software, as in zero cost. 'Free' means something entirely different in this case. It is still against the law to copy, use and distribute it, unless it specifically grants you that permission. That is how the main Linux distributors make their money. Many of the poorer distros are 'free', but the likes of Redhat etc aren't. A lot of confusion exists over 'free' software, as people do believe they can do what they like, distribution wise.
Granted, there is an awful lot of truely free software from the open software movement, some of it very good. The problem is (from a desktop view - server admins generally want to pay for their software), for an entirely free software platform, much of it relies on Linux as the kernel, and is built up with flakey X11 implementations, and awkward window managers. The advantage Microsoft has is being a single corporation, they have made this reliable, tight, fast, and about as user friendly as you can get (they have the money to pile into user testing, rather than the user interface a geek developer wants).
I am a (amateur) coder. Bit rusty when it comes to assembler now, but could pick it back up if I wanted. But the days of proudly saying what your code can do in 1000 bytes are gone. Too difficult to debug. A Windows app (users do not want to use command apps anymore) needs about 1500 - 2000 lines of C++ code to display the window (Linux window apps no different), so libraries are used. Libraries tend to be generic, so any dragged in function will contain more code than needed by that specific call, and so the bloat begins. But a little bloat doesn't matter, as we are not confined to 640k RAM split into 64k chunks, and floppy disks any more. Additionally, the actual code for most apps is quite small, but the icons, graphics, and other resources pad out the .exe file. There is no need, on desktop/server systems to assembler it, unless a particular function needs speed (and even then, the modern compilers are good enough). Why spend weeks doing it the hard way when the same can be achieved, for example, with a .NET programming package (either Visual Studio or the freebies (or even the freebie Visual Studio Apps!)). Now embedded systems, thats a different kettle of fish, and often does require the use of machine code.
92913
General Discussion Area / Re: I still think that Vista sux.
« on: 27 October 2007, 20:43:25 »Quote
Trouble is, the naughty patches mean a significant majority won't buy the games legit...QuoteQuoteNo CD patches are great why the hell should I have to insert the disc when the game is already installed.
It's a perfect example of how the counterfeit product is better than the original. If these companies want people to buy their products then maybe they should put a bit less effort into pissing their customers off.
Legit games, with naughty patches
92914
General Discussion Area / Re: I still think that Vista sux.
« on: 27 October 2007, 20:00:41 »Quote
The big artists who have already made their fortune can afford to give away music, as thye will always pack out a large venue. Many bands can't. Though I suspect their generousity is only a temporary stunt, though I applaud their experiment, despite thinking its the wrong direction.QuoteThe music one is difficult to do. If you leave it unprotected, very few people will buy it (in these days of solid state portable players, how do you convinced people to pay for stuff that can easily be obtained for free?). I appreciate that some people will possibly never buy, but the majority will buy if its not easily available for free.Apple is dropping DRM from iTunes downloads. Not enabled now if you buy the whole album online. Others are going that way, including artists like Prince and Madonna. They are concentrating on revenues from concerts and merchandising. Attitudes are quickly getting more realistic, at least for some.
So, how do copyright owners protect their IP in this digital age?
I've yet to see a working business model that does allow commercial companies to give their products away (which is what, in effect, you are doing if you do not protect it).
My view is it shouldn't inconvenience users, but in some cases (music being the big one) this isn't possible until someone comes up with a universal format with built in DRM. Apple nearly managed it with iPod, although I think Apple's implementation is flawed.
As for software, I'll be trying out Open Orifice soon. MS defo isn't getting any more of my money on that one.
92915
General Discussion Area / Re: I still think that Vista sux.
« on: 27 October 2007, 19:16:34 »
The music one is difficult to do. If you leave it unprotected, very few people will buy it (in these days of solid state portable players, how do you convinced people to pay for stuff that can easily be obtained for free?). I appreciate that some people will possibly never buy, but the majority will buy if its not easily available for free.
So, how do copyright owners protect their IP in this digital age?
I've yet to see a working business model that does allow commercial companies to give their products away (which is what, in effect, you are doing if you do not protect it).
My view is it shouldn't inconvenience users, but in some cases (music being the big one) this isn't possible until someone comes up with a universal format with built in DRM. Apple nearly managed it with iPod, although I think Apple's implementation is flawed.
So, how do copyright owners protect their IP in this digital age?
I've yet to see a working business model that does allow commercial companies to give their products away (which is what, in effect, you are doing if you do not protect it).
My view is it shouldn't inconvenience users, but in some cases (music being the big one) this isn't possible until someone comes up with a universal format with built in DRM. Apple nearly managed it with iPod, although I think Apple's implementation is flawed.
92916
General Discussion Area / Re: I still think that Vista sux.
« on: 27 October 2007, 18:35:21 »
Paul M - Forgetting games for a moment (which do use an awful protection mechanism, as its intrusive), Windows and DVDs etc use a (almost) seemless system. The Protection/DRM does not get in the way of legal use (forgetting the WPA glitch with Vista that only shows up under certain sequence of events). DRM is not evil, as suggested on virtually every Linux site, but necessary. It needs to be seemless though (as like region coding and CSS on DVD) to be effective...
It is my experience, no matter on the cost, certain types of people will refuse to pay for electronic software/video/music, even if very, very cheap. This can be seem if you linger around the DVD section in the local library - you'll quite often here people say they won't hire for £2.50, but download it instead.
I agree this has gone on before broadband - many from my generation will remember using tape to tape machines to copy computer games which came on cassettes back then. Broadband has made this worse (back then, somebody within your group had to buy the original - internet has made this not necessary), and has allowed p2p distribution.
It is my experience, no matter on the cost, certain types of people will refuse to pay for electronic software/video/music, even if very, very cheap. This can be seem if you linger around the DVD section in the local library - you'll quite often here people say they won't hire for £2.50, but download it instead.
I agree this has gone on before broadband - many from my generation will remember using tape to tape machines to copy computer games which came on cassettes back then. Broadband has made this worse (back then, somebody within your group had to buy the original - internet has made this not necessary), and has allowed p2p distribution.
92917
General Discussion Area / Re: I still think that Vista sux.
« on: 27 October 2007, 17:54:49 »
Paul M - it was in the early summer that activation thing was fixed.
WPA/WGA deter more than accidental copying. Yes, you or I could (temporarily) work round it, but the majority of people couldn't. It also stops the small PC shops putting copies on rather than proper licenced one (a massive problem before XP SP1). They don't dare now knowing the next set of updates will break it.
Yes, like CSS on DVD, or the already part broken AACS used on Blu Ray, it won't stop people who know what they are doing, will will stop the majority of the population.
Apple make their money on hardware. As its now possible to mostly run OSX on non mac hardware, its only a matter of time before Apple start implementing similar - too many people will illegally use it if its easy enough, even at the low price. The broadband revolution has given the 'techie' types a mentally that they shouldn't have to pay for anything.
WPA/WGA deter more than accidental copying. Yes, you or I could (temporarily) work round it, but the majority of people couldn't. It also stops the small PC shops putting copies on rather than proper licenced one (a massive problem before XP SP1). They don't dare now knowing the next set of updates will break it.
Yes, like CSS on DVD, or the already part broken AACS used on Blu Ray, it won't stop people who know what they are doing, will will stop the majority of the population.
Apple make their money on hardware. As its now possible to mostly run OSX on non mac hardware, its only a matter of time before Apple start implementing similar - too many people will illegally use it if its easy enough, even at the low price. The broadband revolution has given the 'techie' types a mentally that they shouldn't have to pay for anything.
92918
General Discussion Area / Re: I still think that Vista sux.
« on: 26 October 2007, 21:27:02 »Quote
but seeing that it has the ability to spontaneously de-activate itself is causing me far more concern. Yet another case of Microsoft (and countless others) making life difficult for legitimate users while those using cracked pirate copies have no such issuesThat fault was fixed ages ago.. It reminds me of when music labels started putting that "anti-ripping" stuff onto CDs to stop people putting music they had paid for onto an MP3 player -- of course the pirate copies had no such limitations so you were actually getting a better product by getting a counterfeit from a local car boot sale or whatever
In fairness to MS, they have to do something to deter the casual pirate. And they do a reasonable job in stopping the good pirates. Activation is fairly non intrusive for most users who are internet connected, and simple enough for those that aren't.
Quote
OS X is light years ahead of Classic (OS 9 and older), it's akin to going from Win98 to Win2K. And the BSD kernel has proven to be stable over many years in many environments, so for desktop use I don't think stability is the least bit of an issue. I wouldn't say it's any better than the NT kernel in that respect, they're both pretty solid. X11 isn't part of Mac OS per-se, it simply includes an (optional) X11 server so you can run UNIX apps that aren't available natively for OS X (the Aqua interface). It is a bit of a kludge as X11 apps don't really fit in with the MacOS interface (things like they have their own menu bar), but it allows me to run programs like Amarok that are currently not available for Mac (nor Windows for that matter).Thats part of my point - OSX (and Linux/BSD) is disjointed.
Thats why I would always recommend Windows as desktop for most people...
92919
General Discussion Area / Re: I still think that Vista sux.
« on: 26 October 2007, 18:51:45 »
Vista can run well given the right amount of hardware.
I installed it for a laugh on our OOF server before I put W2k3 on it, and it flew. From the end of the BIOS POST test to being able to use, less than 10s - with all the usual slowing down software (office and AV) installed.
My MCE runs Vista, had to upgrade to 2G from 1G RAM, which has improved matters, but still sluggish at times (3.2G P4)
I like Macs, always have, until they went unix based - I have a distrust of the Linux (and similar BSD) kernel. Too many years working with it has proven its instability to me. And the whole X11 thing is an overgrown, over engineered piece of bloatware.
Vista's biggest issue is with the 3rd party software companies being too slow/stupid to deal with the OS changes, same as when XP came out.
I installed it for a laugh on our OOF server before I put W2k3 on it, and it flew. From the end of the BIOS POST test to being able to use, less than 10s - with all the usual slowing down software (office and AV) installed.
My MCE runs Vista, had to upgrade to 2G from 1G RAM, which has improved matters, but still sluggish at times (3.2G P4)
I like Macs, always have, until they went unix based - I have a distrust of the Linux (and similar BSD) kernel. Too many years working with it has proven its instability to me. And the whole X11 thing is an overgrown, over engineered piece of bloatware.
Vista's biggest issue is with the 3rd party software companies being too slow/stupid to deal with the OS changes, same as when XP came out.
92920
General Discussion Area / Re: BEBO
« on: 24 October 2007, 18:47:00 »Quote
Bloody kids todayQuoteI have heard of bebo but unfortunately i have also heard of all the problems with it facing the youngsters in our world and being a parent of a young girl i will not have bebo on my list of sites. but hope it works out for ya.
Good for you Tammy, it's great to see someone taking responsibility for their kids on the Net.
When I was young, I was the only one in the house that even knew how to switch a computer on. Therefore I soon learnt how to connect a modem, and surf the web to my hearts content - and nobody was any the wiser what I was looking at online.
And look what it's done to me now, I'm past hope
When old farts like me were kids, nobody considered connecting a modem to their ZX81....
92921
General Discussion Area / Re: Laptops
« on: 20 October 2007, 09:38:59 »Quote
For once, TB, I agree !!!!!!!. Guess what all my laptops need more ram!!My current, but old Tosh has a P4 2Ghz, 768Mb RAM, and that really needs rebuilding every 3 - 6 months to keep it running reasonable. It has XP Pro on it, as Vista is really bad on it, taking ages to boot up.
The poor lappy is knackered - screen hinges gone, DVD writer (2nd replacement worn out), floppy drive mostly missing (yes has built in floppy, thats how old it is), and sufferring from being dropped when I was in bath a month or so ago (case and keyboard took the brunt). 'bout time I got a new one
92922
General Discussion Area / Re: Laptops
« on: 19 October 2007, 22:31:26 »
Nowadays to make a machine run well, you are looking at 1G RAM for XP, and 2G for Vista. A decent dual core processor (Intel for laptops due to power) is nice. For Vista, the added overhead of a powerful video card.
Now I know a lot of people will come back saying XP runs fine in 512Mb, but 512Mb is right on the limit for XP now, already paging lightly at that point. Laptop hard disks are relatively slow, so paging is bad, bad news. With many laptops having integrated graphics, stealing system RAM, the situation is worse.
My 2p
Now I know a lot of people will come back saying XP runs fine in 512Mb, but 512Mb is right on the limit for XP now, already paging lightly at that point. Laptop hard disks are relatively slow, so paging is bad, bad news. With many laptops having integrated graphics, stealing system RAM, the situation is worse.
My 2p
92923
General Discussion Area / Re: Laptops
« on: 17 October 2007, 21:38:29 »Quote
Sorry, the first, didn't look at others.QuoteQuoteI ain't to good with computers but our eldest who is 11 is going on at me to get her a Laptop, to do her homework on.It will run like a dog, as its been Vista'd and hasn't really the spec to run it. It would run XP OK for general web/email/wp
Now a guy I work with has had a laptop from this place so any chance you guys will tell me what you think?
I fancy number one on the list as its cheapest, but number five down daughter seems to think its a good one, don't know how she knows :-?
http://www.buyit247.com/acatalog/Grade_2_Laptops.html
What will run like a dog? or do you mean all of them?
Decent laptops aren't that expensive now... ...so don't be too tempted by grade b stock
92924
General Discussion Area / Re: Laptops
« on: 17 October 2007, 21:34:40 »Quote
I ain't to good with computers but our eldest who is 11 is going on at me to get her a Laptop, to do her homework on.It will run like a dog, as its been Vista'd and hasn't really the spec to run it. It would run XP OK for general web/email/wp
Now a guy I work with has had a laptop from this place so any chance you guys will tell me what you think?
I fancy number one on the list as its cheapest, but number five down daughter seems to think its a good one, don't know how she knows :-?
http://www.buyit247.com/acatalog/Grade_2_Laptops.html
92925
General Discussion Area / Re: Nintendo Wii BRAND NEW AND BOXED + Redsteel ga
« on: 28 October 2007, 14:36:54 »
Also moving to general chat as its not car parts...