* Posts by JEDIDIAH

2525 publicly visible posts • joined 26 Jan 2009

DEAD STEVE JOBS kills Apple bounce patent from BEYOND THE GRAVE

JEDIDIAH

Re: Prior Art

> If properly applied, the concept of "prior art" would destroy many large companies like Apple, Microsoft and Google because they simply commercialize ideas that other people

Improving an invention does not require hijacking that invention and effectively stealing it from those that actually invented it.

In 2013, one simply doesn't need a 20 year monopoly in order to make money off of a better mousetrap. The entire market moves much too fast. Progress happens far too quickly and an invention may become obsolete before anyone successfully clones it.

Congrats on MP3ing your music... but WHY bother? Time for my ripping yarn

JEDIDIAH
Linux

Re: Lightweight.

> Then I discovered the US version of Netflix and realised half the films I've ripped are already there, often in HD

Your DVD rip is still probably better quality.

The features of your PC video player probably trumps whatever Netflix player you're using.

Your DVD rip is playable on just about anything including platforms that Netflix doesn't support.

Playing your local copy doesn't require any sort of external network and doesn't consume your 3G or your home Internet bandwidth cap.

Any task is going to be harder if you procrastinate until you have a huge mountain of work.

JEDIDIAH
Linux

Re: You must rip those CD's.

> You must rip those CD's.

> It's the closest you'll ever get to "sticking it to the man".

It's your own personal property. How is it in any way shape or form "sticking it to the man"?

JEDIDIAH

...it's funny you should mention this.

> Reminds me of 10 years ago when I started uni. I remember 2 people I lived with -

> The end result though, was that at some stage, they both "lost" some of their music. The guy who'd ripped everything ended up needing to delete some, because back then a 20 Gb laptop hard drive was fairly big.

It's funny you should mention this because the hard drive in my laptop 10 years ago was 100G.

Although for real "portability" I wrote my collection to CD/DVD.

20G was NOT a big laptop drive 10 years ago.

JEDIDIAH
Facepalm

The Manhattan blues...

> The real problem with CDs is the space they require for storage...

Not really. Not unless you live in some place like Manhattan where real estate is priced by the square centimeter rather than by the acre.

CDs are not large and need not take up any more space than the media itself, especially if you don't have to keep the media in any sort of "ready to use" setup.

JEDIDIAH
Linux

Re: grip on Linux does a nice job

> The interval between "feed" and "feed in next one" is too short to fill with any useful activity, but long enough to be very boring.

The interval can be as long as you like. You don't need to chain yourself to the desk during this process.

The computer is more than capable of going about it's business without you. Let it.

JEDIDIAH
Linux

Re: grip on Linux does a nice job

Ripping CDs is easy. There was as perfectly n00b friendly ripper (ripperX) on Linux back in the dawn of days. This is not and never has never been a hard problem.

It's just data. There's no DRM or DMCA hurdles involved. Anyone and their mother's cat is free to create a suitable and LEGAL CD ripping program.

DVDs and BDs are a little more interesting because of the DMCA but still not rocket surgery.

JEDIDIAH
Linux

Re: Well yes... I guess

> Boxee et al want us to think that listening to MP3s requires turning the whole loft into an always-on datacentre.

Keep the PC on. Share your files using that thing that moves the "big letter I" around the screen. Done.

Not rocket surgery, even if you are using the NAS approach.

Full Steam Ahead: Valve unwraps plans for gaming hardware

JEDIDIAH
Linux

> 'Cause I'd prefer to have something that ate less Juice then my PC.

Chances are this will be something that any one of us could build for ourselves. It will be made out of industry standard PC parts that can be replicated at Frys or your regional equivalent. It will be very much like a Mac in this respect. The only real difference will be the bundled combination and the size of the package.

I would be surprised if it's very far off from being a smaller version of the Zareason Mediabox I already have.

JEDIDIAH
Linux

Re: This is really stupid

> So Valve have decided to bring out a Linux microconsole. Except that there won't even be a standard hardware spec.

If this is running on Linux then this hardware will likely be driven to a pretty predictable configuration actually.

JEDIDIAH
Linux

Re: Watching with interest

> That's totally untrue. For a start 90% of the extra power is used for prettier graphics only,

Nope. The extra CPU can also be used for more interesting AI. This means larger maps and more sophisticated NPCs and more NPCs. So even a low horsepower type strategy game will get dumbed down on a console.

iOS 7 SPANKS Samsung's Android in user-experience rating

JEDIDIAH
Linux

Re: iDIOTS Operating System

AirPlay is just a proprietary mirroring format.

Comparing it to DLNA is like comparing an Apple to a Banana.

DLNA by itself tries to do all of the heavy lifting that is not addressed by AirPlay at all. The functionality of DLNA is addressed by various "apps". That includes playing more than just one subset of one particular video or audio format.

You're also crowing about needing such a thing to get past the fact that device you are streaming to is unecessarily crippled. Otherwise AirPlay would be a moot point. You could just run Plex directly.

It's "apps" that are superior to DLNA.

JEDIDIAH
Mushroom

Re: Would LOVE to see how "vanilla" Android 4.3 fares!

>> "It would fair better, but stock Android is quite like iOS in it's simplicity."

> Well it's an iOS copy after all.

In other words, a copy of the Windows 3.1 program manager with the keyboard ripped away and only one mouse button.

JEDIDIAH
Linux

Re: I use both extensively

I find the "full of crap" line to be pure bullsh*t. An S3 no more crappified than an iPhone is. It's not at all anything like a PC full of shovelware.

On the other hand, even a technical rube can do things with an S3 that make it completely unrecognizable. They can do this without any help or prodding from the "technical elites". The sight of a phone in that condition is a little humbling actually.

JEDIDIAH
Linux

Re: so does that mean

>> "Samsung is still more portable than any Air"

> And my Dad could beat your dad in a fight. Tit.

I bought my first "Ultrabook" in 2001 and it was made by Sony.

JEDIDIAH
Linux

Re: so does that mean

> OS X has had virtual desktops since v10.5, i.e. 2007.

Kind of sort of... after a fashion, using a user interface that's more cumbersome than something that a Linux user might have been using in 1994.

MacOS has virtual desktops in much the same way that Windows does. Crude and kludgey and not necessarily what a Unix user would expect.

It's like saying that a burned out hulk of a Ferrari without an engine is good to go. It's true that it's a Ferrari and you can kind of push it around to where you want to go but it's not usually what people have in mind when they think of having a Ferrari.

JEDIDIAH
Linux

Re: so does that mean

> Er, just because something is simpler doesn't mean it's not as good for technical people.

How does Apple manage to be "simpler"?

They do that by reducing what the user sees, giving them fewer options. A labyrinth of networking options become a single dialog box. On the one hand it's easy. On the other hand, you're SOL if the option you need isn't presented.

> That's a pretty glaring logical fallacy. Witness OS X. Preferred simultaneously by the least and most technical people I know.

Were you trying to be ironic? You certainly did a great job of it.

USB 3.1 demo shows new spec well on its way towards 1.2GB/sec goal

JEDIDIAH

Re: Thundercats

What Apple did was screw over it's loyal users by forcing a switch that didn't really need to happen.

They also dumped SCSI? Was that a "proprietary" port too?

That's kind of like the problem with Thunderbolt. If you are lucky enough to have kit new enough to have a TB port, you can't use any of that new gear to connect to anything else. That includes Macs as well as PCs. Having a PCIe slot doesn't matter either as you can't get a TB interface on one of those.

Apple is great at forcing ugly, expensive, and unecessary transitions.

JEDIDIAH

Re: Thundercats

> And even today millions of professional users use FIrewire

I rather doubt you are in any position to talk for those people. You're just another fanboy repeating someone else's marketing propaganda. You also seem really butthurt that Apple's annointed standard was completely displaced by USB as far as any normal person can tell.

JEDIDIAH

Re: Apples and Oranges

> SCSI was meant to connect data-processing equipment like harddisks, printers, scanners and so on via high speed connections

The catch there is that "high speed" in this case is from the perspective of someone in the 1970s.

My USB devices run circles around any of the SCSI2 devices I ever had to deal with.

> There is a data aspect of USB, but that is just as hard as SCSI to get reliable.

You're on crack.

Apple CEO Cook: 'We're not in the junk business'

JEDIDIAH

Mindless hype...

I wouldn't even go that far. Apple isn't a luxury brand really. They're just a PC brand with a little bit of extra "polish". There's some wood veneer and perhaps some leather upholstery over the same parts that everyone else uses.

Apple is much more like Lincoln. That's a slightly tweaked Ford.

Peak Apple: Has ANYONE at all ordered a new iPhone 5c?

JEDIDIAH
Linux

Re: WANTED: iOS Desk

> Not sure if you are trolling, but Samsung already have. Its the SUR40 and runs Windows.

That's the thing about things not Apple. If you've imagined it, chances are there's someone out there already making and a whole community of enthusiasts that will declare you late to the party.

JEDIDIAH

Re: I've ordered a 5C

> Or, to put it another way: "I buy, guided by plain ignorance and prejudice

Neither product is really that exclusive despite fanboy cries to the contrary. It's not that hard to have solid experience with either. Apple phones are just as subsidized as Androids. They aren't any more expensive. BMWs can be test driven or rented.

Both are consumer brands with an inflated sense of self-importance.

Both are like Cleveland.

JEDIDIAH

Re: Fury

> they all aspire to own an iPhone, iPad and Mac Book.

I dumped my iPhone for a Samsung phone.

So did the missus. She also dumped her iPad for a Samsung tablet.

Macs neither impressed either one of us.

JEDIDIAH
Mushroom

Re: I've ordered a 5C

> Look at the iOS vs Android usage / web figures

It sounds like Android users are actually interested in a PHONE.

A smartphone buyer actually wanting a PHONE. Imagine that?

It must really blow your mind.

Cloud storage: Is the convenience worth the extra expense?

JEDIDIAH

Total loss of control.

The moment you put something offsite, you immediately lose control of it. It's like the proverbial bank safety deposit box. The media makes these things out as secure and protected and they're not. A bank will give you up just as readily as an American Internet company.

At least in the US, you still retain privacy rights to your stuff so long as it remains in your possession. The moment you let it leave your control, all of this "you need a warrant" stuff evaporates.

Plus there's the usual trust issues of letting someone else manage your stuff.

City of Munich throws Ubuntu lifeline to Windows XP holdouts

JEDIDIAH

Re: Ubuntu

The only reason Windows ever works "out of the box" is that it's installed that way by some hardware vendor.

Getting any n00b to install ANY OS on their own is going to be a problem.

Although Linux will be dramatically easier despite all of the Lemming protestations to the contrary.

The only easy Windows install is the special single-use one that your hardware vendor gives you with your new PC (if you're lucky).

JEDIDIAH

Re: I bet a lot more people would switch if...

I have an Linux production box running an NTFS volume.

The idea that Linux doesn't support NTFS is just outdated nonsense.

JEDIDIAH

Re: Change screen resolution in ubuntu

MythBuntu? Really? A novelty fork intended for a single narrow use case?

I see people whining all the time in general forums about how hard it is to make Windows into an appliance and how this makes the Windows equivalent of MythTV unsuitable for the unwashed masses.

Been in IT for decades and it never occured to you to revert? Really?

Although it sounds like a combination of lame (for MythTV) video card and bad driver version due to Canonical being dipsh*ts. Hard to tell really in the near total absence of any useful information.

JEDIDIAH

Re: Nice idea, but...(perhaps try Win7 instead of XP??)

> Honestly the number of complaints about difficulty installing XP just make me laugh. Win 7 finds everything you can throw at it,

No it doesn't. Been there done that.

You're just repeating the same old tired propaganda.

"They got it right this time. Really they did."

JEDIDIAH

Re: Nice idea, but...

A Windows style installer is nothing more than a crude script that spews files everywhere. It does this because there is no sense of process control on Windows due to it's heritage as a single user system. It may have the appearance of being easier because it doesn't really do anything except in the most crude fashion possible.

You just push the shiny button and hope for the best.

Although sometimes even this isn't even good enough as Windows software still has dependencies.

Linux package management automates and centralizes everything. Even if you do stray off the reservation, chances are the package manager will be able to rescue you.

JEDIDIAH

Re: Nice idea, but... X marks the spot.

The video card issue may very well be a genuine support issue given the age of the hardware. I would not be at all surprised if the proprietary BLOB driver doesn't include support for that card anymore.

Although I would be surprised if the libre driver dropped support.

These people might not be able to run Win7 either for similar reasons.

Object storage: The blob creeping from niche to mainstream

JEDIDIAH

Re: Object: It's not just about storing stuff...

Anything that displaces the conventional file system is likely to require that same displaced file system under the covers. It may be invisible, embedded in some highly proprietary storage layer. However, sooner or later something is going to have to address it in conventional terms. That might even be the end user or admin. Less abstract elements of systems don't suddenly go away when a better abstraction is found.

A file name (or something like it) will likely continue to remain the most efficient path to an object regardless.

JEDIDIAH

Re: "the guesswork of capacity planning is eliminated"

> I can see you missed the point of

Adding more capacity on a whim? From the likes of EMC? For only the cost of a single employee?

Surely you've never actually had any experience with this sort of thing.

4K-friendly Thunderbolt 2 WILL ship this year, Chipzilla pledges

JEDIDIAH

Re: Format war

What war? In order for there to be a war, there needs to be 2 armies on the battlefield.

I only see one.

Sure, you hear a lot about the other guys but you never really see them.

I can get USB3 gear without seeking it out. It's just there. It's all around you and even if you don't seek it out, you may find that you've bought it already. TB is something you have to specifically go out of your way to try and find. You can't bolt it onto an old system (like you can with USB3). Even if you try to buy an entirely new system to get this stuff there are still fewer devices and vendors to choose from.

This right here, us in the peanut gallery, we're the only thing resembling a "war" on this matter.

If you think there's an actual format war going on then you're just a stupid fanboy.

For PITY'S SAKE, DON'T BUY an iPHONE 5S, begs FSF

JEDIDIAH

Re: Blah blah blah -@AC 14:24

> I've visited the US and they don't have my fingerprints.

Do they do this in the non-US citzen line? I just got back from a trip to Europe and I don't recall seeing any mechanism or apparatus where they could/would get your fingerprints.

JEDIDIAH
Facepalm

Re: Blah blah blah -@AC 14:24

> You missed the bit where Apple said

I have a bridge to sell you.

Seagate parades spinning skinny model to oust flash from fondleslabs... almost

JEDIDIAH

Re: Local Storage vs Cloud

You whine about the slowness of WIFI and USB2 and then declare that local storage is silly.

That's such obvious nonsense.

You have just demonstrated the reason why local storage is better. If wired connections are too slow then wireless ones certainly will be. That's not even getting into the problems of reliability and availability. Then add in bandwidth caps and international roaming.

JEDIDIAH

Re: Like Henry Ford said....

> This drive is a very fast horse in a world of Model T flash storage.

...which reminds me of a Tom Selleck western where some jack*ss in an early auto gets himself stuck in the mud. Tom's horse has no problem with the mud and gallops off triumphantly into the sunset.

JEDIDIAH

Re: One really has to ask

Most consumers are stupid and need someone to lead them around by the nose. If some well advertised company doesn't offer a product, then it doesn't exist. This is the case with beefy media players. The rubes don't see the potential of a 500G tablet so they don't demand it from Apple. They are content to be force fed whatever the guy living in the castle on the hill wants to give them.

A fat Archos is great because you can load it up once and largely forget about it.

The problem with underequipped media devices is that you always need to futz with them. You have to constantly decide what you do or don't want on them. UIs don't impact this problem.

You sound like someone declaring "but I don't need access to my whole music collection".

Verizon finally drags FCC into court fisticuffs to end one-speed internet for all

JEDIDIAH

Re: The arrogance!

That is classic American fundie/neocon rhetoric right there. Their inability to oppress me is somehow violating their fundemental liberties.

It's MY speech that we're talking about here. It's not Verizon's. Verizon wants to interfere with MY speech. That's THEIR idea of "free speech".

China's corruption crackdown killing off Unix

JEDIDIAH

Re: Switching from big iron to x86 virtualisation

> But there are no high end SMP Linux servers for sale and has never been,

The largest SMP server was a Linux server sold by SGI.

Also, large workloads may very well do better with some form of clustering which marginalizes the sort of large NUMA box you seem to be fixating on. This applies equally well to commercial Unix as it does Linux.

Also, a big Unix server is more likely to be more akin to a virtualization solution than something required for a "big problem".

Windows 8.1 to freeze out small business apps

JEDIDIAH
Linux

Re: Surprise? NOT

> Can Linux do (reliably, no matter what distribution, any kernel 4 years and younger) do:

>

> Voice recognition

>

> Handwriting recognition

...probably does it better than Microsoft products considering what platform is the mobile market leader.

Although even on the desktop, that's all down to 3rd party products anyways. So you're basically crowing over the fact that Microsoft is the defacto standard. Says squat about the actual OS.

JEDIDIAH
Linux

> Q; Who really uses a custom programmed APP?

This is Microsoft's bread and butter. People don't run Windows because of the stupid word processor. They run Windows because of all of the obscure little apps you've never heard of. Some of these might not even be targeted for the current version of monopolyware.

...and plenty of companies use customized and custom software.

JEDIDIAH
Mushroom

Re: Show MS how you feel....

> Are they trying to kill Linux by being one of the major contributors to the kernel

They are no such thing.

JEDIDIAH
Devil

Re: The message isn't clear enough yet?

> We do not want linux

The only thing WinDOS has to offer is legacy applications and Microsoft seems bound and determined to kill those off. World+Dog only uses Microsoft's OS because it has been considered the default desktop platform for 30 years and every obscure app that doesn't fit into their new model runs on it.

Doctors face tribunal over claims of plagiarism in iPhone app

JEDIDIAH
Mushroom

Re: What does plagiarism have to do with Fitness to Practice?

> Breach of patient trust

Due to lying or cheating someone else? Really.

No. "Breach of patient trust" is something like falling asleep on duty or prescribing something to a patient when they are allergic to it. Nonsense that happens out of the operating theater really doesn't matter.

You know: the "do no harm thing".

Even a pervassive inability to get your bills right doesn't qualify as "breach of patient trust".

JEDIDIAH
Mushroom

Re: Struck off and die?

> A doctor must behave like the wife of Caesar,

Good luck actually holding up that kind of absurd standard.

The problem of course is that while you are busy creating a standard that no honest man can satisfy, the rest of us will have to suffer for it while all of the competent people that care about their profession are cast out. The only people left will be the really hard core sleazebags that can game this kind of system.

JEDIDIAH
Mushroom

Nothing to lose a license over...

Things to lose your license to practice over are things like causing real harm to people through fraud or incompetence. A guy that performs an unnecessary procedure on you and then mutilates you should lose his license. Nonsense like this doesn't even come close.

Ministry of Sound sues Spotify over user playlists

JEDIDIAH

Copyright on what exactly?

Since when has a simple list ever been protected under copyright?

This has squat to do with "digital technology eroding the rights of artists". There's a very real legal question here that has nothing to do with technology. Can you copyright a list? The answer to that should be NO in any decade. Tech should have nothing to do with it.

Not sure about EU/UK ideas in this regard though...