Channel 9 - Discussions by Karim

Coffeehouse - WPF/E question

Karim — Tue, 28 Mar 2006 21:42:16 GMT

blatzcoder wrote:

My concern is that if this goes the same route as "turn off your active scripting" or "don't use ActiveX components". Will these new components run in a sandbox environment or will they have access to your hard drive (which they shouldn't, but given Microsoft's track record and apparent cluelessness on these issues...)?

Man you're harsh.

The MIX06 presentation on WPF/E is up at:

http://blogs.msdn.com/mharsh/archive/2006/03/24/559923.aspx

Slide 13 says:

"WPF/E" hosts an x-platform .NET runtime

- Code (C#/VB.NET) is compiled into an intermediate language (IL)

- IL is run in a secure and "managed" environment

Coffeehouse - Steve Jobs joins the dark side

Karim — Tue, 28 Mar 2006 04:12:05 GMT

Minh wrote:

It goes to prove that if you're fat & happy, you can't make good art.

A recurring question at the local Philosophy Club. I tend to agree with you. Though occasionally there's somebody like Matisse who throws a wrench into the works by being fat, happy, stable, married with children, well-adjusted, popular, AND a good artist.

There's an interesting film by Lars Von Trier called The Five Obstructions, in which Von Trier takes a filmmaker he idolizes (Jorgen Leth) and asks him to make short films, but with "obstructions" (obstacles) randomly created by Von Trier. One of the ideas was, I think, that great art comes out of a struggle, that you have to be working against some kind of obstruction -- in other words, that you can't be fat and happy to make great art.

Star Wars was great because Lucas was trying to make this epic saga and he had no budget, nobody was interested in science fiction films. Lucas had obstacles galore -- that's why they gave him merchandising rights, the studio thought they were worthless. The Phantom Menace sucked because finally Lucas had all the money in the world and he could finally make the boring saga about the Trade Federation's role in Galactic Politics that he always dreamed of making. He had no obstacles.

rjdohnert wrote:

Yeah I tried to force choke someone, unfortunately it didnt work. Beer28 kept showing up.

LOL

Charles: This isn't the forum you're looking for. [handwave]

Beer28: This isn't the forum I'm looking for.

Charles: You want to go home and rethink your life. [handwave]

Beer28: I want to go home and rethink my life.

BenZilla wrote:

The funny thing is, Lucas didn't direct Empire and Return of the Jedi which are probably the 2 best star wars films.

Lucas is a great director, I think... as awesome as Kershner was on Empire, if you're just talking about direction, I'd still give the nod to Lucas.

The dialogue that Lucas wrote, on the other hand...

I found the two Clone Wars DVDs to be more entertaining than most of the films.... and strangely, one of the "obstructions" in the Von Trier film was to remake a film as a cartoon...

Coffeehouse - Vista delayed...misses Christmas - launch now 2007

Karim — Tue, 28 Mar 2006 03:17:27 GMT

arunpv wrote:

huh? Microsoft doesn't copy from anyone..
does this look familiar
http://search.msn.com/
or does the above link look like the one below?
http://www.google.com/

IE7 tabbeb browing dubbed *cough* firefox *cough*

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_SQL_Server

The code base for Microsoft SQL Server (prior to version 7.0) originated in Sybase SQL Server, and was Microsoft's entry to the enterprise-level database market, competing against Oracle, IBM, and, later, Sybase itself. Microsoft, Sybase and Ashton-Tate originally teamed up to create and market the first version named SQL Server 4.2 for OS/2 (about 1989) which was essentially the same as Sybase SQL Server 4.0 on Unix, VMS, etc. Microsoft SQL Server for NT v4.2 was shipped around 1992 (available bundled with Microsoft OS/2 version 1.3) and was a simple port from OS/2 to NT. Microsoft SQL Server v6.0 was the first version of SQL Server that was architected for NT and did not include any direction from Sybase.

my point is every company copies from one or the other.....

Oh, I agree completely. I didn't say anything remotely like "Microsoft doesn't copy from anyone."

I actually remember those early versions of SQL Server. Microsoft did not have any real RDBMS product prior to that, and no one trusted the Microsoft name on a database, so it was marketed as having been written by Sybase, to give it credibility.

Coffeehouse - Vista delayed...misses Christmas - launch now 2007

Karim — Tue, 28 Mar 2006 03:05:20 GMT

Xaero_Vincent wrote:

I feel the words "superior" and "inferior" coincide with absolute extremities. I mainly think that Office 2003 is a bit more stable (fewer bugs) and a little more versatile with things like VB macros and such. But overall they are fairly close in terms of functionality and usability.

"Superior" and "inferior" do not describe extremes. Most of the time they describe relative position or rank. In anatomy, "superior" just means towards the top or upper portion, "inferior" means towards the bottom; in that case, it's not even a judgement...

What makes you think it has anything to do with absolute extremes...?

Xaero_Vincent wrote:

I think the direction OpenOffice should take is stop trying to copy Microsoft Office. Go off on some different direction, give people something entirely new. Instead of copying Microsoft Office (and forever playing catch-up, forever be just a cheap knock-off), make something better than Microsoft Office. That would be cool and something I could enthusiastically support.

Thats probably good advice. I agree that there are way too many simularities between the two suites. Innovation with the suite leaves much to be desired. I feel its a good Office solution for the FOSS world though. I guess the benefits of these simularities is people with Microsoft Office experience can become productive in OpenOffice in minimal time.

That's the upside to being a copycat -- flat learning curve

I'd like it if they didn't just aim for "a good Office solution for the FOSS world" -- "whadda ya want for free?" -- but rather aimed at kicking Microsoft's butt. Not just "good enough," but better. That would be real competition.

Coffeehouse - Vista delayed...misses Christmas - launch now 2007

Karim — Mon, 27 Mar 2006 23:57:46 GMT

blatzcoder wrote:

Karim wrote: With the Microsoft windows, I can see things like Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Flash, Quark... I can see Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook, Access... I can see great games... I can see Visual Studio... the Microsoft windows give you a beautiful vista.

Through the Linux windows you can't see anything except some gimp and a terminal.

Your turn.

You obviously are not getting my point. I'll simplify my point then.

Linux is like a box of Legos. All different kinds of blocks that can be put together to build masterpieces of software. But let's be more specific. Let's say your distribution is a "mobile rocket transport". You follow the directions, and play around with your mobile rocket transport for a few days and then get bored. Want to change it? Take it apart and build a space station. If you need more blocks, you can simply go online and find more. No waiting time. If you lose the directions, you can still build things and tear them apart and make the creations your own.

Microsoft, on the other hand, ships you a one-piece mobile rocket transport. Johnny plays with it a few days, runs over the cat's tail, whatever, but by the end of the week he is bored with it. What do you do? Well, if you want the mobile rocket transport with remote control (which the Linux version had years ago) you'll just have to wait a few months. Or maybe years. Now, let's label the parts of Johnny's transport. We'll call the rocket part the Windows Media Player and the pairs of wheels we'll call IE, the registry and I dunno, Paint.

Let's say Johnny gets mad one day with his transport and wants to to turn into a stationary rocket launcher. He takes off the wheel sets one by one but sadly finds the WHOLE THING stops functioning altogether. He goes onto the internet and finds that many others have this same problem and even finds articles where the government tried to get the toy company to change their way of making toys. But the big bad toy company insists they know what Johnny wants even before Johnny knows what Johnny wants.

Merry Christmas, Sucker!

You know how Microsoft got started, don't you?

Developer tools.

Compilers and intepreters.

Microsoft invented Legos. Back when IBM was renting "mobile rocket transport" toys to you for $10,000 a year.

Nice try, Grinch, but your hard disk is two sizes two small.

Coffeehouse - Vista delayed...misses Christmas - launch now 2007

Karim — Mon, 27 Mar 2006 23:47:42 GMT

Xaero_Vincent wrote:

That is a lie. What you said was, and I quote, "I don't antisipate any wide spread Linux adoption mostly due to Microsoft's typical huge marketing investments for their Windows platform." You were talking about Linux users. Not "ordinary desktop users."

Wrong! I clearly meant I do not predict to see a mass of ordinary desktop users migrating to linux because of Microsofts marketing efforts and vendor lock-in.

Whatever you meant, it wasn't clear to me.

So if I can summarize -- to see if I understand you -- people will buy Vista because Microsoft will spend a ton of money advertising it. Is that your point?

You have a talent for stating the obvious in a way that seems... a little tortured.

Xaero_Vincent wrote:

Thank you, Captain Obvious

No need to become overally agressive. We're all kind mannered gentlemen, right?

No.

Xaero_Vincent wrote:

Another lie. Apple does NOT support the iPod on Linux. If you look at the bottom of a current-model iPod box, it reads, and I quote, "Requires Mac or PC with USB port (USB 2.0 recommended); Mac OS X v10.3.9 or later, Windows 2000 (SP4), or Windows XP Home or Professional (SP2); and iTunes 6 or later"

Did you see the word "Linux" anywhere in there?

The iPod is well supported on Linux. You just have to reformat it's hard drive to FAT32 or recompile the linux kernel with HFS+ enabled to use it. The first method is the easiest and you can do that with iTunes. The same thing happens with Windows as well since the MacOS X HFS+ file system isn't supported on Windows.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8160

LOL It's not supported by the manufacturer. You know, Apple, the company that MAKES iPods? They don't support it. You can't call them up and ask them questions about it. They don't have any help for Linux + iPod on their web site. If it breaks they're not going to help you fix it. What part of "not supported" do you not understand?

Just because you can do something doesn't mean it's supported. (Or that it's reliable, or that it works well.)

Hey, if I set up Granny with Linux and an iPod, do YOU promise to support her 24/7? Can she call you up any time of the day or night and ask you how to do ./configure/make/make install? Can she ask you which one is the slash and which one is the backslash? After all, you're claiming it's supported. So please post your phone number so Granny can call you 24/7/365 with her "iPod under Linux" questions. Thanks!!!

Xaero_Vincent wrote:

Or worse, they could use phrases like, "technologically fit for an impressive user experience."

FUN...E!! I bet you think you're the real joker now.

No.

Coffeehouse - Beer28 Adventures

Karim — Mon, 27 Mar 2006 23:06:06 GMT

ChrisA wrote:

JohnAskew wrote: Oh my! I just heard that ChrisA lost his job due to excessive internet use at work!

Poor b@stard.

Im self employed and do very well thank you.

Coffeehouse - Vista delayed...misses Christmas - launch now 2007

Karim — Mon, 27 Mar 2006 22:54:30 GMT

Xaero_Vincent wrote:

Microsoft Office Student & Teacher Edition 2003 is $124.99 at Amazon. You can install it on up to 3 computers. That's $41.67 per computer, not "$250+."

OK. That price isnt bad. But lets look at a scenerio. One of my college campuses have 400+ Dell systems. All of them are Pentium IV HT 3.0 GHz, 1 GB RAM, integrated video cards, etc. Volume discounts from Dell brought each system down to $1070 or something. They all have Office 2003 Pro and Windows XP Pro and other good stuff.

At my other campus there are probably an additional 400 computers with Office 2003 Pro though. Theres even a third campus, that I do not attend, but imagine having a few hundred systems of their own.

Lets say it costed them $50 to put Office 2003 on each system. We know $50 would be really cheap for something that could normally cost $300 per copy.

So $50 x 1,000 systems = $50,000 for Office 2003 alone. The real cost might be different since Microsoft may charge more or less to schools with Academic partnerships. But if students wanted to buy Office 2003 at the school book store, they'd have to pay about $130 for each box copy (half price), so it makes me wonder if my schools are actually paying more.

One cool thing though is students enrolled in computer science classes are elgible for certain Microsoft products at no cost. Office 2003 is not one of them, but Windows XP Pro is and so will Vista (I think).

Anyway, at the same time, they could have used OpenOffice 2.0 on all 1,000+ systems for $0 and even recieve the source code.

So in this case it might be $50,000+/- verses $0. In reality it might actually be more or less. It's very expensive anyway you look at it.

And if you keep going like that, to include all the computers in the whole wide world, golly, Office gets to be REALLY expensive!!! :O Sure McDonald's hamburgers are cheap, but they sell BILLIONS of them and that really adds up!!!!! :O Who wants to pay BILLIONS AND BILLIONS of dollars for McDonald's hamburgers when you can pick through trash dumpsters for free!!!!

If your word processing, spreadsheet, email and presentation needs aren't worth spending $42 -- by all means, PLEASE, go use something else. Have it your way. (Sorry, that's Burger King.)

Xaero_Vincent wrote:

But even if the school did save $50,000 they'd unlikely reduce tuition costs. The schools are hungry for money so they can pry themselves out of two million dollars of debt.

They're just hungry for money, period.

Xaero_Vincent wrote:

It's certainly not "inferior". I've used OpenOffice to design a Powerpoint type presentation for a computer science class.
I was amazed at the compatability between OpenOffice 2.0 and Office 2003. It isn't perfect but suprizingly good.

Well, you said Microsoft Office was "ahead of" OpenOffice. I understood that to mean you thought it was better than (superior to) OpenOffice. If Microsoft Office is superior, then OpenOffice must be inferior. You did say it wasn't inferior by much, but let's be honest here: one can't be superior without the other being inferior. One can't be "ahead" without the other being "behind."

You come off as somewhat believable if you say OpenOffice is almost as good. If you say "It's certainly not inferior," it looks like you are just trying to weasel out of your previous statement.

Xaero_Vincent wrote:

When Microsoft releases Office 12, there will be alot of catching up needed in OpenOffice, KOffice, etc. I'm confident that they will eventually.

Well it will certainly be interesting. I am not as confident that OpenOffice will catch up "eventually" -- mostly because Microsoft seems to patenting anything that isn't nailed down and I assume that this includes some of the cool stuff in Office 12. So I don't know if OpenOffice could copy it outright without exposing themselves to an IP lawsuit.

I think the direction OpenOffice should take is stop trying to copy Microsoft Office. Go off on some different direction, give people something entirely new. Instead of copying Microsoft Office (and forever playing catch-up, forever be just a cheap knock-off), make something better than Microsoft Office. That would be cool and something I could enthusiastically support.

Coffeehouse - Vista delayed...misses Christmas - launch now 2007

Karim — Mon, 27 Mar 2006 18:44:20 GMT

arunpv wrote:

Karim wrote:

Xaero_Vincent wrote: When you look at Microsoft Office 2003, we're talking $250+ per license copy. Put it on ten computers legally and we're talking ten licenses or $2,500, right? But I can install OpenOffice 2.0 free of charge on an unlimited number of machines. Imagine all the savings by doing that. Imagine how much educational institutions can save by embracing FOSS. I'm not saying that people should abandon commerical products but I think FOSS is something really to consider carefully.

Microsoft Office Student & Teacher Edition 2003 is $124.99 at Amazon. You can install it on up to 3 computers. That's $41.67 per computer, not "$250+."

Microsoft has Academic licensing programs for educational institutions. For all I know, the cost might actually be cheaper.

You yourself said "Microsoft Office 2003 is still ahead of it's [sic] open-source equivalents." Word processing, spreadsheets, email -- these are things students use every day. It's not like you're buying a new frilly hat. They're essential tools. "Saving" $42 to go with an inferior product doesn't seem like a particularly smart move -- particularly if your school charges you $5,000 a year for tuition and fees.

ooooo... Microsoft Office 2003 - $41.67 per computer, for 10 computers it comes to $41.67 x 10 = $416.7 as compared to
Open-source 1 computer = $0
10 computers = $0 ... amazing
Yes, students do use word/spreadsheet and email. Open Office do have Word/Spreadsheet and Email. Come out of closet. Microsoft software isn't only software which is good. Lots of open source software are getting better.
Its only a matter of preference and money.

I had two points: the first being, it's NOT "$250+" for educational institutions as originally stated. That was an error of fact.

The second point was subjective. It's not that Office is cheaper -- obviously, it's not (unless you want to discuss TCO) -- but rather, that if you're forking over thousands of dollars for your education, do you really want to scrimp on tools that you're going to use day-in, day-out, every day? Saving $42 just so you can go with an admittedly inferior product seems "pennywise and pound foolish." But it's a free country. People can use OpenOffice, Wordpad, Notepad, vi or edlin if they need to spend their $42 on a nice frilly hat instead.

Coffeehouse - Vista delayed...misses Christmas - launch now 2007

Karim — Mon, 27 Mar 2006 17:27:56 GMT

Xaero_Vincent wrote:

When you look at Microsoft Office 2003, we're talking $250+ per license copy. Put it on ten computers legally and we're talking ten licenses or $2,500, right? But I can install OpenOffice 2.0 free of charge on an unlimited number of machines. Imagine all the savings by doing that. Imagine how much educational institutions can save by embracing FOSS. I'm not saying that people should abandon commerical products but I think FOSS is something really to consider carefully.

Microsoft Office Student & Teacher Edition 2003 is $124.99 at Amazon. You can install it on up to 3 computers. That's $41.67 per computer, not "$250+."

Microsoft has Academic licensing programs for educational institutions. For all I know, the cost might actually be cheaper.

You yourself said "Microsoft Office 2003 is still ahead of it's [sic] open-source equivalents." Word processing, spreadsheets, email -- these are things students use every day. It's not like you're buying a new frilly hat. They're essential tools. "Saving" $42 to go with an inferior product doesn't seem like a particularly smart move -- particularly if your school charges you $5,000 a year for tuition and fees.

Coffeehouse - Vista delayed...misses Christmas - launch now 2007

Karim — Mon, 27 Mar 2006 16:38:31 GMT

Xaero_Vincent wrote:

Originally you said the reason why Linux users wouldn't adopt Vista had something to do with Microsoft's marketing. When the fact is what you just admitted: they just hate Microsoft.

Thanks for clearing that up.

I'm afraid you're confusing yourself. I stated that marketing for and pre-installation of Windows Vista will cause wide spread adoption for ordinary desktop users.

That is a lie. What you said was, and I quote, "I don't antisipate any wide spread Linux adoption mostly due to Microsoft's typical huge marketing investments for their Windows platform." You were talking about Linux users. Not "ordinary desktop users."

Go back and read your own drivel.

Xaero_Vincent wrote:

People who are using Linux for religious reasons are unlikely to migrate but those who use Linux and think Windows Vista might be a cost effective solution may or may not migrate.

Thank you, Captain Obvious.

Xaero_Vincent wrote:

Do you expect Apple ads to say nice things about Windows? Do you expect ads for Ford to say nice things about General Motors' cars? Really.

We will have to see how anti-Linux/Unix Microsoft can be. Since they have acquired a patent for their FAT file system technology, they can theoretically throw the books at the FOSS world for using it inside the Linux kernel and such without paying them royalties for using it.

I see you avoided answering the question.

Xaero_Vincent wrote:

If Grandma bought herself an iPod, it wouldn't be supported on Linux. She couldn't call up Apple if she had a problem. She wouldn't be buying anything from the iTunes Music Store. And then Granny would be d--king around with WINE or Crossover Office ($$$) and then asking ME to help her with it when the sound didn't work.

The iPod is well supported on Linux. Why wouldnt Apple support people if they were using iToons? Why would the O/S matter?

Another lie. Apple does NOT support the iPod on Linux. If you look at the bottom of a current-model iPod box, it reads, and I quote, "Requires Mac or PC with USB port (USB 2.0 recommended); Mac OS X v10.3.9 or later, Windows 2000 (SP4), or Windows XP Home or Professional (SP2); and iTunes 6 or later"

Did you see the word "Linux" anywhere in there?

Xaero_Vincent wrote:

Using WINE is as simple as double clicking. It is sometimes useful to configure WINE settings with "winecfg" but her tech savy grandson or daughter can show her how pretty easily.

Even if you DO manage to get the sound to work, and Quicktime not to crash, it's NOT SUPPORTED.

Xaero_Vincent wrote:

Compare that to techincal support on the telephone were you often have to wait on hold for a period of time and then communicate with support people with hard-to-understand accents.

Or worse, they could use phrases like, "technologically fit for an impressive user experience."

Coffeehouse - Did DRM break my hardware?

Karim — Mon, 27 Mar 2006 03:42:33 GMT

JohnAskew wrote:

Does this mean we should turn ACPI off for a few months?

I don't know if that will help.

The long term solution may involve supporting EFI instead of the PC BIOS, as Apple has done with their new systems. Unfortunately it appears that support for EFI is one of the things that was thrown overboard for Vista.

The medium-term solution might be for antivirus/antispyware makers to start doing some kind of checksum on the flash memory contents so at least they'll let you know when it has been changed. I don't know if that's possible. If it was possible, I don't see AV vendors being in a big hurry to implement that check, as most of them just figured out there was something called "spyware" in the last 12-18 months. If they haven't yet gotten a clue about rootkits, why would they figure out there could be a problem with the BIOS?

No, this is probably just going to go underreported for a while, until there's some major BIOS-based rootkit/trojan/malware, and then instead of fixing the problem, the industry will just tell everyone they need to run out and buy a new 64-bit EFI-based PC with a TPM chip.

A couple of years ago people were up in arms about Palladium and "trusted computing" and fears of "Big Brother." My guess is that people will eventually BEG for that stuff. Trusted computing? They'll pay extra for it. Remember, in the novel 1984, the telescreen was a perquisite. It was something reserved for loyal party members. Proles didn't get to have them.

Perhaps we will, finally, love Big Brother.

The short-term solution might be what you did: flashing your BIOS on a regular basis.

Some BIOSes have a setting that requires a password before you can make BIOS setting changes. That's good, but I honestly don't know how secure it is (e.g. if the password is stored in cleartext on the flash memory).

Coffeehouse - Vista delayed...misses Christmas - launch now 2007

Karim — Mon, 27 Mar 2006 01:06:41 GMT

Xaero_Vincent wrote:

Well now you're stating why people will adopt Vista. Originally your point was why Linux users won't adopt Vista.

I'm stating both. Millions of people will adopt Vista (including me hopefully), but there will also be a large number of *nix users who will not adopt it regardless of how great Vista might turn out to be. For some of them their choice not to use Windows is really all about politics and their dislike towards Microsoft.

Originally you said the reason why Linux users wouldn't adopt Vista had something to do with Microsoft's marketing. When the fact is what you just admitted: they just hate Microsoft.

Thanks for clearing that up.

Xaero_Vincent wrote:

If Microsoft says, "Windows is better than Linux," is that pro-Microsoft, or anti-Linux?

It's both. Notice how Microsoft doesnt mention any postive aspects about the Linux/Unix platforms.

Do you expect Apple ads to say nice things about Windows? Do you expect ads for Ford to say nice things about General Motors' cars? Really.

Xaero_Vincent wrote:

There are laws in this country against deceptive and misleading advertising. Claims must also be substantiated. If you think Microsoft ads violate the law, you should report them to the FTC.

Microsoft did get in trouble at least once in the past.

http://www.internet-nexus.com/2004/08/microsoft-to-change-anti-linux-ad.htm

Interesting. That happened in the UK, where Apple also once got into trouble for advertising a Mac as the "world's fastest personal computer." Maybe they're more strict there? Point still stands: if you think they're breaking the law, report them.

Xaero_Vincent wrote:

Hmmm. That's news to me, though I suppose it depends on the mom or grandmom. A lot of folks want to be able to run popular applications, such as iTunes. Until there's iTunes for Linux, I'd be much more likely to recommend a Windows PC or Mac.

In many cases there will be a Linux/Unix equivalent of a Windows program. In this case iTunes isnt necessary on Linux since amaroK and Rhythmbox, for example, already do a good job at managing music. But you can still install and use iTunes on Linux with WINE or Crossover Office.

If Grandma bought herself an iPod, it wouldn't be supported on Linux. She couldn't call up Apple if she had a problem. She wouldn't be buying anything from the iTunes Music Store. And then Granny would be d--king around with WINE or Crossover Office ($$$) and then asking ME to help her with it when the sound didn't work.

Doesn't sound like a lower support burden to me. But then maybe your Grandmom codes in C++ all day instead of knitting.

Xaero_Vincent wrote:

Wikipedia, however, says Dapper Drake "will be supported for 3 years on the desktop and 5 on the server, instead of the usual 18 months." By that I take it to mean that Ubuntu will continue to release patches for it for 3 years.

I'm guessing it means you will get free and/or paid support, package and security updates for 3 years on the Ubuntu 6.06 desktop edition and 5 years on the Ubuntu 6.06 server edition.

My point was that it doesn't "come with" (your words) anything but free support, and a chat room manned by volunteers is not what most people think of when they think of something that "comes with" product support. YMMV.

Coffeehouse - Did DRM break my hardware?

Karim — Mon, 27 Mar 2006 00:47:27 GMT

Apparently malware f--king up your BIOS is the Next Big Thing:

http://www.securityfocus.com/news/11372

Coffeehouse - Who has the biggest ripped cd and dvd collection here?

Karim — Mon, 27 Mar 2006 00:40:50 GMT

These work for me:

http://www.macgurus.com/productpages/sata/satakits.php

2 drive SATA enclosure = $136, 4 drive = $254, 8 drive = $451. (They also offer 3-, 4-, and 5-drive enclosures.)

Get the drives & SATA card from Newegg. Instructions for slapping it together:

http://www.macgurus.com/productpages/sata/sataguide_1.php

The great thing about SATA is that you can do anything with the drives in Windows: spanned, mirrored, striped, RAID-5, JBOD. Some SATA cards have HW support for RAID (e.g. 0+1). If a drive starts to flake out, you'll get error messages in the System Event Log (unlike a NAS device, where you might have to set up SNMP). Also you get all that SATA performance (not limited to NIC speed, doesn't add network traffic, don't need another IP, etc.)

You can get 6' SATA cables so the array doesn't have to be immediately adjacent to the computer, and they are a LOT cheaper than SCSI cables...

When you want to increase the volume size, just throw another drive in the enclosure (or buy a new enclosure) and extend your NTFS dynamic spanned volume. No need to reboot.

If your computer blows up, just plug the enclosure into another computer and import the foreign volume.

MacGurus also has removable enclosures.

Disclaimer: I don't profit directly or indirectly from the suggestions made. Just a satisfied customer.

Coffeehouse - Why not a new Notepad to Vista?

Karim — Mon, 27 Mar 2006 00:09:11 GMT

blowdart wrote:

balupton wrote:

Although a notepad+ or something seperate/aswell would be cool, tabs and colors for coding, like the linux text editors.

*pop*

 __     _____________________________________________________
/  \   / Hi,                                                 \
|  |   |                                                     |
@  @   | It looks like you're trying to write a Windows      | 
|  |   | Shell Script. Would you like to turn on colour      |
|| ||  | coding?                                             |
|| ||  \_____________________________________________________/
|\_/|
\___/

LOL

Coffeehouse - MS Reality TV show ;)

Karim — Sun, 26 Mar 2006 03:15:25 GMT

How about Battle of the TCP/IP Network Stars?

Howard Cosell: Well here we are back with the Blue Team, with the stars of Wonder Woman, Welcome Back, Kotter, and Barney Miller. They have just beaten Microsoft in the swim relay event, and Ladies and Gentlemen, I have to say that, in all my years as a sports reporter, I have never seen a team compete with such perspicatious intestinal fortitude.

Lynda Carter: Thank you, Howard.

Howard Cosell: What was the secret to your success? Training? Coordination? Raw speed?

Gabe Kaplan: We didn't eat 17 pounds of M&M before the event.

Howard Cosell: And there you have it. Mighty Microsoft, humbled by inopportune overindulgance in a tiny chocolate comestible. I think there's a lesson in that for us all. Back to you, Jim.

Coffeehouse - Neowin: More than half of Microsoft Vista needs re-writing

Karim — Sun, 26 Mar 2006 02:54:19 GMT

LarryOsterman wrote:

Karim wrote:

I thought about this really hard for a couple of minutes and then burst out laughing.

There's actually a thread about that, isn't there?

Sorry. You said no more hints.

EDIT: I am reminded of that scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail where Sir Bedevere uses the Socratic Method to help the villagers with a witch hunt.

Sir Osterman: There are ways of telling why Vista is delayed.

I hadn't seen that part, but yup, that's the big difference between volume license corps and new PC sales.

But IMHO, there's another part of the reason for the 2 months. Can you figure it out?

Btw, can you tell I edited that stupid paragraph way too many times? I can't even read what it says and I wrote it.

LOL paragraph seemed fine to me... it compiled the first time, anyway

I'm with mVPstar... after slapping my forehead and laughing, I just kind of figured the delay would put things too close to Christmas generally. Shipping companies get really busy, retailers start cramming crap into their shelves... or maybe it's a media thing? Can't get a decent media buy mid-December? People go on vacation? I just figured there was something about the holidays that meant they had to be skipped entirely, once you got close enough. I'm assuming it's something an outsider could guess (i.e. not requiring insider knowledge) and not something totally arcane (e.g. CD printer is Zoroastrian and they have a religious holiday from November 27-December 3)

I did puzzle over the first thing for the longest time, though. And once I saw it, it was like 10 other formerly-confusing facts just snapped into place. That's why I laughed. It was like putting together a jigsaw puzzle and not having ANY idea of what it was a picture of, then someone points out a piece, and you put it in place and then all of a sudden the picture just LEAPS out at you.

Coffeehouse - Vista delayed...misses Christmas - launch now 2007

Karim — Sun, 26 Mar 2006 02:30:49 GMT

Xaero_Vincent wrote:

Again, those two things (market penetration and Windows quality) don't seem to be related to your original point about "not expecting widepread adoption" of Vista among Linux users.

You will never see wide spread adoption if 95% of manufactored computers have Windows preinstalled. Most people are not going to download Linux when its easier to just use the Windows already installed.

Well now you're stating why people will adopt Vista. Originally your point was why Linux users won't adopt Vista.

Xaero_Vincent wrote:

Not sure what you mean by "open up to the FOSS and GNU/Linux." At the end of the day, Microsoft is a business trying to make money. If they could make more money by open-sourcing Windows and giving it away than they do by selling it, they'd be stupid not to.

I mean that Microsoft should learn to accept it not consider it a disease. I'm very tired of seeing their anti-Linux ads.

If Microsoft says, "Windows is better than Linux," is that pro-Microsoft, or anti-Linux?

There are laws in this country against deceptive and misleading advertising. Claims must also be substantiated. If you think Microsoft ads violate the law, you should report them to the FTC.

Unfortunately it does not violate the law if you're just tired of seeing the ads.

Xaero_Vincent wrote:

I think the biggest inovation with Unix/Linux is that its now friendly and approachable for a wide range of computer users. It can pass the "mom" and "grandma" tests when fully configured.

Hmmm. That's news to me, though I suppose it depends on the mom or grandmom. A lot of folks want to be able to run popular applications, such as iTunes. Until there's iTunes for Linux, I'd be much more likely to recommend a Windows PC or Mac.

I think if the support burden was lower for Unix/Linux, IT people would be installing it in DROVES for their relatives, because most of us are tired of having to be the Help Desk for our relatives. Even then you still have the application support hurdle.

Xaero_Vincent wrote:

Um, do you try to sound like marketing copy, or does it happen by accident? "Technologically fit for an impressive user experience?" Sheesh.

I try to be careful what I say. I'm in hostile Windows territory and saying anything extreme will easily ignite a fire (sort of speak).

LOL Ok, I don't think we need any EXTREME points of view, but if you can just say what's on your mind without being EXTREME, it might sound more natural. Most of the folks here do use Microsoft products, but many of us have also used Linux, BSD, Solaris, Mac OS, and open source software. There are folks here who LOVE Linux, so you really shouldn't feel like you're in "hostile territory."

We have seen one or two people who came here with the intent of preaching to the poor, stupid, heathen Windows users, and those people don't get a lot of respect. If you don't have an agenda and treat people with respect, you shouldn't feel like you're walking on eggshells.

Xaero_Vincent wrote:

If you're not exactly sure what it will be like, maybe you shouldn't be pimping it?

No one really knows exactly what KDE 4.0 will be like. I imagine it will take a few ideas from Windows Vista but have many of its own innovations as well. I think it's really at a planning stage right now.

My point was that, in that case it might be a little too soon to get all excited about it. Maybe you can start a thread on it when there are some real screenshots available?

Xaero_Vincent wrote:

Q.E.D.

What does that mean?

Google didn't say? It's Latin for quod erat demonstrandum, which means "that which was to be proved." First you talked about Ubuntu; then you talked about KDE; I said Ubuntu won't use KDE, and you said, that's right, it will use Gnome. Q.E.D. means that was what I was trying to prove: Ubuntu won't use KDE.

Xaero_Vincent wrote:

Telling someone they get "three years of support" if it's just the ability to post in a newsgroup manned by volunteers seems a bit disingenuous if you ask me. When you say "it comes with support," most people think that means the ability to call someone up on the telephone, have problems escalated, etc.

While technical support on forums and chatrooms are sufficent enough for me, I'm sure there are telephone support services available with the payed option.

Sorry, I realized I totally misunderstood you.

You said Dapper Drake will "come with a full three years of support on the desktop and five on the server." When you said "come with," I thought you meant product support. (i.e. I can pick up the phone and call someone if I have a problem).

Wikipedia, however, says Dapper Drake "will be supported for 3 years on the desktop and 5 on the server, instead of the usual 18 months." By that I take it to mean that Ubuntu will continue to release patches for it for 3 years.

Saying it "comes with" support made me think you were saying the product is accompanied with some kind of product support. The Wikipedia article just says Ubuntu will continue to support the product for a number of years. I misunderstood because frankly I'm used to operating systems being supported for years and not months

So if I understand correctly, Ubuntu actually "comes with" nothing but the free support (fora, chatrooms) and anything above that costs money. I personally would not call that "grandmom-friendly," but YMMV.

(YMMV is Latin for "maybe it works for you" )

Coffeehouse - E3 2006

Karim — Sat, 25 Mar 2006 23:35:27 GMT

Cybermagellan wrote:

Will cross arms in X shape for $150.00

LOL

Someone should print that up on t-shirts and sell them at E3!

Coffeehouse - Vista 5342 Breakup Thread

Karim — Sat, 25 Mar 2006 23:32:59 GMT

LOL

...though I vaguely remember comparing OS X to a woman and being told I wasn't funny.

I think you are better off with XP. To me, XP is more stable, more cheerful, whereas Vista is kind of dark and tempermental. And sometimes she's so immature! I heard Jamie gave Vista a whole bunch of his pictures for safekeeping and she lost them. No excuses, no apologies, just "File not found."

Sure, XP's a little older, but sometimes I think she's better looking than Vista. Or maybe I just have a fetish for big Start buttons...

Your breakup is probably for the best.

Coffeehouse - Beer28 Adventures

Karim — Sat, 25 Mar 2006 22:49:17 GMT

ddewbofh wrote:

Hey, I'm all for linux. I run it on a spare box and I'm in the process of creating my own distro (it's at 0.2.1 atm). I love to see more proper discussions about linux and other alternative OSes. But Beer28 is not the guy for the job.

Well said.

Coffeehouse - Neowin: More than half of Microsoft Vista needs re-writing

Karim — Sat, 25 Mar 2006 22:17:48 GMT

LarryOsterman wrote:

That answer gives you all the information you need to understand the difference (really it does). All you need to do is to ask yourself questions about that paragraph. All the information you need to derive what the root cause answer might be is in the paragraph, if you just think about the information that you already have.

I thought about this really hard for a couple of minutes and then burst out laughing.

There's actually a thread about that, isn't there?

Sorry. You said no more hints. [A]

EDIT: I am reminded of that scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail where Sir Bedevere uses the Socratic Method to help the villagers with a witch hunt.

Sir Osterman: There are ways of telling why Vista is delayed.

Coffeehouse - Beer28 Adventures

Karim — Sat, 25 Mar 2006 20:32:01 GMT

jaylittle wrote:

EDIT: Beer has emailed me and informed me that he has "reported me".

LOL!!!

[Beer28 yells from basement]

Mommmm!!! Jaylittle is using the truth to ridicule me!!!!

Coffeehouse - Beer28 Adventures

Karim — Sat, 25 Mar 2006 20:29:05 GMT

eagle wrote:

The joke was on us……Chris sent me an email and wrote that this book was why he posted so often on C9, he needed to get kicked out to finish the story.

LOL Perfect.

So he couldn't make another Drama Queen exit, say, "This is my last post," and GO (for the 97th time). Too easy by half.

He needed to be kicked out.

Then he could claim ex post facto that he was banned because he "exposed the truth" about MS outsourcing jobs to India and China. Or because he was a "freedom fighter" undermining the Microsoft hegemony. Or because he needed to finish his book.

When Chris changed his avatar caption to, "I content Channel 9 is a covert research project," I assumed he meant, paranoically, that it was Microsoft's.

Turns out the covert research project was his own.