Comments on: Today’s Companies That Really Really Want You To Rip Off Their Products

by: ercanj

Fri, 03 Nov 2006 19:35:06 +0000

Oh, the link didn’t work.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20061102-8140.html

by: ercanj

Fri, 03 Nov 2006 19:34:05 +0000

Looks like Microsoft had to wake up and smell the distain.

by: JoeyLemur

Thu, 26 Oct 2006 01:31:49 +0100

I dream of a day when there’s a virtualisation layer on MacOS X that lets you run most Windows apps and games without much performance penalty.

I also live in a world of lollipops and fluffy kittens inside my skull.

by: ercanj

Wed, 25 Oct 2006 23:45:21 +0100

It really is amazing what these companies can get away with. It’s unlikely that any of this bad press will hurt Microsoft or Sony in the short term.

However, long term, Microsoft seems to be ignoring the fact that most of the world’s potential PC users are not using Windows. They’re not using anything yet. It’s unlikely they will opt to use a restrictive, expensive and possibly tecnically inferior OS. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a Windows basher. I have nothing against Windows software but it will be the least restrictive and cheapest OS that developing countries will load onto a standard, one for all PC and sell to the masses.

As for Sony. I hope the Playstation 3 bombs.

by: Daniel Rutter

Wed, 25 Oct 2006 21:16:07 +0100

I have to run Windows or I can’t review things properly. Since I’ve invested the large amount of time needed to actually know how to do stuff properly in Windows, I’m loath to switch to another OS for non-review work, if I’m going to have to dual-boot to Windows (or, more realistically, run separate Windows review boxes) all the time anyway.

Most people, of course, are not in my situation.

by: qupada

Wed, 25 Oct 2006 20:59:01 +0100

For those people with too much time on their hands and an insatiable desire to fiddle with things, there is a lot of fun to be had with gentoo. Mine has KDE, but that doesn’t have to be the case. Sure things aren’t configured for you, but even the most obscure pieces of hardware only result in a small amount of cursing as you edit the config file for the umpteenth time. (Obscure hardware think UPS, Graphics tablet, Infared remote. Setting up each one was a journey in itself.)

And yes, the crazy, cool looking but ultimately useless 3D window manager effects run just fine on gentoo. If that matters to you.

For those not willing to go cold turkey on Windows, there is of course WINE (and payware spin-off cedega, for those with a gaming affliction), or for the more heavy duty jobs, VMWare Server (bonus points here for quality free commercial software).

by: ercanj

Wed, 25 Oct 2006 19:35:26 +0100

I also use Kubuntu and have done for a few years now. Initially it was a bumpy ride but it’s really very solid now and I have begun recommending it to non-geek friends. If you do make the move to linux I highly recommend the Amarok music player. Outstanding in many, many ways.

Dan, I’ve noticed that a lot of tech bloggers I read are moving to Ubuntu (mostly from the mac). The reasoning is generally that they mostly use open source software and an open source OS is the next logical step. Any plans yourself?

Regarding Sony I intend to avoid them like the Pear of Anguish from now on, although I’m not sure if that means I’ll have to stop buying PSP games.

by: Jim H

Wed, 25 Oct 2006 18:19:41 +0100

The standard answer to the “which linux for the desktop” question these days seems to be Ubuntu.

I use it (well, actually I use Kubuntu, which is the same but with a different desktop) and so does my non-geek girlfriend without major problems.

The only issue you might have is it doesn’t come with mp3 out of the box because of software patent reasons. You can install this though.

by: Feersum Earthworm

Wed, 25 Oct 2006 14:57:42 +0100

Well that’s just about enough to make me abandon Windows entirely (at home, anyway - work doesn’t give me much of an option). So, I can easily see myself moving to Linux - all I do at home is surf the web, listen to music, occasionaly do some MS Office stuff (which can be done with Star Office or whatever), etc.

So the question remains, before I do any large amount of my own research, which is the best free linux out there? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Open for suggestions…