Microsoft Tries to Patent a Crippled Baseline OS

Source: Groklaw by way of LinuxJournal

The story I’m linking to was reported on Jan 30, 2007 so I’m late to the party. It looks like it was Dugg long before.
Nevertheless, I figured all us Mac folks could get a laugh at it.
Long live OS X.

It would seem Microsoft wants to patent a method to cripple the OS in the same way Sony is crippling Gran Turismo for PS3. I think the original PS3 link is here.

If you don’t know, the PS3 game would reportedly cost over $970 if you buy all the tracks. Sony gives a few cars and tracks. If you want more, you have to pony up the cash.

Of course, our charitable fiends(sic) at Microsoft are following – not innovating – the Sony model:

— Microsoft fantasy scenario —  (My hyperbole of the situation)
Microsoft will give you a basic OS but if you want to speed your network up past 10Mbps it will cost you dearly.
Oh. Those SATA drives? Well …. you’ll have to pay us to unlock the full throughput. RAID functionality will be $1900.00.

Do you want to throw those files in the trash? Mmm. That’ll be $4 per megabyte.
Empty it? Ohh. That’s gonna be extra.

Wow. You want to create a PowerPoint containing more than two charts? Well, that’s past your basic subscription so it’s gonna be $5 per extra chart.

You’ve bought that nice new Firewire drive? Oooh. You’ve already got a USB MIDI controller attached. You’ve exceeded your external device quota. It’ll be $30.99 for two more external devices.

What’s that? Your broadband connection is 8Mbps? You’ve only paid for 1Mbps. We have a three year subscription that will make your connection more valuable. It will benefit you as a consumer. Click to accept.

You get the picture ad. nauseum.

Whoever approves that patent should be deported to Neptune without an oxygen tank (since Pluto isn’t a planet any more).

 

Just found MythTV frontend for OSX – all variants

Looks like somebody was able to pull it off.
Collectivity has posted three builds (and additional works-in-progress) for running MythTV front end using his Intel-based MacBook Pro laptop.
It will still interface with the Lunux-baed backend.

NOTE: Pleas make sure you click through the few pages in his blog to be sure you’ve got the latest build. I posted what i think it the latest build below.

Versions are:

• MacOSXintel for 0.20
• MacOSXPPC for 0.20
• MacOSXUniversal for 0.20

I’m not posting the direct links to the downloads. Please visit his site to be sure you read the caveats and make sure you have the latest build.
One obvious request is for the Intel hardware – turn on the vector optimized video output. Otherwise it won’t work.

On the page I have linked to: Those builds only work with Protocol 30. They don’t work with Protocol 31.
Here is a posted fix for the MacIntels to run with Protocol 31.

Of course, i just tried it and I’m not having much luck getting it to go without hanging in OS X 10.4.8 on my dual G4.
Take my comments with a grain of salt. I don’t have my Linux box working completely since the re-start. i just wanted to see how far i could get on the Mac.

—————————————————————–
sources: collectivity.goof.com via Lunapark via Google search for Installing MythTV on Fedora Core 6 without using ATrpms.

 

MythTV, Yum, and ATrpms

This began as a simple tutorial for yum in FC6. It turned into something much more sinister.

I am not considered by my peers to be a Unix geek, or a Linux geek. I simply get by when I have to.

Meanwhile, thanks to a stubborn little RPM causing me problems when I yum -y upgrade, I managed to take a few minutes to actually read the documentation available at The Unofficial Fedora FAQ site.
The original post was simply to revolve around the add/remove software menu item to control the package manager.

I learned that the system -> add/remove software in Fedora Core 6 was the GUI for yum.

Of course now it doesn’t matter. Read on to find out why.

If yum -y upgrade had worked this time I wouldn’t even be writing this right now. it didn’t work this last time due to:

Transaction Check Error: file /usr/lib/libpcsclite.so.1.0.0 from install of libpcsclite1-1.3.2-8.fc6.at conflicts with file from package pcsc-lite-libs-1.3.1-7

That rolls right off the tongue, doesn’t it?

Of course, based on this thread, I was led to this unofficial spanking of ATrpms which I was instructed to use when I followed Jarod Wilson’s instructions to set up my MythTV box.
I’m not blaming anyone. I’m just giving you the path I took to get this far. Jarod’s instructions have been excellent thusfar and I’m much farther along than I would be without his instructions. It would have been nice to have known there was an issue with ATrpms heavy-handing some RPMs on it’s own.
Apparently there is a BIG issue with MythTV and the ATrpms and I’m just getting around to discovering it. The MythTV site doesn’t make mention of the ATrpms being hard to deal with at all.

Now I know.
Now I’m going through and manually trashing all the home brew that ATrpms installed on their own.
You determine that by typing exactly: yum list installed | grep -F .at

That command apparently tells you all the stuff the ATrpms put there
So now, I must go through all the ATrpms and remove one by one to be sure they come out.
That command is yum --enablerepo=atrpms remove unwantedpackage

One more final thing before we start. You need to copy and paste the list of bad rpms from your terminal into a text editor so you have it readily available. It’s best to remove these one at a time.
Off we go…

First example is to remove PIL.i386
I’d type in yum --enablerepo=atrpms remove PIL.i386
Simple, but time consuming. It will ask you if you want to remove the other dependant files. In this first case it will also zap mytharchive and mythplugins.

Wow — removing chkfontpath.i386 just wiped out 81 separate packages. It’s gonna take a while on this one.

We’ll see how it all works out in a bit.

—– later that day… —–

It didn’t work out too darn well.
Once I removed the ATrpms and the dependencies, nothing worked. I had to re-install. That took approx 50 minutes. Then I had to update and that was 570MB and over 230 more packages.
It’s been a few hours and now I’m looking for a way to install MythTV without resorting to those dang ATrpms.

 

Saft – probably the best Safari extension

If you don’t know about Saft, you should.
It’s $12.00 (USD) and it’s a steal. Don’t take my word for it.
Go and download it yourself to try it out for free.

It’s strictly for Apple’s Safari web browser.

Saft is a Safari plugin to add features like draggable tabs, full-screen browsing, searchable bookmarks and history, URL shortcuts, kiosk mode and more.

Saft is so well-developed that Safari has incorporated some of its ideas into the updates of Safari.
In my opinion, after tinkering with the demo, it brings Safari closer to the cool things you can do with Mozilla extensions created for Firefox.

As the screen grab shows, I like the shortcuts section.
Although Quicksilver currently takes care of those clerical navigation issues, I’m willing to give Saft a fair shot.

You should check it out, too.

 

The Old Timey Flu – Whatever THAT means, we’ve kinda been exposed to it.

I do not know if we’ve been exposed to the 1918 flu virus or not – wasn’t that the Spanish Influenza virus?
If that one is the old timey flu, then we have been exposed to it.
If there’s another old timey flu, then we have been exposed to that one instead.

Since we’re already on the topic of salmonella and stuff, what better time to find out I’ve be exposed to someone who’s been exposed to the “Old Timey” flu.

While we haven’t been told straight up that it is indeed that old timey (Spanish?) flu, we are all worried that this is the same virus that killed 50 million folks back in 1918. Hopefully we have medicine to stop that in 2007.
I guess my question is how many old timey flu viruses are there?

Apparently if you’ve been exposed, you have 24 hours to prepare for a very unpleasant existence.
It is highly contagious and the doctor told him to give all his family and everyone he’s been in contact with some sort of medicine.
The doctor told this dude that he doesn’t have a usual kind of influenza.
Right now, the person I was exposed to doesn’t have any symptoms but her son left school sick less than 24 hours after being exposed.

if it is indeed that sort of virus, I urge you all to keep your hands very clean and don’t get into many crowded areas.
If you feel ill or have knowingly been exposed to the flu, for cryin’ out loud. Stay home.

I’m not trying to scare anyone. We’re only speculating based on the information we were briefed on out here at work.
One glimmer of hope: I would like to think that if his case had a name like “Spanish Flu” then the doctor would have told him, “You Have Spanish Flu.” I think ‘old timey’ is a little broad in scope for a professional diagnosis.

He’s sick. There’s no doubting that. Maybe it’s nothing very serious.

For now I just am offering a reminder to do common sense stuff to keep from spreading the flu around – whichever model you may have.

 

My New MythTV Linux Box Construction

I’m still working on getting my parent’s iMac loaded up with what they need.
I’ve also got another project going. MythTV.

I’ve got an old 900MHz AMD Athon chugging away on Fedora Core 6 with MythTV up and running.
However, I’m pretty sure that machine will choke on the first pixel of video it sees.
Here is what I’ve decided to go with and I’ve also listed the items I was comparing.

It looks like I’ll be out $719.00 (USD) plus shipping and handling.
Compare that to a TiVo with the subscription and stuff and I think over time I’ll come out ok.

PVR Software: MythTv
Computer OS: Red Hat Fedora Core 6
AMD Athlon 64X2 3800+ 2.0GHz Socket AM2 Processor $109.00 CPU
GIGABYTE GA-M59SLI-S5 NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI $185.00 Motherboard
Kingston 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Desktop Memory Model KVR667D2N5/1G $70.00 x 2 RAM
Hauppauge WinTV-PVR 500 $135.00 hopefully will work with my analog cable
EVGA 256-P2-N615-TX GeForce 7600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 $110.00 hdtv ready but has s-video, too
StreamZap IR Remote Control $40 I’m lazy whilst watching the boob tube. Get over it.

———– The contenders ———-

I’m looking at the following CPUs (Dual Cores using AM2 socket):
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ 2.6GHz Socket AM2 Processor $229.00
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ 2.4GHz Socket AM2 Processor $189.00
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4000+ 2.1GHz Socket AM2 Processor $140.00
AMD Athlon 64X2 3800+ 2.0GHz Socket AM2 Processor $109.00

While I would love the top end, I’m hoping loading up with the Hauppauge and the NVIDIA card will suffice
and I can comfortably get away with a 2 GHz AM2 processor. I can always upgrade later.

Motherboard (something compatible with NVIDIA graphics cards):
EPoX EP-AF590SLI2 NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI $175.00
No firewire on-board might be a touch of a problem.
4X DDR2 533/667/800 Dual Channel RAM
Dual PCI-E x 16 SLI slots
2x PCI
1x PCI-E
Dual Gigabit LAN
8 Channel Audio w/ SPDIF

GIGABYTE GA-M59SLI-S5 NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI $185.00
Supports 16GB RAM
Firewire OnBoard
2 PCI-E 16x
1 PCI-E 8x
2 PCI-E 1x
2 PCI
external SATA device support
1 Gigabit Network Controller
SATA 2
SPDIF
4x DDR2 400/533/667/800 Dual Channel RAM 1.8v ECC
Loaded with other stuff including hardware monitoring

MSI K9N4 SLI-F NVIDIA nForce 500 SLI $85.00
8GB RAM maximum
2x PCI-E 16x
2 PCI-E 1x
2 PCI 3.3v or 5V PCI

EPoX EP-AF550GPRO nVidia GeForce 6100-430 $83.00
4x DDR2 533/667/800 Dual Channel DIMM 1.8v non-ECC
4 PCI v2.3 connectors
1 PCI-E
1 PCI-E 16x

Tuner Cards
Hauppauge WinTV-PVR 500 $135.00
Though I’m not thrilled with some reviews, others are good. Apparently the PVR 250 has a better picture. Also, something to do with there are two versions of the PVR 500. The good one (REV A) has the Philips converters and the bad one (REV B) has some crappy Samsung ones. I’ll risk it and return the bad one if it poses a problem.

pcHDTV HD-5500 $130
Again. I’ve heard many good things about this. However, I currently don’t have HDTV, nor do I have an HDTV antenna.
I will probably add this to the mix once that gets ironed out. Just not for now.

Video Card
EVGA 256-P2-N615-TX GeForce 7600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 $110.00
I want a decent, inexpensive 7xxx series NVIDIA video card and this seems to fit the budget (whatever it is).

Remote Control
StreamZap IR Remote Control $40
Not sure I’ll go this route, but I don’t wnat an RF remote in the house. We’ve got enough electronics buzzing around in here.

RAM
Kingston 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Desktop Memory Model KVR667D2N5/1G $70.00 x 2

 

Peter Pan and Great Value Peanut Butter recall — 2111 on the lid is bad.

Source: Everywhere but the kitchen sink. But I say the FDA is the source of the news.

If you have Peter Pan or Great Value peanut butter in your possession, destroy it but keep the lid if the numbers match 2111 on the lids. Then send the lid and your name and address to ConAgra Foods, P.O. Box 57078, Irvine, CA 92619-7078.
For more information, call 866-344-6970.

Yikes.
We’ve all eaten peant butter and have had some symptoms — especially the kids — but they’re ok now.
I wonder if that’s what it was?

It was.

and we ate all of it.

 

Ferrari Turns 60

via TheScuderia.net forum:

Top Gear has posted a series of 60 images highlighting 60 years of Ferrari history

From Ferrari’s first-ever race win to F1 domination, from the 166 Barchetta to the Enzo FXX, we invite you to browse through six decades of Maranello history. Here’s to another 60 years…

There is also an around the world relay feature to keep track of the Ferrari world tour.
Very nice stuff here if you like Ferrari..

 

Installing the Bling Bling On My Parent’s New 20″ iMac

I never thought I’d see the day that my parents would beat me to the punch on high technology, but they’re won round 6a.
They also won round 1, 2, and 3.

Round 1 – They had the first DishNetwork / DirecTV
Round 2 – They had the first HDTV
Round 3 – They had the first Automobile GPS (I paid for 25% of it, though)

I beat them in a few spots.

Round 4 – I had the first Satellite Radio (Sirius).
Round 5 – I had the first broadband internet
Round 6 – I had the first mac

But they retaliated with the golden purchase:
They currently own the fastest computer in the family.

So, now that I’ve convinced them about the virtues of the mac and the requisite OS X, it’s time to load them up with cool stuff.
The next few posts in this blog will be my repository for what I’ve done to set them up with the niftiest software that I think they will enjoy.
Sit back and let me do all the work.

————–
First, their combined interests are:

• heavy equipment
• auctions
• antiques
• cooking
• financial management
• sewing
• medical
• drafting
• photos of kids
• video
• music
• music production
• stuff they don’t know about but heard about

In my next few posts, I shall attempt to compile some software to meet their needs along with software they don’t have a clue that exists.

 

My Parent’s New iMac – Part 1 (Food)

Recipes.
My mother is interested in recipes and cooking. Without further ado, I’ll make some recommendations to them and see what pans out.
This is not going to all be freeware. Good stuff sometimes costs money.

TheRecipeManager – $40
You have options for:

• a recipe browser
• advanced search
• meal creators
• add your own recipes
• calculate nutrition
• share recipes
• a shopping list generator
• kitchen helpers

I am following some links available at TheRecipeManager for some recipes.
I’ll bookmark these recipes for my parents once I set them up on del.icio.us.

• BeefItsWhatsForDinner
• Texas Beef Org
• Iowa Beef Industry Recipes
• Eatchicken.com
• Pork Checkoff
• Healthy Recipes
• Cooks.com
• Robbie’s Recipes
• Recipe Goldmine
• Seafood Recipes
• Cook’s Recipes
• Gourmet Recipes – Epicurious
• Free Gourmet
• Gutsy Gourmet (scroll down)
• Gourmet Sandwiches
• What’s Cooking America

There. That should keep her busy for a while.
I’ll have to teach them how to Google.
Yes. I used Google as a verb.