Windows 7 freezes – Don’t worry, “its not major”

Short news post here.  Computer world is reporting:

Some Windows 7 users have reported that their PCs started to freeze or randomly display the infamous “Blue screen of death” after applying a January update Microsoft billed as a stability and reliability fix.

You can read the full article here. But if you are a Windows 7 user who is experiencing freezes and a trip down memory lane (no pun intended) with the famous BSOD, you need not worry.  Microsoft are reported to have said:

We are aware that some customers are having issues and are working to identify the cause. At this point, there is no indication that this specific update is the cause of install, stability or reliability issues with Windows 7.

Well I don’t know about anyone else but Im convinced and in any case its of little consolation to a Microsoft customer experiencing this, as to who or what is to blame.  For the second time today I am wondering who/what will Microsoft blame this time?  It goes back to what I said in the previous posts that when I was a Microsoft customer and something went wrong, the blame was never at the feet of Microsoft.

For Windows 7 customers don’t worry though, as some Microsoft advocates like to say “It will be better next time” So just hang on, then dig deep when Windows 8 is released.

How much longer can this go on for?  Its one thing when Canonical was criticised for 9.10 (which by the way personally I had no issues with it whatsoever) but at least with Linux OS updates you are not having to spend money to have issues.  Windows 7 the platform to finally remove XP?  Don’t make me laugh and from the Windows users I know, they are not convinced either.

As a further point of interest Roy Schestowitz from Boycott Novell has shown me this link, its an interesting read:

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1590887/windows-stability-issues

Goblin – bytes4free@googlemail.com

A GIMP replacement? – Popping down the pub for a “Pinta” with Novell?

Fancy a Pinta? Whats your poison? - This round is on Novell. Lets forget "patent trap" allegations and look at who really uses Mono...

There has been talk for some time regarding the removal of the default GIMP packaging from Ubuntu, now as Gnome DE seems to move more in a Mono direction, could it be that Ubuntu (and others) will go for a Mono app replacement?

Ladies and gentlemen meet Pinta, no, not the type you buy down your local pub, this type of poison is a Mono app aimed at being a “clone” of Paint.net for Linux and a potential replacement for GIMP?  Now normally I would be the first to support an opensource project.  If Pinta had been the culmination of a “bedroom coder” who was keen to release his/her work to the public I would have supported it fully.  But the reality is not like that.

I’ve often made the point that if Mono is so great, where is the killer app for it?  Where is the app that everyone MUST have?  Whatever coders think about Mono and whatever they create, its the end-user who will decide on its future and I challenge anyone to show me a FOSS project that continues to run when nobody wants to use it.

Over at http://jpobst.blogspot.com/2010/02/over-holiday-break-i-stumbled-upon-this.html where the Pinta project has a blog, the authors description says:

…I’m Jonathan Pobst and I am a full-time open source hacker for Novell. I work on Mono, specifically on Mono Tools for Visual Studio.

and he certainly has “great” aspirations for this software.  Full time open source hacker?  You mean employee then?  Implying that he is inspired by Paint.net.  Inspired by Paint.net eh?…..moving swiftly on….

and not so obvious (in fact on the official site) is a comment about a topic which many people have remarked on before – Mono bloat, this comment was found in the FAQ in relation to the question “Pinta memory usage keeps growing” (and maybe a reminder to many of experiences of Microsoft products:

This is caused by keeping around infinite levels of Undo. In future versions, this will be mitigated

Im sure….it will be better next time….I would expect then that 10.04 Lucid NBR won’t even consider Pinta then since its ethos seems primarily to remove excess for a netbook deployment?  You can visit the official page of Pinta here: http://pinta-project.com/

I digress, forgetting that I have opinions on Mono, why should I not champion this product?  Simply because its being made by a Novell employee and hardly an enthusiast/impartial/bedroom coder.  When I asked previously about killer apps and Mono, it appears that the people trying to make them are the very people trying to push Mono.  Where is the independent coder support here?  As I see it, the popular packages that people want are NOT made with Mono and maybe Novell have realized that our “traditional” and respected developers are not going to touch it?

If I had seen a mass of Mono apps being released to “hungry” end users I may have seen the need, but when Novell is seemingly trying to create its own killer apps to promote its own implementation of a Microsoft framework then I really can’t see the point of this “gift to the world”.

In the case of Mono and its associated “wares” the most important person is not the coder(s) behind the projects, but the end-user – YOU.  The success or failure of such projects will solely depend on if they are taken up by the “average desktop user” who outnumber enterprise/advocates/coders many times over.  Ask yourself did you move to Linux for a “FOSS” implementation of a Microsoft technology which is headed up by Microsoft MVP Mr De Icazza or did you (like me) move because you were tired of inhibiting licenses, crashes, bloated software and the blame being placed at the feet of anyone but Microsoft? Were you fed up of the ethos of “everything has a price” or the takeaway menu style purchasing of Microsoft products? - I’ll let you decide.

In the meantime, if you think Microsoft want’s to play nicely with FOSS, lets remind ourselves of comments made by Microsoft.  But before we do that we only have to cast our minds back a few months to the allegations against our “FOSS friendly” Microsoft when it was claimed that they had stolen code from another project – Plurk.  You can read more about that here.

Linux is a cancer that attaches itself in an intellectual property sense to everything it touches,

Steve Ballmer – Microsoft CEO.  Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2001/06/02/ballmer_linux_is_a_cancer/

Yet Linux sort of springs organically from the earth. And it had, you know, the characteristics of communism….

Steve Ballmer – Microsoft CEO. Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2000/07/31/ms_ballmer_linux_is_communism/

Now lets have some comments from Mr De Icaza from the Mono team and the people who want you to use Mono and its related apps.  If you look back on Mr De Icaza’s Twitter and blog, you can see he does praise Microsoft technologies:

Why I am uber-super-fascinated by Silverlight 4

Mr De Icaza – Mono team.  Source: http://tirania.org/blog/archive/2009/Nov-23.html

Silverlight 4 Beta available now at http://silverlight.net, will ship first half of 2010. w00t!

Mr De Icaza – Mono team.  Source: http://tirania.org/blog/archive/2009/Nov-23.html

and lets not forget Mr De Icaza’s comment:

Thanks to everyone that participated in the campaign to nominate me for a C# MVP award

Conclusions

Mr De Icaza from what I have seen is a very nice chap and the purpose of this article is not an attack or critism of Mr De Icaza.  He has his agenda (whatever that is) and he has his own opinions/views.   The Mono framework, Moonlight and any associated wares are there for people to choose if they wish.

Previously I said that I had found GIMP to have a rather steep learning curve and something that I could not justify learning for the limited need of a GFX app that I have.  That being said, I’d rather learn GIMP than have Pinta or similar package on my system.  Time will tell if the “average user” agrees or not, however in the absence of a killer app I think Mono will continue to be promoted by those who have a vested interest in it and largely ignored by mainstream app developers and if thats the case, should any distro have Mono packaged as default in the future?

Goblin – bytes4free@googlemail.com

Leaving it out of Lucid – More 10.04 news in a UNR form.

When will 10.04 really be "Lucid"? What's out? What's in? For an LTS (and a big release) it all seems to me to be last minute...

Lucid, according to Dictionary.com is: “easily understood; completely intelligible or comprehensible:a lucid explanation.” although is that a slight contradiction?

Having been very busy at work I have had little time to keep up to date with the happenings that interest me on the Net, so now on my day off, it was only a few hours ago that I saw a suggestion that Lucid 10.04 UNR may be cutting OpenOffice out of its default packaging.

This implication came about as a result of a user asking Jono Bacon on Twitter if OpenOffice was to be removed as default, to which Mr Bacon replied:

Afaik, no decision has been made.

which is certainly no denial and appears that Canonical are considering it.

Ubuntu has been receiving quite a bit of attention on Openbytes.  I was (and still am) optimistic regarding possible native Linux proprietary software being offered to users, but what with Gnome being the flagship DE for Ubuntu (with Gnome seemingly directed by Microsoft MVP Mr De Icaza and the “gift to the world” Mono), Ubuntu having the “good ship Yahoo” (bound for Microsoft) as its default search engine, I can’t help feeling that as it stands now Ubuntu 10.04 is far from “Lucid”.

And what of Gimp?  Reports from testers of Alpha releases of 10.04 state that the package is still present.  Are Canonical going to remove it and if they do is that for the opportunity of a proprietary option or are they going to try it on with a Mono app?

Canonical has, in my opinion a rather large responsibility and a great opportunity.  There can be little doubt that Ubuntu is one of the most, if not the most popular Linux distro’s and is many users first experience of the Linux platform.  If Canonical decisions and actions are seen as a poorer cousin of Microsoft then I would predict its user base would decline.  As Ive said before I believe had Novell not signed “the deal” with Microsoft, it would be Novell in the position that Canonical is now.

Whilst Canonical is surrounded by these rumblings, other distro’s are picking up the baton. As I said a short while ago on Twitter, I intend 2010 to be the year I migrate away from the Gnome DE completely – and Im spoilt for choice with distro’s that offer such an alternative default.

When will 10.04’s direction finally become “Lucid”? I’ll let you decide and lets hope for Canonical’s sake its userbase agrees with them.

*ADDITIONAL*09/02/10

After a recent discussion on BN IRC, it appears Canonical have made the decision to leave Gimp out. So thats that?….Well no, because Jono Bacon said:

but there is certainly the possibility the decision may be changed if PiTiVi is not right for Lucid

So the answer if Gimp will (or will not) be present is as clear as mud…..and not the default mud colour of Ubuntu I hasten to add, again showing that in respect of 10.04, its still far from “lucid”

Goblin – bytes4free@googlemail.com

What Microsoft giveth the Microsoft taketh away? – Xbox Live & Zune issues?

Or/ Gone so Zune?

A shorter article that will start with the Xbox 360.  Regular readers here will remember an article recently where we reported that viewers wanting to watch BBCiplayer material were not going to get what PS3 and WII users already do.  You can read that article here.

Now it appears that as of April 15th 2010, fans of old Xbox titles such as Halo 2 will no longer be able to play them on Xbox live market place. Microsoft (as usual) reports this news as if its a good thing (and unless I am mistaken Halo 2 is still loved by many)

….as we look down the road, we’ll continue to evolve the service with features and experiences that harness the full power of Xbox 360….

To which I’d make the observation that it seems to me the only evolving the service with features is when Microsoft can charge you something extra for them (look no further than the above linked article on Openbytes)

Moving on now to the Zune (the device that has so far failed to make an impact in Apples business) and its reported that there are more than a few disgruntled customers who have found that certain tracks that users were paying for via subscription had….dissapeared….. Apparently the “freebies” you get every month have been unaffected but the Zune and mysterious behaviour seem to go hand in hand when we only have to remember new year (2009) when some Zunes simply stopped working.  That mystery was cleared up….who is to blame this time?

You can read a similarly short article on that here and if you wish to see more unhappy Microsoft customers you can go here.

Goblin – bytes4free@googlemail.com

Number 7 your time is up! – You’ve had the taster, now pay the reaper…

Time to pay the reaper. Windows 7 RC will start auto-shutting down soon, question is, will regular Windows users even notice?

and other items of interest regarding the people who brought you Vista!

Firstly I appologise for the quiet site this last week, numerous commitments (both work and home) have forced me to put the blogazine on the shelf for the last few days.

That being said, I find myself in a position now to publish this article and one which manages to encapsulate a few stories in one (I hope)

Remember last year when many people jumped on what Windows advocates would call the “freetard bandwagon” and downloaded the free for a year Windows 7 RC?  Remember how that year seemed such a long way away? It will be soon time to pay the reaper with the Windows Blog saying:

To avoid any data loss, I suggest making plans to move to a released version of Windows 7 before the automatic shutdowns start. During these shutdowns, your work will not be saved.

In relation to the bi-hourly automatic shutdowns that will occur as of March the 1st (until you pay up).  Bi-hourly shutdowns? Loss of work?  This to me sounds like Vista, but joking aside, now youve had your taster (and to quote Bill Gates in relation to Windows piracy in China)

….They’ll get sort of addicted, and then we’ll somehow figure out how to collect sometime in the next decade.

Its time to pay up.

Those used to Windows and instability may not notice the autoshutdowns though, so just to show that the shutdowns are not a “feature” of Windows 7, then on June 1st your wallpaper will change to “This copy of Windows is not genuine” 2 hourly shutdowns and loss of unsaved data?  Sounds like a genuine copy of Windows to me.

The Microsoft PR machines slithers into action, or doesn’t in this case

Joking aside though there are many people who are praising Windows 7, both in the experience and in the sales.

Comments that would not be approved by the Microsoft PR machine come from a very interesting article written by  Dick Brass has many things to say, but notably:

Microsoft has become a clumsy, uncompetitive innovator. Its products are lampooned,

and

While Apple continues to gain market share in many products, Microsoft has lost share in Web browsers, high-end laptops and smartphones

and

….unless it regains its creative spark, it’s an open question whether it has much of a future

Now normally this would just be another “ordinary” opinion of a blogger, but in the case of these comment Dick Brass was a Vice President at Microsoft and these comments are documented in an article in the NY Times.  You can read the full article here. In addition CNET also covered this subject here.

Whilst Microsoft can tout Windows 7 selling like hot cakes lets consider that Vista was poorly recieved and when XP was released there were far less PC’s in the home compared to today.  Since you buying a computer from a highstreet seller often gives you little choice other than have a Windows OS OEM, how accurate are these great sales? and how many people will only have bought 7 because of being at their wits end with Vista?

Keep in mind that whilst we read the glowing praise about Windows 7, we only need to cast our minds back to just over a year when certain people were saying the same things about Vista.  Remember the “Vista is loved” comment?  It was documented at the time (along with a plethora of others) and if Microsoft Advocates were trying to convince you that there was nothing wrong with Vista, how can you believe whats being said about 7?

I’ll let you make up your own mind.  Maybe Ive got it wrong, maybe it was only me who had a bad experience with Vista/Microsoft products and everyone else was very happy???!??

“Clumsy innovations” aside, lets turn our attentions to Steve Ballmer, who had this to say at Microsoft’s annual Financial Analyst Meeting last year:

We are going to come under attack

Er hello Stevie? You only noticed in July 09? I think you have been under “attack” for quite some time, its why Ipod has one over on the Zune, why Google dominates Bing, why WII outsells the 360 and why Winmob is well….Winmob.  You can read the article here from the 30th of July 09 (maybe thats the date Ballmer had his moment of clarity)  Maybe its Steve Ballmer who is soley responsible for what Mr Brass has to say about Microsoft?

Whatever the truth also last year it took a shareholder to tell Stevie (in relation to the younger generation)

You’ve got a real bad image out there

Got Windows 7? You may need plenty of these? Users are reporting rather poor battery life with Windows 7.

Batteries not included!

Well they are, batteries that is.  The latest news to hit Microsoft’s Windows 7 is that its battery life (in some cases) is less than desirable, with Microsoft-Watch.com reporting comments from users such as:

One year old, 6cell battery does not last an hour with win 7

and

…upgraded from Vista to Win 7 and now get 1.5hrs of battery life if I am lucky!!

to name a few.  Of course Microsoft is “investigating” so it will be interesting to see if its followed very shortly by a “Microsoft blames….”  You can read the article here.

It should be noted that as early as August 09 a user said:

MSDN RTM of Windows 7 did NOT fix this issue. Clearly the issue has not been addressed. I don’t know why MS didn’t fix this for the final RTM, espically when so many people have this problem.

So why does it appear that Microsoft is “investigating” now? Remember Vista and “early good reports”?  It doesn’t come a surprise to me that people were complaining before now and you can see some of the plea’s for help here.

So remind me again (and in particular if you are a Netbook Windows 7 user) once Aero is switched off and you’ve managed to finally get that pesky XP package working….whats the advantage here of wanting 7 on a netbook over XP when there are reports of bad battery life?  People often ask if 7 is the version to finally replace XP….I’ll let you be the judge of that.

Goblin – bytes4free@googlemail.com

Puppy Arcade 6 – The retro pup goes from strength to strength!

New backdrop, slicker look. Puppy Arcade 6 playing an N64 title you just might have heard of! (screenshot from Puppy Arcade website)

Puppy Arcade 5 was featured recently and I was lucky enough to have a Q&A with its creator Scott Jarvis.  Without me repeating what was said in the last review, you can see it here.  Suffice to say I can’t recomend it highly enough and Puppy Arcade 6 continues that tradition with some important (and speedy) tweaks to make your emulation experience even more enjoyable.

You can view the changelog here for details on whats new, but here’s some of the things that I found particularly good.

Firstly some non-related apps have been stripped from the distro.  Whilst I said in my previous review there was no reason why Puppy Arcade could not be a desktop distro for everyday use, it does seem to make sense when the primary purpose of it is emulation. Of course should you really want these apps, you can download them and install them yourself.

PSX emulation is now provided through PCSX, which apparently requires no bios files (so no hunting for or waiting on a seedless tracker for SPC1001!)

Wrapped into a small 117mb, Puppy Arcade is going from strength to strength.  It bodes well for it’s future that so many improvements have been made and I would hope that Puppy Arcade not only ressurects many old machines for retro gaming but also is a showcase for the excellent Puppy Linux from which its derived from.

You can download the latest version of Puppy Arcade from here: http://scottjarvis.com/page105.htm

If you were thinking of a direction/project for Puppy Arcade and your hardware, there are many sites to give you tips.  One popular solution is to make an emulation arcade cabinet. http://www.tmsoft.com/article-arcade.htm shows you one persons solution (with only MAME in mind) but you get the general idea.

Maybe in the summer thats a project I can undertake?

Goblin – bytes4free@googlemail.com

Ubuntu One for Windows & Microsoft cash?

Ubuntu, Ubuntu, Ubuntu.  Probably a word that for many is synonymous with Linux.   Forgetting that Ubuntu is a distro that new users often try first and forgetting the many users who champion it, Canonical in the last week or so has made some many bold statements/steps/implications in regards to its future, its position in the OS & Linux world, but most importantly of all, where it may get its revenue from.

Lets look first of all at the news that the default search engine packaged with its browser, will, allegedly as of 10.04 be Yahoo.  Rick Spenser from Canonical is reported to have said:

This won’t in any way effect the ability of a user to choose and use the search provider of their choice. It’s literally 2 easily discoverable clicks to change this setting, a simple matter of switching to that search provider in the chrome by clicking on the icon and choosing the desired provider….

The deal with Yahoo will involve a revenue sharing, presumably in which Ubuntu is hoping to create a decent little income from.  Before we look at the implications of that, there is some other (slightly older news) in regards to Ubuntu One.

Its been reported that Ubuntu One will be available on the Windows platform as of this year.  The Ubuntu One blog had this to say on the matter:

This year at PyCon members of the Ubuntu One development team will focus on helping these users. The principal areas we’ll work on are porting to the Windows equivalent of D-bus, inotify, an installer, and a file manager plugin. If you’re heading to Atlanta in February, and this sounds interesting to you, please join our sprint.

You can visit the Ubuntu One blog here & read the registers coverage of the Yahoo deal here.

So whats the problem?

Second time Ive asked this question recently.  The last time was when the question of proprietary software for Ubuntu was considered.

So now we are here again.

Whatever your view on Canonical, its decisions and its future, to me there is a very “Microsoft” smell about Yahoo.  We have to remember that Microsoft is /in the process of buying Yahoo and thats maybe where the first problem is.

There are some who think that any incursion Microsoft makes (however indirect) into the world of Linux is part of some master plan to remove competition and dominate the desktop.  There are some who think Microsoft has nothing but good intentions and is entering into a more open and friendly era…and there are those who could not care less either way.

I am somewhere between all three.  Lets forget about the Yahoo link to Microsoft and consider that this could produce revenue for Canonical to further improve its product, services and end user experience.  Could this not simply be a case of “money is money”?

Microsoft is not “evil”,  to suggest so would suggest that Microsoft is a living entity, so whats wrong with indirectly taking Microsoft cash?  and looking towards Ubuntu One on Windows, where’s the issue there?  It is not simply opening up another potential platform of customers for Canonical to get revenue from?  Surely if Canonical is happy economically then the end user will benefit?

Well, yes and no.   In respect of Ubuntu One (which is a service that is being sold) I think the benefits of opening it up to as many people as possible are obvious.  Theres also the advantage of syncing files between Linux/Windows platforms and since Ubuntu One IS a service, I see no issue with Canonical trying to maximize their earning potential.

Then we look at the Yahoo issue.  The argument goes something like this, “If you don’t like it you can simply change it back”  But is that really the point?  Since Google is already entrenched as peoples engine of choice (in the main) should this switch to a less popular engine be dealt with via an opt in policy not effectively an opt out one?

Regardless though on your views in respect of Yahoo, let us not forget that Microsoft is in competition with Linux.  Do you really think Microsoft cheers every time another user moves to Linux?  Do you think they crack open a bottle of Wine when someone champions Linux?  Do you think Microsoft has a grand vision where eventually they no longer have market share?  - I think its safe to say they don’t and it is for this reason why I have always viewed anything Microsoft (or any competition) has done in respect of FOSS/Linux with suspicion.  Now for Microsoft I can see a win win situation here:

Through their acquisition of Yahoo AND the extra hits that they will undoubtedly credit to Bing, it will give a far more respectable showing for a battle against Google which at present time (according to figures) does not seem to be able to be won.

and/

with a rather more cynical head on (and im sure if its correct is completely unintentional by MS) but consider this:

You are Microsoft, you see the largest Linux distro becoming more popular on the desktop.  You realize how unpopular the Microsoft name is and offer a search deal to that Linux company in the knowledge that there are going to be users who will separate, in fight, challenge and argue…all good disruption to a competitor that you can’t defeat in the long run because its free.  Surely both outcomes produce a win/win situation for Microsoft?

So what are people saying?

A very interesting blog post from Richard A Johnson (which can be found here) states that whilst firstly the Yahoo deal has not been set in stone, it is a good thing and he has made a well written article where he says:

….We have this great product, but if we continue being split on whether the Free Software side or the Open Source side is the correct side, or we shouldn’t be doing these types of deals, let’s just keep our mouths shut and enjoy this lovely rock canopy we have created for ourselves. Oh, here comes a big bomb, Novell. I am not about to rip on Novell, sorry Boycott Novell. I do not agree with their merger whatsoever, but I am a first hand witness of the good that has actually come out of the deal…..

Although this “rock” which the author has placed Linux users under doesn’t really mention the Plurk incident or the patent portfolio of Microsoft does it?  It also fails to mention that Microsoft is not merely a company that is been hit by criticism because its large, its hit because of the allegations of its actions and at the end of the day it is not in Microsoft’s interest for users to prefer it over their Windows platform or their way of doing things.  Regardless of your take on Microsoft actions past or present, you can’t disagree that fundamentally Microsoft has no wish to see any user move to Linux from its platform.  A lost sale is a lost sale for Microsoft.

And whilst we are on the subject,  Novell deal good for them?  Really?  After witnessing the reactions on the net (and in the friends/colleagues around me) from what I saw it was hardly good.  I fully believe that Novell could be sitting where Canonical is now if it wasn’t for “that deal” and the mantle of most popular distro could have been theirs for the taking.

If there is to be a substantial penetration of the desktop market by a single Linux distro, I personally doubt it will be Novell providing it.  I will ask you to read Mr Johnson’s entire article so you can decide for yourself.

Boycott Novell have also written a piece explaining the dangers of deals with Microsoft, which can be found here.

Looking around the web now;

Heres one user who see’s a relationship with the Pro-Mono position he perceives Canonical taking and the news about Yahoo:

Yeah there are anti-mono people running all around, but since ubuntu took a pro mono stance so why are so many now surprised on the yahoo/bing thing ?  It would be news if debian or fedora switched to bing, since both are anti-mono/ms but ubuntu ? No surprise for me …

Heres a user commenting in a similar fashion to the way I stated earlier:

Changing the default search engine is two clicks away (literally), so just change it if you don’t like it.

To which I would answer, if its a change from the “norm” why should we?  Why can’t users have the option to opt-in to Yahoo or change Google to Yahoo if they don’t like it?

Heres a user who is not happy at all with the idea:

This is a fishy deal and done purely for dollars versus the users’ expectations and experience, and against Mozilla who are unequivocally a far more important player for open source and software freedom than Canonical’s rebadged Debian (although Ubuntu did initially start out by making all the right noises).

and another:

Ok – ubuntu is going downhill quick … Now has me rethinking our linux strategy.. They do realize that yahoo will be powered by Bing (MS) eventually? LAME.

You can find these comments (and many more) over at Phoronix.

Conclusions

I think that its important to remember the work Canonical has put into getting Linux more exposure and providing as user friendly distro as they can.  There are many happy people who champion and use Ubuntu on a daily basis.  Canonical though has to be aware of public opinion and how it could affect their future.

I personally migrated to Linux and FOSS after repeated let downs by Microsoft technology, I am loathed to give my custom to them again until they produce something which can compete with what I use now; thats either directly or indirectly.  I am rather disturbed that after years of being dictated to as to how to do things by Microsoft, when I finally break away and get a better experience, I see Microsoft trying to creep into that better experience.  Having said that Ubuntu is not on my main rig.

Conversely though, Canonical deserves to make money, as I say Canonical has made a great product that many people enjoy, but they need to keep in mind that whilst they may need revenue to keep “alive”, they are just as dependent on the users to keep with Ubuntu.  Now its obvious that to change back to Google is a simple step, but could the perception of Yahoo provide  a negative feeling from its user base towards Canonical?

I find it hard to believe there are many users who will think, hey great! a different search engine to try!  and I’d be rather dubious of anyone who claimed they had wanted to try Yahoo in the past and not just simply typed its url into their browser, everyone else will simply switch to the search engine of their choice, which tends to suggest that a forced search engine is not of real value to anyone.

Time will tell and whether you like the idea or not, if the rumblings are true about Yahoo/Microsoft then Canonical will be getting cash (in a rather around the houses way) from Microsoft.  If thats the case they can only hope that they don’t experience any bad feeling similar to Novell, else it will be another distro holding top spot as most popular very shortly.

With Ubuntu seemingly going in a pro-Mono direction, Mr De Icaza getting his MVP & Yahoo getting a default search status, without conjuring up any allegations of foul play, what we can say is Ubuntu seems to have a growing Microsoft theme about it.  (Either directly or indirectly)

And what of GIMP?  Have we had confirmation if it is definitely to be left out of 10.04 and if so replaced with what? A Mono app perhaps?

A bad thing?  Ask yourself, why did you leave Windows for Linux in the first place? – you may get an answer.

Goblin – bytes4free@googlemail.com

2010 – the year of the ….. alternative?

Ballmer is all ready for the fight on the numerous fronts Microsoft has. Im sure he'll do just fine. Please though before he goes on stage again, do you think someone could lend him some anti-perspirant?

Im quite sure there are Microsoft advocates waiting in the ether to pounce on a title such as “year of the Linux desktop”, you can see them yourself in action on any forum/newsgroup/irc channel where its dared to suggest that someone is looking elsewhere for a solution to their IT needs.   In many cases the comments will seek to cheapen the view of the person looking at alternatives, in many cases they will try to imply incorrect assumptions and in some cases they will be simply vulgar or insulting.

Lets look at the rather poor start to the year some have had and a growing trend of “alternative thinking” that whilst may not have Windows market share disappearing overnight, show something quite encouraging to freedom of choice in the IT world.

We’ve seen how diversity has been beneficial in the browser world and now we see Firefox, Safari, Chrome/Chromium et al battling each other whilst Internet Explorer continues to have negative press written about it.  This is just one example.

A poor start for Microsoft?

Theres been some rather poor press reported by some and I whilst the some reports written about at the time, I have the luxury of being able to look back at them now the dust is settled (a little).

We will start off with the IE exploit that was widely reported by many outlets coming into the new year.  Microsoft though in true fashion had this to say:

Customers should also upgrade to the latest version of Internet Explorer, Internet Explorer 8, which provides improved security and privacy protections, as well as sign up for Microsoft Update and enable the Automatic Update functionality. This will enable automatic installation of all applicable updates this month and help to make customer systems more secure.

and in the midst of all the bad press still trying to convince you that upgrading their software is what you want to be doing (instead of looking elsewhere).  You have to admire the fact that Microsoft never give up and we only have to cast our minds back to last year and remember instead of the proverbial carrot on stick being your security, then it was offering to feed the hungry for every download.

France & Germany are reported to have other ideas, whilst Netapps is reporting a decline in IE usage, France & Germany are reported to be issuing their own warnings about IE and it doesn’t make good reading for Microsoft.  The BBC said:

France has echoed calls by the German government for web users to find an alternative to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (IE) to protect security.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8465038.stm

Moving on to Tivo now and our friendly Microsoft is wielding its patent power again, filing a suit against them stating an infringement of (in a nutshell) video delivery and purchasing patents.

Zune the trusty old Microsoft iPod challenger? Failed again (according to reports) of doing anything other than pushing more iPod touches.  Which are reported in the Apple section.

So whats Microsoft touting this year? Natal, thats what.  Before you ask, its not some pregnancy testing kit for use with the Xbox 360 and we covered this “tech” in more detail here. Family planning aside, proof maybe that Microsoft has finally realised that the WII and its original gaming are actually rather popular?

Of course all the other colourful Microsoft characters will be out in force this year, we can look forward to more “great” news from Microsoft about Bing, of course everyone will be raving about the Zune, your Xbox 360 will be cheered as its wheeled into the maternity suite with Natal.  The Microsoft PR machine, you’ve got to love it.  Lets not forget about the Windows advocates…. Linux is still only at 1% you know!

So what good news is coming out of Redmond? Well, er…. Bill Gates has a Twitter account (and he’s not afraid to use it) you can read such rivetting posts as:

“Hello World.” Hard at work on my foundation letter – publishing on 1/25.

and I don’t know about anyone else but I’m glued to my seat with excitement for more tweets by him! .  You can see this comment (and others) at his Twitter account here.

Great news for Sony?

Sony has made some announcements in January regarding sales of its console.  The PS3 has shifted around 3.8 million units and is closing the gap on the head start that Microsoft had with the 360.  Should Sony be pleased?  I should think so, the figure in my view will set to increase as more people are getting interested in Blu-ray and want to “kill two birds with one stone” and get a games console too in one package.

You can read more about that here.

Apple to report profits and non-MS mobiles boom?

It is reported that the itouch was among the must have items this past Xmas and also mobiles with an OS other than a Microsoft one are reported to be booming.  It is reported that Droid app downloads increased to 93% on Xmas day over previous fridays in the month.  Of course Apple downloads are reported to have beaten them all, so is it another reason to celebrate?  You can read more on this here.

Apple are also reported to be expecting good profits when their figures are released shortly, with the business journal saying:

…earnings to be $2.06 per share for the quarter, up from $1.78 per share in 2008, driven by strong growth in iPhone and Mac computer sales. Revenue is expected to jump 18 percent to $12.05 billion.

You can read more on that report here.

Conclusions

A comment said by myself many times last year was that Microsoft is fighting a war on too many fronts and not only failing to conquer those but at the same time loosing its grip on its traditional products which are being challenged by alternatives. Alternatives that have been quietly improving their products while Microsoft tries to take on the planet.  We see this with IE.  We see the moving away from Windows (whatever figure you want to put on it) and other traditional MS products.

So 2010 will be the year of the alternative?  I think its now the mainstream user is realizing that which so many people have already found out, it doesn’t need to be Microsoft.  It matters not if you are an Apple user, Linux, BSD or anything else, a more diverse IT world will be better for the end-user as everyone ups their game to compete for your custom/usage.

I wonder though if Microsoft will, instead of challenging with great software, dig into its patent portfolio and challenge with that instead.  Its often thought by many that the Microsoft ethos of “do it our way or not at all” is one of the dangers that Microsoft poses to alternatives, be it Linux, be it in the form Mono or anything else.  Remember the mentality we are dealing with here:

And of course we Bing we Bing we Bing we Bing Bing Bing all the time, at least in my world

and thats reportedly from the CEO Steve Ballmer.  You can read that article here.

What will 2010 hold?  I can’t wait to find out!

Goblin – bytes4free@googlemail.com

If you are new to this blog (or have not yet read it) please take time to view the Openbytes statement, here.

Proprietary software in Ubuntu? – Good or bad?

Will Ubuntu one day have Adobe Photoshop in its repositories and if it did, would it really be a problem?

Where is Linux today?  When you look at the sheer volume of blogs, posts, comments and projects involving it you can easily see that the world of Linux (and indeed FOSS) is gathering pace.  I wonder if you, as I did, first dipping your foot into the waters of FOSS by using an alternative to a traditional Microsoft package, then plunging into the FOSS world when you realized that actually Microsoft is not required for you to be productive and indeed enjoy your computing experience.

Of course this attitude seems to be emulated in other platforms, look at the mobile phone market and its diverse solutions.  Look at whats popular in the mobile world. Today as we see more web based apps, more cross platform languages and dev kits I refer yet again to comments I made a few months back “Are games the last bastion of salvation for Windows?” I think its fair to say there are many Windows users (who are not gamers) who cite a single package as the reason that they use Windows.  In my experience that one package is often Photoshop.  If the rumblings come to fruition then I think Microsoft has got something to worry about.

The Ubuntu forums are running a survey about the option of having proprietary software in their software center for users to purchase if they wish. Whats interesting is the survey mentions Adobe Photoshop.  Now whilst this is not conclusive proof it will be part of Ubuntu software center in the future, it does raise some interesting points about its viability and its worth to Ubuntu and you should consider that many users will already be using proprietary software, albeit gfx card drivers.  You can see that survey here, It says:

We are trying to gather preferences for the apps that users would like to see in upcoming version of Ubuntu. While we all believe in the power of open source applications we are also very keen that users should get to choose the software they want to use. There are some great apps that aren’t yet available to Ubuntu users and Canonical would like to know the priority that users would like to see them. This list is indicative not definitive and we would love to also read your suggestions in the free text box.

So I wouldn’t get out your credit card just yet.

So whats the problem?

Looking from a FOSS point of view, the inclusion of proprietary software within the Ubuntu library will be of concern to some.  I can understand that point, however we have to be realistic.  Ubuntu is arguably the most popular Linux distro, it has a legion of very happy users who champion the product.  Unfortunately Canonical is a company and its a company that needs to generate revenue to stay in existence.  If Canonical could “live” off good will and praise then it would probably be the most valuable company in the world. I have often said there is a place for proprietary software and if by offering titles that were traditionally the mainstay of a Windows platform will bring new users to Linux, then bring it on.

Freedom of choice is about just that.  I might want to run a FOSS OS with pieces of proprietary in order to get the functionality I need from my PC or I may want to run a completely free platform.

Conspiracy?

Everyone loves a good conspiracy and I’ll try not to disappoint here.  Cast your mind back a short while to when we heard rumblings about GIMP no longer being packaged as default with Ubuntu.  At the time there were theories that it would be replaced with a Mono package and ideas that it was another “excuse” to incorporate more Mono dependency into Ubuntu/Gnome.  I have to admit I did have my suspicions. Could it be that GIMP is to be removed in order to give users the option of installing a proprietary package instead?  Canonical will presumably make money from the sale of any software and it may be a case of “lets not give them GIMP until they have considered if they wish to purchase Photoshop” – This is only a theory of course.

Conclusions

Whatever the intentions of Canonical and no matter if proprietary software is involved or not, Canonical has  a right to make money.  I think Canonical have made a great efforts to push Linux into a larger audience and I think they are succeeding.  What we have to remember is whatever the true figures for Linux usage are, Linux has come this far without flashy ads, without wooden actors pretending to be excited about a party, without shoe jokes and even without perspiring middle aged men prancing around a stage and screaming.  That to me says much. I think as Linux users we have to accept that for many people there are packages which are keeping them with the Windows platform, I think we have to accept that in order for them to try Linux, those packages have to be offered within Linux too.

Lets not though forget about GIMP though.  Whilst I have said it wasn’t simple to learn (for me) thats only because I haven’t taken the time to do so (I have said that my graphic editing needs are very simple and catered for with online apps)   GIMP has made great strides, its a package thats incredibly powerful and championed by a massive user base.  I think if the rumblings come to fruition then GIMP would benefit from direct competition with a product that most people have heard of and many people choose.  I also think Photoshop will have to up its game and ensure it offers the best value possible for the end user.  This to me is what is great about free choice and diversity in the computing world.

Goblin – bytes4free@googlemail.com

If you are new to this blog (or have not yet read it) please take time to view the Openbytes statement, here.

Retro gaming: Dosbox v ScummVM – Who is the champion?

On the left we have ScummVM 1.0.0 and on the right of the screen Dosbox 0.73

Since the Puppy Arcade review gave me a little inspiration for a few emulation related articles, here is the “battle” which I mentioned on Twitter that has ScummVM and Dosbox going head to head with each other with the game Kings Quest III by Sierra.

The idea that Linux users would want to play old MS-DOS games might seem strange to some, whats even stranger for me is the fact that this task needs similar software to do exactly the same thing under the latest Windows versions.

So when Microsoft can’t get backwards compatibility sorted itself and when Linux users want to play those old games too, what is a computer user to do?

The answer can come in the form of Dosbox or ScummVM.  Why two products to do the same tasks?  I’ll explain.

Dosbox is aimed at emulation of the entire MS-DOS environment and any runtime you throw at it, whereas ScummVM concentrates on a set list of titles that use the same/similar game engine.

The Dosbox statement at their website says:

DOSBox is a DOS-emulator that uses the SDL-library which makes DOSBox very easy to port to different platforms. DOSBox has already been ported to many different platforms, such as Windows, BeOS, Linux, MacOS X…

DOSBox also emulates CPU:286/386 realmode/protected mode, Directory FileSystem/XMS/EMS, Tandy/Hercules/CGA/EGA/VGA/VESA graphics, a SoundBlaster/Gravis Ultra Sound card for excellent sound compatibility with older games…

You can “re-live” the good old days with the help of DOSBox, it can run plenty of the old classics that don’t run on your new computer!

DOSBox is totally free of charge and OpenSource.

and ScummVM says:

ScummVM is a program which allows you to run certain classic graphical point-and-click adventure games, provided you already have their data files. The clever part about this: ScummVM just replaces the executables shipped with the games, allowing you to play them on systems for which they were never designed!

I decided to put the two packages to the test with a game that is reported to run under Dosbox and is also catered for in ScummVM.  That title is a favorite classic of mine, Kings Quest III.  It should be noted that without packages such as these, as a Linux user Kings Quest III would be nothing more than cardboard and plastic.

Dosbox 0.73 running Kings Quest III in full screen mode.

Dosbox 0.73

One could argue that out of these two projects, Dosbox is the more ambitious.  Upon loading you will presented with a Window containing the environment that as a Linux user you never thought you would see again!

The first order of the day is to mount a directory as a virtual hard disk, this really is simple as  for example mount c ~/dosb (or whatever directory you are using) you would then change to your “C:” whereby you could access everything there as you would in a native ms-dos environment.  Whilst for the purposes of this review I am looking at it from an angle of Kings Quest III, it should be noted that everything I have thrown at it so far has worked.  That ranges from some very old Pacman clones which I never thought I’d ever play again, to Wolfenstien 3d (arguably the game that started the FPS)

Due to the nature of Dosbox being an emulator, the mammoth task of catering for a multitude of software, there are always going to be optimizations/modifications/bugfixes to the code.  In order to get around any performance issues, a handy frame skip option is included which will also allow users with older hardware to make the most out of Dosbox.

Now Kings Quest III with ScummVM using SuperEagle. Notice the smoothed graphics. Of course you can simply run it "normally" but the extra gfx options of ScummVM can make older games look slightly more appealing.

ScummVM

ScummVM works slightly differently from Dosbox, its not an emulator, it merely looks at the data files for you chosen game and runs then with its own engine, which means its certainly not going to eat up CPU cycles with trying to emulate code and rather its going to work more like a native Linux program.  ScummVM also has a variety of graphic modes which will enhance the original experience (or you can if you wish stay with the intended original and be “hardcore retro”!?!) One of which was SuperEagle and if you have a look at the screenshots here you will be able to see the difference.

ScummVM is designed only to run a set list of titles however the list is quite large and if you are a fan of point of click adventures (and have the relevant games) then its great.

Sound in ScummVM is also very good with little or no distortion making for a more pleasant experience.

Installing your chosen games in ScummVM is no more complicated then using the simple, clear GUI to select the directory the files are in.  ScummVM will automatically detect and identify the files it needs and the game they refer to.  Great stuff.

Conclusion

Whilst it must be stressed that only one game (that which I own the original of) was put to the test on both products, the results I think show clearly the differences between the two packages.  Dosbox performance wise could out perform ScummVM, although it went past the realms of being at the intended speed of KQIII.  Slow operation of Dosbox can be sorted with the frameskip option, however I don’t think many machines will be too challenged by Dosbox.  Sound on Dosbox can be described at best as internal speaker music and rather a hit an miss affair with KQIII title theme slipping into what sounded like a rendition by Les Dawson [1]

ScummVM on the other hand ran the package fine and sound was a far more pleasant experience than in Dosbox.  So now comes the part where I have to recommend one over the other.

I would say, if the software you wish to play is listed with ScummVM then definitely go with that. The different graphics modes which can be used (SuperEagle for example) can remove the rough edge from the GFX (if you wish) and make it more visually appealing.  In addition ScummVM is far simpler to set up and rather easy to select the game of your choice.  Dosbox on the other hand wants you to mount directories as virtual hard disks, which whilst a simple task for most of us is going to be daunting for others.

Dosbox obviously has far more scope and unlike ScummVM not limited to a set software list, thats its strength and also its weakness since you are going to encounter issues with some software just down to the sheer massive job the Dosbox coders have of making an authentic, compliant ms-dos environment.

Taking all that into consideration, I have both on my system (and why not) ScummVM for my KQIII et al and Dosbox for those titles which ScummVM does not cater for.  Both are great packages, both deserve your support!

Links

ScummVM homepage: http://www.scummvm.org/

Dosbox homepage: http://www.dosbox.com

Notes

[1] Les Dawson was a comedian known for having an act where he played a well known tune on the piano intentionally out of tune, but just enough so you could still tell which song he was playing.  For those interested: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWDphFwocAM

Goblin – bytes4free@googlemail.com