OPEN BYTES – cave quid dicis, quando, et cui.

File sharers gone Gaga?

Its being reported on Torrentfreak that after a million plays on Spotify, Lady Gaga received just $167.  Of course many file sharers seem to believe that in some way this justifies file sharing and one of the common arguments in the justification of file sharing is that it gives artists/companies publicity.  So how much did Lady Gaga make from being distributed via P2P?  If the argument is that all the sharing is good for publicity and brand recognition and the file sharer has this is mind when they try to “help”[1] why don’t they simply leave sites like Spotify to create the publicity instead?

I think we know the answer to that one and yet again, in my opinion is a weak argument for justifying file sharing (if indeed that one is to be cited by them)

I am still waiting for a file sharer of the “data should be free” ilk who would like to comment on if the T-Mobile story is ok in their books, afterall its only data…..

Of course there are those who believe in some sort of music revolution/uprising, although how the money required to pay all the people involved is to be raised is anyones guess.  Here’s what one user had to say:

It’s only a matter of time before the underground record labels free your hostage musicians and take back the music. There’s no way back; bide your time.

but before we all get too excited by this brave new world….he then goes on to say:

Also, I’m drunk, so you know I speak the truth.

This is the sort of level we are talking about.  There is no argument in my opinion for justifying file sharing.  The flaming, vulgarity and libelous remarks of some of those that support it prove that in my opinion.

Massive lawsuit for Microsoft?

It was recently reported that Microsoft conducted a switch off of around 600,000 Xbox 360’s which were modified/chipped.  Now whilst that on the surface may seem like a blow against piracy, there are others with different ideas and offer a more sinister reason for Microsoft’s switch-off.

Abington IP, a firm who specialises in “intellectual property law & consumer class actions” have said (on their site):

If you are an Xbox Live subscriber, had your modified Xbox console banned from Xbox Live, were not refunded a prorated sum for the time left on your subscription or have experienced other problems as a result of being banned, and would like to participate in a class action against Microsoft, please submit your information…..

they also say:

Microsoft has chosen to use one of the most indiscriminate “weapons” in its arsenal in an effort to combat piracy — as a result, use of this “weapon” has resulted in a great deal of collateral damage — many people were affected who had nothing to do with piracy. Furthermore, Xbox console functions that have nothing to do with piracy were also affected or disabled. Details aside, Microsoft’s bans could (and should) have been more measured.

So this news may come as another concern for Microsoft, who saw the Xbox360 slammed on the net for the “three rings of death” and the amount of returns that resulted in faulty units.

There may be a more sinister reason for the Microsoft switch off that I would like you to consider.  Picture the scene, you have the release of one of the biggest titles of the day, Call of Duty Modern Warfare  (apparently smashing all records in Hollywood) and you have the Xbox 360 and its users who have modded the console…now what would happen if you turn their facility off to play the aforementioned blockbuster title?  Could it be suggested that users would go out and buy another 360?  I’ll let you decide, but it could be argued that “every little helps” when the next set of quarterly figures from Microsoft get released.

If Microsoft are claiming that this switch-off is some strike against piracy, let me remind you of what Bill Gates said about that subject:

As long as they are going to steal it, we want them to steal ours. They’ll get sort of addicted, and then we’ll somehow figure out how to collect sometime in the next decade.

So in my opinion Microsoft are the last ones to talk about piracy.  I wonder if this switch-off is an attempt at “collecting”?

Microsoft scared by Google?

I touched on this in a previous article here, however it does seem that Andre Da Costa [2] echo’s Microsoft fears.  It is being reported that Microsoft has made the following statement in respect of GoogleOS:

From our perspective, however, our customers are already voicing their approval of the way Windows 7 just works  across the Web and on the desktop, and on all sizes and types of PCs purchasing twice as many units of Windows as we’ve sold of any other operating system over a comparable time.

Of which I would suggest, that when XP was sold there were fewer users than there are today (social media and the net has been responsible for the massive interest in computing by many, which was not at the levels then as it is now)  I would also say that people read the reports of Vista being a pig and were put off buying it.  I don’t think its surprising information that more copies of Windows 7 would be sold.  Of course, Microsoft use the words “from our perspective” – and we all remember where Microsoft perspective leads don’t we?  Wasnt it Steve Ballmer who said they got the wrong impression from early feedback of Vista?

I think Microsoft needs to be very careful of their perspective.  You can read all about Mr Ballmer [3] “getting the wrong end of the stick” over at Bloomberg http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=axIIsgv3cQIc

The original Openbytes article is found here and I wonder if Microsoft comments were what Andre was referring to.

Notes

[1] – Helping often involves the file sharer downloading material that under normal circumstances would cost them money.  God bless, them they are really modern day martyrs!?!?!

[2] Andre Da Costa has admitted to nymshifting on CNET with the name Mr DEE.  Both him and “Mr DEE” promote Microsoft technologies.  Whilst its not believed (by me) that he is directly employed by Microsoft, a visiting Wintroll here (Richard) implied he was in his last comment.

[3] Of course Mr Ballmer has no similarity with Lord Vader.  Mr Ballmer has to throw chairs, Lord Vader can lift them with the power of the force. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/09/05/chair_chucking/

Goblin – bytes4free@googlemail.com

"They've been naughty boys haven't they Mr Flibble?" T-Mobile employee's sell personal information. I wonder what filesharers and their ethos of "free data" make of that? Anyone believe they would tackle that question?

Is £5000 a deterrent?

 

Its been well reported in the last week about the personal data that T-Mobile has alleged to have lost control over and subsequently it appears that some unscrupulous employee’s have sold that data on. The worth of that data being that rival companies could use it to sell new subscriptions when a customer is coming to the end of their contract.  It is now rumoured that in fact this is not current news as its been going on for over a year.  It does seem to ring true.  I have been a customer of T-Mobile and I have had many individuals ringing me up to offer me a new contract using many different tactics (as my current contract comes to an end)  You may be wondering why I am going with this article, but I think it makes an interesting point about copyright and IP.

A couple of important points to note here though.  Firstly the fine for an offense under the Data Protection Act will be around £5000, pretty small fry compared to the potential worth of the information.  Secondly, T-Mobile does not know how many of their customers have left because of this leaked information and finally (and maybe most important of all) whilst the information of the customer has been sold to rivals, who else has it been sold to and whats their purpose?

One member of staff at T-Mobile has already been sacked, but it does ask the question how many other companies are yet to discover that an unscrupulous employee has sold their data?

The information commissioner (Christopher Grahame)  said:

Many people will have wondered why and how they are being contacted by someone they do not know just before their existing phone contract is about to expire. We are considering the evidence with a view to prosecuting those responsible and I am keen to go much further and close down the entire unlawful industry in personal data. But, we will only be able to do this if blaggers and others who trade in personal data face the threat of a prison sentence.

One wonders where the deterrent is for this type of action.  It was reported on a local radio feature, that a recent raid on a business that engaged in this type of practice, had officials posed with the question (by the owner) “Would you like me to write the check out now?”

P2P copyright infringement – “Do as I say, not as I do”?

So now we come to the main point of my article.  Ive made many references to the site Torrentfreak, I asked the question of copyright infringement to be justified by any of its users and to date have received no responses.  I know that they visit as I see the referrals coming into the site.

Have a look at some of the comments on Torrentfreak.  It seems that file sharers believe that there is no problem with sharing data because, its just data (please correct me if I’m wrong) They see no problem with the sharing of movies, videos or other media, but they seem mysteriously silent on the T-mobile issue.  If file sharers believe that all data should be shared, then surely they should have no problems with the personal data being shared with other companies?  Please, if you are a file sharer put your opinion on that one.

Let me quote “The Hacker Ethic” found here.

….A free exchange of information, particularly when the information was in the form of a computer program, allows for greater overall creativity.

I’ll let you decide what the average file sharer believes.

Goblin – bytes4free@googlemail.com

Information released!

After much speculation (and a few faked screenshots) it appears we finally have word from Google as to what & when.

Google Chrome OS is an open source, lightweight operating system that will initially be targeted at netbooks. Later this year we will open-source its code, and netbooks running Google Chrome OS will be available for consumers in the second half of 2010. Because we’re already talking to partners about the project, and we’ll soon be working with the open source community, we wanted to share our vision now so everyone understands what we are trying to achieve. Source: Googleblog

There can be little doubt that after the success of its search engine and the popularity of its other services that Google pretty much knows its customers.  In my opinion Google has what some other companies do not and that is honest champions/advocates of their services/products.  How many people have you heard complain about Google in the average computing environment?

Ever since the news broke of the Google OS we’ve had many thinkers regarding it.  We see the frightened (Wintrolls in comp.alt.linux.advocacy) the over enthusiastic (the promoters of fake screenshots) and the “lets wait and see”.  Now we get further details.

It is being reported that the Google OS (which is browser based) will offer most of its services online and the user having their data stored on Google servers.  There’s been much debate about this (and surrounding topics) and the Do you trust your data to be stored in the cloud? is probably one of the issues that will come out of this eventual release.

Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS. We’re designing the OS to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the web in a few seconds. The user interface is minimal to stay out of your way, and most of the user experience takes place on the web. Source: Googleblog

Users of Chrome OS will reportedly not have to worry about updating their software and having other advantages, one being a 7 second boot time (allegedly) IMO there really is much to look forward to when the finished product hits the shelves.  The OS itself is apparently going to be free, with Google working with manufacturers to further provide a better integration between their software and hardware.

Chrome OS is reported to be its own Windowing system on top on a Linux kernel and I think shows yet again that worth of Linux and its community.  I have documented my use of Chromium since its early builds and I must say that the layout (providing it resembles the OS) is intuitive, friendly and quick.

Google also made this statement:

We hear a lot from our users and their message is clear — computers need to get better.

and in my opinion its a shame Microsoft didn’t listen to that message (IMO).

The Chrome OS is aimed at Netbooks and whilst we are on the subject of Netbooks earlier in the year Windows 7 for the netbook, hardly got the glowing praise with Tomshardware.com noting that Windows 7 took 2.5 hours off your battery life and benchmark tests between 7 and XP showed XP outperforming 7 in most tests.  Is that what Microsoft wants to hear when its trying to get in with 7 on the netbook?

So whilst there has been more information released it still leaves many questions unanswered.  Will Chrome support Silverlight? (or does anyone care?) What about drivers for existing and new hardware?  Is Google considering its OS for anything other than Netbooks?

Lets remember what Mr Ballmer CEO of Microsoft had to say about Google (allegedly)

Google’s not a real company. It’s a house of cards.

Source: Techcrunch

Try not to be too hard on him though.  His “teacher” (IMO) Bill Gates said in the 90’s:

The Internet? We are not interested in it

and another alleged comment that Bill Gates made (which may ring some bells with Windows users)

If you can’t make it good, at least make it look good.

Source: http://www.quotesandsayings.com/quotes/bill-gates/ (and theres many more Gates crackers there too)

Microsoft scared?

To ask if Microsoft is scared is wrong.  Microsoft is not a person.  Detractors to Linux make many claims, they would like you to believe its a hobbyist platform.  They would like you to believe its difficult to use.  They would like you to believe that it won’t be compatible with your hardware.  I would put money on similar being said about Chrome OS.

I think Google’s move to produce this software shows an attitude change in the average computer user.  We no longer need to rely on Microsoft to get jobs done in my opinion and there are many alternatives to Microsoft products, either proprietary or indeed FOSS.

The BBC seem to think the Chrome OS will have an impact on the market:

….could dramatically change the market for operating systems, especially for Microsoft…

It certainly will be interesting next year.  Bring on Chrome OS!

Sources

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8369611.stm

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/introducing-google-chrome-os.html

http://technologizer.com/2009/11/19/chrome-os/

Goblin – bytes4free@googlemail.com

I personally think that for many people who have not had an interest in the continuing evolution of computing will find the task of learning quite daunting.   I bet if you list all the terms you can off the top of your head, there will be quite a list.  Of course for those people who have had a long term interest in computing we tend to forget that people who are just starting out will be daunted by the amount of abreviations/terminology we use in basic conversation.

So here is SimplicITy.  A computer system/software solution based on a modified Linux Mint distro with the aim of bringing computing to all, in particular those with little or no previous computing experience.  Looking at the site it appears that they are aiming for the mature market but having said that I’m sure there are plenty of people of all ages taking their first tentative steps into the world of computing that would appreciate a little simplicity.

The whole system is controlled by a very friendly GUI, which offers “a quick return to, if things go wrong” and users can email, work with documents, surf the net and all the other tasks we all take for granted.

One of the statements SimplicITy makes is:

The computer itself looks like an ordinary desktop computer …

But, far from it … when you start it up, you’ll see a simple screen called Square One. From here you can easily send e-mails, browse the web, chat to friends and family using our e-mail adddresses, store photos and write short documents.

I recently covered Webconverger 5.5 which I suggested was a good distro for those who wanted to keep it simple.  Thats the great thing about Linux and it being able to be tailored to the needs of the end user (whatever the skill level and without fear of infringing copyright or a EULA etc)

Maybe this is why we see so many attacks at Ubuntu?  Linux Mint is a distro derived from Ubuntu and has many supporters who clearly love using it.  Maybe the attackers of Ubuntu see the benefits and advantages Canonicals offering in the computing world and the many different environments it can sit very happily in?

SimplicITy is offered in two different suites (£435.99 & £525.99 respectively),  but what you have to consider is this is for a complete solution (no pondering over which version is most suitable).   A new user buying a Windows PC for example is probably going to be presented with choices to make that they are relying on the salesperson to know whats best.  Should they buy anti-virus software?  Should they have support extended?  Which version of Windows? As we all know with a proprietary platform theres always something else you can buy and always someone more than happy to sell it to you.  SimplicITy aims to take all that away and present the user with a solution which is all in one, but more importantly, simple.

Well known face Valerie Singleton is the host for “training” video’s which aim to teach those who are new.

The makers of SimplicITy say:

We build custom machines, designed to work perfectly with Linux; we manually tweak the install; we put on them a custom, bespoke, heavily-customised version of Eldy; we add in a gigabyte of professionally filmed, recorded and edited tutorial videos, featuring Ms Singleton; we test them thoroughly and we ship them along with a handbook that adds more detailed instructions to those given in the on-screen tutorials. We then back this with telephone and online support, a warranty and so on.

According to the website, Suite 1  consists of:

• simplicITy : model 100 – energy efficient, cool and quiet running
  • Onboard graphics, sound and network connection
  • Sempron LE-1250 socket AM2 energy efficient 45w processor
• 19″ TFT screen
• Wireless keyboard and mouse
• Stereo speakers

Computer only (no screen, keyboard, mouse, and speakers): £299.99

Complete suite: £435.99

Printer: additional £54.95

whilst Suite 2 consists of the following:

• simplicITy : model 200 – smaller and quieter than model 100
  • Mini-ITX Intel desktop D945 motherboard
  • Intel dual core Atom processor
  • Onboard graphics, sound and network connection
• 19″ TFT screen
• Wireless keyboard and mouse
• Stereo speakers

Computer only (no screen, keyboard, mouse, and speakers): £389.99

Complete suite: £525.99

Printer: additional £54.95

The SimplicITy solution has been welcomed by Help The Aged and I would hope it will encourage more people to get involved with computing and Linux based systems.

You can visit the homepage of SimplicITy here: http://www.discount-age.co.uk/simplicity_computers/

Goblin – bytes4free@googlemail.com

Youre killing FOSS! Ahhhh. Can anyone do that? really? Are we not responsible for our own actions?

A slightly different approach today and I hope you can relate to some of the issues I cover here.  I am looking at a claim thats usually made against many outspoken people in FOSS, but often you see it when there is no counter in an debate/argument.  When I first started writing this article little did I know I would get my own example of “killing the FOSS” directed at me and it was a sweet surprise in the middle of a rather vulgar tirade by the person concerned (more on that later) Without further ado lets look at some of the people who have been accused of “Killing the foss!!!!!!!”

From my own surfing and experiences I would say Richard Stallman & Roy Schestowitz are two of the known voices in the FOSS world who have both had that allegation thrown at them. So lets look at this for a minute, is there any one person so important on the Net that everyone sees them as the guiding light of FOSS?  (or indeed any software) I’d say no and the implication that the remarks of any one person could have a detrimental effect on an entire community is simply rubbish.  I always thought we took responsibility for our own actions and views.  If people choose to agree/disagree it doesn’t really matter, the point is the responsibility is ours. If RMS was to say that the face on Mars was actually Steve Ballmer and that was conclusive proof that Microsoft wants to take over the world, would that effect FOSS in anyway?  Would, as a result of that people leave the FOSS world in droves because of such a silly remark?  Of course not, all that would happen would be RMS would probably not be taken seriously ever again. When Steve Ballmer made the cancer remark, did people leave the Windows platform in droves in disgust?  What about when he called Google a house of cards?  Silly statements (IMO)  like that did nothing detrimental to Windows/Microsoft other than get re-quoted every time Microsoft claims to want to be friends with FOSS. The “killing the foss” or similar statements are IMO not only silly but the final act of the desperate.  No persons actions on the Net would cause damage to an entire ethos/community/software, otherwise the terrible e-crimes which we see documented that were facilitated by users of Windows would mean Microsoft would have a lot less users.  Its the individual persons views/actions NOT the communities or software itself to blame.

I thought we lived in a world were people should take responsibility for their own actions, I thought we lived in a world were we formed opinion and made decisions from multiple sources of information not just one. I covered the Jono Bacon interview of Roy a while back and whilst Jono was quoting commenters who had issue with Roy’s work, he also (IMO) made the implication/suggestion that Roy’s work was detrimental to FOSS.  I’m sure Roy would agree that he does not have that much power (although Jono was unintentionally paying Roy a compliment I think) Looking at another example, Mark Shuttleworth was recently held to task over some comments he made and once again out of the woodwork came the “killing the FOSS” type comments.  Again, complete rubbish.  Mr Shuttleworth is responsible for his own words and its up to him to either justify, clarify or apologize for them. Its now that I move onto a rather more distasteful part of this article (and in the interests of keeping this readable, have cut much from the original since recent events to me prove a far more valuable point)

Jo Shields is a name I would consider quite well known within the FOSS world.  His promotion of Mono has him both supporters and detractors.  Buts lets say for a moment that only in the last week I had picked up my first Linux disk and was currently experimenting with it. I recently engaged Jo in conversation as he had either been watching/had someone report or been examining the logs of Boycott Novell IRC chat.  You are welcome to visit my Twitter account and see the whole conversation, however it started after I took a screen grab of a comment where Jo had said a comment about MS likely to start a little bit of a battle and was possibly poorly thought out due to the feeling of distrust by some of Microsoft.  This started a discussion between the two of us and whoever was “in the right” for me became academic when I received this (letters have been hashed out by me for decency reasons and to put it in context, the apology he mentioned is where I asked him to apologize for claiming I said something and then linking to it where it clearly shows I didnt. )

hah, f#ck that. I have NEVER done ANYTHING to you worth an apology, up to and including this: you are a c#nt and a blight on FOSS

So Im a blight?  and he is?  Not wishing to dwell on that, he still is mentioning the C word whilst talking to another user even at time of writing this.

Does this behaviour have Jo Shields damaging FOSS?  I wouldn’t think so.  Jo is responsible for that tirade and it will be up to him to justify it every time its brought up as an example of rather poor behaviour.   Jo seems to think either a/ I am not serious or b/ there is no legislation to cover this type of action.  Here for you, the readers, is the legislation which I believe is most relevant to the message Jo sent to me:

SECTION 127(1)(b) and (3) of the Communications Act 2003

On *DATE* at *LOCATION* caused to be sent by means of a public electronic communications network:

(A) a message

(B) matter, namely *SPECIFY*

that was grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character.

I’ll leave you the reader to consider if the message falls into that category or not, however Jo (who unless I am mistaken does not have a job involving criminal law) seems to think it doesn’t as he said in a recent message:

even the ambulance chasers who advertise on Jeremy Kyle wouldn’t take up a case like that

Jo’s opinion on UK criminal law is all academic though and not really of further relevance to this article, so I will move on.  Mr Shields also states when telling another user about the aforementioned C word post:

oh, yes, I called @_goblin a c#nt on Twitter. References to the Communications Act would be laughable if they weren’t so sad

and now that Jo Shields has had a little education into the Communications Act 2003 legislation let see if he agrees that maybe an apology is in order not only for the vulgar tirade, but the false claims he made about me.

Regardless of what happens and regardless of who anyone agrees with, in my opinion vulgarity like this do not put the attitude of Mr Shields in a very good light.  Its strange he said what he did publically since he seems very concerned with his public image by stating to me that he checked the BN IRC logs for lies about him.

CONCLUSIONS

The purpose of a blog/personal site, is to present ones opinions.  There is no one person which so much sway that they could damage anything.  Damaging FOSS would be to introduce legislation making it illegal.  Damaging FOSS would be only sell computers that ran proprietary software..these are actions and actions with (far fetched but obvious results)  There are those who will make inappropriate comments in favour of Linux and against it, there are those who will make statements that cause offence/upset, the only damage being done is to the person saying them, not the community in which they are a part of.

I had many other examples of “killing the foss” and I have been snapshoting comments since I said I would quote Jo a few weeks ago, thats really now out of the Window (no pun intended) as I think that it needs to be highlighted the behaviour of some people when at the end of the day we are talking about software (last time I checked it was hardly on the same scale as world hunger)

I think next time Roy Schestowitz receives an attack or a libelous claim, I may throw reference to the Jo Shields incident and a quote (yes I do like them) springs to mind (from the Gospel of St Mathew) :

For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again

Food for thought I hope next time you hear the words “Ahhhhhh Your killing FOSS!”.   If, as Jo Shields suggested to me that Boycott Novell is a “factory of lies” what does that make Jo and his opinions?  Whoever you agree with, whoever’s work you follow I would like to think that most reasonable people would consider Jo’s words vulgar, obscene and wholly inappropriate.   Ive never seen Roy Schestowitz, Richard Stallman, Mark Shuttleworth or anyone else known in the FOSS world behave like Jo Shields has.

You can visit Jo Shields on Twitter here.

He also has a website here: http://www2.apebox.org/wordpress/

Goblin – bytes4free@googlemail.com

Chromium playing nicely within a Gnome/Compiz DE (on Goblins desktop!) although recent bugs (previously non-existent) slightly spoil the experience somewhat. If you want to see a picture of Chromium running within a KDE/Compiz DE on another one of my rigs, visit: http://www.twitpic.com/nlygw/full

Before publishing an article which I am really looking forward to – Ahhh Youre killing the FOSS! I thought I would post an update on my experiences with the latest build of Chromium, that being 4.0.242.0.

Please note that this is not intended as a comprehensive review, merely an update on my observations with Chromium in its current build.

Anyone who was reading this blogazine around May 09 will remember that I went away on a trip to Poole and bought a netbook for my surfing and posting whilst I was away.  You may also remember that I had to settle for an XP one since the mobile broadband dongle would not work with a Linux system.  It was whilst I was stuck with this system that I remembered how poor IE was for me and decided if I was going to have to use XP, I would be damned if I would also suffer IE.

This was when I was introduced to Chrome and upon my return started looking at running Chromium on Linux.

Ive been with the builds since the very early days (I wish I could remember the number) and since trawling through my blog to find the earliest version I looked at is not my idea of a good Tuesday night, I thought I would skip that and simply concentrate on the state of Chromium today.

IN OPERATION

Chromium on my rigs is blisteringly fast, it always was.  In the earlier builds there were a few stability issues in respect of JAVA input boxes, but these were not frequent enough to present a huge problem.   Once Flash was implemented and was stable, for me Chromium really took off as a browser and I found myself using Firefox less and less.

Today Chromium is still blisteringly fast, JAVA input boxes are still smooth/fast and I found that they were far more responsive than Firefox (correct up to the latest version I have 3.5.1)  Incognito mode is a great little mode although I don’t really find myself facilitating it.

Somewhere around July (I think) a few builds of Chromium came with a small picture of a face in the top right hand corner of the window (without any explanation).  I really should Google that as it was a mystery I never got around to solving.

By August 09 I found that I very rarely (if ever) needed to run FF (obviously Quake Live being the exception to this) September came and went which is when I found an issue with the software.

At the time I considered it to be a bug created as a side effect to something else, presuming that it would be fixed in October, although now we are in November and the bug is still present (see below) That being said it is a minor issue when one looks at the performance boost it has over other browsers, although since then a few other bugs cropped up which I felt needed mentioning.

BUGS WITH CHROMIUM

1.  The ability to open links from external software into Chromium is no longer working.  If this had been an issue from day 1, it would not have been a problem.  This bug though only appears to have materialized around the September/October time.

2.  Java input boxes can freeze when data is copied and pasted into them from the same page.  The freeze is limited to that particular tab, but its particularly annoying when you are replying to a comment.  There is a work around that I use which is right click on the offending tab, select duplicate and then move to the duplicated tab and continue editing (as it is no longer frozen)  This particular problem appeared around the end of October.

3. WordPress no longer seems to play as nicely with Chromium.  This could be a fault of WordPress or Chromium.  Every so often I appear to get logged out of my blog account and when trying to log back in, my password is not recognized.  If I login via the main page there is no problem.  This issue seems to appear randomly and can happen if I am trying to embed a picture into my text.  The second WordPress issue Ive found is that when previewing a post, you are no longer able to save the draft.

As you can see these bugs are more annoying than prohibitive, but just as I was beginning to consider removing FF completely from my system, I will now have to wait until these issues are resolved.

A clean look, fast operation & very happy with Metal on Youtube!

CONCLUSIONS SO FAR

I still love Chromium, with the new bugs cropping up it has hampered my enjoyment of the package but then it should be remembered that its still quite early in its development.  I love the style of the tabbed browsing of Chromium and the location of my shortcuts.  Speed has and still is the most impressive part of Chromium and that trend continues.

I haven’t found any sites that crash Chromium since about August and there are so many great features of the software, I simply don’t have the time to list them all.

The Chromium themes are a nice idea, but Ive yet to find a theme that doesn’t look a complete mess.  The simple designs are fine, but some of the more fanciful ones, just look awful in my opinion on my desktop.

In closing, I cannot assume that these bugs are global and they could be localized to my particular rig/distro, but whatever the answer I am not so keen to recommend Chromium as I was a few months ago.  With that in mind I would expect these issues to be ironed out as it matures and I still think that it will be a fantastic browser in the future.

It looks like Firefox will be staying on my system for some time to come.

Goblin – bytes4free@googlemail.com

Armed with Microsoft's USB stick and COFEE even these two will be able to collect evidence from a live system....The courts will love that one.

It is being reported that COFEE, Microsoft’s forensic tool used in the fight against crime [1] has been leaked and uploaded to a BT tracker.  The tracker in question (what.cd) has subsequently removed the offending torrent, probably with visions of dawn raids and court cases, however I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the tools PR and what it (allegedly) offers.  Before we go any further though, its worth noting that the actions taken by what.cd have not managed to preserve the “secrecy” of this Microsoft product.  COFEE is available from thousands of sources online already.

Firstly because its Microsoft you can expect the usual blurb.  Microsoft doesn’t disappoint here with:

If it’s vital to government, it’s mission critical to Microsoft.

Which would beg the question; what happened then when various armed forces computer systems allegedly fell victim to a Windows based exploit?  Doesn’t sound very mission critical to me.

Back to COFEE though (Computer Online Forensic Evidence Extractor) is in essence software and USB solution which enable a live system to be “snapshotted” in situ.  Exactly how this code operates is anyones guess since its only provided to law enforcement and not to the general populus.  Would this software/hardware work on a rig with Linux?  I would highly doubt it and I assume it is developed to “handshake” with a Windows based system in some way.

An officer with even minimal computer experience can be tutored—in less than 10 minutes—to use a pre-configured COFEE device.

…And COFEE is being provided—at no charge—to law enforcement around the world.

So Microsoft gives COFEE away free to law enforcement does it?  Lets remind ourselves of what Bill Gates had to say about “free” some time ago:

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

Here you go....a USB stick for every copper! Become an IT expert in 10 minutes! Question is, why should law enforcement use what you can already get (legally) for free and why should the "mighty" Microsoft be giving it away to law enforcement?

Maybe a warning there for Law Enforcement?  “Beware of a Redmond employee bearing gifts”

From reports of users that have looked at this Microsoft GUI its allegedly only a set of data collection tools that can be found on the net anyway and there is nothing “secret” or “cutting edge” to be found in Microsoft’s freebie.

There are other issues I have with this Microsoft freebie and its in respect of evidential value.  In my opinion an in situ dump of a live system will only have real evidential worth in a court if its backed up with the original system.  I would doubt very much if a court would accept a “snapshot” on a USB stick on its own without calling into question the integrity of the data collected on it. [2]

Are we really believing some IT inept officer brandishing COFEE should be allowed to tamper with a live system of possible evidential worth even if she/he has had “a 10 minute training course”..?   I would expect any Law Enforcement Agency to call in its own experts if it encountered a situation where a live exam/retrieval was essential.

Ive often said I have great reservations when the private/public sector mix (in respect of law enforcement) You have to look no further than FACT, where I believe its funded by the very companies it seeks to protect.  No problem in itself, but when (IMO) FACT has the ear of law enforcement, you could be forgiven if you were a little dubious as to the motives of the “advice” they give to the aforementioned agency.

Although it’s a little extreme, when law enforcement and corporate mix, people will always wonder “what goes on behind the scenes” and theories of calls such as “Hi, is that the LAPD?  Its Ballmer here, we have a little trouble at Redmond, can you help us out? Remember we did give you that USB stick all those years ago…..” will always crop up.  It seems strange to me that Microsoft is so keen to help fight crime when in Bill Gates own words (as partly quoted earlier on):

As long as they are going to steal it, we want them to steal ours.

You can read that full article here: http://www.cybersource.com.au/press/gates_set_to_addict_next_billion.html

There is a viewpoint from Torrentfreak.com which can be read here.

Notes

[1] Allegedly since Ive never seen Microsoft credited for any successes and its not clear which or if any Law enforcement actually use it

[2] and its all accademic really since someone booting a LiveCD and USB stick combo would be immune to COFEE (IMO)

Goblin – bytes4free@googlemail.com

Beer glasses.  We’ve all had them and it now appears that the lovely first date with Windows 7 where you’ve met in a restaurant and put away a good few drinks has come home with you.

Skip to the morning, picture the scene; its a sleepy sunday and the light is streaming through your half drawn curtains.  You roll over in your warm bed with images of a lovely night with a beautiful partner only to now find yourself staring into the face of a pig.

Joking aside, it appears that whilst Windows is praised as the second coming and its faithful are busy trying to find fault with alternatives merely to boost sales, there are users who are voicing their problems in a public forum.  I am of course talking about the Microsoft Helps (itself) Twitter account.  Lets take a look at some of those issues:

I did as suggested in forum, BIOS and driver update… And then again the upgrade process rolls back to Vista at final step

To which I would reply, Im surprised they noticed.  Vista 7 may simply be lipstick on a pig, but its the same pig (Vista) at the end of the day.

I can not see the thumbnails of any filehttp://www.twitpic.com/obpmt

I’m facing this issue while doing in-place upgrade from Vista Home Premium to Win7 Ultimatehttp://bit.ly/1Tkwh6 Please help

What’s up with the weird directories with .vdm files accumulating? Is that being looked at? Fixed? New one today (5 total)

Windows 7 upgrade FAIL “user profile service service failed the logon.” can’t use explorer, control panel in safemode

Of course the story you will get from sites such as http://windows7news.com/2009/11/02/windows-7-on-the-rise/ paint a whole different picture.  Andrew (the author of that “article”) cites Windows 7 as having 3% of market share in the first two weeks of its release.  Andrew then goes onto mention that this does not include simply the RTM thats available now it also includes the pre release versions.  What Andrew doesn’t mention was that the pre-release versions were given away for free, so really the 3% figure (even if it is true) is purely rubbish IMO.

Just like any other Microsoft enthusiast, Andrew appear’s to judge the worth of an OS on how many people use it.  I wonder if Andrew would think a Vauxhall Corsa better than a Bentley because there is more of them on the road?  Probably.  What Andrew goes on to say is:

Linux has just under 1% marketshare. That’s every Linux distribution anywhere, combined.

Really Andrew?  I thought the MS faithful always say 3%?  It matters not since Steve Ballmer doesn’t seem to agree with you either and in recent MS slides Linux was shown to have a lot more than 1%.  Have your scientific figures Andrew considered how many servers on the net run Linux?  Probably not and you are probably too busy with the novelty that Windows 7 allows you to do simple tasks far better than you ever could in the last 3 years with Vista.

Unlike Andrew, when I compare Linux with Windows 7 I will be doing it having used both.  I am currently running Windows 7 through its paces and comparing it to the OS Ive relied on for years (and has never let me down, unlike Microsoft technologies) that being Linux.

NOVELL HAS A PULSE?

Many people think that Novell is controlled directly from Redmond (or certainly sits and gives a paw on command of its Microsoft master).  It matters not, the damage “the deal” did to the public perception of Novell IMO shows how insidious a Microsoft relationship can be.

Novell has announced its “Pulse” product which is similar in vain to Google Wave although this is, IMO  aimed at enterprise.  It enables team collaboration on projects whilst also offering integration with the Google Wave protocol.

Coming in mid-2010, Novell Pulse will first be delivered as a service and then later available for on-premise deployment. It will also work seamlessly with Google Wave so you and anyone you want to work with can have your choice and get down to business.

Since Ive mentioned my current beta relationship with Wave, its only fair I mention this product.  I only have one question:

Did Novell have to ask Microsoft before releasing the news of this product?  Maybe Novell does have its own “pulse” afterall.

If you would like to see more of Pulse, check out:

http://www.novell.com/products/pulse/

Goblin – bytes4free@googlemail.com

Once upon a time there was a company called Microsoft who claimed there was nothing wrong with Vista and everyone wanted their products…..

Just because you live in the United States, don’t assume that everything is on Windows….

Source: Jeff Orr – ABI analyst

The age old argument of Linux V Windows market penetration may simply be a fabrication if certain stats on the net are to be believed.  It has been claimed (for as long as I can remember anyway) that Linux accounts for 1-3% of market share and that nobody wanted Linux on a netbook.  That claim always puzzled me because no matter what figures you want to put on Linux use today, you cannot argue that no more than any time in the past more people are commenting, advocating and praising it on the net.  I can remember not too long ago where a Linux opinion was a rare thing to see on a forum thread, now you have numerous posts from users celebrating and supporting Linux.  That never happened in this volume a few years ago.

I often cite Microsoft-watch.com as an excellent example.  In the days of Joe Willcox (shortly before he left) Microsoft Watch had become a forum for more Linux users than Windows and I commented many times that it was ironic a site called Microsoft Watch would be a meeting place for so many Linux users.  I personally made many friendships there, friendships which continue on this blog (and various chatrooms today)  I cannot fail to mention Will and Chips who I first met on the MS Watch site.

I digress, because the purpose of this article is to highlight that what you read being quoted about Linux market penetration may not be the whole truth.

Brandon Le Blanc, a Microsoft employee who we have mentioned before has previously had this to say:

Users simply expect the Windows experience…..It’s easier to use, just works out of the box with people’s stuff, and ultimately offers more choice.

Now I could be mean here and mention that it was Brandon himself who brought up the subject of Windows 7 party hosts trying to flog their free loot on Ebay (which to me doesn’t say a lot for peoples opinion of the Windows experience) but Brandon has made many comments in the past that have had him highlighted on numerous sites and to be fair this article isn’t really about him, although he is also alleged to have said:

When they realize their Linux-based netbook PC doesn’t deliver that same quality of experience, they get frustrated and take it back.

Now I would say that it was the fact that I didnt get the same quality of experience with Linux that I kept using the system…that being in terms of quality experience Linux was far better than Windows ever was.  Would Brandon like to make a comment on peoples experiences of Vista?  Was that quality or was that why we see a migration to Linux in the numbers we have?  Of course you can’t blame Brandon, he works for Microsoft, but do you think that if tomorrow he took a job with Apple he would still praise Windows? IMO no and its why when listening to an employee of Microsoft you have to consider the basis for their opinion.

So onto the stats I mentioned.  ComputerWorld is reporting:

Nearly one-third of the 35 million netbooks on track to ship this year will come with some variant of the free, open-source operating system, ABI Research said. The exact split is 32% Linux versus 68% Windows, said Jeff Orr, an analyst at ABI, which works out to about 11 million Linux netbooks this year.

Source: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9140343/Linux_s_share_of_netbooks_surging_not_sagging_says_analyst

Mr Jeff Orr has predicted that Linux will overtake Windows on the Netbook by 2013 and whilst this is just an opinion, its just as relevant as any Microsoft would want you to believe (if they can quote stats and predictions, so can we)

Of course they say the “proof of the pudding…” and in the UK certainly you only have to walk into a high street news agents like WHSmiths and see the shelved lined with Linux magazines.  Something is happening, IMO Microsoft cannot keep a lid on the rise of an alternative to its products.

Lets end on some “quality experiences” of the Windows 7 OS (these and many more can be seen on the Twitter account MicrosoftHelps) of course minus “Goblin helpdesk” as I added that in to what would otherwise be very depressing viewing:

my win7 pc is going to sleep while streaming under power save plan default settings

Goblin Help Desk says:  Are you sure? Is that not just normal sluggish Windows behaviour? Leave it for a few days, it may wake up.

I’ve upgraded my XP to Win7 and the Audio is ignoring me; I’ve updated the driver, but it’s mute as a rock. Any ideas?

Goblin Help Desk says: Maybe you should not have listened to the MS faithful FUD that said that Linux sound drivers are problematic and Windows is so great.  Try a Linux distro like Ubuntu, you’ll probably find you have out of the box compat from day one.

Windows 7 does not play nice with my iPod Nano 5G, it won’t even recognize it as a valid device. Plz help?

Goblin Help Desk says: Windows not playing nicely with something?  Never!!!! Ask all the “happy” Vista users.  In all seriousness Microsoft has been alleged to not play nice with many things, maybe its an intentional feature of Windows to emulate company policy?

I think you get the idea now.  The only real opinion on the software thats best for you is your own.  Linux users/FOSS advocates are happy for you to try alternatives in order that you choose the right solution.  Can the same be said of a proprietary platform?

Goblin – bytes4free@googlemail.com

Once upon a time there was a company called Microsoft…..

Yes readers, its story time again, although this time I don’t think there is a way Microsoft can tell its story any better (and to see the alleged quote by Bill Veghte on Vista’s problems and Microsoft stories see http://openbytes.wordpress.com/2009/11/01/bought-windows-7-windows-8-on-way-dubious-twitter-users/)

Before we go into the article it is worth mentioning that Boycott Novell reported the 800 job cuts way before the news hit the mainstream media.  Detractors to the BN website may like to consider that fact. http://boycottnovell.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

As the US is officially out of the recession (with the UK lagging slightly) more job losses are announced from Redmond, 800 (allegedly) of them, with the cuts apparently coming in the sales and marketing sections.  Could this be a reason why we saw this? – is Microsoft getting so hard up that it generates Twitter accounts to do its bidding? (and very badly I hasten to add)

The Guardian.co.uk has a take on the news of the cuts where it says in their article:

Microsoft is cutting another 800 jobs worldwide as it attempts to cope with falling demand for its products, the company announced today.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/nov/04/microsoft-job-cuts

Falling demand for its products?  Did we ever think we’d see the day?

Of course Microsoft put their own take on this and other news by Kevin Turner allegedly saying:

We are pleased by the early positive response we are receiving for these products

To which I would say, steady there Kev.  Remember Mr Ballmer saying that Vista went wrong because of listening to early feedback?  You don’t want another Vista on your hands that takes 3 years to sort of apologise for do you?

The cuts are mostly in sales and marketing, and less in research and development, but they have cut some products.

Which cant be good news for many of the convenient MS faithful that pop up to defend and spread FUD regarding alternatives to MS?

These are interesting times and the company who tries to be everything for everybody (IMO) is finding that fighting that war on more than one battlefront is near on impossible.   When you look at the interest generated by a Google OS, Google Wave and the plethora of social networking/innovative ideas on the net that do not come from Redmond, one has to wonder how Microsoft will look in another year.  The growth of Linux/alternative usage in the last year cannot be disputed (whatever figure you want to put on it)

Lets hope Ballmer and crew can “get their story out” in the way they want to.  I get the feeling this is one fairy tell of Redmond’s which won’t have a happy ending.

NOTE: Picture from BoycottNovell and kind permission of Roy Schestowitz.

Goblin – bytes4free@googlemail.com