Wednesday, July 18, 2001

Paul Jaquays Interview -- 1:05 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

Gamasutra posted an interview with id's Paul Jaquays from this year's Game Developers Conference. It's much better than the standard "How did you get your start?" type interview. Check it out.

Why Linux Will Never Be Mainstream -- 1:03 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

CmdrTaco over at Slashdot posted an interesting article on Why Linux Will Never Be Mainstream. He blames the vociferous minority of Linux users who find the need to be absolutely evil toward any company that does not currently support Linux. Of course, this is why I'm against anonymous messageboards. People tend to use their anonymity as an excuse to be a jerk.

No More Java for WinXP -- 9:04 am CST, Update by A.T. Hun

ZDNet is reporting that Microsoft has dropped Java from WindowsXP. This was done apparently in the name of "security." This seems to be a rather odd move since it would seem to give the government all kinds of ammunition for the antitrust case against M$. Thanks Slashdot.

The Master comments: Have you ever noticed? Monopolists just can't help but shoot themselves right where it's tender. Nice move M$ :-)

Tuesday, July 17, 2001

Cable's Growing Pains -- 7:14 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

This article gives an interesting, if somewhat technical, look at the inner workings of cable modems and what leads to the traffic jams many are experiencing. I like the idea of varying rates for levels of bandwidth. That way if the pr0n kiddies want their speed, they can have it . . . at a price. Thanks Slashdot.

More On Microsoft's "Victory" -- 3:42 pm CST, Update by J.t.Qbe

A few weeks ago the mainstream media (i.e. as perceptive as fish) trumpeted the appeals court's ruling which overturned the Microsoft breakup verdict. But the ruling wasn't the great victory it appeared to be. For a refreshingly new look, read this article by Bork and Starr which examines what the ruling could really mean for Microsoft.

A.T. Hun comments: This article makes the excellent point that the real fun will begin once Sun, AOL/Netscape, and others can proceed with lawsuits against Microsoft. That will cause far more damage than the government ever could. The recent court rulings have made sure that such lawsuits will be possible. You'd better believe that Sun especially is getting the suits fired up for just such an eventuality.

KIllustrator becomes Kontour -- 10:20 am CST, Update by A.T. Hun

KIllustrator, a drawing program that is a part of the KOffice productivity suite for the Linux KDE desktop, has changed its name to Kontour following a lawsuit. A German law office threatened to sue on behalf of Adobe because of their Illustrator drawing program. The catch is that Adobe may not have authorized the lawsuit in the first place, and the law firm is still asking the author to pony up two grand for legal expenses.

It seems that in Germany law firms can write cease and desist letters to businesses they think are infringing another company's trademarks, without being employed by the latter, and demand payment from the company on the receiving end of the letter. Apparently some law firms make a good living at this.

Just another reason to hate lawyers, as if we didn't have enough already. Thanks Slashdot.

WinXP Product Activation Cracked -- 10:18 am CST, Update by J.t.Qbe

. . . and the thing hasn't even been released yet. Read all the gory details at The Register.

A.T. Hun comments: As if we didn't see this one coming down main street. It's like I've said many times before. The activation won't stop pirates, it will only make life miserable for legitimate users.

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