It may sound like a bad movie title, but HD DVD, after being kicked to the side of the road by Blu-Ray is striking back. .
August 5, 2009
by sjvn01
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August 4, 2009
by sjvn01
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KDE 4.3 is here
That was fast. Yesterday, I reviewed the new KDE 4.3, and today it’s out for everyone to use. You can download the freshest code now.
If sheer numbers impress you, KDE would like you to knowthat, “The KDE community has fixed over 10,000 bugs and implemented almost 2,000 feature requests in the last 6 months. Close to 63,000 changes were checked in by a little under 700 contributors. Read on for an overview of the changes in the KDE 4.3 Desktop Workspace, Application Suites and the KDE 4.3 Development Platform.” Me, I’m not impressed by the numbers so much as I am by the overall improvement in its stability, speed, and flexibility.
I’ve been continuing to use KDE 4.3 and I’m quite happy with it. In fact, I’m using it at this very moment on my ThinkPad with openSUSE 11.1
August 4, 2009
by sjvn01
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TiVo and VoD grow closer
TiVo, easily my favorite DVR brand and Internet-based VoD (Video on Demand) are growing closer. In 2010, RCN Corp., a telecom and datacom provider in the Midwest and Northeast US will be offering co-branded, HD TiVo DVRs that will integrate RCN’s programming and Video on Demand (VoD) library with Internet delivered VoD and video programming.
August 3, 2009
by sjvn01
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A first look at KDE 4.3
I’ve never been a big fan of KDE 4.x. I really disliked the first versions, like KDE 4.04. But, over time, KDE became more useful and usable. By KDE 4.2, I finally saw a new version of KDE I could like. Now, with the “so close to release you can almost taste it,” KDE 4.3 is the first of the KDE 4 family that I can wholeheartedly approve of.
Unlike previous versions, this edition, from release candidate 2 on, has run without any hiccups on both of my KDE systems. The first is a Dell Inspiron 530S powered by a 2.2-GHz Intel Pentium E2200 dual-core processor with an 800-MHz front-side bus. This test machine had 4GBs of RAM, a 500GB SATA (Serial ATA) drive, and an Integrated Intel 3100 GMA (Graphics Media Accelerator) chip set. The other, a Lenovo ThinkPad R61, is powered by a a 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor T7500 and has 2GBs of RAM.
To check out this new version, I used openSUSE 11.1. SUSE and KDE developers have long worked hand in glove with each other. So, whenever you want to try out the latest versions of KDE, the easiest way to is to use one of the openSUSE KDE builds.
What really struck me about this release aren’t any of the new features. Instead, it was the improvement in its overall performance and looks that caught my attention.
The new desktop style, Plasma Air, is both very attractive and very flexible. It’s a nice combination. I’m both happy with its default look and feel, and I appreciate that I can easily set it to working the way I want it to work.
One interesting improvement, which you’ll need to look closely for, is that you can now reset the System Settings window so that it looks and acts like the KDE 3.x Control Center. Since, I still find that tree-view to be far more useful than the KDE 4.x default, I welcomed this change.
Actually, that small change is indicative of a larger change for the better in KDE. One of my real problems with KDE 4.x was that its developers seemed to want to go their own way while ignoring the wishes of the KDE 3.x user community. Now, KDE 4’s programmers are still moving forward with their desktop vision, but they’re giving KDE 3’s users the opportunity to use the new desktop in an old, familiar way.
If you’ve been avoiding KDE 4 because of that, or other issues, it’s finally time to give it a try. I think you’ll find, as I have, that this new KDE is finally ready to compete with its older sibling KDE 3.5.11 and GNOME 2.26 for anyone’s Linux desktop.
August 2, 2009
by sjvn01
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Roll your own Linux distribution with SUSE Studio
People have always been able to build their own Linux distributions. That’s one reason why there are over a hundred Linux distributions today. But, building them easily to do a particular job and with major vendor support…. well, that’s not so easy. But now Novell has made it downright easy and-pay attention ISVs (independent software vendors)–they’ll also support your particular house brand Linux when you take it to market.
Novell’s new SUSE Appliance Program is based on SUSE Studio, the core online Linux application builder and SUSE Linux Enterprise JeOS (Just Enough Operating System). As an ISV, or just someone who wants MyVeryOwnLinuxDistro, you just pick and choosing the components you want after logging into the SUSE Studio Web page.
August 1, 2009
by sjvn01
2 Comments
Microsoft enters Video-on-Demand business
Hulu and the other Internet video-on-demand Web sites have a new rival: Microsoft.
You won’t see this new Microsoft service, the MSN Video Player in the United States anytime soon though. Microsoft is launching its new service in the next few days in the United Kingdom. The online VoD (video-on-demand) player will include shows from the BBC , BBC Worldwide, and All3Media, an UK independent TV distributor.