Archive for April, 2007

Some Updates of Sorts.

Friday, April 20th, 2007

Man, I swear. Before I get a chance to review a distro indepth, more and more keep getting released. I’ve been hearing interesting things about Ubuntu and how easy it is to install extra multimedia codecs. It shouldn’t be surprising, considering that Canonical has a partnership with Linspire. Also, in a move that doesn’t surprise me at all, Windows XP is getting the ax in 2008. That means that people used to Windows can’t run from Vista forever, and that is truly unfortunate.

Speaking of foolishness, Jack Schofield has written a hit piece on the OGG format. He incorrectly states that it is unkown as to whether it violates patents or not. Here’s a hint: It doesn’t! Not at all. In fact, it is patent free, and the GPL license essentially prevents anybody from patenting to the codec, so it will never become proprietary software. The only problem with OGG is marketing, or the lack thereof, which will be addressed in the near future. Mr. Schofield needs to keep in mind however, that not everybody uses portable audio players.

Now considering that Enterbrain’s RPG MakerXP uses OGG Vorbis audio files as well as lego Star Wars, I’d say that this guy doesn’t completely understand how OGG is superior to MP3 and closed codecs. You say let it die, I say screw you!

Also, screw you too, Novell! It’s easy to slam another distributor, Red Hat, when you have a billion dollar corporation behind you (with a knife, unbeknownst to you), isn’t it? I’m not running SuSE ever again thanks to what you have done to the FOSS community: stab it in the back. Microsoft doesn’t want interoperability in the end. Don’t you get it? They’re going to screw you too, just like you screwed the rest of us!

Finally, only one person has appeared to have taken me up on my Vista Challenge. Building a custom system probably takes some time as does shipping, so we’ll see what happens in a couple of weeks. For everyone else, c’mon! What are you waiting for? This is your big chance to convert me to a Windows Vista user. If you want me to try it out so badly, then all you have to do is simple: buy me a new machine with Vista Ultimate (legally licensed!) and send it to me. I wait with baited breath. 😉

First CD-ROM Issue coming…

Wednesday, April 18th, 2007

I have officially added a link to my blog on the main site.  You gotta love 1and1 for providing blogging through WordPress.  I tried it long ago, and liked it.  I’ve been experimenting with it ever since as you can tell.

Anyway, I am currently working on the First CD-ROM Issue, which I plan on putting the following on the CD-ROM itself:

  • Webzine: HTML Version of the magazine that navigates like a web site.
  • E-zine: PDF version converted from HTML through OpenOffice.org.  Makes it easier to print it out and pass on to others.
  • Free Software for Windows Users: As in freedom (and beer…).  This will probably include codecs for OGG and Theora, OpenOffice (with permission of course), web browsers, e-mail, etc….  Whenever appropriate, I’ll ask for permission.  Also, I may include source code or links to the source code.  For those stuck on Windows, they can at least get a taste of what Free Software is all about.  😉
  • All my radio shows up to this point in OGG format.  Copy and distribute widely.  😀
  • Music from Indy Artists (with their permission of course).

Here’s where you come in.  I do plan on selling this thing of course, and I plan on doing it myself.  The question is, what do you think would be a fair price for this thing.  I’m stuck with the following at the moment and can’t decide:

  • An even $5 USD (that .99 stuff annoys me).
  • $4.99 (It’s annoying, but marketing research has indicated that the .99 stuff makes things sellable).
  • $6
  • $6.99
  • $5.99

You get the idea.  So I’ll ask you.  Just drop me a line: editor@thenixedreport.com and tell me what you think.