The Barrel

A third of Vista PCs downgraded to XP

Vista’s death march picked up some pace yesterday, after a metrics researcher revealed that nearly 35 per cent of PCs built to run the Windows operating system have been downgraded to XP. In a survey of more than 3,000 computers, performance testing software developer Devil Mountain Software estimated that more than one in three new machines had either been downgraded by vendors such as Dell, or by customers once they bought the PC.

Well this proves it Vista really does suck, On the plus side for Vista if you have tons of memory and tons of time to wait it does work and has lots of eye candy beyond that nevermind, Baldy

 

A third of Vista PCs downgraded to XP

Posted in Billyware

Did Microsoft Forget a Patch?

Lost in the shuffle of this month’s Patch Tuesday barrage is the fact that a critical vulnerability in the ever-present Windows Media Player (WMP) was not fixed “because of a last minute quality issue.”

Microsoft originally listed the WMP update in the advance notice for August but, when the patches dropped on Tuesday, it had slipped because of patch-quality concerns.

The explanation from Redmond:

* Microsoft has heard from customers that the quality of updates is very important and, as part of the process at the Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC), Microsoft tests these updates continuously until they are ready for distribution to customers through our regularly scheduled security bulletin release.

This effectively means that millions of Windows users — WMP ships with every version of the desktop operating system — are exposed to a critical, code execution vulnerability that will not be fixed for at least another month.

Oh oh seems as if maybe Linux is a tad faster at fixing bugs, but that is just my humble opinion, Baldy

Posted in Billyware

Okay I have been slacking

And no that does not mean I have changed over to Slackware. I have had a series of setbacks from 3 major storms to personal situations to a pair of computers deciding they should be retired. Yes I am still out here just a tad slow in the posting is all and I hope to repair that soon. I have been watching the development of Mepis 7 with a close eye and will let you know when it is out and ready for the masses. I am also playing with different distros and hope to organize a comparison of those before long so hang in there and watch for the up and coming news folks, I’ll be back.

Posted in Personal

08-08-08

Why is this date different? Twenty years ago the lights went on at Wrigley Field!
Okay I am a Cub fan and maybe nobody else remembered or cares but it was a dawning of new look and feel to the game of baseball in Chicago. But as normal the purists whined the new wave cheered and the Cubs chugged on. One hundred years ago was the last time the Cubs won the World Series. Hummm 100 years and 20 years is there a connection? Could this be the year for the faithful of the “Friendly Confines”? I’ll wait and see I have been a Cubbie fan for a long time and this might just be “The Year”.

Posted in Personal

WiFi software arrives on Linux desktops

A vendor of Linux-based WiFi arrays is finally releasing a version of its WiFi Monitor utility for Linux desktops. The open source, widget-like Xirrus WiFi Monitor for Linux enables users to monitor, secure, and troubleshoot WiFi networks, says Xirrus. The company refers to the software as a "desklet," a widget-like applet that provides quick access to information and functions. Developed under the gDesklets framework using the Python language, the utility is being made available under the GPL (General Public License). Users have access to complete source code of the application, says Xirrus.

Sounds great for the really hard to configure setups,Baldy

WiFi software arrives on Linux desktops

Posted in Networking

Better Than Beach Reading: A Linux Starter Kit

Ah, August. It’s the beginning of the end of summer, and the time when we must all start shaking the sand out of our ears once more. The real world wants us back! This week, we here at LinuxInsider felt it our duty to help those who are fed up with Redmond to find their way to Linux. This is August — a month of transition and new beginnings, after all — so what better time for geeks who have been lost on the dark side to come over to the Light that is Linux? Read on, then, for a starter kit, of sorts, that will show the way to Linuxy salvation …

Better Than Beach Reading: A Linux Starter Kit

Posted in Linux

Distro Surfing

Well I know it has been a while since I posted but as you read the weather hit me hard and then I had a computer take a dump. So I was surfing distros when a good friend suggested I try Kubuntu(Okay it was LinuxChick) and the last time I tried it I had a sour taste in my mouth. But I gave it a shot. Well I was surprised they cleaned up the installer to start with. And it recognized that there was another distro on the harddrive and wanted to know if I wanted to duel boot or use the entire disk. Okay that is a improvement to say the least. The install included KDE3.9 or a beta of the KDE4 and the first gripe I have is Dolphin I suggest they let Willie free, that is horrible to say the least. And one thing that is still a Ubuntu/Kubuntu thing is they really hide a lot of the controls and you have to know the quick keys to get to them. I updated the system after I downloaded Synaptic(yes add/remove is cute but rather clunky) and I added a repo and updated to KDE 4.1. It looks good but even more of the controls have managed to disappear. Over all I will run it a couple of days and give it a good shake down and see what comes out. One of the advantages Kubuntu has is they are backed by not only their repos but debian and 3rd party ones also, making the search for just the right program a snap. More later and until then have a good day and a better tomorrow folks.

Posted in Linux

Power outages still affect almost 15,000 residents

Davenport, QUAD CITIES — Mid American Energy reports almost 15,000 Quad City area residents are still without power Friday morning, 96 hours after a powerful thunderstorm struck the region Monday morning.

The biggest concentration of power outages remains in Rock Island and Moline where 10,000 customers remain without power at 3 a.m. Friday.

Rock Island library officials were able to re-open the 30/31 branch yesterday afternoon, though there is still no computer access.

Western Illinois University’s Quad City campus is fully opening Friday morning, the first time the school has been able to fully operate since Monday.

The WIU-QC campus will re-open for business at 8 a.m. Civil service and administrative employees should report to work at their regularly scheduled times.

As you can see the mess continues for some down here and this is the busiest day of the year as the Bix Fest, and Ragbri are hitting town this weekend. So hotel,motel rooms for those without power are hard to find if they can be found.

I hope your day is going better folks see you later, Baldy

Posted in Personal

Yahoo! Music Going Dark, Taking Keys With It

iminplaya writes with a link to an excellent article at Ars Technica, extracting from it a few choice nuggets: "The bad dream of DRM continues. Yahoo e-mailed its Yahoo! Music Store customers yesterday, telling them it will be closing for good — and the company will take its DRM license key servers offline on September 30, 2008. Sure, it’s bad news and yet another example of the sheer lobotomized brain-deadness that has characterized music DRM, but the reaction of most music fans will be: ‘Yahoo had an online music store?’… DRM makes things harder for legal users; it creates hassles that illegal users won’t deal with; it (often) prevents cross-platform compatibility and movement between devices. In what possible world was that a good strategy for building up the nascent digital download market? The only possible rationales could be 1) to control piracy (which, obviously, it has had no effect on, thanks to the CD and the fact that most DRM is broken) or 2) to nickel-and-dime consumers into accepting a new pay-for-use regime that sees moving tracks from CD to computer to MP3 player as a ‘privilege’ to be monetized."

You have to love this another example of DRM jumping up and kicking the honest folks that tried to conform and use it. Just a perfect reason to say and with a loud and firm voice no more DRM you morons, Baldy

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Yahoo! Music Going Dark, Taking Keys With It

Posted in News

Report: Google in acquisition talks with Digg

Social-news site Digg.com, a perpetual target of acquisition rumors, is in “final negotiations” to sell itself to Google for $200 million, according to a TechCrunch report Tuesday that cited multiple sources.
Google has been in talks to bring Digg into the Google News group, but it could be a few weeks before the deal closes, if it closes, according to the report.

Representatives for Google and Digg did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Usually a “no comment” or the like is the response to questions about rumored acquisition negotiations. However, that was not the case in March–when the Digg takeover rumor mill was in full swing.

Way to go Kevin are you buying the beer? Baldy

Posted in News