computing (104)

What started as a text-only information exchange is now used to channel a bewildering array of media, replacing or incorporating old networks along the way. After text came pictures, then audio, then real-time voice, then video, and now HD video streaming. In addition to providing the biggest information storage capability ever devised.

As far as media are concerned, on the Internet it's enjoy first and pay later (maybe). If I like it enough to want to support your thing.

Microsoft is the most successful software company on Earth. Does it owe its success to better engineering? I hear the masses of netizens ROFLing. Besides, they acquired most of the software that they sell. No, Microsoft owes its success to excellent marketing - too good even for their own good but that's another story.

In general, a for-profit company spends a sizable amount of money on advertising.

TuxRadar asks that interesting question. Here's what I said:

A Linux distro is like having your own customized OS. So one would imagine a loooong wizard that asks you what you plan to do with your new machine, and then selects the best distro to suit your needs.

I've been using the Internet as a culture box. I am referring to that part of TV that is supposed to enrich our personal and collective culture, rather than dumb us down by lowering our standards as consumers of media. That's what the Net can provide and in increasing quantities.

Here are the tools I am using so far in no specific order:

01 A computer hooked to the TV and to the sound system. In my case, I am running a Neuros LINK which is an Ubuntu box configured for HDMI TV and Surround audio output.

I've been shifting my home entertainment from TV to the Web. It makes me sometimes feel like I'm back to the days of Marconi and Farnsworth as far as maturity is concerned, but that's for another post. For now, I just want to congratulate Last.fm on the excellent job they've been doing at creating an enjoyable experience that traditional one-way radio will never achieve (unless it starts using the Internet).

The key to using Last.fm is to register an account and to feed your account's library with your favourite artists and albums.

Do I trust the Cloud to reliably hold my data, and for the arbitrary duration of my needing it?

Not entirely, yet. I guess it's an instinctive reaction of fearing the loss of something precious and thus wanting to keep it close to oneself. But there is survival merit in this attitude, and we all know software isn't always reliable at that scale, yet.

What to do? I guess first take regular backups of the data on the cloud to your local network.

It is no news that open source has challenged many established paradigms in the software world, and outside of it too.

If one's opinion of human beings is that they are fundamentally and irremediably:

• greedy
• unethical
• irresponsible
• sheepish

then one would agree with the position taken by the RIAA and its counterparts in all countries.

However, since the RIAA and co. are in fact made up of human beings, then those people necessarily believe that these are fundamental human traits, and therefore they themselves behave in such a way! Let alone forcing their clients, us the people, to react accordingly.

That to me is the psychosis of these organizations.

PS.