Linked by Thom Holwerda on Thu 23rd Oct 2008 19:58 UTC, submitted by FreeGamer
It seems like only yesterday when due to a combination of hubris, bad business decisions, and pressure from Apple and Microsoft, Be, Inc. went under, with its assets - including the BeOS - bought up by Palm, who now store it in a filing cabinet somewhere in the attic of the company's Sunnyvale headquarters. Right after Be went under, the OpenBeOS project was started; an effort to recreate the BeOS as open source under the MIT license. This turned out to be a difficult task, and many doubted the project would ever get anywhere. We're seven years down the road now, and the persistence is paying off: the first Haiku alpha is nearer than ever.
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Member since:2006-04-27
* Sane bittorrent client like Transmission
http://www.bebits.com/app/4221
* IM like Pidgin
IM Kit coming soon to Haiku:
http://www.freelists.org/archives/haiku-development/10-2008/msg0022...
* IRC like XChat
http://www.bebits.com/app/2623
* Music player like Rhythmbox
http://www.bebits.com/app/4434
* Movie player like mplayer
Haiku Media Player included
Or you can use VLC
http://www.bebits.com/app/2119
Member since:2005-07-12
Member since:2005-07-06
All I need to switch from Linux is:
* Sane bittorrent client like Transmission
* Sane bittorrent client like Transmission
There is a version for BeOS:
http://bebits.com/app/4221
* IM like Pidgin
There's the im_kit, but sadly the development appears to be stalled (at least, the last SVN I tried won't connect to most protocols).
Which is a shame, because the im_kit was (IMHO) incredibly cool. It was basically just a background im_server, an im_client, and a prefs app - and it used the BeOS "people" files to store the IM contact info. So the "buddy list" was just a query window looking for "People files where IM Status is not 'offline'".
* IRC like XChat
Vision is quite nice:
http://bebits.com/app/2623
* Music player like Rhythmbox
There's SoundPlay, although it's a player-only (no library functionality) - but still the best "Winamp 2-style" player I've used. There's also Jukebox, which is more of a library/iTunes-style app:
http://www.bebits.com/app/4434
* Movie player like mplayer
mplayer was ported at one point, although I don't think it's been kept up-to-date. There is a fairly up-to-date port of VLC, however. And I believe the Haiku devs have made some progress on getting the native BeOS MediaPlayer to handle modern video codecs.
Member since:2005-08-07
chris_dk ruminated...
All I need to switch from Linux is:
* Sane bittorrent client like Transmission
* IM like Pidgin
* IRC like XChat
* Music player like Rhythmbox
* Movie player like mplayer!
* Sane bittorrent client like Transmission
* IM like Pidgin
* IRC like XChat
* Music player like Rhythmbox
* Movie player like mplayer!
I know I'm going to get modded to oblivion for this, but I can't help myself! I've gotta ask...
Why not use Transmission for your bittorrent client?
Why not use Pidgin for IM?
Why not use XChat for IRC?
Why not rock out with Rhythmbox and catch your daily dose of moveis and DVDs with mplayer?
Why do you even need to move off Linux in the first place if all your apps are running just fine there today?
Look at how difficult it has been for Linux just to get to this point, biw ask yourself how many more years will be needed to get working 3d drivers in Haiku? What about other standard hardware? Webcams? TV Cards? ETC?
I'm glad Haiku is coming along, really I am, but how much further along will Linux be by the time Haiku reaches where Linux is now?
I'm looking forward to seeing Haiku in the wild myself, would love to see the BeOS resurrected and available for every day use, but I've moved on these last seven years.
How much of the old BeOS community can Haiku really count on coming back? How many others have moved on like I did?
--bornagainpenguin
Member since:2005-07-06
Why do you even need to move off Linux in the first place if all your apps are running just fine there today?
You started with a valid point, but go on to say:
I'm glad Haiku is coming along, really I am, but how much further along will Linux be by the time Haiku reaches where Linux is now?
In terms of raw functionality? I suspect Linux will keep on progressing at its current rate. In terms of basic usability, though? On that front, there has been much, much less progress in the Linux world.
Member since:2005-07-12
Why do you even need to move off Linux in the first place if all your apps are running just fine there today?
Because I'm getting tired of Linux and want an OS where the UI is responsive, because I'm tired of the active hostility to binary compatibility - like why should I even recompile the virtualbox driver because I've did a kernel upgrade?
Usability was never a driving force behind linux. These issues plague linux today and will always unless the developers change their ways.
News
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/17/13 17:58 UTC
"The Internet is one of the most transformative technologies of our lifetimes. But for 2 out of every 3 people on earth, a fast, affordable Internet connection is still out of reach. And this is far from being a solved problem. There are many terrestrial challenges to Internet connectivity - jungles, archipelagos, mountains. There are also major cost challenges. Right now, for example, in most of the countries in the southern hemisphere, the cost of an Internet connection is more than a month's income. Solving these problems isn't simply a question of time: it requires looking at the problem of access from new angles. So today we're unveiling our latest moonshot from Google[x]: balloon-powered Internet access." Insane.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/17/13 17:52 UTC
"MineAssemble is a tiny bootable Minecraft clone written partly in x86 assembly. I made it first and foremost because a university assignment required me to implement a game in assembly for a computer systems course. Because I had never implemented anything more complex than a 'Hello World' bootloader before, I decided I wanted to learn about writing my own kernel code at the same time. Note that the goal of this project was not to write highly efficient hand-optimized assembly code, but rather to have fun and write code that balances readability and speed. This is primarily accomplished by proper commenting and consistent code structuring." Just cool.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/14/13 21:03 UTC
Jon Rubinstein, former CEO of Palm: "Well, I'm not sure I would have sold the company to HP. That's for sure. Talk about a waste. Not that I had any choice because when you sell a company you don't get to decide that. Obviously, the board and shareholders decide that. If we had known they were just going to shut it down and never really give it a chance to flourish, what would have been the point of selling the company? I think the deal we had with Verizon really hurt us, but who knew that at the time? These things are all hindsight."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/14/13 20:46 UTC
"And so it is with Dell's Alienware X51 R2, a small form factor gaming PC in console digs. It's shaped similar to Microsoft's Xbox 360 Slim, and though it's slightly larger than either a 360 or PlayStation 3, the X51 R2 would be right at home in a living room setting nestled next to a large screen TV. Indeed, it's adept at running Steam's Big Picture mode, and if your primary objective is to play games in the living room, go ahead and consider the X51 R2 a hybrid game console." This is obviously not the only machine like this - still, these are very valid console alternatives even for those that don't like being hunched over with a cramped WASD-claw. Also, PC gamers among us: could you get away with the $699 model for gaming?
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/14/13 17:32 UTC
From Bloomberg: "Microsoft, the world's largest software company, provides intelligence agencies with information about bugs in its popular software before it publicly releases a fix, according to two people familiar with the process. That information can be used to protect government computers and to access the computers of terrorists or military foes." The lid has officially been blown off.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/14/13 11:39 UTC
"The key takeaway we've reached (after two less than 24 hours playing with the iOS 7 Beta release) is this - every App must consider even basic updates to its UI to survive in a post-iOS 6 world." Great. Telling developers to update their entire application - user interface and behaviour alike - to target a look and behaviour that isn't final yet. Seems like potential for a lot of wasted work here.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/14/13 11:32 UTC
"Overall the app is really basic, and designed for on the go editing. Microsoft says it's not planning to create an iPad version, noting that tablet users can utilize the Office Web Apps instead. We'd like to see some additional options for editing, including more clear options for text formatting and the ability to insert and change images, but it's a solid attempt for something you're only really going to use for editing in emergencies." A resounding meh can be heard from all over the world.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/13/13 19:39 UTC
"Today, most people are using modern browsers that support the majority of the latest web technologies. Better yet, the usage of legacy browsers is declining significantly and newer browsers stay up to date automatically, which means the leading edge has become mainstream. Given these factors we've decided to retire Chrome Frame, and will cease support and updates for the product in January 2014." Eh.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/13/13 14:45 UTC
The Next Web: "First of all, many of the new icons were primarily designed by members of Apple's marketing and communications department, not the app design teams. From what we've heard, SVP of Design Jony Ive (also now Apple's head of Human Interaction) brought the print and web marketing design team in to set the look and color palette of the stock app icons. They then handed those off to the app design teams who did their own work on the 'interiors', with those palettes as a guide. We've also been hearing that there wasn't a whole lot of communication between the various teams behind say, Mail and Safari. And that there were multiple teams inside each group that were competing with various designs, leading to what some see as inconsistencies in icon design. Those may well be hammered out in days ahead." What. Reminds me of how Microsoft does (used to do?) things.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/13/13 11:43 UTC
"The German Parliament, the Bundestag, has introduced a joint motion against software patents. The resolution urges the German government to take steps to limit the granting of patents on computer programs. In the resolution, the Parliament says that patents on software restrict developers from exercising their copyright privileges, including the right to distribute their programs as Free Software. They promote the creation of monopolies in the software market, and hurt innovation and job creation." After New Zealand, we now have one of the most powerful economies in the world moving to ban software patents for all the reasons smart people have been outlining for years. also: "The government should also push to ensure that software is covered by copyright alone, and that patent offices (including the European Patent Office) stop granting patents on software." Germany is not a country the EU can ignore. Very good news, this.More News »
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Member since:
2005-07-12
All I need to switch from Linux is:
* Sane bittorrent client like Transmission
* IM like Pidgin
* IRC like XChat
* Music player like Rhythmbox
* Movie player like mplayer
Looking forward to a fast booting, responsive OS!