Linked by David Adams on Sun 11th Dec 2011 01:37 UTC, submitted by rhyder
It's starting to look like the end of an era for Ubuntu users as Canonical mull the creation of an ISO that won't fit onto a CDR. The question is, does it matter? Canonical owes at least part of its success with Ubuntu Linux to the unique way that it has been distributed. From the start it has been available as a downloadable ISO image and a free CD, posted at no cost to the user. This was great news for people who wanted to install Linux but did not have the luxury of a decent Internet connection. In a sense, installing via a CDR image has always been like a kind of cache, in that you're moving part of the content that you need onto permanent storage rather than pulling it through the network connection
Thread beginning with comment 499917
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
RE: They should let the physical optical format go.
by Gullible Jones on Mon 12th Dec 2011 21:48
in reply to "They should let the physical optical format go."
Member since:2006-05-23
RE[2]: They should let the physical optical format go.
by Flatland_Spider on Mon 12th Dec 2011 23:15
in reply to "RE: They should let the physical optical format go."
Member since:2006-09-01
RE[2]: They should let the physical optical format go.
by ilovebeer on Tue 13th Dec 2011 10:34
in reply to "RE: They should let the physical optical format go."
Member since:2011-08-08
RE[2]: They should let the physical optical format go.
by r_a_trip on Tue 13th Dec 2011 14:37
in reply to "RE: They should let the physical optical format go."
Member since:2005-07-06
Valid points, but adhering to that premise entails accepting as the lowest common denominator anything that can still boot if turned on. So any new developments need to take into account machines with 8086 processors. Anything else is not considering the implications.
Computer recycling today may be dirty, but I don't see that as an inherently technical problem. This is one group of people exploiting another group for some extra profit. That needs to be adressed internationally through politics. We need to learn as the "First World" not to export agony to other countries, in pursuit of another buck to add to overflowing bank accounts.
Features
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/18/13 21:33 UTC
Why does Google get so much credit in the technology industry? Why, despite the company's many obvious failings, do many geeks and enthusiasts still hold a somewhat positive view on the all-knowing technology giant? A specific talk at Google I/O this week provides the answer.
Linked by David Adams on 05/16/13 4:23 UTC
OSNews is a sponsor of this year's O'Reilly OSCON in Portland, Oregon, USA. A lucky OSNews reader will win a free three-day pass, including two tutorials days. To win the pass, post a comment on this story saying something about Open Source Software or OSCON. We'll pick a winner at random next week. If you don't have an OSNews account, you may email us your entry. Part of the conference is the 9th annual Open Source Awards, and today the 16th is the deadline for nominations. If you'd like to nominate an outstanding open source contributor, do it here. Read on for more information about OSCON. Update: The 20% discount code for OSNews readers is "OSN."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/11/13 21:41 UTC
"Windows is indeed slower than other operating systems in many scenarios, and the gap is worsening." That's one way to start an insider explanation of why Windows' performance isn't up to snuff. Written by someone who actually contributes code to the Windows NT kernel, the comment on Hacker News, later deleted but reposted with permission on Marc Bevand's blog, paints a very dreary picture of the state of Windows development. The root issue? Think of how Linux is developed, and you'll know the answer.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/08/13 14:22 UTC
This is one of those news items that's fun to write, fun to read, fun to comment on, and where no one will be able to say anything unkind. It's all just one big ball of awesome fluffiness. TuneTracker, the BeOS radio automation software, has just released something very special: TuneTracker System 5, the first version designed entirely and specifically for Haiku. In fact, it actually includes Haiku in the software package. Better yet, TuneTracker also unveiled several system-in-a-box products - which have Haiku and TuneTracker pre-installed.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/02/13 15:28 UTC
Exactly twenty years ago, a document was published that played a huge role in establishing the web as we know it today. Twenty years later, and this simple and straightforward document is proof of an irrefutable fact: while closed technologies can change markets, open technologies can change the world.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/29/13 21:06 UTC
Oh multitasking. That staple of computing that got thrown out the window with many modern smartphones. We got some rudimentary thing in its place - but even as multitasking on phone and tablets improves, its user-visible side remains cumbersome. Windows 8 has a neat implementation, and now it's time Android follows in it footsteps.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/24/13 22:24 UTC
They're here! Whether that excites you or not remains to be seen, but the Galaxy S4, which will most likely become the best selling Android smartphone of the year by a huge margin, has been reviewed by all the major sites, and there's lots of interesting conclusions in there - although I think most of you will get the gist.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/18/13 11:21 UTC
Nokia has posted its quarterly results for the first quarter of 2013, and just like the quarters that came before, there's not a whole lot of good news in there. The rise in Lumia sales still can't even dream of making up for the sales drop in Symbian phones, and when broken down in versions, the sales figures for Windows Phone 8 Lumias in particular are very disappointing. In North America, Nokia is getting slaughtered.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/16/13 9:29 UTC
The day has finally come: Google has started shipping Google Glass to the lucky few early adopters. Now that it's shipping, Google has also unveiled a lot more about the API and the specifications of the device itself. While the company had already given out substantial details at earlier occasions, there are still a few surprises here.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/15/13 22:44 UTC
Almost exactly three years ago, I wrote about why OSNews was no longer OSNews: the alternative operating system scene had died, and OSNews, too, had to go with the times and move towards reporting on a new wave of operating systems - mobile, and all the repercussions that the explosion of smartphones and tablets have caused. Still, I was wondering something today: why aren't we seeing alternative operating systems on mobile?More Features »
Sponsored Links
Member since:
2005-07-06
We can keep hammering on the optical disk as the way older computers get their OSes installed, but that problem will vanish in 2 to 3 years time. What is hot now and comes without an optical drive, will be tommorows donated hardware.
Distro's should aim for USB Thumbdrives these days. Preferably the 2GB's ones for now as that is the low end of those drives and relatively cheap. The machines that can't boot from USB are getting scarse these days.
USB thumbdrives are reusable with newer software and a lot faster than a CDR. It could potentially save on e-waste. Practically nobody installs Warty Warthog from CD anymore as a means to fit a computer with a main operating system. A thumbdrive is more readily "upgraded" with the latest software.
It would be nice though if the USB booting could be made more standardized and maybe a bit simpler. El Torito was a godsend on the CD. Maybe by letting the firmware search for a USB bootable image file on the drive. Than it would be as easy as just copying the image on the drive and boot from it. Although unetbootin is pretty easy already.