PC-BSD 0.7.8 has been released and I also recently conducted an interview with PC-BSD Project leader Kris Moore.
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Member since:>Yes, that's very clever. Not only clever, but awesome >and gorgeous: If there's a bug in a library, not only >one package needs to be fixed, but dozens.
>It's the best feature that one could copy from Microsoft >Windows[TM]. Apart from that, there are enough UNIX >operating systems for x86 computers.
ahhh no. You're right about each package but as far as there being enough UNIX OS's for x86.... hmmm.. who makes that determination... you?
Sounds like sour grapes to me. At least this guy is trying to do something original and attempt to solve problems.
Member since:This really is a double standard. Suppose Windows used a system similar to ports. Could you imagine the outcry if microsoft was able to upgrade the libs of all your various software on your box? Talk about crazy, this would drive me nuts! Everybody would hate microsoft's guts for it 
But with *nix its ok to do it?
Member since:2005-07-06
If there's a bug in a library, not only one package needs to be fixed, but dozens.
Dozens is probably an overstatement, but it is a valid observation. However, look at it this way - I'd rather replace ten copies of a library (if you need to, most of the programs will work fine with the original lib) than to replace one copy of a lib and have it break ten programs.
Sometimes, updating a lib means all programs using the lib must be updated as well. By having a seperate copy for each program, you don't need to update programs which only changed because a lib changed.
Member since:2005-07-06
Dozens is probably an overstatement, but it is a valid observation. However, look at it this way - I'd rather replace ten copies of a library (if you need to, most of the programs will work fine with the original lib) than to replace one copy of a lib and have it break ten programs.
Dozens is actually an understatement. And this isn't about bug fixes. It's about security.
"apt-cache rdepends zlib1g" returns 1,848 packages that use zlib. Imagine if a user just had 10% of these packages installed. That's 184 pieces of software or libraries that would have to be ugpraded. And 184 of those must be upgraded to plug the security hole.
Shared libraries solve this problem by centrally updating a single library. The linked programs never even have to know about it.
"The Verge has learned that HTC's Chief Product Officer, Kouji Kodera, left the company last week. Kodera was responsible for HTC's overall product strategy, which makes the departure especially notable on the heels of the global launch of the make-or-break One. It's not just Kodera. In the past three-odd months, HTC has lost a number of employees in rapid succession." I really hope HTC pulls it together.
"It is with huge pleasure that the Debian GNU/Hurd team announces the release of Debian GNU/Hurd 2013. This is a snapshot of Debian 'sid' at the time of the Debian 'wheezy' release (May 2013), so it is mostly based on the same sources. It is not an official Debian release, but it is an official Debian GNU/Hurd port release." Important note: 75% of Debian packages are supported bu Debian GNU/Hurd. Impressive.
"The first killer app was VisiCalc. This early spreadsheet turned the Apple II from a hobbyist toy to a business computer. VisiCalc came with room for improvement, though. In addition, a new architecture and operating system, the Intel-based IBM PC and MS-DOS, also needed a spreadsheet to be taken seriously. That spreadsheet, released in early 1983, would be Lotus 1-2-3, and it would change the world. It became the PC's killer app, and the world would never be the same. On May 14, IBM quietly announced the end of the road for 1-2-3, along with Lotus Organizer and the Lotus SmartSuite office suite. Lotus 1-2-3's day is done." Impressive 30 year run.
"There's a disconnect between how Apple CEO Tim Cook sees his company's tax strategies and how some members of the US Senate view it. That became clearer than ever today after Cook and two other Apple executives testified before Congress, explaining why they're holding most of their international income in Irish subsidiaries like Apple Operations International, which declare no tax residency anywhere in the world. AOI hasn't filed a tax return anywhere in the world for the last five years, yet it earned $30 billion in income from 2009 to 2012, according to a Senate report released yesterday." Just because something is legal, doesn't mean it's just. Apple, Google, Microsoft, and many more - these companies might not be breaking any laws, but it's obvious to anyone that what they are doing is scummy.
The new WebKit Opera for Android has been released. "Opera 14 for Android is built on top of Chromium 26, with a total overhaul of the UI in native code, making it fit well with the latest Android design guidelines. Go get the build from Google Play or point your browser to m.opera.com, and give it a spin!"
The Verge pointed me to a blog post by Leap Motion - which reveals how their Kinect-like motion control works with Windows 8. "From the second you plug in your Leap Motion Controller, you'll be able to browse the web and interact with your computer just by moving your hands and fingers in the air. With Leap Motion technology and Windows, you can do everything that's possible with multi-touch inputs - without actually touching anything. This also means that existing applications in Windows 7 and 8 will respond to your natural hand and finger movements. Soon, we'll show you how Leap Motion will work with Mac OS X." Quite cool.PocketNow interviews Marc Dillon, and there's an interesting note about why Jolla is keeping the display properties under wraps: "We're leaving some of those details out because we do understand that there are a lot of really big players in the market and they tend to take certain components in the market and dominate them. We created the ability to actually be able to run Sailfish on multiple hardware displays and be able to swap components, so this is part of the demand and supply planning phase. We are committed to this industrial design which is a 4.5-inch display, an 8 megapixel camera on the back and a front-facing camera at the front, and the exact specs of the display we'll provide when we're close to delivery." Something you rarely hear anything about.
"This is my NeXTstation Turbo Color booting the Mac System 7.1 Operating System using a hardware add-on called 'Daydream'. The Daydream has a Mac ROM and a few custom ICs in it and hooked up to the NeXTs DSP port. Turns your NeXT into a full fledged 68k powered Mac." So cool.
"The NetBSD Project is pleased to announce NetBSD 6.1, the first feature update of the NetBSD 6 release branch. It represents a selected subset of fixes deemed important for security or stability reasons, as well as new features and enhancements. Please note that all fixes in the prior security/bugfix updates (NetBSD 6.0.1 and 6.0.2) are also in 6.1."
"At the end of a week in which Electronic Arts confirmed it wasn't developing a thing for the Wii U, one of the software engineers in EA Sports' Canada studio, in a series of since-deleted tweets, disparaged the console as 'crap' and suggested Nintendo should give up on hardware altogether. 'The Wii U is crap. Less powerful than an Xbox 360. Poor online/store. Weird tablet', tweeted Bob Summerwill, listed as a senior software engineer at EA Canada, in a reply to a tweet posting a link about EA's no-Wii U news. 'Nintendo are walking dead at this point'." The Wii U is turning into the 21st century's Virtual Boy.
Member since:
> I also love the way this guy has solved the dependency
> hell problem. They set it up so that all applications
> and required dependencies are stored in its own folder.
Yes, that's very clever. Not only clever, but awesome and gorgeous: If there's a bug in a library, not only one package needs to be fixed, but dozens.
It's the best feature that one could copy from Microsoft Windows[TM]. Apart from that, there are enough UNIX operating systems for x86 computers.