Tag Archives: Microsoft

Color My Keyboard!

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msi-keyboard-gui

Back in February, I bought a new laptop.  An MSI GT72S 6QE Dominator Pro G.  I know, it rolls right off the tongue!  Windows 10 Home came pre-loaded.  Of course I removed all traces of Microsoft from the machine almost immediately.

One of the “features” of this great laptop, is that it comes with a mechanical “SteelSeries” multi-colored, led back-lit, keyboard.  This was not a factor when I purchased it.  I’ve had back-lit keyboards before and they are a truly great innovation.  While booted into the original OS that came on the laptop, I oohed, and ahhed at the colorful beauty.

Like I said, Microsoft was left behind and Linux found it’s new home.  No more colored keyboard lights.  Just the same old white back-lit keys I was used to.  I was ecstatic!  This was the first laptop I had installed Linux read more

Linux, PPAPI, and the Browser…

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In the beginning, was Lynx.  And, it was good.  The time was 1992.  Linux was in it’s infancy.  The Internet was becoming more easy to access.  Linux as we know it had reached a milestone.  It was now 1 year old.

I am going to cite some Linux history below to give perspective to why I wrote this article, and further explain my anger at Adobe and Microsoft.

The most popular web server has always been FLOSS since such data has been being collected. For example, Apache is the current #1 web server powering the Internet.  To my knowledge, it has never fell below this statistic.  Contrary to what Microsoft would have you believe, they have never held the number one position.  Ever.  Some current estimates put the number of Internet servers running Linux at or better than 95%.  Microsoft?  About 1%.  Ironically enough, Microsoft’s own Azure Cloud services offer “Linux Infrastructure as a Service” (IaaS).

According to the OSS/FLOSS Numbers Database, Windows NT actually crippled a U.S. Navy Cruiser in 1998.  Almost all of Europe’s governments use Linux in some form or fashion, or are in the process of converting existing systems including their educational institutions.  In the U.S. check out the statistics for banks, ATM machines, or mobile devices, or, for read more

The New World Of Linux

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linuxvswindowsOver the last decade, and especially just in the last two years, Linux has emerged and grown from an OS only a true geek or nerd would use, to a very viable alternative OS for the everyday computer user.  As a matter of fact, in most regards to the ‘average’ user, they are much better suited to using Linux than any of MS’s counterparts in the OS dept.  In my opinion, the same holds true for Mac though perhaps to a smaller degree.  After all, the Mac is now utilizing the Mach MicroKernel and/or the FreeBSD Kernel depending on your sources!  Their prohibitive prices however, still make them out of reach for the regular masses.  Makes you wonder how long before MS wakes up and smells the inevitable scent of Linux dominance in the air.  Their lack of acuity in not realizing this before the Mac and Google crowd is indicative of their refusal to consider that they could possibly ever be wrong about anything.  Consider MS Windows 8.  A miserable marketing failure, as well as becoming read more

Available immediately, VSIDO II Velociraptor

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Available today, as of 2:00 pm, is VSIDO II Velociraptor. On Jan 17th this year, VastOne, aka, Terry Ganus released “the Kraken”, better known as VSIDO Linux. It has been a smashing success! Terry has essentially brought SID to a place, where any user, can reliably count on it as their main desktop OS. SID is known in the Debian world as the “Unstable” step brother to Debian’s ‘current’ stable release, Debian 7.0, codename Wheezy. (Many Linux designers have a ‘codename’, which in Debian’s case is always referenced to a “Toy Story” character from the children’s film. Sid is the angry next door neighbor kid who is mentally unhinged. The current stable release is Wheezy, the penguin from “Toy Story 2” with ‘Jessie’ being the name of Wheezy’s successor) SID would be better described, (and Debian would be better served) if they changed this moniker from “Unstable” to “Rolling Release”. Not quite the bleeding edge of Linux, it will always be up-to-date, as well as have the latest packages available to it. But, this article isn’t about Debian or SID as read more

Hmmm, Parents or Microsoft

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Want to know how terrifying it is to be a parent in todays America? I received this in an email today from MSN (also known as the Microsoft Corporation);

Dear parent or guardian:
According to the birth date provided for your child’s Microsoft online account, “your childs name here” is now 13 years old. You are therefore no longer able to manage permissions for the “your childs name here” account through Account Services, and your child may create a new account without your permission.

United States law requires websites and services to obtain parental permission to collect, use, or share personal information from children under 13. Because this child is now 13, you can no longer manage permission for this child for Microsoft online services.

For information about how Microsoft collects and uses personal information, please review the Privacy Statement at http://g.msn.com/2privacy/enus.

Thank you for using Microsoft online services.

The MSN Parental Controls Team

Please do not reply to this message, which was sent from an unmonitored email address. Mail sent to this address will not be answered.

The MSN PARENTAL CONTROLS TEAM? Doesn’t that just about say it all? A corporation “controlling parents”! This is what is read more