Links 19/05/2008: Important Windows Refund Precedence, Unbundling Near?
- Dr. Roy Schestowitz
- 2008-05-19 14:23:27 UTC
- Modified: 2008-05-19 14:23:27 UTC
GNU/Linux
- French court orders Windows refund [Not the first time]
In France, it is illegal to bundle software and to refuse to reimburse the customer for unwanted licences, under Article L.122-1 of the French Consumer Code. The Tribunal de Grande Instance ruled that offering an expensive refund option was tantamount to offering no refund option at all, hence finding for the consumer and requiring that Asus stump up.
- Uxi, a Cuban magazine dedicated to Free Software and Open Codes by the University of Information Sciences
- University of Havana Finally Switches to Free Software
- Avnet Electronics Marketing launches complete MicroBlaze Processor Linux Design Solution
- LM_Sensors 3.0.2 Released
- I swear, this is not another Unixfication post
Is Sun talking with Linus about moving ZFS to GPLv2, with the objective of fast tracking ZFS into a native Linux kernel implementation of the file system driver? Or is Linus considering moving the kernel to GPLv3, with Sun doing the same for OpenSolaris? Is Linux and Solaris DNA going to swap much quicker than previously thought?
- AMD FireGL V8600 On Linux
If we would have looked at the FireGL performance under Windows and Linux a year ago, the results would have been vastly different -- Linux would have lagged far behind the Windows driver. With the new OpenGL driver, however, these results are rather pleasing. In 3DS Max and UGS NX tests from SPECViewPerf, the Windows driver had a small performance lead over the Linux driver. However, in the CATIA, Maya, and Pro/Engineer tests, the Linux driver wound up on top.
- Mandriva 2008.1 KDE hits a sweet spot
Ubuntu
- Hate Ubuntu? It's normal!
The fact that many people dislike the top distribution is not really a problem. The problem is that many of these folks are extremely vocal on the Internet to express their opinions. While no intelligent reader will ever take them seriously, they do give the Linux community a bad name and discourage potential Linux users from joining us.
- [Ubuntu] Weekly Newsletter #91
F/OSS
User Security vs. Vendor 'Security'
- Microsoft confirms Windows adheres to broadcast flag
News that the world's largest software maker has voluntarily agreed to help broadcasters control the recording of their shows is bound to outrage enthusiasts of digital video recorders, as it represents the biggest threat to the practice known as time shifting since the FCC's attempt to require flag adherence.
- Microsoft Stockholder? Take Stock in This...
While we are passing along the subject of anti-virus and spyware, let me ask you this. While MS does offer a somewhat crippled product to protect Windows, they push me toward a subscription purchase to get the full monty. Why am I being cornered into purchasing a "fix" for a problem Microsoft created? Shouldn't the full application be offered as part of Windows? Let me ask you this as well. Why should I purchase and use a product that necessitates I purchase and use another product in order for the first product to work the way it is supposed to?
- Hackers compromise Red Cross earthquake relief site
- Spain arrests 'prolific' hackers
Law and Crime
Leftovers
Recent Techrights' Posts
- Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Inaction and Incompetence - Part III - The SRA is Vastly Worse Than Brits Realise, We Have a "Wild West" in London
- In the next part we'll begin looking at correspondence with the SRA
- SRA and Manslaughter: How the SRA Contributed to Agony in Proprietary Software Scandals With Clear Misuse of "Without Prejudice"
- Trying to prevent the public from finding out the criminal stuff that went on, resulting in many deaths
- Canonical (or Ubuntu) Rejecting IRC Isn't the Widespread Trend
- Internet Relay Chat (IRC) adoption still growing by some yardsticks
- SLAPP Censorship - Part 173 Out of 200: Two Years
- It was exactly 2 years ago that we filed lawsuits against Garrett
- Linux of America
- We could not help but notice GNU/Linux in North America yesterday
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Saturday, September 05, 2026
- IRC logs for Saturday, September 05, 2026
- Gemini Links 06/09/2026: Internet Limiting (Limited Time Allotted) and Solar MiniServer
- Links for the day
- Eight Months of Strikes in EPO, Organised by the Staff Union (SUEPO) Also in Berlin
- In Berlin, only one member of staff voted against the action plan
- Links 05/09/2026: "Let’s Stop Buying New Phone" and 'Open' 'AI' (Proprietary Slop) Drowning in Lawsuits
- Links for the day
- Gemini Links 05/09/2026: Polarization, Warped Maps, and Emacs rectangle-number-lines
- Links for the day
- Software Freedom, Even If Difficult to Attain Due to Outside Pressure, Does Make You Happier
- Peer pressure and opinionated employers can make friends and staff more miserable if they dictate bad software
- You Can Run GNU/Linux on a Desktop/Laptop for 1,000+ Days Nonstop
- To me, the long uptime is a way of "marketing" GNU/Linux as robust and stable
- Profiting From Global Warming (and Making More Money the More You Cause Warming)
- Unregulated bank and pyramid scheme
- SLAPP Censorship - Part 172 Out of 200: The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Complicit in the SLAPPs by Inaction (Didn't Even Study Any Evidence, Only Wasted Time and Budget)
- "SRA placed into special measures due to 'disappointing standard of leadership'"
- China Does Not Need American (US) Products Like GAFAM's
- China has abundance of technical things it can leverage to preserve its autonomy
- RMS Didn't Make Enough Backups
- Making backups is important
- Refresher: Why EPO Staff is on Strike This Year (Aside From the EPO Acting Like a Corrupt, Above-the-Law, For-Profit Corporation That Violates Its Own Charter)
- One core issue at the EPO is erosion of purchasing power
- Gemini Links 05/09/2026: Fireflies, Shore Pine, and ASCII Art
- Links for the day
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Friday, September 04, 2026
- IRC logs for Friday, September 04, 2026
- The Legal Services Board (LSB) Takes on Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) for Utter Failures, We'll Resume Our SRA Series to Illuminate How Bad the SRA Really Is
- a quick overview of the latest news
- Links 04/09/2026: Notorious Patent Trolls' Judge Enters the Private Sector (Corruption, Revolving Doors), Gloria Steinem's Life in Pictures
- Links for the day
- Gemini Links 04/09/2026: Worries, Upgrades, and CS Students
- Links for the day
- Richard Stallman's Web Site Back Online, But It Seems Like a 2-Months-Old Snapshot
- Latest political notes are dated July 2 (2026)
- SPAM Disguised as Benchmark or Comparison: The Register MS "PARTNER CONTENT" is Getting Weirder by the Month
- Sites that promote fake 'coins' or pyramid schemes to their audience(s) aren't worth tolerating
- PIPs at IBMs are Layoffs Because They're Impossible to Satisfy (or They Terminate Workers Despite Satisfying Them)
- What insiders say
- In the United Kingdom You Can No Longer Make the Assumption People Use Windows (or 'Smart' 'Phone')
- As autumn arrives Microsoft faces a crisis
- SLAPP Censorship - Part 171 Out of 200: Talking About Corruption and Violence Against Women
- Today the Labour Party (UK) speaks about corruption
- Warming Up for Investigative Journalism About the European Patent Office (EPO), Europe's Second-Largest and Probably Most Corrupt Institution in Europe
- It continues to exploit diplomatic immunity for impunity
- Microsoft Handing Out PIPs by the Thousands, Anxiety in GAFAM Building Up
- Years ago I heard from people who pretended to be ill to avoid getting fired
- BRICS in the Windows: Brazil's GNU/Linux Share (as Measured by CDN) Has Hit Highest Point in a Month
- The largest Web CDN, Clownflare, sees GNU/Linux at 8.1% right now in Brazil
- Corporate Media Will Always Glorify Its Owners (Corporations That Value Nothing But Capital)
- Collecting "money" like it's a form of competition where they track "score"
- We'll Never Do Slop!
- Being against slop is not being "left behind"
- Thieves Complain About the People They Steal From
- "When you point the finger at someone, there are three fingers pointing back to you"
- Links 04/09/2026: "The Rise of the Billionaire Lobby", the "Imperialist Delusions", and Digital Restrictions (DRM) From Nvidia
- Links for the day
- Buying From China
- Nations must begin to speak about their digital sovereignty, which Free software is best equipped to grant and best positioned to assure in the face of outside resistance
- GNU/Linux Continues to Grow in China
- GNU/Linux reached its highest point in a month
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Thursday, September 03, 2026
- IRC logs for Thursday, September 03, 2026
- Gemini Links 04/09/2026: Forgotten Realms Avatar Series and Slop Plagiarism's Footprint in Gopher/Geminispace
- Links for the day
Comments
fruit of the loon
2008-05-19 23:02:34
Roy Schestowitz
2008-05-19 23:09:41
So Fia lore Inn
2008-05-19 23:19:25
It should be argued, at least for PC gaming, they have a monopoly on the desktop with gaming, as most people need to use DirectX properly in order for the games to work. Sure Wine, Cedega, and other projects are making some progress and some games may work, and believe me I try every few weeks to see how it is coming along, but again Microsoft still continues its dirty deeds. They lie about Linux and Windows interoperability, "They said it couldn't be done!" Novell agreement bullshit just like the Corel agreement in 2000 or 2001, where Corel Linux was promptly spun off and money/support from Corel to Wine apparantly dried up. Time and time again they come in and either buy out or pollute the environment with thier proprietary crap, and we read another dismal Microsoft article after article every few weeks or more.
If Microsoft is so devoted to bringing Linux and Windows together, I don't see anything on their vast labrynth of shit at Microsoft.com indicating this. Where is the repository of interoperability Linux and Windows software on Microsoft.com? Oh, but you can still get their bullshit "Facts" on Windows and Linux, and that's about it. At least Google has a repository you can add to your Linux install for software from them. In my opinion, don't think Moonlight ("Ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight? I ask that of all my friends") will last much longer or work well for Linux users should Silverblight (Silverlight) suddenly become popular through payoffs and slight of hand corporate tricks.
If you ever want to have Microsoft come clean, no, I don't believe it would ever happen unless the DOJ finally came down hard and raided their offices, took their hardware and software and forced them to release the code and all of the various undiscovered backdoors waiting to be found, it just won't happen. IMO, Microsoft has demonstrated time and time again it will fight tooth and nail against any punishment against them.
We will all be cleansed if true justice were ever to prevail, but in the "United States of Advertising", most of the people in power are paid off, with big pharma and other corporate overlords always padding the handshakes and votes. It is a lost cause, you know it, I know it, but you'll still piss away your vote to one of the two parties who bend over for big pharma to slide in the money and the overpriced medications pop out the other end as we all struggle under the yoke of this dismal fucking world.
Come clean? Microsoft? The whole system is mired in filth.
Good luck.
We now return you to your normal life, ostrich head in the sand, millions of tokers/beer drinkers who raise their fist while watching Fight Club and return to their soap opera pitiful lives of slavery as the credits roll.
Vote for Wesley Snipes for President in 2008, neither one of the big parties will get anything done, they are a part of the problem.