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Moonlight 2.0 Preview is Out and Why You Should Care

Microsoft Silverlight
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Moonlight is a Novell-sponsored Linux implementation of Microsoft Silverlight, which is Microsoft‘s equivalent of Adobe Flash. We hate the idea of websites we can’t use, and like the idea of Linux-plugins that correct this. However, there is one show-stopping app for Moonlight: Netflix.

The Netflix Watch Instantly system is not supported under Linux, mostly because it uses Silverlight. It is particularly odd, as we know it could be supported under Linux. The Roku NetFlix/Video Player is Linux-based. Silverlight itself does not have the market-share Adobe Flash does, and we are thus surprised by Netflix’s choice.

The latest version of Moonlight, 2.0 preview, supports Silverlight 2.0, which is necessary for Netflix, but does not support the DRM stack, which is necessary for Netflix to run. We have high hopes this wll come someday. Until then, we guess we are limited to Flash-based web media.

Moonlight 2.0 Preview is available as a Firefox plugin for both 32 and 64-bit Linux distributions.

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Published on May 5, 2009
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Happy Birthday, Game Boy

Nintendo Game Boy
Image by unloveablesteve via Flickr

The 20th anniversary of the Game Boy‘s release was this week. It was originally a simple device with a green monochrome screen, four buttons (A, B, Start, Select), and a four-way directional pad, much like the original Nintendo.

It was bundled with Tetris, and with that, and a few other games, we spent many an hour during our youth. We still have it in a box somewhere, ready to relaunch a wave of nostalgia, the same way we recently pulled out our Nintendo.

Our gaming time has reduced as we’ve grown older, and limited of late to nostalgia. Nostalgia is a wonderful thing. For the Gameboy, it has launched a wave of portable game players as successors that are still popular today.

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Published on April 24, 2009
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Ubuntu Jaunty Jackalope Released

Ubuntu logo
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Ubuntu 9.04 was released this week, a month before the scheduled release of our preferred OS, Fedora.

Like the upcoming Fedora, a lot of the major updates were upstream. Gnome was updated to the latest version, for example. We’ve commented on that before.

“In version terms, Fedora 11 will be ahead of Ubuntu 9.04. Kernel 2.6.29 vs. 2.6.28, Firefox 3.1 instead of 3.0, Thunderbird 3.0 instead of 2.0, OpenOffice 3.1 vs. 3.0 and filesystem ext4 instead of ext3. Both ship with Gnome 2.26, KDE 4.2 and XFCE 4.6. But, we admit, new versions are not always better. Well, they are, that is the point. But sometimes new features result in new problems.”

The main focus of the new Ubuntu isn’t new features per se, although it does include Ext4 and their new notification system, but speed and stability. And all reports indicate they’ve achieved their goals.

We’ll be back next month with our review of Fedora 11, and we’ll see how the two compare when fully released.

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Published on April 24, 2009
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Twitter and IM Clients

Image representing Twhirl as depicted in Crunc...
Image via CrunchBase

We have been using IM for years, and migrated over to Pidgin some years ago when we were still on Windows as Trillian Pro was not being updated regularly.

So, yesterday, when we discovered a review of the Trillian Astra Beta, we thought we would explore the issue of clients for not just IM, but Twitter. The positives of the new Trillian, themes, notifications and replies, customizations, and email. Check it out.

Fedora has decided to make Empathy the new IM client in Fedora 11 over Pidgin, as it is more closely integrated with the desktop. Pidgin will still be available as an option though. We did a few tests of Empathy, but the version we had didn’t import from Pidgin, and we have years of log files we don’t want to lose, so we’ll hold off on migration decisions for now.  Empathy’s superiority is in design, not necessarily in use.

We used Pidgin for a while not only for IM, but for Twitter, when it first started, except the Twitter plugin was a bit buggy and kept crashing the whole program.

So, we sought to separate our Twitter from our IM. We tried several Twitter clients in Fedora. The only one that supported multiple accounts was Gwibber, and it had limits on how many messages could be displayed. So we went to Adobe Air and tried the immensely popular Tweetdeck. However, it does not have multiple account support, so we migrated to Twhirl.

Twhirl has everything we need. But Twhirl will likely soon be replaced by Seesmic Desktop, which is still in preview releases. We’ll be staying with Twhirl at least until its successor is out of preview. One blogger predicted that Seesmic will blow Tweetdeck out of the water. Everything on Seesmic is supposedly faster. Both Tweetdeck and Seesmic offer grouping functions, something Twitter itself should integrate, allowing those people you are following to be categorized by you. Seesmic is more a competitor for Tweetdeck than a straight successor to Twhirl.

Either way, there are a lot of IM and Twitter options out there. One has to find what works for them. So far, Pidgin and Twhirl work for us. Tell us what works for you.

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Published on April 24, 2009
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Video News

Matchbook showing the Blue Network logo, circa...
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    Sometimes, we just want to share some news, without much fanfare. Here are some of the little bits we’ve collected over the last two weeks you might find interesting.

    • Microsoft has clarified its position on third-party codecs in Windows 7. The problem is that in Windows 7, if the video you want to watch is naively supported by Windows, there’s no easy way choose a different codec. You’ll be able to add third-party support for a codec not supported initially, but replacing the defaults will apparently be difficult. On a positive note, we are certain someone will come up with an easy codec tweaker program to solve this, bt Microsoft clearly isn’t concerned.
    • MythBuntu is testing the beta of its Jaunty Jackalope 9.04 version. MythBuntu is a version of Ubuntu that is bundled with the software and setup for the MythTV suite, which is a Linux-based DVR.
    • Disney may end up with a stake in Hulu, the online streaming site, in exchange for adding ABC(which they own) content to the site. More Disney content may has been discussed but it centers on ABC; other possibilities could include ESPN, and, if not the Disney Channel, some offshoots of it. We’ll see what comes of that.
    • If not that, Youtube and Disney have announced a deal for the launch of multiple ad-supported U.S.-only channels featuring content from ESPN and Disney/ABC Television. Previews are up now, and the ESPN channel will launch mid-April, ABC in mid-May. There is no deal with Youtube on full episodes though links will be made back to the various channel homepages where additional content may be available.
    • Speaking of online content, the Times reported last week that some broadcasters and cable networks are worried that their push to put some of their programs online may be threatening the revenue they get from showing it on TV. This is why the cable companies are getting involved, by offering the content online people demand, but only as part of their subscription process. The networks may license the content to other organizations on a more ala carte basis, but only if their revenue is maintained.
    • ZeeVee released a retooled Internet video browser. Named Zinc, it appears to be a competitor to Boxee, the open-source media center/video browser. It works for Windows and a Mac version is scheduled for sometime this month.
    • Cox Communications is planning on rolling out tru2way set top cable boxes starting this summer. For those of you unfamiliar with the technology, tru2way is meant to expand the Cablecard system to allow a full range of options, including program guide and on demand, on televisions equipped with the techology, which includes a Cablecard for decryption. Unfortunately, like Cablecards, there is a lack of TVs equipped for this technology.
    • Hulu is now the fourth largest video site in the U.S., as statistics for the month of February prove. Since last May, Hulu has grown the number of videos it streams by 277 percent, and its audience has grown 410 percent.
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    Published on April 5, 2009
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    64-Bit Support

    AMD64 Logo
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    Arch Linux announced that a previous announcement that they were discontinuing support for the 32-bit/i686 architecture in their distribution was, in fact, a an April Fool’s joke.

    On a positive note, some users discovered that they were, in fact, running 64-bit processors, and many of them switched to the Arch Linux 64-bit version. As they put it in their original post, “the overall opinion of the developers is that the x86_64 port is now complete enough to justify this decision and that this is in keeping with Arch’s philosophy of supporting current generation hardware. The x86_64 architecture has been available since 2002 (compared to i686 which is from 1995), and we believe most of our i686 users have x86_64 compatible hardware.”

    If you are running a 64-bit processor, why shouldn’t you run the 64-bit version of your operatng system? While 64-bit Windows is still, for some reason, immature and undersupported, it is very mature on Linux, although some software has not be retooled to compile under it…Boxee comes to mind.

    Fedora 11, the next version of Fedora we’re so enthused about, they are revisiting their architecture support. The 32-bit version of Fedora will now be built for i586 by default, instead of i386, indicating a removal of official Fedora support for older 32-bit processors. Realistically, anyone who is still running an older processor…you should upgrade. The update should produce speed increases.

    The biggest advantage of 64-bit operating system is that it allows addressing of more than 3.5GB of RAM. With RAM becoming more and more affordable(Our first megabyte cost $80, now that’ll get you several gigabytes), the speed boost is a useful one. Further support under 32-bit Fedora for PAE-supporting 32-bit hardware(Pentium II/III/4, or Atom) will allow some support for more RAM under these processors.

    And finally, 64-bit OSes can run 32-bit software. Backward compatibility is assured.

    So, why not? Someone tell us.

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    Published on April 2, 2009
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    Here a Netbook, There a Netbook, Everywhere a Netbook

    comparison of the sizes of a package of handke...
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    CNet reports that the netbook is a hit with consumers, and likely will continue to be so for the foreseaable future. According to Displaysearch, they will comprise 20% of the 133 million notebooks to be shipped this year, amazing considering the netbook category had no market share in 2008. however, they predict consumers will return to buying notebooks with more features as the economy turns around.

    We, and many others disagree with the idea that netbooks are popular because of the economy. That’s certainly a small part of it, but we bought one, and we are not alone, for the portability. For many years, a tiny, reasonably powerful notebook costs big bucks. A 14″ laptop always cost us more than the same laptop in a 15″.

    Then comes the Eee, and launches the netbook category. We hate carrying around a 14-17″ laptop. It is portable, but most of the time, it is a pain to carry around. We don’t need a mobile computer for gaming. And even if we were gamers, we can have a computer at home to handle that. Netbooks are for productivity…perhaps video/sound on the go as well.

    We wonder if the manufacturers see these machines differently than we do. Asus announced the upcoming Eee 1004DN, the first of the netbooks to offer a built-in optical drive. One of the best things about the netbook is the form factor. Adding an optical drive will turn it into a more efficient video playback system, if that is what someone wants, but it endangers the form factor. Already, the netbook has grown. Going from a 7″ screen to 9″ and 10″ was a good improvement, and did not increase the size incredibly, but additional weight of continually adding features, as well as increased costs, will eliminate the distinctiveness of the class.

    Personally, we’ll just rip something and load it onto the hard drive or onto a flash card and stick it in the side. Otherwise, we have an external USB DVD burner we made out of a liberated notebook DVD drive and a converter case we bought online. It keps the equipment we have to carry to a minimum. We’re not the only ones who are concerned about the manufacturers destroying the idea of the netbook. The net is full of thoughts on the subject.

    Continue to push the envelope, add in better low-power processors as they become available…improve the graphics, the screen build quality, the battery life. But keep the size and price points.

    Meanwhile, OCZ launched a DIY netbook called the Neutrino. It has the standard netbook accoutrements…10 inch 1024×600 screen, Atrom N270, etc. Missing is a hard drive, RAM, multicard reader and an operating system, all of which you add as you wish. We’re in favor of customization, but the price point of $300 is a bit much for a system that doesn’t work out of the box considering the competition.

    However, that said, many of the netbooks are not geared toward upgrades. The MSI Wind we bought has no slots on the bottom to open. You have to remove the whole bottom to access the hard drive. Some of the systems have the SSD drives or the RAM soldered onto the main board. Upgrade paths allow users to buy now, improve later.

    Speaking of the Wind, MSI has announced the U123, a three pound laptop with a 6 or 9 cell battery, powered by the Atom N280 1.66Ghz CPU and the Intel 945GSE chipset. There’s 1GB of RAM expandable to 2GB, wireless, Bluetooth , camera, and a card reader. Essentially, the equivalent of the Eee 1000HE, although likely less expensive, as the Wind has been.

    There’s more to say about netbooks. Next time, we’ll discuss how we outfitted our MSI Wind in more detail to make it the best it could be.

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    Published on April 2, 2009
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    Ubuntu 9.04 vs. Fedora 10

    The Big Green Tree
    Image by tipiro via Flickr

    We came across a post from last week comparing the features of the upcoming Fedora 11 with the upcoming Ubuntu 9.04 and decided that the comparison was worth making. Ubuntu 9.04, codenamed Jaunty Jackalope, scheduled to be released April 23th, followed on May 26th by Fedora 11, codenamed Leonidas.

    In version terms, Fedora is ahead. Kernel 2.6.29 vs. 2.6.28, Firefox 3.1 instead of 3.0, Thunderbird 3.0 instead of 2.0, OpenOffice 3.1 vs. 3.0 and filesystem ext4 instead of ext3. Both ship with Gnome 2.26, KDE 4.2 and XFCE 4.6. But, we admit, new versions are not always better. Well, they are, that is the point. But sometimes new features result in new problems.

    Fedora is cutting edge. They are always going for better features, but despite what some critics say, that doesn’t always mean instability. Ubuntu’s focus is ease of use, not that Fedora in our opinion doesn’t have that as well, but it is Ubuntu’s most attractive feature to most…it focuses on ease of use for new users. Many features first tested in Fedora now are part of Ubuntu.

    Today, Phoronix released the results of its tests of the betas of each of the new distributions. Ubuntu, as of now, won 10 out of 15 of the tests they used, although they admitted that development builds of Fedora have debugging options enabled, which may slow its overall performance. We agree a more definitive result will be interesting once the two are in final release. Hopefully they’ll wait a few weeks after both are issued, to iron out any early issues.

    All Linux distributions have their issues. Take this blog post we found from one dissatisfied Linux tester who tried out a LiveCD. An issue with a network card, one likely easily fixed with a simple keyword search online, turned the author off to adopting the Linux lifestyle. But, compared to years ago, when everything had to be manually configured, 99% of hardware works under Ubuntu, Fedora, or the other major distributions out of the box. It has been a goal of them to get to this point.

    Many improvements are coming under the hood, so to speak. More efficient booting is a goal on both distributions, as is adoption of the ext4 filesystem and new versions of various softwares they have in common. We’ll be watching, either way.

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    Published on March 31, 2009
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    Sirius Radio Impresses Us With its Customer Service

    Sirius Satellite Radio
    Image by tbertor1 via Flickr

    One of the mixed joys of being tech people is being called upon to help other people with their technical problems. So, when a family member returned from a long vacation to discover that their Sirius Satellite Radio in their automobile was not working, telling them to call, they asked us to take over.

    We had called while they were away to negotiate their contract renewal. The first year came free with the car, and when it was time to sign an extension and actually give Sirius money, we spoke to them, analyzing their usage, and determined how to save them a little money by eliminating channels they weren’t even using. Ala Carte is a wonderful thing(we wish our cable company would see that).

    We weren’t sure how long the thing had been disconnected from the service, due to the vacation. When we called, after a technical support technician had us sitting in the car, we discovered the identification number the radio unit displayed didn’t match up with the one they had on file.

    And then we remembered that the dealership had taken the car in that summer because of a stuck CD in the slot-loading CD player on the same radio unit. They must have swapped out the unit. But if they did, how did the radio continue to work for months after that?

    Ultimately, they promised to transfer the renewal to the new radio that we didn’t know we had, and for our inconvenience, which we also didn’t know we had from them, an extra year of service. Since they technically did nothing wrong, we’re impressed they did something like this. Although, considering the reports of their financial situation, they may need the money.

    This extra year may cause us to consider additional radios and services. Certainly, we have a better view of the company than we did before. Now, if they could only get something for us to watch on their Backseat TV service.

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    Published on March 26, 2009
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    Back from the Boxee NYC Meetup

    Boxee
    Image via Wikipedia

    As you know, Gadget Wisdom was represented at tonight’s Boxee New York City meetup. We did a little tweeting from there, but tried to focus on the presentation.

    Now, this meet was chock full of goodies, networking and general wonder. Direct link to the video.

    • Boxee is unveiling a new API(application programming interface) “The new API enables developers to build apps using XML pages and Python scripts. developers can now do pretty much whatever they want UI-wise and control the data and metadata around the media.” This will be developed more over time, but it simplifies third-party development in Boxee, making it a community where anyone can contribute.
    • The new version includes an enhanced version of the Boxee browser. It is based in the XUL Framework…the basis for the Firefox and related Mozilla products. It will display any full web page, and try to play the video on it, and try to do so in full screen.
    • The launch of additional content, including Pandora radio, which was apparently its number one most requested music site to integrate.
    • The CEO of Boxee promised the application would be free forever, although extensions that allow access to paid content may come.
    • He also said they are not interested in sharing user data for profit.
    • Adult Filters and Privacy controls will be enhanced in the future.

    Now, you can read the CNet report of the event if you’d like an alternate view.

    We did get a chance to ask a question, got a free Size M t-shirt, and almost sung on stage during the talent competition for a free Mac Mini. Our question is bad news for us. Supporting alternate Linux distributions is not in the Boxee gameplan. They’ll be leaving that up to third-parties. So much for Boxee on Fedora support. We’d hope they’d express willingness to incorporate specific fixes for that into the Boxee source code…so Boxee under alternate distributions can find the libraries it is looking for without a whole bunch of symbolic links.

    Even worse, the Linux version is behind the other versions, as the Boxee developers seem to be focusing on the Mac version…not surprising considering Mac users appear to be their largest group. Boxee hopes to move from Alpha software to Beta by the end of the third quarter. Beta means increased stability, and a redesign of the basic elements of Boxee. Once the framework is at a certain level, it will be declared ready to move closer to the mainstream.

    In the meantime, if you have a Mac or Ubuntu, try it out. It should work mostly out of the box with these OSes. The Mac seems best supported though.

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    Published on March 24, 2009
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