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Posted on

Identi.ca updates for Thu, 23 Apr 2009…

At Thu Apr 23 10:09:38 +0000 2009, @ruiseabra said:
RT @mind_booster: OF COURSE there is a conflict of interests here! re: http://ff.im/2iWPP (conflito de interesse do Juiz que condenou o TPB)
At Thu Apr 23 10:10:19 +0000 2009, @ruiseabra said:
veneno? O Magalhães não passa de um Classmate montado em Portugal. Dentro de em breve vamos ter o NãoSeiQue montado em Espanha.
At Thu Apr 23 10:38:29 +0000 2009, @ruiseabra said:
Uma interessante análise imparcial de Tim Bray sobre o Oracle Sun: http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2009/04/22/Oracle-Sun
At Thu Apr 23 13:04:16 +0000 2009, @ruiseabra said:
@greve: be ready for bad weather (seems the weekend won’t be sunny after all).
At Thu Apr 23 15:42:17 +0000 2009, @ruiseabra said:
Atenção para quem tem placas gráficas da Intel, o novo Ubuntu 9.04 pode não ser para vocês: http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=NzIyMA
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Identi.ca updates for Wed, 22 Apr 2009…

At Wed Apr 22 7:40:49 +0000 2009, @ruiseabra said:
Lindo: Winning The War On Terror The New Labour Way: http://sierracharlie.wordpress.com/2009/04/10/terror/
At Wed Apr 22 15:32:06 +0000 2009, @ruiseabra said:
Cidadãos do Reino Unido sujeitos a censura de conteúdos na Internet. É a firewall da China, pensavam que era só lá? http://exameinformatica.clix.pt/noticias/internet/1002262.html
At Wed Apr 22 21:03:59 +0000 2009, @ruiseabra said:
Estou aqui com um Caixa Mágica do Classmate montado em Portugal, onde o ícone de rede desapareceu. Alguém conhece este problema?
At Wed Apr 22 21:04:49 +0000 2009, @ruiseabra said:
Não conheço bem o kde por isso nem percebo o que é que desapareceu…
At Wed Apr 22 21:43:19 +0000 2009, @ruiseabra said:
Descobri, é o net_applet (e tem de levar o –force)
Posted on

Identi.ca updates for Mon, 20 Apr 2009…

At Mon Apr 20 15:00:56 +0000 2009, @ruiseabra said:
#oracle buys #sun? Argh… http://www.sun.com/third-party/global/oracle/ what will this mean for #mysql, #potgresql, #java, #openoffice, #opensolaris and others…
At Mon Apr 20 15:04:04 +0000 2009, @ruiseabra said:
@carlopiana: come again? How disturbingly hijacked? URLs? That doesn’t seem like good news at all, indeed… 🙁
At Mon Apr 20 17:11:05 +0000 2009, @ruiseabra said:
Petição “Parque Urbano Carnide-Telheiras” http://www.peticao.com.pt/parque-carnide-telheiras
At Mon Apr 20 17:49:19 +0000 2009, @ruiseabra said:
FIT-PC2 is worthless for Free Software business: http://blog.1407.org/2009/04/20/fit-pc2-is-worthless-for-free-software-business/
At Mon Apr 20 20:29:59 +0000 2009, @ruiseabra said:
Yum… home made shrimp tikka massala with coconut bastmati rice. yum yum yum (apt?)
At Mon Apr 20 20:53:30 +0000 2009, @ruiseabra said:
@spam: new #spammer on the block: @4udecor
At Mon Apr 20 20:55:20 +0000 2009, @ruiseabra said:
@spam: new #spammer on the block: @annabellegray
At Mon Apr 20 22:08:31 +0000 2009, @ruiseabra said:
XKCD’s hilariou! «If androids someday DO dream of electric sheep, don’t forget to declare sheepCount as a long int.» http://xkcd.com/571/
At Mon Apr 20 22:09:42 +0000 2009, @ruiseabra said:
A malta que acompanha o #pec preocupa-me: o Parlamento Europeu é o ÚNICO órgão democrático na EU. Isto é importante, malta!
At Mon Apr 20 22:12:49 +0000 2009, @ruiseabra said:
#pec Política Europeia é: a Comissão Europeia e o Conselho Europeu não têm qualquer controlo efectivo.
At Mon Apr 20 22:20:27 +0000 2009, @ruiseabra said:
Berreiro no #pec novamente…
At Mon Apr 20 22:24:11 +0000 2009, @ruiseabra said:
#pec Ilda Figueiredo salientou (com direito a aplausos) um facto pouco claro (para a sociedade).
At Mon Apr 20 22:24:48 +0000 2009, @ruiseabra said:
No #pec, IF explicou que os governos é que vão via Comissão decidir as directivas que são propostas e aprovadas.
At Mon Apr 20 22:26:38 +0000 2009, @ruiseabra said:
#pec falemos de política Europeia: que vão os candidatos fazer para clarificar o #ACTA? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Counterfeiting_Trade_Agreement
At Mon Apr 20 22:30:24 +0000 2009, @ruiseabra said:
Há quem se destaque positivamente no #pec pelo silêncio…
At Mon Apr 20 22:33:18 +0000 2009, @ruiseabra said:
MP sai-se com algumas brilhantes no #pec: «este tipo de diálogo pode fomentar a abstenção»
At Mon Apr 20 22:35:33 +0000 2009, @ruiseabra said:
Ordem às pessoas para não bater palmas no #pec (eu ter-me-ia levantado e ido embora, passando em frente às câmeras).
At Mon Apr 20 22:39:19 +0000 2009, @ruiseabra said:
Boca brilhante do Nuno Melo no #pec
At Mon Apr 20 22:58:45 +0000 2009, @ruiseabra said:
A triste verdade das eleições europeia em Portugal chegará ao #pec ? Quando poderei votar em MEPs em vez de partidos?
Posted on

FIT-PC2 is worthless for Free Software business

FIT-PC2 looks quite interesting for making a Free Software multi-media product which could be sold. It’s small. Looks good, has enough interfaces for your needs, and is powerful enough to play FullHD quality movies. nice huh? Except that it will only work on Linux 2.6.24. Except that it will only work on some version of Xorg. Why? Because it uses an Intel GMA500 as it’s graphics card which is, up to today, only supported through either VESA or a proprietary driver.

Now, since the proprietary driver will hold you back to nearly obsolete software, it’s not a possibility. Since VESA is quite the last resort, forget about playing FullHD movies as the hardware decoder will not be available. You’ll only be able to count on the CPU, which isn’t strong enough.

I wrote them asking whether they’ll make a better model in the future, but I can only take their answer as either a sign of sad ignorance or petty insult. Therefore, I strongly recommend against buying the Fit-PC2, or any other device containing an Intel GMA500.


From: Rui Miguel Silva Seabra
Sent: Saturday, April 18, 2009 7:44 PM
To: info@fit-pc2.com
Subject: FIT-PC2 but without GMA500

Hello,

I was very interested into launching a product with something very
similar to the FIT PC2, it almost fit the bill perfectly.

But it has an Intel GMA500 which doesn’t work with Free Software, so it
is impossible to provide good support for it.

Will you do a better model?

Thanks,
Rui

So, the least I could expect is a «No, Sorry.» but hopefully I’d get an «We’re aware of the issue, and we’re studying alternatives.», huh? Well, no… this is what they preferred to answer:


Date: Mon, 20 Apr 2009 17:54:54 +0300
From: fit-PC2 info
To: Rui Miguel Silva Seabra
X-Mailer: Microsoft Office Outlook 12.0
Subject: RE: FIT-PC2 but without GMA500

Hello,

Thank you for your interest in fit-PC2.
GMA500 works in Linux with open source VESA drivers or with proprietary Intel drivers.
We do not intend to offer a different HW architecture in the near future.

Best regards,
«Name Withheld by me»
fit-PC Support Engineer

I guess the bold parts say it all, don’t they? Here’s my answer:


From: Rui Miguel Silva Seabra
Date: Mon, 20 Apr 2009 18:26:29 +0100
To: info@fit-pc2.com
Subject: Re: FIT-PC2 but without GMA500

Hello,
Thank you for your quick answer.

I must however point out that claiming GMA500 works with GNU/Linux with
VESA is tantamount to undue sarcasm as it will render the chip virtually
useless for multimedia stations.

I must ALSO point out that claiming GMA500 works with GNU/Linux with
proprietary drivers is misleading, at best, since it will only work with
very specific versions of the kernel Linux and the Xserver it was
prepared to work with.

Since you do not intend to offer a different HW architecture in the near
future, I must indeed question whether your reply was truly void of
insult as both options are quite useless.

Best regards,
Rui

Posted on

Identi.ca updates for Sat, 18 Apr 2009…

At Sat Apr 18 16:40:38 +0000 2009, @ruiseabra said:
I was interested on the #fitpc2 until I saw it had an #intel #gma500. I don’t need crapware that won’t work with Free Software.
At Sat Apr 18 18:45:06 +0000 2009, @ruiseabra said:
I love a few nice cups of Whittard of Chelsea’s Spiced Chai… better than coffee! 🙂
At Sat Apr 18 19:07:18 +0000 2009, @ruiseabra said:
Ow… I’m so late for dinner at a friend’s. but this tea just won’t be drunk all by itself. Sad… sad…
At Sat Apr 18 19:08:45 +0000 2009, @ruiseabra said:
Ok, 2/3 l drunk and the kettle is now empty. Ta dahh!
Posted on

Identi.ca updates for Fri, 17 Apr 2009…

At Fri Apr 17 7:50:03 +0000 2009, @ruiseabra said:
@rgrilo: há quem esteja a reportar dificuldades graves ao utilizar o novo portal das finanças com Software Livre.
At Fri Apr 17 8:01:03 +0000 2009, @ruiseabra said:
@bugabundo: podes mandar-me um mail com a descrição do problema? kthnxbye gottawork 🙂
At Fri Apr 17 13:56:03 +0000 2009, @ruiseabra said:
O mau carácter na minha equipa ainda agora me tentou “enterrar” perante o chefe. Ops, eu tenho provas da sua merda que me tentou atribuir.
Posted on

Identi.ca updates for Thu, 16 Apr 2009…

At Thu Apr 16 21:19:14 +0000 2009, @ruiseabra said:
Mais benefícios exclusivos à Microsoft (10 Milhões de Euros) questionados na Assembleia da República: http://blog.softwarelivre.sapo.pt/2009/04/16/mais-beneficios-exclusivos-a-microsoft-questionados-na-assembleia-da-republica/
At Thu Apr 16 21:20:38 +0000 2009, @ruiseabra said:
Mais benefícios exclusivos à Microsoft (10 Milhões de €) questionados na Assembleia da República http://blog.softwarelivre.sapo.pt/2009/04/16/mais-beneficios-exclusivos-a-microsoft-questionados-na-assembleia-da-republica/
At Thu Apr 16 21:21:41 +0000 2009, @ruiseabra said:
Exclusive benefits to Microsoft inquired at the Portuguese Parliament: http://blog.softwarelivre.sapo.pt/2009/04/16/mais-beneficios-exclusivos-a-microsoft-questionados-na-assembleia-da-republica/ (and also previously: http://blog.softwarelivre.sapo.pt/2009/04/16/2009/04/03/beneficios-exclusivos-microsoft-sap-chegam-ar/ )