MaximumPC 2007 07

102 MAXIMUMPC july 2007

We tackle tough reader questions on...

PCs in the Lab PGaming on Linux PF-22

Software PGeek Quiz Error? PTurntables

BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL!

How many PCs are running in your Lab at any given

moment? Inquiring minds want to know.

—Tony

Dave “To Hell with the Environment” Murphy

responds: Since Gordon is busy having a kid right

now, we’re wasting a little less electricity than

normal. To counteract the carbon reduction, I’m

currently setting forest fires and clubbing baby

seals with three active rigs. Katherine is but a

mere litterbug with one computer, though she

rolls with two or more monitors all the time. We’ll

upgrade her to “dumping toxic waste.” Michael

sends batteries to the landfill with just one com-

puter, and Will is doing his best to fight global

warming by keeping all of his machines in a

pristine, unplugged conditioned. Quoth him, “The

Power is Yours!” All told, the Lab PC count is five.

LINUX IS FOR GAMERS

I have to take issue with your article “Get Started

with Linux” (June 2007) even though it did show a

lot of what Linux can do. In particular, I disagree with

what you term a “limited amount of games.” I will

admit that I have OpenSuse and not Ubuntu and the

number of games available might seem limited in

terms of what’s available in the Windows world, but

110 free games came loaded with my system. There

are solitaire games, Tetris-like games, and more, so

I would dispute that the term “limited” really applies

in this case.

—John Meyer

EDITOR IN CHIEF WILL SMITH RESPONDS: Well,

I guess Linux’s gaming viability depends on

what you consider a game. Not to knock any

of our more casually oriented gamer brethren,

but when I knocked Linux for its lack of games,

I was specifically thinking of high-end AAA

games like Half-Life 2, Supreme Commander,

and World of Warcraft. I wasn’t thinking about

the Game of Life or Minesweeper clones.

SHHH, THEY’LL GET TO US TOO!

I just read your guide to copying and converting

media in the May 2007 issue and thought I would

share two observations regarding some of the soft-

ware mentioned.

As of March 31, the RipIt4Me website has been

closed and development of the program has been

discontinued, and as of April 19 the same goes

for FixVTS. No clear reasons or explanations were

given for the shutdowns.

—Julian Betances

EDITOR IN CHIEF WILL SMITH RESPONDS: Here’s

the scoop: The folks who built those two apps

were cease-and-desisted by persons unknown

mere days after we went to press. The good

news is that the apps are still available; you’ll

just have to use Google to find them. The bad

news is that this almost certainly means the

end of development for both of those apps. The

source code wasn’t available when they were

shut down, and the involved parties are almost

certainly prohibited from even discussing the

apps, much less releasing source code.

However, it’s not all bad news. To para-

phrase Jeff Goldblum’s goofy character from

Jurassic Park, hackers find a way. They always

find a way.

THE ONLY GEEK QUIZ COMPLAINT LETTER

WE RECEIVED THIS YEAR

I have a quick comment about your Geek Quiz article

(May 2007). You state that tip-ring-sleeve audio con-

nectors are mono and stereo. This is not true—tip/

ring/sleeve (TRS) connectors are stereo and tip/sleeve

(TS) connectors are mono only. The ring is what

allows for the second audio channel to be transmitted.

—Tim Henderson

EXECUTIVE EDITOR MICHAEL BROWN

RESPONDS: I agree that most TRS connectors

are stereo: The tip is used for one channel, the

The Real

Problem

with F-22s

I read Mr. Halfhill’s May 2007

column (“Multithreaded Booby

Traps”) with interest. I have sad

news for him regarding the head-

ings 180 East and 180 West. 180

is the only heading which is purely south and no other cardinal direction—always, no exceptions.

The F-22 error took place when the aircraft crossed the International Date Line, which is 180 degrees

longitude. The aircraft went from 180W longitude to 180E longitude. The software engineers should

be embarrassed.

Trust me.

—David McDonald

Lt Col, USAF Reserve (R) (that means very retired)

in outYOU WRITE, WE RESPOND

CUTCOPYPASTE

In the June 2007 issue, we inadvertently listed the

Ubuntu Linux distro’s homepage as http://www.ubuntu.org.

In fact, it’s http://www.ubuntu.com ; sorry for the

inconvenience.