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BSD-Pat writes "A new FreeBSD core team has been elected for the first time in the project's history. The BSDToday article can be found here. I'm personally excited that this seems to open up the playing field for developers to get involved on a deeper level with FreeBSD and choose the direction to take for the future." Update: 10/14 01:44 PM by H :BSD-Pat sent an update saying that the story was actually broken by Daily Daemon News.

Malk-a-mite was one of the first to e-mail about the announcement from AMD concerning their demonstration of a Dual Athlon workstation. It is using their "AMD-760 MP chipset, and next-generation Double Data Rate (DDR) memory. "Update: 10/11 06:26 PM by H : My mistake. This was a dupe article - the older story went up yesterday - Microprocessor Forum.

Fervent writes: "Daily Radar has an interesting article with Michael Abrash, one of the lead XBox technological designers. What's fascinating about this article is not what the XBox can do, but what it can't do. Abrash talks about programming limitations, HDTV, and goes against the NVidia ratio quote (the one where Gates said the GPU would be 3 times as fast as current NVidia hardware). Get your fill of the talk here." Update: 10/03 03:54 PM by CT : hemos was out of town all weekend. He missed this story when we posted it the first time HAHA! Update: 10/03 07:33 PM by H : /me hangs head in shame.

Trinition writes "Justin Frankel from Nullsoft, the creators of WinAmp, as gone and hacked away at his new Parent Company's popular AIM service. He's remove the ads. Read the ZDNet article for details." Apparently AOL yanked it from the firehose page, but it's on Zeropaid.Update: 09/22 02:40 AM by H :Thanks to a couple people who pointed out that it is still on firehose.

Oddly enough, Hemos and I are speaking at MIT tonight, but at different times and places. I'm speaking at 7pm at the lecture hall about whatever comes to mind (bring questions because my agenda is wide open). Hemos is speaking at Bartos Theater in the MIT Media Laboratory at 20 Ames St. on campus at 5pm as part of their Media In Transition series. Normally we tend not to plug stuff like this, but this should be fun, so if you happen to be in the area, swing by either talk. I promise to embarrass myself by stuttering and rambling, proving that I speak just as badly as I write!

Bruce Schneier, well-known security and encryption expert, and author of Applied Cryptography has recently had his newest book published, entitled Secrets & Lies: Digital Security in a Networked World, which explores the world of security as a system. Read the entire review below. Secrets & Lies: Digital Security in a Networked World author Bruce Schneier pages 412 publisher Johy Wiley & Sons, 09/2000 rating 10 reviewer Jeff "hemos" Bates ISBN 0471253111 summary A well written, well researched exploration of digital security as a system.

I've recently had the pleasure of reading Bruce Schneier's latest writing effort Secrets and Lies: Digital Security in a Networked World. A number of our readers may remember his prior book Applied Cryptography , which discussed the use of cryptography in our brave new digital world, and how the use of crytography would make things secure.

This time around, Schneier is much more cicumspect about the uses and application of cryptography. As he states in the introduction and throughout the book, when writing AC, he thought that the use of cryptography would make things more secure. He was correct - but the lesson he learned while working with companies and individuals, that we can't just add cryptography into a system and make it secure, but that systems must be designed from the bottom-up with security in mind. S&L draws upon a huge amount of experience working in the security field, making one central point: Any system, no matter how good the cryptography is, is only as strong as the weakest link. Yes, that's an old cliche, but it's one that bears repeating.

What makes it even more imperative to design system to be secure is the sheer amount of systems that aren't secure, and what the means for us. Some of the examples Schneier uses in S&L are simply frightening to consider were they to occur. And some of his ideas about what will come, and the tools we have will make you want to keep a good stash of gold kruggerands under your mattress.

Indeed, as he talks about in the introduction, part of the reason this book too so long to write was because he was depressed at the world of security around him. Looking at what companies were doing, at what people were doing, and the sheer amount of systems holes out there must be depressing - but it only drives home the point even moreso that we must design *systems* not just adding cryptography and thinking that's the magic pixie dust that can make everything better.

The book does an exceptional job of wending its way through various security measures, how they work, and how they fail. IMHO, one of the real strengths of this book is that it's something that a cryptography novice could read, as well as an expert. Certain sections of the book are dedicated to the nitty gritty behind systems, but there are also sections that are dedicated to simply laying out the process by which one should approach the systems. Indeed, the support blurb on the dust jacket is written by Jay S. Walk, the founder of priceline.com. This adds to the strength of the claim that the book can be for everyone.

Schneier is intimately involved with the security community - besides being the creater of the [Blowfish] and [Twofish] encryption algorithms and a frequent speaker at technical conferences, his company deals with this day in and day out. More to the point for a book, he can also write. It makes reading about Product Testing and Verification (Chapter 22) rather than a snooze, a treat. The book is one of those rare cross-overs - something to give your geek friends, and your [PHB], all of whom will appreciate it. The breadth of the book is revealed in the contents (Duh) and it's a good mixture of all the necessary elements. You'll learn about entropy in a system as well as Attack Trees, Threat Modeling and what all of this stuff means in day-to-day life.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book.

The Table of Contents and the preface are available on Counterpane's site; S&L's Chapter Three is on Amazon.

Purchase this book at ThinkGeek.

A retierd War Corespondant writes "KDE has issued a formal response to RMS' latest editorial on KDE and GPLed QT. Favorite Quote: "This entire thing is just too absurd and we refuse to play this game." They also point to the listing of licenses and Authors within KDE." Update: 09/06 11:38 AM by H :Some of the authors have written as well.

A reader writes "Check the latest Kurt's Closet; he points to some interesting flaws on Debian 2.2, from a security point of view. " Kurt's Closet is part of SecurityPortal - he's got some good points, but it's also good to remember, as the article points out, that nothing is automagically secure. Always do testing on your own.Update: 08/30 01:44 PM by H :Thanks to Ben Collins, Debian guy, for sending a response which I've included below.Update: 08/30 04:32 PM by H :Kurt has written an update that will be appearing on the site soon. In the meantime, he also sent me the text - read below for more. From Ben Collins, To Kurt Seifred:

If you would have bothered to check the changelogs for the packages you noted as having "root hacks in them", you would have noticed that every daemon you pointed out is not vulnerbale to the holes you point out. Here is a list:

apache (1.3.9-13) frozen unstable; urgency=medium

* [RC, security] Backported security fix for Cross Site Scripting issue (CERT Advisory CA-2000-02) from apache 1.3.11 patch.
* Added default charset iso-8859-1 to initial configs.
* [RC, critical] Perl dependency reordered to "perl5 | perl", closes: #61421, #62427, #60575.
* Postinst no longer complains on missing /etc/aliases, closes: #60575.
* Cron script detects logfile lines with whitespace, closes: #59995.
* Fixed apxs filename edited when enabling modules (missing /g in rules sed); suppressed linking to -ldbm, closes: #53172.
* The apxs in apache-dev no longer needs apache binary, closes: #47221.
* Perms registered for suexec changed to 4755 from 4555, closes: #60147.
* Added text from beleagured Debian Webmasters to intro.html, making it clear the project is not responsible for installations, closes: #61414. * LICENSE file of manual included since 1.3.9-1, closes: #42940, #60994, #60995.

-- Johnie Ingram Sun, 16 Apr 2000 08:29:56 -0500

* Use setproctitle(%s,foo) in main.c, lamagra@DIGIBEL.ORG advisory.

-- Johnie Ingram Wed, 5 Jul 2000 18:50:07 -0500 As for netscape 4.75, it is *already* available in our potato-proposed-updates directory. Now I suggest you change the utter bullshit you have on your review to reflect the real information, and next time do some more digging before you make false accusations and spread misinformation like this.

From Kurt

Well, it looks like I made some significant mistakes in this article. I'm not a long time Debian user, so I am somewhat unfamiliar with it. It appears Debian backports fixes, and that Apache 1.3.9 and ProFTPD 1.2.10pre10 are not subject to the various vulnerabilities I mentioned. Unfortunately I did not read all the changelogs in question (in /usr/share/doc/*/). If I had, I would have noticed this.

Folks, I assumed (assuming is bad, I know) that Debian does updates like most distro's. I expected that if Apache 1.3.12 comes out with bugfixes, that they would issue a 1.3.12 package, not backport the changes to 1.3.9. I've also been writing a weekly Linux security digest for several months now, and while there have been Debian advisories regarding Potato, most of them mention the changes being merged in, rather than warranting a new release. I should have noticed that.

While RBL's failure isn't Debian's fault, my point is that they go to great lengths in some areas to make the distro "more secure", but are missing other very key elements.

I officially apologize to the Debian community, and am glad to have been made aware of an important point: Debian backports fixes, and it is necessary to read all the changelog files in question.

-- Kurt

A reader writes "Check the latest Kurt's Closet; he points to some interesting flaws on Debian 2.2, from a security point of view. " Kurt's Closet is part of SecurityPortal - he's got some good points, but it's also good to remember, as the article points out, that nothing is automagically secure. Always do testing on your own.Update: 08/30 01:44 PM by H :Thanks to Ben Collins, Debian guy, for sending a response which I've included below.Update: 08/30 04:32 PM by H :Kurt has written an update that will be appearing on the site soon. In the meantime, he also sent me the text - read below for more. From Ben Collins, To Kurt Seifred:

If you would have bothered to check the changelogs for the packages you noted as having "root hacks in them", you would have noticed that every daemon you pointed out is not vulnerbale to the holes you point out. Here is a list:

apache (1.3.9-13) frozen unstable; urgency=medium

* [RC, security] Backported security fix for Cross Site Scripting issue (CERT Advisory CA-2000-02) from apache 1.3.11 patch.
* Added default charset iso-8859-1 to initial configs.
* [RC, critical] Perl dependency reordered to "perl5 | perl", closes: #61421, #62427, #60575.
* Postinst no longer complains on missing /etc/aliases, closes: #60575.
* Cron script detects logfile lines with whitespace, closes: #59995.
* Fixed apxs filename edited when enabling modules (missing /g in rules sed); suppressed linking to -ldbm, closes: #53172.
* The apxs in apache-dev no longer needs apache binary, closes: #47221.
* Perms registered for suexec changed to 4755 from 4555, closes: #60147.
* Added text from beleagured Debian Webmasters to intro.html, making it clear the project is not responsible for installations, closes: #61414. * LICENSE file of manual included since 1.3.9-1, closes: #42940, #60994, #60995.

-- Johnie Ingram Sun, 16 Apr 2000 08:29:56 -0500

* Use setproctitle(%s,foo) in main.c, lamagra@DIGIBEL.ORG advisory.

-- Johnie Ingram Wed, 5 Jul 2000 18:50:07 -0500 As for netscape 4.75, it is *already* available in our potato-proposed-updates directory. Now I suggest you change the utter bullshit you have on your review to reflect the real information, and next time do some more digging before you make false accusations and spread misinformation like this.

From Kurt

Well, it looks like I made some significant mistakes in this article. I'm not a long time Debian user, so I am somewhat unfamiliar with it. It appears Debian backports fixes, and that Apache 1.3.9 and ProFTPD 1.2.10pre10 are not subject to the various vulnerabilities I mentioned. Unfortunately I did not read all the changelogs in question (in /usr/share/doc/*/). If I had, I would have noticed this.

Folks, I assumed (assuming is bad, I know) that Debian does updates like most distro's. I expected that if Apache 1.3.12 comes out with bugfixes, that they would issue a 1.3.12 package, not backport the changes to 1.3.9. I've also been writing a weekly Linux security digest for several months now, and while there have been Debian advisories regarding Potato, most of them mention the changes being merged in, rather than warranting a new release. I should have noticed that.

While RBL's failure isn't Debian's fault, my point is that they go to great lengths in some areas to make the distro "more secure", but are missing other very key elements.

I officially apologize to the Debian community, and am glad to have been made aware of an important point: Debian backports fixes, and it is necessary to read all the changelog files in question.

-- Kurt

brennan73 writes "Last week, Tom's Hardware wrote a very critical review of the Pentium3 1.13GHz, specifically mentioning serious stability issues. Today, HardOCP wrote an article of their own backing Tom up and describing their own experiences; they even got Anand in on it. Probably the most interesting thing to me is that none of the tested sample CPUs was able to run Tom's Linux kernel compilation test. After Rambus, this is the last thing Intel needs. Are they shooting themselves in the foot AGAIN?". Update by: HeUnique : Tom has updated the story, so I recommend to read the update.Update: 08/28 06:44 PM by H :Check out the latest burst from ZDNet - it appears that Intel will be recalling the Pentium3 1.13 Ghz. Thanks Evan.

Richard Finney writes "Reuters News Sevice is reporting that Transmeta is filing for an IPO." They are looking to raise $200 million - the rest of the details are sketchy.Update: 08/17 09:59 PM by H :Check out the FreeEdgar filing.

Jim Tyre writes: "Judge Kaplan's ruling is out." The actual judgment is a separate document. Note that the judgment forbids Defendants and anyone acting in concert with them from posting or linking to the DeCSS code.Update: 08/17 07:57 PM by H :Taken from an earlier post: The ruling is availible online. The New York Times has a concise statement concering the case - essentially, the judge rejected the arguement that computer code counts as free speech, and therefore should be protected by the First Amendment. However, it should be noted that this ruling was *expected* by the 2600 folks, as Martin Garbus, one of the lawyers noted. (Garbus, it should be noted, has been before the Supreme Court /19/ times). This will mean that the Appeal will go higher, and that means that if/when the judgement is overturned, it will affect more than just NY, as this would have.

A quote from the conclusion:

VI. Conclusion

In the final analysis, the dispute between these parties is simply put if not necessarily simply resolved.

Plaintiffs have invested huge sums over the years in producing motion pictures in reliance upon a legal framework that, through the law of copyright, has ensured that they will have the exclusive right to copy and distribute those motion pictures for economic gain. They contend that the advent of new technology should not alter this long established structure.

Defendants, on the other hand, are adherents of a movement that believes that information should be available without charge to anyone clever enough to break into the computer systems or data storage media in which it is located. Less radically, they have raised a legitimate concern about the possible impact on traditional fair use of access control measures in the digital era.

Each side is entitled to its views. In our society, however, clashes of competing interests like this are resolved by Congress. For now, at least, Congress has resolved this clash in the DMCA and in plaintiffs? favor. Given the peculiar characteristics of computer programs for circumventing encryption and other access control measures, the DMCA as applied to posting and linking here does not contravene the First Amendment. Accordingly, plaintiffs are entitled to appropriate injunctive and declaratory relief.

SO ORDERED.

Dated: August 17, 2000

JSC writes: "IBM has developed a quantum computer consisting of five atoms that work as the processor and memory. It's a nice advance of the state of the art...unfortunately, we won't see them on the shelves for about 20 years." Update: 08/15 06:49 PM by H :Check out the official IBM release - thanks to netMonkey for the update.

KS writes: "Old time GNOME hacker and Slashdot familiar Guillaume Laurent has finally written up an explanation on why he left the GTK-- project. In summary, he disagrees with some of the fundamental features of GTK-- but sees a bright future for Red Hat's Inti. I don't know why but I always find these sorts of things eye opening." Update: 08/10 02:50 PM by H :Guillaume wrote me asking me to mention the an update to the story.

StoryMan was the first of a flood of readers to note: "Napster ruling has been stayed. Doesn't have to close by midnight! Woohoo!" As of 10:15 GMT, CNN is displaying a note that says "The injunction barring Napster from trading music online has been stayed. Details to come." Watch this space for updates.Update: 07/28 10:26 PM by H :Thanks to Sgt. Owen for the first real link about the stay. Update: 07/28 10:58 PM by t : And to michael hirschorn, who points to this story at inside.com.

Today Jeffrey "Hemos" Bates got married to Adrienne Lane. We've posted several pictures for those of you who are visually inclined. I'd also recommend everyone send hemos@slashdot.org a congratulatory email to help celebrate this great occasion (and mainly because we wanna see how much mail we can get into his box). Now we're off to the reception ;) (BTW, thanks to CowboyNeal for getting these up asap. The photographers were me, Mandrake and Chris DiBona). Update: 06/25 03:01 by CT : The reception was nice. Keep those email to hemos coming.

A number of people wrote in about the New York Times article regarding IBM's new storage breakthrough. They've been working on their microdrives for some time now, and it appears to be paying off. 1 gig in something the size of a pack of matches. Cool.Update: 06/20 04:58 by H :Check out the press release from IBM, thanks to Asbestosrush.

Well, those wacky Gnome boys have gone and done it again - you can grab Gnome 1.2.0 from the FTP site. Nat e-mailed me last night to say that it was coming out. As well as the above distro-friendly link, we've got a link for the stable sources ftp site.Update: 05/25 12:25 by H :Hey, I got e-mail from the Gnome folks again - they're going to update the mirrors and everything in half an hour (9 a.m. EDT), so hold off until then on downloading.Update: 05/25 02:12 by H : Check out HelixCode for an update on the release.

Well, those wacky Gnome boys have gone and done it again - you can grab Gnome 1.2.0 from the FTP site. Nat e-mailed me last night to say that it was coming out. As well as the above distro-friendly link, we've got a link for the stable sources ftp site.Update: 05/25 12:25 by H :Hey, I got e-mail from the Gnome folks again - they're going to update the mirrors and everything in half an hour (9 a.m. EDT), so hold off until then on downloading.Update: 05/25 02:12 by H : Check out HelixCode for an update on the release.

Rock-n-Rolf writes " Another PHP 4.0.0 has been released. The web site doesnt show it yet but php-4.0.0.tar.gz can be grabbed from the ftp server here. " Update: 05/22 07:46 by H :Folks, I've been told by the PHP folks that this is *NOT* the final release - so I've changed the title. I'll be updating this story with more information as it comes in.Update 05/22 3:30 by jimjag: The actual 4.0.0 version is out and has been released. The PHP site now reflects the news. If you're still running PHP 3, PHP 4 provides a substantial improvement!

Rackemup writes: "For those days when you're thinking to yourself, 'Y'know, one monitor just doesn't cut it anymore... I wish there was a way to hook up a bunch of LCD screens to my computer. Check out the MassMultiples website. Now you can hook up two, three, four or more 18" lcd screens to your pc! Custom configurations, low footprint, and not a price to be found anywhere on the web site. Like anyone cares how much they would cost ..." Update: 05/04 02:17 by H : I actually saw their quad system last week -- it looks really, really good -- quality work.

Cybersonic writes: "Cnet has an interesting story where they are thinking about going after yet another company making a translucent PC. " It's a company from Australia that makes something called "FishPC". It's not a standalone machine like the iMac is, which the company pointed out when interviewed.Update: 04/24 03:54 by H :I've been told that the case is actually AMD's EasyNow! design - thanks to Chris Tom for the head's-up. Wonder why they aren't suing AMD?

A little blatant self promotion today:Jon Katz has completed co-authoring, along with many Slashdot readers, a paperback version of Voices from the Hellmouth. The book is based on both the Slashdot reader comments and Katz's original columns Voices from the Hellmouth, More stories from the Hellmouth and The Price of Being Different which were written last year following Columbine. It is $14.95 (and comes complete with a cover designed by my girlfriend). The proceeds are being donated to an as-yet-undetermined charity.Update: 04/20 06:40 by H :I've addressed issues of comment posting below - please read more.

Yes, comments from Slashdot are used. They are short, terse quotes that provide in /no/ way indentification. That would cross privacy boundaries I'm not wiling to cross. We choose to use them to try and express to the rest of the world who will read this book the sort of things that happen to real people.

I tried to contact some of the commenters originally, but ran into dismal success. As well, many people were posting anonymously. Obviously, they were impossible to reach.

So - summary: Yes, comments were used. They were posted in a public forum, which means that anyone can quote from them - but we've removed any sort of identifying marks, to protect people. This was down to impress upon those reading the gravity of the situation.

cencini writes: "According to this article, U.S. engineers developed a device for $7,500 which generated UHF signals strong enough to jam mobile GPS systems. My question is, couldn't you build something like that for less?!" Update: 04/20 02:42 by H : The folks at New Scientist wrote with the original article - the device actually blocks UHF signals, but can be modified for other bands.

We've heard rumors that Linuxcare's upcoming IPO has been shelved for now, and that Linuxcare's CEO and CIO have been removed. This comes right after the roadshow was delayed, which now appears to be cancelled. At this time, I haven't heard back from Linuxcare, so haven't heard their side of the story. However, several reliable sources have said that there've been "irregularities" in revenue recognition, something that the linked article also touches on.Update: 04/07 11:22 by H :I've talked with Art Tyde, Founder of LinuxCare. He confirms that the IPO has been delayed - but that they believe an IPO is in their future. He also did confirm that the CEO, Ferdinand Sarrat, has parted ways with Linuxcare, but that the CIO has remained onboard, and that the management team remains committed to the values of the community and what the company was founded on.

Jon Rochmis from wired wrote in to tell us that Declan McCullagh has a story up now: Microsoft Loses. There really isn't a lot of details, except that the news is officially out, and that the penalties (and of course many more lawsuits) will be forthcoming.Update: 04/03 09:08 by H :Check out the official government site for the ruling -- in excruciating detail. CNNfn also has got an analysis up.

streetlawyer submeteu uma ligação completamente surpreender: os staffers aparentemente desconhecidos de Andover.Net têm usado a característica offtopic undocumented da discussão no slash comunicar-se em Slashdot Marketing. A verdade é revelada de repente toda.Update: 04/01 03:37 by H : Or perhaps:streetlawyer submitted a completely surprising (connection?): apparently, unknown Andover.net staffers have been using slash's undocumented offtopic discussion feature to communicate in Slashdot Marketing. All the truth is suddenly revealed.

A huge number of people have submitted over the last few days/weeks that BeOS5.0 will be free. You can grab it from free.be.com - although I hope you've got a fast connection.Update: 03/28 01:22 by H :It doesn't appear to be ready yet - and we have an anonymous source at Be, who claims that there were some show-stopping bugs in the code, even up until last night. Could be hoax though, as it appears to be rolling now. They also announced that they are open sourcing (No license that I can see) the User Interface components Tracker and Deskbar, which have their own web sites. I've heard word that the free.be.com isn't working - check out http://www.be.com/products/freebeos/ for a more secure connection.

Quite a number of people have been writing about the alleged knowledge that NASA had regarding the Mars Polar Lander. Several reports are claiming, based on leaked information that NASA knew the thrusters would not work, and that the Mars Polar Lander would fail. My question: What would they gain by covering it up? I mean, if it was going to fail, people were going to find out anyway.Update: 03/22 08:13 by H : NASA has responded with a press release (included below) deconstructing the "leak". Once again, it looks like NASA is getting a bad rap.

RELEASE: 00-43

NASA'S RESPONSE TO UPI'S MARCH 21 MARS POLAR LANDER STORY

James Oberg of UPI claims that NASA knew there was a problem with the Mars Polar Lander propulsion system prior to the Dec. 3 landing attempt and "withheld this conclusion from the public." NASA categorically denies this charge. Here's what NASA did and what NASA said:

* The Stephenson report, phase 1, was released to the public on November 10, 1999 during a press conference at NASA Headquarters.

* The report made 11 different references to technical issues or concerns involving the propulsion system and the Entry, Descent and Landing (EDL) sequence.

* This issue was specifically addressed in the press conference and in "MPL Observation No. 5" and other public recommendations of the Stephenson Phase 1 report. It was entitled, "Cold Firing of Thrusters," and dealt in detail with the catalyst bed issue cited by Mr. Oberg of UPI in his March 21 story, "NASA Knew Mars Polar Lander Doomed."

* Had UPI researched the public documents released on Nov. 10, which have been available online at the NASA Home Page, the reporter would have been able to conclude that NASA did indeed publicly address propulsion issues, and specifically, the propulsion system's "catalyst bed" temperature concern.

* Based on this review, NASA knew about the concerns with the propulsion system, NASA took corrective action, and NASA hid nothing from the public. We made our concerns known in early November.

* Several failure scenarios have been reported in the press over the last few weeks, including the lander legs microswitch issue. Outlets such as the Denver Post, Space Daily, and National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" have covered this angle. There is nothing new in the UPI report relating to this specific issue. The lander legs issue is among the failure modes we are studying.

* Both the Stephenson and Casani (John Casani, retired JPL flight programs head and also director of mission assurance) teams have conducted intensive reviews relating to Mars Polar Lander, and their teams have surfaced no evidence relating to thruster acceptance testing irregularities as alleged by UPI. In fact, members of the review teams are using words like "bunk," "complete nonsense," and "wacko," to describe their reactions to UPI's charge.

Flexing my cerebellum, I recently reviewed Daniel Gray's book concering Affiliate and Associate Programs on the Internet. The book itself is entitled Associate and Affiliate Programs on the Net: Turning Clicks into Cash and does a good job not only of categorizing but also of explaining how to use these services.

Associate and Affiliate Programs on the Net: Turning Clicks Int author Daniel Gray pages 224 publisher McGraw-Hill, 01/2000 rating 8/10 reviewer Jeff "hemos" Bates ISBN 0071353100 summary The author takes stock of the Affiliate/Associate programs on the Internet making recommendations on what programs do work and don't work,and what ones will actually, maybe, make your Web site profitable.

The Scenario So, you've got your fancy-pants new Web site, and you've got a fair amount of traffic. Sure, you're no google or anything, but people are checking your page frequently, and you're pretty proud.

The one problem is that nasty bandwidth bill you're getting every month. You've thought about taking advertisers and such, but let me tell you from personal experience, it's hard to get good rates on ads. And then you're spending so much time trying to chase down those advertisers that your page suffers from lack of updates.

As an Internet user, you've probably been unable to avoid hearing about the various kickback -- er, I mean Associate -- Programs. Originally peculiar to adult Web sites, the programs have spread to all sorts of different Web sites. Amazon is famous for theirs, but everyone from 1-800-Flowers to Fatbrain to CD-Now to Sharper Image has a similar program up and running.

The premise is pretty simply -- you send traffic to someone's Web site, and they purchase something. Usually, as owner of a site with an affiliate link, you would get a set percentage of the amount the referred visitor spends, and can login to the other person's server to find out how much you've racked up. The practice can be suprisingly lucrative, provided it's done correctly. Careful promotion of the links is what matters. Doing it in a way that doesn't screw your readers is paramount, IMHO.

What's Bad? The major problem with the book, and other books like this is timeliness. The sheer speed with which things change on the Internet means that information that was current when this book was published may be out of date now. And though I looked for one, I didn't see reference to a Web site published in conjunction with the book that would be updated with changes.

That said, the author does talk about several Web-based services that essentially accomplish this task, serving as overseers of different affiliate programs.

What's Good? The book lays out in a clear and organized fashion not only how to sign up for various affiliate programs, but also how to use these programs within your Web site. That's an area that is typically forgotten -- After that crucial first step of signing up, how do you place the links in a such a way that you maximize their usefulness, and with a minimum of reader annoyance?

Additionally, the rating of the top 100 affiliate/associate programs is very useful. There's a compendium of information on this collection of sites, listing the various programs by URL and giving information about their typical rates of return. Helpfully, there is also information about each site's back-end administrative work -- something very useful for all involved.

So What's In It For Me? Well, honestly, money. That's the name of the game when it comes to paying the bandwidth bill, and that's what this book tries to do -- present to you the best way to earn money from your Web site.

Table of Contents
Chapter Descriptions taken from book.

Chapter One: Explains how affiliate programs work, why they make sense, and how you can make them work for you.

Chapter Two: Provides hints and tips on how to build an effective affiliate site. You'll learn how to build community, select merchants, generate traffic, and add productive links.

Chapter Three: Lays out additional traffic generation strategies, explaining how search engines and other links can send your Web site a steady stream of qualified visitors.

Chapter Four: Tells how to keep track of the statistics -- both on your Web server and with the affiliate programs themselves.

Chapter Five: Allows you to peek inside some of the Web's best affiliate programs, with profiles of fourteen merchants.

Chapter Six: Tells real-life success stories from affiliate sites around the world. You'll learn what works from the folks who have made it work.

Chapter Seven: Contains the "Top 100 Directory." This directory focuses on quality over quantity, delivering key details on one hundred of the best affiliate programs.

K2 (and many others -- Thanks!) wrote with news about Gnutella: "Just when open-sourcing was becoming mainstream, they pull the plug on it. I just read this on Wired: Open-Source 'Napster' Shut Down. If anybody got the download yesterday, could you make it available somewhere? (That must be legal based on the licensing it was given away under.) Thanks." According to this article, Gnutella was "an unauthorized freelance project and the Web site that allowed access to the software has been taken down." Note also the media companies linked to AOL (Warner and EMI).Update: 03/16 03:01 by H :Check out our original story about it.

suix was the first person to write about Salon's new section. They are calling it the "The Free Software Project", which apparently is also the title of Andrew Leonard ^[?] 's new book. From what I can tell the section is simply a collection of the Free Software articles published on Salon, most of which are by Leonard, with a couple other people thrown in there. I dunno - it just like it's an archive to me, but hey, it does get its own section name now. *grin*Update: 03/06 03:39 by H :Thanks to Salon for pointing the new sections that are online - I sit corrected.

scromp writes, "Microsoft really does innovate! See for yourself! " I can't decide if this is supposed to be a joke or not. I mean, it's funny, but I just can't tell. Perhaps I need a cup of coffee before I try to post stories.Update: 03/03 06:11 by H :To be fair to Microsoft, they did talk about symlinks.

Mr_Ceebs writes, "Looking at the BBC today I find a new Magnetic rather than electronic chip type. The design can raise the number of chips per cm by a factor of about 1000, with the preliminary stages of the technology. For all devices this would mean the demise of the large battery pack. " H : This is a follow-on to this morning's story on moldable magnets.

A Stanford University study released Tuesdy found that the Net is causing Americans to spend less time with friends and family. The more time spent on the Net, says the study, the more isolated we are. Is this so? You don't have to be described by pundits, academics and journalists. You can speak for yourselves here:Update: 02/17 04:30 by H :Oh, check out the story about dogs and people on Wired today - it's hilarious.

The Stanford study, prepared by the university's Institute for the Quantitative Study of Society, found that 55% of Americans now have access to the Net. Of those, 36% said they were online at least five hours a week.

The study strongly challenged the assertions of Net advocates and enthusiasts (like me) who argue that the Net creates, communicates, promotes contact and is frequently used by people to connect, rather than disconnect with other humans.

According to Stanford researchers, Internet users are lonelier than other Americans, and are spending more time away from them. Interestingly (and, to me, dubiously), the survey defined loneliness in this way: whether you spend physical time with family and friends, whether you attend fewer social events, whether you spend less time reading newspapers and watching TV, shopping in stores, or are working more at home than before. In other words, the survey defines a radically new environment by nearly ancient measures of human contact.

The Stanford study didn't appear to consider e-mail or other virtual contact - gaming, communities, mailing lists, messaging systems, as contact with other humans. It suggested that the Net was invading the home with work and creating a pervasive new wave of social isolation.

Do online contacts - e-mail, communities like this, messaging systems, mailing lists - not count as connective, or as making contact with people? Are virtual friends friends? Is it more social to watch TV or read a paper than to be online, no matter what you do there?

I've met my closest friends online, and joined some of the most enduring communities of my adult life on the Net. From the first, I've seen it as a way for me to connect with other people, not get away from them.

But here's a chance to say for yourselves whether you consider the Net isolating or not, rather than to have studies or others describe that experience for you:

Namaste writes, "As reported on MacNN. Connectix who after a recent legal victory over Sony has signed an OEM agreement with Red Hat in which Connectix Virtual Game Station (VGS) will ship bundled with Red Hat Linux. The press release can be found here. The Macintosh version has been out for a while and seems to be quite a hit. Both the Linux and Win2k versions with be shipping in March. " Update: 02/16 03:21 by H :OK, this issue got confused: Red Hat won't be bundling VGS with Red Hat. Instead, Connectix will be bundling Red Hat with their Virtual PC emulator. VPC is not released for Linux at this time. I'll make sure Rob gets some more coffee before posting again. *grin*

Alex Prestin writes, "In an effort to control the recent distributed Denial of Service attacks which everyone's heard about, the FBI has released Linux and Solaris tools to detect the presence (or absence) of the various DDoS daemons. They're available in binary form only (for now). You can get them here." Quote from the page: "Recipients are asked to report significant or suspected criminal activity to their local FBI office." Update: 02/10 07:37 by H :Here's some more information:The author of the DDoS analyses (at staff.washington.edu/dittrich) has released a network scanner to scan for active agents on your network. It includes source, and is available here. PLEASE use it responsibly.

Bryan Mattern writes "I went to do an FTP install this morning and noticed RedHat 6.2beta on the FTP mirrors. There is no official word yet from Red Hat, but I'm downloading it right now. Might be nice to check out if you can grab it. " Update: 02/09 06:32 by H :You can also grab it from SourceForge's mirror.

A lot of people have got the story at ZDNet about Altavista's latest move. In their continued bid to re-cast themselves as a portal, they've decided to open the source code to the search engine. They have created a network, calling it the Altavista Affiliate Network, for obvious reasons. Join the network, run the the Altavista engine and be paid three cents per click-thru. 'Course I have to imagine it'll take some powerful machines to run this well, but we'll see.Update: 02/01 08:23 by H : ZD Net seems to have pulled the story - I did however get a letter from Altavista explaining what's going on. Click below to read more.

Hi there,

The new affiliate program is based on a syndicated model, where we are providing the HTML and search box interface to Web sites, large and small to enable their users to access AltaVista's premier services including search, stock quotes, language translation, multimedia, news and discussion group content. Users can choose from an array of search boxes that fit their personal brand. The search box then acts as a gateway for users to tap into our robust index. Those Web sites that choose to participate inAltaVista's Affiliate Network will receive three cents per click-through when their users access AltaVista branded services. To learn more about the affiliate program visit http://doc.altavista.com/affiliate/.

This program is not to be confused with the other products we provide that do allow customers to access our source code and build their own search products. We provide an array of tools that allow customers to create their own customized engines and can be accessed at http://doc.altavista.com/business_solutions/search_products/search_intranet/ intranet_intro.shtml.

JTMatrix writes "RedHat takes last place [in an IDG Network Operating Systems showdown]." The information on how they benchmarked everything is readily available on the site. Go check it out. Update: 01/26 01:07 by H :Check out this link for more technical information.

Well, today is the day Kevin Mitnick is supposed to be released from prison. But many people feel sites like this one aren't obsolete quite yet, because it's hard for ex-cons to make their way in society, and it may be especially hard for Kevin because he isn't allowed to use computers - and that's what he's good at, right? A 60 Minutes interview with Kevin is scheduled to run this Sunday. Hemos comments, "One wonders if having a microphone near violates his Draconian parole computer restriction orders." An interesting - and scary - thought.

ChrisCrosby was the first to notice that Hollywood Reporter has a story about our own Jon Katz' soon-to-be-released book "Geeks" being picked up by New Line Cinema for a feature film. Lawrence Bender (producer of Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, Good Will Hunting and more) and Laurie Bickford are producing. I'm really excited for Jon, and I just wanted to congratulate him: He's been working so hard on this, and the parts of the story that I've read have been really wonderful. And Hemos and I get cameos! Now since Bender has produced all of Quentin Tarantino's films, wouldn't it be fabulous if he directed this?Update: 01/14 04:09 by H : BTW, the actual book is available for pre-order through ThinkGeek. Check it out.

kerskine writes "Seems that Red Hat has a new CTO . What happened to Mark Ewing? " There also an updated press release available as well, which gives significantly more information. It looks like Marc Ewing will be spending more time working with the Red Hat Center for Open Source now.Update: 01/12 05:04 by H :The new CTO they've named is Michael Tiemann, one of the Co-Founders of Cygnus. As you recall, Red Hat recently purchased Cygnus. The deal closed on Monday, which is probably why this announcement has finally been made official.

Quite a number of people have written to us with news that's been seen on CNN regarding the MSFT anti-trust trial. Apparently, government prosecutors are considering breaking the company into three parts - it's expected that MS will appeal the ruling. The parts would be (probably) a Windows OS division, a software division, and perhaps an Internet-business division.Update: 01/12 04:53 by H :We've heard now that the DOJ denies the report - or at least parts of it, saying that it's incorrect in several "aspects".

duder writes "Well, it appears that Macromedia is going to open source their Flash player. There is a article at benews which contains an purported e-mail from Macromedia's Flash Player Manager. " From what the e-mail says they will be "releasing the Flash Player Source Code SDK & Flash File Format (SWF) SDK, in mid January."Update: 01/07 02:39 by H :A very big thank you to David Michie who helped bring me up to speed-looks like SWF has been open for quite some time, and Macromedia had announced the opening of the source back in May. Check out OpenSWF.org for more information.

The Andover.net IPO quiet period is finally over. A lot of you have had questions about Slashdot; what's happening, what's going to happen, and so on, that we weren't allowed to answer. Now those questions can be answered, and no one can answer them better than CmdrTaco and Hemos. They're already starting getting stacked up with interview requests from other media, but we decided that you, the loyal Slashdot readers, deserved first crack at them. Submitted questions will be selected by moderators and the usual hangers-on and will be submitted Wednesday afternoon EST. Answers will appear Thursday. (Friday is reserved for Steve Wozniak, who unquestionably deserves a day all to himself!)

Every year I pick a new years resolution and ever year it doesn't come true. This year I've opted to set my sights low so I can greatly increase the chance of suceeding for once. This year my resolution is to continue converting oxygen into carbon dioxide. Read on to learn what resolutions RMS, ESR, Jon Katz, CowboyNeal, Mandrake and others have for the year 2000.

Jason Haas from LinuxPPC has the following resolutions: "248x768 @ 85 Hz, Merge my world domination plans with Linus's tree, Kawasaka W650:It will be mine (a Virago would be ok), Restart akido, and mv competition to /dev/null

Jon Katz , Slashdot's favorite gasbag says " I wish for Walt Disney to thaw himself out, climb out of his Cryogenimatronic Vault, show up at Walt Disney World and wreak havoc on the corporate weenies who desecrated EPCOT, his model city of tomorrow. Maybe join with the Seattle protesters and touch off a war against corporatist weenies everywhere. "

Emmett Plant is the latest editorial addition to the Slashdot Authors roster. His resolution is "to start a company called 'EmmettLinux,' which will be responsible for creating no product whatsoever. We will employ a highly-paid staff of fifty people who will show up every day and start throwing money into a furnace. I hope to IPO by March and use the cash to hire 2,000 more moneyburners and open an office in Hong Kong. I will leave soon after, selling all of my stock and retiring to the Bahamas."

Chris J. DiBona , Linux Community Evangelist for VA Linux Systems, President of SVLUG, and Grant Chair for LI, has resolved the following: ".Sleep is high on my list, but I really just like to have more time to read, this year has been pretty hard-core. I'd also like to spend more time learning power supply electronics, dc-dc transformers and such. I'm already pretty good with the digital side of things, but this is a big gap in my knowledge. Can I give more than two? I'd also like a puppy. A puppy with an X10 Cam mounted on its collar so I can put a "puppy cam" online."

Rusty Russell , kernel hacker and mad genius wishes to Learn to cook. Or trade kernel code for food. Or buy a fire extinguisher.

Eric S. Raymond is perhaps better known simply as esr... and if you don't know who he is, well, ouch. He resolves to " Catch up with my email and cut down on my traveling. It's nice to be needed, but 50% time on the road is getting ridiculous..."

Raster aka "That Enlightenment Guy" who is the only living person with more typos than me resolves simply to use procmail to allow more sleep time.

Mandrake resolves "I really need to start taking better care of my body. I haven't really worked out in about a year - and I eat too much garbage (junk food / fast food), and I REALLY need to stop drinking coke. I go through 2liters like most people drink cans of coke. I don't think it'll happen any time soon - but hopefully I'll at least be a little healthier by the end of the year."

Trae McCombs , aka X, aka MC, aka 'That Linux.com guy' resolves to "Learn to eat more foods, Incorporate working out into my lifestyle, Work less than 14hrs a day, Be kinder to others, Listen more, Talk less, Learn to code, Read more, Keep true to my ideals..."

Scott Draeker , the President of Loki Entertainment Software resolves to release a first tier Linux game which is not available for windows. Hard to argue with that one.

Kurt DeMaagd , aka The Pope, aka Rob's Roommate and the BSI number cruncher has the following:

1. Combat bimetallism and establish the gold standard for currency.
2. Negotiate the DeMaagd-Hay-Pauncefote treaty, allowing the U.S. to unilaterally construct an isthmian canal.
3. Establish an American protectorate in Cuba.
4. Suppress the Boxer uprising.

Mind you if you look closely at Kurt's resolutions, you might notice that they look strikingly similiar to President William McKinley's adminstration's high points. I'm going to have to up kurts medication.

Illiad , creator of the ever popular User Friendly comic strip says "I resolve to only take responsibility for those choices that I have control over. That means I have to give up on the idea of educating the technically-resistant, the doublespeak-inclined, and the village idiot."

Richard M. Stallman , founder of the Free Software Founding and the GNU Project gave us suggested resolutions for Slashdot readers: They are 1. Do not install any non-free software your computers and 2. Do not buy from Amazon until they stop using software patents for aggression.

CowboyNeal , the man, the myth, the legend. The guy who responds when users can't figure out how to login. The guy who maintains the slashboxes. And the guy who inhabitants the living room in the Geek Compound, resolves that he shall "Shower Every Week, whether I needs it or not." All of the co-workers in this office who have orafactory functionality thank him. It doesn't matter to me much either way.

Jim Jagielski , aka jimjag or jim@apache.org or jim@jaguNET.com, resolves to call sleep(28800) a lot more often.

Nitrozac is the creator of After Y2k... which as best as I can tell means she's about to work herself out of a job. But regardless she says "If civilization manages to hold on to its tenuous existence, I'd like to find a cure for Agalmatophilia, and have others join me to rid the world of this illness that causes so much needless suffering. If civilization crumbles, my Post-Apocalypse Resolution is to learn how to do 16-bead graphics on my abacus, so I can continue the comic. ;-)"

And finally (thank god because my wrists are tired) is Jeff "Hemos" Bates , a man who needs no introduction (but he does need a solid smack to the head).He says "With the coming of El Ano Neuvo, I resolve that I'm going to continue my battle against the dread forces of The Krull Invasion. I think that I might also try to learn some grammar. Per'aps. And maybe I'll learn how to spell a few more words as well".

So with the end of the world less than 48 hours a way, it seemed necessary that CowboyNeal, Hemos, the Pope, and myself all pile into CowboyNeal's gigantic truck thing and trek over to the local mega grocery store to prepare for the upcoming apocolypse. Click the link below to read exciting excerpts from our shopping list... if enough of you do so, then we can officially declare our purchases as tax deductable! Now we'll just cross our fingers and hope that whatever regime seizes control of michigan on Jan. 2 honors deductions from the previous government. CmdrTaco & The Pope's shopping cart

First off I needed self defense. Since it was snowing, I decided that a large snow shovel would nicely fill the 2 roles: Convenient weapon to be used against intruders aiming to steal my waffles, and after the dust settles, I can also use it to prevent the pizza man from slipping on the ice on my porch and suing me (Or worse, dropping my pizza into the snow!)

Now that I can defend myself, its time to feed myself. I made a fatal assumption: Almost all of my food purchases were microwavable. I purchased a gigantic "Feeds 8" box of lasagna. Since I don't each much, I figure it can last me a month or more. Especially because I'll probably have to it it frozen. Nothing fills you up like an ounce or two of frozen lasagna. My other major food purchase was a box of 60 microwavable waffles, a jello dessert treat, and ingrediants to make tacos on 2 seperate occasions.

Since I'm not relying on my microwave to work, I purchased a bottle of Irish Whiskey and a bottle of Vodka. The Pope opted the yuppie route and selected a bottle of Bombay Saphire gin, vermouth, and olives. The world may be ending, but he'll be having a 9 martini end of days.

For entertainment, I selected 'Hercules', the classic disney film of only a few years ago featuring Susan Egan on vocals, and the amazing Andreas Deja animating a hero instead of the mega villian for once. Again, I realize this is short sighted since my DVD player will require electricity, so as a backup plan, I purchased the most recent issue of the National Enquirer so that after the fall of civilization I could thrill to the stunning tales of George W Bush's Jr's torrid affair, as well as Shania Twain returning to her hubby following... a torrid affair.

Hemos' Shopping Cart I suspect that Meijer's, a friendly local mega-grocery-hardware-pharmacist-greenhouse-furniture-photo-store was not quite anticipating the sheer flood of people coming in for the "The Apocalypse". However, through sheer perseverance, I was able to secure the most hallowed of all shopping treasures:

6 Gallons Distilled Water. And Whiskey.

That's right - not only will I be able to keep myself drinking clean water, and brushing my teeth regularly (With my new tube of toothpaste, Item #4125056208) as well as flossing (Item #381370099183) but I'll have also have the gift of alcohol. With my natural and well known affinity to Bushmills, I'm already planning how I'll turn the Geek Compound into the Midwest's most powerful distillery. I've drawn up plans on how to convert my former burned out home into a giant high class distillery. From there, we'll extend our control of surrounding area, and parley it into control of the Greater Great Lakes area.

Yes, the power of whiskey.

While those plans are working out though, unlike Rob, I've actually purchased canned goods that I can eat. Yes, stretching from tuna fish to chicken in a can, I'll be sitting and riding on the high hog post World Wide collapse. Assuming my can opener is Y2k compliant.

I also purchased quite a number of vitamins. To understand this point, you should understand that I take about five pills per day - ginseng, selenium, a multivitamin, and a B complex. Wanting to maintain my health and girlish figure for the next thousand years, I've procured the above vitamins - in bulk. Yes, if it weren't for that damn half-life problem I'd be popping vitamins and experiencing natural organic growth for the next thousand years.

sigh But the best purchase of all is the one I couldn't put on there. I've got myself a 50 gallon drum of nanites, which I'll be using to recreate the world as I see fit. I'm thinking Teletubbies.

CowboyNeal's Shopping Cart My list is short. I've been in survival situations before (I'm referring to family get-togethers here) so I know how to make the most of a situation and be resourceful.

First up, plenty of beer. I figured I was gonna need it to celebrate the new year anyway, and if something should go awry, it'll help dull the pain in my final hours, not to mention that a broken beer bottle makes an excellent weapon for hand-to-hand combat. My choice in brew (for the inquisitive) was Bass Pale Ale.

A snow shovel. Since I moved, I've been without s snow shovel, which has been a bit of a pain since Michigan is an area that seems to attract quite a bit of snow. If the apocalypse should happen to miss me, I still think there will be snow to shovel in the next millenium. Also, it makes a wonderful weapon for self-defense, but with a much longer range than the beer bottles. (CT:The epic battles between CowboyNeal and CmdrTaco will do for shovel combat what The Highlander did for swords. Check your listings for pay per view showtimes).

Candles. And not just any candles, I got religous candles. Each one has a prayer unique to that candle. I"m not even Catholic, but I figure I may need light when the power goes out, and why not have God's help on my side? If I am gonna survive, why not do it piously? I'm already thanking God that they were priced to move.

Batteries. My usefulness for a generator could come and go, but I figure batteries will stay in style well into the next millenium. I got enough to power my flashlights and some for my discman as well. Regardless of what happens, I'm sure they'll see some use.

I didn't concern myself with food or water so much, because I figured I could just melt some of the endless supply of snow outside for water, my parent's house is just a short drive away where my father will no doubt be out killing for food first chance he gets.

So with the end of the world less than 48 hours a way, it seemed necessary that CowboyNeal, Hemos, the Pope, and myself all pile into CowboyNeal's gigantic truck thing and trek over to the local mega grocery store to prepare for the upcoming apocolypse. Click the link below to read exciting excerpts from our shopping list... if enough of you do so, then we can officially declare our purchases as tax deductable! Now we'll just cross our fingers and hope that whatever regime seizes control of michigan on Jan. 2 honors deductions from the previous government. CmdrTaco & The Pope's shopping cart

First off I needed self defense. Since it was snowing, I decided that a large snow shovel would nicely fill the 2 roles: Convenient weapon to be used against intruders aiming to steal my waffles, and after the dust settles, I can also use it to prevent the pizza man from slipping on the ice on my porch and suing me (Or worse, dropping my pizza into the snow!)

Now that I can defend myself, its time to feed myself. I made a fatal assumption: Almost all of my food purchases were microwavable. I purchased a gigantic "Feeds 8" box of lasagna. Since I don't each much, I figure it can last me a month or more. Especially because I'll probably have to it it frozen. Nothing fills you up like an ounce or two of frozen lasagna. My other major food purchase was a box of 60 microwavable waffles, a jello dessert treat, and ingrediants to make tacos on 2 seperate occasions.

Since I'm not relying on my microwave to work, I purchased a bottle of Irish Whiskey and a bottle of Vodka. The Pope opted the yuppie route and selected a bottle of Bombay Saphire gin, vermouth, and olives. The world may be ending, but he'll be having a 9 martini end of days.

For entertainment, I selected 'Hercules', the classic disney film of only a few years ago featuring Susan Egan on vocals, and the amazing Andreas Deja animating a hero instead of the mega villian for once. Again, I realize this is short sighted since my DVD player will require electricity, so as a backup plan, I purchased the most recent issue of the National Enquirer so that after the fall of civilization I could thrill to the stunning tales of George W Bush's Jr's torrid affair, as well as Shania Twain returning to her hubby following... a torrid affair.

Hemos' Shopping Cart I suspect that Meijer's, a friendly local mega-grocery-hardware-pharmacist-greenhouse-furniture-photo-store was not quite anticipating the sheer flood of people coming in for the "The Apocalypse". However, through sheer perseverance, I was able to secure the most hallowed of all shopping treasures:

6 Gallons Distilled Water. And Whiskey.

That's right - not only will I be able to keep myself drinking clean water, and brushing my teeth regularly (With my new tube of toothpaste, Item #4125056208) as well as flossing (Item #381370099183) but I'll have also have the gift of alcohol. With my natural and well known affinity to Bushmills, I'm already planning how I'll turn the Geek Compound into the Midwest's most powerful distillery. I've drawn up plans on how to convert my former burned out home into a giant high class distillery. From there, we'll extend our control of surrounding area, and parley it into control of the Greater Great Lakes area.

Yes, the power of whiskey.

While those plans are working out though, unlike Rob, I've actually purchased canned goods that I can eat. Yes, stretching from tuna fish to chicken in a can, I'll be sitting and riding on the high hog post World Wide collapse. Assuming my can opener is Y2k compliant.

I also purchased quite a number of vitamins. To understand this point, you should understand that I take about five pills per day - ginseng, selenium, a multivitamin, and a B complex. Wanting to maintain my health and girlish figure for the next thousand years, I've procured the above vitamins - in bulk. Yes, if it weren't for that damn half-life problem I'd be popping vitamins and experiencing natural organic growth for the next thousand years.

sigh But the best purchase of all is the one I couldn't put on there. I've got myself a 50 gallon drum of nanites, which I'll be using to recreate the world as I see fit. I'm thinking Teletubbies.

CowboyNeal's Shopping Cart My list is short. I've been in survival situations before (I'm referring to family get-togethers here) so I know how to make the most of a situation and be resourceful.

First up, plenty of beer. I figured I was gonna need it to celebrate the new year anyway, and if something should go awry, it'll help dull the pain in my final hours, not to mention that a broken beer bottle makes an excellent weapon for hand-to-hand combat. My choice in brew (for the inquisitive) was Bass Pale Ale.

A snow shovel. Since I moved, I've been without s snow shovel, which has been a bit of a pain since Michigan is an area that seems to attract quite a bit of snow. If the apocalypse should happen to miss me, I still think there will be snow to shovel in the next millenium. Also, it makes a wonderful weapon for self-defense, but with a much longer range than the beer bottles. (CT:The epic battles between CowboyNeal and CmdrTaco will do for shovel combat what The Highlander did for swords. Check your listings for pay per view showtimes).

Candles. And not just any candles, I got religous candles. Each one has a prayer unique to that candle. I"m not even Catholic, but I figure I may need light when the power goes out, and why not have God's help on my side? If I am gonna survive, why not do it piously? I'm already thanking God that they were priced to move.

Batteries. My usefulness for a generator could come and go, but I figure batteries will stay in style well into the next millenium. I got enough to power my flashlights and some for my discman as well. Regardless of what happens, I'm sure they'll see some use.

I didn't concern myself with food or water so much, because I figured I could just melt some of the endless supply of snow outside for water, my parent's house is just a short drive away where my father will no doubt be out killing for food first chance he gets.

You've almost certainly heard that the DVD CCA [Copyright Control Association] is trying to get a restraining order that would force hundreds of Web sites to remove all links to information about DeCSS. Slashdot is one of the named sites. The hearing is today, in San Jose, California. If you can get there, we urge you to go and help "show the flag." You won't be alone. If you can't make it in person, stay tuned. We'll have updates throughout the day. Meanwhile, click below now for news, opinions from various members of the Slashdot crew, and a long list of links to other resources and stories elsewhere about the DVD CCA's attempt to not only stop DeCSS, but to stifle anyone who publishes or links to information about DeCSS. Update at 1:20 p.m. EST. (Please see bottom of the story.)

Leading up to Today's Hearing
- by Emmett Plant
Emmett Plant is Slashdot's newest author.

Monday, DVD Copy Control Association, Inc. filed for a restraining order in a California court. The targets of this cease-and-desist order were individuals and organizations who had made DVD decryption source code freely available on the net, by hosting the code themselves or linking to a website that did. Commmunity response has been fast and furious, with a deluge of Slashdot comments and submissions, and the immediate organization of Open Source community members to attend the hearing this morning.

Technically, the argument boils down to the issue of reverse engineering. Ideologically, the argument challenges the ideals of free speech, freedom of information, and the ability to innovate on behalf of computer users, hardware engineers and software developers all over the planet.

On Monday night, I spoke to a gentleman who had received the order just minutes prior, and although he didn't want his name mentioned, he provided with me with his thoughts.

"It should be legal when you've got people reverse engineering this kind of stuff. But a small minority in the business community want to lock down the information, citing that it's a trade secret. It's sort of like being busted in math class for passing answers around. [The code] is basically a mathematical equation that decrypts poorly encrypted DVD data. I support the free human right to freedom of thought. That's how civilization has gotten to where it is today, without lawyers heading innovators off at the pass."

Would he be willing to go to court to defend himself?

"Probably not. There are a lot of sites that are mirroring [the code], and they'll keep the program alive. I'll sleep easy at night knowing I did my part."

In many ways, the cease-and-desist only made it easier for people to get their hands on the code. As soon as the community heard about the order, many people posted the code on their websites as a sign of protest. Many community members have made the code available on overseas servers that don't face the possible legal repercussions associated with sites located in the United States.

Another interesting point of this case is that anyone who linked to a site that contained the information is also being held liable in the case. This is particularly frightening. This means that in the spirit of the cease-and-desist order, almost everyone on the web with a site that links to anywhere else falls into the legal maelstrom, as long as it eventually leads to a site with the code posted on it.

The legal ramifications of the case are extremely influential. The DVD CCA lawyers are fighting a battle against reverse engineering, an engineering process that enables the computer industry to utilize powerful tools like the IBM-compatible personal computer and countless hardware device drivers.

The hearing will take place this morning at 8:30 a.m. Pacific Standard Time in the Superior Court of Santa Clara County, California.

----------

Funny and Sad at the Same Time
- by Hemos

The particularly humorous section of the lawsuit, at least for me, is that what they are trying to do is make linking illegal. That's right. Linking. Is. Illegal. Once we cross the the bridge of dictating what can and cannot be linked to, than we open ourselves up to a world of people being able to sue whenever something they don't want linked is linked. Without linking, the Web is dead.

----------

Shaky Legal Grounds
- by Michael Sims

The legal standing for the DVD companies is so shaky it's not even funny. The danger is that they can effectively paint the opposition as a bunch of crooks and the judge will feel that *justice* requires a ruling in their favor despite the law - that can be averted if the defense makes a strong competent showing tomorrow, presumably. The second danger is that they will inflict sufficient costs on the defendants that others will be dissuaded from doing even perfectly legal things. That can't be prevented.

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Planning to Join the Protest in Person?

The best source of information on how to help out at the Santa Clara County Courthouse is this page from Chris DiBona's Web site. It tells you where and when to be, what to wear, and what to expect. Worth reading even if you can't make it. Nice to know that Chris and others, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, are doing a great job for all of us on this!

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Update by Emmett @ 1:20 p.m. EST:

Chris DiBona called me at 8:30 a.m. PST from right outside the courtroom, letting me in on the scene. The Open Source community has about 25 people there, as well as a lawyer or two of their own. The community members present are busy distributing the DeCSS source code on floppy disk as well as leaflet hard copy. No pictures will be taken of the interior of the courtroom, and there wasn't enough time to apply for the permit to record what happens inside.

Chris will be calling me as soon as they let out with up-to-the-minute information and notes from the community members inside the courtroom.

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Links to Other DVD CCA Stories and Sites

Boston Globe
Washington Post
Wired News
ZDNet
siliconvalley.com
Chris DiBona's excellent page
PZ Communications DeCSS Resource Site
CNN.com
Lemuria.org DeCSS Defense page
Dan Gillmor (SV.com columnist)
Santa Clara County Superior Court info
OpenDVD.org
EFF to the Rescue!

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Please send additional links to roblimo@slashdot.org so we can add them to the list. Thanks.