Slashdot Mirror

Ohh, let's!

Gates Foundation - Charity or Strategy?
Microsoft Marketing Brings New Business and New Skeptics
Microsoft Donates "State of the Art" NT Systems To Mac Stalwart, Dartmouth
Defying a Microsoft World View
Special Report: MS Settlement under fire
COMMENTARY ISSUED ON OPEN SOURCE AND THE MICROSOFT DONATION IN SA
Your taxes are paying for the pricing practices of a proprietary monopoly.

I hate to break it to you, but the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation isn't Microsoft. They are completely different entities.

And a change of pace:
SuSE Linux Donates Software to Allentown, Pennsylvania Schoolchildren

"surely this is just b/c the networks in China are just not that well managed yet (e.g., like @Home networks once were... ).

...and still are. I was recently switched to ATT Broadband and service just keeps getting worse.

Im surprised that slashdot is open there, and Id be curious about kuro5hin, and newstrolls as well.

Seems this is an appropriate place to toss out a couple of new attack-related sites.

First, Jane's Security has some ideas about who may be behind this attack... and it ain't bin Laden.

Second, Political Cartoons, a collection of attack-related cartoons. Some are worth a second look: you can draw opposing interpretations from them.

The Dalai Lama's letter to Bush. Worth reading twice: it's short, and important.

Bush's Language: why calling this a "crusade" is rather foolish.

Also, I'd like to apologize for a previous post in which I used the word "accident" in lieu of "attack." My mind was somewhere else, and I think it was trying to fool itself about the atrocity of the attack.

This can be a sick and cruel world, or a world of joy and life. I encourage you to encourage others to choose the latter. Let's stop the hatred within our own communities, as we try to stop the hatred between nations.

"Could I have a source for the Giuliani comment?"

A quick Google search on Giuliani DNA turns up a lot of hits. The comment seems to have been reported in the New York Times in December 1998, for which no free online record exists, but, the New York Civil Liberties Union mentions it in a very dry paper about DNA, if that's reputable enough for you:

"The rounding up of a whole class of people, the collection of physical samples, and the extraction of DNA information from those samples are illegal in the United States of America. Or so we had thought.

"New York Governor George Pataki wants to expand the state DNA databank from violent felons to all felons. New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani wants to include all newborn children. Meanwhile, the New York City Police Department has been collecting DNA samples from suspects without their consent or their knowledge, and without the benefit of court orders."

This news report references thi s 404 NYT page.

And this message-board post gives a specific date in the NYT, which is as close as I could get in five minutes:

"When asked whether all children should have DNA tests at birth, the Mayor said: "...I would have no problem with that, or fingerprinting all children...There is absolutely no reason why people should be afraid of being identified..." It's not invasive," the Mayor said. "It doesn't invade any right of privacy. You don't have a right not to be identified. I don't remember a constitutional amendment that gives you the right not to be identified."-N.Y. Times 12/17/98 "Giuliani Backs DNA Testing of Newborns for Identification"

Finally, check out more of Robert Lederman's comments. As someone who's been falsely arrested over 40 times for painting unflattering portraits of Giuliani, he has a special interest in DNA fingerprinting.

Jamie McCarthy

I, personally, have lost all faith in Slashdot. Like so many sites now, it has sold out and reverted to producing mindless drivel for the sake of content. I just don't have the time anymore to waste on articles which are given fear-mongering headlines just to generate hits.

Anyone looking for a REAL news site might consider GeekPress (fairly technical) or NewsTrolls. (more socially oriented, but still relevant) These sites focus more on providing useful news with a objective point of view, and less on filling up space.

You keep reading the crap, they'll keep spewing it out.

Nor are you, torpor.

No, I couldn't begin to tell you who their audience is these days. Certainly not the people they started out attracting.

For a good web news filter, try GeekPress and, less geeky by far, but more socially relevent, NewsTrolls.

--

After reading this interview and the comments, I Google-searched and found an interesting commentary/interview on men, women, and Linux.

***Trolls are neat-o!***

This comment first appeared here...

Now as I've publicly said before, I will always back jericho on the facts about AntiOnline, but one thing JP said was interesting...

The fact that nearly every malicious hacker (or cracker if you prefer the term) dislikes AntiOnline is actually good for us, and is the exact position I want to be in. Some people even "joke" that I intentionally try to "piss off large groups of people at a time". Well, it's not just a joke, it's the truth. I think I'm pretty good at doing it too. We average between 200-500 intrusion attempts against one of our systems AN HOUR, and every time I piss another segment of the cyber-population off, that number skyrockets. We probably have one of the most targeted networks on the internet today, and we take full advantage of that. Do you think that we let the type of data that we're able to collect and log just go to waste? I don't ;-)

It's pretty simple to see through JP's claims here as to what is really making him money. He has purposely set up AntiOnline to be a target for hackers. It's a smart move, albeit probably not one he actually thought up but received, ironically, as a gift from the hacking community.

Say you've got a security product and you want to know how secure it really is. You want to test it in the wild. Well, you can't really do it thoroughly by yourself. You have to attack it in as many ways as you can think of, but you're just one person or group of people so you're not going to think of everything. So, what better than contacting JP and having him run your product as his site's protection and then seeing if it can hold up. That way you get many random attacks from anti-JP people and if you're really lucky some of those attacks will be very sophisticated and you will learn, before you go to market, how secure your security really is...

It is important to realize that by attempting to attack JP's site, you do, in effect allow him and whomever has paid him for his attack details, to better his reputation as THE place to go if you really want to test the security of your product.

So the best thing the hacker communtiy could do is NOT to attack his site. Because that's how he's making his money off of you.

This really is not a new idea. Government and military sites of a certain nature have spent countless hours attacking their own boxes. The only difference is that you, the hacker, are allowing JP's site to be even more successful off of the labor of the creative hacks that you have designed. Your work makes him money, not you.

Just a thought...

Well, NewsTrolls is headed up by me and we run Linux/Apache and at home I've got a dual-boot Win98/OpenLinux2.2 and a G4...(and a Globablys 130 that I haven't figured out what to do with...yet)

Seriously, women in Linux is a real issue b/c the entire tech industry except PR and marketing is almost void of woman (and please don't bring up the what-about-Kim-Polese-example ;P)...

I brought the issue up in my review-- On Bill, his Mini-Me's and the Linux Alternative of Gary Rivlin's book the Plot to Get Bill Gates and it got a lot of reaction. I got tons of emails from women and some men thanking me for pointing out some of the bullshit in tech in general but also got some seriously disturbed and angry guys telling me to shut the hell up...

I wrote to Gary Rivlin about it which turned into an interview on the whole issue of women in tech

Personally, I can count on one hand the women I feel like can relate to what I do, and I think that's sad. I wish there were more of us out there...real women who want to know more than where to shop and read friggin' horoscopes and snotty guys-are-losers advice columns...

--diva

Well, NewsTrolls is headed up by me and we run Linux/Apache and at home I've got a dual-boot Win98/OpenLinux2.2 and a G4...(and a Globablys 130 that I haven't figured out what to do with...yet)

Seriously, women in Linux is a real issue b/c the entire tech industry except PR and marketing is almost void of woman (and please don't bring up the what-about-Kim-Polese-example ;P)...

I brought the issue up in my review-- On Bill, his Mini-Me's and the Linux Alternative of Gary Rivlin's book the Plot to Get Bill Gates and it got a lot of reaction. I got tons of emails from women and some men thanking me for pointing out some of the bullshit in tech in general but also got some seriously disturbed and angry guys telling me to shut the hell up...

I wrote to Gary Rivlin about it which turned into an interview on the whole issue of women in tech

Personally, I can count on one hand the women I feel like can relate to what I do, and I think that's sad. I wish there were more of us out there...real women who want to know more than where to shop and read friggin' horoscopes and snotty guys-are-losers advice columns...

--diva

Well, NewsTrolls is headed up by me and we run Linux/Apache and at home I've got a dual-boot Win98/OpenLinux2.2 and a G4...(and a Globablys 130 that I haven't figured out what to do with...yet)

Seriously, women in Linux is a real issue b/c the entire tech industry except PR and marketing is almost void of woman (and please don't bring up the what-about-Kim-Polese-example ;P)...

I brought the issue up in my review-- On Bill, his Mini-Me's and the Linux Alternative of Gary Rivlin's book the Plot to Get Bill Gates and it got a lot of reaction. I got tons of emails from women and some men thanking me for pointing out some of the bullshit in tech in general but also got some seriously disturbed and angry guys telling me to shut the hell up...

I wrote to Gary Rivlin about it which turned into an interview on the whole issue of women in tech

Personally, I can count on one hand the women I feel like can relate to what I do, and I think that's sad. I wish there were more of us out there...real women who want to know more than where to shop and read friggin' horoscopes and snotty guys-are-losers advice columns...

--diva

Well, NewsTrolls is headed up by me and we run Linux/Apache and at home I've got a dual-boot Win98/OpenLinux2.2 and a G4...(and a Globablys 130 that I haven't figured out what to do with...yet)

Seriously, women in Linux is a real issue b/c the entire tech industry except PR and marketing is almost void of woman (and please don't bring up the what-about-Kim-Polese-example ;P)...

I brought the issue up in my review-- On Bill, his Mini-Me's and the Linux Alternative of Gary Rivlin's book the Plot to Get Bill Gates and it got a lot of reaction. I got tons of emails from women and some men thanking me for pointing out some of the bullshit in tech in general but also got some seriously disturbed and angry guys telling me to shut the hell up...

I wrote to Gary Rivlin about it which turned into an interview on the whole issue of women in tech

Personally, I can count on one hand the women I feel like can relate to what I do, and I think that's sad. I wish there were more of us out there...real women who want to know more than where to shop and read friggin' horoscopes and snotty guys-are-losers advice columns...

--diva

My opine on this is ULG is doing some important work...their hacks demonstrate visibly that major commerce sites and government is unsecured and IT IS A VALUABLE SERVICE they are doing by showing to the public these flaws. Wouldn't you WANT to know if Nasdaq was unsecured? I sure as shit would!

JP is a total flak so I'm not even thinking about him, but I am disturbed by this new trend in security sites to NAME the people involved in groups or to prove the groups' existances. What the hell is that? Are people ratting on each other to earn gold stars with the Feds?

I see hacking as 1. a public service and 2. art. (Stealing is different and I don't condone that)

So whoever ULG is-- who cares? What's important is that their voices are heard.

My 2 cents...

New stuff: I'll also add that Brian and all of Attrition provide one of the most valuable services in security news in that they analyze journalists' articles and point out the mistakes and mis-information; in other words, they find the "bugs" in the reporting...this service is INCREDIBLY valuable and needed as most writers don't know anything about the underground and so sometimes rely on total flaks like JP or Clown Princess for information, which in turn makes them look bad. So Attrition is really SAVING a lot of writers' asses from looking like total fools and they should be thanked for that.
And for all you admins/security/Feds reading these posts, if you've never read Attrition, start doing so now. You owe yourself and your bosses the education.

--diva

One thing that John Katz didn't mention in his article was Threads, a discussion board inside HotWired. A whole subculture grew there, making comments about what was discussed on the site, and much more. That was the first message board that caught my eye (before Slashdot), and both the topics and the board itself were before its time.

That didn't survive, either, but they have a site at www.newstrolls.com. John even used to write articles for them sometimes.

That a no-nothing kid and a flack like Clown Princess can call up Harvard and threaten lawsuits against one of the best security talents in the ether is absolutely abominable...

It's time to act...submit your protest letter online [you can even cut and paste this one in] to Harvard's handy UIS Suggestion Box
and/or email Harvard at:
uis-webadmin@harvard.edu
provost@harvard.edu

--diva

Finally a sensible post...

Hypnotik, you can find the rest of world at NewsTrolls

To all:
Life can be hell. It is all up to you whether you perceive yourself as an eternal victim or pull yourself up by yourself and laugh at it. The greatest tool you have is your mind. Don't buy into the crap that you're damaged goods in need of saving, rehabilitating, etc. I don't agree with Katz using all of you to up his Q-factor to the rest of media. (BTW, you DO know, don't you, that his next book is called "Geek Voices"...how convenient that the Littleton Murders have provided him with the opportunity to be a self-proclaimed cultural intermediary between "geeks" and the rest of the world!). I don't agree that these kids were "geeks". Playing Doom and Quake and using the Internet makes you a geek??? You are only as fucked up as you convince yourself you are. There is a whole world out there beyond the lint in your navel.

--diva

A teenager's #1 modus operandi is to define the self. Perhaps she comes up with a definition of herself by herself but she needs interaction on a personal and familiar level with others to enforce her own view of herself. In a freshman class of 60 (like mine was), you pretty quickly learn about everyone as individuals...it's much harder to categorize them as simply cheerleader or class-officer-geek if you have to interact with them on a personal level 7 hours a day. You're bound to see more of their idiosyncracies and they become individuals to you, whether you like them or not.

In a school of 1800 you have 460 in your freshman class...there's no WAY you're going to learn about each one by name and individual personality. They are a sea of faces to you and as such you can invent and make yourself believe just about anything you want about them..."she's rich and all the boys like her; she doesn't have a care in the world"...(which of course is never true).

State of the Art schools are great but not when it means you've got a WalMart size student body. Of course teachers, parents, other students are going to generalize and categorize, b/c that's what we all do when presented with a large group of people that we have to navigate around...

What's the point of a $12M school with state of the art equipment if you're going to just herd the kids in and out? Better there be 4 or 5 state of the art schools with TOTAL enrollment of less than 400 kids in all four classes. But it's cheaper to build one than 5, so therein lies the rub...

If nobody knows you and nobody cares who you are, how hard would it be to kill people you've objectified into caricatures of whom they really are?

My answer is smaller schools with smaller classes where a teen can not only learn but also interact with other teens...not be shuffled around and suffer the humiliation of no one knowing who you are.

---diva

I received a pair of these for Christmas and I reviewed them for NesTrolls.
DIVA REVIEW: Benwin Flat Panel Speakers

I really enjoy them, especially because of their 360 degree/non-directional sound emission. You can be behind or to the side of the speakers and here the same as if you are in front of them. Also the SRS-3D technology on the subwoofer ROCKS!

The $99 ones are best for computer speakers or jambox/shelf stereo speakers. They are coming out with higher wattage ones soon. The current model is only 3W+3W and 6W subwoofer with a frequency range of 60Hz to 18kHz.

If any of you are interested, we're discussing /. decision here.
And say what you want.

NewsTrolls does not censor.

VIVA THE MINUSES! VIVA THE NEGATIVES!

--diva

Business @the Speed of Drool

OK, if you know
NewsTrolls
you know I've been covering every aspect of Y2K info and news since we began and before that in HotWired Threads...


YES, there's a LOT of BS...especially when it's put out by a consulting company that really just wants to farm out their consultants to you.


BUT...no one, AND I MEAN NO ONE knows to what extent embedded chips and software programs may fail. Remediation and certification consists of patching, changing the date, taking a screen shot of the result and faxing it to whomever in the company as proof of compliance. Do you think every ramification of a program has been thought about and tested? And then we have programs which are "updated" by the users which then go back into testing... Combine that with people testing who only know how to test, not how the software/database/mainframe they're testing works, and I can say with assurance there are going to be problems overlooked.


But panic? No.


Look at it this way. What would be the type of daily-life preparation you'd have to do if at the same time you were preparing for a blizzard, a hurricane, and a 2 month trip into deepest Africa?


Whatever you'd do for that scenario, do for Y2K.


Where will I be? NYC with all the rest of the Wall Street geeks. As a matter of fact, I'm looking forward to it as all the major firms are shipping in their best techies from all around the country to be here in NYC for the date change to keep the economic infrastructure going. If nothing happens it's going to be the biggest geek-fest New Years party ever...




--diva

Try NewsTrolls:
Sometimes the regulars can be hard on newbies (especially if the newbies can't defend their opinions), but the topics are killer...it's where the old HotWired threads crowd went after HotWired dumbed down to inanity...and, of course, we're regular /. readers, too...
Here's a direct link to the Threads at NewsTrolls
--diva (of course I'm prejudiced, I 'm...)