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This actually doesn't supprise me. Since MS is making an .NET implementation for MacOSX. Going from OSX (FreeBSD derrivative on Mach) to FreeBSD would be fairly trivial.

From OSOpinion: Reaffirming its support for the Macintosh platform and opening a bevy of new options for Apple's corporate direction, Microsoft this week is expected to announce its plans for implementing the .NET platform on the Mac OS.

I pulled the trigger on the submit too quick - here's some more good info:
Quick overview of an ideal use for the machine.

Only $199 a pop and every unit I buy costs Microsoft money? Most excellant! How long till they begin firing volleys of lawyers at The Xbox Linux Project? Any bets on which 4 letter law starting with "DM" and ending with "CA" they'll invoke?

Despite the radio and television commercials suggesting that he'd get fined up the ying yang, nothing happened. I have since concluded that the BSA is all bark and no bite. Here is my story.

But if you notice the update at the end of the article, the Open Group later decided to include Apple as a UNIX vendor.

Wish I had known about this myself sooner as I just spent many hours the last few days dealing with USB ports on an abit motherboard with an onboard VIA chipset which I couldn't get to talk properly to USB peripherals (Scanner, Modem). It was a strange problem as everything would seem to be OK yet the computer couldn't communicate reliably for any length of time with the USB peripherals. I had returned one scanner thinking it was the problem with that scanner's drivers (sorry, Staples). After an hour of phone tech support trying to get a USB scanner working with the usual reinstalls and registry munging (again, sorry to waste your time, Epson!), the tech suggested getting an USB card to replace the onboard VIA ones as nothing else seemed to work. Taking that advice (after finding out similar advice here http://www.osopinion.com/perl/story/16674.html and from related links there and trying other simple workarounds), I just bought a PCI USB card with an alternate chip set (NEC) to replace the onboard ones on the abit motherboard (KT7A-RAID). New card (SSIG USB 2.0 Adapter) works great and gives me USB 2.0 as well.

I bought a Gateway awhile back and have been very happy with it. I am upset that GW has dropped AMD as a processor. I am happy that GW is doing something against this stupid legislation. I still don't know if I would buy another GW PC though.... and I am in the market for 2 for my kiddos.

Microsoft implemented the CIFS protocol in Windows NT 4.0, where it is used for network file access in Microsoft Windows NT. Client systems use CIFS to request file and print services from server systems over a network.
...
Desler said that none of the three latest moves were necessary under the proposed settlement--also known as the consent decree--in the antitrust case between Microsoft and the Department of Justice, which requires Microsoft to disclose to third parties any communications protocol implemented in a Windows desktop operating system that is used to interoperate with a Microsoft server operating system.
...
"The CIFS, Kerberos and SISLP announcements are above and beyond the conditions of the consent decree. As such, this is yet another step we are taking to enhance the interoperability of Windows clients with non-Microsoft operating systems," he said.

For crackin' ice. Sometimes I wonder if I was fooled for 10 years and Microsoft really is a lying sack of crap. Let's see, CIFS is used for clients to request file and print services from servers...and the settlement requires Microsoft to disclose any communication protocol implemented in the Windows desktop that is used to talk to a server...and CIFS does not apply and is "beyond the conditions of the consent decree"?!?

I'll assume for now that this spokesman is just an idiot, but if not, this could indicate a very narrow interpretation of the decree on Microsoft's part. That is, if they take "implemented in the Windows desktop" to mean only network client code that is "in the desktop" (as opposed to in the kernel, say)...I figured "in the desktop" just meant "in the client"!

FYI I think Microsoft should release *all* it's source as I stated a year ago.

- adam

Of course you can find things with search engines now. Google's "trick" of counting links helps a little bit for a particular class of query, which is when you know the name of an organization and you want to find its site...it works well because more people will link to the site as opposed to other sites that discuss it. But as I have written elsewhere, if AltaVista is 99% lame, then maybe Google is only 97% lame...which is three times better, but still terrible if you take a step back.

Now Google is doing a lot of good things outside from its basic search engine, which should be applauded. The caches, saving old Usenet posts, the image and catalog searches, etc. are all good things -- but they don't affect its basic ability to search well.

Further karma ho' expounding can be found right here.

- adam

Exactly...that's why we need open data formats for everyone.

- adam

I really enjoyed this story over at OS Opinion last week detailing something similar, namely, why it might be a good idea for Pixar to buy Square Studios USA (the makers of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within).

An interesting possibility, certainly. Imagine, the level of detail in FF:TSW mixed with Pixar's talent for quirky stories. I'd say that's a winning combination.

http://www.osopinion.com/perl/printer/16564/

Here's a better one.

"Dell, Compaq and Hewlett-Packard have made a mountain of money from Microsoft, but consider what the worth of their computers might be if they could not run Windows."

Fuck those stupid assholes. If SSSCA doesn't pass, Linux will have a BIG time.

I think they should implement a micro-ad policy as well. The average user buying the smaller banner type ads for whatever purpose for a small payment (heck, the bigger players don't want those ads anymore, might as well release them to the people).

Might this be an opportunity in the making? Instead of paying $1-5 here and there... pay a central authority for access to affiliated sites. I know this has shades of Passport (which I don't support), but it could be great. Pay $5 to OSDN and get access to every OSDN site (I bet they are all going to try out similar policies in the future), not just Slashdot (Linux.com, Newsforge.com, Freshmeat.net). Or pay $3 to NewsFactor Network for access to all of its affiliated sites like OS Opinion and so forth. It should cut down on some of the payments. Then each affiliate would get its cut based on unique page views or some other metric.

I guess I am saying that a network TV or Radio model might work a little better here.

I could be completely off base... but if not and hiring personnel from OSDN, NewsFactor, or some other "web network" are reading, I am willing to entertain consulting or full-time position opportunities =^) .

The number of people familiar with GNOME and/or KDE is probably larger? I admit I don't have any numbers to back this up except for the fact that there are more machines out there running GNU/Linux rather than Macintosh, add to this that MacOS X was released not so long ago and I may just be right.

Actually, because of OS X, BSD now has triple the desktop market share of Linux.

I think it is a cool idea since now, because of Apple, BSD has a 3 to 1 lead over Linux on the Desktop. Take that Tux!

Name a piece of current (not ISA etc), statndard (not some home built/unknown vendor PCI card) PC harware, other than the motherboard or the processor and it will most likely work on Mac OS X. It may fall back on a generic type (missing some features) but it will most likely work. Macs support: PC133 RAM, ATA hard disks, PCI cards, AGP cards, VGA monitors, USB, IEEE 1394 (FireWire), etc. I think that would be more than 50 types of hardware. Don't confuse the fact that the iMacs are closed with other Mac hardware. The G4 Towers won awards for how easy they are to open up and upgrade. There's a large handle on the side of the case that you pull and that side of the computer lowers down with the motherboard attached to it, giving easy access to all components.

Could it be that Macs are easy to configure because Apple engineers are clever?

Note: I'm ignoring the fact that this article is about software not hardware configuration.

Check out some more myth debunking.

And Microsoft has provided the answer: Here is the runtime model, here are the APIs you call, here are some tools you can use, here is how to get help if you have problems.

Now substitute a web of connected personal computers -- the Internet -- for a single one, and developers are still asking, "How do I write an application?" And Microsoft's answer is, .NET.

DOS provided very few services to application writers, but with the Windows APIs, things got more sophisticated: support for graphics, for printing, for various other input and output devices, and eventually for networking. These were filtered through a standard Microsoft-provided operating system to various third-party devices, each with their own device driver, which performed the actual work.

In the .NET world, the "API" will handle Internet-related issues such as password verification, price calculation, payment, and so on. The "operating system" will be a set of always-available Web sites that may then dispatch the actual work to third-party sites -- the "device drivers" in the .NET model.

That is an excerpt from a longer article which I wrote back in November 2000.

- adam

You're right, forcing a change of platforms would be expensive and slow. But how tough would it be for Pres.Bush to sign an executive order that all government offices should change their default Save format to RTF? ...and that correspondence will henceforth only be accepted in open formats? Legacy documents can still be opened and used, staff don't have to re-train... just stop forcing the rest of us to pay the Microsoft Tax in order to do business with our own damn governmnet!

This is The Real Microsoft Killer.

--jrd

Now that you mention AMD. It has been roumoured last week all over the net that intel has a backup plan, an P4 with 64bit extenstions

os.opinion article
news.com

by the way, the amd hammer is expected to 105 mmm^2 on 130 nanometer (.13).

the current amd MP (palomino) has a die size of 129mm on .18.

the original P4 has a die size of 217mm and is now at 150 mm^2.(with a bigger cache)

Note that the original article does mention the 424 size is on .18 and the next generation is on .13. note that this can make a differce of a factor 2 (13^2/18^2= 0.52)

No, read this article and this one on osOpion.

The allegations? Microsoft not only sabotaged other companies programs, but also copied and embedded other companies code (DoubleSpace, from STAC--MSFT was found liable, btw).

Despite the rationalizations of /.'ers, stealing is a crime. MSFT stole code (and committed other crimes). (Also, from the 2nd article: MSFT didn't create a DOS, it bought one for $15k).

As to your point about sounding like a 7 year old: Our society is based on rules (ie, laws) and continues because people rely on most of those rules to be followed most of the time. Yes, that explanation leaves out some of the finer details (like, of crime and rule bending), but what would a /. post be without a generalization?

-MD

No, read this article and this one on osOpion.

The allegations? Microsoft not only sabotaged other companies programs, but also copied and embedded other companies code (DoubleSpace, from STAC--MSFT was found liable, btw).

Despite the rationalizations of /.'ers, stealing is a crime. MSFT stole code (and committed other crimes). (Also, from the 2nd article: MSFT didn't create a DOS, it bought one for $15k).

As to your point about sounding like a 7 year old: Our society is based on rules (ie, laws) and continues because people rely on most of those rules to be followed most of the time. Yes, that explanation leaves out some of the finer details (like, of crime and rule bending), but what would a /. post be without a generalization?

-MD

Article here.

Microsoft says that it does not have lobbyists pushing its interests in the pending antitrust case, but that stance probably glosses over the indirect influence its lobbyists have had on the current administration.

Link to US DOJ.

Article by Cringely

Dont forget to send in comments to the US DOJ

Yeah right. What crucible. A buffer overflow is not something a"security review" is going to find. You just have to write the code carefully.

Compensation plans of Microsoft product engineers, such as raises and bonuses, will also be tied to how secure their products are.

This gives hope however. Reviews at Microsoft are always just about the last six months, so nobody was ever dinged for a bug that turned up a year after they shipped. But now maybe that will happen.

More here.

- adam

I think we can all, for the most part, agree on what the Computer Science and Computer Engineering degrees are.

However, Information Systems and Management Information Systems degrees are a fairly new and broad-based concept. They encompass many different areas of computing/technology like networking, database systems, biomedical informatics, multimedia communications, artificial intelligence, expert systems, and/or knowledge-based systems, and how they are applied, used, and designed in a business environment. So, unlike the CS and CE degrees, your focus is less on general technical principles in a generic environment, and more on the applying of the topic that you wish to pursue in a business environment.

That said, there is a article that was posted several days ago on osOpinion entitled "The Dissing of IT Workers" that does a fairly good job of pointing out the differences between a CS degree and an IT degree.

I think we can all, for the most part, agree on what the Computer Science and Computer Engineering degrees are.

However, Information Systems and Management Information Systems degrees are a fairly new and broad-based concept. They encompass many different areas of computing/technology like networking, database systems, biomedical informatics, multimedia communications, artificial intelligence, expert systems, and/or knowledge-based systems, and how they are applied, used, and designed in a business environment. So, unlike the CS and CE degrees, your focus is less on general technical principles in a generic environment, and more on the applying of the topic that you wish to pursue in a business environment.

That said, there is a article that was posted several days ago on osOpinion entitled "The Dissing of IT Workers" that does a fairly good job of pointing out the differences between a CS degree and an IT degree.

I really disagree with Tim's proposal to force abandoned code to be made available at the source code level. That's not free speech, it's forced speech. Sure Lotus Improv is out there already, it's been abandoned, let people copy the binaries as they wish. But to force Lotus to cough up the source is an unreasonable burden. Hell, the source code could be near impossible to find even for the original programmers. Finally, the source code can represent an asset for the company that will be valuable when they sell off.

-sk

As far as GigaWire goes...Osopinion.com ran a STORY that makes sense...cool if real....

Mmmm...built in airport...=/...Ipod hybrid...how can it suck?

BeOS as a desktop OS shat all over any Linux distro. Don't front. And BeOS boots in 20 seconds. That is to say, 10 times faster than a default distro of Linux. In summation: BeOS Desktop - Much Better Than Linux. Bootspeed: Tons faster than Linux.

Palm's Short-thinking Suicide - Anti-Linux Desktop Remarks.

BeOS Eulogy - Refers to "Linux Snobs".

Microsoft Conspiracy Against Be, Inc. - Not a single mention of Linux!

Pro Amiga/BeOS. Obvious troll. More conspiracy balderdash.

Doing Away with a the GUI? - WTF?

Sentimentalist Weepy BeOS/Amiga Article.

BeOS Augmented Reality Gaming

Comically wrong in predicting the future success of BeOS.

BeOS as a desktop OS shat all over any Linux distro. Don't front. And BeOS boots in 20 seconds. That is to say, 10 times faster than a default distro of Linux. In summation: BeOS Desktop - Much Better Than Linux. Bootspeed: Tons faster than Linux.

Palm's Short-thinking Suicide - Anti-Linux Desktop Remarks.

BeOS Eulogy - Refers to "Linux Snobs".

Microsoft Conspiracy Against Be, Inc. - Not a single mention of Linux!

Pro Amiga/BeOS. Obvious troll. More conspiracy balderdash.

Doing Away with a the GUI? - WTF?

Sentimentalist Weepy BeOS/Amiga Article.

BeOS Augmented Reality Gaming

Comically wrong in predicting the future success of BeOS.

BeOS as a desktop OS shat all over any Linux distro. Don't front. And BeOS boots in 20 seconds. That is to say, 10 times faster than a default distro of Linux. In summation: BeOS Desktop - Much Better Than Linux. Bootspeed: Tons faster than Linux.

Palm's Short-thinking Suicide - Anti-Linux Desktop Remarks.

BeOS Eulogy - Refers to "Linux Snobs".

Microsoft Conspiracy Against Be, Inc. - Not a single mention of Linux!

Pro Amiga/BeOS. Obvious troll. More conspiracy balderdash.

Doing Away with a the GUI? - WTF?

Sentimentalist Weepy BeOS/Amiga Article.

BeOS Augmented Reality Gaming

Comically wrong in predicting the future success of BeOS.

BeOS as a desktop OS shat all over any Linux distro. Don't front. And BeOS boots in 20 seconds. That is to say, 10 times faster than a default distro of Linux. In summation: BeOS Desktop - Much Better Than Linux. Bootspeed: Tons faster than Linux.

Palm's Short-thinking Suicide - Anti-Linux Desktop Remarks.

BeOS Eulogy - Refers to "Linux Snobs".

Microsoft Conspiracy Against Be, Inc. - Not a single mention of Linux!

Pro Amiga/BeOS. Obvious troll. More conspiracy balderdash.

Doing Away with a the GUI? - WTF?

Sentimentalist Weepy BeOS/Amiga Article.

BeOS Augmented Reality Gaming

Comically wrong in predicting the future success of BeOS.

BeOS as a desktop OS shat all over any Linux distro. Don't front. And BeOS boots in 20 seconds. That is to say, 10 times faster than a default distro of Linux. In summation: BeOS Desktop - Much Better Than Linux. Bootspeed: Tons faster than Linux.

Palm's Short-thinking Suicide - Anti-Linux Desktop Remarks.

BeOS Eulogy - Refers to "Linux Snobs".

Microsoft Conspiracy Against Be, Inc. - Not a single mention of Linux!

Pro Amiga/BeOS. Obvious troll. More conspiracy balderdash.

Doing Away with a the GUI? - WTF?

Sentimentalist Weepy BeOS/Amiga Article.

BeOS Augmented Reality Gaming

Comically wrong in predicting the future success of BeOS.

BeOS as a desktop OS shat all over any Linux distro. Don't front. And BeOS boots in 20 seconds. That is to say, 10 times faster than a default distro of Linux. In summation: BeOS Desktop - Much Better Than Linux. Bootspeed: Tons faster than Linux.

Palm's Short-thinking Suicide - Anti-Linux Desktop Remarks.

BeOS Eulogy - Refers to "Linux Snobs".

Microsoft Conspiracy Against Be, Inc. - Not a single mention of Linux!

Pro Amiga/BeOS. Obvious troll. More conspiracy balderdash.

Doing Away with a the GUI? - WTF?

Sentimentalist Weepy BeOS/Amiga Article.

BeOS Augmented Reality Gaming

Comically wrong in predicting the future success of BeOS.

BeOS as a desktop OS shat all over any Linux distro. Don't front. And BeOS boots in 20 seconds. That is to say, 10 times faster than a default distro of Linux. In summation: BeOS Desktop - Much Better Than Linux. Bootspeed: Tons faster than Linux.

Palm's Short-thinking Suicide - Anti-Linux Desktop Remarks.

BeOS Eulogy - Refers to "Linux Snobs".

Microsoft Conspiracy Against Be, Inc. - Not a single mention of Linux!

Pro Amiga/BeOS. Obvious troll. More conspiracy balderdash.

Doing Away with a the GUI? - WTF?

Sentimentalist Weepy BeOS/Amiga Article.

BeOS Augmented Reality Gaming

Comically wrong in predicting the future success of BeOS.

Here is an interview with David Nagel discussing some of Palm's plans for the Be assets. This second story is from OSOpinion, and is more speculation about a BeOS based 32-bit OS for Palm due in 2002.

Found these links through BeGroovy.

So what is up with those buffer overflows...do Microsoft developers hate users and not care about quality? Well, no. It only takes one buffer overflow in the whole system that hundreds of developers have worked on, to make it vulnerable.

At Microsoft the ultimate way people are valued is at review time when bonuses, stock options, and raises are awarded. Do developers get hosed for leaving buffer overflows in? Well, not as of when I left (April 2000). But maybe that will change, slowly.

Eventually you have to stop accepting excuses like "Gee code is really complicated and I thought I was being careful" or "we really tried to think through this design" and recognize that essentially every buffer overflow comes from being lazy as a developer, or not accounting for what kind of garbage packets can come in off the net. If Microsoft starts emphasizing that you can be fired for leaving a buffer overflow in, then things might change. Of course it's a little unfair, there is no doubt lots of clunky code in there that just doesn't happen to expose an externally exploitable buffer overflow (and merely crashes the system or something), but you start emphasizing the necessity to go over things with a fine-tooth comb to prevent buffer overflows, it will improve all the code.

Because although there may be a few cases where someone really tried to check boundary conditions and just did it wrong in the code, in most cases developers are just being lazy about writing the code robustly to begin with. Plus if you have some code to prevent this and you write it wrong, you haven't tested your code properly anyway.

More ruminations at this osopinion article.

- adam

http://www.osopinion.com/perl/story/15452.html

I say, banish the 'Desktop'! It confuses users. Teach the file tree! Standardize the file tree!

He cites the different rules between desktops and file systems as the reason to kill off file systems, but he ignores the facts that the desktop's rules are arbitrary limitations due to the metaphor, while the file systems rules are based the actual limitations of the computer itself (generally speaking.) Which makes more sense to kill?

Here's what I would do if I sensed that someone was really having a problem with the whole desktop/file system concept: Kill the destop and create a folder (say, "Applications") and create shortcuts/aliases/links to all the programs the user would really need. You get all the benefits of simplified program selection without having to learn the desktop metaphor. What really killed the simplicity of the old system (finding the program executable and running it) was the expansion of programs to require more than just a single executable file.

-sk

look at this ruling if you think that.

then come back and tell us how much the legal system sucks.

the 2600 case where Hollywood won.

how can these judges not see that the constitution is a growing entity. communication changes and so does the definition of speech.
just because the framers did not see computers or movies at the time does not make Digital/mass media a playground for first amendment abridgments.

First and foremost I respect and admire the work Mr. Cox does. And just as I am allowed to respect and admire his work I freely choose to disagree with his overt political opinions regarding the changelogs and the withholding of them from US citizens based on a law he is interpreting to include those changelogs.

Secondly I admit I am not an expert on the DMCA but from what I have read and studied so far his camparison of publishing changelogs -vs- circumvention devices/reverse engineering of document protection is the equivalent to comparing apples -vs- oranges.

In the Skylarov case for example,Mr. Skylarov wrote code to circumvent Adobes ebook encryption scheme.. correct? Then Adobe complained to authorities prompting an investigation and subsequently withdrew its complaint. After investigating it was determined by the FBI that he (Skylarov) violated US law by writing and distributing a "crack", code to circumvent Adobes encryption scheme so that people would not have to purchase content in Adobe ebook format. With his "crack" one could gain the content without paying for it. Whether or not you agree with proprietary formats or not, "stealing" it by way of circumvention is still petty theft in my opinion.

Back to how Cox fits in... Why would Mr. Cox fear his publishing of changelogs would be in violation? I have yet to see on Slashdot or his diary pages or from the main pages at that website a detailed explanation of exactly WHY he feels he needed to do this.

And if I am right it would take a whole lot more than simply publishing the changelogs to violate the DMCA. Correct me if I am wrong, but please show me proof (from sources that are legitamate). Would "NOT" publishing the changelogs feed into the premise that the DMCA is legitamite? Wouldn't the owner of the code have to actually submit a complaint to the authorities to be charged with a violation of the DMCA, similar to what Adobe did to Mr. Skylarov? BTW, since the linux kernel is open source and licensed under the GPL doesn't that in effect offer protection against a DMCA violation for publishing changelogs? I mean does Mr. Cox think Linus or someone else is going to complain to the FBI that he has somehow violated the DMCA by publishing changes he made to the Linux kernel? Why does he NOT worry about the changes to the kernel itself then? The kernel is obviously published all over the world includeing the US and it has his changes in it already doesn't it? That kinda seems oxymoronic in my opinion.

Lastly, the irony is that I have read some comments in this artice and on a previous Slashdot article that suggest the US laws are squashing freedom and the US government is oppressing its people, while Mr. Cox nor anyone else has mentioned anything about the UK's own RIP (Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act of 2000) from the Crown itself, which is a quite scary peice of legislation and comparable to the DMCA only it has a broader, less defined scope about it. Some links on the RIP are here: World Socialist Website , SiliconValley.com , ZDNet , The Register.

In summary, withholding changelogs sounds like just a little more "America bashing". While I typically choose not to be anti-anyone else my feelings of patriotism are quite high due to recent events in America. My personal view of a non-US citizen withholding information from US citizens/developers is counter productive in repealing the DMCA. Should he feel so strongly about the DMCA then I would invite him to become a US citizen and VOTE to repeal this ignorant law instead of bitching about it from some other place in the world that has its own share of ignorant laws and regulations. Yes, do something...anything but legitimizing the DMCA by withholding changelogs!

Zoom

First and foremost I respect and admire the work Mr. Cox does. And just as I am allowed to respect and admire his work I freely choose to disagree with his overt political opinions regarding the changelogs and the withholding of them from US citizens based on a law he is interpreting to include those changelogs.

Secondly I admit I am not an expert on the DMCA but from what I have read and studied so far his camparison of publishing changelogs -vs- circumvention devices/reverse engineering of document protection is the equivalent to comparing apples -vs- oranges.

In the Skylarov case for example,Mr. Skylarov wrote code to circumvent Adobes ebook encryption scheme.. correct? Then Adobe complained to authorities prompting an investigation and subsequently withdrew its complaint. After investigating it was determined by the FBI that he (Skylarov) violated US law by writing and distributing a "crack", code to circumvent Adobes encryption scheme so that people would not have to purchase content in Adobe ebook format. With his "crack" one could gain the content without paying for it. Whether or not you agree with proprietary formats or not, "stealing" it by way of circumvention is still petty theft in my opinion.

Back to how Cox fits in... Why would Mr. Cox fear his publishing of changelogs would be in violation? I have yet to see on Slashdot or his diary pages or from the main pages at that website a detailed explanation of exactly WHY he feels he needed to do this.

And if I am right it would take a whole lot more than simply publishing the changelogs to violate the DMCA. Correct me if I am wrong, but please show me proof (from sources that are legitamate). Would "NOT" publishing the changelogs feed into the premise that the DMCA is legitamite? Wouldn't the owner of the code have to actually submit a complaint to the authorities to be charged with a violation of the DMCA, similar to what Adobe did to Mr. Skylarov? BTW, since the linux kernel is open source and licensed under the GPL doesn't that in effect offer protection against a DMCA violation for publishing changelogs? I mean does Mr. Cox think Linus or someone else is going to complain to the FBI that he has somehow violated the DMCA by publishing changes he made to the Linux kernel? Why does he NOT worry about the changes to the kernel itself then? The kernel is obviously published all over the world includeing the US and it has his changes in it already doesn't it? That kinda seems oxymoronic in my opinion.

Lastly, the irony is that I have read some comments in this artice and on a previous Slashdot article that suggest the US laws are squashing freedom and the US government is oppressing its people, while Mr. Cox nor anyone else has mentioned anything about the UK's own RIP (Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act of 2000) from the Crown itself, which is a quite scary peice of legislation and comparable to the DMCA only it has a broader, less defined scope about it. Some links on the RIP are here: World Socialist Website , SiliconValley.com , ZDNet , The Register.

In summary, withholding changelogs sounds like just a little more "America bashing". While I typically choose not to be anti-anyone else my feelings of patriotism are quite high due to recent events in America. My personal view of a non-US citizen withholding information from US citizens/developers is counter productive in repealing the DMCA. Should he feel so strongly about the DMCA then I would invite him to become a US citizen and VOTE to repeal this ignorant law instead of bitching about it from some other place in the world that has its own share of ignorant laws and regulations. Yes, do something...anything but legitimizing the DMCA by withholding changelogs!

Zoom

Such as the lack of peripherals. But as noted by at least one person before me, the killer port for Xbox isn't linux, it's Apache.

Slashdot previously covered this. The Letter from 2020 is here.

To me, this seemed like a pretty plausible outcome of DRM.

there are a few stories on the net about how Apple was funding BE for a few months earlier this year. They were looking at purchasing BE (and all of the former Apple employees who founded BE) but something hit a snag. One of the stories is at OS Opinion (don't worry it's not a goats.cx link)

I heard it didnt' go too well with WebVan.com...
--

M$ had better do a more comprehensive audit of their entire code base before going public with stories like this.

Funny enough I was just reading about the author and some of his columns: here's some links

columns
home page
comments posted at kur5shin.org
stories posted to kuro5hin.org. one i like is where he talked about NT's TCP/IP stack history and why it's not from BSD
He's no MS shrill he was the one a while back proposed that we use the XBox as a cheap web farm

anyway interesting stuff.

-Jon

Here are some relevent links:

An Opinion from OsOpinion
The Gartner Report Itself

--Volrath50