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BLISS is still used for a great deal of the VMS operating system, although the rumour is that much more of it is being written in C these days. Fans of ESR will note that he is helping out Roar Thronæs the maintainer of ignorance (a BLISS to C translator).

BLISS is still used for a great deal of the VMS operating system, although the rumour is that much more of it is being written in C these days. Fans of ESR will note that he is helping out Roar Thronæs the maintainer of ignorance (a BLISS to C translator).

One of the old worries of Dynamic memory, ages ago, was that some cosmic particle could corrupt it, not that I've ever seen evidence of this happening, maybe it was just BS.

I just have to point out that Cosmic rays are probably not the cause. There are many causes for randomness, and especially when dealing with particles, these radnom factors become more important. Remember that all of quantum mechanics is based on probablities, not absolutes.

This is from the Jargon File:
Factual note: Alpha particles cause bit rot, cosmic rays do not (except occasionally in spaceborne computers). Intel could not explain random bit drops in their early chips, and one hypothesis was cosmic rays. So they created the World's Largest Lead Safe, using 25 tons of the stuff, and used two identical boards for testing. One was placed in the safe, one outside. The hypothesis was that if cosmic rays were causing the bit drops, they should see a statistically significant difference between the error rates on the two boards. They did not observe such a difference. Further investigation demonstrated conclusively that the bit drops were due to alpha particle emissions from thorium (and to a much lesser degree uranium) in the encapsulation material. Since it is impossible to eliminate these radioactives (they are uniformly distributed through the earth's crust, with the statistically insignificant exception of uranium lodes) it became obvious that one has to design memories to withstand these hits.

JD

How hard is it to stick this in another project?

Actually, this is discussed explicitly in his paper on the topic. It sounds as though broad applicability to the general problem of complex configurations was one of his goals:

Another decision I made early was to have no information or constraints specific to the Linux-kernel configuration problem in the code of the system. Thus, a CML rules file contains not just the menu declarations, visibility predicates, validity constraints, and derivations derived above; it includes various auxiliary declarations including the locations of help files, a common prefix to be added when writing out symbols, and even the image to be used when the configurator iconifies under X.

Thus, CML2 is designed to conveniently be used for a much larger class of configuration-management problems than just Linux kernels. It could be used, in particular, for configuring systems from libraries of programs or libraries with `requires' dependencies on each other. All this would require would be a custom rules file expressing the dependencies.

"(...) the kernel-configuration process has grown excessively complex. The configuration system's job is to turn the user's answers to configuration questions into a file of #define constructs used to condition features in or out of the C code. As Linux has grown more features and more driver support, the number of menus and prompts one must navigate to choose the appropriate subset of those features has become forbidding even to expert users, and outright impossible for the novice users Linux increasingly seeks to attract. To properly manage the complexity we have created, we need a configuration interface that can support better chunking and progressive disclosure. Ideally, novices building kernels should see only the choices they need to make. As they gain competence and cue the configuration system that they are ready, they should see more options for tuning and exotic hardware. The full process should be accessible to expert kernel hackers, but not inflicted willy-nilly on everyone else as it now is."

Well, many want him to speak in their conference or similar and he's travelling quite a lot. I think it's just fair that he wants good sleep and proper food. See esr's travelling rules. Calendar is also available.

Well, many want him to speak in their conference or similar and he's travelling quite a lot. I think it's just fair that he wants good sleep and proper food. See esr's travelling rules. Calendar is also available.

And now I guess we can say every device, not just every program. i just can't wait to get a riding lawn mower with built-in internet access.

We need to call the "Linux Armed Response Team"!! (LART)

"The Cathedral and the Bazaar" is one of the OpenSource bibles:
link:
http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/writings/cathedral-ba za ar/cathedral-bazaar/


At least it was exactly this paper which has converted me some years ago...

Eric Raymond's Cathedral and the Bazaar, and his other writings, are a good foundation as well.

Eric Raymond's Cathedral and the Bazaar, and his other writings, are a good foundation as well.

From esr@snark.thyrsus.com Fri Nov 09 22:46:19 2001
From: "Eric S. Raymond"
Subject: Thank you, Microsoft, but no thanks!

In remarks at a Microsoft stockholders' meeting, Bill Gates recently
claimed that Microsoft was responsible for the success of open source.

"Really," he said "the reason you see open source there at all is
because we came in and said there should be a platform that's
identical with millions and millions of machines."

As an exercise in retroactive imperialism, this is little short of
breathtaking. It ignores the fact that though the open-source culture
wouldn't get public visibility until after 1993, or a name for itself
until 1998, it already existed well before the foundation of Microsoft
in 1975. Many of today's most active hackers can readily remember a
time when the typical response to the word "Microsoft" was "Who are
they?" -- and some of our most important work (such as the Berkeley
TCP/IP stack that Microsoft itself copied and used) was written years
before the computing landscape flattened into PCs as far as the eye
can see.

But there is one smidgen of truth in this; yes, Mr. Gates, recently you have
helped open source succeed -- in much the same way Osama bin Laden has
helped beef up airport security lately.

Microsoft's monopolistic, price-gouging, bullying behavior is making
open source more attractive every day. We'd thank you, except that
you're only accelerating a process that would have happened anyway.
You're a serviceable villain, but not a necessary one; the dedication
to excellence and the sense of worldwide community that are behind the
open-source movement were here long before Microsoft, and will still be here
long after Microsoft is gone.
--
Eric S. Raymond

I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the
Constitution which grant[s] a right to Congress of expending, on
objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents.
-- James Madison, 1794

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If everyone were to say this, we would never have had Nazis

I'm sorry, this debate is over. You lose.

Didn't they know that they were implementing Godwin's Law and that in such they were doomed to failure?

See the jargon entries for Flash Crowd and Slashdot Effect

See the jargon entries for Flash Crowd and Slashdot Effect

"Release early and release often"

See "The Cathedral and the Bazaar", esr

http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/writings/cathedral-baza ar/cathedral-bazaar/x147.html

The parent isn't a Troll - if anything, it's Funny. A real troll should at least TRY to appear legitimate...

If you are interested in the components of your PC, then why not build your own rather than paying for a pre-built? Home-brew is the best way to learn hardware skills if you are just starting out. Try to get hold of some cheap (old) hardware and play with that. "...true hacking..." is not just investigating. It is also experimentation and modification, and then sharing that knowledge with the community. Merely opening the case to get the chip model numbers (or HDD make/model etc etc) is not what I would call a hack.

Have a look at The Jargon Lexicon .

It's not a virus. You mean Trojan horse. Viruses replicate.

It's not a virus. You mean Trojan horse. Viruses replicate.

Check out ITS. The source code is available here, and you can grab the documentation over here.

At some point, perhaps people will think: hey, why add a specialized card? Why not just more general purpose computing power?

Eric S. Raymond wrote an essay about this... here.

From http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/jargon/html/entry/Septe mber-that-never-ended.html

All time since September 1993. One of the seasonal rhythms of the Usenet used to be the annual September influx of clueless newbies who, lacking any sense of netiquette, made a general nuisance of themselves. This coincided with people starting college, getting their first internet accounts, and plunging in without bothering to learn what was acceptable. These relatively small drafts of newbies could be assimilated within a few months. But in September 1993, AOL users became able to post to Usenet, nearly overwhelming the old-timers' capacity to acculturate them; to those who nostalgically recall the period before hand, this triggered an inexorable decline in the quality of discussions on newsgroups. See also AOL!.

I don't care at all about karma...really.

Use of Indonesian soldiers to provide "security" at the Nikomas Factory in Indonesia
Members of the Indonesian army are frequently employed as "security" in factories in Indonesia during periods of industrial unrest to prevent industrial action. In September 1999 a US student delegation observed Indonesian soldiers stationed at the Nikomas factory at a time when wage negotiations were being conducted. Following the publicity the issue received the soldiers were replaced by non-military security (police and security guards) who were playing an appropriate role. Subsequently however, during peaceful strike action by workers at PT Nikomas, police from Brimob (an armed police brigade) equipped with guns entered the factory and together with factory security guards and hired civilians they threatened and provoked workers. We repeat our call for Nike to ensure that Indonesia's armed forces are never called in to prevent or interfere with peaceful industrial action.

You go on to say: and, a little note: they hate us because we're the rich, good-looking kid on the playground who is smart enough not to give his lunch away everyday to the kids who are too stupid to find their own money.

Again, I feel I must correct you: they hate us because we are a genocidal nation of gun-crazy psychopaths and lunatics.

The Story of Magic from the Jargon File always amuses me...

ESR is driving VA Software. May God help us all...

INTERCAL is the only language in which you can not only program in trits, but n-digit number systems. It's an elegant and beautiful language - it's so beautiful, it will drive you mad. =)

If the Jargon File is anything to go by, this isn't exactly something IBM has only started doing recently.

The entry on Tiger Teams provides the definition; the entry on patches gives the example story:

There is a classic story of a tiger team penetrating a secure military computer that illustrates the danger inherent in binary patches (or, indeed, any patches that you can't -- or don't -- inspect and examine before installing). They couldn't find any trap doors or any way to penetrate security of IBM's OS, so they made a site visit to an IBM office (remember, these were official military types who were purportedly on official business), swiped some IBM stationery, and created a fake patch. The patch was actually the trapdoor they needed. The patch was distributed at about the right time for an IBM patch, had official stationery and all accompanying documentation, and was dutifully installed. The installation manager very shortly thereafter learned something about proper procedures.

If the Jargon File is anything to go by, this isn't exactly something IBM has only started doing recently.

The entry on Tiger Teams provides the definition; the entry on patches gives the example story:

There is a classic story of a tiger team penetrating a secure military computer that illustrates the danger inherent in binary patches (or, indeed, any patches that you can't -- or don't -- inspect and examine before installing). They couldn't find any trap doors or any way to penetrate security of IBM's OS, so they made a site visit to an IBM office (remember, these were official military types who were purportedly on official business), swiped some IBM stationery, and created a fake patch. The patch was actually the trapdoor they needed. The patch was distributed at about the right time for an IBM patch, had official stationery and all accompanying documentation, and was dutifully installed. The installation manager very shortly thereafter learned something about proper procedures.

Open source, like everything else in life, strictly follows Sturgeon's Law: Ninety percent of everything is crud

Ahhh...

What I wouldn't give for a good 'ol Amiga Guru Meditation. See it here.

The only advantage Alta Vista has over Google is proper Boolean search terms. If Google would get that, I'd drop Alta Vista from my bookmarks in a Planck Interval.

However, the one thing that keeps me using Alta Vista can be demonstrated with this example:

Earlier today, a co-worker and I were discussing
Signetic's ficticious write only memory .
I wanted to see if anybody had ever put a copy of that data sheet up.

Now, searching with Google and the terms Signetics "write only memory" gets me over 80 hits, the last 40 of which have NOTHING to do with my search at all - they just contain one or more of the words. Note the quotes - I was searching for the exact phrase "write only memory", a distinction lost upon Google.

Now, searching on Alta Vista with Signetics near "write only memory" yeilds 57 hits, all of which are direct references to what I am looking for (most of which are mirrors of ESR's jargon file entry). Adding and not ("jargon file") neatly removes those, leaving 43 hits.

Why cannot Google add boolean searching to their engine? Perhaps they could do an initial fetch as they do now, then refine it with a boolean search?

The fast releases don't inspire confidence.

Linus used to release new kernels daily. In fact, it was part of the foundation for The Cathedral And The Bazaar. It's a feature, not a bug. 8^)

I think that most systems would reject a TCP/IP packet from Mars. On a more serious note, I have this feeling that TCP/IP would really suck over that sort of distance (given the round trip time). It's a long time since I did the theory but I'm sure there enough problems using it over a satellite link, let alone an interplanetary link. You would need to tunnel it over a new protocol at the least.

It's not necessary to "imagine" government agencies with all the power they want; we've seen the results in reality again and again (and again and again and again and again).

Personal responsibility is a more promising approach.

--
Why is it that I almost always check "No Score +1 Bonus"?

...that you are supposed to apply the Bazaar mode only AFTER your project is "runnable and testable", according to ESR ( "The Cathedral and the Bazaar" ).

The definition of lose in the most relevant context is:

1. [very common] To fail. A program loses when it encounters an exceptional condition or fails to work in the expected manner.

By that definition, Windows loses millions of times around the world daily. My Linux machine has been up for more than 6 months. :)

Justin

I suggest that those with an interest in security focus their efforts on improving free software, where their contributions will be appreciated instead of condemned. If this results in free software becoming more secure, while Microsoft continues to wear brown paper bags, at least they will not be able to blame "information anarchy".

IIRC

Hear, hear! But a meme needs a route to propagate. Who's going to do it?

Universities aren't interested just in "educating" future academics; they've got a vested interest in crafting a workforce. Their funding derives in large part from donations from business leaders, and those leaders want employees who can program, not employees who have an appreciation for Babbage. An analogy would be to business schools: Graduates are expected to solve "real-world" (as academia sees it) problems, not be able to discourse on the history of efficiency experts. B-Schools aren't so much interested in giving their students a full and complete history of business methods as they are in providing a little bit of context to their graduates, who move on to become employees, who move on to become "leaders", who--they hope--move on to become future corporate alumni donors.

So who educates the next generation (or the current generation; I'm painfully aware of my own ignorance in these matters)? Well, where did you learn about Babbage? Some of us probably learned about him in an academic setting, but I'm guessing that informal channels played a much more important role for most technophiles--if for no other reason then the aggressively informal culture of high-tech in general. I wasn't attracted to computers because there was such a rich history of thought and intellectual culture behind them. I was jazzed by bells, whistles and blinkenlights. Once I got involved, it was an informal network of peers, books, net sites, and conversations that led to expanding my knowledge into historical considerations.

The rendition at http://www2.linuxjournal.com/articles/style/0013.h tml professes to be the "unabridged version". Sadly, it isn't: It's considerably edited down from the full article, which can be viewed at http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/writings/ultimate-linux -box/.

Rick Moen
rick@linuxmafia.com

Perhaps you should inspect his resume and point out the untruthful details.

After you are done with him, will you have some time to recite my experiences back to me? I'm having a particularly hard time remembering years 1984-1986....

Did you STFW first?

A quick search of http://sourceforge.net/search/ for "inventory" turned up LHinv at http://sourceforge.net/projects/lhinv/, which looks like it will help. So does http://phpmyinventory.sourceforge.net/

I find it odd how every syntax I have ever seen in a computer language looks ugly and stupid to me, until I become fluent in it, then I won't abide any change after.

I had forgotten how many failed experimental languages there were, and was amused to see these odd academic and intellectual experiments still sprouting up.

One can only hope that one of these odd languages might spark the imagination, and actually provide a paradigm shift. Especially note worthy were "Befunge" and "Orthogonal" which are two-dimensional languages. More experimentation along these lines could only be good. Could a multi-dimensional language more efficiently encode parallel-processing software for instance?

The original definition of a hacker is "someone who makes furniture with an axe." Placing restrictions on these types of people is very important for national security.

(Joking aside, I agree with your post).