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Truly Open Source

• All code in MariaDB is released under GPL, LPGL or BSD. MariaDB does not have closed source modules like the one you can find in MySQL enterprise edition. In fact, all the closed source features in MySQL 5.5 enterprise edition are found in the MariaDB open source version.
• MariaDB includes test cases for all fixed bugs. Oracle doesn't provide test cases for new bugs fixed in MySQL 5.5.
• All bugs and development plans are public.
• MariaDB is developed by the community in true open source spirit.

Wikipedia, too, is moving from MySQL to MariaDB.

http://www.zdnet.com/new-android-malware-infects-100000-chinese-smartphones-7000000497/

Not in Google Play at all.

Considering those are all Chines phones, that's not really surprising. Most "Android" phones sold in China don't have access to Google Play.

Which is the real problem here: Google has walled them out of their garden and forces them to go to even unsafer places.

I am sure amazon does not have the same contract as the small time developer and it will come down to licensing terms. They had to pull the link from within their old app before http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/amazon-others-cave-to-apple-on-in-app-purchases-today-html5-tomorrow/53116 so it was just a matter of time that they made it easy to purchase the apps on a phone conveniently. I don't see how this should even fall under terms of their license but I wouldn't be surprised if there weren't some broad reaching terms in the contract that apple will try to use as leverage.

http://www.zdnet.com/new-android-malware-infects-100000-chinese-smartphones-7000000497/

Not in Google Play at all.

Thank you! These 7000 plus apps were 3rd party apps that were not downloaded from Google Play.

Doesn't that imply that if Google-Play/Android was a walled garden like iPhone/iTunes this would not have happened? I suppose that one could also weigh Android down with Windows style malware defences. Irony abounds....

http://www.zdnet.com/new-android-malware-infects-100000-chinese-smartphones-7000000497/

Not in Google Play at all.

Thank you! These 7000 plus apps were 3rd party apps that were not downloaded from Google Play.

http://www.zdnet.com/new-android-malware-infects-100000-chinese-smartphones-7000000497/

Not in Google Play at all.

Well as I posted when the band aid patch that is now busted was put out it could take 2 years to fix the actual problem because the underlying code is "broken" and pretty much needs a full rewrite. We can't really blame Oracle for this as Java was a mess when Sun had it, Oracle merely got stuck with the mess when they bought out Sun.

The thing I WILL blame Oracle for is the fact that if you update the damned software with the patch it RE-ENABLES the browser plug in unless you know to disable it, along with the usual crapware that comes with everything. Oh and I also blame the jerk that made Minecraft for bringing shitty Java back to the home users, for a good while there I had all but wiped Java out on home users systems, then that damned game came up and here we go again.

Personally I think Homeland Security should order Oracle to put out a patch that disables the browser plug in and bar them from re-enabling it when they patch as those that actually NEED Java can find out how to turn on the plug in easy enough but those that don't won't know to disable it every. single. time. they have an update.

The problem is that 2 different security groups have been analyzing the flaws that the malware guys used for the last exploit and say it could be 2 years before a proper fix is in place because the underlying code is "a mess".

Of course any of us who had to deal with Sun's products in the past could have told them this, Sun was pretty piss poor when it came to code and security, this is why I've been saying give the LO guys at least 3 years before we start bitching simply because it'll probably take that long to clean up the mess Sun left.

The monkey in the wrench though, the fly in the ointment, the pain in the ass, is that Java usage was waaay down among consumers....until that fucking game showed up. I hope the guy who wrote Minecraft is happy because just when we had weened a lot of home users away from the tripe that is Java he had to build a hit game on it and drag us all back into the mess. I don't know which is worse, Micecraft bringing shitty Java back to the consumer desktop or that fact Java will add the browser plugin (along with crapware) every time you update the damned thing. But in any case the malware writers are gonna have a field day as all those Minecraft installs are a botnet waiting to happen and if those security researchers are right all Oracle can do is slap band aids on the mess that is Java..

Or even some single player games nowadays.

I was under the impression that always-connected digital restrictions management in single-player video games only required outgoing TCP, which works through NAT.

Ever streamed video or audio through Skype?

In a case where both parties are behind NAT that they do not control, Skype supports bouncing communication off Microsoft's supernodes.

Ever instant messaged anyone online on most IM platforms?

IRC without DCC bounces IMs off a server. Which "most IM platforms" are you referring to?

Ever setup a home security system with remote access?

That would compete with the ISP's own smart home offering. Customers who wish to use a competing service are encouraged to upgrade to business-or-enthusiast class Internet access.

Ever wanted a home based cloud service or fileshare?

ISPs would encourage such customers to upgrade to business-or-enthusiast class Internet access.

Ever SSHed into a home computer?

ISPs would encourage such customers to upgrade to business-or-enthusiast class Internet access.

Its the same old same, bad software becomes popular, we have to keep bad software,lots of fixes and band aids when what we need is to move away from the bad software, simple as that. Oh and FYI but according to ZDNet this is strictly a band aid and the actual fix could take 2 years and that is if no more bugs are found. What are the odds of that?

Why can't the larger companies, e.g. Microsoft and Oracle, respond to and fix the sucrity issues more quickly than on a timeline expressed in months?

Because there is no real (profit) motivation until they get bad press, like this recommendation to uninstall Java from US Department of Homeland Security.

1) That's actually a low rate for Windows adoption

Windows 7 sold as many licenses in the same period (ref). According to IDC, the PC industry in Q4 2012 sold 89.8M units worldwide (ref). IDC also claims in Q4 2009, the PC industry sold 89.6M units (ref). So between 2009 and 2012 we see no growth and the same sales... we can see Windows 8 is selling at the same rate as Windows 7.

Rather than read the indictment, or press releases from his side, I prefer actual journalism. Here's a well-written and informative article:
http://www.zdnet.com/hacker-activist-aaron-swartz-commits-suicide-7000009725/

http://www.zdnet.com/nokia-hijacks-mobile-browser-traffic-decrypts-https-data-7000009655/

This seems like it will be common place as cloud based web rendering becomes popular to save people "bandwidth".

Kindle: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/networking/amazons-kindle-fire-silk-browser-has-serious-security-concerns/1516

Amazon Silk's terms and conditions state that Amazon will keep your the Web addresses you visit, the IP addresses you use, and your Kindle Fire's unique media access control (MAC) addresses for 30 days. With that information, Amazon can track your every Web move.

On top of that, when you lock into a site that uses Secure-Socket Layer (SSL) or HTTPS for security, EC2 will handle that for you as well. According to the Silk FAQ, "We will establish a secure connection from the cloud to the site owner on your behalf for page requests of sites using SSL (e.g. https://siteaddress.com./ Amazon Silk will facilitate a direct connection between your device and that site. Any security provided by these particular sites to their users would still exist."

Amazon will do this by acting as man-in-the-middle (MTM) SSL proxy. That's fine if you trust Amazon. I'm not sure I do. I'm not crazy about extending my trust to any large corporation. I have to trust my ISP, they connect me with the net, I don't want to extend my trust much farther than my ISP.

Correct: http://www.zdnet.com/no-google-is-not-making-the-android-sdk-proprietary-whats-the-fuss-about-7000009406/

The Linux kernel isn't the only piece of copyleft software. I've already explained why it has been so successful - in spite of its license. In every other software category, copyleft projects are gradually losing market share to copyfree ones.

Google has many reasons to regret going with Linux for Android / ChromeOS instead of investing into something like FreeBSD or NetBSD, which needed more polishing on mobile platforms, but they needed a kernel quickly. It's only a matter of time until a specialized genuinely free alternative to Linux becomes good enough, and the industry will very easily switch. Most Android / ChromeOS users won't know the difference.

--libman

'The bad guys are getting worse,' says Howard. 'Antivirus helps filter down the problem, but the next big security company will be the one that offers a comprehensive solution.'"

Run your OS off a read-only USB device ... link

"Australian company Cybersource says it's currently talking to two domestic banks about providing Linux-based bootable CDs to consumers to ensure Internet banking security". link

"Accessing online banking from your home PC is unsafe, says CIO of CNL Bank", link link

You say that but what did Android offer over iOS? It's confusing because it looks different and can behave differently depending on who you get it from. It was incredibly buggy for the longest time, getting updates isn't consistent and it does have more malware.

Of course openness only appeals to a small number of people but these are the people that will talk about it the most and create hype and if Ubuntu create something that provides openness while making it a more consistent and better experience than Android then they'll do well.

Also if they improve security over android that will help. Android does get a lot of people buying their phones but it also has a higher level of customer dissatisfaction. in fact in some results, Windows phone ranks higher than Android.

http://www.slashgear.com/iphone-keeps-smartphone-satisfaction-crown-builds-lead-over-android-06246257/
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/hardware/wp7-ahead-of-android-and-right-behind-ios-in-customer-satisfaction-survey/13728

Another poll says that 1/3 of android owners would prefer to have an iphone. So is adroid only as big as it is because it's financially people's only choice? http://www.pcpro.co.uk/blogs/2010/11/14/poll-suggests-third-of-android-owners-really-want-an-iphone/

77% of iphone users say they'd buy another iphone. 20% of Android users say they'd buy another Android phone. http://money.cnn.com/2010/07/23/technology/iphone_4_att/index.htm

So basically all around it looks like there is a lot of dissatifaction amongst Android users and they're not overly keen on having an android phone. Maybe that's why they don't really buy apps or surf the net unlike iphone users.

So let's not pretend Google has perfected the mobile phone and no one should else should try. Again openness does mattter to get in the people who will get all fanboyish about it and promote it and if they can make something that also a superior user experience then they'll do well.

Maybe by then desktop will lose its meaning or be irrelevant, but many signals are pointing in the direction that in a not so far future will finally reach the year of Linux in the desktop. Is already the main OS for servers, supercomputers, mobile, computing devices in general (those last 2 mainly because Android), and not sure about embedded. And Chromebooks, Steam and Windows 8, among other factors, will be giving it a nice push this year.

The next debate probably will be that what is in the desktop (over the linux kernel) won't be a "traditional" linux desktop, KDE/Gnome and others will still be around, but the mainly used user interface/programs could be something not so native like android or html5 apps, but being Linux probably will be options to use what you prefer.

Instructions for how to sideload using a developer account are published on Microsoft.com, and the account is free.

From this page: "But you categorically cannot run production apps in this mode -- you can only allow testing." I was under the impression that Microsoft had mechanisms in place to detect what it considered "abuse" of a Windows Store developer license. Let me know when any of the Visual Studio components are ported to run under Windows RT.

Well, they did the "find whoever was responsible" part, but I'm not sure you'd be happy with what they actually did with one instead.

Sadly, even Qt is slowly rolling down the Psycho Control Freak UI Designer road (see Qt Quick). I think we need more widget standardization, not de-emphasis.

desperately to catch up with the "way worse" to be it's own sort of police state

If that's true, why did the USA oppose the UN's attempt at 'internet governance?' You think they would be all over the opportunity to regulate the internet.

http://www.zdnet.com/u-s-now-totally-unified-in-opposition-of-u-n-internet-governance-7000008382/

Let me get this correct. You are asking me on why the USA does NOT want the UN to be in charge of the internet? Seriously?

The USA does NOT want to lose the power it has over the internet. The corporations that pay off our politicians do NOT want to have to start paying off the government in every country, so they want the USA to stay in charge.

If the USA handling of "pirate" websites being taken down, without court orders or do rights, does not convince you of this, then, I'm sorry you are you.

I mean, after all, the USA wouldn't do police state stuff like take down business (domains) without court orders or do rights. The same USA that would NEVER allow warrant less wiretaps.

Wake the fuck up.

desperately to catch up with the "way worse" to be it's own sort of police state

If that's true, why did the USA oppose the UN's attempt at 'internet governance?' You think they would be all over the opportunity to regulate the internet.

http://www.zdnet.com/u-s-now-totally-unified-in-opposition-of-u-n-internet-governance-7000008382/

This one? The "hardcore 'penguins'" hate - but, you seem reasonable, & of course these ARE documented, verifiable & UNDENABLE facts too, so... here goes:

"You are more secure running Linux or any *nix for those classes of exploits that do not simply require operator stupidity." - by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 27, @08:14PM (#42407955)

ARE YOU? See this list from 2011-2012:

2012:

New Linux Rootkit Emerges:

https://threatpost.com/en_us/blogs/new-linux-rootkit-emerges-112012

"A new Linux rootkit has emerged and researchers who have analyzed its code and operation say that the malware appears to be a custom-written tool designed to inject iframes into Web sites and drive traffic to malicious sites for drive-by download attacks. The rootkit is designed specifically for 64-bit Linux systems."

---

'FIRST ever' Linux, Mac OS X-only password sniffing virus spotted:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/08/29/linux_mac_trojan/

---

Medicaid hack update: 500,000 records and 280,000 SSNs stolen:

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/medicaid-hack-update-500000-records-and-280000-ssns-stolen/11444

So, what's dts.utah.gov running everyone?

LINUX (and yes, it got HACKED) -> http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=dts.utah.gov

What's health.utah.gov running too??

YOU GUESSED IT: LINUX AGAIN -> http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=health.utah.gov

* Ah, yes - see the YEARS OF /. "BS" FUD is CRUMBLING AROUND THE PENGUINS EARS HERE & 2012's starting out just like 2011 did below!

===

2011:

KERNEL.ORG COMPROMISED - The Cracking of Kernel.org: (that's VERY bad - do you trust it now?)

http://linux.slashdot.org/story/11/08/31/2321232/Kernelorg-Compromised

---

Linux.com pwned in fresh round of cyber break-ins:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/09/12/more_linux_sites_down/

---

Mysql.com Hacked, Made To Serve Malware:

http://it.slashdot.org/story/11/09/26/2218238/mysqlcom-hacked-made-to-serve-malware

What's that site running? You guessed it - Linux -> http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=mysql.com

---

London Stock Exchange serving malware:

http://slashdot.org/submission/1484548/London-Stock-Exchange-Web-Site-Serving-Malware

(I mean hey - NOT ONLY DID LINUX FALL FLAT ON ITS FACE less than a few minutes into the job http://linux.slashdot.org/story/11/02/19/0147232/London-Stock-Exchange-Price-Errors-Emerged-At-Linux-Launch, & crash not only ONCE, but TWICE there? You see "Linux 'fine security'" in motion @ the LSE too!)

---

DUQU ROOTKIT/BOTNET BEING SERVED FROM LINUX SERVERS:

http://it.slashdot.org/story/11/11/30/1610228/duqu-attackers-managed-to-wipe-cc-servers

---

Linux Foundation, Linux.com Sites Down T

...China Inc. can first fuck all these corporations and then run away with their decades of R&D data.

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/03/rsa-hacked/

So because RSA was hacked, we shouldn't use Microsoft software?

It's a good thing that no Open source software has ever been hacked.

is the smiley patent, awarded to Microsoft.

http://www.zdnet.com/microsoft-frowned-at-for-smiley-patent-3039210396/

That could be used to get injunctions over any number of devices. Virtual handshakes and hugs have limited use cases, in my view.

Like Apple, currently shopping around for another chip manufacturer after Samsung raised prices, (to earn back billion dollar fine which will most likely be overturned on appeal).

That reported story, sourced from a single Korean newspaper article, has been denied:
http://www.zdnet.com/samsung-wont-increase-the-price-of-apple-processors-report-7000007412/

As they are in contract, I find it hard to believe that a supplier could arbitrarily raise prices.

I imagine that Thilo has already unfriended Mark. Just wonder how much longer Thilo will have a profile? Though looks like his account is rather bereft of any content in the true German minimalist tradition, so just maybe it is just a doppelganger dupe profile, who knows.

Germans bureaucrats and law makers seem to be getting really up in arms at both Google and Facebook now that Microsoft has paid them off enough like the way they do in the States.

This is just another sponsored attack and you can bet that Microsoft is somewhere not to deep in the background egging on the German politicians with the usual grease. How else could the Germans have lost their minds and allowed ridiculous American software patents to stand.

Attacking Facebook and Google in the US would be suicide for Microsoft but as usual they are just doing it where a small amount of grease will get the biggest results. Germany has become the Utah and West Texas of Europe, shame on them! Angela Merkel is nothing more than a sheep in wolves' clothing. Same as Stephen Harper in Canada. No balls at all but at least Merkel has a real excuse.

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/safarimacbook-first-to-fall-at-pwn2own-2011/8358

Malware is an end user problem. Computers exist to, yup, run software. When you aren't careful about what you are running, you run bad things. No technology is ever going to stop that without making general use computing pretty useless. The problem is that most computer users are not educated, and worse, are overly trusting of their 'security' software and the ads they see on tv to 'make your computer faster'.

The solution is education:
- only install software from trusted sources, that you explicitly install (this is where that whole unix permissions thing works better than the alternative)
- keep the software you do have installed patched and up to date (much easier these days, has been easy in linux longer than in windows or mac worlds)
- install adblock, and maybe even noscript for your browser and use them.
- don't click on random links from unknown sources in email. Not even from friends, if the link seems 'out of character' for them.
- do not run unnecessary software or services on your computer
- don't use software that provides easy vectors for malware. Unfortunately, microsoft office and even libre and openoffice fall into this category. But not opening these types of files from unknown sources somewhat mitigates this. Again, *THINK*.
- use a hardware firewall at home (this probably isn't an issue these days, as that is the way things come by default now)
- use a software firewall on laptops (even windoze does this by default now, but it will still merrily broadcast all kinds of SMB nonsense. Most home users don't have a need to run client and printer sharing at all, however, so it should simply be disabled anyway)
- have a good backup strategy, USE IT, and TEST IT. Re-installing an operating system isn't that big a deal. Losing your digital life's history could very well be.
- don't aggregate your 'cloud' stuff between facebook, google, dropbox, whatever. As far as storing things in the cloud? Probably not a great idea, despite the convenience. Better to spend a little money on a home NAS.

And, for those of you who make a career out of keeping your co-workers and families safe
- Transparent dansguardian proxy
- Sendmail + Mimedefang + Spamassassin + ClamAV

But, again, it's a behavior problem. The above solution are more to cut through the cruft. Ultimately, end users need to understand safe computing.

Current history shows Linux doesn't do so well in that role (small wonder you were down modded as a troll erroneous ):

2012:

New Linux Rootkit Emerges:

https://threatpost.com/en_us/blogs/new-linux-rootkit-emerges-112012

"A new Linux rootkit has emerged and researchers who have analyzed its code and operation say that the malware appears to be a custom-written tool designed to inject iframes into Web sites and drive traffic to malicious sites for drive-by download attacks. The rootkit is designed specifically for 64-bit Linux systems."

---

'FIRST ever' Linux, Mac OS X-only password sniffing virus spotted:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/08/29/linux_mac_trojan/

---

Medicaid hack update: 500,000 records and 280,000 SSNs stolen:

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/medicaid-hack-update-500000-records-and-280000-ssns-stolen/11444

So, what's dts.utah.gov running everyone?

LINUX (and yes, it got HACKED) -> http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=dts.utah.gov

What's health.utah.gov running too??

YOU GUESSED IT: LINUX AGAIN -> http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=health.utah.gov

* Ah, yes - see the YEARS OF /. "BS" FUD is CRUMBLING AROUND THE PENGUINS EARS HERE & 2012's starting out just like 2011 did below!

===

2011:

KERNEL.ORG COMPROMISED - The Cracking of Kernel.org: (that's VERY bad - do you trust it now?)

http://linux.slashdot.org/story/11/08/31/2321232/Kernelorg-Compromised

---

Linux.com pwned in fresh round of cyber break-ins:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/09/12/more_linux_sites_down/

---

Mysql.com Hacked, Made To Serve Malware:

http://it.slashdot.org/story/11/09/26/2218238/mysqlcom-hacked-made-to-serve-malware

What's that site running? You guessed it - Linux -> http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=mysql.com

---

London Stock Exchange serving malware:

http://slashdot.org/submission/1484548/London-Stock-Exchange-Web-Site-Serving-Malware

(I mean hey - NOT ONLY DID LINUX FALL FLAT ON ITS FACE less than a few minutes into the job http://linux.slashdot.org/story/11/02/19/0147232/London-Stock-Exchange-Price-Errors-Emerged-At-Linux-Launch, & crash not only ONCE, but TWICE there? You see "Linux 'fine security'" in motion @ the LSE too!)

---

DUQU ROOTKIT/BOTNET BEING SERVED FROM LINUX SERVERS:

http://it.slashdot.org/story/11/11/30/1610228/duqu-attackers-managed-to-wipe-cc-servers

---

Linux Foundation, Linux.com Sites Down To Fix Security Breach:

http://linux.slashdot.org/story/11/09/11/1325212/linux-foundation-linuxcom-sites-down-to-fix-security-breach

---

Linux's showing in CA's breached recently too? Ok:

http://www.zdnet.com/ios-users-generate-twice-as-much-web-traffic-as-android-users-7000008292/

http://www.netmarketshare.com/operating-system-market-share.aspx?qprid=9&qpcustomb=1

Honestly I thought this was pretty common knowledge around the techy community.

Not talking about market share, usage share. iOS users generate more web traffic via google search than Android users do

http://www.zdnet.com/ios-users-generate-twice-as-much-web-traffic-as-android-users-7000008292/

http://news.yahoo.com/ios-users-generate-double-traffic-android-users-215354607.html

http://gigaom.com/mobile/why-are-android-users-less-engaged-than-ios-users/

Those are from this month. The pattern has remained consistant

I wonder how of those people feel that way because they believe that the higher cost means it must be the best product they could have purchased.

While you are correct that there is a tendency for some people to rationalize a poor buying decision, and certainly agree about the rampant insanity of many "audiophiles", you would be equally incorrect to assume that is the main reason why Apple has been so wildly successful.

In the end, people have to use these things, and I can assure you that there would have long ago been a mass-exodus away from Apple products if there was something fundamentally wrong with them.

And "cachet" might get you the first Apple sale for a particular customer; but for most of them, it wouldn't go past that, and that's not the typical pattern.

I have used plenty of brands of computer and consumer-electronic equipment in my nearly 40 years' experience with same, and with absolutely zero exceptions, in those areas where Apple competes, their products are consistently head-and-shoulders above the others in terms of build quality, attention to detail, longevity, and overall "user experience".

Apple has the top sellers in the U.S. in the product areas of notebooks and (consumer) desktops, music players, tablets and (relative to any other single brand) smartphones. Do you really think they got there, especially in this weak economy, on cachet?

Didn't Mint do something vaguely similar by patching a package to redirecting searches to earn income for the distro rather than the original package authors?

No, that was Ubuntu, too. Ubuntu vs Banshee

I'm only providing the link. Please don't interpret this as me siding with RMS against Ubuntu, or the other way around.

CJ

The boneheaded decisions of Canonical, plus the existence of Mint Linux, have all but decimated the Ubuntu userbase. Yes, I know there must be some Ubuntu users out there still, but they're somewhere at the fringe of society: you know nobody in your circle of friends, colleagues, family or acquaintances who uses Ubuntu.

The geek's circle of friends must be smaller than most.

Dell Ubuntu Laptop Developer Speaks About Future Plans

Splashtop introduces remote Ubuntu to Android and iPhone

10 reasons to choose Ubuntu 12.10 over Windows 8

The point being that Ubuntu remains a remarkably successful distribution --- particularly in markets where Linux can seem all but invisible.

Android is proprietary system

No it isn't, it is free and open, you can download the source, build it, modify it, recompile & run it, distribute it, etc. You don't know the meaning of the term "proprietary system", so you should refrain from commenting on things you clearly know nothing about.

If there are hundreds of packages of half-assed malware out there that could theoretically infect my android phone but in practice dont and cant, why should that bother me?

Again, refrain from commenting on things you clearly know nothing about:
Devices infected with active or dormant malware
SMSZombie infections
700% increase in Android malware

On the other hand, if it is about deleting data *you* uploaded to a site/service, how about just using sites/services which up front offer a "delete all me data" option?

Except that currently the Delete button may not really do all that much. And to me this what all this is about.

Don't always confuse the data consumed by the iPhone as any real indication of "doing more".

There are serious bugs in the IOS system, some of them long standing ones that cause huge cellular data usage that users can't explain and can't control. There are numerous HUGE threads on Apple support forums about high unexplained data useage. And SIRI is not the only data hog.

Also, none of these web data usage studies takes into account the number of old iphones used only on wifi as the users have moved on to to newer phones. I have two of these sitting around my house. They run news update apps 24/7. The kids use them for web surfing occasionally. But because they are behind a router, web sites can't tell if its one, two, or seven. So in that case, what the web site can gather from it's logs speaks more to the installed base and durability of ancient IOS devices than the amount of actual use.

From the tone of your post I see you think this is some sort of contest. I have no dog in this fight, I'm just talking about what I've heard.

The "high data use bugs" are a red herring - the browser use stats come from webserver logs and the supposed bugs can't account for the level of traffic seen (also, are the bugs browsing specific web pages with the browsing patterns of a person?!). The proportion of http requests from the bugs vs the actual web use of people actively using the device is going to be extremely small. If that's your argument about... what exactly? To make yourself feel better than Android has a lower percentage of web browser traffic? I'm not sure what you're trying to say here? Like I said, it's not a contest, it's stats.

Don't always confuse the data consumed by the iPhone as any real indication of "doing more".

There are serious bugs in the IOS system, some of them long standing ones that cause huge cellular data usage that users can't explain and can't control. There are numerous HUGE threads on Apple support forums about high unexplained data useage. And SIRI is not the only data hog.

Also, none of these web data usage studies takes into account the number of old iphones used only on wifi as the users have moved on to to newer phones. I have two of these sitting around my house. They run news update apps 24/7. The kids use them for web surfing occasionally. But because they are behind a router, web sites can't tell if its one, two, or seven. So in that case, what the web site can gather from it's logs speaks more to the installed base and durability of ancient IOS devices than the amount of actual use.

It looks to me that bunching all of those vendors in one bundle is a bit risquè. In effect, some of them are selling something that they do not own.

...mmmmm, where to begin? This is Slashdot, so let's start with Microsoft. I never saw, read of heard about a suicide that lasted longer, unless the Dynosaurs killed themselves using farts to start a climate change. XP is still dominating their cash cows, and lo and behold, the serfs have fought back: "yes, come back when you REALLY will cut support. Line up over there, if we really want to retrain the whole workforce, we might as well go for open source + service contracts.....unless you offer us upgrades to windows SEVEN for 4.99$ per seat.". Final Nail in the coffin: price raises, obviously; why let a good opportunity to be LESS competitive go by?

Google, the smartest of them all: it's selling dearly to people things that they really do not own, mindspace. the gadgetry is very good, I do use calendar syncing, but I never entered via the browser since I set it up, and I use thunderbird + lightning as a client; anybody cares to bet on what will happen if all of a sudden the calendar utility ceases to be free and/or interoperable? I do think that at the Mozilla foundation they have a stock of Champagne bottles, in case it happens.

and now, the Apple of my eye. My teen daughter is quite taken by the Ipad, and it's the most expensive toy she has ever received. but "retina display"? "iphone 5"? "Siri"? it's becoming an organized religion: you have to believe, because if you approach with rationality, you get cold feet. Seriously, I know I am fifty, but looking at a puny display I cannot SEE the high definition.

But the biggest pun of all is "the government". Get serious, the only thing the governments are interested in is a." are there taxes to be had?" and b. " will these bozos provide us with private data, backdoors, snooping facilities if we ask?"

I may be way out of my field of expertise here, but I remember a nice trick that allowed to get information back from a live encrypted system by freezing the RAM http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/cryogenically-frozen-ram-bypasses-all-disk-encryption-methods/900 .

It would be quite nice to have a end to end internally encrypted system. This kind of hack does not make a lot of sense from a personal use point of view, but when using a server, yes.

I noted that morituri supported AccurateRip when I was doing some research on whether it would be possible to implement AccurateRip in rubyripper, and, when I found the licensing issue, I concluded that you might not have noticed it, as it's rather subtle (my apologies in not bringing it up to you directly before now). In short, it's basically the same issue that resulted in VLC being removed from Apple's App Store

The basis for my interpretation was the fact that the AccurateRip database is, according to their website, "free for non-commercial usage, [while] commercial usage is restricted to prior agreement". This imposes an "additional restriction" under the terms of section 7 of GPLv3. As such, any end-user is permitted to "remove that term" (i.e. the restriction on commercial usage) from their license of your GPL program and thus make commercial use of morituri. But as this violates the terms of agreement to use the AccurateRip database, it becomes effectively impossible to meet both the requirements of both the GPL and the AccurateRip license (since you don't have the right to add the commercial restriction to the GPL for your end-users, per section 10 of GPLv3 (section 6 of GPLv2)). As such, you are not legally permitted to distribute any object or source code licensed under the GPL that also makes use of the AccurateRip database.

Now of course as the author of morituri, you could relicense your code under an alternative license that was compatible with AccurateRip's commercial-use restrictions such as the BSD or MIT licenses (caveat: any contributors would also have to relicense their code under said license), but you could not use (or for that matter modify) the GPL to do so.

More data that shows now vs 2009 from statcounter.

However what is diferent is many of these users were running Windows 7 6 months or more before release as Microsoft made a deal where the RC users could purchase a permanent key and Windows Update will turn it into an OEM. BUt still no one bothered to do that with Windows 8.

There are more computers today in 2012 than 2009 as China and Eastern Europe are still buying 1st time computers compared to west where slashdotters have had them for awhile. THis also shows just how slow WIndows 8 is and how great Windows 7 was.

Fact: Microsoft is selling exponentially more licenses with Windows 8 than it did with Windows 7.

Huh? Microsoft themselves has already admitted that Windows 8 sales are at nearly the EXACT same pace as Windows 7 sales.

Okay... How about actual web usage: http://www.zdnet.com/statcounter-windows-8-license-sales-not-yet-translating-into-usage-7000008148/

Even though Microsoft sold as many licenses of Windows 8 as they did of Windows 7, Windows 7 saw much higher actual usage after one month on the market compared to Windows 8 after one month on the market. Windows 7 made up 4.93% of internet users 1 month after launch compared to Windows 8's 1.31% 1 month after launch. That paints a pretty bleak picture of actual Windows 8 usage. Even Windows Vista managed to get nearly 2% of web browser share after the first month.

So lets assume that both statistics are correct. Microsoft sold 40 million licenses of Windows 8, the same as Windows 7 for the same time period AND Windows 8's web usage 1 month after launch is only 27% of Windows 7's web usage 1 month after launch. Let's add in a few more facts, like NewEgg saying that windows 8 sales are slow and that sales of Windows devices are down 21% from last year since the launch of Windows 8. Based on these facts, we can extrapolate a story.

The story I extrapolated is this: Microsoft sold 40 million licenses of Windows 8 in several ways: 1) end users taking advantage of the cheap $40 upgrade option that has never been offered before, 2) the volume license sales of Windows that are now Windows 8 licenses that are almost ALL being downgraded to Windows 7 because Microsoft no longer sells Windows 7 licenses, and 3) a whole TON of licenses to OEMs so they could get the initial supply of Windows 8 devices in to sales channels for launch.

So lets go over these sales paths:

1) The end user upgrades are legitimate sales of Windows 8. However, I would expect these numbers to be much higher than the initial Windows 7 upgrade sales simply because of the huge discount that didn't exist for the Windows 7 launch. The $40 upgrade price is either a 60% or 80% discount depending on whether you would buy the home or professional edition. I would expect to see a small rush of people buying to take advantage of the lower price...even over the normal PC enthusiast sales of people who must have the latest-and-greatest. The $40 upgrade option would also explain why direct to consumer upgrades of Windows 8 are selling at a faster pace than Windows 7 did. When you give a very hefty discount to pretty much everyone, people are going to jump on the deal.

2) volume license sales: Business need Windows licenses and you can only buy Windows 8 now. So even though the business is installing Windows 7 with those Windows 8 licenses, they are still being counted as a "Windows 8 sale". These are licenses Microsoft would've sold whether Windows 8 was released or not. Also, i'd be curious to know whether Microsoft is including any previous Windows 7 licenses with Software Assurance as a "Windows 8 sale" as well.

3) OEM sales: This is where I bet Microsoft sold the bulk of their Windows 8 licenses. OEMs had to buy their initial set of licenses to cover their initial stock of Windows 8 devices being shipped to sales channels. World wide PC sales for 2012 are expected to be around 350 million units...or about 30 million PCs per month. I would also expect the sales numbers t

Netmarketshare shows similiar data without iOS too.

But 2009 was in the worst recession since the 1930s and many people were terrified the financial market would still freeze still. IN that case keeping older PCs make more sense so there is alot of factors. Still it sold as many like myself were looking to dump Vista and felt XP to be too obsolete and old to use at that time unless you really had too.

Actual usage statistics from statcounter did a comparison with this year and 3 years ago. Now tell me how Windows 8 is the best selling OS ever!

Windows 7 was popular and already registered for like 2 months before launch as people were on the RCs and passing along eval copies. So these users did not buy all at once which was why Windows 8 had a higher spike, but Windows 7 had more users overall who just purchased a key for the RC copies and Windows update turned them into the full versions.

Android (yes, a Linux) shows us all that on smartphones.

* You Penguins really don't ever want to see "the year of Linux on the desktop", trust me, since what we're seeing on smartphones is only a "portent of things to come"!

(Well, that is IF Linux ever takes the most used/most marketshare on PC desktops, that is).

Linux isn't some "magical security panacea": It's hiding behind "security-by-obscurity" on the desktop.

What shows anyone this much? Well, again - See what happened on smartphones & ANDROID (linux)?

Linux also has about a 50/50 split with servers in the Fortune 100-500, & what's happening THERE, now that it's achieved a decent % of total use there?

2012:

New Linux Rootkit Emerges:

https://threatpost.com/en_us/blogs/new-linux-rootkit-emerges-112012

"A new Linux rootkit has emerged and researchers who have analyzed its code and operation say that the malware appears to be a custom-written tool designed to inject iframes into Web sites and drive traffic to malicious sites for drive-by download attacks. The rootkit is designed specifically for 64-bit Linux systems."

---

'FIRST ever' Linux, Mac OS X-only password sniffing virus spotted:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/08/29/linux_mac_trojan/

---

Medicaid hack update: 500,000 records and 280,000 SSNs stolen:

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/medicaid-hack-update-500000-records-and-280000-ssns-stolen/11444

So, what's dts.utah.gov running everyone?

LINUX (and yes, it got HACKED) -> http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=dts.utah.gov

What's health.utah.gov running too??

YOU GUESSED IT: LINUX AGAIN -> http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=health.utah.gov

* Ah, yes - see the YEARS OF /. "BS" FUD is CRUMBLING AROUND THE PENGUINS EARS HERE & 2012's starting out just like 2011 did below!

===

2011:

KERNEL.ORG COMPROMISED - The Cracking of Kernel.org: (that's VERY bad - do you trust it now?)

http://linux.slashdot.org/story/11/08/31/2321232/Kernelorg-Compromised

---

Linux.com pwned in fresh round of cyber break-ins:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/09/12/more_linux_sites_down/

---

Mysql.com Hacked, Made To Serve Malware:

http://it.slashdot.org/story/11/09/26/2218238/mysqlcom-hacked-made-to-serve-malware

What's that site running? You guessed it - Linux -> http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=mysql.com

---

London Stock Exchange serving malware:

http://slashdot.org/submission/1484548/London-Stock-Exchange-Web-Site-Serving-Malware

(I mean hey - NOT ONLY DID LINUX FALL FLAT ON ITS FACE less than a few minutes into the job http://linux.slashdot.org/story/11/02/19/0147232/London-Stock-Exchange-Price-Errors-Emerged-At-Linux-Launch, & crash not only ONCE, but TWICE there? You see "Linux 'fine security'" in motion @ the LSE too!)

---

DUQU ROOTKIT/BOTNET BEING SERVED FROM LI

Android (yes, a Linux) shows us all that on smartphones.

* You Penguins really don't ever want to see "the year of Linux on the desktop", trust me, since what we're seeing on smartphones is only a "portent of things to come"!

(Well, that is IF Linux ever takes the most used/most marketshare on PC desktops, that is).

Linux isn't some "magical security panacea": It's hiding behind "security-by-obscurity" on the desktop.

What shows anyone this much? Well, again - See what happened on smartphones & ANDROID (linux)?

Linux also has about a 50/50 split with servers in the Fortune 100-500, & what's happening THERE, now that it's achieved a decent % of total use there?

2012:

New Linux Rootkit Emerges:

https://threatpost.com/en_us/blogs/new-linux-rootkit-emerges-112012

"A new Linux rootkit has emerged and researchers who have analyzed its code and operation say that the malware appears to be a custom-written tool designed to inject iframes into Web sites and drive traffic to malicious sites for drive-by download attacks. The rootkit is designed specifically for 64-bit Linux systems."

---

'FIRST ever' Linux, Mac OS X-only password sniffing virus spotted:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/08/29/linux_mac_trojan/

---

Medicaid hack update: 500,000 records and 280,000 SSNs stolen:

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/medicaid-hack-update-500000-records-and-280000-ssns-stolen/11444

So, what's dts.utah.gov running everyone?

LINUX (and yes, it got HACKED) -> http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=dts.utah.gov

What's health.utah.gov running too??

YOU GUESSED IT: LINUX AGAIN -> http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=health.utah.gov

* Ah, yes - see the YEARS OF /. "BS" FUD is CRUMBLING AROUND THE PENGUINS EARS HERE & 2012's starting out just like 2011 did below!

===

2011:

KERNEL.ORG COMPROMISED - The Cracking of Kernel.org: (that's VERY bad - do you trust it now?)

http://linux.slashdot.org/story/11/08/31/2321232/Kernelorg-Compromised

---

Linux.com pwned in fresh round of cyber break-ins:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/09/12/more_linux_sites_down/

---

Mysql.com Hacked, Made To Serve Malware:

http://it.slashdot.org/story/11/09/26/2218238/mysqlcom-hacked-made-to-serve-malware

What's that site running? You guessed it - Linux -> http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=mysql.com

---

London Stock Exchange serving malware:

http://slashdot.org/submission/1484548/London-Stock-Exchange-Web-Site-Serving-Malware

(I mean hey - NOT ONLY DID LINUX FALL FLAT ON ITS FACE less than a few minutes into the job http://linux.slashdot.org/story/11/02/19/0147232/London-Stock-Exchange-Price-Errors-Emerged-At-Linux-Launch, & crash not only ONCE, but TWICE there? You see "Linux 'fine security'" in motion @ the LSE too!)

---

DUQU ROOTKIT/BOTNET BEING SERVED FROM LI

Android (yes, a Linux) shows us all that on smartphones.

* You Penguins really don't ever want to see "the year of Linux on the desktop", trust me, since what we're seeing on smartphones is only a "portent of things to come"!

(Well, that is IF Linux ever takes the most used/most marketshare on PC desktops, that is).

Linux isn't some "magical security panacea": It's hiding behind "security-by-obscurity" on the desktop.

What shows anyone this much? Well, again - See what happened on smartphones & ANDROID (linux)?

Linux also has about a 50/50 split with servers in the Fortune 100-500, & what's happening THERE, now that it's achieved a decent % of total use there?

2012:

New Linux Rootkit Emerges:

https://threatpost.com/en_us/blogs/new-linux-rootkit-emerges-112012

"A new Linux rootkit has emerged and researchers who have analyzed its code and operation say that the malware appears to be a custom-written tool designed to inject iframes into Web sites and drive traffic to malicious sites for drive-by download attacks. The rootkit is designed specifically for 64-bit Linux systems."

---

'FIRST ever' Linux, Mac OS X-only password sniffing virus spotted:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/08/29/linux_mac_trojan/

---

Medicaid hack update: 500,000 records and 280,000 SSNs stolen:

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/medicaid-hack-update-500000-records-and-280000-ssns-stolen/11444

So, what's dts.utah.gov running everyone?

LINUX (and yes, it got HACKED) -> http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=dts.utah.gov

What's health.utah.gov running too??

YOU GUESSED IT: LINUX AGAIN -> http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=health.utah.gov

* Ah, yes - see the YEARS OF /. "BS" FUD is CRUMBLING AROUND THE PENGUINS EARS HERE & 2012's starting out just like 2011 did below!

===

2011:

KERNEL.ORG COMPROMISED - The Cracking of Kernel.org: (that's VERY bad - do you trust it now?)

http://linux.slashdot.org/story/11/08/31/2321232/Kernelorg-Compromised

---

Linux.com pwned in fresh round of cyber break-ins:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/09/12/more_linux_sites_down/

---

Mysql.com Hacked, Made To Serve Malware:

http://it.slashdot.org/story/11/09/26/2218238/mysqlcom-hacked-made-to-serve-malware

What's that site running? You guessed it - Linux -> http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=mysql.com

---

London Stock Exchange serving malware:

http://slashdot.org/submission/1484548/London-Stock-Exchange-Web-Site-Serving-Malware

(I mean hey - NOT ONLY DID LINUX FALL FLAT ON ITS FACE less than a few minutes into the job http://linux.slashdot.org/story/11/02/19/0147232/London-Stock-Exchange-Price-Errors-Emerged-At-Linux-Launch, & crash not only ONCE, but TWICE there? You see "Linux 'fine security'" in motion @ the LSE too!)

---

DUQU ROOTKIT/BOTNET BEING SERVED FROM LI