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Speaking of bad UI decisions, I blame the tablets. Metro is the absolute worst thing Microsoft has ever made, but the latest Gnome, contrary to what SJVN claims, is awful.

Attempts to turn the desktop into some sort of "dashboard", whether its MetroPoop, (dis)Unity or Gnome, are misguided at best.

This and this make it sound like hardware support is necessary regardless of the virtualization software.

Found nothing conclusive, though.

"So do we really want Linux to become the major operating system for the desktop given what is happening in a different place where it has become dominant." - by Sussurros (2457406) on Friday May 18, @03:26AM (#40038573)

Android, a Linux variant, is being "torn up" on the security front for YEARS now!

Thus - proving ANDROID linux too, just like Windows (via it's dominance on the PC Desktop + Server arena combined), will be attacked & taken advantage of, once it too gains "top spot" marketshare/mindshare on ANY given computing platform... which on smartphones, ANDROID is "king" on that account (as well as for malware/exploits, etc./et al).

I've been stating for YEARS here in particular (amidst the "Linux = Secure & Windows != Secure" b.s. that was spread here for YEARS), that once a Linux gains top most used status on any computing platform, it would be burned "left & right" just as Windows has been on PCs!

"Lo & Behold" - this too has come to pass... no big surprise though - malware makers are JUST LIKE PICKPOCKETS, & go where the MOST "unsuspecting" noobz are (that's Windows on PC's & ANDROID Linux on smartphones) & attack them... which makes a LOT OF SENSE from their perspective: More "easy meat" targets to get "$" from!

Just like how pickpockets go to where the crowds of victims are for them (malls, city streets, bus & train stations etc.), they go after the top most used OS on any given computing platform... better "ROI" for their efforts expended on making a malware.

A portent of "additional things to come" too? Ok, take a read from 2011-2012:

2012:

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-Erro

That reminds me of a double WD hard drives failure within a week, the main HD and its backup (this happened in a cloudless life). Amazing, they're even synchronized...

This is totally f@#$ standard. There are two drives bought at the same shop at the same time. Do you think the manufacturers specially made sure to mix them all in with drives from different places? They aren't even just the same batch. They have probably been produced within seconds of each other.

What do you think happens when a drive fails? Some capacitor has been made with the wrong chemicals; some piece of metal has impurities. Some bit was screwed too tight and is weakening the rest of the structure. It's not deliberate; it's may not even be outside normal manufacturer's specifications, but it's the thing which ends up as the weakest link in your drive. The drives made just before have the same metal; the same capacitors and have been put together by the same machine which is reaching the point where it needs calibration. They are all going to fail at the same time.

At the point where the first drive fails, the second one suddenly gets more load (e.g. double the number of reads; up to N-1 times the number of reads if it's part of a RAID array before you even take into account that some idiot normally rebuilds the array before backing it up). It's extremely close to failing as it is. Rebuilding is likely to drive it over the edge and kill the array.

Don't talk to me about the idiots at HP, IBM and every other bloody server manufacturer who put a series of ten identical drives with consecutive serial numbers in their RAID arrays and then sell it as ...

For more start here; and this also seems worth reading

2012:

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: (very, Very, VERY BAD for ecommerce, online shopping, banking, etc./et al)

http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=StartCom.com

http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=GlobalSign.com

http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=Comodo.com

http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=DigiCert.com

http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=www.gemnet.nl

The list of CA Servers BREACHED that RUN LINUX (StartCom, GlobalSign, DigiCert, Comodo, GemNet)... per these articles verifying that:

Apple's problems wasn't that they were doing it; it's that they were selling it.

Apple 'suing' Wired for tutorial on 'Hackintosh' netbook tutorial. It was a Cease and Desist order rather than a court case, and Wired caved and removed the video. But Brian Chen wasn't selling Hackintoshes, and Apple still unleashed the lawyers.

They were bound by normal copyright law, sure, but I'm not aware that they were ever accused of violating copyright.

Use of copyrighted software in excess or violation of license is copyright infringement. And the suit was explicitly about copyright infingement (see First Claim, Paragraph 25)

So, yeah, at the end of the day, what Psystar did boils down to copyright infringement. Quoting the 9th Circuit's ruling (which stands because the Supremes denied cert):

Psystar's [Copyright] Misuse Defense fails because it is an attempt to apply the First Sale Doctrine to a valid licensing agreement.

Yaaaay. Another affirmation that you never really buy software, you license it and have no say in what you can do with it. OTOH, at least that continues to support GPL and copyleft's basis of control: you can't distribute GPL software in violation of its license terms without infringing on the copyright.

particular browser? show me a browser that doesn't require Safari, and does rendering on device (you know, a real browser, unlike Opera Mini). Link to the Apple store please.

Show me one. Even one would be enough. I originally wrote a car analogy, but perhaps the words from an actual developer at Mozilla might help:

"I am a developer on the mobile Firefox team at Mozilla.

We currently have an iPhone App called Firefox Home, which lets you sync your Firefox tabs, history and bookmarks to your iOS device. You can get it from the app store, or read more here: http://www.mozilla.com/mobile/home/

We have no plans to release the full Firefox browser for Apple iOS devices. The current iOS SDK agreement forbids apps like Firefox that include their own compilers and interpreters:

“3.3.2 An Application may not download or install executable code. Interpreted code may only be used in an Application if all scripts, code and interpreters are packaged in the Application and not downloaded. The only exception to the foregoing is scripts and code downloaded and run by Apple’s built-in WebKit framework.”

Other browsers for iOS use the built-in WebKit libraries (like Skyfire) or do not execute any JavaScript on the device itself (like Opera Mini, which uses a proxy server). But unless Apple removes these restrictions, full browsers like Firefox are not allowed on iOS." http://www.zdnet.com/blog/hardware/will-firefox-mobile-ever-be-released-for-ios-devices-no-blame-apple/10770

this is back in 2010, did something change? If so, show me the updated information.

You admit that other browsers exist (and use built-in WebKit libraries). Yes, you must use those libraries, but you CAN STILL WRITE A BROWSER AND SELL IT.

particular browser? show me a browser that doesn't require Safari, and does rendering on device (you know, a real browser, unlike Opera Mini). Link to the Apple store please.

Show me one. Even one would be enough. I originally wrote a car analogy, but perhaps the words from an actual developer at Mozilla might help:

"I am a developer on the mobile Firefox team at Mozilla.

We currently have an iPhone App called Firefox Home, which lets you sync your Firefox tabs, history and bookmarks to your iOS device. You can get it from the app store, or read more here: http://www.mozilla.com/mobile/home/

We have no plans to release the full Firefox browser for Apple iOS devices. The current iOS SDK agreement forbids apps like Firefox that include their own compilers and interpreters:

“3.3.2 An Application may not download or install executable code. Interpreted code may only be used in an Application if all scripts, code and interpreters are packaged in the Application and not downloaded. The only exception to the foregoing is scripts and code downloaded and run by Apple’s built-in WebKit framework.”

Other browsers for iOS use the built-in WebKit libraries (like Skyfire) or do not execute any JavaScript on the device itself (like Opera Mini, which uses a proxy server). But unless Apple removes these restrictions, full browsers like Firefox are not allowed on iOS."
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/hardware/will-firefox-mobile-ever-be-released-for-ios-devices-no-blame-apple/10770

this is back in 2010, did something change? If so, show me the updated information.

Facebook is MORE efficient than Craigslist. Craigslist has 28 employees serving 1 billion pages/month.

Facebook has 3500 employees serving 1 trillion pages/month

Craigslist: 35.7 million pages/employee
Facebook: 285.7 million pages/employee

So how does that contradict my point? Huge websites are not free or cheap.

Apple is an expert at stealing other people's trademarks while simultaneously protecting their own.

Or even, see here. (doh)

Yes, it actually happened

No, it's not. See above

Unfortunately not yet. But there could be soon.

if Microsoft ever gets any mobile devices out, they'll have the same problem

Ironically, it was already done in the very first release of WP7 (for one particular property), but developer feedback was overwhelmingly negative, so it was reverted.

Microsoft claimed 750 million users of Office back in 2010. LibreOffice claims 25 million. OpenOffice claims 100 million. Add in WordPerfect, Symphony, Google Docs, etc., and LibreOffice would struggle to make 1%.

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/microsoft/about-that-1-billion-microsoft-office-figure-/6555

"If Windows Server isn't secure enough or powerful enough to do the job, maybe Microsoft should revisit their design choices." - by TubeSteak (669689) on Thursday May 03, @08:02PM (#39884823)

2012:

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: (very, Very, VERY BAD for ecommerce, online shopping, banking, etc./et al)

http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=StartCom.com

http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=GlobalSign.com

http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=Comodo.com

http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=DigiCert.com

Google has admitted that it is lobbying on theCyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA), The Hill has learned

Here’s Google on its public stance on CISPA: “We think this is an important issue and we’re watching the process closely but we haven’t taken a formal position on any specific legislation.”

Google is not alone in supporting CISPA, if it in fact does, as it will join tech giants Microsoft and Facebook in doing so, among others.

Still want to argue about this?

The JUDGE was wrong, because it has ALREADY been litigated that "things that are purely functional are **NOT** Copyrightable." APIs are purely functional, and thus NOT copyrightable.

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/gardner/ruling-expressly-denies-express-logic-its-copyrighted-api-logic/2530

Owners of HTC’s highly-praised HD2 touchscreen smartphone will be unable to upgrade the device to Microsoft’s new Windows Phone 7 software when the OS is released towards the end of the year. Despite the HD2 meeting many of the criteria laid down in Microsoft’s ‘Chassis 1’ spec – including a 1GHz Qualcomm processor, high-res capacitive touch display, 5 megapixel camera and 3.5mm headphone jack – the phone will be ruled out for the simple reason that it has five buttons instead of the three mandated for all Windows Phone 7 devices.

Source.

Here are links to some of the sources saying the same thing is going to happen to current Win Phone 7 device owners:

The Verge

Mary Jo Foley

Ars Technica

its not so different from cnet or zdnet, and I doubt anyone (like us) really reads those. But if /. wants a special section dedicated to MBAs and CTOs, then its fine - just don't bother us with all that buzzword crap that we know better about.

http://linux.slashdot.org/story/11/02/07/1742246/USB-Autorun-Attacks-Against-Linux

Thus, you see, even LINUX had hassles with AutoRun, & AFTER Windows fixed them, per the link below...

Also, a slight "amendment" to my initial words per this article:

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/microsoft-disables-autorun-on-windows-xpvista-to-prevent-malware-infections/8123

Windows has had autorun disabled since before the date of that article (not 2009 as I stated, my bad, but correcting NOW vs. nitpicker "Cardinal Richelieu" AC stalker harasser trolls I have here on /.)

APK

P.S.=> Plus, of course, my points on what to do with the server service, shares, OR autorun.inf itself... apk

""Variants B and C place a copy of their DLL form on any attached removable media (such as USB flash drives), from which they can then infect new hosts through the Windows AutoRun mechanism." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conficker. Nice try." - by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 27, @05:16PM (#39826583)

Big deal, autorun is disabled by default in Windows from the end of 2009 onwards & MS update makes sure this is so in fact... it's been that way since long ago:

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/microsoft-disables-autorun-on-windows-xpvista-to-prevent-malware-infections/8123

---

PERTINENT QUOTE/EXCERPT:

"Microsoft disables AutoRun on Windows XP/Vista to prevent malware infections

By Dancho Danchev | February 10, 2011, 6:54am PST

Summary: Microsoft has decided to disable the AutoRun feature on Windows XP. The âoenon-security updateâ doesnâ(TM)t affect shiny mediaâ such as CDs or DVDs that contain Autorun files."

---

(Even Linux does that, and they were 'bitten" by that mistake later too... )

* The new variants may overcome a couple things like autorun.inf, but I covered that too, as well as the service service & shares + more...

Read closer next time fool!

APK

P.S.=> You also must have missed the part where I noted ACL protecting the autorun.inf file as well (dumb of you there too)... apk

The fact that one company owns the license to this technology and makes no guarantees to _not_ increase licensing costs means that once h.264 support is the be-all end-all solution to web video, this one company has a monopoly on the sole video technology that drives the web. Most people running windows/mac have probably indirectly paid for licensing fees for h.264 multiple times. Nice racket they've got there and nobody is complaining, yet.

Here's a pretty good article:

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/bott/a-closer-look-at-the-costs-and-fine-print-of-h264-licenses/2884

from the article:

To use and distribute H.264, browser and OS vendors, hardware manufacturers, and publishers who charge for content must pay significant royalties—with no guarantee the fees won’t increase in the future. To companies like Google, the license fees may not be material, but to the next great video startup and those in emerging markets these fees stifle innovation. []

This is why Mozilla will just pass H.264 along to whatever decoder the OS has available and not bundle H.264 into Firefox at all. This position makes the most sense for them and the users. Every device I use already has a H.264 decoder with hardware support. I just need Firefox to get out of the way.

The fact that one company owns the license to this technology and makes no guarantees to _not_ increase licensing costs means that once h.264 support is the be-all end-all solution to web video, this one company has a monopoly on the sole video technology that drives the web. Most people running windows/mac have probably indirectly paid for licensing fees for h.264 multiple times. Nice racket they've got there and nobody is complaining, yet.

Here's a pretty good article:
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/bott/a-closer-look-at-the-costs-and-fine-print-of-h264-licenses/2884
from the article:
To use and distribute H.264, browser and OS vendors, hardware manufacturers, and publishers who charge for content must pay significant royalties—with no guarantee the fees won’t increase in the future. To companies like Google, the license fees may not be material, but to the next great video startup and those in emerging markets these fees stifle innovation. []

"Its the implied point"

I guess someone forgot to tell that to a whole bunch of people!

From http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/how-far-do-google-drives-terms-go-in-owning-your-files/75228

Google Drive terms:

“Your Content in our Services: When you upload or otherwise submit content to our Services, you give Google (and those we work with) a worldwide licence to use, host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works (such as those resulting from translations, adaptations or other changes that we make so that your content works better with our Services), communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute such content

Dropbox's and Skydrive's terms are more sane.

Dropbox's, yes, Skydrive is basically the same. And, as another poster pointed out, if you read Google's whole ToS, it self-limits the purposes for which it can use that license to something more reasonable.

However, if you prefer to get different terms from Google, there's a really easy way to do it: Set up your own domain on Google Apps. According to this page you then fall under the Apps Terms of Service, which are what Google offers to its business customers. Those terms say "what's yours is yours, what's ours is ours", with nothing about licensing.

From http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/how-far-do-google-drives-terms-go-in-owning-your-files/75228

Google Drive terms:

“Your Content in our Services: When you upload or otherwise submit content to our Services, you give Google (and those we work with) a worldwide licence to use, host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works (such as those resulting from translations, adaptations or other changes that we make so that your content works better with our Services), communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute such content

Dropbox's and Skydrive's terms are more sane.

Now facebook can monitor you even more effectively.

No, it's just the Axis partners aligning themselves for another battle.

Microsoft and Facebook have formed gang to beat on Google. This time, Microsoft paid for the ammunition, but Facebook will be pulling the trigger. Interestingly enough, there are hints that Apple may be piling on too.

http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000850.html
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/open-source/some-of-the-anti-google-tea-party-is-astroturf/6496
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-12/facebook-enlists-pr-firm-burson-marsteller-to-pitch-google-privacy-story.html
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/google-deflects-pr-firms-attack-gmail-privacy/story?id=13566971#.T5XZdFRUTrE
http://www.nytimes.com/1996/03/13/business/seeking-to-fix-damaged-image-apple-hires-burson-marsteller.html
http://www.burson-marsteller.com/Innovation_and_insights/blogs_and_podcasts/harold_burson_blog/default.aspx

Right now politicians are suffering a disconnect from their electorate. While they know they have to connect with voters on the Internet, they seem to view it as just another media, not realizing it is more than just that. What we're witnessing is the birth of a new form of electorate and government. Can anyone imagine the USA rewriting their constitution via the Internet, like Iceland? Do politicians actually view the Internet as useful information, or just a way to try and sway the masses to their banner? Social media is heavily under-used and under-valued in American politics (with certain exceptions). Meanwhile a good percentage of the electorate are moving forward at lightspeed into this brave new world. Is it any wonder they feel disconnected from politics, completely untrusting in the politicians that refuse to listen or relate to them? Lest we forget that most politicians are still trying to grasp the basic nature of the Internet and it's tubes. Until politics catches up to everyone else this dissatisfaction will continue. We can only hope they will figure it out sooner rather than later. In the meantime it is probably best that those Internet-savvy leader types start coming to the realization that maybe they should put their hat into the political ring, instead of just complaining about the poor quality of the current options.

They could be but I'd say that's a bad bet - trying to "out Apple" Apple.

Microsoft has always had advantages in existing software compatibility and enterprise security features (say what you will - Windows Mobile had many more security features than Android or iOS for a long time). They seem to be casting off their only real differentiators in an attempt to copy the success of the iPad. This will fail spectacularly.

What nonsense. There are a whole host of Windows x86 tablets coming with full touch support and with new form factors which will be fully compatible with existing software and enterprise features of PCs.

And not to mention the fact that the author doesn't mention the enterprise features that Windows RT has. http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2012/04/19/managing-quot-byo-quot-pcs-in-the-enterprise-including-woa.aspx

Very telling that the author is Gregg Keizer, who was involved in the scandals with faking Windows benchmarks to drive page hits. http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/why-we-dont-trust-devil-mountain-software-and-neither-should-you/31024

And the submitter is CWMike, from Computer World. They know that Slashdot laps up anti-MSFT FUD and thus they use it to write drivel and get page hits from Slashdot. And judging from the comments, they're very successful in manipulating Slashdot for their own gains as they've historically with the fake benchmarks.

That's right - I need to look at this more, but you people should give MS a HELL of a lot more credit for what they are doing here. BYOD is the security nightmare du jour, ever since the iPad came out. Our security team have spent huge resources, and are still woefully under-resourced to make managing these devices day in day out remotely safe enough. The last thing you'd want to see, and the first thing you'd demand - from an info sec perspective - is that AD not be baked into this consumer oriented OS. Until Win RT is a couple years old every security team worth their salt would nix any directory / infrastructure tie up with a device which is easily lost, unhardened (at least through painful experience) and virtually an Alpha product.Yes it can be done, but the overhead is massive and most people wont have the headcount to secure bridging the two safely - and KEEPING THEM SAFE. Releasing in this form provides entry to a consumer market, and a platform which has a lot of the headache of apps installed from Lines of Business fixed through the separate publishing infrastructure (which the original article is ignorant of, or lying). Staff get their tablets. It sounds to me that MS are getting a head start on Android and iOS. Read the link the guy above posted. They have provided a tiered, clean way of getting business apps to a consumer device. It still requires security risk assessments and penetration testing of the apps (which would need hella strong authentication / 2FA for anything which holds sensitive or above data, but the lack of the 'generic' client for the enterprise directory will make this much easier to deploy and work with than if they had tied things together with AD. It means more work - but thats what it takes, unless you want your firm to get owned.

But also remember that your tablet/netbook is only $199. Would you be willing to pay double for this on such low end hardware that will die within a year or two anyway? That is what Android runs on and who Windows competes agaisnt.

My theory is MS is planning to move away from Active Directory and is showing signs of doing that with Hotmail account tie ins. Maybe a corporate account email tie in with Exchange 2012 could upload certain applications and policies?.

I was dumbfounded myself when I found out AD is not part of WOA as I thought they went off the deep end. But I can see where they are coming from after I migrated some sales people who work from home to Windows 7 all locked down who can't ever get anti virus or Windows updates. I asked the client if I could kick them off the domain myself and just give them a stippend for IT work from a local shop. They refused.

I hate AD as I view it as another bad MS product right there with IE 6 and Exchange. This would be a godsend actually as it makes things simply. If there is a problem just reset/restore the pad and just log in with your email account again.

Active Directory is the problem.

Times are changing. People are working from home, on the road, and from other devices that are wireless. How does IT manage it? They can't. AD is static and not tablet or work from home family.

The fact that these enterprises are still using IE 6 and 7 are showing the problem. They can't leave as it is unmanageable if you have 5,000 people in 4 continents.

Windows 8 solution is to simply reset it to a previous state. That might work fine for every problem if all your data is on the cloud anyway. WinRT helps this. Zdnet (Windows troll I know) had an article demonstrating this.

I think a new manageability services that work with a hotmail or office365 account that can be managed over the internet might be an excellent replacement. Standard desktops frozen in time are the worst for everyone and become hard to manage as you lock them down.

There are great IT features on Windows 8. Just on the x86 ones. If it were not for Metro Windows 8 would be a great desktop upgrade. Virtualization support is very strong.

It seems WOA is crippled because either
1. Win32/64 has some x86 specific code
2. MS can't sell Windows 8 WOA for $199 if the tablet is only worth $250. Especially if MS wants it to be competitive with Android.
3. WinRT is battery efficient and this is important. Many researchers still use TRS-80s because they get 20 hours of battery life believe it or not when they are in the middle of nowhere like the Alaska Aleutian Islands
4. Domain joining simply is not practical as its static. I have made a lot of angry sales people who are joined to a domain and can't get Windows or Anti virus updates because they only go to an office once a year. I begged the IT director to kick them off the domain and give them a stripend for local IT support if they fuck them up. She didn't want to hear it.

My guess is 2,3,4 are the reasons. MS has demonstrated you can manage them without a domain. This example showed corporate apps on a non joined Windows 8 tablet.

Active Directory needs to go. Its a POS. Novel clearly had the better product and in a world of wireless communication outside the office it just does not fly. My guess is Windows 9 will include just that and give corporate America a reason to finally leave XP behind, and Windows 7 by then will be aging as well.

MS wants to charge a fortune for Active Directory integration and for enterprise customers. Plain and simple.

They could be but I'd say that's a bad bet - trying to "out Apple" Apple.

Microsoft has always had advantages in existing software compatibility and enterprise security features (say what you will - Windows Mobile had many more security features than Android or iOS for a long time). They seem to be casting off their only real differentiators in an attempt to copy the success of the iPad. This will fail spectacularly.

What nonsense. There are a whole host of Windows x86 tablets coming with full touch support and with new form factors which will be fully compatible with existing software and enterprise features of PCs.

And not to mention the fact that the author doesn't mention the enterprise features that Windows RT has.
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2012/04/19/managing-quot-byo-quot-pcs-in-the-enterprise-including-woa.aspx

Very telling that the author is Gregg Keizer, who was involved in the scandals with faking Windows benchmarks to drive page hits.
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/why-we-dont-trust-devil-mountain-software-and-neither-should-you/31024

And the submitter is CWMike, from Computer World. They know that Slashdot laps up anti-MSFT FUD and thus they use it to write drivel and get page hits from Slashdot. And judging from the comments, they're very successful in manipulating Slashdot for their own gains as they've historically with the fake benchmarks.

See subject-line & these examples of security on Linux then!

---

2012:

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, chumps) -> http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=dts.utah.gov

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

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

* 2012's starting out just like 2011 did below!

===

2011:

KERNEL.ORG COMPROMISED - The Cracking of Kernel.org: (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: (lol)

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: (very recent):

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: (lol)

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: (very, Very, VERY BAD for ecommerce, online shopping, banking, etc./et al)

http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=StartCom.com

http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=GlobalSign.com

http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=Comodo.com

http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=DigiCert.com

http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=www.gemnet.nl

The list of CA Servers BREACHED that RUN LINUX (StartCom, GlobalSign, DigiCert, Comodo, GemNet)... per these articles verifying that:

HTC:

http://www.businessinsider.com/htcs-shares-tumble-cfo-change-samsung-launch-weigh-2012-4

Motorola
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/26/us-motorolamobility-idUSTRE80P23W20120126

LG:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-28/lg-electronics-profit-falls-33-after-company-falls-behind-in-smartphones.html

and

Sony:
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/sony-ericsson-posts-surprise-loss-in-its-final-quarter/67399

The only mobile company making real money from Android is Samsung.

Is my data stored in the US?

Doesn't matter...

Does the US government claim to have jurisdiction over my data? (I think I know the answer to this one).

Of course they do (and you already knew that).

GPL copyright is on the source code not the language our the API. if someone wants to create an entirely new version of python from scratch and close source it they are welcome to do that.

If it is a completely *from-scratch* implementation, then I agree with you.
However, if someone did this level of copying from a gcc header file for their own closed source compiler distribution, I'm sure lots of people would be screaming about a GPL violation.

But of course if no C-api's are copyrightable, well, then, I guess, someone could do that and all would be kosher.

Just don't let Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization patent this, or we'll be paying royalties for turning on our lights.

No, the US government is rightly concerned with the Australian government making spurious claims of security problems that harm legitimate competition for money from Australian companies, and is bringing up the issue with he Australian government, which is its job.

Sorry, but under the US Patriot Act, the US government has granted themselves unlimited, and secret access to any and all data stored on a US server.

I've done some contract work for the Canadian Government, and it is illegal to store certain kinds of information on US based servers because it would potentially violate Canadian law. There are companies who have arms-length subsidiaries whose job it is to handle government data that could not be allowed to be stored in the US. This is no different than similar issues with US owned companies accessing EU data because of the Patriot Act.

The US can claim their companies are being hurt by this, but the fact of the matter is, the US is not a trustworthy place to store your data unless you are also going to accept them potentially spying on your citizens.

This isn't a trade issue. It's a trust issue.

So if America wants to keep their Patriot Act which tries to violate the laws of other countries, their businesses are going to lose out in those markets if it would mean those companies can't comply with local laws and the US law at the same time.

Sorry, but these aren't spurious claims -- they're well established issues which have been covered before.

Ahem: I've made Win7 (& XP/Server 2003/2000) run on 512mb RAM in the past + PRETTY WELL too - how?

System tweaking/tuning!

Easily too!

* Heck - reduction of services alone can get a GOOD CHUNK of that!

Am I alone in it? No:

How well does Windows 7 handle 512MB?

FROM -> http://www.zdnet.com/blog/bott/how-well-does-windows-7-handle-512mb/672

PERTINENT QUOTES/EXCERPTS:

"Summary: Iâ(TM)ve been spending most of my time lately conducting in-depth research into how Windows 7 works, in preparation for my next book. In the process, Iâ(TM)m discovering stuff that simply doesnâ(TM)t become apparent during casual testing. My biggest surprise so far? I inadvertently installed the 64-bit beta version of Windows 7 in a virtual machine with only 512MB of RAM. How well did it work? I was amazed, and you will be too."

and, even more impressively?

"The x64 edition of Windows 7 Ultimate running on just over 200MB of RAM? That was a pleasant surprise."

APK

P.S.=> For example/in addition to the above? Also note that Windows 8 is only NOW starting to do what guys like myself have been doing manually for ages (myself since 1992 on Windows NT 3.51 & for a long time before that on Win9x/Win3.x + DOS)!

How? Ok - because Windows 8 now is being setup to "automagically" turn off unneeded/unnecessary services in its base configuration... &, why?

Well... because IT JUST WORKS!

... apk

APK

P.S.=> Man, you "penguins" will TRY ANYTHING in terms of "FUD" spreading, won't you? Unbelievable.. lol!

... apk

New netbooks with XP were sold until 2010:
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/microsoft/pc-makers-no-longer-allowed-to-preinstall-windows-xp-on-new-netbooks-as-of-october/6507

No, because of bugs in the virtual machine. That runs java. Windows HAS known security bugs. Thousands over the years, I'd say. Anything that runs code (be it a browser - there goes your marvelous html5 file API or Java or the OS) has the potential of running code outside of it's scope. Even the most secure browsers have known exploits (as proven by the recent pwn2own results - http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/pwn2own-2012-google-chrome-browser-sandbox-first-to-fall/10588 - so no, you have no fucking idea of what you're talking about.

Second of all, having Java enabled will not hurt your computer, running a Mac that has java updated by apple might. If you had read the article in the post you linked, you'd see it exploits something Oracle already fixed for other OS's - just not for the mac, since Apple won't let them.

If you won't run Java because it's not safe, then you better uninstall flash (even worse), your browser (that's hard, since you're here!), your OS (remember, viruses won't run in a computer that ain't on). While you're at it, you can breath virus in, so I'd stop breathing altogether. Better safe than sorry!

And nowadays browsers will even ask you if you trust an applet before they run it (Chrome) and will only enable it if you want to. So don't fucking click yes if you're somewhere you don't trust.

Again, it was a ridiculous comment. But I'm sure you'll do your best to up your security by just leaving the internet altogether and doing everyone else (and yourself) a favor. You never know when you might get ridiculed again.

it has nothing on linux

IS WAY out of context. And you are wondering why I'm calling you a troll? Because you went to every post I posted that is still replyable calling me a liar, I've proven you wrong. Accepted that I was wrong that Hilton.com IS using Windows. And you are still trying to garner a response. On top of that you've taken your argument to just trying to take things out of context.

Now to answer your questions.

U avoid the question: Does HILTON.COM own the hilton.com domain, & does Hilton use Windows on it! YES or NO??

Beyond the fact that when I worked for them, they OWNED the TLD but it was hosted by a 3rd party vendor. The answer is YES they own the domain, and yes, in effect since the THIRD party hosts it but they own the TLD, once again you are right I was wrong.

"Troll is Troll, and because they have one server that has to make them windows dominate" - by Rasperin (1034758) on Saturday April 07, @01:50PM (#39607549) Calling me NAMES again (ontop of Shill & shit when you said you "kept a level head"? Bullshit)... but, ok: Funny, HILTON.COM's already PROVEN to run on Windows (gosh that's another Windows machine @ hilton) -> http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=hilton.com [netcraft.com]

My response is:

P.S.=> Ahem: My source? That came straight from Microsoft via their "GET THE FACTS" program, via EWeek magazine inserts on that much they used to do... apk

A highly unreliable source.

My bad for paraphrasing, you are stating 367 institutions Using Windows OVER Linux when they are using one for domain management.

367++ TOP FORTUNE 100/500 (or best 100 to work for per CNN Money) COMPANIES, EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS, &/or GOVERNMENT AGENCIES USING WINDOWS (over other solutions like Linux)

I'd copy and paste everything you did above but I don't have to.

Here's the deal, I called you out

HILTON HOTELS: Manages 1.4 Billion records a day for customers in 1000's of their hotels worldwide - for 370,000 rooms & catering services forecasts (switching from 6 *NIX systems to 1 Windows Server 2003 + SQLServer 2005 clustered failover system using a data warehouse with 7 million rows & 99.998% uptime).

After saying

367++ TOP FORTUNE 100/500 (or best 100 to work for per CNN Money) COMPANIES, EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS, &/or GOVERNMENT AGENCIES USING WINDOWS (over other solutions like Linux)

(Notice Windows over Linux) I (very unclearly, and very poorly) pointed out this is not the case and that they do not use Windows at all. Even if it is a third party, they do. I was wrong. However, your point of using Windows OVER Linux for all of Hilton Corporation is 100% FUD. As you can see with my retort of hilton.co.uk. Which is 7 non Windows servers (not counting citrix). And if you go to every other non .com/.net domain you will see that it is all linux, solaris, or "unknown".

With that, It's 5:20, I've got a family to go home to and I'm done playing your game. Promot

It already is a standard feature in many workstation lines (HP and such). Unfortunely, if you want ECC and an Intel CPU, you need to buy Xeon gear, so it gets expensive fast. There is no actual consensus in how reliable DRAM is, but articles like this http://www.zdnet.com/blog/storage/dram-error-rates-nightmare-on-dimm-street/638 reveal how important is to have at least some simple error-detection mechanism.

Lots of people believe they are trolls.The appellation is generally applied to non-practicing holders who sue infringers, especially if they try to get a permanent injunction to cease practicing the invention, or if the patent covers an implementation standard.

In this case CSIRO is suing people who implement IEEE 802.11a and 802.11g and go after permanent injunctions. This is poor behavior.

http://www.itworld.com/mobile-amp-wireless/58796/court-puts-csiro-wi-fi-injunction-hold

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/networking/australian-government-patent-troll-collects-from-wi-fi-vendors/2187

http://apcmag.com/wi-fi-patent-has-turned-csiro-money-mad.htm

http://legalpad.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/10/patent-troll-throws-party-to-celebrate-its-huge-pots-of-money.html

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=900005557448&slreturn=1

http://www.ipfrontline.com/depts/article.aspx?id=15866&deptid=7

Here are the 10 patents Facebook is suing Yahoo with

U.S. Patent No. 7,827,208 — “Generating a feed of stories personalized for members of a social network” – Filed on August 11, 2006, and granted November 2, 2010.

U.S. Patent No. 7,945,653 — “Tagging digital media” – Filed on October 11, 2006, and granted May 17, 2011.

U.S. Patent No. 6,288,717 — “Headline posting algorithm” – Filed on May 19, 1999, and granted September 11, 2001.

U.S. Patent No. 6,216,133 — “Method for enabling a user to fetch a specific information item from a set of information items, and a system for carrying out such a method” – Filed on May 30, 1996, and granted April 10, 2001.

U.S. Patent No. 6,411,949 — “Customizing database information for presentation with media selections” – Filed on August 12, 1999, and granted June 25, 2002.

U.S. Patent No. 6,236,978 — “ System and method for dynamic profiling of users in one-to-one applications” – Filed on November 14, 1997, and granted May 22, 2001.

U.S. Patent No. 7,603,331 — “ System and method for dynamic profiling of users in one-to-one applications and for validating user rules” – Filed on March 7, 2005, and granted October 13, 2009.

U.S. Patent No. 8,103,611 — “ Architectures, systems, apparatus, methods, and computer-readable medium for providing recommendations to users and applications using multidimensional data” – Filed on September 3, 2009, and granted January 24, 2012.

U.S. Patent No. 8,005,896 — “System for controlled distribution of user profiles over a network” – Filed on June 17, 2010, and granted August 23, 2011.

U.S. Patent No. 8,150,913 — “System for controlled distribution of user profiles over a network” – Filed on August 22, 2011, and granted April 3, 2012.

It's nice to see Facebook is able to reach back to 1996 for its patent protection, isn't it?

According to Ars, several (possibly 8, not confirmed) of the patents were purchased by Facebook since Yahoo sued them.

Here are the 10 patents Facebook is suing Yahoo with

U.S. Patent No. 7,827,208 — “Generating a feed of stories personalized for members of a social network” – Filed on August 11, 2006, and granted November 2, 2010.

U.S. Patent No. 7,945,653 — “Tagging digital media” – Filed on October 11, 2006, and granted May 17, 2011.

U.S. Patent No. 6,288,717 — “Headline posting algorithm” – Filed on May 19, 1999, and granted September 11, 2001.

U.S. Patent No. 6,216,133 — “Method for enabling a user to fetch a specific information item from a set of information items, and a system for carrying out such a method” – Filed on May 30, 1996, and granted April 10, 2001.

U.S. Patent No. 6,411,949 — “Customizing database information for presentation with media selections” – Filed on August 12, 1999, and granted June 25, 2002.

U.S. Patent No. 6,236,978 — “ System and method for dynamic profiling of users in one-to-one applications” – Filed on November 14, 1997, and granted May 22, 2001.

U.S. Patent No. 7,603,331 — “ System and method for dynamic profiling of users in one-to-one applications and for validating user rules” – Filed on March 7, 2005, and granted October 13, 2009.

U.S. Patent No. 8,103,611 — “ Architectures, systems, apparatus, methods, and computer-readable medium for providing recommendations to users and applications using multidimensional data” – Filed on September 3, 2009, and granted January 24, 2012.

U.S. Patent No. 8,005,896 — “System for controlled distribution of user profiles over a network” – Filed on June 17, 2010, and granted August 23, 2011.

U.S. Patent No. 8,150,913 — “System for controlled distribution of user profiles over a network” – Filed on August 22, 2011, and granted April 3, 2012.

It's nice to see Facebook is able to reach back to 1996 for its patent protection, isn't it?

1) Is this a matter of taking a technology that was developed for personal entertainment and trying to make it conform to "serious education".

http://www.officehell.co.uk/uploads/items/images/The-best-memory-of-school-796.jpg
nuff said

2) If kids can't write/express succinctly on paper or read a book, what makes you think that some shiny $500 tablet will?

moot point:
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_695637.html

3) Total cost of the device, not just initial.. you look at your average tablet plus e-books, plus apps and you have a very expensive alternative to plain ole notebooks, pencils, and textbooks

see if you can get a bulk discount for these:
http://www.zdnet.com/photos/10-best-tablets-for-kids/6330739?seq=3&tag=photo-frame;get-photo-roto

4) Management.. Schools quickly learn that just giving these things away to students quickly amounts to a management nightmare they didn't foresee.. Everything from warranty repair, broken glass, application deployment/updates and acceptable content are only possible with a well thought out plan, and school-wide participation at all levels..

you already deal with this:
http://cpr.ca.gov/cpr_report/Issues_and_Recommendations/Chapter_3_Education_Training_and_Volunteerism/ETV14.html

"Depending on the subject, a single elementary textbook can range in price from $30 to $100. Legislation should be enacted to reduce the cost of K-12 school textbooks." $30-$100 for a single textbook? the tablets i referenced costs about as much, and you could conceivably get one that puts all your textbooks on it.

"Many college books are going digital. One major educational company plans to release 300 online titles this fall at half the price of regular textbooks, and dozens of other online textbooks and supplemental materials are already available. Digital textbooks can cut costs and streamline note taking. They also allow professors to link classroom notes to online materials for more discussion and easily update items as needed. Digital textbooks can be updated frequently, for example, history books can include information on what happened in the Legislature two weeks ago. There is no longer any need for textbooks to be out of date. Digital textbooks can save school systems money. Textbooks are easily damaged, lost and quickly outdated. Digital textbooks can always stay up-to-date, and are inexpensive to replace." -- see the Digital Books subhead on that page

GP should be fine. It looks like the average loss is anywhere from $1 to $10 per account, so they're looking at an upper bound of $15-$20m, or about 5% of their unrestricted cash assets.

From an article linked to in TFA:

Global Payments, the processor blamed for a Visa and Mastercard data breach last week, is likely to be able to manage its financial hit related to beefing up security. ...
If that figure sticks, Global Payments can weather the data breach, analysts said. For instance, Wells Fargo Timothy Willi said in a research note that Global Payments, which has $300 million to $400 million in unrestricted cash, can pay for the damage.

Willi’s take, which lines up with other analysts, is based on the data breach suffered by Heartland in 2008. Heartland is another payment processor and the accounts compromised ran as high as 130 million in a breach that lasted for months. Heartland’s tab to data has been $147 million.

Given Global Payments’ compromised accounts is about 10 million the tab should be lower. RBS WorldPay also had 1.5 million accounts compromised with $9 million of fraud losses.