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SSSCA Hearing October 25th: Free Software Threatened
A story at NewsForge details the latest on the state of Senator Fritz Hollings' proposed SSSCA, which may be the most radical attempt at legislative oversight over electronic goods ever attempted in the U.S. Opposition from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Free Software Foundation, the Association of Computing Machinery and others notwithstanding, Hollings' efforts to impede a free market in computer hardware and software through legislative fiat has been little commented on, in part because Hollings refuses to release much information about it. Eben Moglen is quoted to good effect on the risk a bill officializing and regulating all digital devices would pose to Free software. Under the SSSCA, it would be "unlawful to manufacture, import, offer to the public, provide or otherwise traffic in any interactive digital device that does not include and utilize certified security technologies." And that rules out most Free software, right from the start. (Read on for some more information.)
Besides writing your own representatives (email and faxes are probably better than phone calls), note that according to Hollings' contact page, "South Carolina residents may call, toll free, 1-800-922-8503" to reach him. In addition, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and the Privacy Center will be holding a meeting on "Security or Surveillance? Technology's Impact After September 11" on October 22 at Washington, DC's National Press Club; you can email for details on this meeting.
dasdasd
Because all operating systems are written by programmers, I assume that any operating system is much smarter than me. Thus, any good operating system should try to outsmart me by restricting my options at every turn. Linux, like all versions of Unix, is lousy at restricting my options because at the command line virtually any operation can be performed with ease. (For example, 'rm -rf /win' could 'delete an entire mounted directory, with no popup window warnings whatsoever.)
I'm proud to say that there is no such danger in 95/NT. Windows pop up when I want to make a change, and then more pop up to ask if I'm sure I want the change. Thankfully, Windows 95/NT operating systems look after my computer's well-being by occasionally switching configuration settings from the way I want them to what the OS programmers think they might probably ought to be. Boy, I'm just impressed with how smart they are. Once I learned to live with whatever the default settings are on any new hardware I install, I can't say the number of hours I have saved.
I use that spare time to reboot my Windows machine multiple times a day. Technical support personnel recommend that I do it regularly-- kind of like brushing my teeth. To help remind me of this necessity, windows pop up to tell me to reboot whenever I make a configuration change. By now my machine is minty fresh, I figure.
There is no such useful rebooting in a Linux system. It is as reliable as the sunrise, with uptimes in weeks and months. Virtually no configuration change requires a reboot, to boot. Imagine all that plaque in the computer. Gross!
In 95/NT I am prevented from making dangerous fundamental configuration changes unless I use a special "registry editor". I have found it so useful to have this separate editor that I hope in future versions they go all the way and supply a separate editor for each file on the disk-- in that way windows could pop up at every keystroke to warn me that changing any line in the file I am editing could cause the system to not run properly. If this were only the case, people would finally learn that it is best to just stick with the mouse and they would be freed of the need to constantly move their hands back to the keyboard. (If one stops to think about it, the mouse is a much better device to use than the keyboard. Ever hear of someone getting carpal tunnel syndrome from a mouse? No. It's comfortable and ergonomic. Like Morse code devices. That's how long distance communication started, after all.)
Linux, by contrast, requires no special editor to change configuration files. The fact that there is no "registry" in Linux allows the abomination of using any text editor whatsoever to do the configuration. Can you believe that configuration files are usually stored clear text? Talk about dangerous!
I am also happy to report that I have experienced no truth to the rumor that Windows disks become corrupt after improper shutdowns. Indeed, I have been forced to improperly shutdown the machine innumerable times after it locks up, and I have no apparent problems to report regarding the disk. No such claim can be made for Linux. They say something about lack of data points. Excuses are all I ever seem to hear from the Linux crowd.
By sheer size alone, Windows 95/NT beats Linux hands down. It is so much bigger, it is _obvious_ that it is better. Why would you want a small OS with the large disks and RAM sizes we have these days? For this reason alone, I heartily recommend Windows as a way to maximize resource utilization. Your CPU and disk will constantly be pegged to the limit, the way god intended. The Linux kernel and drivers accounts for only about 750KB. Why, even the Microsoft Win16 subsystem uses more space than that.
It is no surprise that Windows costs $270 on the retail market and Linux doesn't cost anything. People know what they want, and they want Windows. Because Linux is free, that means it's basically worthless. The same goes for all the development tools, remotable GUIs, and applications, which all cost money for windows (i.e., are worth something) and free for Linux (worthless!).
Installing software is very easy in Windows. I usually slip in CDs without even reading instructions or warnings, and just double click on whatever window pops up. There is no need to read anything or touch the keyboard. (Did I mention that I hate that thing?) Well, OK, I have learned the hard way the machine locks up if I don't take the time to close all other applications.
Linux, by contrast, requires typing on the keyboard to get anything to install at all. And you always have to know the NAME of program you want to install. For example, in Redhat, you have to type ``rpm -ivh ''to install the program and documentation. Linux needs to get with the '90s!
Windows follows the DOS convention of putting \r\n at the end of every line of a text file. While this is only a mild concern because of the relative rarity of text files on Windows machines these days-- thank god--it helps to differentiate between the text files and the other files. Sadly, Linux makes no distinction between text and other files.
If I legitimately purchase Windows 95/NT, I can call Microsoft customer support to get help with my problems. After a short hold time of an hour or so, they always help me. Ever since I told them that I was dual booting to Linux, they were able to flag my account and now each time I call even the entry level support personnel I am connected to say that Linux is the source of my problems. Everyone seems to agree that Linux is no good. The more I listen, the more I'm impressed with the knowledge of the support staff there.
By contrast, in Linux, all I have is stockpiles of resources and documentation that I would actually have to read in order to understand. Sure, I could obtain Linux support from a commercial organization, but they would probably just tell me I have to use a text editor to fix up my system.
In the end, I have no need for that old computer donkey Unix. I don't need to run big Unix tasks, after all. I refuse to become one of those a bug-eyed computer users, that's for sure. As soon as I can keep Windows from crashing for long enough, I'm going to delete my Linux partition, i.e., the equivalent of moving it to the recycle bin, saying that I'm sure, emptying the recycle bin, and again saying that I'm sure.
In America, first you get the sugar, then you get the power, then you get the women!-H.Simpson
You may want to wait until we're talking about key escrow again.. Or, conversely you could actually read the bill which has nothing to do with enabling law enforcement deal with crypto.
This bill is about crippling an entire group of industries to help another industry combat imagined losses..
Is there a -1 idiot moderation?
Invalid form key: tUfVUj3y65 !
who's the man now, dog?
1. Do you take drugs?
2. If you use drugs, do you share your marijuana?
Thank you and have an Afghanistan-heroin induced
weekend!
She's crazy like a fool. For Daddy Cool.
:o)
ESR was found dead this morning in his California home. He had a large black severed penis in his rectum and severe lash marks on his chest. He had been tied to a reinforced ceiling fan by his ankles and had apparently bled to death. Police are considering the death accidental and are looking for anybody who might know about the exact circumstances.
I am proud to be a Communist. All your freebase
are belong to us!
I smoke opium imported to the United States
courtesy of Afghanistan!
Infidels!
22/f/OH
Any guys here wanna chat?
I am the sharpest crayon in the box, and my name is Green. Due to "Screamin' Green", "Electric Lime", "Jungle Green", "Shamrock", "Aspagarus", "Tropical Rain Forest", and "Caribbean Green", not to mention "Forest Green", "Yellow Green", "Green Yellow" "Spring Green", "Blue Green", "Green Blue", "Olive Green", "Pine Green", and "Sea Green", I just don't see action anymore. I remain sharp and unbroken. Recent rumours tried to push off brown as the sharpest crayon due to the immense popularity of "Fuzzy Wuzzy Brown", but they simply aren't true. "Razzmatazz" is also making a big showing, but no one knows what color that is so we can't say which of the original 8 is sharper in disuse because of Razzmatazz.
From a song by Tom Paxton:
Oh we're filling the bottle for Ronnie
Filling it up to the brim
And we'll never rest
Till we all pass the test
'Cause we all think so highly of him.
Oh we're filling the bottle for Ronnie
And we'll never kick up a fuss
'Cause we're only doing to that little bottle
What Ronnie's been doing to us
Urine Trouble
(c) Copyright 1986 tojo
There's information in your wee-wee
Reveals the secrets of your lifestyle
Detects if you've been smoking thai weed
On alternate Fridays in the middle of the night
(Chorus 1)
We need a sample of your yellow discharge
So go into the bathroom and fill up this jar
We'll send the sample to the boys down in the lab
Dressed in plaid,
How drab
They've got your bladder on the witness stand
The perpetrators are among us
Their numbers growing like a rampant fungus
They think their habits are private
But urinalysis will clearly deny it
(Chorus 2)
You're in Urine Trouble
You're in Urine Trouble
They've got your bladder on the witness stand
A memo from the office of the president
We must submit or he'll fire the whole darn bunch
This executive decision
Arrived at during a three martini lunch
(Chorus 1)
"Jones, I'd like to see you in my office right away!"
"Y-yes, sir!"
"Close the door behind you, Jones"
"R-right away, sir!"
"Miss Nelson, hold all my calls"
"The fellas from the lab have submitted this
It's a list of the substances in your piss
It seems your performance, while fine on the surface
Is really just a front for your deviant purpose!"
"I can't believe we made you employee of the week
When all the while you were a closet freak
You thought you could hide behind your perfect attendence
Just to conceal your drug dependence!"
(Chorus 2)
There's information in your wee-wee
Reveals the secrets of your lifestyle
Detects if you've been smoking thai weed
On alternate Fridays in the middle of the night
(Chorus 1)
"Oh No!"
"What's wrong?"
"Remember that joint I toked last month?"
"Yeah"
"I think I'm having a flashback!"
"I want to operate heavy machinery!"
"I want to cause an industrial accident!"
"I want to exercise poor judgement!"
"I want to unwisely make a critical decision!"
You're in Urine Trouble
You're in Urine Trouble
They've got your bladder on the witness stand
You're in Urine Trouble
You're in Urine Trouble
They've got your bladder on the witness stand
Take a look and feel free: http://www.PieMenu.com