Slashback: Security, Telephony, Solicitude

Slashback with more on Linux telephony, Mailblocks' terms of service, the scary disease known as SARS, the status of civilian GPS accuracy and more -- read on for the details.

A good oversight to correct. AndyMan! writes "Regarding yesterdays 'Building A Better Inbox,' I got the following email from support@mailblocks.com:

"'Our apologies, we picked up an old version of our TOS when we went live. We will NOT be allowing 3rd parties to send unsolicited email to our userbase. Please check the site this evening for the updated and correct TOS. We apologize for any confusion or inconvenience.'"

All the government you pay for. dunng808 writes "Despite frequent speculation to the contrary, Security Enhanced Linux is alive and well. Government Executive Magazine has a report from a conference on open-source software at which Peter Loscocco, a senior NSA scientist, revealed that the agency has continued to work on SE Linux despite efforts by Microsoft and the Initiative for Software Choice. "We spent a lot of time educating our managers, who accepted a lot of the flack that has come back to NSA about SE Linux," Loscocco said. For those readers trying to win acceptance of open-source software in the workplace, what effort have you undertaken to educate management, and what has worked?"

Also safe for now is GPS. As an anonymous reader writes, "Following last week's thread on GPS, and the possibility that the Pentagon might goof around with the civilian signal, Forbes checks in with the folks in charge and finds we have nothing to worry about."

OK, both of these things involve series of coherent vibrations in air ... A few months back, we mentioned that TheKompany was selling software to let Zaurus owners use Net2Phone for telephone service, and that they were working on a desktop version as well. Well, now it's ready. HeUnique writes "TheKompany just released tkcphone for the Linux desktop. This is the first product which lets Linux users to use their existing net2phone accounts to talk either through net2phone to net2phone or net2phone to standard POTS phone with the best audio quality (G.729 codec)."

And in almost-but-not-totally-unrelated news, jackjumper writes "Shawn Gordon of The Kompany fame has started his own record label, ProgRock Records. From the interview at Linux and Main: "The idea...is to provide progressive rock music to listeners at a low price while allowing more of that money to find its way to the artists' pockets than happens with conventional recording contracts and at the same time making a gesture -- you know the one -- to the established recording cartel." This sounds really cool."

A deadly pathogen by any other name. waytoomuchcoffee writes "The leading hypothesis for what is causing Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) is now thought to be a coronavirus, one of the virii that can cause the common cold. The New York Times (archive version for those non-members) has a story here. The global toll is now more than 750 stricken and 22 dead. Singapore is quarantining hundreds of people in an effort to stop the outbreak, while the head of the city's hospitals has taken ill with symptoms consistent with SARS. Both the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization have pages up now, which include FAQs and progression information."

How many times do we have to go over this? Vajsvarana writes "The major free Desktop Environment GNOME and KDE has released a common open statement on recent XFree86 troubles. 'Innovation should happen in the open, with all affected parties able to participate early in the process' seems a clear and strong request to XFree86 people."

Comments

My story

[The Bungi]

For those readers trying to win acceptance of open-source software in the workplace, what effort have you undertaken to educate management, and what has worked?

Well, I told the manager that it was free. He squinted. Then I told him there was no support, but if he opened a port to an IRC server we could get by. He squinted a little more. Then I told him it doesn't really run any of the software we use. He squinted even more. Finally I told him we'd have to use Java or something because .NET doesn't really run in Linux. It will soon, though! He was beginning to look like a japanese psycho on speed by then, so fearing for my job I backpedaled out of his office, bowing a few times and muttering something I heard on the Iron Chef the other day that sounded important. To this day he's not speaking to me.

That's my story. Anyone else?

Re:My story

[technos]

I like to come in right after the Microsoft rep has been in..

"He wanted us to do what?!? XP on the desktops? They're P2s with 64M of memory! Replace the NT servers with 2K just for the new proxy server software? $16 grand?? Plus client licenses? He said he thought we might have overused our Windows 98 liscenses? How about I just snag a couple 486s from the junk bin, toss a copy of Debian on em, and we call it done? Oh, cost? You owe me a six pack of beer to drink when I'm doing it. Support? What do you have me here for? Its not like you've ever actually called Microsoft. No. You call me."

Re:KDE and GNOME

[larry bagina]

The way they have been getting along lately i would'nt be supprised if we saw some joint projects...

That would explain why LinuxCon is being held in Amsterdam....

Re:"Viruses," Not "Virii"

[clueless_penguin]

Okay, I'm done ranting. Please spare me your ill-based theory that if people don't speak 100% correct English 100% of the time that we'll all end up communicating via a series of grunts and moans.

The proper form is gruntii and moanii. Sheesh.