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RMS to Move Into Bill Gates Building Today

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the checking-out-the-new-digs dept.

In anonymous reader writes "RMS will be moving his office to the new William H. Gates building at MIT's Stata Center starting today. This marks the end of MIT's use of building NE43, which housed the LCS and AI labs (now combined into CSAIL). On a strangely unrelated note, shortly after Harvard, in a laudable attempt to retain solidarity with the Open Source community, dedicated the Maxwell Dworkin building (named after Gates' and Ballmer's mothers respectively), Gates' credit card was hacked. After all, they did have his mother's maiden name... "

7 of 645 comments (clear)

  1. Use punctuation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Harvard, in a laudable attempt to retain solidarity with the Open Source community, dedicated the Maxwell Dworkin building (named after Gates' and Ballmer's mothers respectively)

    How does this attempt to retain solidarity with the OSS community? The entire post is one gigantic run-on sentence, so maybe I am not reading it correctly?

  2. Facinating about the credit card bit by downix · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I think the term about those kids that felt that they were doing the "right thing" that is most apt is "shoot the messenger." Some young kids uncover security holes that could lead into millions of fraud if not patched, and then tell the authorities, let's arrest the kids. Makes it less likely that some good samaritin will do the same in the future, leaving security holes open for those less ethical to actually steal the money!

    What's next, arresting the kid that stuck his finger into the dike?

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    Karma Whoring for Fun and Profit.
    1. Re:Facinating about the credit card bit by Maestro4k · · Score: 5, Insightful
      • I think the term about those kids that felt that they were doing the "right thing" that is most apt is "shoot the messenger." Some young kids uncover security holes that could lead into millions of fraud if not patched, and then tell the authorities, let's arrest the kids. Makes it less likely that some good samaritin will do the same in the future, leaving security holes open for those less ethical to actually steal the money!
      This is a bit different than just finding security holes and reporting them. They actually gained access to the credit card numbers and (persumably) account information for many accounts. They didn't just find and report the holes, they exploited them, THEN reported them. This would be akin to you noticing your neighbor left the keys in his car and you decided to take it for a ride before telling him about it.
  3. Re:how stupid by theLOUDroom · · Score: 5, Insightful

    How stupid can you be? In the article, it says he stole the credit card numbers to prove how insecure things were. If that wasn't enough, he emailed the info to NBCi. Why do these people think that they're the "good guys" when they do this?

    He is right though. The credit card system is ridiculously insecure, and we all pay for it in one way or another.

    There's no reason someone I buy $20 worth of pizza from should have all the information necessary to charge an arbitrary amount of money to my credit card for the next few years.

    The technology exists for us to all have keyring-sized computers which employ public-private key crypto. This would mean I would authorize a one-time trasfer of $20 to the pizza place, and in order for them to be able to charge me again, I would need to give them a totally new transaction key.

    Why isn't the credit card system being replaced? Who knows.....but it's silly and stupid.

    I should never have to give anyone my bank account or credit card number. These days, it should all be handled using transaction keys with authorize a specfic amount, in a certain direction, to a specfic account, on a certain date.

    I'm not defending this guy, I just think the current credit card system it totally stupid from a security point of view.

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    Life is too short to proofread.
  4. Re:how stupid by Mmm+coffee · · Score: 5, Insightful

    For christ's sakes, must absolutely _everything_ be turned into some anti-MS rant?! Someone gets Gate's CC info and people try to spin it into being MS's fault. This is totally and completely bullshit. There are tons of serious reasons to speak out against the Microsoft, when you go off on them by trying to spin something this idiotic all you do is make everyone else who has valid points look like idiots in relation.

    Nobody cares about them being ruled a monopoly anymore becuase of the mindless drones going "Linux raa, Microsoft boo" in Orwelian duckspeak every time they open their mouths. I exclusively use a copy of GNU/Linux I built myself and even I find this crap to be aggrivating! You want to help the forces that are working against Microsoft? Shut up. Just shut. The. Fuck. Up. To say that it's Bill's fault that his CC numbers is stolen is on the same level as saying that a girl diserved to get raped for wearing a sexy dress. Asshole or not, he is the victim and not the perpetrator.

    So goddamn tired of the Linux zealots that it makes me ashamed to know I am one.... sheesh...

    Screw Anonymous Coward. Kill my karma. I don't give a fsck.

  5. Rather appropriate by fm6 · · Score: 5, Insightful
    RMS is the classic schoolyard radical. He has all these social theories that he's never had to test in the real world, because he's spent his entire professional career subsisting on grant money.

    Don't get me wrong -- there's nothing wrong with taking grant money. Just because something isn't economically sustainable, doesn't mean it's not worth doing. I just get very tired of the way the "Free Software" folk insist that they've transcended the evils of software "ownership". Which they've never actually done. Their bills are paid for by revenues from the very businesses they are too pure to work for.

    So of course RMS now works in a building that was paid for by the license fees that Microsoft gouged out of hapless computer buyers. What could be more appropriate?

  6. Re:how stupid by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "Also I don't buy pizza with a credit card. Jesus man, don't you have an ATM near by."

    Cash is a hassle; you have to keep track of how many slips of paper you have in your wallet. Credit card? It's always right there with me.

    Plus, with my Discover and American Express, I get some tiny percentage back, so by buying that $20 pizza, I earn a few cents back.

    Not having to deal with maintaining an inventory of cash _and_ a discount on everything I buy? That's a deal in my book.

    Plus, as long as I pay my bill on time, it's free; I don't carry a balance, so I don't get charged interest.

    AND, it builds good credit for me, so I'll have a better rating when I want to do something larger (i.e. buy a house)

    So to recap:
    1) Reuse a piece of plastic, rather than having to keep track of and replenish a supply of paper
    2) Get money back. Sure, it's small, but $100 a year is better than $0.
    3) It improves my credit rating.

    Yeah, that makes me want to run to the ATM.