Slashback: Documentary, Directory, FUD

Slashback tonight brings some updates and clarifications to previous stories, including news of the successful production of both a BBS documentary and an open-source directory. Read on for more!

I goof, therefore I am sorry. Many readers submitted rebuttals to the claim I repeated that an Israeli web portal was the first to give users 1GB email accounts; Protein Shake, for one, writes that Spymac has them beat. "Forget Google, forget Israel's web portal... 1 GB e-mail is already out there. At least a few weeks ago. From their site '1 GB e-mail account, 350 MB combined storage, personal blog, forum, gallery, auctions and more...'"

"And this was back when phone lines were just strings painted to resemble copper ..." Jason Scott writes "The BBS Documentary, announced on Slashdot nearly three years ago, has wrapped up filming. With over TWO HUNDRED interviews in the can, I've been spending a lot of my spare time (and not-so-spare time) editing, but I decided to put out the first of what will likely be a few trailers for it. Stop by and check out how I've spent the last few years. The Documentary will be released as a 3-DVD set later this year."

It's like Who's Who, only different. Another gargantuan effort completed on a different front: Tony Stanco writes with word that "The 910-page Open Source Reference Book is available for download."

The project was announced just over a year ago; considering the contents that's not a bad turnaround.

It's nearly enough to make one cynical. Alex Wolfe writes "In a move worthy of the Luddites, the New York City Council is quietly trying to ban the Segway . The Council has proposed a law that's technically a ban on motorized scooters, but Harris Siliver, founder of Citystreets, an urban improvement organization, says the NYC Department of Transportation is specifically targeting the electric, non-polluting Segway. Silver is joined in his opposition to the bill by Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak."

Get out much? If you just can't get enough random flamebait, here's a small fix to follow the anti-Linux FUD spread earlier this month by Green Hills CEO Dan O'Dowd. InfoSec writes "This morning's Security Focus page had an article about Consumer Grade *nix. The writer of the article slams Linux for not having free automated updates, enabling services in default installations, and not warning users when they are using 'root'. Uhmm, I could be wrong, but hasn't Mandrake been doing that for quite some time?"

apt-get update seems to count as free updates to me (though those folks do take donations), and root-use warnings may not be perfectly applied, but they are found in various forms (depending on distro) at OS, WM, and application levels, including notices that certain tasks can only be run as root or other superuser. (I think it's Xchat that calls me "an idiot" when I've tried to run it as root.)

Comments

Funny.

[Neil Blender]

I read that headline and thought: Michael Moore.

Re:Funny.

[6Yankee]

Funny. (Score:4, Funny)

Ah, this is the secret. I really must stop using Flamebait, Overrated and Troll as subjects!

Re:Funny.

[Neil Blender]

Ah, this is the secret. I really must stop using Flamebait...Troll as subjects!

No, those are best used in the first sentence your post. As in, "This will probably get modded flamebait, but..." or "I'm not trying to troll here but..."

Re:Funny.

[DebianRcksLindowsLie]

And for more successful moderation, imagine a beowulf cluster of sigs in Soviet Russia!

Re:Funny.

[Bigman]

Imagine a Beowulf cluster of Natalie Portmans eating hot grits in Soviet Russia...

Re:Funny.

[Anonymous Coward]

step 1. grow a brain
step 2. ???
step 3. profit!

neil blender's steps for success.

Re:Funny.

[Anonymous Coward]

In Soviet Russia Natalie Portman imagines hot grits eating you!!!!

1GB Email Portal Goof

[Liselle]

Many readers submitted rebuttals to the claim I repeated that an Israeli web portal was the first to give users 1GB email accounts;

...and as mentioned in another article, if the "on-duty" editor would listen to the subscribers occasionally, someone would have known before it went live. Oops! :D

"non-poluting segway"

[Anonymous Coward]

non-poluting segway

Generating electricity still causes pollution, it just causes a lot less polution than a car.

Re:"non-poluting segway"

[JohnTheFisherman]

Depends on how you generate it - you've merely passed the buck.

I doubt the ban on Segways has anything to do with being Luddites. Those things take up at least 2-3x as much ground space as a person. The sidewalks can often be packed in NYC, and the street is full of cars. There's nowhere for Segways to go when it's busy, other than "on everybody else's feet."

I think when Steve Jobs said that it would change the way we build cities, he was right. We HAVE to change the way we buld cities because it won't fit in any current cities. We'd need extra lanes to handle the traffic.

Re:"non-poluting segway"

[t_allardyce]

I think when Steve Jobs said that it would change the way we build cities, he was right. We HAVE to change the way we buld cities because it won't fit in any current cities. We'd need extra lanes to handle the traffic.

Nah, i dont want to sound flamebaiting and trolling but really, maybe we should just not change the way we build cities and instead just forget about this fad, im sure it could find a niche market in the circus and maybe as a novelty for tourists to rent, but really, as a revolutionary transportation device? its crap! And if i see one on the road i will try and run it over.

Re:"non-poluting segway"

[Anonymous Coward]

It just depends on how you generate your electricity really. Not that there is any all to good non polluting competitor out there right now. But that's hardly the point, merely that it is possible to generate electricity without polution.

Quickshot

Re:"non-poluting segway"

[kiltedtaco]

Have you ever been to any town in Europe? They've all had the same narrow streets for centuries, literaly.

I'm not rebuilding my city just to accomedate a segway.

Re:"non-poluting segway"

[blamanj]

Note that NYC is behind San Francisco, which has banned them already.

Re:"non-poluting segway"

[bottlebrushtree]

The ban was thanks to the work of Walk San Francisco, San Francisco's Pedestrian Advocacy Group.

WalkSF.org

The sidewalks are no place for a vehicle that goes as fast as a Segway. This means Bikes also.

For more information on why WalkSF helped get this law enacted check out

Walk SF's Segway Page

Re:"non-poluting segway"

[Anonymous Coward]

In the article: It's already illegal by New York state law to operate Segways, motorized scooters, and the like on streets, sidewalks, and parks. The ban makes it illegal to do anything with it except own the thing (I suppose you could carry it to New Jersey or something...) So, what they're basically trying to do is have a stronger reason to stop and fine someone trying to use a vehicle which is already illegal to operate in public, as well as completely stop its introduction. NY DMV's stance on motorized vehicles

Re:"non-poluting segway"

[Anonymous Coward]

I somehow don't think that the segway is efficient enough to run off solar power. What are the other non-polluting power sources?

Re:"non-poluting segway"

[JohnTheFisherman]

Sure, and I certainly don't suggest we do that. I'm just pointing out how impractical they are, at least for crowded cities. If there is moderate to sparse pedestrian traffic, it's more feasible.

If they had some sort of anti-gravity device, that might help. ;)

Re:"non-poluting segway"

[lawpoop]

How many European towns have you been to? A lot of them have been retrofitted to accomodate cars, bikes, trains, buses, trams, trollies, etc.

I think existing bike pathways, which you will find in a lot of European cities, will easily handle segway traffic.

Re:"non-poluting segway"

[Anonymous Coward]

You could say the same thing about a bicycle. The way people think is essentially what it comes down to. Which means people who feel safer in their mobile forts (when they're not) and paranoid fools who think someone is going to intentionally run over their toes (when they won't) just need some reprogramming ;)

Re:"non-poluting segway"

[Anonymous Coward]

Hydroelectric, wind, geothermal, tidal, are some. There may be some more.

Re:"non-poluting segway"

[t_allardyce]

No a bicycle is a 200 year old device that uses the laws of physics to remain naturally stable in motion and the laws of 'your foot' to remain naturally stable when stopped, it can travel at a range of useful speeds, requires no fuel and apart from pissing off drivers it can pretty much get around most cities without a big re-design, although a bicycle lane is an advantage. What will happen is we will get to the stage where there will be a normal lane, a fire lane, a bus lane, a bicycle lane, a segway lane (because they are too slow to go with bikes) and a "2 wheeled computer balanced transportation device that is not allowed to use the name segway for copyright reasons" lane, is this really what you want??

Re:"non-poluting segway"

[crucini]

I agree. What is the connection between being a "geek" and rooting for the Segway? There are things about geekhood I don't understand. Why assume that New York is "luddite" for wanting to ban this nuisance? Of course they should ban it. It's a motor vehicle that wants to run on the crowded sidewalks. The last thing Americans need is a way to avoid walking.

However in more suburban areas it could fill a legitimate niche.

Re:"non-poluting segway"

[LauraScudder]

Most of the narrow streets are now pedestrian zones, and as the sibling post pointed out, the streets outside the old town all have bikelanes, sidewalks, and even clicking cross-walk buttons for the blind. I never saw so many blind people in my life as when I was in Germany, and I think its entirely because its so much easier for them to get out alone there.

Re:"non-poluting segway"

[Bigman]

As someone who cycles to work (almost) every day, I'd not be too pleased to find the cycle lanes (such as they are) blocked by yuppies on wheels. To cycle long(ish) distances effectively you need to keep a constant speed - it's bad enough dodging potholes and motorists who think that because you have no engine you can stop instantaneously to avoid them.
Having said that, Segways are cool technology, and for those with the brass balls to do so can travel fast enough to cause minimal problems to cyclists, it's just on the rare occasions I've seen them in use here (in the UK) people have been beetling along at snails-pace. It's a shame that they're so expensive. Of course, you could always build your own. That is, until Segway's lawyers get to you and take your house...

Re:"non-poluting segway"

[Lars T.]

So what are they doing against joggers and other maniac runners?

Re:"non-poluting segway"

[t_allardyce]

yep its abit like sinclairs electric car frenzy, and theres geeky and theres geeky! :P I think it might be useful for transport around a campus or warehouse and maybe for tourists in certain areas. And certainly as a toy/gimick.

Re:"non-poluting segway"

[Short Circuit]

When I was visiting Chicago, they had nice bike paths throughout the city. Perhaps an elevated path specifically for small motorized transport would be a good idea. It keeps the slow moving pedestrians walking past store fronts, while the faster-moving people on Segways could, well, be faster-moving.

Re:"non-poluting segway"

[Mateito]

> How many European towns have you been to?

One word: York.

Re:"non-poluting segway"

[BJH]

a 2 wheeled computer balanced transportation device that is not allowed to use the name segway for copyright reasons

IANAL, but that should read "a 2 wheeled computer balanced transportation device that is not allowed to use the name segway for trademark reasons".

Re:"non-poluting segway"

[Anonymous Coward]

And another: Bristol.

Anything that wasnt flattened in the war is a disaster carwise. Alot of town solve thier problem by banning cars completly (Bath and Reading), turning thier major assets into carparks/motorways (Brighton), or by being a shitehole that no-one would want to go to anyway (Bracknell, Chatham).

Ive actually been seen large traffic jams in London at midnight.

Re:"non-poluting segway"

[Anonymous Coward]

And personally, I'm looking forward to $5 a gallon for gas. My only real wish is that it goes to $15 a gallon. Then, just maybe, people will learn to stop wasting so much.

Re:"non-poluting segway"

[t_allardyce]

Well come on over to England! we've been enjoying rip-off prices for years!

Trailers in wma and quicktime??

[deathguppie]

so the trailers for The open source documentary are in a closed format???

Re:Trailers in wma and quicktime??

[Fancia]

I think you've confused yourself a bit. The documentary is about BBSs, not open-source. The open-source thing was the directory.

Re:Trailers in wma and quicktime??

[Anonymous Coward]

YOU ARE STUPID FUCKING IDIOT FUCK

(Use the Preview Button! Check those URLs!)

SUSE

[Anthony Boyd]

The writer of the article slams Linux for not having free automated updates, enabling services in default installations, and not warning users when they are using 'root'.

SUSE gives me free updates via YAST, comes with all services disabled in the "minimal graphical install" default that I use (well, networkable services are not enabled, but things like cron are), and when I log in via root, the desktop is a red graphic with a pattern of large bombs all over it. Sound fairly perfect to me. The only other thing would be a warning at the command line for a non-GUI root login, and in fact I sorta get that, because the default for the root shell prompt is different.

Re:SUSE

[Telex4]

Is there any GNU/Linux distribution worth it's salt that doesn't provide some automated upgrade system, other than those that target the kind of geek who would be doing it themselves anyway?

And given that, on my parents' machine for example, they don't even have root in the list of users when they login, I'm not sure how they'd ever be running anything as root anyway.

There has to be a fairly small set of people manually doing security updates, and who are ever running things as root without realising it.

Telex4 goes back to feeding the ducks... less demanding than Windows trolls

Re:SUSE

[dj245]

the desktop is a red graphic with a pattern of large bombs all over it.

kind of reminds me of You are full of bombs and/or keys from that old game Gauntlet. Now your computer really can be full of bombs!

Re:SUSE

[Anonymous Coward]

Speaking of SuSE ... The word is that SuSE 9.1 should be in the distribution channels by today. So ... where's the leak already?

Re:SUSE

[Anonymous Coward]

You are mistaken. SuSE 9.1 isn't due for release until May.

Re:SUSE

[Anonymous Coward]

For the stores to have the new SUSE on the shelf in early May they have to start shipping it earlier.

1 Gb is possible right now

[Carlos Silva]

I don't know if everyone around here knows.. but if you create a Blogger account you can be one of the lucky ones to try out Gmail beta, even if you have some kind of problem in using it (tinfoil hat crowd :) it's always a Good Thing to try it out...
Until now.. it has been pretty good.. at least for me..

Re:1 Gb is possible right now

[Anonymous Coward]

i know this is off topic, but is it random? i registered an account, and I wasn't given the option or anything. Is there something you have to do to enable the beta trial? If it's random, do you know about how often it happens?

Re:1 Gb is possible right now

[Carlos Silva]

I think the more active your account is (number of posts?) the more chances you have.
When you're selected they show a pretty invitation when you login :)

Spymac 1GB email is not so desirable

[Anonymous Coward]

I think Spymac's 1GB email came right after Google's announcement. The thing is, I honestly don't want to tell people, "email me at blah blah @ spymac.com." It seems I might be misconstrued as an Apple zealot (well technically I am a zealot, but I try not to project it onto people in a way that pisses them off). I have a mac.com address, but spymac.com just doesn't sound business-like.

reeddavid.com

Re:Spymac 1GB email is not so desirable

[dopeghost]

The thing is, I honestly don't want to tell people, "email me at blah blah @ spymac.com." It seems I might be misconstrued as an Apple zealot

a zealot ... i wouldn't even be wanting people to think i use mac ;)

Talking Penguin

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe linux should come with a talking penguin that pops up and offers suggestions:

"It looks like you're trying to delete a file. Would you like to free up more disk space?"

"You are running as root. Running as root can be bad for your computer. Would you like to change users?"

Re:Talking Penguin

[Anonymous Coward]

"You are running an operating system that is developed and maintained by lazy, smelly hippies and 15-year old l33t dudes. Would you like to delete your Linux partition and install a real OS?"

Re:Talking Penguin

[ThomaMelas]

Can we keep the BSD promotions to a minamum please? ;)

Re:Talking Penguin

[Carlos Silva]

Real ? They make OS's?!?!
Poor fella..

Re:Talking Penguin

[Mostly a lurker]

#/etc: ls -l

This directory contains files that are essential to system operation (your p0rn should be stored elsewhere).

Select Show Files or Cancel

Re:Talking Penguin

[Anonymous Coward]

I take offense at this. Why do you think I'm so old? I may be a 1337 l1|\|V> d00d, but I'm only 14.

Re:Talking Penguin

[Ice_Balrog]

What, so you would rather use a 32-bit extension for a 16-bit patch to an 8-bit operating system coded for a 4-bit microprocessor written by a 2-bit company that can't stand 1 bit of competition?

Re:Talking Penguin

[bloody]

You mean you don't have a /etc/pr0n directory?

Sidewalk Utilization Quotas

[persaud]

No need to single out Segway. Limit the square footage of sidewalk that can be used by single humans during rush hour.

This will allow use when the sidewalk is empty (which can yield a registration fee that goes towards sidewalk maintenance).

For rush hour, a square footage quota will incent R&D for the scooter-pooling version of Segway.

Re:Sidewalk Utilization Quotas

[PornMaster]

Will this be a fat person tax, too? Hmm?

Re:Sidewalk Utilization Quotas

[persaud]

Good point. Plus they could make a case for needing mechanical assistance. What to do?

How about people in wheelchairs in New York? They must take up more square footage (seated) than a scooter (standing). Is there a maximum legal size for wheelchairs?

Maybe you limit the quota to those who have no alternate means of locomotion - that would handle both fat people and wheelchairs.

Re:Sidewalk Utilization Quotas

[RazzleFrog]

You joke but there are three things I would like to see fines for:

1) Two women talking side by side and walking at a snails pace forcing people to either walk in the street or crawl behind them (never seen men do this so I not being sexist).

2) Smoking while walking. There is nothing worse then getting stuck walking behind a smoker and having their smoke in your face until you can pass them. Luckily most smokers can't walk very fast.

3) Using umbrellas under scaffolding. I don't know how people avoid getting their eyes poked out with all the umbrella jockeying going on.

Walking in Manhattan is alright an art form and introducing segways would just make it a worse nightmare. As it is we enough asshole rollerbladers and bikers who think that it is ok to use the sidewalk from time to time.

Re:Sidewalk Utilization Quotas

[peacefinder]

An excellent suggestion! We can create a market for sidewalk credits, wherein large people can purchase extra sidewalk-space credits from smaller people, thereby letting the market optimize sidewalk usage.

Note for the sarcasm impaired: Yep, I'm kidding.

Shells would be so much better

[Neil Blender]

not warning users when they are using 'root'.

admin@local host #su
Password:

WARNING YOU ARE NOW ROOT!

#adduser fred

WARNING YOU ARE ROOT, ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO DO THIS? (Y/N) Y

#passwd fred

WARNING YOU ARE ROOT, ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO DO THIS? (Y/N) Y

Changing password for user fred.
New password:

Re:Shells would be so much better

[petabyte]

Honestly, I've always seen the octothorpe as plenty of warning that you could be breaking everything you're touching. Thats why I don't play tic-tack-toe.

Re:Shells would be so much better

[Trogre]

Or just put a red stripe along row 0 of the terminal with "WARNING: Logged in as root" in bright yellow lettering.

You know, like when Java applets pop up windows that need user input.

It wouldn't break any existing tools, and IMHO it wouldn't be too much of an inconvenience, only your console would be 1 row shorter.

Re:Shells would be so much better

[AndroidCat]

Yeah, they should have very obvious warnings when you are root/administrator just like Windows does. Er, how does Windows do that exactly?

Re:Shells would be so much better

[persaud]

Color coded prompt:

/etc/bashrc:

C_RED="\[\033[0;31m\]"
C_GREEN="\ [\033[0;32m\]"
C_LIGHT_GRAY="\[\033[0;37m\]"
C_R ESET="\[\033[0m\]"
PS1="\n$C_GREEN//\h$C_LIGHT_GR AY.\u $C_RESET\w> "

/root/.bashrc:

PS1="\n$C_GREEN//\h$C_RED.\ u $C_RESET\w> "

Re:Shells would be so much better

[X-Nc]

Just for kicks I used this to make a prompt that would look like the default one but with colors. Looks like this...

/root/.bash_profile

C_RED="\[\033[0;31m\]"
C_G REEN="\[\033[0;32m\]"
C_LIGHT_GRAY="\[\033[0;37m\ ]"
C_RESET="\[\033[0m\]"
PS1="[$C_RED\u$C_LIGHT_ GRAY@$C_GREEN\h$C_RESET \W]# "

(I don't know why there are extra speces in some of the lines but the only space should be at the end of the PS1 line between the "\W]" and the quote)

Re:Shells would be so much better

[RollingThunder]

Simple - you're logged in. ;)

I do agree that some warning is a good idea for novices, which is why I like the standard Mandrake root setup - log in via GUI and you have a glaring red background.

Re:Shells would be so much better

[TheSpoom]

You can't login as root, or SYSTEM, in Windows unless you change a Group Policy setting, I believe. Of course, you can do practically anything as an Administrator anyway. And new version of Windows XP actually try to hide the Administrator user, making it so that by default you can only login as the Administrator user account by going into Safe Mode. Not sure if there are any things that Administrator can do that regular user members of the Administrator group can't, but meh, I like to play the Devil's Advocate every now and again ;^)

Re:Shells would be so much better

[Anonymous Coward]

Hit CTRL-ALT-DEL twice from the log-on screen to get the traditional User/Pass prompt.

Re:Shells would be so much better

[persaud]

Color is good :-) Here are the others (cut spaces):

C_BROWN="\[\033[0;33m\]"
C_BLUE="\[\033[0;34m\]"
C_PURPLE="\[\033[0;35m\]"
C_CYAN="\[\033[0;36m\] "
C_GRAY="\[\033[1;30m\]"
C_WHITE="\[\033[1;37m\ ]"
C_YELLOW="\[\033[1;33m\]"

C_LIGHT_BLUE="\[\ 033[1;34m\]"
C_LIGHT_CYAN="\[\033[1;36m\]"
C_LIG HT_PURPLE="\[\033[1;35m\]"
C_LIGHT_RED="\[\033[1; 31m\]"
C_LIGHT_GREEN="\[\033[1;32m\]"

Re:Shells would be so much better

[WWWWolf]

Pretty cool. Though, it might be slightly more elegant to turn that into a shell function and put that to PROMPT_COMMAND.

function prompt_command {
echo -ne "\n$SC_GREEN//\h$C_RED.\u$C_RESET\w>"
}

exp ort PROMPT_COMMAND=prompt_command

...or whatever. I've not tested that. Making it work and testing the ANSI-capability of the terminal left as an exercise to the reader =)

I use PROMPT_COMMAND to set the xterm title myself...

Re:Shells would be so much better

[Goo.cc]

"new versions of Windows XP actually try to hide the Administrator user"

That is only in Windows XP Home. And you can reach the administrator account if you boot XP Home into safe mode. XP Pro doesn't try to hide the administrator account.

Re:Shells would be so much better

[AndroidCat]

Win XP does, at least, assign different desktop backgrounds to each user when you create them. There's no indication of admin vs regular user, but at least there's a noticable difference. Of course, many people will just create one admin user and keep using it for everything.

Re:Shells would be so much better

[Giggle Stick]

I'm color blind, you insenstive trichromat.

Re:Shells would be so much better

[persaud]

> I'm color blind, you insenstive trichromat

To all colors? See later post for additional colors.

"spy" in the name....

[zogger]

... IS sort of put-offish what with security concerns, etc. I got as far as the huge sign in questionnaire, that and having to run script told me to not follow through with an account there.

I'd like to try google's, especially if they had created a huge wall of spam-be-not around their service. Coolguys and non spammers inside, everyone else outside. Google is big enough to pull off a system like that, and has the smarts to make it work.

If you speak Russian

[prostoalex]

Doesn't matter much for most of the Slashdotters, but if you happen to read Russian (or always wanted to learn that language), Yandex Mail, which is part of Yandex, Russia's largest Web portal and search engine, announced unlimited mail storage space with maximum letter size of 10 MB and unlimited attachments (as long as the message with all the attaches stays below 10 MB).

Basically, they will just keep buying more hard drives as you grow your message store.

Re:If you speak Russian

[agrippa_cash]

Sure that's true now, but I heard in Soviet Russia unlimited email attaches you. I'm sorry, I'm so very, very sorry.

Re:If you speak Russian

[T0t0r0_fan]

Whoa... I happen to be using yandex-mail for a several years, and I still probably wouldn't have noticed that. Thanks a lot for telling, really! Though I use pop3 to get it most of the time, for me it's still useful to have a lot of storage space sometimes. (I'm not supposed to write other than in English on /. - org, am I :)

Re:If you speak Russian

[LordK3nn3th]

You're a fucking genius.

Re:If you speak Russian

[Kaa]

So did Mail.ru.

That's already TWO Russian webmail providers which offer unlimited email storage... Take that, Yankee imperialists! :-)

Re:If you speak Russian

[Anonymous Coward]

I think the issue is that those Yankee imperialist mail servers have more than 2 users.

Odd mail providers

[Telex4]

I would rather get an e-mail address that I can be sure I'll still have in five years time. When I first migrated from web-based mail to a POP3 service, I went through about three providers until I hit on one (GMX) that was stable, but then they stopped translating the pages into English, and after a year of guessing how to use the spam tools in German, I got fed up.

Now I just have my own egomaniacal domain name, and no matter what happens, short of a change in the domain name system, I'm guaranteed I can keep my e-mail and web addresses.

I could trust Yahoo! or Google, but it's an unfortunate fact of the lovely web that, when it comes to something like e-mail, with someone like Spymac I'd always be waiting for them to close shop, or charge some silly fee, or relocate to Uganda and only run their web site in a few obscure tribal dialects.

Re:Odd mail providers

[mi]

I can be sure I'll still have in five years time

Then get your own domain and forward the e-mail to whatever @yahoo or @google you happened to be.

Some (most?) domain registrars will even do such forwarding for free for you...

Re:Odd mail providers

[Anonymous Coward]

Most domain registrars will do web & mail hosting with POP3, SMTP and/or IMAP for all of $20 a year. Don't be such a cheapskate for once in your life and stop using shitty fucking webmail products that insist on sending HTML emails.

Re:Odd mail providers

[JWhitlock]

I would rather get an e-mail address that I can be sure I'll still have in five years time. When I first migrated from web-based mail to a POP3 service, I went through about three providers until I hit on one (GMX) that was stable, but then they stopped translating the pages into English, and after a year of guessing how to use the spam tools in German, I got fed up.

If you don't want to create your own domain, join a professional organization. Most technical ones offer free email forwarding services, and they are quite popular. I'm pretty sure the IEEE isn't going away any time soon, and most professionals can join. Of course, it means yearly dues, but there are a lot of benefits besides having the same email address forever.

Re:Odd mail providers

[cerberusss]

Now I just have my own egomaniacal domain name

I have this too, because besides the obvious advantages I also think this looks much more professional. There's nothing wrong with a resume with a hotmail account. But one where the creator obviously took the time to register his/her own domain is somewhat nicer, especially when you're applying for a CS position.

And besides, you never know if you start your own business someday. If you already have a nice domain name, so much the better,

Biased wibbles...

[dj245]

...but Harris Siliver, founder of Citystreets, an urban improvement organization, says the NYC Department of Transportation is specifically targeting the electric, non-polluting Segway. Silver is joined in his opposition to the bill by Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak."

Maybe that could have read "...but Harris Siliver, founder of Citystreets, an urban improvement organization, says the NYC Department of Transportation is specifically targeting the electric scooter that uses an unconventional method of control and is much faster than pedestrians and frequently piloted by speed demons. Silver is joined in his opposition to the bill by Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak."

I'm all for ways to get rid of cars and pollution. But these scooters travel at a good speed, much faster than pedestrians. They have separate lanes for bikes, or they make bikes ride in the street. They do this because biking amongst pedestrians is often dangerous at high speeds. Doesn't it make sense that segwaying at high speeds among pedestrians is dangerous too? I'm not saying ban the segway. But getting it off the sidewalk is probably not a bad thing. Sidewalks are for people. Bike lanes are for bikes. Where does the segway go? The bike lanes? The street? I don't know, but I would be scared every time a scooter bore down on me with a person on it at 12MPH. As Marty McFly Jr. said, "Hey, I'm walking here!"

Re:Biased wibbles...

[DoubleD]

Why not simply issue tickets for unsafe movement on a sidewalk. Do we really need laws banning forms of transportation that can be used responsibly and safely?

Regulate the behavior not the device (kind of like the general slashdot opinion of DeCSS).

Re:Biased wibbles...

[Anonymous Coward]

So if I ride my car on the sidewalk when there is no one there that should be fine? Pedestrians and wheelchairs are the only things that ever belong on the sidewalk. There is no such thing as a safe segway on the sidewalk. If they want to press their luck with the cabs like those nutso bike messengers do then it is their karma.

Re:Biased wibbles...

[SubtleNuance]

What astounds me is that this group would name itself "a pedestrian advocacy group". The segway is a motorized vehicle. A segway is *not* a pedestrian.

Where does this newspeak lunacy end? If siliver wants to argue that segways are safe, and should be allowed to mingle -- I disagree -- but so be it, he is perfectly within his rights to bring his argument. But to try and frame and cripple the debate by purposefully polluting language is f'ing sad.

Segways belong on the street like other motor vehicles -- Autos have for far too long had intimidated others out of the public rights-of-way. I encourage Everyone to buy a Segway and form a Segway Critical Mass -- they are better than cars. But they have no place on sidewalks.

Re:Biased wibbles...

[thetorpedodog]

biking amongst pedestrians is often dangerous at high speeds

*running over pedestrians with Segway HT set as fast as possible* You've got to be kidding me! *swerves into street, causing car accident* Hurt anybody? No way! *mows down old lady* Bah! What rubbish! I don't have time not to go fast!

Re:Biased wibbles...

[evilviper]

Do we really need laws banning forms of transportation that can be used responsibly and safely?

How can a segway be used, in New York, safely and responsibly? They aren't allowed in public, so what are you going to do with them? Spend several thousand dollars on them so you can drive around your apartment?

I am a bit torn on the subject. I see powered scooters sold on the streets here all the time, and you know that practically the only use for them is kids driving down the street. They can't be used off-road, they aren't street-legal, and they are not only too small for an adult, but very unsafe even when used properly.

Would you get upset if it was illegial to sell motorcycles in an area where motorcycles are not allowed to drive anywhere?

Now that I'm over with that rant, even if we assume no segway is ever driven on the sidewalk, what are it's possible uses? It is not street legal, and the laws for neighboorhood electric vehicles can't possible be applied to it. Namely, you can't put a windsheild and seatbelts on the unit. So what purpose does it have? It is not powerful enough that it can do much off-road. Should they allow $3,000 segways to be sold, and assume they will only ever be used in vacant parking lots?

The more and more I think about it, the more I agree with the city.

Re:Biased wibbles...

[GenSolo]

I don't know about NYC, but I know in NC anyway, parking lots are considered "public vehicle areas" which fall under all the same laws as highways (roads), and if that's the case in NYC as well, then you can only use it inside ;)

Re:Biased wibbles...

[singleantler]

Banning does seem to be going a bit far.

However, in the UK we have a speed limit for vehicles that use the pavement - motorised wheelchairs are limited to a 4mph top speed. Buggies (larger chairs with covers over the top, often used by people with limited mobility) can go faster, but they have to go on the road. Effectively it's illegal to use Segways on the pavement here.

I wonder if the Segways could have a button for 'pavement' which would drastically limit their top speed. However, policing this to ensure it was used would be quite awkward - pavement speed traps just for the odd Segway? Madness!

Re:Biased wibbles...

[1u3hr]

on www.citystreets.org/segway2.html they say:

we also understand that to say "Segways can't be ridden on sidewalks in NYC" is essentially to argue that "Segways shouldn't exist in NYC", since the only place left to ride them would be on streets. And to tell someone standing on an unprotected platform to mix with 8,000 pound SUV's is not a reasonable thing to say as it places the Segway rider in unacceptable danger.

I don't know anything about this "pedestrian advocacy group', but this seems really backwards. Elsewhere on their site they show great hostility to cyclists, yet show no sympathy for the exact same argument that cyclists are in danger of their lives by being required to ride on the roads. Their argument apparently is that segways are preferable to cars, and old and infirm people can use them. Well, that still doesn't convince me that this organisation has not been completely subverted by gizmo-loving yuppies, if not actual corporate shills. (If the old and infirm do have a need to use them, they should have an exemption, and a licence, and a low maximimum speed; this shouldn't be a lever to let every lazy slob who doesn't want to walk from his parking garage to his apartment.)

OSS Reference: add your gov-relevant project

[persaud]

For submitting a new listing (free) for the next edition of the book, go here.

WOW!

[agslashdot]

This is such an awe-inspiring effort. Logging 200 hours of footage over 3 years...I can imagine the amount of dedication, effort, logistics & scheduling that went into making this possible.
Hats off to you!

I'm into my 4th month of filmmaking right now. Logged 20+ hours so far, a dozen interviews under my belt, lots of travel, caffeine, sleepless nights...and I've barely begun. By the time I hope to be finished, I hope to have about 50 hours of footage. Just sifting thru all that, deciding which segment will make the cut & which won't...gigantic effort. I can't even imagine what you're going thru, narrowing down 200 hours into 3 DVDs. I wish you luck & lots & lots of patience.

There was this one documentary I watched recently - "Begging Naked" - that tracked this prostitute thru 7 yeas of her life. 7 years!!! In those 90 minutes of footage, you can practically see the person aging in front of you. The prostitute goes from being a young sexy hooker making pots of money in a Manhattan apartment to an old haggard woman living under a tree in Central Park out of a cardboard box. The person who made this film started filming in her 20s & is now in her 30s & the film still hasn't gotten a theatrical release. And she keeps plugging away. That's motivation for you!

Project Outsourced - the film

Re:WOW!

[telstar]

"This is such an awe-inspiring effort. Logging 200 hours of footage over 3 years...I can imagine the amount of dedication, effort, logistics & scheduling that went into making this possible.
Hats off to you!"

• Actually, the whole thing is just footage of a series of ANSI pictures and MUD sessions being downloaded over a 2400 baud modem while some 13 year old's mom periodically picks up the phone in the other room interrupting the feed.

Re:WOW!

[Knackered]

7 years!!!

Umm...how about 42 Up for persistence? That series was started 40 years ago (though they only film once every 7 years). The last installment was a truly engrossing piece of filmmaking.

Since I'm off topic, I may as well get modded down for trolling too...an indicator of a good film is often the quality of the material that gets left on the cutting room floor. I hope this director has the willingness to make the hard cuts when necessary. Anyone watching the last few Star Wars films should be able to attest that floor sweepings don't make a good movie :-)

Re:WOW!

[GenSolo]

Anyone watching the last few Star Wars films should be able to attest that floor sweepings don't make a good movie :-)
Actually, if he'd used the floor sweepings, they would've been much better movies. Hell, had he used just the floor sweepings and trashed 90% of the footage he did use, it couldn't have been worse than Phantom Menace ;)

Re:WOW!

[Anonymous Coward]

thats just parasitic. thats not art or documentary thats studied voyeurism
its not some nature film where you dont intervene when the cheetach hunts down the gazelle.

you dont stand by and feed off the destruction of others

Tony Stanco - SELinux project leader?

[Anonymous Coward]

On the second page of the "Open Source Reference Book", which is introduced
with the sentence "The Government Open Source Advisory Committee is a group of
Open Source project leaders...", there is this line:

"For the SELinux Chair Tony Stanco...... Tony@egovos.org"

What does this mean?

Turing Test

[timotten]

...it's Xchat that calls me "an idiot" when I've tried to run it as root...

It's nice to see that we finally have chatbots which pass the Turing test.

Re:Turing Test

[Alsee]

You should see the foul language it spews when you try to run it under Windows.

-

Free, but not automatic

[peacefinder]

[...] apt-get update seems to count as free updates to me [...]

Sure, they're free, but they're not automatic. This may be spurious, hairsplitting FUD, but what the hell... let's get rid of it:

In the default installation, have the installer create a tool to run the update from a random server chosen from a list of approved servers for the distro. Assign it to run at a random time, then repeat it weekly as a cron job called something obvious like weeklyupdate.

Do this for all free *nix distros. Move on.

Re:Free, but not automatic

[runderwo]

Assign it to run at a random time, then repeat it weekly as a cron job called something obvious like weeklyupdate.

How about something obvious like cron-apt?

Re:Free, but not automatic

[Amata]

Umm.. Last I checked Windows Update wasn't 100% automatic either unless I tell it to be.

But that's just me.

Re:Free, but not automatic

[evilviper]

Sure, they're free, but they're not automatic.

What's wrong with that?

This author is obviously an idiot for saying Linux should have automatic updates. Windows only recently got automatic updates, and it's disabled by default.

I know a lot of OSes, and I can't think of any other one that automatically updates. It's a stupid idea to give people less control. Maybe it could be a setup option on Mandrake or something, but other than that, it's a terrible idea.

Come in one day, your computer has crashed, several of your programs don't work, etc.

Re:Free, but not automatic

[Nailer]

Within the first two hours of a Fedora or RHEL install, the Red Hat Netowrk services daemon will contact a server and begin flashing a red exclamation mark in the notification area of the desktop if there are updates available. If a user clicks it, they'll get updates - either free ones from a Fedora mirror if they're using Fedora or paid ones from Red Hat Network if they've brought EL.

This is default behavior.

Re:Free, but not automatic

[prockcore]

In the default installation, have the installer create a tool to run the update from a random server chosen from a list of approved servers for the distro. Assign it to run at a random time, then repeat it weekly as a cron job called something obvious like weeklyupdate.

Fedora does this. It's not on by default (you need to symbolically link it into your rc.d) but it runs yum nightly to download and install updates.

Re:Free, but not automatic

[Anonymous Coward]

Within the first two hours of a Fedora or RHEL install, the Red Hat Netowrk services daemon will contact a server and begin flashing a red exclamation mark in the notification area of the desktop if there are updates available. If a user clicks it, they'll get updates - either free ones from a Fedora mirror if they're using Fedora or paid ones from Red Hat Network if they've brought EL.

Only if the updater works properly and for example whoops just happens to totally ignore the proxy settings you entered not five minutes earlier.

Nice work. Just the sort of thing I've come to expect from Linux these days.

Re:Free, but not automatic

[Anonymous Coward]

Which will only happen if you're a complete retard and enter the wrong proxy settings.

Retard.

Re:Free, but not automatic

[Anonymous Coward]

It's a stupid idea to give people less control.

You obviously haven't delt with many average-joe computer users.

Don't know how they do it now....

[geomon]

but SuSE used to have a bright, red background with big, black bombs tiled all over the place while logged in as root in X.

A little hard to miss that much blinding backcrap.

Re:Don't know how they do it now....

[Anonymous Coward]

but SuSE used to have a bright, red background with big, black bombs tiled all over the place while logged in as root in X.

In Mandrake 9.2, if you log into KDE as root (probably others as well), you get a plain red backround and an almost-empty panel. Slackware, however, has yet to give a crap. :D

Re:Don't know how they do it now....

[GenSolo]

Slackware, however, has yet to give a crap.
That's not true. It pops up a single dialog box that pretty much says "uhh, you shouldn't do this...", and then it lets you go merrily on your way, assuming that the user is 1. intelligent enough to heed its warning, or 2. in need of a learning experience. At least, this is the behavior if you start KDE from the console as root.

"Ship it now, fix it once it's sold"

[Anonymous Coward]

Is it a good business model? No, but Linux has no monopoly on it.

That credo was invented by greedy, proprietary corporations.

I used to post a sign over my desk which said "If you haven't the time to do it right the first time, how will you ever find the time to do it over?"

It always pissed off the powers when they stopped by.

Re:"Ship it now, fix it once it's sold"

[Brandybuck]

That credo was invented by greedy, proprietary corporations.

But also a useful strategy for other businesses as well. Your funding runs out in three days. It will take three weeks to fix that last remaining nasty bug. Do you:

A) Fire all the employees and wistfully remark, "well, we tried"?

B) Release the software with that bug in it, issue a 1.1 version later, and retain your employees?

Now...

[zeruch]

...while Linux still has it's hangups and limits (like every other OS), has anyone else noticed that arguments presented in selected media outlets has moved to ever more uninformed/poorly researched tripe? It was almost excusable a few years ago because the territory could be seen as arguable new or alien to the status quo at the time. But these days? That shit is just plain unprofessional and sloppy.

What should we call it?

[Anonymous Coward]

"Lippy"?

"Linuxsoft Blob"?

Another anti-fud website

[whoever57]

Grokshill is aimed at false claims made by reporters and analysts

Re:Another anti-fud website

[nacturation]

I just looked at that site and I'm not really impressed. The four articles I looked at which supposedly debunk others don't include any references. It's all done with hand-waving arguments. Now I'm not saying those arguments are incorrect, just that if you're going to go after false claims you should have independent sources to back up your assertions too.

For a good comparison, check out the following two articles:

• problems with a global flood
• Linux & EAL ratings

If you're gonna debunk the shills, make sure you don't look like a pro-Linux shill yourself. The EAL ratings article doesn't even have a link to what EAL ratings are about so that the reader can verify the claims made. Reads like FUD to me.

Re:Another anti-fud website

[nacturation]

In case my posting on grokshill somehow gets (ahem) lost, here's what I wrote in reference to this article:

Once again Dan O'Dowd, CEO of Green Hills Software Inc. opens his mouth and inserts foot. He simply doesn't understand what Linux is.

Proof? What *is* Linux then, and can you back up *your* claims?

The only two reasons why Linux doesn't have an EAL 7 rating are money, and time.

Why should I believe this? You appear to be shilling for Linux.

It costs lot's of money to get an EAL rating.

How much money and how much time? For what rating? Where is your proof?

IBM is working with SuSe on that right now.

Please provide proof. It sounds like you're shilling.

It also takes time to work out that rating.

How much time?

He mentions that Windows has a rating of EAL 4. What the doesn't say is that rating is only for Win2K(not sure but I don't think XP is there yet.)with only specific patches applied and all recent patches can not be applied or the rating is void.

You're not sure? You only *think* XP isn't there? What kind of anti- shill information are you presenting if you can't even document your own claims?

IBM is working on the ratings as we speak, so those concerns will soon be gone.

SHILL! First of all, please provide your evidence that IBM is working on it so we may verify your claims independently. How can you claim that the concerns will soon be gone? That's like saying that Microsoft is working on Longhorn as we speak, so all Microsoft security concerns will soon be gone.

He believes just any idiot can contribute to the Linux Kernel. He believes that all changes are automatically accepted. He Believes that the code isn't checked by a half-dozen or more people before it works it's way up the line.

Okay, so you've outlined what he believes. Is what he believes incorrect or correct? If it's incorrect, how about you provide some information on what IS correct, rather than just assuming the reader will pick up on the subtle "the opposite of what I say is true" nature of your commentary.

He seems to think that you can trust a proprietary company because it's software is EAL 7 rated but Linux is exposed to Russian hackers and only rated EAL 2 because today it is EAL 2 means that it can't ever reach EAL 7.

That's a very unclear sentence. First of all, ignoring the incredible run- on of ideas you have incoherently given, how about you explain what the hell EAL is? What does an EAL 7 rating mean? What does an EAL 2 rating mean? Is an EAL 7 rating worth anything at all? If not, then it doesn't matter that Linux can theoretically achieve EAL 7. If an EAL 7 rating *is* worth something, then what does it matter that it comes from a "proprietary company"? Note also that there's no such thing as a "proprietary company" -- this is your shill way of referring to a company which releases products which aren't open source.

I think at any rate his letters are more confusing than my own.

Yours are plenty confusing enough as it is. How about you fix your own lack of reason before attempting to debunk others?

There is so much doublespeak in his own words that he is shown to be ignorant of the simple Truth.

Which doublespeak? And why is "Truth" capitalized? Is this some mystical holy grail that only Linux devotees can understand? You are spreading your own FUD here -- Fanaticism and Undying Devotion.

Linux can be customized to do what ever you need it to do. The military with the NSA's help could make a Linux EAL 7 rated system and keep it in house, only updating the software with patches from the outside. Whether or not the entire U.S. government is considered keeping it in house as per the GPL is up to the lawyers.

Sure, and an open source "Hello World" program *can* b

Re:Teh 14m35t ov teh 14M3

[Anonymous Coward]

l00c t0 teh right uv teh pitcure 'n C how l33+ a haX0R teh guy (i tihnk its Darl mcBRide) is!!! w000000t!

Don't worry about it.

[Anonymous Coward]

The servers exploded the moment the first person attempted to download anything. A British documentary about Internet technology...good ol' dependable British technology...

Re:Don't worry about it.

[Anonymous Coward]

The documentary isn't British and isn't about Internet technology, but thanks for playing.

Re:Teh 14m35t ov teh 14M3

[Anonymous Coward]

He's right: compare the AMD ad (esp. the text in the cmd.exe-window...) and this picture of Darl McBride.

Torrent Please!

[Anonymous Coward]

Just because I wanted to relive some of the good old BBS days, doesn't mean I want to download the 14MB trailer at 9600 baud ;)

warning: /. post is inaccurate

[Anonymous Coward]

"The writer of the article slams Linux for not having free automated updates"

The article specifically talks about Lindows (Linspire), not Linux distros in general.

wtf?

[awful]

Just had a look at the Reference Book. Entry after entry is truncated mid-sentence, and it seem fairly arbitrary which entries have been truncated. wtf?

It's freedom!

[Anonymous Coward]

Your right to use a Segway ends when you infringe upon my feet!

bae

Good Site

[AmericanInKiev]

Mod this guy - er bottle brush up.

- I think the Segway has an important place - or rather I think that low-impact electric vehicles have an important place.

Its hard to imagine mass transit solving the last mile effectively, and the segway (small electric etc . . . ) Is most certainly a better solution that hydrocarbon convertors.

I salute Dean Kamens creative idea - and let's not forget or pretend that the segway is anything other than the logical extension of the electric wheelchair - perfect for restoring balance and erection (v jokes go here) to the handicapped - which you realize is Dean K stock in trade.

Whether or not a medical device has broader application is a question of secondary importance. Some cities may find that they enhance the transportation mix, while others - already established as pedestrain friendly may feel the segway is a step backwards. I think the name suggest that it can be a means of broadening the availability of mass transit during the period of development.

AIK

Re:Good Site

[evilviper]

- I think the Segway has an important place - or rather I think that low-impact electric vehicles have an important place.

That's fine. Neighborhood electric vehicles have a place, but segways do not. Cars like the GEM have actual safety devices built-in, can be driven legally on the streets, and can be found as cheap as Segways. They also have more power, higher speed, etc.

Re:Good Site

[archeopterix]

Its hard to imagine mass transit solving the last mile effectively, and the segway (small electric etc . . . ) Is most certainly a better solution that hydrocarbon convertors.

I have a solution for the last mile problem in mass transit. The project code-name is "walking" and I think I'll market it as Legway.

Re:Good Site

[AmericanInKiev]

It's always easiest to say Just Walk.

But let's make a couple of basic assumptions, and then we'll realize why progress means improving on the default of walking.

Assume people do not want to live in a cubicle the size of a bread truck. Now assume that people need to interact with a population which affords them the benefits of scale - restaurants, opera, decent employeement etc - all these things require a large number of people. You can improve both side of the density conundrum simultaneously only by improving transportation. The more you improve it - the more you get the benefits of both crowded places and breathing room. Cars arguably do very little to improve the problem after a certain density is reached because the size of the cars would push people apart - rather than bring them together.

The Segway has a place at a certain level of density in which it can bring people together.

But like everything else, in overly dense situations, it can push people away. The real issue is density vs speed * mass. Speed * mass is the impact force available. Density is the liklyhood of collision.

Cities would do better to restrict vehicles by Speed * Mass in certain places than to identify classes of vehicles by their drive system (electric powered).

AIK

Re:Good Site

[MrAngryForNoReason]

Cities would do better to restrict vehicles by Speed * Mass in certain places than to identify classes of vehicles by their drive system (electric powered).

As far as I can tell the main reason Segway's are being banned is that they are too fast to be safely ridden on the pavement and too slow to be safely ridden on the roads.

Personally I think Segway's were a flawed idea anyway, you pay the price of a cheapish car for something that is considerably slower than a bike and weighs far too much to carry if it runs out of batteries away from a socket.

IMHO there is no market for another form of transport. If you don't want to drive or use public transport then for short distances there is walking, and for longer distances cycling. Yes they require more effort than standing on a Segway, but god forbid anyone shoudl get any exercise without paying a gym a hefty subscription. You can bet a lot of Segway owners ride their over-priced scooters to work everyday and then after work head off to the gym where they pay hundreds of dollars a month to sit on an exercise bike.

Re:Good Site

[AmericanInKiev]

The Segway presents the features of an electric scooter with the illusion of a skateboard.

It does like like the thing would be a safe companion on the road - but in reality, it packs a whallop.

Dean would have done better to put in three wheels and focus on the anti-collision circuit rather than the super-sexy balancing drive system.

aik

OSRB - Available, but...

[Anonymous Coward]

It may be available, but it sure contains lots of errors! In mapping the fields, that is.

tmegapscm

nuts, auto is a bad idea.

[twitter]

Software should not be pushed for practical and philisophical reasons.

The whole point of free software is user control. Free software is big enough for you and I to agree to dissagree about it, you do things your way and I'll do them mine.

Here are some situations where you don't want auto updates:

• Dial up connection
• Unstable distro
• Qualified systems

The above constitutes a majority of installations. Most people still have dial up. Most people prefer the hottest software around. It is difficult to get upgrades over a modem unless you scale back to stable and only take what security.debian.org offers.

How does Microsoft do the same thing, you might ask. Obviously, they don't.

Re:nuts, auto is a bad idea.

[peacefinder]

The whole point of free software is user control. Free software is big enough for you and I to agree to dissagree about it, you do things your way and I'll do them mine.

Fair enough, but I'm talking about default behavior, not required behavior.

Anyone running a development branch of anything can be assumed to know enough to disable the automatic updater. So can administrators of qualified systems. A new user of a free *nix cannot be assumed to know enough to get updates at all, so it seems to me it'd be right neighborly to help 'em out.

The dialup problem is a good point, but easily addressed. Have the auto update tool check to see what sort of connection the machine has to the internet, and give the user a range of appropriate options for dealing with a slow connection. (Or, just mimic the Fedora method described here.)

It'd be a relatively easy feature for many distros to add, it'd positively impact usability, and it'd demolish this particular FUD.

Re:nuts, auto is a bad idea.

[Anonymous Coward]

Moderators: Please note that "twitter" is a known fanatical psycophant whose obnoxious offtopic rants are legend here on Slashdot. It doesn't matter what the topic is, he'll find a way to scrape in some pointless Microsoft bashing. While nobody expects us to love Microsoft in any way, his particularly tepid style of calling anyone he replies to "troll" or "liar" because he happens to disagree with whatever they're saying is well documented and should not be rewarded. If anything, twitter is the type of person that should not be part of the open source/free software community. He is an anathema to all that is good about free software.

I'm posting this so that you (the moderator) have some context to consider twitter and not mod him up whenever he posts his filler preformatted rants about installing Knoppix or whatever that unfortunately get him karma every single time and allow him to continue posting his trademark toxic crap (read on) day in and day out. You may consider this a troll - I consider it community service. And I ain't kidding.

If you're a /. subscriber, I invite you to look through some of his posting history. I guarantee that you'll be hard pressed to find someone that is more "out there" than twitter. You'll also probably notice he's got quite an AC following. Don't just read his posts, make sure you go through the replies.

For example, in this recent post twitter not only calls the OP a troll but attempts to "tell it like it is" while making some vague argument about "GNU". Yes, if you're confused, you're not alone. The reply (modded +4) proceeds to simply destroy his bogus argument. You will notice he did not reply. This is what some people call "drive-by advocacy". A sort of I'll just leave you with my thoughts here and move on to the next flamebait kind of deal. In fact, he almost never replies because he knows that his fanatical arguments simply do not hold up to any sort of discussion. It's not that he's chosen the wrong cause - he's just going at it in a completely wrong way.

More? Just read though this post and the subsequent replies. I guess this stands on its own.

More? Bad spelling in astounding conspiracy theories, more offtopic FUD and uninformed "I'm right, look at me" rants, promptly proven wrong. Worse even, twitter wants to be RMS, apparently (that first one is a winner). I mean, really. You think?

FUD, FUD, FUD, FUD, offtopic FUD, and more FUD. This guy is like the Monty Python SPAM skit, but with FUD and more FUD instead of canned meat. Amazed

Re:nuts, auto is a bad idea.

[TwistedSpring]

How does Microsoft do the same thing, you might ask. Obviously, they don't.

Windows update keeps my Windows (R) Operating System up-to-date by automatically downloading and installing critical security patches at a time that suits me! So fuck off!

Microsoft releases patches for it's stable branches, just like everyone else. There is no use of an unstable branch outside Microsoft's own beta runs, and even then auto-update still functions.

Also, why not visit windowsupdate.com to scan for and download the critical updates at a time that suits you and your crap-ass modem connection. In MS software, you can turn automatic updates off and do it manually, plus they're not on by default, but at least the app shows up so you can turn them on if you want.

If linux tried to do this, then it'd work for 3 months and then shut down due to lack of interest because it's maintained by one guy who just can't be bothered anymore; it'd never work quite properly and kernel patches would be impossible to install because linux kernels are archaic non-microkernel structures desperately trying to turn into an NT-style modular microkernel before anybody notices how outdated it is. Plus, so much stuff is compiled from source under linux that it would be impossible to correctly update without recompiling.

So I guess all Linux could do in this area is have something that pops up to say "New version of this available, here's what's fixed: ..., of you go and download it/compile it/install it."

Re:nuts, auto is a bad idea.

[swv3752]

Updates are the responsibility off the Linux Vendor. This is one of the reasons to use Mandrake or Red Hat or SuSE, or Debian, or several others; as opposed to rolling your own. They go through compile updates for your software and provide an easy way to install them.

Everyone of the ones mentioned provide an easy way of checking and downloading updates for your distro.

Several provide automatic tools. Perhaps all do, but I am not positive for some. Even if they don't, it would be possible to script your own easily with cron and expect.

Lastly, yes for some distros there was a prblem with auto updating kernel patches, but at least with Mandrake, that has been fixed in MDK 10.

Now, then, take your FUD spewing troll-self back under your rock and stay away.

Re:nuts, auto is a bad idea.

[TwistedSpring]

I love spewing FUD.

Several provide automatic tools. Perhaps all do, but I am not positive for some. Even if they don't, it would be possible to script your own easily with cron and expect.

Yeah, bingo. Does it not occur to you that the kind of person who could write a shellscript to run the updater software is the kind of person that does not need their updates to be automatic? "Several provide automatic tools" doesn't quite hit it for me, in other words what you mean is "I've no idea if they're automatic or not, but i sure can use Aptitude to download and install my debian packages!".

If you're new to linux, you want the updates to happen, but you don't know how, so you don't do it. Can find nothing on google except "up2date" - a tool for redhat that is not scheduled by default or even installed for you.

Re:nuts, auto is a bad idea.

[swv3752]

Mandrake has thier Software update tool and can be configured to run auto. SuSE has yast, and I think it can run auto. Debian has apt and at a minimum it is a cron job away. Cron is as easy to use as Microsoft's Scheduled task manager. I haven't used Red Hat since 1999. So I don't keep up with the tools available in it.

So I am utterly honest while you once again spout lies.

That's the Wintel press for you.

[twitter]

has anyone else noticed that arguments presented in selected media outlets has moved to ever more uninformed/poorly researched tripe? ... That shit is just plain unprofessional and sloppy.

That's true, but there are some very encouraging signs too.

The problem is that some people are producing magazines that pretend to be news, but are really advertisements. These magazines will continue to ignore everything but their patron's wares and will always be clueless. They also continue to offer FUD to reassure clueless administrators their money was well spent. Microsoft planned to spend more than a billion dollars promoting XP and that kind of money feeds an entire ecosystem of shills and quacks. "Computer" magazines that don't cover free software but instead encourage you to purchase eXPensive junk are not worth reading.

The good news is that reputable news outlets are catching on. They are specifying what OS and software are effected by what they used to call "computer viruses". Most have penetrated the SCO FUD machine and reported it for what it is. Microsoft can shake their advertising budget at them still, but reputable news sources are going to pick credibility over the wishes of an advertiser.

Donald Duck using open source?

[farnerup]

On page 179 of the open source directory is the Swedish company "Kalle Anka AB" of Ankeborg. Or in English: Donald Duck Inc. of Duckburg.

Seems like a reliable source of information ...

Re:Donald Duck using open source?

[mlush]

On page 179 of the open source directory is the Swedish company "Kalle Anka AB" of Ankeborg. Or in English: Donald Duck Inc. of Duckburg.
Seems like a reliable source of information ...

I can well beleve a small company handing out that sort name location.... right up to the point DisneyCorp comes down on them like a ton of tons. If the exist they soon won't

Re:Donald Duck using open source?

[Anne Thwacks]

[troll mode on] Donald Duck Inc. of Duckburg.

The corect translation is probably "Duckville"[troll mode off]

BBS documentary

[IGnatius T Foobar]

I was one of the interviewees for Jason Scott's BBS documentary. One of the things that I think is going to be successfully communicated (otherwise I'm going to go find Jason and make him do three more DVD's) is that BBS's are not a thing of the past -- the community is alive and well, albeit changed a bit. The days of dialup are definitely over, but people are finding more and more that they need to connect with people. It's so much more satisfying (for those with an actual brain that functions, anyway) than mindlessly consuming the big corporations' attempts to move everything into CONSUME OUR CONTENT format.

It's the reason people love 'blogs, it's the reason they love IRC, and it's the reason they love sites like mine (see sig) that still follow the traditional BBS format. In some ways it's even better now, with the ability to have lots of people on at once.

Trailer downloads

[Yusaku Godai]

I don't suppose anybody already has a copy of this trailer to seed on bit torrent or somesuch? Slashdot + 14.3 MB file = me having to wait a possibly infinite amount of time to download.

Re:Trailer downloads

[Anonymous Coward]

Just download one of the 6MB ones. Trust me, the higher quality isn't needed for it. It's just some music playing while they show some (all?) of the people that will be in the documentary.

Re:w00t

[Anonymous Coward]

cock holster!

Why not use GNU/webmail?

[Anonymous Coward]

This is proof that open source works. We can all imagine what would happen if M$ released a product like this. Webmail is insecure enough without M$ INsecurity initiatives to make it worse.

But the question remains, why does Red Hat not call their product Red Hat Enterprise GNU/Linux? This is a slap in the face of the FSF. I guess its understandable, as they are out to make money, and we have seen many times that any business model involving making money creates bad products.

BSD has a lot to learn from GNU/Linux regarding security. There have been less exploits found in the BSDs, but we all know that more eyes leads to a more secure product. And I really refuse to believe that most people do not hack the source code. Every mum and dad has dreams every night of helping to further the GNU/Linux cause. If they dont, then they are teh sux0r and are lusers.

I have every right to steal music. And by stealing it I am helping the artists, because the RIAA is teh sux0r. No I will not explain how that works, you are soooo teh luser for not seeing the obvious. If I break into M$ networks and steal their code, I am freeing it. We all know code wants to be free. If someone breaks into my house and steals my TV, they are not freeing it, it is a crime. You are so stupid and such teh t0553r for not seeing the difference.

IBM is supporting open source because they want to help humanity, end world hunger and stop the spread of AIDS. It has nothing to do with being able to make money off other peoples free labour.

Anybody who cannot discuss memory paging is teh biggest ghey. I dont know anything about how my car works, but I shouldnt have to, it should just work. But computers are different, you should have to know about all the finer details of OS theory before you are allowed to even touch one.

And really, who needs GUIs, they are the biggest step BACKWARDS in recent years. They make my b0x3n so teh slow.

And Apple is sooo evil. They charge money for their products! They are underlings of Beelzebill.

We know anyone who uses M$ is the spawn of satan. Their cleanliness compared to my friends proves this.

Re:Why not use GNU/webmail?

[sumbry]

BSD has a lot to learn from GNU/Linux regarding security. There have been less exploits found in the BSDs, but we all know that more eyes leads to a more secure product. And I really refuse to believe that most people do not hack the source code. Every mum and dad has dreams every night of helping to further the GNU/Linux cause. If they dont, then they are teh sux0r and are lusers.

I honestly can't figure out if you're a troll, illinformated, or what... but nonetheless you really need to check out OpenBSD.

Know why the BSD's have a pretty good track record? It's not because people aren't hacking it (BSDs use alot of the same software and thus have the same exploits that Linux does), but rather it's due in large part to OpenBSD and their line by line code security audit.

Yup that's right, the OpenBSD guys audit all code before it's released, specifically looking for things like buffer exploits and the likes. When they're found, the results are shared w/the other BSDs and fixed.

Why is NYC wasting their time?

[/dev/trash]

I mean if the Segway was every 3rd object on the sidewalk, yeah it'd be a problem. But my guess is that maybe it's like 1 out of every 5000.

They are neat to watch, I saw one at a college I was selling at. A radio station had it and it was plastered with ads. That's why I think that the Segway will never be that popular, it's too expensive and only the super rich and those that have advertising revenue streams will be able to use it.

Re:Why is NYC wasting their time?

[GenSolo]

Actually, having a Segway every 1/5000 objects is more dangerous than if they were more common. If they were more common, the congestion would force them to slow down to a safer pace, but with the sparseness, they're pretty much free to do what they want. It's like the New Jersey Turnpike at about 5am when traffic is low and everybody is doing 100 instead of the usual 75-80 ;)

My Entry in the Reference book... BAD FORMATING

[students]

My entry for the F4L Documentation Project got cut off! It looks like I don't know how to write complete sentances. It looks like the egovos.org web designer forgot to tell submitters what the character limit is for each field. New submitters, be warned!

Better yet: be portable

[goldfndr]

And what happens if you're using a terminal that doesn't handle escape sequences? Or different ones?

Using the tput command, you can be portable and get great results every time!

Re:Better yet: be portable

[persaud]

Those escape sequences worked on xterm, ansi, vt100 emulations. Will remember tput in case I get stuck on a weird terminal, thanks.

Is isn't about Luddites.

[Anonymous Coward]

The issue is not being opposed to technology; that's a nice red herring used to label anyone who cares about pedestrian safety as a lunatic and ignore their argument. Stop labeling people and consider what they are saying, if only for the novelty of it.

The Segway is, at its core, too dangerous to use in a crowded urban setting, like New York City. Collisions between pedestrians are limited to small amounts of energy, yet people are still knocked down if one party is moving quickly. Now, let's consider a Segway moving at 20mph.

We remember from high-school physics that the amount of kinetic energy is given as f=(mv^2)/2. So the amount of fource is proportional to the square of the velocity. For something like the Segway, the amount of energy is staggering, particularly when someone large is using it at 20 mph.

New York City is just not set up for people riding motorized devices on the sidewalks. The motorized scooters are *already* a huge problem, since they are small and hard to spot, and weave through traffic -- pedestrian and motorized -- with abandon.

There are many accidents where bicycle or scooter riders on sidewalks hit pedestrians, and the pedestrian is frequently severely injured. (I personally know of two people involved in accidents where a bicycle was illegally riding on the sidewalk.) A bicycle-pedestrian collision packs about the same energy as a Segway at comparable speed -- technically the bicycle may weigh a little less -- but the Segway travels much faster on a sidewalk.

The issue is not being a "Luddite" -- wrong word, anyway, since Ned Ludd was protesting machines that were taking away the jobs of skilled weavers and reducing them to poverty -- but one of public safety.

When you think about scooters zipping through huge crowds -- this *is* New York! -- at 20mph you'll begin to realize how dangerous the Segway really is.

Riding a Segway in New York City isn't like riding a Segway in the middle of suburbia. This is a densely populated city with huge crowds moving on sidewalks.

So stop labeling people to shut down discourse and deal with the facts, instead of attempting to shout down anyone who stands in the way of "progress".

Score;5, Funny)_________

[evilviper]

You know something, that's an awful good idea!

Uprise in commercial trolling?

[crucini]

"Linux doesn't have automatic updates." Ignorant, caught in a time warp, or trolling? I pick the latter. We've had commercial trolls for a while. They post some inflammatory story to wind up the slashdot crowd, get tons of page views, then post something more conciliatory to ward off the raving loonies. Rob Enderle comes to mind, although I don't remember his specific exploits.

I think more of the mainstream media is catching on to the commercial potential of trolling the linux crowd. Just make an unfounded negative assertion about linux. Then next week, "As many readers pointed out to me, Linux does in fact have automatic updates. You learn something new every day."

Re:Uprise in commercial trolling?

[TwistedSpring]

Except it doesn't. Not a standard system, and none of the distro's i've ever used ever had it. And if they did, it wouldn't properly update the stuff i'd compiled myself - so realistically, Linux can't have auto-updates unless they were entirely binary-only patches.

Sad but true

[empaler]

That always seems to do the trick

Ran into a couple drunks on Segways in Orlando

[rjamestaylor]

On Friday the last day of the MySQL Users' Convention (not be be confused with the previous MySQL User's Conventions held in Monty's home, but I digress...) I walked across the street to the former FAO Schwartz-themed shopping mall and was mauled by a couple of guys touring on Segways amidst pedestrian traffic. Some kind of promotion company allowed people to ride a Segway (followed closely by a man riding a smaller, easier to manuver scooter, which is what I would have chosen, too, funnily enough) at tourists (Orlandoan's hate tourists). These guys were whooping it up about how drunk they were, barely avoiding the properly behaved British tourists all about. That's when I decided that the Segway really would require cities to be redesigned -- PRIOR to their mass adoptoin -- which has about as much chance as Darl McBride winning the Linus Torvalds Medal of Freedom.

Great.

[Handyman]

Just great. With hotmail the first thing you have to do when you do your daily mail check is to delete 2 MB worth of spam. With Gmail the first thing you will do when you do your daily mail check is to delete 1 GB worth of spam...

Ship now fix later

[Anonymous Coward]

The article at security focus has this wonderful quote "Ship it now, fix it once it's sold"

Hasnt MS been doing that for years but they forgot to get to step 2.

Bikes can belong on the sidewalk

[r00t]

The serious bike riders want to ride in the
street. This makes sense; they go fast enough.

The rest of us would be road kill. There is
no way I can keep up with even the traffic
on regular city streets. As long as I'm not
going too fast to avoid a pedestrian, I should
be able to ride on the sidewalk.

Fast bike: go in the street
Slow bike: go on the sidewalk

I, and most kids, simply can not safely ride
in the street.

Its not about sidewalks.

[Bazzargh]

Actually the NY law doesn't mention sidewalks. It bans motorised scooters per se. And the argument for the law, given in its text, seems dubious at best:

"The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission reported 4,390 emergency room-treated injuries associated with motorized scooters in the year 2000. Thirty-nine percent of those injured were under 15 years of age."

Compare this with figures for bicycles:

"The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that over 600,000 persons suffered bicycle-related injuries serious enough to require hospital emergency room treatment in 1994."

600,000 vs. 4,390. Hmm, shouldn't they be banning bikes? (bikes also fit their other criteria - you can do 40mph on a bike and they aren't licensed)

I've no argument with you about the sidewalks, but thats not how this law is framed.

BTW the law would also make selling toy electric cars for kids punishable by a $1000 fine. Though I guess if you can afford a toy ferrari you can afford the fine....

"For purposes of this section the term "motorized scooter" shall mean any wheeled device that is designed to be stood or sat upon by the operator, is powered by an electric motor [...]"

Open Source Proofreading

[DaveHowe]

Whatever happened to many eyes making typos shallow? :)

There are many obvious problems in the current version - blatently duplicate entries for example (companies listed twice, immediately after each other, as "limited" and "ltd" - the standard abbreviation - and the same contact details, address and website :)

all I can suggest is that we email these "bugfixes" to the Tony@ address on the third page - it is after all the Open Source way :)

Mandrake

[Lars T.]

The writer of the article slams Linux for not having free automated updates, enabling services in default installations, and not warning users when they are using 'root'. Uhmm, I could be wrong, but hasn't Mandrake been doing that for quite some time?

You forgot the "must not be French" clause ;-)

MOD PARENT UP INSIGHTFUL

[Anonymous Coward]

This is clue.

SpyMac is not that great

[randomErr]

I signed up for a SpyMac account when I read the post on the GMail story. Well here's my take on the service: SLOW and GLITCHY.

I had to sign up 3 times before it would take my information.

I've tried uploading my avatar for forums 7 times in 3 days and it still has yet to work. The same thing for selecting one of there a predefined picture.

The e-mail page itself takes up 5 minutes to load.

I sent a message from one of my accounts(www.2d.com) and it took 12 hours before it showed up in my inbox.

This service seems more like a beta products then a production ready system. A couple of suggestions:
-Cut back on the mac-esc graphics. They're killing your server.
- Maybe turn your storage down to 100 megs until you can scale to meet the demands of what you have.
- Give POP3/SMTP access to your system. See above 2 points.

whereami

[Short Circuit]

Hm. How about a simple script called "whereami" ... It would tell you the purpose of the folder you're in.

It would have a data file tailored to the distribution, a second data file for system-local information, and a datafile in each user's home directory.

All files would have the same format:

[user]:[directory]:description

Where [user] and [directory] are regular expressions, the compiled form of which may be stored in a cache file for easy loading. (Matching regular expressions can be slow enough...do you really want to compile each one every time you run the program?)

Or you might use a simpler wildcard system for the user and directory, and bypass the rest of regex's overhead.

I've been doing that for 29 years,

[TuringTest]

you insensitive idiot!

It's Not Really the Segway

[Royster]

It's actual motorized scooters with small, 2-stroke engines. On my walk from the train stration to the building, I pass three storefronts selling these things for around $100-300. If you look around you'll see

The Segway is just getting caught in the crossfire and there probably some people who want to ban them as well, but the real problem is these scooters.

Score;-1, Redundant

[Anonymous Coward]

yeah, yeah.