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NSA Advises Upgrade To Windows 7
An anonymous reader writes "In a document available from the NSA (warning, PDF file), that organisation advises users to upgrade to Windows 7 as part of their Best Practice for Securing a Home Network. No mention of BSD or Linux so I guess the Slashdot crowd will just have to bite the bullet and change operating systems if they want to be really secure."
this means that there's an even better backdoor for the NSA in Win7?
"National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
way to be a teenage provocative troll
This is talking to your average home user, and guess what, Linux is not exactly a popular desktop OS. It certainly has it's draw, but switching over to it just is a non-starter for most people. You'll also note they talked about Mac OS upgrades too, not just windows 7. Windows 7 upgrade was mentioned specifically if they were already using a windows OS.
The article suggests that, if your are running Windows, that you upgrade to Windows 7 or Vista.
It also has advice for MAC users.
Just because it has no advice for Linux or BSD users doesn't mean that the article suggests that Linux or BSD users should switch to Windows.
[But you all knew that -- whenever are /. summaries accurate?]
The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
Not the 1% who use LINUX desktops. Spare me the trolling. I like Ubuntu a lot, but I'm a tech person. Most people aren't, get over it.
The NSA have an excellent guide for securing Linux systems (particularly Redhat, but much is applicable to all distros), so they're hardly Windows-centric.
how did the NSA recommending that WINDOWS USERS upgrade to the latest version of WINDOWS. turn into a linux story?
portfolio
If you buy a decent printer it shouldn't be a problem. And even a considerable number of less than decent printers. For an agency like NSA, getting a postscript printer isn't hard, and really an enterprise printer ought to be able to handle postscript without too much worry.
Likewise with scanners, there's a huge number that are supported by SANE, if you're going to be buying a lot of scanners then it's not really that much more work than you'd otherwise be doing to make sure that the work properly for the intended use.
Windows 7 IS a worthy upgrade from XP - certainly from the security point of view. I have helped people with transitions from XP/Vista to 7 and found an almost unanimous praise for it. Given the choice, people preferred 7 for reasons of aesthetics, functionality and robustness.
The longer the Linux crowd believes that Microsoft can not make decent quality (once in a while at least), the longer they'll fail to make any changes which might someday resolve the issues that push people away from Linux.
Windows 7 is much better at isolating ring 0 - too bad there dozens of services running by default. Remote Desktop?! Remote Registry?!! Home users won't use. Add a dozen helpful? shovel-ware services added by your OEM and even someone that cares will spend hours figuring out what they need. At least with apple you don't have nag-ware. Linux doesn't have all the security redundancy of Windows 7 but it doesn't have the downside thousands people paid and private writing malware against it either. It's always a matter of faith with any OS or firmware. When was the last time you built your own compiler? /tinfoil
15TW = 15,000 Nuclear Reactors. (Approx. one accident a month.)
This reminds me of a previous /. post that talked about draconian DRM: http://tech.slashdot.org/story/09/02/16/2259257/Draconian-DRM-Revealed-In-Windows-7
Specifically the second paragraph concerns me, "Noting that Win7 allows programs like Photoshop to insert themselves stealthily into your firewall exception list. Further, that the OS allows large software vendors to penetrate your machine."
I wonder if this is why the NSA wants everyone to upgrade.
No, the NSA recommends that you use a "modern OS" and then gives Windows Vista and Windows 7 as examples. Nothing suggests they consider these the only modern OS's in existence.
Remote desktop and remote registry aren't on by default in Windows 7.
This makes the rest of your points invalid.
It would be unreasonable to expect Grandma & grandpa who barely know how to turn on a computer to learn Linux...
"For securing a home network" = Basic computer skills, not the linux lovers (unless linux becomes more wide spread and taught to people)... so Compared to Windows 2000/Vista/etc.. recommending people use 7 for Home Networks (as in, those not in the slashdot community) is a perfectly reasonable suggestion
The only way I could get my scanner to work was with Fedora, Ubuntu hasn't been able to find it since 9.04. The real trick with Linux is to keep trying different distros until you get one that works with the hardware you've got. I have another computer that only likes Mint, not Ubuntu, not Fedora. My friend could only get his computer to work with PCLinuxOS. My sister's computer prefers Ubuntu and wouldn't run Fedora. After you work with several different computers you'll learn to have a stack of live CDs.
Funny, I've had no problem with linux and my HP printer. No fiddling required, it worked straight out of the box.
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
t would be unreasonable to expect Grandma & grandpa who barely know how to turn on a computer to learn Linux...
This is on oft repeated fallacy. And it is a fallacy. There is nothing harder for 'grandma and grandpa' about Linux vs. Windows. Especially if they don't already know Windows. My computer-literate, non-programmer friends who want technical support from me use Linux, and I hardly ever get a call.
Need a Python, C++, Unix, Linux develop
I guess no one involved in green lighting this read the PDF.
The NSA pamphlet was only for Windows and Mac users, it didn't mention migrating to LINUX or BSD because it wasn't about alternative OSes, just what current users should go to.
They have a bunch of these fact sheets, shocking the securing iPhones and iPads one doesn't talk about migrating to Android or Win 7.
http://www.nsa.gov/ia/guidance/security_configuration_guides/fact_sheets.shtml
You can say that again!
Last time I tried to connect to a network printer(at school), I simply had to click "find printer", wait a few seconds, and pick from the list of available printers(all 50 on the network). Easy.
XP(which we were running at the time), required -- at best -- knowing the IP. At worst, it also required some arcane driver too.
He must have been using Fedora then, because I'm a total computer idiot (and some would say idiot in general) and I can print using Ubuntu and a HP printer I literally found in the trash.
"It would be unreasonable to expect Grandma & grandpa who barely know how to turn on a computer to learn Linux..."
Do you expect your Grandma & grandpa who barely know how to turn on a computer to successfully install and configure Windows 7 in addition to any attached hardware without any help from anyone?
For a competent technician either OS can be installed and configured properly. Perhaps in their case they could pay one with the savings on the Windows 7 licence fee.
Once set up, I've found that quite a few of the computer novices around here have had no issues running Ubuntu.
where "decent printer" is defined as "some hypothetical printer which works with whichever of the dozens of Linux forks you happen to be using" and which is almost certainly not documented.
The impression that I get from other Slashdot users is "HP good", if only because of HPLIP .
For a competent technician either OS can be installed and configured properly. Perhaps in their case they could pay one with the savings on the Windows 7 licence fee.
Does this include cases where "properly" means "correctly running the Windows-only applications for which I bought the computer in the first place?" I didn't think so.
For a comparison the largest Windows botfarm had well over 1 million zombies in it. There were 2.9 million active Windows malware packages last year and probably more than 90% of most Windows boxes have expired AV subscriptions on them, and most are probably infected, but the user isn't smart enough to realize the reason why his box boots and runs so slow at times. Microsoft has relieved the situation somewhat by making available a free and effective AV package: Microsoft Security Essentials. Being free the only thing a Windows users has to do is set MSE for automatic update of the vaccine file. This is still not ideal, however, because there is usually a significant time gap between when a black hat releases a malware package and when it is finally detected, analyzed and the fix added to an AV vaccine file. For really critical security holes the gap may be as short as a few days, but for many of the others the gap may be as long as several months or never (i.e., the "cure" is to upgrade to a newer version of Windows). A LOT of people with "active" AV security have been caught in that gap and had their personal data stolen, sometimes along with a lot of cash.
The Linux botfarm was created by a group of hackers about two years ago and since Linux isn't susceptible to automatic email or browser drive-by attacks it took them 6 months to manually find 770 poorly secured Linux boxes and hack into them. Linux boxes are so hard to break into hackers use them to control the very large Windows bot farms that plague the Internet. When a black hat breaks into a Linux box she usually makes it as secure as it should have been, making it about impossible for other black hats to break in.
The superior security model of Linux, combined with the fact that as a totally Open Source OS the insertion of an NSA backdoor key is impossible, makes it ideal for situations where maximum security is a must. This is probably with that "Security" PDF discussed Windows security and mentioned the Mac OS X, but not Linux.
Running with Linux for over 20 years!
That's exactly right! If any user wants their computer to be really secure for Microsoft and the RIAA, then they should switch to Windows 7 ASAP. Only Windows 7 is really secure for Microsoft and the RIAA.
Trusted Computing. Accept no substitutes.
So I discover that a printer works best with one distro, a scanner with another, and a video card with a third. Am I supposed to run the distro that likes my video card on the bare hardware and then launch VMs every time I want to print or scan?
No, if you're wanting to run Linux, you're supposed to buy hardware that works well with it. Also if you don't know what you're doing, pay someone that does. Just like the noobs who don't know how to install and configure Windows. Just like when you upgrade Windows, you need to make sure your hardware works with the version of OS you want to run. It's not like upgrading Windows to a newer version never required a customer to purchase new hardware because it was no longer supported or working well with the newer release.
Great! Cough up the scratch..
For justice, we must go to Don Corleone
Details, please, especially for a computer that will run one distribution and not another.
The one thing that I have found is a failure with some graphical installers and Intel video chips, but that was a few years ago. Otherwise, it is just about the same as Windows; you install or compile and then install the driver if it exists for your OS. My last dedicated flatbed scanner will never work with Windows past XP, because HP will never create a driver for it and the source is closed. Can't really blame HP as the scanner is nine years old.
"What luck for the rulers that men do not think." - Adolph Hitler
It would be unreasonable to expect Grandma & grandpa who barely know how to turn on a computer to learn Linux...
Why, because they are "too old" to learn?
"What luck for the rulers that men do not think." - Adolph Hitler
4 words, and the other reason besides gaming that I don't personally use linux: Not enough available software compared to the huge range of options in 'doze. You don't have to be some kinda linux guru to find whatever tool you need for whatever job you need done in Windows.
-taosk8r
Gary W. Longsine doesn't know what he's talking about and has no experience with Linux printing, which is actually often easier than Windows printing these days.
There. REALLY fixed that for you.
I was very disappointed with that as well, but when it comes down to it there is so much utter crap software that needs to run as Administrator for no good reason (sorry guys - copy protection dongles is not a good enough reason and since Macrovision actually released something with a Y2K bug in 2008 their software sits one level below crap anyway).
It's a salesman driven platform as can been seen the second you open the case for the media and see the CD is in BACKWARDS so it can get covered in fingerprints or scratches removing it but it's nice shiny label can be seen from the outside. Choices like that are stupid from anything other than a sales point of view and sadly MS Windows 7 is still full of them. It's the stupid mindest that turned a reportedly successful tool into the useless and annoying Clippy because somebody wanted to show off the technology by having it pop up more frequently.
I am unable to follow your secunia links, I put them in my HOSTS file... apk
Hmmm my ancient ( in printer terms ) HP 5000 was auto detected by SuSe and functions perfectly.
Hey KID! Yeah you, get the fuck off my lawn!
Where are most of the unpatched, hacked, etc. XP Machines?
Getting "our guys" to upgrade may make it a lot easier to use wider-reaching destruction overseas.
Strategic advantages aren't just for nuclear weapons.
Buy HP. It just works with linux. Hell, a lot of printers of many brands are now much more likely to work with linux than Windows due to manufacturers not providing updated drivers for Win 7.
And that's even without the massive software bundles a lot of printer manufacturers force you to install if you want the driver for windows.
There are valid criticisms of linux, as there are of all OSs. Printer supports is not one of them.
Lets see, the elderly people I know use their computers to chat with friends on AOL and watch netflix videos. The one couple I know has used computers for >10 years now, but isn't really clear on what a "file" or "directory" is, and don't know the difference between pictures on their local hard disk and ones on the internet.
Do you really expect them to install flash and java on a linux machine?
I like linux, its good for some types of work, but it requires a level of understanding of computers that a lot of people simply don't have. I've used linux for ~5 years now and am moderately technically literate, but I keep running into problems I can't fix (like a debian machine that hangs when network drives it has mounted through cifs have gone into sleep mode).
I think this is pretty forward thinking advice.
Though I can't imagine ISPs are going to be happy about the NSA's frank assessment that their DNS servers "typically don't provide enhanced security services," and that home users should be using a third-party DNS, including open source.
On that topic: http://www.opennicproject.org/
I wonder how they feel about them?
(The cynic in me also wonders if they're trying to strong-arm the major ISPs into accepting some sort of "enhanced" DNS security package from the NSA. The best way to control Internet users, if they don't know about dotted quads (or IPv6 addresses), is to have backdoor control of DNS. If you can't reach the information, it doesn't exist.)
I've made no such claim. What I do know is that the remote registry service is set as manual, and remote desktop isn't enabled by default on systems that have it (however, Remote Assistance is, but I won't get into the differences. Google it)
It would be unreasonable to expect Grandma & grandpa who barely know how to turn on a computer to learn Linux...
Yup. That's sure been my experience.
No it's not. It is just as unreasonable to expect "Grandma & grandpa who barely know how to turn on a computer" to learn Windows, which is every bit as complicated to use as a contemporary *nix GUI. But there is an advantage, in that they are more likely to be surrounded by people familiar with Windows than Gnome or even OSX (which would otherwise be the obvious choice for naive users).
Better to be despised for too anxious apprehensions, than ruined by too confident a security. --Edmund Burke
If you're running Linux or BSD, then either you're expected to know what you're doing, or you're running an appliance with a built-in operating system based on one of those and the appliance designers are expected to know what you're doing.
In reality, with Linux, it may be that all you're doing is letting the Update Manager manage updates for you, and using the Upgrade button after a major Ubuntu release has been available for a month, but that's ok - you'll still be running some vaguely current software with most of the recent fixes. With BSD desktops, the reality is that you're really definitely expected to know what you're doing.
Based on the comments from other people here, what you're doing may also include complaining about peripheral makers who don't give out the documentation needed to write decent open-source drivers, but that's a mostly separable problem from making sure you're running an up to date operating system.
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
Microsoft is a major player in the National Business Park, so it comes as no surprise that the "Windows" section reads like MS marketing copy.
In the document, they are seriously recommending that everyone update to Office 2007, at a minimum, with no mention of alternatives (Libre, OOO) whatsoever.
*sigh* Oh well, it's the best government money can buy.
I don't think "old stuff works" is going to be much of a selling point.
For Enterprise work? Sure it is. Nobody wants to throw out thousands of perfectly good printers just because you upgraded the OS. Well, except for printer manufacturers that it is.
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
who are currently running XP , 'upgrading' to Win 7 means buying a new computer
If everyone did this it would stimulate the economy, and thus create jobs
and more revenue for the government.
It would be unreasonable to expect Grandma & grandpa who barely know how to turn on a computer to learn Linux...
Why, because they are "too old" to learn?
I would cite an apparent lack of interest. Easy access to computers stopped being news years ago. If someone is still computer illiterate at this point, then they've most likely made a decision to be so, and it isn't reasonable to expect them to change their minds now.
t would be unreasonable to expect Grandma & grandpa who barely know how to turn on a computer to learn Linux...
This is on oft repeated fallacy. And it is a fallacy. There is nothing harder for 'grandma and grandpa' about Linux vs. Windows. Especially if they don't already know Windows. My computer-literate, non-programmer friends who want technical support from me use Linux, and I hardly ever get a call.
My elderly parents (> 70 years old) have been running Linux for about 5 years. They don't know or care what the underlying operating system - all they want is a web browser so they can send mail and browse the web. I gave them some desktop shortcuts for some common websites and set their browser homepage to to a page on my webserver so I can give them additional shortcuts (like a link to my sister's Picasa page) anytime I want. I moved them to Linux after multiple viral infections (despite anti-virus "protection") made their computer unusable under Windows. When I gave them a new laptop 2 years ago and showed them Windows, they wanted it back how it was, so I ditched WinXP and moved them back to Linux/Gnome.
Looks like they'll be staying with Gnome2 for the forseeable future since I don't want to teach them to Navigate Gnome3's new interface (or, worse, Unity).
Oh, and the printer they bought as Best Buy works fine.
No. It wouldn't. For the tasks that Grandma and Grandpa are doing, most Linux distributions will be closer to what they are used to than Windows 7.
Beyond that, it is a poor excuse anyway. My son learned to use Ubuntu at the age of 1. A week after his second birthday I formatted his drive and he installed it on his own. No, he couldn't read yet. It was that easy. The myth of Linux being hard is just that. A myth.
Do you really expect them to install flash and java on a linux machine?
Let's see ... boot up Ubuntu ... launch Firefox ... go to youtube .... click on "install adobe flash" .... click "I agree" ... done!
Shit, yeah, there's no way grandma could do that. She still thinks the mouse is a microphone.
Ah, so Windows is now behind Linux for driver support.
Lay off the Peyote brother.
The summary ignores that the NSA mentions both Windows and OS X and what to do to protect it. It could be that between both of those they 99% of desktop users are covered in the USA. The article doesn't really address servers and maybe the NSA feels that if you are using Linux or BSD you are either a) already protected or b) have the smarts to protect yourself anyway.
I guess for the conspiracy theorist on slashdot there is an option C: Microsoft is behind the NSA and the ploy is to get Windows and OSX secured so that Linux and BSD would be blamed for any breaches.
Yeah, but that's a Laserjet, in which case Postscript is a pretty universal language for it, so at least basic driver functionality isn't too difficult to implement. Inkjets...not so much.
I can vouch for this, and I have the added benefit of saying that I've done so in multiple aspects of the publishing, and printing processes.
0x09F911029D74E35BD84156C5635688C0
The word you are looking for is syllogism. You don't need to make up new words just because it is " on line".
This issue is a bit more complicated than you think.
When did you last use XP? Adding network printers isn't exactly straightforward, but if the admins did their job right, you don't need to punch in the IP and can just find the darned thing. Also, XP is not the latest version of Windows and shouldn't be measured against current Linux distros.
You could be some kind of Linux Guru, that being said you could also know how to use google. Here's some help http://lmgtfy.com/?q=How+do+I+use+Google%3F You're welcome.
Feel free to mod me down, just know that unlike some Anonymous Cowards I'm not afraid to express my views as myself.
Hell, a lot of printers of many brands are now much more likely to work with linux than Windows due to manufacturers not providing updated drivers for Win 7.
this exact situation is exactly what gave birth to my sig.
RUGBYRUGBYRUGBY
Unreasonable? Because XP is DEFINITELY more secure than Windows 7 and is far less likely to become part of a massive Chinese botnet used to attack business/government networks in the US, right?
I'm sure the NSA has absolutely no interest in trying to keep US citizens from becoming virtual typhoid marys.
You can try XFCE, though with elderly people that could still be a pretty big jump.
Feel free to mod me down, just know that unlike some Anonymous Cowards I'm not afraid to express my views as myself.
It "shouldn't be a problem" if you buy a "decent printer" where "decent printer" is defined as "some hypothetical printer which works with whichever of the dozens of Linux forks you happen to be using" and which is almost certainly not documented.
At my school we had a bunch of old laptops that we wanted to re purpose, so installed Ubuntu on them and they are now used for basic web browsing. The kids love using them. Printing on them hasn't been any problem with any of the printers that we have on our network, and none of the printers were ever purchased with linux in mind. We just have a variety of brother and hp printers that all "just" work thanks to CUPS. Its really nice.
"To prevent this day from getting any worse, I'll just read ERROR as GOOD THING" 1GJU8xLuDKDxEs4KLf8fAGyptoDsqvEsBT
Lucky for Linux users with inkjets and their difficult to implement drivers, the manufacturers of said printers seem to be willing to write the drivers. Open source drivers would be best, but for some people who are prepared to use them, closed ones work too.
Bend over Baby! I'm coming in!
Have you fscked your local propeller head today?
Also, XP is not the latest version of Windows and shouldn't be measured against current Linux distros.
Why not?
If XP is held up as a workable solution for end user computing and Linux is generally as competent, isn't it legitimate to argue that Linux at least meets a minimum level of usability?
Oh my... What kind of slave labor did you put your child through? Don't they have torture laws where you live?
(Disclaimer: Sorry, I find it creepy that a 2 year old can install ANY os- and yeah, ubuntu's insanely easy to install, but still.)
Feel free to mod me down, just know that unlike some Anonymous Cowards I'm not afraid to express my views as myself.
This. Is. Genius.
Feel free to mod me down, just know that unlike some Anonymous Cowards I'm not afraid to express my views as myself.
In my experience most users just click continue on the UAC pop ups without even reading them. Even the main tech admin does that on his computer.
"To prevent this day from getting any worse, I'll just read ERROR as GOOD THING" 1GJU8xLuDKDxEs4KLf8fAGyptoDsqvEsBT
In printers and scanners, yes yes it is.
I can plug in just about any printer and get it working in 5 min in Linux. Any printer that does not come with vista/7 drivers.. DOES NOT WORK in vista or 7.
You are entitled to your own opinions, not your own facts.
True, but the odds are greater for an inkjet than a laser that you wouldn't get simple plug 'n' play functionality. You might just have to go get that driver first.
For those who contributed to the above Slashdot summary who are obviously incapable of properly navigating or searching Web sites, the NSA provides advice on securing multiple different computer operating systems and revisions. Yes, that includes Linux and even Solaris, and multiple versions to boot. Furthermore, additional research will yield that the NSA also has articles on securing a variety of common applications, Web browser plugins, and file formats. Then again, should anything less be expected from the organization that created and developed Security-Enhanced Linux in collaboration with Red Hat?
Most men are not thought unwise until they speak.
This is plainly not funny. This is in all probability their singular motive for their recommendation. That, and to further inflate the stock of a lame duck American hegemony (Microsoft).
I hold very few opinions. I hold information based on observation and fact. If you wish to disagree, please use facts.
Why not? At the time of my experiment -- about a year ago -- I was using Kubuntu 9.10 and XP was /everywhere/. There were a few students with Vista or 7, but all school computers were XP. As far as know, this is still the case, so I have every right to make the comparison. /never/ had the XP find printer bit work correctly. I always had to make a new printer, tell it to use a new TCP/IP port etc. Perhaps it was just admins "not doing their jobs right", but oh well.
Oh, and I have
It all depends.
If the user really barely knows how to turn the computer on, Linux and Windows are probably the same in terms of difficulty to use - all the installed software works about the same and you need to ask someone else to install new hardware/software.
OTOH, if the user knows a bit more and, say, is capable of installing new hardware (and drivers and software) on Windows e could have problems with Linux. While apt-get and similar tools are very useful for installing software, if the app is not in the repository there could be problems. If the app in question is quite new and needs newer versions of some system libraries there could be big problems.
An example with hardware - in the office we bought a Canon multifunction device. Why Canon? Because they have drivers for Linux. So, the device will work on Linux? Yes, but the installation still was a bit difficult. The printer was recognizes and everything was fine with it. Scanner, on the other and, needed drivers from Canon site. I downloaded and installed them. The scanner works, but if I launch the scanning application as a regular user (not root), it does not find the scanner. After some googling I found that i needed to set permissions for the port or something (it happened a while ago). Wile I could do that, I don't think that a normal user (one who could install drivers on Windows using device manager or setup.exe) would be able to.
if you give grandma and grandpa a Linux machine they they won't know how to install Windows programs. That would be so confusing to them. Just don't tell my Mom who's been using Linux for over 5 years.
LoB
"Anyone who stands out in the middle of a road looks like roadkill to me." --Linus
Though there's a surprising level of out of the box, automatic support though for inkjet printers.
Personally, for the range of HP and Epson I've setup for others and the ones I've owned myself I've never needed to resort to closed drivers. The user experience at the time was actually better than what it would've been compared to a Windows box.
I'm just surprised the anti-linuxians chose to pick on printer support as a reason a user wouldn't want to run Linux as it's an area it does quite well at. There'd be better arguments to be made about the areas Linux is weak at.
Windows 7 32bit is a different operating system. It doesn't have the security features of the 64bit version, doesn't support large amounts of memory and is in almost all ways inferior to windows XP. I'm tired of people bringing it up.
"And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the World"
1 John 4:14
An example with hardware - in the office we bought a Canon multifunction device. Why Canon? Because they have drivers for Linux. So, the device will work on Linux? Yes, but the installation still was a bit difficult.
My brother bought a Cannon MP640 and like you needed to install the driver from their web site in order to use the scanner functionality via a wifi network. Canon provide .deb based drivers so made it fairly straight forward for a Ubuntu laptop.
The printer was recognizes and everything was fine with it. Scanner, on the other and, needed drivers from Canon site. I downloaded and installed them. The scanner works, but if I launch the scanning application as a regular user (not root), it does not find the scanner. After some googling I found that i needed to set permissions for the port or something (it happened a while ago). Wile I could do that, I don't think that a normal user (one who could install drivers on Windows using device manager or setup.exe) would be able to.
I'm nor sure why you're having a permissions issue there. There wasn't one for the Canon install here. I would say that where possible it makes sense to deploy Ubuntu for a Linux machine in order to make life as easy as possible, though in your case there might've been a good reason to go with something different.
read the summary. no mention of xp, only windows 7.
Wealth is the gift that keeps on giving.
flash.
Wealth is the gift that keeps on giving.
i've done the same thing. yet i can never play youtube in fullscreen while on ubuntu.
Wealth is the gift that keeps on giving.
Dunno what to tell you; works fine for me. Sure you're not just running it on really old hardware?
To be completely fair, I do seem to be having a weird effect with the newest update, where the videos load full-screen in the background and I have to minimize the browser in order to see them. It's annoying, but not exactly a critical flaw. Other than that, flash works as well when running on my Ubuntu partition as it does when I boot into Windows 7.
The summary?
This part of the discussion has little to do specifically with the summary but more to do with is Linux a viable platform, specifically whether or not you can print something on a Linux box.
Are you arguing that we all should pretend XP doesn't have a significant user base and that it's level of usability has no relevance here?
If we could ignore XP it'd perhaps make the anti-linuxians position a little more easy to argue though.
But there is an advantage, in that they are more likely to be surrounded by people familiar with Windows than Gnome or even OSX (which would otherwise be the obvious choice for naive users).
I've encountered this argument too, and it's true. It's also self-perpetuating. It will remain true as long as people keep on using the argument. Personally, I'd rather take the time to teach them to use something that isn't basically a single-source drug than have tying people to the Microsoft treadmill on my conscience.
Need a Python, C++, Unix, Linux develop
flash.
Didn't you know they have flash on Linux now :)
There is no such agency.
But if there was, I would speculate that they indeed have ways into your Windows 7 or any other OS. If they didn't, they sure would be a disappointment. With that said, I am sure there is a genuine reason for them to suggest Windows 7. I am surprised that they didn't say "secure your wireless, please". Open WiFi routers are all over the place, have you ever done a casual wardrive and looked at the data? About half of my town's wifi is wide open. I would post this information and recommendations on how to secure them, ( PUT A PASSWORD ON IT, DUH) but am afraid of the paranoid backlash.
I wonder if that might be why the NSA is so vague. They probably know the vicious little details of why you should upgrade, but don't want to say so, because we will say, "OH YEAH?? HOW DO YOU KNOW? YOU BEEN IN MY COMPUTER??" People are paranoid about things they are ignorant about. I know I am resisting urges to wad me up a tinfoil hat right now, they are probably watching me through my web cam. O_o
Take the Red Pill.
That's weird, for the last several years, I have experienced much bigger problems getting printers to work with Windows then with Linux (Kubuntu). I can't remember an instance where a printer worked with Windows and not with Linux, I can remember at least one of each of printers working with Linux and not with windows, of printers sort-of-working with Linux and not with windows, and of printers working with neither Windows nor Linux. When printers work with both, getting them to work with Linux is much easier and faster.
I haven't worked with scanners, so I wouldn't know.
This isn't "news", it's a bad blog rant.
The paper is for home users, and they are right to focus on the 99% there that are covered by windos and OS X.
And accusing the NSA of not supporting Linux is the most ridiculous thing I've heard in a decade. These are the guys that brought us SELinux, including fighting on our behalf to get an assurance that there won't be patent troubles with it.
You can accuse the NSA of a lot of things, like covert surveilance and stuff, but certainly not of ignoring Linux. Heck, they even have a hardening guide for Red Hat on their list of official guides, just like they do for windos, OS X and Solaris.
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
Thanks for the correction.
15TW = 15,000 Nuclear Reactors. (Approx. one accident a month.)
You do realise you are comparing Win 7, which has been out for 2 years, against the 2.6.x kernel which has been around for 8 years, right?
Lets looks at Windows during that timeframe (keep in mind that the stats only go back to 2003, when the 2.6.x kernel was released):
Win 7: 8% (5/65) - highly critical vulnerabilities unpatched
Vista: 8% (8/147) - highly critical vulnerabilities unpatched
XP: 12% (42/342) - highly critical vulnerabilities unpatched
Server 2008: 4% (4/130) - highly critical vulnerabilities unpatched
Server 2003: 6% (19/295) - highly critical vulnerabilities unpatched
Summing up: 8% (78/979) - highly critical vulnerabilities unpatched
Against the Linux 2.6.x kernel: 6% (17/265) - less critical vulnerabilities unpatched
So windows has 4.5x as many unpatched and 3.7x as many in total and has far more critical vulnerabilities left unpatched.
btw:
Highly critical means that the system can be completely comprimised if someone exploits it - there are just no known expoits of it in the wild.
Less critical basically means you have to be local and lets face it, if they have local access you're screwed anyway.
And for good measure, lets compare Linux to win 7 in 2010:
Win7: http://secunia.com/advisories/product/27467/?task=statistics_2010
47 advisories
11% unpatched
Criticality:
Highly: 40%
Moderately: 17%
Less: 36%
Not: 6%
Loction:
Remote: 55%
Local Network: 11%
Local: 34%
Linux: http://secunia.com/advisories/product/2719/?task=statistics_2010
47 advisories (same as windows)
4% unpatched (almost 3x better than windows)
Criticality:
Highly: 0% (walks all over windows here)
Moderately: 4% (more than 4x better here)
Less: 47%
Not: 49%
Loction:
Remote: 9% (again, walks all over windows)
Local Network: 2% (much better than windows again)
Local: 89%
In short:
Linux had ZERO remote automated system exploits - all remote exploits required user interaction.
The vast majority of Linux exploits required local access and even then the impact was fairly low.
The majority of Win 7 exploits had significant system impact.
The majority of Win 7 exploits could be triggered remotely, with many requiring no user interaction.
The winner?
Shear numbers: inconclusive - both have the same number
Criticality: Linux wins here easily - 96% were rated less critical or lower, compared to Win 7's 57% rated at moderate or higher
Locality: Again, Linux wins hands down - the vast majority are local exploits and the majority of Win 7 exploits are remote
Time to patch: ?
Exploits in the wild: ? but I'd suspect Linux would win given that most require local access to achieve...
The part where you click on "install adobe flash" is the one that gets nontechnical people. Mostly you can be trained to turn on a computer and, with some effort, to get them to open an arbitrary browser and send it to youtube. But when you hit install you hit two problems:
1. They have not learned to distinguish "install adobe flash" from every other advertisement that pervades common webpages, so they simply don't see it even though it's perfectly obvious to you.
2. They have not learned to distinguish legitimate software install requests from illegitimate ones, so they fall into one of two patterns:
a) Install Everything - Obviously insecure which brings us back to the point of getting them to install Windows 7 or Ubuntu in the first place.
b) Install Nothing - Now flash will never work until they bring the computer into the store or get their neighbour or niece or nephew to fix it. Their computer is effectively broken.
Also a lot of installers have implemented that thing where you have to scroll through the entire terms and conditions before you can click on "I agree". I've seen people just close the window when "I agree" doesn't work, move it to the side, mostly offscreen, and forget it exists.
I think the argument to make is that these problems aren't any different on Ubuntu than on Windows 7, at least for flash. In both cases the best answer is to get somebody else to do it (although I suppose a problem could arise if the somebody else is a just-barely-computer-literate user who does not recognize Ubuntu).
I don't think "old stuff works" is going to be much of a selling point.
How about "new stuff works" as well. i never had a problem with new or old printers on Linux although I cannot say the same for MS Windows. Even my new HP Wireless printer (brand new) works perfectly.
There ain't no such thing as proprietary standards only proprietary formats. Standards are by definition open.
Yes, many people find any sign of intellectual capability to be creepy. That is why so many parents raise their kids to be stupid. I find that sad.
Nudge, nudge, wink, wink, if you've still got an old 32bit computer kicking along just fine and you are running other companies security software to make up for security failings (let's not forget all the claims to the exact opposite by M$ when XP first came out), really why would you bother paying for another M$ OS, when you can get any Linux distribution to provide you greater security for when you need it free.
Truth is apart for dual booting with Linux, when it comes to keep your old computer going just use the OS you were forced to buy when you got the hardware, until the system dies and you buy new hardware, hint you will most likely be forced to buy the M$ OS again anyhow.
Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
MAC address? [grin]
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
I have switched (the main computer of the house) to Linux because there was no windows driver for my printer (hp photosmart) and for my scanner (epson 1240u).
I will never go back
If you are running MS Windows XP or Vista Then an upgrade to MS Windows 7 is quite reasonable. The reason that they did not mention Linux users is because for them MS Windows 7 would be a downgrade.
Yeah, but if "new stuff doesn't work", it's a moot point, as the enterprise in question will be waiting for support for hardware they can already purchase, and which is already supported in another OS. Legacy is one thing, but if it comes at the price of progress, it's useless.
Which begs the question - why don't you have more fine-grained control so that, for example, Old Program X which wants to install in C:\ and expects to run as administrator CAN do that (or at least have that faked for them with copy-on-write and a chroot-esque arrangement) while everything else still gets the full security.
Windows only presents an all-or-nothing scenario in the majority of cases, and even when you have fine-grained control it's inadequate. Windows KNOWS what the program wants to do - it blocked the program from doing it. But to actually MAKE it work is usually a piss-take of turning stuff off and setting a dozen different exceptions until you work out how to get it to work. I've seen software houses who just advise you to turn stuff off because even they can't work out why it doesn't work on newer versions of Windows (and, yes, they should just rewrite but they won't).
The problem with Windows is NOT people wanting to install some 20-year-old bit of CDROM software for their kids that needs what-it-thinks-is administrator access to the computer. It's Windows not being able to fake that, not being able to isolate such programs, actually making it so the only option to avoid unwanted warnings is to turn everything off, and then having modern web browsers and super-regularly-updated programs also be affected because some parent wants to run a bit of DOS software (which doesn't go on the net and can't be reasonably targeted or exploited because it doesn't even KNOW what Windows is) in an isolated window.
Watch the security mailing lists. Rarely is it some ancient piece of software being exploited in the most prevalent viruses - it's the modern stuff, usually a point-release update or two "old". And most of it slips through the default Windows security anyway.
Most network admins don't give their users anywhere near enough privileges for them to do damage and don't go sharing admin details around, but still they are plagued by viruses and malware (even if the scope is limited). Users are stupid, but Windows is worse for not taking account of that fact.
Tell me - why can't I have programs run in isolated "bottles" which I can stop, delete, revert and restore when they get corrupted, or even on every execution (and where I know that ALL the programs files are contained and will be removed when I say so and not be scatter-shot around my hard disk)?
Why can't programs have a set list of exactly WHERE they can write to and even have fake redirects so when they think they are writing to C:\WINDOWS (or whatever), they are lead to believe they have, they can read back their written files from there, but it makes NO changes to the actual Windows folder whatsoever?
It's the sort of thing you can program in a week or two with filesystem hooks but Windows has gone through at least 4-5 MAJOR upgrades which broke compatibility because of their "fixes" for these problems and still hasn't solved it.
This is what frustrates me most. In my experience, the actual incidence of malware being installed without the user's knowing is close to zero these days. Since Vista, whenever I've heard of someone who got a virus it turned out that they were actually clearly warned that they were doing something very dangerous, sometimes even their antivirus software protested that it was a virus, and still they click continue. Why? Free movies online! Just download this video plugin first!
Users cannot be relied upon to make security decisions. The only way to make a secure OS is to remove the human factor, to take away all decision power for installing malware, which means you have to prevent them from installing anything that's not from a curated app store. In short, although it pains me to admit it, apple's model is the only one that can be truly secure.
Can you claim zero remote code vulnerability in linux, despite it being open source?
Having the source is meaningless when it consists of tens or hundreds of millions of lines of code. Back of the envelope calculations indicate that it would take you about 500 years to review 100 million lines of code, provided 8 hours a day are spent on it, every day. And then there's the bootstrapping issue. How can you be sure that the binary components you use to bootstrap the OS (be they executables or just a compiler) actually are secure?
In short, the only security metric that matters for operating systems is "do i trust my vendor?". Having the source doesn't buy you a single bit of security.
If you don't think microsoft can be trusted, I would have to ask why. Granted, in the 90's they had an awful track record, but if I look at the past decade, I see a business that "gets it" when it comes to security.
They are saying that if changing to Windows7 would be an upgrade, do it.
As many people here will say going from Linux, BSD, or almost anything apart from Windows, would not be an upgrade so they are not talking to you.
I'll see your Constitution and raise you a Queen.
> Any printer that does not come with vista/7 drivers.. DOES NOT WORK in vista or 7.
One could run Win XP in a VM which allows access to peripherals, and use print-to-PDF on Vista/7 to make the printout available to the VM.
I laugh, though, since this is approximately what I had to do once in order to print to a Windows-shared printer from my Linux installation. Now that the printer is shared via CUPS on Linux, though, I have no problem printing from either Windows or Linux.
Have you actually used Windows 7 (or Vista, for that matter)? They haven't had "run-by-default-as-administrator" enabled (and strongly warn against it) during the setup process.
Don't talk stupid talk.
Yes, I have. I have a system I use frequently that has Win7, another with Vista, and two with XP. My preference? My Linux server.
By "run as Administrator", I'm including the Stupid Applications(tm) that require Administrator access just to run it. That's simply retarded, no matter how you slice it.
When politicians are involved, everyone loses.
Pure 100% FUD.
I've been running windows as the default admin user on the web since it was invented. In almost 20 years I've never had an experience that any regular human would deem as 'unsafe'. We're not talking riding a motorcycle without a helmet, or running with scissors type unsafe here. Let's keep it in perspective.
You are truly one of the Lucky Ones. I've seen systems that (literally) were infected out of the box.
When politicians are involved, everyone loses.
There is very little significant difference between distros. The underlying software used to support printers, video cards and scanners is all the same - the only significant difference is in relatively small patches, default configurations and GUI tools provided to manage them.
A trick I used about twelve years ago (can't believe it's still necessary today) was to re-use known-good configurations when moving from one distro to another rather than mess around trying to figure out how a given distro vendor had put together their GUI tools. Worked pretty well, as it happens - I never had to care that the distro did a lousy job of supporting a particular piece of hardware.
IME it's vanishingly unlikely that an admin would put that much effort into making printers browseable when the typical use-case is that nobody is ever going to browse for printers. PCs will be built with the appropriate printers pre-configured.
The article says that Windows 7 and Vista are better than previous versions of Windows, but the actual recommendation is to run a "modern OS". OS X is mentioned as well as Windows flavors. True, Linux and other BSD's are not mentioned, but if you are aware of and using those that article is not really for you anyhow.
yes, cups is great, but scanner support is about where we were at with winmodems in the 90s - abysmal. Not that it is the fault of linux per se, it is just reality. That said, most of the scanner drivers/software on windows are so terrible you will often wish you were on linux and it just didn't work at all!
Get a web developer
the whole discussion is about windows 7 being better than xp. if linux is brought into the debate, it has to stand up against 7, not xp.
Wealth is the gift that keeps on giving.
adobe flash cs5. i should have been more specific.
Wealth is the gift that keeps on giving.
Dunno what to tell you; works fine for me. Sure you're not just running it on really old hardware?
tell me if this is old: 2.3ghz core i3, 2gb ddr3 ram, 320gb hdd, intel graphics.
Let's see ... boot up Ubuntu ... launch Firefox ... go to youtube .... click on "install adobe flash" .... click "I agree" ... done!
To be completely fair, I do seem to be having a weird effect with the newest update, where the videos load full-screen in the background and I have to minimize the browser in order to see them. It's annoying, but not exactly a critical flaw.
you contradict yourself. also, it is a critical flaw for the average grandma, and the average user for that matter.
Wealth is the gift that keeps on giving.
Wow, a grandmother who uses Flash CS5? (I thought they only programmed in C --- the young ones, anyway.)
Egads, couldn't you have found something a bit more logical, like her grandchildren want to play a specific Windows-only game?
Linux is way more secure. Since it won't recognize my video card or my wireless card in my laptop, nobody will be able to see or remotely access anything.
"NOTE: please do not mention Linux or BSD. the NSA has had to cut back on expenses and loss of revinue has significantly impacted our staff skill set. WE can now only afford MCSE's so the only thing that can be dealt with is the current Windows release.
Until we can afford to pay more than $18.00 an hour for our techs we need to convince everyone to use windows 7.
Thanks for your understanding... Please let me know how the smear campaign for trucrypt is coming along, the loss of BinLAden has set us back as we were linking it to him."
This is a secret leaked NSA memo sent to me by a undisclosed leak.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
if you're wanting to run Linux, you're supposed to buy hardware
In other words, "Linux is only free if your hardware is already due for replacement."
Also if you don't know what you're doing, pay someone that does.
I asked around in locally owned computer stores, and they all specialized in Mac OS X (if they had a big Apple Inc. logo out front) or Windows (if not).
Just like when you upgrade Windows, you need to make sure your hardware works with the version of OS you want to run.
The difference is that peripherals usually state their Windows and Mac OS X compatibility right on the box; one doesn't need to run back home and check HCLs as one has to with Linux.
paid technical help
Is such help any cheaper than a Windows license? I checked codeweavers.com, and support for CrossOver Pro (Standard + Games bundle) is $69.95 per year.
We're STILL debating this "is Linux good enough for the common user" thing??
Look, I really like Linux and I use it wherever possible as a server to increase reliability and cut costs. But anecdotes about your Uncle Joe aside? It's really NOT suitable for the vast majority of home users, period. The Linux advocates have been trying to push it on people for well over a decade now (and for a while, I even included myself in that camp). But ultimately, there are just too many issues it never really addressed for people, and I suspect this late in the game, probably never will.
Most glaringly, yes, the point you already brought up (but promptly blew off as a minor issue); gaming! There's a HUGE market for using a PC as a gaming system! I'd say just as many home users expect to be able to do this with a given PC as ones who don't care about t. So that alone means roughly HALF of all home PC users will not find Linux a really suitable choice -- regardless of ANYTHING else. Don't forget that even in households where the adults don't care about gaming and the kids are too young to be interested in mainstream games, there's usually some interest in buying and loading a few "educational titles" for the kids. Last I checked, they still didn't offer Reader Rabbit and such in a Linux edition?
Additionally, the whole idea of pasting a Windows-like GUI over the top of Linux only works until something goes wrong beneath the surface. If the user gets advanced enough to try downloading additional packages on their own, they're likely to eventually break something due to missing needed libraries, or overwriting a configuration file someplace in the /etc directory, or ?? At this point, they're suddenly plunged into needing to understand a lot more about the real Linux underpinnings than was ever asked of them the whole time they interacted with the "Windows look-alike" UI on top of X. This is where a lot of the Linux fans tend to forget the extent of the problem, because when "Uncle Joe" runs into this problem - he's going to call them for help and they'll probably just go over and fix it for him, returning him to happy bliss. That's not an option for everyone else who simply went with Linux because it was advised to do so to "save money". They're likely to have to erase everything and start over with a fresh re-install to get things going again -- leaving them with a pretty negative experience.
Guide to setup Ubuntu for Grandma/Grandpa
- You install Ubuntu for them.
- Create an account for you, Grandma and/or Grandpa (or just you and an account for them)
- Once installed, run all updates.
- Make sure wireless/ethernet are working and get them on the internet.
- Setup Firefox, Thunderbird, VLC, Shotwell(or F-Prot) for picture management
- Install Ubuntu restricted extras
- Install Open Office
- Setup printer and/or scanner
- Install open-ssh server
- Setup DyDNS account for their IP and add to their router (if possible)
- Setup forwarding on their broadband router for SSH connection
- Setup shorewall (or whatever firewall)
- Put all their needed icons on the desktop
- Spend time with Grandma/Grandpa to show them how to use the computer.
- How to get into their profile
- How to use email and web
- How to get to their pictures and documents
- How to manage their pictures
- How to print something
- How to scan a picture, save it and retrieve it.
- How to create, save and retrieve a document.
- How to start, reboot, shutdown the computer.
- (Optional)
- Show grandma/grandpa where the games are.
- Install games for grandma/grandpa
- Eat cookies that grandma made.
- Drink grandpa's beer.
- Show grandpa where to see boobies on the interwebs.
- Show grandpa how to clear his cache and history.
--- If the bible proves the existence of God, then Superman comics prove the existence of Superman.
This is not always possible with Windows 7 either - neither my printer or scanner have drivers that work with it! I think I'm supposed to dump them in a landfill and buy new ones to be able to use newer drivers.
I've found that the downside of this is that virtually every small program that I find to accomplish one specific purpose (say, transcoding audio or video, or concatenating flv files or something), when it's available for Windows, is usually shareware asking $30 for a program I could almost write myself most of the time. Whereas if you find it for Linux, it's almost always GPL'd and free. It's not like I need support for piddly little programs like this and I am sure as hell not paying $30 every time I want one.
Unity? Screw that: XFCE. Slashdot Beta? Screw that: SoylentNews. Australis? Screw that: Pale Moon. UX developers DIAF
Manual means that it isn't running, and must be MANUALLY started. Remote Desktop isn't enabled by default, so both your examples were false.
The summary?
This part of the discussion has little to do specifically with the summary but more to do with is Linux a viable platform, specifically whether or not you can print something on a Linux box.
I think you just modded yourself offtopic.
My in-laws, who are in their late seventies and have never owned or used a computer, learned Vista on a laptop. Probably far worse than giving them a machine with ubuntu loaded on it. I think I would probably have had fewer 'service calls' on an ubuntu machine.
In other words, "Linux is only free if your hardware is already due for replacement."
No, it's free if your hardware is supported, though why does Linux need to be free anyway? It's a good OS for reasons other than cost.
I asked around in locally owned computer stores, and they all specialized in Mac OS X (if they had a big Apple Inc. logo out front) or Windows (if not).
Well you need to find better computer stores. You can find ones around here that support Linux. It's a skill set that's not as rare as it used to be.
The difference is that peripherals usually state their Windows and Mac OS X compatibility right on the box; one doesn't need to run back home and check HCLs as one has to with Linux.
Sometimes they also state they're universal as well.
I've on occation had to connect some crap to a Windows box that a customers bought without any research, only to find that not only is the hardware rubbish, but its drivers are even worse. And bad drivers can be the source of platform instability. Isn't it worth while to research your hardware purchases just a little no matter the platform it's to be connected to?
Dunno what to tell you; works fine for me. Sure you're not just running it on really old hardware?
tell me if this is old: 2.3ghz core i3, 2gb ddr3 ram, 320gb hdd, intel graphics.
You speak as though every Linux user was unable to play full screen Flash video. Does that mean that if one individual running Windows is unable to play back full screen Flash video due to misconfiguration that no Windows user can?
...when NSA ran 99% on Solaris, with 1% PowerPC for graphics and web design...
By "run as Administrator", I'm including the Stupid Applications(tm) that require Administrator access just to run it. That's simply retarded, no matter how you slice it.
While I certainly agree that is annoying and insecure, how is that the fault of the OS?
...sometimes, in order to hurt someone very badly, you have to tell that person terrible lies. - PA
the whole discussion is about windows 7 being better than xp. if linux is brought into the debate, it has to stand up against 7, not xp.
The legitimacy of Linux as a possible solution for desktop computing was being questioned due to supposed difficulties with respect to printing from Linux.
Ignoring it's security issues, Windows XP is considered a viable platform from a usability perspective for many, many desktops.
If Linux could be considered to be as easy, or even easier to use that XP for printing, doesn't that somewhat quash the argument "You can't use Linux because you can't print from it or it's too hard to print from"
Now RobbieThe1st said
You can say that again!
Last time I tried to connect to a network printer(at school), I simply had to click "find printer", wait a few seconds, and pick from the list of available printers(all 50 on the network). Easy.
XP(which we were running at the time), required -- at best -- knowing the IP. At worst, it also required some arcane driver too.
To which DurendalMac repsonded with
When did you last use XP? Adding network printers isn't exactly straightforward, but if the admins did their job right, you don't need to punch in the IP and can just find the darned thing. Also, XP is not the latest version of Windows and shouldn't be measured against current Linux distros.
Given that XP is considered a viable platform, and when discussing Linux's viability due to aspects of its usability, isn't it OK to put Linux up against a legitimate alternative to test its appropriateness?
I also think Linux stands up against Windows 7 for many scenarios but when discussing whether Linux meets a minimum standard of usability it should only need to meet that minimum standard of usability. If it exceeds it, all the better.
Details? You want details? Who has time to troubleshoot every distro when a different one will work? That's the beauty of Linux. I guess you could look at which kernel modules are in the ram disk images and compare them across distros, but wouldn't it be easier to just insert another Live CD? It certainly has saved me a lot of time taking the path of least resistance.
Well you need to find better computer stores.
Which would mean either A. moving or B. giving up face-to-face interaction and free in-store pickup if I can't find a better computer store within city bus distance.
Sometimes they also state they're universal as well.
I've always understood "Universal" to mean that the driver for Mac OS X is compiled for both PowerPC and Intel architectures, in much the same way that "Fat" meant both 68K and PowerPC back in the mid-1990s.
#9. Secure your mobile electronic devices and delete sensitive data before crossing a US Customs and Border Patrol checkpoint. Ensure you have stored backup(s) in accessible locations in case your mobile electronics devices are retained by CBP officers for long term close inspection.
-- Gary Goldberg KA3ZYW 301/249-6501 AIM:OgGreeb Digital Marketing Inc., Bowie, MD
Because I am curious, that is why I like the details.
I never got close to even starting troubleshooting the problem I saw with Intel video chips and a couple graphical installers; that whole project was replaced before it really started. Still, I would like to know why, or if your results mirror mine.
There was another problem about two years ago for which I never discovered the true cause. Post installation, with an NVidia card and VIA chipset, X would fail to load. That's right, just spent nearly an hour installing the OS and applications, to get a lockup, keyboard and mouse not responding and a corrupted display. The forums indicated that I was not alone, but there were no solutions, and for some reason runlevel 3 was difficult to obtain, maybe something to do with a script running only on the first boot?
The same hardware ran the previous version of Suse fine, plus XP And 7, so it was not a hardware problem. And I also found that some distributions worked, some did not. I guess I could dig up the DVD's, diff 'em against the ?.1, but there are obviously several other changes between versions.
Which is why I have a fondness for Slackware. It hasn't failed me yet.
"What luck for the rulers that men do not think." - Adolph Hitler
maybe its just me but i've never found a single windows pc that was unable to play fullscreen youtube video due to 'misconfiguration'. old hardware, yes, but never any software problem.
Wealth is the gift that keeps on giving.
But it has a version of IE that benchmarks fast. (as long as you are not using ssl)
Work bio at MMWD
By "run as Administrator", I'm including the Stupid Applications(tm) that require Administrator access just to run it. That's simply retarded, no matter how you slice it.
While I certainly agree that is annoying and insecure, how is that the fault of the OS?
End Users have a nasty tendency to judge an operating system by its applications, else they would have given serious consideration to other OSs that have come and gone over the years. Since they do, why can't I?
When politicians are involved, everyone loses.
maybe its just me but i've never found a single windows pc that was unable to play fullscreen youtube video due to 'misconfiguration'. old hardware, yes, but never any software problem.
I've had to deal with Windows boxes that couldn't do full screen Flash due to misconfiguration, that is problems that aren't hardware issues.
The latest i3 based laptop I've installed Ubuntu on worked outta the box with full screen Flash. Haven't got the exact config at hand but it was a Toshiba i3 with the base model onchip graphics, 2G RAM 15", nothing special, Ubuntu 10.10
What make/model of machine are you having the issue with. You say i3 so the base Ubuntu driver should be happy. I've got to upgrade the Toshiba machine to 11.04 in about two weeks so will be an opportunity to observe exactly how intel's driver works with an i3 with the new release.
As mentioned above, I've had the fullscreen Flash video appear behind the current full screened browser window, but I've also had that happen with Windows 7 machines. There's a possibility that's what's happening for you. Even if you were using a VESA video driver on old hardware I'd expect to at least see slow full screen video, but full screen video none the less. I have a test system that's a PIII 1.2GHz, nVidia MX-440 PCI, 512M and it will also do full screen Flash video in Ubuntu.
i know fullscreen flash mostly works on ubuntu. but the % of times it does not work is unnaturally high. i have an acer i3, 2gb ram and integrated graphics. all 3d stuff works flawlessly. flash itself works very nicely. only when i fullscreen a youtube vid, it just shows me a frozen video frame with audio playing. i've messed around a lot with drivers and other suggestions but it still does not work. also, i'm not going to update to 11.04 just because i hate all that unity bullshit.
actually i'm content with the way things are, its just that it is inaccurate to say that ubuntu is grandma friendly. because if an average user encounters this problem there is simply no recourse for him but to wait for the next version of ubuntu. the same average, non-techie guy will never see this problem on windows 7. in the rare case it does happen, it would have been due to a hardware problem and the vendor will replace his machine.
Wealth is the gift that keeps on giving.
I've encountered this argument too, and it's true. It's also self-perpetuating. It will remain true as long as people keep on using the argument.
It's not really an argument, it's a negative outcome of the network effect.
Personally, I'd rather take the time to teach them to use something that isn't basically a single-source drug than have tying people to the Microsoft treadmill on my conscience.
If you have the time to teach them. Personally I put my ca.75 yr old mother on a Mac (talk about a single-source drug!), because I knew I was going to have to spend the time giving long-distance support, and I wanted an OS that does a bit of the work for me. I'm probably not as ideologically pure as you --got a macbook to the left of this linux box I'm working on and a windows box to my right --but I probably do enjoy using windows about as much as you do. :/
Better to be despised for too anxious apprehensions, than ruined by too confident a security. --Edmund Burke
I own a MacBook Pro. A darned fine piece of hardware. I even hold my nose a little and run OS X on it. Unlike other stuff you get from Apple, their laptops largely act like the customer owns them. I might even choose to run Windows in a VM that has no network access one of these days. :-/
Most of the people I give technical support to are close enough for me to easily help. I also give them a way to easily allow me to remotely login to their box. That helps a lot with everything except for network issues. :-)
Need a Python, C++, Unix, Linux develop
i know fullscreen flash mostly works on ubuntu. but the % of times it does not work is unnaturally high.
My experience hasn't shown this but there you go.
i have an acer i3, 2gb ram and integrated graphics. all 3d stuff works flawlessly. flash itself works very nicely. only when i fullscreen a youtube vid, it just shows me a frozen video frame with audio playing. i've messed around a lot with drivers and other suggestions but it still does not work.
I'd not be keen on installing a non-distro-standard intel driver and would only do it as a last resort. (But I'm lazy that way :)
also, i'm not going to update to 11.04 just because i hate all that unity bullshit.
I can see why people would rather stick to Gnome2, but thankfully it's shipped in the default install, and can be selected as your desktop choice from the login screen. That way you can have all the updated goodness of 11.04 but without that unsavory Unity interface.
actually i'm content with the way things are, its just that it is inaccurate to say that ubuntu is grandma friendly.
I disagree because........
because if an average user encounters this problem there is simply no recourse for him but to wait for the next version of ubuntu.
If an average person encounters this with their Windows box they're stuffed until they get help from someone who knows what they're doing. If an average person encounters this with an Ubuntu install then it's the same. I'd also submit that the Grandma probably shouldn't of installed Ubuntu herself just as I'd advise her to have a competent person do her Windows 7 upgrade.
Once the install was completed by a competent person the systems' operation should be checked, and if issue found, rectified. You'd probably say that you can't always get access to a person competent in the ways of Ubuntu but I'd suggest that perhaps Grandma would likely not be interested in or even aware of that Linux thing without exposure to a competent enough person.
If you aren't technically competent, and you absolutely don't have access to help for a platform, then perhaps that platform shouldn't be deployed. That goes for Windows, OSX and Linux amongst others. I do think that people tend to overstate the scarcity of Linux tech support though. It's not rocket surgery. Remember how everyone got along just fine with compiling IPX.COM for your given particular network adapter for a Novell network, and then have to work to get Windows 3.11 for Workgroups to play nice with it, and the world didn't end, and everyone still got their work done. (Not to mention that one could never really screw together a stable Windows system until WinNT :)) Linux is far from that level of intricacy even if everything isn't automagically how you'd like it to be after an initial install.
Have you seen the state people can get themselves in while for example fighting MS Office on a Windows box when they don't have access to help? People can be funny, and they can stuff up with technology of all sorts, and all sorts of technology can stuff up seemingly all by itself. Sadly, Microsoft's technology isn't immune from this phenomena. :)
the same average, non-techie guy will never see this problem on windows 7. in the rare case it does happen, it would have been due to a hardware problem and the vendor will replace his machine.
No, they would. But it may be for a different reason. Windows 7 has an issue sometimes with the stacking order of windows where a new one can appear behind the front most one (and no, I'm not talking about advertising "pop-unders".)
I've experienced it myself. While my machines are running Linux, the ones I'm supporting are a mix of Linux and Windows and so get to see a lot of Windows mischief played on end users. Windows isn't a panacea of