...honestly....but then they made a racket about needing to be licensed and now I can't fix the frigging tube. In fact, I am unemployed now! Damn socialists!
> The native builtin encryption methods for Linux (like cryptfs), seem to require reformatting the disk > if you want to do a simple operation like changing the encryption password. Honestly, I don't think there > are a lot of great solutions out there yet. More work needs to be done in this area! We need better solutions!
If changing the password is your only gripe, use dm-crypt/LUKS. It'll give you ten slots of possible keys (i.e. passwords or external keyfiles), so change to your hearts content without reformatting. It also takes care of the issue of being able to have an individual user password and a corporate master-pw.
> Why run your own mail server, when you can do google apps - I think it's free for non-profits and.edus. > Gmail, and instantly, you just saved a bunch of money, and a bunch of work.
But you also lost a bunch in the privacy/confidentiality department...
Coming to think of it...it would appear, that all States mandating the collection of DNA from *innocents* (until proven guilty) are in clear violation of the 5th amendment:
"No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."
A forced DNA sample can in certain cases surely be self-incriminating. And since no "due process" has occurred yet, it is unconstitutional. PERIOD. Has anyone ever challenged the dozen or so States on that?
Besides, DNA is IMHO "private property" so if nothing else you should get paid for your DNA sample.
Apparently in parts of Britain it's already standard practice to collect DNA from mere arrestees:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7872425.stm
Aside from the collection issue I also question the reliance on DNA as THE indicator that you have committed a crime or were present at the location (hence your proven involvement). What's to prevent anyone from going through my garbage, pulling out a few hairs I threw in there (nevermind tissues with who knows what on it:-)) and then placing it at the crime scene he created by raping/strangling the cute one living a block down? If my DNA sample is already one file (whether justified or not), *POOF*...instant match and I get hauled out of bed for something I have no idea that it even happened. I'd say certainly convicted too. Just as DNA can exonerate innocents in some cases, it can also falsely implicate. Perhaps this should be taken into account when talking about "essential crime solving tools".
...does anybody expect any different? There they are, in glorious white, baah'ing around, nicely together as one big feast to be torn into and devoured. Such is the pitiful state of our communication and personal data. Can we complain if we get bitten by the wolves when we present ourselves/our lives on a silver-platter? We know they are out there...and have long been way before Mr. Tice and his revelations. So why do we still make phone calls in the clear, why have we as techies not managed to protect our e-mails, our Instant Messaging, our chats...nevermind made it happen for the public at large? We still pay with credit cards, documenting our habits, buying preferences, physical locations with every slide-through. We carry cell-phones and feel almost elite to carry particular models, despite them being roaming bugs and real-time location-trackers (iPhone -> I=Phone). Etc.pp..
We are sheep and we get eaten. Since we don't take any measurements against it on just about any level, while sad, it's only a natural course. *munch* *munch*
First things first: I love MC and thanx for keeping it going.
Question though: anyone know why sometimes the windows and frames of MC don't display right via SSH (instead of lines you get funky characters and even files you highlight flip in space). On other servers it works just as nicely as it does locally. Any ideas what the cause of this weirdness is and how to fix it?
> The two programs that drive me bonkers are mc and vi. Why? > because I'm not savvy to their syntax and their is no obvious way > to get out of them once you launch them.
So F10 for QUIT is too hard, especially when it's actually printed on the key bar (which in every distro I tried was always set to be displayed by default)? C'mon man...
It's our own fault for this to occur on various levels. First we elected the people stomping all over our rights and worse, reelected the vast majority again. Second there is no particular public outcry over the doings of NSA and their willing accomplices (ATT, Verizon etc.), in fact, we still keep paying the latter happily every month for 'service'. Third...can we really complain when our communication gets monitored on a vast scale if we take no steps to protect them in the least? The issue has been known for decades, the solutions have been available for almost an equal amount of time. We just do not use them as it's apparently too inconvenient, too complicated, yadda yadda... So why can't Johnny encrypt...STILL in 2009 and what are we as techies gonna do about it?
This is ridiculous. Less the product but we as users. It takes what...0.5 seconds to hit the power button on a display? Combined with powering it down to ~1 Watt automatically in case the coffee break goes longer than expected the solution has already been here for the last 20 years.
Anybody know what the Sectera costs? I looked into Cryptophones ( http://www.cryptophone.de/ ) but the pricing despite all my wanting to support it is just way over the top as a private person.
Would also like to know, if not OpenMoko could be/will be extended application-wise to provide similar voice calls with end-to-end encryption?
Since there are two of them (one from SUN and one from MS), does anyone have experiences as to which is better (for saving a doc in Word as ODF and then opening/using it with OO?)
> PLUS, he was using rebates and federal tax credits, so WE paid to help him do this > or it would NOT be anywhere near cost effective...
Of course a "$13.4 billion lifeline to the General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC" is a much better investment for the public and environmental interest than tax credits for concerned citizens installing renewable energy options in their own initiative...
> That's a wealth transfer out of my wallet by "UNCLE SAM"
You pay your taxes regardless at a steady and clearly defined ratio. Or are you saying you got a separate tax bill to cover Lloyd's solar expenses? I suggest to cut the whining and perhaps detail what YOU do to improve things in this world.
Always wished, there was something like ccleaner for Linux. Ditto for spyware detectors. Sure it won't take over the rest of the system but my important stuff is, well, in my account. Looks like the only semi-safe way to run a browser these days is in a virtual sandbox.
> I'm not convinced that the normalization on a "standard" distro is a bad thing. > Choice is freedom for some and confusion for others.
A 'standard distro' IS a bad thing. Distro's come and go whereas the UNIX aspect of any distro remains in large parts. Hence it makes much more sense to sensibly invest in FHS and similar efforts than to focus on the current fashionable packaged distro. I agree with your comment on freedom for some and confusion for others, but the same way that I don't want to ever see gasoline released just for the 'standard Ford Focus' I don't want to see drivers for a specific distro only (which is not to say, that it can't be pre-packaged for certain distro's since there is a convenience factor involved. But the source should compile on any sane distribution).
> we continue our Slackware subscription because we appreciate > what Patrick and Slack has done for us.
That's fantastic...same here. IMHO this is one thing gone somewhat under in "the Linux community"...the showing of appreciation in whatever form. Countless threads of bitching by noobs about various issues and the "fix it for me...pronto!" attitudes that's so contrary to what Linux, Open Source and the collaborative effort is all about. Reminds me a bit of 1995/6/7 when the Internet got swamped by the AOL hordes.
Linux is free. It is my belief, that if you decide to make use of it (it = the work of others) you have an obligation to return something. Whether that's buying a distro to support it, a bug report, a suggestion for improvement or even just a "Hey...thanx for writing this stuff" kinda note to an author of a program and/or distro, it's up to you. But do give something back.
On that note....Thank You, Pat and everybody else involved for a great distribution!:-)
> It's been long known that distributed computing is a horrible, horrible waste of electricity.
Another note: my measurements did show a slight increase in electricity draw running a distributed client (CPU 100%) versus regular fairly idle desktop use without it (on my dual P3 it was ca. 30 Watts more). So I made sure to replace the PSU with an 80+ model which alone made up for the difference.
> It's been long known that distributed computing is a horrible, horrible waste of electricity.
Is it really? Or is it a horrible x2 waste to let a piece of hardware perform roughly 90% below its capability most of the time? And what about the waste when said underused hardware gets necessarily replaced by something newer/faster (also ending up underused most of the time) while original piece ends up gathering dust on a shelf or worse, ends up in a landfill, never even having come near its potential?
I view even my old 486 as a technical marvel and as long as it works it might as well do something, so I have it crunching on distributed projects. It's still at least as good as what powers the Hubble space telescope so why not use it to the max? Likewise for all other hardware I have. An idle processor is almost a crime IMHO, because it took amazing amounts of resources, mental and physical to come into being, and yet due to ever-greater customer demands has a very limited shelf-life. I found perfectly working computers in the trash, so I took them home where they can die in peace while getting a last good workout and thus the respect they deserve.
Thanx for checking into it and posting the results. Aren't Kill-a-Watt's very helpful devices? If I was President I'd use tax money to send every household one of those gadgets. Used it myself on the entire household appliances and made some interesting observations. One of them was, that my HP Photosmart C5180 uses 5 Watts when turned on (green light/powerbutton...ready for printing) but 6 Watts when turned "off" (no lights, no display). If somebody could explain that to me I'd appreciate it.
Actually it is PART of the problem and therefore not the solution. I don't quite understand the logic of arguments like this: "Well, it doesn't use as much as other things so it must be OK". Perhaps a lawyer could next come with the line: "Well, my client only killed 3 people and not 25 like some others (who are really bad), so he should be let off the hook!" Come on, people. Stop thinking about your own frigging energy bill impact any of this has because when the iceberg hits the fan it won't matter anymore if you paid 50 bucks more. It's a sum game this overall impact on the environment, with individual people/actions and all devices they/we use being the values it's made of. Down the the last standby-Watt and georgian swamp Redneck. So searching for ways to reduce said values on an individual as well as corporate/product level is most certainly on the right track if we don't want to vote ourselves off the planet.
Slashdot Mirror
> Ask them about the antivirus software market?
Or just give them some good answers:
detected malware by today's F-Prot:
Windows: 1204227
DOS: 40230
Office/Macro: 11376
Unix/Linux: 1990
Obviously Unix/Linux is staggering in its insecurity compared to Windows/DOS/Office...
...honestly....but then they made a racket about needing to be licensed and now I can't fix the frigging tube. In fact, I am unemployed now! Damn socialists!
Joe (the Plumber)
> The native builtin encryption methods for Linux (like cryptfs), seem to require reformatting the disk
> if you want to do a simple operation like changing the encryption password. Honestly, I don't think there
> are a lot of great solutions out there yet. More work needs to be done in this area! We need better solutions!
If changing the password is your only gripe, use dm-crypt/LUKS. It'll give you ten slots of possible keys (i.e. passwords or external keyfiles), so change to your hearts content without reformatting.
It also takes care of the issue of being able to have an individual user password and a corporate master-pw.
LUKS volumes can even be accessed from Windows with FreeOTFE: http://www.freeotfe.org/
> Why run your own mail server, when you can do google apps - I think it's free for non-profits and .edus.
> Gmail, and instantly, you just saved a bunch of money, and a bunch of work.
But you also lost a bunch in the privacy/confidentiality department...
Coming to think of it...it would appear, that all States mandating the collection of DNA from *innocents* (until proven guilty) are in clear violation of the 5th amendment:
"No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."
A forced DNA sample can in certain cases surely be self-incriminating. And since no "due process" has occurred yet, it is unconstitutional. PERIOD. Has anyone ever challenged the dozen or so States on that?
Besides, DNA is IMHO "private property" so if nothing else you should get paid for your DNA sample.
Apparently in parts of Britain it's already standard practice to collect DNA from mere arrestees: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7872425.stm Aside from the collection issue I also question the reliance on DNA as THE indicator that you have committed a crime or were present at the location (hence your proven involvement). What's to prevent anyone from going through my garbage, pulling out a few hairs I threw in there (nevermind tissues with who knows what on it :-)) and then placing it at the crime scene he created by raping/strangling the cute one living a block down? If my DNA sample is already one file (whether justified or not), *POOF*...instant match and I get hauled out of bed for something I have no idea that it even happened. I'd say certainly convicted too. Just as DNA can exonerate innocents in some cases, it can also falsely implicate. Perhaps this should be taken into account when talking about "essential crime solving tools".
...does anybody expect any different? There they are, in glorious white, baah'ing around, nicely together as one big feast to be torn into and devoured.
Such is the pitiful state of our communication and personal data. Can we complain if we get bitten by the wolves when we present ourselves/our lives on a silver-platter?
We know they are out there...and have long been way before Mr. Tice and his revelations. So why do we still make phone calls in the clear, why have we as techies not managed to protect our e-mails, our Instant Messaging, our chats...nevermind made it happen for the public at large? We still pay with credit cards, documenting our habits, buying preferences, physical locations with every slide-through. We carry cell-phones and feel almost elite to carry particular models, despite them being roaming bugs and real-time location-trackers (iPhone -> I=Phone). Etc.pp..
We are sheep and we get eaten. Since we don't take any measurements against it on just about any level, while sad, it's only a natural course. *munch* *munch*
> If you made up a name, how do you remember it 3 years later?
Easy: Post-It on monitor... :-)
First things first: I love MC and thanx for keeping it going.
Question though: anyone know why sometimes the windows and frames of MC don't display right via SSH (instead of lines you get funky characters and even files you highlight flip in space). On other servers it works just as nicely as it does locally. Any ideas what the cause of this weirdness is and how to fix it?
> The two programs that drive me bonkers are mc and vi. Why?
> because I'm not savvy to their syntax and their is no obvious way
> to get out of them once you launch them.
So F10 for QUIT is too hard, especially when it's actually printed on the key bar (which in every distro I tried was always set to be displayed by default)?
C'mon man...
It's our own fault for this to occur on various levels.
First we elected the people stomping all over our rights and worse, reelected the vast majority again.
Second there is no particular public outcry over the doings of NSA and their willing accomplices (ATT, Verizon etc.), in fact, we still keep paying the latter happily every month for 'service'.
Third...can we really complain when our communication gets monitored on a vast scale if we take no steps to protect them in the least? The issue has been known for decades, the solutions have been available for almost an equal amount of time. We just do not use them as it's apparently too inconvenient, too complicated, yadda yadda... So why can't Johnny encrypt...STILL in 2009 and what are we as techies gonna do about it?
This is ridiculous. Less the product but we as users. It takes what...0.5 seconds to hit the power button on a display? Combined with powering it down to ~1 Watt automatically in case the coffee break goes longer than expected the solution has already been here for the last 20 years.
Anybody know what the Sectera costs? I looked into Cryptophones ( http://www.cryptophone.de/ ) but the pricing despite all my wanting to support it is just way over the top as a private person.
Would also like to know, if not OpenMoko could be/will be extended application-wise to provide similar voice calls with end-to-end encryption?
> Or, just get the ODF plugin for Office.
Since there are two of them (one from SUN and one from MS), does anyone have experiences as to which is better (for saving a doc in Word as ODF and then opening/using it with OO?)
Why would anyone have a problem with burning pages deemed degenerate by ze deutsche government? Only degenerates themselves (who'll be next).
> PLUS, he was using rebates and federal tax credits, so WE paid to help him do this
> or it would NOT be anywhere near cost effective...
Of course a "$13.4 billion lifeline to the General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC" is a much better investment for the public and environmental interest than tax credits for concerned citizens installing renewable energy options in their own initiative...
> That's a wealth transfer out of my wallet by "UNCLE SAM"
You pay your taxes regardless at a steady and clearly defined ratio. Or are you saying you got a separate tax bill to cover Lloyd's solar expenses? I suggest to cut the whining and perhaps detail what YOU do to improve things in this world.
Always wished, there was something like ccleaner for Linux. Ditto for spyware detectors. Sure it won't take over the rest of the system but my important stuff is, well, in my account. Looks like the only semi-safe way to run a browser these days is in a virtual sandbox.
> Comcast certainly offers Internet access without TV
Speaking of TV...what are the online alternatives to paying for/using cable TV?
> I'm not convinced that the normalization on a "standard" distro is a bad thing.
> Choice is freedom for some and confusion for others.
A 'standard distro' IS a bad thing. Distro's come and go whereas the UNIX aspect of any distro remains in large parts. Hence it makes much more sense to sensibly invest in FHS and similar efforts than to focus on the current fashionable packaged distro. I agree with your comment on freedom for some and confusion for others, but the same way that I don't want to ever see gasoline released just for the 'standard Ford Focus' I don't want to see drivers for a specific distro only (which is not to say, that it can't be pre-packaged for certain distro's since there is a convenience factor involved. But the source should compile on any sane distribution).
> we continue our Slackware subscription because we appreciate
> what Patrick and Slack has done for us.
That's fantastic...same here. IMHO this is one thing gone somewhat under in "the Linux community"...the showing of appreciation in whatever form. Countless threads of bitching by noobs about various issues and the "fix it for me...pronto!" attitudes that's so contrary to what Linux, Open Source and the collaborative effort is all about. Reminds me a bit of 1995/6/7 when the Internet got swamped by the AOL hordes.
Linux is free. It is my belief, that if you decide to make use of it (it = the work of others) you have an obligation to return something. Whether that's buying a distro to support it, a bug report, a suggestion for improvement or even just a "Hey...thanx for writing this stuff" kinda note to an author of a program and/or distro, it's up to you. But do give something back.
On that note....Thank You, Pat and everybody else involved for a great distribution! :-)
> It's been long known that distributed computing is a horrible, horrible waste of electricity.
Another note: my measurements did show a slight increase in electricity draw running a distributed client (CPU 100%) versus regular fairly idle desktop use without it (on my dual P3 it was ca. 30 Watts more). So I made sure to replace the PSU with an 80+ model which alone made up for the difference.
> It's been long known that distributed computing is a horrible, horrible waste of electricity.
Is it really? Or is it a horrible x2 waste to let a piece of hardware perform roughly 90% below its capability most of the time? And what about the waste when said underused hardware gets necessarily replaced by something newer/faster (also ending up underused most of the time) while original piece ends up gathering dust on a shelf or worse, ends up in a landfill, never even having come near its potential?
I view even my old 486 as a technical marvel and as long as it works it might as well do something, so I have it crunching on distributed projects. It's still at least as good as what powers the Hubble space telescope so why not use it to the max? Likewise for all other hardware I have. An idle processor is almost a crime IMHO, because it took amazing amounts of resources, mental and physical to come into being, and yet due to ever-greater customer demands has a very limited shelf-life. I found perfectly working computers in the trash, so I took them home where they can die in peace while getting a last good workout and thus the respect they deserve.
> Why does anyone even need something as powerful as the Wii?
Probably for similar reasons that some people "needed" more than 640k of RAM. Go figure.
Thanx for checking into it and posting the results. Aren't Kill-a-Watt's very helpful devices? If I was President I'd use tax money to send every household one of those gadgets.
Used it myself on the entire household appliances and made some interesting observations. One of them was, that my HP Photosmart C5180 uses 5 Watts when turned on (green light/powerbutton...ready for printing) but 6 Watts when turned "off" (no lights, no display). If somebody could explain that to me I'd appreciate it.
> Your console's energy use is not the problem.
Actually it is PART of the problem and therefore not the solution. I don't quite understand the logic of arguments like this: "Well, it doesn't use as much as other things so it must be OK". Perhaps a lawyer could next come with the line: "Well, my client only killed 3 people and not 25 like some others (who are really bad), so he should be let off the hook!" Come on, people. Stop thinking about your own frigging energy bill impact any of this has because when the iceberg hits the fan it won't matter anymore if you paid 50 bucks more. It's a sum game this overall impact on the environment, with individual people/actions and all devices they/we use being the values it's made of. Down the the last standby-Watt and georgian swamp Redneck. So searching for ways to reduce said values on an individual as well as corporate/product level is most certainly on the right track if we don't want to vote ourselves off the planet.