Finally Microsoft makes a move I really agree with - between this, GIMP, and Blender anybody can make a decent game for Windows without spending a dime on tools. Very nice indeed.
If you read through it she mentions that she brings one of the local die-hards who refuses to leave with her for exploring buildings because of the safety issues involved. Presumably said girl took the photo.
The U.K is a long way from a U.S style two-party system, thankfully.
The lack of a two party system in the UK hasn't stopped your country from going to shit. You've got cameras everywhere, skyrocketing guncrime in a nation where guns are forbidden whereas America's guncrime has been dropping steadily for years now (if guns are criminal only yada yada yada), MI5 wiretapping your net access, a healthcare system that is fucked beyond redemption (unlike the Scandinavian ones, which are also socialist but actually *work* because they are internally capitalist with more money going to better-performing hospitals), the scandals of the Blair administration lately, etc., etc. I could go on.
Please don't misunderstand me - America is shit, too, just in different ways (the phrase 'protectionist oligarchy' comes to mind).
Bull-hockey. Real choice was removed from the system a long time ago.
You make a big bloody noise about democracy.
Right, because God forbid us plebians ever fully grasp how disenfranchised we all are, there might be a real problem instead of just some idiot (me)whining on Slashdot.
The flip side is that you must all take responsibility for the leaders you elect. Sorry but it really is your fault.
Right. I'm responsible for the fact that my nation is filled with the willfully ignorant? Explain how - and please use small words, as ignorance is communicable. We've let the fulfillment of our base human hedonism drown out what little outrage we have the stomach for, and what's worse we expect corruption of the worst sort at every level.
If your government really has been overthrown by non-democratic means doesn't your constitution oblige you to rise up and use those guns you insist on having?
Yes, and that reason is precisely why guns are enshrined in the Constitution. Our Constitution was written by revolutionaries - and they knew that their efforts might, in a very short period of time, lead to a system even more egregiously fucked up than one we have now - much like there is an intentional balance of powers between our branches of government (which Congress is trying to legislate away), there is also a balance of power between our government and its constituents.
Personally, I feel safer knowing that the time that could have gone into optimization has gone into checking for bugs and other security enhancements (privsep, WorX, etc.) - OpenBSD isn't meant to be your main enterprise-level server. That's FreeBSD's job. OpenBSD is supposed to sit there at the gates and safely divide packets into sheep or goats all day long.
While I'm a big fan of OpenBSD and Theo both - I have to admit that Theo doesn't play nice even with those NOT beneath him - the loss of Niels Provos is still a bitter, bitter blow for the project.
This isn't going to sound very pleasant to you, I suspect, but the fact is that your industry is undergoing rapid and catastrophic - for good or ill - changes, and like any other intelligent creature you are going to have to learn how to adapt to best take advantage of the new environment forming around you.
Two tips come immediately to mind:
1) View all studio recordings as advertisement and nothing else. If people are willing to pay for a physical copy of that advertisement, so much the better - but don't expect them to. Your prepared music being distributed VIA ANY FASHION in the modern music industry has but one primary purpose to serve: to get your name out there.
2) Start viewing live performances as your bread and butter and your only means of actually, you know, making money within the industry. If your style of music doesn't lend itself well to live performance (techno, etc.), come up with a different form of spectacle to keep the audience entertained - they want to pay you money to participate in an event, and you need provide that event. This is your new means of earning an income - selling spectacle to the masses.
While a staunch anybody-but-Bush voting liberal, even I have to confess that rank corruption in the realm of intellectual property legislation is universal - the voting record declares authoritatively that both Democrats and Republicans alike have, on this issue at least, sold out to special interests with fervor and abandon.
Slightly concerned that we'll look back and say "Well, 2004 would've been the year Linux arrived in a big way . . . EXCEPT THAT WE TORE OURSELVES APART AT THE SEAMS."
I don't mean to panic-monger or scream that the sky is falling without due cause - but this is all starting to get a bit worrying. Open Source has enough problems right now without actively helping its opponents.
If I setup the system for mail - which I don't do for a simple firewall - I also use Postfix. Only other alternative is qmail and DJB's stuff is just too much of a PITA/non-standard.
Do what I did last night before I even knew about this - comment IPV6 completely out of your kernel entirely for effiency's sake.
One of the reasons OpenBSD tends to be more secure is because it ships with *almost* everything off. However, there's a solid 10+ default user accounts, 3-4 default services (sshd, sendmail, inetd/portmap), and 75+ kernal/device options you should remove/recompile out upon installation (this is all assuming your only purpose is to create an x86-based router).
Yes, you'll need to muck about with/etc/mtree/special and/var/cron/tabs a bit to keep everything from whining to syslog constantly, but every unnecessary thing removed is a potential exploit avoided.
What other reason would the figurehead for PNAC (earlier post on them here) have for announcing an enhanced space initiative when the biggest problem his administration is facing is budgetary concerns?
When this was first announced the first sentence out of my lips were "Oh fuck, here comes the militarization of space." Just so we can establish a Cringely-esque track record, when I saw the WTC collapse the first words out of my mouth were "Oh fuck, there go our civil liberties" (and Patriot II was just passed under our noses this last month).
This should come as a surprise for absolutely nobody save foreigners just chiming in. I suggest picking up Perle's new book for a roadmap of what we'll see this administration try and pull if they get elected next term (and they probably will).
For what it's worth, I have a good story involving some (requested, of course) intrusion testing on a senior security worker at Microsoft's personal web server that came about because of a Apache vs. IIS argument on IRC. Pity it was just a simple application of RainForestPuppy's modified UNICODE exploit (read: a script-kiddie hack), or I'd submit it . . .
I love the objective point of view Fountainhead Entertainment and the rest of the ultra-libertarian Rand fanbois express in the 100 years of flight vid.
Nevermind that a good portion of the redtape involved has nothing to do with the environment - it's easier to just paint yourself as wounded by crazies on a crusade than rationally represent the problems the other side has with your actions. Not that I don't sympathize with Armadillo Aerospace here (the bureaucracy mindlessly bent on preventing its citizens from doing anything out of the ordinary is a tough thing to stare down), but it's good to know KAK was kicked out of id before she could really Yoko Ono Carmack . . .
Why build a perm. base? Why not just focus on assembling Von Neumann machines - within the context of the moon's environment - at the macroscopic level (easier that way for now) and do it that way?
I don't understand why humans have to be involved at all, we're far too needy, messy, and inefficient. I mean, if I was John Carmack, a Von Neumann-based mining operation would be my end goal . . .
If those sunspots were pointing at us just now, and this flare had a southward magnetic alignment - that would basically be IT, right?
I mean, Fight Club-style apocalypse, the temporary collapse of civilization for at least a month or so until order could be restored, that kind of thing, yes? Anything not in a Faraday cage blown to Hell and gone, etc.?
Does that about describe the situation we just missed? If so, can we please, please find some way to artificially induce exactly that situation?
Another pompous fanboy to Rand's pop-philosophy for Junior SS officer wannabes. I've read all of her books, she's still an idiot, and none of her ideas hit remotely close to the truth of myself or anybody I've ever met.
It's my entire source of knowledge at this point, as well as my means of living.
My groceries, videogames, car, real books that haven't yet been digitized, appliances, my fiance (who is just like me in this regard), most of my current friends - all of them came from the Internet. My family wouldn't be able to keep in touch with me (no phone) were it not for the Internet.
Everything - literally every single aspect of my life depends on online connectivity. The few times I've experienced downtime in the past five years I've just played with the pets a bit more than usual and read books while waiting for the cable modem light to turn green again.
While most people would say this is pathetic - and I can see their point - for some reason it feels 'good' to me that my life is this way. Not because I measure myself in terms of progress, but more that I measure myself in detachment from an increasingly suboptimal world.
Slashdot Mirror
Finally Microsoft makes a move I really agree with - between this, GIMP, and Blender anybody can make a decent game for Windows without spending a dime on tools. Very nice indeed.
If you read through it she mentions that she brings one of the local die-hards who refuses to leave with her for exploring buildings because of the safety issues involved. Presumably said girl took the photo.
The U.K is a long way from a U.S style two-party system, thankfully.
The lack of a two party system in the UK hasn't stopped your country from going to shit. You've got cameras everywhere, skyrocketing guncrime in a nation where guns are forbidden whereas America's guncrime has been dropping steadily for years now (if guns are criminal only yada yada yada), MI5 wiretapping your net access, a healthcare system that is fucked beyond redemption (unlike the Scandinavian ones, which are also socialist but actually *work* because they are internally capitalist with more money going to better-performing hospitals), the scandals of the Blair administration lately, etc., etc. I could go on.
Please don't misunderstand me - America is shit, too, just in different ways (the phrase 'protectionist oligarchy' comes to mind).
The fact that I'm a hypocritical loudmouth like most of my fellow Americans?
It has?? You're a democracy!
Bull-hockey. Real choice was removed from the system a long time ago.
You make a big bloody noise about democracy.
Right, because God forbid us plebians ever fully grasp how disenfranchised we all are, there might be a real problem instead of just some idiot (me)whining on Slashdot.
The flip side is that you must all take responsibility for the leaders you elect. Sorry but it really is your fault.
Right. I'm responsible for the fact that my nation is filled with the willfully ignorant? Explain how - and please use small words, as ignorance is communicable. We've let the fulfillment of our base human hedonism drown out what little outrage we have the stomach for, and what's worse we expect corruption of the worst sort at every level.
If your government really has been overthrown by non-democratic means doesn't your constitution oblige you to rise up and use those guns you insist on having?
Yes, and that reason is precisely why guns are enshrined in the Constitution. Our Constitution was written by revolutionaries - and they knew that their efforts might, in a very short period of time, lead to a system even more egregiously fucked up than one we have now - much like there is an intentional balance of powers between our branches of government (which Congress is trying to legislate away), there is also a balance of power between our government and its constituents.
We'd love to respect your borders, it's just our country's been hijacked. Perhaps you'd noticed?
Personally, I feel safer knowing that the time that could have gone into optimization has gone into checking for bugs and other security enhancements (privsep, WorX, etc.) - OpenBSD isn't meant to be your main enterprise-level server. That's FreeBSD's job. OpenBSD is supposed to sit there at the gates and safely divide packets into sheep or goats all day long.
While I'm a big fan of OpenBSD and Theo both - I have to admit that Theo doesn't play nice even with those NOT beneath him - the loss of Niels Provos is still a bitter, bitter blow for the project.
This isn't going to sound very pleasant to you, I suspect, but the fact is that your industry is undergoing rapid and catastrophic - for good or ill - changes, and like any other intelligent creature you are going to have to learn how to adapt to best take advantage of the new environment forming around you.
Two tips come immediately to mind:
1) View all studio recordings as advertisement and nothing else. If people are willing to pay for a physical copy of that advertisement, so much the better - but don't expect them to. Your prepared music being distributed VIA ANY FASHION in the modern music industry has but one primary purpose to serve: to get your name out there.
2) Start viewing live performances as your bread and butter and your only means of actually, you know, making money within the industry. If your style of music doesn't lend itself well to live performance (techno, etc.), come up with a different form of spectacle to keep the audience entertained - they want to pay you money to participate in an event, and you need provide that event. This is your new means of earning an income - selling spectacle to the masses.
--Ryvar
While a staunch anybody-but-Bush voting liberal, even I have to confess that rank corruption in the realm of intellectual property legislation is universal - the voting record declares authoritatively that both Democrats and Republicans alike have, on this issue at least, sold out to special interests with fervor and abandon.
Slightly concerned that we'll look back and say "Well, 2004 would've been the year Linux arrived in a big way . . . EXCEPT THAT WE TORE OURSELVES APART AT THE SEAMS."
I don't mean to panic-monger or scream that the sky is falling without due cause - but this is all starting to get a bit worrying. Open Source has enough problems right now without actively helping its opponents.
--Ryv
Smart.
If I setup the system for mail - which I don't do for a simple firewall - I also use Postfix. Only other alternative is qmail and DJB's stuff is just too much of a PITA/non-standard.
--Ryv
Do what I did last night before I even knew about this - comment IPV6 completely out of your kernel entirely for effiency's sake.
/etc/mtree/special and /var/cron/tabs a bit to keep everything from whining to syslog constantly, but every unnecessary thing removed is a potential exploit avoided.
One of the reasons OpenBSD tends to be more secure is because it ships with *almost* everything off. However, there's a solid 10+ default user accounts, 3-4 default services (sshd, sendmail, inetd/portmap), and 75+ kernal/device options you should remove/recompile out upon installation (this is all assuming your only purpose is to create an x86-based router).
Yes, you'll need to muck about with
--Ryv
"Get yahself ta Mahz"
--The Governator
But wasn't this pretty obvious from the start?
What other reason would the figurehead for PNAC (earlier post on them here) have for announcing an enhanced space initiative when the biggest problem his administration is facing is budgetary concerns?
When this was first announced the first sentence out of my lips were "Oh fuck, here comes the militarization of space." Just so we can establish a Cringely-esque track record, when I saw the WTC collapse the first words out of my mouth were "Oh fuck, there go our civil liberties" (and Patriot II was just passed under our noses this last month).
This should come as a surprise for absolutely nobody save foreigners just chiming in. I suggest picking up Perle's new book for a roadmap of what we'll see this administration try and pull if they get elected next term (and they probably will).
--Ryvar
It upsets me greatly that I'm not allowed to mod this one +1, Troll. Excellent post.
Welcome to Slashdot, chief . . .
For what it's worth, I have a good story involving some (requested, of course) intrusion testing on a senior security worker at Microsoft's personal web server that came about because of a Apache vs. IIS argument on IRC. Pity it was just a simple application of RainForestPuppy's modified UNICODE exploit (read: a script-kiddie hack), or I'd submit it . . .
I love the objective point of view Fountainhead Entertainment and the rest of the ultra-libertarian Rand fanbois express in the 100 years of flight vid.
Nevermind that a good portion of the redtape involved has nothing to do with the environment - it's easier to just paint yourself as wounded by crazies on a crusade than rationally represent the problems the other side has with your actions. Not that I don't sympathize with Armadillo Aerospace here (the bureaucracy mindlessly bent on preventing its citizens from doing anything out of the ordinary is a tough thing to stare down), but it's good to know KAK was kicked out of id before she could really Yoko Ono Carmack . . .
Hey cool! They even have a whole forum on their boards dedicated to spoofing those Trekkies who learn Klingon . . .
Oh wait, that's the Finnish-speakers board. Nevermind.
--Ryvar
Why build a perm. base? Why not just focus on assembling Von Neumann machines - within the context of the moon's environment - at the macroscopic level (easier that way for now) and do it that way?
I don't understand why humans have to be involved at all, we're far too needy, messy, and inefficient. I mean, if I was John Carmack, a Von Neumann-based mining operation would be my end goal . . .
If those sunspots were pointing at us just now, and this flare had a southward magnetic alignment - that would basically be IT, right?
I mean, Fight Club-style apocalypse, the temporary collapse of civilization for at least a month or so until order could be restored, that kind of thing, yes? Anything not in a Faraday cage blown to Hell and gone, etc.?
Does that about describe the situation we just missed? If so, can we please, please find some way to artificially induce exactly that situation?
--Ryv
Unlike 3.3, which made it months before a single security-related patch was issued, 3.4 LAUNCHES with 3 such patches.
That said, it's such a huge release in terms of changes made (x86 Write or eXecute memory pages, for one) that it's more than worth the upgrade.
As with most such fundamental updates to OBSD, though, I expect this release to be significantly patchier than the last couple.
--Ryv
Another pompous fanboy to Rand's pop-philosophy for Junior SS officer wannabes. I've read all of her books, she's still an idiot, and none of her ideas hit remotely close to the truth of myself or anybody I've ever met.
It's my entire source of knowledge at this point, as well as my means of living.
My groceries, videogames, car, real books that haven't yet been digitized, appliances, my fiance (who is just like me in this regard), most of my current friends - all of them came from the Internet. My family wouldn't be able to keep in touch with me (no phone) were it not for the Internet.
Everything - literally every single aspect of my life depends on online connectivity. The few times I've experienced downtime in the past five years I've just played with the pets a bit more than usual and read books while waiting for the cable modem light to turn green again.
While most people would say this is pathetic - and I can see their point - for some reason it feels 'good' to me that my life is this way. Not because I measure myself in terms of progress, but more that I measure myself in detachment from an increasingly suboptimal world.
--Ryv
Much appreciated. I am trying to brush up my writing a bit. I probably should've caught that myself, but 3AM, etc.