Slashdot Mirror


User: Decklin+Foster

Decklin+Foster's activity in the archive.

Stories
0
Comments
34
First seen
Last seen
Profile
(view on slashdot.org)

Comments · 34

  1. Re:r services disabled by default? on Debian 2.2 "Has Major Security Issues"? UPDATED · · Score: 1

    You are correct. It's been this way for quite a while.

  2. Re:Debian development on Ask 'Ian' From Debian · · Score: 2

    A summary of Debian releases is availible here. We can see that during Ian's period as leader of the project, releases tended to be about 6 months or less apart on, and this trend continued after he left until Hamm (2.0). After that things are a bit slower.

    As for explaining it to suits, I do agree with you, but that answer is painfully obvious and we don't need to exclude another question for the sake of having Ian answer it.

  3. Re:Accelerating Debian development on Ask 'Ian' From Debian · · Score: 1

    [This is a repost of my reply to someone else who asked the exact same question. Moderate the original if you feel this needs moderation.]

    How is this an important question for Ian? He is not in charge of the current release cycles. Didn't we already have an interview with Wichert? Should have asked him. If you want an answer from people who actually have something to do with what you are asking, try posting to the debian-project mailing list.

  4. Re:Debian development on Ask 'Ian' From Debian · · Score: 2

    How is this an important question for Ian? He is not in charge of the current release cycles. Didn't we already have an interview with Wichert? Should have asked him. If you want an answer from people who actually have something to do with what you are asking, try posting to the debian-project mailing list.

  5. Let's put the actual links in, please on Pretty Poor Privacy · · Score: 5
  6. Re:Disk Space.. on Dell To Make MP3 Home Stereo Component · · Score: 1

    Seems like bandwith would be an issue though...

    Hardly! Compare a 128Kbps MP3. with a 10Mb/s Ethernet hook up.

    Now latency, that's something to wonder about.

  7. Re:"lessig == smart" won't compile on Lessig On DMCA, Adobe, The US Constitution And Fair Use · · Score: 2

    No, you have it backwards. Granted, his statement is kind of silly as it's in a void context (you have to turn on some warning options to get GCC to complain about that), but it does work.

  8. Re:Advanced pointer support for Linux/.../GIMP? on What's Ahead For The GIMP? · · Score: 1

    AFAIK the answer to both is yes.

  9. Re:I'm not saying Mozilla is taking forever... on Mozilla M16 Released · · Score: 1

    Heh, that explains it... Thanks for the heads up. Egg on my face.

  10. Re:Why would you install Linux? on Linux On iPAQ 3600 Handheld · · Score: 1

    At first I thought this was just another "Boo, Linux is not graphical" FUD thing, but you seem pretty honest. Maybe I can clarify:

    • A shell ("command line") is a program that runs on linux.
    • A GUI is a program that runs on linux.

    Nothing special about a shell, really. Sure, porting a shell is a requirement for hacking the thing, but if they're looking to sell this to a mass market, they'll probably write a GUI which is targeted at what people like to do with PDAs.

  11. Re:x86 is popular to hate, but not that bad really on Is The x86 Obsolete? · · Score: 2

    Also realize that all of these instructions are fixed at 32-bits on most chips. That's 32-bits to copy a register, 32-bits for a return, etc. This may simplify the hardware, but at the expense of bloat. So you need a bigger instruction cache.

    "This is a feature, not a bug."

    It's a tradeoff; yes, it takes more space to cache fixed-length instructions, but it's easier to pipeline them, faster to look ahead, etc. Speed versus space.

  12. Re:Why would you encrypt swap? on OpenBSD 2.7 Released · · Score: 1

    Would't a program running as a normal user be unable to access the raw swap partition? It seems that looking through the swap is only a problem if you are root, in which case you can just access the whole virtual memory space normally.

    However, this definietly does come in handy in the "feds-snatch-your-box" case, especially, if you didn't make an electromagnet out of your door (no STR :-)

  13. Re:Requires RedHat?? on Mozilla M16 Released · · Score: 1

    I've been using the non-installer builds on Woody for quite a while. Feel free to email me for help.

  14. Re:I'm not saying Mozilla is taking forever... on Mozilla M16 Released · · Score: 2

    Contribute something then. There's tons of docs on mozilla.org outlining how you can help out.

  15. Dr. Fun on Adaptive Optics May Enable Super-Human Vision · · Score: 4

    Heh, you mean we might actually see this? ;-)

  16. This sounds like... on Identification By Typing · · Score: 1

    Hm, biometric identification to ``protect'' intellectual property. Is anyone reminded of The Right To Read?

  17. Running Linux already.. on Thinkpads For Penguin Lovers: Q3 2000 · · Score: 1

    Sure, this is nice, but is it really a big deal? I've been running Debian potato/woody on my Thinkpad quite happily for some time now.

    What I really hope they do is provide some documentation for people who want to install different distributions (like me). A copy of Red Hat pre-set-up is nice, but if I have to pull it apart to figure out what the proper drivers for the sound/ethernet/etc are, it would be a slight annoyance.

  18. Choice vs Control on The Leased Life? · · Score: 3

    I don't think so. I choose whether i want to lease a car or not; I choose to live in an apartment or buy a house; and I choose a job with ``job security'' or one without. What this new wave of legislation is doing is taking away my right to choose which option I want. I can choose free software today, sure, but what happens when I can't write a free program I need because of patent restrictions, laws against reverse enginerring, etc? This trend needs to be stopped.

  19. Re:His argument reeks of Hacker-speak... on Is Forged Spam a Crime? · · Score: 1

    then I think they deserved what they got.

    Yes, but it's not what they got, it's what IBM got. Personally, I think IBM should be able to sue them. An open relay *is* their fault. Meanwhile, everyone who got spammed should be asking their ISP to get with the program and start using the RBL. I don't think punishing the spammer will really deter anyone, but punishing openm relays will stop them from causing more damage.

  20. Re:Come on... on RMS On 'Open' Motif · · Score: 1

    Nononono. hit Katz with the bus. forget about RMS.

  21. On Discos and DJs: (my utopian vision) on Why We Think Music Should Be Free · · Score: 1

    What can I say? I'm from a totally different world here. I don't
    really listen to anything that can be performed live anymore, except
    for old jazz records. Most of what I listen to is electronic, and
    completely studio-driven. On top of that, it's dance music, so it
    lives in the hands of a DJ. Spinning d+b/techno/house/garage is quite
    a different art from what the top 40 folks do. A lot of talent is
    involved, and not just matching up beats. More importantly, it's about
    being new and not playing the stuff that's already been popularized by
    MTV. Good DJs create an experience, something that really is
    one-of-a-kind (even when the records themselves are static!) and
    something that makes you want to go out and be a part of it.

    The idea a DJ playing what you could just go home and play yourself is
    pretty much anathema to electronic music. If someone brings it up, 9
    times out of 10 they're about to go on a rant about "how much the
    scene sucks now" (Hey, we all do it once in a while). I'll talk mostly
    about drum+bass since that's the style I'm into. Being a good DJ is
    about playing stuff that differentiates you from everyone else. The
    all-important thing here is dub plates -- limited pressings of tunes
    that haven't been released to the public. Sure, If you buy records
    every week, you can stay fresh, but that gets expensive. Dubs
    generally come from 2 sources: big-name producers that the DJ is
    networked with (thru labels or otherwise), and unknown people who want
    to get free promotion for their tracks.

    What you have is a whole system of value based on scarcity (only the
    elite can get plates from a very popular artist), where the demand for
    that value comes from free distribution. It's a reputation-based
    system, and it all works without any major labels doing the promotion.
    It's a sort of weird cross between meritocracy and nepotism. If a
    major producer thinks you're a hot DJ, he can hook you up with his new
    track, and people will want to hear your mixes because you have it.
    And if you're a big-name DJ, you can make or break producers by
    choosing what to play. At the same time, it's the listeners who
    influence the both of them by making demand for a certain record or
    style or label.

    This mini-economy, I think, *could* work on the net. Drum+bass (and
    many, many, other styles) has always depended on the pirate radio
    stations in the UK. A lot of these are moving online, since getting
    raided by the cops all the time tends to be annoying ;-) You have two
    distinct kinds of consumers here: people who listen to the mixes and
    people who want to make their own. The listeners influence the DJs,
    and the DJs spend the money on the records. It's entirely possible
    that these new DJs, operating from their home, could buy MP3 tracks
    and burn/mix with them. mixtapes would be shared all over the place,
    but this has been happening since early rave days and has probably
    helped sales more than hurting them. But the mixable tracks themselves
    have *value* -- if you have something new and hot, you can make a
    better mix than the next person, become more popular, and thus get
    more dubs from people looking for promotion. This means the original
    producers can charge money even without using draconian copyright
    restrictions. Plus there's a much bigger pool of talent for the
    promoters trying to fill clubs.

    I know it's a big pie-in-the-sky dream, and doesn't apply to a lot of
    other genres, but I like my little sub-culture. Thanks for listening.

  22. 2.4? on BeOpen Interview with Hans Reiser of ReiserFS · · Score: 2

    While ReiserFS support *is* optional and totally indepenent from other filesystems, I can't see Linus adding something so big to the kernel after the 2.4.0-test series has already started. Wasn't there supposed to be a feature freeze? Correct me if I'm wrong...

  23. Re:Er.. um.. on Pushing Microwaves Faster Than Light · · Score: 1

    Actually, changes in the gravitational field cannot propagate faster than the speed of light. So this wouldn't work.

  24. Re:Quality anyone? on Bladeenc Under Patent Attack · · Score: 1

    I'd be interested in how you think LAME compares here. Could you post the samples you're talking about?

  25. Article moderation on Open-Source != Security; PGP Provides Cautionary Tale · · Score: 1

    (-1, Strawman)

    nuff said.