I'm not talking about normal bugs, and I guarantee you the kernel and all core programs are scrutinized to all ends by people looking for vulnerabilities (both malicious and those looking to fix/report them). I don't download and run/compile code from just anywhere, nor do I click on just anything I receive in email or any old link on a web page, and I do take precautions like noscript and addblock on the web. I'm not saying Linux is invulnerable, but it is a hell of a lot harder to get into than the most popular OS. Just use a bit of common sense, and you'll be just fine.
The GP was talking about daily cleaning of malware. This should not happen to anyone in this day and age, and it certainly doesn't require a locked down device to remain clean, again, it just takes common sense. It's been well know for years now how easy it is to get infected. It's been all over the web and news but sill you have idiots (they are not uneducated on the problem, so yes, they are idiots) who keep clicking on crap because it flashes at them and promises them something for nothing.
I've been using Linux for well over 15 years, and I've never, NEVER had a virus or malware on my system. I've also been using an Android phone since the original Droid which has also never had malware or a virus on it.
That you know of.
I will concede to this. Although I don't regularly scan my computers, I do keep an eye on the net traffic. Unless the malware is piggybacking itself on my regular data, nothing seems amiss. There is no traffic other than the periodic email check during my down time, and I've not noticed any data going out on any strange ports.
You have peeked my curiosity, however. I may just go find a good Linux scanner and check things out. I have two partitions I keep swapping installs back and forth on, so I have my last Kubuntu 11.04 install I can scan as well as this one.
The malware I clean up day after day is not an illusion. Freedom isn't free. It requires constant vigilance. The freedom to tinker has no value to me, and the cost in my time is absurd. I would have to be an idiot not to use a locked down device.
And this malware you speak of is on which platform? Is it an open or closed platform? I've been using Linux for well over 15 years, and I've never, NEVER had a virus or malware on my system. I've also been using an Android phone since the original Droid which has also never had malware or a virus on it.
Perhaps its because, as they say, Linux isn't mainstream enough to become a target, but I don't think so. I think it'd due to the openness and community support of the code. No one is trying to hide the security flaws - anyone can look though the code - so they get found and fixed quickly.
There are malware on the Android platform (no more so than on ios or win moble/8/whatever it's called this week), but it's relatively new and not as polished as the rest of the Linux distros. Also a lot of venders add custom, proprietary code. Just don't click on every link you see and you'll be fine.
I know it's a bit late now, but instead of voiding the warranty on your new shiny, you could've just gotten an IDE to USB adapter. A raw CDRom drive may not be the prettiest thing sitting on the desk, but once you get all your CDs ripped, you won't be needing it again until you buy a new CD, if even then. 15 min. to rip a CD isn't much when you only have one. You can rip that out while catching up on the days/. and email.
How about people who enjoy better quality music and/or those with better hearing?
They said the same thing about CD's and albums/tape back in the day and despite any arguments to the contrary, there is a great difference between digital and analog music. Just because you can't hear it (I can't either by the way, but I know it's real) doesn’t make it unperceivable to people with better hearing. Most of todays "pop" crap is designed with low quality digital files in mind and people who don't have an ear for music.
Lets just get over the fact that there is going to be a profit, OK? Nobody builds a telephone company to break even or run at a loss. Get over it.
You are basically saying that these rural phone companies can't take any profit unless they forego the fund.
I have no problem with them making profit, that's what the monthly fees are for. The USF is for building and maintaining the infrastructure, or helping to build and maintain it - it should not be used to pay for that infrastructure building and maintenance in full. Nor should the USF in any way be used to pay anyone's salary, other than those maintaining the lines and poles, and again, not in full. It's supposed to help not provide.
Least-cost routing can lead to dropped calls. What happens essentially is when one dials into Shoreham the call may be routed through, for instance, an ATT router, and is then handed off to one of the hundreds of discount long-distance carriers. When this carrier’s computers quickly calculate that the call is a money loser because Shoreham Tel is allowed to charge a fraction more to access its lines, the secondary carrier simply drops the call.
The problem is unscrupulous call routing services that do not fulfill their contractual obligation to route the call if the only route available has a slightly higher cost. They simply drop the call, and notify the carrier that the call ended. (They lie).
These call routing services are middle men, responsible only to the carriers with which they contract. They are virtually unregulated.
This is strictly a contract law problem. The big carriers need to hold those call routing services feet to the fire, or use their own call routing facilities.
I suggest you RTFA again.
Yes, I got off into a tangent on the USF usage. I don't believe anyone should be made to lose money providing a service. They should be allowed to charge a bit more for that call, informing the caller beforehand that it will cost a penny or two more per minute for this call, allowing them to terminate if they wish. This will, of course, have to be watched, otherwise you'll have the phone companys adding on a charge even when it wouldn't over-cost them.
They don't have to. You and I are paying for it with the Universal Service Fund, or Connect America Fund, as TIL it's called. The carriers are trying to increase profits by making that fund a profit, instead of using it for what it was originally designed for - to bring affordable phone service to those living out in rural areas. To me, this should be handled the same as a tax evasion or fraud case. It is a government enforced "tax" after all, and if one penny of that fund goes to anything other than to provide service to the rural community, someone should go to jail.
I live in a town of 10,000, counting the population of two collages. My local stores are: WalMart, Freds, three Dollar Generals, and a few artys-fartsy specialty stores that have nothing I need or want. I use Amazon.com because it's cheaper than driving 40+ miles to the nearest town to get what I need, let alone what I want. Although I do use a credit card, not their payment service.
I use PayPal on ebay because it's the only payment system they allow. Every now and then, I'll use PayPal on a site I don't want to give my CC info to.
I wouldn't mind the open source drivers for my AMD video card (HD-6870) but last time I checked (last month) using them constantly kept the fan at full speed. I duel boot into Windows for gaming, so don't need super graphics performance in Linux. I do however, like not to have to wear ear plugs when on my computer. Of course when Valve releases Steam for Linux, I may need more performance in Linux as I migrate my gaming over, but that's another topic.
Except when the hardware is pretty much off the shelf. Motherboards are pretty small if you get one with only one or two PCI slots. Valve can throw together a console for very little hardware development other than a case and (possibly) external power supply if they really want. Of course if they go the way Microsoft did with the 360, they can way overspend on custom hardware, just to lock things down.
The only thing tying a lot of people (myself included) to Windows is gaming. With how much I hate the new ModernUI, I've been taking another look at going back to Linux as a main O/S.
If gaming is the only thing you need Windows for, why in hell is it your main OS? I've been duel booting Windows for well over ten years now, with Windows used only for gaming. Linux is, and has been since I switched from OS/2 in the mid 90's, my main OS. The only time I've ever used Windows, other than for gaming, is at work.
.... Let youths stay in school longer and have them adding value later on..
You're assuming here that the youths are being taken from schools to work the factories. The more likely scenario is that they are being recruited from the fields and rice paddies, where they'd likely been working since their post toddler days. Their children would most likely be working these same fields if their parents (the current "child" working in the factory) had not left for a different job. These factory workers may be factory workers the rest of their lives, but I bet their children will be better educated than they were and not be forced to work in a rice paddy as soon as they get old enough.
Moving through pre industrial to post industrial is not something you can do by skipping the industrial age.
Why would it come up in the debates when both parties feel they have the right to warrantless wiretapping. Kinda hard to debate something when there's no difference in viewpoint.
.... Start firing them one by one, and the rest will leave
If the slacker employes leave because you start firing slacker employes, I really don't see a problem. Saves you the trouble of firing them, and the state the expense of paying them unemployment. They obviously wouldn't have started pulling their own weight anyway.
Incentives are supposed to incite people to do better, not to do what they should be doing to begin with. That's the whole point of the job and pay that goes along with it.
If you have workers that aren’t doing their share of the work, fire them. I'm sure you've already warned them, more than once, right? If not, it's your fault they don't do their fair share. If so, follow though with it. Hollow threats are just that. Start firing them one by one, and the rest will start to get the hint.
Why is it hard? The tax rates are all available from the state in a database listed by county and city, and you have the buyers address and zip code. I've made plenty of online purchases where I'm asked during checkout if I'm within the city limits or not.
I'm not defending internet taxes here, and don't think they should be allowed, but this bull shit about them being hard to calculate is, well, BULL SHIT. If the state is going to require you to collect taxes for them, they have to give you all the information you need to collect those taxes accurately. Businesses within the state with online presence don't seem to have a problem getting the rates, why should an online only business?
Now back to the story.. The Paperwhite may just be what pulls me into an ereader purchase.
That's where the EULA kicks in. That shiny new self-mobile computer you just bought? Well, it has rights, but you only have a (very) limited license to use it. Try to do something outside of that spicified in the license, and off to the coporate prison complex with you. You loose your rights, and (what you thought was) your property gets licesend out to the next John to continue generating income for its real owners.
If you can't read a sentence with a word or two misspelled, and figure out what it means, then you, along with all the other grammar nazis here on/., need to go back to fucking grade school.
FUCKING READ THE SENTENCE, FIGURE IT OUT AND SHUT THE FUCK UP!
Of course, there's punctuation errors in the above, so you won't be able to discern any meaning out of this either.
The first thing I thought of was loss of one of the drives during all this moving around. Seems the protection of the data would be of the utmost priority here. Keeping this in mind, I'd go with a RAID 5 or 10 setup. This will eliminate having the data distributed on different "drives", so to speak, and it would appear to the system one single drive. This would increase the drive count, but loosing a drive, ether physically (oops, dropped that one in the puddle) or electronically (oops, this drive crashed because we keep swapping it every day) would be a non-issue, or at least a not-tragic issue. I'm sure you have a swappable tray system now for the number of drives you need, you may need to add a tray or two for this setup. Just make sure you keep the drives in the correct order, or swap out the whole drive unit.
As for the original question. I don't think there's really a "best" distro for this, they'll all pretty much do the above out of the box and almost automagically. What you need to look for is what is the easiest distro to use in this case. What will the users be able to use with the least support from me? Unless you're the one that will be swapping out the drives on a daily basis, then use what you're most comfortable with.
I have an original Motorola Droid that I'm going to see about turning into a smart thermostat. When I get the time, I'm going to try to interface an HID chip like the U421 with it. Once I get those two talking, it should be trivial to interface with the furnace and AC units and a few 1-Wire temperature sensors around the house.
True, that phone is probably more powerful then my first two or three computers combined (TI-99A, C=64 and a whopping Turbo (4X) XT compatible), but it's just sitting in a drawer anyway.
Slashdot Mirror
I'm not talking about normal bugs, and I guarantee you the kernel and all core programs are scrutinized to all ends by people looking for vulnerabilities (both malicious and those looking to fix/report them). I don't download and run/compile code from just anywhere, nor do I click on just anything I receive in email or any old link on a web page, and I do take precautions like noscript and addblock on the web. I'm not saying Linux is invulnerable, but it is a hell of a lot harder to get into than the most popular OS. Just use a bit of common sense, and you'll be just fine.
The GP was talking about daily cleaning of malware. This should not happen to anyone in this day and age, and it certainly doesn't require a locked down device to remain clean, again, it just takes common sense. It's been well know for years now how easy it is to get infected. It's been all over the web and news but sill you have idiots (they are not uneducated on the problem, so yes, they are idiots) who keep clicking on crap because it flashes at them and promises them something for nothing.
I've been using Linux for well over 15 years, and I've never, NEVER had a virus or malware on my system. I've also been using an Android phone since the original Droid which has also never had malware or a virus on it.
That you know of.
I will concede to this. Although I don't regularly scan my computers, I do keep an eye on the net traffic. Unless the malware is piggybacking itself on my regular data, nothing seems amiss. There is no traffic other than the periodic email check during my down time, and I've not noticed any data going out on any strange ports.
You have peeked my curiosity, however. I may just go find a good Linux scanner and check things out. I have two partitions I keep swapping installs back and forth on, so I have my last Kubuntu 11.04 install I can scan as well as this one.
The malware I clean up day after day is not an illusion. Freedom isn't free. It requires constant vigilance. The freedom to tinker has no value to me, and the cost in my time is absurd. I would have to be an idiot not to use a locked down device.
And this malware you speak of is on which platform? Is it an open or closed platform? I've been using Linux for well over 15 years, and I've never, NEVER had a virus or malware on my system. I've also been using an Android phone since the original Droid which has also never had malware or a virus on it.
Perhaps its because, as they say, Linux isn't mainstream enough to become a target, but I don't think so. I think it'd due to the openness and community support of the code. No one is trying to hide the security flaws - anyone can look though the code - so they get found and fixed quickly.
There are malware on the Android platform (no more so than on ios or win moble/8/whatever it's called this week), but it's relatively new and not as polished as the rest of the Linux distros. Also a lot of venders add custom, proprietary code. Just don't click on every link you see and you'll be fine.
So this never happened because "the alliance" had yet to be established?
I know it's a bit late now, but instead of voiding the warranty on your new shiny, you could've just gotten an IDE to USB adapter. A raw CDRom drive may not be the prettiest thing sitting on the desk, but once you get all your CDs ripped, you won't be needing it again until you buy a new CD, if even then. 15 min. to rip a CD isn't much when you only have one. You can rip that out while catching up on the days /. and email.
Who uses cd's anymore...
How about people who enjoy better quality music and/or those with better hearing?
They said the same thing about CD's and albums/tape back in the day and despite any arguments to the contrary, there is a great difference between digital and analog music. Just because you can't hear it (I can't either by the way, but I know it's real) doesn’t make it unperceivable to people with better hearing. Most of todays "pop" crap is designed with low quality digital files in mind and people who don't have an ear for music.
Lets just get over the fact that there is going to be a profit, OK? Nobody builds a telephone company to break even or run at a loss. Get over it.
You are basically saying that these rural phone companies can't take any profit unless they forego the fund.
I have no problem with them making profit, that's what the monthly fees are for. The USF is for building and maintaining the infrastructure, or helping to build and maintain it - it should not be used to pay for that infrastructure building and maintenance in full. Nor should the USF in any way be used to pay anyone's salary, other than those maintaining the lines and poles, and again, not in full. It's supposed to help not provide.
Least-cost routing can lead to dropped calls. What happens essentially is when one dials into Shoreham the call may be routed through, for instance, an ATT router, and is then handed off to one of the hundreds of discount long-distance carriers. When this carrier’s computers quickly calculate that the call is a money loser because Shoreham Tel is allowed to charge a fraction more to access its lines, the secondary carrier simply drops the call.
The problem is unscrupulous call routing services that do not fulfill their contractual obligation to route the call if the only route available has a slightly higher cost.
They simply drop the call, and notify the carrier that the call ended. (They lie).
These call routing services are middle men, responsible only to the carriers with which they contract. They are virtually unregulated.
This is strictly a contract law problem. The big carriers need to hold those call routing services feet to the fire, or use their own call routing facilities.
I suggest you RTFA again.
Yes, I got off into a tangent on the USF usage. I don't believe anyone should be made to lose money providing a service. They should be allowed to charge a bit more for that call, informing the caller beforehand that it will cost a penny or two more per minute for this call, allowing them to terminate if they wish. This will, of course, have to be watched, otherwise you'll have the phone companys adding on a charge even when it wouldn't over-cost them.
They don't have to. You and I are paying for it with the Universal Service Fund, or Connect America Fund, as TIL it's called. The carriers are trying to increase profits by making that fund a profit, instead of using it for what it was originally designed for - to bring affordable phone service to those living out in rural areas. To me, this should be handled the same as a tax evasion or fraud case. It is a government enforced "tax" after all, and if one penny of that fund goes to anything other than to provide service to the rural community, someone should go to jail.
why use amazon? i support the local stores
I live in a town of 10,000, counting the population of two collages. My local stores are: WalMart, Freds, three Dollar Generals, and a few artys-fartsy specialty stores that have nothing I need or want. I use Amazon.com because it's cheaper than driving 40+ miles to the nearest town to get what I need, let alone what I want. Although I do use a credit card, not their payment service.
I use PayPal on ebay because it's the only payment system they allow. Every now and then, I'll use PayPal on a site I don't want to give my CC info to.
Thanks! I'll give them another try later today or tomorrow.
I wouldn't mind the open source drivers for my AMD video card (HD-6870) but last time I checked (last month) using them constantly kept the fan at full speed. I duel boot into Windows for gaming, so don't need super graphics performance in Linux. I do however, like not to have to wear ear plugs when on my computer. Of course when Valve releases Steam for Linux, I may need more performance in Linux as I migrate my gaming over, but that's another topic.
Except when the hardware is pretty much off the shelf. Motherboards are pretty small if you get one with only one or two PCI slots. Valve can throw together a console for very little hardware development other than a case and (possibly) external power supply if they really want. Of course if they go the way Microsoft did with the 360, they can way overspend on custom hardware, just to lock things down.
Why would I need another card in my wallet to duplicate what my banks check card does?
The only thing tying a lot of people (myself included) to Windows is gaming. With how much I hate the new ModernUI, I've been taking another look at going back to Linux as a main O/S.
If gaming is the only thing you need Windows for, why in hell is it your main OS? I've been duel booting Windows for well over ten years now, with Windows used only for gaming. Linux is, and has been since I switched from OS/2 in the mid 90's, my main OS. The only time I've ever used Windows, other than for gaming, is at work.
.... Let youths stay in school longer and have them adding value later on..
You're assuming here that the youths are being taken from schools to work the factories. The more likely scenario is that they are being recruited from the fields and rice paddies, where they'd likely been working since their post toddler days. Their children would most likely be working these same fields if their parents (the current "child" working in the factory) had not left for a different job. These factory workers may be factory workers the rest of their lives, but I bet their children will be better educated than they were and not be forced to work in a rice paddy as soon as they get old enough.
Moving through pre industrial to post industrial is not something you can do by skipping the industrial age.
An officially sanctioned cab hailing app. For only $19.99/month you get unlimited cab hailing plus a 3% discount on all fares.
Small print: 5% surcharge for cabs hailed with our app.
Mother fuck you if you think we'll allow you to do something that may be perfectly legal if we can do the same and stuff our pockets.
Why would it come up in the debates when both parties feel they have the right to warrantless wiretapping. Kinda hard to debate something when there's no difference in viewpoint.
.... Start firing them one by one, and the rest will leave
If the slacker employes leave because you start firing slacker employes, I really don't see a problem. Saves you the trouble of firing them, and the state the expense of paying them unemployment. They obviously wouldn't have started pulling their own weight anyway.
Incentives are supposed to incite people to do better, not to do what they should be doing to begin with. That's the whole point of the job and pay that goes along with it.
If you have workers that aren’t doing their share of the work, fire them. I'm sure you've already warned them, more than once, right? If not, it's your fault they don't do their fair share. If so, follow though with it. Hollow threats are just that. Start firing them one by one, and the rest will start to get the hint.
Subtle troll is anything but subtle.
Why is it hard? The tax rates are all available from the state in a database listed by county and city, and you have the buyers address and zip code. I've made plenty of online purchases where I'm asked during checkout if I'm within the city limits or not.
I'm not defending internet taxes here, and don't think they should be allowed, but this bull shit about them being hard to calculate is, well, BULL SHIT. If the state is going to require you to collect taxes for them, they have to give you all the information you need to collect those taxes accurately. Businesses within the state with online presence don't seem to have a problem getting the rates, why should an online only business?
Now back to the story.. The Paperwhite may just be what pulls me into an ereader purchase.
That's where the EULA kicks in. That shiny new self-mobile computer you just bought? Well, it has rights, but you only have a (very) limited license to use it. Try to do something outside of that spicified in the license, and off to the coporate prison complex with you. You loose your rights, and (what you thought was) your property gets licesend out to the next John to continue generating income for its real owners.
If you can't read a sentence with a word or two misspelled, and figure out what it means, then you, along with all the other grammar nazis here on /., need to go back to fucking grade school.
FUCKING READ THE SENTENCE, FIGURE IT OUT AND SHUT THE FUCK UP!
Of course, there's punctuation errors in the above, so you won't be able to discern any meaning out of this either.
The first thing I thought of was loss of one of the drives during all this moving around. Seems the protection of the data would be of the utmost priority here. Keeping this in mind, I'd go with a RAID 5 or 10 setup. This will eliminate having the data distributed on different "drives", so to speak, and it would appear to the system one single drive. This would increase the drive count, but loosing a drive, ether physically (oops, dropped that one in the puddle) or electronically (oops, this drive crashed because we keep swapping it every day) would be a non-issue, or at least a not-tragic issue. I'm sure you have a swappable tray system now for the number of drives you need, you may need to add a tray or two for this setup. Just make sure you keep the drives in the correct order, or swap out the whole drive unit.
As for the original question. I don't think there's really a "best" distro for this, they'll all pretty much do the above out of the box and almost automagically. What you need to look for is what is the easiest distro to use in this case. What will the users be able to use with the least support from me? Unless you're the one that will be swapping out the drives on a daily basis, then use what you're most comfortable with.
I have an original Motorola Droid that I'm going to see about turning into a smart thermostat. When I get the time, I'm going to try to interface an HID chip like the U421 with it. Once I get those two talking, it should be trivial to interface with the furnace and AC units and a few 1-Wire temperature sensors around the house.
True, that phone is probably more powerful then my first two or three computers combined (TI-99A, C=64 and a whopping Turbo (4X) XT compatible), but it's just sitting in a drawer anyway.