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User: confusion

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  1. Re:Not a win, but a settlement on Michigan Diagnostic Software Case Big Win for GPL · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Because it was settled and not ruled upon, there is no case law that other lawyers can reference from this outcome.

    I don't think the GPL can declare any court victories until a judge actually rules in it's favor.

    It is good to see that the SAE came to their senses, though.

    Jerry
    http://www.syslog.org/

  2. Re:The downside of popularity on New Vulnerabilities Discovered in Firefox 1.0 · · Score: 1

    If someone in my organization came to me with that, I would have to reprimand them. As the creators of applications, we have to be focused completely on quality, but the reality is that there WILL be bugs and you have to plan for them.

    Converse to your arguement, now that we have everyone completely committed to writing secure & quality code, we can stop code audits, QA, and pen testing, because hey, we have a committment to quality.
    Give me a break man, it's not nearly as clearly defined as you're making it out to be.

  3. Re:The downside of popularity on New Vulnerabilities Discovered in Firefox 1.0 · · Score: -1, Troll

    Your precious IE killer is flawed. awww.

    I do like FF a lot, but let's be realistic here. The floodgates are starting to open and it's going to get ugly. There are a lot of people with a lot of motivation to find the holes.

  4. Re:The downside of popularity on New Vulnerabilities Discovered in Firefox 1.0 · · Score: 1

    great examples of popular software!

  5. The downside of popularity on New Vulnerabilities Discovered in Firefox 1.0 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Most all software has serious bugs, and the up-tick in firefox bug was as predictable as the sun rising. The real key is going to be in how the bugs are dealt with.

    Jerry
    http://www.syslog.org/

  6. Re:Yahoo, actually works well on Yahoo Turns 10; Free Ice Cream for America · · Score: 1

    I really wasn't referring at all to the effectiveness of the search engines, only the number of people that appear to me to be using them. I also have found yahoo to be better when I'm seriously trying to find something.

    Jerry
    http://www.syslog.org/

  7. What I don't understand is... on Yahoo Turns 10; Free Ice Cream for America · · Score: 1

    Why do companies like yahoo and msn continue to fund their search engine initiatives? I know that they want to kick google to the curb for search engine mindshare, but it's not happening. If you run a website, take a look at your stats. Mine are roughly 99% google and 1% is made up from yahoo, msn and the others.

    I think the search engines are primarily a vehicle to bring traffic to their sites, and intersperse some ads in the mix. The cost of ads, being driven by the number of views, can't be all that large of a revenue stream for yahoo et. al., at least as far as the search engine is concerned.

    Am I missing something?

    Jerry
    http://www.syslog.org/

  8. yet another lawsuit waiting on Microsoft Blocking Wine Users From Downloads Site · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Sadly, the only people that are gaining anything, even when MS loses anti-trust cases, are the lawyers. I don't see this one getting that far, though.

    I'm guessing that the only real downloads a Wine user would be making are updates for Office, correct? I'm drawing a blank on what else it could be. I haven't had the time to read my MS office EULA yet, but I'm guessing it doesn't specifically call out that it has to be run on Windows. That doesn't mean that MS has to provide you support if you're not. This is an automated incarnation of what has happened for years:
    me> I need support
    support> You're computer case isn't blue, is it?
    me> yes, it is, thanks for asking
    support> We don't support our software on computers with blue cases. Thanks for calling.
    me> argh!
    I think we've all been in that boat at one point or another.

    Jerry
    http://www.syslog.org/

  9. Re:What bill says on Firefox Breaks 25 Million Downloads · · Score: 4, Interesting

    They have to dust-off the old 'anti-netscape' playbook now. FF has risen to a level where MS is very concerned about losing momentum and support for their proprietary IE extensions. I know many software vendors have it on their near term road maps to inter-operate with Firefox (they don't now, due to the use of proprietary extensions in IE). MS really hasn't had to deal with any competing products taking up market/mind share so quickly in the past.

    Jerry
    http://www.syslog.org/

  10. Re:FreeBSD still compiles with DEBUG and assertion on Comparing MySQL Performance · · Score: 1

    I think they only used lc_r on the 4.11 release test. For 5.3 they used the new KSE and the older LinuxThreads.

    I did expect KSE to do better against LT, though. KSE has been sold as being lighter weight and faster than LT.

    Jerry
    http://www.syslog.org/

  11. form factor on Intel to Market PCs as Home Entertainment Hubs · · Score: 1

    This is a good time to start this, with the micro btx form factor gear coming out, and whatnot. It's not going to be acceptable to have a particularly noisy unit, so cooling is going to be a problem, particularly with the later processors and video cards. My x800 throws off as much heat as the rest of my computer put together.

    Jerry
    http://www.syslog.org/

  12. Oh boy on Oakland County to go Wireless · · Score: 0

    It's interesting that this is happening in the wealthiest county in Michigan. Of course, since the bottom fell out of the auto industry, that's not saying much.

    I do like this quote:
    "Patterson also wants to help bridge the digital divide by helping lower-income residents get computers if they don't have the means to buy one. Partnering with private businesses and foundations, the county would offer free or low-cost computers to people willing to take training classes."

    I can't WAIT till we have tens of thousands of newly vulnerable and unmanaged computers to be harnessed by the spammers, DOSers and other bad people. Not a valid reason not to do this, but the point is to push out the accessibility to those of lower means, like people who can't afford AV subscriptions, personal firewalls, etc.

    I do think Internet access is becoming much more commoditized and if you're not on it, you are at a severe sociatal disadavantage. Think of all those poor people who don't know the joys of fark and slashdot!

    Jerry
    http://www.syslog.org/

  13. The future on Artificial Intelligence for Computer Games · · Score: 4, Funny

    In the future, People for the Ethical Treatment of Artificial Intelligence (PETAI) will be decrying the horrific violence that millions (maybe billions) of people inflict on AI's every night whilest gaming.

    At some point, you know this is going to be an issue.

    Jerry
    http://www.syslog.org/

  14. support costs on Speakeasy Embraces Firefox · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This probably makes a lot of sense from a support perspective. I've got to believe that most of the calls that support people get are related to the 397 spyware apps competing for keystrokes on the customer's computer.

    It problably also has to potential to cut down on spambots & other zombies residing on their network.

    Jerry
    http://www.syslog.org/

  15. Can't wait on Earthlink Teams Up With SK-Telecom · · Score: 2, Funny

    I can't wait to get behind someone on the freeway who is now videoconferencing while driving.

    I do hope that the US can get it's collective head out of it's butt when it comes to wireless technology.

    Jerry
    http://www.syslog.org/

  16. Re:Governments are not concerned... on China Bans 50 Games · · Score: 1

    See the difference is that I'm working hard to be the guy buying the polo ponies.

    Pretty depressing view of the world, there buddy. You might want to take a walk or something. It is true that governments will do what they want, the difference is that, for the most part, we are allowed to live our lives the way we want, while many others are not.

    Jerry
    http://www.syslog.org/

  17. Hmmm.... on China Bans 50 Games · · Score: 2, Insightful

    "This especially concerns pirated textbooks, electronic publications and illegal journals that will have negative influence on the youth. "

    I'm more concerned about my kids getting run over by a tank because they disagree with the government, or contracting some fatal disease because the country runs around like nothing is wrong, than with textbooks, publications or journals.

    Jerry
    http://www.syslog.org/

  18. Re:What happens... on MS To Limit Security Fixes to Legal Copies of Windows · · Score: 1

    That's all well and nice, but at the end of the day, its not about "doing the right thing", it's about "doing the right thing for MS shareholders". So long as MS deems the risk/reward ratio to favor continued movement towards shutting out pirates, this is going to continue. As soon as they see it causing a shift in attitude (and hence revenue) against them, they will change.

    MS is not a dumb company. You don't have that market cap without having a horde of people analyzing all of the risks of a move like this.

    Jerry
    http://www.syslog.org/

  19. Re:What happens... on MS To Limit Security Fixes to Legal Copies of Windows · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The pirated versions will still be getting updates if the user of said software has auto-updates turned on. It's only when you manually run windows update that you get denied.

    That may change in the future, however.

    The reality is that almost no other commercial software vendor will provide you with updates if you aren't current on maintenance, let alone pirated the software in the first place.

    Jerry
    http://www.syslog.org/

  20. speaking of qwerty on New Standard Keyboard · · Score: 1

    I was watching "Modern Marvels" recently about IBM or something of the sort, and they showed several typewriters from the early part of the century. They made no note about it at all in the show, but the typewriters had the Y and Z keys swapped from their current positions, making it a QWERTZ. Any historical significance to that?

    Jerry
    http://www.syslog.org

  21. Re:What I want to know is... on FTC Tries to Can Sex Spam · · Score: 2, Funny

    Those should absolutely be banned! :)

    Jerry
    http://www.syslog.org/

  22. What I want to know is... on FTC Tries to Can Sex Spam · · Score: 2, Insightful

    How are people deciphering what the hell spam is tying to sell these days? What am I supposed to do with an email like this:
    Subject: PharmaBGHZ8
    Message:
    Hurtnig?

    At least with porn spam, you have something to look at.

    Jerry
    http://www.syslog.org/

  23. multicore GPU's on Gigabyte's 3D1 brings SLI to a single card · · Score: 3, Interesting
    This seems like a lot to pack onto a single board - heat and power for sure. With all the talk from AMD & Intel about multi-core CPUs, a multi-core GPU seems like the best plan. Otherwise, we're going to be back to the full length PCI cards soon.

    Jerry
    http://www.syslog.org/

  24. If history is any guide.... on Porn Industry Mulls Next Generation-DVD · · Score: 1
    Bet on the one with weaker technology...

    Then again, 20 extra gigs of "Twin Peaks" sounds awfully compelling...

    Jerry
    http://www.syslog.org/

  25. Mostly implemented on The Coming Expensing of Employee Stock Options · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Most prudent CFO's have already implemented this. From what I have seen, stock options have been relegated back to start-ups, executive compensation packages, and in small amounts, performance & incentive bonuses for those who are the "top performers".

    Jerry
    http://www.syslog.org/