> there is no central repository for testing or approving patches to the Linux system.
So, what about getting updates from RedHat, your vendor.
So, how is any other OS different. I go to Microsoft for WinNT updates (good luck finding them though). I don't go to MS looking for updates for third party utilities.
Linux is only the core kernel, most system utilities are from the GNU project and all other software is from third parties.
While I like beating up on AOL as much as the next guy the truth is, there is no security hole in the AOL software. There is a very good rational explination on why the AOL account password is unencrypted--it wouldn't make any difference!
I think it was mentioned in the CatB, on how ESR refused to implement encryption for the.fetchmailrc file. He stated that it would only foster a false sense of security. Anyone could decompile the program and see what the key was. They needed to have access to your account on your machine anyway to get a copy of the.fetchmailrc. He figured that if they had that kind of access any encryption he put in would be useless. KPPP also does not encrypt your ISP password for the same reason.
The same goes for the AOL client, if they encrypted your password they would have the same encryption key in every copy of the AOL client software. It could be decompiled and the key found. This would not be a significant challenge.
Also anyone who has physical access to the computer with AOL client installed could just log in as you anyway, because there is no security in the Windows 9x OS.
Oh this same security threat can be applied to your favorite Unix clone as well, although I think there are very few people who would run an unknown bash script they received on email. If Linux "World Domination" happens though there will be a whole host of clueless users who would. How easy would it be to make a shell script that sent copies of your local passwd database (if not shadowd) and passwords in ISP/Email conf files.
1) Security through obscurity is no security at all. 2) False security is worse than no security.
> Maybe in another year or two we'll see an entire gaming subsystem you could plug into your AGP slot, like having a Dreamcast in your computer. The subsystem could run every aspect of the games and use the rest of the parts of the PC as imput. The CPU wouldn't even have to be involved because DMA devices would mean they could communicate directly with the subsystem without bothering the tired CPU.
That is exactally what the origional Nvidia NV1 did. It was a radical new 3D accelerator that included wavetable sound and a digital gameport. Like the PowerVR it didn't render using polygons but it used something with curved surfaces iirc. Just like the PowerVR with its flying planes, non-polygon rendering chips--no matter how fast--lose to the established method.
Do you think that AGP 4x can handle the bandwidth of the NV10 (GeForce) and 32 voice A3D audio?
I thought this was going to be an expose of a day in the life of Carolyn Menial. Since she is obviously the l33t Uberhax0r they are looking for. Where can she sign up?
There is a downside to this though. Have you read any Nancy Kress, _Beggars and Choosers_ perhaps? In this future the super-sleepless, extremely intelligent humans who don't have a need for sleep, own the world while normal people sit around and do nothing. This has breed a complete stagnation of the human race, people sit around an watch TV all day.
Hopefully we can avoid this, become more like a _Star Trek_ society where everyone works hard to advance the common good, and nobody is particularily bored.
What about Asimov's "Three Laws of Robotics"? Sure there might be a some rogues that design their AI's with no ethical constraints but any AI should have a firm grounding in ethics. I can only hope by that time we have a mathematical proof for ethical issues.
Any AI so designed could _not_ be a danger to any life, including human. In fact, without emotional imperitives, such an AI might have _better_ judgement than most humans. Could you see a Justice system run by AI's, or a political system where the politicians are incorruptable and always logical. Done right it could be a wonderful thing.
>Yeah, but the point is watching untrained people try to operate firearms or heavy machinery is the entertainment value... Imagine "America's Funniest Home Videos" crossbred with "Faces of Death"..
Didn't I see this show on Fox the other night. It was called "Worlds Most Amazing Videos" or something. Had Football players breaking their legs, people getting run over, and people getting electrocuted. Really disgusting stuff.
A better question is what ever happened to readable cache directories. Back in the day of IE2 (and maybe 3, I disremember) the cache data was stored as regular files, with their names preserved. IE had some sort of resource file that specified which URL each file belonged to that would show up in the normal file view, it replaced the file type description if I remember. It made it easy to go into your cache and copy files, or even an entire website, for later use or reference (or delete all traces of pr0n)
I thought it was a good feature, if completely unintended, and was sorry to see it go in IE 4. Now they creat 4 subdirectories with random serial numbers and provide a special interface for viewing cache that is not as useful as being able to manipulate the files directly.
I agree completely. I use KFM for all my browsing chores (that don't require Java/JavaScript/Plugins). There is no point in competing, parallel development of two browsers if Mozilla is stable and has a good license. The licensing issue is the main issue here, they might have to keep the Konqueror HTML engine around for a while.
>Microsoft figured this one out early on; IE is _just_ a browser.
What about Outlook Express? MS developed a completely new email client on a platform they already had an email client installed on (Windows Messaging). The wierd thing is that it wasn't its own executable but just a DLL and some Registry ClassIDs.
I don't know about Navigator/Mozilla, I am just downloading the latest build. It would seem to make sense for the email/news and editor components to be seperate programs, or at least seperate shared libraries. It would be ideal to have a Mail API (MAPI anyone?) whereby you could still use your favorite MUA/Newsreader and still have it integrated into Mozilla.
Or you could go the Opera route and not bother with a full email/newsreader implementation. Just write for the features that are required for web browsing, namely using mailto:// links and nntp:// links. Opera has only simple send-only mail functionality.
>The only major "tweakability" feature missing is that you can only turn cookies on and off, not accept/reject them individually, and they promise to fix that in a future release
The best browser for cookies is KDE Konqueror (KFM). It allows you to accept/reject/always accept/always reject/always ask/ on a _per domain_ basis.
I have KDE 1.1.2 and Konqueror is logged into Slashdot. It was a pain to do, it wouldn't submit the form correctly, I kept trying and it finally worked. Also it doesn't show the HTML-Forms drop down lists at the top of articles, so I can't change threshholds without going to my preferences.
I really like Konqueror but I hope that when Mozilla is finally completed they will scrap it in favor of Mozilla and Gecko. They would have to do parallel development for a while, and probably provide the Konqueror HTML renderer for people who want GPLd code. But eventually, in KDE 2.1 maybe, I would love to see it integrated in.
The difference it seems is that in a corporate environment the initial organization is done by other members of the development team. Holding the new guys hand detracts from the time they can actually work on the project. In this case though the developers don't have to spend any more time training in new developers, any yahoo on the net can download the source and teach themselves how it works. They can then communicate in a common medium (mozilla.org) that doesn't require any more overhead from the core developers standpoint. They can just check the message boards, bugzilla and get cracking. Having a good automated communications infrastructure is a very important point here, it can do a lot of the organization for you, freeing you from some of the constraints of Brooke's Law.
Sounds like Ng's security dogs from Snow Crash. Except of course these dogs were almost completely bionic and had to be cryogenicly cooled (onboard nuclear reactor). They could travel at Mach speeds though, made your average Greyhound look bad.
Sorry, just meant to throw a number out there, I don't know anything meaningful about IQ derivation. I meant to point out the exception of a person who might not be the most intelligent but can still be happy.
Re:Good, but too derivative of Mars
on
Antarctica
·
· Score: 1
Antarctica (aka "White Mars") is also a much happer book than the Mars books. I read Red Mars after Antarctica and by the time I was done I was crying, it was so sad. I haven't continued on in the Mars triliogy because I don't know that my heart can take it.
Red Mars says nothing good about the human condition, unhappiness and senseless destruction are whe watchwords here. It made me almost sorry to be human.
I forgot to add that Happiness IS an issue, not the most important one but it is worth considering. If a person has an IQ of 50 but is able to support themselves and are happy then all is good. Their life has quality.
Remember he is talking about doing this at the ISPs _outgoing_ router. It would only effect the people on the ISPs subnet. He would like the to filter outgoing packets with some heuristics to determine if they are trying something they shouldn't be. And if you have some real need to portscan *.ru you can always call your pipe provider and ask them to make a special exception to the router rules for you.
>he gets cheered and it's all covered by free speech and a great thing to be protected and fostered. Bah! I am disgusted.
Whatever happend to the American Way!??! Aren't we supposed to fight FOR free speech. Whatever happend to the edict that one would "Fight to the Death" for the right to free speech, even if you disagree with the content (Nazis, Communists, Athiests) You seem to be advocating wholesale censorship of unpopular ideas. That is unambiguously morally wrong.
This is almost as bad as the MacArthy era, where people were rounded up by the newly formed FBI for unpopular political beliefs.
Maybe this Professor is right, maybe he is wrong, we should still think about the question and NOT censor him just because his beliefs are unpopular.
>A severely handicaped child is one that can't live without continuous high-effort medical aid, and even then has a severely reduced live expectation
I disagree, the only real criteria is potential intelligence. All physical deformities are irrelevant. Just like S. Hawking shows, a perfectlly functioning, intelligent mind can be housed in a horribly malfunctioning body. As far as I am concerned the body is just a machine under the direct control, and an extension of, the mind. Bodies can be fixed, diseases can be cured, minds cannot be "fixed".
Singer seems to be advocating the position that these decisions are best left to the new parents, and not society at large. Unfortunately it is not currently that easy, we need to first find the moral ground on which these decisions can be made. Hopfully we can reach a consensus on what the correct moral standing is (not that mob rule makes any moral belief system any more right or wrong) on this issue and then act on it.
RE: Morals. Personally I believe that morals are very near absolute fact, with very few loopholes and interpretation required. I also believe that at some time in the future they will become mathematical, scientifically proven fact, for all to see and evaluate. I don't believe we currently have the know-how or tools to objectively determine a moral code, but I hope we are mature enough in the future to do so.
I believe the Scientific Method (Science!=Technology it's a method darnit!) can solve any problem thrown at it, if it is used wholeheartedly and with logical detachment.
Of course, the Replicants were really genetically engineered clones. I find it more interesting that they might _not_ pass a Turing test. Considering that they were basically human.
What, HQ/AMC reads Slashdot. That can't be right, that would mean that someone there has a clue. Not my experience at all. Then again maybe I'm just bitter.
Actually KOM/OpenParts or GNOME is the right way to go. As long as you can keep the interoperability clean (CORBA) you can spend your time writing small, robust applications. Just like the Unix CLI environment, with stdin and stdout, where applications can freely exchange data the new CORBA based desktop environments will bring this functionality to the GUI.
Slashdot Mirror
> there is no central repository for testing or approving patches to the Linux system.
So, what about getting updates from RedHat, your vendor.
So, how is any other OS different. I go to Microsoft for WinNT updates (good luck finding them though). I don't go to MS looking for updates for third party utilities.
Linux is only the core kernel, most system utilities are from the GNU project and all other software is from third parties.
So how is this different again?
I wonder why they mentioned, repeatedly, that the person sending the Trojan was using an OperaMail account? What difference does that make.
conspiricy mode on
Maybe they were influenced by "The Man" in an attempt to discredit Opera Software.
/conspiricy mode off
While I like beating up on AOL as much as the next guy the truth is, there is no security hole in the AOL software. There is a very good rational explination on why the AOL account password is unencrypted--it wouldn't make any difference!
.fetchmailrc file. He stated that it would only foster a false sense of security. Anyone could decompile the program and see what the key was. They needed to have access to your account on your machine anyway to get a copy of the .fetchmailrc. He figured that if they had that kind of access any encryption he put in would be useless. KPPP also does not encrypt your ISP password for the same reason.
I think it was mentioned in the CatB, on how ESR refused to implement encryption for the
The same goes for the AOL client, if they encrypted your password they would have the same encryption key in every copy of the AOL client software. It could be decompiled and the key found. This would not be a significant challenge.
Also anyone who has physical access to the computer with AOL client installed could just log in as you anyway, because there is no security in the Windows 9x OS.
Oh this same security threat can be applied to your favorite Unix clone as well, although I think there are very few people who would run an unknown bash script they received on email. If Linux "World Domination" happens though there will be a whole host of clueless users who would. How easy would it be to make a shell script that sent copies of your local passwd database (if not shadowd) and passwords in ISP/Email conf files.
1) Security through obscurity is no security at all.
2) False security is worse than no security.
> Maybe in another year or two we'll see an entire gaming subsystem you could plug into your AGP slot, like having a Dreamcast in your computer. The subsystem could run every aspect of the games and use the rest of the parts of the PC as imput. The CPU wouldn't even have to be involved because DMA devices would mean they could communicate directly with the subsystem without bothering the tired CPU.
That is exactally what the origional Nvidia NV1 did. It was a radical new 3D accelerator that included wavetable sound and a digital gameport. Like the PowerVR it didn't render using polygons but it used something with curved surfaces iirc. Just like the PowerVR with its flying planes, non-polygon rendering chips--no matter how fast--lose to the established method.
Do you think that AGP 4x can handle the bandwidth of the NV10 (GeForce) and 32 voice A3D audio?
I thought this was going to be an expose of a day in the life of Carolyn Menial. Since she is obviously the l33t Uberhax0r they are looking for. Where can she sign up?
There is a downside to this though. Have you read any Nancy Kress, _Beggars and Choosers_ perhaps? In this future the super-sleepless, extremely intelligent humans who don't have a need for sleep, own the world while normal people sit around and do nothing. This has breed a complete stagnation of the human race, people sit around an watch TV all day.
Hopefully we can avoid this, become more like a _Star Trek_ society where everyone works hard to advance the common good, and nobody is particularily bored.
What about Asimov's "Three Laws of Robotics"? Sure there might be a some rogues that design their AI's with no ethical constraints but any AI should have a firm grounding in ethics. I can only hope by that time we have a mathematical proof for ethical issues.
Any AI so designed could _not_ be a danger to any life, including human. In fact, without emotional imperitives, such an AI might have _better_ judgement than most humans. Could you see a Justice system run by AI's, or a political system where the politicians are incorruptable and always logical. Done right it could be a wonderful thing.
>Yeah, but the point is watching untrained people try to operate firearms or heavy machinery is the entertainment value... Imagine "America's Funniest Home Videos" crossbred with "Faces of Death"..
Didn't I see this show on Fox the other night. It was called "Worlds Most Amazing Videos" or something. Had Football players breaking their legs, people getting run over, and people getting electrocuted. Really disgusting stuff.
A better question is what ever happened to readable cache directories. Back in the day of IE2 (and maybe 3, I disremember) the cache data was stored as regular files, with their names preserved. IE had some sort of resource file that specified which URL each file belonged to that would show up in the normal file view, it replaced the file type description if I remember. It made it easy to go into your cache and copy files, or even an entire website, for later use or reference (or delete all traces of pr0n)
I thought it was a good feature, if completely unintended, and was sorry to see it go in IE 4. Now they creat 4 subdirectories with random serial numbers and provide a special interface for viewing cache that is not as useful as being able to manipulate the files directly.
I agree completely. I use KFM for all my browsing chores (that don't require Java/JavaScript/Plugins). There is no point in competing, parallel development of two browsers if Mozilla is stable and has a good license. The licensing issue is the main issue here, they might have to keep the Konqueror HTML engine around for a while.
>Microsoft figured this one out early on; IE is _just_ a
browser.
What about Outlook Express? MS developed a completely new email client on a platform they already had an email client installed on (Windows Messaging). The wierd thing is that it wasn't its own executable but just a DLL and some Registry ClassIDs.
I don't know about Navigator/Mozilla, I am just downloading the latest build. It would seem to make sense for the email/news and editor components to be seperate programs, or at least seperate shared libraries. It would be ideal to have a Mail API (MAPI anyone?) whereby you could still use your favorite MUA/Newsreader and still have it integrated into Mozilla.
Or you could go the Opera route and not bother with a full email/newsreader implementation. Just write for the features that are required for web browsing, namely using mailto:// links and nntp:// links. Opera has only simple send-only mail functionality.
>The only major "tweakability" feature missing is that you can only turn cookies on and off, not accept/reject them individually, and they promise to fix that in a future release
The best browser for cookies is KDE Konqueror (KFM). It allows you to accept/reject/always accept/always reject/always ask/ on a _per domain_ basis.
I have KDE 1.1.2 and Konqueror is logged into Slashdot. It was a pain to do, it wouldn't submit the form correctly, I kept trying and it finally worked. Also it doesn't show the HTML-Forms drop down lists at the top of articles, so I can't change threshholds without going to my preferences.
I really like Konqueror but I hope that when Mozilla is finally completed they will scrap it in favor of Mozilla and Gecko. They would have to do parallel development for a while, and probably provide the Konqueror HTML renderer for people who want GPLd code. But eventually, in KDE 2.1 maybe, I would love to see it integrated in.
The difference it seems is that in a corporate environment the initial organization is done by other members of the development team. Holding the new guys hand detracts from the time they can actually work on the project. In this case though the developers don't have to spend any more time training in new developers, any yahoo on the net can download the source and teach themselves how it works. They can then communicate in a common medium (mozilla.org) that doesn't require any more overhead from the core developers standpoint. They can just check the message boards, bugzilla and get cracking. Having a good automated communications infrastructure is a very important point here, it can do a lot of the organization for you, freeing you from some of the constraints of Brooke's Law.
Sounds like Ng's security dogs from Snow Crash. Except of course these dogs were almost completely bionic and had to be cryogenicly cooled (onboard nuclear reactor). They could travel at Mach speeds though, made your average Greyhound look bad.
Sorry, just meant to throw a number out there, I don't know anything meaningful about IQ derivation. I meant to point out the exception of a person who might not be the most intelligent but can still be happy.
Antarctica (aka "White Mars") is also a much happer book than the Mars books. I read Red Mars after Antarctica and by the time I was done I was crying, it was so sad. I haven't continued on in the Mars triliogy because I don't know that my heart can take it.
Red Mars says nothing good about the human condition, unhappiness and senseless destruction are whe watchwords here. It made me almost sorry to be human.
I forgot to add that Happiness IS an issue, not the most important one but it is worth considering. If a person has an IQ of 50 but is able to support themselves and are happy then all is good. Their life has quality.
Remember he is talking about doing this at the ISPs _outgoing_ router. It would only effect the people on the ISPs subnet. He would like the to filter outgoing packets with some heuristics to determine if they are trying something they shouldn't be. And if you have some real need to portscan *.ru you can always call your pipe provider and ask them to make a special exception to the router rules for you.
>he gets cheered and it's all covered by free speech and a great thing to be protected and fostered. Bah! I am disgusted.
Whatever happend to the American Way!??! Aren't we supposed to fight FOR free speech. Whatever happend to the edict that one would "Fight to the Death" for the right to free speech, even if you disagree with the content (Nazis, Communists, Athiests) You seem to be advocating wholesale censorship of unpopular ideas. That is unambiguously morally wrong.
This is almost as bad as the MacArthy era, where people were rounded up by the newly formed FBI for unpopular political beliefs.
Maybe this Professor is right, maybe he is wrong, we should still think about the question and NOT censor him just because his beliefs are unpopular.
>A severely handicaped child is one that can't live without continuous high-effort medical aid, and even then has a severely reduced live expectation
I disagree, the only real criteria is potential intelligence. All physical deformities are irrelevant. Just like S. Hawking shows, a perfectlly functioning, intelligent mind can be housed in a horribly malfunctioning body. As far as I am concerned the body is just a machine under the direct control, and an extension of, the mind. Bodies can be fixed, diseases can be cured, minds cannot be "fixed".
Singer seems to be advocating the position that these decisions are best left to the new parents, and not society at large. Unfortunately it is not currently that easy, we need to first find the moral ground on which these decisions can be made. Hopfully we can reach a consensus on what the correct moral standing is (not that mob rule makes any moral belief system any more right or wrong) on this issue and then act on it.
RE: Morals. Personally I believe that morals are very near absolute fact, with very few loopholes and interpretation required. I also believe that at some time in the future they will become mathematical, scientifically proven fact, for all to see and evaluate. I don't believe we currently have the know-how or tools to objectively determine a moral code, but I hope we are mature enough in the future to do so.
I believe the Scientific Method (Science!=Technology it's a method darnit!) can solve any problem thrown at it, if it is used wholeheartedly and with logical detachment.
Of course, the Replicants were really genetically engineered clones. I find it more interesting that they might _not_ pass a Turing test. Considering that they were basically human.
Of course you are supposed to have a file on your boot drive (C:\) at least equal to the amount of RAM for core dumps when she BSODs.
What, HQ/AMC reads Slashdot. That can't be right, that would mean that someone there has a clue. Not my experience at all. Then again maybe I'm just bitter.
What we need is EmacsOS. Yes!
Actually KOM/OpenParts or GNOME is the right way to go. As long as you can keep the interoperability clean (CORBA) you can spend your time writing small, robust applications. Just like the Unix CLI environment, with stdin and stdout, where applications can freely exchange data the new CORBA based desktop environments will bring this functionality to the GUI.