Just as a factual point: Theo left NetBSD long, long before OpenBSD was started, and even longer before OpenBSD started touting itself as "ultra-secure". So, this had absolutely nothing to do with "stepping on toes" to make code more "secure".
That's exactly what all those "other OSes" do. Seems that someone forgot the old "be liberal in what you accept" maxim...
Re:reverse engineering
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EULA In Games
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· Score: 1
The reverse engineering issue is much more complex than that. Previous cases (like the Nintendo suit) were clear that they were only applicable in the case of reverse engineering in order to make a compatible product (e.g. a game that runs on the Nintendo box). Reverse engineering Mario64 would probably not be protected.
Re:Compatibility support for Win32 programs??
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NetBSD 1.5 released
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· Score: 1
It's a reimplementation of the core Windows DLLs, along with a dynamic linker, using native system calls and X. It's still very very alpha, but it's already running some GUI stuff.
Note: This approach will only work for Win32 software, but that's how damn near everything ships these days.
On the other hand, you might consider that the implied attitude of "you have to learn everything before you can start by reading all these manuals" is somewhat akin to learning how to drive without ever having been behind a steering wheel. The actual process of writing code (new code, especially in an area nobody has explored before) is a creative process akin to art. It's not something you can learn solely from books and HOWTOs.
That said, at least some basic engineering and testing standards would certainly help. Some of the big projects today are as bloated and buggy as anything Microsoft has ever put out, and it bothers me.
These developments are certainly interesting, but I will point out that wide-scale deployments of open source systems is not a new thing! As of a year ago, IBM had shipped at least a quarter million NetStation (now NetVista) thin clients to large companies, and they run... not Linux, but NetBSD. (Unfortunately IBM doesn't mention this much.)
As one of the people who was involved in the whole open source explosion, let me fill you in on a little secret people don't talk about much...
We weren't experts either. In fact, many of the people who started the big name open source projects you see today were college and even high school students, who had never written a large piece of code before. (Some would say it shows, but I digress.)
So how do you get started? Dive in. Find a bug you want to fix, or a feature you want to add, and do it. Ask questions if there's something you can't figure out. There's no pressure; you don't have to even tell anyone you're doing it until after the fact. You can take all the time in the world.
And maybe, just maybe, if you're lucky, when you do publish your result, someone will thank you for it.
I've been running NetBSD on a Mac G4 cube for more than a month now. It's schweeeet. With XFree86 4 (Tsubai's patches, not integrated yet unfortunately), GNOME and Mozilla, it really is a complete desktop environment. And have I mentioned that I run exactly the same software (yah, yah, so it's recompiled) on an Alpha, a Shark (ARM-based), a Celery, a SPARC and a WorkPad Z50? You can't beat true platform-independence.
</speech> (Posting this from a cube right now.)
You have got to be smoking something. I'm typing this on a z50 running NetBSD (totally wireless) right now. It cost $263 (+ some amount I forget for the 32MB memory card). The model you're talking about is the next generation, which will ship with CE 3.0.
For those of you looking for a wireless notebook, I just thought I'd mention that I'm sitting in bed with a WorkPad that's connected to the net via a WebGear Aviator card and running off battery. Works fine. B-)
On CE devices, user files are normally stored in battery-backed RAM, not on disk. Usually you add a CompactFlash card for additional storage, and a PCMCIA network card. Other options include the IBM MicroDrive or one of many PCMCIA hard drives (using a CompactCard network card instead of PCMCIA). All of these options work with NetBSD, though using a hard disk will definitely shorten the stellar battery life.
I think some people are missing the point. So you can buy a close-out P90 notebook cheaper. So what? Is it as small? As light? Does it have builtin audio or a modem, or IrDA? Does it get 8-16 hours on a single charge?
If you like your P90 notebook, I'm glad for you. But it's not comparable to the WorkPad by any stretch.
Slashdot Mirror
Just as a factual point: Theo left NetBSD long, long before OpenBSD was started, and even longer before OpenBSD started touting itself as "ultra-secure". So, this had absolutely nothing to do with "stepping on toes" to make code more "secure".
That's exactly what all those "other OSes" do. Seems that someone forgot the old "be liberal in what you accept" maxim...
The reverse engineering issue is much more complex than that. Previous cases (like the Nintendo suit) were clear that they were only applicable in the case of reverse engineering in order to make a compatible product (e.g. a game that runs on the Nintendo box). Reverse engineering Mario64 would probably not be protected.
Note: This approach will only work for Win32 software, but that's how damn near everything ships these days.
That said, at least some basic engineering and testing standards would certainly help. Some of the big projects today are as bloated and buggy as anything Microsoft has ever put out, and it bothers me.
These developments are certainly interesting, but I will point out that wide-scale deployments of open source systems is not a new thing! As of a year ago, IBM had shipped at least a quarter million NetStation (now NetVista) thin clients to large companies, and they run... not Linux, but NetBSD. (Unfortunately IBM doesn't mention this much.)
We weren't experts either. In fact, many of the people who started the big name open source projects you see today were college and even high school students, who had never written a large piece of code before. (Some would say it shows, but I digress.)
So how do you get started? Dive in. Find a bug you want to fix, or a feature you want to add, and do it. Ask questions if there's something you can't figure out. There's no pressure; you don't have to even tell anyone you're doing it until after the fact. You can take all the time in the world.
And maybe, just maybe, if you're lucky, when you do publish your result, someone will thank you for it.
Good luck.
I've been running NetBSD on a Mac G4 cube for more than a month now. It's schweeeet. With XFree86 4 (Tsubai's patches, not integrated yet unfortunately), GNOME and Mozilla, it really is a complete desktop environment. And have I mentioned that I run exactly the same software (yah, yah, so it's recompiled) on an Alpha, a Shark (ARM-based), a Celery, a SPARC and a WorkPad Z50? You can't beat true platform-independence. </speech> (Posting this from a cube right now.)
You have got to be smoking something. I'm typing this on a z50 running NetBSD (totally wireless) right now. It cost $263 (+ some amount I forget for the 32MB memory card). The model you're talking about is the next generation, which will ship with CE 3.0.
For those of you looking for a wireless notebook, I just thought I'd mention that I'm sitting in bed with a WorkPad that's connected to the net via a WebGear Aviator card and running off battery. Works fine. B-)
On CE devices, user files are normally stored in battery-backed RAM, not on disk. Usually you add a CompactFlash card for additional storage, and a PCMCIA network card. Other options include the IBM MicroDrive or one of many PCMCIA hard drives (using a CompactCard network card instead of PCMCIA). All of these options work with NetBSD, though using a hard disk will definitely shorten the stellar battery life.
If you like your P90 notebook, I'm glad for you. But it's not comparable to the WorkPad by any stretch.
Except that you can't get a Crusoe-based handheld for any price right now, and certainly not under $300.