The title is a joke for anime fans:) But now for the real meat. The snowballs from space thing is more or less science fiction not science. The science holds that we did come from earth that we simply started as single celled creatures and evolved over time. But dose this preclude adam and eve? Thelogens will argue the more dynamic point that adam and eve were the first single celled creatures and in this way theology holds true. Wiccans already clame the pagan myths are not litteral but symbolic. Eventually Christians will need to make the same clame. Some theologens already do. Most of the Christian bible is a historical document but some of it wasn't a matter of historical record. The mirricals are a matter of interpretation and much debate. There has even been some scientific exploration into how the red sea could have been parted. Your welcome to believe what ever you like so long as it fits available facts. But life from space snowballs dose not.
More than that. Your building reputation. An AC can escape the negitivity from his own comments you can not. When that negitivity is isolated to Slashdot then it's in the public eye and if someone slams you for making a lagit observation it's in the public eye for all to see. And if someone prases a troll that too is in public. You take all than you earn for your name/nick/what ever good and bad. I've been on Slashdot for a while and maybe I'm not loved or even well liked I'm not hated. I'll risk a little bad mouthing. But I put a name to my posts one that I stick with. It's not like your slashdot name isn't disconected from your profesional or personal life eather. You'll see every now and again a comment "I hope my boss dosen't see this" or the like. Your/. nick is seen on your screen at work. My friends , famaly and co-workers know who I am On/. I'm not annonomous for using a Nick. Jeffery (Baka Kitty) McLean.
We Zelots... Um hold on... *Brain control Active* Linux advocates you must agree with me *Brain control Inactive* Those Linux contolled brain lasers are so cool. Um anyway..
By being a Zelot you must have an over confadence in the product so much so that when you see someone is CONSIDERING a switch to Linux you as the zelot KNOW they will see the light and switch.
Of Topic for a second: I think this is the same kind or reasoning used at Microsoft. That liccens agreement that says you can't release test results with out aprovel of Microsoft.
See if the results don't slant heavly twords Microsoft then you obveously did something wrong becouse there is NO WAY Linux or open source or any other commertal title could EVER beat Microsoft's fine craftsmanship.
Just as Microsoft has itself convenced it can never do wrong and all it's products are perfict. The avrage zelot beleaves open source can do no wrong.. etc etc etc.. same line only it's not a marketting department of a wide selection of users.
And it didn't take brainwashing or brain lasers to convence them eather.
However I did convence my local city officals to consider Linux they did and rejected the idea. Oh... Guess it's not automaticly the right choice for everyone after all...
If this guy sells me this really cheap television set
Lot's of this happends every day.. We call them flea markets. and then there is this website known as eBay.
As for the similaritys between SCO and Sendo.
Sendo clames Microsoft took technology and gave it to Orange. SCO clames IBM took technology and gave it to Linux.
SCO did make one good point. It needs to be proven in cort. Of course that's not stopping SCO from threatoning Linux users. Still that is the same truth to Sendo. They didn't prove it in cort only in public opinion. Not very hard. Anything accused of Microsoft is automaticly true. I can see why SCO would say something like that also. In the same cort of public opinion anything bad said of Linux is false.
(The reason for this is on ballence usually Microsoft is in the wrong and Linux isn't but that can't always be true)
Karma bonus off becouse it's a bit stupid and easy to mod down that way.
So basicly yeah yeah Mac Os, Linux... spice with a little "Some day Linux viruses.." add "Ohh we have a new Linux virus" add to the fiction presented as news file... (Every Linux virus posted on Slashdot over the last few years has been fake. There was ONE virus and it's dead)
MacOs of course had many viruses but Mac Os X should be relitively safe (unless MacOs X really dose run as root as Lindows people clame) and of course Lindows is infectable. How cool is that?
But back to the point. You don't need to even switch operating systems to avoid e-mail worms. How? You ask? Switch e-mail programs of course. Well yeah du I mean hay just use unpopulare software and nobody will bother. Isn't that how Linux and MacOs X avoid viruses? No not at all.
use Eudoria. Unpopulare? Yeah right. Next to Outlook express Eudoria is one of the most populare if not the most populare e-mail client. I use the PalmOs version it kicks butt.
Eudoria dosen't do anything quite so stupid as outlook express. It cerenly dosen't open file attachments automaticly. It's reasonably secure and quite nice.
So there you have it... Eather change your os or at the very least use Mozilla and Eudora and you don't have to worry about e-mail worms.
And while your at it try open office for Windows and other free software.
But then I need to explain myself use Linux but I don't ever read my e-mail from my workstation anymore. I dodn't even use my workstation from my desk much anymore. I pull out my Palm Os PDA and zip...
But one more thing. If you are going to use Windows for goddess sake install the stupid updates thank you very much. It's not just the stupid bone head security flaws that any moron could avoid but the more sereous design flaws that tend to find there way into Linux as much as Windows. So switching to Linux dosen't help on the update front. Course I'm one to talk I need to flush my system and reinstall Linux again.... Maybe I could order the new Linux From Scratch book.... Yeah sounds good....
Let this be a lesson don't do business with Microsoft. Don't liccens your technology to them don't liccens technology from them.
Orange liccensed technology that Microsoft stold. As far as Orange knows the technology is lagit.
Going after Orange is a bit dirty becouse they aren't the crooks and don't have all the facts.
People have taken the SCO for cross refrence so I'll go there. SCO won't tell us what code is stolen from them. We can't remove the infringing code if we don't know what code they are talking about. They don't want us to remove anything they want to OWN Linux.
Orange didn't steal anything they liccensed technology from Microsoft that Microsoft stold.
Just like SCO wants to own the hard work of thousands of programmers who put more into Linux that SCO put into any code that MAYBE found it's way into Linux. Sendo wants a chunck of the proffits from Orange.
However. Orange paid for this technology already. They paid whom they believed was the lagit owner. Microsoft has Sendo's money.
Unless Sendo lost the lawsute against Microsoft. Then this is just backstabing.
There are two directions that can be taken in protecting intelectual property.
Copy protection and outragous laws. The only part of copy protection I have a problem with is when laws require it. Laws forbiding copy protection are not the opposate. They simply justify more drastic action (the action the *AA's have been taking already).
If you can protect your stuff with out passing new laws or using liccenses to enforce same hay great. I'd like to be able to play DVDs on my puter and hay all I need is DVD DECSS to do that. Only thing keeping me from it is a stupid law. Another stupid law won't fix that.
What we need is to eliminate dumb laws not make new ones.
I have both the "Crapy" Palm os machine and the "cool" Linux machine.
The Linux machine runs around $400 (I got it on closeout for $200 but I'm cheap that way) I couldn't get the source for the Linux desktop and the binary dosen't work for me. The add on hardware is also fairly expensive.
WinCE PDAs run you $200 and up Nice and powerful I could never quite use one long enough to crash it. (I find it intresting that I have crashed my Palm a number of times but it comes back gracefully so it's never been a big issue) It's simply painful to use so I don't.
PalmOs runs you from $100 new. The biggest issues are stability related. The add on hardware is cheap there is an open source manager (unlike Linux who has only a closed source binary ironicly). The real issue is that Palm Os is known as the Dragonball based PDA. While there is a Arm based Palm Os it's looked on like CP/M 68 was back in the day when CP/M was replaced by MsDos. People want more powerful devices and they will pay for it. Even if they have to fork over as much as $800 for a PDA they will do it.
I'm happy with my Handspring visor Neo. The one Handspring discontinued not to long ago. But my next PDA is going to be... yep I'm sticking with the Dragonball processor.... A Dragonix...
It's not so much that anything's wrong with PalmOs but that people are already familure with it as a low end PDA. When WinCE is $100 I know a little kid who'll be happy. Not becouse he can afford a $100 WinCE but he's waiting for PalmOs PDAs to drop to $50.
Hmm exploring the notion that SCO adopted Linux code not the other way around.
As I understand it SCO clames the code in question has given Linux some high end features. I also understand those features were in Linux BEFORE they were in SCO Unix AND Linuxes version is supereor to SCO Unix. (I don't know if this is true or rummor mill)
Now SCO clames that Linux and SCO Unix use the same code for the same features.
If this is true it is more likely SCO took the code from Linux and not the other way around.
The code in question would only work well on the kernel it was originally writen for. The theaf would get infereor results from the same code. Also the original code would first appear in the kernel it was writen for and from that kernel stolen and show up later in the theafs operating system.
With SCO showing up late and limping it's more likely SCO is using GPLed code that dosen't match SCO's kernel.
When people start discribing the Linux community as a business you know what they are about.
Linux isn't a business. IBM is a business, RedHat is a business, Slackware and Debian have a business aspect. But Linux is a code.
This dosen't mean anything malicous in itself. I've just noticed often people will say "The company that makes Linux" or "The Linux industry". There is in fact a Linux industry but that industry dosen't reflect the whole of Linux. There isn't a "company that makes Linux" there are companys involved in the creation of Linux but there has never been a single company responsable for the whole ball of wax. Not Like Microsoft for Windows, Apple for MacOs or AT&T for Unix. What it means is that the person is thinking only in terms of business as if everyone has a proffit motive for anything they say or do.
I submit (and I'm going to say this is sand not cement that I have for the foundation of my clame..) that SCO is looking at Linux as a compeditor and simply desided that there is stolen code in Linux.
SCO need not so much "prove it" to us but the least they could do is tell us what code is stolen. We could replace it quickly enough and it'd be over.
And he said it right... SCO is out to protect it's shareholders. Not SCO's intelectual property. They have NOT proven anything yet they keep seeking payment from Linux users.
I don't think SCO knows it's clames are bogus. I think they actually believe thies clames are valid. But they don't know what code is stolen and if they'd check I think deep down they know they won't find any stolen code.
SCO has presented us with an argument that is simply "Linux now has features found in SCO Unix. The only way this could happen is if Linux got code from us." That's not true.
SCO expects us to accept that alone as proof. But it's not any more proof than to say: A Zigu Di rock fan steals donuts from a 7-11 Jack Du is a Zigu Di fan... he must be the crook.
There is more than one way to solve a given problem and more than one person who can find a solution.
SCO won't put it's money where it's mouth is. They won't point out the offending code.
What's to stop SCO from pointing at some random code and saying "Thats it.. thats ours"? Easy...
SCO: "See this thats ours..." Linus: "Ummm no I wrote that myself." SCO: "Oh right.. well that's ours" ESR: "Thats BSD code..." SCO: "Oh sorry... THAT..." RedHat: "Is covered in RedHat patent xxxxxxxx. We liccesned it for open source use only. Your using it you said so your villating our IP fork it over...." SCO: "I mean this..." IBM: "We wrote that in 1933 to solve a defect in 'Mega 1+1=2 delux' it was taking more than an hour to add 1+1..." SCO: "Umm this?" Ghost of Lovelace: "Sorry thats MY code.." SCO: "Well THIS is deffinetly ours." CmdrTaco: "I wrote that."
SCO clames the code came from IBM. But if they finger code randomly they'll likely find code that IBM never touched.
SCO is seeking to discredit Linux and boost sales for it's failing product. If I were forced I'd switch to BSD.. not SCO. Or if a commertal Unix I'd use Solarus.
That's the saddest thing. The need for webpage detection should simply not exist. If you plan to use specal features found only in one web browser then I can see the point. But this is a commen protocal if a web browser is broken then you should be reporting it to the authors not making a stupid work around.
Alas that's not how it works at all. Once Netscape pushed it's way into the Internet ant feature Netscape didn't support might as well not exist. Then Microsoft pushed Netscape aside with IE. Now any feature IE dosen't support might as well not exist.
Instead of being just one browser IE has become "The web browser". Web site develupers are stuck making workarounds for IE. and a sepret page for Netscape. And if they want to be really creative a third for web browsers that don't suck.
Somebody released it under GPL and AoL trys to retroactively nullify that liccens. Notice how a lot of liccenses permit the author of the product to change the terms of the liccens at any time with out prior notice. Thats so they can pull stuff like this. But the GPL dosen't include that language.
How come AoL/TW is so unfamilure with the goings on at Nullsoft that a project like this can be coded and reach release with out them knowing about it?
Is this a Nullsoft project that reached release stage then killed by AoL? Or an indupendent work by an employee that got released on Nullsoft's servers? Or was it just released by mistake?
The website seams to be trying to say someone goofed and the software wasn't intended for release yet. But that's some pritty heavy handed language and it appears the software was prepaired for release. I doupt this was any sort of mistake on Nullsoft's part.
It dose seam quite clear to me (and apparently Slashdot becouse that's how the Slashdot editor called it) that what happend was AoL/TW wasn't paying attention to Nullsoft and send a legal team to pull the already released software with some unsuportable legal threats.
It kinda feels stupid now but I was afrade of GUIs before I used Linux. Here's the story.
Back when I used Geos 64 very easy but having already learned CP/M at the time the GUI seamed very impractical. But fun and reasonably easy to learn for those not already familure with the command line. (You have to realise that CP/M had very few commands to remember. In this context "user friendly" is more the case of not frightening the user than actually helping him to understand anything)
Then I went to Dos and Geoworks... Tried Windows and was thinking "This is user friendly?" After that I was pritty much afrade of trying out any GUI. Seamed to me that "User Friendly" was marketting for "Built for people who don't know better" and the hype had it that GUI was User Friendly. But I couldn't dodge the bullet forever. I'd already used Unix (AT&Ts 3B2) and already priced commertal *nixes (Only $100 for the users manual...) and desided Linux was the only option.
Slackware was an easy enough choice for me. (I could walk over to Walnut Creek CD Rom at the time..) And the first GUI I saw on Linux was pritty decent. FVWM. I tried FVWM95 and the LesTif but found I prefered FVWM.
Nice light weight easy and simple. Of course it wasn't FVWM alone that ended my phobia of GUIs. I switched around and used a lot of *nix GUI's before giving up my phobia.
It seams to me the Code SCO would be claming in fact came to Linux from BSD. The code in question is in part BSD property and in part SCO property. With the provision (Don't sue us and we won't sue you).
If SCO is suing for the code Linux got from BSD then SCO can be used. Not so much for code theft but breach of contract or something along those lines.
Thanfully the abillity to have read only access to the human brain is multi millenia away. Not to mention the ability to alter that.
Hopefully we'll realise the stupidity of IP laws before it is possable to enforece that from inside your brain. "Sorry but the knowladge you have is the IP of 'Big knowladge Inc' I don't care if you are just a deep thinker and came up with this all on your own. It's our property and you can't have it unless you pony up. So fork it over or subject to a labotomy at your expense"
When knowladge is property corprations deside what we can or can't know.
Look at the usefulness of your avrage child protection software applocation. If the kid can bypass it by using contol-alt-del and just kill the content control software (What's admin access when anyone can kill any app?) and brows porn.
It dosen't happen to often today due to the pedophile filled Internet. Tech savy kids see it more as a protection against sickos than against adult content.
Also security provides at least minimal protection against mistakes and outside attack.
On the old home computers famaly members could protect data from other famaly members by taking the flopy disk with them.
Today it's all stored in the computer. What happends if my GF dosen't approve of my music collection? rm -rf ~/mp3 ? Nope... It's my user directory. You can't touch me. And then there is the mother trying to read her ADULT sons e-mail.
Then there's the issue of email viruses. I know one girl who has to use her mothers computer to get on-line. Her mom keeps openning e-mail viruses. I'm not saying e-mail attachments can't screw you on Unix but that it's effect is issolated to one user.
The only Destrobution that I can see as valid for running root is Knoppix and other "boot from CD" destros. The whole "Hay it's on read only media" means you can't modify the operating system NO MATTER WHAT!! I'd say that's a pritty significant advantage.
For simplicity I use the term *nix becouse this is the term used when I came on the Internet as all the Unix and Unix clones all were ___ix or ___nix.
Most *nix systems are eather Unix in name or in spirit some are nither but it's impossable to be both.
The old AT&T 3B2 user manual would talk about the Unix community. How it evolved by people freely adding something to Unix. This seams ironic considering the 3B2 was made under AT&Ts new Unix liccens instead of the original one. The original liccens was more "free" (as in speach and beer). After the break up AT&T was free to compete with other companys and changed over to a new restrictive liccens that gave AT&T control over Unix it never had before.
Unix grew up as a almost-free operating system and the Unix community was happy to help it grow. But when Unix transformed into a commertal product from AT&T with a restrictive liccens this came to an end.
But BSD remained true to the spirit of Unix as did the never quite complete GNU system.
Today most people consider Gnu/Linux[1] to be the home of the free software world. The heart and soul of the old Unix lives here.
While SCO has the soulless body of Unix. Actually suing IBM simply becouse they added code to Linux.
I've always felt that it wasn't Unix if you didn't include a C compiler yet many Unix venders did just that. Offering the compiler sepretly.
The idea that being able to modify the operating system was important is lost on todays Unixes. But it's not lost on BSD and Gnu/Linux[1].
[1] Normally I just call it Linux but for the function of the point the title Gnu/Linux just works better.
*Makes an expression* By 9 year old programmers I'm not refering to kids today making dialog boxes but kids cerca 1972-1983 who wrote whole games on the Commodore 64.
But I can see some of the old "Kids can't code" bies lives today... Only now you'll accept a 9 year old can actually compile code.
About child artists... Same is true... if a 9 year old draws well others will clame he didn't draw it at all.
When I was a kid the idea of a child being able to use a computer was so hard to believe people would suffer shock and denial when presented with proof of the exsistence of a 9 year old programmer. The idea of BBSes and online shopping was such an amazing thing people couldn't believe it. When Byte ran an artical about how computers would replace TVs eventually people were sceptical. The pet rock of the 80s or so they belived.
For kids today computers have already replaced TV. They probably don't even know what radio is. Music comes from MP3s and CD players. Books are PDF files.
Bugs Bunny has nothing on Neopets.com Yugi and Pokemon... and while the cartoons exist as 30 min daily ads for the card games it seams more and more kids only watch them becouse of the card games.
Now a days the Yugi and Pokemon video games are ads for the TV shows and card games.
Willy Wonka candys advertises by having a website filled with games and runs ads on Neopets.com.
It's not just the kids. Thow they lead the way. CNN Headline News already knows the future. CNN.com. FoxNews has it's website. and when NBC looks for a partnership it looks to Microsoft.
People complain less about the crap on TV... Not becouse there is less crap. All the good shows are going away or going to hell leaving nothing but crap. But it's the crap that people who won't go online like.
It's the digital age. I just gave a 7 year old a Knoppix CD and then the topic of upgrading ram came up... (The Bosses son.. His computer need more memory)
The next generation understands Rinkworks Computer Stupidities. For them Google is the place to look up information not the public libary.
The idea of sitting around watching TV for 30 minuts seams.. alien.
My boss dosen't worry about her kids watching to much TV. She worrys about them playing to many video games.
Get a Unix shell acount (free Unix shell acounts can be found everywhere. You can also get them cheap from many ISPs)
Learn perl (If you were smart you learned perl first but then if you were smart you wouldn't be trying to become a spammer to start with)
Write a perl script that scans Usenet for e-mail addresses and collects them into a big file. (Today you scan the web instead... More complex but more effective)
How here is why you really want to use a commertal Unix shell today but a free shell in the past...
Write your advertsment selling your services as a spammer. Give a postal address and phone number.
What happends here is you WILL lose your account once the message is sent. You don't need to worry about the flood of complaints becouse you won't retain the account long enough to read them.
The reason you want to use a free acount is so your out nothing when the account is shut down. BUT... today's freebe shells are smart enough and your admin will notice what your doing and kill it possably before anything get's sent. Your likely to face a two way spam filter one that will snag your message before it leaves the server.. or once the third copy leaves your spam job is automaticly terminated and your account locked.
A commertal account will be more forgiving giving you the chance to send out thousands or e-mails before the admin realises what your up to and shuts it down. By then you've shot the batch and it's to late.
Then wait for the phone calls.... Do your research and find a new e-mail account etc.
Start over.. generate a new e-mail list on a new Unix server... but now you've writen your perl scripts.. and keep a local copy.
Refine it a tad maybe so this time you won't be detected. Sending e-mails out once every minute instead of shooting the wad all at once. The lower load will hopefully go undetected.
Rules for success. 1. Spend as little as possable on your Internet access as it will only be temporary. 2. Use a phone number for primary contact. 3. Don't use this as part of a bigger business. Only act as an advertser for other people. 4. Of course advertise your services via spam. It won't help to use more traditional media. 5. Even when you have a website and established a high bandwith service connection use unix shell acounts to spam. When ever possable use open relays, spoof and use spam friendly (or anti-spam hostile) service providers.
It never hurts to clame support from a major corpration. Be sneaky and establish a "business relationship" that is itself not an endorsement of your business practaces. For example get a Microsoft cert in something.. or become a Microsoft partnert in something. Same with AoL or anybody else. It's generally fairly easy to establish a business relationship. I have sevral myself and none of them know what my business dose nore do they actually care so long as I don't connect them to something unethical or unsavory such as spam.
Slashdot Mirror
The title is a joke for anime fans :)
But now for the real meat.
The snowballs from space thing is more or less science fiction not science. The science holds that we did come from earth that we simply started as single celled creatures and evolved over time.
But dose this preclude adam and eve? Thelogens will argue the more dynamic point that adam and eve were the first single celled creatures and in this way theology holds true.
Wiccans already clame the pagan myths are not litteral but symbolic. Eventually Christians will need to make the same clame.
Some theologens already do.
Most of the Christian bible is a historical document but some of it wasn't a matter of historical record.
The mirricals are a matter of interpretation and much debate.
There has even been some scientific exploration into how the red sea could have been parted.
Your welcome to believe what ever you like so long as it fits available facts.
But life from space snowballs dose not.
Dosen't it just figure stolen IP address space would be used for spam.
No doupt the 'land lord' of this rented address space sold it with spam.
More than that. /. nick is seen on your screen at work. /. I'm not annonomous for using a Nick.
Your building reputation. An AC can escape the negitivity from his own comments you can not.
When that negitivity is isolated to Slashdot then it's in the public eye and if someone slams you for making a lagit observation it's in the public eye for all to see. And if someone prases a troll that too is in public. You take all than you earn for your name/nick/what ever good and bad.
I've been on Slashdot for a while and maybe I'm not loved or even well liked I'm not hated.
I'll risk a little bad mouthing. But I put a name to my posts one that I stick with.
It's not like your slashdot name isn't disconected from your profesional or personal life eather.
You'll see every now and again a comment "I hope my boss dosen't see this" or the like. Your
My friends , famaly and co-workers know who I am On
Jeffery (Baka Kitty) McLean.
Open source fule.. giggle....
Looks like the Linux computer is more about sending data back than doing anything actually justifying a computer
We Zelots... Um hold on...
*Brain control Active* Linux advocates you must agree with me *Brain control Inactive*
Those Linux contolled brain lasers are so cool.
Um anyway..
By being a Zelot you must have an over confadence in the product so much so that when you see someone is CONSIDERING a switch to Linux you as the zelot KNOW they will see the light and switch.
Of Topic for a second:
I think this is the same kind or reasoning used at Microsoft.
That liccens agreement that says you can't release test results with out aprovel of Microsoft.
See if the results don't slant heavly twords Microsoft then you obveously did something wrong becouse there is NO WAY Linux or open source or any other commertal title could EVER beat Microsoft's fine craftsmanship.
Just as Microsoft has itself convenced it can never do wrong and all it's products are perfict.
The avrage zelot beleaves open source can do no wrong.. etc etc etc.. same line only it's not a marketting department of a wide selection of users.
And it didn't take brainwashing or brain lasers to convence them eather.
However I did convence my local city officals to consider Linux they did and rejected the idea.
Oh... Guess it's not automaticly the right choice for everyone after all...
No wait conspericy it's the fluffy bunnys...
If this guy sells me this really cheap television set
Lot's of this happends every day.. We call them flea markets.
and then there is this website known as eBay.
As for the similaritys between SCO and Sendo.
Sendo clames Microsoft took technology and gave it to Orange.
SCO clames IBM took technology and gave it to Linux.
SCO did make one good point. It needs to be proven in cort. Of course that's not stopping SCO from threatoning Linux users.
Still that is the same truth to Sendo. They didn't prove it in cort only in public opinion. Not very hard. Anything accused of Microsoft is automaticly true.
I can see why SCO would say something like that also. In the same cort of public opinion anything bad said of Linux is false.
(The reason for this is on ballence usually Microsoft is in the wrong and Linux isn't but that can't always be true)
Karma bonus off becouse it's a bit stupid and easy to mod down that way.
So basicly yeah yeah Mac Os, Linux... spice with a little "Some day Linux viruses.." add "Ohh we have a new Linux virus" add to the fiction presented as news file...
(Every Linux virus posted on Slashdot over the last few years has been fake. There was ONE virus and it's dead)
MacOs of course had many viruses but Mac Os X should be relitively safe (unless MacOs X really dose run as root as Lindows people clame) and of course Lindows is infectable. How cool is that?
But back to the point. You don't need to even switch operating systems to avoid e-mail worms.
How? You ask? Switch e-mail programs of course.
Well yeah du I mean hay just use unpopulare software and nobody will bother. Isn't that how Linux and MacOs X avoid viruses? No not at all.
use Eudoria. Unpopulare? Yeah right. Next to Outlook express Eudoria is one of the most populare if not the most populare e-mail client.
I use the PalmOs version it kicks butt.
Eudoria dosen't do anything quite so stupid as outlook express. It cerenly dosen't open file attachments automaticly. It's reasonably secure and quite nice.
So there you have it...
Eather change your os or at the very least use Mozilla and Eudora and you don't have to worry about e-mail worms.
And while your at it try open office for Windows and other free software.
But then I need to explain myself use Linux but I don't ever read my e-mail from my workstation anymore. I dodn't even use my workstation from my desk much anymore. I pull out my Palm Os PDA and zip...
But one more thing. If you are going to use Windows for goddess sake install the stupid updates thank you very much. It's not just the stupid bone head security flaws that any moron could avoid but the more sereous design flaws that tend to find there way into Linux as much as Windows. So switching to Linux dosen't help on the update front.
Course I'm one to talk I need to flush my system and reinstall Linux again....
Maybe I could order the new Linux From Scratch book.... Yeah sounds good....
Let this be a lesson don't do business with Microsoft. Don't liccens your technology to them don't liccens technology from them.
Orange liccensed technology that Microsoft stold. As far as Orange knows the technology is lagit.
Going after Orange is a bit dirty becouse they aren't the crooks and don't have all the facts.
People have taken the SCO for cross refrence so I'll go there.
SCO won't tell us what code is stolen from them. We can't remove the infringing code if we don't know what code they are talking about. They don't want us to remove anything they want to OWN Linux.
Orange didn't steal anything they liccensed technology from Microsoft that Microsoft stold.
Just like SCO wants to own the hard work of thousands of programmers who put more into Linux that SCO put into any code that MAYBE found it's way into Linux.
Sendo wants a chunck of the proffits from Orange.
However. Orange paid for this technology already. They paid whom they believed was the lagit owner. Microsoft has Sendo's money.
Unless Sendo lost the lawsute against Microsoft. Then this is just backstabing.
There are two directions that can be taken in protecting intelectual property.
Copy protection and outragous laws.
The only part of copy protection I have a problem with is when laws require it.
Laws forbiding copy protection are not the opposate. They simply justify more drastic action (the action the *AA's have been taking already).
If you can protect your stuff with out passing new laws or using liccenses to enforce same hay great.
I'd like to be able to play DVDs on my puter and hay all I need is DVD DECSS to do that. Only thing keeping me from it is a stupid law.
Another stupid law won't fix that.
What we need is to eliminate dumb laws not make new ones.
I have both the "Crapy" Palm os machine and the "cool" Linux machine.
The Linux machine runs around $400 (I got it on closeout for $200 but I'm cheap that way) I couldn't get the source for the Linux desktop and the binary dosen't work for me.
The add on hardware is also fairly expensive.
WinCE PDAs run you $200 and up
Nice and powerful I could never quite use one long enough to crash it.
(I find it intresting that I have crashed my Palm a number of times but it comes back gracefully so it's never been a big issue)
It's simply painful to use so I don't.
PalmOs runs you from $100 new.
The biggest issues are stability related. The add on hardware is cheap there is an open source manager (unlike Linux who has only a closed source binary ironicly).
The real issue is that Palm Os is known as the Dragonball based PDA. While there is a Arm based Palm Os it's looked on like CP/M 68 was back in the day when CP/M was replaced by MsDos.
People want more powerful devices and they will pay for it. Even if they have to fork over as much as $800 for a PDA they will do it.
I'm happy with my Handspring visor Neo. The one Handspring discontinued not to long ago.
But my next PDA is going to be... yep I'm sticking with the Dragonball processor....
A Dragonix...
It's not so much that anything's wrong with PalmOs but that people are already familure with it as a low end PDA.
When WinCE is $100 I know a little kid who'll be happy. Not becouse he can afford a $100 WinCE but he's waiting for PalmOs PDAs to drop to $50.
Hmm exploring the notion that SCO adopted Linux code not the other way around.
As I understand it SCO clames the code in question has given Linux some high end features.
I also understand those features were in Linux BEFORE they were in SCO Unix AND Linuxes version is supereor to SCO Unix.
(I don't know if this is true or rummor mill)
Now SCO clames that Linux and SCO Unix use the same code for the same features.
If this is true it is more likely SCO took the code from Linux and not the other way around.
The code in question would only work well on the kernel it was originally writen for.
The theaf would get infereor results from the same code.
Also the original code would first appear in the kernel it was writen for and from that kernel stolen and show up later in the theafs operating system.
With SCO showing up late and limping it's more likely SCO is using GPLed code that dosen't match SCO's kernel.
When people start discribing the Linux community as a business you know what they are about.
Linux isn't a business. IBM is a business, RedHat is a business, Slackware and Debian have a business aspect. But Linux is a code.
This dosen't mean anything malicous in itself. I've just noticed often people will say "The company that makes Linux" or "The Linux industry".
There is in fact a Linux industry but that industry dosen't reflect the whole of Linux. There isn't a "company that makes Linux" there are companys involved in the creation of Linux but there has never been a single company responsable for the whole ball of wax.
Not Like Microsoft for Windows, Apple for MacOs or AT&T for Unix.
What it means is that the person is thinking only in terms of business as if everyone has a proffit motive for anything they say or do.
I submit (and I'm going to say this is sand not cement that I have for the foundation of my clame..) that SCO is looking at Linux as a compeditor and simply desided that there is stolen code in Linux.
SCO need not so much "prove it" to us but the least they could do is tell us what code is stolen. We could replace it quickly enough and it'd be over.
And he said it right... SCO is out to protect it's shareholders. Not SCO's intelectual property.
They have NOT proven anything yet they keep seeking payment from Linux users.
I don't think SCO knows it's clames are bogus. I think they actually believe thies clames are valid. But they don't know what code is stolen and if they'd check I think deep down they know they won't find any stolen code.
SCO has presented us with an argument that is simply "Linux now has features found in SCO Unix. The only way this could happen is if Linux got code from us."
That's not true.
SCO expects us to accept that alone as proof. But it's not any more proof than to say:
A Zigu Di rock fan steals donuts from a 7-11
Jack Du is a Zigu Di fan... he must be the crook.
There is more than one way to solve a given problem and more than one person who can find a solution.
SCO won't put it's money where it's mouth is.
They won't point out the offending code.
What's to stop SCO from pointing at some random code and saying "Thats it.. thats ours"?
Easy...
SCO: "See this thats ours..."
Linus: "Ummm no I wrote that myself."
SCO: "Oh right.. well that's ours"
ESR: "Thats BSD code..."
SCO: "Oh sorry... THAT..."
RedHat: "Is covered in RedHat patent xxxxxxxx. We liccesned it for open source use only. Your using it you said so your villating our IP fork it over...."
SCO: "I mean this..."
IBM: "We wrote that in 1933 to solve a defect in 'Mega 1+1=2 delux' it was taking more than an hour to add 1+1..."
SCO: "Umm this?"
Ghost of Lovelace: "Sorry thats MY code.."
SCO: "Well THIS is deffinetly ours."
CmdrTaco: "I wrote that."
SCO clames the code came from IBM. But if they finger code randomly they'll likely find code that IBM never touched.
SCO is seeking to discredit Linux and boost sales for it's failing product.
If I were forced I'd switch to BSD.. not SCO.
Or if a commertal Unix I'd use Solarus.
That's the saddest thing.
The need for webpage detection should simply not exist.
If you plan to use specal features found only in one web browser then I can see the point.
But this is a commen protocal if a web browser is broken then you should be reporting it to the authors not making a stupid work around.
Alas that's not how it works at all.
Once Netscape pushed it's way into the Internet ant feature Netscape didn't support might as well not exist.
Then Microsoft pushed Netscape aside with IE. Now any feature IE dosen't support might as well not exist.
Instead of being just one browser IE has become "The web browser".
Web site develupers are stuck making workarounds for IE.
and a sepret page for Netscape.
And if they want to be really creative a third for web browsers that don't suck.
There is the rub...
If an employee released it on his own then he's in deep trubble.
Somehow I highly doupt this is what actually happend.
It appears that Nullsoft released this software and AoL/TW is now trying to UNrelease it.
For now I'd like to suggest this software is lethal. Treat it like DeCSS and archive it for a while. At least untill we have the full story.
I however don't believe it was released illegally by an employee acting on his own but legally by Nullsoft.
Somebody released it under GPL and AoL trys to retroactively nullify that liccens.
Notice how a lot of liccenses permit the author of the product to change the terms of the liccens at any time with out prior notice.
Thats so they can pull stuff like this.
But the GPL dosen't include that language.
How come AoL/TW is so unfamilure with the goings on at Nullsoft that a project like this can be coded and reach release with out them knowing about it?
Is this a Nullsoft project that reached release stage then killed by AoL?
Or an indupendent work by an employee that got released on Nullsoft's servers?
Or was it just released by mistake?
The website seams to be trying to say someone goofed and the software wasn't intended for release yet.
But that's some pritty heavy handed language and it appears the software was prepaired for release. I doupt this was any sort of mistake on Nullsoft's part.
It dose seam quite clear to me (and apparently Slashdot becouse that's how the Slashdot editor called it) that what happend was AoL/TW wasn't paying attention to Nullsoft and send a legal team to pull the already released software with some unsuportable legal threats.
It kinda feels stupid now but I was afrade of GUIs before I used Linux.
Here's the story.
Back when I used Geos 64 very easy but having already learned CP/M at the time the GUI seamed very impractical. But fun and reasonably easy to learn for those not already familure with the command line.
(You have to realise that CP/M had very few commands to remember. In this context "user friendly" is more the case of not frightening the user than actually helping him to understand anything)
Then I went to Dos and Geoworks... Tried Windows and was thinking "This is user friendly?"
After that I was pritty much afrade of trying out any GUI. Seamed to me that "User Friendly" was marketting for "Built for people who don't know better" and the hype had it that GUI was User Friendly.
But I couldn't dodge the bullet forever. I'd already used Unix (AT&Ts 3B2) and already priced commertal *nixes (Only $100 for the users manual...) and desided Linux was the only option.
Slackware was an easy enough choice for me.
(I could walk over to Walnut Creek CD Rom at the time..)
And the first GUI I saw on Linux was pritty decent. FVWM. I tried FVWM95 and the LesTif but found I prefered FVWM.
Nice light weight easy and simple.
Of course it wasn't FVWM alone that ended my phobia of GUIs. I switched around and used a lot of *nix GUI's before giving up my phobia.
Have a team of debuggers on staff.
When something breaks stick an open debugger on the task.
I knew a profesional debugger when I was a kid.
He called my computer a toy... I didn't appreceate that.
It seams to me the Code SCO would be claming in fact came to Linux from BSD.
The code in question is in part BSD property and in part SCO property. With the provision (Don't sue us and we won't sue you).
If SCO is suing for the code Linux got from BSD then SCO can be used.
Not so much for code theft but breach of contract or something along those lines.
Thanfully the abillity to have read only access to the human brain is multi millenia away.
Not to mention the ability to alter that.
Hopefully we'll realise the stupidity of IP laws before it is possable to enforece that from inside your brain.
"Sorry but the knowladge you have is the IP of 'Big knowladge Inc' I don't care if you are just a deep thinker and came up with this all on your own. It's our property and you can't have it unless you pony up. So fork it over or subject to a labotomy at your expense"
When knowladge is property corprations deside what we can or can't know.
If your willing to built it yourself you can build a Dragonix PDA with USB support.
Obveously printer support would be part of that and it runs Linux.
On a only slightly lower end you can get a printer cart for the Handspring Visor I belive they have something similar for the Palm III and up.
Still there hasn't been a major intrest in printers for PDA's over time.
Still an "on the fly" biz card printer would be nifty.
Look at the usefulness of your avrage child protection software applocation.
If the kid can bypass it by using contol-alt-del and just kill the content control software (What's admin access when anyone can kill any app?) and brows porn.
It dosen't happen to often today due to the pedophile filled Internet. Tech savy kids see it more as a protection against sickos than against adult content.
Also security provides at least minimal protection against mistakes and outside attack.
On the old home computers famaly members could protect data from other famaly members by taking the flopy disk with them.
Today it's all stored in the computer. What happends if my GF dosen't approve of my music collection?
rm -rf ~/mp3 ?
Nope... It's my user directory. You can't touch me.
And then there is the mother trying to read her ADULT sons e-mail.
Then there's the issue of email viruses.
I know one girl who has to use her mothers computer to get on-line. Her mom keeps openning e-mail viruses.
I'm not saying e-mail attachments can't screw you on Unix but that it's effect is issolated to one user.
The only Destrobution that I can see as valid for running root is Knoppix and other "boot from CD" destros.
The whole "Hay it's on read only media" means you can't modify the operating system NO MATTER WHAT!! I'd say that's a pritty significant advantage.
For simplicity I use the term *nix becouse this is the term used when I came on the Internet as all the Unix and Unix clones all were ___ix or ___nix.
Most *nix systems are eather Unix in name or in spirit some are nither but it's impossable to be both.
The old AT&T 3B2 user manual would talk about the Unix community. How it evolved by people freely adding something to Unix.
This seams ironic considering the 3B2 was made under AT&Ts new Unix liccens instead of the original one.
The original liccens was more "free" (as in speach and beer).
After the break up AT&T was free to compete with other companys and changed over to a new restrictive liccens that gave AT&T control over Unix it never had before.
Unix grew up as a almost-free operating system and the Unix community was happy to help it grow.
But when Unix transformed into a commertal product from AT&T with a restrictive liccens this came to an end.
But BSD remained true to the spirit of Unix as did the never quite complete GNU system.
Today most people consider Gnu/Linux[1] to be the home of the free software world. The heart and soul of the old Unix lives here.
While SCO has the soulless body of Unix. Actually suing IBM simply becouse they added code to Linux.
I've always felt that it wasn't Unix if you didn't include a C compiler yet many Unix venders did just that. Offering the compiler sepretly.
The idea that being able to modify the operating system was important is lost on todays Unixes.
But it's not lost on BSD and Gnu/Linux[1].
[1] Normally I just call it Linux but for the function of the point the title Gnu/Linux just works better.
*Makes an expression*
By 9 year old programmers I'm not refering to kids today making dialog boxes but kids cerca 1972-1983 who wrote whole games on the Commodore 64.
But I can see some of the old "Kids can't code" bies lives today...
Only now you'll accept a 9 year old can actually compile code.
About child artists...
Same is true... if a 9 year old draws well others will clame he didn't draw it at all.
When I was a kid the idea of a child being able to use a computer was so hard to believe people would suffer shock and denial when presented with proof of the exsistence of a 9 year old programmer.
The idea of BBSes and online shopping was such an amazing thing people couldn't believe it.
When Byte ran an artical about how computers would replace TVs eventually people were sceptical. The pet rock of the 80s or so they belived.
For kids today computers have already replaced TV. They probably don't even know what radio is. Music comes from MP3s and CD players. Books are PDF files.
Bugs Bunny has nothing on Neopets.com
Yugi and Pokemon... and while the cartoons exist as 30 min daily ads for the card games it seams more and more kids only watch them becouse of the card games.
Now a days the Yugi and Pokemon video games are ads for the TV shows and card games.
Willy Wonka candys advertises by having a website filled with games and runs ads on Neopets.com.
It's not just the kids. Thow they lead the way.
CNN Headline News already knows the future. CNN.com. FoxNews has it's website. and when NBC looks for a partnership it looks to Microsoft.
People complain less about the crap on TV... Not becouse there is less crap. All the good shows are going away or going to hell leaving nothing but crap. But it's the crap that people who won't go online like.
It's the digital age. I just gave a 7 year old a Knoppix CD and then the topic of upgrading ram came up... (The Bosses son.. His computer need more memory)
The next generation understands Rinkworks Computer Stupidities.
For them Google is the place to look up information not the public libary.
The idea of sitting around watching TV for 30 minuts seams.. alien.
My boss dosen't worry about her kids watching to much TV. She worrys about them playing to many video games.
Get a Unix shell acount (free Unix shell acounts can be found everywhere. You can also get them cheap from many ISPs)
Learn perl (If you were smart you learned perl first but then if you were smart you wouldn't be trying to become a spammer to start with)
Write a perl script that scans Usenet for e-mail addresses and collects them into a big file.
(Today you scan the web instead...
More complex but more effective)
How here is why you really want to use a commertal Unix shell today but a free shell in the past...
Write your advertsment selling your services as a spammer. Give a postal address and phone number.
What happends here is you WILL lose your account once the message is sent. You don't need to worry about the flood of complaints becouse you won't retain the account long enough to read them.
The reason you want to use a free acount is so your out nothing when the account is shut down.
BUT... today's freebe shells are smart enough and your admin will notice what your doing and kill it possably before anything get's sent.
Your likely to face a two way spam filter one that will snag your message before it leaves the server.. or once the third copy leaves your spam job is automaticly terminated and your account locked.
A commertal account will be more forgiving giving you the chance to send out thousands or e-mails before the admin realises what your up to and shuts it down. By then you've shot the batch and it's to late.
Then wait for the phone calls....
Do your research and find a new e-mail account etc.
Start over.. generate a new e-mail list on a new Unix server... but now you've writen your perl scripts.. and keep a local copy.
Refine it a tad maybe so this time you won't be detected. Sending e-mails out once every minute instead of shooting the wad all at once.
The lower load will hopefully go undetected.
Rules for success.
1. Spend as little as possable on your Internet access as it will only be temporary.
2. Use a phone number for primary contact.
3. Don't use this as part of a bigger business. Only act as an advertser for other people.
4. Of course advertise your services via spam. It won't help to use more traditional media.
5. Even when you have a website and established a high bandwith service connection use unix shell acounts to spam. When ever possable use open relays, spoof and use spam friendly (or anti-spam hostile) service providers.
It never hurts to clame support from a major corpration. Be sneaky and establish a "business relationship" that is itself not an endorsement of your business practaces.
For example get a Microsoft cert in something.. or become a Microsoft partnert in something.
Same with AoL or anybody else. It's generally fairly easy to establish a business relationship. I have sevral myself and none of them know what my business dose nore do they actually care so long as I don't connect them to something unethical or unsavory such as spam.