Given this fact, I wouldn't be surprised if this spec describes some small detail which is NOT present in the behavior of Win2K. Oh great, the next DOJ investigation is going to be not about secret APIs, but about secret bugs (where bug is defined as a deviation from published specs)!;-)
It's like being happy about sneaking into your house late at night through the window just because cops on the street didn't shoot you.
The issue is not that you can extract the PDF file out of kerbspec.exe. The issue is that Microsoft DARED to prepend that spec with the license that (hold your breath!) doesn't allow you to implement a counterpart to talk to a MS Kerberos client or server
Unfortunately, the way this trial has been presented to the public, it's all about that "poor" Netscape thingie.
While Microsoft's arm-twisting conduct was (partially) exposed, IMHO the gov't said nothing about the most important aspect of Microsoft's monopoly - API (both hidden and open).
Does anybody remember the time when Win95 just came out? Almost everybody was using Lotus 1-2-3. But 1-2-3 couldn't handle that great "software innovation" of Win95 - long filenames! The next release came too late for 1-2-3.
IMNSHO splitting Microsoft in the sense of putting the Office developers on equal footing with the rest of the industry is The Good Thing.
By the way, CNNfn is conducting a poll today on whether Microsoft should be broken up. As of now, about 2/3 of the votes are against. *wink* *wink*
Long time ago (.98-1.0) I started with Slackware. Then I used RedHat 5.2. Much later, I bought a new box, and both RH 6.2 and Mandrake 7.0 gave me nothing but grief. Only then (sorry for being so US-centric) I discovered the power of SuSE. Joy...;-)
SuSE - the power of German engineering - not only for your car!;-)
As many people have pointed out this "backdoor" is not quite as severe as some earlier exploits in sendmail and smail.;-)
It's a poor Easter Egg - just like the X97:L97 flight simulator.
Open source development lets the programmers achieve personal recognition that is not hidden behind the corporate "brand name". Now, personal recognition is the real reason why open source doesn't have compromising Easter Eggs - everybody's name is mentioned!
And then, of course, there's the immortal "The Design of the UNIX Operating System" by Maurice Bach.;-)
It can die, but through a long agony...
on
The End of Unix?
·
· Score: 1
OSes die for 2 reasons: 1) lost competition with other OSes implementing the same functionality, 2) inability to adapt to new hardware or applications due to the original design choices.
Banyan died because of 1). MS-DOS (aka CP/M) died because of 2)
I think that Unix had a very good skeleton design (just read Maurice Bach!) to face some insurmountable obstacles. (Some) Existing implementations are also of high quality and fare well under Microsoft's weight.
But all modern computing requires programmers. And as programming gets more and more expensive, I could see how some sort of A.I.-based self-programming computers will emerge in a remote (or perhaps not-so-remote) future. This could spell a slow bitter end of all "hard-coded" OSes - not only Unix.
It may be a good idea to put this thing in a bathtroom for an uninterrupted "experience" while on a toilet. It'd probably be an even better idea to trick the host home server to emulate i-opener's dial-up service and be a proxy.
BUT... 10" 800x600 "crisp" screen (old passive LCD technology?) makes my eyes worried.
It's quite unapproachable. Not because the things that are being done there are particularly complex, but it's all over the place and almost completely undocumented/uncommented.
Great! Make the first assignment to write comments for some stable parts of the kernel - then submit patches to the tree!:)
Ok, the court subpoenaed these empoyees on the suspection of.. *ahem* sabotage. Now, if they're collectively (even through their union) are liable, shouldn't they be able to exercise their right against self-incrimination?!
OTOH, regardless of the 5th amendment, what is the procedure for "examining the hard drive" even through a "reliable 3rd party"? I believe they can just remove the HD from your PC and then scan it at leisure for "pertinent information".
So the only way out seems to be encrypted FS (ouch!), because that makes the issue 100% straight: contempt of court v. self-incrimination.
This is really old. SORM has been "in the pipeline" for at least 1-2 years (if not longer). Encryption is also kind of forbidden (since like 4-5 years ago).
Nonetheless, some US Internet and privacy experts find SORM-2 more disquieting than Echelon.
"Echelon and its allied systems in the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand take the technology as it finds it -- that is, Echelon is not coercive. It does not rely upon government-mandated surveillance features being built into telecom systems.
Yeah, instead of using the stick, NSA and its kin use the carrot - how 'bout some free wireless spectrum for those who comply?
The chairman of Citizens' Watch human rights group in St. Petersburg, Boris Pustintsev, called the move "the end of all email privacy."
The feeble-minded are truly blessed - email privacy never existed!
Problem: constituents feel that the politicians don't care about their problems, are not accountable to them, are influenced by lobbies too much.
Solution: make reighning politicians and running candidates public companies. Their shareholders will be their constituents with a clearly defined voice (number of shares). SEC will oversee large stock transactions and insiders, selling shares will be the only way to finance election campaigns. Instead of meaningless "town hall meetings" politicians will have to answer to "shareholder meetings". Small shareholders will be able to pool their power via shareholder proxies.
Downside: Those who can't afford politico-shares will not be cared for at all. But this is exactly what's going on now. So, no real downside!
Well, it was all nice and convincing (for the semi-literate people like me) until this passage:
Does Only Windows 2000 Support Active Directory?
Active Directory is rapidly becoming the preferred directory for third party independent software and hardware vendors to directory enable their next-generation applications and devices.
Translated into plain-speak this answer means: we don't give a fsck! They expect everyone else to bend over backwards to interoperate with AD - and judging from the history they're probably right...
AOL have permitted the open discussion of sexual issues, preferences and orientations for the first time in American history
Jon, ever heard of Usenet's alt.sex.* and the good ol' days? That was wa-a-ay before AOL became an issue.
Hapless Americans no longer have to risk arrest or humiliation by hanging around peep shows or porn parlors. They can go online.
Yeah, right! While before they could just pay cash and go home (unless their name was Gary Hart), now their credit company or USPS (or both) will know who buys what and how much FOREVER.
So, Senator, didn't you frequent BDSM sites 10 years ago? *Plunk*
Seems to me that Chinese government finally saw the importance of developing their own software industry to insure that nation's survival in the coming years. If we are to believe the pundits du jour, having your own software and hardware will be as important as having your own tanks and planes.
The euphoria of 1990s (free trade, peace on the planet, blah-blah) is gone. The Cold War continues, and the weapon of choice is called "technology control/denial".
As much as I like VA, I don't understand why their valuation should be higher (long-term) than other computer manufacturers. Let's face it: if, say, DELL wanted to become a bigger Linux company than VA, they could do it in a second.
Like Maybank and Hogg, Grimson is still struggling to distinguish a meeting from a mugging.
Yeah, and the second order problem is to distinguish mugging from a mom actually giving her son money to buy ice-cream. The last time I checked, AI algorithms were incapable of distinguishing between cats and dogs. So this article should've been called Warning! My grant is about to run out.:)
Intergovernmental organizations do play a significant role nowadays, but we must remember that ultimate power still rests in national governments with their police, their armies, and their popular mandates.
Not quite true, if the national governments (meaning people that comprise them) become dependent (directly or indirectly) on various super-national bodies. One can argue that IMF removed Indonesia's Suharto by forcing him to conduct rather unpopular economic policies.
And, let's face it, there're more pressing problems than CDA - like the right to KNOW if your food was genetically engineered.
On the more sinister (conspiracy theory) note, what about IMF, World Bank and WTO being covertly led by the Trilateral and Bilderberg Commissions that are not elected in any way, but simply ARE OUT THERE?
I went through the noFUD website and saw, if you pardon my opinion, a mess. Partly that's because the authors chose to rebut the specific statements made by Microsoft or computer publications/pundits.
IMNSHO we are not going to get anywhere from this defensive stance. Instead we should attack NT, since Microsoft for too long has enjoyed the slave-like attitude from their installed ( = captive) user base: they complain, but have no energy to revolt.
In order to attack we should structure our strategy along several dimensions:
1. NT - Unix
2. Commercial - open source
3. Technology - implementation and practices
4. OS vendor - independent software vendors
This means that it is not enough to just argue that Linux is better than NT because of X, Y and Z. We need to specify that X means "generic Unix is better than NT", that Y means "technology Y is poorly implemented within NT", etc.
Granted, I have no deep knowledge of NT innards, but my guess is pretty much anything that is implementable in Unix can be ported to NT (c.f. Cygnus). Also, I have respect for VAX/VMS, so the "core technology" issue should be a toss. (Any other opinions?)
But, as many suffering NT users can attest, we can score heavily on the issues of poor implementations and programming practices that cause applications to crash and sometimes bring down the whole system.
On the issue of commercial vs open source, we need to point out the vices of EULA. Unlike e.g SUN or SGI, Microsoft does not provide any hardware advantages over the free Unices, but their licensing terms make the whole issue of "big corporate support" a moot point.
IMNSHO, just because, as a community, we are used to subsisting on unofficial, unsupported "ports" doesn't mean we should keep tolerating this situation.
Don't buy UT unless it has "Linux" on the box. And here's why: if a company knows that X percent of the paying customers use its products under the XYZ OS, it hires ($$$ !) a proportionate number of developers and support staff. The more XYZ developers, the better XYZ support for the next release - it's a feedback system!
Slashdot Mirror
Easy, portable, small interpreter, decent facilities.
Given this fact, I wouldn't be surprised if this spec describes some small detail which is NOT present in the behavior of Win2K. Oh great, the next DOJ investigation is going to be not about secret APIs, but about secret bugs (where bug is defined as a deviation from published specs)! ;-)
When are you guys going to grow up!?!?
It's like being happy about sneaking into your house late at night through the window just because cops on the street didn't shoot you.
The issue is not that you can extract the PDF file out of kerbspec.exe. The issue is that Microsoft DARED to prepend that spec with the license that (hold your breath!) doesn't allow you to implement a counterpart to talk to a MS Kerberos client or server
the Specification is provided...for the sole purpose of reviewing the Specification for security analysis.
And later: Microsoft does not grant you any right to implement this Specification.
I guess, if you want to make anything else out of it, you'd be in violation of everything and anything...
Possession of a CD with intent of making an MP3 will get your ass bored in the neighborhood penitentiary REAL SOON. Yikes!
Time to stop buying that major label shit anyway!
Unfortunately, the way this trial has been presented to the public, it's all about that "poor" Netscape thingie.
While Microsoft's arm-twisting conduct was (partially) exposed, IMHO the gov't said nothing about the most important aspect of Microsoft's monopoly - API (both hidden and open).
Does anybody remember the time when Win95 just came out? Almost everybody was using Lotus 1-2-3. But 1-2-3 couldn't handle that great "software innovation" of Win95 - long filenames! The next release came too late for 1-2-3.
IMNSHO splitting Microsoft in the sense of putting the Office developers on equal footing with the rest of the industry is The Good Thing.
By the way, CNNfn is conducting a poll today on whether Microsoft should be broken up. As of now, about 2/3 of the votes are against. *wink* *wink*
Geez, you got'em slashdotted!
Bravo - that hasn't been done before (in my memory)!
SuSE - the power of German engineering - not only for your car! ;-)
As many people have pointed out this "backdoor" is not quite as severe as some earlier exploits in sendmail and smail. ;-)
It's a poor Easter Egg - just like the X97:L97 flight simulator.
Open source development lets the programmers achieve personal recognition that is not hidden behind the corporate "brand name". Now, personal recognition is the real reason why open source doesn't have compromising Easter Eggs - everybody's name is mentioned!
And then, of course, there's the immortal "The Design of the UNIX Operating System" by Maurice Bach.
OSes die for 2 reasons: 1) lost competition with other OSes implementing the same functionality, 2) inability to adapt to new hardware or applications due to the original design choices.
Banyan died because of 1). MS-DOS (aka CP/M) died because of 2)
I think that Unix had a very good skeleton design (just read Maurice Bach!) to face some insurmountable obstacles. (Some) Existing implementations are also of high quality and fare well under Microsoft's weight.
But all modern computing requires programmers. And as programming gets more and more expensive, I could see how some sort of A.I.-based self-programming computers will emerge in a remote (or perhaps not-so-remote) future. This could spell a slow bitter end of all "hard-coded" OSes - not only Unix.
It may be a good idea to put this thing in a bathtroom for an uninterrupted "experience" while on a toilet. It'd probably be an even better idea to trick the host home server to emulate i-opener's dial-up service and be a proxy.
BUT... 10" 800x600 "crisp" screen (old passive LCD technology?) makes my eyes worried.
Have you actually _looked_ at the kernel sources?
:)
It's quite unapproachable. Not because the things that are being done there are particularly complex, but it's all over the place and almost completely undocumented/uncommented.
Great! Make the first assignment to write comments for some stable parts of the kernel - then submit patches to the tree!
Ok, the court subpoenaed these empoyees on the suspection of.. *ahem* sabotage. Now, if they're collectively (even through their union) are liable, shouldn't they be able to exercise their right against self-incrimination?!
OTOH, regardless of the 5th amendment, what is the procedure for "examining the hard drive" even through a "reliable 3rd party"? I believe they can just remove the HD from your PC and then scan it at leisure for "pertinent information".
So the only way out seems to be encrypted FS (ouch!), because that makes the issue 100% straight: contempt of court v. self-incrimination.
Nonetheless, some US Internet and privacy experts find SORM-2 more disquieting than Echelon.
"Echelon and its allied systems in the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand take the technology as it finds it -- that is, Echelon is not coercive. It does not rely upon government-mandated surveillance features being built into telecom systems.
Yeah, instead of using the stick, NSA and its kin use the carrot - how 'bout some free wireless spectrum for those who comply?
The chairman of Citizens' Watch human rights group in St. Petersburg, Boris Pustintsev, called the move "the end of all email privacy."
The feeble-minded are truly blessed - email privacy never existed!
Problem: constituents feel that the politicians don't care about their problems, are not accountable to them, are influenced by lobbies too much.
Solution: make reighning politicians and running candidates public companies. Their shareholders will be their constituents with a clearly defined voice (number of shares). SEC will oversee large stock transactions and insiders, selling shares will be the only way to finance election campaigns. Instead of meaningless "town hall meetings" politicians will have to answer to "shareholder meetings". Small shareholders will be able to pool their power via shareholder proxies.
Downside: Those who can't afford politico-shares will not be cared for at all. But this is exactly what's going on now. So, no real downside!
First, congrats!
:)
Guys, why don't you upload the files to Philip Greenspun's server? See if his HP/AOLserver/tcl setup can be slashdotted!
Does Only Windows 2000 Support Active Directory?
Active Directory is rapidly becoming the preferred directory for third party independent software and hardware vendors to directory enable their next-generation applications and devices.
Translated into plain-speak this answer means: we don't give a fsck! They expect everyone else to bend over backwards to interoperate with AD - and judging from the history they're probably right...
AOL have permitted the open discussion of sexual issues, preferences and orientations for the first time in American history
Jon, ever heard of Usenet's alt.sex.* and the good ol' days? That was wa-a-ay before AOL became an issue.
Hapless Americans no longer have to risk arrest or humiliation by hanging around peep shows or porn parlors. They can go online.
Yeah, right! While before they could just pay cash and go home (unless their name was Gary Hart), now their credit company or USPS (or both) will know who buys what and how much FOREVER.
So, Senator, didn't you frequent BDSM sites 10 years ago? *Plunk*
Seems to me that Chinese government finally saw the importance of developing their own software industry to insure that nation's survival in the coming years. If we are to believe the pundits du jour, having your own software and hardware will be as important as having your own tanks and planes.
The euphoria of 1990s (free trade, peace on the planet, blah-blah) is gone. The Cold War continues, and the weapon of choice is called "technology control/denial".
As much as I like VA, I don't understand why their valuation should be higher (long-term) than other computer manufacturers. Let's face it: if, say, DELL wanted to become a bigger Linux company than VA, they could do it in a second.
Like Maybank and Hogg, Grimson is still struggling to distinguish a meeting from a mugging.
:)
Yeah, and the second order problem is to distinguish mugging from a mom actually giving her son money to buy ice-cream. The last time I checked, AI algorithms were incapable of distinguishing between cats and dogs. So this article should've been called Warning! My grant is about to run out.
Intergovernmental organizations do play a significant role nowadays, but we must remember that ultimate power still rests in national governments with their police, their armies, and their popular mandates.
Not quite true, if the national governments (meaning people that comprise them) become dependent (directly or indirectly) on various super-national bodies. One can argue that IMF removed Indonesia's Suharto by forcing him to conduct rather unpopular economic policies.
And, let's face it, there're more pressing problems than CDA - like the right to KNOW if your food was genetically engineered.
On the more sinister (conspiracy theory) note, what about IMF, World Bank and WTO being covertly led by the Trilateral and Bilderberg Commissions that are not elected in any way, but simply ARE OUT THERE?
I went through the noFUD website and saw, if you pardon my opinion, a mess. Partly that's because the authors chose to rebut the specific statements made by Microsoft or computer publications/pundits.
IMNSHO we are not going to get anywhere from this defensive stance. Instead we should attack NT, since Microsoft for too long has enjoyed the slave-like attitude from their installed ( = captive) user base: they complain, but have no energy to revolt.
In order to attack we should structure our strategy along several dimensions:
1. NT - Unix
2. Commercial - open source
3. Technology - implementation and practices
4. OS vendor - independent software vendors
This means that it is not enough to just argue that Linux is better than NT because of X, Y and Z. We need to specify that X means "generic Unix is better than NT", that Y means "technology Y is poorly implemented within NT", etc.
Granted, I have no deep knowledge of NT innards, but my guess is pretty much anything that is implementable in Unix can be ported to NT (c.f. Cygnus). Also, I have respect for VAX/VMS, so the "core technology" issue should be a toss. (Any other opinions?)
But, as many suffering NT users can attest, we can score heavily on the issues of poor implementations and programming practices that cause applications to crash and sometimes bring down the whole system.
On the issue of commercial vs open source, we need to point out the vices of EULA. Unlike e.g SUN or SGI, Microsoft does not provide any hardware advantages over the free Unices, but their licensing terms make the whole issue of "big corporate support" a moot point.
IMNSHO, just because, as a community, we are used to subsisting on unofficial, unsupported "ports" doesn't mean we should keep tolerating this situation.
Don't buy UT unless it has "Linux" on the box. And here's why: if a company knows that X percent of the paying customers use its products under the XYZ OS, it hires ($$$ !) a proportionate number of developers and support staff. The more XYZ developers, the better XYZ support for the next release - it's a feedback system!