What buying "enterprise" versions -really- brings you, is that sometimes all-important bit of paper that people who like support contracts can cuddle like a security blanket. ----
I agree that I'm an Idealistic Moron. There's no doubt of that in my mind. But as I said, I settled on Debian. Debian has plenty of large companies that offer support packages, thus providing that all-important peice of paper... and I don't have to give up my ideals to use it.
You've got soemthing of a false dichotomy there. It's not a matter of: either I can have my ideals or I can have a nice fat support contract. Sometimes I can have both. That's what Debian got for me.
Now, reading some of the replies to my original post, it seems I may have been a bit hasty to claim that the proprietary software Suse and Redhat provide isn't available to non-paying people. I'll have to look into it again... it's possible as an Idealistic Moron that I just missed where those things are made availaible.
Depends on the time of day. I'm afraid you missed my point. If you must pay for access to the software, then that's a barrier to many *other* cheapskates (besides me, though I also love a bargain).
Those *other* cheapskates eyes will no longer even have a *chance* to see the code for the additional software Suse and Redhat suggest putting in all *ENTERPRISE* level deployments.
Maybe I don't "get" the Linux Philosophy, but to me, using proprietary software that just anyone can't have a look at is NOT meeting the Ideals that Slashdot brought me up to believe were Good and Right.
Reently I had to decide on a linux platform for my company. In evaluating the possibilities, I was seeking a distro that had both a lot of readily-available support, and the benefits of F/OSS.
Suse and Redhat, while perfect on the former count, DO NOT OFFER THE FULL BENEFITS OF F/OSS SOFTWARE.
Both RH and Suse offer certain configurations of their software which you cannot get without paying. I don't have anything against paying someone for software I use, if it's also available for free. But I do have a problem with software that you can't even look at unless you pay.
"Many eyes make bugs shallow." The more a peice of software costs, the less people will see it and contribute to it. The fewer bugs will exits in the end -- the better the software will be.
I dont' know about the OP, but here's how *I* figure Fable ruined Lionhead.
Before I bought Fable, I'd have rushed out to buy anything and everything with Lionhead and/or Peter Molyneaux's name on it. I've been looking forward to Black and White 2, because I've heard about all the way it will beat the pants off Black and White 1, which was an excellent game in it's own right.
But now that I've played Fable, I'm not going to be so anxious to buy Black and White 2. For Fable, I was willing ot buy the hype, run out, and put my money down on the game, "site-unseen".
It won't happen again. There's no way in hell I'm buying another Peter Molyneaux game without checking it out first to be sure it really does 1/4th of the things we've been told.
So would I say they've lost a sale of Black and White 2? No, maybe not -- but they've definately lost $50 worth of pre-launch money. And that's just me.
There already is such an EULA on most "high-end" pets. And on the low-end ones, too -- if you adopt from a shelter, every shelter I've ever been to REQUIRES spay/neuter on adopted pets. Many breeders these days require the same, unless you pay extra for reproduction rights.
No, I'm not kidding. My mom has been a dog breeder for many years. (No dirty jokes now, this is my MOM we're tlaking about.)
Tell me (and the rest of Slashdot) a little more about how your service works. I work for an ecommerce provider with some money to throw at the problem, if you really can make it go away. I tend to think in technical terms, though, so you won't make a sale here unless I really end up feeling like I understand how you can help.
I did read the article. I don't think hanging out on IRC in hopes of getting the dirt on some skript-kiddies is a plan that I can give to my boss with any confidence.
If it comes up, though, I'll be glad to "help that guy out" or better yet to report the skript kiddies to the authorities myself. I can schmooze on IRC as well as the next guy.
(Never mind that on IRC "the next guy" is probably a 40-year old pervert with no social skills living in his mother's basement.)
I suppose that's a good point I hadn't thought of; as unsatisfying as it would be to me to say, "I bought more bandwidth so I'm winning for now," it'd probably be even LESS satisfying to the attacker.
Or at least, I like to think I'm not very good. There's so much to know, and I only know a tiny part of it.
My boss keeps coming to me with printouts of articles just like this one. Then he likes to say, "What can we do to prevent this happening to us?"
I like to respond, "Nothing."
But it's never a satisfying response. What do the slashdot network gurus do to prevent DDoS attacks on their systems?
I would suggest the standard netowrk security tips - close off any ports that aren't needed, etc --
I would suggest a null route, but that only helps against a known attacking IP address. A DDoS comes from many IP addresses.
I woudl suggest blocking (or null routing) them ALL, but then the DDoS attacker will just go buy another set of zombie PCs and renew the attack. You can't win that one.
I would suggest getting a service provider with more bandwidth, but then the attacker will just get an equivalent number of more zombie PCs to attack from.
I would suggest a fancy setup with multiple servers at multiple Colos but then the DDoSer will just launch multiple attacks.
Is there any way to win?
Is there any way I can tell my boss something other than "nothing?"
Is *IS* a "software" radio and not hardware. It's implemented in "firmware" and they say they could have changed it easily, except there's apparently no way to do so after launch.
The problem is they didn't find this problem until AFTER launch. good timing, right?
Hey, that stuff is there whether you use Google to show it to you or not. I say we thank our Google Overlords for showing the masses how stupid it is to read e-mail or get passwords on a public terminal.
Maybe I'm too old, but I seem to remember a time when most PCs didn't come with parallel ports or serial ports, either. It was a common purchase to get a serial or parallel card for your mobo.
And go figure, serial and parallel port cards are still available. It's not the end of the world if you haven't got a port.
... I'd see a web address on a public billboard.... All my friends would be using e-mail.... You could get a virus from viewing a document.... You would need an ad-blocker for your videogames.
Thanks to you, and to the others who have replied. I think now I have settled on a Socket 754 3200+.
First off, the cost difference between 754 and 939 is enormous! It looks like I'll double the price fo the proc and mobo just to make that jump.
Secondly, Morkano mentions that the 3200 has twice the L2 cache of the 3000 -- from looking around, it seems like there are two AMD 3200 chips; one is socket 754 and has 1mb of L2, which is sweet, and the other is socket 939 and has 512k.
I am already considering the cost of ram and a new power supply and a new video card on top of the mobo/proc combination, but I'm under the impression that the RAM won't need to be changed based on which mobo/proc I buy (they both will work fine with 400mhz PC 3200 DDR) and the video card -- well, I wanted a 6000-line nVidia, but my budget is probably going to constrain me to a 5700.
For some benchmarks that will help me decide whether I'm better off buying a low-end AMD 64 bit system or a high-end AMD 32-bit system. I've got about $300 to spend on a mobo/processor combination, and I see I can go either way at that price -- but as this system is only going to be used for playing video games (Half Life 2, specifically) I'm not sure there's any advantage to 64-bit. I see that it's got a better architecture even if you're only using it in 32-bit mode...
Slashdot Mirror
What buying "enterprise" versions -really- brings you, is that sometimes all-important bit of paper that people who like support contracts can cuddle like a security blanket.
----
I agree that I'm an Idealistic Moron. There's no doubt of that in my mind. But as I said, I settled on Debian. Debian has plenty of large companies that offer support packages, thus providing that all-important peice of paper... and I don't have to give up my ideals to use it.
You've got soemthing of a false dichotomy there. It's not a matter of: either I can have my ideals or I can have a nice fat support contract. Sometimes I can have both. That's what Debian got for me.
Now, reading some of the replies to my original post, it seems I may have been a bit hasty to claim that the proprietary software Suse and Redhat provide isn't available to non-paying people. I'll have to look into it again... it's possible as an Idealistic Moron that I just missed where those things are made availaible.
Depends on the time of day. I'm afraid you missed my point. If you must pay for access to the software, then that's a barrier to many *other* cheapskates (besides me, though I also love a bargain).
Those *other* cheapskates eyes will no longer even have a *chance* to see the code for the additional software Suse and Redhat suggest putting in all *ENTERPRISE* level deployments.
Maybe I don't "get" the Linux Philosophy, but to me, using proprietary software that just anyone can't have a look at is NOT meeting the Ideals that Slashdot brought me up to believe were Good and Right.
That's all I'm saying.
Reently I had to decide on a linux platform for my company. In evaluating the possibilities, I was seeking a distro that had both a lot of readily-available support, and the benefits of F/OSS.
Suse and Redhat, while perfect on the former count, DO NOT OFFER THE FULL BENEFITS OF F/OSS SOFTWARE.
Both RH and Suse offer certain configurations of their software which you cannot get without paying. I don't have anything against paying someone for software I use, if it's also available for free. But I do have a problem with software that you can't even look at unless you pay.
"Many eyes make bugs shallow." The more a peice of software costs, the less people will see it and contribute to it. The fewer bugs will exits in the end -- the better the software will be.
So I picked Debian. And I dig it.
I can't see myself memorizing too many words over 5 letters though, even after repeated use. They tend to just look like random scribbling.
-----
Funny how few secretaries I've heard make the same complaint about traditional shorthand...
I dont' know about the OP, but here's how *I* figure Fable ruined Lionhead.
Before I bought Fable, I'd have rushed out to buy anything and everything with Lionhead and/or Peter Molyneaux's name on it. I've been looking forward to Black and White 2, because I've heard about all the way it will beat the pants off Black and White 1, which was an excellent game in it's own right.
But now that I've played Fable, I'm not going to be so anxious to buy Black and White 2. For Fable, I was willing ot buy the hype, run out, and put my money down on the game, "site-unseen".
It won't happen again. There's no way in hell I'm buying another Peter Molyneaux game without checking it out first to be sure it really does 1/4th of the things we've been told.
So would I say they've lost a sale of Black and White 2? No, maybe not -- but they've definately lost $50 worth of pre-launch money. And that's just me.
I see a lot of comments here referring to the high price of the cats.
I'd just like to point out that any pedigreed dog will cost you $500-$3500 (the high end for males, the low end for females).
"Good" pets aren't cheap. Take "good" as you like it; my cats are not pedigreed and are fantastic pets.
There already is such an EULA on most "high-end" pets. And on the low-end ones, too -- if you adopt from a shelter, every shelter I've ever been to REQUIRES spay/neuter on adopted pets. Many breeders these days require the same, unless you pay extra for reproduction rights.
No, I'm not kidding. My mom has been a dog breeder for many years. (No dirty jokes now, this is my MOM we're tlaking about.)
Did you just say your wife lacks anything worthy?
Daaayam... She may be a CS-playing geek, but I hope she doesn't read Slashdot.
Tell me (and the rest of Slashdot) a little more about how your service works. I work for an ecommerce provider with some money to throw at the problem, if you really can make it go away. I tend to think in technical terms, though, so you won't make a sale here unless I really end up feeling like I understand how you can help.
Awesome. The next time my boss asks me what we can do to prevent DDoS attacks, I know what I'll tell him now.
"Start a grassroots campaign!"
That'll get me promoted, no doubt.
I did read the article. I don't think hanging out on IRC in hopes of getting the dirt on some skript-kiddies is a plan that I can give to my boss with any confidence.
If it comes up, though, I'll be glad to "help that guy out" or better yet to report the skript kiddies to the authorities myself. I can schmooze on IRC as well as the next guy.
(Never mind that on IRC "the next guy" is probably a 40-year old pervert with no social skills living in his mother's basement.)
I suppose that's a good point I hadn't thought of; as unsatisfying as it would be to me to say, "I bought more bandwidth so I'm winning for now," it'd probably be even LESS satisfying to the attacker.
:/
I wish there were something more though.
Well, that sounds nice in theory. How do you accomplish it in practice?
You can point me at some link if there's some description elsewhere on the net...
Or at least, I like to think I'm not very good. There's so much to know, and I only know a tiny part of it.
My boss keeps coming to me with printouts of articles just like this one. Then he likes to say, "What can we do to prevent this happening to us?"
I like to respond, "Nothing."
But it's never a satisfying response. What do the slashdot network gurus do to prevent DDoS attacks on their systems?
I would suggest the standard netowrk security tips - close off any ports that aren't needed, etc --
I would suggest a null route, but that only helps against a known attacking IP address. A DDoS comes from many IP addresses.
I woudl suggest blocking (or null routing) them ALL, but then the DDoS attacker will just go buy another set of zombie PCs and renew the attack. You can't win that one.
I would suggest getting a service provider with more bandwidth, but then the attacker will just get an equivalent number of more zombie PCs to attack from.
I would suggest a fancy setup with multiple servers at multiple Colos but then the DDoSer will just launch multiple attacks.
Is there any way to win?
Is there any way I can tell my boss something other than "nothing?"
Save me Slashdot! Pleeeeease!?
That's "doubleplusungood," comrade. The thought police will be by shortly to take you for a visit to the Ministry of Love.
Is *IS* a "software" radio and not hardware. It's implemented in "firmware" and they say they could have changed it easily, except there's apparently no way to do so after launch.
The problem is they didn't find this problem until AFTER launch. good timing, right?
Hey, that stuff is there whether you use Google to show it to you or not. I say we thank our Google Overlords for showing the masses how stupid it is to read e-mail or get passwords on a public terminal.
Maybe I'm too old, but I seem to remember a time when most PCs didn't come with parallel ports or serial ports, either. It was a common purchase to get a serial or parallel card for your mobo.
And go figure, serial and parallel port cards are still available. It's not the end of the world if you haven't got a port.
You clearly never tried ReiserFS.
... I'd see a web address on a public billboard. ... All my friends would be using e-mail. ... You could get a virus from viewing a document. ... You would need an ad-blocker for your videogames.
Thanks to you, and to the others who have replied. I think now I have settled on a Socket 754 3200+.
First off, the cost difference between 754 and 939 is enormous! It looks like I'll double the price fo the proc and mobo just to make that jump.
Secondly, Morkano mentions that the 3200 has twice the L2 cache of the 3000 -- from looking around, it seems like there are two AMD 3200 chips; one is socket 754 and has 1mb of L2, which is sweet, and the other is socket 939 and has 512k.
I am already considering the cost of ram and a new power supply and a new video card on top of the mobo/proc combination, but I'm under the impression that the RAM won't need to be changed based on which mobo/proc I buy (they both will work fine with 400mhz PC 3200 DDR) and the video card -- well, I wanted a 6000-line nVidia, but my budget is probably going to constrain me to a 5700.
Thank again for the help!
For some benchmarks that will help me decide whether I'm better off buying a low-end AMD 64 bit system or a high-end AMD 32-bit system. I've got about $300 to spend on a mobo/processor combination, and I see I can go either way at that price -- but as this system is only going to be used for playing video games (Half Life 2, specifically) I'm not sure there's any advantage to 64-bit. I see that it's got a better architecture even if you're only using it in 32-bit mode...
any hints?
Impressive... has that ever gotten you out of a speeding ticket?
I wish what you've said were true. But it isn't. There was just an article posted here on Slashdot about how the courts have upheld EULAs.
/ 16 48254&tid=123&tid=127
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/10/02
"When we find this crazy typewriter, we'll have our kidnapper."