Here is an interesting article, describing how Microsoft is trying to get Java developers to write J# (java) code for the.NET platform. Unfortunately.NET only runs on the Windows platform, which has Sun a bit upset.
I love GPG, I use it daily to decrypt PGP encoded files that I receive from several very large companies that I have as clients. It's evident there is a need for usable public encryption on the business level, and GPG/PGP works great for this.
As much as I like GPG, I don't use it for personal emails, however. I believe that S/MIME is a better system for encrypting personal emails, simply because support is already built into the major email clients (Netscape, Outlook Express) already. When there is a button built right into my friends email client, I have a much greater chance of getting them to use that feature, as opposed to having them download a new, seperate piece of software. Now if Evolution would just support S/MIME (they've been teasing me with that grayed out S/MIME panel), I'd be all set.
Ah, 20,000 listeners a day..didn't see that number. I was just going off the current listeners and the peak listeners I saw posted. Anyhow, I figured 12 songs an hour per station * the 8 stations they have, is 96 songs an hour.
I thought the guys math was wrong when he said it would cost them $350,000 a year in fees, but after doing it myself, that seems about right (thanks The Fanfan for this equation from the old story).
1600 listeners * 24 hrs/day * 96 perfs/hr = 3686400 = $737.28 per day
That's $269,107 per year. I'm sure Soma's calculations more accurate than my own educated guesses above.
Q1:What is Serial ATA and Why is it being developed? A1: Serial ATA is an evolutionary replacement for the Parallel ATA physical storage interface. Serial ATA is scalable and will allow future enhancements to the computingplatform.
Q2: Previous efforts to transition to a serial bus were not successful. Why do you believe that Serial ATA will be successful? A2: Serial ATA is a drop-in solution in that it is compatible with today's software, which will run on the new architecture without modifacation. It will provide for systems which are easier to design, with cables that are simple to route and install, smaller cable connectors, improve silicon design, and lower voltages which alleviate current design requirements in Parallel ATA.
Q3: Will there still be a parallel ATA bus when Serial ATA comes out? A3: Serial ATA's adoption by the industry will follow a phased transition path. Therewill be a point where both Parallel and Serial ATA capabilities are available.
Q4: You stated that PCs implementing Serial ATA will be in the marketplace in2002. Why does it take so long to implement? A4: The goal of the working group is to ensure the Serial ATA transition happens as smoothly and quickly as possible. The Serial ATA specification is expected to becomplete in the fall of 2000 with adoption to happen in the following 12 to 18 months.
Q5: What are the end user benefit of Serial ATA? A5: End users will benefit by being able to easily upgrade their storage devices. Configuration of Serial ATA devices will be much simpler, with many of today's requirements on jumper and settings no longer needed.
Q6: What is the cost to implement Serial ATA in a system? A6: The cost of Serial ATA technology will be on par with today's Parallel ATAtechnology.
Q7: Who are the members of the Serial ATA Working Group? Can new companies join? A7: The Serial ATA promoters group includes APT Technologies Inc, Dell Computer Corporation, International Business Machines, Intel Corporation, Maxtor Corporation, Quantum Corporation, and Seagate Technology. Information on joining the working group is available at www.serialata.org and new members are welcome.
Q8: Hard disk data rates don't seem to be pushing the limits of current ATA66technology. Why is Serial ATA being planned now? A8: Serial ATA is an evolutionary replacement for the Parallel ATA physical storageinterface and will allow future enhancements to the computing platform. Specifically, thethinner Serial ATA cable addresses OEM's concerns regarding airflow around the Parallel ATA cable, and enables design of smaller PC chassis, as well as silicon vendors concerns regarding 5 volt tolerance support in future designs.
Q9: Will Serial ATA be compatible with today'sPCs? A9:Serial ATA electronics and connectors will differ from Parallel ATA, however the technology is software compatible and OS transparent. It is anticipated that there will be adapters to facilitate forward- and backward-compatibility of hard disks on PC systems.
Q10: What is the impact of Serial ATA on OEMs? A10: Industry benefits of Serial ATA include systems which are easier to design withcables that are simple to route and install, smaller cable connectors with improved silicondesign, lower voltage which alleviates current design requirements in Parallel ATA and compatibility with today's software which will run on the new architecture withoutmodification.
Q11: Beyond hard disks, will Serial ATA be used on floppy drives, optical drives,DVDs, and ZIP drives? A11: Serial ATA supports all ATA and ATAPI devices, including CDs, DVDs, tapesdevices, high capacity removeable devices, zip drives, and CDRW's.
Q12: What is the impact of Serial ATA on IEEE1394 (aka Firewire) and on USB2in terms of PC system function? A12: Serial ATA is planned to be the primary storage interface inside the PC system, and is not planned as an external interface to PC storage or peripherals. USB2 and IEEE1394 connections on the PC can be used where required as peripheral interfaces.
Q13: When does Microsoft plan to support Serial ATA in its OS's? A13: Serial ATA is software compatible with Parallel ATA and requires no changes toMicrosoft operating systems, or any other OS as well.
Q14: What are the licensing requirements and costs of Serial ATA to companiesthat want to use the technology? A14: When the Serial ATA specification is complete, it will be made available at nocharge. The working group expects to complete the specification later this year.
Yep, this most certainly would effect data networks. Does Sirius not understand the fact that the 2.4 band has been available for public use for years now? You'd think they would have performed interference tests with their equipment from day one, instead of waiting until the last minute. This is ridiculous...Sirius may have invested $3 billion, but what about the rest of us who have already invested significant amounts of money outfitting out sompanies with WiFi. If money matters in this matter, then my money matters too.
Re:What a terrible approach to build game interest
on
EFF Takes Bnetd Case
·
· Score: 2
You didn't screw up, both Valve and Sierra are involved with Half-Life and CounterStrike. I believe that Valve developed the game for Sierra. I'm just waiting for Sierra to come out with a FPS version of Mahjong.
The research, which was sponsored by the RIAA, has initiated talks with the trapped atoms, but unfortunately refused to let them go free until they pay their proper licensing fees.
I have a similiar experience. I recently started participating in Spamcop.net's blacklisting effort...a few days after I started submitting SPAM to be blacklisted, for some reason, my daily SPAM intake has tripled. I'm not sure if it's just coincidence or what, but it doesn't please me. I hate to think of the reason why this has happened...
I'm seriously considering moving my mail servers over to using TMDA, which I hear stops about 99% of SPAM. At this point, I have to do something.
Just an FYI about the lack of security on older versions of formmail.pl You should replace the exploitable version, if you are using it yourself.
Formmail.pl Can Be Used As An Open Mail Relay
Summary
The CGI program Formmail.pl lacks adequate security checks and allows spammers to send anonymous e-mail using vulnerable host as mail relays.
This vulnerability has already been exploit by spammers in many installations of Formmail.pl.
Details
Matt Wright's formmail.pl program does a "security check" on the HTTP_REFERER server variable. The security check is usually used to verify that information submitted from a form came from a proper or designated domain. This is usually done to prevent someone from creating a local, malicious form to submit to a script. This can be easily bypassed by passing a raw HTTP request, and faking the HTTP Referrer. This script also allows you to set the recipient's email address in the form. These two factors allow a malicious user to use the formmail.pl program two distribute their email (SPAM).
Exploit:
A URL such as the following:
http://www.example.com/cgi-bin/FormMail.pl? recipient=email@address-to-spam.com&message= Proof%20that%20FormMail.pl%20can%20be%20used%20to% 20send%20anonymous%20spam.
Will send an anonymous e-mail if the installed FormMail.pl is vulnerable.
Workaround:
1. Remove your formmail.pl script until the author provides a fix.
or:
2. Hard code the recipient's email address in the formmail.pl program. Do not rely on the address submitted by the user.
"Once you capture live action footage in object video format, you can not only make it more visually engaging, but also sell advertising right in context of the live event."
Great, now you won't be able to distinguish between the show you're watching and the advertisement. Now when I'm watching TechTV, I can look forward to Britney Spears bouncing thru with a Pepsi at 30 second intervals.
Maybe we could all get around this, if NAI wins by posting "positive" reviews instead of negative ones, like this:
"I use the latest version of McAfee Anti-virus and let me tells you that product is frickin' awesome!!!! It hardly ever catches the latest viruses, in fact it has a 100% success rate of never catching the most current crop of viruses.
In addition to all the other benefits this incredible product supplies, it also successfully connects to the Internet every morning and sends handy information about my surfing habits and computer configuration back to Network Associates, all without me having to push a single button! Go out and buy McAfee Anti-Virus now, you won't be sorry."
1) Microsoft Operating Systems and products must have copy protection schemes that prevent them from being pirated (heading that way with the release of XP)
2) Microsoft products and Operating Systems can't have "must-have" features that Linux and Open Source alteratives don't offer. I can get by today without ever using Windows and Windows software, as long as that trend continues the possibility of replacing Windows with Linux on everyone's desktop is alive and well (I've already replaced Windows on my desktop)
3) OEM can't continue to ship copies of Microsoft Operating Systems and products with their PC's. This is probably the hardest one to overcome, and I dare say is almost impossible to overcome. Even with some companies offering Linux as an installed option, it is dreadfully difficult to have an average user ask for Linux over Windows when 96% of the PC's they see have Windows on them
4) Microsoft shooting themselves in the foot. I'll give them credit that they have great marketing and a strong hold on the market. The one thing that will truely help Linux is Microsoft hurting themselves.
How about some different numbers...everyone loves statistics. "The following numbers were obtained by counting web site defacements as listed at Attrition.org from June 2000 through May 2001:" Breakin Stats
The trouble with comparing Linux distros to Windows lies in the fact that Linux distros include so many different applications. I just did a count of installed packages on a RedHat box I am using, and I got 780 installed packages. I'd like to see a comparison of the number of exploits between the RedHat distro and Windows installed with 700 of the most common applications for it. That might be a more useful comparison. Also, I will readily acknowledge the weakness and lack of true usefulness of the numbers below, so no need to flame me for the lack of usability...I'm only posting the info I found, so no need to stone the messenger.
Windows
4336 Windows NT
1070 Windows 2000
2 Windows 95
5408 Windows total
All UNIX and Like 1185 Linux Red Hat
999 Linux unknown distributions
36 Linux Connectiva
23 Linux Debian
17 Linux Cobalt
17 Linux SuSE
13 Linux ALZZA
12 Linux Mandrake
1 Linux Slackware
2304 Linux total
485 Solaris & Sun OS (1)
267 IRIX
163 FreeBSD
121 BSDI
44 SCO
28 Generic UNIX
18 Compaq Tru64 UNIX
9 AIX
7 HPUX HP
4 Digital UNIX DG
3 OpenBSD
2 NetBSD
1 PowerBSD
1 Digital OSF1
1153 UNIX & Like total
Slashdot Mirror
I can see it now:
Chapter 1
The joys of 0
Chapter 2
The joys of 1
Chapter 3
0 meets 1
Looks like the site is starting to bog down, so here's a mirror if need be.
Very cool looking research.
Newforge has this commentary by James Treleaven about the possible implications to Open Source if Microsoft implements a database driven filesystem.
Here is an interesting article, describing how Microsoft is trying to get Java developers to write J# (java) code for the .NET platform. Unfortunately .NET only runs on the Windows platform, which has Sun a bit upset.
I love GPG, I use it daily to decrypt PGP encoded files that I receive from several very large companies that I have as clients. It's evident there is a need for usable public encryption on the business level, and GPG/PGP works great for this.
As much as I like GPG, I don't use it for personal emails, however. I believe that S/MIME is a better system for encrypting personal emails, simply because support is already built into the major email clients (Netscape, Outlook Express) already. When there is a button built right into my friends email client, I have a much greater chance of getting them to use that feature, as opposed to having them download a new, seperate piece of software. Now if Evolution would just support S/MIME (they've been teasing me with that grayed out S/MIME panel), I'd be all set.
"...finding virgins much more difficult."
I have a hard enough time with this as it is. Damn you Microsoft! DAMN YOU!!!!!
Ah, 20,000 listeners a day..didn't see that number. I was just going off the current listeners and the peak listeners I saw posted. Anyhow, I figured 12 songs an hour per station * the 8 stations they have, is 96 songs an hour.
I thought the guys math was wrong when he said it would cost them $350,000 a year in fees, but after doing it myself, that seems about right (thanks The Fanfan for this equation from the old story).
1600 listeners * 24 hrs/day * 96 perfs/hr = 3686400 = $737.28 per day
That's $269,107 per year. I'm sure Soma's calculations more accurate than my own educated guesses above.
Here is, what I believe to be, a better approach to fighting SPAM: Tagged Message Delivery Agent(TMDA)
Maybe they could just send an email to everyone asking them if they've like to opt-in.
So when are geese gonna start flying North for the Winter?
Taken from the Serial ATA website:
Q1:What is Serial ATA and Why is it being developed?
A1: Serial ATA is an evolutionary replacement for the Parallel ATA physical storage interface. Serial ATA is scalable and will allow future enhancements to the computingplatform.
Q2: Previous efforts to transition to a serial bus were not successful. Why do you believe that Serial ATA will be successful?
A2: Serial ATA is a drop-in solution in that it is compatible with today's software, which will run on the new architecture without modifacation. It will provide for systems which are easier to design, with cables that are simple to route and install, smaller cable connectors, improve silicon design, and lower voltages which alleviate current design requirements in Parallel ATA.
Q3: Will there still be a parallel ATA bus when Serial ATA comes out?
A3: Serial ATA's adoption by the industry will follow a phased transition path. Therewill be a point where both Parallel and Serial ATA capabilities are available.
Q4: You stated that PCs implementing Serial ATA will be in the marketplace in2002. Why does it take so long to implement?
A4: The goal of the working group is to ensure the Serial ATA transition happens as smoothly and quickly as possible. The Serial ATA specification is expected to becomplete in the fall of 2000 with adoption to happen in the following 12 to 18 months.
Q5: What are the end user benefit of Serial ATA?
A5: End users will benefit by being able to easily upgrade their storage devices. Configuration of Serial ATA devices will be much simpler, with many of today's requirements on jumper and settings no longer needed.
Q6: What is the cost to implement Serial ATA in a system?
A6: The cost of Serial ATA technology will be on par with today's Parallel ATAtechnology.
Q7: Who are the members of the Serial ATA Working Group? Can new companies join?
A7: The Serial ATA promoters group includes APT Technologies Inc, Dell Computer Corporation, International Business Machines, Intel Corporation, Maxtor Corporation, Quantum Corporation, and Seagate Technology. Information on joining the working group is available at www.serialata.org and new members are welcome.
Q8: Hard disk data rates don't seem to be pushing the limits of current ATA66technology. Why is Serial ATA being planned now?
A8: Serial ATA is an evolutionary replacement for the Parallel ATA physical storageinterface and will allow future enhancements to the computing platform. Specifically, thethinner Serial ATA cable addresses OEM's concerns regarding airflow around the Parallel ATA cable, and enables design of smaller PC chassis, as well as silicon vendors concerns regarding 5 volt tolerance support in future designs.
Q9: Will Serial ATA be compatible with today'sPCs?
A9:Serial ATA electronics and connectors will differ from Parallel ATA, however the technology is software compatible and OS transparent. It is anticipated that there will be adapters to facilitate forward- and backward-compatibility of hard disks on PC systems.
Q10: What is the impact of Serial ATA on OEMs?
A10: Industry benefits of Serial ATA include systems which are easier to design withcables that are simple to route and install, smaller cable connectors with improved silicondesign, lower voltage which alleviates current design requirements in Parallel ATA and compatibility with today's software which will run on the new architecture withoutmodification.
Q11: Beyond hard disks, will Serial ATA be used on floppy drives, optical drives,DVDs, and ZIP drives?
A11: Serial ATA supports all ATA and ATAPI devices, including CDs, DVDs, tapesdevices, high capacity removeable devices, zip drives, and CDRW's.
Q12: What is the impact of Serial ATA on IEEE1394 (aka Firewire) and on USB2in terms of PC system function?
A12: Serial ATA is planned to be the primary storage interface inside the PC system, and is not planned as an external interface to PC storage or peripherals. USB2 and IEEE1394 connections on the PC can be used where required as peripheral interfaces.
Q13: When does Microsoft plan to support Serial ATA in its OS's?
A13: Serial ATA is software compatible with Parallel ATA and requires no changes toMicrosoft operating systems, or any other OS as well.
Q14: What are the licensing requirements and costs of Serial ATA to companiesthat want to use the technology?
A14: When the Serial ATA specification is complete, it will be made available at nocharge. The working group expects to complete the specification later this year.
Yep, this most certainly would effect data networks. Does Sirius not understand the fact that the 2.4 band has been available for public use for years now? You'd think they would have performed interference tests with their equipment from day one, instead of waiting until the last minute. This is ridiculous...Sirius may have invested $3 billion, but what about the rest of us who have already invested significant amounts of money outfitting out sompanies with WiFi. If money matters in this matter, then my money matters too.
You didn't screw up, both Valve and Sierra are involved with Half-Life and CounterStrike. I believe that Valve developed the game for Sierra. I'm just waiting for Sierra to come out with a FPS version of Mahjong.
Everyone else decided America just really sucked when they got here, and promptly headed back home.
The research, which was sponsored by the RIAA, has initiated talks with the trapped atoms, but unfortunately refused to let them go free until they pay their proper licensing fees.
I'm seriously considering moving my mail servers over to using TMDA, which I hear stops about 99% of SPAM. At this point, I have to do something.
Just an FYI about the lack of security on older versions of formmail.pl You should replace the exploitable version, if you are using it yourself.
% 20send%20anonymous%20spam.
Formmail.pl Can Be Used As An Open Mail Relay
Summary
The CGI program Formmail.pl lacks adequate security checks and allows spammers to send anonymous e-mail using vulnerable host as mail relays.
This vulnerability has already been exploit by spammers in many installations of Formmail.pl.
Details
Matt Wright's formmail.pl program does a "security check" on the HTTP_REFERER server variable. The security check is usually used to verify that information submitted from a form came from a proper or designated domain. This is usually done to prevent someone from creating a local, malicious form to submit to a script. This can be easily bypassed by passing a raw HTTP request, and faking the HTTP Referrer. This script also allows you to set the recipient's email address in the form. These two factors allow a malicious user to use the formmail.pl program two distribute their email (SPAM).
Exploit:
A URL such as the following:
http://www.example.com/cgi-bin/FormMail.pl? recipient=email@address-to-spam.com&message= Proof%20that%20FormMail.pl%20can%20be%20used%20to
Will send an anonymous e-mail if the installed FormMail.pl is vulnerable.
Workaround:
1. Remove your formmail.pl script until the author provides a fix.
or:
2. Hard code the recipient's email address in the formmail.pl program. Do not rely on the address submitted by the user.
"Once you capture live action footage in object video format, you can not only make it more visually engaging, but also sell advertising right in context of the live event."
Great, now you won't be able to distinguish between the show you're watching and the advertisement. Now when I'm watching TechTV, I can look forward to Britney Spears bouncing thru with a Pepsi at 30 second intervals.
"I use the latest version of McAfee Anti-virus and let me tells you that product is frickin' awesome!!!! It hardly ever catches the latest viruses, in fact it has a 100% success rate of never catching the most current crop of viruses.
In addition to all the other benefits this incredible product supplies, it also successfully connects to the Internet every morning and sends handy information about my surfing habits and computer configuration back to Network Associates, all without me having to push a single button! Go out and buy McAfee Anti-Virus now, you won't be sorry."
1) Microsoft Operating Systems and products must have copy protection schemes that prevent them from being pirated (heading that way with the release of XP)
2) Microsoft products and Operating Systems can't have "must-have" features that Linux and Open Source alteratives don't offer. I can get by today without ever using Windows and Windows software, as long as that trend continues the possibility of replacing Windows with Linux on everyone's desktop is alive and well (I've already replaced Windows on my desktop)
3) OEM can't continue to ship copies of Microsoft Operating Systems and products with their PC's. This is probably the hardest one to overcome, and I dare say is almost impossible to overcome. Even with some companies offering Linux as an installed option, it is dreadfully difficult to have an average user ask for Linux over Windows when 96% of the PC's they see have Windows on them
4) Microsoft shooting themselves in the foot. I'll give them credit that they have great marketing and a strong hold on the market. The one thing that will truely help Linux is Microsoft hurting themselves.
The trouble with comparing Linux distros to Windows lies in the fact that Linux distros include so many different applications. I just did a count of installed packages on a RedHat box I am using, and I got 780 installed packages. I'd like to see a comparison of the number of exploits between the RedHat distro and Windows installed with 700 of the most common applications for it. That might be a more useful comparison. Also, I will readily acknowledge the weakness and lack of true usefulness of the numbers below, so no need to flame me for the lack of usability...I'm only posting the info I found, so no need to stone the messenger.
Windows
4336 Windows NT
1070 Windows 2000
2 Windows 95
5408 Windows total
All UNIX and Like
1185 Linux Red Hat
999 Linux unknown distributions
36 Linux Connectiva
23 Linux Debian
17 Linux Cobalt
17 Linux SuSE
13 Linux ALZZA
12 Linux Mandrake
1 Linux Slackware
2304 Linux total
485 Solaris & Sun OS (1)
267 IRIX
163 FreeBSD
121 BSDI
44 SCO
28 Generic UNIX
18 Compaq Tru64 UNIX
9 AIX
7 HPUX HP
4 Digital UNIX DG
3 OpenBSD
2 NetBSD
1 PowerBSD
1 Digital OSF1
1153 UNIX & Like total
3457 UNIXs & Linux
8865 Total Windows and all UNIX
Other
2 Mac OS
1 Netware
63 unidentified
Add the following to your sendmail.mc file:
/etc/mail/sendmail.mc > /etc/sendmail.cf
FEATURE(dnsbl,`bl.spamcop.net')dnl
then run
m4
Works for me...doesn't block it all, but it seems to help a great deal.
Registrant:
lindows.com (LINDOWS-DOM)
P.O. Box 620603
Woodside, CA 94062
US
Domain Name: LINDOWS.COM
Administrative Contact, Technical Contact, Billing Contact:
Center, Network (LU9) noc@LINUS.COM
linus.com
P.O. Box 620603
Woodside, CA 94062
US
(650) 555-1212
Record last updated on 27-Jul-2001.
Record expires on 27-Jul-2009.
Record created on 27-Jul-1998.
Database last updated on 3-Jan-2002 22:19:00 EST.
Domain servers in listed order:
DNS1.HOSTPRO.NET 209.196.128.13
DNS2.HOSTPRO.NET 209.196.128.14
Registrant:
Upson, Linus (LINUS13-DOM)
P.O. Box 620603
Woodside, CA 94062
US
Domain Name: LINUS.COM
Administrative Contact, Technical Contact, Billing Contact:
Upson, Linus (OISHVRZVKI) noc@linus.com
Upson,Linus
P.O. Box 620603
Woodside, CA 94062
US
(650) 759-8402 123 123 1234
Record last updated on 19-Dec-2001.
Record expires on 15-May-2009.
Record created on 14-May-1995.
Database last updated on 3-Jan-2002 22:19:00 EST.
Domain servers in listed order:
NS1.ELECTRICRAIN.COM 64.71.143.226
NS2.ELECTRICRAIN.COM 63.192.215.189