aActually, I would disagree. I wrote the BBC and received a reply today. Ironically, they did not seem to address the actual issues I brought up. I do give them credit for at least replying, however, the text of their email is as follows:
Thanks for your e-mail.
I have noted the points you made - as well as the vigorous debate on Slashdot.org about this article.
Well, Stephen Evan's weekly "stateside" column is not a news story, but an analytical look at major events and business trends in the United States.
It is, of course, debatable whether MyDoom/Novarg/Shimgapi was written just to bring down the SCO website, or whether the installation of spamming tools on numerous computers was an additional - or even the main - motive.
That was not the point of Stephen's article.
In his piece he wanted to draw the attention of BBC News Online's audience - many of whom are unlikely to know the ins and outs of the Open Source debate - to the rapid spread of Linux as a commercial application, SCO's attempts to cash in on this fact, and the deep anger that SCO has caused within the Linux community through its legal actions.
Stephen is not the first to draw the link between MyDoom and SCO's actions over Linux - plenty of others have done that before, including virus experts.
Regards,
Tim Weber Business Editor BBC News Interactive - www.bbc.co.uk/businessnews
Now, I would disagree with the point of the article, which the BBC won't even claim is an article. They seemed to be more intent on defending themselves than addressing issues. They even brought up Slashdot in my reply, although I didn't tell them I read about it at slashdot. My original letter is as follows:
After reading the story titled "Linux cyber-battle turns nasty" by Stephen Evans, I have to question the research that went into the article. While the author tries to remain objective, there are many assumptions in the article that simply do not hold water.
To put the blame, without any evidence, on a group of Linux users is certainly easy, and at first glance it may seem appropriate. However, a small amount of research would demonstrate the author of the virus would have to be an expert Windows programmer. Generally speaking, programmers who excel on one platform are not experts on another. The differences between Windows and Linux are broad enough to make specializing in both rather impractical. This is demonstrated by the difficulty in porting Windows applications over to the Linux platform, and the fact that Linux runs on many different CPUs by design, whereas Windows runs on the x86 platform only.
A more plausible theory, and one more backed by the facts, is an individual or group who writes a virus that can DDOS (Distributed Denial of Service) any website, and chooses SCO because they know that Linux zealots will be blamed. Its the "perfect crime" in that many will blindly blame someone other than you.
If the author of the article had done any significant research, he would have discovered that all of the well known programmers in the Linux community are quite confident that SCO will not prevail in its court case, and have publicly, loudly, and often told fellow Linux users that it is important to NOT attack, verbally or digitally, SCO. The courts will do their job. The fact is, this attack makes the Linux community look bad, and it is likely that any member of this community would know this, and would be less inclined to participate in these actions.
I can't say with any certainty who created this virus, but in spite of your articles claims, it is NOT obviously a Linux zealot.
By the way, I'm a happy Windows user who dabbles in Linux because it is a fun operating system. I am concerned about the SCO lawsuit, and more concerned about the FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) that is being spewed by both sides. I am quite disappointed when an ins
I heard CTRL-ALT-DEL was being patented. Anyone know the truth to the rumor? Keystroke patents may be the next ripe patent territory.
Yes, by Microsoft. They are also patenting the term "Windows", forcing dramatic changes for the building industry which now has to use the term "Those glass things that sit in walls" instead.
Um, no, that is not the case. Hear about juries awarding large sums of money to people, tort reform?
As in criminal cases, a civil case can be heard by only a judge or a jury, usually at the request of the defendent. Most of the time they choose a jury because it is easier to sway 8 to 12 normal people with FUD than a judge, regardless of the issue at hand. But yes, a jury is usually involved in any civil case.
my understanding is that is used a 28 bit word to count the seconds since last reboot and it ran out of seconds. I can't swear to this, but it would run out of bits at the 47 days. Then again, it doesnt really matter since it is rather difficult to get 9x to run that long regardless.
that is interesting, would have to have considerable more data. But the limits are there as per license, and my experience as well. Now you will force me to go google and experiment, lol.
If policy allows, do yourself a favour and replace 95 on that server with e-smith linux. It was recently spun back to the community by Mitel and I've yet to see a more intuitive, simple Samba server.
I had played with samba and found the performance to be very good, but had trouble getting both 95 and 98 to connect. Now thats not an issue, since all the 95 boxes are gone. I am planning to move it over this summer (too busy this time of year). Had not heard of e-smith, tho, thanks for the lead.
I promise that if you stay here long enough, and actually enjoy it, karma won't matter anymore. Anyone who have been on slashdot for a year or so, posts a few times a month or more, and doesn't post like an idiot is going to have excellent karma.
I have a few different distros of Linux on one computer (its a 2.5xp with a dozen removable drive racks:) and I like KDE pretty well, but it is still not quite up to windows for everyday use, imho. Also, i can't run photoshop or quark on linux. and no, gimp wont work, i work with cmyk images. Linux isn't a desktop option for me right now, regardless.
For people who use the net for internet only, I would lean closer to Linux. When redhat had their RHN service, it was more viable, but until someone has automated tools for updating, it won't pass the "my mom" test.
But until Adobe start porting apps to it, I can't and/or won't use it on the desktop. I debate this all the time with others, but I still feel like it will be another year or two before I would recommend it for newbs. Novell/SuSe has some great promise in this field.
I know lots of Linux desktop users disagree, and they are free to. All I can do is judge from my own experience.
This is the same 10 user limit as in Windows 2000 Pro, but I *think* it's defeatable (in Win2K) with a registry hack. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
better yet, tell me the hack;) I got one box it would come in handy with right now. I had not heard of this particular hack. I had heard of, and played a little with, the NT4 workstation/server hack, but didn't really have a purpose for using it at the time. That was back in the day when Microsoft considered every web surfer that connected to your server in a 10 minute period a "client", requiring a license on the server side.
Win2k is 10, and I am not sure about NT4. I want to say it is like Win95, being the same interface without plug and play, meaning a default of 10 but changeable in the NetBeui properties (along with NCBS, which I have no idea is for). But I can't swear to NT4 or older. I have a copy of NT 3.1 around here somewhere, I could install and see I guess:) I know WfW 3.11 had no limitations, but was rather slow. At least it would network with Win95
There is no technical reason for the limitation, its purely a licensing thing. You know....
3. Profit!
Oh, on another point. I have a network with about 20 computers right now that needed a simple file server, so its got a P3/1ghz server running Windows 95, lol. The stations are all 98/ME/2k/pro. The 2k and pro boxes connect ok because I have file/printer sharing OFF on all the rest. They are more forgiving about connecting to a 9x "server". On a pure xp network, you just dont see the computers over the threshold. They don't exist.
And no, it was not easy getting 95 to run properly and semi secure on a newer box without proper drivers, but it runs well as long as you boot it every month (it runs out of seconds to count at about 39 days and like all 95, will autocrash then). And since it is firewalled off the net (hardware and software) it does the job. Oh, and yes, its even a licensed copy of 95.
My hello world OS has no activation, no lock-in, no p2p limitations, and zero worms. If you're trying to sell Linux, you should mention what it does have not what it doesn't.
I use both, so I'm not exactly trying to sell Linux, but your point is still valid for those that are selling it.
At this stage, I'm more likely to switch back to Mac instead of Linux on the desktop, at least for another year or two. Only use Linux for servers, but still using Windows for the desktop because I love "new, exciting, open and free" but I love photoshop, quark and pc games, and I am more concerned with ease of use and security than freedom on the desktop. For servers, its security and freedom that concern me. Obviously Windows is no longer fitting the bill for either, for my purposes.
I am not a Linux zealot, I'm a Linux realist. I know its almost but not quite ready for primetime on the desktop, and at the cusp of being the best thing out there for servers. Eventually, Linux will be the dominant operating system on the desktop, or at least some unix like system based on Linux/BSD. It just makes sense on so many levels, particularly in security and portability for programmers (once they get the api thing worked out on the desktop.) Windows will still be there, and perhaps as a desktop ontop of a BSD kernel, like Mac. I mean, they ARE licensing Unix technology from SCO, aren't they;) In 10 years, I would bet they would be the AOL of desktops. Big, but not 51% of the market.
I will say this, I'm far from an expert, but have run several Linux servers for many years and tend to run services on seperate boxes for security and redundency. Linux is at least as easy as Windows server for what I do, just different. Considering I can ssh in and start or stop any services quickly, upgrade, update, install, uninstall, and actually see all the processes that are currently running on a single screen, I would say its much easier to maintain.
Im talking about the limitations of how many computers you can use in a peer to peer in Windows. How it doesn't allow you connect more. You get to buy Windows Server instead. You can't connect 10 computers running XP home in a peer to peer using Windows networking, they won't see each other. Even XP Pro has peer to peer limitations that prevent it from doing so, but a higher threshold. Windows 9x you could raise the limit in the Netbeui portion of the protocol's properties from the default setting of 10 "maximum connections". XP doesn't have that option.
They could make this crippled version connect to an NT server only, with no peer to peer support. This is one way to cripple Windows so it won't get used in businss, but is ok for home use.
My guess is NO peer to peer networking allowed, instead of the "generous" allotment of 3 stations with Home. This way it wont get used in offices, just homes.
Intel 486SX chips were simply 486DX chips that either had bad FPUs or had the FPUs manually disabled. Same chip. Some 75mhz Pentiums were the same as 100mhz, just moved down because they were producing better quality than expected. This is why so many overclocked them with ease. The practice is pretty common. Maybe a 128 are converted from 256's that had errors above 128, so they cut off everything over 128, or chop back good 256s if they need more. Legitimate and common.
and no matter how much MS trims and cuts the price, Linux will still always be less than half the price;) And no activation. And no locked into proprietary systems. And no peer to peer networking limitations (3 on home, 5 on pro). Oh, and almost no worms.
Actually, I am guessing the "crippled" comment was more of a troll for the original author. Its a sure way to get comments, but then again, thats not a problem on/.
I agree with the other posts, I wouldn't call this crippled if it runs the apps, I would call it streamlined. I would be interested in a copy, if they "crippled" out the media players and such. Im sure it still has IE tho, since they wont let you use windowsupdate with Firebird.
I have seen FreeDos, and installed it. Wasn't that impressed to be honest. I know DOS is still used for stuff like gas pumps, etc, but I doubt that MS makes much $$ from it, and releasing it would generate more good will than lost revenue.
well, i wasn't getting chubby over him, but i think the original concept of parallel universes was pretty freaking cool. Once the new chic joined the show, its sux0red big time.
well, im not much of a programmer, more of a wannabe perl hack, but if you "cat FILE |grep fuck" you will find several lines. "this is fucked up, fix it." etc. I would not be shocked if i am the only one. My guess is a real programmer says it more than I do.
Slashdot Mirror
Now, I would disagree with the point of the article, which the BBC won't even claim is an article. They seemed to be more intent on defending themselves than addressing issues. They even brought up Slashdot in my reply, although I didn't tell them I read about it at slashdot. My original letter is as follows:
I heard CTRL-ALT-DEL was being patented. Anyone know the truth to the rumor? Keystroke patents may be the next ripe patent territory.
Yes, by Microsoft. They are also patenting the term "Windows", forcing dramatic changes for the building industry which now has to use the term "Those glass things that sit in walls" instead.
or it could be a bug in windows that fails to count the seconds properly in some configurations, so it never reaches its top limit :D
Um, no, that is not the case. Hear about juries awarding large sums of money to people, tort reform?
As in criminal cases, a civil case can be heard by only a judge or a jury, usually at the request of the defendent. Most of the time they choose a jury because it is easier to sway 8 to 12 normal people with FUD than a judge, regardless of the issue at hand. But yes, a jury is usually involved in any civil case.
my understanding is that is used a 28 bit word to count the seconds since last reboot and it ran out of seconds. I can't swear to this, but it would run out of bits at the 47 days. Then again, it doesnt really matter since it is rather difficult to get 9x to run that long regardless.
that is interesting, would have to have considerable more data. But the limits are there as per license, and my experience as well. Now you will force me to go google and experiment, lol.
actually, the default in knoppix is to mount hard drives RO. and you can't patch, or change services easily, since you have to every time you reboot.
If policy allows, do yourself a favour and replace 95 on that server with e-smith linux. It was recently spun back to the community by Mitel and I've yet to see a more intuitive, simple Samba server.
I had played with samba and found the performance to be very good, but had trouble getting both 95 and 98 to connect. Now thats not an issue, since all the 95 boxes are gone. I am planning to move it over this summer (too busy this time of year). Had not heard of e-smith, tho, thanks for the lead.
I promise that if you stay here long enough, and actually enjoy it, karma won't matter anymore. Anyone who have been on slashdot for a year or so, posts a few times a month or more, and doesn't post like an idiot is going to have excellent karma.
I have a few different distros of Linux on one computer (its a 2.5xp with a dozen removable drive racks :) and I like KDE pretty well, but it is still not quite up to windows for everyday use, imho. Also, i can't run photoshop or quark on linux. and no, gimp wont work, i work with cmyk images. Linux isn't a desktop option for me right now, regardless.
For people who use the net for internet only, I would lean closer to Linux. When redhat had their RHN service, it was more viable, but until someone has automated tools for updating, it won't pass the "my mom" test.
But until Adobe start porting apps to it, I can't and/or won't use it on the desktop. I debate this all the time with others, but I still feel like it will be another year or two before I would recommend it for newbs. Novell/SuSe has some great promise in this field.
I know lots of Linux desktop users disagree, and they are free to. All I can do is judge from my own experience.
This is the same 10 user limit as in Windows 2000 Pro, but I *think* it's defeatable (in Win2K) with a registry hack. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
;) I got one box it would come in handy with right now. I had not heard of this particular hack. I had heard of, and played a little with, the NT4 workstation/server hack, but didn't really have a purpose for using it at the time. That was back in the day when Microsoft considered every web surfer that connected to your server in a 10 minute period a "client", requiring a license on the server side.
better yet, tell me the hack
Win2k is 10, and I am not sure about NT4. I want to say it is like Win95, being the same interface without plug and play, meaning a default of 10 but changeable in the NetBeui properties (along with NCBS, which I have no idea is for). But I can't swear to NT4 or older. I have a copy of NT 3.1 around here somewhere, I could install and see I guess:) I know WfW 3.11 had no limitations, but was rather slow. At least it would network with Win95
There is no technical reason for the limitation, its purely a licensing thing. You know....
3. Profit!
Oh, on another point. I have a network with about 20 computers right now that needed a simple file server, so its got a P3/1ghz server running Windows 95, lol. The stations are all 98/ME/2k/pro. The 2k and pro boxes connect ok because I have file/printer sharing OFF on all the rest. They are more forgiving about connecting to a 9x "server". On a pure xp network, you just dont see the computers over the threshold. They don't exist.
And no, it was not easy getting 95 to run properly and semi secure on a newer box without proper drivers, but it runs well as long as you boot it every month (it runs out of seconds to count at about 39 days and like all 95, will autocrash then). And since it is firewalled off the net (hardware and software) it does the job. Oh, and yes, its even a licensed copy of 95.
My hello world OS has no activation, no lock-in, no p2p limitations, and zero worms. If you're trying to sell Linux, you should mention what it does have not what it doesn't.
;) In 10 years, I would bet they would be the AOL of desktops. Big, but not 51% of the market.
I use both, so I'm not exactly trying to sell Linux, but your point is still valid for those that are selling it.
At this stage, I'm more likely to switch back to Mac instead of Linux on the desktop, at least for another year or two. Only use Linux for servers, but still using Windows for the desktop because I love "new, exciting, open and free" but I love photoshop, quark and pc games, and I am more concerned with ease of use and security than freedom on the desktop. For servers, its security and freedom that concern me. Obviously Windows is no longer fitting the bill for either, for my purposes.
I am not a Linux zealot, I'm a Linux realist. I know its almost but not quite ready for primetime on the desktop, and at the cusp of being the best thing out there for servers. Eventually, Linux will be the dominant operating system on the desktop, or at least some unix like system based on Linux/BSD. It just makes sense on so many levels, particularly in security and portability for programmers (once they get the api thing worked out on the desktop.) Windows will still be there, and perhaps as a desktop ontop of a BSD kernel, like Mac. I mean, they ARE licensing Unix technology from SCO, aren't they
I will say this, I'm far from an expert, but have run several Linux servers for many years and tend to run services on seperate boxes for security and redundency. Linux is at least as easy as Windows server for what I do, just different. Considering I can ssh in and start or stop any services quickly, upgrade, update, install, uninstall, and actually see all the processes that are currently running on a single screen, I would say its much easier to maintain.
And you can bet as soon as it's reliesed in Thailand, it will be mere minutes till the CDs are for sale around the world...
I'm betting on it. Would even pay for it, if it is "crippled enough" to be useful.
Im talking about the limitations of how many computers you can use in a peer to peer in Windows. How it doesn't allow you connect more. You get to buy Windows Server instead. You can't connect 10 computers running XP home in a peer to peer using Windows networking, they won't see each other. Even XP Pro has peer to peer limitations that prevent it from doing so, but a higher threshold. Windows 9x you could raise the limit in the Netbeui portion of the protocol's properties from the default setting of 10 "maximum connections". XP doesn't have that option.
They could make this crippled version connect to an NT server only, with no peer to peer support. This is one way to cripple Windows so it won't get used in businss, but is ok for home use.
My guess is NO peer to peer networking allowed, instead of the "generous" allotment of 3 stations with Home. This way it wont get used in offices, just homes.
Intel 486SX chips were simply 486DX chips that either had bad FPUs or had the FPUs manually disabled. Same chip. Some 75mhz Pentiums were the same as 100mhz, just moved down because they were producing better quality than expected. This is why so many overclocked them with ease. The practice is pretty common. Maybe a 128 are converted from 256's that had errors above 128, so they cut off everything over 128, or chop back good 256s if they need more. Legitimate and common.
and no matter how much MS trims and cuts the price, Linux will still always be less than half the price ;) And no activation. And no locked into proprietary systems. And no peer to peer networking limitations (3 on home, 5 on pro). Oh, and almost no worms.
There's something very sad when comments I write shooting for funny get moderated insightful. =/
No, when you shoot for funny, and get insightful, thats ironic.
When you shoot for insightful, and get modded as funny, THAT is sad.
Actually, I am guessing the "crippled" comment was more of a troll for the original author. Its a sure way to get comments, but then again, thats not a problem on /.
I agree with the other posts, I wouldn't call this crippled if it runs the apps, I would call it streamlined. I would be interested in a copy, if they "crippled" out the media players and such. Im sure it still has IE tho, since they wont let you use windowsupdate with Firebird.
that is actually worth a mod point for Informative :D
I have seen FreeDos, and installed it. Wasn't that impressed to be honest. I know DOS is still used for stuff like gas pumps, etc, but I doubt that MS makes much $$ from it, and releasing it would generate more good will than lost revenue.
Hey, I never said I was a Linux genious, only messing with Linux for about 6 years now.....and often I double grep.
;)
cat FILE |grep fuck |grep you
well, i wasn't getting chubby over him, but i think the original concept of parallel universes was pretty freaking cool. Once the new chic joined the show, its sux0red big time.
well, im not much of a programmer, more of a wannabe perl hack, but if you "cat FILE |grep fuck" you will find several lines. "this is fucked up, fix it." etc. I would not be shocked if i am the only one. My guess is a real programmer says it more than I do.