The only question raised here is, am I really going to trust this "helpful" worm or others like it to fully patch up my box properly?
Further, it is still using my system resources (bandwidth, etc.) to spread itself without my permission, which amounts to trespassing in my book, even if it is supposed to "help".
If we start allowing worms such as this one back on our systems, just because, "Well, it might help", it won't be long before somebody combines one that fixes one hole while making a new, bigger one.
I would have to agree with RedHat in making this decision. First, Netscape 4.xx is quite old, slow, and doesn't support some of the newest web stuff. Compared to IE5.5 on Win32 or Konqueror on Linux, the older version of Netscape really feels, well, OLD.
Netscape 6 is a miserable attempt at release software. It has completely messed up almost every box I have seen it installed on. Crash prone, bloated, and not giving any of the promised speed increases, it is a failure for a major release of software.
Mozilla, while having some of the same pitfalls as NS6, is better, though not by much.
Konqueror has become my browser of choice lately, and I think that, unless something better shows up to the game, it will be the future of web browsing and Linux.
If I recall correctly, both Hotmail and Passport are free services provided by Microsoft. Therefore, Microsoft owns the service(s), and is not "selling" the user anything. Last time I checked, when you own something, you can pretty much do what you want with it.
Why should a user expect any privacy from Hotmail or Passport? I don't see why its a big deal. You don't HAVE to use their services! I've been on the Internet for 5 years now, and I'm yet to be compelled to sign up for a @hotmail.com email address or use Passport. It isn't like this is some cornerstone of the Internet.
The only people that use Hotmail are spammers, kids, and AOL-type users. Anyone with a legitimate business, or anyone transmitting private information, should be using a real mail service, and not passing around important information on a free account.
As for Passport, the whole idea of the system is flawed, and anyone who is stupid enough to trust a single web site with all your passwords and credit cards DESERVES to get exploited and taken blatant advantage of.
The email from Egghead.com GOES ON TO SAY that, while they have millions and millions of credit cards in their database, there were 7,500 cards that had shown fraudulent useage, though nothing had yet been linked back to the egghead.com breach. Out of any given few million credit cards at any given time, one might reasonably expect to find a few thousand that had some sort of fraudulent activity on them from any given source. Therefore, don't be so quick to jump egghead yet -- at least they are being open about it at this point. Also, read and consider the entire email before jumping to such a conclusion. This isn't at all a contradiction like it is made out in this story to be.
Seems ALL the forms are gone. And you can't do a whois by typing in an URL anymore -- you have to go to the home page and do a lookup, which is absolutely sorry... Can't wait till there is some other alternative...
a.) Dell is the first major manufacturer to have enough gall to stand up to Microsoft and actually INSTALL Linux and not just issue a horde of press releases saying that they are thinking about it.
b.) Depending on the options you choose, you CAN INDEED get a Linux-based system from Dell for cheaper than an NT system. Likewise, on certain options, they are more expensive on Linux. Dell has had to implement all new policies to support Linux, and some initial costs can be expected to help recoup from these. Just because the OS is (theoretically) free doesn't stop normal economics from taking effect -- somebody has to still stand there and either install it or copy from a drive image...
c.) Give them time... Once Dell has systems out on the market for a while, they'll work out all the bugs, and then more companies will jump on the bandwagon... I garauntee a lot of other companies are watching with some speculation on whether or not Dell will be successfull on this little venture. If we want other companies to begin to offer Linux (or for that matter, BeOS, FreeBSD, or any other MS alternative), we need to offer then a bit of support, and not start flaming them like mad. If the suits at Dell happen to be reading this, they'll be seeing very few positive threads here. Seems like all/.ers want to do is gripe about one thing or another...
What relevancy does this have to "News for Nerds?" I read/. for my daily tech news, not to get insight on the gay rights movement or toddler's shows on PBS. I can get that on any other news site. Please, keep us posted on tech issues, esp. as they relate to Linux/*BSD/Un*x, not social/political ones.
Slashdot Mirror
The only question raised here is, am I really going to trust this "helpful" worm or others like it to fully patch up my box properly?
Further, it is still using my system resources (bandwidth, etc.) to spread itself without my permission, which amounts to trespassing in my book, even if it is supposed to "help".
If we start allowing worms such as this one back on our systems, just because, "Well, it might help", it won't be long before somebody combines one that fixes one hole while making a new, bigger one.
I would have to agree with RedHat in making this decision. First, Netscape 4.xx is quite old, slow, and doesn't support some of the newest web stuff. Compared to IE5.5 on Win32 or Konqueror on Linux, the older version of Netscape really feels, well, OLD.
Netscape 6 is a miserable attempt at release software. It has completely messed up almost every box I have seen it installed on. Crash prone, bloated, and not giving any of the promised speed increases, it is a failure for a major release of software.
Mozilla, while having some of the same pitfalls as NS6, is better, though not by much.
Konqueror has become my browser of choice lately, and I think that, unless something better shows up to the game, it will be the future of web browsing and Linux.
If I recall correctly, both Hotmail and Passport are free services provided by Microsoft. Therefore, Microsoft owns the service(s), and is not "selling" the user anything. Last time I checked, when you own something, you can pretty much do what you want with it.
Why should a user expect any privacy from Hotmail or Passport? I don't see why its a big deal. You don't HAVE to use their services! I've been on the Internet for 5 years now, and I'm yet to be compelled to sign up for a @hotmail.com email address or use Passport. It isn't like this is some cornerstone of the Internet.
The only people that use Hotmail are spammers, kids, and AOL-type users. Anyone with a legitimate business, or anyone transmitting private information, should be using a real mail service, and not passing around important information on a free account.
As for Passport, the whole idea of the system is flawed, and anyone who is stupid enough to trust a single web site with all your passwords and credit cards DESERVES to get exploited and taken blatant advantage of.
Just my two cents worth,
Michael Merritt
michael@miklm.com
The email from Egghead.com GOES ON TO SAY that, while they have millions and millions of credit cards in their database, there were 7,500 cards that had shown fraudulent useage, though nothing had yet been linked back to the egghead.com breach. Out of any given few million credit cards at any given time, one might reasonably expect to find a few thousand that had some sort of fraudulent activity on them from any given source. Therefore, don't be so quick to jump egghead yet -- at least they are being open about it at this point. Also, read and consider the entire email before jumping to such a conclusion. This isn't at all a contradiction like it is made out in this story to be.
Of course Al Gore is the obvious choice for the high-tech community, since it was he who created the Internet in the first place!
Seems ALL the forms are gone. And you can't do a whois by typing in an URL anymore -- you have to go to the home page and do a lookup, which is absolutely sorry... Can't wait till there is some other alternative...
a.) Dell is the first major manufacturer to have enough gall to stand up to Microsoft and actually INSTALL Linux and not just issue a horde of press releases saying that they are thinking about it.
/.ers want to do is gripe about one thing or another...
b.) Depending on the options you choose, you CAN INDEED get a Linux-based system from Dell for cheaper than an NT system. Likewise, on certain options, they are more expensive on Linux. Dell has had to implement all new policies to support Linux, and some initial costs can be expected to help recoup from these. Just because the OS is (theoretically) free doesn't stop normal economics from taking effect -- somebody has to still stand there and either install it or copy from a drive image...
c.) Give them time... Once Dell has systems out on the market for a while, they'll work out all the bugs, and then more companies will jump on the bandwagon... I garauntee a lot of other companies are watching with some speculation on whether or not Dell will be successfull on this little venture. If we want other companies to begin to offer Linux (or for that matter, BeOS, FreeBSD, or any other MS alternative), we need to offer then a bit of support, and not start flaming them like mad. If the suits at Dell happen to be reading this, they'll be seeing very few positive threads here. Seems like all
What relevancy does this have to "News for Nerds?" I read /. for my daily tech news, not to get insight on the gay rights movement or toddler's shows on PBS. I can get that on any other news site. Please, keep us posted on tech issues, esp. as they relate to Linux/*BSD/Un*x, not social/political ones.