I've been using Linux for many years, and the problem of obtaining software packages drives me to the end of my nerves.
After ditching some old Linux installs a few months ago (a Gentoo system that had gotten hopelessly snarled up and a YDL with a broken RPM database) I tried out a few different options. Conclusion: the most important thing in Linux is a good package archive. The other 10,000 Linux annoyances mostly need to be solved once. The package stuff is just going to keep on biting and biting at you.
Gentoo and Debian both have superb packaging collections, which is why they both hang on despite Debian's having been walking dead for three or four years now, and Gentoo's, errr, peculiarities. Kubuntu apparently has a superb package collection, which is why it has taken off. The other stuff is just an endless frustration for the apps I use. (Fedora, Mandrakeiva, SuSe fanboys -- YMMV, obviously.)
How he is considered qualified to talk about the LSB when it doesn't have much of anything to do with Glibc, I don't know.
As I understood that somewhat incoherent rant, his complaints are actually about the LSB test suite, not the spec itself, and specifically about linker- and threading-related bugs in the suite.
I hope this gets modded "Redundant" because it deserves to be...
It's after lunch on Friday, and I lack the energy for extended IANALity over this. But what I'm curious about is why the eleventy-third person to start in with "PaintShop! PaintShop!" is so indignant over my supposed redundancy...?
The major precedent is the Apple versus Microsoft look 'n' feel lawsuit, which found that copying a competing interface is legal. I'm sure that Adobe's lawyers could still make Scott Moschella's life unpleasant, but he'd at least be in a strong position. The "GimpShop" name, on the other hand, is pure and simple infringement.
Kinda sucks how parasitic the corporate worlds have become.
I work in R&D (actually, in D) at a Huge Corporation that prides itself on having a large internal research effort and ridicules competitors who in-license most of their stuff.
But, really -- beyond bragging rights, who cares? It's not obvious to me why giving money to inventive people after they make something is so much more shameful than giving it to them while they make something.
The part that seems absurd to me is that a single professor had access to data for every student. You can't fully control what an individual does with a file, but why on earth should he have had such broad access in the first place?
As far as I can tell, the only person whose rights were in any danger was Paris Hilton...
No, it's Paris Hilton *and* everyone in her address book! That may not include dweebs like you, but the average Slashbot certainly has to be concerned about having his personal information get in the hands of the paparazzi.
As part of the "innovation community", I can tell you that:
1) There is an absolute consensus that the IP system, while needing reform in certain places, is the engine of innovation.
2) The rough consensus of the Slashbot community is utter contempt for real innovation. The only thing respected here is copying someone else's innovation as cheaply as possible.
Or... how about we don't bitch about something we can get for free?
Talking about "bitching" is giving them too much credit -- how about at least dropping the pompous lectures about "a better business model"?
Re:hmmm, how should we interpret his statement?
on
Bill Gates Speaks Out
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· Score: 1
The remainder of the exercise is left to the readers.
Presumably by "readers", you don't mean in the sense of R's of TFA, unless you're leaving it to them to realize that the "slogan: in question has nothing to do with evil.
Anyhoo, regarding the new Office interface: I hadn't heard of this, but the first screenshots I eviled, errr, Googled look a lot like the deafault GNOME taskbar. I suppose that's a tribute to GNOME, but I personally find that UI utterly frustrating and counterproductive.
No, but at the lowest level, your hard drive is analog, not digital. It's not just 0s and 1s anymore.
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This is why people 1) write random or semi-random patterns to the disk to erase it, and 2) do it more than once.
Yes, obviously. My point was that the OP was claiming that writing zeroes is the best way to blank a disk when, as you yourself explain, writing a constant value is less effective than writing randoms.
That's right, just a single-pass overwrite with zeros will do. Everything else you hear is either 8+ years out of date, or uninformed bullshit, or a scare story.
Have they made some change to zero in the last 8 years that makes it less constant?
For normal sellers, a simple reformat should be fine. Even with somewhat sensitive data on there, commercial wiping software is adequate -- what do you think a "professional forensics firm" will do?
Removing the hard drive might be OK for selling some uberovergamerclocker rig, but most normal buyers don't just have a spare drive around to stick into the computer they just bought for $75.
I have never seen a distribution that restricts you to three simultaneously running applications.
I think that was called "Mandrake 8.0". On the other hand, until Microsoft comes out with "Vista Sometimes Randomly Reboots Instead Of Shutting Down", CentOS 4.1 still has its niche to itself.
Sun used to dominate the financial industry, but lost its edge during the dot-com era, according to Singer.
"We weren't paying attention, we got distracted by all these people with pierced body parts and blue hair," he said. "We missed changes in the marketplace. It's very distracting to grow at 60 percent per quarter and very humbling to have it disappear. We're now paying attention to Wall Street again."
At my home, the rate of telemarketing calls has dropped from several a day to zero, starting as soon as the registry law went into effect.
Are you sure your business numbers are really on the list? I'd suggest resubmitting the numbers, and if the calls don't stop (20-50 a day?!?!?) file complaints and demand compensation.
I worked for a firm earlier where we had to change our passwords every week where the password had to 1) be exactly 14 characters and 2) be ~60% different to the previous four passwords.
For real effectiveness, though, you have to implement this the way we have it at work -- every webapp, from travel reservations to sexual harassment, training has a different account with different login names and mandatory strong, rotated passwords.
It seems to me that open-source has enough wannabe celebrities and unfinished projects already. If people spent their time on adding useful, complete features instead of on self-promotion, that doesn't seem like something to criticize them for.
Slashdot Mirror
After ditching some old Linux installs a few months ago (a Gentoo system that had gotten hopelessly snarled up and a YDL with a broken RPM database) I tried out a few different options. Conclusion: the most important thing in Linux is a good package archive. The other 10,000 Linux annoyances mostly need to be solved once. The package stuff is just going to keep on biting and biting at you.
Gentoo and Debian both have superb packaging collections, which is why they both hang on despite Debian's having been walking dead for three or four years now, and Gentoo's, errr, peculiarities. Kubuntu apparently has a superb package collection, which is why it has taken off. The other stuff is just an endless frustration for the apps I use. (Fedora, Mandrakeiva, SuSe fanboys -- YMMV, obviously.)
As I understood that somewhat incoherent rant, his complaints are actually about the LSB test suite, not the spec itself, and specifically about linker- and threading-related bugs in the suite.
Anyway, until they drive a stake through the heart of Lotus Notes they can't claim to have fully abandoned evil...
It's after lunch on Friday, and I lack the energy for extended IANALity over this. But what I'm curious about is why the eleventy-third person to start in with "PaintShop! PaintShop!" is so indignant over my supposed redundancy...?
The major precedent is the Apple versus Microsoft look 'n' feel lawsuit, which found that copying a competing interface is legal. I'm sure that Adobe's lawyers could still make Scott Moschella's life unpleasant, but he'd at least be in a strong position. The "GimpShop" name, on the other hand, is pure and simple infringement.
Calling it "GimpShop", though, is just begging for a (fully deserved) lawsuit. He might as well call it Microsoft Donald Duck Big Mac GIMP.
(Note: working from home right now, with three-year-old Office X -- don't know if current versions of Office still have the XOR option.)
I work in R&D (actually, in D) at a Huge Corporation that prides itself on having a large internal research effort and ridicules competitors who in-license most of their stuff.
But, really -- beyond bragging rights, who cares? It's not obvious to me why giving money to inventive people after they make something is so much more shameful than giving it to them while they make something.
The part that seems absurd to me is that a single professor had access to data for every student. You can't fully control what an individual does with a file, but why on earth should he have had such broad access in the first place?
I'm definitely motivated to stay out of trouble in order to keep them the hell out of my computer...
No, it's Paris Hilton *and* everyone in her address book! That may not include dweebs like you, but the average Slashbot certainly has to be concerned about having his personal information get in the hands of the paparazzi.
Obviously, as the Ars Technica article correctly reads, they applied for a trademark on "iPodcast".
1) There is an absolute consensus that the IP system, while needing reform in certain places, is the engine of innovation.
2) The rough consensus of the Slashbot community is utter contempt for real innovation. The only thing respected here is copying someone else's innovation as cheaply as possible.
Talking about "bitching" is giving them too much credit -- how about at least dropping the pompous lectures about "a better business model"?
Presumably by "readers", you don't mean in the sense of R's of TFA, unless you're leaving it to them to realize that the "slogan: in question has nothing to do with evil.
Anyhoo, regarding the new Office interface: I hadn't heard of this, but the first screenshots I eviled, errr, Googled look a lot like the deafault GNOME taskbar. I suppose that's a tribute to GNOME, but I personally find that UI utterly frustrating and counterproductive.
.
This is why people 1) write random or semi-random patterns to the disk to erase it, and 2) do it more than once.
Yes, obviously. My point was that the OP was claiming that writing zeroes is the best way to blank a disk when, as you yourself explain, writing a constant value is less effective than writing randoms.
Have they made some change to zero in the last 8 years that makes it less constant?
Removing the hard drive might be OK for selling some uberovergamerclocker rig, but most normal buyers don't just have a spare drive around to stick into the computer they just bought for $75.
I think that was called "Mandrake 8.0". On the other hand, until Microsoft comes out with "Vista Sometimes Randomly Reboots Instead Of Shutting Down", CentOS 4.1 still has its niche to itself.
No, I hadn't realized it when I posted but as you say, it's home numbers only.
Are you sure your business numbers are really on the list? I'd suggest resubmitting the numbers, and if the calls don't stop (20-50 a day?!?!?) file complaints and demand compensation.
When I took new employee IT orientation, the "security expert" ***told*** us to do that!
For real effectiveness, though, you have to implement this the way we have it at work -- every webapp, from travel reservations to sexual harassment, training has a different account with different login names and mandatory strong, rotated passwords.
It seems to me that open-source has enough wannabe celebrities and unfinished projects already. If people spent their time on adding useful, complete features instead of on self-promotion, that doesn't seem like something to criticize them for.