Next year, all the little known details [about the cluster] will be revealed in a new book. By that time we'll know what the project means for supercomputing and for Apple.
OpenSSH: Addresses CAN-2003-0693, CAN-2003-0695, and CAN-2003-0682 to fix buffer management errors in OpenSSH's sshd versions prior to 3.7.1
sendmail: Addresses CAN-2003-0694 and CAN-2003-0681 to fix a buffer overflow in address parsing, as well as a potential buffer overflow in ruleset parsing.
fb_realpath(): Fixes CAN-2003-0466 which is an off-by-one error in the fb_realpath() function that may allow attackers to execute arbitrary code.
arplookup(): Fixes CAN-2003-0804. The arplookup() function caches ARP requests for routes on a local link. On a local subnet only, it is possible for an attacker to send a sufficient number of spoofed ARP requests which will exhaust kernel memory, leading to a denial of service.
The G5 in these tests was running 10.2.7. Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther) will, by all accounts, increase performance even more. For example, from this Bare Feats test:
"PANTHER PUNCH"
Meanwhile, here's some data on the speed increase that OS X "Panther" (10.3) will provide G5 owners once it's released. We ran Xbench 1.1 on a G5 1.8GHz with 10.3 beta build 7B49. Compared to 10.2.7 "Jaguar".... ....CPU score increased 40% ....Thread score increased 44% ....Memory score increased 38%
...Wireless Local Number Portability (LNP), meaning you can change to another wireless provider in your service area while keeping the same telephone number, goes into effect November 24, 2003:
And even with 5C content protection, the entertainment industry is STILL deathly afraid of the idea of delivering digital content to customers with full digital interconnectivity between their devices.
If not for them, we would have a single, clean FireWire cable, or no cable at all, connecting all of our devices, and enabling them to seamlessly communicate with and control one another. I would have thought we'd be there by now...
Ethernet? No. FireWire is designed for hubless, daisy-chainable, high speed, peer-to-peer device communications and control from the ground up. And you are incorrect about the distance limitations. Feel like you need TCP/IP specifically? No problem.
Additionally, FireWire is already widely used on almost all digital video cameras, decks, and equipment, is emerging on DVD-A devices, and is the standard interconnect for OpenCable set-top boxes specified by CableLabs.
This was what FireWire was made for. Unfortunately, its adoption and use has been crippled by an entertainment industry deathly afraid of the prospect of 100% digital transport, copies, recording, and manipulation by the end customer. What a shame.
IEEE-1394b, the current iteration of the standard, supports speeds from 100 to 3200 Mbps at distances up to 100 m, and supports its "native" 9-conductor shielded twisted-pair copper, ordinary CAT-5, and various flavors of optical cabling.
...or at least a workaround. As originally posted here:
Get a "disposable" MasterCard from webcertificate.com. You can use any other current credit card to purchase the card. (There is, of course, a service fee associated with it.) But the card can be associated with any address you wish, including a US address (just make sure the city/state/zip association is a valid one; other information can be bogus).
This was originally billed as a way for any international user with a credit card to purchase music from the iTunes Music Store. However, it appears that this method could be used to just get yourself a credit card number that's associated with a US billing address for the purposes of associating it with your AppleID. See webcertificate.com's faq for more info.
In sum:
iTunes Music Store does not "check" to see where you are via IP address, or any other network method.
Music you own is never "deleted".
The only reason this user encountered the issue is because he had to reinstall his entire OS, and reauthorize the computer with a credit card whose billing address had since been changed to a non-US address - this didn't specifically disallow him from playing his purchased music; rather, it didn't allow him to REauthorize the computer in order to play the purchased music. As others have said, this seems to be more of a unique situation/accident than intentional on Apple's part (notwithstanding the valid legal considerations Apple has).
Music you burn to CD from iTunes Music Store is yours to keep - FOREVER. No matter where you move. You DO own the music you buy from iTunes Music Store. (Unlike other sites).
As soon as international licensing arrangements are worked out, more and more countries will have iTunes Music Store available.
Apple did much better than anyone else with keeping broad rights with the user/customer, where they belong.
And, finally, a letter from the Canadian equivalent of the RIAA:
The reason why the Apple iTunes Music Store isn't yet available outside the US is because Apple hasn't made arrangements to obtain the rights outside of that country (this is called "clearing the rights" in the music business).
I run the largest music licensing agency in Canada, CMRRA. On behalf of our clients from around the world, we represent the owners of the vast majority of songs used in Canada.
Yesterday afternoon I placed a call to Apple Canada to open a discussion on the licensing of Apple's online music store in Canada. Apple's Canadian office is basically a sales operation; no products are designed or produced by Apple in Canada, to the best of my knowledge.
I'm hoping to set up a meeting with Apple, probably in Cupertino, in the next two weeks. We're looking forward to doing business with Apple - among other things, our clients don't make any money saying, "no". Until we've cut a deal with Apple, it won't be possible for them to do business in Canada - that's why I'd like to negotiate that deal and have it set up as soon as possible.
We love Mac and iTunes, too! We're sure that a substantial number of Canadians are going to want to do business with Apple, and we look forward to our discussions with them.
All Apple has to do is call me back to set up the meeting.
David A. Basskin
President
Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency Ltd.
Toronto, Canada
...that someone would have taken the opportunity to take a jab at the MPAA and point out the error in the big splash graphic: "You're threatening the livlihood (sic) of thousands", but then I realized that it would imply that the typical Slashdot reader would
A: Because the movie/tv industry is deathly afraid of it.
The promise of FireWire is a single cable, and an intelligent system, connecting all of your electronics devices together. Not just final output (like DVI), or tied to a host (like USB), but a peer-to-peer, universal, high speed bus that can carry content as well as control data. Any of your devices can communicate with one another, and, where applicable, control or send information to one another - all the while sending pristine digital content.
DVI is more attractive to some because it's a final output format, with less fundamental chance of being manipulated or captured by anything else. And copy protection can be enforced in the "monitor" or display device, if need be...FireWire could connect all of your equipment, including your computer, appliances, and more. It could even do it wirelessly.
Imagine one single, intelligent cable chain connecting all of your entertainment equipment - no more rat's nest of endless cabling, no more dumb devices unaware of anything but themselves...that is one of the purposes, and the promise, of FireWire.
Apple's numbers for a 2.0GHz 970 are actually lower than IBM's for a 1.8GHz 970, and if we lend any credence to IBM's numbers, I'd say Apple's results are very reasonable.
...which is the entity that defines the DVD Format specifications, publishes reference materials, creates DVD Format books, administers the DVD Verification Laboratories, and licenses the familiar DVD logo:
"Please note that the "+RW" format, also known as DVD+RW was neither developed nor approved by the DVD Forum. The approved recordable formats are DVD-R, DVD-RW and DVD-RAM."
Technically, DVD+RW aren't even DVDs, since, in order to be a DVD, it must be approved by the DVD Forum. The +RW alliance, will have you believe otherwise; that they don't have to follow any standards and that the DVD Forum means nothing.
DVD+RW's biggest "benefit" over -RW is that it allows for packet writing - therefore allowing it to be treated like a normal writable volume, having files added to or deleted from it at will, and doesn't require closing the disc. The drawback is that a bunch of companies went out and did this on their own, and DVD+RW is the least compatible format with consumer DVD players. Of course, manufacturers - particularly those a part of this "alliance" - have buckled to provide support for it. A somewhat backwards approach, if you as me. In any case, in the days of cheap 200GB+ drives, I'm not sure why you'd want to use a really slow recordable optical format that holds a comparatively scant amount of data as a writeable volume...after all, DVD-R/RW can hold data as well, just not via packet writing methods.
Many manufacturers are providing DVD-R/RW/+RW drives now, so I imagine this point will be moot.
You're listing the full selling price for all these things that "self-destruct"...the analogy would be accurate if you took into account the fact that you can still presumably buy and keep the DVD for full price, or you can "buy" the self-destructing version for a couple of bucks, akin to renting a movie. Plus, you don't have to return it.
Is most peoples' problem here not that this could be a viable and convenient replacement for the rental process, but that this technology exists in the first place?
At the same time, I don't want to mess with Fink, it introduces complexity. For example, having two sets of binaries in different places doesn't mean you can run shell scripts without changing them if they were written expecting one set to be somewhere it isn't.
Petitions, articles, and anecdotes demanding that Apple fix this clearly egregious aural violation!! Anything less than an immediate fix and a $100 rebate constitutes Steve Jobs' arrogant, utter contempt for the customer!
Oh, the humanity! How many people will have to suffer through this before Apple releases a fix?!?!?!
Apple hasn't done anything to prevent any other OS from booting on the new machines; it simply isn't updating Mac OS 9 to support them any longer. Nothing sinister, nothing crippled, no "blocking".
That said, Yellow Dog Linux supports machines as the team has the chance to add such support. It already supports, for instance, the 12" PowerBook and the Xserve family. They may be a little behind the latest product introductions, but support will always be added.
This event is primarily targeted at the media, Apple Retail stores, and Apple corporate offices around the country. It's not like Apple thinks people are just going to pull out their 12 foot C-band dish and start watching this; it wasn't intended to be a "public" or webcast event (in fact, the original release was likely intended to be a Media Alert release and not a full blown public press release, as it was pulled from Apple's press release page).
That said, the University of Wisconsin - Madison will be hosting the event live at the Pyle Center. It will be open to the public. For details, see:
Or, instead a bunch of wild speculation, why not realize that Apple and AMD are both a part of the HyperTransport consortium and are (presumably) both very interested in 64-bit computing on the desktop, and that:
1. One of HyperTransport's most commonly supported speeds is 6.4GB/sec;
2. Apple is desperately in need of a revamp of the entire desktop architecture, especially memory and system bus (aside from processor itself);
3. The IBM PowerPC 970 cooincidentally supports a system bus speed of 6.4GB/sec.
Doesn't the HyperTransport relationship seem a bit more logical than all this off-the-wall stuff about Marklar, Apple switching/adding processors, etc.?
Remember, Motorola didn't even release the PowerPC 7400 (G4), much less any information about it, until apple introduced the Power Mac G4. Does that mean it didn't exist?
Apple probably can't play those same kind of "keep it secret until we announce our product" games with IBM, but keep in mind the only thing IBM has really done was introduce the concept for the processor at MPF. Judging from how Apple has rolled out new processors in the past, it wouldn't be surprising to find if further information about the 970 is being withheld at Apple's request (Apple being a potentially huge customer for this chip).
Also, remember that before CeBIT, IBM posted press releases on its German site talking about 970, the fact that it featured AltiVec, and how IBM was going to be demoing several 970-based blade servers at CeBIT. The press release suddenly got pulled and there was no further information about the 970 from IBM.
One way this could be interpreted is that the 970 is vaporware.
The more likely scenario, however, based on how apple has done releases of new processors in the past, including several iterations of the 7400 family, is that more information is being withheld until Apple releases a system featuring this processor. Then the floodgates will open.
The only reason we may know anything of it at all is that IBM felt it fundamentally important enough to present at MPF - we haven't heard a peep since.
Slashdot Mirror
The project leader, Dr. Srinidhi Varadarajan, will be speaking at a session entitled Building Virginia Tech's G5 Supercluster on Oct 28 at the upcoming O'Reilly Mac OS X conference.
He'll probably reveal some of the technical details, such as the version of Mac OS X used, at that session.
Also, according to a blog at O'Reilly:
Next year, all the little known details [about the cluster] will be revealed in a new book. By that time we'll know what the project means for supercomputing and for Apple.
See Apple's Security page:
Mac OS X 10.2.8
OpenSSH: Addresses CAN-2003-0693, CAN-2003-0695, and CAN-2003-0682 to fix buffer management errors in OpenSSH's sshd versions prior to 3.7.1
sendmail: Addresses CAN-2003-0694 and CAN-2003-0681 to fix a buffer overflow in address parsing, as well as a potential buffer overflow in ruleset parsing.
fb_realpath(): Fixes CAN-2003-0466 which is an off-by-one error in the fb_realpath() function that may allow attackers to execute arbitrary code.
arplookup(): Fixes CAN-2003-0804. The arplookup() function caches ARP requests for routes on a local link. On a local subnet only, it is possible for an attacker to send a sufficient number of spoofed ARP requests which will exhaust kernel memory, leading to a denial of service.
The G5 in these tests was running 10.2.7. Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther) will, by all accounts, increase performance even more. For example, from this Bare Feats test:
....CPU score increased 40%
....Thread score increased 44%
....Memory score increased 38%
"PANTHER PUNCH"
Meanwhile, here's some data on the speed increase that OS X "Panther" (10.3) will provide G5 owners once it's released. We ran Xbench 1.1 on a G5 1.8GHz with 10.3 beta build 7B49. Compared to 10.2.7 "Jaguar"....
Don't do anything...whatever you are thinking of, don't do it!
I'm not even sure I was supposed to take a picture of it...
...Wireless Local Number Portability (LNP), meaning you can change to another wireless provider in your service area while keeping the same telephone number, goes into effect November 24, 2003:
FCC press release
A Tour of the Calculus
Calculus Made Easy
The Universe in a Nutshell
Physics for Poets
See these articles as an example.
And even with 5C content protection, the entertainment industry is STILL deathly afraid of the idea of delivering digital content to customers with full digital interconnectivity between their devices.
If not for them, we would have a single, clean FireWire cable, or no cable at all, connecting all of our devices, and enabling them to seamlessly communicate with and control one another. I would have thought we'd be there by now...
Subject says it all.
Ethernet? No. FireWire is designed for hubless, daisy-chainable, high speed, peer-to-peer device communications and control from the ground up. And you are incorrect about the distance limitations. Feel like you need TCP/IP specifically? No problem.
Additionally, FireWire is already widely used on almost all digital video cameras, decks, and equipment, is emerging on DVD-A devices, and is the standard interconnect for OpenCable set-top boxes specified by CableLabs.
This was what FireWire was made for. Unfortunately, its adoption and use has been crippled by an entertainment industry deathly afraid of the prospect of 100% digital transport, copies, recording, and manipulation by the end customer. What a shame.
IEEE-1394b, the current iteration of the standard, supports speeds from 100 to 3200 Mbps at distances up to 100 m, and supports its "native" 9-conductor shielded twisted-pair copper, ordinary CAT-5, and various flavors of optical cabling.
See the informative IEEE-1394b Technical Brief and What is 1394? for more information.
For even more information, including information about Wireless FireWire, see Intel's 1394 Technology site.
Get a "disposable" MasterCard from webcertificate.com. You can use any other current credit card to purchase the card. (There is, of course, a service fee associated with it.) But the card can be associated with any address you wish, including a US address (just make sure the city/state/zip association is a valid one; other information can be bogus).
This was originally billed as a way for any international user with a credit card to purchase music from the iTunes Music Store. However, it appears that this method could be used to just get yourself a credit card number that's associated with a US billing address for the purposes of associating it with your AppleID. See webcertificate.com's faq for more info.
In sum:
iTunes Music Store does not "check" to see where you are via IP address, or any other network method.
Music you own is never "deleted".
The only reason this user encountered the issue is because he had to reinstall his entire OS, and reauthorize the computer with a credit card whose billing address had since been changed to a non-US address - this didn't specifically disallow him from playing his purchased music; rather, it didn't allow him to REauthorize the computer in order to play the purchased music. As others have said, this seems to be more of a unique situation/accident than intentional on Apple's part (notwithstanding the valid legal considerations Apple has).
Music you burn to CD from iTunes Music Store is yours to keep - FOREVER. No matter where you move. You DO own the music you buy from iTunes Music Store. (Unlike other sites).
As soon as international licensing arrangements are worked out, more and more countries will have iTunes Music Store available.
Apple did much better than anyone else with keeping broad rights with the user/customer, where they belong.
And, finally, a letter from the Canadian equivalent of the RIAA:
...that someone would have taken the opportunity to take a jab at the MPAA and point out the error in the big splash graphic: "You're threatening the livlihood (sic) of thousands", but then I realized that it would imply that the typical Slashdot reader would
a. have read the article, and
b. know how to spell
A: Because the movie/tv industry is deathly afraid of it.
The promise of FireWire is a single cable, and an intelligent system, connecting all of your electronics devices together. Not just final output (like DVI), or tied to a host (like USB), but a peer-to-peer, universal, high speed bus that can carry content as well as control data. Any of your devices can communicate with one another, and, where applicable, control or send information to one another - all the while sending pristine digital content.
DVI is more attractive to some because it's a final output format, with less fundamental chance of being manipulated or captured by anything else. And copy protection can be enforced in the "monitor" or display device, if need be...FireWire could connect all of your equipment, including your computer, appliances, and more. It could even do it wirelessly.
Imagine one single, intelligent cable chain connecting all of your entertainment equipment - no more rat's nest of endless cabling, no more dumb devices unaware of anything but themselves...that is one of the purposes, and the promise, of FireWire.
From this IBM document:
SPECint2000 @ 1.8GHz - 937
SPECfp2000 @ 1.8GHz - 1051
Dhrystone MIPS @ 1.8GHz - 5220
Peak scalar GFLOPS - 7.2
Peak SIMD GFLOPS - 14.4
RC5 - 18Mkeys/sec
Apple's numbers for a 2.0GHz 970 are actually lower than IBM's for a 1.8GHz 970, and if we lend any credence to IBM's numbers, I'd say Apple's results are very reasonable.
http://www.google.com/
...as does IGOR, which someone else mentioned:
LabVIEW
IGOR
...which is the entity that defines the DVD Format specifications, publishes reference materials, creates DVD Format books, administers the DVD Verification Laboratories, and licenses the familiar DVD logo:
"Please note that the "+RW" format, also known as DVD+RW was neither developed nor approved by the DVD Forum. The approved recordable formats are DVD-R, DVD-RW and DVD-RAM."
Technically, DVD+RW aren't even DVDs, since, in order to be a DVD, it must be approved by the DVD Forum. The +RW alliance, will have you believe otherwise; that they don't have to follow any standards and that the DVD Forum means nothing.
DVD+RW's biggest "benefit" over -RW is that it allows for packet writing - therefore allowing it to be treated like a normal writable volume, having files added to or deleted from it at will, and doesn't require closing the disc. The drawback is that a bunch of companies went out and did this on their own, and DVD+RW is the least compatible format with consumer DVD players. Of course, manufacturers - particularly those a part of this "alliance" - have buckled to provide support for it. A somewhat backwards approach, if you as me. In any case, in the days of cheap 200GB+ drives, I'm not sure why you'd want to use a really slow recordable optical format that holds a comparatively scant amount of data as a writeable volume...after all, DVD-R/RW can hold data as well, just not via packet writing methods.
Many manufacturers are providing DVD-R/RW/+RW drives now, so I imagine this point will be moot.
You're listing the full selling price for all these things that "self-destruct"...the analogy would be accurate if you took into account the fact that you can still presumably buy and keep the DVD for full price, or you can "buy" the self-destructing version for a couple of bucks, akin to renting a movie. Plus, you don't have to return it.
Is most peoples' problem here not that this could be a viable and convenient replacement for the rental process, but that this technology exists in the first place?
DarwinPorts
DarwinPorts FAQ
Interview with Jordan Hubbard on DarwinPorts (Slashdot article)
iPodPop.com...
Petitions, articles, and anecdotes demanding that Apple fix this clearly egregious aural violation!! Anything less than an immediate fix and a $100 rebate constitutes Steve Jobs' arrogant, utter contempt for the customer!
Oh, the humanity! How many people will have to suffer through this before Apple releases a fix?!?!?!
Apple hasn't done anything to prevent any other OS from booting on the new machines; it simply isn't updating Mac OS 9 to support them any longer. Nothing sinister, nothing crippled, no "blocking".
That said, Yellow Dog Linux supports machines as the team has the chance to add such support. It already supports, for instance, the 12" PowerBook and the Xserve family. They may be a little behind the latest product introductions, but support will always be added.
This event is primarily targeted at the media, Apple Retail stores, and Apple corporate offices around the country. It's not like Apple thinks people are just going to pull out their 12 foot C-band dish and start watching this; it wasn't intended to be a "public" or webcast event (in fact, the original release was likely intended to be a Media Alert release and not a full blown public press release, as it was pulled from Apple's press release page).
That said, the University of Wisconsin - Madison will be hosting the event live at the Pyle Center. It will be open to the public. For details, see:
04.28.2003 Apple Media Event Coverage
Or, instead a bunch of wild speculation, why not realize that Apple and AMD are both a part of the HyperTransport consortium and are (presumably) both very interested in 64-bit computing on the desktop, and that:
1. One of HyperTransport's most commonly supported speeds is 6.4GB/sec;
2. Apple is desperately in need of a revamp of the entire desktop architecture, especially memory and system bus (aside from processor itself);
3. The IBM PowerPC 970 cooincidentally supports a system bus speed of 6.4GB/sec.
Doesn't the HyperTransport relationship seem a bit more logical than all this off-the-wall stuff about Marklar, Apple switching/adding processors, etc.?
Motorola's 5th generation of PowerPC host processors - the "G5" - have been shipping for quite some time.
They're just not at all interested in the desktop market anymore.
Remember, Motorola didn't even release the PowerPC 7400 (G4), much less any information about it, until apple introduced the Power Mac G4. Does that mean it didn't exist?
Apple probably can't play those same kind of "keep it secret until we announce our product" games with IBM, but keep in mind the only thing IBM has really done was introduce the concept for the processor at MPF. Judging from how Apple has rolled out new processors in the past, it wouldn't be surprising to find if further information about the 970 is being withheld at Apple's request (Apple being a potentially huge customer for this chip).
Also, remember that before CeBIT, IBM posted press releases on its German site talking about 970, the fact that it featured AltiVec, and how IBM was going to be demoing several 970-based blade servers at CeBIT. The press release suddenly got pulled and there was no further information about the 970 from IBM.
One way this could be interpreted is that the 970 is vaporware.
The more likely scenario, however, based on how apple has done releases of new processors in the past, including several iterations of the 7400 family, is that more information is being withheld until Apple releases a system featuring this processor. Then the floodgates will open.
The only reason we may know anything of it at all is that IBM felt it fundamentally important enough to present at MPF - we haven't heard a peep since.
The story missed a major source of information about the 970 directly from IBM:
PowerPC 970 2002 Microprocessor Forum presentation
This contains a link to IBM Senior PowerPC Architect Peter Sandon's detailed presentation in PDF format.