Ok, so there's no way to know the root password. But you can still reset it, and then you'll be able to login as root normally (locally, at least). Not that someone who manages to break in remotely using a sudo-able account would find that useful anyway, for the reasons I've pointed previously.
Presumably you don't allow the root user to login at all. The only way to get to root would be with su.
When Ubuntu is installed, you don't know the root password, true. But if you can find a way to know it, or reset it, then yes, you can login as root. And resetting the root password is as easy as typing "sudo passwd root", all you need is your user password. So, Ubuntu's as secure as your user password is.
As for su, on Ubuntu you can have the same effect typing "sudo bash" on the prompt; again, only knowing the user password is enough
Oh! So that means the userbase of Windows Vista consists entirely of stupids?
Entirely, no - I guess I should count the masochists. But mostly, yes - though I wouldn't call them stupid.
I would imagine that atleast 20% of all PC users have some knowledge about Operating Systems, hardware, standards etc.
Really? Ok, let's try a little change in perspective: How many people in your family (including yourself) have that much knowledge? Now apply that proportion to a 9 figure number. Obviously it may not be an exact figure (who knows, maybe half of your family works on IT...), but it's a more accurate reflection of the real world.
[...] and I cannot imagine they will be easily brainwashed like you describe above.
Brainwashed, no - as I said above, I don't they are stupid. Rather, they are just apathetic to the situation, because computers are just another tool for them - as it is to us, with the difference that we care more about the means to the end, because we can see better how little innefficiencies on the tool can hinder us to do what we need the tool to do. So, as long as it does its job (however inefficiently, though they can't see it), it's ok for them.
I think that's really a generational problem. I hope our sons will be better educated and informed on this matter than ours and previous generations were.
[...] users will conclude that DRM is such a burden on resources, and avoid using Vista as long as they practically can. This isn't FUD, it's FACT.
You give too much credit to users.
No, users won't avoid using Vista because of performance or DRM issues, because Vista comes/will come preinstalled with their shiny new computer that, being faster than their old computer, will mask the relative lack of performance Vista has compared to XP. As for DRM, many will be pissed, sure, but they won't go through the hassle of crying foul on this because most of them aren't as educated as we are to know how much they are being screwed and abused, so they will think that's just how things are supposed to be and cope.
The fact that Vista will come preinstalled on new computers also means that, for the very few that won't be willing to take all the bullshit, they will have to buy a new copy of Windows XP - which won't be in the market for too long now, so that means that when XP stops being sold, they will be faced with the decision of either migrating to another OS (OSX or Linux) or bearing with Vista. Again, guess what the majority of that (already small percentage of people who won't accept MS's and media industry's bullshit) people will do? Hint: What they are more used to / more confortable with?
I can't see how it could be an oversight. The license files are distributed along with the DOSBox binaries / sources, so they should have deliberately deleted the license text files at some point before publishing them.
Unix and Unix-like systems have been around for a very long time (a lot longer than windows) and have yet to hit big on the desktop.
Really? Like OSX?
Granted, it doesn't have as much market on the desktop, but it's still the second. And it only is the second exactly because of the reasons de GP pointed out.
Hmm. But would it sell? I've only read Rama a few months ago, and while the geek in me loved it for all the cool ideas and concepts it has, I was a little disappointed by the anti-climax of how the story ends - without providing further insight on the purpose of the Ramans and what happened to them. I know that are sequels, but I won't bother reading them since from what I've heard almost unanimously, they are worthless - they deviate too much from the direction and style of Arthur C. Clarke, since it is mostly written by someone else.
I mean, Rama certainly works for me, but I have a hard time believing a story that ends with a whimper would work for the general public.
Well, no one can tell (save for the employees themselves) how transparently the company is internally, so Microsoft may well be more transparent than Google. But if you judge by the behavior each companies show in the market, I think it's a pretty safe bet that Google is at least more transparent than Microsoft (even if not "amazingly" transparent). I guess that the GP thought that way too.
Even if Linus was invited to attend, I don't think he would accept it. And if he'd accept, he's still not a business guy anyway, so he wouldn't fit on the conversation - he'd just babble "I don't care" at most stuff. He doesn't have the proper composture to behave in a way the target audience would expect in such an ocasion.
Others have already said it, but I'm gonna say it again anyway: The possibility that Quicktime itself is causing the BSOD is infinitesimally next to zero - no userspace application should bring the OS down directly. Quicktime obviously is triggering the BSOD, but there isn't absolutely any "strong possibility that the issue is being caused by Apple software". The issue is most likely bad drivers - and the fact that the device uses a custom tablet isn't of any help. While Apple probably could work around the problem, they are the last party he should ask for it - The first, and most likely to get his problem resolved is Toshiba. Even if they can't to anything about it directly (i.e., the problem is on Vista), they should at least be able to put some pressure on Microsoft to get it done.
I do agree, however, that the suggestion the GP gave of dumping the device is overrated.
... except that, last time I checked, that (going to the arcade machine to play MM) doesn't work under ScummVM. However, the original datafiles of MM are included with the datafiles of DOTT, so you just add the directory where it is in ("MANIAC", IIRC) on ScummVM and play it as a separate game. Still, playing MM inside DOTT isn't possible with ScummVM.
He tried to claim Vista could do all that stuff (cube, burning windows, Expose). Obviously, he was wrong.
Sorry, but technically he's right. Vista has all the infrastructure (3d hardware accelerated GUI) and the APIs (DWM) to do it - it's just that Vista doesn't come by default with these effects (cube, exposé) available. But it can, in theory, be easily implemented by third-party applications. In fact, case in point, a good example is the Exposé functionality: That functionality doesn't come by default on Vista, but there are already a few applications available for Vista that adds this feature to the desktop, properly using the new video infrastructure on Vista to do it just as OSX and Linux+Beryl does: with the scaled Windows updated in real-time, with negligible performance hit. It's just a matter of time or will from developers to make other fancy new effects available.
... what all these guys have against the Hobbit? I mean, this Saul guy is hiring that thug Peter to have the Hobbit shot... That Hobbit should have banged his wife or something...
[...] or are just too lazy to figure out how to switch all their bookmarks over to a new browser [...] (emphasis mine)
That's no excuse. Any major browser besides IE offers bookmark import right at the installation, and as an option inside the browser program as well. People who don't switch are: a) Lazy, period; b) Afraid of anything that's different to what they are used to;
A key question, though, is whether this kind of detection system can realistically block terrorists from bringing seemingly innocuous liquids past security and combining them later to deadly effect.
While Piracy may be to blame in part for this, it's far from being biggest reason. The fact is, as someone else posted above, PC games these days are more and more hardware hungry, and you know, I'm betting the majority of people just don't have the money to keep up just to play the latest games. I think also these same people, that used to be on PC gaming camp, have actually growed up, and found out that their PC is useful not just for gaming, but getting work done too, and see no more sense on burning money on their PC just for games, when their 2~3 years old PC can do all other tasks they need just fine. Obviously, when I'm talking on third person, I'm actually talking about myself, but I believe this to be the case for a lot of people: I have an Athlon XP 2400, 1Gb Ram and a GF4 Ti4200 card. That machine, except for the harddisk, is like 3 years old or more, and you know what? Its performance for the daily tasks is pretty good, comparable even to newer machines I've came in contact, and I do a lot of stuff on that machine - web and software development, browsing, and some casual gaming (not new stuff, usually just simple, 2 years old games). I see no reason to upgrade that machine on the next 2 years at least.
I used to be an avid PC Gamer 2 years ago. I never thought of having a console, but when I came in to contact with a PS2 (which is not even the best console, technically speaking), I completely changed my mind. Bought one, and now I rarely play on the PC. The thing is, you still end up having at least half of the latest games both on the PC and console, and you don't have to upgrade your console. And people just started to realize that. Nothing beats the price of playing in the confort of your living room, without having to upgrade your machine every year to be able to play the latest games.
Nowadays, mostly every computer and videogame on the market can have a game at the an arcade level. Flashy graphics, cool sound, cockpits and other stuff don't cut it anymore, all consoles from the last 3~4 years have that (except for the cockpits, but that's already dull anyway). They have to innovate on the Interface. I say, let go of the joysticks, buttons, wheels, etc. They need to make the player immerse more on the action using interfaces similar to Nintendo's Wii controler, but more refined for the especific game. Actually, I think a big killer and the next big thing for Arcades would be VR games. I understand the technology isn't quite there yet, but then again, the industry had plenty of time to mature the technology, by means of investments - the Arcardes market was really sleeping at the wheel. I actually saw a VR game years ago, but it didn't took off. The glasses weighted a bit too much, and the interface felt awkward mostly because of that, it didn't feel natural.
In summary, what the Arcade market needs to delivery is something that people can't get on their living room.
Slashdot Mirror
... that someone that has the appendix removed and has a case of amoebic dysentery may die of it?
Ok, so there's no way to know the root password. But you can still reset it, and then you'll be able to login as root normally (locally, at least). Not that someone who manages to break in remotely using a sudo-able account would find that useful anyway, for the reasons I've pointed previously.
Presumably you don't allow the root user to login at all. The only way to get to root would be with su.
When Ubuntu is installed, you don't know the root password, true. But if you can find a way to know it, or reset it, then yes, you can login as root. And resetting the root password is as easy as typing "sudo passwd root", all you need is your user password. So, Ubuntu's as secure as your user password is.
As for su, on Ubuntu you can have the same effect typing "sudo bash" on the prompt; again, only knowing the user password is enough
Oh! So that means the userbase of Windows Vista consists entirely of stupids?
Entirely, no - I guess I should count the masochists. But mostly, yes - though I wouldn't call them stupid.
I would imagine that atleast 20% of all PC users have some knowledge about Operating Systems, hardware, standards etc.
Really? Ok, let's try a little change in perspective: How many people in your family (including yourself) have that much knowledge? Now apply that proportion to a 9 figure number. Obviously it may not be an exact figure (who knows, maybe half of your family works on IT...), but it's a more accurate reflection of the real world.
[...] and I cannot imagine they will be easily brainwashed like you describe above.
Brainwashed, no - as I said above, I don't they are stupid. Rather, they are just apathetic to the situation, because computers are just another tool for them - as it is to us, with the difference that we care more about the means to the end, because we can see better how little innefficiencies on the tool can hinder us to do what we need the tool to do. So, as long as it does its job (however inefficiently, though they can't see it), it's ok for them.
I think that's really a generational problem. I hope our sons will be better educated and informed on this matter than ours and previous generations were.
[...] users will conclude that DRM is such a burden on resources, and avoid using Vista as long as they practically can. This isn't FUD, it's FACT.
You give too much credit to users.
No, users won't avoid using Vista because of performance or DRM issues, because Vista comes/will come preinstalled with their shiny new computer that, being faster than their old computer, will mask the relative lack of performance Vista has compared to XP. As for DRM, many will be pissed, sure, but they won't go through the hassle of crying foul on this because most of them aren't as educated as we are to know how much they are being screwed and abused, so they will think that's just how things are supposed to be and cope.
The fact that Vista will come preinstalled on new computers also means that, for the very few that won't be willing to take all the bullshit, they will have to buy a new copy of Windows XP - which won't be in the market for too long now, so that means that when XP stops being sold, they will be faced with the decision of either migrating to another OS (OSX or Linux) or bearing with Vista. Again, guess what the majority of that (already small percentage of people who won't accept MS's and media industry's bullshit) people will do? Hint: What they are more used to / more confortable with?
Please. It sums pretty well how sad this whole situation really is.
While Object Pascal will never reach the mainstream in any way more than Delphi did ...
Sorry, but I think that's an oxymoron. IIRC, Delphi is just an IDE for the Object Pascal language, with a package of libraries/components thrown in.
I can't see how it could be an oversight. The license files are distributed along with the DOSBox binaries / sources, so they should have deliberately deleted the license text files at some point before publishing them.
Unix and Unix-like systems have been around for a very long time (a lot longer than windows) and have yet to hit big on the desktop.
Really? Like OSX?
Granted, it doesn't have as much market on the desktop, but it's still the second. And it only is the second exactly because of the reasons de GP pointed out.
Hmm. But would it sell? I've only read Rama a few months ago, and while the geek in me loved it for all the cool ideas and concepts it has, I was a little disappointed by the anti-climax of how the story ends - without providing further insight on the purpose of the Ramans and what happened to them. I know that are sequels, but I won't bother reading them since from what I've heard almost unanimously, they are worthless - they deviate too much from the direction and style of Arthur C. Clarke, since it is mostly written by someone else.
I mean, Rama certainly works for me, but I have a hard time believing a story that ends with a whimper would work for the general public.
... and this is, scientists have concluded, Sparta.
Well, no one can tell (save for the employees themselves) how transparently the company is internally, so Microsoft may well be more transparent than Google. But if you judge by the behavior each companies show in the market, I think it's a pretty safe bet that Google is at least more transparent than Microsoft (even if not "amazingly" transparent). I guess that the GP thought that way too.
Even if Linus was invited to attend, I don't think he would accept it. And if he'd accept, he's still not a business guy anyway, so he wouldn't fit on the conversation - he'd just babble "I don't care" at most stuff. He doesn't have the proper composture to behave in a way the target audience would expect in such an ocasion.
Others have already said it, but I'm gonna say it again anyway: The possibility that Quicktime itself is causing the BSOD is infinitesimally next to zero - no userspace application should bring the OS down directly. Quicktime obviously is triggering the BSOD, but there isn't absolutely any "strong possibility that the issue is being caused by Apple software". The issue is most likely bad drivers - and the fact that the device uses a custom tablet isn't of any help. While Apple probably could work around the problem, they are the last party he should ask for it - The first, and most likely to get his problem resolved is Toshiba. Even if they can't to anything about it directly (i.e., the problem is on Vista), they should at least be able to put some pressure on Microsoft to get it done.
I do agree, however, that the suggestion the GP gave of dumping the device is overrated.
... except that, last time I checked, that (going to the arcade machine to play MM) doesn't work under ScummVM. However, the original datafiles of MM are included with the datafiles of DOTT, so you just add the directory where it is in ("MANIAC", IIRC) on ScummVM and play it as a separate game. Still, playing MM inside DOTT isn't possible with ScummVM.
the fork()
He tried to claim Vista could do all that stuff (cube, burning windows, Expose). Obviously, he was wrong.
Sorry, but technically he's right. Vista has all the infrastructure (3d hardware accelerated GUI) and the APIs (DWM) to do it - it's just that Vista doesn't come by default with these effects (cube, exposé) available. But it can, in theory, be easily implemented by third-party applications. In fact, case in point, a good example is the Exposé functionality: That functionality doesn't come by default on Vista, but there are already a few applications available for Vista that adds this feature to the desktop, properly using the new video infrastructure on Vista to do it just as OSX and Linux+Beryl does: with the scaled Windows updated in real-time, with negligible performance hit. It's just a matter of time or will from developers to make other fancy new effects available.
Linux.
~ Whhoooooosshhh! ~
... what all these guys have against the Hobbit? I mean, this Saul guy is hiring that thug Peter to have the Hobbit shot... That Hobbit should have banged his wife or something...
I knew I was missing something... :-P
[...] or are just too lazy to figure out how to switch all their bookmarks over to a new browser [...] (emphasis mine)
That's no excuse. Any major browser besides IE offers bookmark import right at the installation, and as an option inside the browser program as well. People who don't switch are: a) Lazy, period; b) Afraid of anything that's different to what they are used to;
A key question, though, is whether this kind of detection system can realistically block terrorists from bringing seemingly innocuous liquids past security and combining them later to deadly effect.
Thank you for the Insight!
-Mr. Terrorist
While Piracy may be to blame in part for this, it's far from being biggest reason. The fact is, as someone else posted above, PC games these days are more and more hardware hungry, and you know, I'm betting the majority of people just don't have the money to keep up just to play the latest games. I think also these same people, that used to be on PC gaming camp, have actually growed up, and found out that their PC is useful not just for gaming, but getting work done too, and see no more sense on burning money on their PC just for games, when their 2~3 years old PC can do all other tasks they need just fine. Obviously, when I'm talking on third person, I'm actually talking about myself, but I believe this to be the case for a lot of people: I have an Athlon XP 2400, 1Gb Ram and a GF4 Ti4200 card. That machine, except for the harddisk, is like 3 years old or more, and you know what? Its performance for the daily tasks is pretty good, comparable even to newer machines I've came in contact, and I do a lot of stuff on that machine - web and software development, browsing, and some casual gaming (not new stuff, usually just simple, 2 years old games). I see no reason to upgrade that machine on the next 2 years at least.
I used to be an avid PC Gamer 2 years ago. I never thought of having a console, but when I came in to contact with a PS2 (which is not even the best console, technically speaking), I completely changed my mind. Bought one, and now I rarely play on the PC. The thing is, you still end up having at least half of the latest games both on the PC and console, and you don't have to upgrade your console. And people just started to realize that. Nothing beats the price of playing in the confort of your living room, without having to upgrade your machine every year to be able to play the latest games.
Nowadays, mostly every computer and videogame on the market can have a game at the an arcade level. Flashy graphics, cool sound, cockpits and other stuff don't cut it anymore, all consoles from the last 3~4 years have that (except for the cockpits, but that's already dull anyway). They have to innovate on the Interface. I say, let go of the joysticks, buttons, wheels, etc. They need to make the player immerse more on the action using interfaces similar to Nintendo's Wii controler, but more refined for the especific game. Actually, I think a big killer and the next big thing for Arcades would be VR games. I understand the technology isn't quite there yet, but then again, the industry had plenty of time to mature the technology, by means of investments - the Arcardes market was really sleeping at the wheel. I actually saw a VR game years ago, but it didn't took off. The glasses weighted a bit too much, and the interface felt awkward mostly because of that, it didn't feel natural.
In summary, what the Arcade market needs to delivery is something that people can't get on their living room.