I was thinking the same thing. It made me wonder whether my chroot jail (in which my thttpd server runs) has gcc or any other unnecessary binaries... so I went in with aptitude and deleted a few things that didn't need to be in there. I think that would be a good exercise for any web admin. That is, your web server does not have to run in an environment where there are lots of extraneous goodies for black hats to wield against you.
This should have been made more clear in the CNET (and Slashdot) article! It's a known bug, and fixes have been available for some time now. The systems that are getting hit are the ones with lazy admins who don't promptly follow up on security patches.
I have developed an AI that will make your Slashdot posts for you. It just pastes big quotes from the article and throws in a few off-topic references to the DMCA.
You know, I sensed some bogosity here, but I couldnt' quite tell what it was. I think you've put your finger on it. Are there any interesting number-theoretical properties that depend on what base you express the number in?
And the really funny part is that IE will never have it! Microsoft will never screw over its fellow biznizes by giving users control over their computers.
A 12 inch hard drive? There were "disk packs" that were that size, or thereabouts, for minicomputers. But actually, I think those were flexible media as well.
Oh, boy, here we go. Check out this quote from the ZDNet article:
Then there's Microsoft's Palladium approach and the separate Trusted Computing Platform Alliance (TCPA) project, both of which anticipate the embedding of special security chips in PCs. Since Biden's bill prohibits "illicit authentication features" attached to software, it could become unlawful to distribute software that would run on a Palladium-outfitted computer without Microsoft's permission.
This is a serious, serious problem. Microsoft is trying to make all non-Microsoft software illegal! We need a plan of action, and not just a phonecalling campaign to legislators, although that is important. We should face facts: eventually Microsoft will purchase legislation that will put it in the position of being the only legal provider of software and certifier of hardware in the US. The "Free System" PC-compatible hardware platform we've all grown accustomed to, capable of running virtually any software from our choice of supplier, is going to be contraband and illegal to own, make, or sell. You can and should make your views known to your congressmen, but Microsoft speaks their language ($$$$$$) better than we ever can. (Microsoft has a lot of fricking influence with Washington if they can get the U.S. Ambassador to Peru to make a sales call on the Peruvian government, as he recently did!)
What's making this happen is a truly evil confluence of interests. The hardware industry is hurting because Free Systems have gotten so good there's rarely a need to replace them. Microsoft sees its tyrannical grip on the software industry begining to loosen a bit, under pressure from a variety of sources including Open Software. Free Systems, particularly in combination with Open Software, give users/consumers much more power than Big Business (the *AAs) are used to handling. And of course we have our greedy, corrupt legislators willing to take their money in exchange for passing whatever legislation they want. They result: all existing hardware will become contraband, and will have to be replaced with new, Microsoft-certified hardware, that will run only Microsoft-certified software (of which as much as possible will be sold by Microsoft), and which will include mandatory DRM. Don't like it? Prefer that nice 1.5 GHz Athlon box with Linux or FreeBSD installed? OK, you're now a criminal. I call that despotism. There's no better word for it. Some provisions need to be made so Free Systems and Open Software will survive, even if they have to go underground.
Actual scale values less than -2 reflect events for which there are no likely consequences, while Palermo Scale values between -2 and 0 indicate situations that merit careful monitoring. Potential impacts with positive Palermo Scale values will generally indicate situations that merit some level of concern.
So a Palermo Scale value of 0.06 is not a total joke.
If only you had thought of this six years ago, you'd be a billionaire now. Assuming you sold all your stock before the bubble burst. Which you probably wouldn't, because almost no one did. But you would have been a billionaire for a few months, which is more than they rest of us.
And you could upload a MIDI file of that "Yakitty Sax" song to the pacemaker so Gramps will have some musical accompaniment as he runs around the house...
Yeah, Cringley's a little nuts, isn't he? More than a little. Not that Palladium isn't something to be worried about, but claiming that he predicted it doesn't square with the facts.
Slashdot Mirror
"Selling the title to the Brooklyn Bridge" is a proverbial fraud.
See subject.
I was thinking the same thing. It made me wonder whether my chroot jail (in which my thttpd server runs) has gcc or any other unnecessary binaries... so I went in with aptitude and deleted a few things that didn't need to be in there. I think that would be a good exercise for any web admin. That is, your web server does not have to run in an environment where there are lots of extraneous goodies for black hats to wield against you.
This should have been made more clear in the CNET (and Slashdot) article! It's a known bug, and fixes have been available for some time now. The systems that are getting hit are the ones with lazy admins who don't promptly follow up on security patches.
Author, author!
I have developed an AI that will make your Slashdot posts for you. It just pastes big quotes from the article and throws in a few off-topic references to the DMCA.
>Yes, I'm talking to you with the key that starts with FCKGW. I've always wondered if those letters were intentional...
FCKGW? Fuck George Washington? Must be the British!
Slashtard bingo!
Wine is at 2002xxxx, so it is superior to everything!
You know, I sensed some bogosity here, but I couldnt' quite tell what it was. I think you've put your finger on it. Are there any interesting number-theoretical properties that depend on what base you express the number in?
Reporters rarely get anything right, especially if it doesn't involve sports or celebrities. At least the error was made in favor of Linux.
I suggest trying an interpretive dance.
Nice troll. Didn't seem to work, though.
And the really funny part is that IE will never have it! Microsoft will never screw over its fellow biznizes by giving users control over their computers.
Paul, thanks for the explanation. BTW, this is the first Slashdot comment I've ever bookmarked!
A 12 inch hard drive? There were "disk packs" that were that size, or thereabouts, for minicomputers. But actually, I think those were flexible media as well.
This is a serious, serious problem. Microsoft is trying to make all non-Microsoft software illegal! We need a plan of action, and not just a phonecalling campaign to legislators, although that is important. We should face facts: eventually Microsoft will purchase legislation that will put it in the position of being the only legal provider of software and certifier of hardware in the US. The "Free System" PC-compatible hardware platform we've all grown accustomed to, capable of running virtually any software from our choice of supplier, is going to be contraband and illegal to own, make, or sell. You can and should make your views known to your congressmen, but Microsoft speaks their language ($$$$$$) better than we ever can. (Microsoft has a lot of fricking influence with Washington if they can get the U.S. Ambassador to Peru to make a sales call on the Peruvian government, as he recently did!)
What's making this happen is a truly evil confluence of interests. The hardware industry is hurting because Free Systems have gotten so good there's rarely a need to replace them. Microsoft sees its tyrannical grip on the software industry begining to loosen a bit, under pressure from a variety of sources including Open Software. Free Systems, particularly in combination with Open Software, give users/consumers much more power than Big Business (the *AAs) are used to handling. And of course we have our greedy, corrupt legislators willing to take their money in exchange for passing whatever legislation they want. They result: all existing hardware will become contraband, and will have to be replaced with new, Microsoft-certified hardware, that will run only Microsoft-certified software (of which as much as possible will be sold by Microsoft), and which will include mandatory DRM. Don't like it? Prefer that nice 1.5 GHz Athlon box with Linux or FreeBSD installed? OK, you're now a criminal. I call that despotism. There's no better word for it. Some provisions need to be made so Free Systems and Open Software will survive, even if they have to go underground.
When, in the course of Human Events...
So a Palermo Scale value of 0.06 is not a total joke.
If only you had thought of this six years ago, you'd be a billionaire now. Assuming you sold all your stock before the bubble burst. Which you probably wouldn't, because almost no one did. But you would have been a billionaire for a few months, which is more than they rest of us.
And you could upload a MIDI file of that "Yakitty Sax" song to the pacemaker so Gramps will have some musical accompaniment as he runs around the house...
>Why isn't a discussion ever a skirmish, conflict, sortie, engagement, etc?
I prefer "rhubarb" or "kerfuffle."
Sorry, I don't normally troll, but I've been at work for about thirty hours straight.
"The turkeys are crashing to the ground like sacks of wet cement! Oh, the humanity!"
I'm glad to see that the schools in Canada are just as bad as the U.S. schools! I was getting a bit of an inferiority complex!
Yeah, Cringley's a little nuts, isn't he? More than a little. Not that Palladium isn't something to be worried about, but claiming that he predicted it doesn't square with the facts.