Blacklists are the equivalent of the guilty until proven innocent paradigm in the justice system. While they might stop spam by quickly blocking computers that have been hacked into by spammers, they cause problems for the poor people who got hacked.
Yes, but people just don't know what to do anymore. I know bosses who go really mad at admins when spam gets into their mailboxes. It happened to me too. Of course it's not the right solution, but we need some solution, and we need it now. It's sad, but what can we do?
Also, think about people/small businesses who have a bandwidth cap, or those who pay for the connected minute.
No matter what filter they use (including Bayesian),
they'll be paying for spam. Blocklists will certainly help them.
Bayesian filtering has been very successful
Yes, but it depends on the filter being trained periodically. And it works better for individuals than
for groups (because the ham stats are very different
for different people).
Re:Does anyone see IP issues inthe future?
on
Corel Goes Private
·
· Score: 1
What is that attitude of Vector Capital, for whom Corel is simply now an owned brand?
I think you might find that it's very different than Corel's traditional point of view.
Does anyone have references to statements or whatever else by Vector Capital on their plans for Corel?
Re:Does anyone see IP issues inthe future?
on
Corel Goes Private
·
· Score: 1
The difference with SCO is that Corel has had a positive attitude towards linux. They contributed a lot to the wine project
Well, yes, but since someone else (literally) owns them now, it would be possible that the new boss has a completely different idea about that... (I really hope this is not the case)
Does anyone see IP issues inthe future?
on
Corel Goes Private
·
· Score: 4, Interesting
How much did Corel contribute to Open Source projects? With all the problems SCO has been causing, the news about Corel going private makes me sort of uncomfortable. Could they start doing the same?
Oh, that was, IMHO, a huge misunderstanding! Anyway, it looks like the problem has been settled alrady.
Anyway -- that shows that the Debian developers do listen to upstream authors, and that they do try to sort ou tproblems!:-)
First you blame Debian for not respecting upstream, then you (implicitly) blame them for respecting the upstream - whom you then blame.
Er... I didn't blame Debian for not respecting upstream. I said the Debian people *do* respect upstream, and that RedHat did not in this case. But I agree, this may have been something else but disrespect after all...
Someone should have mentioned to you that the Apache Software Foundation renamed the project when they released Apache httpd 2.0.
Sure, but they should respect the *other* web servers. Apache is not the only one. They could call it "apache-httpd", then... But then comes another advantage of Debian: you *can* choose between different web servers.:-)
hope debian does some work on OpenBSD or attempts reaching its security reputation.
I think the work on OpenBSD is a little slow, but check the ports section on the website, the NetBSD port is already running -- it does nto have an installer, and there are few packages ported, but the Debian/BSD team has been reasonably active recently. (Check the debian-bsd and the debian-ports mailing lists).
It wasn't at all my intention to give that impression, sorry if I wasn't explicit enough. The point I was making is that there are *lots* more good things about Debian than Apt, just that Apt is the most obvious one (and the one most people are aware of).
Yes, no problem:-)
I think the Debian people should perhaps include all those points when they advocate.
Well, it's sad that people say that now that apt has been ported to other distributions, Debian has no advantages anymore. The development process in Debian is the real advantage, with some nice consequences:
Eleven hardware architectures supported.
Support for other kernels (Hurd and BSD) is almost there (experimental versions do work already).
A solid and intelligent policy, which will
yield uniformness among packages, their directories and configuration files, etc, besides other nice things.
An excellent bug-tracking system.
More software than any other Linux distribution.
Respect for upstream software (like, Debian doesn't call Apache "httpd", they call it "apache").
Usually, there are scripts to automate everything: compare kernel compilation in RedHat to kernel compilation in Debian, for example.
Stability. Debian is famous for not releasing buggy software, no matter how long it takes to release.
Respect for suggestions and request from users: Debian will listen to users (via the bug tracking system), and if what you say makes sense, it will be included. No marketing department will filter anything.
Well, ther are other advantages, but these are the ones I remember now. By the way, I've been using APT for Conectiva, and I can tell you it's really not as good as the original (lacks stability, and is slower).
I used to have an Apple ][+, and I can tell you I played this games for hours, day after day, until I finished it -- "
Below the
Root", by Windham Classics (based on The Green Sky Triology by Zilpha K. Snyder).
It was simply fascinating! Even now, almost 20 years later, I still feel like reading the books (I never did) -- just because of the game.
Another one was the first "Castle Wolfenstein" (2D, also for the Apple ][).
There was also the second version, "Beyond Castle Wolfenstein", which was also great. Both of them used to scare me to death!
And the last one: Swiss Family Robinson (sorry, couldn't find a link).
Anyway -- I can say several of the Apple ][ games were important to me. One of them was called "Adventure", and it was sort of console-imteractive, but with some graphics. It was wonderful. I don't remember much more about it.
Frankly.NET is all about making it easier for the developer.
Microsoft is all about making it easy for people. That way, they can make the guy who doens't know squat about computers use them. They can make a guy who doesn't know what a network segment is get a job as a sysadmin. They can get people who don't really know what software is about and make them develop software.
Why does Microsoft invest so much in development tools and stuff? Because with more software being developed, more people will be using Windows -- AND Office, AND other MS stuff. It helps them be the "de facto standard" (Argh!)
Interesting, isn't it? Now, look at the quality you get when these people get some visual language and mnage to write a program.:-/
Yes... I think someone told me calback is already illegal in South Africa (could someone confirm that?) -- but I don't see how callback would be worse to telcos than VoIP...
What about Roadrunner [rr.com]? It's run by a cable company; I don't think it would cut into their revenues much.
Indeed. But I still wonder if there is any sign of telcos trying to pressure countries to regulate, forbid, or interfere in some way eith VoIP. Anyone?
... your relatives and friends live in a country with decent network infrastructure.
And if your ISP's terms of service do not prohibit voice over IP...
For those living in Brazil (and other countries, maybe?): most DSL providers (the one which offers the DSL link, not the ISPs who authenticate you and offer e-mail, DNS servers, etc) won't allow you to use voice over IP. Reasons seem to be:
They can't guarantee all the bandwidth they have announced. (Read your contract: how much of the bandwidth do they guarante? 10% in case of Telefonica's "home" service). Ther are some other technical reasons too (like, having ADSL or DSL makes a considerable difference);
Most companies offering DSL are also telcos... And voice over IP would certainly cut their revenue.
If the government really wants to get you, they'll surround you with Tempest vans, put a key sniffer in your keyboard, grab all your traffic through your ISP and monitor your phone calls. Uncrackable files don't mean much when traffic analysis shows email to the Cali cartel and cyber-cafe's in Pakistan.
And that's great. They'll get the terrorists they want, and nobody will know what I've been discussing with my fiancée, or with my friends, or whoever. And they'll not know what my company has been discussing with some other business out there. (Commercial secrets are still secrets)
Doesn't sount too bad after all.
You can still get evidence to take a criminal to court -- and that's good. But people won't read yout e-mails and know what you've been discussing (they won't know too much about your private life).
Not that tere aren't other problems, of couse, but then, there is always a problem...:-)
Banks have a reputation for being extremely conservative and set in their ways when it somes to changing software,
Indeed. But I knew those billions IBM invested in Linux would make a difference someday.:-)
and I'm surprised that a bank would make such a wholesale switch like this, especially to a platform no other bank has really used before. Still, good luck to them, it will be interesting to see who successfull the project will be.
That bank is controlled by the Brazilian government. It's a very important bank in Brazil, so I believe they have a big probability of success.
IIRC, they are running Linux on one (or more?) IBM mainframe (now, that explains it!). Their portal has been rewritten in JSP.
BTW, some other Brazilian banks are starting to be more Linux-friendly (although not using Linux themselves). Banco Itau', for example, now has a front page in their netbanking site with an "indexLinux.htm", to which you are redirected if you are using Linux. And yes, it works perfectly with any Mozilla-based browser! (No Java VM needed)
how cool would it be to whip out one of those credit card shaped cd's from your wallet, and amaze your friends.
What about an ordinary CD and one of those tiny storage devices that you plug to a USB port (where you keep all the data you'll work on)! (I could work on my phd thesis anywhere, without the need to be connected all the time
Hmm... This is getting really interesting!
8-)
Knoppix is excellent as a demo distro, as an easy way to install Debian, but it's also a wonderful survival kit. When you're at a relative's (or friend's) house, you can take your Knoppix CD and a floppy (for the data). You can then hack&compile your projects, write documents (w/docbook or LaTeX). No need to ask them to install Emacs or anything else in their box.
And the nice part is that it's
customizable! You can change the packages that go in the CD using apt-get (but you'll need 3 Gb of disk space for that!) I think I'll compile and include the PCTEL driver... It's one thing I'll really need!:-)
But do as the article says: modify it after booting from the KNOPPIX CD. It uses a special compressed-loop module (available from knoppix.net); the problem is that its stability seems to
depend on which modules were compiled into the kernel, and the kernel from the CD is known to work fine.
I've tried to compile the cloop module for my kernel, but
things didn't work (cp -a stalls).
There may be no slowdown for you but that may not be true in all cases.
Yes, I think using garbage collection for most parts of your program, and then just controlling it by hand in performance-critical places is a nice hing. That's why I don't like Java (Java doesn't let you choose).
Moreover using GC does not protect you from off-by-one addressing type of error, which Valgrind is designed to help you with.
Sure, agreed. But GC still makes your program more readable and easier to debug...:-)
Don't you find it a bit strange that MSNBC, which is at least half owned by Microsoft, is almost advocating Linux?
Microsoft hasn't been bashing Linux so much anymore. It sees important opportunities there. What they really don't like is GPL-like licences. Anyway, they've been changing their atitude towards Linux and Open Source. I just don't know if it'll get better or worse...
Slashdot Mirror
Blacklists are the equivalent of the guilty until proven innocent paradigm in the justice system. While they might stop spam by quickly blocking computers that have been hacked into by spammers, they cause problems for the poor people who got hacked.
Yes, but people just don't know what to do anymore. I know bosses who go really mad at admins when spam gets into their mailboxes. It happened to me too. Of course it's not the right solution, but we need some solution, and we need it now. It's sad, but what can we do?
Also, think about people/small businesses who have a bandwidth cap, or those who pay for the connected minute. No matter what filter they use (including Bayesian), they'll be paying for spam. Blocklists will certainly help them.
Bayesian filtering has been very successful
Yes, but it depends on the filter being trained periodically. And it works better for individuals than for groups (because the ham stats are very different for different people).
What is that attitude of Vector Capital, for whom Corel is simply now an owned brand?
I think you might find that it's very different than Corel's traditional point of view.
Does anyone have references to statements or whatever else by Vector Capital on their plans for Corel?
The difference with SCO is that Corel has had a positive attitude towards linux. They contributed a lot to the wine project
Well, yes, but since someone else (literally) owns them now, it would be possible that the new boss has a completely different idea about that... (I really hope this is not the case)
How much did Corel contribute to Open Source projects? With all the problems SCO has been causing, the news about Corel going private makes me sort of uncomfortable. Could they start doing the same?
Hans Reiser would disagree with you,
:-)
Oh, that was, IMHO, a huge misunderstanding! Anyway, it looks like the problem has been settled alrady. Anyway -- that shows that the Debian developers do listen to upstream authors, and that they do try to sort ou tproblems!
First you blame Debian for not respecting upstream, then you (implicitly) blame them for respecting the upstream - whom you then blame.
Er... I didn't blame Debian for not respecting upstream. I said the Debian people *do* respect upstream, and that RedHat did not in this case. But I agree, this may have been something else but disrespect after all...
Someone should have mentioned to you that the Apache Software Foundation renamed the project when they released Apache httpd 2.0.
:-)
Sure, but they should respect the *other* web servers. Apache is not the only one. They could call it "apache-httpd", then... But then comes another advantage of Debian: you *can* choose between different web servers.
hope debian does some work on OpenBSD or attempts reaching its security reputation.
I think the work on OpenBSD is a little slow, but check the ports section on the website, the NetBSD port is already running -- it does nto have an installer, and there are few packages ported, but the Debian/BSD team has been reasonably active recently. (Check the debian-bsd and the debian-ports mailing lists).
It wasn't at all my intention to give that impression, sorry if I wasn't explicit enough. The point I was making is that there are *lots* more good things about Debian than Apt, just that Apt is the most obvious one (and the one most people are aware of).
:-)
Yes, no problem
I think the Debian people should perhaps include all those points when they advocate.
Oh. I forgot: upgrade between major versions, without the need to reinstall. You can upgrade a server from 2.x to 3.0 with APT.
Well, ther are other advantages, but these are the ones I remember now. By the way, I've been using APT for Conectiva, and I can tell you it's really not as good as the original (lacks stability, and is slower).
I used to have an Apple ][+, and I can tell you I played this games for hours, day after day, until I finished it -- " Below the Root", by Windham Classics (based on The Green Sky Triology by Zilpha K. Snyder).
It was simply fascinating! Even now, almost 20 years later, I still feel like reading the books (I never did) -- just because of the game.
Another one was the first "Castle Wolfenstein" (2D, also for the Apple ][). There was also the second version, "Beyond Castle Wolfenstein", which was also great. Both of them used to scare me to death!
And the last one: Swiss Family Robinson (sorry, couldn't find a link).
Anyway -- I can say several of the Apple ][ games were important to me. One of them was called "Adventure", and it was sort of console-imteractive, but with some graphics. It was wonderful. I don't remember much more about it.
Anyone else remember these?
Frankly .NET is all about making it easier for the developer.
:-/
Microsoft is all about making it easy for people. That way, they can make the guy who doens't know squat about computers use them. They can make a guy who doesn't know what a network segment is get a job as a sysadmin. They can get people who don't really know what software is about and make them develop software.
Why does Microsoft invest so much in development tools and stuff? Because with more software being developed, more people will be using Windows -- AND Office, AND other MS stuff. It helps them be the "de facto standard" (Argh!)
Interesting, isn't it? Now, look at the quality you get when these people get some visual language and mnage to write a program.
VoIP no, but "callback" yes. Give 'em time.
Yes... I think someone told me calback is already illegal in South Africa (could someone confirm that?) -- but I don't see how callback would be worse to telcos than VoIP...
What about Roadrunner [rr.com]? It's run by a cable company; I don't think it would cut into their revenues much.
Indeed. But I still wonder if there is any sign of telcos trying to pressure countries to regulate, forbid, or interfere in some way eith VoIP. Anyone?
And if your ISP's terms of service do not prohibit voice over IP...
For those living in Brazil (and other countries, maybe?): most DSL providers (the one which offers the DSL link, not the ISPs who authenticate you and offer e-mail, DNS servers, etc) won't allow you to use voice over IP. Reasons seem to be:
If the government really wants to get you, they'll surround you with Tempest vans, put a key sniffer in your keyboard, grab all your traffic through your ISP and monitor your phone calls. Uncrackable files don't mean much when traffic analysis shows email to the Cali cartel and cyber-cafe's in Pakistan.
:-)
And that's great. They'll get the terrorists they want, and nobody will know what I've been discussing with my fiancée, or with my friends, or whoever. And they'll not know what my company has been discussing with some other business out there. (Commercial secrets are still secrets)
Doesn't sount too bad after all.
You can still get evidence to take a criminal to court -- and that's good. But people won't read yout e-mails and know what you've been discussing (they won't know too much about your private life).
Not that tere aren't other problems, of couse, but then, there is always a problem...
bb.com.br = Mozilla crash
WorsForMe (TM). Use Sun's JVM, 1.4. (It used to crash when I used 1.3.)
Banks have a reputation for being extremely conservative and set in their ways when it somes to changing software,
:-)
Indeed. But I knew those billions IBM invested in Linux would make a difference someday.
and I'm surprised that a bank would make such a wholesale switch like this, especially to a platform no other bank has really used before. Still, good luck to them, it will be interesting to see who successfull the project will be.
That bank is controlled by the Brazilian government. It's a very important bank in Brazil, so I believe they have a big probability of success.
IIRC, they are running Linux on one (or more?) IBM mainframe (now, that explains it!). Their portal has been rewritten in JSP.
BTW, some other Brazilian banks are starting to be more Linux-friendly (although not using Linux themselves). Banco Itau', for example, now has a front page in their netbanking site with an "indexLinux.htm", to which you are redirected if you are using Linux. And yes, it works perfectly with any Mozilla-based browser! (No Java VM needed)
how cool would it be to whip out one of those credit card shaped cd's from your wallet, and amaze your friends.
What about an ordinary CD and one of those tiny storage devices that you plug to a USB port (where you keep all the data you'll work on)! (I could work on my phd thesis anywhere, without the need to be connected all the time Hmm... This is getting really interesting!
8-)
Knoppix is excellent as a demo distro, as an easy way to install Debian, but it's also a wonderful survival kit. When you're at a relative's (or friend's) house, you can take your Knoppix CD and a floppy (for the data). You can then hack&compile your projects, write documents (w/docbook or LaTeX). No need to ask them to install Emacs or anything else in their box. :-)
And the nice part is that it's customizable! You can change the packages that go in the CD using apt-get (but you'll need 3 Gb of disk space for that!) I think I'll compile and include the PCTEL driver... It's one thing I'll really need!
But do as the article says: modify it after booting from the KNOPPIX CD. It uses a special compressed-loop module (available from knoppix.net); the problem is that its stability seems to depend on which modules were compiled into the kernel, and the kernel from the CD is known to work fine. I've tried to compile the cloop module for my kernel, but things didn't work (cp -a stalls).
Yes, I think using garbage collection for most parts of your program, and then just controlling it by hand in performance-critical places is a nice hing. That's why I don't like Java (Java doesn't let you choose).
Moreover using GC does not protect you from off-by-one addressing type of error, which Valgrind is designed to help you with.
Sure, agreed. But GC still makes your program more readable and easier to debug... :-)
http://www.hpl.hp.com/personal/Hans_Boehm/gc/gc_s
And contrary to what you may think, it's qiute easy to use:
Or even easier: make your classes derived from gc.
In C, you just replace malloc.
And I have found that there is no slowdown wen using a garbage collector. It's nice, and keeps the code clean. Try it someday.
Microsoft hasn't been bashing Linux so much anymore. It sees important opportunities there. What they really don't like is GPL-like licences.
Anyway, they've been changing their atitude towards Linux and Open Source. I just don't know if it'll get better or worse...