What he did (if intentional) was not illegal. What Microsoft did (if intentional) is.
Actually, some of what he did could possibly be illegal. For example, there's a reference to a a header-script he inserted which does a +++ ath style Hayes-modem hang-up. Arguably, that could be called a DoS trojan and deemed illegal (even if that seems silly).
In any case, I think he's free to act like a stupid jackass (which is what he's doing) on his own mailing list, but if he pulls that kind of stuff on other people's mailing lists he should be banned from said list for life...not everyone shares his Open Source Ideals politics, and silly immature antics like those he's displayed don't convince people to use OSS, they just turn people off to it even more.
From my reading of the article, they changed the license of the classes, not the whole of Mono.
This makes quite a bit of sense in terms of acceptance as if the root classes of the implementation are GPL that pretty much forces every application built to use Mono to be GPL. You can debate whether the classes would have been better off XFree-ish or LGPL, but they shouldn't be GPL (IMO), just as the gnu libc isn't GPL.
(btw if you want to run games on windows, don't bother with xp, a few games have compatabilty isues and most need to be run as administrator - you'll probably want 98/ME instead)
Actually XP has ridiculously good compatibility, even to the point where many old DOS games can be run through the emulation layer (there's no real 'DOS' there). The few games that don't work are extremely old and/or buggy on any version of Windows and don't really matter.
And who cares if you need to run games as administrator under XP? Under 98/ME you're running them as administrator too, the only difference is that under 98/ME administrator is the only account that exists...And this functionality is the same under XP Home Edition as it is under 98/ME...
XP is a great gaming platform and its stable as hell.
I can understand why you'd want to block port 25, due to spammers, but wouldn't it make more sense to block it *outgoing*?
I believe the reasoning of the ISP is that many users (particularly people running at-home UNIX systems like Linux or FreeBSD that are still kind of new to their OS) may have SMTP servers running with open relays. Spammers often scan for such systems on DSL/cable networks to use as the originator of their spams. Thus the incoming blocking on port 25.
OK, point taken. But then you'll still to go to your ISP's page with Javascript enabled, which you aren't about to do if you want to keep your NAT. So it doesn't really help them:)
My guess is they aren't really trying to catch the type of people who would be savvy enough to turn JavaScript off before visiting their page. These people will find a way around whatever detection methods they use.... The people they're going after and will catch are those who don't really know much about networking but managed to set up ICS (internet connection sharing) among their Windows boxes (its very easy to set up).
They are talking about support products..Namely the Loki installer, I'd guess since the majority of Loki's APIs and such are already Open (SDL, OpenAL). Of course they can't release the source to the games they ported, but they can release a lot of the Linux-specific framework they set up to port those games in the first place.
Microsoft gets a lot of shit about non-standards-compliance on the web, but in the 2.0 browser era, Netscape were the KINGS of non-standard HTML as an attempt to lock-in customers...
Yes, things have changed, since they are no longer in any position to try and dictate standards, but lets not forget Netscape's dubious history as a would-be/want-to-be-monopoly that stumbled and killed themselves.
If someone flew a plain into the HQ of MS/NBC/AOL/Timewarner/etc/etc/etc, I'd call them a hero not a terrorist!
Despite the fact that tons of fairly innocent people just trying to make a good living would die in the process? Your view is no different than that of the terrorists. They see the American government as the encroaching evil that is taking over the world (just as you see MS/AOL/etc), so now they're justified in killing 5,000+ civilians using your logic? Jackass.
You dont even have to decode them (though its much easier that way). You just need someone to take screenshots and save the pages as full-color images (tif, tga, png). You could even then re-insert them into PDF or ebook format with no copy protection if you like. Only one person needs to do this, the rest can just share it.
Judging by your sig, I'm sure you realize the point of using crappy copy-control is mostly to have a DMCA argument when attacking pirates, not to actually stop the copying in the first place.
Why is everyone so hostile towards Alan Cox about this?
AOL/TW (The TimeWarner part is very important, this isn't your daddy's AOL anymore, where elitest-non-AOL-attitude might be the primary driving force in Alan's decision) is not just any old large company.
As I mentioned in another post (a reply, actually), if the company considering buying AOL was Microsoft, nobody would bat an eyelash about Alan Cox saying this stuff. Well guess what? AOL/TimeWarner is just as bad, if not worse, than Microsoft. Not only are they wanting to control computer use as much as Microsoft does (just doing a poorer job of it), but they want to control virtually everything you do! Do you have any idea how much of everything you see at the movies or on TV or on the web is eventually controlled by AOL? In many ways they are much more powerful than Microsoft has ever been.
AOL/TW (again, TW being important) is directly involved in much of the backassward technology & lawmaking that Slashdotters decry every day: DMCA, copyrighted CDs, SDMI...
If you REALLY disagree with those laws and the very idea of huge media conglomerations controlling everything we see, how could you possibly suggest someone should just shut up and be happy working for AOL/TimeWarner?
I'm one of the people who often attack Linux users and programmers for their stupid elitest attitudes, but in this case I say bravo, Alan.
Leaving your job because you don't like your boss may be cocky..But leaving your job because you don't agree with the policies of a company that has aquired you is completely different.
Would anyone bat an eyelash if the potential buyer is Microsoft and Alan Cox said this?
Well, many people feel that AOL/TW is just as bad as Microsoft... Microsoft is trying to control the computer OS and application space, AOL/TW is trying to control virtually EVERYTHING you see, hear or do ALL DAY EVERY DAY. Both have extremely questionable business practices, both abuse their positions of power. Which is worse?
Configuring a kernel from source isn't that hard if all you want are the defaults -- in which case, why are you rebuilding the kernel?
If you want to do something special, it IS hard, from the layman/non-programmer/non-sysadmin perspective. Wtf is ISA? Wtf is PCI? Which ethernet card do I have? Fuck if I know...I thought it was an emachines computer...Why isn't there an emachines network card listed?
There's also the issue whereby if you do something wrong you can majorly fuck things up for yourself -- so even if it is 'easy' there's huge potential danger.
Consider it from a non-computer perspective, because as a Slashdot user you may be too close to see it from another angle...
Flying an airplane simple ain't that hard. I mean, its generally just a flight yoke, some rudder peddles and that's about it... So why shouldn't Aunt Tille fly her own plane? As with the computer example, this simplification ignores the fact that a successful pilot has to have a lot of knowledge for things to work out right -- how do I read the gauges, etc, etc? And as with computers, if you fuck up you're majorly fucked (in this case probably dead, but still...)
How does 'think her own thoughts' get on this chart? It seems pretty demeaning to people who really don't give a shit about the inner workings of the computer and just want to use it as a tool.. Are those people incapable of thinking? I think not.
I've known many science geniuses whose science of choice is not electronics nor computers in general (algorithms interest them in theory, but they don't really want to know how to configure a kernel); just because they want a simple system with a nice UI to run Mathematica and nothing else you'd put them within two levels of someone incapable of thinking their own thoughts?
I'm so tired of seeing this sort of bias with computer users. Should we know the inner workings of every tool we use? Cars? Microwaves? TVs? Blenders? Airplanes? Of course not -- but many silly immature 'hardcore' computer users seem to have this attitude, but mostly only when it comes to their passion (computers).
Slashdot Mirror
Actually, some of what he did could possibly be illegal. For example, there's a reference to a a header-script he inserted which does a +++ ath style Hayes-modem hang-up. Arguably, that could be called a DoS trojan and deemed illegal (even if that seems silly).
In any case, I think he's free to act like a stupid jackass (which is what he's doing) on his own mailing list, but if he pulls that kind of stuff on other people's mailing lists he should be banned from said list for life...not everyone shares his Open Source Ideals politics, and silly immature antics like those he's displayed don't convince people to use OSS, they just turn people off to it even more.
This makes quite a bit of sense in terms of acceptance as if the root classes of the implementation are GPL that pretty much forces every application built to use Mono to be GPL. You can debate whether the classes would have been better off XFree-ish or LGPL, but they shouldn't be GPL (IMO), just as the gnu libc isn't GPL.
Actually XP has ridiculously good compatibility, even to the point where many old DOS games can be run through the emulation layer (there's no real 'DOS' there). The few games that don't work are extremely old and/or buggy on any version of Windows and don't really matter.
And who cares if you need to run games as administrator under XP? Under 98/ME you're running them as administrator too, the only difference is that under 98/ME administrator is the only account that exists...And this functionality is the same under XP Home Edition as it is under 98/ME...
XP is a great gaming platform and its stable as hell.
I believe the reasoning of the ISP is that many users (particularly people running at-home UNIX systems like Linux or FreeBSD that are still kind of new to their OS) may have SMTP servers running with open relays. Spammers often scan for such systems on DSL/cable networks to use as the originator of their spams. Thus the incoming blocking on port 25.
My guess is they aren't really trying to catch the type of people who would be savvy enough to turn JavaScript off before visiting their page. These people will find a way around whatever detection methods they use.... The people they're going after and will catch are those who don't really know much about networking but managed to set up ICS (internet connection sharing) among their Windows boxes (its very easy to set up).
They are talking about support products..Namely the Loki installer, I'd guess since the majority of Loki's APIs and such are already Open (SDL, OpenAL). Of course they can't release the source to the games they ported, but they can release a lot of the Linux-specific framework they set up to port those games in the first place.
its true its true.
Articles like this get published all the time on slow news days...
The article takes an extremely skeptical stance, and despite what michael said about non-humor, there ARE bits of humor in there (Guiness reference).
This proves that MICHAEL is an incompetant boob, not that Reuters is.
I just knew it.
I just knew it.
I just knew it.
Lucas *created* Indiana Jones..So if he wants to ruin it, its his right...grubby paws indeed.
Microsoft gets a lot of shit about non-standards-compliance on the web, but in the 2.0 browser era, Netscape were the KINGS of non-standard HTML as an attempt to lock-in customers...
Yes, things have changed, since they are no longer in any position to try and dictate standards, but lets not forget Netscape's dubious history as a would-be/want-to-be-monopoly that stumbled and killed themselves.
Yeah an in the process it could set up AOL as the new tyrannt in town. The King is dead, long live The King...
Despite the fact that tons of fairly innocent people just trying to make a good living would die in the process? Your view is no different than that of the terrorists. They see the American government as the encroaching evil that is taking over the world (just as you see MS/AOL/etc), so now they're justified in killing 5,000+ civilians using your logic? Jackass.
Judging by your sig, I'm sure you realize the point of using crappy copy-control is mostly to have a DMCA argument when attacking pirates, not to actually stop the copying in the first place.
Bandwidth sure isn't free these days...
Doh, thanks for pointing this out. I meant copy protected CD, of course. Too bad Slashdot has no post-edit feature...
AOL/TW (The TimeWarner part is very important, this isn't your daddy's AOL anymore, where elitest-non-AOL-attitude might be the primary driving force in Alan's decision) is not just any old large company.
As I mentioned in another post (a reply, actually), if the company considering buying AOL was Microsoft, nobody would bat an eyelash about Alan Cox saying this stuff. Well guess what? AOL/TimeWarner is just as bad, if not worse, than Microsoft. Not only are they wanting to control computer use as much as Microsoft does (just doing a poorer job of it), but they want to control virtually everything you do! Do you have any idea how much of everything you see at the movies or on TV or on the web is eventually controlled by AOL? In many ways they are much more powerful than Microsoft has ever been.
AOL/TW (again, TW being important) is directly involved in much of the backassward technology & lawmaking that Slashdotters decry every day: DMCA, copyrighted CDs, SDMI...
If you REALLY disagree with those laws and the very idea of huge media conglomerations controlling everything we see, how could you possibly suggest someone should just shut up and be happy working for AOL/TimeWarner?
I'm one of the people who often attack Linux users and programmers for their stupid elitest attitudes, but in this case I say bravo, Alan.
Would anyone bat an eyelash if the potential buyer is Microsoft and Alan Cox said this?
Well, many people feel that AOL/TW is just as bad as Microsoft... Microsoft is trying to control the computer OS and application space, AOL/TW is trying to control virtually EVERYTHING you see, hear or do ALL DAY EVERY DAY. Both have extremely questionable business practices, both abuse their positions of power. Which is worse?
Honestly it does. Bad art, terrible plots, all sorts of really twisted underage-girl-rape subthemes. Why do people watch this crap?
Idiot.
Watch out for those scent-tracking mechanical hounds.... Run, Montag, run!
I just knew it.
If you want to do something special, it IS hard, from the layman/non-programmer/non-sysadmin perspective. Wtf is ISA? Wtf is PCI? Which ethernet card do I have? Fuck if I know...I thought it was an emachines computer...Why isn't there an emachines network card listed?
There's also the issue whereby if you do something wrong you can majorly fuck things up for yourself -- so even if it is 'easy' there's huge potential danger.
Consider it from a non-computer perspective, because as a Slashdot user you may be too close to see it from another angle...
Flying an airplane simple ain't that hard. I mean, its generally just a flight yoke, some rudder peddles and that's about it... So why shouldn't Aunt Tille fly her own plane? As with the computer example, this simplification ignores the fact that a successful pilot has to have a lot of knowledge for things to work out right -- how do I read the gauges, etc, etc? And as with computers, if you fuck up you're majorly fucked (in this case probably dead, but still...)
I've known many science geniuses whose science of choice is not electronics nor computers in general (algorithms interest them in theory, but they don't really want to know how to configure a kernel); just because they want a simple system with a nice UI to run Mathematica and nothing else you'd put them within two levels of someone incapable of thinking their own thoughts?
I'm so tired of seeing this sort of bias with computer users. Should we know the inner workings of every tool we use? Cars? Microwaves? TVs? Blenders? Airplanes? Of course not -- but many silly immature 'hardcore' computer users seem to have this attitude, but mostly only when it comes to their passion (computers).