You forgot: c) don't read the book. I don't consider this a viable option, BTW. I'm just saving a PFY the effort, and I've got karma to burn. Of course, you have a +1 Insightful flame... flame on.
If 90% of the people can't drive the new car, I don't know that I would blame either one. Can you drive a stick? My wife can't, and won't, and most of the USian people can't. Should we recall all cars with a stick? If those 90% of the users don't bother to open a manual and learn about the cellphone, perhaps they should buy a different mobile, or a different car.
People who misconfigure their software, either by stupidity, error, or negligence, should be liable for the results. If I have a car with brake problems and drive it anyway, and I plow through a crowd of people on a sidewalk, would you consider me liable? I knew that brake repairs were available (patches), and I chose not to apply them. Perhaps I didn't have time (to download them), perhaps I just didn't feel like it. Am I criminally negligent? In my mind, yes. With Windows 2000 or XP, you are notified of new patch availability by the cute little popup at the bottom of the screen. You know that you have a brake problem.
People need to take some responsibility for their own fucking actions. I don't advocate throwing these users in jail, or even fining them, but I don't think that Microsoft deserves all the blame for this problem. The users are at fault as well.
And, arsehole, what do you think the effect of this policy on free software would be? I'll fucking tell you, there wouldn't be any. If I could be fined for software I released for free, without warranty (because MS also gives no warranty), I'll tell you right now that I wouldn't release it -- and I doubt that many other people would.
Who do you fine if a hole in Linux caused similar damage? Every person who's contributed to the kernel? Redhat? Registered Debian devs? All of the above?
The law demands equal protection. You can't just apply a law to one corporation or individual without applying it to all.
There are days, my friend. There are days where that doesn't sound like a bad idea. It's a good idea as long as I decide who gets to vote. It's not a good idea if you do, or $DEITY forbid, if Jeb does.
re: modern hardware, solaris x86 does not include drivers (nor are they available) for some very common adaptec RAID controllers. Try getting a Dell 2550 or 2650 with the PERC3/DI (might be DC, often confuse the two) to work with Solaris. It's the standard internal RAID for those servers.
Granted, if you choose the right hardware, it works well, but it's still a kludge. Solaris/SPARC is an entirely different beast. Beautiful stuff.
For any security issues with debian stable, I've never seen any significant delay that was not caused upstream. If you were running testing, you probably could have pulled the patched version from unstable.
But with RH9 -- you only get an extra couple of months. I'm not getting on that treadmill -- I won't install a brand-new, unproven version and I won't stay with an unsupported version. That means I'd have to upgrade on average every 6 months (to the three-month old distro). Not acceptable.
For those who don't know, the policy is one year of support from release. 8.0 and earlier EOL on December 31st of this year, 9 EOLs on April 30th, and 9.1/10 will expire one year after release.
But, there will be costs involved in such a system. I can't think of a decent (usable by mere mortals) protocol that could support this type of communication without a central server of some sort. For conference channels, you would need to either send IP datagrams to *each host* in the channel, or send the data to a central server (we'll call this a central exchange) which will then multiplex the audio streams. This still leaves the problem of bandwidth on the client. To mux the streams, the protocol has two choices -- send the bits for each host's conversation to every recipient, or modify the signal to mux multiple audio streams in to a single stream (taking up processor time on the exchange). Either way, it's going to hurt.
Now, if we use something like freenet, which does not require a central server, it requires that the hosts be a) known to each other (authentication), and b) able to contact each other -- which won't be possible in a NAT'd world. Sure, you and I can configure a gateway to pass port 2174 to a given machine... now the person in the next office wants to run it too. Even then, you think that Joe Sixpack is going to be able to configure that? We're back to the need for a central service because of NAT issues.
I'm really not trying to piss in your Cheerios(tm) here -- if you have workable solutions for these problems, I'd like to hear them. I can't see the way to a free, decentralized solution -- at least not one that's generally useful to the world. If you have any ideas, I'd like to know.
Almost forgot -- if the colors of the config tools don't match the default desktop background, that looks "unpolished" as well.
Slow down, cowboy, my ass.
Many/. readers seem to think that "polish == pretty-graphical-config-tools". Incorrect.
Re:It's all over for Ximian
on
Novell Buys Ximian
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
The key is that they bought it around the release of Win95. It wasn't that DR-DOS was dead, specifically, it was that DOS was dead as a whole. IIRC, IMHO, HTH, HAND.
Re:AOL Buys Netscape, dumps it after MS settlement
on
Novell Buys Ximian
·
· Score: 1
Forget Netware. That's an obsolete (wonderful, but obsolete) tool. Netware is a delivery system for NDS/eDirectory. That's where Novell sees a future.
Re:It's all over for Ximian
on
Novell Buys Ximian
·
· Score: 5, Interesting
Well, DR-DOS was basically dead by the time Novell bought it. I think they decided to buy it a) because it let them sue Microsoft, and b) because Netware uses DOS as a boot-loader.
WordPerfect, Quattro Pro, and Paradox are a different story. Novell never owned Paradox (and I don't they owned Quattro) -- that was a Borland product that was licensed and bundled as part of PerfectOffice -- Novell's competition to Microsoft Office. Novell also had a thin-client/kill-Microsoft strategy at about the same time... this eventually became Caldera OpenLinux.
The real story is the Ray Noorda wanted to be the David to Microsoft's Goliath. After the disasterous acquisition of WordPerfect (and one of the many near-deaths of Novell), Noorda was ejected from the company and started Caldera. Novell became much more sane after that point.
So, don't count out Novell because of WP -- that was a different company than now. They could be getting the megalomaniacal urge to kill Microsoft again, but all the code in this case is GPL'd. Improvements made by Novell in this fools errand will be given to the community and will continue after Novell is gone... or maybe, just maybe, it'll work. (But I'd be selling my Novell stock, if you know what I'm saying.)
Re:Recorded radio chatter of the future
on
In-Flight Reboot?
·
· Score: 2, Informative
How many of Maya's UI elements that you discuss are patented? Simply implementing the interface that Maya or 3DS uses would likely result in lawsuits.
Nobody is forcing you to use Blender. You have choices. More importantly, you have source. If that's not your skill, pay someone who has the skill to make the changes for you or learn. If you don't want to pay them, pay for the commercial software of your choice.
TANSTAAFL.
Re:Before all the flamers get in.
on
Qt On DirectFB
·
· Score: 4, Insightful
I don't want a whole bloody desktop with my remote X, thanks. I want a window. I want my emacs window, or my gvim window. (I actually do use both). I want an xterm, or a commercial product like ArcGIS with a single (fast) remote window. VNC is *not* an acceptable substitute for network transparency.
What's wrong with VMware on Windows? I prefer a UNIX system myself, but there's no reason to forget about gaming just to have the equivalent of Virtual PC...
Correct. Also, my Xbox, PS2, GameCube, SNES, NES, and various other systems don't report back on me with marketing information. (No Xbox Live for me, thanks.) Of course, I don't expect any of the devices later than the SNES/Genesis to work in 20 years either -- they have moving parts (drives).
The question is not whether you're paranoid. It's whether you're paranoid enough.
I just thought of a possible reason to go through a reseller and buy boxed, full (not upgrade) licenses. Does the EULA for a boxed full copy include the audit clauses? I know that Licensing 6.0 has provisions for MS to "inspect" customer sites to ensure compliance. A inspection of this type would not be compatible with national security requirements, especially for systems containing classified information (generally not on networks or on secure, closed networks.)
Also, I know that the [windows] certification is bogus, but are there any C2 or higher certified Linux distributions? C2 or higher is one of those required rubber stamps in the procurement process, and there's no port of Office to Trusted Solaris.
In short, there are a lot of reasons why the government may choose to purchase retail. Besides technical reasons, you can think of this as a Bush administration "Economic Stimulus Package."
Actually, in a twisted way (that fits well with Reaganomics), it does make sense for the govt to buy expensive, closed-source software. They are stimulating the economy by government spending.
Disclaimer: I don't agree with this decision either, but that may well be a political reason. Open Source doesn't put more money in to the economy, sadly. More expensive might be good.
However, it's not the most useful thing since a single process cannot address more than 3GB (usually 2GB). Although physical memory can be addressed with a 36-bit pointer in hardware, the software outside can only use a 32-bit pointer for a memory address. The system itself and shared libraries need to map in the process space, hence max 2 or 3 GB per processor.
The name change from SunOS to Solaris also denoted a significant change in the system. SunOS is a BSD-style system, while Solaris is a SysV-style system. (There's slightly more to it too, but I'm not that well versed in it, I'll let someone else handle it)
Indeed you are not well versed, grasshopper, for you are incorrect. I have, on the shelf above my desk, a copy of Solaris 1.1, containing SunOS 4.1.3 with OpenWindows. The definition for Solaris 1.x was SunOS 4.x with bundled OpenWindows. Solaris 2.x is SunOS 5.x with OpenWindows and CDE. There was a marketing decision that Solaris 2.7 (SunOS 5.7) would be marketed as Solaris 7, and they've continued that nomenclature with 8 and 9.
SunOS <= 4.x is BSDish, and SunOS >= 5.x is SysV based (with significant extensions and modifications).
In the (strange) universe of the USian legal system, unfortunately. A bartender gives someone a drink. They go a drive off a cliff. Guess who's fault it is... it's not the asshole who drove when he shouldn't, it's the person who gave him the fucking drink!
The basic problem is that the US system has absolved people of responsibility for their own actions. If I don't wear my seatbelt, do I hurt other people? If I drink and drive, is it the bartender's fault, or mine? Under this system, it's both. So, by leaving your gun out where it's easy to obtain, you were negligent in a way that enabled the asshole to steal it. The same way as a wireless network that doesn't have a lock (WEP or VPN requirements, etc.) enables the criminal to do so anonymously.
Keep in mind that you aren't liable for that gun, or that network, under criminal law (yet), but under civil cases you have a good chance of being found liable. The systems are separate -- civil cases do not require proof beyond a reasonable doubt, only that it's more likely that you did than you didn't.
Slashdot Mirror
If 90% of the people can't drive the new car, I don't know that I would blame either one. Can you drive a stick? My wife can't, and won't, and most of the USian people can't. Should we recall all cars with a stick? If those 90% of the users don't bother to open a manual and learn about the cellphone, perhaps they should buy a different mobile, or a different car.
People who misconfigure their software, either by stupidity, error, or negligence, should be liable for the results. If I have a car with brake problems and drive it anyway, and I plow through a crowd of people on a sidewalk, would you consider me liable? I knew that brake repairs were available (patches), and I chose not to apply them. Perhaps I didn't have time (to download them), perhaps I just didn't feel like it. Am I criminally negligent? In my mind, yes. With Windows 2000 or XP, you are notified of new patch availability by the cute little popup at the bottom of the screen. You know that you have a brake problem.
People need to take some responsibility for their own fucking actions. I don't advocate throwing these users in jail, or even fining them, but I don't think that Microsoft deserves all the blame for this problem. The users are at fault as well.
Who do you fine if a hole in Linux caused similar damage? Every person who's contributed to the kernel? Redhat? Registered Debian devs? All of the above?
The law demands equal protection. You can't just apply a law to one corporation or individual without applying it to all.
</flame>
There are days, my friend. There are days where that doesn't sound like a bad idea. It's a good idea as long as I decide who gets to vote. It's not a good idea if you do, or $DEITY forbid, if Jeb does.
Tape ARchive and Editing MACroS, of course. How is that not obvious?
Granted, if you choose the right hardware, it works well, but it's still a kludge. Solaris/SPARC is an entirely different beast. Beautiful stuff.
But with RH9 -- you only get an extra couple of months. I'm not getting on that treadmill -- I won't install a brand-new, unproven version and I won't stay with an unsupported version. That means I'd have to upgrade on average every 6 months (to the three-month old distro). Not acceptable.
For those who don't know, the policy is one year of support from release. 8.0 and earlier EOL on December 31st of this year, 9 EOLs on April 30th, and 9.1/10 will expire one year after release.
Now, if we use something like freenet, which does not require a central server, it requires that the hosts be a) known to each other (authentication), and b) able to contact each other -- which won't be possible in a NAT'd world. Sure, you and I can configure a gateway to pass port 2174 to a given machine... now the person in the next office wants to run it too. Even then, you think that Joe Sixpack is going to be able to configure that? We're back to the need for a central service because of NAT issues.
I'm really not trying to piss in your Cheerios(tm) here -- if you have workable solutions for these problems, I'd like to hear them. I can't see the way to a free, decentralized solution -- at least not one that's generally useful to the world. If you have any ideas, I'd like to know.
-Josh
You mean a fucking phone? We don't need a square wheel, thanks.
Almost forgot -- if the colors of the config tools don't match the default desktop background, that looks "unpolished" as well.
Slow down, cowboy, my ass.
The key is that they bought it around the release of Win95. It wasn't that DR-DOS was dead, specifically, it was that DOS was dead as a whole. IIRC, IMHO, HTH, HAND.
Forget Netware. That's an obsolete (wonderful, but obsolete) tool. Netware is a delivery system for NDS/eDirectory. That's where Novell sees a future.
WordPerfect, Quattro Pro, and Paradox are a different story. Novell never owned Paradox (and I don't they owned Quattro) -- that was a Borland product that was licensed and bundled as part of PerfectOffice -- Novell's competition to Microsoft Office. Novell also had a thin-client/kill-Microsoft strategy at about the same time... this eventually became Caldera OpenLinux.
The real story is the Ray Noorda wanted to be the David to Microsoft's Goliath. After the disasterous acquisition of WordPerfect (and one of the many near-deaths of Novell), Noorda was ejected from the company and started Caldera. Novell became much more sane after that point.
So, don't count out Novell because of WP -- that was a different company than now. They could be getting the megalomaniacal urge to kill Microsoft again, but all the code in this case is GPL'd. Improvements made by Novell in this fools errand will be given to the community and will continue after Novell is gone... or maybe, just maybe, it'll work. (But I'd be selling my Novell stock, if you know what I'm saying.)
That would be "Red 5," my friend.
Nobody is forcing you to use Blender. You have choices. More importantly, you have source. If that's not your skill, pay someone who has the skill to make the changes for you or learn. If you don't want to pay them, pay for the commercial software of your choice.
TANSTAAFL.
I don't want a whole bloody desktop with my remote X, thanks. I want a window. I want my emacs window, or my gvim window. (I actually do use both). I want an xterm, or a commercial product like ArcGIS with a single (fast) remote window. VNC is *not* an acceptable substitute for network transparency.
What's wrong with VMware on Windows? I prefer a UNIX system myself, but there's no reason to forget about gaming just to have the equivalent of Virtual PC...
You don't think that it came from Gitmo?
The question is not whether you're paranoid. It's whether you're paranoid enough.
Also, I know that the [windows] certification is bogus, but are there any C2 or higher certified Linux distributions? C2 or higher is one of those required rubber stamps in the procurement process, and there's no port of Office to Trusted Solaris.
In short, there are a lot of reasons why the government may choose to purchase retail. Besides technical reasons, you can think of this as a Bush administration "Economic Stimulus Package."
Disclaimer: I don't agree with this decision either, but that may well be a political reason. Open Source doesn't put more money in to the economy, sadly. More expensive might be good.
However, it's not the most useful thing since a single process cannot address more than 3GB (usually 2GB). Although physical memory can be addressed with a 36-bit pointer in hardware, the software outside can only use a 32-bit pointer for a memory address. The system itself and shared libraries need to map in the process space, hence max 2 or 3 GB per processor.
SunOS <= 4.x is BSDish, and SunOS >= 5.x is SysV based (with significant extensions and modifications).
</rant>
Hoocked on foniks, babie. Hoocked on foniks.
The basic problem is that the US system has absolved people of responsibility for their own actions. If I don't wear my seatbelt, do I hurt other people? If I drink and drive, is it the bartender's fault, or mine? Under this system, it's both. So, by leaving your gun out where it's easy to obtain, you were negligent in a way that enabled the asshole to steal it. The same way as a wireless network that doesn't have a lock (WEP or VPN requirements, etc.) enables the criminal to do so anonymously.
Keep in mind that you aren't liable for that gun, or that network, under criminal law (yet), but under civil cases you have a good chance of being found liable. The systems are separate -- civil cases do not require proof beyond a reasonable doubt, only that it's more likely that you did than you didn't.