Ummm... what's this $70 thing? The Developer Tools, SDK's, etc never cost me anything. I just signed up for the free Developer Connection. I didn't get OS 10 for it though. A link would be handy/helpful.
But I don't know why I'd pay $70 more if there was no reason to.
And yet, Amazon feels this need to offer me a deal on a "Hello Kitty board game." I don't know HOW they came up with the idea that I might have ANY desire to buy such a thing, since I pretty much ONLY buy computer books from them. Great system they have there. heh.
But somehow, I think the "etc" portion is a LOT longer with OS X than with W2K.
Lets see... ships with: Apache, sendmail (not really a perk though, IMO, as far as MTA's go), ssh client and server, ALL of the basic unix subsystems (cron, nfs, inetd, etc), and the list goes on and on... And then go down the list of stuff that it comes with standard that the *NIXes don't have. Yes, Windows does come with many of those types apps too......but the point is: - User Friendly, easy to use, fun applications in one hand. - Low level control and utilities in the other hand.
Put your hands together!
Not trying to completely dis W2K, but I've used them all for various purposes (W2K [and other variations], Linux, BSD, Solaris, and now MacOS X), and MacOS X has definitely made me the happiest and impressed me most.
Just my $0.02.
-Alex
Re:It sucks! It doesn't work with Exchange Server!
on
Spam Doesn't Work?
·
· Score: 1
Read the FAQ for the reasons WHY they don't support Exchange.
I can't exactly blame them. Unix based MTA's are still the dominant share anyway. Better planning should have been done before deciding to go the Exchange Server path, to consider these kinds of issues. If that planning did occur, then this conflict shouldn't be anything new and was already accepted as a risk. Deal with it.:)
I know that there are many mechanisms to setup hooks with most MTA's at different levels of the request. I was wondering if anyone knew which MTA's had the ability (an API for example) to program modules, much like you would for Apache.
I remember reading up on a project, called JAMES, under the Apache Jakarta wing for a Java based MTA, with the Apache Avalon framework.
Such frameworks might encourage more advanced filter systems to come out, while maintaining efficiency. Unfortunately, it doesn't lend itself to be compatible with several MTAs.
As I've stated in other replies... it doesn't HAVE to default to sending a confirm message. And when I set it up, I put a list of email addresses for anyone that I know that has sent me an email in the last 6 months. This removes MOST of the confirmation bounces. And if I send an email to someone, I can setup a tag that tells my email server to add it to the whitelist automatically.
Most people that I know don't have a problem with replying ONCE to send an email. I mean, they reply to MY email, why not one the system sends on my behalf? Hell, it doesn't even require you to think of something to type. heh.
Well, that's assuming you go with the default settings.
TMDA doesn't only go with the whitelist method. Right now, I have it set up to only deal with blacklists. One blacklist to actually BOUNCE email back (the F-U method), and another that just drops them. The default for unfiltered email is to deliver. This isn't as absolute as with a whitelist method, but is relatively effective.
TMDA is highly configurable. I have it setup with qmail and vpopmail, and wrote a simple script to help manage TMDA users and their lists.
So, don't go making statements unless you've done your thorough homework. You can do blacklists in a manner that is actually VERY similar to SPAM assasin. But I'm not going to say much more about SPAM assasin as I only looked into the basics and wouldn't want to make ignorant statements.;)
Oh yeah... someone mod this puppy up! That's got to be one of the best selling point to getting more people using something like this. It certainly increases the "cost" of mass SPAMing.
Glad I'm about to implement my TMDA setup. I've been researching it for a few months now, and am working on forming a SPAM list/filter while minimizing impact on my users (default being delivery for now).
Although, you are not in the To, or CC list, the headers contain the address that was intended for delivery. This has to be known, as the email server that you use needs to know what address an email is actually for. You won't know the other email addresses that were hidden, but you will know yours.
Actually the real problem is not the number of emails sent vs. the response rate. It's the amount of money spent to send the mass emails vs. the response rate. So if it costs them $24.95/mo for some SPAM service, or server access, and they send out 500,000 emails, and get 10 real responses for a product that sells for $19.95, they just made a good profit.
SPAM will not really go away until it become economically unviable, or at least econominally unappealing. That's why postal SPAM isn't COMPLETELY out of control. There's a cost associated to it. Mass marketters saw email, and said, "HOLY SH*T! An unregulated, low/no cost method to get X number of people to see my email."
I think the real problem is that SPAM does work, for the cost. If sent emails was the "cost" measurement, it fails... but unfortunately, for SPAMers sent emails do not have a proporionate cost associated to them.
So, would it be a terrible thing to send lots of SPAM solely for the research factor (not actually building a marketting database), that may actually prove (statistically of course) that SPAM doesn't work?
Hell, this last weekend, I spent several hours doing some basic analysis on my parent's SPAM folder, and enabled server side filters to reject most of their SPAM. Still waiting on the stats of effectiveness from that. I have another trick up my sleeve. TMDA is a very cool thing. Particularly when you admin your own email server. heh.
I don't think you quite saw the vulnerability. It's not a matter of hacking the Apple SU server, but rather the individual resolution to the server, or other similar methods aimed at the end user.
I always check the response from others before applying updates as well (yea VersionTracker). But, if someone targetted my network (DNS servers for example) _I_ would be the only one affected by the exploit with this particular attack.
So, all someone has to do is coordinate an attack on you with an update from Apple, you go read the reports, people say "Great update, no problems," and you go ahead and apply the updates across your machines. All the while, your DNS server was hacked, and your machines are actually connecting to some eroneous source that just installed a backdoor... and while it's at it, installs the Apple update to appear real.
For now, you need to just trust that your local network and DNS is secure. But some form of host certification should really be applied to ensure that the app is connecting to a valid machine... much like web browsers can do when connecting to an SSL server.
I would also hope that we would have the option of opt'ing out of a particular list through a trusted gateway (gov't run perhaps), much like we can with postal junk mail.
I've always been for the 'opt-in' method because of the obvious abuse that would follow with opt-out (ie. false opt-out forms that only increase spam). With opt-out, there really should be/have-been a trusted opt-out location with a required ID in the message.
*sigh* But alas, the evil SPAM will plague us forever. It was all a conspiracy to allow this to happen because of big-business fears of an Internet economy. heh.
-Alex
Re:Commentary is completely off.
on
RIAA to Sue You Now
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
Amen! This is the follow-up I was gonna post if you hadn't already.
And for those of you who may have forgotten about this... here's a great little speech made by Courtney Love about the RIAA.
Interesting to reflect back at what was said two years ago, and how it still continues to be true.
You're still clinging to OS/2, aren't you? Although I'm sure your statement was largely just trying to inflame others, surely you have to recognize the stupidity of your statement.:)
I would certainly like to see more about this project. I didn't even know it existed until this post. Would love to see some screen shots on the main page. I would even be interested in helping a little, if need be (and time permits).
Actually, I went the way of the Mac about a year ago because of OS X. Worth it for a lot more reasons than QT.:)
-Alex
Network printing from Mac to Mac?
on
Jaguar Reviewed
·
· Score: 1
Well, I saw info about CUPS. But I'm not getting the feeling that that will enable me to print to a USB printer connected to one Mac, from another Mac. WTF!
I mean, for the home user, it's rediculous to not be able to print to my printer from all machines, having the printer being shared by one. Bah!
I've seen several hacks to get around this, but none do I consider acceptable. It should just WORK! And it's all because of the rediculously stupid choices made in terms of interfaces and responsibilities of the printer driver. SOOO stupid that it is responsible for the physical location of printing, and not JUST the data formatting for the printer (via any deliverable means). That certainly doesn't encourage vendors to update drivers often either. Why? Because it's a pain in the ass with all that it has to do.
*sigh*
Just my gripe. Something I would LIKE to see in 10.2, personally.
Too bad I don't have a "moderate" drop down on this. I would mod it up. Good points. I mean, I'm not AS pessimistic, but I agree with a lot of what you say, and your perspective.
Well, I can't really say for sure, but from interviews I've seen with various people involved with the film, as well as rumors this one is supposed to have a LOT more action, and be fairly dark.
I'm sure they'll play up the the romance a bit, but from what I understand it's PACKED with Jedi fighting. One rumor is that we find out why Yoda is the bad-ass he's supposed to be. Crossing my fingers to see some kick-ass Jedi fighting. I just hope I'm not let down like with the first one. *sigh*
Also, if it follows the basic trend from the first 3, The first one is more light hearted, introducing characters. The second one is dark, and deepens the plot. The third one will release the darkness, but show the light at the end of the tunnel. *shrug*
Gotta love my TiBook.:) I agree it isn't for everyone. I'm less of a gamer, and more of a programmer. OS X is a very nice environment to program in. Nice that it comes with Perl and Java. C/C++ compiler with the Dev Tools (free DL).
As for games, my main addiction has always been Quake3, which run QUITE nicely on both my PowerMac (dual 533), and my 550 TiBook.
I just love the 15.2" screen! Having been a PC (mostly Linux) person for a decade, up until a year ago, I can claim semi-impartial status. I can do pretty much everything I can do on Linux, but get the advantage of mainstream application support. And if I ever really wanted to, I could install Linux (won't happen). I can be happy with Linux just on my servers (2 other PC's I have).
Whatever laptop one gets, GET wireless (be sure to setup securities). It's SO nice to be able to use my computer without being burried in my computer room. I setup my mom with 802.11b (with a PC laptop) and she loves it too.
I love my new Macs. The low end titanium wasn't too painful on the wallet. I was tempted to go with the iBook, but I wanted the 15.2" screen. Glad I did. It's hard enough to not be using the 22" Cinema Display on my PowerMac. hehe.
Slashdot Mirror
Ummm... what's this $70 thing? The Developer Tools, SDK's, etc never cost me anything. I just signed up for the free Developer Connection. I didn't get OS 10 for it though. A link would be handy/helpful.
But I don't know why I'd pay $70 more if there was no reason to.
-Alex
And yet, Amazon feels this need to offer me a deal on a "Hello Kitty board game." I don't know HOW they came up with the idea that I might have ANY desire to buy such a thing, since I pretty much ONLY buy computer books from them. Great system they have there. heh.
-Alex
But somehow, I think the "etc" portion is a LOT longer with OS X than with W2K.
...but the point is:
Lets see... ships with:
Apache, sendmail (not really a perk though, IMO, as far as MTA's go), ssh client and server, ALL of the basic unix subsystems (cron, nfs, inetd, etc), and the list goes on and on... And then go down the list of stuff that it comes with standard that the *NIXes don't have. Yes, Windows does come with many of those types apps too...
- User Friendly, easy to use, fun applications in one hand.
- Low level control and utilities in the other hand.
Put your hands together!
Not trying to completely dis W2K, but I've used them all for various purposes (W2K [and other variations], Linux, BSD, Solaris, and now MacOS X), and MacOS X has definitely made me the happiest and impressed me most.
Just my $0.02.
-Alex
Read the FAQ for the reasons WHY they don't support Exchange.
:)
I can't exactly blame them. Unix based MTA's are still the dominant share anyway. Better planning should have been done before deciding to go the Exchange Server path, to consider these kinds of issues. If that planning did occur, then this conflict shouldn't be anything new and was already accepted as a risk. Deal with it.
-Alex
I remember reading up on a project, called JAMES, under the Apache Jakarta wing for a Java based MTA, with the Apache Avalon framework.
Such frameworks might encourage more advanced filter systems to come out, while maintaining efficiency. Unfortunately, it doesn't lend itself to be compatible with several MTAs.
-Alex
As I've stated in other replies... it doesn't HAVE to default to sending a confirm message. And when I set it up, I put a list of email addresses for anyone that I know that has sent me an email in the last 6 months. This removes MOST of the confirmation bounces. And if I send an email to someone, I can setup a tag that tells my email server to add it to the whitelist automatically.
Most people that I know don't have a problem with replying ONCE to send an email. I mean, they reply to MY email, why not one the system sends on my behalf? Hell, it doesn't even require you to think of something to type. heh.
-Alex
Well, that's assuming you go with the default settings.
;)
TMDA doesn't only go with the whitelist method. Right now, I have it set up to only deal with blacklists. One blacklist to actually BOUNCE email back (the F-U method), and another that just drops them. The default for unfiltered email is to deliver. This isn't as absolute as with a whitelist method, but is relatively effective.
TMDA is highly configurable. I have it setup with qmail and vpopmail, and wrote a simple script to help manage TMDA users and their lists.
So, don't go making statements unless you've done your thorough homework. You can do blacklists in a manner that is actually VERY similar to SPAM assasin. But I'm not going to say much more about SPAM assasin as I only looked into the basics and wouldn't want to make ignorant statements.
Cheers,
-Alex
Oh yeah... someone mod this puppy up! That's got to be one of the best selling point to getting more people using something like this. It certainly increases the "cost" of mass SPAMing.
-Alex
Wow... I didn't think about that. That's true.
Glad I'm about to implement my TMDA setup. I've been researching it for a few months now, and am working on forming a SPAM list/filter while minimizing impact on my users (default being delivery for now).
-Alex
Not true.
Although, you are not in the To, or CC list, the headers contain the address that was intended for delivery. This has to be known, as the email server that you use needs to know what address an email is actually for. You won't know the other email addresses that were hidden, but you will know yours.
-Alex
Actually the real problem is not the number of emails sent vs. the response rate. It's the amount of money spent to send the mass emails vs. the response rate. So if it costs them $24.95/mo for some SPAM service, or server access, and they send out 500,000 emails, and get 10 real responses for a product that sells for $19.95, they just made a good profit.
SPAM will not really go away until it become economically unviable, or at least econominally unappealing. That's why postal SPAM isn't COMPLETELY out of control. There's a cost associated to it. Mass marketters saw email, and said, "HOLY SH*T! An unregulated, low/no cost method to get X number of people to see my email."
I think the real problem is that SPAM does work, for the cost. If sent emails was the "cost" measurement, it fails... but unfortunately, for SPAMers sent emails do not have a proporionate cost associated to them.
-Alex
So, would it be a terrible thing to send lots of SPAM solely for the research factor (not actually building a marketting database), that may actually prove (statistically of course) that SPAM doesn't work?
Hell, this last weekend, I spent several hours doing some basic analysis on my parent's SPAM folder, and enabled server side filters to reject most of their SPAM. Still waiting on the stats of effectiveness from that. I have another trick up my sleeve. TMDA is a very cool thing. Particularly when you admin your own email server. heh.
-Alex
This should have mod'd up. Good points/thoughts.
-Alex
I don't think you quite saw the vulnerability. It's not a matter of hacking the Apple SU server, but rather the individual resolution to the server, or other similar methods aimed at the end user.
:)
I always check the response from others before applying updates as well (yea VersionTracker). But, if someone targetted my network (DNS servers for example) _I_ would be the only one affected by the exploit with this particular attack.
So, all someone has to do is coordinate an attack on you with an update from Apple, you go read the reports, people say "Great update, no problems," and you go ahead and apply the updates across your machines. All the while, your DNS server was hacked, and your machines are actually connecting to some eroneous source that just installed a backdoor... and while it's at it, installs the Apple update to appear real.
For now, you need to just trust that your local network and DNS is secure. But some form of host certification should really be applied to ensure that the app is connecting to a valid machine... much like web browsers can do when connecting to an SSL server.
Just my $0.02.
-Alex
I would think so.
I would also hope that we would have the option of opt'ing out of a particular list through a trusted gateway (gov't run perhaps), much like we can with postal junk mail.
I've always been for the 'opt-in' method because of the obvious abuse that would follow with opt-out (ie. false opt-out forms that only increase spam). With opt-out, there really should be/have-been a trusted opt-out location with a required ID in the message.
*sigh* But alas, the evil SPAM will plague us forever. It was all a conspiracy to allow this to happen because of big-business fears of an Internet economy. heh.
-Alex
And for those of you who may have forgotten about this... here's a great little speech made by Courtney Love about the RIAA.
Interesting to reflect back at what was said two years ago, and how it still continues to be true.
-Alex
You're still clinging to OS/2, aren't you? Although I'm sure your statement was largely just trying to inflame others, surely you have to recognize the stupidity of your statement. :)
-Alex
No, his soul is worth MUCH more... the PowerBook is just THAT good a deal! hehehe. :)
:)
BTW, typing this on my PowerBook Titanium now. God bless 802.11b.
-Alex
I would certainly like to see more about this project. I didn't even know it existed until this post. Would love to see some screen shots on the main page. I would even be interested in helping a little, if need be (and time permits).
-Alex
I agree... Solution.... buy a Mac! *evilgrin*
:)
Actually, I went the way of the Mac about a year ago because of OS X. Worth it for a lot more reasons than QT.
-Alex
Well, I saw info about CUPS. But I'm not getting the feeling that that will enable me to print to a USB printer connected to one Mac, from another Mac. WTF!
I mean, for the home user, it's rediculous to not be able to print to my printer from all machines, having the printer being shared by one. Bah!
I've seen several hacks to get around this, but none do I consider acceptable. It should just WORK! And it's all because of the rediculously stupid choices made in terms of interfaces and responsibilities of the printer driver. SOOO stupid that it is responsible for the physical location of printing, and not JUST the data formatting for the printer (via any deliverable means). That certainly doesn't encourage vendors to update drivers often either. Why? Because it's a pain in the ass with all that it has to do.
*sigh*
Just my gripe. Something I would LIKE to see in 10.2, personally.
-Alex
Too bad I don't have a "moderate" drop down on this. I would mod it up. Good points. I mean, I'm not AS pessimistic, but I agree with a lot of what you say, and your perspective.
-Alex
I hear they're making him a Jedi!!!
OMG!
*evilgrin*
-Alex
Well, I can't really say for sure, but from interviews I've seen with various people involved with the film, as well as rumors this one is supposed to have a LOT more action, and be fairly dark.
I'm sure they'll play up the the romance a bit, but from what I understand it's PACKED with Jedi fighting. One rumor is that we find out why Yoda is the bad-ass he's supposed to be. Crossing my fingers to see some kick-ass Jedi fighting. I just hope I'm not let down like with the first one. *sigh*
Also, if it follows the basic trend from the first 3, The first one is more light hearted, introducing characters. The second one is dark, and deepens the plot. The third one will release the darkness, but show the light at the end of the tunnel. *shrug*
Just my thoughts, and what I've heard.
-Alex
Gotta love my TiBook. :) I agree it isn't for everyone. I'm less of a gamer, and more of a programmer. OS X is a very nice environment to program in. Nice that it comes with Perl and Java. C/C++ compiler with the Dev Tools (free DL).
As for games, my main addiction has always been Quake3, which run QUITE nicely on both my PowerMac (dual 533), and my 550 TiBook.
I just love the 15.2" screen! Having been a PC (mostly Linux) person for a decade, up until a year ago, I can claim semi-impartial status. I can do pretty much everything I can do on Linux, but get the advantage of mainstream application support. And if I ever really wanted to, I could install Linux (won't happen). I can be happy with Linux just on my servers (2 other PC's I have).
Whatever laptop one gets, GET wireless (be sure to setup securities). It's SO nice to be able to use my computer without being burried in my computer room. I setup my mom with 802.11b (with a PC laptop) and she loves it too.
I love my new Macs. The low end titanium wasn't too painful on the wallet. I was tempted to go with the iBook, but I wanted the 15.2" screen. Glad I did. It's hard enough to not be using the 22" Cinema Display on my PowerMac. hehe.
Cheers,
-Alex