Re:Debian can be thought of as 3 parts...
on
Updates From Debian
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· Score: 1
Seems I was a bit off on testing, I assumed it was less stable than unstable:-)
However, as far as security updates, in unstable it seems to be more of a "new version soon" rather than an actual patch from security.debian.org (which are usually backported patches)
A 3Ghz single CPU machine with 1GB of RAM will still about 2-5 minutes or more to render a single frame of a raytraced animation
Let's say for a moment you have a 88 minutes for something like "Toy Story 2." Now, let's say it runs at 30fps. So we have about 88min * 60sec/min * 30fra/sec = 158400 odd frames
Now, 158400 frames * 5min/frame = 792000 minutes to render on my 3Ghz machine
Now go with the concept that a complex image at very high quality might take longer to render, but even at this rates we're looking at
13200h
550d
1.5 YEARS to render an animated movie. Now, obviously there are things that require more power. Think tactical simulations with AI, galaxy simulations with huge numbers of factors, etc etc
Some of the above need results in a timely manner, your 3000Ghz P4 isn't going to cut it, even your business class server isn't going to cut it, and your clustered business servers while perhaps having the power/resources might not be able to do things in the time needed.
For general-computing there's a PC, for blow-your-mind power there's Cray...
What exactly is so "ancient" about debian? I'm using unstable (which isn't quite as 'fresh' as testing) and I'm not nearly so far behind as people indicate:
Firefox: 0.9.3-6 (my primary complaint about anything being outdated, latest: 1.0PR has a lot of nice features)
Thunderbird: 0.83 (latest)
Perl-base: 5.8.4 (latest is 5.8.5)
Open-Office: 1.1.1-3 (1.1.3 is latest)
Blender: 2.34-1 (latest)
GIMP: 2.0.5-1 (latest)
PHP4-pear: 4.3.9-1 (latest is PHP5)
Apache: 1.3.31-6 (latest is 1.3.32)
Apache 2: 2.0.5-1 (latest)
GAIM: 1.0.58 (1.0.2 latest)
aMule: 1.2.6+rc6 (latest is 1.2.8)
GnomeMeeting: 1.0.2-5 (latest is 1.0.?)
It hasn't quite got that new car smell, but it's newer than my windows system and a heck of a lot nicer to update than many.
The main fallbacks seem to be on major version changes (php5, firefox is probably waiting on 1.0 rather than preview release, etc). For some of the above "testing" might even have newer versions.
Debian can be thought of as 3 parts...
on
Updates From Debian
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· Score: 3, Informative
All debian varieties can use apt-get (and its partner tools) to contact the main debian repositories. The repositories have a *huge* selection of prepackaged applications/libs/etc that you can install with very little fuss simply by choosing "apt-get install NAMEOFPACKAGE." Alternately, there are CLI tools such as "aptitude" which one may use to select software from a categorical list of packages, or GUI tools such as "synaptic" that do the same in a graphical environment.
At regular intervals, you may "apt-get update" to update your machine's list of software known to debian. "apt-get upgrade" can then be used to upgrade to known newer versions, or apply security updates in debian/stable.
For software updates/installations that have configuration options, often you will get a curses-based interface which steps you through basic configuration.
Debian/stable: As most have mentioned, very stable, well tested, and generally out-of-date as far as new features etc etc (but with security fixes etc being backported). Automatic download/configuration of most new security updates via apt-get. Very nice for servers or other systems that you want to be reliable, but don't need a bleeding edge environment. Packages are generally well-tested against each other, so you have a good assurance that apt-get installing package B will not break package A.
Debian/unstable: No security patches for unstable packages. Instead, regularly updating will get you newer versions of software. Sometimes you get conflicts but ususally it is fairly stable. I've been using a debian/unstable desktop for quite sometime now... the worst problems I've had thus far is needed to manually select a different "automake" version for Anjuta to work, and having a package that wasn't from debian being broken by a gtk update (mainly because some quirky coding in said package didn't like the new GTK version).
Debian/testing: I haven't used it, but basically I believe it's supposed to be slightly more bleeding edge than debian/stable. Packages haven't been fully tested against each other, package updates/changes are more common.
Really, you could think of the above as something akin to freshmeat.net's software grading system, where 'stable' is often for "mature" software packages, 'unstable' includes "beta" or less mature, and 'testing' is very new or "alpha."
The only thing that confuses me at current is why my Firefox is only avaiable up to version 0.9.3, even in 'testing'...
In summary though, the concept that debian is for old/crufty software is bogus. This may apply to debian/stable, but unstable will keep you very up-to-date for most users.
So when the doc asks you to fix his broken down PC, you feel superior as you realize that your AMD64 power machine kicks its but, and that the doc hasn't got a clue as to how to diagnose a simple power-supply failure.
Then you get sick because you've been spending too many late nights with beer and pizza playing EQ, and go to the docs. He feels superior because he knows that your electrolytes are a bit off and really you could be saving yourself the checkup, post-checkup, and pricey prescription by simple eating some of the right foods.
And then when you die because of an allergic reaction to an ingredient the meds that the doc missed on your chart, the lawyer feels superior because he takes the doctor down a few notches in court and takes a hefty chunk out of his malpractice insurance.
OK, extreme cases here, but everyone is good at something and in reality we're *all* superior... just in different ways. We tend to think superiority=smarter, but really it's more a varied/specialized skillsets.
Sometimes it's a defence mechanism too though, as really it's quite nice to bitch about how your clients are idiots for continueousy spyware infesting their PCs (or getting the same sickness, breaking the same filesharing laws, etc etc)... in an effort to deal with the frustration that *continuously* dealing with the same problem over and over again brings you.
But really, how many of us think we're smarter than our doc when dealing with medical issues, or the lawyer when dealing with legal. You might even hear a doctor refer to you as "that smart/clever computer guy." It's better to have pride/confidence in what you do, and respect for those that are masters in your own field.
Partially true. It could depend a lot on how the sample itself is embedded in your work. Is it a backbeat that takes up most of the song, or just a guitar riff in a given section? It's easy enough to clip out a small section of guitar riffs or even a 1-min section with a particular drumroll background - so long as you know where it is.
If you really wanted "your" content to be open to sampling, you could make a statement like: the content between 1:25 and 1:51 is not open to sampling unless you acquire permission from ZTT (to use your example) on the original disc (since Mp3's etc might have slightly different lead-times and skew the sample).
Oh, and of course the person sampling your samples could also petition ZTT for permission to use their sample, effectively allowing them to sample anything if the rest of your song is open...
It's not really justification, but there is something to the cost between hardware and related software. When I buy a CD burner, it generally comes with Nero. For general purposes (burning data discs, audio disks, converting from MP3) it's pretty good software, burning is easy and effective. Back in the day it used to be that most burners came with Roxio, which was fairly simplistic and easy for users to use as well.
When DVD burners because moderately affordable, I bought a 4x burner. The DVD software it came with was crap. The UI as best was confusing, and while it could burn video DVDs it was quite restricted in what you could do with menu layouts and/or video conversion. Cost of decent DVD authoring software: more than twice that of the burner.
The same software is about half the price now, but of course now I can buy a burner that's 16x for less than half the cost of my original 4x.
As for OS piracy, you buy a computer, then you have to pay half again the cost to get the OS which then gets infected or croaks immediately upon first hitting the internet unfirewalled. That, or you get the cheaper "included" version of the OS, which is locked to the hardware making upgrades a pain in the butt, and supposedly non-transferrable. Then, you must pay again near the same amount for office software when all you want is to type a document. (this is for Joe user here, I run dual-boot with 'nix and tossed my MS-Office copy for OO).
For some applications software has gone down in price, or FOSS alternatives have arisen. For others, the price has gone up drastically. Remember when you could get a shareware copy of a game at $5, play it, like it, and then send in for a registered/full copy for $25 more. New games now are coming in the range of $60-90... a pretty chunk of change.
I'm not condoning piracy but when people find the cost of shelling out for various software far exceeds that on the hardware's pricetag, piracy will happen. New PC: Add to the cost the OS, Productivity software, antivirus, and perhaps some hardware firewalls (router, etc). When one buys a car it runs, with gas being an expectation. When one buys a fridge or stove it runs. DVD players require discs to play, but there's no cost of OS or other unexpecteds.
Anyone know of anything like this for a PC IR device? I have a serial infrared controller and it would be quite handy if I could somehow scan codes coming from my remote and use them to control devices in my living room, etc.
So far the LIRC pages/tips have done nothing but give me a headache... it seems that it might work for networking but how about just general IR interaction?
It blows my mind the number of people that want server class hardware but refuse to pay for it.
Decent hardware RAID boards are still bloody expensive. However, hard-drives are down in price, up in capacity, and quite often lower in reliability. Higher demand fuels lesser pricing, so it's not unrealistic to expect that if a need for hardware RAID comes along, it should be filled. I wouldn't expect it from a cheap motherboard, and RAID-5 is overkill, but it wouldn't be insane to expect midline board to support RAID-1.
What you might have considered "enterprise server" years back is now common on the desktop. Huge hard-drives, SATA are all making the data-end of desktops closer to there server counterparts for speed/capacity, it's reliability we still lack...
The possible good, as mentioned would be if games started going down in price due to ad placement. The bad would be if the games get bogged down with ads, or they are so obvious/disruptive as to ruin the gaming experience.
I can think of a few places where ads would be fine by me though:
Lobbies: Much like on battle.net, you've got an ad-rotator banner that announces upcoming tournaments, products, or other ads for blizzard.
Loading screens: Taking a moment or two to load a Jpeg as my loading screen is passing by, not too bad. Annoyance factor goes up greatly for non-online games. Games such as battlefield take a few moments to load between levels, so I wouldn't be too annoyed to have a small banner-rotator here or these.
Ingame: This is where it could get really ugly. Is my game going to lag for a moment whilst the engine contacts adsupyourass.com in game for the newest banner. Is it going to preload a few banners on started. Is my single-player game going to get ad-placement and have the "dial-up connection" icon drag my window off focus just so it can connect to load bannercrap? How about that billboard on the wall that used to read "Eat at Joe's" now advertising blazing speeds of a new video card. Hopefully no pr0n/viagara ads here...
Again,
Who's advertising: Will game companies hawk their new products in banners? Will Blizzard get pissed off when EA's new "Command and Conquer 2008" banner pops up as a banner on the loading screen for "Warcraft IV?" Will the newest FPS advertise sweetass joysticks or new video cards on the loading screen, perhaps during hardware test suggest "recommended" cards if mine is sub-par. How about a banner that pops up "your last game of doom3 ran like shyte, time to upgrade that GeForce FX5200 to a FX6900>"
Time will tell, but I can definately seem some pluses/minuses to in-game advertisement. If it brings down game prices, and isn't too intrusive I really don't see how much worse it would be than nag/banner screens on existing games (shareware especially)
I used to have Firefox crash and burn regularly on various webpages - linux and windows. The browser would segfault and be gone, sometimes without visible errors
Eventually I noticed it seemed to be mostly with pages having Flash content. I ended up nuking my plugins folder and reinstalling the flash/Java plugins, now it crashes a lot less.
While the article indicates it is possible to crash on bad code, you might want to check your plugins too just in case.
No, it's somewhat of a partial agreement here. If linux took enough marketshare, I'm sure companies would write spyware etc etc for it. Right now it's not profitable enough to do so.
But in most instances, you only have the few things to check - crons, and stuff in your home drive: unless something has been made writable to your user for a reason. In the end an infested linux box would probably still be beynd Joe user, but easier for me to clean. This is assuming it wasn't rooted, in which case things get really nasty . The happiest thing I have found with 'nix is that I can do a full reinstall on a new drive, do a find on all my conf files, and generally get back to where I was very nicely without worrying about DLLs and registry crap thyat will go bad in windows - in the event that a full rooting did occur.
Oh, and on the windows issues, there are some programs that just don't happily run under a standard user. Part of the time the problem is not with MS at all, but with the fact that the coder isn't respecting the security features of the environment. Other times, it's simply because the program can't access certain level functions without running privilaged - which is comparable to a daemon that must run root, but without the work-arounds given in proper file permissions where one could manage to run non-root or setuid with proper configuration.
Linux suffers from an issue where coders don't understand what the users want. Windows suffers from issues where coders don't understand/care about the security that does exist in the OS.
That's the rub though. I could probably afford to get the operation done, but lack of options for local private clinics mean that if I go private I'm paying from my own pocket, and losing income because I'll have to travel/be off work.
For myself it's not a big issue anyhow, getting screws removed is likely to be day surgery, and whilst the weather isn't comfortable on them it's more a nuisance than real pain. For those that can afford, I think that going to private US clinics is a decent option though, I just wish that we're have a proper multi-tier system in place locally (semi-private, where the government will cover you for the basic care, or if you want to pay your own way up a level they'll go partway).
If there *were* spyware for linux, it would only work as a seperate app running in the userspace, much easier to clean.
For windows, it's a little nastier. Since most users run with admin privilages (albeit they can run without, but many apps don't actually work properly then), spyware - like viruses - can infest different levels of your OS. You get keys in the registry, things that burrow into IE, and even farther by infecting things like the TCP/IP drivers. They're like ticks on a dog, with much of the problem is far well IE is integrated into the OS - browser events run without the browser even seeming to be active.
Now for linux, if one is running as a standard user, you can only infect those files that you have write access to. Generally, this will be your home directory and perhaps some other shared areas,/tmp, etc. You can't infect the browser because you only have read access, there's no registry, but you can't infect the init, config, or other files either.
I use linux part-time. I'm not a fanboy, but if you're really such a heavy user you should by now appreciate the security of the way the OS is moulded. That, or perhaps you just don't use windows enough to appreciate how many places an infection can dig itself in. Even the registry, which is often a simple thing to patch up HKLM/software/microsoft/windows/currenversion/run* is beyond your average user, so that's going to cost money to get fixed by somebody in-the-know.
Spyware isn't just about sending back info, the main problem is how it roots into your system, and it's big brothers malware and adware are often called "spyware" for simplicity - but they're much worse.
So really, before you tell those that use both OS's regularly and are aware of such pitfalls to "Get a fucking life," you should realise that such comments on linux security aren't coming from our asses.
*disclaimer: using firefox on WinXP right now, but I'm smart enough to avoid most spyware infections anyhow. After switching various relatives to an "easy" customized linux distro I've had less "HELP ME" calls about nasties sneaking in. Gee... go figure...
I'm Canadian and while I love the fact that a visit to the clinic doesn't become a financial liability, and having a birthing doesn't cost you 3 months wages... you must also consider some other factors:
Many good doctors have left to the US because being paid for private service is more $$$. We're quite shortstaffed on both doctors and at times qualified nurses. While immediate dangers are quickly dealt with and covered, staff are often less competent due to being worked over hours (severely overworked) due to shortages. A new heart/lungs may be free, but surgery may involve very long waits, whilst private involves more $$$ but possibly better care, less wait, and not being discharged prematurely because of a space shortage for new patients.
I'm on a waitlist myself, soon to find out when I might expect to have day surgery for removing metal screws from my ankle. I'm definately glad that it's covered, but I'd hate the wait were it something more severe. I am looking at unpleasant discomfort with winter coming though, cold weather and metal are not the best combination.
I have a friend who had been scouting for laptops recently. She looked through several X86 brands but found that with the recent models there were heat issues. If the laptop itself wasn't getting hot, it was running the fan a lot.
Being that the laptop was intended for use in class, the loud fan could be rather distracting/embarrasing. So instead she switched over entirely and got an Apple. It surprised me that she was so willing to switch to a different OS (and one-button mouse etc), but she's doing rather well. Still, I'd imagine that if windows were available for mac she would have gone with that for familiarity, as would many others in a similar situation.
Still, this gives me hope for alternate desktop OSs. If a student is willing to swap architecture and OS just because of noisy fans, perhaps with improvements the alternatives (Linux,BSD, etc etc) may gain more support. Certainly though, many would regard a switch to OSX as an improvement from XP - regardless of the change in design/use.
a) Would you (as an existing PPC hardware owner) switch from MacOS/Linux to windows. But hey, you can already run it albeit slowly through virtualPC.
b) If you were a windows on x86 user, and a PPC version became available, would you switch to PPC hardware.
Right now my money is on AMD64 and x86 architecture... but I do admit it would be interesting to see how fast windows applications would run if there were a native build on PPC, assuming that one could find a video card that wasn't dated from last year (which you could if many people started to switch).
There are "imitations," and then there are fakes. Many imitations are legal and look like the more expensive competition, but don't claim to be the same: sunglasses, jeans, cologne, etc. Dynacell batteries, etc
Then there are fakes, products that are make to look like the real thing, and labelled as the real thing, but are often vastly inferior quality. In many cases they are also dangerous: there have been reports of some powered products being subject to shock/fire, and even things such as children's teddy-bears which have been found stuffed with rubber bands and a bandage.
Oh, and FYI I'm Canadian, but we get the same crap sneaking in at the docks. The government here isn't declaring a "war" on the fakes, but has been paying closer attention to them.
Now, the illegitimate copy/rip of an anime movie that you can ordered off eBay is also under fire because many consumers think they're getting the real thing. In fact, the packages look real, the disks are realistic (I know people who come back from China with bootlegs that look very authentic, complete with DVD movies etc), but sometimes they turn out to be cheap VCD's or DVD's that don't play well in all machines.
Prescription drugs, well we can see where this can go bad. Not only the viagara that doesn't work, but perhaps when somebody depends on a medication and finds that it's only sugar pills (or the wrong medications).
My primary fear here, however, is that they aren't really going to crack down so much on the physical fakes, but just focus more on the movies/music filesharing, and put more legislation in place to block drugs order from places like Canada (which may be 100% legit pharmacuticals, but are busting the profits of US companies because they are regulated and much cheaper).
"I disagree with what you say, but will defend to the death your right to say it!"
I think that this was intended to be respective to people, not companies. However either way somebody has to actively view the SCO page to read this, so I don't see the issue. Now if there were spamming my email with "get the real scoop at poopSCOop.com" it might be a problem. Just a webpage, nah.
Groklaw has a respected following. SCO's page will just be like any other... you have to earn the following for anyone to pay attention to it.
However, off that subject, wouldn't comparing OS developers to highway bandits be a form of libel?
I knew a bit about Kerry, and of course GWB, but I'm actually quite impressed with the interview and Nader's responses. I didn't know a lot about Nader prior to this, but while some of his dodges are a bit dissapointing, and some of his answers I don't agree with, I'm rather happy overall with the way he responded.
Bush's answers were as expected... not likely coming from Bush, avoidist, and for most it's "sidestep issue... but we're planning on doing this wonderful blah blah and we've already blah blah," some of Kerry's answers also go this direction (not as much as Bush) and a few of Nader's.
My main thoughts, however, are that written questions aren't much use as one never knows if you're getting the candidate, his secretary, and/or a canned answer. It seems obvious that Bush didn't write his answers... so wouldn't the best way of doing this be to get all three in seperate conferences, ask them the pre-written questions, and see the live squirming response? Of course, this would never happen, but it's the best way to get a real answer
I think this is really somewhat age dependant. For most people under 25, you're not very likely to see a 100% stock stereo system in a car.
My parents, on the other hand, seem to be fine with stock: even a stock tapedeck. I think it has a lot to do with what media you carry - if your old CD's are fine in the stock deck then leave it be. If you've got a lot of tapes then leave it be.
For myself, I travel a lot and love music. It's a pain swapping CD's so when mp3-CD players came out I shelled out for a deck with mp3 capabilities. At 150+ songs (at 128kbps) per disk, it saves me a lot of swapping, and any new media I stow the original at home and just add it to an mp3 album.
I don't really see a big use for a car mp3 player though. How about just a CD-deck with a digital interface for my portable, or a multicard slot for common flash-type storage cards? Right now I'm just finishing up a small VIA pc for this, but alternately I probably would have gone for something like an mp3-enabled DVD deck (a few DVDs of 128-256KB mp3's/oggs and most of my albums at my fingertips).
Serial-murder specialists don't have to kill scores of people to learn how serial killers operate
People would be hurt
Viral pathologists don't infect people with HIV so they can learn how to prevent AIDS
People would be hurt
this is absolutely unethical behavior on the part of these clowns, and in no way do the ends justify the means
Tell me, how is anyone hurt if I were to find a security hole in a bank site, chess club, whatever, and post an email to said bank/club. The only one hurt would be me, mainly because I would probably have my ass sued off. Deaths by murder or HIV are quite often very obvious, a hacker sneaking into a computer and filing off $0.001/account/day isn't necessarily so. Yes, you can study existing hacks, but the fact is that it's the new and unusal ones that one should beware of... not quite as straightforward as many other cases.
Oh, and for the record - scientists might not infect the general public with a virus to test it - but they will infect test animals/etc and try some "cures" on human volunteers. I don't suppose you'd like to try getting a bank to volunteer their codebase for you to test our in your closed environment?
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Seems I was a bit off on testing, I assumed it was less stable than unstable :-)
However, as far as security updates, in unstable it seems to be more of a "new version soon" rather than an actual patch from security.debian.org (which are usually backported patches)
The most recent file, while described as a 1.0 RC1, is actually:
. bz2, perhaps a typo on the part of the author, or is the application not really at 1.0RC1?
http://gambas.sourceforge.net/gambas-0.99.RC1.tar
A 3Ghz single CPU machine with 1GB of RAM will still about 2-5 minutes or more to render a single frame of a raytraced animation
Let's say for a moment you have a 88 minutes for something like "Toy Story 2." Now, let's say it runs at 30fps. So we have about 88min * 60sec/min * 30fra/sec = 158400 odd frames
Now, 158400 frames * 5min/frame = 792000 minutes to render on my 3Ghz machine
Now go with the concept that a complex image at very high quality might take longer to render, but even at this rates we're looking at
13200h
550d
1.5 YEARS to render an animated movie. Now, obviously there are things that require more power. Think tactical simulations with AI, galaxy simulations with huge numbers of factors, etc etc
Some of the above need results in a timely manner, your 3000Ghz P4 isn't going to cut it, even your business class server isn't going to cut it, and your clustered business servers while perhaps having the power/resources might not be able to do things in the time needed.
For general-computing there's a PC, for blow-your-mind power there's Cray...
What exactly is so "ancient" about debian? I'm using unstable (which isn't quite as 'fresh' as testing) and I'm not nearly so far behind as people indicate:
Firefox: 0.9.3-6 (my primary complaint about anything being outdated, latest: 1.0PR has a lot of nice features)
Thunderbird: 0.83 (latest)
Perl-base: 5.8.4 (latest is 5.8.5)
Open-Office: 1.1.1-3 (1.1.3 is latest)
Blender: 2.34-1 (latest)
GIMP: 2.0.5-1 (latest)
PHP4-pear: 4.3.9-1 (latest is PHP5)
Apache: 1.3.31-6 (latest is 1.3.32)
Apache 2: 2.0.5-1 (latest)
GAIM: 1.0.58 (1.0.2 latest)
aMule: 1.2.6+rc6 (latest is 1.2.8)
GnomeMeeting: 1.0.2-5 (latest is 1.0.?)
It hasn't quite got that new car smell, but it's newer than my windows system and a heck of a lot nicer to update than many.
The main fallbacks seem to be on major version changes (php5, firefox is probably waiting on 1.0 rather than preview release, etc). For some of the above "testing" might even have newer versions.
All debian varieties can use apt-get (and its partner tools) to contact the main debian repositories. The repositories have a *huge* selection of prepackaged applications/libs/etc that you can install with very little fuss simply by choosing "apt-get install NAMEOFPACKAGE." Alternately, there are CLI tools such as "aptitude" which one may use to select software from a categorical list of packages, or GUI tools such as "synaptic" that do the same in a graphical environment.
At regular intervals, you may "apt-get update" to update your machine's list of software known to debian. "apt-get upgrade" can then be used to upgrade to known newer versions, or apply security updates in debian/stable.
For software updates/installations that have configuration options, often you will get a curses-based interface which steps you through basic configuration.
Debian/stable: As most have mentioned, very stable, well tested, and generally out-of-date as far as new features etc etc (but with security fixes etc being backported). Automatic download/configuration of most new security updates via apt-get. Very nice for servers or other systems that you want to be reliable, but don't need a bleeding edge environment. Packages are generally well-tested against each other, so you have a good assurance that apt-get installing package B will not break package A.
Debian/unstable: No security patches for unstable packages. Instead, regularly updating will get you newer versions of software. Sometimes you get conflicts but ususally it is fairly stable. I've been using a debian/unstable desktop for quite sometime now... the worst problems I've had thus far is needed to manually select a different "automake" version for Anjuta to work, and having a package that wasn't from debian being broken by a gtk update (mainly because some quirky coding in said package didn't like the new GTK version).
Debian/testing: I haven't used it, but basically I believe it's supposed to be slightly more bleeding edge than debian/stable. Packages haven't been fully tested against each other, package updates/changes are more common.
Really, you could think of the above as something akin to freshmeat.net's software grading system, where 'stable' is often for "mature" software packages, 'unstable' includes "beta" or less mature, and 'testing' is very new or "alpha."
The only thing that confuses me at current is why my Firefox is only avaiable up to version 0.9.3, even in 'testing'...
In summary though, the concept that debian is for old/crufty software is bogus. This may apply to debian/stable, but unstable will keep you very up-to-date for most users.
So when the doc asks you to fix his broken down PC, you feel superior as you realize that your AMD64 power machine kicks its but, and that the doc hasn't got a clue as to how to diagnose a simple power-supply failure.
Then you get sick because you've been spending too many late nights with beer and pizza playing EQ, and go to the docs. He feels superior because he knows that your electrolytes are a bit off and really you could be saving yourself the checkup, post-checkup, and pricey prescription by simple eating some of the right foods.
And then when you die because of an allergic reaction to an ingredient the meds that the doc missed on your chart, the lawyer feels superior because he takes the doctor down a few notches in court and takes a hefty chunk out of his malpractice insurance.
OK, extreme cases here, but everyone is good at something and in reality we're *all* superior... just in different ways. We tend to think superiority=smarter, but really it's more a varied/specialized skillsets.
Sometimes it's a defence mechanism too though, as really it's quite nice to bitch about how your clients are idiots for continueousy spyware infesting their PCs (or getting the same sickness, breaking the same filesharing laws, etc etc)... in an effort to deal with the frustration that *continuously* dealing with the same problem over and over again brings you.
But really, how many of us think we're smarter than our doc when dealing with medical issues, or the lawyer when dealing with legal. You might even hear a doctor refer to you as "that smart/clever computer guy." It's better to have pride/confidence in what you do, and respect for those that are masters in your own field.
Partially true. It could depend a lot on how the sample itself is embedded in your work. Is it a backbeat that takes up most of the song, or just a guitar riff in a given section? It's easy enough to clip out a small section of guitar riffs or even a 1-min section with a particular drumroll background - so long as you know where it is.
If you really wanted "your" content to be open to sampling, you could make a statement like: the content between 1:25 and 1:51 is not open to sampling unless you acquire permission from ZTT (to use your example) on the original disc (since Mp3's etc might have slightly different lead-times and skew the sample).
Oh, and of course the person sampling your samples could also petition ZTT for permission to use their sample, effectively allowing them to sample anything if the rest of your song is open...
It's not really justification, but there is something to the cost between hardware and related software. When I buy a CD burner, it generally comes with Nero. For general purposes (burning data discs, audio disks, converting from MP3) it's pretty good software, burning is easy and effective. Back in the day it used to be that most burners came with Roxio, which was fairly simplistic and easy for users to use as well.
When DVD burners because moderately affordable, I bought a 4x burner. The DVD software it came with was crap. The UI as best was confusing, and while it could burn video DVDs it was quite restricted in what you could do with menu layouts and/or video conversion. Cost of decent DVD authoring software: more than twice that of the burner.
The same software is about half the price now, but of course now I can buy a burner that's 16x for less than half the cost of my original 4x.
As for OS piracy, you buy a computer, then you have to pay half again the cost to get the OS which then gets infected or croaks immediately upon first hitting the internet unfirewalled. That, or you get the cheaper "included" version of the OS, which is locked to the hardware making upgrades a pain in the butt, and supposedly non-transferrable. Then, you must pay again near the same amount for office software when all you want is to type a document. (this is for Joe user here, I run dual-boot with 'nix and tossed my MS-Office copy for OO).
For some applications software has gone down in price, or FOSS alternatives have arisen. For others, the price has gone up drastically. Remember when you could get a shareware copy of a game at $5, play it, like it, and then send in for a registered/full copy for $25 more. New games now are coming in the range of $60-90... a pretty chunk of change.
I'm not condoning piracy but when people find the cost of shelling out for various software far exceeds that on the hardware's pricetag, piracy will happen. New PC: Add to the cost the OS, Productivity software, antivirus, and perhaps some hardware firewalls (router, etc). When one buys a car it runs, with gas being an expectation. When one buys a fridge or stove it runs. DVD players require discs to play, but there's no cost of OS or other unexpecteds.
Anyone know of anything like this for a PC IR device? I have a serial infrared controller and it would be quite handy if I could somehow scan codes coming from my remote and use them to control devices in my living room, etc.
So far the LIRC pages/tips have done nothing but give me a headache... it seems that it might work for networking but how about just general IR interaction?
It blows my mind the number of people that want server class hardware but refuse to pay for it.
Decent hardware RAID boards are still bloody expensive. However, hard-drives are down in price, up in capacity, and quite often lower in reliability. Higher demand fuels lesser pricing, so it's not unrealistic to expect that if a need for hardware RAID comes along, it should be filled. I wouldn't expect it from a cheap motherboard, and RAID-5 is overkill, but it wouldn't be insane to expect midline board to support RAID-1.
What you might have considered "enterprise server" years back is now common on the desktop. Huge hard-drives, SATA are all making the data-end of desktops closer to there server counterparts for speed/capacity, it's reliability we still lack...
The possible good, as mentioned would be if games started going down in price due to ad placement. The bad would be if the games get bogged down with ads, or they are so obvious/disruptive as to ruin the gaming experience.
I can think of a few places where ads would be fine by me though:
Lobbies: Much like on battle.net, you've got an ad-rotator banner that announces upcoming tournaments, products, or other ads for blizzard.
Loading screens: Taking a moment or two to load a Jpeg as my loading screen is passing by, not too bad. Annoyance factor goes up greatly for non-online games. Games such as battlefield take a few moments to load between levels, so I wouldn't be too annoyed to have a small banner-rotator here or these.
Ingame: This is where it could get really ugly. Is my game going to lag for a moment whilst the engine contacts adsupyourass.com in game for the newest banner. Is it going to preload a few banners on started. Is my single-player game going to get ad-placement and have the "dial-up connection" icon drag my window off focus just so it can connect to load bannercrap? How about that billboard on the wall that used to read "Eat at Joe's" now advertising blazing speeds of a new video card. Hopefully no pr0n/viagara ads here...
Again,
Who's advertising: Will game companies hawk their new products in banners? Will Blizzard get pissed off when EA's new "Command and Conquer 2008" banner pops up as a banner on the loading screen for "Warcraft IV?" Will the newest FPS advertise sweetass joysticks or new video cards on the loading screen, perhaps during hardware test suggest "recommended" cards if mine is sub-par. How about a banner that pops up "your last game of doom3 ran like shyte, time to upgrade that GeForce FX5200 to a FX6900>"
Time will tell, but I can definately seem some pluses/minuses to in-game advertisement. If it brings down game prices, and isn't too intrusive I really don't see how much worse it would be than nag/banner screens on existing games (shareware especially)
I used to have Firefox crash and burn regularly on various webpages - linux and windows. The browser would segfault and be gone, sometimes without visible errors
Eventually I noticed it seemed to be mostly with pages having Flash content. I ended up nuking my plugins folder and reinstalling the flash/Java plugins, now it crashes a lot less.
While the article indicates it is possible to crash on bad code, you might want to check your plugins too just in case.
No, it's somewhat of a partial agreement here. If linux took enough marketshare, I'm sure companies would write spyware etc etc for it. Right now it's not profitable enough to do so.
But in most instances, you only have the few things to check - crons, and stuff in your home drive: unless something has been made writable to your user for a reason. In the end an infested linux box would probably still be beynd Joe user, but easier for me to clean. This is assuming it wasn't rooted, in which case things get really nasty . The happiest thing I have found with 'nix is that I can do a full reinstall on a new drive, do a find on all my conf files, and generally get back to where I was very nicely without worrying about DLLs and registry crap thyat will go bad in windows - in the event that a full rooting did occur.
Oh, and on the windows issues, there are some programs that just don't happily run under a standard user. Part of the time the problem is not with MS at all, but with the fact that the coder isn't respecting the security features of the environment. Other times, it's simply because the program can't access certain level functions without running privilaged - which is comparable to a daemon that must run root, but without the work-arounds given in proper file permissions where one could manage to run non-root or setuid with proper configuration.
Linux suffers from an issue where coders don't understand what the users want. Windows suffers from issues where coders don't understand/care about the security that does exist in the OS.
That's the rub though. I could probably afford to get the operation done, but lack of options for local private clinics mean that if I go private I'm paying from my own pocket, and losing income because I'll have to travel/be off work.
For myself it's not a big issue anyhow, getting screws removed is likely to be day surgery, and whilst the weather isn't comfortable on them it's more a nuisance than real pain. For those that can afford, I think that going to private US clinics is a decent option though, I just wish that we're have a proper multi-tier system in place locally (semi-private, where the government will cover you for the basic care, or if you want to pay your own way up a level they'll go partway).
If there *were* spyware for linux, it would only work as a seperate app running in the userspace, much easier to clean.
/tmp, etc. You can't infect the browser because you only have read access, there's no registry, but you can't infect the init, config, or other files either.
* is beyond your average user, so that's going to cost money to get fixed by somebody in-the-know.
For windows, it's a little nastier. Since most users run with admin privilages (albeit they can run without, but many apps don't actually work properly then), spyware - like viruses - can infest different levels of your OS. You get keys in the registry, things that burrow into IE, and even farther by infecting things like the TCP/IP drivers. They're like ticks on a dog, with much of the problem is far well IE is integrated into the OS - browser events run without the browser even seeming to be active.
Now for linux, if one is running as a standard user, you can only infect those files that you have write access to. Generally, this will be your home directory and perhaps some other shared areas,
I use linux part-time. I'm not a fanboy, but if you're really such a heavy user you should by now appreciate the security of the way the OS is moulded. That, or perhaps you just don't use windows enough to appreciate how many places an infection can dig itself in. Even the registry, which is often a simple thing to patch up HKLM/software/microsoft/windows/currenversion/run
Spyware isn't just about sending back info, the main problem is how it roots into your system, and it's big brothers malware and adware are often called "spyware" for simplicity - but they're much worse.
So really, before you tell those that use both OS's regularly and are aware of such pitfalls to "Get a fucking life," you should realise that such comments on linux security aren't coming from our asses.
*disclaimer: using firefox on WinXP right now, but I'm smart enough to avoid most spyware infections anyhow. After switching various relatives to an "easy" customized linux distro I've had less "HELP ME" calls about nasties sneaking in. Gee... go figure...
I'm Canadian and while I love the fact that a visit to the clinic doesn't become a financial liability, and having a birthing doesn't cost you 3 months wages... you must also consider some other factors:
Many good doctors have left to the US because being paid for private service is more $$$. We're quite shortstaffed on both doctors and at times qualified nurses. While immediate dangers are quickly dealt with and covered, staff are often less competent due to being worked over hours (severely overworked) due to shortages. A new heart/lungs may be free, but surgery may involve very long waits, whilst private involves more $$$ but possibly better care, less wait, and not being discharged prematurely because of a space shortage for new patients.
I'm on a waitlist myself, soon to find out when I might expect to have day surgery for removing metal screws from my ankle. I'm definately glad that it's covered, but I'd hate the wait were it something more severe. I am looking at unpleasant discomfort with winter coming though, cold weather and metal are not the best combination.
I have a friend who had been scouting for laptops recently. She looked through several X86 brands but found that with the recent models there were heat issues. If the laptop itself wasn't getting hot, it was running the fan a lot.
Being that the laptop was intended for use in class, the loud fan could be rather distracting/embarrasing. So instead she switched over entirely and got an Apple. It surprised me that she was so willing to switch to a different OS (and one-button mouse etc), but she's doing rather well. Still, I'd imagine that if windows were available for mac she would have gone with that for familiarity, as would many others in a similar situation.
Still, this gives me hope for alternate desktop OSs. If a student is willing to swap architecture and OS just because of noisy fans, perhaps with improvements the alternatives (Linux,BSD, etc etc) may gain more support. Certainly though, many would regard a switch to OSX as an improvement from XP - regardless of the change in design/use.
If windows came to PPC, would you switch
a) Would you (as an existing PPC hardware owner) switch from MacOS/Linux to windows. But hey, you can already run it albeit slowly through virtualPC.
b) If you were a windows on x86 user, and a PPC version became available, would you switch to PPC hardware.
Right now my money is on AMD64 and x86 architecture... but I do admit it would be interesting to see how fast windows applications would run if there were a native build on PPC, assuming that one could find a video card that wasn't dated from last year (which you could if many people started to switch).
There are "imitations," and then there are fakes. Many imitations are legal and look like the more expensive competition, but don't claim to be the same: sunglasses, jeans, cologne, etc. Dynacell batteries, etc
Then there are fakes, products that are make to look like the real thing, and labelled as the real thing, but are often vastly inferior quality. In many cases they are also dangerous: there have been reports of some powered products being subject to shock/fire, and even things such as children's teddy-bears which have been found stuffed with rubber bands and a bandage.
Oh, and FYI I'm Canadian, but we get the same crap sneaking in at the docks. The government here isn't declaring a "war" on the fakes, but has been paying closer attention to them.
Now, the illegitimate copy/rip of an anime movie that you can ordered off eBay is also under fire because many consumers think they're getting the real thing. In fact, the packages look real, the disks are realistic (I know people who come back from China with bootlegs that look very authentic, complete with DVD movies etc), but sometimes they turn out to be cheap VCD's or DVD's that don't play well in all machines.
Prescription drugs, well we can see where this can go bad. Not only the viagara that doesn't work, but perhaps when somebody depends on a medication and finds that it's only sugar pills (or the wrong medications).
My primary fear here, however, is that they aren't really going to crack down so much on the physical fakes, but just focus more on the movies/music filesharing, and put more legislation in place to block drugs order from places like Canada (which may be 100% legit pharmacuticals, but are busting the profits of US companies because they are regulated and much cheaper).
"I disagree with what you say, but will defend to the death your right to say it!"
I think that this was intended to be respective to people, not companies. However either way somebody has to actively view the SCO page to read this, so I don't see the issue. Now if there were spamming my email with "get the real scoop at poopSCOop.com" it might be a problem. Just a webpage, nah.
Groklaw has a respected following. SCO's page will just be like any other... you have to earn the following for anyone to pay attention to it.
However, off that subject, wouldn't comparing OS developers to highway bandits be a form of libel?
I believe the Canadian (or at least local BC provincial) government has already ratified acts to keep our personal information out of US databases...
I'd expect that if such a database were made, it would include who you make contact with, financial records etc etc.
How are they going to keep the information on just US citizens, no doubt they'll be interacting with Canadian persons/companies at various times.
(FYI I'm Canadian).
I knew a bit about Kerry, and of course GWB, but I'm actually quite impressed with the interview and Nader's responses. I didn't know a lot about Nader prior to this, but while some of his dodges are a bit dissapointing, and some of his answers I don't agree with, I'm rather happy overall with the way he responded.
Bush's answers were as expected... not likely coming from Bush, avoidist, and for most it's "sidestep issue... but we're planning on doing this wonderful blah blah and we've already blah blah," some of Kerry's answers also go this direction (not as much as Bush) and a few of Nader's.
My main thoughts, however, are that written questions aren't much use as one never knows if you're getting the candidate, his secretary, and/or a canned answer. It seems obvious that Bush didn't write his answers... so wouldn't the best way of doing this be to get all three in seperate conferences, ask them the pre-written questions, and see the live squirming response? Of course, this would never happen, but it's the best way to get a real answer
With the number of contributors to the linux kernel, including kernel core, patches, modules, etc etc... who would you even buy it from?
I don't think there's any one person/group that can claim full ownership to the current kernel.
I think this is really somewhat age dependant. For most people under 25, you're not very likely to see a 100% stock stereo system in a car.
My parents, on the other hand, seem to be fine with stock: even a stock tapedeck. I think it has a lot to do with what media you carry - if your old CD's are fine in the stock deck then leave it be. If you've got a lot of tapes then leave it be.
For myself, I travel a lot and love music. It's a pain swapping CD's so when mp3-CD players came out I shelled out for a deck with mp3 capabilities. At 150+ songs (at 128kbps) per disk, it saves me a lot of swapping, and any new media I stow the original at home and just add it to an mp3 album.
I don't really see a big use for a car mp3 player though. How about just a CD-deck with a digital interface for my portable, or a multicard slot for common flash-type storage cards? Right now I'm just finishing up a small VIA pc for this, but alternately I probably would have gone for something like an mp3-enabled DVD deck (a few DVDs of 128-256KB mp3's/oggs and most of my albums at my fingertips).
Serial-murder specialists don't have to kill scores of people to learn how serial killers operate
People would be hurt
Viral pathologists don't infect people with HIV so they can learn how to prevent AIDS
People would be hurt
this is absolutely unethical behavior on the part of these clowns, and in no way do the ends justify the means
Tell me, how is anyone hurt if I were to find a security hole in a bank site, chess club, whatever, and post an email to said bank/club. The only one hurt would be me, mainly because I would probably have my ass sued off. Deaths by murder or HIV are quite often very obvious, a hacker sneaking into a computer and filing off $0.001/account/day isn't necessarily so. Yes, you can study existing hacks, but the fact is that it's the new and unusal ones that one should beware of... not quite as straightforward as many other cases.
Oh, and for the record - scientists might not infect the general public with a virus to test it - but they will infect test animals/etc and try some "cures" on human volunteers. I don't suppose you'd like to try getting a bank to volunteer their codebase for you to test our in your closed environment?