Then, every Linux distribution needs to be held accountable, too as they all install vulnerabilities on machines as well. I'm not talking YOUR machine, I'm talking Joe Sixpack who's heard "this Linux thing" is secure, goes to Best Buy, grabs a copy and installs it. He'll be hacked in a matter of hours as well. Without requiring a "driver's license" to get on the Internet, I don't see any way around it.
However, it does not necessarily mean that the lemmings cannot think for themselves.
Unfortunately, that's not always the case in the business world. If you're able to make technical decisions based on technical reasons, rather than mass-market fads....is your company hiring?:) Remember, most IT decisions are made by CxOs reading in-flight magazines.
First of all, it doesn't "beg the question," it simply depends on the question.
Get laid, loser, then correct my grammar. I'm sure once you've had sex, you'll find there's more important things to worry about. Language changes, it evolves, and it evolves because people find new ways to use it. "Begs the question" is a common colloquialism and now part of the language. Get over it, or die, please. You knew what I meant, so regardless of the "real" meaning of the phrase, you were able to understand what I meant, that means the phrase worked as written.
Switching to AMD has no such problems.
Aside from the lower performance & stability and increased heat sensitivity, sure no problems. At least, no problems until the processor fan dies and the CPU fries up two seconds later.
Maybe not, but that IS the most important part. MP3 was first, it's the de facto standard for digital music, regardless of what the geeks think of it. People who spend time away from their computers, and slashdot, don't care about the other things because they don't know about them.
but the fact that Windows 2000 Server ships with IIS turned on (meaning some people never turn it off)
You've just shown the problem isn't with the OS, then. It's with the people who don't take the time to shut it off, or lock it down, or anything. Hell, how many doorknocks do you get from CodeRed infected machines, despite the fact that the fix was released a month before the exploit YEARS ago? You can't fix that, the software ain't broken, the wetware is.
Well judging by the amount of people dropping their old UNIX gear, and taking up rackfulls of AMD or Intel boxes (especially the new 64bit offerings), i'd say the answer to that is a big YES.
Which begs the question: if they were all jumping off a bridge, would you do so, too? Just because "everyone's doing it" doesn't mean it's right. It means that lemmings can't think for themselves.
Don't get me wrong, I agree that the price/performance/value ratio of the Suns and SGIs of the world is way skewed when compared to the Intel-style architecture. I disagree in that moving to the latter architecture just because everyone else is doing it is a management-style decision, not a technical one.
That's part of cost of goods sold; the cost to the end user would also have to include the administrative cost of dealing with Thomson, the distributor's mark-up, and the dealer's mark-up.
I'm not sure I follow this. Are you saying that it costs Apple 75c/unit, then the distributor marks it up 100% and the retailer an additional 100%? So, it costs Apple $75 to make an iPod? ($75 for cost of goods + 100% markup by the distributor to $150, then 100% markup by the retailer taking it to $300.) As for administrative costs associated with Thompson, I really don't think that's a lot. A bean counter at Apple says, "We sold a million of these, send a check to Thompson for $750,000". I can't see that sentence costing a lot of money.
It can't possibly be! If it were real, it would indicate innovation in the browser arena, and that's just not POSSIBLE! According to all the pundits, Microsoft killed all browser innovation when they "killed off" Netscape. How could this be possible?
For those too stupid to notice, the above was sarcasm.
Consider: how many manufacturers and models of cars do we have? Consumer electronics? Colours and styles of paint?
How many models of cars that do things differently from every other model of car? If I buy a Ford, I don't need to take training because my last car was a Pontiac. Everything works the same. Sure, the placement of the A/C or cruise controls are a little different, but the steering wheel isn't square and in the trunk. The basics of "a car" does not change: it has four wheels, (in the States) a steering wheel on the left front side, two-three pedals, etc. Hell, even the order of the gears on an automatic are the same (P R N D 1 2 3).
Contrast that with Linux distros where some applications are present, and some are not. Some applications are placed here, and some are placed there. Some use this window manager, some use this one. Some keybindings are like this, some are like that. Some will work with hardware better than others. Some have this, some have that. Hell, I've tried 2-3 distros in the last few months, and only one that I remember contained a GUI util to change the screen resolution (an important util for noobs as most distros set your damn resolution to the absolute highest it will go, regardless of how you want it or not!)
I can climb into any car, start it up and drive it. Change your Linux distro, or just upgrade in some cases, and you spend hours just trying to figure out where everything is. THIS is why Windows is winning the desktop day in and day out. It has nothing to do with monopolies or political bullying. It never ceases to amaze me that the Linux community will stomp and scream like small children about anything that violates an open standard in any way, shape, or form, but outright REFUSES to create a single, standard, default desktop that is consistent across all distros. There's nothing stopping you or anyone else from changing it later, but start with SOMETHING.
Give 'em four tires and a steering wheel, if they want a Cartman antenna topper or a Jason Mewes window sticker, they can add it themselves. And, I know, there's gonna be tons of flames on this post..."Don't tell me what I can and can't run on my desktop!" "Who gives you the right to decide what's included in my distro?" For those contemplating such flames...get a clue. No one is suggesting locking anyone into a "one size fits all soylent world", idiot. They're suggesting giving a consistent base to build on.
Naturally, installing "Windows" was the first user mistake.
Yup, especially when done by Linux zealots who rush to chmod 0600 every file on their filesystems, but can't seem to grasp they need to do similar things with cacls. Then, they whine that Windows is insecure. Uh-huh, you sure are.
I will grant that under one circumstance only: when you have old Netware engineers who've been working with the product for years and know what they're doing with Netware. These guys, IME, haven't been able to make the transition to Windows and setup Windows all wrong. They're incapable of grasping the concepts of using the same kinds of best practices with their Windows boxen as they do their Netware ones and then whine that they're not secure. "Awww, Windows has the OS files as Everyone, Full Control! That's so insecure! Whine, bitch, complain!" "Uh, dumbass, then change it!"
You see the same kind of thing with Linux zealots, but they're generally younger and more capable of learning new things than Netware zealots. I've brought a few Windows-hating penguinheads back into the fold by just showing how well it all works when you stop whining and just do your job and make it work.
Get better admins so the infected mails never reach the users' inboxes. Relying on users to protect the company from viruses is like letting them administer the firewall.
Surprisingly, this isn't the case where I live. About 5 years ago, I used to do support for one of the largest banks in the area, and one day I was taking a tour of the datacenter. Propped up on a table, all by itself was a lone IBM PC XT. I asked what it was for, and was told it was the controller front-end for the ATMs. When I asked how many, the tech answered.."All 430 of them!" GURK! No WONDER the ATMs were always so slow there. Now that they've "upgraded" to those nifty multi-color, multi-function machines (that STILL don't let me change my PIN like most other bank's ATMs), they're actually a lot faster.
If all an MCSE knows how to do to "fix" a Windows computer is to apply security patches, clean out malware and defrag a hard drive, then they should be out of work. It never ceases to amaze me when I hear some idiot tell me they fixed a problem with a computer by defragging the hard drive.
They do? I'm aware of three universities in my city alone that do NOT have firewalls. They're actually forbidden by policy. The reason: "the kids need unrestricted access to the Internet". So, this means the IT departments often come in in the morning to find their Oracle server (before the Windows flames, it's on Linux!) completely wiped clean. Or, how they have a monitor on the websites to PAGE them when the site changes and they can revert it.
Okay, so this begs the question...ignoring any health concerns of living under fields of that size...is there a way we could tap into that waste energy? It seems if you can light up that many bulbs, you should be able to draw enough power to do something useful with it in a house nearby.
about how scary the contractors are in terms of quality and knowledge when it comes to industrial back-end technologies.
The question I then have to this is: how will this change if they stop using MS products? In my experience, most of the failings of MS products is in the morons that are paid to install, configure, maintain or administer the systems. For example, I can usually judge a person's technical ability by telling them that I think MS Exchange is "build and forget". In my experience, it has been, but I've known too many people who seem to think differently, and when I go and look at their servers, they've got all kinds of goofy configurations trying to get the software to do what it's not supposed to, etc. It shows a complete lack of understanding of the product and its capabilities and limitations.
Now, let's flip the coin and look at if they went with an Open Source solution. OS solutions typically have a need for a much higher technical competency due to excessively complex configurations, poor documentation, etc. How is it that these contractors, who can't even setup MS products correctly, going to do it with OS products?
Before you flame, keep in mind that I'll use Linux/OSS where appropriate and proprietary product where appropriate. I've spent the last 10 or so years making decisions based on "the best tool for the job". I have no particular preference for any tool or vendor. However, I have found that MS products are much easier to setup and maintain, if for no other reason than an abundance of quality documentation.
I submitted a story on this last week, but it was rejected (as an aside, it would be really nice to know WHY articles are rejected by the staff, so if it's something as stupid as poor spelling, it could be corrected). RoadRunner is offering free firewall/AV software to all its customers. Not a perfect solution, but a nice start.
I agree, and it's one of the reasons I love having a DVR. I can record tons of stuff and watch it when I want sans commercials. I almost never watch anything live anymore. Why bother? You'll just be watching commercials. DVR it and watch that hour show in 30 minutes, or less depending on its popularity.:)
Real's problems are not caused by Microsoft
on
Real's Reality
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· Score: 1
I think I need to start working on a new RFC..."Proper methods of blaming Microsoft for your failed business." Real's problems are even deeper and fundamental than the fact that it's player is an invasive piece of crap...the format sucks. There, I've said it. Yes, it's smaller and more bandwidth-friendly, but it's the most pixelated, artifacted piece of bandwidth-friendly crap you're ever likely to try to view with a microscope. At least, that's how it used to be, I haven't installed a version since I noticed that the TWO tray apps it installs take up over 32M of RAM while running. Thanks, but no thanks...
"So, what are the chances of it happening on Linux ? Well, probably less (the many-eyes scenario), but certainly possible.
How quickly the mind of the Linux hacker forgets when the exploits happen. How about the mremap local root exploit which was in BOTH the 2.4 and 2.6 Linux kernels? In other words, despite the "many-eyes scenario", not a single person caught until it was used to attempt to fuck with the Debian CVS. How many MONTHS was it in there? How many more are out there, overlooked? Just 'cause they haven't been found yet doesn't mean they ain't there.
Really, it's time the Open Source community stopped spreading their own FUD and start dealing with the problem: Linux is no more secure than any other OS, including Windows. Complacency is going to lead to downfall.
I'll ask you the same question I ask every open sourcer who tells me about the "many-eyes": do you look at every line of code you run on your system? If the answer is no, then who does?
Slashdot Mirror
Then, every Linux distribution needs to be held accountable, too as they all install vulnerabilities on machines as well. I'm not talking YOUR machine, I'm talking Joe Sixpack who's heard "this Linux thing" is secure, goes to Best Buy, grabs a copy and installs it. He'll be hacked in a matter of hours as well. Without requiring a "driver's license" to get on the Internet, I don't see any way around it.
However, it does not necessarily mean that the lemmings cannot think for themselves.
:) Remember, most IT decisions are made by CxOs reading in-flight magazines.
Unfortunately, that's not always the case in the business world. If you're able to make technical decisions based on technical reasons, rather than mass-market fads....is your company hiring?
First of all, it doesn't "beg the question," it simply depends on the question.
Get laid, loser, then correct my grammar. I'm sure once you've had sex, you'll find there's more important things to worry about. Language changes, it evolves, and it evolves because people find new ways to use it. "Begs the question" is a common colloquialism and now part of the language. Get over it, or die, please. You knew what I meant, so regardless of the "real" meaning of the phrase, you were able to understand what I meant, that means the phrase worked as written.
Switching to AMD has no such problems.
Aside from the lower performance & stability and increased heat sensitivity, sure no problems. At least, no problems until the processor fan dies and the CPU fries up two seconds later.
It doesn't have the cachet of the name 'MP3'
Maybe not, but that IS the most important part. MP3 was first, it's the de facto standard for digital music, regardless of what the geeks think of it. People who spend time away from their computers, and slashdot, don't care about the other things because they don't know about them.
but the fact that Windows 2000 Server ships with IIS turned on (meaning some people never turn it off)
You've just shown the problem isn't with the OS, then. It's with the people who don't take the time to shut it off, or lock it down, or anything. Hell, how many doorknocks do you get from CodeRed infected machines, despite the fact that the fix was released a month before the exploit YEARS ago? You can't fix that, the software ain't broken, the wetware is.
Well judging by the amount of people dropping their old UNIX gear, and taking up rackfulls of AMD or Intel boxes (especially the new 64bit offerings), i'd say the answer to that is a big YES.
Which begs the question: if they were all jumping off a bridge, would you do so, too? Just because "everyone's doing it" doesn't mean it's right. It means that lemmings can't think for themselves.
Don't get me wrong, I agree that the price/performance/value ratio of the Suns and SGIs of the world is way skewed when compared to the Intel-style architecture. I disagree in that moving to the latter architecture just because everyone else is doing it is a management-style decision, not a technical one.
That's part of cost of goods sold; the cost to the end user would also have to include the administrative cost of dealing with Thomson, the distributor's mark-up, and the dealer's mark-up.
I'm not sure I follow this. Are you saying that it costs Apple 75c/unit, then the distributor marks it up 100% and the retailer an additional 100%? So, it costs Apple $75 to make an iPod? ($75 for cost of goods + 100% markup by the distributor to $150, then 100% markup by the retailer taking it to $300.) As for administrative costs associated with Thompson, I really don't think that's a lot. A bean counter at Apple says, "We sold a million of these, send a check to Thompson for $750,000". I can't see that sentence costing a lot of money.
It can't possibly be! If it were real, it would indicate innovation in the browser arena, and that's just not POSSIBLE! According to all the pundits, Microsoft killed all browser innovation when they "killed off" Netscape. How could this be possible?
For those too stupid to notice, the above was sarcasm.
Consider: how many manufacturers and models of cars do we have? Consumer electronics? Colours and styles of paint?
How many models of cars that do things differently from every other model of car? If I buy a Ford, I don't need to take training because my last car was a Pontiac. Everything works the same. Sure, the placement of the A/C or cruise controls are a little different, but the steering wheel isn't square and in the trunk. The basics of "a car" does not change: it has four wheels, (in the States) a steering wheel on the left front side, two-three pedals, etc. Hell, even the order of the gears on an automatic are the same (P R N D 1 2 3).
Contrast that with Linux distros where some applications are present, and some are not. Some applications are placed here, and some are placed there. Some use this window manager, some use this one. Some keybindings are like this, some are like that. Some will work with hardware better than others. Some have this, some have that. Hell, I've tried 2-3 distros in the last few months, and only one that I remember contained a GUI util to change the screen resolution (an important util for noobs as most distros set your damn resolution to the absolute highest it will go, regardless of how you want it or not!)
I can climb into any car, start it up and drive it. Change your Linux distro, or just upgrade in some cases, and you spend hours just trying to figure out where everything is. THIS is why Windows is winning the desktop day in and day out. It has nothing to do with monopolies or political bullying. It never ceases to amaze me that the Linux community will stomp and scream like small children about anything that violates an open standard in any way, shape, or form, but outright REFUSES to create a single, standard, default desktop that is consistent across all distros. There's nothing stopping you or anyone else from changing it later, but start with SOMETHING.
Give 'em four tires and a steering wheel, if they want a Cartman antenna topper or a Jason Mewes window sticker, they can add it themselves. And, I know, there's gonna be tons of flames on this post..."Don't tell me what I can and can't run on my desktop!" "Who gives you the right to decide what's included in my distro?" For those contemplating such flames...get a clue. No one is suggesting locking anyone into a "one size fits all soylent world", idiot. They're suggesting giving a consistent base to build on.
Sure it does, if you're not using a privledged account. You know how one doesn't run as root regularly? Then, don't run as administrator. :)
Naturally, installing "Windows" was the first user mistake.
Yup, especially when done by Linux zealots who rush to chmod 0600 every file on their filesystems, but can't seem to grasp they need to do similar things with cacls. Then, they whine that Windows is insecure. Uh-huh, you sure are.
Yes, you can use other tools, but can you choose not to install IE or MediaPlayer if you choose to use another app?
So what? If the associations are setup to launch your app of choice, who cares? If it ain't run, it may as well not be there.
becuase its more secure than Windows
I will grant that under one circumstance only: when you have old Netware engineers who've been working with the product for years and know what they're doing with Netware. These guys, IME, haven't been able to make the transition to Windows and setup Windows all wrong. They're incapable of grasping the concepts of using the same kinds of best practices with their Windows boxen as they do their Netware ones and then whine that they're not secure. "Awww, Windows has the OS files as Everyone, Full Control! That's so insecure! Whine, bitch, complain!" "Uh, dumbass, then change it!"
You see the same kind of thing with Linux zealots, but they're generally younger and more capable of learning new things than Netware zealots. I've brought a few Windows-hating penguinheads back into the fold by just showing how well it all works when you stop whining and just do your job and make it work.
Get better admins so the infected mails never reach the users' inboxes. Relying on users to protect the company from viruses is like letting them administer the firewall.
Surprisingly, this isn't the case where I live. About 5 years ago, I used to do support for one of the largest banks in the area, and one day I was taking a tour of the datacenter. Propped up on a table, all by itself was a lone IBM PC XT. I asked what it was for, and was told it was the controller front-end for the ATMs. When I asked how many, the tech answered.."All 430 of them!" GURK! No WONDER the ATMs were always so slow there. Now that they've "upgraded" to those nifty multi-color, multi-function machines (that STILL don't let me change my PIN like most other bank's ATMs), they're actually a lot faster.
They're not my admins, nor do I work with them. I know people who work at the Universities as techs in the IT departments.
And, so, what you're saying is you have an Oracle server that's directly connected to the Internet with a public IP address and have no problems?
"Riverworld" I lost much faith in SciFi's studio cred.
:)
Ugh, I just finished watching their "Dagon" which I DVRed a while back. Worst adaptation EVER. Now, the new Battlestar Galactica...awesome!
What? And put all of us MCSEs out of work?
If all an MCSE knows how to do to "fix" a Windows computer is to apply security patches, clean out malware and defrag a hard drive, then they should be out of work. It never ceases to amaze me when I hear some idiot tell me they fixed a problem with a computer by defragging the hard drive.
They do? I'm aware of three universities in my city alone that do NOT have firewalls. They're actually forbidden by policy. The reason: "the kids need unrestricted access to the Internet". So, this means the IT departments often come in in the morning to find their Oracle server (before the Windows flames, it's on Linux!) completely wiped clean. Or, how they have a monitor on the websites to PAGE them when the site changes and they can revert it.
Okay, so this begs the question...ignoring any health concerns of living under fields of that size...is there a way we could tap into that waste energy? It seems if you can light up that many bulbs, you should be able to draw enough power to do something useful with it in a house nearby.
about how scary the contractors are in terms of quality and knowledge when it comes to industrial back-end technologies.
The question I then have to this is: how will this change if they stop using MS products? In my experience, most of the failings of MS products is in the morons that are paid to install, configure, maintain or administer the systems. For example, I can usually judge a person's technical ability by telling them that I think MS Exchange is "build and forget". In my experience, it has been, but I've known too many people who seem to think differently, and when I go and look at their servers, they've got all kinds of goofy configurations trying to get the software to do what it's not supposed to, etc. It shows a complete lack of understanding of the product and its capabilities and limitations.
Now, let's flip the coin and look at if they went with an Open Source solution. OS solutions typically have a need for a much higher technical competency due to excessively complex configurations, poor documentation, etc. How is it that these contractors, who can't even setup MS products correctly, going to do it with OS products?
Before you flame, keep in mind that I'll use Linux/OSS where appropriate and proprietary product where appropriate. I've spent the last 10 or so years making decisions based on "the best tool for the job". I have no particular preference for any tool or vendor. However, I have found that MS products are much easier to setup and maintain, if for no other reason than an abundance of quality documentation.
I submitted a story on this last week, but it was rejected (as an aside, it would be really nice to know WHY articles are rejected by the staff, so if it's something as stupid as poor spelling, it could be corrected). RoadRunner is offering free firewall/AV software to all its customers. Not a perfect solution, but a nice start.
I don't have time to watch that much TV
:)
I agree, and it's one of the reasons I love having a DVR. I can record tons of stuff and watch it when I want sans commercials. I almost never watch anything live anymore. Why bother? You'll just be watching commercials. DVR it and watch that hour show in 30 minutes, or less depending on its popularity.
I think I need to start working on a new RFC..."Proper methods of blaming Microsoft for your failed business." Real's problems are even deeper and fundamental than the fact that it's player is an invasive piece of crap...the format sucks. There, I've said it. Yes, it's smaller and more bandwidth-friendly, but it's the most pixelated, artifacted piece of bandwidth-friendly crap you're ever likely to try to view with a microscope. At least, that's how it used to be, I haven't installed a version since I noticed that the TWO tray apps it installs take up over 32M of RAM while running. Thanks, but no thanks...
"So, what are the chances of it happening on Linux ? Well, probably less (the many-eyes scenario), but certainly possible.
How quickly the mind of the Linux hacker forgets when the exploits happen. How about the mremap local root exploit which was in BOTH the 2.4 and 2.6 Linux kernels? In other words, despite the "many-eyes scenario", not a single person caught until it was used to attempt to fuck with the Debian CVS. How many MONTHS was it in there? How many more are out there, overlooked? Just 'cause they haven't been found yet doesn't mean they ain't there.
Really, it's time the Open Source community stopped spreading their own FUD and start dealing with the problem: Linux is no more secure than any other OS, including Windows. Complacency is going to lead to downfall.
I'll ask you the same question I ask every open sourcer who tells me about the "many-eyes": do you look at every line of code you run on your system? If the answer is no, then who does?