Of course, that won't stop me from using Firefox. What kind of blind OSS zealotry is this?
You know, I never advocate using Mozilla/Firefox due to lack of vulnerabilities; because deep down inside, I know there are a ton of vulnerabilities just waiting to be found. This is a problem for any reasonably complex software. Two reasons to use Mozilla/Firefox:
1. Feature-wise, it completely blows away IE 2. Standards compliant, which will help make the web a better place for all browsers
Also, it runs on many OS's, but that's not a good reason for everyone.
Currently, most of the malware/viruses/etc are for IE. But I have seen sites that try to get you to install Mozilla extensions that could be potentially malicious. With Mozilla's new-found popularity, it's only a matter of time before Mozilla gets attention from the malware writers. Get ready for it.
Assuming you're actually replying to me, and not just replying to the first post in the thread... You're completely missing the point of what I said. The point is that ALL types of software have the problem of not enough good documentation. You may not see it with closed-source software, because its not as visable as say, all the projects on SourceForge.
In some cases, OSS has an advantage because you at least have a fallback of being able to read the source; though this probably only applies to small projects, but there are enough of those that it helps.
So saying "OSS needs good documentation" is like saying "software needs to be good." Pretty fucking obvious. And its a problem for ALL software, no need to single out OSS.
there is no easy fix to this (turning of XUL would be like unpluging your windows machine to make it secure)
Maybe have some kind of warning like "You are about to view a remote XUL page" or have some kind of indicator that it is remote XUL. It's still going to be a problem in those cases, though, because you'll have people who click yes to everything, etc.
"Check that: If publishers stop wanting DRM, it's the end of popular creative arts. Not as we know them, but period. If you want to run a capitalist economy - many societies are hell-bent on it - and you want quality in your art and entertainment, your artists must be paid."
So without DRM the entire entertainment industry just up and quits right?
Yeah, really.. It's really quite simple, there are honest people who will obey the law, and dishonest people who will break the law. But with inconveniences like DRM, you end up losing the honest people who would be purchasing your products.
I've bought many e-books, but I make sure they are non-DRM first. And I don't share these e-books unless the license permits. e-books are generally cheap enough that it is worth it... Granted, I'll take a free e-book when I can, but only if its legit.
Except that closed source software is usually much better in regards to documentation.
And the cases where they aren't you are even more screwed because you don't even have the source code. For example, I've come across many closed source development tools that have horrible documentation, there was no chance of using the tool without direct access to the authors of it. Whereas I've seen many open source projects that have excellent documentation, easy access to the developers, and well-documented source code as icing on the cake! It kinda depends on the motivations of the author, if its something they want other people to use, they are more likely to have good documentation. If its their pet project they are doing for fun, all bets are off.
closed developers are forced to make documentation by their superiors
This isn't always the case, especially with tight budgets these days and understaffed projects. You'd be surprised at how much closed source software gets shipped with little or no documentation. I think the problem exists for all software. Its just a bit more visible with open source because you have access to most of it.
I think you are missing the point that it is "hardly anybody" simply because you need to have some programming knowledge to be in a position to fix things, What about normal end users? If OSS takes over as the defacto software, then developer's will be a tiny fraction of the overall number of users.
Here's a secret: Aqua is a UNIX desktop. It runs just about all the Linux/Xwindows software I've thrown at it (with a recompile, of course). So if you say "I want a UNIX desktop that looks like Aqua", use Aqua!
That's all good and well until you want to use your Mac everywhere including work. In a perfect world we all have a ton of cash to spare....
Imitation isn't necessarilly a bad thing. That's always been how this industry has worked...
Would you trust any sensitive customer data in Nigeria?
Pay the Nigerians work on open source software. I'll donate to that cause. Just do a search for the following words: "Good dya, I kown you myabe srprise to receiv this lettter from a strangler which you dont now beefore, rest asure"... to make sure their is nothing shady going on...
I hope you embrace and extend your elitism in your day to day travels. Ask your car mechanic next time what he has for a computer and OS. If it isn't brand new and running XP, I hope you tell him to go fuck himself. Try it out on the cashiers at every store you go to. Try it on the waiter at your favorite restaurant. Try it on the next cop who pulls you over. Try it out on random people sitting next to you on the bus or train or plane or at the theater or at a concert. anyplace at all where you have to interact with people in meatspace, face to face. Everytime they have an answer which isn't "brand new and running XP", tell them to go "fuck themselves".
What's wrong with running Linux, BSD, or OS X? Why does it have to be XP?
In any case, yes, in real life, if someone I know is running some piece of shit like Windows 95/98/ME/3.x/NT I first politely offer them a copy of a recent operating system or recommend that they purchase a recent one; if they refuse, I tell them they are an idiot and they can go fuck themselves. This was a bit harder a few years ago, but everyone I told to go fuck themselves eventually realized their legacy OS sucked, and has upgraded and told me I was right to tell them to go fuck themselves.
These mechanics, cashiers, waiter, and ESPECIALLY the cops, can go fuck themselves!
I bet you're good, though, real good, at childrens videogames, especially the violent ones.
No time for video games. They are too much work anyways. Why would I push buttons if I'm not getting paid for it? (sure you can comment about my Slashdot posting here, but I am on a break right now, so I am getting paid for this)
In any case, if you are using something like Windows 95/98/ME/3.x/NT for your day to day use, YOU ARE ALREADY FUCKING YOURSELF.
My concern is for the users on legacy operating systems, who will never get an internet explorer update. They will still be vulnerable to exploitation. As they still comprise a surprising amount of internet users, this is some cause for concern.
I hate to say this, but... Users on legacy operating systems can go fuck themselves.
Maybe your underestimating your mother. I told my mother to consider using mozillia last week and within 20 minuets she called me back saying she got it. She's not a developer like me, she uses her compuetr for office work, all I had to tell her was to go to Mozilla.org.
I think we need to get over this fear/belief that we/. readers are 1337
You insensitive clod, my poor mom barely understands what the widgets on the screen mean. She has to ask whether its ok to click on something because she doesn't know whether its a button, a tab, or a non-interactive image. She doesn't really grasp the concept of the world wide web fully, but she is starting to understand. I think we need to quit assuming that everyones' mom is 1337 like yours is.
To her benefit, my mom is the paranoid type who suspects that everything is some kind of virus, so she won't click on anything without confirming it is safe to do so.
If you buy a Ford and the radio only plays The Ford Station and you need to get a gas tank adapter to use anything but Ford Gas do you think Ford might be held responsible when someone plays a song on The Ford Station that makes Ford Gas explode?
It will fix websites that cater to IE only so that they work with the currently "broken" Firefox so that I don't have to refresh or cross my fingers to get it to work.
And one day Slashdot will render correctly in Firefox.. I look forward to that day.
For the record, Slashdot renders fine in Mozilla 1.7..
Slashdot Mirror
It completely depends on the requirements.
Of course, that won't stop me from using Firefox.
What kind of blind OSS zealotry is this?
You know, I never advocate using Mozilla/Firefox due to lack of vulnerabilities; because deep down inside, I know there are a ton of vulnerabilities just waiting to be found. This is a problem for any reasonably complex software. Two reasons to use Mozilla/Firefox:
1. Feature-wise, it completely blows away IE
2. Standards compliant, which will help make the web a better place for all browsers
Also, it runs on many OS's, but that's not a good reason for everyone.
Currently, most of the malware/viruses/etc are for IE. But I have seen sites that try to get you to install Mozilla extensions that could be potentially malicious. With Mozilla's new-found popularity, it's only a matter of time before Mozilla gets attention from the malware writers. Get ready for it.
Assuming you're actually replying to me, and not just replying to the first post in the thread... You're completely missing the point of what I said. The point is that ALL types of software have the problem of not enough good documentation. You may not see it with closed-source software, because its not as visable as say, all the projects on SourceForge.
In some cases, OSS has an advantage because you at least have a fallback of being able to read the source; though this probably only applies to small projects, but there are enough of those that it helps.
So saying "OSS needs good documentation" is like saying "software needs to be good." Pretty fucking obvious. And its a problem for ALL software, no need to single out OSS.
there is no easy fix to this (turning of XUL would be like unpluging your windows machine to make it secure)
Maybe have some kind of warning like "You are about to view a remote XUL page" or have some kind of indicator that it is remote XUL. It's still going to be a problem in those cases, though, because you'll have people who click yes to everything, etc.
So I need to wear my tinfoil hat AND dark sunglasses!
Make sure those are non-reflective sunglasses!
"Check that: If publishers stop wanting DRM, it's the end of popular creative arts. Not as we know them, but period. If you want to run a capitalist economy - many societies are hell-bent on it - and you want quality in your art and entertainment, your artists must be paid."
So without DRM the entire entertainment industry just up and quits right?
Yeah, really.. It's really quite simple, there are honest people who will obey the law, and dishonest people who will break the law. But with inconveniences like DRM, you end up losing the honest people who would be purchasing your products.
I've bought many e-books, but I make sure they are non-DRM first. And I don't share these e-books unless the license permits. e-books are generally cheap enough that it is worth it... Granted, I'll take a free e-book when I can, but only if its legit.
Except that closed source software is usually much better in regards to documentation.
And the cases where they aren't you are even more screwed because you don't even have the source code. For example, I've come across many closed source development tools that have horrible documentation, there was no chance of using the tool without direct access to the authors of it. Whereas I've seen many open source projects that have excellent documentation, easy access to the developers, and well-documented source code as icing on the cake! It kinda depends on the motivations of the author, if its something they want other people to use, they are more likely to have good documentation. If its their pet project they are doing for fun, all bets are off.
closed developers are forced to make documentation by their superiors
This isn't always the case, especially with tight budgets these days and understaffed projects. You'd be surprised at how much closed source software gets shipped with little or no documentation. I think the problem exists for all software. Its just a bit more visible with open source because you have access to most of it.
someone writes an article saying closed source developers should do the same!
Are there any encrypted filesystems available for Linux? Last time I checked (quite a while ago), there wasn't.
Microsoft would offer a low-cost Windows + Office way before they ever create Office for Linux.
I think you are missing the point that it is "hardly anybody" simply because you need to have some programming knowledge to be in a position to fix things, What about normal end users? If OSS takes over as the defacto software, then developer's will be a tiny fraction of the overall number of users.
..."
I think you're missing the point. The point is:
"developers developers developers
developers developers developers
developers developers
Here's a secret: Aqua is a UNIX desktop. It runs just about all the Linux/Xwindows software I've thrown at it (with a recompile, of course). So if you say "I want a UNIX desktop that looks like Aqua", use Aqua!
That's all good and well until you want to use your Mac everywhere including work. In a perfect world we all have a ton of cash to spare....
Imitation isn't necessarilly a bad thing. That's always been how this industry has worked...
Would you trust any sensitive customer data in Nigeria?
Pay the Nigerians work on open source software. I'll donate to that cause. Just do a search for the following words: "Good dya, I kown you myabe srprise to receiv this lettter from a strangler which you dont now beefore, rest asure"... to make sure their is nothing shady going on...
you forgot to mention Microsoft certified pros: 12-16 year old girls, which would completely explain the whole Britney thing.
"With insomnia, nothing is real... Everything is far away. Everything is a copy of a copy of a copy."
"As opposed to people massively using names like "Lunix" or "open sores"?"
I've... never seen anything like that used here on Slashdot. Not ever.
You must be new here. Either that, or you don't browse at 0 threshold.
Mozilla rises from the dead (or at least a deep sleep) and goes mainstream rather quickly. Impressive :)
Yeah, I think AOL/Netscape dropping them was a good thing. It seems Mozilla's popularity took off after they lost their association with AOL.
It's a nice turn of events.
I was using noone@nowhere.com or something close to that for a while. Now I use something that requires less typing, like f@f.com
.com that is shorter, but I'm so used to typing it.
Sure, I can use something other than
I hope you embrace and extend your elitism in your day to day travels. Ask your car mechanic next time what he has for a computer and OS. If it isn't brand new and running XP, I hope you tell him to go fuck himself. Try it out on the cashiers at every store you go to. Try it on the waiter at your favorite restaurant. Try it on the next cop who pulls you over. Try it out on random people sitting next to you on the bus or train or plane or at the theater or at a concert. anyplace at all where you have to interact with people in meatspace, face to face. Everytime they have an answer which isn't "brand new and running XP", tell them to go "fuck themselves".
What's wrong with running Linux, BSD, or OS X? Why does it have to be XP?
In any case, yes, in real life, if someone I know is running some piece of shit like Windows 95/98/ME/3.x/NT I first politely offer them a copy of a recent operating system or recommend that they purchase a recent one; if they refuse, I tell them they are an idiot and they can go fuck themselves. This was a bit harder a few years ago, but everyone I told to go fuck themselves eventually realized their legacy OS sucked, and has upgraded and told me I was right to tell them to go fuck themselves.
These mechanics, cashiers, waiter, and ESPECIALLY the cops, can go fuck themselves!
I bet you're good, though, real good, at childrens videogames, especially the violent ones.
No time for video games. They are too much work anyways. Why would I push buttons if I'm not getting paid for it? (sure you can comment about my Slashdot posting here, but I am on a break right now, so I am getting paid for this)
In any case, if you are using something like Windows 95/98/ME/3.x/NT for your day to day use, YOU ARE ALREADY FUCKING YOURSELF.
My concern is for the users on legacy operating systems, who will never get an internet explorer update. They will still be vulnerable to exploitation. As they still comprise a surprising amount of internet users, this is some cause for concern.
I hate to say this, but... Users on legacy operating systems can go fuck themselves.
This pretty much means that the popup window will be officially dead in a year's time.
True, and now we will have these nasty Javascript popups that are part of the page itself and not a seperate window, and many many more ugly things.
It never ends I tell you...
Maybe your underestimating your mother. I told my mother to consider using mozillia last week and within 20 minuets she called me back saying she got it. She's not a developer like me, she uses her compuetr for office work, all I had to tell her was to go to Mozilla.org.
/. readers are 1337
I think we need to get over this fear/belief that we
You insensitive clod, my poor mom barely understands what the widgets on the screen mean. She has to ask whether its ok to click on something because she doesn't know whether its a button, a tab, or a non-interactive image. She doesn't really grasp the concept of the world wide web fully, but she is starting to understand. I think we need to quit assuming that everyones' mom is 1337 like yours is.
To her benefit, my mom is the paranoid type who suspects that everything is some kind of virus, so she won't click on anything without confirming it is safe to do so.
If you buy a Ford and the radio only plays The Ford Station and you need to get a gas tank adapter to use anything but Ford Gas do you think Ford might be held responsible when someone plays a song on The Ford Station that makes Ford Gas explode?
For some reason I am reminded of Brave New World.
If Firefox can easily import my passwords, can't every adware and such also "import" them and send them anywhere?
You can try using Mozilla 1.7 instead.. It allows you to encrypt all of your stored passwords with a master password.
It will fix websites that cater to IE only so that they work with the currently "broken" Firefox so that I don't have to refresh or cross my fingers to get it to work.
And one day Slashdot will render correctly in Firefox.. I look forward to that day.
For the record, Slashdot renders fine in Mozilla 1.7..