DO YOU HAVE IDEA WHAT YOUR SAYING? Gun laws are federal laws that govern all our states and territories
It is true to say that there are guns laws in Australia which apply to all states and territories. But it is NOT true to say the guns laws in each state and territory are the same or shared amongst each. There are differences.
Having said that, my thoughts about NT guns laws are actually very old and the situation has changed.
What range? Bullets lose energy over distance, and the main benefit of a.50 over a.30-06 is range. At extreme range, it's powerful, but not at the level you're thinking of.
I don't know what you think I'm thinking. My point on power is that regardless of whether the head is blow apart or off completely, there still remains the very obvious remains of a head. There is skull with brain scolloped out, face skin (like a mask), etc. It is NEVER like a bomb was inside the head and then nothing but very small fragments remain. NEVER. Hollow points are illegal in AU, btw. I don't expect a big difference between.50 cal to the head from 10 meters or 1000 meters and with a hunting rifle I would never expect a big cats head to be completed destroyed right off its shoulders to the point of no discernible head remaining anywhere. What I would expect to see is what I have seen very many times before. Dead animal, small entry wound, possibly larger exit wound (if any) and body mostly intact. If the head is blow off, the remains are very obviously an animals mangled head. Head blow completely off into a million pieces? No.
Yeah, there were probably bits of head left, but if it was a cat vs. hunting rifle at 100M range, i'd be looking for a set of ears, if anything.
It's not just a cat, it's a BIG cat. I very much doubt, that shooting a large animal like that, behind the shoulder with a hunting rifle, is going to take its head off. I mention the humans shot with.50 cal because a human head is comparable in size to that of a Puma and even if a human is shot in the head or neck with a massive.50 cal, there are still very identifiable remains of the human head. Even if it is just some floppy face skin (which looks like a mask), a bit of ear, tongue, etc.
Steve Erwin does not equal one of our assets. (that wanker)
Yes, I long for the day when Steve becomes croc lunch. He is a fucktard of the highest order. And Russel Crowe is NOT Australian. He is a New Zealander.
I should add that in Australia we don't exactly 'rough it' you might note that we have the highest number of cities in the top 10 most liveable cities in the world according to The Economist.
We are also just as educated as the USA. In fact, I've seen stats from various sources that show Australians as being on average slightly higher educated than the USA per capita.
Seeming australia banned weapons except basically at farms, and in special shooting ranges.
Gun ownership is still possible. There are just greater restrictions on firearm capabilities and greater responsibilities on owners. You are not limited to farms and ranges. Your property or the property of another willing person does not have to be a farm.
Ok, this situation is hilarious. In Australia I suppose its not only ok but ENCOURAGED by the media to be a crazy redneck shooting random wild animals? I guess they have a history of roughing it and theres dangerous animals a-plenty, but still that culture seems a little bit whacked out. Just look how happy that crazy redneck in the picture is.
For all you know, this man is a high genius who works for the CSIRO and actually CARES about Australian native animals. You are judging a book by its cover. In fact, this man is a retired engineer. What makes him a "redneck"? A beard? A gun? Warm clothing? A hunter? Are you a fucking American? If so, guess what, your president fits this description nicely. At least this guy has not also put thousands of innocent humans to death.
Wild predators in an environment where they do not belong, do MASSIVE damage to native animals which are not in any way equiped with natural means of defence. Those native animals BECOME DECIMATED. Even wild cats from domestic bloodlines become larger killing machines. Rabbits, horses, pigs, cats and dogs have all caused massive damage to Australian native animals, to the point of extinction. We even have wild camels roaming about, but thankfully their softer padded feet do much less damage than those of horses.
A very intelligent electroncs engineer I once worked with, had a job on the side bow hunting ferral animals for New South Wales Parks and Wildlife. Bow hunting being prefered in national parks for people specifically allowed to cull these problem animals.
You are ignorant to somehow just cast judgement on this man because he has killed what you describe as "random wild animals". If this is indeed a "big cat" and it was obvious to him, then on moral grounds he SHOULD SHOOT IT. That is no "random" animal. I say this as a conservationist and vegetarian (moral reasons) of more than 20 years.
the best plan he can come up with is 'keep the tail - throw out the rest'?
I agree. It is pretty suspect, along also with the photo.
I would have kept parts of the head. Jaw bone and teeth would have been good. I doubt the head exploded into nothingness. I have seen images of terrorists shot in the head and neck with.50 cal machine gun fire and the result has always been head still attached but ripped appart (still obviously human head), or head blown off (and still obviously human head), respectively.
What was this guy shooting? 105mm Howitzer? This is very suspect. The tail does not look bushy to me, like a cats tail is. Where it is tied up, it looks smoother, as if this was a mock-up made from potato bag fabric painted black.
I'd say not - the real question is how this guy managed to have a gun, given our mega tight gun laws:D
Our laws are not so tight as to make it very difficult to have a gun. It's the type of gun where difficulties can be wildly different. You can own guns such as shotguns, rifles and pistols, but there are limitations on round capacity and various responsibilities for different types. If you want a pistol (even semi auto), you have to join a gun club and attend meets and shoots at least a certain number of times per year. You cannot own any rifle or shotgun which is considered an "assault" weapon. Like assault rifles or assault shotguns (shotgun with pistol grip and no shoulder stock).
Apply for a gun licence at your local cop shop, wait out the "cooling off" period, meet the home safety requirements (VERY stringent for pistol ownership), possibly allow an inspection of your home (especially for pistol ownership) by police to show you do in fact meet these requirements, go to a gun shop and buy a gun.
Then, go bush, find a big black pussy, blow it to bits.
In the Northern Territory however, I think you could indeed blow that pussy to bits with the weapon of your choice, short of a fully automatic. I think they can still own the likes of AK-47's (limited to semi) and Colt AR-15's. But I could be wrong about that. I don't keep up with NT that much.
I am just one person with an account of how I have been unjustly treated by journalists. Take my comments at face value or otherwise interpret them until you get to some conclusion that fits your ideals and makes you most comfortable. I could not care less anymore. My family, friends and most importantly myself, know the moral fibre which drives me to live my life in the honest manner in which I do and that is all that matters to me.
I am proud of who I am, what I do and what I have achieved. I would like to ask many journalists, "are you proud?" and if they claim to be, ask them what they have to be proud of.
I realise that not all journalists are scum, but so many seem to be more interested in making stories BIGGER, even if it means they become liars.
Hell, I tend to shit my pants just for the hell of it. Too lazy to get up since there is always something obviously important to finish at the computer, such as this post. There goes another loaf.
I have not gotten to that stage yet. I am at the "piss in a bottle next to my computer because online Battlefield 2 games don't give enough time between maps and I don't want to get switched to the other bloody side again because I was inactive for 5 seconds" stage.
I was a victim of this sort of wildfire...
on
Single-play DVDs a Hoax
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· Score: 3, Interesting
I was a witness in a court case. I stated my observations absolutely honestly and without bias. Anyone from either side of the case should have been able to see that my duty was to the court and that my own integrity was very important to me.
Somehow some idiot journalist did not see this, however. Through seemingly selective reporting and creative "quoting", I was somehow a bad guy. That story was then copied verbatim across many internet and print news outlets and it was even interpretted and "built on" by other idiot or perhaps dishonest journalists.
I no longer have any respect at all for the average journalist. They very rarely understand the issues they are reporting and sensationalize to the point of out-and-out lie. They do no favours to the subjects of their stories (except for the subjects who may be rich affiliates of course) and no favours to the general public who believe their lies.
You mean the Data Execute Protection from Microsoft? OpenBSD has had that for a long time already, only they named it w^x.
I can't find it at the moment, but there was an interview with the head of Microsoft security (from memory), regarding security features in SP2. Interestingly, this fellow admitted to being a fan of OpenBSD. How interesting that one of the biggest security features of SP2 was PAE and the head security guy at MS is a fan of OpenBSD. Which had similar, yet more advanced (no NX bit requirement) functionality.
Which I guess is valid, but it really depends on what you decide that `fragmented' means.
Yes, my main point is that the BSD's kernels are dedicated to those particular BSD's. Ultimately I don't think it makes a huge issue because any negative effect of this to the Linux side would be offset by the fact that there are many more people developing on the Linux side and Linux has some big name funding.
the *BSDs don't have nearly as much commecial software support as the Linuxes.
Very true.
So which is better? Being able to run something if you jump through some hoops, or not being able to run it at all?
Not sure about FreeBSD, but OpenBSD has plenty of emulation options. Although I've never needed to try them. From their web site, "OpenBSD supports binary emulation of most programs from SVR4 (Solaris), FreeBSD, Linux, BSD/OS, SunOS and HP-UX".
I guess the answer to the `fragmentation' issue (as it seems to be seen by you and many others) would be to make a Linux distribution that's not binary compatible with other distributions at all, and is configured and administerred differently, and to call it something other than Linux.
No. The solution is to choose what best fits the needs of whatever your problem happens to currently be.
I just see the BSD's as being a little tighter in how everything fits together. Thats all. There are pro's and cons to all camps and that is why it's not "one size fits all".
Is that relevant at all to a discussion about `fragmentation'?
Since I enjoy how clean the BSD's are, due to being so tight, I think it is.
They don't? Then why is there FreeBSD, OpenBSD and NetBSD?
No, they don't. None of these rely on the other. They are each seperate wholes. Maybe this could have been seen as fragmentation years ago when they forked but now they are very much seperate complete entities. No fragmentation.
Sort of like somebody might say `RedHat'. Or `Debian'. You get the idea.
No, not at all. RedHat and Debian a distributions. Bundles of, to some extent, seperately developed software. FreeBSD on the other hand, is developed as a complete package. Every part has been specifically developed with the best interests of FreeBSD in mind.
Do the same applications run on each of the *BSDs without recompliation? I tend to doubt it, but I haven't tried it...
Hey now this is a really interesting point which can show how fragmented this "Linux" thing can be (distros, kernel, etc). There have been a number of times when some Linux software I was trying to run, required a specific version and distro of linux to run without a recompile. If it was a comercial app, like VMware, I might have to settle for a distro I don't like and possibly an older version with a kernel that is far from up-to-date. This shows a certain type of fragmentation in Linux development.
The BSD's are to some extent fragmented also in this particular respect, simply because they are different enough to cause a 3rd party some grief. But the same could be said about a 3rd party trying to make their software run on Solaris, OSX, RedHat Linux and FreeBSD. However BSD systems as they stand on their own, are whole and not developed in any fragmented manner. They have their own kernels. I guess one could argue in this specific point that the Linux distros are less fragmented because they all share a similar kernel, but the reality is that the various Linux distros are often each different enough the cause the same grief. Yet they all fall under this heading of "Linux".
I prefer OpenBSD and FreeBSD where ever I can use them, because I know them best and have come to love them the most. When they both fall too short for a specific application that I need to get going, I look elsewhere.
If I say "I run BSD" then there at least 3 different systems I could be running. Would you then say that "the BSDs have fragmentation just like Linux does"?
The point is that FreeBSD (for example) is developed as a whole with it's own kernel developed for nothing else but FreeBSD. The FreeBSD kernel, userland tools, bootloader, fs layout, installer, etc are all developed together, specifically for each other. A Linux distribution can be to an extent also, but they would tend to want to track the official Linux kernel and continue to make changes as they see fit.
FreeBSD is developed seperately as a whole. The same can be said for OpenBSD and NetBSD. There are no external forces that they need to deal with, as there is with any Linux distro. If Debian (I'm wearing a swirl t-shirt right now) does not like a Linux kernel change, they need to work it into what they do want, assuming they notice ALL the changes and ALL the consequences of seemingly innocent changes that they did not make. That is the fragmentation which the BSD's don't have.
Maybe not a HUGE deal, but any Linux distro is certainly developed in a more fragmented manner than the three main BSD's.
Theo de Raadt does not have to constantly change someone elses kernel or back-port desired changes between two large trees that continue to grow more and more different. The OpenBSD kernel is his and fits OpenBSD as a whole as it needs to, when it needs to.
BTW, I like Debian the most of all the Linux distro's and feel that it comes closest to being the least fragmented in development. I am aware that Debian developers work on the Linux kernel, including the official Linux kernel. The fragmentation, is between the fact that there are a bunch of kernels, various versions of official, plus Debian kernels and that the rest of the system is built to perform around them.
I realise that the BSD's also have various versions of their kernels, but their kernels are theirs, first and foremost.
If anyone asks me what is my OS, I say simply "FreeBSD".
Whenever people ask me and I reply OpenBSD and FreeBSD, they reply (while rolling eyes), "Oh, a Line-Icks user".
I say no, BSD is not Linux, it is not a Linux distribution and it does not use Linux except on the odd occasion where some code might get ported between them to keep in with the different licences. The BSD's are each seperate whole systems, each developed seperately as whole-systems. And their reply is typically something like, "it's all the same shit".
I love the BSD's. The consistency (esp OpenBSD), great doco (esp OpenBSD) and clean layout.
Two pages, same hashes, etc. (This is the guy who wrote the MD5 someday paper.)
Notice the garbage characters at the beginning of each.html file.
This is what I would expect in at least one file, or to make it easier, both files. Making changes within the Least Significant Bits of images (where steganography is often used) or areas of files where padded data can be ignored, etc, is where I imagine people could hide this type of garbage that allows this exploitation.
Well, since I haven't used Windows in the last six years
I envy you. I mostly use OpenBSD at home and where I can at work. But I can't completely get away from Windows at work and if I want to play games like Battlefield 2, I have to run them under Windows. At least in BF2 Windows is the last thing on my mind. I could always pretend I am shooting up Redmond. ; )
Another poster pointed out that you were using the card under Windows and apparently Creative installs the garbage software on that system. The hardware works fine under Linux with open source drivers. Perhaps someone could port alsa to make the card work correctly on your OS.
The reason I state that they are not good at software, is because they make buggy software and drivers. The reason I state the same for their hardware is because I don't think their cards sound all that great.
My OS of choice is OpenBSD and many SB cards seem to work fine with it. I listen to music on my iRiver H340 these days anyway and the soundcard built into my Sony VAIO works fine in WinXP for games.
What kind of instablities have you been experiencing?
I have also always found that installing any SB drivers or software would create strange results, including system instability (Windows crash, game crash, soundcard/driver crash (looping sounds, loud noise)). Although it has been years since I used an SB card. I always kept in the habit of installing the card and then letting system drivers do the rest. I made it a personal policy to never install SB software/drivers ever again. I was burned too many times with my own systems, friends and work machines which had sound cards that were hardly ever going to be used anyway. Un-installing "the damage" never worked either. I always found that once I installed their drivers and silly, useless software, the system would be well and truely buggered from then on. I'd have to step back if I had a system image or curse SB and install from scratch.
They just don't seem to be great with software, or hardware for that matter.
Creative made good cards back in the Soundblaster 16 days.
Do you rekon? I thought the SB 16 and all it's various versions sucked. Their SNR specs seemed pretty, umm, lets say... creative?
I loved my Gravis Ultrasound. Kinda like an SB AWE32, except many years before its time. A bad time actually. It did not have great SB compatibility and died off before SB compatibility meant nothing (Win95).
I think Creative overall, sucks. I can't see how they can survive for much longer, when decent non-SB audio often comes standard. I won't miss them.
If this is the case, then honestly, what is the purpose of a BSD Certification? Obviously the goal of such a certification (in fact all "professional" certifications) is acceptence of BSD (or whatever the product) in the business sector. Think about it.
As a very happy OpenBSD user, in my private and business life, since 2.5, I say... think about this... I view the fact that OpenBSD does not wish to impress any business clients as a priority, to be a HUGE benefit to OpenBSD quality.
They're not out to form a bullshit glossy image to sell product in a competitive marketplace full of other bullshit companies with bullshit glossy brochures, paid-for reviews and advertisements. OpenBSD sells itself on the merits of its code quality. People who care and know better enjoy and appreciate this.
And beleive it or not, OpenBSD (and the other BSD's), do actually get used in big business. I know of two major banks which use OpenBSD for firewall and VPN machines just as one example. I also use OpenBSD in various roles at certain firms where I provide support and consulting.
Slashdot Mirror
I wonder if we should apply this to ourselves when we start colonizing other planets?
With any luck, we might kill ourselves completely and let the Earth carry on without us.
journalistic integrity
Hey that is like matter sitting right next to anti-matter. Can those words be safely placed next to each other?
DO YOU HAVE IDEA WHAT YOUR SAYING?
Gun laws are federal laws that govern all our states and territories
It is true to say that there are guns laws in Australia which apply to all states and territories. But it is NOT true to say the guns laws in each state and territory are the same or shared amongst each. There are differences.
Having said that, my thoughts about NT guns laws are actually very old and the situation has changed.
What range? Bullets lose energy over distance, and the main benefit of a .50 over a .30-06 is range. At extreme range, it's powerful, but not at the level you're thinking of.
.50 cal to the head from 10 meters or 1000 meters and with a hunting rifle I would never expect a big cats head to be completed destroyed right off its shoulders to the point of no discernible head remaining anywhere. What I would expect to see is what I have seen very many times before. Dead animal, small entry wound, possibly larger exit wound (if any) and body mostly intact. If the head is blow off, the remains are very obviously an animals mangled head. Head blow completely off into a million pieces? No.
.50 cal because a human head is comparable in size to that of a Puma and even if a human is shot in the head or neck with a massive .50 cal, there are still very identifiable remains of the human head. Even if it is just some floppy face skin (which looks like a mask), a bit of ear, tongue, etc.
I don't know what you think I'm thinking. My point on power is that regardless of whether the head is blow apart or off completely, there still remains the very obvious remains of a head. There is skull with brain scolloped out, face skin (like a mask), etc. It is NEVER like a bomb was inside the head and then nothing but very small fragments remain. NEVER. Hollow points are illegal in AU, btw. I don't expect a big difference between
Yeah, there were probably bits of head left, but if it was a cat vs. hunting rifle at 100M range, i'd be looking for a set of ears, if anything.
It's not just a cat, it's a BIG cat. I very much doubt, that shooting a large animal like that, behind the shoulder with a hunting rifle, is going to take its head off. I mention the humans shot with
Steve Erwin does not equal one of our assets. (that wanker)
Yes, I long for the day when Steve becomes croc lunch. He is a fucktard of the highest order. And Russel Crowe is NOT Australian. He is a New Zealander.
I should add that in Australia we don't exactly 'rough it' you might note that we have the highest number of cities in the top 10 most liveable cities in the world according to The Economist.
We are also just as educated as the USA. In fact, I've seen stats from various sources that show Australians as being on average slightly higher educated than the USA per capita.
Seeming australia banned weapons except basically at farms, and in special shooting ranges.
Gun ownership is still possible. There are just greater restrictions on firearm capabilities and greater responsibilities on owners. You are not limited to farms and ranges. Your property or the property of another willing person does not have to be a farm.
Ok, this situation is hilarious. In Australia I suppose its not only ok but ENCOURAGED by the media to be a crazy redneck shooting random wild animals? I guess they have a history of roughing it and theres dangerous animals a-plenty, but still that culture seems a little bit whacked out. Just look how happy that crazy redneck in the picture is.
For all you know, this man is a high genius who works for the CSIRO and actually CARES about Australian native animals. You are judging a book by its cover. In fact, this man is a retired engineer. What makes him a "redneck"? A beard? A gun? Warm clothing? A hunter? Are you a fucking American? If so, guess what, your president fits this description nicely. At least this guy has not also put thousands of innocent humans to death.
Wild predators in an environment where they do not belong, do MASSIVE damage to native animals which are not in any way equiped with natural means of defence. Those native animals BECOME DECIMATED. Even wild cats from domestic bloodlines become larger killing machines. Rabbits, horses, pigs, cats and dogs have all caused massive damage to Australian native animals, to the point of extinction. We even have wild camels roaming about, but thankfully their softer padded feet do much less damage than those of horses.
A very intelligent electroncs engineer I once worked with, had a job on the side bow hunting ferral animals for New South Wales Parks and Wildlife. Bow hunting being prefered in national parks for people specifically allowed to cull these problem animals.
You are ignorant to somehow just cast judgement on this man because he has killed what you describe as "random wild animals". If this is indeed a "big cat" and it was obvious to him, then on moral grounds he SHOULD SHOOT IT. That is no "random" animal. I say this as a conservationist and vegetarian (moral reasons) of more than 20 years.
the best plan he can come up with is 'keep the tail - throw out the rest'?
.50 cal machine gun fire and the result has always been head still attached but ripped appart (still obviously human head), or head blown off (and still obviously human head), respectively.
I agree. It is pretty suspect, along also with the photo.
I would have kept parts of the head. Jaw bone and teeth would have been good. I doubt the head exploded into nothingness. I have seen images of terrorists shot in the head and neck with
What was this guy shooting? 105mm Howitzer? This is very suspect. The tail does not look bushy to me, like a cats tail is. Where it is tied up, it looks smoother, as if this was a mock-up made from potato bag fabric painted black.
I'd say not - the real question is how this guy managed to have a gun, given our mega tight gun laws :D
Our laws are not so tight as to make it very difficult to have a gun. It's the type of gun where difficulties can be wildly different. You can own guns such as shotguns, rifles and pistols, but there are limitations on round capacity and various responsibilities for different types. If you want a pistol (even semi auto), you have to join a gun club and attend meets and shoots at least a certain number of times per year. You cannot own any rifle or shotgun which is considered an "assault" weapon. Like assault rifles or assault shotguns (shotgun with pistol grip and no shoulder stock).
Apply for a gun licence at your local cop shop, wait out the "cooling off" period, meet the home safety requirements (VERY stringent for pistol ownership), possibly allow an inspection of your home (especially for pistol ownership) by police to show you do in fact meet these requirements, go to a gun shop and buy a gun.
Then, go bush, find a big black pussy, blow it to bits.
In the Northern Territory however, I think you could indeed blow that pussy to bits with the weapon of your choice, short of a fully automatic. I think they can still own the likes of AK-47's (limited to semi) and Colt AR-15's. But I could be wrong about that. I don't keep up with NT that much.
KARN THE PANTHERS!
Go hard you little beauties!!!
Ken? Ken Lay? How've you been, man?
I am just one person with an account of how I have been unjustly treated by journalists. Take my comments at face value or otherwise interpret them until you get to some conclusion that fits your ideals and makes you most comfortable. I could not care less anymore. My family, friends and most importantly myself, know the moral fibre which drives me to live my life in the honest manner in which I do and that is all that matters to me.
I am proud of who I am, what I do and what I have achieved. I would like to ask many journalists, "are you proud?" and if they claim to be, ask them what they have to be proud of.
I realise that not all journalists are scum, but so many seem to be more interested in making stories BIGGER, even if it means they become liars.
Exactly. It means customer, not 'bloke' or 'average joe'.
In Australia, it is used to refer to gamblers and also the "average joe".
Hell, I tend to shit my pants just for the hell of it. Too lazy to get up since there is always something obviously important to finish at the computer, such as this post. There goes another loaf.
I have not gotten to that stage yet. I am at the "piss in a bottle next to my computer because online Battlefield 2 games don't give enough time between maps and I don't want to get switched to the other bloody side again because I was inactive for 5 seconds" stage.
I was a witness in a court case. I stated my observations absolutely honestly and without bias. Anyone from either side of the case should have been able to see that my duty was to the court and that my own integrity was very important to me.
Somehow some idiot journalist did not see this, however. Through seemingly selective reporting and creative "quoting", I was somehow a bad guy. That story was then copied verbatim across many internet and print news outlets and it was even interpretted and "built on" by other idiot or perhaps dishonest journalists.
I no longer have any respect at all for the average journalist. They very rarely understand the issues they are reporting and sensationalize to the point of out-and-out lie. They do no favours to the subjects of their stories (except for the subjects who may be rich affiliates of course) and no favours to the general public who believe their lies.
You mean the Data Execute Protection from Microsoft? OpenBSD has had that for a long time already, only they named it w^x.
I can't find it at the moment, but there was an interview with the head of Microsoft security (from memory), regarding security features in SP2. Interestingly, this fellow admitted to being a fan of OpenBSD. How interesting that one of the biggest security features of SP2 was PAE and the head security guy at MS is a fan of OpenBSD. Which had similar, yet more advanced (no NX bit requirement) functionality.
Was MS inspired by OpenBSD?
Which I guess is valid, but it really depends on what you decide that `fragmented' means.
Yes, my main point is that the BSD's kernels are dedicated to those particular BSD's. Ultimately I don't think it makes a huge issue because any negative effect of this to the Linux side would be offset by the fact that there are many more people developing on the Linux side and Linux has some big name funding.
the *BSDs don't have nearly as much commecial software support as the Linuxes.
Very true.
So which is better? Being able to run something if you jump through some hoops, or not being able to run it at all?
Not sure about FreeBSD, but OpenBSD has plenty of emulation options. Although I've never needed to try them. From their web site, "OpenBSD supports binary emulation of most programs from SVR4 (Solaris), FreeBSD, Linux, BSD/OS, SunOS and HP-UX".
I guess the answer to the `fragmentation' issue (as it seems to be seen by you and many others) would be to make a Linux distribution that's not binary compatible with other distributions at all, and is configured and administerred differently, and to call it something other than Linux.
No. The solution is to choose what best fits the needs of whatever your problem happens to currently be.
I just see the BSD's as being a little tighter in how everything fits together. Thats all. There are pro's and cons to all camps and that is why it's not "one size fits all".
Is that relevant at all to a discussion about `fragmentation'?
Since I enjoy how clean the BSD's are, due to being so tight, I think it is.
They don't? Then why is there FreeBSD, OpenBSD and NetBSD?
...
No, they don't. None of these rely on the other. They are each seperate wholes. Maybe this could have been seen as fragmentation years ago when they forked but now they are very much seperate complete entities. No fragmentation.
Sort of like somebody might say `RedHat'. Or `Debian'. You get the idea.
No, not at all. RedHat and Debian a distributions. Bundles of, to some extent, seperately developed software. FreeBSD on the other hand, is developed as a complete package. Every part has been specifically developed with the best interests of FreeBSD in mind.
Do the same applications run on each of the *BSDs without recompliation? I tend to doubt it, but I haven't tried it
Hey now this is a really interesting point which can show how fragmented this "Linux" thing can be (distros, kernel, etc). There have been a number of times when some Linux software I was trying to run, required a specific version and distro of linux to run without a recompile. If it was a comercial app, like VMware, I might have to settle for a distro I don't like and possibly an older version with a kernel that is far from up-to-date. This shows a certain type of fragmentation in Linux development.
The BSD's are to some extent fragmented also in this particular respect, simply because they are different enough to cause a 3rd party some grief. But the same could be said about a 3rd party trying to make their software run on Solaris, OSX, RedHat Linux and FreeBSD. However BSD systems as they stand on their own, are whole and not developed in any fragmented manner. They have their own kernels. I guess one could argue in this specific point that the Linux distros are less fragmented because they all share a similar kernel, but the reality is that the various Linux distros are often each different enough the cause the same grief. Yet they all fall under this heading of "Linux".
I prefer OpenBSD and FreeBSD where ever I can use them, because I know them best and have come to love them the most. When they both fall too short for a specific application that I need to get going, I look elsewhere.
If I say "I run BSD" then there at least 3 different systems I could be running. Would you then say that "the BSDs have fragmentation just like Linux does"?
The point is that FreeBSD (for example) is developed as a whole with it's own kernel developed for nothing else but FreeBSD. The FreeBSD kernel, userland tools, bootloader, fs layout, installer, etc are all developed together, specifically for each other. A Linux distribution can be to an extent also, but they would tend to want to track the official Linux kernel and continue to make changes as they see fit.
FreeBSD is developed seperately as a whole. The same can be said for OpenBSD and NetBSD. There are no external forces that they need to deal with, as there is with any Linux distro. If Debian (I'm wearing a swirl t-shirt right now) does not like a Linux kernel change, they need to work it into what they do want, assuming they notice ALL the changes and ALL the consequences of seemingly innocent changes that they did not make. That is the fragmentation which the BSD's don't have.
Maybe not a HUGE deal, but any Linux distro is certainly developed in a more fragmented manner than the three main BSD's.
Theo de Raadt does not have to constantly change someone elses kernel or back-port desired changes between two large trees that continue to grow more and more different. The OpenBSD kernel is his and fits OpenBSD as a whole as it needs to, when it needs to.
BTW, I like Debian the most of all the Linux distro's and feel that it comes closest to being the least fragmented in development. I am aware that Debian developers work on the Linux kernel, including the official Linux kernel. The fragmentation, is between the fact that there are a bunch of kernels, various versions of official, plus Debian kernels and that the rest of the system is built to perform around them.
I realise that the BSD's also have various versions of their kernels, but their kernels are theirs, first and foremost.
If anyone asks me what is my OS, I say simply "FreeBSD".
Whenever people ask me and I reply OpenBSD and FreeBSD, they reply (while rolling eyes), "Oh, a Line-Icks user".
I say no, BSD is not Linux, it is not a Linux distribution and it does not use Linux except on the odd occasion where some code might get ported between them to keep in with the different licences. The BSD's are each seperate whole systems, each developed seperately as whole-systems. And their reply is typically something like, "it's all the same shit".
I love the BSD's. The consistency (esp OpenBSD), great doco (esp OpenBSD) and clean layout.
Two pages, same hashes, etc. (This is the guy who wrote the MD5 someday paper.)
.html file.
Notice the garbage characters at the beginning of each
This is what I would expect in at least one file, or to make it easier, both files. Making changes within the Least Significant Bits of images (where steganography is often used) or areas of files where padded data can be ignored, etc, is where I imagine people could hide this type of garbage that allows this exploitation.
Well, since I haven't used Windows in the last six years
I envy you. I mostly use OpenBSD at home and where I can at work. But I can't completely get away from Windows at work and if I want to play games like Battlefield 2, I have to run them under Windows. At least in BF2 Windows is the last thing on my mind. I could always pretend I am shooting up Redmond. ; )
Another poster pointed out that you were using the card under Windows and apparently Creative installs the garbage software on that system. The hardware works fine under Linux with open source drivers. Perhaps someone could port alsa to make the card work correctly on your OS.
The reason I state that they are not good at software, is because they make buggy software and drivers. The reason I state the same for their hardware is because I don't think their cards sound all that great.
My OS of choice is OpenBSD and many SB cards seem to work fine with it. I listen to music on my iRiver H340 these days anyway and the soundcard built into my Sony VAIO works fine in WinXP for games.
What kind of instablities have you been experiencing?
I have also always found that installing any SB drivers or software would create strange results, including system instability (Windows crash, game crash, soundcard/driver crash (looping sounds, loud noise)). Although it has been years since I used an SB card. I always kept in the habit of installing the card and then letting system drivers do the rest. I made it a personal policy to never install SB software/drivers ever again. I was burned too many times with my own systems, friends and work machines which had sound cards that were hardly ever going to be used anyway. Un-installing "the damage" never worked either. I always found that once I installed their drivers and silly, useless software, the system would be well and truely buggered from then on. I'd have to step back if I had a system image or curse SB and install from scratch.
They just don't seem to be great with software, or hardware for that matter.
Creative made good cards back in the Soundblaster 16 days.
Do you rekon? I thought the SB 16 and all it's various versions sucked. Their SNR specs seemed pretty, umm, lets say... creative?
I loved my Gravis Ultrasound. Kinda like an SB AWE32, except many years before its time. A bad time actually. It did not have great SB compatibility and died off before SB compatibility meant nothing (Win95).
I think Creative overall, sucks. I can't see how they can survive for much longer, when decent non-SB audio often comes standard. I won't miss them.
If this is the case, then honestly, what is the purpose of a BSD Certification? Obviously the goal of such a certification (in fact all "professional" certifications) is acceptence of BSD (or whatever the product) in the business sector. Think about it.
As a very happy OpenBSD user, in my private and business life, since 2.5, I say... think about this... I view the fact that OpenBSD does not wish to impress any business clients as a priority, to be a HUGE benefit to OpenBSD quality.
They're not out to form a bullshit glossy image to sell product in a competitive marketplace full of other bullshit companies with bullshit glossy brochures, paid-for reviews and advertisements. OpenBSD sells itself on the merits of its code quality. People who care and know better enjoy and appreciate this.
And beleive it or not, OpenBSD (and the other BSD's), do actually get used in big business. I know of two major banks which use OpenBSD for firewall and VPN machines just as one example. I also use OpenBSD in various roles at certain firms where I provide support and consulting.