Windows is the biggest fish in the sea when you are talking about desktops. If you are a hacker, are you concerned with desktops? They may be willing to hack some computer for the standard processor and a few Gigs of hard drive space. Oh, and that DSL connection may be good for a little spamming.
However, correct me if I'm wrong, but I do believe that *nixes are just as popular for servers. That T-* connection sure looks tempting for abuse of some kind. This is the same reason I have tinted windows on my car and keep temptations out of view. Nobody is going to break my windows if there is nothing visible to take. My wife's window was just broken because my daughters purse was left in it. That expensive damage for a purse they got nothing valuable out of. I believe hackers are going to go for the most tempting victim. Sometimes Linux systems are compromised, but rootkits hunters find when that happens. Some times the offender can be traced, but the server
will be backed up and reinstalled quickly. The thing with *nixes is that each one is different and with Linux, each distro is different. Linux flaws really are patched quicker than Windows. When the software is already free and the code is available, it is harder to pass off warez. There is a whole community of developers with eyes out. With Windows, there is a whole company of eyes out and we don't know how long between discovery of problem and release of the "fix".
I suppose on one key part, you are right. When the same lazy people start using Linux and run as root in spite of the window warnings telling them not to, Linux will be just as insecure. Windows XP has the ability to be more secure, but nobody is using it. My MIS department set me to connect to the network as a user with Administrator privaledges. I haven't figured out yet, how to connect as a lower pivaledged(sp) user. I set up the account, but it does not connect. I guess I should ask them. They were too busy to put the anti-virus program on; I had to do it myself.
My company does use MS ISA server. Thankfully, our drafting program is on AIX.
I used to be mad at MS for intentionally not recognising Linux filesystems and partitions.
Now, I'm very grateful. A virus that takes advantage of their security holes cannot hurt my Linux partitions. My family may lose their data, but most of mine will be invisible and out of reach. The only thing of importance I keep on the FAT partitions are music and tv shows. Actually, I do have pictures on the ntfs partition and I think I will make copies of them in Linux right now.
Linux kernel 3.0 will be double the size of 2.6. I figure 2.8 will be out before this is all settled. My reasoning? Every line of code will be followed by a comment that tells who the author is, the date and a reference to the GPL. Well, maybe following every subroutine. It's the only way, I can think of to prove ownership or lack there of.
When instructors tell students to document code, they aren't kidding.
I have found that it is easier to block IP's from P2P enemies in Windows XP than in Linux. I would suspect that there are a higher percentage of Windows users pirating software than Open Source users. Actually, that's redundant. You can't pirate open source, it's open.
So, blame it on Windows users. I have a solution. Outlaw Windows. It is set up in a way that promotes pirating. Let's see...steal a software idea from Apple, manage to build a monopoly by getting computer manufacturers to sell their computers with your pirated software pre-installed, jack up the price for this pirated software that is now a monopoly...PROFIT! Blame a file sharing system for you failure to earn enough money to buy the world.
Perhaps Bill should just realize that there are other solutions out there that are legally free and more secure. The new generation grew up with computers and are less afraid to switch. Even running Windows, a large number of people are realizing that Open Source Applications are more secure.
Finally, blame the consumer for not being willing to be ripped off any more!
Have no fear, the international community is here.
They can outlaw software all they want. Anyone having trouble getting their Linux box to play DVD's?
They outlawed spam, which nobody wants. How effective will they be outlawing something that people do want?
It's amazing how the RIAA can sway the opinion of Republicans and Democrats. Remember when the recording industry was the bad guy? Tipper Gore anyone? Now suddenly, they are the good guys.:-/
I didn't bother to tell her they don't work in Linux.:-D
She wants to do a lot of chatting and instant messaging. The problem is, she decides to start calling the people she's chatting with. The resulting phone bill is the reason that is now blocked in Windows. She hasn't figured out that she can do all that in Linux with no inhibitions. I'm not in any hurry to teach her.
Since I've discovered Blocklist Manager, I want to use SquidGuard to use that list. I'm amazed at all the stuff that list blocks. I'm amazed at what sites it has to block stuff at. I think it's essential for anyone on dial-up. Who has time to download ads?
Of all the distro's that I've tried to play a DVD on, that is the ones I've taken the time to install the "illegal" software necessary to do it, Slackware did the absolute worst job. I would apparently need an overclocked P4 to do it in Slackware without dropping frames. Meanwhile, Mandrake 10.0 Official or Community will play a DVD, Region 1, with the standard Multimedia packages and do it almost as well as PowerDVD in that M$ operating system.
So, will this change help Slackware to step into the new age of DVD's? After all, VCR's are going the way of the record player. If an OS won't play a simple Region 1 DVD movie, I'm just not interested. Perhaps dropping frames on a DVD movie is a security feature.
-a, --all print all information
-m, --machine print the machine (hardware) type
-n, --nodename print the machine's network node hostname
-r, --release print the operating system release
-s, --sysname print the operating system name
-v print the operating system version
--help display this help and exit
--version output version information and exit
Without any OPTION, assume -s.
C:\WINDOWS\Desktop>uname -s Windows
C:\WINDOWS\Desktop>uname -v 4
C:\WINDOWS\Desktop>uname -r 10
Windows was at 10 already in the 98 SE days, which I'm still using at work. I don't hear anyone complaining about that, though. Well, perhaps this would be better interpreted as 4.10 in *nix terms. But, my point is, Windows is up there also.
Because I wanted to be able to download it. A forum user named only "Bruno of Amsterdam" let a few of us know before it was posted anywhere.
You know it will be impossible to download now that it's on Slashdot. That's probably why it took a full day for Slashdot to post it. I'm sure there are some anonymous cowards out there who did the same thing.
I really would like Mozilla to make an FTP client like Firefox and Thunderbird. I'm still using WS-FTP because it's the best one I've been able to find so far. I guess most people just use their browser and don't care, but it's nice to be able to have the settings to download more than one file from more than one folder. One feature I would like to see in more ftp clients is the ability to time when the downloads start. My WS-FTP doesn't even do that. As much as I love using Firefox and Thunderbird, I could definitely use an ftp client in the same mold.
The real "crackers" already know all of these things. Without the Dark Tips, there are a lot of security risks those that want to protect themselves would not know about. If the big businesses keep us uneducated, they can take advantage of us. Comcast for one isn't wanting to let that happen especially since their form of broadband is one of the least secure.
I was tempted to try their cable modem out in spite of the incredibly high price due to the close proximaty of the appartments to my house. Just imagine what one could do with the Knoppix-STD cd. Why buy a hard drive when you can use someone elses?
Seriously, I stopped watching TechTV because I couldn't afford the top 100 on Dish anymore. I downgraded to the top 50 plus local channels and away went TechTV.
I think the dark tips were probably the most educational. Knowledge is power and just like any tool, it can be used for good or bad. It's not like he was teaching people how to write worms or viruses. That is the number one problem today.
I have a Hotmail account that I don't receive any Spam on. I also have one that I do receive a lot on. There are spammers out there that know how big hotmail is and they program their email clients, or whatever program they use, to choose addresses at random. It's kind of like a password cracking program. If you choose your username like you choose your password, it will be harder for spammers to find you. I'd tell you what I did to prevent the spam, but then I'm sure the spam would start coming. I have a feeling spammers read/.
My spam filter is set to block anyone not in the address book, which doesn't work for M$ emails, but does for everything else. Now that M$ isn't charging space for items in the Spam folder, I don't care who emails me there. If I'm not expecting it, I won't see it unless I look in the Junk Drawer. In four years, I've found one email I was not expecting that was from someone I know in the Junk.
There was a time that I let my computer trust everything from Microsoft. Those days are long gone. Microsoft is no better or worse than anyone else that values profit over quality. I just don't trust anyone that is clearly geared that way.
As has already been stated, I use Hotmail for registration purposes only, now. There was a time I really liked Hotmail. That time was before M$ owned it.
The Windows and KDE GUI's are more similar than different.
If you were talking about the CLI, they are vastly different. This is the area where, I believe GNU/Linux really shines. Of course, you could say that about any Unix-like system. I still use DOS for some things like md5sum checks and such, but Bash is so much more powerful and easy to use. I like being able to [tab] to autocomplete long file names and I like being able to use long file names without bothering with quotation marks.
Other than that, Linux is technically easier to set up than Windows due to the text file settings. One can change boot, internet, GUI, and any other settings one can think of just by editing the appropriate text file. It is much easier than trying to decipher and modify the registry in Windows. It is also much easier to back your settings up before changing them. Just cp the text file to text_file.old, then do the changes.
I also believe that software install is easier in Linux. Depending on distro there are different ways of easy installation such as rpm, swaret, and apt-get. But my favorite way of installing is to just get the source, configure and install. Dependencies can be a problem, but they haven't given me too much trouble in the past year.
Linux will only get better as more hardware manufacturers support it. Hardware support is it's biggest weakness, but that will go away as Linux continues to become more popular.
The only problem I see with GNU/Linux becoming more popular is that the mirrors will no longer be able to support the demand, so at some point we may be force to buy a CD for a couple of dollars instead of downloading for free. That is where they are really different. One cannot legally download Windows for free.
It may not be the kernel, but the way Mandrake configured it before compiling. My PS/2 mice do not work on my Rambus board with any of their stock 2.6 kernels, but I compiled one from their kernel source and it worked. So, it may not be the kernel, but the way it was configured before compiling. I got a USB mouse that does work, so I'm still using the stock kernel. My first working kernel was my second attempt at configuring, but the CLI was unviewable so I deleted it due to the USB mouse working.
So, it may be an issue with the kernel that you are having, but just as likely is a misconfiguration by Mandrake.
Who would you rather trust, the company responsible for the Super Bowl fiasco, or the company that willingly airs all customer opinions, good or bad. I support Dish Network fully on this one. How can Viacom raise rates 40%? I have no desire to pay more for their worthless and mostly smut channels. In fact, I hope this lasts for a while, since I really like the WAM channel that became available. Commedy Central has a good flick once in a while, but I'll take the dollar. Cost is one of the major reasons why I switched to Dish from cable. I was paying $50 a month just to get ESPN on cable. It's in the base package on Dish for half that. When I had the top 100, I liked FUSE better than Mtv anyways.
It's all fun too watch, though. It's kind of like watching Orlando Pace's agent asking twice what the Rams are willing to pay. You just have to shake your head and wonder what they're thinking. I support Dish a 100% on this one. Keep those costs down. That forces cable to be competitive.
Why aren't more programmers pushing toward this sort of thing? That would be an excellent feature to have in Linux. I would love to have something like that. Linux runs much faster from the command line and there is much better control that way. It would be a real positive towards helping people to migrate to Linux and especially to a distro like Slackware.
That is one of the downsides to Linux. It is viewed as having hard to find, read, understand documentation. There are some things I prefer to do at the command line. There are some things that are just hard to get done right in the GUI. I wouldn't mind the help of a Penguin guiding me in my options.
Slashdot Mirror
They also have the right to marry someone of the opposite sex.
However, correct me if I'm wrong, but I do believe that *nixes are just as popular for servers. That T-* connection sure looks tempting for abuse of some kind. This is the same reason I have tinted windows on my car and keep temptations out of view. Nobody is going to break my windows if there is nothing visible to take. My wife's window was just broken because my daughters purse was left in it. That expensive damage for a purse they got nothing valuable out of. I believe hackers are going to go for the most tempting victim. Sometimes Linux systems are compromised, but rootkits hunters find when that happens. Some times the offender can be traced, but the server will be backed up and reinstalled quickly. The thing with *nixes is that each one is different and with Linux, each distro is different. Linux flaws really are patched quicker than Windows. When the software is already free and the code is available, it is harder to pass off warez. There is a whole community of developers with eyes out. With Windows, there is a whole company of eyes out and we don't know how long between discovery of problem and release of the "fix".
I suppose on one key part, you are right. When the same lazy people start using Linux and run as root in spite of the window warnings telling them not to, Linux will be just as insecure. Windows XP has the ability to be more secure, but nobody is using it. My MIS department set me to connect to the network as a user with Administrator privaledges. I haven't figured out yet, how to connect as a lower pivaledged(sp) user. I set up the account, but it does not connect. I guess I should ask them. They were too busy to put the anti-virus program on; I had to do it myself.
My company does use MS ISA server. Thankfully, our drafting program is on AIX.
Now, I'm very grateful. A virus that takes advantage of their security holes cannot hurt my Linux partitions. My family may lose their data, but most of mine will be invisible and out of reach. The only thing of importance I keep on the FAT partitions are music and tv shows. Actually, I do have pictures on the ntfs partition and I think I will make copies of them in Linux right now.
The stock is actually dropping like lead in the water.
Sorry for not being specific.
When instructors tell students to document code, they aren't kidding.
The only problem is HR doesn't read Slashdot.
I did learn machine, assembly(motorolla) and C++ in college, but never used any of it afterwards.
Stupid Engineering Degree!!
So, blame it on Windows users. I have a solution. Outlaw Windows. It is set up in a way that promotes pirating. Let's see...steal a software idea from Apple, manage to build a monopoly by getting computer manufacturers to sell their computers with your pirated software pre-installed, jack up the price for this pirated software that is now a monopoly...PROFIT! Blame a file sharing system for you failure to earn enough money to buy the world.
Perhaps Bill should just realize that there are other solutions out there that are legally free and more secure. The new generation grew up with computers and are less afraid to switch. Even running Windows, a large number of people are realizing that Open Source Applications are more secure.
Finally, blame the consumer for not being willing to be ripped off any more!
They can outlaw software all they want. Anyone having trouble getting their Linux box to play DVD's?
They outlawed spam, which nobody wants. How effective will they be outlawing something that people do want?
It's amazing how the RIAA can sway the opinion of Republicans and Democrats. Remember when the recording industry was the bad guy? Tipper Gore anyone? Now suddenly, they are the good guys. :-/
I didn't bother to tell her they don't work in Linux. :-D
She wants to do a lot of chatting and instant messaging. The problem is, she decides to start calling the people she's chatting with. The resulting phone bill is the reason that is now blocked in Windows. She hasn't figured out that she can do all that in Linux with no inhibitions. I'm not in any hurry to teach her.
Since I've discovered Blocklist Manager, I want to use SquidGuard to use that list. I'm amazed at all the stuff that list blocks. I'm amazed at what sites it has to block stuff at. I think it's essential for anyone on dial-up. Who has time to download ads?
So, will this change help Slackware to step into the new age of DVD's? After all, VCR's are going the way of the record player. If an OS won't play a simple Region 1 DVD movie, I'm just not interested. Perhaps dropping frames on a DVD movie is a security feature.
Debian will dump it right on schedule two years from now. Aren't they still using 4.2?
C:\WINDOWS\Desktop>uname --help
Usage: C:\USR\LOCAL\WBIN\UNAME.EXE [OPTION]...
-a, --all print all information
-m, --machine print the machine (hardware) type
-n, --nodename print the machine's network node hostname
-r, --release print the operating system release
-s, --sysname print the operating system name
-v print the operating system version
--help display this help and exit
--version output version information and exit
Without any OPTION, assume -s.
C:\WINDOWS\Desktop>uname -s
Windows
C:\WINDOWS\Desktop>uname -v
4
C:\WINDOWS\Desktop>uname -r
10
Windows was at 10 already in the 98 SE days, which I'm still using at work. I don't hear anyone complaining about that, though. Well, perhaps this would be better interpreted as 4.10 in *nix terms. But, my point is, Windows is up there also.
The guy probably disappeared before you figured out the difference. I don't think the CD's where available weeks ago.
Because I wanted to be able to download it. A forum user named only "Bruno of Amsterdam" let a few of us know before it was posted anywhere.
You know it will be impossible to download now that it's on Slashdot. That's probably why it took a full day for Slashdot to post it. I'm sure there are some anonymous cowards out there who did the same thing.
I really would like Mozilla to make an FTP client like Firefox and Thunderbird. I'm still using WS-FTP because it's the best one I've been able to find so far. I guess most people just use their browser and don't care, but it's nice to be able to have the settings to download more than one file from more than one folder. One feature I would like to see in more ftp clients is the ability to time when the downloads start. My WS-FTP doesn't even do that. As much as I love using Firefox and Thunderbird, I could definitely use an ftp client in the same mold.
I was tempted to try their cable modem out in spite of the incredibly high price due to the close proximaty of the appartments to my house. Just imagine what one could do with the Knoppix-STD cd. Why buy a hard drive when you can use someone elses?
Seriously, I stopped watching TechTV because I couldn't afford the top 100 on Dish anymore. I downgraded to the top 50 plus local channels and away went TechTV.
I think the dark tips were probably the most educational. Knowledge is power and just like any tool, it can be used for good or bad. It's not like he was teaching people how to write worms or viruses. That is the number one problem today.
I have a Hotmail account that I don't receive any Spam on. I also have one that I do receive a lot on. There are spammers out there that know how big hotmail is and they program their email clients, or whatever program they use, to choose addresses at random. It's kind of like a password cracking program. If you choose your username like you choose your password, it will be harder for spammers to find you. I'd tell you what I did to prevent the spam, but then I'm sure the spam would start coming. I have a feeling spammers read /.
There was a time that I let my computer trust everything from Microsoft. Those days are long gone. Microsoft is no better or worse than anyone else that values profit over quality. I just don't trust anyone that is clearly geared that way.
As has already been stated, I use Hotmail for registration purposes only, now. There was a time I really liked Hotmail. That time was before M$ owned it.
If you were talking about the CLI, they are vastly different. This is the area where, I believe GNU/Linux really shines. Of course, you could say that about any Unix-like system. I still use DOS for some things like md5sum checks and such, but Bash is so much more powerful and easy to use. I like being able to [tab] to autocomplete long file names and I like being able to use long file names without bothering with quotation marks.
Other than that, Linux is technically easier to set up than Windows due to the text file settings. One can change boot, internet, GUI, and any other settings one can think of just by editing the appropriate text file. It is much easier than trying to decipher and modify the registry in Windows. It is also much easier to back your settings up before changing them. Just cp the text file to text_file.old, then do the changes.
I also believe that software install is easier in Linux. Depending on distro there are different ways of easy installation such as rpm, swaret, and apt-get. But my favorite way of installing is to just get the source, configure and install. Dependencies can be a problem, but they haven't given me too much trouble in the past year.
Linux will only get better as more hardware manufacturers support it. Hardware support is it's biggest weakness, but that will go away as Linux continues to become more popular.
The only problem I see with GNU/Linux becoming more popular is that the mirrors will no longer be able to support the demand, so at some point we may be force to buy a CD for a couple of dollars instead of downloading for free. That is where they are really different. One cannot legally download Windows for free.
It may not be the kernel, but the way Mandrake configured it before compiling. My PS/2 mice do not work on my Rambus board with any of their stock 2.6 kernels, but I compiled one from their kernel source and it worked. So, it may not be the kernel, but the way it was configured before compiling. I got a USB mouse that does work, so I'm still using the stock kernel. My first working kernel was my second attempt at configuring, but the CLI was unviewable so I deleted it due to the USB mouse working. So, it may be an issue with the kernel that you are having, but just as likely is a misconfiguration by Mandrake.
It's all fun too watch, though. It's kind of like watching Orlando Pace's agent asking twice what the Rams are willing to pay. You just have to shake your head and wonder what they're thinking. I support Dish a 100% on this one. Keep those costs down. That forces cable to be competitive.
Emacs sucks!
It would be nice if I could actually read the article, but it apparently is no longer available.
That is one of the downsides to Linux. It is viewed as having hard to find, read, understand documentation. There are some things I prefer to do at the command line. There are some things that are just hard to get done right in the GUI. I wouldn't mind the help of a Penguin guiding me in my options.