Being in expert in one programming language is fine if you just want to be a programmer. If you want to be a computer scientist, it's neither necessary nor sufficient.
Absolutely beautiful! I humbly bow down before the power of your English-fu, good sir!
Seriously, that statement shines out brightly in this thread: concise, but complete completely ontopic and relevant displays 'Master Craftsman' level word-smithing
Fallout 2 was hands down the funniest game I have ever played, but mostly because of the utterly absurd things you could do and the continual breaking of the 4th wall, which is critical for humor in games.
Don't ask Gizmo to 'speak louder/clearer into your pocket'.[paraphrase] That devolves into a 'sticky situation' quickly!
Usually those that are stumped by other media references while playing FO2, have been asked to 'turn in their geek card' more than once on/. (getting 'Dogmeat' to join your party at the special encounter...Who is Dogmeat?) (hint: leave all NPC's at some town, then head for/around Navarro with either no armor, or with the 'Bridge Keeper's Robe' as armor. When you encounter the tavern...SAVE GAME!!!!, then worry about armor, NPC's, and "Charisma' to get Dogmeat to join your party.
Offtopic, BTW:
I found it interesting that Ron Perlman served as 'voice actor' as the narrator in FO1, FO2, and FO3. I'll have to dig out my FO:BoS disc and see if Ron is the narrator for that as well.
Seems to me, what video game designers need to do is focus more on the storytelling and less on animating individual strands of hair.
No kidding!
What I want in a game: 1. Immersion-does the plot/premise pull you in and get you involved? 2. Is the premise of the game interesting? (hint: think 'bus driving game' that you piloted a bus across a vast stretch of 'nothing'...in real time!) 3. The need to engage my brain, not my 'twitchy fingers'. 4. Functional UI. Fix the UI bugs before release, and gameplay/artwork bugfixes as patches as ready. (no matter how 'awesome' the gameplay is, what good is it if you cannot interact with it as intended?) 5. A playable Demo, available as a download. I want to see if it is worth my $$$!
Nice graphics are...well, nice. But not essential to the enjoyment of the game.
I recall many hours spent with: Flanker Su-27 SCE Tom Clancy's SSN Front Mission 3 (for Playstation 1, ran on my PC with Connectix's Virtual Game Station emulator for Win98) Fallout 1 & 2 (currently playing Fallout 2...AGAIN!... in WINE on my Kubuntu box on another desktop) Excom
Graphics were the least of my concerns while playing the above games. And humour abounds in the Fallout series, but it can be subtle and obscure at times. (I've heard that it continues with Fallout 3!)
Although I have no experience with either of the games, Mario***, and Zelda*** also come to mind here.
Individual hairs moving is great from a technology standpoint, and eventually will be demanded, but...focus on this stuff at the detriment of why the game exists/is in-production now seems silly. It seems like a 'foot shooting festival'.
*disclaimer: I am a customer for your games if I can run them in *nix, otherwise I can be dismissed as a customer of yours!*
...the thirteenth time, especially when you are trying to beat the same level and keep dying,...
Bad aim, and not learning/adapting with experience maybe? Or maybe the number '13' really is unlucky!!!! Or, thrown chairs only hit office tables?
[From the wiki link above]
Mark Lucovsky has stated that Steve Ballmer, on being informed that Lucovsky was about to leave Microsoft for Google, picked up a chair and threw it across the room, hitting a table in his office.
People should learn their place as productive units in the larger social machine.
Another brick in the wall, eh? No thanks. My social contract with your 'social machine' is really simple: Leave me alone, and I'll leave you alone.
But then again, I may just be an anti-social psychopath.
Because after all, the group comes before the individual doesn't it.
No. A group is a collection of individuals. The individual comes first, as there would be no groups without the individual. Individuals can exist without groups.
It's like people who go 45 MPH in the left lane on a 55 MPH road. Yeah, that's definitely what the laws say you can do, but most people don't, and the presence of a vehicle going a different speed from the flow of traffic creates danger and stress that shouldn't be there.
I'm glad I don't live in your country! Here in the USA, most if not all states have laws against driving in the left(passing) lane of a dual(or more) lane road. The left lane is for passing only, or where applicable and legal...left turns.
It was really nice driving in Germany because they actively enforce this!
If he really thinks that the community's reaction to him "marching to the beat of a different drummer" is so horrible, then I wonder what he would think of someone driving by his home at 3:00 AM every night with the bass cranked up.
Also against laws in a lot of towns and cities here in the USA.
LOL! That was the year I graduated from High School. I was actually a subcontractor employee with Bendix Field Engineering Corp., working at Goddard's NTTF facility in the Logistics Department, on the graveyard shift then. No more than a 'parts man' with a security clearance for the Computer Science Corporation's tech's and engineers that had to be on duty 'just in case'. I was playing a text-based baseball game, and blackjack on those behemoths, not actually 'doing work' on them...much less understanding them! I was just there 'just in case someone needs something', on duty parts man at the mandatory 24-7 parts counter there.
But nothing short of death will erase the memories and mental imagery of walking into that 'Walmart-sized' room full of computers, with everyone dressed in parkas, seeing your breath in the air, as I watched those tape reels jerk around, and all of the flashy lights! Made one hell of an impression on me, even though I had no clue what I was seeing at that time!
BTW: 1976 was a very good year to be 18 years old!
Well, trying to install Symantic's software under WINE seems to be an Epic Fail operation....not the year for 'malware on the Linux Desktop again' I suppose...
In fact most people with no common sense have a reasonable chance of avoiding identity theft with no software at all.
[my emphasis] How true, how true! Joe(clueless home user) Sixpack will see the POST error message on boot-up that 'no bootable drive was found: Press any key to continue' and be confused, but completely safe from Identity theft online! Wake On LAN/Alert won't even help an attack here! After futilely looking for the 'Any' key for 10 ms, they will repeatedly hit the 'reset switch' a dozen times.(it may need to warm up), who knows? Maybe the elves will reconfigure the deflector shield after reversing the polarity on the tachyon field of the warp-core matrix, and then it will 'just work', finally this time. Having this fail, they will then try for 20 minutes to find the magic 'Any' key, then call tech support in an irate and un-cooperative mood.
Depending on the specifics, Hilarity ensues from here, accompanied by chaos and confusion.
I've been using computers for 20 years and have never been infected.
I'll give you the benefit of doubt here, and just applaud your prudence.
Do people click on those "You've won!" pop-ups, then proceed to download and run some executable?
Yes, and worse...they even answer spam, and click on attachments from strangers...still!
Many plans, systems, requirements, etc., look good on paper, and are easily implemented with our current technological capabilities. Everything looks and works great until you let people get their hands on it/try to use it. People are the problem here; always have been, are now, and always will be. If you can successfully overcome this, then patent the method! That would achieve a DoD* wet dream come true! Worth millions, even billions, maybe even gazillions!
*The US Department of Defense has lusted after the ability to make issue equipment/munitions that were 'G.I./Soldier-proof'. Ask any senior noncom...the average private/seaman/airman could screw up an anvil with a rubber mallet. That is one of the reasons for the '$900.00 hammer' style contracts. (then subcontractors run for a mile with that spec for an inch, then the spec is changed....rinse and repeat ad nauseum. But that's another rant)
In the rubber mallet/anvil scenario, to be fair in this context, we have to consider the amount of 'Beta testing' of stuff that gets foisted onto the troops...not to mention the ingenuity and usefulness of some of their 'field expedient' solutions to unique and unforeseen problems.
People being diverse individuals is a two-edged sword. It cuts both ways. Try for balance instead of forcing a solution. (see, I actually had a point with this seemingly rambling diatribe)
Try installing WINE and 'ies4linux' to run IE6, then go to malware infested sites....Hilarity ensues!: Weird graphics glitches, absurd error messages, bizarre pop-up windows, installer errors about non-existent files/directories...it's a hoot. I haven't tried this since Kubuntu 8.04 though, but no problems/infections with 7.04 thru 8.04.
It's pretty sad actually. Does anyone have suggestions on the best way to educate and protect these terrified users?
Yes, suggestions are a dime a dozen here. Useful suggestions that would actually work and be adopted however...that's a different story, unfortunately. It's become a very complex problem, and I would suggest the need for a working time-travel device to solve it completely.
There is a lot of blame to be spread in many areas, so I will just stick with generalizations here.
The mindset of 'user friendly', and marketing to 'everyone' that drove innovation, and the scramble for market share with PC's before networking was common to the now marketed home user, the internet being 'security paranoid' during it's boom, etc....Time machine needed here!
...because most users don't understand computers and are afraid.
Solve this problem, and you're a lot closer to the answer to your question I quoted and replied to above. Far much easier said than done, I realise, but that is the root of the problem that needs attacked.
Think long term strategy here, instead of immediate tactics. It's a little like turning around a loaded freight train that's traveling at top speed. Educate the users that you support (officially or unofficially) a step at a time. Don't overload them to where their 'eyes glaze over'. Try to get these issues addressed in school, ideally when the students are using PC's in class. Start them young! Preach it from every street corner while passing out cd's! Ooops! My GNU/Linux zealotry took over. Sorry!
Really, the old, tired-but-true, worn out meme of: 'Read the dialog boxes. Is it related to what you were doing?' 'Research that 'free' app/*.exe before you download/install' 'Don't open unsolicited emails, and especially their attachments!' "keep your stuff updated, and backed up!' etc...
Don't think of your lack of total success as a failure, but as 'positive application of friction' to slow this Juggernaut, thus to eventually enable turning it around! Even MS has at least looked at the bandwagon, maybe even giving it a test drive from what I hear about Win7 with IE8!
*goes back to street corner with box of various *nix Live CD's*
Well, I was already giggling aloud from the GP post, and PP you replied to...then I got to your reply, and proceeded to snort vodka out of my nose. No pain, no gain! as they say...at least when I finish wiping the vodka off of the keyboard it will be somewhat cleaner, maybe even disinfected to a smaller degree! But Damn! that burns the nasal passages!!!
Do any knowledgeable Windows users ever actually get viruses?
Probably not many, or often.
*start name-calling competition*
I am seriously asking. All these linux chumps act like the Virus situation in Windows is dire...
Not kept up on the malware news lately, have you?
Also, your comment shows your misconception.
Us 'Linux chumps' don't see you MS chimps getting infected, zombied, and rooted as 'dire'. We look on in 'amused pity', and just toss another banana into your cubicle/cage. *ends name-calling competition*
Am I just excessively lucky? Am I bizarrely wise for being careful about what downloaded files I allow to privilege escalate?
Some luck, common sense, and wariness go a long ways on the internet now days. I am assuming that's what has worked so well for you, but not all Windows users act in a similar fashion. Many will click on anything that pops up without knowing/understanding what is happening, most don't even care or want to know anything more about what is happening...they just want their purple ape that promises to make life so much better.
MS has made big strides forward with Win 7 and IE8 from what I've heard...I say good for their users![and maybe the rest of us in a decade or so] But there is still a large number of MS users on older software that combined with a clueless user, will provide malware opportunities for years to come.
Spam is a good example here. After all of the years of trying to educate users about indiscriminate clicking on emails and attachments, enough users still do, thus making spam profitable.
I have not done the research, so this is pure speculation: It seems to me that with Vista, and more so with Win7-combined with IE8, that the majority of malware is more likely enabled by user action instead of just outright pwning Windows itself. It's a 'loose nut behind the wheel' problem, more than anything. [obligatory/. car analogy] Again, I have not done the research, as I am a 'Linux chump', chimp.:-) (no offense taken, or intended.[see P.S. below] I just felt compelled to fire a salvo 'for the honor of Tux'!)
P.S. Next time, let's leave out the name calling, and have a rational discussion...if you don't mind. I will try to do the same. I will give you the benefit of the doubt though, as some of us *nix zealots can try a rational persons patience!(yes, 'us' was deliberate:I too, can get patience-wearing at times on the subject!)
What - precisely - are the problems you see with IE 8?
It does not automagically replace the IE7, IE6, and older IE installs still in use.
Normally I would be among the MS basher crowd, but I will readily admit that MS has made big strides in improving their OS and Browser security with Win 7 and IE8...I've heard mostly real good things about both.
However... I see your comment as being deliberately obtuse, as the MS/Windows world is fragmented by users sticking with the older, more vulnerable software versions.
If IE8 was exclusively used by all of the IE users, you might have a point, but that is far from the case.
Is the technology of the browser still the most significant line of attack?
Yes, see above. As long as any versions of IE older than IE8 are being used, the browser is still the big doorway to stage an attack through.
Personally, I've become too spoiled by GNU/Linux and FOSS to ever go back to any MS solution, but that's just me. I have been favorably impressed with what I have heard about Win 7 and IE 8 though, just not enough to think of using them myself.
Slashdot Mirror
Not everything in [insert country/nation/province here] is rural...
In Africa, the city dwellers are a minority of the overall population, not a majority.
There is a reason that Africa is considered a 'third world' country.
What is your point, specifically?
By your expected 'Epic Fail', I understand why you posted AC to avoid the backlash from your clueless pedantry...or you are a mindless troll.
Too bad the shark they jumped does not have a frikken lazer mounted on it's head to take them completely out of the universe.
Being in expert in one programming language is fine if you just want to be a programmer. If you want to be a computer scientist, it's neither necessary nor sufficient.
Absolutely beautiful!
I humbly bow down before the power of your English-fu, good sir!
Seriously, that statement shines out brightly in this thread:
concise, but complete
completely ontopic and relevant
displays 'Master Craftsman' level word-smithing
Should I learn how to brown nose, or should I learn how to backstab?
If you can't backstab while brown nosing, yer not Director material to start with.
And the unnecessary empire building should be an ongoing, never ending project...to the point that it is subconscious behavior.
These are your goals, grasshopper. Achieve these and the Directorship is yours for the taking!
...gog.com has em up, with a whole shitload of other classics. (and no drm!)
I am currently well stocked with Fallout discs, but thanks for the tip!
I will have to check gog.com for some other stuff.
Fallout 2 was hands down the funniest game I have ever played, but mostly because of the utterly absurd things you could do and the continual breaking of the 4th wall, which is critical for humor in games.
Don't ask Gizmo to 'speak louder/clearer into your pocket'.[paraphrase]
That devolves into a 'sticky situation' quickly!
Usually those that are stumped by other media references while playing FO2, have been asked to 'turn in their geek card' more than once on /. (getting 'Dogmeat' to join your party at the special encounter...Who is Dogmeat?)
(hint: leave all NPC's at some town, then head for/around Navarro with either no armor, or with the 'Bridge Keeper's Robe' as armor. When you encounter the tavern...SAVE GAME!!!!, then worry about armor, NPC's, and "Charisma' to get Dogmeat to join your party.
Offtopic, BTW:
I found it interesting that Ron Perlman served as 'voice actor' as the narrator in FO1, FO2, and FO3.
I'll have to dig out my FO:BoS disc and see if Ron is the narrator for that as well.
Seems to me, what video game designers need to do is focus more on the storytelling and less on animating individual strands of hair.
No kidding!
What I want in a game:
1. Immersion-does the plot/premise pull you in and get you involved?
2. Is the premise of the game interesting? (hint: think 'bus driving game' that you piloted a bus across a vast stretch of 'nothing'...in real time!)
3. The need to engage my brain, not my 'twitchy fingers'.
4. Functional UI. Fix the UI bugs before release, and gameplay/artwork bugfixes as patches as ready. (no matter how 'awesome' the gameplay is, what good is it if you cannot interact with it as intended?)
5. A playable Demo, available as a download. I want to see if it is worth my $$$!
Nice graphics are...well, nice. But not essential to the enjoyment of the game.
I recall many hours spent with:
Flanker Su-27 SCE
Tom Clancy's SSN
Front Mission 3 (for Playstation 1, ran on my PC with Connectix's Virtual Game Station emulator for Win98)
Fallout 1 & 2 (currently playing Fallout 2...AGAIN!... in WINE on my Kubuntu box on another desktop)
Excom
Graphics were the least of my concerns while playing the above games.
And humour abounds in the Fallout series, but it can be subtle and obscure at times. (I've heard that it continues with Fallout 3!)
Although I have no experience with either of the games, Mario***, and Zelda*** also come to mind here.
Individual hairs moving is great from a technology standpoint, and eventually will be demanded, but...focus on this stuff at the detriment of why the game exists/is in-production now seems silly.
It seems like a 'foot shooting festival'.
*disclaimer: I am a customer for your games if I can run them in *nix, otherwise I can be dismissed as a customer of yours!*
...the thirteenth time, especially when you are trying to beat the same level and keep dying,...
Bad aim, and not learning/adapting with experience maybe?
Or maybe the number '13' really is unlucky!!!!
Or, thrown chairs only hit office tables?
[From the wiki link above]
Mark Lucovsky has stated that Steve Ballmer, on being informed that Lucovsky was about to leave Microsoft for Google, picked up a chair and threw it across the room, hitting a table in his office.
[citation needed]
Uh sir, do you want Walrus Fries with that?
Uhmmm...No thanks, I do not want battered and fried Walrus balls with that.
No calf fries either.
In the interest of diplomatic relations, I also eschew French Fries...much to the relief of Frenchmen everywhere!
What the military does is most certainly brainwashing.
Then maybe they need a better detergent, or something.
My brain came out of bootcamp (1978) no cleaner than it was before...probably grungier!
Fsck you and the white mule you rode in on.
People should learn their place as productive units in the larger social machine.
Another brick in the wall, eh?
No thanks. My social contract with your 'social machine' is really simple:
Leave me alone, and I'll leave you alone.
But then again, I may just be an anti-social psychopath.
Because after all, the group comes before the individual doesn't it.
No.
A group is a collection of individuals.
The individual comes first, as there would be no groups without the individual.
Individuals can exist without groups.
Hah! /. geeks have no life, but lots of time!
Who am I kidding. The article was posted hours ago while I slept, no one will ever read this now...
You're right. I stopped reading after that sentence. :-)
BTW, I just got home from work a little while ago(0215 hrs in Oklahoma) and was just catching up with the /. day I missed earlier.
What's your point with all this irritating self pity?
You click on a story that is minutiae overload for you, then whine and complain about the overload.
You can just not click on the story and spare yourself the heartache, so quit your childish whining.
Egads!
That hurts all the way across the internet!
A golf-ball sized object pulled through your urethra tends to leave a memory.
That may be the understatement of the year in my books!
You have my sincere sympathy. Damn!
It's like people who go 45 MPH in the left lane on a 55 MPH road. Yeah, that's definitely what the laws say you can do, but most people don't, and the presence of a vehicle going a different speed from the flow of traffic creates danger and stress that shouldn't be there.
I'm glad I don't live in your country!
Here in the USA, most if not all states have laws against driving in the left(passing) lane of a dual(or more) lane road. The left lane is for passing only, or where applicable and legal...left turns.
It was really nice driving in Germany because they actively enforce this!
If he really thinks that the community's reaction to him "marching to the beat of a different drummer" is so horrible, then I wonder what he would think of someone driving by his home at 3:00 AM every night with the bass cranked up.
Also against laws in a lot of towns and cities here in the USA.
What other wisdom have you gained from your time sequestered with various RPGs?
Always loot the corpse!
LOL!
That was the year I graduated from High School.
I was actually a subcontractor employee with Bendix Field Engineering Corp., working at Goddard's NTTF facility in the Logistics Department, on the graveyard shift then.
No more than a 'parts man' with a security clearance for the Computer Science Corporation's tech's and engineers that had to be on duty 'just in case'.
I was playing a text-based baseball game, and blackjack on those behemoths, not actually 'doing work' on them...much less understanding them!
I was just there 'just in case someone needs something', on duty parts man at the mandatory 24-7 parts counter there.
But nothing short of death will erase the memories and mental imagery of walking into that 'Walmart-sized' room full of computers, with everyone dressed in parkas, seeing your breath in the air, as I watched those tape reels jerk around, and all of the flashy lights! Made one hell of an impression on me, even though I had no clue what I was seeing at that time!
BTW:
1976 was a very good year to be 18 years old!
I am not running Windows.
Well, trying to install Symantic's software under WINE seems to be an Epic Fail operation....not the year for 'malware on the Linux Desktop again' I suppose...
In fact most people with no common sense have a reasonable chance of avoiding identity theft with no software at all.
[my emphasis]
How true, how true!
Joe(clueless home user) Sixpack will see the POST error message on boot-up that 'no bootable drive was found: Press any key to continue' and be confused, but completely safe from Identity theft online! Wake On LAN/Alert won't even help an attack here!
After futilely looking for the 'Any' key for 10 ms, they will repeatedly hit the 'reset switch' a dozen times.(it may need to warm up), who knows? Maybe the elves will reconfigure the deflector shield after reversing the polarity on the tachyon field of the warp-core matrix, and then it will 'just work', finally this time.
Having this fail, they will then try for 20 minutes to find the magic 'Any' key, then call tech support in an irate and un-cooperative mood.
Depending on the specifics, Hilarity ensues from here, accompanied by chaos and confusion.
Nero:"Let the games begin!"
I've been using computers for 20 years and have never been infected.
I'll give you the benefit of doubt here, and just applaud your prudence.
Do people click on those "You've won!" pop-ups, then proceed to download and run some executable?
Yes, and worse...they even answer spam, and click on attachments from strangers...still!
Many plans, systems, requirements, etc., look good on paper, and are easily implemented with our current technological capabilities. Everything looks and works great until you let people get their hands on it/try to use it.
People are the problem here; always have been, are now, and always will be. If you can successfully overcome this, then patent the method! That would achieve a DoD* wet dream come true! Worth millions, even billions, maybe even gazillions!
*The US Department of Defense has lusted after the ability to make issue equipment/munitions that were 'G.I./Soldier-proof'. Ask any senior noncom...the average private/seaman/airman could screw up an anvil with a rubber mallet.
That is one of the reasons for the '$900.00 hammer' style contracts. (then subcontractors run for a mile with that spec for an inch, then the spec is changed....rinse and repeat ad nauseum. But that's another rant)
In the rubber mallet/anvil scenario, to be fair in this context, we have to consider the amount of 'Beta testing' of stuff that gets foisted onto the troops...not to mention the ingenuity and usefulness of some of their 'field expedient' solutions to unique and unforeseen problems.
People being diverse individuals is a two-edged sword. It cuts both ways. Try for balance instead of forcing a solution. (see, I actually had a point with this seemingly rambling diatribe)
It counts as the best in my book!
Happy Ubuntu/Kubuntu user since 5.04.
Try installing WINE and 'ies4linux' to run IE6, then go to malware infested sites....Hilarity ensues!:
Weird graphics glitches, absurd error messages, bizarre pop-up windows, installer errors about non-existent files/directories...it's a hoot.
I haven't tried this since Kubuntu 8.04 though, but no problems/infections with 7.04 thru 8.04.
It's pretty sad actually. Does anyone have suggestions on the best way to educate and protect these terrified users?
Yes, suggestions are a dime a dozen here.
Useful suggestions that would actually work and be adopted however...that's a different story, unfortunately.
It's become a very complex problem, and I would suggest the need for a working time-travel device to solve it completely.
There is a lot of blame to be spread in many areas, so I will just stick with generalizations here.
The mindset of 'user friendly', and marketing to 'everyone' that drove innovation, and the scramble for market share with PC's before networking was common to the now marketed home user, the internet being 'security paranoid' during it's boom, etc....Time machine needed here!
...because most users don't understand computers and are afraid.
Solve this problem, and you're a lot closer to the answer to your question I quoted and replied to above.
Far much easier said than done, I realise, but that is the root of the problem that needs attacked.
Think long term strategy here, instead of immediate tactics. It's a little like turning around a loaded freight train that's traveling at top speed.
Educate the users that you support (officially or unofficially) a step at a time. Don't overload them to where their 'eyes glaze over'.
Try to get these issues addressed in school, ideally when the students are using PC's in class. Start them young!
Preach it from every street corner while passing out cd's!
Ooops! My GNU/Linux zealotry took over. Sorry!
Really, the old, tired-but-true, worn out meme of:
'Read the dialog boxes. Is it related to what you were doing?'
'Research that 'free' app/*.exe before you download/install'
'Don't open unsolicited emails, and especially their attachments!'
"keep your stuff updated, and backed up!'
etc...
Don't think of your lack of total success as a failure, but as 'positive application of friction' to slow this Juggernaut, thus to eventually enable turning it around!
Even MS has at least looked at the bandwagon, maybe even giving it a test drive from what I hear about Win7 with IE8!
*goes back to street corner with box of various *nix Live CD's*
Well, I was already giggling aloud from the GP post, and PP you replied to...then I got to your reply, and proceeded to snort vodka out of my nose.
No pain, no gain! as they say...at least when I finish wiping the vodka off of the keyboard it will be somewhat cleaner, maybe even disinfected to a smaller degree!
But Damn! that burns the nasal passages!!!
Do any knowledgeable Windows users ever actually get viruses?
Probably not many, or often.
*start name-calling competition*
I am seriously asking. All these linux chumps act like the Virus situation in Windows is dire...
Not kept up on the malware news lately, have you?
Also, your comment shows your misconception.
Us 'Linux chumps' don't see you MS chimps getting infected, zombied, and rooted as 'dire'. We look on in 'amused pity', and just toss another banana into your cubicle/cage.
*ends name-calling competition*
Am I just excessively lucky? Am I bizarrely wise for being careful about what downloaded files I allow to privilege escalate?
Some luck, common sense, and wariness go a long ways on the internet now days. I am assuming that's what has worked so well for you, but not all Windows users act in a similar fashion. Many will click on anything that pops up without knowing/understanding what is happening, most don't even care or want to know anything more about what is happening...they just want their purple ape that promises to make life so much better.
MS has made big strides forward with Win 7 and IE8 from what I've heard...I say good for their users![and maybe the rest of us in a decade or so]
But there is still a large number of MS users on older software that combined with a clueless user, will provide malware opportunities for years to come.
Spam is a good example here.
After all of the years of trying to educate users about indiscriminate clicking on emails and attachments, enough users still do, thus making spam profitable.
I have not done the research, so this is pure speculation: /. car analogy] :-)
It seems to me that with Vista, and more so with Win7-combined with IE8, that the majority of malware is more likely enabled by user action instead of just outright pwning Windows itself.
It's a 'loose nut behind the wheel' problem, more than anything. [obligatory
Again, I have not done the research, as I am a 'Linux chump', chimp.
(no offense taken, or intended.[see P.S. below] I just felt compelled to fire a salvo 'for the honor of Tux'!)
P.S. Next time, let's leave out the name calling, and have a rational discussion...if you don't mind. I will try to do the same.
I will give you the benefit of the doubt though, as some of us *nix zealots can try a rational persons patience!(yes, 'us' was deliberate:I too, can get patience-wearing at times on the subject!)
What - precisely - are the problems you see with IE 8?
It does not automagically replace the IE7, IE6, and older IE installs still in use.
Normally I would be among the MS basher crowd, but I will readily admit that MS has made big strides in improving their OS and Browser security with Win 7 and IE8...I've heard mostly real good things about both.
However...
I see your comment as being deliberately obtuse, as the MS/Windows world is fragmented by users sticking with the older, more vulnerable software versions.
If IE8 was exclusively used by all of the IE users, you might have a point, but that is far from the case.
Is the technology of the browser still the most significant line of attack?
Yes, see above.
As long as any versions of IE older than IE8 are being used, the browser is still the big doorway to stage an attack through.
Personally, I've become too spoiled by GNU/Linux and FOSS to ever go back to any MS solution, but that's just me.
I have been favorably impressed with what I have heard about Win 7 and IE 8 though, just not enough to think of using them myself.