It isn't secure. The basic proof of this is that Windows XP has thousands upon thousands upon thousands of bugs in it, and no one at Microsoft can tell you which are exploitable. Yes, Windows does have this many bugs, and, yes, they do know this, and, yes, their sales flyers don't mention it.
I wonder how many Linux geeks use OpenSSH to tunnel X Windows from their PC over the network and think "Wow, Linux is the bomb, Linux does this cool stuff." Probably too many.
A useful product with poor security has much more value than a secure product with poor usability.
Holy shit, the last thing we need is another Microsoft Windows! Microsoft has ingrained into us this perverse pitiful philosophy of usability over security, when the most basic actions on their part would have prevented the crap we see today. ActiveX--gone. Firewall--activated. Email attachments--don't execute. And on and on and on. Microsoft has 100% earned every bit of bad press they get. Don't forget that.
If you don't like what Linus is doing, either maintain a separate set of patches or fork the kernel. I mean Jesus, SuSE patches the vanilla kernel, RedHat patches the vanilla kernel, Mandrake patches the vanilla kernel, and want to know what... I maintain a set of patches that I apply to my SuSE patched kernel sources *SHOCK*.
Yes, I'm shocked that you assume people have no life and can maintain a set of patches for their kernel just like you do. Sure, with Linux, I'm free to fork it, but I'm also free to write the next great epic novel. I leave you waiting in suspense, I guess, for my novel to appear in the book stores (I hope you are patient!).
What if the admins had tested the patch set on another computer and found that it made changes incompatible with your other software, so they opted to leave the main servers on-line? That would be good, right?
For basic server use, why don't people just use an older generation of kernels? 2.0, 2.2, and 2.4 are still around and see fewer updates than 2.6. Oh, that's right, people aren't cool shit if they don't use the 2.6 kernel.
What's the best way to go about ensuring Linux/POSIX compatibility over the web? Compile farms?
You might look into Cygwin to get started. I haven't used it, but it is a popular POSIX layer for Windows.
You won't need a compile farm for a one-person project. IIRC, 90K lines of code took about 5 minutes to compile on an old Sun workstation, and Make-like tools speed incremental builds. Even on an old computer, you would probably spend more time figuring out parallel builds than you would save by using them.
What's the protocol for crediting them for the work?
I'm sure the FSF would have a few opinions about this. Basically, give credit where credit is due in a file or on your website, unless someone doesn't want it.
What are the criteria for determining whether or not something is "pre-alpha", "alpha", "beta", etc.
For a one-person project, just don't worry about it.
If I have legal questions regarding licenses or IP, who should I talk to?
For a one-person project, just CYA (cover your ass). Don't take code from sources with licenses incompatible with yours (yes, you really do have to read the licenses). Basic questions are almost certainly already answered somewhere on a newsgroup or forum. If you find code that is unlicensed to the best of your knowledge, you probably still want to find who the author is or see if there are multiple sources on the web (it may be public domain).
MORE IMPORTANTLY:
It seems you are beginning to fall into a trap that many many programmers do when taking on a new project. You are starting to ask lots of questions about process before you even really get deep into your work. Don't worry much about the bureaucracy of sophisticated version control or bug tracking, right now. For a relatively small code base, you can easily spend more time learning the nuances of your tools than you do programming, which is no help to your progress. The most important thing you can do now is focus on your program and its architecture and keep backups of your work (at least every night do a backup). If you feel you've achieved a milestone, make a complete and separate copy of that source tree for future reference.
If John Edward stops hosting Crossing Over, I know where they can get a new host.;)
Or that pet psychic lady from Animal Planet (IIRC). Holy cow was she awful, and the saps from the audience ate it up. You could even see her hesitate on camera trying to think up some lame fantasy for these people.
Do the girls rotate on stage with a user interface that allows the geeks to change their clothes as they get to do in their favorite video games? If not, then it just isn't worth it.
He did, but when the developers attached the debugger, it was just a matter of an array overstepping its bounds. They corrected the for loop, recompiled, and the president is running perfectly, now.
Imagine working in a factory, where there is a "to do" bin to your left and a "finished" bin to your right. You can assemble widgets at a rate of 50 an hour (good for you!). However, the management has decided, based on productivity research, to put the widgets into your left bin at a rate of 55 per hour. You keep up for two days, you try your hardest, but you just can't do it. You try to finish out the week, but your energy has been fully tapped. You quit the following Monday to work at the gas station convenience store.
I tried the early access version of Solaris 10 with JDS recently, and it blew me away. Anyone with broadband who can download the ISOs, I highly recommend giving it a spin.
Microsoft is being eaten at by IBM, Sun, Red Hat, Novell, Ximian--basically everyone who isn't Microsoft. The next few years are going to be extremely interesting.
Slashdot Mirror
My Windows XP machine is solid and secure.
It isn't secure. The basic proof of this is that Windows XP has thousands upon thousands upon thousands of bugs in it, and no one at Microsoft can tell you which are exploitable. Yes, Windows does have this many bugs, and, yes, they do know this, and, yes, their sales flyers don't mention it.
You mean like OpenSSH, PF, CARP, etc?
I wonder how many Linux geeks use OpenSSH to tunnel X Windows from their PC over the network and think "Wow, Linux is the bomb, Linux does this cool stuff." Probably too many.
A useful product with poor security has much more value than a secure product with poor usability.
Holy shit, the last thing we need is another Microsoft Windows! Microsoft has ingrained into us this perverse pitiful philosophy of usability over security, when the most basic actions on their part would have prevented the crap we see today. ActiveX--gone. Firewall--activated. Email attachments--don't execute. And on and on and on. Microsoft has 100% earned every bit of bad press they get. Don't forget that.
If you don't like what Linus is doing, either maintain a separate set of patches or fork the kernel. I mean Jesus, SuSE patches the vanilla kernel, RedHat patches the vanilla kernel, Mandrake patches the vanilla kernel, and want to know what ... I maintain a set of patches that I apply to my SuSE patched kernel sources *SHOCK*.
Yes, I'm shocked that you assume people have no life and can maintain a set of patches for their kernel just like you do. Sure, with Linux, I'm free to fork it, but I'm also free to write the next great epic novel. I leave you waiting in suspense, I guess, for my novel to appear in the book stores (I hope you are patient!).
What if the admins had tested the patch set on another computer and found that it made changes incompatible with your other software, so they opted to leave the main servers on-line? That would be good, right?
For basic server use, why don't people just use an older generation of kernels? 2.0, 2.2, and 2.4 are still around and see fewer updates than 2.6. Oh, that's right, people aren't cool shit if they don't use the 2.6 kernel.
Er, uh, why are your boxes even visible to get rooted? I guess amongst your admins you do not have anyone good at networking?
What's the best way to go about ensuring Linux/POSIX compatibility over the web? Compile farms?
You might look into Cygwin to get started. I haven't used it, but it is a popular POSIX layer for Windows.
You won't need a compile farm for a one-person project. IIRC, 90K lines of code took about 5 minutes to compile on an old Sun workstation, and Make-like tools speed incremental builds. Even on an old computer, you would probably spend more time figuring out parallel builds than you would save by using them.
What's the protocol for crediting them for the work?
I'm sure the FSF would have a few opinions about this. Basically, give credit where credit is due in a file or on your website, unless someone doesn't want it.
What are the criteria for determining whether or not something is "pre-alpha", "alpha", "beta", etc.
For a one-person project, just don't worry about it.
If I have legal questions regarding licenses or IP, who should I talk to?
For a one-person project, just CYA (cover your ass). Don't take code from sources with licenses incompatible with yours (yes, you really do have to read the licenses). Basic questions are almost certainly already answered somewhere on a newsgroup or forum. If you find code that is unlicensed to the best of your knowledge, you probably still want to find who the author is or see if there are multiple sources on the web (it may be public domain).
MORE IMPORTANTLY:
It seems you are beginning to fall into a trap that many many programmers do when taking on a new project. You are starting to ask lots of questions about process before you even really get deep into your work. Don't worry much about the bureaucracy of sophisticated version control or bug tracking, right now. For a relatively small code base, you can easily spend more time learning the nuances of your tools than you do programming, which is no help to your progress. The most important thing you can do now is focus on your program and its architecture and keep backups of your work (at least every night do a backup). If you feel you've achieved a milestone, make a complete and separate copy of that source tree for future reference.
...the guy in the mall with the mayo jar and a hand written sign that says "Sunami Relief"?
Give him counterfeit money. Oh, sweet sweet irony.
If John Edward stops hosting Crossing Over, I know where they can get a new host. ;)
Or that pet psychic lady from Animal Planet (IIRC). Holy cow was she awful, and the saps from the audience ate it up. You could even see her hesitate on camera trying to think up some lame fantasy for these people.
Do the girls rotate on stage with a user interface that allows the geeks to change their clothes as they get to do in their favorite video games? If not, then it just isn't worth it.
5) Stories based on 1930's Germany.
6) Treasure hunt!
7) Some stuff happens, but no one knows why.
8) The epic.
Well, thank God we have No Child Left Behind to get our youth back on track!
Everyone is a minority, so get off your soap box and go troll somewhere else.
"GWB said that, right?"
He did, but when the developers attached the debugger, it was just a matter of an array overstepping its bounds. They corrected the for loop, recompiled, and the president is running perfectly, now.
Why?
Imagine working in a factory, where there is a "to do" bin to your left and a "finished" bin to your right. You can assemble widgets at a rate of 50 an hour (good for you!). However, the management has decided, based on productivity research, to put the widgets into your left bin at a rate of 55 per hour. You keep up for two days, you try your hardest, but you just can't do it. You try to finish out the week, but your energy has been fully tapped. You quit the following Monday to work at the gas station convenience store.
My Windows Server 2003 desktop
How do you make a desk out of Windows Server 2003?
PC parts vendors are a dime a dozen.
You can get a better deal on IBM stuff here.
"To infinity and beyond!"
I remember hearing that about NT, then NT4, then Win2K, then WinXP.
Three name changes in a decade for this product line is not bad at all. I'd stay that is quite stable.
While making it more stable and porting it to a 64bit processor are nice, they don't fix what is fundamentally wrong with it.
The 64-bit addressing in Windows XP is a lead-in to Longhorn's system requirements: 2768MB minimum RAM (8GB recommended).
Wait, you still didn't know that Slashdot is the new Perl.NET testbed?!? Get with the times, man!
I tried the early access version of Solaris 10 with JDS recently, and it blew me away. Anyone with broadband who can download the ISOs, I highly recommend giving it a spin.
Microsoft is being eaten at by IBM, Sun, Red Hat, Novell, Ximian--basically everyone who isn't Microsoft. The next few years are going to be extremely interesting.
Do they feature the Princess shaking her booty in a latex mini-skirt?