Random case: I create software that implements a standard, and which needs this standard to be obeyed to be maximally useful (think network). I use BSD license. Evil, Inc. takes the code, extends the standard incompatibly and uses its market power to make its version the default. Adhering to BSD license, its changes remain secret. Outcome: society as a whole has lost
Question is, what do you get for it? I (in Germany)pay quite a lof of taxes compared to US, but I get decent health care (and believe it or not, numerous studies have shown that public health care delivers more bang for the buck, due to lack of marketing expenses, etc.), decent public schooling and universities, etc. Plus, I don't have to be scared of an army of poor people. And while the things I list above are mentioned every time taxes are discussed, one thing is not: I save a tremendous amount of time, because I don't have to care for every frickin' detail privately, when in fact it is better taken care of socially, like health care. When I think how much time I have wasted choosing a mobile phone company (and in the end finding out that it's all the same), I shudder to think how much more time I would have to waste looking for health insurance. Ok, I have an additional private health insurance because I like luxury when choosing doctors and medicine, but I can sleep calm, knowing that my basic needs are taken care of.
I have had several CD media failures although I handle them very carefully (I'm the vinyl generation, and basically I carried over vinyl habits to CD). And these was not burned, but bought. 2 examples from the top of my mind are Metallica's Black Album and Dinosaur Jr.'s Green Mind, both of which developed visible holes in the silver layer within 3 years after purchase. I own some others with similar problems, all in all around 5 CDs with defects they develped all by themselves. Given that I own only 150 CDs this is quite a lot (> 3%), and I'm mightily pissed about it
As has been pointed out numeroud times in other replies, every dependency resolver is just as good as a.) the dependency info in the packages b.) the size of the repository. Debian currently has > 13,000 packages, and no Mandrake of Fedore wil ever top that. That is why apt is so cool
Wrong: "the main disadvantage is that it's not completely tested and has no official support from Debian security team."
Security updates in testing are done by having the unstable deb sources in sources.list + pinning, reading the *-devel list and use of "apt-get -t unstable install package"
Wow, thank you. After reading your post I tried to find the info again ("at the bottom"), but I seem to be too stupid. However, I think I have seen enough from your list. CVS (yeah, my mum runs that), ethereal, gnupg, httpd (what's that? apache, boa,....?), OpenOffice....
I think nothing, because I have no data, so what's the point. Regarding your question: I would count the exploit for each of those per app class, and weight them with their respective percentage of users -- if I have too much time on my hands. Otherwise, i'd just take the most often used app. But whatever I do, if I wanted to be taken seriously I would disclose my method.
I can't see it metnioned in the article, and neither can I find the relevant stuff at secunia.com, but this is the first question I want to answered before I spend another 10 seconds on this: do the numbers actually compare Windows with RedHat/SuSE stripped down to what a plain Windows install does, or do they yet again include all the security advisories for the 3.000 (or whatever) packages included with the distros?
VLC and MPlayer are perfectly free if you don't distribute proprietary codecs. And guess what, Helix will have proprietary codecs, too, which will not be freed. So, as far as this goes, there's absolutely no difference
In Berlin, Germany, newthinking store opened on June 1 (in German, Google translation). Here is the annoucement on Heise (in German, Google translation). It is aimed mainly at the general computer-interested public and sells distros, preinstalled hardware, documentation, and merchandising. Hardware components that are guaranteed to be supported under Linux will also be included in the range of products. newthinking store is part of the newthinking network, which includes the modules communications, IT systems, and design.
The well respected German computer magazine c't had a spreadsheet shootout a few weeks ago (issue 12/04). Overall, OO.org Calc came out head-to-head with Excel, with particular tasks being easier on one or the other.
It's well known that files extensions are a severe flaw both security- and usability-wise, which is why sane systems ignore them. E.g., nautilus sniffs the mime type and ignores the extension (in fact it is not as straightforward as thet, but it's the principle)
Ok, my suspicion that you are an idiot, gathered by reading the postings to this story, is confirmed now. You assume that I don't need Linux, which is wrong.
Slashdot Mirror
Random case:
I create software that implements a standard, and which needs this standard to be obeyed to be maximally useful (think network). I use BSD license. Evil, Inc. takes the code, extends the standard incompatibly and uses its market power to make its version the default. Adhering to BSD license, its changes remain secret.
Outcome: society as a whole has lost
did you read too many of Ayn Rand's strawmans? :-)
It's replaced by whatever comes along and people choose. Deal with it. There's no such thing as an approval board.
And while you're at it, do away with this "automobiles". My horse carriage business does badly
Question is, what do you get for it? I (in Germany)pay quite a lof of taxes compared to US, but I get decent health care (and believe it or not, numerous studies have shown that public health care delivers more bang for the buck, due to lack of marketing expenses, etc.), decent public schooling and universities, etc. Plus, I don't have to be scared of an army of poor people.
And while the things I list above are mentioned every time taxes are discussed, one thing is not: I save a tremendous amount of time, because I don't have to care for every frickin' detail privately, when in fact it is better taken care of socially, like health care. When I think how much time I have wasted choosing a mobile phone company (and in the end finding out that it's all the same), I shudder to think how much more time I would have to waste looking for health insurance. Ok, I have an additional private health insurance because I like luxury when choosing doctors and medicine, but I can sleep calm, knowing that my basic needs are taken care of.
I have had several CD media failures although I handle them very carefully (I'm the vinyl generation, and basically I carried over vinyl habits to CD). And these was not burned, but bought. 2 examples from the top of my mind are Metallica's Black Album and Dinosaur Jr.'s Green Mind, both of which developed visible holes in the silver layer within 3 years after purchase. I own some others with similar problems, all in all around 5 CDs with defects they develped all by themselves. Given that I own only 150 CDs this is quite a lot (> 3%), and I'm mightily pissed about it
Or give his right arm, more likely :)
Ever heard of development versions?
As has been pointed out numeroud times in other replies, every dependency resolver is just as good as a.) the dependency info in the packages b.) the size of the repository.
Debian currently has > 13,000 packages, and no Mandrake of Fedore wil ever top that. That is why apt is so cool
Thanks a lot
Wrong: "the main disadvantage is that it's not completely tested and has no official support from Debian security team."
Security updates in testing are done by having the unstable deb sources in sources.list + pinning, reading the *-devel list and use of "apt-get -t unstable install package"
NT was planned as being a microkernel, but isn't.
Wow, thank you. After reading your post I tried to find the info again ("at the bottom"), but I seem to be too stupid. ....?), OpenOffice ....
However, I think I have seen enough from your list. CVS (yeah, my mum runs that), ethereal, gnupg, httpd (what's that? apache, boa,
Totem
I think nothing, because I have no data, so what's the point.
Regarding your question: I would count the exploit for each of those per app class, and weight them with their respective percentage of users -- if I have too much time on my hands. Otherwise, i'd just take the most often used app.
But whatever I do, if I wanted to be taken seriously I would disclose my method.
You are giving them too much credit: it opens with the words The Micorsoft Windows application. Inspires confidence, doesn't it?
I can't see it metnioned in the article, and neither can I find the relevant stuff at secunia.com, but this is the first question I want to answered before I spend another 10 seconds on this: do the numbers actually compare Windows with RedHat/SuSE stripped down to what a plain Windows install does, or do they yet again include all the security advisories for the 3.000 (or whatever) packages included with the distros?
VLC/MPlayer don't. Distributors distributing proprietary codecs with them do (but then, I don't know anyone who does)
VLC and MPlayer are perfectly free if you don't distribute proprietary codecs. And guess what, Helix will have proprietary codecs, too, which will not be freed. So, as far as this goes, there's absolutely no difference
As another poster commented already, Gstreamer does not depend on Gnome at all.
Second, don't compare Gstream and Xine. Gstreamer is a multimedia framework
In Berlin, Germany, newthinking store opened on June 1 (in German, Google translation). Here is the annoucement on Heise (in German, Google translation). It is aimed mainly at the general computer-interested public and sells distros, preinstalled hardware, documentation, and merchandising. Hardware components that are guaranteed to be supported under Linux will also be included in the range of products. newthinking store is part of the newthinking network, which includes the modules communications, IT systems, and design.
[yes, blatant plug]
The well respected German computer magazine c't had a spreadsheet shootout a few weeks ago (issue 12/04). Overall, OO.org Calc came out head-to-head with Excel, with particular tasks being easier on one or the other.
It's well known that files extensions are a severe flaw both security- and usability-wise, which is why sane systems ignore them. E.g., nautilus sniffs the mime type and ignores the extension (in fact it is not as straightforward as thet, but it's the principle)
QED
Ok, my suspicion that you are an idiot, gathered by reading the postings to this story, is confirmed now.
You assume that I don't need Linux, which is wrong.