Having spent days (weeks, months, years?) configuring Windows XP over the years I tend to follow a pattern that works for me, ymmv.
Windows still installs broken (imco) in that the first user installed becomes an Administrator by default. With Windows, we all know by now that running as Administrator is asking for it (some have likened it to pulling ones pants down and bending over the chair.) So it's important to remove Administrator group privileges from the primary user, having them run as Users only. This prevents a host of malware and other malfeasants from gaining illegitimate access to the computer.
Install a good anti-virus software, my personal favourite is Symantec Corporate for it's ease of configuration and automation for updates. I set the software to live update daily, perform a startup scan of files loading into memory at boot time, and a weekly full scan of everything on the hdd.
Ensure that you're running Windows Update to the last iteration and get all of the updates installed correctly. Turn on automatic updates, and set it to install automatically.
Run MBSA... follow the directions provided.
Install Firefox, and the NoScript add-on. Make it the default browser in all profiles by logging on and making that choice. Ensure NoScript is up and running correctly.
The base system has excellent accessibility tools, ensure the user is familiar with them, and perhaps ensure that accessibility shortcuts are available from the desktop if necessary.
Teach... (who says old dogs can't learn new tricks?)
Wash, rinse, repeat.
Having worked extensively with a private school in this situation exactly, we chose to have roaming profiles, which allowed the student to log in to each machine locally, but their work was synched to their class server next login on campus. While logged in on campus, all internet content is filtered, we use jabber and bonjour messaging locally and the kids love it, these services are not given wan access.
When the student is logged in off-campus they can make documents, and use the internet as their local administrator (parent/guardian) deems appropriate. In those environments, it is considered the responsibility of the parents/guardians to provide content filtering and/or monitoring of their child's internet use. As the students are just plain users, they have few rights with respect to system modification on their local accounts, any software that they wish to install is handled via a parental request form. Machine software images are netbootable so it's quite trivial to refresh each machine.
It's important to remember that if the student and their parents ostensibly 'own' the machines, they should be granted any leeway they request, yet not undermine the local regime. Well implemented network services can ensure that your local rulesets are followed.
Oh! I thought it was about 'Same S%!t Different Day'...
That's what comes out of the hole at any rate...
I agree. The 'Beeb' has been providing me with news for years and great shows too!
It's clear that the RIAA and other RICO organizations (read MAFIAA) are getting their come uppance, and are becoming desperate in their fight to retain control in a market that they will no longer dominate in the near future. It would save us all a lot of time and aggravation for the people involved to direct their energies into improving their business model to meet the needs of today's digital markets. Suing your fans is no way to keep them. The happy consumer will tell on average 3 people about their positive experience, which speaks to the expectation of the market. The unhappy consumer will tell on average 8 people, which speaks to the punishing power of consumer backlash.
Oligarchs of the world need to recognize that they are being watched, we can see the cause and effects that their stranglehold on business is doing for innovation, quality of life, and consumer rights. Corporations, you are on notice.
Look, the people you are after are the people you depend on. We cook your meals, we haul your trash, we connect your calls, we drive your ambulances, we guard you while you sleep. Do NOT fuck with us.
The Act to Reform the Copyright Act has not been withdrawn but rather delayed. It is a credit to Canadians and the democratic process that our Minister of Industry is delaying the tabling of this legislation to ensure that there is appropriate public consultation in this matter. I'm thankful that we live in a democratic society where our government is responsive to the people.
It's important for all members of democracies to speak out against the oligarchs who stifle innovation, and entrench dated business models through pumping cash into lobbying efforts. If we are to embrace a 'one world' globalist marketplace, we as the consumers of said market must let the vendors know what acceptable terms of sale are. Digital media in all of its forms is no different than previous incarnations of the same product, where rights were more broad, protected fair use, and consumer control of the purchase under these conditions.
While I can understand that John sees the OLPC as a flawed mechanism to alleviate the problems facing the developing world, would it not make much more sense to offer both types of aid? Given that there is an increasing gap between the information haves and have nots, it seems to me that the OLPC project is a good first step in closing the gap. Furthermore, with the increased information awareness, many of the hunger relief mechanisms may quickly be eradicated. As children and communities in the developing world gain access to the combined knowledge of the first world, perhaps it goes a long way to solving the 'Give a man a fish, teach a man to fish' problem...
Any security consultant worth his salt would be aghast at the military taking up a posture that allows for a single point of failure. Defense in depth is the current mechanism of choice... talk about putting all of your eggs in one basket.
Any time there is a major OS version, it's foolhardy to 'Upgrade' in that there is no way for the vendor (in this case Apple) to possibly test for each potential configuration. While it's true that this may make the move to a new platform base take longer (with needed software reinstallation) it's the best way to ensure a smooth transition, and also assist the end-user AND the software vendors in question to bug squash.
It's easy to point fingers, and the upgrade process should in truth be discontinued altogether (imco) and rather provide utilities that will help a user migrate personal settings and preferences to a new build via a back-up utility of some type. To be fair, Apple does a GREAT job by providing the archive and install method which goes half-way but does not provide the opportunity to 'archive and clean install' which would be the ideal case.
For myself, I can't wait to step into the time machine, and also get the new features available in the OS X Server product.
It's interesting to note that ALL Apple computers ship with a functioning enabled TP Module. Microsoft has complied with the TCGs recommendations with respect to TPM. You'll find that Apple has no controls, no oversight and no statement as to the use of the TPM installed in their machines. This is one place where Microsoft has actually been better.
ANY vendor can be more stable by locking its hardware platform and focussing all of its dev dollars into ensuring that its OS operates REALLY WELL on that platform. The key point to consider as an IT buyer is 'What kind of vendor lock in will my company suffer?' Once a firm decides to go with one platform over another they're committing to at least a 3-5 year implementation and support schedule.
Considering Apple's record (or complete lack thereof) of Trusted Computing how confident should any business feel about committing to Apple? Sure it's shiny and works well, but any OSS on a fixed platform could provide the same (if not better) results.
By developing an 'acceptable use' policy you can define unequivocably the sites that an employee is allowed to access while in normal working hours. Rather than blocking any content, it's better to log all accesses through a pass-through proxy or some other mechanism. This way you can screen the users and see their adherance to policy, flag those for follow up and arrange time to discuss their opportunities for change. The real truth in IT management is that it must be mandated from the top down. If 'the powers that be' define a policy limiting company resource use, then it's easier to track than to prevent. Having all users reminded at each log on of their duties and responsibilities with respect to network access is also trivial and given such daily notices they would have little wiggle room with an 'I didn't know that was wrong.' defense. In the short term, you'll experience a small amount of pain with the unlimited access, but with a sound policy, you'll soon be reaping the benefits with lower administration times.
Failing that being workable, it's always best to 'deny all' and whitelist the sites that are acceptable, further containment of this concept is possible by group restrictions. This method would allow you to tune internet access by employee type(s) giving unfettered access to R&D but limit access to clerical who may just be spinning their productivity away on a myspace romp.
It's important to remember that these network services are paid for company assets, and the disposition of assets REQUIRES policy.
Not wanting to state the obvious, but change their phones to ensure that each call that comes through to their extension in fact goes through their pc, which will be logged, and therefore is a performance metric. In the absence of IP telephony you can still accomplish this with good old modem technology. By changing the environment, you can easily ensure that they will perform their job as expected. All calls that come to them will go through the PC and will be monitored and correlated to the helpdesk logs. Sometimes policy is not enough, you need to force the issue by locking down the environment. As a good help-desk administrator, I'm sure you're able to make the necessary mods required to tighten down the situation. Enjoy, and happy boxing day.
It's absolutely no wonder that they want to increase their electronic surveillance, they need to find those laptops!! Where has all the money spent on security gone? The basic premise of computer security STARTS with physical security. It seems the dog is getting a good wagging again...
Hamdi v Rumsfeld calls for a need for 'Military Tribunals' so as to ensure that when they 'goof' it's under strictest cover, and no-one will ever know what happened.
The abuses of The Constitution are being watched by everyone, everywhere. What was once the beacon of hope and bastion of freedom for the whole world is being trashed by criminals and oligarchs who seek to douse its light once and for all. The abuses against the American public must be arrested at the earliest possible juncture.
Even Republicans can't deny the fact that it's getting out of hand.
Just today: On Tuesday, President Bush said, "Freedom, by its nature, cannot be imposed -- it must be chosen. From Beirut to Baghdad, people are making the choice for freedom.
Lucid commentary as usual. Security is a myth... always has been, always will be.
There are only acceptable risk vectors that need constant monitoring.
How much wag the dog do we need before we all write our representatives and say,'Enough is enough!'? It's not difficult to see the current administration's MO which has been to spread fear, uncertainty and doubt. With its propaganda arm it has lied, cheated, and bilked the US taxpayer out of billions of dollars. The deficit is at an all time high propping up bungling new federal departments (DHS(?)) and despite all the money spent, they continue to say 'We're safe, but not completely safe.' Then they turn around and say, and I paraphrase 'In order to be safe, you must have no rights. War is peace, freedom is slavery ING SOC...' and further 'We will break ALL of the laws that are in place to make sure that you're safe to make sure that you're safe.' 'We will condone the torture of uncertain individuals, we will bomb their homes, we will sponsor the killing of innocents that may come to harm us in the future because they're angry about our foreign policies.' 'We will do this all in the name of democracy, which we really don't want, because if they (Chile, Venezuela, Palestine, Lebanon)vote for parties that we don't like, we'll just have to sponsor more violence against that fledgling democracy.' 'We have the right to intervene in other foreign sovereign states, if they don't give us what we want, at the prices we want it at.' 'We will claim to be the protector of the world's human rights, yet ignore those crises that we don't believe will be profitable (Sudan).' 'War is peace, freedom is slavery.' 'We really don't like China's record on human rights, but they make stuff for really cheap!' 'Time for your two minute hate.'
Please don't make me pull out my service logs to show the number of cases where doublespace accidentally corrupted an entire C: drive... I might have to get medieval on ya...
MS products have been corrupting data esp. with respect to compression for a LONG TIME. They still haven't learned from the Doublespace issues of the past... Proof of the old saw, the more things change, the more they stay the same...
Now I bet if the compression had anything to do with DRM there'd already be a patch for it!
'Ooooer Denis, there's a lovely bit of filth down 'ere!'...'Now we see the 'corruption' in the system!';)
Despite the recent thermal compound issues. There have been significant heat issues with Apple's new kit. When you're in a rush to get your DRM infested machines out the door things are bound to go wrong.
Sudden halting, stained handwrests, battery recalls, hot enough to cook an egg... Hi, I'm a Mac!
What about that range of serial numbers?
Sure you can say that it's all the manufacturer's fault, and Apple only designs the gear... but, like my mom always says 'If you see a piece of shit on the sidewalk, do you pick it up to make sure?'
Don't buy a new Mac, it's DRM infested (read TPM) and they changed the behaviour (aka hid the device) so that it no longer shows up... something is rotten in Denmark.
Software piracy resulted in a loss of $34 billion worldwide in 2005, a $1.6 billion increase over 2004, according to a study commissioned by the Business Software Alliance.
The BSA has been making up numbers of this type since its founding. Please note, that their acronym has many other fun derivations. These Bull Shit Artists are claiming that there has been a 34 BILLION dollar loss, and worse, it's a 1.6 Billion dollar increase over last year! While they have yet to PROVE unequivocably that there is this type of loss, they're getting plenty of press on the reason you're getting DRM shoved down your throat. Perhaps those 'perceived losses' are from the software vendors who are having trouble making their bottom line. Perhaps those losses are coming from a tanking of the PC industry because they keep rehashing the same processor and stamping it with a different name. 'Ooooh, I know, let's up the voltage on the clock and see if people buy last years fab!'
There is absolutely no proof of these losses. They are estimates based on what they think people should be buying. Being an industry lobby (well paid by the vendors) OF COURSE they think people should be buying more software.
Here's the rub, people can't afford to buy them... They're still reeling from when computers used to be 2-3 THOUSAND dollars each (or more), and still needed to be upgraded every five years (or less)... Let's face it, the PC business has raped the populace for 25 years now, we're starting to get a little sore down there...
Digital Rights Manglers Digital Replay Minimizers Didyaget Rapedbythe Media? Don't Replay Me Dumbass Ripoff Manager Don't sRatch Me Definitely Repurchase Multiples Difficult Relating Mechanism Dildo for RIAA and MPAA
Change. I'm an avid BSDer myself, primarily Free (despite the claimed IO failings) I find that BSD in all of its incarnations delivers stability, security and extensibility. I also use OS X, on the Macs around this place... I've completely dropped Windows, except where forced to use it through work. This is all evidence that the times are consistently changing.
I used to really like my C64, and my PET before that... I learned Pascal on an Apple II and was kicked out of 'Informatics' as it was then known for accessing the school board network. In my defense, it was the earliest example of the weakness of passwords as a security method (school:school) and I made up for my transgression by becoming a peer tutor helping many students pass computer science.
While I fondly remember my father delivering punch cards to the board office for processing the FORTRAN programs his pupils pencilled over, those days are gone too. I guess the lesson to be learned is that there is only change, those who can adapt, do, those who can't are relegated to the 'used to wases' and we can wax lyrically on the golden days of this or that, but the truth is that's left for old codgers and COBOL programmers.
To be on the cutting edge requires relevance, that means that a project (platform, etc.) needs to address the needs of today NOW, and have a plan for adapting to the constant change we all face. Sadly, it seems that the NetBSD project is either in need of a shake up, an injection of new blood, or a quiet and graceful departure from the mainstream consciousness. By his own admission, one of the founders of NetBSD is claiming the decay of his beloved baby. This isn't something to cry about, in New Orleans (deity bless its cotton socks) they have a great celebration on a passing. Perhaps a fork in the road is ahead for NetBSD, perhaps Charles can find it within himself to fork it himself.
Hell, we used to think vacuum tubes were the bomb! Imagine the blackouts we'd have if we still did?
Slashdot Mirror
Having spent days (weeks, months, years?) configuring Windows XP over the years I tend to follow a pattern that works for me, ymmv.
Windows still installs broken (imco) in that the first user installed becomes an Administrator by default. With Windows, we all know by now that running as Administrator is asking for it (some have likened it to pulling ones pants down and bending over the chair.) So it's important to remove Administrator group privileges from the primary user, having them run as Users only. This prevents a host of malware and other malfeasants from gaining illegitimate access to the computer.
Install a good anti-virus software, my personal favourite is Symantec Corporate for it's ease of configuration and automation for updates. I set the software to live update daily, perform a startup scan of files loading into memory at boot time, and a weekly full scan of everything on the hdd.
Ensure that you're running Windows Update to the last iteration and get all of the updates installed correctly. Turn on automatic updates, and set it to install automatically.
Run MBSA... follow the directions provided.
Install Firefox, and the NoScript add-on. Make it the default browser in all profiles by logging on and making that choice. Ensure NoScript is up and running correctly.
The base system has excellent accessibility tools, ensure the user is familiar with them, and perhaps ensure that accessibility shortcuts are available from the desktop if necessary.
Teach... (who says old dogs can't learn new tricks?)
Wash, rinse, repeat.
Having worked extensively with a private school in this situation exactly, we chose to have roaming profiles, which allowed the student to log in to each machine locally, but their work was synched to their class server next login on campus. While logged in on campus, all internet content is filtered, we use jabber and bonjour messaging locally and the kids love it, these services are not given wan access.
When the student is logged in off-campus they can make documents, and use the internet as their local administrator (parent/guardian) deems appropriate. In those environments, it is considered the responsibility of the parents/guardians to provide content filtering and/or monitoring of their child's internet use. As the students are just plain users, they have few rights with respect to system modification on their local accounts, any software that they wish to install is handled via a parental request form. Machine software images are netbootable so it's quite trivial to refresh each machine.
It's important to remember that if the student and their parents ostensibly 'own' the machines, they should be granted any leeway they request, yet not undermine the local regime. Well implemented network services can ensure that your local rulesets are followed.
Oh! I thought it was about 'Same S%!t Different Day'...
That's what comes out of the hole at any rate...
I agree. The 'Beeb' has been providing me with news for years and great shows too!
'American news hole'
You read it 'hear' first!
It's clear that the RIAA and other RICO organizations (read MAFIAA) are getting their come uppance, and are becoming desperate in their fight to retain control in a market that they will no longer dominate in the near future. It would save us all a lot of time and aggravation for the people involved to direct their energies into improving their business model to meet the needs of today's digital markets. Suing your fans is no way to keep them. The happy consumer will tell on average 3 people about their positive experience, which speaks to the expectation of the market. The unhappy consumer will tell on average 8 people, which speaks to the punishing power of consumer backlash.
Oligarchs of the world need to recognize that they are being watched, we can see the cause and effects that their stranglehold on business is doing for innovation, quality of life, and consumer rights. Corporations, you are on notice.
The Act to Reform the Copyright Act has not been withdrawn but rather delayed. It is a credit to Canadians and the democratic process that our Minister of Industry is delaying the tabling of this legislation to ensure that there is appropriate public consultation in this matter. I'm thankful that we live in a democratic society where our government is responsive to the people.
It's important for all members of democracies to speak out against the oligarchs who stifle innovation, and entrench dated business models through pumping cash into lobbying efforts. If we are to embrace a 'one world' globalist marketplace, we as the consumers of said market must let the vendors know what acceptable terms of sale are. Digital media in all of its forms is no different than previous incarnations of the same product, where rights were more broad, protected fair use, and consumer control of the purchase under these conditions.
If it is to be, it is up to we.
While I can understand that John sees the OLPC as a flawed mechanism to alleviate the problems facing the developing world, would it not make much more sense to offer both types of aid? Given that there is an increasing gap between the information haves and have nots, it seems to me that the OLPC project is a good first step in closing the gap. Furthermore, with the increased information awareness, many of the hunger relief mechanisms may quickly be eradicated. As children and communities in the developing world gain access to the combined knowledge of the first world, perhaps it goes a long way to solving the 'Give a man a fish, teach a man to fish' problem...
Any security consultant worth his salt would be aghast at the military taking up a posture that allows for a single point of failure. Defense in depth is the current mechanism of choice... talk about putting all of your eggs in one basket.
Any time there is a major OS version, it's foolhardy to 'Upgrade' in that there is no way for the vendor (in this case Apple) to possibly test for each potential configuration. While it's true that this may make the move to a new platform base take longer (with needed software reinstallation) it's the best way to ensure a smooth transition, and also assist the end-user AND the software vendors in question to bug squash.
It's easy to point fingers, and the upgrade process should in truth be discontinued altogether (imco) and rather provide utilities that will help a user migrate personal settings and preferences to a new build via a back-up utility of some type. To be fair, Apple does a GREAT job by providing the archive and install method which goes half-way but does not provide the opportunity to 'archive and clean install' which would be the ideal case.
For myself, I can't wait to step into the time machine, and also get the new features available in the OS X Server product.
It's interesting to note that ALL Apple computers ship with a functioning enabled TP Module. Microsoft has complied with the TCGs recommendations with respect to TPM. You'll find that Apple has no controls, no oversight and no statement as to the use of the TPM installed in their machines. This is one place where Microsoft has actually been better.
ANY vendor can be more stable by locking its hardware platform and focussing all of its dev dollars into ensuring that its OS operates REALLY WELL on that platform. The key point to consider as an IT buyer is 'What kind of vendor lock in will my company suffer?' Once a firm decides to go with one platform over another they're committing to at least a 3-5 year implementation and support schedule.
Considering Apple's record (or complete lack thereof) of Trusted Computing how confident should any business feel about committing to Apple? Sure it's shiny and works well, but any OSS on a fixed platform could provide the same (if not better) results.
By developing an 'acceptable use' policy you can define unequivocably the sites that an employee is allowed to access while in normal working hours. Rather than blocking any content, it's better to log all accesses through a pass-through proxy or some other mechanism. This way you can screen the users and see their adherance to policy, flag those for follow up and arrange time to discuss their opportunities for change. The real truth in IT management is that it must be mandated from the top down. If 'the powers that be' define a policy limiting company resource use, then it's easier to track than to prevent. Having all users reminded at each log on of their duties and responsibilities with respect to network access is also trivial and given such daily notices they would have little wiggle room with an 'I didn't know that was wrong.' defense. In the short term, you'll experience a small amount of pain with the unlimited access, but with a sound policy, you'll soon be reaping the benefits with lower administration times.
Failing that being workable, it's always best to 'deny all' and whitelist the sites that are acceptable, further containment of this concept is possible by group restrictions. This method would allow you to tune internet access by employee type(s) giving unfettered access to R&D but limit access to clerical who may just be spinning their productivity away on a myspace romp.
It's important to remember that these network services are paid for company assets, and the disposition of assets REQUIRES policy.
Not wanting to state the obvious, but change their phones to ensure that each call that comes through to their extension in fact goes through their pc, which will be logged, and therefore is a performance metric. In the absence of IP telephony you can still accomplish this with good old modem technology. By changing the environment, you can easily ensure that they will perform their job as expected. All calls that come to them will go through the PC and will be monitored and correlated to the helpdesk logs. Sometimes policy is not enough, you need to force the issue by locking down the environment. As a good help-desk administrator, I'm sure you're able to make the necessary mods required to tighten down the situation. Enjoy, and happy boxing day.
It's absolutely no wonder that they want to increase their electronic surveillance, they need to find those laptops!! Where has all the money spent on security gone? The basic premise of computer security STARTS with physical security. It seems the dog is getting a good wagging again...
Own Criminal Acts.
Hamdi v Rumsfeld calls for a need for 'Military Tribunals' so as to ensure that when they 'goof' it's under strictest cover, and no-one will ever know what happened.
Is it any accident the CIA is CIA (Covering Its Ass)?
Gonzales is looking to legitimize the fact that the .gov has already been caught with it's hands in the til...
The abuses of The Constitution are being watched by everyone, everywhere. What was once the beacon of hope and bastion of freedom for the whole world is being trashed by criminals and oligarchs who seek to douse its light once and for all. The abuses against the American public must be arrested at the earliest possible juncture.
The truly frightening thing is that you can't even trust your democratic process anymore. So who's the terrorist? Where does he live?
Even Republicans can't deny the fact that it's getting out of hand.
Just today: On Tuesday, President Bush said, "Freedom, by its nature, cannot be imposed -- it must be chosen. From Beirut to Baghdad , people are making the choice for freedom.
Some choice.
Lucid commentary as usual. Security is a myth... always has been, always will be.
There are only acceptable risk vectors that need constant monitoring.
How much wag the dog do we need before we all write our representatives and say,'Enough is enough!'? It's not difficult to see the current administration's MO which has been to spread fear, uncertainty and doubt. With its propaganda arm it has lied, cheated, and bilked the US taxpayer out of billions of dollars. The deficit is at an all time high propping up bungling new federal departments (DHS(?)) and despite all the money spent, they continue to say 'We're safe, but not completely safe.' Then they turn around and say, and I paraphrase 'In order to be safe, you must have no rights. War is peace, freedom is slavery ING SOC...' and further 'We will break ALL of the laws that are in place to make sure that you're safe to make sure that you're safe.' 'We will condone the torture of uncertain individuals, we will bomb their homes, we will sponsor the killing of innocents that may come to harm us in the future because they're angry about our foreign policies.' 'We will do this all in the name of democracy, which we really don't want, because if they (Chile, Venezuela, Palestine, Lebanon)vote for parties that we don't like, we'll just have to sponsor more violence against that fledgling democracy.' 'We have the right to intervene in other foreign sovereign states, if they don't give us what we want, at the prices we want it at.' 'We will claim to be the protector of the world's human rights, yet ignore those crises that we don't believe will be profitable (Sudan).' 'War is peace, freedom is slavery.' 'We really don't like China's record on human rights, but they make stuff for really cheap!' 'Time for your two minute hate.'
Your whole country is being taken for a ride.
It appears the original discussion comes out of the TechNet Discussion Groups:
TechNet Discussion on Weekend Update
As early as MS-DOS 6... and/or earlier?
Can Cause Corruption
Please don't make me pull out my service logs to show the number of cases where doublespace accidentally corrupted an entire C: drive... I might have to get medieval on ya...
Clean up in aisle five!
MS products have been corrupting data esp. with respect to compression for a LONG TIME. They still haven't learned from the Doublespace issues of the past... Proof of the old saw, the more things change, the more they stay the same...
Now I bet if the compression had anything to do with DRM there'd already be a patch for it!
'Ooooer Denis, there's a lovely bit of filth down 'ere!'...'Now we see the 'corruption' in the system!' ;)
There will definitely need to be a few more players on the field to take advantage of the coming flood of end-users who just don't want to by spyware.
Despite the recent thermal compound issues. There have been significant heat issues with Apple's new kit. When you're in a rush to get your DRM infested machines out the door things are bound to go wrong.
Sudden halting, stained handwrests, battery recalls, hot enough to cook an egg... Hi, I'm a Mac!
What about that range of serial numbers?
Sure you can say that it's all the manufacturer's fault, and Apple only designs the gear... but, like my mom always says 'If you see a piece of shit on the sidewalk, do you pick it up to make sure?'
Don't buy a new Mac, it's DRM infested (read TPM) and they changed the behaviour (aka hid the device) so that it no longer shows up... something is rotten in Denmark.
The BSA has been making up numbers of this type since its founding. Please note, that their acronym has many other fun derivations. These Bull Shit Artists are claiming that there has been a 34 BILLION dollar loss, and worse, it's a 1.6 Billion dollar increase over last year! While they have yet to PROVE unequivocably that there is this type of loss, they're getting plenty of press on the reason you're getting DRM shoved down your throat. Perhaps those 'perceived losses' are from the software vendors who are having trouble making their bottom line. Perhaps those losses are coming from a tanking of the PC industry because they keep rehashing the same processor and stamping it with a different name. 'Ooooh, I know, let's up the voltage on the clock and see if people buy last years fab!'
There is absolutely no proof of these losses. They are estimates based on what they think people should be buying. Being an industry lobby (well paid by the vendors) OF COURSE they think people should be buying more software.
Here's the rub, people can't afford to buy them... They're still reeling from when computers used to be 2-3 THOUSAND dollars each (or more), and still needed to be upgraded every five years (or less)... Let's face it, the PC business has raped the populace for 25 years now, we're starting to get a little sore down there...
Digital Rights Manglers
Digital Replay Minimizers
Didyaget Rapedbythe Media?
Don't Replay Me
Dumbass Ripoff Manager
Don't sRatch Me
Definitely Repurchase Multiples
Difficult Relating Mechanism
Dildo for RIAA and MPAA
Change. I'm an avid BSDer myself, primarily Free (despite the claimed IO failings) I find that BSD in all of its incarnations delivers stability, security and extensibility. I also use OS X, on the Macs around this place... I've completely dropped Windows, except where forced to use it through work. This is all evidence that the times are consistently changing.
I used to really like my C64, and my PET before that... I learned Pascal on an Apple II and was kicked out of 'Informatics' as it was then known for accessing the school board network. In my defense, it was the earliest example of the weakness of passwords as a security method (school:school) and I made up for my transgression by becoming a peer tutor helping many students pass computer science.
While I fondly remember my father delivering punch cards to the board office for processing the FORTRAN programs his pupils pencilled over, those days are gone too. I guess the lesson to be learned is that there is only change, those who can adapt, do, those who can't are relegated to the 'used to wases' and we can wax lyrically on the golden days of this or that, but the truth is that's left for old codgers and COBOL programmers.
To be on the cutting edge requires relevance, that means that a project (platform, etc.) needs to address the needs of today NOW, and have a plan for adapting to the constant change we all face. Sadly, it seems that the NetBSD project is either in need of a shake up, an injection of new blood, or a quiet and graceful departure from the mainstream consciousness. By his own admission, one of the founders of NetBSD is claiming the decay of his beloved baby. This isn't something to cry about, in New Orleans (deity bless its cotton socks) they have a great celebration on a passing. Perhaps a fork in the road is ahead for NetBSD, perhaps Charles can find it within himself to fork it himself.
Hell, we used to think vacuum tubes were the bomb! Imagine the blackouts we'd have if we still did?
I look forward to your future comments.
Hear hear for science!