There was a review in December 04 in the Jem Report which seemed pretty fair. Of course, they are comparing somewhat out-of-date OS versions at this point, but it's still worth a look.
I don't find enough difference in security for my purposes (running the server and maintaining desktops at our medical practice) between OpenBSD and Linux to make it worthwhile. The software we use is much more readily available for Linux, and we've had no security issues in the 2+ years we've run it. I can't see learning to administer another system (I'm not a programmer or real sysadmin, just pretending).
While the description seems to imply that Amazon is patenting user reviews, (and the article, which it quotes, does the same), these patents apply to purchase circles and sites that allow searchable reviews rather than to those who write the reviews. More of a threat to CraigsList.
So the French Government sticks it to the politically powerless bloggers. Will they also forbid those same images on CNN referenced in the blurb? I would be willing to bet that more potential rioters got their initial impressions from the mainstream media than from blogs.
Of course, you cannot coordinate attacks on CNN, but shutting down blogs will be not only ineffective but counterproductive. A well-informed security service would be monitoring the blogs and spiking them with false info to make arrests.
OK, I'd prefer those who do the wrong thing to be stupid rather than clever...
So here is some, shamelessly cribbed from e-week. The worm actually attemts to attack three different web services:
"The XML-RPC hole commonly exists in blogging and Wiki programs. There are now fixes available for this hole for most systems.
AWStats is a popular, open-source log-file analyzer. Only servers which run AWStats 5.0 to 6.3 can be attacked. Versions 6.4, which came out in March, and higher are immune.
Finally, Webhints is an older script program that's designed to set up and maintain a "Hint (Quote/Tip/Joke/Whatever) of the Day" page. Version 1.3 is vulnerable to attack. There is, at this time, no known fix for the program. "
This still does not tell me which blogging/wiki programs are affected, only theat "most" have fixes - more info, anyone?
Just upgraded from Beta, and Adblock now works correctly again. Customize Google and NoScript have worked from Beta 1, at least on my Ubuntu machine at work. I presume the same will hold for my slackware box at home.
You know, the sad truth is that you are exactly right. Fox news has gone that route, and a significant portion of the email they receive on the "Fox and Friends" morning show has to do with whether or not the young anchorwoman is wearing a skirt. Now half of the anchors on CNN Headline news look like teenagers.
Aargh.
All I want is content, and I know there are still places to find it, but sometimes I feel that soon all we'll be able to get from the $media is Ken and Barbie spoon-feeding us pablum.
I agree - this describes why many people (myself included) switch. To paraphrase James Carville, "it's the applications, stupid". After years of using OS/2 and Windows 9x, I watched my brother-in-law scroll through a list of free debian apps until he found what he needed to solve an engineering problem.
Wow!
So I set up debian on an old box, and proceeded to duplicate all of features I used in our medical practice. I was sold, and although I use Slackware now, could never go back to "I need $functionality, so I'll need to go spend more money to get it".
If I use software at work, I support the people who wrote it, too. Applications sell the OS, which has worked in Microsoft's favor for years. Increasingly, this is working for Linux
I don't usually respond to this sort of thing, but I think you genuinely misunderstood - You quoted my comment, but did you read it? I do not claim any evil/secret/unfair advantage for Microsoft, but simply wish to point out that they have experience in coding within their own paradigm, which works to their advantage.
Kudos to the folks at OpenOffice.org for the work that they have done - it's a steep hill to climb, and they have made a lot of progress, relatively quickly.
And folks, let's not criticize their coding skills unless you are a coder yourself and can do better yourself...If this describes you, then hey, forget the critique and just pitch in!
Another Blog, another Bias...
on
OpenOffice Bloated?
·
· Score: 5, Insightful
As far as I can tell...
1) OOO IS slow - under Windows and Linux, enough so that competing "offices" like KOffice are kept alive despite reduced feature sets.
2) Office runs faster, but for that matter, so does IE - is it any suprise that MS can write software for its own OS which takes every possible advantage of its native environment to run with speed?
3) I use OOO whenever I can, because open standards means I know I'll be able to access my data in 10 years, unlike the struggle I've had with old Office/Wordperfect/XyWrite documents I've had to try to convert.
4) OOO is "bloated" in the same way my big multitool is bloated - you can't be small, fast, and everything to everyone on every OS
Many have complained about the advantages stemming from the pre-installed nature of MicroSoft's wares. With this, anyone wanting to use an alternative to Office has one "pre-installed" as well if they have solid net access.
This could be very big - it is the only way I can see to get wider use of this product around MS's strong-arming of vendors.
Although I hate to show ignorance, I cannot understand the word "cancable", and cannot find a reference to it in google or elsewhere (except as a website name). I note that your posting history pertains exclusively to biometrics, and I hope you can explain - no sarcasm whatsoever - I am trying to learn
There is a more profound problem with using body parts for trusted metrics, which has been brought up on this site and others before. If your "ID" is stolen, you cannot change it. Until, and unless, we can secure digital information (doubtful from this perspective), biometrics will remain interesting but unuseful in wider implementation.
Slax 5.0.6 KillBill will run Internet Explorer 4.0, and might run later versions as well, under wine. You can use this to access the FEMA application for benefits on the web without having to run Windows itself, and Slax runs well on older machines (runs acceptably on my Pentium-II with 128mb ram). In addition, it fits on an easily pocketable 210mb minidisk.
This hits at exactly the problem with these restrictions, as well as EULAS. I don't find out what the limitations on my rights will be with one of these products until I buy it, bring it home, take off the shrink wrap, and try to use it.
Then, the product cannot be returned for a refund (most places will only exchange for the same product).
There have been phishing convictions under existing fraud statutes (google "phishing conviction" for some examples), but that wasn't really my point. It seems that we laud politicians for sweeping "initiatives" and "wars on $badthing", but can't find the money for the folks in the trenches who are doing the real work.
Police resources are stretched too thin - tell the politicians to get off the soapbox and support them.
New laws (all laws) have unintended consequences, and fraud is already illegal. TFA provides no details, but I am always skeptical of new regulations which seem to "protect us" from something which is already covered by existing statute.
The real difficulty is that phishers tend to operate from outside jurisdiction and for very brief periods of time. I fail to see how a new "anti-phishing" law will do much to solve the problem - but elections are soon...I doubt that is coincedence.
There is a lot more competition out there for our entertainment dollars that there used to be. Think of all the computer/console based activities which have sprung up in the last 2 decades, to name just one example. Like any industry forced from a near monoply position into one with competition, the movie industry complains and blames dubious straw men for their difficulties.
Good movies can still compete.
As you point out, the efficiency advantage of hybrid automobiles diminishes relative to gasoline engines at highway speeds. Many will point out that the efficiency advantage of diesel engines increases relative to gas under these conditions. Right now, hybrids only make sense for the city-bound stop-and-go commuter, and for in-city delivery vehicles. Sadly, diesel's particulate emissions have recently been related to increased risks of asthma in children. All in all, hybrid products are a worthy work in progress...
Indeed, I have heard of the ITU and agree with you that they are a better fit. This answers the rhetorical (why the U.N.?) part of my question. With regard to the remainder, I will do you the courtesy of assuming that you have heard of the "law of unintended consequences". When the need arises to "fix" the internet, perhaps the ITU would be the body to whom we should turn. Until then...
The fundemental premise of your post is correct - no one flaw proves a browser is "better" than another browser, and flamewars ensue from these flawed comparisons. Nevertheless, there is an underlying problem with IE: ActiveX. This is yet another example of how Microsoft, wanting to "kill" a more open product (Java), has introduced it's own, flawed, "standard" which causes its own problems. In this case, ActiveX is not secure and cannot be made reasonably secure, and this is the problem many of us have with IE.
Indeed, the track record of the U.N. is mixed. What I don't see being discussed is whether or not this is even its role. Really, the U.N. was set up to mediate international disputes by methods other than the traditional (gunfire). Where is the dispute? Has the U.S. mishandled its authority here? If what we are proposing is to have the U.N. manage something because the current managers might mishandle it, aren't we asking for a worldwide nanny state?
Do we want this?
Indeed - much as my cellphone has decreased the amount of information (friend's numbers) I keep in my head. What remains to be seen is what (if anything) replaces it - addresses of websites? profound thoughts? Only time will tell...
And what would His Noodlyness have to say about "Creative Technology" - is that related to intelligent design? I suppose I'll have to find a pirate and ask...
Slashdot Mirror
There was a review in December 04 in the Jem Report which seemed pretty fair. Of course, they are comparing somewhat out-of-date OS versions at this point, but it's still worth a look.
I don't find enough difference in security for my purposes (running the server and maintaining desktops at our medical practice) between OpenBSD and Linux to make it worthwhile. The software we use is much more readily available for Linux, and we've had no security issues in the 2+ years we've run it. I can't see learning to administer another system (I'm not a programmer or real sysadmin, just pretending).
Your needs might be different - and probably are!
While the description seems to imply that Amazon is patenting user reviews, (and the article, which it quotes, does the same), these patents apply to purchase circles and sites that allow searchable reviews rather than to those who write the reviews. More of a threat to CraigsList.
Still another dumb ruling by the USPTO, though.
So the French Government sticks it to the politically powerless bloggers. Will they also forbid those same images on CNN referenced in the blurb? I would be willing to bet that more potential rioters got their initial impressions from the mainstream media than from blogs.
Of course, you cannot coordinate attacks on CNN, but shutting down blogs will be not only ineffective but counterproductive. A well-informed security service would be monitoring the blogs and spiking them with false info to make arrests.
OK, I'd prefer those who do the wrong thing to be stupid rather than clever...
So here is some, shamelessly cribbed from e-week. The worm actually attemts to attack three different web services:
"The XML-RPC hole commonly exists in blogging and Wiki programs. There are now fixes available for this hole for most systems.
AWStats is a popular, open-source log-file analyzer. Only servers which run AWStats 5.0 to 6.3 can be attacked. Versions 6.4, which came out in March, and higher are immune.
Finally, Webhints is an older script program that's designed to set up and maintain a "Hint (Quote/Tip/Joke/Whatever) of the Day" page. Version 1.3 is vulnerable to attack. There is, at this time, no known fix for the program. "
This still does not tell me which blogging/wiki programs are affected, only theat "most" have fixes - more info, anyone?
Just upgraded from Beta, and Adblock now works correctly again. Customize Google and NoScript have worked from Beta 1, at least on my Ubuntu machine at work. I presume the same will hold for my slackware box at home.
Can't speak to IE view, I'm afraid.
I have run OOO 1.1.x on a P-II with 256MB, and it was not particularly slow.
From their website:
Windows
Microsoft Windows 98, ME, NT (Service Pack 6 or higher), 2000 or XP
Pentium compatible PC, 64 MB RAM, 250 MB available hard disk space
OK, I'm taking the 64 MB minimum with a grain of salt, but still this is pretty reasonable.
"get a much younger anchor"
You know, the sad truth is that you are exactly right. Fox news has gone that route, and a significant portion of the email they receive on the "Fox and Friends" morning show has to do with whether or not the young anchorwoman is wearing a skirt. Now half of the anchors on CNN Headline news look like teenagers.
Aargh.
All I want is content, and I know there are still places to find it, but sometimes I feel that soon all we'll be able to get from the $media is Ken and Barbie spoon-feeding us pablum.
I agree - this describes why many people (myself included) switch. To paraphrase James Carville, "it's the applications, stupid". After years of using OS/2 and Windows 9x, I watched my brother-in-law scroll through a list of free debian apps until he found what he needed to solve an engineering problem.
Wow!
So I set up debian on an old box, and proceeded to duplicate all of features I used in our medical practice. I was sold, and although I use Slackware now, could never go back to "I need $functionality, so I'll need to go spend more money to get it".
If I use software at work, I support the people who wrote it, too. Applications sell the OS, which has worked in Microsoft's favor for years. Increasingly, this is working for Linux
I don't usually respond to this sort of thing, but I think you genuinely misunderstood - You quoted my comment, but did you read it? I do not claim any evil/secret/unfair advantage for Microsoft, but simply wish to point out that they have experience in coding within their own paradigm, which works to their advantage.
Kudos to the folks at OpenOffice.org for the work that they have done - it's a steep hill to climb, and they have made a lot of progress, relatively quickly.
And folks, let's not criticize their coding skills unless you are a coder yourself and can do better yourself...If this describes you, then hey, forget the critique and just pitch in!
As far as I can tell...
1) OOO IS slow - under Windows and Linux, enough so that competing "offices" like KOffice are kept alive despite reduced feature sets.
2) Office runs faster, but for that matter, so does IE - is it any suprise that MS can write software for its own OS which takes every possible advantage of its native environment to run with speed?
3) I use OOO whenever I can, because open standards means I know I'll be able to access my data in 10 years, unlike the struggle I've had with old Office/Wordperfect/XyWrite documents I've had to try to convert.
4) OOO is "bloated" in the same way my big multitool is bloated - you can't be small, fast, and everything to everyone on every OS
Many have complained about the advantages stemming from the pre-installed nature of MicroSoft's wares. With this, anyone wanting to use an alternative to Office has one "pre-installed" as well if they have solid net access.
This could be very big - it is the only way I can see to get wider use of this product around MS's strong-arming of vendors.
Although I hate to show ignorance, I cannot understand the word "cancable", and cannot find a reference to it in google or elsewhere (except as a website name). I note that your posting history pertains exclusively to biometrics, and I hope you can explain - no sarcasm whatsoever - I am trying to learn
Thank you in advance
Pete
There is a more profound problem with using body parts for trusted metrics, which has been brought up on this site and others before. If your "ID" is stolen, you cannot change it. Until, and unless, we can secure digital information (doubtful from this perspective), biometrics will remain interesting but unuseful in wider implementation.
Slax 5.0.6 KillBill will run Internet Explorer 4.0, and might run later versions as well, under wine. You can use this to access the FEMA application for benefits on the web without having to run Windows itself, and Slax runs well on older machines (runs acceptably on my Pentium-II with 128mb ram). In addition, it fits on an easily pocketable 210mb minidisk.
This hits at exactly the problem with these restrictions, as well as EULAS. I don't find out what the limitations on my rights will be with one of these products until I buy it, bring it home, take off the shrink wrap, and try to use it.
Then, the product cannot be returned for a refund (most places will only exchange for the same product).
This is why I no longer purchase their products.
There have been phishing convictions under existing fraud statutes (google "phishing conviction" for some examples), but that wasn't really my point. It seems that we laud politicians for sweeping "initiatives" and "wars on $badthing", but can't find the money for the folks in the trenches who are doing the real work.
Police resources are stretched too thin - tell the politicians to get off the soapbox and support them.
New laws (all laws) have unintended consequences, and fraud is already illegal. TFA provides no details, but I am always skeptical of new regulations which seem to "protect us" from something which is already covered by existing statute.
The real difficulty is that phishers tend to operate from outside jurisdiction and for very brief periods of time. I fail to see how a new "anti-phishing" law will do much to solve the problem - but elections are soon...I doubt that is coincedence.
There is a lot more competition out there for our entertainment dollars that there used to be. Think of all the computer/console based activities which have sprung up in the last 2 decades, to name just one example. Like any industry forced from a near monoply position into one with competition, the movie industry complains and blames dubious straw men for their difficulties. Good movies can still compete.
As you point out, the efficiency advantage of hybrid automobiles diminishes relative to gasoline engines at highway speeds. Many will point out that the efficiency advantage of diesel engines increases relative to gas under these conditions. Right now, hybrids only make sense for the city-bound stop-and-go commuter, and for in-city delivery vehicles. Sadly, diesel's particulate emissions have recently been related to increased risks of asthma in children. All in all, hybrid products are a worthy work in progress...
Indeed, I have heard of the ITU and agree with you that they are a better fit. This answers the rhetorical (why the U.N.?) part of my question. With regard to the remainder, I will do you the courtesy of assuming that you have heard of the "law of unintended consequences". When the need arises to "fix" the internet, perhaps the ITU would be the body to whom we should turn. Until then...
The fundemental premise of your post is correct - no one flaw proves a browser is "better" than another browser, and flamewars ensue from these flawed comparisons. Nevertheless, there is an underlying problem with IE: ActiveX. This is yet another example of how Microsoft, wanting to "kill" a more open product (Java), has introduced it's own, flawed, "standard" which causes its own problems. In this case, ActiveX is not secure and cannot be made reasonably secure, and this is the problem many of us have with IE.
Indeed, the track record of the U.N. is mixed. What I don't see being discussed is whether or not this is even its role. Really, the U.N. was set up to mediate international disputes by methods other than the traditional (gunfire). Where is the dispute? Has the U.S. mishandled its authority here? If what we are proposing is to have the U.N. manage something because the current managers might mishandle it, aren't we asking for a worldwide nanny state? Do we want this?
Indeed - much as my cellphone has decreased the amount of information (friend's numbers) I keep in my head. What remains to be seen is what (if anything) replaces it - addresses of websites? profound thoughts? Only time will tell...
And what would His Noodlyness have to say about "Creative Technology" - is that related to intelligent design? I suppose I'll have to find a pirate and ask...