At least you know where folks stand by their reaction to the SCO crap.
I can't decide if this
Infoworld piece is a statement of the rags position or simply a consultant looking for more business. Either way, it's something I wouldn't have expected from Infoworld, it's nice to see where they stand so I can ignore them from now on.
So, who else has made their stand and is in need of ignoring?
And then prepare to do that for the rest of the life of your installation? I'd rather have a blessed Redhat rpm AND have them fix what they broke in the first place!
Note, many of us are using an ftp mirror with something like autorpm to manage a large number of boxen.
Just because a port is open, that does not mean an actual app is there to exploit.
For example, I like to run portsentry. It opens all kinds of ports; any connection to one of those ports results in that IP being DROPPED by iptables.
One could (SHOULD) be running tcpwrappers with openssh, which would also be the proper protection for this ssh problem. And who says the machine doesn't already have the patch that it HOSTS?
If you must write something on the CD, then write as near the center hole as possible, and use you smallest handwriting. The color of the pen can actually affect the reading capability of the data, although the data is on the opposite side of your text.
No, the data layer is typically the TOP (label side) of the CDR, the bottom is simple polycarbonate. The ink can actually stain the data layer, causing errors at the very least. I've seen cases where the data-containing layers actually flaked off the CDR, not good at all!
Perhaps by opposite you meant radially on the CDR surface, as opposed to 'side'?
Don't get any DLT newer than DLT 4000, though. This was the last stable DLT drive, in my opinion.
Check quantum's site, you'll see the DLT 4000 is the last of the one branch DLTs, meaning after the 4000 the line diverged into two different product lines that don't interoperate (values vs enterprise series).
I've been a DLT minion for many years, but I've had more troubles with the DLT 8000 than any previous drive, both with media failures as well as drive failures. The later drives just drive the head density higher and higher, the error rate goes up, and your data lives a shorter life span.
It's not desperation. It's a coldly calculated strategy.
Spammers also have their sights set for filters; haven't you noticed that recent SPAM is coming with more and more random word strings ( like klasdflasdf) to get past the filters? The spammers aren't desperate at all, they're winning the battles.
That's awesome. The Linux community needs more people like yourself to speak out. No, I'm not being sarcastic.
See, the thing is, most of the Linux community is this way. Unfortunately, there is a verbal minority that keeps getting the limelight and the media jumps on that. It's the whole "squeaky wheel gets the grease" syndrome.
I do reserve the right to tease Windoze users, though, if only in payback for my mail spool being overrun with "Your message had a virus" crap.
You are trying to compare the minority car enthusiast crowd against the majority of non technical computer users.
Responding to an AC (don't feel like being responsible for your words?), shame on me.
Read for content. I was comparing the pro-Linux crowd to the "minority car ethusiast" crowd. And stating that Linux is probably not for the "average" user.
World Domination? I don't give a moment's thought to that, it's a joke Linus started that the media likes to use all the time. I like my OS just the way it is, and I don't care if you use it or not.
And I bet your proudly installed Debian (or Slackware or Gentoo or FreeBSD or RedHat or Mandrake or Lindows or...) on their system, thereby rendering it useless to them. "Uhh... dude, I just wanted to play Quake and check my e-mail."
You could be more wrong, but you'd really have to work at it.
Not everyone can drive a car with a manual transimission, nor does everyone want a car with a manual transmission. Does this mean cars with manual transmissions are inferior or shouldn't be made? Does that mean they should be rengineered to appeal to the average driver?
I personally believe that the strength of choice is that one has incentive to LEARN while making that choice. It doesn't matter whether one chooses blindly or not, there is still the event where one says "This sucks. I think I'll try option B."
The greatest damage Microsoft has done to the computing public is eliminating the awareness of choice. People consider the quirks and annoyances of Windows to just be a fact of life. I hear the question "What else is there?" all too often, usually in response to my chiding their third reboot of the day.
Yes, the average user doesn't care about choice, the inner workings of their tools, computers, appliances and transportation. And that's just sad.
"...there's simply no doubt that the desktop--and Microsoft--are the current target of many open source software projects. These projects are conceived, executed, and extended to compete with Microsoft's desktop applications."
The majority of projects are not about competing with Microsoft, rather their goals are to offer an alternative, often because of dissatifaction with MS offerings or the desire to be free of MS altogether. The goal is to get work done, not "beat Microsoft". Many would say they are more concerned about creating a quality application than targetting the OS/App choice of "average users".
The only ones claiming otherwise are the media and users dissatified with the projects current state. How many times have we heard "In order to compete with Microsoft Application X, Gnu Application Y needs to blah blah blah".
Buzz. In our lab we've had a number of MO drives over the years. The disks come in a variety of formats to start (3.5", 5.25", 1.3G, 2.6G, etc.), each drive seems to be compatible with discs it wrote and that's about it. And heaven forbid you get a bad spot on the MO, it is generally toast.
Granted, this is with 4 year old MO technology, but I don't see that all that much is changed. The MEDIA may be good for a number of years, but usually the drives die way before that time. For the cost, it just isn't worth it.
Oh, that was just the ones that actually made it to my mailbox. Another 2200 are sitting in my mail spool, waiting for "you are a human, yes?" responses.
Thank you qconfirm!
I can understand this position; however, I think people need to be educated that email is not a 100% technology. At some point one should verify via some other means before assuming a message was delivered or not.
You certainly don't ship expensive items via the US Post as 3rd class letters, why do folks assume that email be FEDEX overnight grade? If a message really needs to get through, email is NOT the appropriate format.
Perhaps I should have specified AUTOMATED responses.
Since most of the envelope addresses are spoofed (sobig certainly does this), having a mail server with a virus scanner automatically shoot off a message to the envelope address does no good. The admin of the server that sent the virus won't see the message, the spoofed address gets messages for stuff they can't do anything about.
I know I'm not going to sit and send 100 virus notifications for the mail I've gotten in the last 30 minutes!! Half the idiots don't even have a postmaster alias, the exercise is close to pointless.
I'm not seeing very many messages with SOBIG, as them get filtered at the mail server.
However, the large number of "Your message to xyz@zyx.com contained a virus" is filling my mail spool faster than any spammer. Seems one of my email addresses is a popular one to spoof.
CALL TO ADMINS: Please turn off viral notifications to outside addresses. These days most of the envelope addresses are spoofed, you're not doing any good leaving the notification in place.
I've been running Afterstep for the last 4 years. Why? It works, it's fairly light, and it stays out of my way while offering enough features to make my work easier. I'm one of those folks who run X only to get many aterms. Virtual desktop support is good and easily switchable via keyboard. Menu config is pretty simple, all the config is by good old text files. What's not to like?
Some of the older provisions also could have been challenged in court. Under the old contract, Microsoft declared that customers had to bring any claim they had against Microsoft within two years. Courts can toss out such clauses under certain circumstances. The new contract states that the statutes of limitations used by the court where any lawsuit is filed will prevail.
This seems like the main thrust behind the changes to me. I suspect Microsoft realized their current terms would end up null and void, so why not make a couple of changes to handle that and throw the customer a bone to generate some good press as well? Smart.
How does this affect Linux? It doesn't. The strategy is to compete on merits and that continues to be where Linux is winning. The best thing to do is ignore this and the whole SCO thing (other than maybe getting SCO's hand slapped for extortion) and keep on keeping on.
Installing from source is not a big deal, granted. But, this is kind of like Netscape 4.0 used to be. You knew it wasn't open source, but it was there to use, so you did.
Installing from source means making a choice to use a specific app. Given pine's closed license, I'd be more inclined to choose another app.
lilo is deprecated, not removed. This means it is still there, but will probably be removed in the future.
Personally, I think this is bad. I've run into situations where GRUB just couldn't handle the configurations I needed to do. And changing hardware on GRUB can sometimes force one to a boot disk where it shouldn't be necessary.
Now pine IS on the removed list, ACK!! Guess it's time to pick a new mailer, but man, a decade old habit is hard to break.
Slashdot Mirror
At least you know where folks stand by their reaction to the SCO crap.
I can't decide if this Infoworld piece is a statement of the rags position or simply a consultant looking for more business. Either way, it's something I wouldn't have expected from Infoworld, it's nice to see where they stand so I can ignore them from now on.
So, who else has made their stand and is in need of ignoring?
And then prepare to do that for the rest of the life of your installation? I'd rather have a blessed Redhat rpm AND have them fix what they broke in the first place!
Note, many of us are using an ftp mirror with something like autorpm to manage a large number of boxen.
Just because a port is open, that does not mean an actual app is there to exploit.
For example, I like to run portsentry. It opens all kinds of ports; any connection to one of those ports results in that IP being DROPPED by iptables.
One could (SHOULD) be running tcpwrappers with openssh, which would also be the proper protection for this ssh problem. And who says the machine doesn't already have the patch that it HOSTS?
Great, now maybe Redhat will fix their damn openssh RPMs that they fubarred with their last patch!
If you must write something on the CD, then write as near the center hole as possible, and use you smallest handwriting. The color of the pen can actually affect the reading capability of the data, although the data is on the opposite side of your text.
No, the data layer is typically the TOP (label side) of the CDR, the bottom is simple polycarbonate. The ink can actually stain the data layer, causing errors at the very least. I've seen cases where the data-containing layers actually flaked off the CDR, not good at all!
Perhaps by opposite you meant radially on the CDR surface, as opposed to 'side'?
Don't get any DLT newer than DLT 4000, though. This was the last stable DLT drive, in my opinion.
Check quantum's site, you'll see the DLT 4000 is the last of the one branch DLTs, meaning after the 4000 the line diverged into two different product lines that don't interoperate (values vs enterprise series).
I've been a DLT minion for many years, but I've had more troubles with the DLT 8000 than any previous drive, both with media failures as well as drive failures. The later drives just drive the head density higher and higher, the error rate goes up, and your data lives a shorter life span.
Not something you want in a archive stategy.
It's not desperation. It's a coldly calculated strategy.
Spammers also have their sights set for filters; haven't you noticed that recent SPAM is coming with more and more random word strings ( like klasdflasdf) to get past the filters? The spammers aren't desperate at all, they're winning the battles.
That's awesome. The Linux community needs more people like yourself to speak out. No, I'm not being sarcastic.
See, the thing is, most of the Linux community is this way. Unfortunately, there is a verbal minority that keeps getting the limelight and the media jumps on that. It's the whole "squeaky wheel gets the grease" syndrome.
I do reserve the right to tease Windoze users, though, if only in payback for my mail spool being overrun with "Your message had a virus" crap.
You are trying to compare the minority car enthusiast crowd against the majority of non technical computer users.
Responding to an AC (don't feel like being responsible for your words?), shame on me.
Read for content. I was comparing the pro-Linux crowd to the "minority car ethusiast" crowd. And stating that Linux is probably not for the "average" user.
World Domination? I don't give a moment's thought to that, it's a joke Linus started that the media likes to use all the time. I like my OS just the way it is, and I don't care if you use it or not.
And I bet your proudly installed Debian (or Slackware or Gentoo or FreeBSD or RedHat or Mandrake or Lindows or ...) on their system, thereby rendering it useless to them. "Uhh... dude, I just wanted to play Quake and check my e-mail."
You could be more wrong, but you'd really have to work at it.
I will get flamed for this, but:
Not everyone can drive a car with a manual transimission, nor does everyone want a car with a manual transmission. Does this mean cars with manual transmissions are inferior or shouldn't be made? Does that mean they should be rengineered to appeal to the average driver?
I personally believe that the strength of choice is that one has incentive to LEARN while making that choice. It doesn't matter whether one chooses blindly or not, there is still the event where one says "This sucks. I think I'll try option B."
The greatest damage Microsoft has done to the computing public is eliminating the awareness of choice. People consider the quirks and annoyances of Windows to just be a fact of life. I hear the question "What else is there?" all too often, usually in response to my chiding their third reboot of the day.
Yes, the average user doesn't care about choice, the inner workings of their tools, computers, appliances and transportation. And that's just sad.
Mr.Jones starts off with incorrect assumptions:
"...there's simply no doubt that the desktop--and Microsoft--are the current target of many open source software projects. These projects are conceived, executed, and extended to compete with Microsoft's desktop applications."
The majority of projects are not about competing with Microsoft, rather their goals are to offer an alternative, often because of dissatifaction with MS offerings or the desire to be free of MS altogether. The goal is to get work done, not "beat Microsoft". Many would say they are more concerned about creating a quality application than targetting the OS/App choice of "average users".
The only ones claiming otherwise are the media and users dissatified with the projects current state. How many times have we heard "In order to compete with Microsoft Application X, Gnu Application Y needs to blah blah blah".
Buzz.
In our lab we've had a number of MO drives over the years. The disks come in a variety of formats to start (3.5", 5.25", 1.3G, 2.6G, etc.), each drive seems to be compatible with discs it wrote and that's about it. And heaven forbid you get a bad spot on the MO, it is generally toast.
Granted, this is with 4 year old MO technology, but I don't see that all that much is changed. The MEDIA may be good for a number of years, but usually the drives die way before that time. For the cost, it just isn't worth it.
Oh, that was just the ones that actually made it to my mailbox. Another 2200 are sitting in my mail spool, waiting for "you are a human, yes?" responses. Thank you qconfirm!
Just for followup, this morning I have 600 messages that are all "Your message to X had a virus" flavor. All from spoofed messages.
Whee. Guess I can't claim to be unaffected by MS viruses anymore, despite having no MS products AT ALL.
I can understand this position; however, I think people need to be educated that email is not a 100% technology. At some point one should verify via some other means before assuming a message was delivered or not.
You certainly don't ship expensive items via the US Post as 3rd class letters, why do folks assume that email be FEDEX overnight grade? If a message really needs to get through, email is NOT the appropriate format.
Perhaps I should have specified AUTOMATED responses.
Since most of the envelope addresses are spoofed (sobig certainly does this), having a mail server with a virus scanner automatically shoot off a message to the envelope address does no good. The admin of the server that sent the virus won't see the message, the spoofed address gets messages for stuff they can't do anything about.
I know I'm not going to sit and send 100 virus notifications for the mail I've gotten in the last 30 minutes!! Half the idiots don't even have a postmaster alias, the exercise is close to pointless.
I'm not seeing very many messages with SOBIG, as them get filtered at the mail server.
However, the large number of "Your message to xyz@zyx.com contained a virus" is filling my mail spool faster than any spammer. Seems one of my email addresses is a popular one to spoof.
CALL TO ADMINS: Please turn off viral notifications to outside addresses. These days most of the envelope addresses are spoofed, you're not doing any good leaving the notification in place.
And I thought joe-jobbing was bad.
Ah, but in my opinion, AS runs fast and slicker than WM. At least for my config and the way I work.
:)
So, we're down to user preference, which is why Choice is Good.
I've been running Afterstep for the last 4 years. Why? It works, it's fairly light, and it stays out of my way while offering enough features to make my work easier. I'm one of those folks who run X only to get many aterms. Virtual desktop support is good and easily switchable via keyboard. Menu config is pretty simple, all the config is by good old text files. What's not to like?
No, current (1.x) AS does not have weird config files, nor does m4 come into play, at least not from the user perspective.
From the article:
Some of the older provisions also could have been challenged in court. Under the old contract, Microsoft declared that customers had to bring any claim they had against Microsoft within two years. Courts can toss out such clauses under certain circumstances. The new contract states that the statutes of limitations used by the court where any lawsuit is filed will prevail.
This seems like the main thrust behind the changes to me. I suspect Microsoft realized their current terms would end up null and void, so why not make a couple of changes to handle that and throw the customer a bone to generate some good press as well? Smart.
How does this affect Linux? It doesn't. The strategy is to compete on merits and that continues to be where Linux is winning. The best thing to do is ignore this and the whole SCO thing (other than maybe getting SCO's hand slapped for extortion) and keep on keeping on.
Installing from source is not a big deal, granted. But, this is kind of like Netscape 4.0 used to be. You knew it wasn't open source, but it was there to use, so you did.
Installing from source means making a choice to use a specific app. Given pine's closed license, I'd be more inclined to choose another app.
Yep, mutt seems to be the way to go, been hearing about it for years. Excellent IMAP support is good.
Time to redo the email plumbing I guess.
Nah, once you wake up and realize Mac sucks, you just put Gentoo on it. :)
lilo is deprecated, not removed. This means it is still there, but will probably be removed in the future.
Personally, I think this is bad. I've run into situations where GRUB just couldn't handle the configurations I needed to do. And changing hardware on GRUB can sometimes force one to a boot disk where it shouldn't be necessary.
Now pine IS on the removed list, ACK!! Guess it's time to pick a new mailer, but man, a decade old habit is hard to break.