Linked by Thom Holwerda on Tue 10th Nov 2009 09:31 UTC
Last week, security vendor Sophos published a blog post in which it said that Windows 7 was vulnerable to 8 our of 10 of the most common viruses. Microsoft has responded to these test results, which are a classic case of "scare 'm and they'll fall in line".
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Member since:2009-11-05
RE[3]: They deserve it
by BluenoseJake on Tue 10th Nov 2009 15:49
in reply to "RE[2]: They deserve it"
Member since:2005-08-11
Anti-linux fud has nothing to do with the misrepresentations that Apple employs in it's adds, and most of the problems listed on the Windows 7 Sins page is just FUD, or problems that were solved ages ago.
I'm pretty sure that the FSF predates Linux, so they have been spreading the word long before MS started to get worried about Linux
MS is not the only one that lies, and as a user of both Windows and Linux, i can tell you that the FUD from both sides is kinda sickening.
RE[3]: They deserve it
by larwilliams on Wed 11th Nov 2009 21:28
in reply to "RE[2]: They deserve it"
Member since:2007-04-03
remarkable is Microsoft's claim that in the case of a security leak, Linux offers no guarantee of a patch- ignoring the fact that in the past, critical breaches in Linux have never been left for any notable length of time without a security patch being released. Unlike Windows, where a known security issue can stay un-patched for two years. Which shows that it's Microsoft that should be reticent of offering guarantees for patches.
There is no lie in saying that Linux isn't guaranteed a patch for a flaw. There is no one company behind it, to ensure that flaws will eventually be patched.
As for 2 years, I guess you forget the OpenSSL weak key flaw that was a bug from mid-2006 until mid-2008 huh?
Edited 2009-11-11 21:30 UTC
Member since:2007-02-17
"remarkable is Microsoft's claim that in the case of a security leak, Linux offers no guarantee of a patch- ignoring the fact that in the past, critical breaches in Linux have never been left for any notable length of time without a security patch being released. Unlike Windows, where a known security issue can stay un-patched for two years. Which shows that it's Microsoft that should be reticent of offering guarantees for patches.
There is no lie in saying that Linux isn't guaranteed a patch for a flaw. There is no one company behind it, to ensure that flaws will eventually be patched. " This is true. I suppose then there are only the estimated 1.5 million full-time-equivalent developers involved with open source, who can all see the code and submit patches against identified problems, and whose best interest is undoubtedly served by promptly fixing any identified security problem.
As for 2 years, I guess you forget the OpenSSL weak key flaw that was a bug from mid-2006 until mid-2008 huh?
An as-yet-unidentified bug is not an unpatched security flaw. It is a bug.
An unpatched security flaw happens when a secruity bug is know to the general public, but no fix yet exists.
There was only a very short time span for the OpenSSL weak key flaw ... it wasn't hard at all to fix, as the flaw was caused by initialising some variables that shouldn't have been. As soon as it was identified, it was fixed.
News
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/18/13 22:33 UTC
Official Apple statement on PRISM and privacy: "Regardless of the circumstances, our Legal team conducts an evaluation of each request and, only if appropriate, we retrieve and deliver the narrowest possible set of information to the authorities. In fact, from time to time when we see inconsistencies or inaccuracies in a request, we will refuse to fulfill it." This is basically Apple re-publishing their earlier statement in a more official manner. You either believe it, or you don't.
Linked by Anonymous on 06/18/13 22:26 UTC
The open source Contiki operating system and its commercial Thingsquare distribution are making strides towards the connected home. According to a Computerworld article, a new LED light bulb manufacturer is putting small computers into their light bulbs. Each computer runs the Contiki OS, which gives each bulb an IP address and allows them to be controlled with a smartphone application. To connect the bulbs to the application, the bulbs use both Wi-Fi and the much lower power IEEE 802.15.4 mesh technology.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/18/13 22:25 UTC
"Google asked the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court on Tuesday to ease long-standing gag orders over data requests it makes, arguing that the company has a constitutional right to speak about information it's forced to give the government. The legal filing, which cites the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech, is the latest move by the California-based tech giant to protect its reputation in the aftermath of news reports about sweeping National Security Agency surveillance of Internet traffic." Draining the ditch after the cow has drowned in it.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/18/13 17:45 UTC
"I can't find one person who has been using the Nexus 7 for an extended period of time, and hasn't seen a massive downgrade in performance. Just what kind of downgrade are we talking here? I cannot pick up my Nexus 7 without experiencing problems like a lag of ten seconds, or more, just to rotate the display; touches refusing to acknowledged; stuttering notification panel actions; and unresponsive apps." Fully and utterly agreed. My Nexus 7 was blazing-fast and awesome for a few months, and at some point, it just started sucking. Just like that. I've tried loads of ROMs, and nothing helps.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/18/13 17:32 UTC, submitted by poundsmack
A new release of the hobby operating system MenuetOS! The release notes are a bit non-descript, but you'll have to take what you can get: "updates and improvements (picview, httpc, ehci, ...)".
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/17/13 17:58 UTC
"The Internet is one of the most transformative technologies of our lifetimes. But for 2 out of every 3 people on earth, a fast, affordable Internet connection is still out of reach. And this is far from being a solved problem. There are many terrestrial challenges to Internet connectivity - jungles, archipelagos, mountains. There are also major cost challenges. Right now, for example, in most of the countries in the southern hemisphere, the cost of an Internet connection is more than a month's income. Solving these problems isn't simply a question of time: it requires looking at the problem of access from new angles. So today we're unveiling our latest moonshot from Google[x]: balloon-powered Internet access." Insane.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/17/13 17:52 UTC
"MineAssemble is a tiny bootable Minecraft clone written partly in x86 assembly. I made it first and foremost because a university assignment required me to implement a game in assembly for a computer systems course. Because I had never implemented anything more complex than a 'Hello World' bootloader before, I decided I wanted to learn about writing my own kernel code at the same time. Note that the goal of this project was not to write highly efficient hand-optimized assembly code, but rather to have fun and write code that balances readability and speed. This is primarily accomplished by proper commenting and consistent code structuring." Just cool.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/14/13 21:03 UTC
Jon Rubinstein, former CEO of Palm: "Well, I'm not sure I would have sold the company to HP. That's for sure. Talk about a waste. Not that I had any choice because when you sell a company you don't get to decide that. Obviously, the board and shareholders decide that. If we had known they were just going to shut it down and never really give it a chance to flourish, what would have been the point of selling the company? I think the deal we had with Verizon really hurt us, but who knew that at the time? These things are all hindsight."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/14/13 20:46 UTC
"And so it is with Dell's Alienware X51 R2, a small form factor gaming PC in console digs. It's shaped similar to Microsoft's Xbox 360 Slim, and though it's slightly larger than either a 360 or PlayStation 3, the X51 R2 would be right at home in a living room setting nestled next to a large screen TV. Indeed, it's adept at running Steam's Big Picture mode, and if your primary objective is to play games in the living room, go ahead and consider the X51 R2 a hybrid game console." This is obviously not the only machine like this - still, these are very valid console alternatives even for those that don't like being hunched over with a cramped WASD-claw. Also, PC gamers among us: could you get away with the $699 model for gaming?
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/14/13 17:32 UTC
From Bloomberg: "Microsoft, the world's largest software company, provides intelligence agencies with information about bugs in its popular software before it publicly releases a fix, according to two people familiar with the process. That information can be used to protect government computers and to access the computers of terrorists or military foes." The lid has officially been blown off.More News »
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Member since:
2007-02-17
and the FSF doesn't knock other OS's? Or Apple? Grow up. "
Chicken and egg.
If Microsoft trains representatives to lie with anti-Linux FUD, it has to surely expect criticism in return.
http://www.linuxpromagazine.com/Online/News/New-Anti-Linux-Propagan...
I mean, really:
http://quaoar.ww7.be/ms_fud_of_the_year/569458-microsoft-attack-lin...
outright lies, pure and simple. Caught red-handed just plain lying.
As usual, Microsoft's "Get the Facts" campaign spreads totally unsubstantiated lies about Linux which it calls fact.
...
remarkable is Microsoft's claim that in the case of a security leak, Linux offers no guarantee of a patch- ignoring the fact that in the past, critical breaches in Linux have never been left for any notable length of time without a security patch being released. Unlike Windows, where a known security issue can stay un-patched for two years. Which shows that it's Microsoft that should be reticent of offering guarantees for patches.
Microsoft's biggest porkies are about the security of its OS in comparison to others, as usual.
Edited 2009-11-10 12:52 UTC