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Comment Re:Let me be the first critic (Score 1) 1127

by narooze (#27434143) Attached to: Linux Needs Critics

I am myself both a Linux proponent and a developer. However, I do not think there is a value in people running Linux just for the sake of it. I do want people to run Linux, but only if they're benefiting from doing so.

A lot of people are saying that the Linux world must learn this and that from Windows, so that we can gain more users. What is the point of that? We who run Linux today do not do it because we hope that some day Linux will come to be just like Windows, we run it because it is not like Windows. People think and function in different ways, and that is why we want different things. What therefor seems like a horrible system where you have to use the keyboard and type things to one person may seem like a wonderful system where you don't have to use the mouse to another.

I think people should stop obsessing over getting everyone to run Linux. If people want to run Linux and see a benefit in doing so, then they will. If they don't, why should we care?
Privacy

UK Gov't May Track All Facebook Traffic 204

Posted by timothy from the posted-before-curfew dept.
Jack Spine writes "The UK government, which is becoming increasingly Orwellian, has said that it is considering snooping on all social networking traffic including Facebook, MySpace, and bebo. This supposedly anti-terrorist measure may be proposed as part of the Intercept Modernisation Programme according to minister Vernon Coaker, and is exactly the sort of deep packet inspection web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee warned about last week. The measure would get around the inconvenience for the government of not being able to snoop on all UK web traffic."
Microsoft

Microsoft Shoots Own Foot In Iceland 476

Posted by kdawson from the blood-from-a-stone-middleman dept.
David Gerard writes "The Microsoft Certified Partner model is: an MCP buys contracts from Microsoft and sells them to businesses as a three-year timed contract, payable in annual installments. Iceland's economy has collapsed, so 1500 businesses have gone bankrupt and aren't paying the fees any more. But Microsoft has told the MCPs: 'Our deal was with you, not them. Pay up.' The MCPs that don't go bankrupt in turn are moving headlong to Free Software, taking most of the country with them. (Warning: link contains strong language and vivid imagery.)"
Security

State of Colorado Calls Firefox Insecure, IE6 Safe 530

Posted by timothy from the sheeps'-bladders-may-be-used-to-prevent-earthquakes dept.
linuxkrn writes "The State of Colorado's Office of Technology (OIT) has set up a work skills website. The problem is that the site says 'DO NOT use FIREFOX or other Browsers besides IE. It has been decided that Mozilla based, non-IE browsers pose a security risk.' (Original emphasis from site.) If the leading IT agency for the State is making these uneducated claims, should the people worry about their other decisions?"
Debian

Debian GNU/Linux 5.0 "Lenny" Released 386

Posted by kdawson from the waiting's-over dept.
Alexander "Tolimar" Reichle-Schmehl writes "The Debian Project is pleased to announce the official release of Debian GNU/Linux version 5.0 (codenamed Lenny) after 22 months of constant development. With 12 supported computer architectures, more than 23,000 packages built from over 12,000 source packages and 63 languages for the new graphical installer, this release sets new records, once again. Software available in 5.0 includes Linux 2.6.26, KDE 3.5.10, Gnome 2.22.2, X.Org 7.3, OpenOffice.org 2.4.1, GIMP 2.4.7, Iceweasel 3.0.6, Apache 2.2.9, Xen 3.2.1 and GCC 4.3.2. Other notable features are X autoconfiguring itself, full read-write support for NTFS, Java programs in the main repository and a single Blu-Ray disc installation media. You can get the ISOs via bittorrent. The Debian Project also wishes to announce that this release is dedicated to Thiemo Seufer, a Debian Developer who died on December 26th, 2008 in a tragic car accident. As a valuable member of the Debian Project, he will be sorely missed."
Debian

Submission + - Debian's Lenny release expected this Saturday (networkworld.com)

Submitted by
Mikael Auno
Mikael Auno writes: "The Debian Project is expected to release Debian GNU/Linux 5.0, codenamed 'lenny', this Saturday. According to Debian Release Team member Adeodato Simó, only a major cock-up will prevent the release from going ahead. 'The intention is only to lift that date if something really critical pops up that is not possible to handle as an errata, or if we end up technically unable to release that weekend (eg., a needed machine crashes). Every other fix that doesn't make it in time will be r1 material,' he said in a post last week. Should Debian meet its deadline, lenny will come out almost two years after the release of etch, which made its official debut in April 2007."
Operating Systems

Moblin 2 First Impressions 100

Posted by kdawson from the fast-boot-coming-to-a-distro-near-you dept.
nerdyH notes a DesktopLinux.com first look at the alpha of Intel's Moblin 2 toolkit for Linux distributors to create distributions for netbooks and other Atom-based kit. "A lot of notebooks and even netbooks these days run Windows, but also offer a minimalist Linux environment that boots in seconds. Now, with the Intel-sponsored Moblin project's alpha release of Moblin 2 Monday, it looks like insanely fast boots will become a standard feature of full-featured Linux desktops, too. Some of the quick-booting environments out there are enough to give anyone a lasting hatred of Linux. Like those free bicycles that liberal, well-intentioned municipalities release into the wild from time to time, hoping to get drivers out of their cars, fast-boot Linux is probably doing more to harm than help the cause. But pretty soon, even full-featured Linux will boot in seconds. That's because Intel's built some mighty whizzy read-ahead boot technology into Moblin 2."
Security

How To Suck At Information Security 198

Posted by kdawson from the words-to-the-wise dept.
wiedzmin writes "Great entry in today's SANS Internet Storm Center Handler's Diary — How to suck at Information Security. Some of my favorite points include: 'Assume the users will read the security policy because you've asked them to. Assume that policies don't apply to executives. Make someone responsible for managing risk, but don't give the person any power to make decisions. Expect end-users to forgo convenience in place of security. Hire somebody just because he or she has a lot of certifications. Expect your users to remember passwords without writing them down.' Very entertaining and informative read with total of about 4 dozen points. Now if I could only find a way to get management to read it." There's also a one-page PDF on the author's site.
Graphics

The Presidential Portrait Goes Digital 295

Posted by CmdrTaco from the oh-oh-obamania dept.
alphadogg writes "Barack Obama's election to US president has already brought a string of firsts, and on Wednesday there came another. The official presidential portrait was shot on a digital camera for the first time. The picture was taken by the White House's new official photographer, Pete Souza, and issued by The Office of the President Elect through its Web site. It was taken on Tuesday evening at 5:38 p.m. using a Canon EOS 5D Mark II, according to the metadata embedded in the image file."
The Internet

NZ File-Sharers, Remixers Guilty Upon Accusation 449

Posted by kdawson from the how-laws-are-made dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Next month, New Zealand is scheduled to implement Section 92 of the Copyright Amendment Act. The controversial act provides 'Guilt Upon Accusation,' which means that if a file-sharer is simply accused of copyright infringement he/she will be punished with summary Internet disconnection. Unlike most laws, this one has no appeal process and no punishment for false accusation, because they were removed after public consultation. The ISPs are up in arms and now artists are taking a stand for fair copyright."
Input Devices

The Best Keyboards For Every Occasion 523

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the right-touch dept.
ThinSkin writes "ExtremeTech has written an article on the best keyboards in every category, such as gaming keyboards (macro and hybrid), media center keyboards, keyboard gamepads, and so forth. Of course, the big companies like Microsoft and Logitech dominate these lists, while smaller companies like Razer, Ideazon, and others play an important role as well."
Portables (Apple)

Should Apple Open Source the iPhone? 379

Posted by timothy from the would-sure-to-have-to-have-all-that-money dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Given the OpeniBoot project is just a breath away from getting Android onto the iPhone, maybe Apple should consider opening up the platform. This post has five reasons, but I think there are far more. Without open source, Apple will find itself in the same position as today's Microsoft in seven years."
Science

Large Hadron Collider Goes Live September 10th 409

Posted by timothy from the get-your-affairs-in-order dept.
Naznarreb writes "CERN announced today that the first attempt to circulate a beam through the Large Hadron Collider will be on September 10th, 2008. You can read the press release here. They also announced the event will be webcast live. According to the release, they're just planning to run a few tests laps, not smash any particles, so the world won't be ending quite yet." And despite that September 10th date, according to the BBC, "On 9 August, protons will be piped through LHC magnets for the first time."

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All your files have been destroyed (sorry). Paul.

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