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Comment: XFCE Convert (Score 4, Insightful) 818

by Hyppy (#40285077) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: Why Aren't You Running KDE?
I couldn't agree more. I first moved to XFCE when I was looking for a lighter window manager on an older computer. This was about a year ago, and I haven't looked back. Everything just works, and failing that, is fairly simple to configure. No godawful semi-maintained nigh-mandatory extensions lists, no configurator-cum-registry, no fighting with dozens of default helper services. It's just... functional. Is that too much to ask?
Security

+ - Diablo 3 Servers Hacked 1

Submitted by Hyppy
Hyppy writes "Hundreds (thousands) of users have reportedly been hacked simultaneously this weekend, less than a week after Diablo 3 was released. Dozens of threads on the official Diablo 3 forums created over the past 48 hours have been censored by Blizzard customer service officials. Interestingly enough, many players have Blizzard's SecurID-styled Authenticator on their accounts, bringing into question both Blizzard's security and that of the Authenticators."

Comment: Re:Not making money = wasting money (Score 3, Insightful) 141

by Hyppy (#39992459) Attached to: 'Goofing Off' To Get Ahead?
I have a few too many business degrees and miscellaneous related credentials, so I have some clue what I'm talking about.

The GP is right on this one. Technical and other professional workers are generally to be left to their own devices. Micromanagement is only to be used on those with little experience and job knowledge, or specific cases of a problem employee. This has been thoroughly studied and well-known in the (educated) business community for decades.

Comment: Re:What proof do you have? (Score 1) 545

by Hyppy (#36946132) Attached to: What Do I Do About My Ex-Employer Stealing My Free Code?

If the software was never publicly published, it wasn't really open source software to begin with. You release early and you release often, also for these sort of things.

He released it to himself. I wonder if that is enough? If so, there are some strange implications for anyone coding for a living. Want to have rights to continue using your code? Add an open source license to it, even if the employer removes it later. Somehow, I think that there may be a reason this won't work.

Comment: Re:Apparently (Score 1) 149

by Hyppy (#36921142) Attached to: Analyzing Long-Term SSD Failure Rates

The poster probably saw the chart, as they seem to have actually read the article in addition to merely glancing at a picture on the last page. Right below that graph:

But under the best of conditions, hard drives typically top out at 3% by the fifth year. Suffice it to say, the researchers at CMRR are adamant that today's SSDs aren't an order of magnitude more reliable than hard drives.

So you're quoting that SSDs are not 10x more reliable than HDDs. That doesn't exactly prove a point that HDDs are more reliable.

Comment: Re:Not as surprising as it should be (Score 1) 103

by Hyppy (#36505928) Attached to: SSL/TLS Vulnerability Widely Unpatched
You have obviously not come across the special breed of divalopers that we like to call Updatus Avoidus. Above and beyond the lovable characteristics of your run-of-the-mill divaloper, the Updatus Avoidus can be identified by it's shrill cries that often sound like "Don't patch! *squaaaak* My code will break! *squaaaaak*"

Comment: Re:Not as surprising as it should be (Score 2) 103

by Hyppy (#36505060) Attached to: SSL/TLS Vulnerability Widely Unpatched

Lately we've also been finding out that many major websites are storing passwords as plain text and are untested against SQL injection. So it's unsurprising that they're also unpatched.

Web servers need to be actively watched, maintained and scanned for vulnerabilities. Just because it's a LAMP server doesn't mean it's rock-solid. The fire-and-forget philosophy does not apply.

The problem is generally far beyond the necessary LAMP or IIS patching: The vulnerabilities you describe are flaws in the site's design and code. You can't patch a stupid divaloper.

Comment: Re:I was "all in" for a bit (Score 1) 538

by Hyppy (#36476112) Attached to: Why Businesses Move To the Cloud: They Hate IT
Walking away is an option in the implementation phase, sure. If something doesn't work right, you can just pull back and do something else.

The problem is when you get beyond implementation, and the vendor has your data by the naughty bits. You can't just "walk" without walking away from all your data. You think you have an SLA that allows you to walk away with your data? Take a look and see if it defines EXACTLY which format they export it in. Chances are, you've agreed to get a few TB of incomprehensible junk if you break contract.

Comment: Re:Of course (Score 1) 538

by Hyppy (#36475920) Attached to: Why Businesses Move To the Cloud: They Hate IT
The problem is that the "employer can't fire you for not doing something illegal" protections are really quite pathetic, especially in at-will states. At best, you can expect to win a couple month's pay after the 2-year court battle and attorney's fees. At worst, you're out the cost of attorneys' fees for both sides, and get nothing to show for it but a spot on the local IT blacklist.

Regardless of the law, the choice is still between a) do what you're told and b) hope you can make your mortgage without a job.

Eternity is a terrible thought. I mean, where's it going to end? -- Tom Stoppard

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