Posts by Antoinette Lacroix

Sophos punts anti-virus for Klingons

Clever marketing

I don't run Windows, but downloaded it just for keeps.

Heghlu'meH QaQ jajvam

Win 7 RC fails to thwart well-known hacker risk

On the other hand

Do you really think it'd make a difference to the so called "average user" if he sees extensions by default ? Most of them don't even know what an executable is.

Safari, Opera browsers patch-shy, says study

Opera 10

has autoupdates. The interval it looks for updates can be adjusted, the default is 1 hour. Visit http://www.opera.com/next and see for yourself.

Oh, and Russel, it always IS in the next version, and in most cases far ahead of the competition.

FreeBSD 7.2 joins BSD fest

FreeBSD is not a Linux distro

It's a descendant of the Berkeley Software Distribution. The first version of FreeBSD was released in 1979, the Linux kernel was introduced in 1991. You'd be amazed how much FreeBSD code is used in other OSes. Some call it the "Unknown Giant".

Windows 7 test build 'turns off' Internet Explorer 8

Not possible

As said above, iexplore.exe is just a frontend to explorer.exe. Completely removing IE renders the system useless. Go ahead, boot up *Nix. Mount the Windows partition with ntfs-3g and delete \Program Files\Internet Explorer. Then empty the Recycle Bin, Prefetch and Dllcache.You'll be amazed how little you can do with Windows after that.

Microsoft kills off public availability of Windows 7 beta

Half true

If you register at MSDN (it's free) you can still download Win7 Beta.

Geekerati brace for Unix timestamp milestone

And still it's not accurate

While the return value is precise to 100ns, it is only updated at each timer tick. Between ticks you have no information. Windows, unlike *Nixes, doesn't interpolate the return value between ticks.

So much for useless information :-)

(just couldn't resist)

EU says Microsoft violated law with IE on Windows

Question:

How many users would be able to obtain a different browser, without IE being pre-installed ?

Hotmail holdouts grumble about 'pathetic' new interface

Huh?

Never had a Hotmail account, but all the fuzz made me curious. So I registered, and used it with Opera on FreeBSD, and Opera Mini on a Motorola Z8. It works perfectly and the UI makes sense. Can't see what's so bad about it.

Microsoft rethinks open source CodePlex site

Codeplex.com ?

I believe in MS open source when I see http://sourceforge.net/projects/microsoft/

Boy band sings praises of Windows 7

The video is a joke, but . .

what really made me laugh, is the price one has to pay for attending PCD2008. Only $2395. Sounds like a real bargain . .

Windows Update to trumpet Vista Capable debacle?

So what ?

Any car manufacturer could slap a sticker on a 20HP vehicle, and call it: "Autobahn capable". All the law requires is a speed of +60 Km/h. Nobody said it'd be fun.

gOS - a Google good OS for your Mum

Where's the problem ?

It doesn't lack configurability - it lacks configuration tools. You're free to edit the config files by hand. With vi, gcc & autotools, it's a tweakable as the next distro.

Spammers, Cuil, and the rescue from planet Google

Time to learn a proper language ?

Cuil works like a charm - if you don't search in English.

Try German, French or Italian . ..

German government approves plod-spyware law

Hold yer horses

The bill has only been approved by the federal cabinet. The Bundestag still has to decide, if there will be any legal changes.

See http://www.netzeitung.de/politik/deutschland/1040918.html

(Leans back, pats her GELI-encrypted FreeBSD boxes . . . grins)

Next Ubuntu LTS in 2010, unless Linuxes synchronize

Drop X ?

Now that it works properly ? And replace it with what ? Are you aware of the fact that almost every graphical Nix application is written with an X-Toolkit ? Are you suggesting, all those apps should be rewritten ? Rewritten by volunteers, in their spare time, so YOU can use them without having to think or learn ? It's not Xs fault if you coudn't get it to work. It's not the fault of ATI, Nvidia, DistroXY, or whoever. It's YOUR fault ! All you had to do was type: "man xorg.conf", this manpage really tells you everything. If that's too difficult for you "experts", any Nix comes with a configuration tool. It just doesn't hit you in the face and shouts "KLICK ME". It's true, X is a tad more difficult to set up than Windows or OS X graphics, but it's easy enough, and we like it that way. It gives us a lot of options, and keeps the mousepushers were they belong. Always keep in mind: You are allowed to join our community, and if you choose to do so, it's for your own good. We don't force you to do so, and we don't necessarily WANT you to !

Windows XP SP3 sends PCs into endless reboot

You might have read my first post

and the it get's even better. After visiting some Yahoo sites, Windows informs me that 4 services have been deactivated for security reasons. Is this a part of the Microhoo scheme ? One can ony speculate . .

No really, I don't flame anyone. But how can ANYONE possibly use Windows ?

(Shakes her head an rips out the M$ infested disk.)

Unix is the only way to go.

(Still no BSD icon, you guys are in serious trouble)

Something funny

I installed XP from a very old OEM disk, without any service pack on it, to deal with some odd errors, my customers were getting. After that, I went straight to Windows Update. It provided me with "critical updates" i.e. WGA and suchlike. Then I got some new stuff that enabled me to to use "Microsoft Update". After 45 min of "serious updating", I was ready to install SP3. After that, being the cautious Unix person that I am, not trusting anything I don't have source for, I created myself an ordinary user account. Then I installed Opera and hit the web. It was a short journey. Almost every website I visited, produced a popup which says that system files had been changed, and Windows asks me to insert the "Original Windows SP3 disk" (as if anyone had one of these, yet), to restore those files. Being logged in as a normal user, no website could possibly have altered any system files . . . could it ?

I wonder what this is all about . .

[if you don't give me a BSD Icon soon, I visit you in person, and believe you me . . you don't want that]

Sun's 'Project Copy Linux' goes commercial

Well said @Mommy

Actually, there might be a driver for USB toasters. Open Solaris has a bustling community, they only don't post here. I was able to find drivers for all of my 'more or less exotic' gear. Some had to be build from source, but they are there.

Ubuntu man Shuttleworth dissects Hardy Heron's arrival

Wubi ?

Good work, very impressive - but where's the point ? Why would $USER install "almost-Windows" on real Windows ? The "Open Source" argument is irrelevant - Almost nobody pays for Windows, and $CASUALUSER has no use for source. It's not enough to be better, you have to be different ! So different, that some time in the future, everyone only shakes heads, when remembering how Microsoft did things. Copying the competition won't do the trick. Looks like there won't be much difference after "Lousy Lizard" is out.

Ubuntu - the sound of the word alone makes me wanna throw up.

[Insert BSD icon here]

Paris, coz she wouldn't give a fsck, either.

Red Hat scurries away from consumer desktop market

It's not about the OS

It's about uniformity. If you once installed a KDE based distro, and only selected optional KDE packages, you might have noticed that a lot of Gnome stuff get's installed anyway. Gnome based distros usually install lots of 3rd party stuff, as well. That's because there's no complete single desktop environment for *Nix. Gnome and KDE are fine for everyday tasks, but if your needs are somewhat specific, you end up with apps, made with Motiv, Nextstep, CDE . . . If apps are made with different toolkits, there's no consistent look-and-feel. Clearly, that's not what RedHat wanted, since Joe User prefers looks over functionality. I think RH picked out a single DE, and had trouble to plug it's holes.

[insert BSD icon here]

The missing five-minute Linux manual for morons

Ubuntu my *#@§

Most Linux installations only exist, coz it's not Windows. It's users expect it to be just like Win - only for free. They get what they ask for - an "easy to use", bloated mess.

How about doin it right ? Get a BSD. Build the Kernel and the modules you need. Build the software you need. If you don't want that - get a Mac.

Linux ? Who needs Linux ?

O2 PR calls Reg readers 'techie nerds'

This made me laugh - hard

A bunch of techie nerds ? This might have been true several years ago. Today, most of El Regs readers, not to mention it's frequent posters, are a sorry lot of mousepushers. They wouldn't find their own arse in a dark server room.

EC jacks up Microsoft fine by €899m

Bah

Once again, I have to defend the maker of products I don't know, and have never used. Somehow it doesn't feel right, to always see a company get punished for their success. If everbody depends on you, you dictate the price, it's only natural. Where is the EU case against gas prices, huh ? I really wonder why MS puts up with all that crap. If I was them, I wouldn't pay a fscking cent. I wouldn't react. No comment, no statement, no nothing ! EU ? F**k yourself with a retractable baton. (borrow one from the Piratebay). After all, what'd they do ? Ban my software from Europe ? Go ahead and try . . You call me a monopoly ? Stop buying my stuff then ! Make all your customers switch to another OS , and make them use application "whatever". Don't accept documents in my proprietary file-format, don't serve your stuff with my server apps - don't follow the standards I invent - don't program in .NET - don't script in VB. Ignore me completely - act as if I didn't exist. Kill my business if you can - see if I care. I made enough money to live a comfortable life. I wonder why I still bother. I'm doin you a big favor, and all I get is complains from N00bs, that couldn't even turn on their machine without me. I'm pretty sick of it all - leave me alone already ! As long as almost everybody WANTS my stuff, and almost everbody wants to make money with it, I bloody well do as I please. SCREW YOU !

No really. If I had MS's market share, I wouldn't even sell developer tools. I'd keep everything secret - everything ! Take it or leave it - your choice.

But you are lucky, MS is a lot more friendlier than I'd be. Not only is MS opening parts of their source, they also give away VS Express for free. They try to light up the web and help to develop Moonlight/Mono, so we Nixers can have our share. (fsck u Adobe) They work their bloody asses off, and only expect a little approval in return. What on earth do you want more ? They have to eat now and then, ya knowse. BUY VISTA, dammit - it's nice and shiny, RAM is cheap, and you have no clue how an OS works, anyway. There is no free lunch, not even in Ubuntu land . . . no . . . wait . . . almost forgot . . .

. . . if you want complete freedom, without any restricting licenses, and run Win/Linux/SCO/AIX/Solaris apps - without having to pay a single dime . . .

. . . head over to FreeBSD.org, we'll get you goin' in no time, and we'll spare you linuxish remarks about how dumb u r

Sounds good ? You bet !

(Mr. Balmer - coz he doesn't give a fsck)

Opera screeches at Mozilla over security disclosure

Irrelevant

Opera is a small company, still they are better than anyone else. Some might suggest they open their code, so bugs can be spotted faster, but it's all they've got to make a living - so stuff that. Support is superb, if you don't ask questions that haven't been answered a million times before, that is. Typical (l)user questions get the RTFM response they deserve ! I really love them for that; they almost scared away the pathetic Ubuntu crowd. ( WAHHH my foo-icons don't show in toolbar-bar, etc etc, laugh giggle,rofl - buy Windows you cheapskates . . ) Opera devs are techie, and concentrate on important stuff. REAL flaws are fixed in no time.This flaw isn't likely to be exposed by anyone, it's not something that makes you loose sleep. It'll get fixed in a few days, so what ? On the other hand, the Firefox ppl are very eager to propagate their bloated mess, and make others look bad. Opera gave Unix users the option to run Linux plugins on a native version of their browser. No other browser can do that. We could use the Linux version of FF, but it craps out so often, it's almost unusable. How about writing portable code, instead of spreading FUD over nothing ?

( Where's my BSD icon ? Shall I paint you one ? )

Microsoft forgers get jail time in Taiwan

Worth ?

Quote:Authorities say the software is worth an estimated $900 million.

Does anyone else feel, they should have said: " Would have sold for . . " ?

How does one measure the worth of software ?

Is it justified to subtract , say 1% of it's price, for every BSOD ?

If so, there isn't any loss, is there ?

( I hate penguins, can I have a BSD-Daemon icon ? )

Microsoft pleads ignorance on 'one interweb per child' pork barrel

Always the same . .

Do you have to turn everything into a MS vs Nix thing ? It's about broadband for children. Who the fsck cares what OS they'll run ? Will they get better jobs if they have internet access ? Will this make them any smarter ? Someone already mentioned that 99% of the www is crap, so I guess the answer is NO.

Windows Service Pack refuseniks offered temporary respite

Blah

I'm a Unix person and never had a piece of MS on my box . . . but

I Installed the latest beta SP3 on my dad's box, and it works like a charm. Nothing broke, nothing went wrong. A restore point gets set, old data is preserved. A patched uxtheme.dll for running unsigned themes is also availible.

Start the bashing when something is wrong, not out of habit.

And spare me those linuxish comments, especially you, with your crappy pieces of patchwork, called Ubuntu.

Get started with Silverlight

Bah

The word RIA alone makes me sick. All we're going to get is more ads, more bling, longer loading times and less information.

My rule of thumb: If the site isn't viewable with Lynx, it's propably worth nothing.

Security site knocks spots off Mac OS X Leopard firewall

@ Ben

I can see your point, but:.

There are the ones that use Windows, and never have a problem, because they use it as the vendor has set it up, and don't fiddle with it. If one is "in the know" it doesn't matter what OS one uses. It only gets critical if $USER "thinks" he knows everything just because he knows how to use applications. I don't think the majority of *nix users are more tech savvy than the average Windows user. Lots of Linux users use the OS just because it isn't Windows, and don't have the foggiest how it works. How else would you explain all the bashing between Linux fanboys ? If they had a clue, they'd know that their (vanilla) Kernels and Userlands are almost identical. Browse a random Linux forum and you'll see that most of them want "Howtos". 1% does the work and the rest happily copy/pastes away, without knowing what they're actually doing.

Btw,

I show you my Kernel anytime, you might even have a peek at my *.conf files. And no, I'm not in the possession of the "red outfit", but I occasionally wear those illuminated plastic horns.

Who cares ?

< leans back - pats her BSD boxes - grins.

Mandriva bigwig (nearly) accuses Ballmer of b-word

Why not ?

Buy Mandriva and get Windows + a 'small' gift for free. Sounds like a good deal to me. They can always switch back, once they realize how crappy XP runs on those 900Mhz Classmates.

NBC, Fox target YouTube with Hulu dance

Google ?

I think their main target is ABC. Hopefully they don't give us that "US only" crap.

SCO gets offer for Unix biz

This could only happen in the US

What kind of law let's one sell assets, before the rightful owner has been paid off ? They already owe a lot more than they have. I just can't see Novell just stand there and watch York ( Microsoft ) gain control over Unix. I say, this is going to be FUN !

Comcast busted for bagging BitTorrents (again)

Where's the problem ?

What about VPN tunnels, or the build-in encryption that comes with almost any BT client ? $ISP uses port priorisation ? - just change ports. Anyone capable of using a search engine will find gos's of solutions. If $USER still can't figure out how to waste bandwith, that's fine with me.

Ubuntu goes 3-D

Help yourself

Who cares what comes with which distro ? You can have anything you want. All you need to know, is how to type ./configure and make.

. . . (y)hfref, jub arrqf gurz ?

OpenSUSE 10.3 opens for business

Don't fall for it

I think Suse is pretty good.They really give an effort, you only have to look at their desktop environment. While other distros just stick with what comes from Gnome - KDE, they dig in deep, and integrate stuff as much as possible. Everthing that's screaming bleeding edge is there. It's not enabled by default, but accessible. However - nobody actually knows how many of this is developed in Redmont. I have friends at Microsoft Germany - and believe you me - they know Suse by heart. Other distros mess with Mono - .NET is almost ready for Suse. I have seen Silverlight run on Suse like it was XP. Soon, very soon, Suse will be something like XP, only with a different file system/desktop. I admire Suse for their work, but I wouldn't want a Linux distro that is MS-influenced in any way. Sadly, a Linux which is 'as MS compatible as possible' will soon find it's way to the hearts of IT execs, in any mixed-OSed company. Some FSF worshippers invented the punchline: 'Not a single line of code for Novell/Suse', which, is of course, wishful thinking. You can't restrict access to 'true believers'. Fsck GPL3, how can anyone prove GPLed code in binaries that come without source ? IMHO any individual that cares about open source, should mark Suse as commercial and 'soon to be proprietary' , and stay away from it. If you really need an OS that can do what Windows does - then use Windows. If you care about 'free as in beer' use true GNU/Linux or BSD. It's as simple as that. There's nothing in between.

Israel suspected of 'hacking' Syrian air defences

Tornados

are made for low level ingress, it's their very nature. There still is no other aircraft that can fly as fast while being so low. They are equipped with terrain following radar that can be linked to the autopilot. Tornado drivers can fly at treetop hight with IAS above 700kts, while sitting on their hands. The losses are entirely related to the JP233 delivery method. Flying straight over an enemy runway at > 420 kts at 200ft is known to be unhealthy. Most airfields were defended by ZSU-23s, capable of firing 4x2000 radar guided rounds/min.

The USAF considered preceding SEAD sorties as unnecessary.

Today, Tornados carry ALARMs. Those are stand-off missiles which can be fired directly, or are shot high above the target area from a safe distance. They then glide down on a parachute and wait for radar emissions.

Sadly those nifty gadgets weren't availible back in 1980.

Microsoft: no plan to appeal EC verdict for now

I still don't get it.

Where is the case ?

I prefer open source as much as the next geek, and don't like MS very much . . . but what has Microsoft actually done wrong ? I've read through (almost) all the 152 pages and it's a load of bollocks to me. Imagine Ford gains 90% of the car market ( yes, very unlikely ) and then is sued by Pioneer, because they sell cars with preinstalled radios. Imagine a tuning company sues them for not giving away their engine control software. While it is true that Pioneer might sell less stereos, and the tuner can't manufacture chips for Fords, and both of them might be put out of business, any lawyer would still laugh out loud and show them the door. Trade secrets are essential in any industry. Microsoft has a near monopoly position, but don't they have the right to be treated like anybody else ? Give them enough arbitrary "petty cash" fines, and they'll eventually go bankrupt. What would $SoftwareCompany do then ? Isn't It funny how everybody assumes MS has unexhaustible cash ? Depend on it long enough, and the platform for all your apps is gone.

If I'd want code from Microsoft, I'd ask them politely. They might want money - but that's what $SoftwareCompany likes to make with the code as well. I think that If you play the commercial software game, and your business depends on MS code, you should pay for it. Nobody is forced to develop for Windows, you can switch to *Nix any time, and get everything for free. You might have to change your business model from "selling" to "support" - but other companys have successfully done so.

( but then again - I may be dead wrong. Enlighten me if you know better )

Vista attacked by 13-year-old virus

You're right

this thing hasn't got anything to do with the OS, and is far less dramatic than it seems. It doesn't do any 'real' damage. Reinstalling the boot manager does the trick on any *Nix.

I don't know much about Vista, but XP can be fixed with a "fixboot" followed by "fixmbr" from the repair console.

Firefox hits 400m download milestone

Firefox is hyped by Linux

I never liked Firefox, it's bloated like hell.

Themes and extensions break with almost every new release.

Not to mention CVS . . . ( but then again, what do Windows users know about CVS ? )

Visit a Flash or Shockwave site with any *nix version of Firefox, and you'll be bitterly disappointed.

Utube, Google Video and similar sites crash faster than you can say segfault . .

(but then again . . what do Windows users know about segfaulting . . )

IMHO Opera is the way to go.

German Government works itself up into Wi-Fi panic

more BAH

The paper also says that there is absolutely no evidence for a health risc. Measurement, made under the most inconvenient conditions possible, resulted in values of 5-10% of the recommended peak values. Bear in mind that this paper just answers the questions of green party members. It's not as if the german government has a special interest in WiFi. The green party is no longer part of the government, and almost nobody in Germany gives a fsck about them anymore. They are just trying to get some attention

Could Linux become the dominant OS?

From developers for developers ?

When browsing trough Linux forums, i can't help but notice that lot's of posts are a bit - well - immature. Like "what wretched thingy do I need to get another bloody thingy working ?". The replies mostly start with "Yo dude", or similar. It looks like the majority of Linux users is quite young. The knowledge of some of the > 13y olds is quite impressive. Guess what OS they'd recommend to their classmates. And don't forget how competitve and cruel kids can be. Nobody wants to be the lone Windows user that is too stupid to grasp Linux. There is a lack of bleeding edge games on *nix - older games run without any trouble in DosBox, Scummvm or Wine. When this is fixed, you can see M$ sinking like a stone.

Microsoft delivers critical fixes for Windows, IE and Excel

oh well

Aother month, more security holes, another patch tuesday.

Nothing new there then.

M$ lusers will never learn.

They'll stick to their OS, even if it blows up their boxes.

I wonder why you even bother . . .

Novell owns Unix copyrights after all

SCO is as good as dead . .

. . and IBMs case has become a piece of cake. But what about Solaris ?

Dissecting penguins for fun and profit

Get rid of those flashing adverts

Nice Story - I only can't read it anylonger than 30 sec.

Your RSS feed tool might be extremely cool but . . .

Are those silly animated GIFs really necessary ?

They make my eyes hurt an distract me like hell

Desktop Linux: That dog will mount

OMG

He wants a . . . Basic compiler.

'Predator' Microsoft applies to give itself cancer

Get a grip

I'm a long time BSD user, and know next to nothing about MS software.

I don't like Linux and think GPL3 is crap . . . can one be more neutral ? :-D

Microsoft offers code for their own platform, under their own license.

In return, they get bug-ridden (maybe) software fixed for free, by the community.

That's how open source works - making money is not forbidden.

Do you really think open source developers live on thin air ?

If Apple did the same, you'd all be over the moon with approval.

And who says there's nothing to gain for *nix ?

I bet at least the wine developers are more than interested.

So calm down - nobody is forced to participate.

Three critical flaws mark July Patch Tuesday

Gnome ?

Isn't that the thing that looks like Win95 ?

I thought they gave up after KDE3 was out . . .