Red Hat Sez...

[Asher]

To use Windows on your home machine.

http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104_2-5101690.html

Red Hat: Stick with Windows at home
By Munir Kotadia
ZDNet (UK)
November 4, 2003, 5:49 AM PT

Red Hat's chief executive has said that Linux needs to mature further before home users will get a positive experience from the operating system, saying they should choose Windows instead.

Linux is seen by Microsoft as its most dangerous competitor for desktop operating systems, and after a number of high-profile cases where government departments have switched from Windows to Linux-based systems, the OS has been making some progress. However, Red Hat said that the hype around desktop Linux is still mostly unfounded at the moment.

Matthew Szulik, chief executive of Linux vendor Red Hat, said on Monday that although Linux is capable of exceeding expectations for corporate users, home users should stick with Windows: "I would say that for the consumer market place, Windows probably continues to be the right product line," he said. "I would argue that from the device-driver standpoint and perhaps some of the other traditional functionality, for that classic consumer purchaser, it is my view that (Linux) technology needs to mature a little bit more."

Szulik gave an example of his 90-year-old father going to a local retailer in order to purchase a computer with Linux: "We know painfully well what happens. He will try to get it installed and either doesn't have a positive experience or puts a lot of pressure on your support systems," he said.

However, Szulik expects Linux to be ready in a couple of years after it has had time to mature. In the mean time, he is adamant that corporate users would be surprised by how much the operating system has to offer. "Consumers want USB drivers and digital camera support; but for the enterprise desktop, that is a little bit different--that area is ripe," he said. "We think that the enterprise desktop market place is much more strategic and has buyers whose needs we can exceed."

What have I been saying, ladies and gentlemen?

[St Leo]

Oh, crap, an executive who doesn't lie. Do note that he says that Linux will whoop Windows in five years or so.

[Asher]

Originally posted by St Leo
Oh, crap, an executive who doesn't lie. Do note that he says that Linux will whoop Windows in five years or so.

If he didn't say that the shareholders would have his ass.

[Asher]

http://news.com.com/2100-7355_3-5102...l?tag=nefd_top

Microsoft to offer bounty on hackers
Last modified: November 4, 2003, 3:04 PM PST
By Robert Lemos
Staff Writer, CNET News.com

Microsoft will announce on Wednesday that it will offer two $250,000 bounties for information that leads to the arrest of the people who released the MSBlast worm and the SoBig virus, CNET News.com has learned.

The two programs attacked computers that run Microsoft's Windows operating system, causing havoc among companies and home users in August and September. The reward, confirmed by sources in both the security industry and in law enforcement, will be announced in a joint press conference with the FBI, the U.S. Secret Service and Interpol that's scheduled for 10 a.m. EST Wednesday.

The rewards are the first time a company has offered money for information about the identity of the cybercriminals.

"It's a new approach," said Chris Wysopal, a security researcher from digital security company @stake, who hadn't known about the bounties and was skeptical that they would work. "I don't think anyone has done this before."

Microsoft declined to comment until Wednesday.

The rewards mark the latest move by Microsoft and law enforcement to track down the people responsible for infecting hundreds of thousands of computers in August and September. The U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI and Microsoft had earlier announced the arrests of two men who are suspected of modifying and releasing minor variations of the MSBlast worm.

New security hurdles must be addressed to prevent cyberattacks
Top security experts take Digital Defense Test 2003

The attacks were serious enough to hurt Microsoft's bottom line and help security companies post more profits.

MSBlast, also known as Blaster and Lovsan, spread to as many as 1.2 million computers, according to data from security company Symantec. The worm compromised computers that use a serious vulnerability in Windows systems for which Microsoft had released a patch a month earlier. The Sobig.F virus spread through e-mail on Aug. 19, compromising users' computers with software designed to turn the systems into tools for junk e-mailers. A variant of the MSBlast worm, MSBlast.D, was intended to protect machines against the original program, but it ended up being so aggressive that the avalanche of data it produced shut down networks.

Sources who asked to remain anonymous said Microsoft would foot the entire bill for the bounties. Law enforcement typically neither condones nor disapproves of such rewards.

Security researchers gave the planned bounties mixed reviews.

"I think it is not a bad approach to counter the growing activity out there," said Peter Lindstrom, director of research for network protection company Spire Security. "People might criticize Microsoft for it, but it is a legitimate way to mobilize more folks to start analyzing their logs."

Despite nearly three months of intensive investigation, the FBI and Microsoft have only been able to track down two suspected bit players. The rewards seem designed to produce a mutiny in the close-knit circles of the hacker underground.

However, some researchers believed that such rewards might divert attention away from other efforts to add security that might defeat worms and viruses in the future.

"It doesn't solve the underlying problem of people being able to write worms like MSBlast," said one security researcher, who spoke with the condition of anonymity. "It doesn't quite equate accountability with being at the keyboard."

[Spiffor]

Anybody who has used Linux on his personal computer with eyes unclouded knows Linux doesn't correspond to the needs of the average computer-illiterate who wants to have a computer.

And anybody who has observed the evolution of Linux and Linux-related software in the last years has seen impressive progresses in this regard, letting hope that Linux will one day (and in only a few years so) be a valid Desktop system.

[St Leo]

Originally posted by Asher
http://news.com.com/2100-7355_3-5102...l?tag=nefd_top

So, not only are crackers called hackers now, but virus writers are also called hackers.:P

[Datajack Franit]

I thought red hat was somehow gay-related.. am I sick?

[St Leo]

Not if you were turned on.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Spiffor
Anybody who has used Linux on his personal computer with eyes unclouded knows Linux doesn't correspond to the needs of the average computer-illiterate who wants to have a computer.

Computer illiterate should not use computers, just like people who can't swim needs to learn how first.

Regardless of how "easy to use" a computer system is, it is not.

[Asher]

God bless you, Urban Ranger...God bless!

[Ted Striker]

Originally posted by Asher
To use Windows on your home machine.

http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104_2-5101690.html


What have I been saying, ladies and gentlemen?

Asher knows his sheit


You will notice that Red Hat is the ONLY Linux group that is honestly with Linux's strenghts and weaknesses.

You will ALSO notice they just HAPPEN to be the most successful.

Is there a correlation there?

DUH!

[Ted Striker]

Originally posted by St Leo
Do note that he says that Linux will whoop Windows in five years or so.

They were saying that FIVE YEARS AGO.

[Urban Ranger]

Szulik gave an example of his 90-year-old father going to a local retailer in order to purchase a computer with Linux: "We know painfully well what happens. He will try to get it installed and either doesn't have a positive experience or puts a lot of pressure on your support systems," he said.

Exactly the same thing will happen wrt Windows. No doubt about it. A newbie simply cannot install Windows on his new computer and expect to get it going.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
Exactly the same thing will happen wrt Windows. No doubt about it. A newbie simply cannot install Windows on his new computer and expect to get it going.

I know dozens of "newbies" that can install Windows and have it get going...

[Ted Striker]

I can't wait until Microsoft drops the nuclear bomb on you Linux Geeks

You guys are going to be all, "oh no they didn't!!!"

[Asher]

[Fve Crathva]

A really, really stupid newbie with no technical aptitude cannot install Windows on his new computer and expect to get it going.

SP

[Ari Rahikkala]

A hacker came up to Alan, who was preparing to meditate. and asked him:

"When will Linux be ready for the desktop?"

Alan answered:

"Did your mother give birth to herself?"

[Q Classic]

I know dozens of "newbies" that can install Windows and have it get going...

you obviously don't have to deal with them on a daily basis at work.

one one particular computer on our deployment, i figure the sysprep.inf file didn't get transferred... so the end user truly and deeply ****t the system by bringing her own dsl settings from home to punch into the tcp/ip settings, rather than asking for the it department to take care of it.

[JohnT]

****t

... JohnT is trying to figure which 5-letter curseword ends in "t", but to no avail...

[Whaleboy]

BSD on servers, Windows on desktops. Linux perhaps for clustering, but thats about it. Thats the current state of things, what OS is best different applications.

I think the BSD kernel is superior to all, although I heard good things about linux 2.6 (as in better than 4.4BSD ). In any case, a nice, easy, good looking interface on top of the BSD kernel would def be far superior to anything .

[Q Classic]

... JohnT is trying to figure which 5-letter curseword ends in "t", but to no avail...

f**k't is proabably better.

===

that said, linux is great, but it's not going to be for the non-computer literate user. period. the entire concept of separate accounts for administrator on the computer, administrator on the network, a domain user, and a local user escapes most people. administrator and user ecapes most as well. so there's a lot of *****ing about why a certain program won't install, or why they can't install one of those damned download "accelerators"...

[Fve Crathva]

I bet that if I controlled every aspect of the world, I could get public competence with computers equivalent to current competence with tying shoes inside 100 years.

Originally posted by Ari Rahikkala
A hacker came up to Alan, who was preparing to meditate. and asked him:

"When will Linux be ready for the desktop?"

Alan answered:

"Did your mother give birth to herself?"

He's been running his own kernel patches for too long.

SP

[Immortal Wombat]

Originally posted by Fve Crathva
I bet that if I controlled every aspect of the world, I could get public competence with computers equivalent to current competence with tying shoes inside 100 years.

I could do it in two, maybe three years. Although that would probably involve significantly more death.

[Nubclear]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger


Exactly the same thing will happen wrt Windows. No doubt about it. A newbie simply cannot install Windows on his new computer and expect to get it going.

Umm...I can

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger


Exactly the same thing will happen wrt Windows. No doubt about it. A newbie simply cannot install Windows on his new computer and expect to get it going.

You don't have to. It comes installed, and has a nice, easy setup wizard when you first turn on the computer (XP Home that is, which unfortunately I have).

[St Leo]

Originally posted by JohnT

Quote:

****t

... JohnT is trying to figure which 5-letter curseword ends in "t", but to no avail...

WinNT.

[MRT144]

OS pride is ghey

[Q Classic]

if you think a newbie can't install windows, what makes you think a newbie can install *nix?

even with anaconda?

[Ari Rahikkala]

Originally posted by skywalker
You don't have to. It comes installed, and has a nice, easy setup wizard when you first turn on the computer (XP Home that is, which unfortunately I have).

And so Alan asks that same question again.