cipher: Open Source

Sat, 14 Jun 2003 14:31:01 GMT

Should I restart? Irak is still a major mess! Lies, lies, lies!

Sat, 17 May 2003 21:06:55 GMT

Matrix Sequel Has Hacker Cred. Trinity uses a 'sploit [The Register] The real origin of the story is here http://www.securityfocus.com/news/4831

Sat, 17 May 2003 21:00:23 GMT

SuSE: SCO's Linux Claims are 'Curious' [OSNews]

Sat, 17 May 2003 20:58:15 GMT

SCO Warning Fuels Growing Linux Controversy. By sending a letter to some 1,500 corporations warning them of potential legal liabilities arising from Linux use, SCO Group has cast a cloud on the future of Linux itself, industry observers say. Yet SCO contends that its actions are necessary to protect its intellectual-property rights. [osOpinion]

Thu, 08 May 2003 20:08:50 GMT

Linux Desktop Myths Exploded. Hype about Linux on the desktop is increasing, according to Gartner's recent study, "Myths of Linux on the Desktop." The goal of the research was to enable enterprises to be objective in understanding the benefits of the Linux OS on the desktop, separating open-source fact from fiction. [osOpinion]

Thu, 08 May 2003 20:05:20 GMT

Mozilla 1.3.1 Available [Mozilla Dot Org] Fixed Mac issues that basically prevented almost anyone from upgrading to 1.3.

Sun, 04 May 2003 15:46:27 GMT

Exec Shield Overflow Protection [OSNews]

Sun, 04 May 2003 15:44:04 GMT

IBM denies SCO's charges in intellectual property fight. In response to a $1 billion lawsuit from The SCO Group alleging that it infringed on trade secrets related to Unix, IBM categorically denied any wrongdoing. [Computerworld News]

Tue, 18 Mar 2003 20:23:53 GMT

MySQL 4 Declared Production-Ready. Simprini writes "After absolute ages of testing MySQL 4.0.x in various versions of BETA through GAMMA it looks like MySQL AB finally released MySQL 4.0.12 as ... [Slashdot]

Tue, 18 Mar 2003 20:23:31 GMT

Local Root Hole in Linux Kernels. xepsilon writes "A local Linux security hole using ptrace has been discovered that allows a potential attacker to gain root privileges. Linux 2.2.25 has been ... [Slashdot]

Mon, 17 Mar 2003 20:17:03 GMT

X11 for Mac OS X Public Beta 3. X Window System that makes it possible to run X11-based applications in Mac OS X. [Mac OS X Hot Downloads] What's New in this Version

Pseudocolor (8-bit) visual plane support
Option to quit X11 without presenting warning dialog
Command-Q keyboard shortcut to quit X11
Command-, to bring up preferences dialog
Keyboard mappings with dead keys fixed
Linking against libGL no longer results with multiple definitions of glGetColorTableEXT
Locked files left behind in /tmp no longer block non-admin users from starting X11
Windows can be resized by user to any size and not be limited by the Dock?s height
Dragging remotely hosted windows no longer causes crash
Hardware accelerated scrolling in 16 bit mode now works
X Server no longer crashes if application tried to retrieve data back from the framebuffer using XGetImage
Bug fixes and other feature enhancements

Mon, 17 Mar 2003 19:20:11 GMT

XML-RPC and OS X 10.2.5. I’ve received email from people this morning telling me that OS X 10.2.5 will contain fixes to Apple’s XML-RPC code. Which I think is great. I had no doubt they would fix the bugs.

Now, I don’t get pre-release copies of the system, so I can’t confirm this. But, assuming it’s true, the obvious question for me is: why not switch back to the system-supplied XML-RPC code?

Here’s why I do not plan to switch back:

1. My philosophy is to always use system-supplied code whenever possible. My time can be much better spent in ways other than re-inventing the wheel. However, I already have re-invented the wheel in this case. There’s a value to being in control of the source code. If I want to or need to add features, I can.

2. My XML-RPC code runs on systems previous to 10.2.5. I don’t want to require that NetNewsWire users run 10.2.5.

3. The code is designed to be forgiving of things like unencoded ampersands and characters outside of the XML-RPC spec. It has to be forgiving, because not all of the various weblog publishing systems return perfectly valid responses all of the time. (That’s just a fact of life. It’s not my job to be an XML cop. I’d rather just have things work.)

4. My code is in the form of a set of Cocoa classes. Apple’s code is procedural. I prefer using Cocoa, since NetNewsWire is a Cocoa app. It fits better.

5. My code uses CURLHandle, which is what NetNewsWire uses to read feeds and so on. There’s a value to using the same HTTP client software throughout the app. For instance, once I fix the bug with authenticating proxies in the news reader, I can fix it in the XML-RPC code at the same time, since the fix will be the same. [inessential.com]

Mon, 17 Mar 2003 19:17:33 GMT

When Computing Was Reliable. Last week, vendors of some high-profile open source products were taken to task for newly discovered flaws in their code that required yet another round of software patching. In the rush to embrace complexity, computer users have given up some of the most important computing tools of the last 50 years. [osOpinion]

Mozilla 1.3 Release Notes

Thu, 13 Mar 2003 21:42:21 GMT

"On Mac OS X, XPInstall has been disabled for 1.3. This means that extensions and themes will not install for Mozilla 1.3 on Mac OS X. (bug 181293)"

Thu, 13 Mar 2003 20:37:20 GMT

Mozilla.org Launches Mozilla 1.3. theBrownfury writes "Mozilla 1.3 is out and about. New to this version are features like image auto sizing, bayesian junk-mail filtering, dynamic profile ... [Slashdot]

Wed, 12 Mar 2003 22:14:14 GMT

The Ultimate Lock-In. Microsoft Office 2003, which recently went into public beta, has the potential to tie customers to Microsoft products all the way down the line: desktop, productivity applications and server systems. [osOpinion]

Mon, 10 Mar 2003 18:10:49 GMT

Linus Torvalds Comments on SCO-Caldera's Linux-Related Allegations [OSNews]

Good read, not too caustic!

Sun, 09 Mar 2003 15:37:29 GMT

Sun Rethinking Linux Strategy Over SCO Lawsuit. manyoso writes "Sun is waisting no time taking advantage of the SCO lawsuit against IBM. They are making statements trying to play up Solaris as a safe harbor ... [Slashdot]

Volatility normally serves as risk estimation factor for derivative financial instruments (such as options and futures), but if you apply it to Suns corporate strategy it plainly means Sun is morphing into a shitty company!

Sat, 08 Mar 2003 12:06:05 GMT

Fire in the Bazaar: SCO v. IBM. The SCO Group has fired the first broadside in an intellectual property war that could shake the foundations of Linux, one of the world's most widely used free operating systems. In a $1 billion lawsuit filed on March 7th against IBM, SCO asserts that Big Blue "made concentrated efforts to improperly destroy the economic value of UNIX, particularly UNIX on Intel, to benefit IBM's new Linux services business." The complaint, filed in a Utah state court, accuses IBM of misappropriation of trade secrets, unfair competition, breach of contract, and tortious interference with SCO's business. SCO is basing its action on intellectual property rights it claims it acquired when it bought UNIX System V from A. T. & T. in 1995. [kuro5hin.org]

Sat, 08 Mar 2003 11:58:35 GMT

Developers Back IBM in Unix Suit. Open-source developers rally behind IBM after learning that SCO Group, formerly Caldera Systems, is suing IBM for disclosure of SCO's intellectual property in the form of Unix code. By Michelle Delio. [Wired News]

Sat, 08 Mar 2003 11:57:54 GMT

A 3D Animation of Kernel Source Development. fixit! writes "Have a look at this cool 3D animation of the Linux kernel source. This is how a source browser should look like!" [Slashdot]

Fri, 07 Mar 2003 06:27:28 GMT

SCO Sues IBM Over Unix and Linux for 1 Billion USD [OSNews]

Most stupid move ever ... who's gonna be hurt? Who's gonna profit!

CNET News.com says: The suit, filed Thursday afternoon in the 3rd District Court of Salt Lake County in Utah, alleges misappropriation of trade secrets, unfair competition, breach of contract and tortious interference with SCO's business, the Lindon, Utah-based company said. SCO also sent a letter Thursday demanding that if IBM doesn't meet various demands, SCO will revoke IBM's license to ship its version of Unix, called AIX, in 100 days.

Wed, 05 Mar 2003 18:06:26 GMT

Microsoft's Source Code Actions Speak Louder Than Words. It strikes me as pretty odd that Redmond feels good about its recent decision to provide Windows source code to China, considering that Microsoft executive Jim Allchin claimed not too long ago that showing source code to competitors would be a "national security risk." [osOpinion]

China does not really have a track record to shine in terms of protection of intellectual property either!

Wed, 26 Feb 2003 06:33:40 GMT

Huevos 1.1.

Huevos 1.1 has been released!

The big change since 1.0 is that you don’t have to lift your fingers from the keyboard anymore. You can bring Huevos to the front from within any app by typing a hotkey. You can choose search engines in the popup menu by typing a command key or by using the up and down arrow keys.
[inessential.com]

Mon, 24 Feb 2003 16:21:59 GMT

Internal Safari Build Has Tabs. I don't know how much legal this is, anyway I do have Tabbed browsing working right now on my Safari. I can finally trash Mozilla. [Paolo Valdemarin: Paolo's Weblog]