Rattle wrote:
] Jeremy meme'd something recently about outsourcing where he
] made suggested that in come cases we are making the choice
] between wealth and security, and there is a balance.

This juxtaposition made me uncomfortable and now I see why.

Are we selecting between wealth and security?

The left says yes. Its either wealth or security. The better off you are, the worse off everyone else must be as a result. The better of the world is, the more you're going to have to sacrifice, because you are western, and your comfortable life is made from the blood of the poor.

The right says no. Its not a zero sum game. Its not an either or. Its a both or neither. The better off everyone else is, the better off you'll be, and the better off you'll be, the better off everyone else is.

Both sides seem to be talking past eachother, and we can't get past the dialog.

RE: Buffet: America's growing trade deficit is selling the nation out from under us.

] his paper documents the use of pictorial images in social
] network analysis. It shows that such images are critical
] both in helping investigators to understand network data
] and to communicate that understanding to others.
]
] The paper reviews the long history of image use in the
] field. It begins with illustrations of the earliest
] hand-drawn images in which points were placed by using ad
] hoc rules. It examines the development of systematic
] procedures for locating points. It goes on to discuss how
] computers have been used to actually produce drawings of
] networks, both for printing and for display on computer
] screens. Finally, it illustrates some of the newest
] procedures for producing web-based pictures that allow
] viewers to interact with the network data and to explore
] their structural properties.

Carnegie Mellon: Journal of Social Structure: Visualizing Social Networks

w1ld wrote:
] ] I just want two simple things (in this case): Audio, and
] ] my LCD powered off after a timeout.
]
] Keep reading...this is good stuff! :)

The basic realities are as follows:

1. Open Source Software works. It produces more effective software over time because it is more efficient and allows for derivative innovation.

2. Free Software does not work. It does not work because programmers do not get paid. Programmers that are not getting paid do not have time to sweat the details. Sometimes things like Perl get produced by hackers, but these are the exceptions. The rule is that this does not work as a social model.

3. "Free Software" has been a mixed bag. In some cases people have been paid to produce stuff, and it has been good. This includes the Linux Kernel and Apache. These things are given away for free, and this is extremely useful in the systems space because you can grab things and innovate on them without having to shell out cash up front. People can build complex systems in their garage without having to have big budgets. On the other hand, people usually confuse "free software" with free software. Stuff that is consumer oriented doesn't get funded because consumers aren't paying for it.

4. Building an effective social system that has most of the benefits of OSS without the hindrances of unpaid programmers would really, really benefit humanity.

Ultimately, we need better fund raising for grant based open source software development. Not RESEARCH oriented software development, but OPERATIONAL software development. The grant process must be carefully managed so that it does not hinder innovation. Probably lots of competing systems with competing models. No government. Non-profit corps.

There are things that exist, but they are not professionally managed, or they are too political for their own good. We need something that does fund raising as effectively as the United Way. We need a professional organization that funds software in the public interest.

Would you give $50 a year to make linux better?

Could you get 1 million people to give $50 to make linux better? $50 million would fund about 600 to 700 well paid programmers for a year. You could do a hell of a lot with 600 to 700 well paid programmers. A hell of a lot.

RE: luke hates software - Introductory linux hate

] The company is expected to release on Thursday a new
] version of Services for Unix (SFU), a collection of tools
] that help Windows systems to work with installations
] based on the Unix operating system and its open-source
] derivative, Linux.
]
] Microsoft previously charged $99 per client or server to
] use SFU. But the new version, 3.5, will be free for any
] customer using a current Windows operating system.

I wouldn't say they are "taking on linux." They are just offering something that lets me mount an NFS partition on a windows box. This is needed mostly because NBT is overly complex and the Samba configuration files reflect this. Samba has two modes of configuration:

1. Really complex
2. Web based

NFS is neither complex nor web based. Thats why people prefer it. It would be easy to create a simplified interface to samba that has similar syntax to /etc/exports, but no... and hence this is needed.

Microsoft takes on Linux with free tools | CNET News.com

] Defenses lacking at social network sites
]
] Sites like LiveJournal and Tribe are poised to be the
] next big thing on the Web in 2004, but their security and
] privacy practices are more like 1997.

I'm not sure SSL is really all that useful. It would prevent people from stealing your password over the wire, but I don't think most of these attacks are sniffing related. It would also allow you to authenticate that you are entering your password on my site, but I think most people who would fall for a phoney login would still fall for it. I'll bet if you offered it for a small fee few would buy.

People get into your account because they guess your password, or because you leave yourself logged in and then your friends come over and use your computer, or because you use the same password all over the place. There isn't much that I can do about these attacks as a site manager. I need YOU to use client certificates to login to my site, and you need to keep your certificate on a smart card or ibutton that stays on your person.

Is anyone using technology like this? Would you want to use it to access MemeStreams if it was available? What do you think?

SecurityFocus HOME News: Defenses lacking at social network sites

] Two weeks after declaring his intention to run for
] president, Clark was still registered to represent a high
] tech contractor, Acxiom Corporation, giving him the rare
] distinction of seeking the White House while registered
] as a lobbyist. Shortly after Clark announced his
] candidacy, a company spokesman said the general no longer
] lobbied for Acxiom, but, according to the Senate Office
] of Public Records, Clark had not filed any termination
] papers.
]
]
] Clark has been lobbying for the firm since January 2,
] 2002; Acxiom has paid more than $830,000 for Clark to
] advance its agenda and meet with government officials.
] Clark also serves on the company's board of directors.
]
]
] According to federal disclosure records, Clark lobbied
] directly on "information transfers, airline security and
] homeland security issues," for Acxiom, which sought
] funding to do controversial informational background
] checks on passengers for airlines. Privacy advocates have
] criticized the program, called the Computer Assisted
] Passenger Pre-Screening System II, because of concerns
] that the data collected would be an overly invasive
] violation of individuals' rights to privacy. The public
] outcry has been so strong that there is a bi-partisan
] effort to create more oversight for the program to
] protect privacy interests if CAPPS II is implemented.

So Clark helped lobby for CAPPS II. While he was a presidential candidate. So that's fun.

The Buying of the President 2004 - Clark as lobbiest for CAPPS II

] Some pictures of Brad Blines (aka CrankyMessiah)

Flynn asked us to host these for a few days because several people have requested them.

Brad Blines Pictures

] Mohammed Kalif, a Mid-Eastern man with an intelligence
] file stemming from weapons smuggling and political
] dissidence, comes across CIA's technical intercepts radar
] screen. Tapes of his conversations reveal he is a
] procurer of small arms.

This is a poor description. This show is a dramatization of a successful effort by CIA to shut down a biological weapons attack on Los Angeles in July of 2003! Check it out...

Covert Action :: Operation Iron Grip

] I'm about to deliver a warning regarding the U.S. trade
] deficit and also suggest a remedy for the problem.

Buffet: America's growing trade deficit is selling the nation out from under us.

] It's an especially good time to be humble and cautious,
] and to listen to investing legends like John Templeton
] (who has "never been more bearish"), Bill Gross (from his
] latest commentary: "bonds (and stocks too) will be low
] return asset classes for the foreseeable future"), Marty
] Whitman, George Soros, and Warren Buffett (who said he's
] "not finding anything" in the stock market and has
] purchased foreign currencies for the first time in his
] career because of his concerns about the U.S. trade
] deficit).

Fool.com: A Scary Time for Stocks [Commentary] January 9, 2004