Bungling Microsoft singlehandedly proves that golden backdoor keys are a terrible idea Microsoft leaked the golden keys that unlock Windows-powered tablets, phones and other devices sealed by Secure Boot – and is now scrambling to undo the blunder. These skeleton keys can be used to install non-Redmond operating systems on locked-down computers. In other words, on devices that do not allow you to disable Secure …
Can I tell you a secret? It's been three days since I slept. I’m up to about 200 milligrams now. But that’s not the secret.
Windows is gone. You heard me. It’s gone.
It was so simple. I’m way more aware now. I’m way more focused. And I’m feeling 100%.
It’s gone. It’s gone. It’s gone.
Debian is working, and fuck if this OS doesn’t feel good. I can even handle IRCing with people. Even Linus's stupid rants are starting to sound fascinating.
Why haven’t I done this before? Damn this filesystem looks immaculate.
I’m pretty sure I even found God. Amen. Amen. Amen. AmenAmenAmen. AMEN!
Even routine sysadmin is enthralling. The config is all text files. Of course!
We can finally be back to normal. It’ll just be me and you my Tux. We'll compile together. Maybe I'll script you. Or we'll just browse. But the point is, It's gone!
The lowest steps of the OS Godhead? I think you are missing the fact that the largest portion of OS Godhead tools and apps that you think are there to run your systems are there to allow you to manage the failures of the system. Linux doesnt have all that flashy stuff to clear up after itself as its not that incontinent.
As we say down in the west country when asked for directions "You dont want to start from here".
Linux is just a system that works based off 60's tech. Nothing exceptional here.
Nice but...
The really good stuff is yet to be designed
> you think are there to run your systems are there to allow you to manage the failures of the system
How do you know what I think?
"The really good stuff is yet to be designed."
Fair point. What we have now is basically 1960ies stuff on speed, and a lot shinier, but still nothing revolutionary differtent from what Johnny von Neumann* dreamt up** in the late 1940ies.
* I sometimes wonder what he might have come up with, had he been around longer.
** Or rather compiled from various sources, to be fair to all the others involved.
"I sometimes wonder what he might have come up with, had he been around longer."
A fair question albeit one that I always find amusing - thinking of short-lived geniuses people always tend to assume for some reason that they would have kept on "geniusing" at a steady pace, forgetting that actual evidence suggests sparks of insight are actually mostly fairly solitary events: eg. Einstein certainly wasn't short-lived and while his legacy is impressive, it's not like he kept coming up with another theory of relativity calibre thing every five to ten years...
What I'd recall was that von Neumann got involved in the US war time computer programs (most importantly EDVAC as far as the eponymous computer architecture is considered) and put together an excellent memo of what he learned as a result. As the memo got somewhat wide distribution despite being about a secret wartime program and was about the only source of such quality right after the war, von Neumann got pretty much all the credit, much of which should have gone to John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert, at least. (Actually, for a long time, the Americans got all the credit, despite Konrad Zuse's earlier work and that in the UK on the Colossus. Sadly, these are still rather poorly known.)
Sorry to be late to this party, but I'm on to you, friend. You need to watch an old PBS special called The Machine That Changed The World. It's five parts, and produced around 1992, so the Internet was still all text, and it predates www too, but all the important bits are in there; Babbage, Conrad Zusse[sp?], Eckert and Mauchly, ENIAC, EDSAC, all the SACs! The early IBM days, just the whole of computer history up until 1992, and there was a lot to cover. But, you are correct, many people are not knowledgeable about the history of computing in general. This series bridges a gap and provides the story from nothing until Internet and x386 desktops ruled the ancient skyline.
>>>> That said, OSX sucks as a server so there Linux is really the only viable option.
*facepalm* You think that windows/osx/linux are the only 3 OS's out there? With such a narrow and blinkered view, I hope you never become an IT consultant, and are never involved in speccing up projects.
*facepalm* You think that windows/osx/linux are the only 3 OS's out there? With such a narrow and blinkered view, I hope you never become an IT consultant, and are never involved in speccing up projects.
For your average SME, those are the choices. Not for me personally, no - I rolled into systems during the VAX/VMS and mainframe era so I know life exists outside *nix. It's life, but not as most know it :).
As for being an IT consultant - nah - looong ago. Now I pay such to design for me, and like others in my position I never let on that I know a lot more that your average board member. You can see them mentally trying to work out which yacht they can buy from the bonus when they chat on a golf course with me, and I'm happy to let them think that until they meet me again. You have no idea how much fun it is to tear a proposal apart and watch a sales director realise that you know every trick in the book, know where all the padding sits and know how to establish a spec that doesn't yield lots of change control revenue later on. They'll be lucky if I leave them a half inflated bicycle tire by the time I'm finished...
That said, it's becoming much harder to find victims for my evil sense of humour, though, word spreads, but knowledge saves a LOT of money. I have no problem paying for something that is worth its price (and that does exist once you got all the idiots out of the way) and I'm know for not quibbling about the price for something worthwhile either, but God help you if you try to con me.
"All those Surface RT tablets are no longer useless..."
l get the distinct impression from reading that article that Microsoft's aim was not so much about protecting the consumer from having their device being hijacked but more about maintaining Microsoft's presence on that device, i.e. to ensure that Windows is not replaced by another operating system.
The more l learn about Redmond's inner workings, the less l like their attitude.
"Unless this is a deliberate mistake?
Discredits the FBI policy they hate."
Well, wouldn't you pick a set of systems that are not going to be supported any longer?
"People are particularly keen to unlock their ARM-powered Surface fondleslabs and install a new operating system because Microsoft has all but abandoned the platform."
John Smith 19: "Never ascribe to a plan what simple incompetence can adequately explain."
Especially in the case of Microsoft. Not that they don't have endless little plots... but none of them rise to anywhere near the level of cleverness that this leak would have required.
"Never ascribe to a plan what simple incompetence can adequately explain."
Ah, but it fits so well!
A loss making, all but abandoned venture on one side, Governmental pressures on another... The key leaks is a masterstroke that takes care of both problems at once!
Don't forget that MS actually has some bright sparks working for it in hardware/software, just none in the marketing/public relations departments.
(Besides, who doesn't love a good conspiracy? Especially one that'll give the spooks nightmares and headaches?) :)
>Some guyz are gonna get 5" thick barge-poles up their backsides ...
And they deserve a punch in the face from the "rest of us". So, well, if you live in or near Redmond,[Money]Washingto[w]n, and see Microsofties leaving the office with 5" barge poles hanging out of their arses, hit the shit out of them, please, thanks!
Been using The Wife's Surface RT recently, and damn it has got slow. Even she has complained about it. I think it is time to look at an Android build. While I actually like the Surface, it is now way too limited, and as Word etc are free on Android I'm not going to lose any real functionality.
I'd go Linux, but I don't want to make herself learn a 'new' OS from scratch.
I already use OpenSUSE as my preferred desktop OS (Unless I'm gaming). She hates not having the current version of office to do her work on. In fact she goes mental if I've switched the default boot to Linux without forgetting to put it back again.
Linux isn't always the answer, some people even when shown the alternative will still pick Windows over *NIX or OSX/MacOS. I still run Windows for gaming, because it is just easier than the alternatives.
I'd go Linux, but I don't want to make herself learn a 'new' OS from scratch.
I've converted several friends...not really a big hurdle. Linux can be fairly WinXP-like.
Try this: take an unused PC (or borrow one from a friend if you don't have one). Purchase or borrow a second HDD compatible with the PC you borrowed. Remove the original HDD and replace with the "scratch" one. Install Linux (I recommend Linux Mint MATE) on the scratch drive and let her try Linux.
After the experimenting is complete, swap drives again and the PC is just like you found it.
" I don't want to make herself learn a 'new' OS from scratch."
People have already had to re-learn the OS several times, whenever MS give Windows a significant update, surely? One last time for the good lady won't hurt, will it, and then she's free of Redmond forever?
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