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Why I Use Generic Computers and Open Source Software
OSNews ^ | 24 November 2012 | Howard Fosdick

Posted on 11/26/2012 11:13:00 AM PST by ShadowAce

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1 posted on 11/26/2012 11:13:08 AM PST by ShadowAce
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To: rdb3; Calvinist_Dark_Lord; Salo; JosephW; Only1choice____Freedom; amigatec; stylin_geek; ...

2 posted on 11/26/2012 11:14:40 AM PST by ShadowAce (Linux -- The Ultimate Windows Service Pack)
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Comment #3 Removed by Moderator

To: ShadowAce

Or you could just source and store on the cloud.

There. A 2 thousand word solution verses a 10 word solution.


4 posted on 11/26/2012 11:16:55 AM PST by Responsibility2nd (NO LIBS. This Means Liberals and (L)libertarians! Same Thing. NO LIBS!!)
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To: Responsibility2nd
You answered a "what" or a "how" question.

The article addressed a "why" question.

5 posted on 11/26/2012 11:20:02 AM PST by ShadowAce (Linux -- The Ultimate Windows Service Pack)
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To: ShadowAce

Yes by FR criteria that’s the only permissable option.

Apple is run by a gay guy and Ballmer and Gates gave big money to the Wash State “marriage initiative”


6 posted on 11/26/2012 11:21:31 AM PST by nascarnation (Baraq's economic policy: trickle up poverty)
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To: Responsibility2nd

Could you give an example?


7 posted on 11/26/2012 11:22:09 AM PST by rurgan (give laws an expiration date:so the congress has to review every 4 years to see if needed)
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To: Responsibility2nd
I'm not putting my data on a computer I don't have physical control over. I'm not going to rely on applications on a computer/computers that I have no control over.

Cloud may work for some. For others, it's a huge potential liablitity.

/johnny

8 posted on 11/26/2012 11:25:07 AM PST by JRandomFreeper (Gone Galt)
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To: Responsibility2nd

Can’t “cloud” things in my business due to privacy concerns.

However, I do not agree with running my business on brand x computers, either.

After having been in the business for 30 years prior to my current job, brand x just won’t cut it.....


9 posted on 11/26/2012 11:33:49 AM PST by illiac (If we don't change directions soon, we'll get where we're going)
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To: rurgan

Could you give an example?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

How about Free Republic? It may not be the best example, but Jim and John certainly use their own in-house systems and software. And last month when it was non-operative for days on end...

How’d that work out?


10 posted on 11/26/2012 11:34:51 AM PST by Responsibility2nd (NO LIBS. This Means Liberals and (L)libertarians! Same Thing. NO LIBS!!)
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To: ShadowAce
The great thing about open source is that anyone can contribute to it.

The bad thing about open source is that anyone can contribute to it.

Unless you are personally reviewing and merging changes, there is a potential security risk.

11 posted on 11/26/2012 11:39:48 AM PST by 5thGenTexan
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To: ShadowAce
[by] Howard Fosdick
Any relation to "Fearless?"

12 posted on 11/26/2012 11:43:14 AM PST by oh8eleven (RVN '67-'68)
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To: Responsibility2nd
Or you could just source and store on the cloud.

Maybe it is my age but I am just not comfortable with the cloud. In fact it creeps me out.

My customers rely on my keeping their information confidential so notes and such are kept on a non-internet connected computer. You want it then you are going to have to break into my house and take the computer it's self and good luck decrypting it.

Even my less confidential stuff I would not store out in cyberspace. There is too much loss of control.

13 posted on 11/26/2012 11:49:03 AM PST by Harmless Teddy Bear (Fate plays chess and you don't find out until too late that he's been using two queens all along)
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To: ShadowAce

I keep as much of my network Beige Box as I can: basically everything but infrastructure.

I’m trapped by software, though.


14 posted on 11/26/2012 11:49:22 AM PST by Psycho_Bunny (Thought Puzzle: Describe Islam without using the phrase "mental disorder" more than four times.)
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To: ShadowAce

And when you try to find the blasted thing after the birds sh*t in your cloud, you have a zero word solution.

But the hw-makers are doing what they can to lock you into hw you have no use for. Like Intel.


15 posted on 11/26/2012 11:53:40 AM PST by Hardraade (http://junipersec.wordpress.com (Vendetta))
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To: ShadowAce
That's why most proprietarize any way they can. Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) is the latest of many attempts to kill competition by an artificial barrier. The rationale for UEFI lockdown you often read about -- that it prevents boot viruses -- is intended to mislead.

That's not true. The UEFI is used to verify the OS or OS kernel before it loads. It prevents unauthorized changes to the OS. The real reason the author doesn't like UEFI is that is can be used to local a piece of hardware to a particular OS, no other OS can then be loaded on it.

16 posted on 11/26/2012 11:57:04 AM PST by palmer (Jim, please bill me 50 cents for this completely useless post)
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To: ShadowAce

I have 2 identical machines and use one as a backup. My backup policy is to pull one of the mirrored RAID hard drives and replace it with a freshly wiped drive twice each week (and let the system rebuild overnight). If my system goes down, I pop the snapshot drive into the backup and I’m up and running immediately while I troubleshoot and repair the main system. This happened only a month ago when the power supply in my system died and I had to get a replacement.


17 posted on 11/26/2012 12:04:03 PM PST by BuffaloJack (Children, pets, and slaves get taken care of. Free Men take care of themselves.)
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To: ShadowAce

Pretty much matches what I do, although I don’t care whose name is on the box, as long as I can fix what’s inside it.

I’ve run into situations where file compatibility isn’t enough. And the incredible number of free apps for the Windows platform keep me on it, although I use Linux too.


18 posted on 11/26/2012 12:05:25 PM PST by bigbob
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To: 5thGenTexan
Unless you are personally reviewing and merging changes, there is a potential security risk.

I find it to be quite the opposite - Closed source software tends to have way more security holes than OSS. BY FAR. Closed source relies upon obfuscation and has significantly less programmers at their disposal. Open source and many eyes naturally results in more elegant code and far quicker discovery of exploitable code. I don't use ANY closed source programs anymore... that I can think of... Other than Windows on some boxes, and the antivirus applications it requires BECAUSE of it's closed source mentality.

And 'merging changes'? Most programs nowadays handle their updates automatically - You may have to hang out on the application's forum for a while to see if there are problems, but other than that, it is much the same as closed source, with the only difference being that you, the end user, have the option of actually SEEING the changes, and can go right to the source code to do so. You don't get to see the crappy code hiding behind closed source - If that gives you some feeling of 'professionalism', let me assure you that is not the case.

19 posted on 11/26/2012 12:05:27 PM PST by roamer_1 (Globalism is just socialism in a business suit.)
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To: 5thGenTexan
The great thing about open source is that anyone can contribute to it.

Not exactly. While anyone can submit a contribution to an open source project, that does not mean that the submitted change will automatically be incorporated into the project. Submissions are reviewed for malicious code.

The bad thing about open source is that anyone can contribute to it.

Again, not exactly. Most larger open source projects only allow submissions from an approved list of volunteer coders. If Juan Dough programmer has a better idea about how to do something is the project, he can submit the changes to the appropriate volunteer coder who reviews it and if it looks good, then submits it to the larger project community, who review it and test it again.

At least that has been my experience on open source projects, but your mileage may vary.

20 posted on 11/26/2012 12:21:30 PM PST by DarthFuzball ("Life is full of little surprises." - Pandora)
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