On Feb 23, 12:38 am, Roy Schestowitz <newsgro...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
> Teacher accused of piracy fights Microsoft with open source
>
> ,----[ Quote ]
> | Now, Reuters is reporting that the teacher has launched a campaign that
> | labels big software companies a threat to national security, and he's now
> | been pushed to back open-source solutions instead. Ponosov gave the following
> | little speech at a news conference:
> |
> | "Our dependence on Western proprietary software is a risk for us. We are, in
> | effect, losing the independence of this country. To quote (Tsar) Alexander
> | III, Russia has only two allies, its army and its navy. What would you buy
> | for your child if you want them to grow up to be bright--a pretty toy car or a
> | construction set? A pretty car that you cannot take apart is like proprietary
> | software. The construction set is open-source software. I have not been using
> | Microsoft software on my computer at home for more than a year."
> `----
>
> http://arstechnica.com/journals/microsoft.ars/2008/02/20/teacher-accu...
>
> Recent:
>
> Eurasian Secret Services Daily Review
>
> ,----[ Quote ]
> | According to the online paper, the project to construct a regional data
> | centre with the capacity of about 10,000 servers by Microsoft in the Irkutsk
> | Region was among the issues discussed. On November 28, Viktor Alksnis sent
> | the deputy's inquiry to Nikolai Patrushev, Director of FSB. In the given
> | inquiry he said that establishing a data centre provides Microsoft with the
> | access 'to various information including public authorities and government',
> | which 'might seriously threaten the security of Russia' and 'which is
> | especially dangerous in connection with the undocumented possibilities in the
> | Microsoft software'. The unauthorized updating of Windows XP and Vista in
> | August 2007 and other cases CNews wrote about in October and November 2007
> | were provided as examples illustrating the latter statement.
> `----
>
> http://www.axisglobe.com/article.asp?article=1483
>
> Related:
>
> Vista a 'threat' to the national security of India
>
> ,----[ Quote ]
> | As Mr Bombay Watcher says on his blog, Microsoft has a cosy partnership
> | with the CIA, so perhaps the world should take care and caution when it
> | comes time to upgrade. We're pretty certain Windows 3.1 would be a safe
> | bet. He seems particularly worried about the national security of India,
> | as it does, of course, have some conflicting interests with the US
> | of A.
> `----
>
> http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=34979
>
> Russian expert: Terrorists may try cyberattacks
>
> ,----[ Quote ]
> | A Russian computer security expert predicts that terrorists could
> | seek to target the country's critical infrastructure through
> | electronic warfare, a strategy that could raise the stakes in
> | how Russia handles computer crime.
> `----
>
> http://www.linuxworld.com.au/index.php?id=2104593093&rid=-50
>
> Homeland Security not ready for Cyber Storm
>
> ,----[ Quote ]
> | In June, the Business Roundtable issued a report saying that "the
> | United States is not sufficiently prepared for a major attack, software
> | incident or natural disaster that would lead to disruption of large parts
> | of the Internet" and that coordinating a response to such an attack
> | or disaster should be turned over to the Department of Homeland
> | Security.
> `----
>
> http://www.homelandstupidity.us/2006/09/18/homeland-security-not-read...http://tinyurl.com/lwp8y
>
> Homeland Security sees cyberthreats on the rise
>
> ,----[ Quote ]
> | To test the nation's response to a cyberattack, the Department
> | of Homeland Security plans to hold another major exercise,
> | called Cyberstorm II, in March 2008, Garcia said. A first
> | such exercise happened early last year.
> `----
>
> http://news.com.com/2100-7355_3-6157809.html?part=rss&tag=2547-1_3-0-...http://tinyurl.com/2dpbmv
>
> Is the US at risk from cyberwarfare?
>
> ,----[ Quote ]
> | The United States faces many of the same dangers as Estonia. And with public
> | utilities such as hydro-electric plants and nuclear power plants moving away
> | from proprietary (and more secure) systems toward open-standards-based
> | systems that use common Internet protocols such as TCP/IP to connect to one
> | another, the list of potential targets is increasing.
> `----
>
> http://news.yahoo.com/s/infoworld/20070920/tc_infoworld/91961
>
> Secret services to fend off targeted trojan attacks
>
> ,----[ Quote ]
> | Professional spies in the service of the state are often behind these
> | targeted attacks. In the last year, Chinese secret services in particular
> | have repeatedly been accused of carrying out especially tenacious trojan
> | attacks. Computers in the German Chancellor's office have reportedly even
> | been infected. Estonia has also accused the Russian government of having
> | waged cyberwar on its critical network infrastructure.
> `----
>
> http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/101475/from/rss09
>
> Germany, UK also investigating government PC espionage by China
>
> ,----[ Quote ]
> | In recent weeks, the Chinese have been accused not only of hacking the
> | Pentagon, but also several German ministries and key sites in the UK, as
> | well. In doing research for an upcoming story on the Pentagon attacks, I
> | stumbled upon recent reports in Germany of surprisingly similar activity.
> `----
>
> http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070909-germany-uk-also-investi...
>
> Estonia suspects Kremlin in Web attacks
>
> ,----[ Quote ]
> | He said more than 1 million computers worldwide have been used in
> | recent weeks to attack Estonian government and business Web sites
> | since a dispute arose with Moscow over Estonia's moving of a
> | Soviet-era war memorial from downtown Tallinn.
> `----
>
> http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/internet/05/17/estonia.cyber.attacks.ap/...
> What would you buy
> for your child if you want them to grow up to be bright--a pretty toy car or a
> construction set? A pretty car that you cannot take apart is like proprietary
> software. The construction set is open-source software.
As much as I sympathize with the Russian teacher, that is a really bad
analogy.
You can build lots of things using Microsoft's Lego blocks.
Two more appropriate analogies come to mind:
- You cannot open a Lego block, because it is weld shut.
- OSS is like getting some building blocks from Lego, some other from
alternates providers and the rest you have to build yourself.
With OSS, you can provide the glue. Lots of glue.
-Ramon
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