NSA

The role of the NSA in computing cannot be denied. Homeland Security finds itself needing to adapt to an era of digitisation.

I once (or twice) read about the NSA putting its code in assembly form inside SELinux. Security gurus inform their readers about algorithms with back doors being deliberately inserted into Windows (and possibly OS X as well, for they too collaborate with the NSA, for ’security’ reasons,). To some, there’s no doubt here but fact. But it’s a taboo. If you talk about it, they’ll call you a conspirator. Never mind all those reports in the press about Trojan horses being planted. They try to bury and make such stories vanish.

What’s to hide? Given their almost obvious work on back doors in Mac OS X and Windows (since older versions), I wouldn’t personally approach the NSALinux, aka SELinux aka National Security-enhanced Linux, where security means eavesdropping, not privacy. It’s security to the nation, not to the computer user.

Open Source Business

The value of open source companies has more to do with userbase (control) than revenue. The same goes for Web sites, including blogs. Take JBoss for example — a company whose revenue was only about $17 million per annum and yet it was sold for 20 times that amount.

The founder of JBoss claims to have undersold his company to Red Hat. He later left, but then again, he was never too happy at Red Hat for various reasons (other than lack of money/budget allocated to his division). The lesson to be learned here is that selling overpriced software is not necessarily the way to gain status in today’s industry.

Open Source is Not What It Used to Be

I wrote about this in this blog just over a month ago. “Open source” (as a term) died not just because of the OSI’s ‘openness’ (to CPAL, Microsoft, etc.), but also because abuse through jacking of terms. Examples include open source sex, wine and journalism. Where is the source code to these? Where is the code?

NVIDIA Going Open Source?

There appears to be some brilliant news (or unabated rumours) about NVIDIA planning an open source strategy. NVIDIA would have a lot to gain if it went open source. It would receive patches from the users, not to mention goodwill value.

I truly hope the rumours are true. Intel and AMD already do some open source in this one particular area (graphics card). NVIDIA remains the black sheep and the black box — for now. It should truly look for alternative routes at this stage.

KDE4

I wrote about this just before the release of 4.0.0. One should consider running the two versions — the stable and the unstable (3.5 and 4.0, respectively) — in tandem. One can get the best of both worlds. People can trivially install both 3.5.x and 4.0.0. This might prove handy in case of ‘emergencies’. That’s what I do at home and KDE 4 is a masterpiece (with a few tolerable quirks, no cracks).

KDE4 has bugs. It has many bugs. This is true and it’s pretty much the same with Leopard and (arguably) Vista. Fortunately, KDE 3.5 is already a fantastic desktop and it’s possible to run KDE 4.0.0 applications on it until 4.1 arrives later this year, based on at least one estimate.

“4.0.0″ indicates that it’s an early release, but it possibly would have been better had the KDE developers labeled it something like “KDE 4 Preview Release” or “KDE pre4″. That would affect perspective of reviewers. This is just my humble opinion though, not a complaint.

I’ve always found KDE quite elegant and it just worked. Sometimes, especially in the early days, the huge amount of functionality was daunting, but in a very good way which always leaves you curious and opens the door to increased productivity. To make good use of space, it’s worth using KasBar and putting favourite icons in a peripheral (external) panel to make a nifty ‘dock’ (Apple terminology).

Some say that KDE is complicated and heavy. Assuming that simplicity improves usability, this may be a barrier to adaption. But KDE adopts a different approach. That’s the importance of choice and KDE shouldn’t just be warped to be “more like X” (where X can be GNOME, Xfce, Mac OS X, etc.). KDE is possibly better than counterparts provided that the user drives to improve productivity over time, once new features are mastered.

My concern is that many of us are preaching to the choir
My concern is that, while many of us know the truth, the vast majority is uninterested in it
My concern is that society devolves into a more severe case of pyramid scheme
My concern is digital slavery, motored by so-called ‘enablement features’ like DRM

My concern is that many people just don’t care

My concern is that, although crime in daylight is happening, the police remains indifferent
My concern is that authorities are virtually in companies’ pockets
My concern is that censorship on the Web is rising
My concern is that evidence of crime is gradually disappearing

My concern is that many people just don’t care

My concern is that stereotypes are being used to dismiss those who are concerned
My concern is that China has begun sending blogging protesters to mental institutes
My concern is that American telecoms shill for the President by deleting criticism
My concern is that Australia uses the “protect the children excuse” to introduce censorship

My concern is that many people just don’t care

My concern is that high-level authorities pay people to rewrite history
My concern is that many people around us are marketing agents in disguise
My concern is that large company devour small companies
My concern is that are heading toward oligarchy

My concern is that many people will never care

My concern is that science returns to Dark Ages because of intellectual ownership
My concern is that prices are elevated and the gap between upper and lower society is widened
My concern is that the world does not care about anything but profit
My concern is that people in foreign countries are perceived as irrelevant

My concern is that many people will never care

My concern is that the human race is destroying its home
My concern is that planet Earth is only important to one’s own generation
My concern is that Big Lie strategies are gaining attraction
My concern is that democracy is, by definition, just an illusion in existence

My concern is that many people will never care

My concern is that humanity has become self destructive
My concern is that decent people are being demoted, humiliated, and discourged
My concern is about politics becoming very finance-dependent
My concern is that the media is used as a brainwash tool controlled by a small wealthy minority

My concern is that many people will never care

Be concerned

• In the context of software, cost and quality need not be related at all. Free is sometimes better than pricey. If it helps, think of Linux as a robust and personalised UNIX. Its value to industry is high. It’s invaluable. And yet, its seller went mad and decided to stock it in infinite amounts and give it for free. It is not different from the way Microsoft, being another seller, treats distribution in poor nations.
• A switch to Linux is an upgrade, but also liberation of the PC and its owner. Letting a computer control the user and programmers make all decisions is like a tail that is wagging the dog.
• There are far more than 350 Linux distributions. With many thousands of packages and tools like rPath’s builder it all becomes a matter of combinatorics.
• Microsoft is forever scheming to kill Linux in a subtle and secretive fashion. Linux advocates then need to ‘backward-engineer’ the plan. Awareness is key here. One needs to watch a predatory rival (with history and ‘certificates’) like a hawk. Microsoft pulls the strings of the Novell Marionette at the moment. Novell miSuSUed its position in the Linux market.
• Microsoft attempts to corrupt (or at least ‘dilute’) the term ‘Open Source’ and confuse people in that market. Apple are not any better with their exploitation of BSD developers, a founder who turns a blind eye to eternal fraud, and very effective lockins. As for Google, I trust people like Chris DiBona, but not Eric Schmidt, who came from an arrogant company.
• Microsoft established a global monopoly through coordinated crime. History books and antitrust memos show this very clearly.
• The only think worst than litigation is fear. Fear drives people’s action.

Mobility of data is becoming an important issue these days. Many people’s data is stored on third-party Web sites, whose data formats are not specified. The data cannot be exported (e.g. for upgrades or migration) either, so there’s a lockin involved in many such Web services (think Web 2.0).

Possession of one’s data would be a selling point. So why are sites not providing this facility? Why is its implementation assigned such a low priority? Simply put, sites wish to elevate exit barriers and make it hard for customers to walk away. But there is a cost here. This leads to resentment. This leads to backlash, which DRM, for example, comes to show us.

Let’s just integrate facilities for import and export in all user-driven Web sites. Export at the least — one that relies on standard protocols for containing data — should be crucial. Without import facilities, quick flow of SPAM is not an issue, in the case of public-facing sites such as Digg.com. Just take del.icio.us for example.

My machine at an older office. It
ran Ubuntu Linux (see daily photolog)

OME would argue that the ‘market share’ of Linux has long ago exceeded 4%. Installed based, as opposed to market share, is difficult to gauge. People install Linux as they download or pass CD’s around. They do not buy Linux because Microsoft has a chokehold on OEM’s (AKA ‘Windows tax’, c/f 1, 2, 3). It’s a strategic, anti-competitive tactic.

Web statistics studies are still biased because they usually exclude Linux sites, they throw away “unknown” (often Linux with diverse http-header footprint/string), they ignore Squid, they don’t account for agent forgers (not just for MISE-only sites), and they neglect to account all the traffic that comes from Windows zombies (Windows/IE). In short, they cannot be relied on.

What is the true ‘market share’ of Linux then? There is no way of knowing. Software that is passed from hand tom hand or gets downloaded remains quiet and obscure. But the truth is out there. One just needs to sweep away disinformation which is enforced by companies that have plenty in stake. One of my Web sites, which boasts over 1,000 visits a day, indicates that Linux has a market share of over 40%. It’s not a typical and mainstream site. But will Web survey ever wish to include such a site in a survey? Who will ’sponsor’ Freedom and encourage outing of the truth? Studies are typically backed and funded by commercial bodies which select their desired hypothesis and fit the conclusions to it, by carefully choosing the methods and data.

Take everything with a large barrel of salt. Just some thoughts to ponder…

S another year opens, I would like to wish all the readers a happy and joyous new year. I am wishing and hoping to see a continued trend where not only is Open Source being promoted (2006 was the year of desktop Linux in my eyes), but also Freedom gets properly understood, appreciated, and embraced.

I could probably count on hand the number of times I used Windows and other proprietary software this year. I never use Windows, yet I am fairly familiar and even proficient with it, owing to memory. Yes, it is not because it’s intuitive. It’s because it has neither changed much nor evolved for a decade. It remained widespread for the same reason Britney Spears and Macdonald’s are popular (or just “successful”).

I’ll close with an odd and sarcastic statement.

“Windows is used by the most people, so it must be the best“, says Hugh-Gotta B. Kiddin Mae.

Make prevalence no indication of quality. Same with cost. If needed, make it your new year’s resolution. Again I say:

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Bill Gates arrested in his younger days (photo in public domain)

NYONE who has followed my writings in recent years already knows that I have a strongly negative view on Microsoft. I perceive them as an enemy to capitalism because they push it to the radical end and become extremely predatory. This ruins the perception of a healthy democratic and capitalistic society/industry. They strive to establish an economy that is a monopoly or an oligopoly. Capitalism is about competition, not a collective effort that’s not open to alternatives (i.e. closed).

To me, you see, Microsoft Corporation is the equivalent of a military country. It can be quite political too. Over the years Microsoft has used almost every fraudulent practice out of the criminal’s book. The authorities tend to turn a blind eye because it serves them well, locally at least. Each action that can be considered fraudulent was coming from one among different available tactical classes. Collectively, this force was essentially used to attain a dangerous monoply over everything. The extension is/was endless and corruption has reached governments too, even overseas.

There is plenty of evidence to support this. I have just grown a little tired of linking and referencing the sources. More worryingly, on top of all this mess, some people, albeit not the most talented ones, have worked for Microsoft. Knowingly or unknowingly they have become similar to those people who 50 years ago claimed that they were “merely following orders” (make no comparsions though). Ballmer and his gang, sheltered by radical governments with personal interests, continues to pollute the planet and kill the middle class, leading to supression, and destroying humble businesses. What’s to gain? Ego and a sense of total control, to them.

Rebellion is here though and the entity which has become an enemy rather than a Big Brother will soon be overthrown. The change will begin (and has begun) outside the United States. It takes only a few over-the-line reactions and sharing of information (largely thanks to the Internet) to reveal the plot and respond accordingly. That’s what I have been spending a lot of time on recently. I merely pass information around, backed by news stories and facts. The truth will win. Mainstream media is often controlled by companies and it is thus moderated by them. Open information and open sontent, much like open source software, is the worst of enemies to corrupt entities. Transparency helps our world.