.:Computer Defense:.

Hi, HT.

I just discovered your blog and your rant against my articles. I’m sorry you had so many problems with them. If I may, I would like to address your comments (just a couple of them). Firstly, my articles that were published on my personal blog and on Infopackets were done with the full knowledge and agreement of the owner of Infopackets. Lastly, I think my credentials are such that I can speak of Linux with authority. That you disagree is noted. You are entitled to your opinion, of course, but so am I. I provided no misinformation in any of my pieces. I do, however take exception to your not taking the time to write me directly (as I am doing here) to let me know you have a problem with what I wrote. I do think, however, that you have expressed a very narrow view on the subject and I wonder why. Was it your intent to charge me personally and my blog? Next time you disagree with what I write, let me know before leveling your pen at me like this, please.

Are you serious about a USB device crashing the machine? I don’t think I’ve ever had that problem on any OS. The only time I’ve even seen it happen was when Bill Gates was showing off Windows 98 Hehe.

As for uptime, I think you’ll agree here that uptime on a machine, doesn’t just depend on OS, but also on what that OS is doing. If I boot windows 98, and let it sit there not doing much, it damn well better not crap out, but if I have a little bit of a load running on it, it is probably going to crash. Windows 95 crashing seemed to be pretty easy from the memory leaks that even Microsoft admitted to in an article they took down from their page very quickly, but my FTP server running Slackware seems to do it with ease and it’s OLD.

If I saw a Windows 95 machine running for 2 years without a reboot, I’d have a few things I’d be wondering about. One of those things would be, “Is it doing anything?” And “How many times has this person not installed security patches, since most of them, even for things that shouldn’t require a reboot, like media player installs, are not installed?”.

I think the biggest weapon for Linux UNIX and whatever VS Windows when it comes to uptime is that the only time you need to reboot is when a new Kernel gets installed. Windows needs one for just about every patch except of course that one that basically checks your machine for mal ware and then stops. Which I might add was very smart of them to start doing after the last couple worm outbreaks, which shows Microsoft isn’t stupid. But as I’ve said before, I do think it’s easier to keep a UNIX machine running than a Windows one based soley on not having to reboot for security patches, or any others for that matter, unless the Kernel itself is being patched, and even then, you are rarely required to install all of them because they seem to be local these days.

talk to you later man,

-gore

While I personally use a combination of Windows and Linux
(and I might add something here about that also being a bad idea,
as the last time I combined Windows 7 and Ubuntu 10.10 on a single
machine, I ended up with a corrupted boot sector), I would like to
point out a few benefits, and flaws with BOTH arguments. Firstly,
it is impossible to talk completely about both in a non-biased
manor, as each individual person will have their own preference as
to which they approve of more. HT, first I will say that it is
mostly true that the majority of flaws and security problems affect
Windows simply because it is the most widely used operating systems
in the world. Linux, with its open source content, would, if
anything, pose a greater risk of possible problems, if someone
truly put their skill and enough effort into trying to create worms
and viruses for Linux. Security problems, however, are also in part
held at bay by the simple fact that the majority of Linux users use
several different types of files, depending usually on the type of
Linux, such as SuSE, Fedora, Debian, etc. The fact that any real
programmer with enough experience and know-how could help patch any
security flaws that could appear in Linux, as quickly as possible,
and submit the changes as soon as possible, as opposed to Microsoft
techs, which are more focused on making Windows the most used OS,
and only occasionally dealing with the many troublesome hackers,
worms, trojans, and viruses. May I also point out the video posted
by Microsoft relatively recently where they tried to compare Open
Office and their own Word programs in an
“un-biased” way. They complained about the
buttons, layout, format, and many other things, while it should be
obvious that they could change the layout and most of these other
low-end problems they complained about. As well as showing overall
contempt for the entire program, which I’m sure has
absolutely NOTHING to do with the fact that they could stand to
gain even .001% more sales from the ignorant majority of the public
by saying so. As for the updates you allow on your machines, it is
painfully obvious as to WHY Linux allows you the ability to choose
which ones to install. It would sound as though it would be a
negative aspect to Linux to have to purposely have to go in and
select which updates and installs you would like, while Windows
simply makes you install EVERYTHING including the mass of
completely useless updates, and programs, which can include things
as meaningless as scanning the machine for any malware or
virus’s that your firewall should have blocked anyway and
just scanning to make sure that all of your hardware is licensed to
work with Windows. I would say that both windows and Linux has
their own benefits and drawbacks. However, I believe that the less
ambitious and more productive activity of Linux (despite the
majority of Linux users being extra tech savvy) I would estimate
that a majority change in the majority opinion of Linux, as well as
the gradual downward spiral of Windows, will inevitably cause Linux
to eventually become the most widely used operating system in the
world. Windows does have gaming… Overall, I’d say that
itself is about 95% of the reason that I still use windows…. as
well as the programming classes I take now, sadly, involve having
to use the command prompt. -S.K. Another point, would be
considering the

I have been dabbling in Linux for a while now. I have experience with Windows 95 through Windows 7, I have a Macmini, and currently am just using Windows 7 on my laptop which is an actual PC(seems to be running just as stable as OSX so far and have been using 7 for about 9 months and have been making it work really hard for me, if it were XP it would have crashed LONG AGO with what I have been doing to it). Part of me wants to dive into the command line and into programming, but here is something that NO ONE ever mentions. Why do I personally want to “dive into” Linux full force like I do? Get a PC that is UNIX based that runs like OSX and NOT SPEND ANY MONEY ON THE OS…did I just say that? Think about that for just a minute. I buy a 700 dollar laptop(assuming I want to put Linux on a brand new computer which I personally want to because of blu ray drive or burner, HDMI out with 1080p output, USB 3.0 etc etc etc), without paying for my software. If I had spent only 300 dollars more I could have bought a Macbook with the SAME ABILITIES(albeit with the bugs worked out of the basic software, no driver issues out of the box, yes big brother is on my ass being that it is Apple with their iron fist on their source code, not to mention the annoying religious zealouts who don’t know what the hell they are talking about who follow the Apple religion), and yet did I REALLY pay for OSX.whatever? Or did I pay Apple to work the bugs out of something that is similar to Linux and merely buy the machine off of them with the software already on it since I have to have a Mac to run OSX in the first place(legally)? Think about that for just a minute. One way or the other I have to pay for something. If I had an issue with not being able to look at the code for OSX, then I could see this as a problem. I personally don’t care cause I’m not a programmer. If I was then this would be a REALLY BIG DEAL. One way to think about this is do these companies really want people looking at the source code for these programs they spend millions or perhaps hundreds of millions of dollars towards research and development only to have people copy just enough not to get sued by Apple or Microsoft? If I were Billy boy or Steve Jobs I sure the hell wouldn’t want just any old joe schmoe to be able to look at the code my company had created for my 130 or 300 dollar OS that is lining my pockets. Do I personally think that software should be free? Yes. Do I wish that everything was Open Source and that these big companies were a thing of the past? Absolutely. On the flip side, if I pay just a little more for my hardware do I need to invest the time to get my computer to run as stable as I want it to run so I can focus on things like mastering the Piano, picking up on women, Lucid dreaming, learning how money ACTUALLY works, mastering self control, etc etc etc? You can bet your bottom dollar that is my kind of idea…just some things to think about. If I wasn’t good at an instrument(was classically trained on the Piano and currently starting on my music degree, played Bassoon in high school, played bass for about 8 years but quit to focus on Piano, played the Violin for seven years, but the Piano still sticks with me and I only want to play, not produce and have been playing since I was 3-am 32 now) then for me I would have to master C++, or Java, or C#, maybe Javascript, Python, Perl, or whatever language or scripting language suits your fancy. But being that I am just gonna play music, go out performing, maybe become a Suzuki Piano teacher or make my own school, I think I’ll probably just get a Macbook(I’ll just nod and keep my mouth shut if a fanboy is badmouthing another OS and just stay out of the debate because part of me no longer cares, all OS’s have there good points and bad points, and I think sometime in the future Linux may become the OS of choice, just not now in 2011. Maybe closer to 2050 if things keep going the way they are). That will be the day…