Can you trust your computer?

[VON_CAPO]

From: http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/can-you-trust.html

Too long to read, but, it worth it.

"Who should your computer take its orders from? Most people think their computers should obey them, not obey someone else. With a plan they call "trusted computing", large media corporations (including the movie companies and record companies), together with computer companies such as Microsoft and Intel, are planning to make your computer obey them instead of you. (Microsoft's version of this scheme is called "Palladium".) Proprietary programs have included malicious features before, but this plan would make it universal.

Proprietary software means, fundamentally, that you don't control what it does; you can't study the source code, or change it. It's not surprising that clever businessmen find ways to use their control to put you at a disadvantage. Microsoft has done this several times: one version of Windows was designed to report to Microsoft all the software on your hard disk; a recent "security" upgrade in Windows Media Player required users to agree to new restrictions. But Microsoft is not alone: the KaZaa music-sharing software is designed so that KaZaa's business partner can rent out the use of your computer to their clients. These malicious features are often secret, but even once you know about them it is hard to remove them, since you don't have the source code.

In the past, these were isolated incidents. "Trusted computing" would make it pervasive. "Treacherous computing" is a more appropriate name, because the plan is designed to make sure your computer will systematically disobey you. In fact, it is designed to stop your computer from functioning as a general-purpose computer. Every operation may require explicit permission.

The technical idea underlying treacherous computing is that the computer includes a digital encryption and signature device, and the keys are kept secret from you. Proprietary programs will use this device to control which other programs you can run, which documents or data you can access, and what programs you can pass them to. These programs will continually download new authorization rules through the Internet, and impose those rules automatically on your work. If you don't allow your computer to obtain the new rules periodically from the Internet, some capabilities will automatically cease to function.

Of course, Hollywood and the record companies plan to use treacherous computing for "DRM" (Digital Restrictions Management), so that downloaded videos and music can be played only on one specified computer. Sharing will be entirely impossible, at least using the authorized files that you would get from those companies. You, the public, ought to have both the freedom and the ability to share these things. (I expect that someone will find a way to produce unencrypted versions, and to upload and share them, so DRM will not entirely succeed, but that is no excuse for the system.)

Making sharing impossible is bad enough, but it gets worse. There are plans to use the same facility for email and documents--resulting in email that disappears in two weeks, or documents that can only be read on the computers in one company.

Imagine if you get an email from your boss telling you to do something that you think is risky; a month later, when it backfires, you can't use the email to show that the decision was not yours. "Getting it in writing" doesn't protect you when the order is written in disappearing ink.

Imagine if you get an email from your boss stating a policy that is illegal or morally outrageous, such as to shred your company's audit documents, or to allow a dangerous threat to your country to move forward unchecked. Today you can send this to a reporter and expose the activity. With treacherous computing, the reporter won't be able to read the document; her computer will refuse to obey her. Treacherous computing becomes a paradise for corruption.

Word processors such as Microsoft Word could use treacherous computing when they save your documents, to make sure no competing word processors can read them. Today we must figure out the secrets of Word format by laborious experiments in order to make free word processors read Word documents. If Word encrypts documents using treacherous computing when saving them, the free software community won't have a chance of developing software to read them--and if we could, such programs might even be forbidden by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Programs that use treacherous computing will continually download new authorization rules through the Internet, and impose those rules automatically on your work. If Microsoft, or the US government, does not like what you said in a document you wrote, they could post new instructions telling all computers to refuse to let anyone read that document. Each computer would obey when it downloads the new instructions. Your writing would be subject to 1984-style retroactive erasure. You might be unable to read it yourself.

You might think you can find out what nasty things a treacherous computing application does, study how painful they are, and decide whether to accept them. It would be short-sighted and foolish to accept, but the point is that the deal you think you are making won't stand still. Once you come to depend on using the program, you are hooked and they know it; then they can change the deal. Some applications will automatically download upgrades that will do something different--and they won't give you a choice about whether to upgrade.

Today you can avoid being restricted by proprietary software by not using it. If you run GNU/Linux or another free operating system, and if you avoid installing proprietary applications on it, then you are in charge of what your computer does. If a free program has a malicious feature, other developers in the community will take it out, and you can use the corrected version. You can also run free application programs and tools on non-free operating systems; this falls short of fully giving you freedom, but many users do it.

Treacherous computing puts the existence of free operating systems and free applications at risk, because you may not be able to run them at all. Some versions of treacherous computing would require the operating system to be specifically authorized by a particular company. Free operating systems could not be installed. Some versions of treacherous computing would require every program to be specifically authorized by the operating system developer. You could not run free applications on such a system. If you did figure out how, and told someone, that could be a crime.

There are proposals already for US laws that would require all computers to support treacherous computing, and to prohibit connecting old computers to the Internet. The CBDTPA (we call it the Consume But Don't Try Programming Act) is one of them. But even if they don't legally force you to switch to treacherous computing, the pressure to accept it may be enormous. Today people often use Word format for communication, although this causes several sorts of problems (see "We Can Put an End to Word Attachments"). If only a treacherous computing machine can read the latest Word documents, many people will switch to it, if they view the situation only in terms of individual action (take it or leave it). To oppose treacherous computing, we must join together and confront the situation as a collective choice.

For further information about treacherous computing, see <http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/users/rja14/tcpa-faq.html>.

To block treacherous computing will require large numbers of citizens to organize. We need your help! The Electronic Frontier Foundation and Public Knowledge are campaigning against treacherous computing, and so is the FSF-sponsored Digital Speech Project. Please visit these Web sites so you can sign up to support their work.

You can also help by writing to the public affairs offices of Intel, IBM, HP/Compaq, or anyone you have bought a computer from, explaining that you don't want to be pressured to buy "trusted" computing systems so you don't want them to produce any. This can bring consumer power to bear. If you do this on your own, please send copies of your letters to the organizations above.
Postscripts

1. The GNU Project distributes the GNU Privacy Guard, a program that implements public-key encryption and digital signatures, which you can use to send secure and private email. It is useful to explore how GPG differs from treacherous computing, and see what makes one helpful and the other so dangerous.

When someone uses GPG to send you an encrypted document, and you use GPG to decode it, the result is an unencrypted document that you can read, forward, copy, and even re-encrypt to send it securely to someone else. A treacherous computing application would let you read the words on the screen, but would not let you produce an unencrypted document that you could use in other ways. GPG, a free software package, makes security features available to the users; they use it. Treacherous computing is designed to impose restrictions on the users; it uses them.
2. Microsoft presents palladium as a security measure, and claims that it will protect against viruses, but this claim is evidently false. A presentation by Microsoft Research in October 2002 stated that one of the specifications of palladium is that existing operating systems and applications will continue to run; therefore, viruses will continue to be able to do all the things that they can do today.

When Microsoft speaks of "security" in connection with palladium, they do not mean what we normally mean by that word: protecting your machine from things you do not want. They mean protecting your copies of data on your machine from access by you in ways others do not want. A slide in the presentation listed several types of secrets palladium could be used to keep, including "third party secrets" and "user secrets"--but it put "user secrets" in quotation marks, recognizing that this somewhat of an absurdity in the context of palladium.

The presentation made frequent use of other terms that we frequently associate with the context of security, such as "attack", "malicious code", "spoofing", as well as "trusted". None of them means what it normally means. "Attack" doesn't mean someone trying to hurt you, it means you trying to copy music. "Malicious code" means code installed by you to do what someone else doesn't want your machine to do. "Spoofing" doesn't mean someone fooling you, it means you fooling palladium. And so on.
3. A previous statement by the palladium developers stated the basic premise that whoever developed or collected information should have total control of how you use it. This would represent a revolutionary overturn of past ideas of ethics and of the legal system, and create an unprecedented system of control. The specific problems of these systems are no accident; they result from the basic goal. It is the goal we must reject."

:hmm: :hmm: :hmm:

[STEED]

Here we go one for the conspiracy lobby. :yep:

[GreyOctober]

Here we go one for the conspiracy lobby. :yep:

Ill take it from here gentlemen..thank you :P

[STEED]

Here we go one for the conspiracy lobby. :yep:

Ill take it from here gentlemen..thank you :P

Go ahead I am sitting here waiting for a good laugh.

[GreyOctober]

The data submitted is now classified and taken away fro further analysis. Ill be issuing my T H E O R I E S next year, along with a heafty file and lawsuit agains Microsoft. :rotfl:

[Sailor Steve]

It's okay; after spending a year monitoring my activities, they'll all die of boredom.

Or of laughter.

Either way, they'll be dead.

[Wildcat]

There is a simple solution, use linux with emulators. Problem solved. I do not use windows for ANY secure information exchange at all. Suicide IMO. Microsoft's built a nice stable gaming platform in XP and that's about it.

[VON_CAPO]

There is a simple solution, use linux with emulators. Problem solved. I do not use windows for ANY secure information exchange at all. Suicide IMO. Microsoft's built a nice stable gaming platform in XP and that's about it.
I agree.
My first machine is Linux. :yep:

And I have the second one with Windows XP, totally isolated from the internet. ---> No connection at all.

I made this change a month ago, and I am a very happy user. :lol: :lol: :lol:

All the software is Open Source, it had been checked over and over again by thousands of users, bit by bit. So, no nasty surprises or code with hidden features. :yep: :yep: :yep:

That is the reason why Linux is solid rock.

And I am sure that you do not know... almost every software in Windows has a equivalent one in Linux, of course, FREE. (Many of them have a Windows version)

3D Studio Max = Blender
Photoshop = Gimp
M$ Office = Open Office
etc, etc, etc....... :know:

By the way, if any moderator or owner from Subsim site want to remember me that I am connecting with WinXP, I would like to manifest that my browser is sending a string simulating to be XP. You can see that checking your traffic stats.

[Excalibur Bane]

I never trust me computer. I've caught it on more then one occasion plotting to kill me. Skynet has nothing on this little, sadistic baby. You turn your back for five seconds on this menace and you'll end up with a USB cable in the back!

[SUBMAN1]

Gentoo rulez!

ANyway, Linux is all fine an dandy until Congress make Palladium mandatory.

-S

[VON_CAPO]

Gentoo rulez!

ANyway, Linux is all fine an dandy until Congress make Palladium mandatory.
-S
What is Palladium:

From: http://www.epic.org/privacy/consumer/microsoft/palladium.html

"""In June 2002, Microsoft released information regarding its new "Palladium" initiative. Palladium is a system that combines software and hardware controls to create a "trusted" computing platform. In doing so, it would establish an unprecedented level of control over users and their computers.

Palladium could place Microsoft as the gatekeeper of identification and authentication. Additionally, systems embedded in both software and hardware would control access to content, thereby creating ubiquitous Digital Rights Management schemes that can track users and control use of media. Microsoft expects to have elements of the system in place by 2004. """

Trusted Computing' Frequently Asked Questions: http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~rja14/tcpa-faq.html


Welcome Fahrenheit 451 :nope: :nope: :nope:

[Wildcat]

that will never happen to linux, linux is not a product of an american company so congress can whine and moan all it wants, we will always know what's going on inside linux and its programs.

[STEED]

I never trust me computer. I've caught it on more then one occasion plotting to kill me.!

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h254/RS42/clip_image002.jpg

[VON_CAPO]

that will never happen to linux, linux is not a product of an american company so congress can whine and moan all it wants, we will always know what's going on inside linux and its programs.
I hope you are right.

But you know what?

Step 1: The shutting down of the analog TV waves by March 2007. Everybody will must to stick to a digital provider. ---> We will not be anymore passive and anonymous. And of course, everybody will pay without exception.

Step 2: Do you remember the Pentium III, it was designed to broadcast its serial number in each internet connection.
It would not be estrange in a near future that if you do not have a "watchdog" installed, your connection would be refused.

:hmm: :hmm: :hmm:

[VipertheSniper]

Who really thinks this can happen? I guess no company's IT security-guy will let his company switch to computers that will use this sort of thing. I've read about it I think 2 years ago, and so far nothing has happened. I can't remember everything, but what I remember is that the article I've read mentioned that the FBI, CIA and M$ will hold some kind of universal keys, so they could in theory read all documents all over the world... In the hands of greedy and mighty bastards this cries out to be abused for industrial espionage and what not.
They won't succeed with their plan, they'd loose too much customers.

[SUBMAN1]

Let me paint a scenario for you:

New super infoprmation highway (In the name of security of course) needs a central authenitication server. Your machine must comply (Linux included) if you plan to be on this network. You machine must be equiped with Palladium if you want to authenticate. All software an communication is encrypted via Palladium as per United Nation orders.

Of course Palladium will have its backdoor for government people such as the NSA or CIA.

You want to share a file? Must have Palladium and be encrypted by Palladium to even get it on the net - meaning it must be approved by some software or music company before you can do anything with it!

What I describe above is a loose ended version with holes, but trust me, they can make you comply. Don't comply, well, you can't be one in the club of course! :)

Are Orweillian future is near.

-S

[VON_CAPO]

Let me paint a scenario for you:

New super infoprmation highway (In the name of security of course) needs a central authenitication server. Your machine must comply (Linux included) if you plan to be on this network. You machine must be equiped with Palladium if you want to authenticate. All software an communication is encrypted via Palladium as per United Nation orders.

Are Orweillian future is near.

-S

:nope: :nope: :nope: :nope: :nope:

[STEED]

Let me paint a scenario for you:

New super infoprmation highway (In the name of security of course) needs a central authenitication server. Your machine must comply (Linux included) if you plan to be on this network. You machine must be equiped with Palladium if you want to authenticate. All software an communication is encrypted via Palladium as per United Nation orders.


Are Orweillian future is near.

-S

Yes indeed 1984 is here and why? Because people are going around in bliss and will not recognise what's going on. By the way everyone in the UK listen up we’re are now the number one society in the western world under surveillance. Another 1984 for you and it’s going to get a lot worst, Yes your PC is a great thing but other computers are being used against you. Brave new world don’t make me laugh please. :nope:

[Wim Libaers]

You can forget the name Palladium. It got a lot of bad press, and was mostly abandoned (only the name was abandoned, obviously). The same technology now has different names, such as NGSCB and TPM.

[kiwi_2005]

Microsoft can get stuffed. Now where did i put my Linux redhat v1.0

:lol:

[Yahoshua]

Tin foil hats and cans of Raid anybody?

[VON_CAPO]

Microsoft can get stuffed. Now where did i put my Linux redhat v1.0

:lol:

A few words for those who never had used Linux before.

Linux is a operating system very different to Windows.

Windows is monolithic and Linux modular.
This is the reason why there are so many Linux distros.
Each distro has a different flavor, this means they are composed by different modules (pieces of software).


In Linux security is priority #1, so install something, if you are a newbie, is tricky and sometimes a pain in the neck.

About the hardware:

Because Linux is Open Source, the vendors resist to liberate the source code of their drivers.
To install a piece of software with closed code is not an option --> nobody knows what has been programmed there. :stare:
And because of this, sometimes is a pain to get hardware to work.
Obviously always there is a way to get them work.

To be specific:
Only Nvidia has Linux drivers, and the releases are frequent. :up:
For ATI, Linux does not care.

Printers:
Choose Hewlett Packard or Epson (but not the cheaper models)

Wireless:
Linux will not recognize your PCI card, you must configure it manually with an emulator called ndiswrapper and two files that you must copy from your Windows driver.
For experienced users only, sorry. :88)

Wired:
No problems at all. And if you own a wired router, better.

RAID hard drives:
The last release of SUSE with kernel 2.6 has troubles with them at the installation.
But with Ubuntu everything is smooth.

[Wildcat]

It's important to remember that A) There are more nations than just USA, UK, EU, etc.. B) Those other nations manufacture all of the electronics that we use. C) Most of them will probably not conform to something that destroys their own internal ability to utilise those electronics.

So we're pretty safe from any sweeping changes microsoft wants to force on anyone. Think you're going to get chinese motherboard manufacturers to force hardware license checking into their designs? Maybe for American hardware only, no one else is going to comply though.

[SUBMAN1]

Microsoft can get stuffed. Now where did i put my Linux redhat v1.0

:lol:

A few words for those who never had used Linux before.

Linux is a operating system very different to Windows.

Windows is monolithic and Linux modular.
This is the reason why there are so many Linux distros.
Each distro has a different flavor, this means they are composed by different modules (pieces of software).


In Linux security is priority #1, so install something, if you are a newbie, is tricky and sometimes a pain in the neck.

About the hardware:

Because Linux is Open Source, the vendors resist to liberate the source code of their drivers.
Install a piece of software with closed code is not an option --> nobody knows what has been programmed there. :stare:
And because of this, sometimes is a pain to get hardware to work.
Obviously always there is a way to get them work.

To be specific:
Only Nvidia has Linux drivers, and the releases are frequent. :up:
For ATI, Linux does not care.

Printers:
Choose Hewlett Packard or Epson (but not the cheaper models)

Wireless:
Linux will not recognize your PCI card, you must configure it manually with an emulator called ndiswrapper and two files that you must copy from your Windows driver.
For experienced users only, sorry. :88)

Wired:
No problems at all. And if you own a wired router, better.

RAID hard drives:
The last release of SUSE with kernel 2.6 has troubles with them at the installation.
But with Ubuntu everything is smooth.

All somewhat true. The lack of ATI drivers however used to be true. NVidia doesn't release many driver revs and neither does ATI for Linux. I have both manufacturers running on Gentoo and not perfectly happy with either, but satisfied would be closer to the point. Upon closer examination however, do you really need all these driver revs? I have yet to have an error in game on anything from UT to Doom 3 resulting from driver screwups.

For those interesting in a FAQ on ATI, here it is - http://www.ati.com/products/catalyst/linux.html

Why is everyone complaining about ATI on this subject? Simple, the drivers remain proprietary. Why you ask? Simple, to make them opensource would reveal to NVidia certain ways the ATI cards operate. I understand both camps on this one - The OpenSource guys want to be able to program for ATI to make it great on the Linux platform. ATI however wants to guard its secrets from NVidia (And I'm sure likewise).

Anyway - Linux drivers can be downloaded to Gentoo via emerge or you can pick them up here via a browser - https://support.ati.com/ics/support/default.asp?deptID=894&task=knowledge&folderID=300

Notice - those drivers are of 5/24/06 (2 days old as of this post!) - very recent. So to tell me that ATI doesn't have recent driver revs is a bit of a misnomer.

-S

[VON_CAPO]

Anyway - Linux drivers can be downloaded to Gentoo via emerge or you can pick them up here via a browser - https://support.ati.com/ics/support/default.asp?deptID=894&task=knowledge&folderID=300

Notice - those drivers are of 5/24/06 (2 days old as of this post!) - very recent. So to tell me that ATI doesn't have recent driver revs is a bit of a misnomer.

-S

:o :o :o

[SUBMAN1]

It's important to remember that A) There are more nations than just USA, UK, EU, etc.. B) Those other nations manufacture all of the electronics that we use. C) Most of them will probably not conform to something that destroys their own internal ability to utilise those electronics.

So we're pretty safe from any sweeping changes microsoft wants to force on anyone. Think you're going to get chinese motherboard manufacturers to force hardware license checking into their designs? Maybe for American hardware only, no one else is going to comply though.

All partially correct. The problem comes with the USA. The US typically can dictate what does or does not happen because you really don't want to lose your trade agreements with them over something many leaders would probably consider petty.

What was the last numbers? The US manufactures 1/3rd of all Gross World Product and consumes 2/3rds of it right off the bat? That may be getting old since I think China is enchroaching on those numbers, but the consuming side however may have actually increased! Basically, make your product to US standards unless you plan on producing for a niche market. The moral of the story is, you probably have no choice since the EU seems to follow suite.

-S

[SUBMAN1]

Anyway - Linux drivers can be downloaded to Gentoo via emerge or you can pick them up here via a browser - https://support.ati.com/ics/support/default.asp?deptID=894&task=knowledge&folderID=300

Notice - those drivers are of 5/24/06 (2 days old as of this post!) - very recent. So to tell me that ATI doesn't have recent driver revs is a bit of a misnomer.

-S

:o :o :o

You gonna buy ATI yet? :P

[kiwi_2005]

I use to have Linux Mandrake 9 as a dual boot with winxp, using KDE interface. I like linux but it aint gamer friendly. :-?

[VON_CAPO]

You gonna buy ATI yet? :P

No way!!!
Only Nvidia is Open Source friendly. :yep:

[SUBMAN1]

You gonna buy ATI yet? :P

No way!!!
Only Nvidia is Open Source friendly. :yep:

So is ATI. NVidia still keeps their drivers locked up just as much as ATI, so how is that any different?

-S

[VON_CAPO]

So is ATI. NVidia still keeps their drivers locked up just as much as ATI, so how is that any different?

-S

Check the Nvidia forum for Linux.

That is really "Costumer Service". :P

I detect you are a ATI lover :-j , but you have to agree with me that most of the community is on the Nvidia side.

[Wim Libaers]

It's important to remember that A) There are more nations than just USA, UK, EU, etc.. B) Those other nations manufacture all of the electronics that we use. C) Most of them will probably not conform to something that destroys their own internal ability to utilise those electronics.

So we're pretty safe from any sweeping changes microsoft wants to force on anyone. Think you're going to get chinese motherboard manufacturers to force hardware license checking into their designs? Maybe for American hardware only, no one else is going to comply though.

No, you're not safe. Having that hardware in your system shouldn't cause problems, as it can be turned on or off by the user (at least in current versions). So every computer could have the hardware, and the US might make it illegal to connect to any network without it on, and no ISP would allow you to connect until you activated it. Software would also be made to require it, and websites would refuse connections from computers where it's turned off.

If some other country didn't like the system, it simply would allow keeping it off.

Oh, and you worry about Microsoft? Correct, but you don't see the whole picture.

Have a look at the list of companies that are working to reduce your freedom:
https://www.trustedcomputinggroup.org/about/members/

[squigian]

All this centralised server business reminds me of Aquinas from Deus Ex, a huge mainframe designed to monitor all information on the internet under the pretense of catching 'terrorists' and giving the end user more bandwith.

Someone will make a crack or info disruptor at some point. Knowing Microsoft, it will pretty easy to do. Also, if need be I will never connect to the internet, until I have backed up sensitive files and deleted the originals. By sensitive files, I mean anything that could be used to send targeted advertisements to me or anything quasi-legal (burners etc.).

In the end, this will boil down to wasted money and increased suspicion of corporations. I recommend everyone play Deus Ex sometime; bear in mind it was made BEFORE 9/11.
This is not good. :down: :down: :down: :down: :down:

[VON_CAPO]

Have a look at the list of companies that are working to reduce your freedom:
https://www.trustedcomputinggroup.org/about/members/

Really worrisome. But I take note of their names. :|\

[SUBMAN1]

So is ATI. NVidia still keeps their drivers locked up just as much as ATI, so how is that any different?

-S

Check the Nvidia forum for Linux.

That is really "Costumer Service". :P

I detect you are a ATI lover :-j , but you have to agree with me that most of the community is on the Nvidia side.

I was an NVidia lover but went ATI after the quality on ATI surpassed NVidia such as texture quality, etc. I also went ATI for the loudness factor at one point, but they have fixed that in the last year and a half or so. THough they swap back and forth lately, ATI still has the crown performance wise. I wasn't too happy with the original stock cooler on this x1900 XTX however, but I fixed that with an Accelero X2 and now I can't hear the board at all.

I'll tell you the truth though, this time around I almost went NVidia (Due to the single slot design) and it really only came down to frame rates between the two boards. The ATI x1900 XTX has only slightly better frame rates to the 7900 GTX, but what really sticks out like a sore thumb is the minimum frame rates and the 7900 GTX will drop into the mid teens in Oblivion vs 25 to 26 FPS for the x1900 XTX in the same exact spot - ie. The ATI will provide a better overall experience.

So the score is, I have owned or still own 5 Nvidia boards, and 3 ATI so I guess you can say I support both companies. I just happen to be on the ATI side of the camp lately for the last 2 boards.

-S

PS. From a support perspective, I really can't say that NVidia is better since ATI is also helping out the DRI project a bit. Its a toss up. In the end, NVidia probably has a little better support due to nothing else than that they have been helping Open Source a little longer and it seems that they are apt to help out quicker if need be. They have better channels for support as well. So the coin toss goes to NVidia. What it boils down to though is that you can get drivers from either company and I really haven't had need to ask anyone for help on that end.

All you type for Gentoo for the latest ATI drivers is 'emerge ati-drivers' - doesn't get anymore simple than that!

[tycho102]

I have also "long since" moved to Linux. I favor Suse at the moment, but other than specifically hating Mandrake, I've little predilection.

I do have a Windows computer for single-player gaming and other assorted tasks, and I might very well be buying a Nintendo Wii for some online multiplayer.

[VON_CAPO]

Living without Microsoft: A guide for Windows users.

From--> http://www.livingwithoutmicrosoft.org/features/living-without-microsoft-a-guide-for-windows-users/

"So, just how does one live without Microsoft? The Redmond giant’s software seems to have such a level of ubiquity that such an aim might appear impossible. Only, it isn’t. It’s actually rather easy – especially if you have a broadband internet connection and an a willingness to try.
This guide is written with personal use of computers in mind. Much of the following advice is good for businesses too – but the arguments are different. We’ll list every thing you might want to do on your Windows PC, and show you how you can do it without touching MS software.
The other great thing about non-MS software is that it is often not only cheaper than Microsoft’s, but is actually free. You can assume that all the products listed here can be obtained for nothing by downloading them from the web, perfectly legally – unless otherwise mentioned."

Web Browsing
This is the first thing to switch. Not only is the current incarnation of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer very dated in terms of features, it’s also dangerous- in the sense that it has a lot of security holes, and is more vulnerable to viruses and malicious software than other browsers . The main alternative is the Mozilla Foundation’s Firefox (http://mozilla.com/), a lightweight browser which is both more secure and easy to use than IE. Other options include Opera (http://opera.com/), Netscape (http://browser.netscape.com/), and other Mozilla browsers Seamonkey (http://www.mozilla.org/projects/seamonkey/) and Mozilla (http://www.mozilla.org/products/mozilla1.x/) itself. It’s best to avoid the likes of Avant (http://www.avantbrowser.com/), which is basically IE in disguise.
Some people complain that they can’t use certain websites with Firefox, such as internet banking and some e-commerce sites. To address that problem you can download a plug-in for Firefox (https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/1419/) that allows you to open sites the same way that IE does.

Email
Like Internet Explorer, every Windows user gets a copy of Outlook Express to read their emails. We suggest you avoid using Outlook — for security reasons. Instead, switch to another Mozilla Open Source program - Thunderbird (http://mozilla.com/). Similarly to Firefox, Thunderbird is small and lightweight as well as very user friendly. Other alternatives include Eudora (http://www.eudora.com/), Mozilla Mail (http://www.mozilla.org/products/mozilla1.x/), Seamonkey Mail (http://www.mozilla.org/projects/seamonkey/) and The Bat! (http://www.ritlabs.com/en/products/thebat/) which you have to pay for.
Alternatively, why not go for a web based email, like Google’s Gmail (http://gmail.com/), Yahoo! Mail (http://yahoo.com/mail) or Fastmail (http://fastmail.com/). Your ISP might also offer a web based interface to your email inbox.

Word Processing
After web browsing and email, the next application you are likely to want is a word processor. OpenOffice.org (http://openoffice.org/) is a complete office suite, which offers a word processor that can both open and save MS Word files, as well as offering most features a home user is likely to ever need. Another option, and again a free one, is the stand alone application AbiWord (http://www.abisource.com/).
Or you could try going online for your word processing too, with one of Writely (http://writely.com/), ajaxWriter (http://ajaxwriter.com/) or Zoho Writer (http://zoho.com/). These are word-processing programs that you use though your web browser, and offer reasonable functionality if you have a broadband connection.

Instant Messaging
IM is a great way of staying in contact with your friends and family. Often the choice of software you use is dominated by what your contacts use. So how can you get out of using MSN Messenger? Easy. With Gaim (http://gaim.sourceforge.net/) or Trillian (http://www.ceruleanstudios.com/), you can not only chat with your MSN based buddies, but also with people on any of the other networks too. All in one application.
There is a web alternative here as well – Meebo (http://meebo.com/).

Photo Handling and Editing
Microsoft isn’t as famous for this as other companies, like Adobe for example, and these applications traditionally have high price tags. Explorer does have a built in image viewer that allows you to edit photos in small ways. But you don’t have to spend mega-bucks to have a fully featured graphics editor. One to start with is Google’s Picasa (http://picasa.com/), a free download that makes it easy to organise and print your photos, meaning you never have to touch the ‘My Pictures’ folder ever again. You can also crop, rotate and remove red-eye from photos, amongst other effects.
For a more involved approach to photo and graphic editing, an Open Source program called The Gimp (http://www.gimp.org/) offers a range off features comparable with programs such as Photoshop do. What’s most astonishing is that The Gimp is free of charge, too.

Media Players
Why use Microsoft’s mediocre Media Player to play your CDs and MP3s when Apple’s free ITunes (http://apple.com/itunes) is available? Quicktime (http://apple.com/itunes), installed along with ITunes is also a good player of video files. Realplayer (http://www.real.com/) can also play videos, music, and DVDs, as well as online content.

Anti-Spyware
Microsoft was pretty proud of itself when it released its anti-spyware package for free. Others got there first, though, and so Spybot Search and Destroy (http://www.spybot.info/) and Adaware (http://www.lavasoft.de/software/adaware/) are two packages it really would be a good idea to download and keep up-to-date. Even with a reasonably secure browser like Firefox, the odd gremlin can still sneak through, so it’s a good idea to keep on top of it.

Spreadsheets
Now and again, you might need to create a spreadsheet. Why shell out for Microsoft’s Excel when you can use OpenOffice.org’s Calc (http://openoffice.org/) spreadsheet? Or go online and use Irows (http://irows.com/), ajaxXLS (http://ajaxxls.com/) or Zoho Sheet (http://zoho.com/)?

Presentations
Powerpoint is almost synonymous with presentations these days. But it doesn’t have to be that way – OpenOffice.org (http://openoffice.org/)’s Impress can do most of what Powerpoint can do, and is free. It can also read PowerPoint files and do some things that the Microsoft program can’t — like export presentations as Flash movies.

System Tools
It’s also possible to replace some of Windows’ functions with non-Microsoft alternatives. For example, you can replace the file search tool with a full desktop search, such as that offered by Copernic (http://www.copernic.com/) or Google (http://desktop.google.com/). Notepad is a pretty handy little text editor, and many of the replacements on offer are bloated and slow in comparison. The same can’t be said of Metapad (http://www.liquidninja.com/metapad/), which adds some much needed features, like a toolbar and a removal of the file size limit, while retaining the speed of the original. Lastly, the Windows file manager, Explorer, can be replaced with Xplorer 2 Lite (http://zabkat.com/x2lite.htm) - which offers dual panes, making the copying and moving of files far easier, and tabbed browsing of directories.

[VON_CAPO]

Here they go again. :nope::nope::nope:

From: ---> http://www.publicknowledge.org/issues/bfcase

Broadcast Flag Court Challenge

Status

Oral argument was held Feb. 22, 2005. The Court issued an order March 15 asking for more argument on the standing questions. Our side’s brief was filed March 29. The MPAA and FCC filed briefs on April 8. On May 6th the Court decided in our favor, the FCC’s Broadcast Flag Order has been vacated.
Summary

Here is some background on the case.
On January 30, 2004 Public Knowledge filed a lawsuit in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, challenging a decision by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to require consumer electronics and computer manufacturers to read and obey a “broadcast flag” signal embedded in new digital television signals. Public Knowledge filed the lawsuit on behalf of itself, the American Library Association, Association of Research Libraries, American Association of Law Libraries, Medical Library Association, Special Libraries Association, Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
The flag’s proponents portray it as a narrow mandate that will only prohibit illegal distribution of digital television content, but in fact it will do much more:
the flag will impose significant strictures and constraints on the design of consumer-electronics and computer products — limitations that will diminish interoperability between new products and old ones, and that even pose interoperability problems among new devices; and
the flag will limit what users can do with broadcast television content to a significantly greater degree than they are limited now.Analysis

We made two core legal arguments in the case.
In the absence of an express mandate from Congress, the FCC does not have the power under the Communications Act to adopt the flag scheme. The Communications Act of 1934 and its amendments govern what the FCC can and cannot regulate, and nothing in that Act permits the FCC to a) impose broad product design mandates on consumer electronics devices and computers and b) adopt what is, for all intents and purposes, copyright policy.
That even if the FCC has the power to adopt the flag scheme, its actions in doing so are “arbitrary and capricious,” and therefore illegal. We will argue first that the FCC ignored the lack of evidence in the record of the broadcast flag rulemaking that there is a problem with the “indiscriminate distribution” of digital TV programming in ways that harm content companies and second argue that even if such evidence existed, that the flag will not fix the problem in any event.We believed the Commission’s actions in this matter were extremely vulnerable to this court challenge. Steptoe and Johnson, a top-tier Washington, DC law firm with expertise in FCC matters generally and the broadcast flag matter specifically, agreed to litigate the case on behalf of Public Knowledge and the other parties seeking to challenge the FCC decision.
Outcome

The U.S. Appeals Court for the D.C. Circuit on May 6, in a 3-0 ruling, threw out the Federal Communications Commission’s order establishing the so-called “broadcast flag.” The decision came in a case brought by Public Knowledge, Consumers Union, the Consumer Federation of America, Electronic Frontier Foundation, the American Library Association, Association of Research Libraries, American Association of Law Libraries, Medical Library association and Special Libraries Association. The decision can be found here: http://www.publicknowledge.org/pdf/bfcase-decision-20050506.pdf
Now, the issue will move to Capitol Hill. Content companies are asking members of Congress to give the FCC the authority to order the broadcast flag scheme that the court order said the Commission did not have. There are no specific proposals yet, but broadcast flag-related provisions could be attached to any number of bills, perhaps related to the Digital Television (DTV) transition, indecency, or something else.
In the opinion, the court agreed with our argument that the FCC exceeded its authority in creating this broadcast flag scheme. Judge Harry T. Edwards, writing for the court, said: “In the seven decades of its existence, the FCC has never before asserted such sweeping authority. Indeed, in the past, the FCC has informed Congress that it lacked any such authority. In our view, nothing has changed to give the FCC the authority it now claims.”
We couldn’t have done it without our co-plaintiffs, Consumers Union, Consumer Federation of America, Electronic Frontier Foundation, American Library Association, Association of Research Libraries, American Association of Law Libraries, Medical Library Association and the Special Libraries Association.

[andy_311]

Me personally I started my pc life with Win 3.0 and ended up with win XP Pro.
I could never find a retailer who would sell me "Linux" read a lot about it but alas it's not what I got. so I got to do with what I got.
With Windows OS I have to instal a Av prog,Firewall,anti spyware progs, etc.
Are you guy's tellin me that "Linnux is that good and you don't need this kind of stuff on your pc? if so why is it that everyone has not got Linnux? and are you all free from being hacked getting viruses etc.
It's a operating system I never had so I can't comment on but am sure it's got it weaknesses like all OS systems.

[VON_CAPO]

I could never find a retailer who would sell me "Linux"
That is the point. "Retailer = $$$" and "Linux = Free (Gratis).

You can download for free the installation CDs and DVDs from a lot of mirrors without to pay a penny. :yep:

Are you guy's tellin me that "Linnux is that good and you don't need this kind of stuff on your pc? if so why is it that everyone has not got Linnux?
About if Linux is good or not ... I invite you to "Google it" with searches such as
-- Windows vs Linux
-- Linux security
-- server share market
-- government operating system
-- And of course, take a look to what the NSA thinks about Linux, --> www.nsa.gov/selinux/ (http://www.nsa.gov/selinux/) :|\\

It's a operating system I never had so I can't comment on but am sure it's got it weaknesses like all OS systems.
Well, if you had followed my invitation to take a look, I am sure that your affirmation had been answered. :|\\

[Drebbel]

So tell me, who actually read the full text ? :D

[Sharkstooth]

me:cool:

[Drebbel]

me:cool:

Before or after reading my post ? :p

Nice rank ! RSQ, but errrrr, you are NOT a ......



Drebbel :sunny:

[Umfuld]

Aren't these measures solely for the purpose to stop file sharing of copywrited material?

This 1984 talk is pretty silly. People steal, with their computers and internet connections. And the companies who are getting robbed are trying desperately to put a stop to this.

To say this is like 1984 is like saying a supermarket using security cameras is like 1984. These businesses have a right to protect themselves from thieves.

And guess what? We are all pretty much thieves.

[VON_CAPO]

Aren't these measures solely for the purpose to stop file sharing of copywrited material?

These businesses have a right to protect themselves from thieves.

And guess what? We are all pretty much thieves.
The point is to refuse their restrictions by the solely fact of dismiss them. So simple like that.

My computer is like my "Bussiness".
I use to think like a boss, not like a employee who accepts directions.
In fact, like a boss, I create my own rules and I choose my employees (the vendors).

Like in the real life, you can choose to work for to make rich other people, or, to make rich yourself.
It is up to you.

German shepherd or sheep? :|\\

[Drebbel]

In fact, like a boss, I create my own rules and I choose my employees (the vendors).

Yep, but who controls what vendors are available for you ? The vendors do, so you back to being an employee :D

[VON_CAPO]

Some screenshots from Linux desktops using the new 3D accelerated graphics module XGL.

http://img384.imageshack.us/img384/8466/xglshot8zi.th.jpg (http://img384.imageshack.us/my.php?image=xglshot8zi.jpg) http://img384.imageshack.us/img384/6712/xglshot17ry.th.jpg (http://img384.imageshack.us/my.php?image=xglshot17ry.jpg) http://img384.imageshack.us/img384/1871/xgl0030pq.th.jpg (http://img384.imageshack.us/my.php?image=xgl0030pq.jpg) http://img384.imageshack.us/img384/2869/xgl0020rn.th.jpg (http://img384.imageshack.us/my.php?image=xgl0020rn.jpg)

http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/8889/xgl0013sl.th.jpg (http://img209.imageshack.us/my.php?image=xgl0013sl.jpg) http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/4168/moviecube17kh.th.jpg (http://img209.imageshack.us/my.php?image=moviecube17kh.jpg) http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/4545/menuslauncher3rj.th.jpg (http://img209.imageshack.us/my.php?image=menuslauncher3rj.jpg) http://img384.imageshack.us/img384/5493/layout18tl.th.jpg (http://img384.imageshack.us/my.php?image=layout18tl.jpg)

http://img384.imageshack.us/img384/9923/hdxglcube18yu.th.jpg (http://img384.imageshack.us/my.php?image=hdxglcube18yu.jpg) http://img384.imageshack.us/img384/9208/fspot8vr.th.jpg (http://img384.imageshack.us/my.php?image=fspot8vr.jpg) http://img324.imageshack.us/img324/1607/200602201635131280x1024scrot5w.th.jpg (http://img324.imageshack.us/my.php?image=200602201635131280x1024scrot5w.jpg) http://img324.imageshack.us/img324/2782/200602201632261280x1024scrot4b.th.jpg (http://img324.imageshack.us/my.php?image=200602201632261280x1024scrot4b.jpg)

[VON_CAPO]

Yep, but who controls what vendors are available for you ? The vendors do, so you back to being an employee :D
Wrong! :p

If you had understood what had been written in this thread, you should agree that:

1- The Open Source community writes its own software.

2- The Open Source community writes its own drivers (with some exceptions), with or without hardware vendors help.

The implications of this are extremely obvious.

Have a nice day. :up: