 DistroWatch Weekly |
| DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 56, 5 July 2004 |
Welcome to this year's 27th edition of DistroWatch Weekly. It comes out slightly earlier than usual because your DistroWatch maintainer is getting ready for a break. More on this and other (more interesting) subjects below. Enjoy!
Content:
Debian postpones social contract changes
As reported by Linux Weekly News, the Debian developers have voted to postpone any social contract changes until after the release of the next stable version of Debian, code name "Sarge":
"An unofficial announcement (click below) has gone out: the Debian Project has voted to postpone its recent social contract changes until after the next major release ("Sarge") goes out. The changes in question force the removal of all documentation, data, and other materials seen by Debian as not being free; they had threatened to delay the (already tardy) Sarge release. This vote should pave the way for a faster release. Note that the project adopted the resolution wording which defers the changes indefinitely, rather than the version which put a September deadline on the release."
Further details and links to official results can be found here. This is a welcome news for all users waiting to upgrade their Woody systems, although, with over 300 release-critical bugs in Sarge, don't expect a new Debian stable release any time soon. Nevertheless, an important obstacle has been removed.
The time to switch is NOW
Once again, the spotlight of many Linux news sites, as well as several mainstream publications, was on the security of Microsoft's products, especially its troubled Internet Explorer (MSIE) and Internet Information Server (IIS). Even some of the Microsoft-friendly news services were outraged by the latest security holes in the software giant's browser and web server allowing an exploit to compromise users' passwords and other confidential information. Many prominent organisations, such as the US Department of Homeland Security, as well as popular news publications have issued strong recommendations that Internet users download one of the open source browsers, rather than continue using Internet Explorer. As a result, the Mozilla Foundation reported a massive increase in download demand for the Mozilla and Firefox browsers. On DistroWatch itself, there has been a further dramatic decline of visitors using MSIE to browse the site - during the first 4 days of this month, just over a quarter of all visitors were viewing the site with MSIE, down from about 60% three years ago.
It is becoming increasingly clear that, biased as we may be, Microsoft's products are not to be trusted. Thus, it was highly refreshing to see the news about the German Government desktop, in the form of a newly created Linux distribution going under the name of ERPOSS3. We have more details about it in the "Released Last Week" section below, but essentially, this is a product that comes preconfigured with many security features, including encrypted file systems, several security certificates, anti-spam and anti-virus software, and a personal firewall. Although the product will only be useful to those who understand German, there is hope that other countries' governments will take a hint from this project and consider deploying similar products, rather than continue exposing their employees and data to severe risks. Internet security is no joke and waiting for the next major exploit might cost us all a lot more than a one-off switch to secure software.
ERPOSS3 - the new secure desktop for the German government
(full image size 112kB)
If you still have doubts about Microsoft's attitude towards security, consider this quote by Christophe Aulnette, CEO of Microsoft France, arguing that a closely-guarded proprietary software is naturally more secure than open source software:
"If I have a safe in my room and I give the code to everybody, will it be safer? I don't think so"
As one of the posters on NewsForge commented, if Aulnette is not an idiot, he clearly assumes that his customers are.
The next question is: are YOU an idiot? Do YOU still use Microsoft software? Do YOU still browse the Internet with Microsoft Internet Explorer? Do YOU still do your online banking on a server running Microsoft IIS? If so, why?
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| Released Last Week |
ROCK Linux 2.0.2
A new release of the ROCK Linux distribution build kit is now available: "ROCK Linux 2.0.2 (codename 'wildlife') was released to the public. The release is a maintenance release - and so includes a number of security fixes and minor version updates pulled from the development tree. Due to always active work on non-x86 ports this time with full boot CD on Sparc64 (Ultra SPARC) and IBM RS/6000 (RS/6k) support! The changes from 83 changesets, include about 37 fixes, 27 updates and 21 additions." Read the release announcement and changelog (which includes download locations) for more details.
Buffalo Linux 1.3.1
Buffalo Linux 1.3.1 has been released: "This major release brings Buffalo fully compatible with Slackware 10.0 and provides additional enhancements. These include: new desktop improvements, new Buffalo GUI 'admin', improved CD upgrade option, kernel 2.6.7, OpenOffice 1.1.2, GIMP 2.0.2, GNOME 2.6.1, GCC 3.3.4, Mozilla 1.7... a total of 59 package upgrades. New builds of MySQL, Scribus, GAIM, and others. With this release the Buffalo new version cycle is expected to slow down. �[34m| Future version releases will track new kernel versions or major package updates." The release announcement, changelog.
Overclockix 3.4_V3
This is a newly updated release of the Overclockix 3.4 live CD: "New 3.4 release is finished. Mostly minor bugfixes in this release. Also worthy of news - I've been assisting the developer of Barnix/DebXPde with ISO hosting. Barnix is a custom Knoppix which uses XPde as the default desktop environment. It should look and feel very much like Windows XP. I hope in the future to incorporate XPde as an option in Overclockix, but will probably not set it as the default desktop." Read more on the distribution's home page.
Kanotix 06/2004
A new version of KANOTIX "Bug Hunter" has been released: "Major changes are the new Kernel 2.6.6 support (chosen because of much better driver support) and improved hardware detection (even CDROM links are working with new kudzu). Many new WLAN drivers including ACX100 (PCMCIA), Centrino, and Ndiswrapper to use Windows drivers. Hard disk install now uses GRUB bootloader as default. Latest Debian/Sid for the rest as usual. Have fun with it! PS: Donations are welcome." Read the rest of the announcement and changelog in English or German.
redWall Firewall 0.5.4
The redWall project has released redWall Firewall 0.5.4: "Version 0.5.4 released. New kernel 2.4.26-ow2; small and tiny nms system (midas); a lot of bug fixes; some additions; improved restore-config. You can now use the hard disk to store the bootconfig (and of course the configuration itself if you like) information. Just adapt the save-config.conf file to your needs. Any device in /dev/discs and /dev/floppy/0 is valid (you can use the old device names if you like) During boot the restore-config script searches all detected partitions and the /dev/fd0 for a valid 'bootconfig'." Read the full changelog for further details.
SAM Mini-Live-CD 0.2.2
A new version of the Mandrakelinux-based SAM Mini-Live-CD has been released. From the changelog: "SAM-0.2.2. Installed: wvdial + rp3 (Red Hat PPP config), support for Alcatel Speedtouch ADSL modem, games - geki2, geki3, gweled, ltris; browser: Opera 7.51 + Flash-plugin + Xine-plugin + skin + preconfigured; HTML editor - Bluefish; file manager: Nautilus. Removed: xrick, quadra, Mozilla 1.6, NVIDIA driver. Update: kernel 2.4.27-pre2, gthumb 2.3.3, Gimp 2.0.2, Gaim 0.79. More: turned off nfs-support during boot, small changes on desktop-icons and panel."
ERPOSS3
As reported by KDE.News and other web sites, Germany's Federal Office for Information Security has released its own desktop Linux distribution - ERPOSS3: "Composed entirely of free software the distribution is available as a Live CD as well as an Install CD. While it's based on Debian Stable (Woody) the CD contains KDE 3.2.2, Mozilla and a special themed version of OpenOffice 1.1.1. One of the highlights brought by the Government Desktop is the fact that it saves the whole data on encrypted filesystems. Furthermore, KMail is preconfigured to send and receive encrypted e-mail and to make use of all kinds of authority certificates. The package is completed by integrated spam and virus protection and a preconfigured personal firewall. For more information visit the ERPOSS3 project page (German only)."
Feather Linux 0.5.2
Feather Linux 0.5.2 has been released. From the changelog: "Added Perl modules so that PSS is now functional; cancel button on save configuration script now functional; reincluded xsri and wmwifi; added system status monitor and script to fix XTDesk icons if they disappear; made xtdesk a little quieter on bootup; updated OpenOffice.org script to 1.1.2 and changed permissions on OOo directory; updated Firefox script to 0.9.1; added option in multisession packages to change the Fluxbox menu...."
Development and unannounced releases
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| Upcoming Releases and Announcements |
Conectiva 10
Conectiva has announced that its much awaited Conectiva Linux 10 will be officially released on Monday, 5 July. This follows two technology previews, two betas and three release candidates made available for download during the last 6 months. Conectiva 10 will come with kernel 2.6, XFree86 4.4, KDE 3.2, GNOME 2.6 and the usual vast array of software supplied either on the CDs or the distribution's massive RPM repository. If you understand Portuguese, you can find more details about the product on this page.
m0n0wall 1.1
m0n0wall, the FreeBSD-based firewall project, has announced m0n0wall 1.1: "Development on m0n0wall 1.1 is in progress, and several beta versions have been released already. This page provides information about the changes introduced in these betas, and you may also download the latest beta version image below. Remember that beta versions may contain serious bugs and are not to be used in any production environment!" Read more on the project's beta page.
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| Web Site News |
Taking a break from DistroWatch
Yes, your DistroWatch maintainer is taking a break for a few weeks. I have been working on this site without any holidays for over 2.5 years, so I think it's time to get away and enjoy something different for a little while. During my absence, the web site will be run by Robert Storey. Robert is a professional writer of travel guide books and an ardent supporter of Linux and BSD, always ready to try out any new distribution that sounds remotely interesting. He will maintain the news page and the DistroWatch Weekly column, and as a bonus, he will write a few distribution reviews as well. In fact, a rumour has it that his review of OpenBSD 3.5 is just about finished and should be published here later this week. As always, your feedback, suggestions, comments and any news submissions are eagerly awaited at the email address printed at the bottom of this page.
In the meanwhile, if anybody wants to buy me a beer during my visit to Italy, Switzerland and Austria during the next two weeks, don't hesitate to email me and let me know ;-)
June donation: The GIMP receives US$300
Continuing with our programme under which 10% of DistroWatch.com's income from advertising and sale of merchandise is donated to various Free Software projects, the recipient of the June 2004 donation is the GIMP project. The donations programme is now a joint initiative between DistroWatch.com and LinuxCD.org, which contributed US$50 towards the programme. LinuxCD.org is an online store selling low-cost Linux/BSD CDs - they have the largest selection, inclusive of all the latest releases, and they offer the lowest prices. Next time you need to order your favourite Linux or BSD CDs, get them from LinuxCD.org.
As for the GIMP, which has been in development since 1995, the software is undoubtedly one of the best-known graphical applications in the UNIX world. The acronym stands for "GNU Image Manipulation Program". It is a freely distributed program for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring. While it has been designed for UNIX-like operating systems, it also runs on MS Windows and Mac OS X.
Here is the receipt for US$300:
This email confirms that you have paid GNOME Foundation $300.00 USD using PayPal.
------------------------------
Payment Details:
------------------------------
Total Amount: $300.00 USD
Transaction ID: 5DS90882DL508160C
Quantity: 1
Item Title: Donation to GIMP Project
Item Number:106
Message: This is a donation by DistroWatch.com as part of our programme to offer financial assistance to Free Software projects. Enjoy :-)
Readers are welcome and encouraged to nominate a Free Software project for the next donation.
New distribution additions
New on the waiting list
- UNDER Linux. UNDER Linux is a Brazilian Linux-based router/firewall.
- The Tao. The Tao is a new Slackware-based live CD project, currently in early development.
- Perl/Linux. Perl/Linux is a Linux distribution where ALL programs are written in Perl, from /sbin/init to /bin/vi.
DistroWatch database summary
- Number of Linux distributions in the database: 315
- Number of BSD distributions in the database: 7
- Number of discontinued distributions: 32
- Number of distributions on the waiting list: 84
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| Reader Feedback |
DistroWatch hits FORTUNE
There wasn't much feedback worth mentioning this week, but a reader has sent us a link to an article in the FORTUNE Magazine, which mentions (and links to) DistroWatch.com:
"'Linux' has now become Red Hat on servers. Just look at the numbers—there's only one viable Linux company out there, especially in the enterprise server arena. It's Red Hat. ISV's almost exclusively qualify to their distribution of Linux (basically, their assemblage of code and release dates) - which makes it impossible for customers to move (The ISV's have to agree to move, and most don't want to support any of the more than 50 'distros' you can find on www.distrowatch.com)."
Another high-profile publication linking to DistroWatch recently was O'Reilly in this press release:
"Founded in 1998 by several Linux enthusiasts, Mandrakesoft offers products and services for all Linux users, from beginners to experts. Mandrakelinux has been ranked as the #1 distribution on DistroWatch (www.distrowatch.com) for the past year and won the Linux Journal Reader's Choice Award in 2003 for Best Linux Distribution."
It's always nice to see that DistroWatch is now accepted by many large publications as an important source of information about Linux distributions.
With this, it's time to hand over the column to Robert and start packing. See you all later, much later :-)
Ladislav Bodnar
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| Linux Foundation Training |
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| Reader Comments • Jump to last comment |
1 • Debian Sarge (by Vectrox at 2004-07-05 10:58:49 GMT)
Now i have to wait longer for the stable sarge :(.. oh well..
2 • Microsoft's undoing (by Paul Alvarez on 2004-07-05 12:40:22 GMT)
I feel that their ignorance will utimately be their undoing. They can try to spin the open source movement any way they want. Bottom line, more eyes reviewing code is BETTER. You can't buy that kind of software development. I understand the arguement that they have a bigger market penetration, hence larger amount of attacks on its products. However, just look at encryption reviews. They are usually done in public as well, leading to stronger encryption thru proper scientific validation by the community. Why not try a slightly similar process with MS O/Ses? Wouldn't it be cool if Longhorn went the Fedora route? But the bottom line is too big for them to risk a move like that.......
3 • It's about time (by Corey Quilliam on 2004-07-05 12:52:08 GMT)
I just have to say that it's about time that a big organization like Homeland security spoke out about the dangers of using Internet Explorer. It's time everyone realized that there are better and safer web browsers out there like Mozilla (firefox) and Safari.
4 • Where to bank now? (by Blaise Pascal at 2004-07-05 13:18:21 GMT)
> Do YOU still do your online banking on a server running Microsoft IIS? If so, why?
Does anyone know which banks do not use M$ software, be it IIS for their online banking, or Teller's terminals running some version of Windows? My bank (Suntrust) does IIRC.
BP
5 • No subject (by Anonymous on 2004-07-05 13:43:38 GMT)
Most of the banking sites here in Australia are well-know to use NT4 Server.
6 • Where to bank (by Christophe Grandsire on 2004-07-05 14:11:27 GMT)
My bank (ABN-AMRO in the Netherlands) runs its site with a solution from IBM based on Apache, with the NetCache OS (a unix IIRC). Some of its servers run HP-UX. It may not all be Open Source, but Microsoft is nowhere to be seen there.
And its online banking pages are accessible without a single problem with any browser I tried (including Opera, Mozilla, Firefox and Konqueror at least). I didn't originally choose them because of that, but I'm glad I did :) .
7 • Have a nice break! (by Michael_Valentine on 2004-07-05 15:11:13 GMT)
Have a nice and very deserving break.
8 • No subject (by Anonymous on 2004-07-05 15:32:57 GMT)
why Sarge will take more time than before to release as stable?
9 • One Quibble with Ladislav (by DaveW at 2004-07-05 16:51:30 GMT)
Ladislav, have a great vacation. You deserve an all-paid month on the French Riviera or someplace for all the incredible service you've done for the open-source community.
I do have one quibble with this week's DW, though. I realize LinuxCD.org is a good Linux supporter, and I've had good results dealing with them. But I wish you'd advised your readers to first check with their distro-of-choice's website and see if the producers themselves are selling their CDs direct. CD sales are an important source of revenue for some distro-makers, such as MEPIS.
So I hope in the future you'll advise readers to order from the distro producer if possible, and try LinuxCD.org if not.
10 • Slackware based LiveCDs (by Josh on 2004-07-05 17:28:42 GMT)
Hehe TAO linux is going to destroy SLAX, mark my words! :)
BTW have fun on your vaction, you deserve it.
11 • Enjoy your Vacation - You deserve it! (by Offer Kaye at 2004-07-05 17:39:46 GMT)
Nuff said :-)
12 • Ladislav and his vacation (by crawancon at 2004-07-05 17:54:57 GMT)
perhaps one of the software donation programs you do for distrowatch, we can do for your next vacation.
:-)
anyone want to start a "ladislav goes to manhattan"- project ?
Thanks for being one of my favorite daily reads.
13 • Happy holidays Ladislav! (by Penguin on 2004-07-05 20:51:29 GMT)
Ladislaw: Happy holidays! I hope you get your beers ;)
Robert: About the upcoming OpenBSD review: I know that OpenBSD is mainly for servers, routers, firewalls etc, but it would be interesting to read a few words about its potentiality (and problems) as a desktop OS too. So, multimedia support etc.? The most secure server OS wouldn't be too bad a choice on a workstation machine either - in this time of network security risks.
Also, the German secure by default desktop Linux distribution ERPOSS3 shows a good direction and and an example that more other distributors should follow too.
14 • Christophe Aulnette brain functions copied from IE (by whatabrain on 2004-07-05 20:51:44 GMT)
> Christophe Aulnette, CEO of Microsoft France, arguing that a closely-guarded proprietary software is naturally more secure than open source software:
> "If I have a safe in my room and I give the code to >everybody, will it be safer? I don't think so"
It is not about the key, there are holes in the safe. You can keep the key in your mouth. Still there are holes in your safe. What you think now?
15 • Just one (more) link about IE (as background for the story, of course :) ): (by anon on 2004-07-05 20:56:07 GMT)
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/science_technology/story.jsp?story=537951
16 • Forced to use MS software ... (by Kanwar at 2004-07-05 23:38:05 GMT)
My bank does not support Mozilla! The ridiculous thing is that their application is actually written in Java!! However, during login the page apparently "requests" MS JVM!!!
Anyway, in the spirit of all good hacks, there is a simple way to Mozilla/Firefox/Konqueror appear as "MSIE" (yuck!) and the site works fine after that.
My only worry is that will I still be secure doing my banking this way?
I have written multiple request emails to the bank but have been curtly told: We only support Internet Explorer. Of course, they keep telling you to "Always keep your software upgraded" and "Install anti-virus etc etc" ad nauseum.
17 • Happy Holidays (by warpengi on 2004-07-06 03:51:44 GMT)
Ladislav.
Remember........have a lot of fun.
Guess you better take Linux with you;~)
18 • No subject (by Anonymous on 2004-07-06 04:48:06 GMT)
For those one or 2 who are unhappy with the long wait for Sarge. I hope you guys have not forgotten the heart attacks we had with Woody's release i.e. the intro of new stuff when it was supposed to have been frozen and then the tonnes of bugs that needed to be squashed as a consequence. Debian has this paranoia with the need for its stable releases to be the most bugfree of all distros available. It is like a heavenly bestowed duty and responsibility to be the the most stable of stable releases. I suppose there is nothing really wrong with such a philosophy.
For those Non-Debian users who want to experience what Debian is all about, one can always go grab one of those Woody iso files off e.g. linuxiso.org. Or purchase them from e.g. LinuxCD.org. If one wants newer software than those available in Woody, one can either pin Unstable and do a dist-upgrade or if you are on dial-up, go order a copy of the Debian Extra CD form the Debian Extra CD here: http://debian-extra-cd-proj.homelinux.org/
19 • Beer (by Robbage, Western Australia on 2004-07-06 06:02:16 GMT)
... would love to buy you a beer in Switzerland
20 • Yeeehaaawww !! (by Platypus at 2004-07-06 06:44:23 GMT)
Have fun boi ... and tell us all about it when you come back
21 • No subject (by JoeLinux on 2004-07-06 09:00:02 GMT)
Great work Ladislav...you certainly have earned a much deserved break. Now any chance that alternative Unix-based/like OSes such as Syllable, Haiku, FreeBEOS, etc will find their way here now that the BSDs are in?
22 • The Little Dutch Boy William OoGatesman (by Moe on 2004-07-06 12:32:28 GMT)
Picture in your mind the little Dutch boy William OoGatesman sticking all of his fingers (and toes) into a leaking dam in a vain attempt to stop the torrents of water from destroying his kingdom of bits and bytes.
23 • Holiday in Italy (by Guido Pes at 2004-07-06 14:59:41 GMT)
Where you go in Italy?
I am proud to offer beer, or better vine!
Good holiday and tanks for your very good work!
24 • RE: Holiday in Italy (by ladislav on 2004-07-06 15:48:25 GMT)
Where you go in Italy?
I'll arrive in Rome on Thursday morning, then go and visit some friends in Bologna during the weekend. Thanks for your offer - I certainly won't refuse Italian wine, unless you are in Sicilly or some ohter remote place :-)
I think it would be fun to meet up with a LUG or some other Linux-friendly association. I mean, I spend all my time working on DistroWatch and exchanging views via email, so it would be great to meet some real Linux users in person for a change, no? Just sit down somewhere nice, have a drink, have a chat... Perfect holiday :-)
25 • ERPOSS typos (by Chris C. on 2004-07-06 16:44:15 GMT)
In some places you call it ERPOSS (correct), in some places you call it EPROSS (incorrect). Unfortunately, one of the latter places is a URL :)
26 • Safari (by Ian at 2004-07-06 21:53:20 GMT)
Has anyone using Safari 1.2.2 on Mac OSX 10.3.4 experienced crashing when trying to load the Distrowatch website? I view Distrowatch every other day and have never had problems before, but today I find Safari crashes whenever I try to surf to Distrowatch. This happens every time and doesn't happen when going to other websites. It also doesn't happen when using other browsers (e.g. Firefox, Opera, Camino). Just wondering if this is a problem with my installation or something more widespread.
Having said this, how many OSX users regularly read Distrowatch, I wonder! :)
27 • mentioning DistroWatch.com (by Benjamin Vander Jagt at 2004-07-07 04:43:03 GMT)
yipe! I always assumed that when people thought "Linux", they'd think "DistroWatch", not "Mandrake." >_o
I second the "Have a lot of fun!" request! haha
hooray for DistroWatch!
28 • Re: Safari (by Jeff at 2004-07-07 05:22:06 GMT)
Hey Ian, I had that trouble with Safari you mentioned last week sometime, but it eventually stopped. Not sure why. Oh well, always alternates or my trusty Linux computer. :-)
29 • OpenBSD Review (by Dave on 2004-07-07 05:34:42 GMT)
That was a great review of OpenBSD and I even learned a few things. The first time I installed it, fdisk and disklabel gave me a headache. Lucky I had another box so I could read the FAQ at the OpenBSD site and 3.4 was installed without any problems. I think it's a great OS and have used it both as a sever and desktop.
30 • OpenBSD review (by john on 2004-07-07 06:19:03 GMT)
I have OpenBSD 3.5 running on a laptop and I must say it works well. It certainly is not as luxurious as say Mandrake, SuSE or Libranet but it makes a fine desktop. I used this web page as a guide:
OpenBSD Desktop: A minimalist Approach
http://www.finalhour.ca/OpenBSD.htm
I would also recommend Michael Lucas' book "Absolute OpenBSD" as it has a good section on introductory TCP/IP and a chapter on pf (packet filtering) firewalls.
31 • Afraid to bank online (by Soloact at 2004-07-07 07:07:42 GMT)
I'm afraid to bank online, now, even though I use Firefox. My bank uses MS IIS. I'm not so sure I trust the ATMs either.
32 • Welcome, Robert (by gromit at 2004-07-07 08:11:11 GMT)
Trust me guys: Robert is a good man to have at the helm. I moved to Taipei, Taiwan, at the tender age of 19 on my degree, and his guide to living out there was an absolute godsend: he´s a great bloke.
33 • Safari (by Ian at 2004-07-07 08:45:18 GMT)
Thanks Jeff. Lo and behold, today I used Safari to surf to Distrowatch and all is well! Don't know why this happens, the browser was crashing half way in to loading the page (i.e. I could already see some elements coming in). Anyway, all is well today. And yes, isn't it excellent to have so many alternatives when things like this happen? Long Live Choice! :)
34 • openbsd review (by jimveta on 2004-07-07 12:34:07 GMT)
Hello, I really enjoyed your openbsd review and found the tips and tricks to be quite helpful indeed! However, I must say to be fair to darren reed, your statement as to why it was removed from openbsd seems misleading:
"However, in 2001 the license was changed, forbidding other developers from making modifications to the code. Restrictive software licenses of any kind are anathema to OpenBSD developers, and thus there was a mad scramble to find an alternative to IPFilter."
Where the actual ipfilter license states:
* Redistribution and use, with or without modification, in source and binary forms, are permitted provided that this notice is preserved in its entirety and due credit is given to the original author and the contributors.
*
* The licence and distribution terms for any publically available version or derivative of this code cannot be changed. i.e. this code cannot simply be copied, in part or in whole, and put under another distribution licence [including the GNU Public Licence.]
So you ARE allowed to freely modify and redistribute ipfilter
35 • OpenBSD review (by Chris on 2004-07-07 14:46:05 GMT)
Thanks for the nice article!
I also recommend reading:
"Absolute OpenBSD: UNIX for the Practical Paranoid"
http://www.absoluteopenbsd.com/
http://www.openbsd.org/books.html
36 • Re: OpenBSD review comment by jimveta (by Todd Fries at 2004-07-07 15:44:20 GMT)
There is a bit of confusion over what license and such. The simplified statement by the review stands, but on casual glance it does indeed sound misleading. However, it is not.
Please realize that OpenBSD was using fixes from interim releases of IPF which specifically has a _different_ license which _does not_ permit redistribution as desired in OpenBSD. So, OpenBSD was in the position to choose either to distribute only officially released versions, with no interim security patches, or utilize interim security patches, and violate the redistribution license for interim releases. Darran Reed was quite pointed about sticking to his guns and not changing his interim license. His choice, not OpenBSD's, caused OpenBSD to remove it.
37 • simplymepis testing (by mrbass at 2004-07-07 23:44:38 GMT)
Anyone wish to help out testing the new Simply Mepis (stripped down version offering only one app that does it best). A new testing version came out July 6th. You can download it off my mirror http://www.mrbass.org/linux/mepis
Have an awesome trip Ladislav and you deserve it, not that you needn't our approval anyway :-)
38 • OpenBSD don't get no respect (by Geoff on 2004-07-08 01:41:03 GMT)
Nice, informative review. I've always wondered about the choice of the name though. Not sure why the "Open" part was selected - maybe has to do with project origins when split from NetBSD. But it sort of gives the exact opposite impression from what the main goals are. Maybe "SecureBSD" would have been more appropriate.
Anyway, along the lines of "no respect", the sidebar on the right has the section heading "FreeBSD Specifications". Even when it gets publicity, OpenBSD still has trouble emerging from the shadows of its more well-known older siblings.
39 • Silly Microsoft (by Michael at 2004-07-08 07:03:25 GMT)
I think the quote from Microsoft's Christophe Aulnette is very silly!
Quote:
"If I have a safe in my room and I give the code to everybody, will it be safer? I don't think so"
I think a better example would be something like:
"I've designed a house never seen before, I'm going to give you my code and design implementation so you can build on it and improve on it"
Am I right?
40 • No subject (by Anonymous on 2004-07-08 22:17:41 GMT)
Regarding the OpenBSD article: it's undoubtedly helpfull in installing OpenBSD and sheds some light on one of the BSD's, but (saw that one comming!), but it doesn't explain why the author's hyping of its security are justified. Or fear mongering with OpenBSD as salvation for the disturbed minds if you want to put it that way...
If this is an OS explicitly designed for security and therefore inherently more secure than the other BSD's and Linux. If it's the ultimate paranoia killer, then I really would like to know how they do it. What differences in OpenBSD's design make it really a secure OS compared to the others? That could have been an interesting article even for people not considering to try OpenBSD out.
Also, perhaps the difference between the BSD license and the GPL could have been highlighted. Many people couldn't care less perhaps, they don't bother reading EULA's either, but for those who do it could be a consideration. And it is of course a major difference between the BSD's and GNU/Linux.
41 • openbsd_review (by jtbowman at 2004-07-09 08:27:23 GMT)
I liked the review. Since I chewed off both my arms instaling 3.4 I'll have wait before upgrading. Being an intermediate linux user, if I hadn't bought Absolute OPENBSD by M.W. Lucas I doubt if I'd have persisted. Now I run openbsd on one machine (an old pIII) and the other o/s's linux and xp on the other (amd xp3000+). These two never see the net -- except for patches.
42 • No subject (by SFNative on 2004-07-09 13:31:12 GMT)
"... I really would like to know how they do it."
This is the OpenBSD Team's answer to that.
http://openbsd.org/security.html
And yes, you're right. The BSD license is quite different. Some people get all honked off about the GPL while swearing by the BSD license and vice versa.
43 • No subject (by Anonymous on 2004-07-09 18:34:23 GMT)
Thanks for the link. Though I would mostly be interested in the "New Technologies" part, which is unfortunably a bit shallow.
What I meant was that I really would like find that out while reading the article, or at least been given a link. The contrast between "Only The Paranoid Survive" and the lack of explanation why OpenBSD would be more secure than other OSes was too stark for my taste. It's bad journalism and reeks of propaganda.
It doesn't make any difference for the end user in his freedom whether he uses the BSD license or the GPL. However, the philosophies behind the licenses are different and some users could care about that when they choose their OS.
Personally I think that the difference between the GPL and the BSD license makes the difference in their popularity.
Number of Comments: 43
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