<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
<html>
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"
http-equiv="Content-Type">
</head>
<body bgcolor="#ffffcc" text="#000000">
On 12/16/2010 08:17 AM, Ed Hurst wrote:
<blockquote cite="mid:op.vns5u6tjogx5dc@foundation" type="cite">On
Thu, 16 Dec 2010 00:37:54 -0600, Fred A. Miller
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:fmiller@lightlink.com"><fmiller@lightlink.com></a> wrote:
<br>
<br>
<blockquote type="cite">There are a LOT of reasons why NOT to use
"the cloud" for ones personal info. to reside, not anymore than
what can be avoided. The first reason that comes to my mind is
the US Gov't, which is becoming more intrusive daily, or
seemingly so.
<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
We've always had this dichotomy of security versus convenience. Of
course, security = control most of the time. One of the primary
selling points of Open Source is the user gets more control over
more things, and more fine-grained, at that. I can barely code
XHTML, but it didn't take me long to learn how to set switches in
the neatly packaged world of scripted Open Source compiling.
<br>
<br>
A tangent on the previous post about OpenBSD's IPSEC being
possibly compromised is the issue of comfort. As noted on
Slashdot, coders we have, but precious few are also mathematician
enough to recognize a compromise in the algorithms in the code.
The very suggestion of compromise is taken seriously because only
a precious few -- no doubt digging through that code right now --
can reliably answer the question, and not very quickly. In the
meantime, some folks will be just a little on edge (way too many
stay on the edge). If the spooks can infiltrate OpenBSD, the
purported flagship of Open Source security, is there any safe
haven to be had? Or was this just propaganda scripted to weaken
that reflex for control?
<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
Correct......unknown at this time. <br>
<br>
<blockquote cite="mid:op.vns5u6tjogx5dc@foundation" type="cite">
<br>
There is no doubt the message of Big Technology and Big Government
is "trust us." They don't like ribaldry of calling the TSA's new
policies "gate rape." They don't like an Internet with crypto
traffic, never mind whether they can break it. Nor do they want an
Internet where secrets can be flung into the open. They want us to
give control to them. And those of us who love Open Source mostly
likely are some of the last to yield that control, since it's a
big part of what drives the whole movement, and what keeps most of
us using it.
<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
Yes, and for us and some others, it's all about FREEDOM. <br>
<br>
<blockquote cite="mid:op.vns5u6tjogx5dc@foundation" type="cite">
<br>
That, even when it doesn't always work as well as the commercial
stuff. I've said often I still think Windows drivers are better
for printing than CUPS will ever be. And I really don't like X,
and I don't think the audio development will ever keep up with all
the internal variations of sound chipsets. To this day, not a
single Linux or BSD can properly configure the Intel HDA audio on
my desktop system, and when I plug the headphones into the jack on
the front of the box, it doesn't cancel the sound in my speakers.
I've spent hours reading about that, tried numerous config
settings, and it boils down to too many variations on the
hardware. And there's more, but the point is, I still run Linux
because, for all the weaknesses, I can't let go of that control.
<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
Nor can I. I must, however, make a slight point about printer
drivers. Epson and HP have made GREAT improvements, AND even though
the software IS commercial, and I know you don't like that,
TurboPrint DOES provide the quality in printing that I demand. And,
WITHOUT insult, my standards are probably much higher in a photo
printer than probably anyone here. So, the quality one assumes to
get from a MickySoft driver IS available to Linux with a number of
Epson and HP printers. <br>
<br>
<blockquote cite="mid:op.vns5u6tjogx5dc@foundation" type="cite">
<br>
I can't make Windows do what I want in the things which matter
most, in my work flow and habits. I've spent countless hours
trying. I want it my way, and Linux/BSD comes the closest.
<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
I couldn't either and that's one of the reasons I use only Linux. <br>
<br>
<blockquote cite="mid:op.vns5u6tjogx5dc@foundation" type="cite">
<br>
But the issue of snooping in my data is another matter entirely. I
really don't care. I'm radically open; I don't take myself that
seriously. I want security from actual threats to my control over
the system, not security in my data. You want a copy of my most
personal rants? Just ask. I've been keeping a running diary for
years, but it won't offer you anything different from what I would
openly confess. It would probably bore you to tears, anyway. And
my personal copyright notice on my website amounts to: God is
watching you; I'm not.
<br>
<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
Ed, my situation is a tad different. I have to maintain some images
beyond the point of legal litigation or trial. MOST of all that I've
finally be able to destroy, but there is some that I must hang on
to. NONE of these can be made available to anyone....PERIOD!! 'Just
another reason that a lot of what I've written or captured digitally
MUST remain secure. <br>
<br>
Fred<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
"Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not."
Thomas Jefferson
</pre>
</body>
</html>