[CS-FSLUG] FoxNews.com - The Death of the Hard Drive

[Fred A. Miller]

On 12/16/2010 08:17 AM, Ed Hurst wrote:
> On Thu, 16 Dec 2010 00:37:54 -0600, Fred A. Miller
> <fmiller at lightlink.com> wrote:
>
>> 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.
>
> 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.
>
> 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?

Correct......unknown at this time.

>
> 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.

Yes, and for us and some others, it's all about FREEDOM.

>
> 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.

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.

>
> 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.

I couldn't either and that's one of the reasons I use only Linux.

>
> 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.
>

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.

Fred

-- 
"Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not."
Thomas Jefferson

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