December 2003 - Legacy - lists.gtalug.org

When will the persecution of MS *end*?!
by davidjpatrick-rieW9WUcm8FFJ04o6PK0Fg＠public.gmane.org 20 Dec '03

20 Dec '03

James Knott wrote: > Peter L. Peres wrote: > >>> RealNetwork is like after-market car radio company that is suing GM >>> because GM has the arrogance to put radio in all GM cars, thereby >>> shutting out after-market radio companies. >> >> >> >> You mean, if someone invents something and someone else grabs the >> idea and >> uses it with slight changes, just enough to avoid a patent suit, and >> makes >> millions out of it by leveraging its monopoly position, it's ok, right ? > > > Anyone remember Stacker? It's a perfect example of the above. They > developed disk compression software. MS stole the technology and > included it in Windows. Stacker won in court, but by then the damage > had been done. > > I used Stacker on my zip100 work disks. Now I have data trapped untill the day when I set up a Win3.1 box and install the Stacker4 disks I found at Goodwill. That day is a long way off, but I guard the floppies that constitute the shred of hope that someday I'll get those files back ! Long live open standards ! ps. I once use "MSBackup" only to find that the following version could not access the earlier versions backups. I will have no sympathy for the borg, as I watch their ship implode. -- The Toronto Linux Users Group. Meetings: http://tlug.ss.org TLUG requests: Linux topics, No HTML, wrap text below 80 columns How to UNSUBSCRIBE: http://tlug.ss.org/subscribe.shtml

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Wiring for data in houses
by davidjpatrick-rieW9WUcm8FFJ04o6PK0Fg＠public.gmane.org 20 Dec '03

20 Dec '03

Denis Casserly wrote: >Hi all, >I've often thought about wiring in houses and I think it makes more sense to >have a wiring 'chase' or a route worked out in a house ahead of time. I >worked as an electrical contractor in Toronto for a long time and one nagging >question in any sort of residential or commercial construction was always >"has everything been planned for". > I think a more reasonable approach to wiring consideration in buildings would >be to accept that even if you are able to correctly spec and install the >required wiring services, it's only good for today. What about tomorrow? > My approach to wiring is to make allowance for these changes. In addition to >trying to provide for all the wiring systems, design the construction to >allow for easy future wiring expansion by building in chases or wireways that >will allow additional cables and conductors to be pulled or fished in at a >later date as they're required. If you had wiring access to every room in the >house the problem might be solved. This probably isn't the most economical >solution but it could be simple and effective. > For example if you need to go from room to room in a house you could use the >clothes closets to locate the opening for a small chase say 4 by 4 inches >located anywhere on the inside wall of the closet where it will never be >seem. This chase could go to a common area like the basement, or to another >closet in another room. If it was already fished with a piece of jet line >string you only have to tie on and have an accomplice pull the other end. >Don't forget to pull in a new string with the new cable you're installing. >This approach might work with power wiring also, check the National >Electrical Code book, it does make an allowance for fishing in cable in >section 12. If you're worried about fire transmission cover the hole with a >large piece of 5/8" drywall. Just my two cents. >Cheers, >Denis Casserly >-- >The Toronto Linux Users Group. Meetings: http://tlug.ss.org >TLUG requests: Linux topics, No HTML, wrap text below 80 columns >How to UNSUBSCRIBE: http://tlug.ss.org/subscribe.shtml > > > I installed an aluminum trough that runs along the cieling from one end of my bungalow to the other. It's easy breezy to wire stuff up. It helps that there's no tricky second floor, to get to . -- The Toronto Linux Users Group. Meetings: http://tlug.ss.org TLUG requests: Linux topics, No HTML, wrap text below 80 columns How to UNSUBSCRIBE: http://tlug.ss.org/subscribe.shtml

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anti-spam spam...
by davidjpatrick-rieW9WUcm8FFJ04o6PK0Fg＠public.gmane.org 20 Dec '03

20 Dec '03

JoeHill wrote: >Oh this is rich, this one made it through and I'm glad it did. Maybe it's just >me but it had me nearly wetting myself: > >"Hi, > We have noticed your email inbox has been getting more junk email >lately, > geez, yer watching MY email inbox ? > You have been chosen to check out this new >windows compatiable software solution we have been working on that >clears out 99% of the spam email in your inbox." > > wow, CHOSEN, lucky ! >1. You *would* notice that, being a spammer, no? >2. Would the remaining 1% be...you? >3. I'd be much more confident in your product if your sales team knew how to >spell "compatible". >4. I could clear 100% of the spam in my mailbox if I had a list of known >spammers, a steady-cam-mounted minigun, and 8 million rounds of ammo. > > can I borrow your minigun ? I thought I saw another spammer .. sPAM! ssPAM ! beysian filtering was never this much fun ! -- The Toronto Linux Users Group. Meetings: http://tlug.ss.org TLUG requests: Linux topics, No HTML, wrap text below 80 columns How to UNSUBSCRIBE: http://tlug.ss.org/subscribe.shtml

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Waaaay offtopic
by pking123-rieW9WUcm8FFJ04o6PK0Fg＠public.gmane.org 20 Dec '03

20 Dec '03

Date sent: Fri, 19 Dec 2003 22:40:29 -0500 From: James Knott <james.knott-bJEeYj9oJeDQT0dZR+AlfA at public.gmane.org> To: tlug-lxSQFCZeNF4 at public.gmane.org Subject: Re: [TLUG]: Waaaay offtopic Send reply to: tlug-lxSQFCZeNF4 at public.gmane.org > Bottom line, is much of that so called "medicine" cannot show any > benefit in comparitive tests. I am not sure what side you are taking, but first, I would like you to give me a "for instance" here. If an "alternative" medicine which people "say" works (anecdotal evidence, which isn't worth much, but may provide basis for study), is proven to be of benefit then it is no longer "alternative". To prove that something is of benefit, you need placebo trials. I would imagine (without really providing proof) that there are likely many medicines that have crossed this line. There are substances which sell really well for which there is no scientific evidence of benefit. Take lecithin, for example. Lecithin is found in all our cells, is a terrific emusifier for cell membranes, which results in allowing substances to pass into and out of our cells more easily. But there is one problem. Lecithin, when ingested, is broken down into smaller molecules in your intestine before it absorbs into your blood. So the only lecithin we have in our cells must be what our body makes. But it still sells in health food shops, and it still has strong adherents. Placebo trials have been done, but evidence remains strictly anecdotal. Then there are accepted substances which benefit us, but benefits have been exaggerated. Omega-3 fatty acids (which I did a paper on for my biochemistry major) reverse atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). You read that right: it reverses it. That has been proven in numerous studies and clinical placebo trials. It also increases membrane fluidity, and it doesn't get broken down in the gut. If you go to health food stores, you may hear about numerous other benefits which have marginal proof, passed on as fact: It purportedly has a beneficial effect on asthma, psoriasis, cancer, arthritis, and [place your favourite autoimmune disorder here]. There is a movement under way to get Omega- 3 fatty acids (particularly EHA (eicosahexaenoic acid) and DPA(docosahexaenoic acid)) accepted as vitamins. If accomplished, this will no longer be an "alternative" medicine. I can't see the scientific method ever failing, except for political reasons. AIDS research is a strong example. Researchers are hung up on retrviruses as the main mechanism, and other avenues of study into alternative causes have actually been silenced, last I have heard. You may speculate on the reasons, but they have not been honest reasons. This is when things stop being scientific. Or when drug companies tell a prof what they can and cannot publish or utter in a lecture. Things like that weaken the whole enterprise. But health food stores and herbalists don't even have this avenue of validity open to them. Health food stores and herbalists are in the business to make money. What they sell works because these users of the medicine say that it works. And you just have to believe it or not believe it, and buy their stuff, and that's how they make money. Maybe they're right, and maybe they're wrong. But I wouldn't travel down that road until other more established avenues have been used up first. > As for not knowing all about the world, > the only way to change that is to study. If someone has an idea, they > should try to show some supporting evidence. I don't know if you recall > something called "Essiac". It was supposed to be a cancer cure, > developed by a woman, who lived up near Huntsville. She appeared almost > 30 years ago, with her claims. She wanted the provincial government to > pay her a large amount of money for her cure, before she'd allow any > tests or provide any info on it. She had nothing to show it was > effective, other than her own claims. The government turned her down, > but a private company paid her. Last I heard they were suing her for fraud. > > With a scientific approach, a claim and any supporting data is examined > by others. Sometimes this process fails, but overall, it results in the > advancement of knowledge. If someone has a claim, the onus is on them > to prove their claims, not on someone else to prove them wrong. > ========================================================= Paul King http://www3.sympatico.ca/pking123/ -- The Toronto Linux Users Group. Meetings: http://tlug.ss.org TLUG requests: Linux topics, No HTML, wrap text below 80 columns How to UNSUBSCRIBE: http://tlug.ss.org/subscribe.shtml

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Waaaay offtopic
by cbbrowne-HInyCGIudOg＠public.gmane.org 20 Dec '03

20 Dec '03

> I think we'd all like to see Linux as successful as Microsoft has been. And > I think we will. If I saw the same kind of "success" happening with Linux, I would consider that an outright disaster, because the "success" of Microsoft has been extremely toxic. -- If this was helpful, <http://svcs.affero.net/rm.php?r=cbbrowne> rate me http://www3.sympatico.ca/cbbrowne/advocacy.html Consciousness - that annoying time between naps. -- The Toronto Linux Users Group. Meetings: http://tlug.ss.org TLUG requests: Linux topics, No HTML, wrap text below 80 columns How to UNSUBSCRIBE: http://tlug.ss.org/subscribe.shtml

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Waaaay offtopic
by joehill-rieW9WUcm8FFJ04o6PK0Fg＠public.gmane.org 20 Dec '03

20 Dec '03

On Sat, 20 Dec 2003 12:33:46 +0200 (IST) "Peter L. Peres" <plp-ysDPMY98cNQDDBjDh4tngg at public.gmane.org> wrote: > > Now where can I get that flu shot I heard about for my Windows PC? > > At a gunshop near you. Well, I'm getting better. I know not to be drinking anything when I read certain people's posts. That would have had a spew factor of 10, *definitely* a shorted monitor. -- JoeHill ++ ICQ # 280779813 Registered Linux user #282046 Homepage: www.orderinchaos.org +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ "One of the most dangerous errors of our time is the belief that human beings are uniquely violent animals, barely restrained from committing atrocities on each other by the constraints of ethics, religion, and the state."-- Eric S. Raymond -- The Toronto Linux Users Group. Meetings: http://tlug.ss.org TLUG requests: Linux topics, No HTML, wrap text below 80 columns How to UNSUBSCRIBE: http://tlug.ss.org/subscribe.shtml

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Waaaay offtopic
by joehill-rieW9WUcm8FFJ04o6PK0Fg＠public.gmane.org 20 Dec '03

20 Dec '03

On Fri, 19 Dec 2003 23:21:21 -0500 Tom Legrady <legrady-bJEeYj9oJeDQT0dZR+AlfA at public.gmane.org> wrote: > What does this have to do with Perl, kernels, or memory mapping? ...or the price of Tea in China? I have no freakin' idea. Like I said before, all I wanted to do was give my best wishes to any fellow flu sufferers, and *they all went completely nuts*! Somebody get a Taser. -- JoeHill ++ ICQ # 280779813 Registered Linux user #282046 Homepage: www.orderinchaos.org +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ "The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness."-- John Kenneth Galbraith -- The Toronto Linux Users Group. Meetings: http://tlug.ss.org TLUG requests: Linux topics, No HTML, wrap text below 80 columns How to UNSUBSCRIBE: http://tlug.ss.org/subscribe.shtml

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When will the persecution of MS *end*?!
by james.knott-bJEeYj9oJeDQT0dZR+AlfA＠public.gmane.org 20 Dec '03

20 Dec '03

Peter L. Peres wrote: >>RealNetwork is like after-market car radio company that is suing GM >>because GM has the arrogance to put radio in all GM cars, thereby >>shutting out after-market radio companies. > > > You mean, if someone invents something and someone else grabs the idea and > uses it with slight changes, just enough to avoid a patent suit, and makes > millions out of it by leveraging its monopoly position, it's ok, right ? Anyone remember Stacker? It's a perfect example of the above. They developed disk compression software. MS stole the technology and included it in Windows. Stacker won in court, but by then the damage had been done. -- The Toronto Linux Users Group. Meetings: http://tlug.ss.org TLUG requests: Linux topics, No HTML, wrap text below 80 columns How to UNSUBSCRIBE: http://tlug.ss.org/subscribe.shtml

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VPN question
by james.knott-bJEeYj9oJeDQT0dZR+AlfA＠public.gmane.org 20 Dec '03

20 Dec '03

Justin Zygmont wrote: > Just a thought about VPN's and a hope to get back on topic to fun linux > things, I was wondering if anyone knows why an encrypted VPN is so > important using a phone line when it's usually just a point to point link > with no chance of interception? Why do you think a phone line has no chance of interception? Phone lines have been tapped for years. It is very easy to do, if you know how. -- The Toronto Linux Users Group. Meetings: http://tlug.ss.org TLUG requests: Linux topics, No HTML, wrap text below 80 columns How to UNSUBSCRIBE: http://tlug.ss.org/subscribe.shtml

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Waaaay offtopic
by james.knott-bJEeYj9oJeDQT0dZR+AlfA＠public.gmane.org 20 Dec '03

20 Dec '03

In all those cases, someone made observations that better explained the world & universe around us. Then the next person refined those ideas etc. In each case, the model was improved, bringing us closer to the facts. They may never be proven, but this method is a lot better than someone proclaiming the world to be the center of the universe. Science, including medicine works by constantly trying to improve knowledge. Tom Legrady wrote: > Actually, the reverse is the basis of science, ironically. > > You can't prove Newton's Theory of Gravity, but given Einstein's Theory > of Relativity, you can disprove Newton's theory .... or, more precisely, > you can prove that Newton's theory is a reasonably approximation, but > only until you consider certain situations. And Einstein's theories are > disproven by the the Uncertainty Principle, and by String Theory .... > which are refinements of Einstein. But it's impossible ( so far ) to > prove any of these. Maybe String Theory will be proven, and then we'll > know everything. > > What does this have to do with Perl, kernels, or memory mapping? > > JoeHill wrote: > >> On Fri, 19 Dec 2003 22:40:29 -0500 >> James Knott <james.knott-bJEeYj9oJeDQT0dZR+AlfA at public.gmane.org> wrote: >> >> >> >>> If someone has a claim, the onus is on them to prove their claims, >>> not on >>> someone else to prove them wrong. >>> >> >> >> ...actually, IIRC it isn't even logically possible to prove a >> negative. Been >> awhile since Formal Logic 101 for me, and many many, er, "memory-loss >> inducers". >> >> >> > > -- > The Toronto Linux Users Group. Meetings: http://tlug.ss.org > TLUG requests: Linux topics, No HTML, wrap text below 80 columns > How to UNSUBSCRIBE: http://tlug.ss.org/subscribe.shtml -- The Toronto Linux Users Group. Meetings: http://tlug.ss.org TLUG requests: Linux topics, No HTML, wrap text below 80 columns How to UNSUBSCRIBE: http://tlug.ss.org/subscribe.shtml

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