Linux-Advocacy Digest #964, Volume #26 Wed, 7 Jun 00 21:13:03 EDT
Contents:
Re: Once again: Open-Source != Security; PGP Provides Example (R.E.Ballard ( Rex
Ballard ))
Linux in the Reject Bin at CompUSA ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
Re: Linux in the Reject Bin at CompUSA (JEDIDIAH)
Re: Linux+Java, the best combination of techologies ("1$Worth")
Re: Canada invites Microsoft north (Alan Baker)
Re: Linux in the Reject Bin at CompUSA ("kosh")
Just Installed Win 2K and it ROCKS!!!!!!! ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
Re: Linux in the Reject Bin at CompUSA ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
Re: Why We Should Be Nice To Windows Users -was- Neologism of the day (Craig Burley)
Re: 10 Months of my time wasted on Linux. Back to Microsoft for me!
([EMAIL PROTECTED])
Re: Just Installed Win 2K and it ROCKS!!!!!!! (Ken Johnson)
Re: Just Installed Win 2K and it ROCKS!!!!!!! (JEDIDIAH)
Re: Linux in the Reject Bin at CompUSA (Charlie Ebert)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: R.E.Ballard ( Rex Ballard ) <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Once again: Open-Source != Security; PGP Provides Example
Date: Wed, 07 Jun 2000 23:49:11 GMT
In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> Christopher Browne <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> >Centuries ago, Nostradamus foresaw a time when Rob S. Wolfram would
say:
> >>R.E.Ballard ( Rex Ballard ) <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> >>>Most public key encryption systems have a vulnerability to the
> >>>"Two Primes Hack". The public key is usually the product of two
> >>>prime numbers, occaisionally 3. The private key is one of those
> >>>prime numbers, the other is bogus. Using a fast-primes variation
> >>>on the Seive of aristosthenes (uses only primes as divisors), the
> >>>key can be broken with a 900 mhz Athelon in a few minutes.
> >>
> >>Rex, you've clearly heard a few bells and whistles, but this makes
no
> >>sense whatsoever.
> >
> >Well, it's not _completely_ bogus. There do exist some forms of
> >weak keys for RSA.
>
> True, but I thought it was out of scope ;-)
> The notion that the public key consists of *2 or 3* primes and that
only
> one of the primes consitute the private key, the other being bogus, is
> however untrue.
>
> >The two primes, p and q, do need to have some special properties,
> >and knowledge of this goes back a goodly twenty years, as it is
> >documented in Knuth's Seminumerical Algorithms, 2nd Edition,
> >published in 1981.
> >
> >For RSA:
> >- p-1 and q-1 should not be divisible by 3
> >- p-1 and q-1 should both contain at least one "very large prime
> > factor"
>
> True. Dan Boneh of the Stanford University wrote a paper with a nice
> overview of the different attacks on RSA keys, giver various
> preconditions.
That's the article I was thinking of!
There are several good links here:
<a href="http://crypto.stanford.edu/~dabo/pubs.html">
http://crypto.stanford.edu/~dabo/pubs.html </a>
> >If Rex calculated the _memory space_ required by his sieve, to store
all
> >the primes up to 2^1024, he might ascertain just how big the problem
is.
> >That is left as an exercise to the reader...
One of dan's publications in the link above discusses this
quite effectively.
Part of the trick is that because you can factor low primes, you
can eliminate high primes at the same time. For example, if you
can't divide by 2, then you know it's less than 2^1023, if you
can't divide by 7, you can eliminate anything above 2^1022, and
so on, 17, even after you've factored the small prime, this
reduces the range of the large primes and you can continue to the
next factored pair. This wouldn't take a huge database. Furthermore,
smaller primes can be used to expedite identification of larger primes.
A 1024 bit key would still be very hard to crack, but a 56 bit key
would be trivial.
> ;-)
> At the SANE conference there was a crytographic mathematician present
> (Ruediger Weis of Uni Mannheim) and he formulated it quite nicely:
> "there are to kind of attacks on cryptographic algorithms, real
attacks
> and academic attacks. With an academic attack you generally need to
blow
> away all planets to make space for the memory to do the
calculation..."
>
> >There's a book on the topic, with sample code, on many computer
bookstore
> >shelves. _NASTY_ mathematics. I finally took a close look at EC
last
> >fall, when I was on vacation, and had some time to read Neal
Koblitz's
> >"A Course in Number Theory and Cryptography". EC makes my head hurt;
> >I don't want to even _think_ about trying to implement it.
>
> I read a few white papers from Certicom's site. I completely agree, it
> is Very Nasty(tm) math.
>
> Cheers,
> Rob
> --
> Rob S. Wolfram <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> OpenPGP key 0xD61A655D
> We are Pentium of Borg. Division is futile. You will be
approximated.
> -- attribution unknown
>
--
Rex Ballard - Open Source Advocate, Internet
I/T Architect, MIS Director
http://www.open4success.com
Linux - 90 million satisfied users worldwide
and growing at over 5%/month!
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Linux in the Reject Bin at CompUSA
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Thu, 08 Jun 2000 00:01:20 GMT
Yep, just visited the local CompUSA here and found
Redhat/SuSE and the various Linux PowerPacks in
the reject bin selling for $20.00 or less (mostly
$9.99).
Some packages were opened and resealed but others
were brand new.
I asked the store manager about it and she said
that Linux has been one of the worst sellers they
have ever had. Virtually every copy returned.
She added that most sales were returned by irate
customers pissed off at Linux for "erasing" their
hard drives.
Sounds like Linux is gaining market share
alright......Not!!!!
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (JEDIDIAH)
Subject: Re: Linux in the Reject Bin at CompUSA
Date: Thu, 08 Jun 2000 00:05:21 GMT
On Thu, 08 Jun 2000 00:01:20 GMT, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>Yep, just visited the local CompUSA here and found
>Redhat/SuSE and the various Linux PowerPacks in
>the reject bin selling for $20.00 or less (mostly
>$9.99).
This ofcourse begs the question: what happened to all the
cases of Corel's Linux that would have likely been laying
about that store as they were in my local copy of CompUSA
last time I was there.
[deletia]
Your list of rejects is incomplete.
--
|||
/ | \
Need sane PPP docs? Try penguin.lvcm.com.
------------------------------
From: "1$Worth" <"1$Worth"@costreduction.removeplse.screaming.net>
Subject: Re: Linux+Java, the best combination of techologies
Date: Thu, 08 Jun 2000 01:10:55 +0100
Pete Goodwin wrote:
>
> [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Leslie Mikesell) wrote in
> <8hk0pa$1ctr$[EMAIL PROTECTED]>:
>
> >Have you seen swing, or are you thinking of awt?
>
> Not seen swing as yet.
>
> >I thought beans just added a self-describing interface to the
> >classes. What do they have to do with the GUI-ness?
>
> I thought new controls were coming based on Beans. The self describing
> interface is something that is built in with Borland's Delphi - did I read
> somewhere that the Bean definition was aided by guys at Borland?
>
Pete, Java has come on a long way since you last used it. The Java 2
release was the stake in the ground that defined what Java really is.
Swing is now the thing to use for GUI and provides a rich set of
controls and solves the problems with cross platform display issues.
Have a go again!
------------------------------
From: Alan Baker <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To:
comp.sys.mac.advocacy,comp.os.os2.advocacy,comp.os.ms-windows.nt.advocacy
Subject: Re: Canada invites Microsoft north
Date: Wed, 07 Jun 2000 17:13:09 -0700
In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, Marty <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:
>Alan Baker wrote:
>>
>> In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, Marty <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>> wrote:
>>
>> >Alan Baker wrote:
>> >>
>> >> >> >...How many different video cards are
>> >> >> >available?...
>> >> >
>> >> >> Not as many as for PCs, but we manage.
>> >> >
>> >> >How many? I find only 2 on the web.
>> >>
>> >> Perhaps you should look harder:
>> >> [snip]
>> >
>> >Aren't there some Matrox cards as well?
>>
>> I didn't try and make a comprehensive list. Those were just the quickest
>> I could find.
>
>I was just curious. I thought I heard that there were some.
>
>> >...
>> >
>> >> >... REXX,
>> >>
>> >> Huh?
>> >
>> >An extremely powerful and versatile scripting language which is
>> >embedded
>> >into OS/2's command shell (and was historically developed and used
>> >extensively on IBM mainframes of yesteryear)
>>
>> Ah. Compare and contrast with AppleScript, perhaps?
>
>I know nothing of AppleScript. REXX, however, can be used to do darn near
>anything in OS/2, including GUI, multimedia, and TCP/IP applications, and
>can
>be extended to use custom APIs of your own. There's also an OO version in
>the
>Warp 4 installation
Sounds a lot like AppleScript to me.
--
Alan Baker
Vancouver, British Columbia
"If you raise the ceiling four feet, move the fireplace from that wall to that
wall, you'll still only get the full stereophonic effect if you sit in the
bottom of that cupboard."
------------------------------
From: "kosh" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Linux in the Reject Bin at CompUSA
Date: Wed, 07 Jun 2000 18:26:50 -0700
In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> Yep, just visited the local CompUSA here and found Redhat/SuSE and the
> various Linux PowerPacks in the reject bin selling for $20.00 or less
> (mostly
> $9.99).
>
> Some packages were opened and resealed but others were brand new.
>
> I asked the store manager about it and she said that Linux has been one
> of the worst sellers they have ever had. Virtually every copy returned.
>
> She added that most sales were returned by irate customers pissed off at
> Linux for "erasing" their hard drives.
>
>
>
> Sounds like Linux is gaining market share alright......Not!!!!
>
>
I think it depends on what area you are in. The compusa here in boulder
regularly sells out any linux dist they get in. Their linux section now
exceeds the space they devote to the windows os by a lot. I have talked to
the managers there and linux is selling very nicely there. Mostly because
of the university. Students taking CS and physics are very likely to pick
up linux here. Most of the compusa people here even know a fair bit about
it and the differences between the various dists. They don't carry as many
linux games as I would like but they do carry most other things. They
have lots of copies of wordperfect suite 2000 for linux and that is
selling really well. The only thing I have seen in the discount bin are
old versions. So when redhat 6.2 came out 6.1 got marked down.
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Just Installed Win 2K and it ROCKS!!!!!!!
Date: Thu, 08 Jun 2000 00:34:58 GMT
Linux has been assimilated, resistance is futile.
God, after using Linux for the last few months and now installing
Windows 2k it is like jumping in a time machine and going 10 years
into the future.
Win 2k installed so easily while Linux is asking me questions about
Monitor refresh rates and giving me a list of 1985 variety printers to
choose from.
Does anyone really use an HP LaserJet 500 anymore?
How about Sound Blaster Live support?
Linux had the jump on Windows 2k, yet Windows 2k has Livewire support
and Linux does not.
Why is that?
Maybe Creative knows the future and is applying it's resources
appropriately.
Sorry, but Linux is a bunch of promises and Windows 2k delivers right
now on the spot.
Linux will die shortly and WIndows will live on and on and on and
on......
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: Linux in the Reject Bin at CompUSA
Date: Thu, 08 Jun 2000 00:38:11 GMT
I suspect this is true. The local Mei Micro-Center has far more Linux
stuff on display than Windows stuff.
Not counting applications of course.
On Wed, 07 Jun 2000 18:26:50 -0700, "kosh" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:
>In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
>[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>> Yep, just visited the local CompUSA here and found Redhat/SuSE and the
>> various Linux PowerPacks in the reject bin selling for $20.00 or less
>> (mostly
>> $9.99).
>>
>> Some packages were opened and resealed but others were brand new.
>>
>> I asked the store manager about it and she said that Linux has been one
>> of the worst sellers they have ever had. Virtually every copy returned.
>>
>> She added that most sales were returned by irate customers pissed off at
>> Linux for "erasing" their hard drives.
>>
>>
>>
>> Sounds like Linux is gaining market share alright......Not!!!!
>>
>>
>
>I think it depends on what area you are in. The compusa here in boulder
>regularly sells out any linux dist they get in. Their linux section now
>exceeds the space they devote to the windows os by a lot. I have talked to
>the managers there and linux is selling very nicely there. Mostly because
>of the university. Students taking CS and physics are very likely to pick
>up linux here. Most of the compusa people here even know a fair bit about
>it and the differences between the various dists. They don't carry as many
>linux games as I would like but they do carry most other things. They
>have lots of copies of wordperfect suite 2000 for linux and that is
>selling really well. The only thing I have seen in the discount bin are
>old versions. So when redhat 6.2 came out 6.1 got marked down.
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Craig Burley)
Crossposted-To: comp.sys.mac.advocacy,talk.bizarre
Subject: Re: Why We Should Be Nice To Windows Users -was- Neologism of the day
Date: Thu, 08 Jun 2000 00:42:50 GMT
On Tue, 6 Jun 2000 22:26:59 -0400, "James E. Freedle II"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> I am sure that you do not walk to work, I am sure that either you
>use a car, or public transportation of some sort. Walking will get you there
>realiably, but it is not very enjoyable.
IHNJH, IJLS "Windows... the OS for the sluggardly generation."
tybalt [EMAIL PROTECTED]
keeping the world safe for autocracy
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: 10 Months of my time wasted on Linux. Back to Microsoft for me!
Date: Thu, 08 Jun 2000 00:40:38 GMT
In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> Tiberious <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> [... made up story of a Wharton grad who starts a business without
> researching the needs of his target market, and who can't spell
> "Tiberius". Sing it with me: Troll, troll, troll your boat... ]
>
> Steve
>
Is it just my imagination, or do all these Linux failure stories read
exactly alike? Reminds me of the do-it-yourself jokes in Mad Magazine
or the letters to Penthouse. Just fill in the blanks with a selection
from the numbered choices.
I'm waiting for someone to pop in here and tell us that this guy's got
the same IP address, same ISP, same proxy, same version of Windows as
some other well known troll.
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
------------------------------
From: Ken Johnson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Just Installed Win 2K and it ROCKS!!!!!!!
Date: Thu, 08 Jun 2000 00:50:18 GMT
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>
> Linux had the jump on Windows 2k, yet Windows 2k has Livewire support
> and Linux does not.
>
> Why is that?
Money. It takes an army of programmers to do this stuff. How much do
you pay for a copy of W2K? You're supporting the economy of the
Seattle metro area.
> Linux will die shortly and WIndows will live on and on and on and
> on......
As long as you don't mind rebooting every time something goes wrong and
screws up memory management... and it will.... have fun.
K.
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (JEDIDIAH)
Subject: Re: Just Installed Win 2K and it ROCKS!!!!!!!
Date: Thu, 08 Jun 2000 00:52:04 GMT
On Thu, 08 Jun 2000 00:34:58 GMT, [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:
>Linux has been assimilated, resistance is futile.
>
>God, after using Linux for the last few months and now installing
>Windows 2k it is like jumping in a time machine and going 10 years
>into the future.
>
>Win 2k installed so easily while Linux is asking me questions about
>Monitor refresh rates and giving me a list of 1985 variety printers to
>choose from.
...such misrepresentations don't tend to make your other
assertions any more reliable.
>
>Does anyone really use an HP LaserJet 500 anymore?
...actually, some of the cheaper HP's are just rebadged versions
of printers that sold 4 or 6 years ago for 2-4 times the price.
[deletia]
--
|||
/ | \
Need sane PPP docs? Try penguin.lvcm.com.
------------------------------
From: Charlie Ebert <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Linux in the Reject Bin at CompUSA
Date: Thu, 08 Jun 2000 01:02:45 GMT
I think the bigger question is Comp USA going to be selling Windows 2000 in
volume?
They have an 80 foot shelf in the store and only the first 4 feet of it are
Windows, and the last 4 feet are something else.
The rest is Linux and it's selling as fast as they can put it on the shelves.
That's what's going on here.
Charlie
On Wed, 07 Jun 2000, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>I suspect this is true. The local Mei Micro-Center has far more Linux
>stuff on display than Windows stuff.
>
>Not counting applications of course.
>
>
>
>
>On Wed, 07 Jun 2000 18:26:50 -0700, "kosh" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>wrote:
>
>>In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
>>[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>>> Yep, just visited the local CompUSA here and found Redhat/SuSE and the
>>> various Linux PowerPacks in the reject bin selling for $20.00 or less
>>> (mostly
>>> $9.99).
>>>
>>> Some packages were opened and resealed but others were brand new.
>>>
>>> I asked the store manager about it and she said that Linux has been one
>>> of the worst sellers they have ever had. Virtually every copy returned.
>>>
>>> She added that most sales were returned by irate customers pissed off at
>>> Linux for "erasing" their hard drives.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Sounds like Linux is gaining market share alright......Not!!!!
>>>
>>>
>>
>>I think it depends on what area you are in. The compusa here in boulder
>>regularly sells out any linux dist they get in. Their linux section now
>>exceeds the space they devote to the windows os by a lot. I have talked to
>>the managers there and linux is selling very nicely there. Mostly because
>>of the university. Students taking CS and physics are very likely to pick
>>up linux here. Most of the compusa people here even know a fair bit about
>>it and the differences between the various dists. They don't carry as many
>>linux games as I would like but they do carry most other things. They
>>have lots of copies of wordperfect suite 2000 for linux and that is
>>selling really well. The only thing I have seen in the discount bin are
>>old versions. So when redhat 6.2 came out 6.1 got marked down.
------------------------------
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