Control Issues (MS Palladium OS)

The Chronicle of Higher Education ^ | 02/21/03 | FLORENCE OLSEN

[Psycho_Bunny]

Control Issues

Microsoft's plan to improve computer security could set off fight over use of online materials

By FLORENCE OLSEN

Computing experts in academe often blame Microsoft for producing software that

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ALSO SEE:

What Palladium Will and Won't Do

Pressing Issues for College Officials

Colloquy Live: Join a live, online discussion with Brian A. LaMacchia, a software architect at the Microsoft Corporation, about the company's controversial new Palladium system of protecting the security of computer information, on Thursday, February 20, at 2 p.m., U.S. Eastern time.

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is vulnerable to viruses and hackers. But, of late, the experts have been criticizing the company's sweeping plan to correct those very deficiencies.

Under the plan, announced seven months ago under the name Palladium, new computers would be equipped with security hardware and a new version of the Windows operating system.

The goal, Microsoft officials say, is to make servers and desktop PC's that people can trust. But critics say the technology, which Microsoft recently renamed "the next-generation secure computing base," could stifle the free flow of information that has come to characterize the Internet, and could give Microsoft too much control over colleges' own computerized information.

With the new technology, information-systems officials could use cryptographic hardware "keys" rather than software controls, like user names and passwords, to lock up student records and prevent illegal copying of materials. Registrars would have tamper-proof controls over who could see, copy, or alter the records. The advances could be used to prevent identity thieves from invading campus computer networks to steal Social Security numbers, grades, and other personal data.

 

The Rest is here

[WriteOn]

I may never move beyond win2k.

[SpaceBar]

[WriteOn]

Yeah, maybe. I'm still waiting for it to get more market share on the desktop... maybe palladium will take it there.

[Doug Loss]

Why wait? If it does what you need to do (and it does), switch now!

[SpaceBar]

I'm still waiting for it to get more market share on the desktop.

And what will "more market share" do exactly? Make you feel more like a sheep than a lemming? Just jump, and become part of that "market share".

[Paul C. Jesup]

Before everyone screams that the sky is falling, hust remember that this type of arrogance is what lead to the downfall of IBM.

If the software is to restrictive and costly then no one will buy it, even if they are under contract to up-grade to it.

[Paul C. Jesup]

Before everyone screams that the sky is falling, just remember that this type of arrogance is what lead to the downfall of IBM.

If the software is to restrictive and costly then no one will buy it, even if they are under contract to up-grade to it.

[Thebaddog]

I'm with Win2k as well and see no need to upgrade for the obvious reasons. My real concern is that MS will make the 2000 operating system obsolete deliberately to force us all to this newer more intrusive system.

I'm trying Linux Redhat out right now on one of the office computers. That could be the future for me.

[babaloo999]

I wanted to try Slackware, but it's definitely not for the uninitiated. Maybe the latest version
is a little easier for us linux retards, but I just went and reinstalled the Mandrake.
Mandrake is a little more user friendly. At least it allows me to get past the first step--
which is actually being able to install it.
FYI, Slackware just will let me install it, no matter what partitions I set up for it.
I've been able to install most other popular flavors of linux, along with Freebsd and Solaris 8.
but not Slackware. It's just out there to make me look stupid, eh?
At least everything works fine in XP pro.

[Eala]

I'm trying Linux Redhat out right now on one of the office computers. That could be the future for me.

My primary home machine is RH7.3. After bad times with 6.0 and 7.0 I've sworn off "point-oh" releases (and where, oh, where, is 8.1?) so I haven't upgraded. RH 7.3 is pretty good, but I'm not happy enough with its character appearance to switch over to Linux+OpenOffice for the Word docs I occasionally have to work with.

[Thebaddog]

Gotchyer point on that one, thanks. I give it three years and the game will be up for Win2000.

I'm also avoiding Word XP and all those other apps with XP titles. Word 97 really is the same thing for all intents and purposes. I really hope MS loses this one.

[SpaceBar]

I wanted to try Slackware, but it's definitely not for the uninitiated.

That is unusual that you would have so many install problems with it. I only had that problem once when trying to put it on an old IBM Thinkpad with a proprietary floppy disk controller. There is the possibility you had a corrupted CD. It happens. I tried Red Hat. That lasted for about a week. Too many "wizards" and premade scripts that attempt to automate simple tasks that can be performed with a text editor in mere seconds. Mandrake I will admit is quite nice and polished, but again the attempts to make it user friendly have the exact opposite effect for me. I keep going back to the slack for its simplicity and robustness without all the fluff.

[babaloo999]

I used the disc in a "Slackware for Dummies" book. It's v7.0. A little dated.
I've only tried it twice, but it keeps telling me it wants a 'linux partition' to install on. It doesn't see whatever's already there.
I tried 8.1 with the same results.
Maybe it just doesn't like Dell, eh?
I have DSL so I may look for another download.

[B Knotts]

Try this:

Knoppix

You don't have to install it on your hard drive. Just put it on a CD, and boot from the CD.

[Question_Assumptions]

I'll stick with my iBook, thanks. I can use the software that Microsoft does well (Word, Excel, IE) and ignore their obvious grabs for power in the OS space, as well as most viruses and other security issues. As an added bonus, Mac OSX is Unix, too. Like the fox, Microsoft has a place in the ecosystem. Just don't put it in charge of the standards hen house.

[SpaceBar]

...it keeps telling me it wants a 'linux partition' to install on. It doesn't see whatever's already there.

Here is the problem: The Slackware install disk (boot floppy, root floppy, and software distribution on CD), assumes you have at the very least, one partition with or without a file system. It can be DOS, Fat32 or whatever. If it is a fresh harddrive straight from the box, you should use the disk(s) like Maxtor Tools or whatever provided to partition and initialize the file system(s). The latter operation is called a "format" in modern parlence. It takes two minutes. Now when you are actually in the slackware installation program, you will be asked to choose a partition. If you have only one then it will be /dev/hd0 for an IDE drive. You will then be asked if you want to format it. You say "yes" and it will call fdisk to modify that partition in the partition table to a type 83 (linux native) and will automatically "mkfs -t ext2 /dev/hd0" to create a brand spankin' new linux file system, which will be empty of course, until installation is complete. Also having a copy of Tom's RootBoot is nice to clean things up if you make a mistake and need to start over.