This should not be read by those who experience blinding rage when confronted by people who obviously don't know what they're talking about, those with heart conditions, those with psychological conditions, women who are pregnant or nursing, or any sane human being. This is a little bit (a lot) off topic, but it does relate to Linux, so I felt I would pass it along. You may already be familiar with Mr Jerry Lee Cooper and his works through digg.com and similar sites. If so, you know what follows. If not, and if you wish to bear witness to a new level of crazy, keep reading. If you haven't see the dozen or more of his complete works, they are presented below, in chronological order. The AUSLUG and PLUG lists have been kind of quiet today, so I figured I'd kick up some activity if anyone's listening. What follows is not for the faint of heart, and probably not safe for human consumption. This guy either has no idea what he's talking about, or he's a troll. I think he's a troll, but it's up to you to decide for yourself. The JerryLeeCooper that comes up on some other forums is probably not the same guy, or evidence that this is in fact a troll. I suspect he's not the same guy, since the name on the forums shows up some months after the ZDnet postings. Each of these entries is either in response to a ZDnet report or editorial, or a comment posted under one of the reports or editorials. He seems to have something against Linux, and is under the impression that MS is the Lord and Master of All Things Computer. Anyway, I've collected his comments off of ZDnet here, in chronological order, for your enjoyment. A little Google search for < site:talkback.zdnet.com "jerryleecooper's comment">, will turn up all his posts in all their glory, but not in chronological order, if you want to see the original stories and comments that prompted each insanity. I have added commentary above each entry, to better clarify the topic he's addressing. Each comment of his has a title, and the date it was posted. Again, these should all be in chronological order, for better enjoyment of the crazy. Same-day posts are arranged in what I perceive to be the proper order, but that's just my opinion. Enjoy, if you dare! On Vista: Vista is the Future Its clearly evident that vista is the future. One only has to watch TV for a short period of time and see the advertising. WOW !! I personally love the part where the young man is taking a stroll in the delightful snow covered streets, and sees firsthand a young deer with a gleefull glint in its eye. It sends a shiver down my spine. WOW is all I can say. Vista is clearly the future of enterprise computing. Posted by: jerryleecooper Posted on: 03/13/07 On hearing about Linux: that wont work without THEFT of intellectual property Linux looks very interesting, even if some of the screen colours and menu options appear to be a little out of the ordinary. But you are missing a vital point, a point which takes some experience and depth of knowledge in the field of computers. You see, when a computer boots up, it needs to load various drivers and then load various services. This happens long before the operating system and other applications are available. Linux is a marvellous operating system in its own right, and even comes in several different flavours. However, as good as these flavours are, they first need Microsoft Windows to load the services prior to use. In Linux, the open office might be the default for editing your wordfiles, and you might prefer ubuntu brown over the grassy knoll of the windows desktop, but mark my words young man - without the windows drivers sitting below the visible surface, allowing the linus to talk to the hardware, it is without worth. And so, by choosing your linux as an alternative to windows on the desktop, you still need a windows licence to run this operating system through the windows drivers to talk to the hardware. Linux is only a code, it cannot perform the low level function. My point being, young man, that unless you intend to pirate and steal the Windows drivers and services, how is using the linux going to save money ? Well ? It seems that no linux fan can ever provide a straight answer to that question ! May as well just stay legal, run the Windows drivers, and run Office on the desktop instead of the linus. Posted by: jerryleecooper Posted on: 03/13/07 on being told that Vista might prompt people to choose Linux: It wont happen I dont see how this will happen at all. Vista is far more powerful than windows XP, and runs twice as fast. It is also much harder to pirate, and this point more than anything else has the Linux crowd in a panic. It wont be long until Windows XP is no longer supported, and when that happens, what is Linux going to do ? Linux will have to find a way to work under Vista from here on, since it wont be able to rely on XP being readily available anymore. Linux may seem like a good alternative to Office, but all that is happening in linux is that the windows interface is cleverly hidden away. It still needs the drivers and software services in order to run, and in most cases - that happens WITHOUT a valid windows licence. This is just plain piracy. Vista will finally put an end to this blatant abuse of intellectual property, and linux should decline, taking the pirates with it. Anyone that supports the continuation of Windows XP in place of Vista surely has a hidden agenda .. and you will surely be caught out. Posted by: jerryleecooper Posted on: 03/13/07 on being told that Linux is a true operating system, and doesn't need Windows: You are kidding arent you ? Are you saying that this linux can run on a computer without windows underneath it, at all ? As in, without a boot disk, without any drivers, and without any services ? That sounds preposterous to me. If it were true (and I doubt it), then companies would be selling computers without a windows. This clearly is not happening, so there must be some error in your calculations. I hope you realise that windows is more than just Office ? Its a whole system that runs the computer from start to finish, and that is a very difficult thing to acheive. A lot of people dont realise this. Microsoft just spent $9 billion and many years to create Vista, so it does not sound reasonable that some new alternative could just snap into existence overnight like that. It would take billions of dollars and a massive effort to achieve. IBM tried, and spent a huge amount of money developing OS/2 but could never keep up with Windows. Apple tried to create their own system for years, but finally gave up recently and moved to Intel and Microsoft. Its just not possible that a freeware like the Linux could be extended to the point where it runs the entire computer fron start to finish, without using some of the more critical parts of windows. Not possible. I think you need to re-examine your assumptions. Posted by: jerryleecooper Posted on: 03/14/07 on MS vs Unix, and MS marketing tactics: Scalability is the key Much of this analysis consists of splitting hairs over the finer details of decisions that were made at the very dawn of the computer IT industry. So Microsoft leveraged their success with DOS off of mainframe systems such as the CP/M ? Clunky old machines with green screens and keyboards so big and heavy that they are physically impossible to type on. I remember them well. That was then - lets fast forward now to 2007. Computers are so much faster, graphics cards are 3D capable, the keyboards are easier to use, and the mouse makes life a breeze. And we have the internet - 99% of which runs on Internet Explorer. How can you be so blind as to say that Microsoft has not given us any innovation ? I find that comment simply astounding !! You cant honestly suggest that we would be better off using the CPM machines on a mainframe ? On the surface there are many obvious innovations .. such as a graphical system with a mouse, the Office, not to mention the internet that is basically a totally Microsoft platform these days .. (need I go on ?) But if you care to look below the obvious surface, you will find the true innovation that Microsoft has bought us. Let me spell it out for you : SCALABILITY The ability to extend performance above and beyond the ordinary. Thats the true innovation that Microsoft has bought to the world, and they have done it by redefining software engineering, and backing it with billions of dollars. Who else has been able to do this ? Nobody that I can see. Posted by: jerryleecooper Posted on: 03/22/07 on security in OSX: The extra chip in the Mac OSX Very interesting. You mention that the Mac OSX machine includes an extra chip that handles the security ? Well Ill have you know that Microsoft Vista includes a BitLocker in the system which takes this a step further. The BitLocker is software based, and so protects the data flow within the computer above and beyond what happens over the serial line. In addition to this fact, the Microsoft SQLServer wraps the data in a form that can be made accessible on a user by user basis. The Mac OSX chip is hardware, and so cannot distinguish activities at the user level. This dual existence of both BitLocker and SQLServer is what is termed 'Double Data Protection', which I am sure you will admit is a more secure methodology than the single chip that the Mac OSX appears to be using. This gets very exciting when one imagines what might happen when the operating system and the SQLServer are integrated as one unit. Microsoft will be leading the way in computer security when this very vision is realized with the release of the Win FS as part of Vista II. You mark my words, it will make the Mac OSX obsolete. But there is more .... I happen to have extensive experience at the very heights of the corporate enterprise IT, and this includes exclusive contacts deep within the heirachy of a certain company in Redmond. I can assure you that there are moves afoot to include a very similar chip that is in the Mac OSX in the next version of Vista. Whilst not being privy to exact details of discussions at the highest level of the corporate IT, I can extrapolate my experience to present a scenario which is entirely realistic : 1 - Microsoft worked alongside the Apple to develop the next generation of security measures, using a 'Triple Data Protection' scheme involving BitLocker, SQLServer, and an as yet untested security chip. 2 - After providing Apple with its best virus protection algorithms (an algorithm is an advanced computer code), Microsoft discovers that Apple has no equivalent offering to add to the partnership. 3 - The partnership dissolves, but Apple pirates the Microsoft algorithm, which is designed around the Pentium super chip, and then proceeds to convert their machines across to the Intel. 4 - Apple adds this 'security chip' that you mention, (which more than likely contains the Microsoft anti virus algorithm), giving it a highly secure offering to bring to the market. An unfair advantage in anyone's eyes you would have to admit. Well, the simple fact that the Mac OSX already has over 700 malwares, despite the existence of the security chip AND Microsoft's dearly guarded anti-virus algorithm, indicates that Apple does not have the expertise to engineer an IT miracle on this scale. That will all change soon when Microsoft completes the engineering on their next generation of Vista. Hold onto your seats gentlemen, its going to be a blast !! Posted by: jerryleecooper Posted on: 03/22/07 on why someone on ZDnet is having problems running Linux: The linux cannot reliably be employed on modern hardware Yes, well, I did receive quite a few pointed 'pointers' about linux not requiring windows, but I am yet to be convinced on that score. I did witness first hand just the other day, a demonstration of a machine loading up the linux, and several points piqued my interest for sure. Firstly, the machine loaded into the Microsoft boot sequence prior to loading the linux. This is the segment of the operating system which counts down the memory, and configures the A:, C: and D: drives prior to loading the Microsoft windows. Although the machine did not display the familiar windows animation, it was obvious that the linux was freeloading off the back of this prior installation/boot sequence. The aforementioned demonstrator, upon further questioning, even admitted that 'Oh, That part is not the linux', and then went on to confuse the issue with technical jargon. However, one cannot mask a simple act of piracy with excessive verbosity. A fool and his lamb are worth 2 in the bush. Now - I will admit after some further research, that the linux is not in fact a complete copy of Microsoft Windows. My research indicates that it is in fact a copy of Unix. I bet you didnt know that young man ? Yes, its a straight copy of Unix, even down to copying verbatim codefiles straight from the source of Unix. I believe there is a court case in progress regarding this latest discovery. The magnitude of the theft is now becoming apparent. However, this remarkable fact may well uncover the answer to Ed Bott's mystery linux installation failure. You see, the Unix was designed to run within the VHF to UHF spectra (much like a radio), which is all well and good until you consider that modern computers run in the microwave range, at which regular radio reception starts to have serious issues. If one were to use a UHF receiver to tune in to a quad-phased broadcast in the Microwave spectra, one would fail miserably. I would wager a bet that Ed Bott's computing apparatus was a more contemporary design utilizing a 3GHz central processor unit (or CPU). Under such frequencies, the linux would literally tear itself apart, its code lacking the internal cohesion to sustain this extreme environment. The Microsoft by comparison, is streamlined and engineered to withstand this Microwave environment, thanks no doubt to the forethought of its designers. And of this there is ample evidence, which one can easily do an msn-search for and witness first hand. All of this evidence is on the public record, and cannot be denied. Posted by: jerryleecooper Posted on: 03/29/07 on Blue-Ray: blue ray is impractical for the linux It comes as no surprise that the linux does not yet find itself deployed on the blue ray HD DVD, for a number of reasons. I think you will find after some investigation that the blue ray HD DVD is a patented invention that requires special decryption codes to be utilised. Therefore it would not only be illegal for linux to use the blue ray (not that minor questions of legality have ever stopped the Linux in the past), but more so that linux does not yet contain the decrypter codes required for this operation. And so for now, the linux finds itself constrained to the somewhat prehistoric CD-ROM format. Posted by: jerryleecooper Posted on: 05/27/07 on Novell dumping a load of documents to public access: Leaderships wins the day Lets us not waste our energies on pointless arguments over exactly how many ways the linux has infringed on other people's intellectual property. The facts have already been proven, and numerous people have made declarations in public about the level of corruption that is systemic and prevalent in that particular 'development community'. Prominent and respected businessmen, such as Steve Ballmer CEO. of Microsoft, have already been generous enough to state that the evidence exists, and even enumerate the magnitude of this vile misdeed. But nobody is threatening to sue anyone .. or argue over the who is to blame, there is no childish 'Witch Hunt' in progress here. When one stands on the edge of a smoking crater, the scene of a horrific passenger aeroplane accident, a Leader will not run about cursing all and sundry for their part in this tragedy - NAY - A Leader stands up and admits that a dark day has fallen upon us, but is discrete about the details. The bodies of the fallen are covered, and discussions with next of Kin are kept private. It is enough to know that '235 brave souls have lost their lives on this day', and that is enough for us to know. And so it is that Steve Ballmer has shown both Leadership and Discretion of the highest order in this situation. The proven magintude of the crime has been made public, however the details are kept respectfully at arms length. In so doing, Microsoft is performing a huge service for the linux developers, in not shining the lamp of the accuser too brightly upon their guilty brows ... in effect, giving them a second chance to direct some of their energies towards a more productive future path. It is an act of the highest nobility that is rarely seen in this day and age. No, the real issue at hand here is - NOW that it is well known that things have gone wrong, HOW can we restructure relationships in this industry such that their is a way forward to a productive future ? We can also look to Novell it seems as bastion of noble intention and Leadership in this industry. The Novell-Microsoft pact is a template for all future relationships in the IT industry, with all players in the industry purchasing prepaid IP royalty credits from Microsoft. This makes the entire question of IP manageable at last, and streamlines all future IT business in a way that truly benefits everyone. Posted by: jerryleecooper Posted on: 05/28/07 on buildng a FREE resource for Dell owners using Ubuntu: A foolhardy investment An interesting concept perhaps, but one ultimately doomed to failure. I would hazard to suggest that such a venture would be like fissling good seed onto barren ground, when one considers the target market for this ambitious venture. Firstly, let us consider the target market. Those who would purchase a Dell computer with the linux installed, typically do so with one factor predominant in their mind's eye. That is - they choose the linux in order to save money. Any venture that invested resources in providing training services to this market is at a disadvantage from the first day, since that market has already classified itself as a penny pinching mob, collectively bereft of financial resources. Secondly, one must consider the technical depth of this target market. The linux lacks the shine and technical sophistication of modern operating systems, such as Vista. There is only so much that can be taught to customers about the linux before one has exhausted it's technical abilities, let alone the shallow pockets of it's users. Selling training for advanced topics such as - Virus Protection, Disk Defragmentation Utilities, Job Scheduling, Windows Scripting, and Windows Clustering, Sequel Server .. all great topics that make a firm foundation for a lucrative training program .. but these opportnities are solely lacking in the linux world. And Thirdly, let us consider the professional development of this target market. When one enters an University level course in advanced computing with a view to a productive future in the IT industry, what exactly do you think they teach students there ? They would hardly be teaching the linux, the unix, or the mainframe in this day and age. Nay - Its primarily Windows and Vista that form the foundation of a professional career these days. One would only be doing a half hearted disservice to users if you limited the training program to the linux. So whilst I find the idea of offering training to Dell's linux customers gregarious and even charitable, I think it is a venture doomed to failure, and surely one which most investors would be loathe to back with the resources required. Posted by: jerryleecooper Posted on: 05/28/07 on building a decent computer for under $500: No need for Piracy or IP Theft here ! It is saddening to see articles like this that talk about building computing systems, and leave out the necessary costs involved with properly licensing the operating software. There is an unwritten suggestion within the article that the user could somehow bypass these costs ? or worse - choose a system (Ubuntu), which will lead the user into the dark and uncharted world of freeware - a world where the true costs are frighteningly hidden in the details. I would suggest that in building any computing aparatus, one first selects the software required, and then builds the rest of system around that. At the center of this choice would be the Windows Vista of course - preferably in the Business edition, at a low price of $299. That leaves $200 left, and for that money one could purchase a quality case for about $50, a Microsoft keyboard and Mouse combo .. another $50, and a Motherboard for $100. Now - anyone with experience in the computing IT industry would know that prices for CPU's, RAM memory, and Hard Disk memory always drop significantly over time. A top of the line processor, RAM memory and Hard Disk memory may cost $1000 at today's prices - however, in a short time frame, these will cost only $200. And so, the wise buyer, by strategically delaying their purchase order, will save $800. A good quality 19" monitor - another $200. Microsoft Office - add $400 Now lets do the figures : $499 for the purchase of the initial equipment. + $200 for the upgrades later on. - $800 savings by delaying the CPU / RAM / Disk purchase + $200 for a monitor + $400 for Microsoft Officce = $499 total There you have it - a perfectly 'decent' computing machine with a legal and licenced copy of operating software (and $1 in change) vs $500 for a somewhat hobbled Ubuntu machine that leaves its user with undeclared balance sheet liablity for patent infringements. Like so many other independent studies have found before .. A properly licensed Microsoft solution is not only the safer option, but also the lower cost option as well. Posted by: jerryleecooper Posted on: 05/30/07 on his lack of mathematical ability: Yes ME again I see that the freeware evangelists are running scared now that their days are numbered. In an unbiased comparison, I have independently concluded that a legally licensed Windows machine, with a faster CPU processor and RAM memory, a bigger screen and a bigger Hard Disk memory is cheaper than the ubuntu machine, because of a sound investment strategy based on felicitous risk management and foresight. You said : "You better go back to school because your math is definitely not sound. You failed to factor in your $299 (your quote) for Vista" Not so - lets add it up again. $299 for the Vista $50 for the case $50 for the genuine Microsoft keyboard and mouse $100 for the motherboard Total = $499 What is there not to understand ? The deductivistic summation of such figures adds up to $499. Posted by: jerryleecooper Posted on: 05/30/07 on Google's announcment that a lot of IIS servers are serving malware: Interesting Its a very interesting statistic indeed, and one that bears repeating in many an IT department. Google is a company with extensive internet experience - probably second only to Microsoft itself, and one can bet that Google looks at all platform options very closely. I wonder what exactly can be concluded from this statistic though ? Given that Google runs it's internets using Microsoft IIS at the very core, they dont sound too worried about this situation. Read between the lines of the article though, and the truth is revealed in the final paragraph - That these compromised servers are running PIRATED versions of Microsoft IIS, many of which are probably also running Linux, another malware of dubious legality. It would be informative to learn how many of these pirated domains are running Microsoft IIS under Vista vs how many are running Microsoft IIS under linux ? As always, the truth is in the details. Posted by: jerryleecooper Posted on: 06/06/07 on MS using FUD to force FOSS groups to partner with them: Does the linux have a choice ? If one makes the presumption that the modern IT is all about the internets, then you have to ask yourself 'Does the Linux even have a choice in this matter ?' A modern computing system is not one that is run from the DOS command line - it is a system that is tied in with the internet instead. Just have a look at Vista with Aero for an example of this done right. You need the outlook to connect in with the mass of email flowing around us every day. And then there is document collaboration - the sharing of Wordfiles and Excels between users across state boundries ! Voice over IP, internet enabled 'surface' computing, and voice command interfaces - all tied together with .NET and the Aero interface. The driving force behind this internet is the Microsoft Sharepoint Server - a central peice of systems software which connects all these end points together, in a synergistic kaleidoscope that achieves both balance and symmetry. The smart Vendors know that in order to get ahead in the future IT, that means integrating with the internet. And so, we will see more and vendors of the Linux remit their legal obligations to Microsoft, and then benefit by getting onboard the .NET revolution. Posted by: jerryleecooper Posted on: 06/06/07 on random rewrites as a secure method of wiping hard drives: Secure erase not so secure When writing finite bits to the disk sector, there is a finite probability that the resultant string of randomised bits MAY in fact generate something incriminating. For example: (regardless of how unlikely this may seem), any string of random characters may well create a brand new wordfile on the computer by pure chance .. which contains legible words, which string together to form sentences which may in turn connect the previous owner of the hard disk with Al-Qaida, the Mafia, insider trading, un-patriotic activites, Linux 'development', or any manner of unsavory activities. The larger the hard disk being randomly 'wiped' in this fashion, the greater the probability that some new and undesirable content would be created by chance. I for one would NOT place my trust in such a tool, risking a lifetime of torment in Guantanimo Bay in exchange for the 'security' of having my hard disk cleaned prior to resale. The solution ? One should purchase a new copy of the Vista for the said hard disk, and install this on the disk. This would effectively wipe clean the disk of any previous content. The disk could then be disposed of cleanly, with a note that the new owner must purchase another legal copy of the Vista before installing the disk. In this situation - everyone wins. Posted by: jerryleecooper Posted on: 06/17/07 on MS partnering with Linux vendors: Why is Microsoft doing this ? The one crucial question that must be framed is : Why is Microsoft paying hard currency for these deals ? Why would they do that unless there was some other agenda ? I think the answer is clear. Figures from the BSA and RIAA prove beyond all doubt that piracy and intellectual property theft is growing at an alarming rate. A recent article published by the US internet crime complaint center demonstrates how receipt of its 1 Millionth complaint shows that internet based fraud is both rampant and expanding beyond all reason. In this environment of lawless anarchy, it is no surprise to find that the Linux is right at home, and growing - in the same way that a wurm grows fat and gluttonous when placed in a dark and damp environment full of refuse and the despondent cast off's of a wealthy society. I am not alone in my beliefs that even in this dreadful situation, the Linux represents a growing market for the softwares. Microsoft has tried for years to offer their superior office suites and internet products to markets outside of the Vista, with little success. And yet, this is a difficult exersize. Linux represents the old school, with its mainframe like interface, and arcane secret programming languages. Porting the softwares to this platform involves hiring the hippies who understand this obtuse environment. These people are typically unreliable, and have difficulty living wth the regular 9-5 work ethic. They believe in intellectual property theft, free love, substance abuse, and marxism. Microsoft has solved these issues in one brilliant sweep by paying cash for access to these Linux secrets, by making these cross patent deals with the linux 'Vendors'. This will allow for the interoperability that the corporations so dearly wish for - the ability to run the Microsoft Office, and the IE7, as well as the Vista on top of this growing but amorphous mass known as 'The Linux'. In a short time we will all soon see the benefits of these cross licencing deals, and the softwares will expand out their user bases and be seen everywhere. Even the most die hard linux afficionado with matted hair and a red armband will salivate at the prospect of being able to run the IE7 on his precious linux. Posted by: jerryleecooper Posted on: 06/18/07 on some $150 laptop project possibly being a scam: MK Electronics I have spoken to MK Electronics - a real and established electronics firm in Sweden - and also the Medison 'partner' who is handling distribution for this laptop, and according to them, its all real. This is just bizarre. Im sure if it was possible to sell a $150 laptop in quantity, then Microsoft would already be offering such a product. Posted by: jerryleecooper Posted on: 08/08/07 --------------------------------------------------- PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss