KCLUG May 2008

kclug@kclug.org

26 participants
18 discussions

Semi-OT: Congress about to limit artists' copyright rights
by Leo Mauler 08 Jul '08

08 Jul '08

Normally I find something like this and discover that the complainer either is making most of the problem up in his or her head, or actually wants to get rid of something else in the bill before Congress. However, this appears to be an issue of genuine concern for artists, especially poor artists who can't afford the "registry fees". http://www.sellyourtvconceptnow.com/orphan.html It would appear that Congress is already considering two bills, one in the House (H.R. 5889, "The Orphan Works Act of 2008") and one in the Senate (S 2913, "The Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act of 2008") which would require all artists to register their artwork in private registries, none of which would be free to the artist. The claim made by the bill is that this will help people wanting to use artwork to avoid a future lawsuit by making it easier for them to "find" the artist. The difficulty for artists everywhere is that if your artwork is not listed in any of the registries (possibly because you couldn't afford the fees), the person wanting to use your artwork can consider the artwork to be an "orphan work" and thus part of the public domain. No matter how well-known your work is throughout your region, the country, or the world, if your artwork is not in any of the registries then it would still *legally* be an "orphan work". If you do take the infringer to court over using your artwork, the law strips you of your right to copyright infringement damages, instead allowing the infringer to pay whatever s/he/it feels is fair for use of the artwork. This law was attempted in 2006 and failed due to pressure from creators such as artists, illustrators, textile companies, and the like. Apparently these new laws are on a fast track to get passed into law before the election campaigns of Congress members start in the late summer. Just to underline that the government no longer cares about the rights of content creators, here's an excerpt from a letter (full text in the URL above) sent around by Brad Holland of the Illustrator's Partnership, a group which successfully opposed the 2006 bill: ========================================= Q: Where did we get the idea that the Copyright Office wants to impose for-profit registries? A: That proposal has been there from the beginning. Two examples (with emphasis added), the first from page 106 of the Copyright Office’s 2006 Orphan Works Report: “[W]e believe that registries are critically important, if not indispensable, to addressing the orphan works problem...It is our view that such registries are better developed in the private sector..." http://www.copyright.gov/orphan/orphan-report.pdf ========================================= And on January 29 2007, twenty visual arts groups met in Washington D.C. with attorneys from the Copyright Office. The attorneys stated that the Copyright Office would not create these “indispensable” registries because it would be “too expensive.” So I asked the Associate Register for Policy & International Affairs: ========================================= Holland: If a user can’t find a registered work at the Copyright Office, hasn’t the Copyright Office facilitated the creation of an orphaned work? Carson: Copyright owners will have to register their images with private registries. Holland: But what if I exercise my exclusive right of copyright and choose not to register? Carson: If you want to go ahead and create an orphan work, be my guest! - From my notes of the meeting ========================================= This exchange suggests that if Copyright Office proposals become law: - Unregistered work will be considered a potential orphan from the moment you create it. - In the U.S., copyright will no longer be the exclusive right of the copyright holder. ========================================= Under existing law, “[a] copyright gives the owner the exclusive right to reproduce, distribute, perform, display, or license his work…Under current law, works are covered whether or not a copyright notice is attached and **whether or not the work is registered** (emphasis added).” http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/index.php/Copyright#copyright:_an_overview =========================================

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Photo booth equivalent in linux
by Deepan 24 Jun '08

24 Jun '08

Hi All, I am running F8 in macbook. Is there a tool similar to Photo booth on linux that I can use to shot photos using macbook camera ? Regards Deepan Sudoku Solver: http://www.sudoku-solver.net/

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Request for Comments: Keeping the OS and Data on phsyically seperated drives
by Oren Beck 23 Jun '08

23 Jun '08

This is a request for comment on a basic hardware and software assignment method. The simplest minimal applied version would be master drive OS and slave drive bearing data. The next higher levels would include replicated data drives. Not needfully in the same machine or even at the same site. So how would you set up an install so the "OS" is on say-HDA and the "Data" on HDB" ? With an implied or even explicit addition of HDC thru HDX as either permanent mirrors or detachable external storage backup. Imaging a data drive is less of a challenge than a live OS. Where this differs from past similar schemes or applications is in the division of OS from Data. The most immediate impact could be for users of multiple OS varieties. The result is a "one user data library - OS Agnostic to the computer accessing it model.The OS needs updating or the drive it is on crashes- your data is safely NOT on the same drive. There are uses for the now open space on the OS drive too. Like process journal buffers as Reiser speculated on. Or pointers to replicant drives holding spatially dispersed copies. EX: /user on a box off site.\ "The Zen of Everything being a file" so far has not covered the WHERE we put the files! Do note that while Linux has had the "ability" to make all this seem trivial- for whatever reasons we seem to not do so. Comments of a value adding nature are welcomed. Open comment form me to the list: Some projects seem to never get past a " "we could- but why?" stage. I'd like to think KCLUG could do better.. " If your OS drive dies- you might be rather glad your data is on at least two other drives" -- Oren Beck 816.729.3645

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HowTo: manage updates to Ubuntu offline, via memory key or CD/DVD?
by Leo Mauler 02 Jun '08

02 Jun '08

I'm about to set up two Linux PCs for the Alcott Arts Center (www.alcottartscenter.org) in KCK. One Linux PC will be running Edubuntu, and most of Project Gutenberg, for their library; another one will have regular Ubuntu or Kubuntu to be run in their office. These folks are so financially-strapped that the Center doesn't even have a phone turned on (the wires are there but the phone connection isn't active), let alone a broadband Internet connection. The "Alcott Arts Center" phone is actually a second line in the caretaker's house a block away. I've already booted up the laptop and determined there are no nearby WiFi hotspots. I'll run the updates before I pack up the PCs, but after I install them on-site there is no on-site method of downloading updates. Is there a way to give an Ubuntu update repository a list of installed software on another computer, and thus download updates for another system to be transferred to that system via memory key or even CD/DVD? I'll continue to have personal access to both PCs for maintenance.

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Re: VIA cpu motherboard combo (gOS motherboard)
by lerninlinux＠comcast.net 01 Jun '08

01 Jun '08

-------------- Original message ---------------------- From: "Jon Pruente" <jdpruente(a)gmail.com> > On Sat, May 31, 2008 at 11:27 AM, <lerninlinux(a)comcast.net> wrote: > > Has anyone tried either the Walmart PC, or specifically this motherboard? > > > > I have been thinking of getting one to build a file/backup/music server (only > functions, unless normal pc goes down, then troubleshoot), so the low power and > on all the time appeals to me. > > > I was going to suggest the Intel D201GLY2 mobo ( > http://www.intel.com/products/motherboard/d201gly2/ ) but I just looke > dup the gPC at Wal-Mart and it's now on clearance for $150 down from > $199, if you can find a store carrying it. > > Jon. Jon, Where did you see the $150? It is still showing $199 as of 2:27 pm, that I see, but the motherboard (would need memory too), is $60 with processor. Thanks PS (not available in stores, after their non computer people kept returning them when Windows software wouldn't run, but can have shipped to store)

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VIA cpu motherboard combo (gOS motherboard)
by lerninlinux＠comcast.net 31 May '08

31 May '08

Has anyone tried either the Walmart PC, or specifically this motherboard? I have been thinking of getting one to build a file/backup/music server (only functions, unless normal pc goes down, then troubleshoot), so the low power and on all the time appeals to me. Thanks Randal

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Article : Novell and Mono: The Kiss of Death to Free Software
by Arthur Pemberton 31 May '08

31 May '08

>From a transparently opinionated source: http://boycottnovell.com/2008/05/30/mono-gnome-and-moonlight/ I have to say, there are a lot of "Novel Microsoft" flash advertisements on the internet these days (didn't install Adblock on my work machine) -- Fedora 7 : sipping some of that moonshine ( www.pembo13.com )

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Re: Interesting Reading?
by Justin Dugger 29 May '08

29 May '08

On Tue, May 27, 2008 at 3:33 PM, Julie <betelgeuse67stang(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > As a noob to Linux I found these articles somewhat "interesting": > > -->Not Invented Here has no place in open source development IT Security > TechRepublic.com > > http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/security/?p=460&tag=nl.e036 > > -->Detect and replace vulnerable SSH keys on Debian IT Security > TechRepublic.com > > http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/security/?p=459&tag=nl.e036 > > wahdooya'l think? Jus' curyuss........ > I think it's silly what little effort it takes to call yourself a tech Journalist these days. He paints in broad strokes a bit with the traditional anti-patterns identified in corporate development. Debian developers did get in touch with upstream OpenSSL, despite OpenSSL's best efforts to hide. A member of the core team did get in touch, and suggested "if it makes debugging easier, I'm all for it". Since it wasn't the main list, few other developers saw it, and the Debian developer pushed the patch out. Upstream even agrees today with half of the patch in Debian, but the other half is clearly the wrong fix. Rather than remove the access to uninitialized memory, the reasonable thing seems be to initialize it. And the other example, I don't know as much about, but I do know that often one works around bugs in OSX simply because you have to. What's even crazier is when they change functionality in a major release, placing the burden on you to stop supporting older releases (the article's "right way") or forever carry a version #ifdef for the workaround. Calling this "NIH" is downright stupid and contradictory to everything Debian does. NIH is about rewriting everything from scratch because obviously anyone not in the organization is an idiot and can't be trusted. Here we had a developer who noticed something, created a fix, and failed to get enough eyes at it when he went looking for it. I think the important lesson here, and one Debian could do well to memorize, is to make sure your development process is open and accessible. Justin

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Interesting Reading?
by Julie 27 May '08

27 May '08

As a noob to Linux I found these articles somewhat "interesting": -->Not Invented Here has no place in open source development IT Security TechRepublic.com http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/security/?p=460&tag=nl.e036 -->Detect and replace vulnerable SSH keys on Debian IT Security TechRepublic.com http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/security/?p=459&tag=nl.e036 wahdooya'l think? Jus' curyuss........

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Sanity check time- Firmware exploits as new vector for cyberattack?
by Oren Beck 22 May '08

22 May '08

http://www.darkreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=154270&WT.svl=news1_1 Bull or danger? -- Oren Beck 816.729.3645

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KCLUG May 2008