Software Democracy?

My original title for this thread was...

Is it not hypocritical to use Firefox on a Windows OS?
-when Microsoft is the biggest software Monopoly in the World supported by a multitude of copyright laws?

Is it then, not being belittled...

The opposite OS is of course Linux which is free, open and could be regarded as a truly Democratic OS.
(sorry... never tried it..)

They say -it would be easy as a "Terrorist" to not only attack the U.S but the World simply by a script which melts windows on all systems using it

Ohhh the “drama" - live in fear - enjoy

You choose firefox
Why?
Cause its dynamic and supposedly more secure.

Security you say...

"Survival of the fittest” should ring a bell
- But doesn't that contradict everything we see in ads?

The mememememe want factor?

Should the software world want to be more "secure" - then -
Is it not best that there are Many different OS's, browser's, programs etc so that it becomes too complex to infiltrate the whole?

It's hopeless, sheep consumer whore society of freedom of choice, where my average friend regards me as a l33t just because i suggested using fx

as in farming, monocrops can be infected easily.

Isn't Life supposed to be Diverse?

posted using:
Firefox 1.03
Xp pro
Dell Laptop
Google
drank a beer
smoked a cig
avg
sygate
heating
electricity
philips lightbulb
wood (table)
air
and as to the point of this post
here it is
[img].[/img]

the browser i use (slimbrowser) is as easy to use as MSIE but more features. that's why i use it.

i have the latest version MSIE too. it seems as safe as any incarnation of mozilla

the reason it's like it is, is because it's nature to rebel against what you can't control (i pulled that out of thin air but it sounds good). but also people are lazy and really want as much as they can have. so you can use mozilla because it's an alternative to MSIE. pat yourself on the back for that imaginery poke in the eye to microsoft.

but what possible benefits is there from using linux for anything other than a stable server. microsoft office does anything you want, if you want something ore advanced buy some adobe product incidently built for windows. any games you want to play? linux has no microsoft directx so straight conversions won't happen and no-ones gonna bother developing for the tiny linux market.

so its just easier to use windows.

i suppose it's as hypocritical as the anti globalisation protesters that gathert in london and eat and drink mcdonalds and starbucks. it's there, you want it, and theres no real alternative.


sorry it's past my bedtime

I use Firefox because it's faster and more stable than IE, I use Vlc because it plays videos better than WMP. My OS is WindowsXP because it's better than the previous versions and I'm a bit bawa about *nix.

I also download all of my software so I don't have to pay for it. Perhaps if I had to pay for this copy of XP that I've just installed, I might have tried some open source soft but in the main, I just use what's better for me.


I do have concerns about MS' monopoly in certain areas and the detrimental effects it could have and does have on software development, and I guess I'm perpetuating that, but the alternative (me having a system totally devoid of MS products) would have a detrimental effect on my job and recreation. As things stand, I wouldn't be able to get on the interweb nor produce an invoice.

So, yes, I think I'm hypocritical, somewhat - but the short term alternative is no income and no posting rubbish on forums.

... and no pr0n :ohmy:

I'm one of few on here that use MSIE with a tabbed interface.

I would hate for there to be multiple OS's in the marketplace. I like a standard.

I also am not on the "I hate MS" wagon.

I had no problem with them before and sure don't have a problem with them because the government said they are harming me. Many point out any problem with Windows and then say, "See, this is why I hate Microsoft."

However fuck MS if they want me to upgrade every 2 years. I upgrade when I feel it's necessary (and that's never when MS deems it so).

Does my OS run fine? Check.
Does my software run fine? Check.


That's enough for me. :dry:

ps. i cant get embedded movies to play in mozilla :dry:

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Originally Posted by GepperRankins

ps. i cant get embedded movies to play in mozilla :dry:

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But, but, because you should hate MS you are supposed to go through motions of making it work. Yes, that's right uhhuh.

i did try but it goes through an endless loop of installing quicktime then not detecting it so starting again. the KL codec pack one doesn't get detected either (but it does in slimbrowser.

so now after trying mozilla i have quicktime and realplayer icons playing hungry hungry hippos with my resources.

i do find that official windows media player 9 plays hi-def wmv9 better than media player classic :thumbsup:

I installed a plug-in that allows me to view a page in IE if I so choose for those few times a page doesn't work in Firefox.

I only use XP because I'm a bit of a gamer, otherwise I'd probably use Linux so I could sneer at all the common people (more).

Can someone tell me why I should switch to FF?
(I have already tried it before)

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Originally Posted by Busyman

Can someone tell me why I should switch to FF?
(I have already tried it before)

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It's what all the kewl kids are doing.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Busyman

I'm one of few on here that use MSIE with a tabbed interface.

I would hate for there to be multiple OS's in the marketplace. I like a standard.

I also am not on the "I hate MS" wagon.

I had no problem with them before and sure don't have a problem with them because the government said they are harming me. Many point out any problem with Windows and then say, "See, this is why I hate Microsoft."

However fuck MS if they want me to upgrade every 2 years. I upgrade when I feel it's necessary (and that's never when MS deems it so).

Does my OS run fine? Check.
Does my software run fine? Check.


That's enough for me. :dry:

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The point is not that MS products are bad, they are not. The point is that they are the most often attacked. The Operating System, The Browsers, The Utilities. Everything that MS does, in my opinion is the best available which is why they are installed on the majority of machines. However that is also the reason that they are the most obvious targets for hackage. The reason that people use other things is that they will then not be victims of said attacks.

I use XP(SP2) and have auto-update on, because in my opinion it is the best operating system currently available. I use Office 2003 for the same reason. However I do not use IE because it is attacked 24/7 and by the time MS release a "fix" for interweb hacks there is a distinct possibility that it is already too late. I therefore use Firefox as my interweb browser, in my opinion it is the best available option.

It's a balance thing, functionality v security.

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Originally Posted by Mr JP Fugley

The point is not that MS products are bad, they are not. The point is that they are the most often attacked. The Operating System, The Browsers, The Utilities. Everything that MS does, in my opinion is the best available which is why they are installed on the majority of machines. However that is also the reason that they are the most obvious targets for hackage. The reason that people use other things is that they will then not be victims of said attacks.

I use XP(SP2) and have auto-update on, because in my opinion it is the best operating system currently available. I use Office 2003 for the same reason. However I do not use IE because it is attacked 24/7 and by the time MS release a "fix" for interweb hacks there is a distinct possibility that it is already too late. I therefore use Firefox as my interweb browser, in my opinion it is the best available option.

It's a balance thing, functionality v security.

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Very smart.

However, I haven't bothered since I have never been "attacked".

I have been the knowing victim of a malicious script posted by my alter ego.

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Originally Posted by Mr JP Fugley

Everything that MS does, in my opinion is the best available which is why they are installed on the majority of machines.

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if you discount Windows' built-in support for newsgroups (Outlook Express), ftp (IE), bitmap creation (Paint), audio recording (Sound Recorder), video encoding (Windows Movie Maker), then i guess yeah. it comes with support for all of those activities, but it does all of them very poorly. if MS were the best at everything, we wouldn't have to turn to third-party programs for the aforementioned purposes.

one could say "of course they're not going to include high-quality programs for that price. if you want a good paint/photo program, then buy Adobe Photoshop." but that begs the question, why is Paint even included with Windows? does anyone actually use it? certainly MS wouldn't command their employees to generate graphics in Paint. :P

not to imply that Windows XP is not a great, easy-to-use & easy-to-maintain platform. 'cause it is. MS are quite good at some things, but by no means the best at everything. they've made their fair share of crap, including early versions of Windows, "MS Bob," many of the poorly supported functions they've bundled with Windows, etc.

this thing:
http://img220.echo.cx/img220/981/soundrecorder9yn.jpg
it's definitely not the best available.

it would be interesting to see, if MS were to sell a barebones version of Windows at a lower price without those bundled programs, alongside the bundled up version as we currently know it, which version would sell more copies. that would say a lot about the perceived quality of MS's bundled programs.

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Originally Posted by 3RA1N1AC

if you discount Windows' built-in support for newsgroups (Outlook Express), ftp (IE), bitmap creation (Paint), audio recording (Sound Recorder), video encoding (Windows Movie Maker), then i guess yeah. it comes with support for all of those activities, but it does all of them very poorly. if MS were the best at everything, we wouldn't have to turn to third-party programs for the aforementioned purposes.

one could say "of course they're not going to include high-quality programs for that price. if you want a good paint/photo program, then buy Adobe Photoshop." but that begs the question, why is Paint even included with Windows? does anyone actually use it? certainly MS wouldn't command their employees to generate graphics in Paint. :P

not to imply that Windows XP is not a great, easy-to-use & easy-to-maintain platform. 'cause it is. MS are quite good at some things, but by no means the best at everything. they've made their fair share of crap, including early versions of Windows, "MS Bob," many of the poorly supported functions they've bundled with Windows, etc.

this thing:
http://img220.echo.cx/img220/981/soundrecorder9yn.jpg
it's definitely not the best available.

it would be interesting to see, if MS were to sell a barebones version of Windows at a lower price without those bundled programs, alongside the bundled up version as we currently know it, which version would sell more copies. that would say a lot about the perceived quality of MS's bundled programs.

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The problem I have is that many folks down MS for making crappy auxillary functions.
We simply don't use them.

At the same time how is that the government can dictate to MS what programs to include with their system?

How can one say...."MS you must give a barebones system 'cause that's what we like." :dry:

The logic is preposterous.

Many fault MS but I say those same people should have latched on to OS/Warp or BeOS and STFU.

....or migrate to Apple to kick MS in the teeth.

Nevertheless they don't...while at the same time berate the company that they are using to type their uh...beration. :unsure:

If MS is so bad, where are these innovative operating systems?

Where were they 15 years ago?

With so many hating MS, why is Linux so bug-filled?
An open source system certainly has plenty of troubleshooters.

Btw, many don't know this but there is a strip down Windows XP floating around in European due to the EU's bullshit ruling (that conveniently piggybacked on the US).

MS of course is not promoting the product. They merely are sticking it on the store shelves and SingTFU about it.

It should sell like hotcakes. :lol: :lol: :lol:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Busyman

Very smart.

However, I haven't bothered since I have never been "attacked".

I have been the knowing victim of a malicious script posted by my alter ego.

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i hope the mods are reading this.

and you just pointed out that MSIE has security flaws you dick :blink:

Busyman had a pop-up telling him to surf gay porn each time he went into a thread titled 'cawk' yet he's never been attacked.

Duh.

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Originally Posted by GepperRankins

i hope the mods are reading this.

and you just pointed out that MSIE has security flaws you dick.

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Uh the security flaws are widely known dipshit. Wtf is up with name calling?
Besides purposely trying to fuck up IE, that's the extent of my "attacks". The only other was on a very old, never patched IE on a work laptop.
STFU.
:dry:
btw you sound like a "run tell mommy little girl" with that mod crap.

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Originally Posted by manker

Busyman had a pop-up telling him to surf gay porn each time he went into a thread titled 'cawk' yet he's never been attacked.

Duh.

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Wtf are you talking about?

you just announced you posted malicious code on the forum. i'm pretty sure they'll be rules against that. even there isn't specific ones in "forum rules" it's illegal anyway.

so what if it's an old version, you still pointed out a security flaw. one that was fixed after mozilla started hitting it big.

the word wasn't "cawk" it was "sex" but that was on a work pc so don't worry about it.



you are wrong. shut up.

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Originally Posted by Busyman

Wtf are you talking about?

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This.

When your os was attacked by spyware.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GepperRankins

you just announced you posted malicious code on the forum. i'm pretty sure they'll be rules against that. even there isn't specific ones in "forum rules" it's illegal anyway.

so what if it's an old version, you still pointed out a security flaw. one that was fixed after mozilla started hitting it big.

the word wasn't "cawk" it was "sex" but that was on a work pc so don't worry about it.



you are wrong. shut up.

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I posted malicious code on what forum?
If you are going to be a snitch, so to speak, at least have all your facts straight.

The funny thing is I remember there being an explanation of the script telling people it would fuck up their browser and dipshits clicked it anyway...but that's not all of it.
The folks had the nerve to complain about it. :lol: :lol:
("I ate McDonald's food and it made me fat...I'm suing McDonald's.")

Other than that, EVERYTHING has a security flaw if you focus on fucking the target product up.

I've never had a virus fuck up my computer but I can purposely infect it without anti-virus software. It doesn't mean I have to switch to Apple. :dry:

As I said before, the security were pointed out well before me.

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Originally Posted by manker

This.

When your os was attacked by spyware.

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Uh huh.
Where the fuck was gay porn in that?

I also had no pop-up blocker.

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Originally Posted by Busyman

Uh huh.
Where the fuck was gay porn in that?

I also had no pop-up blocker.

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Point is that contrary to your earlier statement, you got attacked while using a MS platform.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by manker

Point is that contrary to your earlier statement, you got attacked while using a MS platform.

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Mmmmmmk. :unsure:

I don't look at that as an "attack" hence the quotes.

I look at an attack as something that disables my computer and not a very minor nuisance.

I guess everyone's annoyance level is different. Hell we've got folks on here who stand to see :shit: and block it and actually use the ignore function.

My tolerance level for shit like that is fairly low. So I use Firefox rather than IE ;)

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Originally Posted by manker

My tolerance level for shit like that is fairly low. So I use Firefox rather than IE ;)

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As I said, an unpatched computer. FF is the equivalent of a patch.

However, I never have had a problem with IE on my home computer having a minor attack.

I use IE 6 with a tabbed interface.

Same deal. :dry:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Busyman

As I said, an unpatched computer. FF is the equivalent of a patch.

However, I never have had a problem with IE on my home computer having a minor attack.

I use IE 6 with a tabbed interface.

Same deal. :dry:

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Yeah, I heard that tabbed interface is awesome at keeping the nasties out :D

In all honesty tho' using IE does leave you open to more things than using FF. It's the browser that ALL of the spyware and virii compilers target simply because 85% of interweb users surf with it.

I understand that you've never had problems before but I guess I'm a justincase kind of a guy and you're not :ohmy:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by manker

Yeah, I heard that tabbed interface is awesome at keeping the nasties out :D

In all honesty tho' using IE does leave you open to more things than using FF. It's the browser that ALL of the spyware and virii compilers target simply because 85% of interweb users surf with it.

I understand that you've never had problems before but I guess I'm a justincase kind of a guy and you're not :ohmy:

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True.

That is funny though....

You "just in case" with your web browser but not with your personal security (your life).

To each his own I guess.

The main reason MS has those flaws is due to the clinging on to Active X components.

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Originally Posted by Busyman

True.

That is funny though....

You "just in case" with your web browser but not with your personal security (your life).

To each his own I guess.

The main reason MS has those flaws is due to the clinging on to Active X components.

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Installing a browser is hardly in the same league as having six guns and a pile of ninja stuff in my house - that rationale doesn't work for you tho'.

Maybe Dave was right and you're not a justincase guy, more of a mental weapons enthusiast.

OOooOOoo :schnauz:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by manker

Installing a browser is hardly in the same league as having six guns and a pile of ninja stuff in my house - that rationale doesn't work for you tho'.

Maybe Dave was right and you're not a justincase guy, more of a mental weapons enthusiast.

OOooOOoo :schnauz:

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Of course they aren't in the same league. Glad you got the point. ;)

You brought up my "justincase" bit (uh huh I know).

I'm merely pointing out that some chance happening regarding my computer is utterly minor in comparison to one involving my life.

I just thought it was funny.

btw most of that ninja stuff isn't in the house. :rolleyes:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Busyman

Of course they aren't in the same league. Glad you got the point. ;)

You brought up my "justincase" bit (uh huh I know).

I'm merely pointing out that some chance happening regarding my computer is utterly minor in comparison to one involving my life.

I just thought it was funny.

btw most of that ninja stuff isn't in the house. :rolleyes:

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I thought it ironic too, from my pov and your own, that's why I brought it up.


--Even tho' that ninja stuff isn't in your house, I bet you go and play with it a lot :unsure: :rod:

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Originally Posted by manker

I thought it ironic too, from my pov and your own, that's why I brought it up.


--Even tho' that ninja stuff isn't in your house, I bet you go and play with it a lot :unsure: :rod:

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No not really.

Besides some use of my boken a couple months ago, the ninja stuff pretty much stayed put.

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Originally Posted by Busy

Besides some use of my boken a couple months ago

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Gotcha :blink:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by manker

Gotcha :blink:

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Mmmmk :unsure:

Firefox has a better name, IE just sounds like a Latin abbreviation.

I haven't used IE extensively in the last year but does it have plug-ins to allow me to block images, check my spelling, tab my browsing in the way I want to, play winamp through my browser, use BBCode through a right-click, have my favourites along the top instead of a drop down menu?

If someone who uses IE can answer that in between being hacked and virus attacks that'd be great. Cheers.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MCHeshPants420

Firefox has a better name, IE just sounds like a Latin abbreviation.

I haven't used IE extensively in the last year but does it have plug-ins to allow me to block images, check my spelling, tab my browsing in the way I want to, play winamp through my browser, use BBCode through a right-click, have my favourites along the top instead of a drop down menu?

If someone who uses IE can answer that in between being hacked and virus attacks that'd be great. Cheers.

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my version does all of those 'cept winamp. theres probably a plugin for it but i hate plugins

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Originally Posted by GepperRankins

my version does all of those 'cept winamp. theres probably a plugin for it but i hate plugins

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Which version is this then? Standard IE? My version has none of the above.:(

slimbrowser. pretty much MSIE with some proper features

but i think its possible to have favourites along the top in normal MSIE

Nice article from the rather ugly Bill Thompson:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4472219.stm

slim browser and maxathon are not internet explorer they just use the rendering engine from internet explorer. this also means these browsers are at the mercy of microsoft to fix any security flaws. acording to secunia there are still 11 security holes unpatched.

firefox has only 4 with none of them rated critical. while 14% of internet explorer holes are critical.
http://secunia.com/graph/?type=cri&period=all&prod=11

I dont think its hypocritical to use an open source tool on a closed sourced operating system. its just a case of picking the best tool for the job. no matter how much i really hate microsoft for various reasons windows is still the best operating system for desktop pcs about at the minute and firefox is imho the best browser about at the minute.

If im going to build a server im sure as hell not going to use windows xp its gonna be linux or a bsd because they are the best tool for the job.