In defense of proprietary software

Grok Headline matches for In defense of proprietary software

In Defense and Attack of Proprietary
Software

In Defense and Attack of Proprietary
Software 12/17/2003 09:37 AM
The International Telecommunications Union's World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) was last week. Of particular interest was a moderated debate on the issue of preferential treatment for open-source products in government procurement. John Carroll editorializes for proprietary software and RMS on the other side, against it.

Aus Govt: Proprietary software not a
security risk

Aus Govt: Proprietary software not a
security risk 05/05/2004 09:54 AM

Lessons Proprietary Software Can Teach
Open Source

Lessons Proprietary Software Can Teach
Open Source 04/12/2005 01:30 PM

Non-proprietary software advances health
care information systems

Non-proprietary software advances health
care information systems 07/08/2004 12:17 PM
When you're really, really sick, you head for the biggest, most modern, shiniest city hospital, famed for its quality of care and up-to-the-minute techniques. But if you want to find truly cutting-edge health care technology, you can turn to the small, rural hospitals. In the wards and in the labs of cash-strapped rural hospitals, non-proprietary software is quietly making its presence felt.

What proprietary software can teach open
source developers about winning over new
users

What proprietary software can teach open
source developers about winning over new
users 04/12/2005 08:04 AM
Being the best doesn't always mean being the most popular. We all know of many inferior products that are immensely, sometimes perplexingly, popular. However, this does not mean that one must forsake the pursuit of excellence when pursuing a broad market share. As proponents of open source software, it should not be beneath us to pursue popularity or to look to proprietary developers as examples. And by following the right examples, we can help spread the usage of open source software without sacrificing the goal of software excellence.

PGP software gains antivirus defense

PGP software gains antivirus defense 04/14/2004 03:53 PM
The company says it will bundle Symantec's AntiVirus Scan Engine with PGP encryption products to reduce the risk of unwanted payloads in e-mail.

In defense of Free Software, community,
and cooperation

In defense of Free Software, community,
and cooperation 01/09/2004 09:58 PM
A recent article by Richard Stallman on the subject of the direction of the Free Software community provoked a lot of discussion, in particular on whether he is right to push so strongly his principles of Free Software over and above the pragmatic principles of Open Source. In this article I would like to defend Stallman's vision of software, and its place in community rather than as a consumer product, and re-advocate Stallman's assertion that the right to form a community is more important than the ability to use particular software.

Green Hills Software: 'Linux in Defense:
An Urgent Threat to National Security'

Green Hills Software: 'Linux in Defense:
An Urgent Threat to National Security' 05/18/2004 02:59 PM

ERPWeb.NET Awarded Defense Finance and
Accounting Service (DFAS) Cognos
Software Contract

ERPWeb.NET Awarded Defense Finance and
Accounting Service (DFAS) Cognos
Software Contract 08/04/2004 02:39 AM
ERPWeb.NET’s contracting vehicles allows government agencies to buy solutions with significant savings. [PRWEB Aug 4, 2004]

Defense Tech: FAITH-BASED MISSILE
DEFENSE

Defense Tech: FAITH-BASED MISSILE
DEFENSE 08/18/2004 10:50 PM
Defense Tech: FAITH-BASED MISSILE DEFENSE .. not work

defensetech.org/archives/001067.html
track this site | 3 links

re2, Inc. CEO, Jorgen Pedersen, Elected
Chairman of JAUS Weapons Payload
Committee - re2, Inc. Expands Software
Engineering and Defense Capabilities
with Two New Hires

re2, Inc. CEO, Jorgen Pedersen, Elected
Chairman of JAUS Weapons Payload
Committee - re2, Inc. Expands Software
Engineering and Defense Capabilities
with Two New Hires 09/13/2004 03:37 AM
re2, Inc. (Robotics Engineering Excellence), a Carnegie Mellon spin-off company specializing in mobile defense robotics, announced today that president and CEO, Jorgen Pedersen, has been elected Chairman for the JAUS (Joint Architecture for Unmanned Systems) Working Group’s Weapons Payload Committee. re2, Inc. also added two new employees to bolster its defense-related software engineering capabilities. [PRWEB Sep 13, 2004]

Aitech Defense Systems, Inc., Has
Published a Shortform Brochure Covering
a Full Range of Hardware, Software and
Subsystems Service for COTS
Applications

Aitech Defense Systems, Inc., Has
Published a Shortform Brochure Covering
a Full Range of Hardware, Software and
Subsystems Service for COTS
Applications 06/05/2005 11:14 PM
Aitech Defense Systems, Inc., a world leader in the development and manufacture of board and subsystem level products for harsh environment defense, aerospace and space applications, has just published a shortform brochure covering a full range of hardware, software and subsystems service for mission-critical COTS applications. [PRWEB Jun 3, 2005]

IBM: proprietary technology not enough

IBM: proprietary technology not enough 04/06/2005 02:20 PM
These days, it's necessary to balance proprietary, open-source approaches, Big Blue exec stresses at conference.

Public yet Proprietary

Public yet Proprietary 12/19/2004 03:06 PM

News about Google Print raises some interesting questions.

If John has the only copy in existance of a physical book of which content not available anywhere, and its copyrights have expired, what rights does John have over the content of the book?

If Dave makes a deal with John to digitize the book's content, what rights does Dave have over the digitized content?

John owns the physical instance of the book, therefore he has full control over access to it even though he does not own the content.  Can John legally dictate terms of use over the content which he does not own in exchange for access?

Dave has a virtual instance of the book, so he also has full access control.  Can Dave provide online access to the book's content under whatever terms he dictates?

Now replace John with an public or government-funded institution.  What rights does the we have over the book and it's digitized contents?

Another twist.  Suppose Evan breaks into Dave's system, takes a copy of the digitized content, and posts it in newsgroups which Phil downloads.  Did Phil break any laws?  Can Phil use the content?

I am not a copyright lawyer so I don't know the answers to these questions.  Perhaps Professor Lessig can answer.

To me, ownerless doesn't mean community property.  It means free for the taking.  Google is doing exactly that, taking.  I have mixed feelings about what they are doing.  On one side, they are making new information readily available which is good.  On the other side, they seem to be claiming stewardship over orphaned information.

RoamAD Says Metro Wi-Fi Should Not Be
Proprietary

RoamAD Says Metro Wi-Fi Should Not Be
Proprietary 03/29/2005 11:45 PM
Wi-Fi Technology Forum Mar 30 2005 4:28AM GMT

Xbox 2 to Use Proprietary Discs?

Xbox 2 to Use Proprietary Discs? 12/15/2003 03:16 PM
Microsoft's career page contains a very interesting job advertisement. The ad says that the Xbox Team "is looking for a strong PM/Engineer to manage the design and development of the Xbox Game Disc for the next generation Xbox console." Moreover, the ad stresses the importance of anti-piracy technology in the development of the new discs for the next generation console. Although it is possible that MS will simply try to incorporate sophisticated anti-piracy features in the now standard DVD medium, it is probably easier for them to develop a proprietary format. Nintendo did it with their GameCube discs, and they were quite effective in combating piracy -- so why not Microsoft?

ATI Proprietary Linux Driver 3.11.1

ATI Proprietary Linux Driver 3.11.1 08/05/2004 04:20 PM

Linux's Proprietary Booster

Linux's Proprietary Booster 02/03/2003 10:14 AM
Linux Magazine talks toLarry Ellison."LM: But more realistically, do you think that Oracle's had to cede the lower end of the database market to MySQL to concentrate on the enterprise, or is that a customer base you wouldn't reach anyway?ELLISON: No. It's a little bit like asking if we are worried about people who pirate Oracle. The people who pirate Oracle are not the people who would buy our database. The people who use MySQL are not the people who would buy our database. They don't have

Red Hat Linux is proprietary, claims Sun
boss

Red Hat Linux is proprietary, claims Sun
boss 05/02/2004 02:01 PM

Will Open Source Be Forced To Go
Proprietary?

Will Open Source Be Forced To Go
Proprietary? 12/11/2003 05:03 PM

Open source vs proprietary: Both have
advantages

Open source vs proprietary: Both have
advantages 05/27/2004 12:19 AM
ZDNet Australia May 27 2004 4:24AM GMT

Proprietary vs. open source, part 2

Proprietary vs. open source, part 2 05/14/2004 01:37 PM
ZDNet May 14 2004 5:12PM GMT

Note To Apple: Proprietary Is Good

Note To Apple: Proprietary Is Good 07/29/2004 06:29 PM
It's important to consider two multi-billion industries that have thrived despite their proprietary technologies: printer cartridges and videogames. By Lisa DiCarlo, Forbes (via MyAppleMenu)

Reducing Dependence on Proprietary
Systems

Reducing Dependence on Proprietary
Systems 07/21/2004 12:42 PM

Intermec Claims RFID is Proprietary

Intermec Claims RFID is Proprietary 07/08/2004 09:05 PM

Telephony Battle: Open Vs. Proprietary

Telephony Battle: Open Vs. Proprietary 06/05/2005 10:58 PM
Silicon Valley is fast moving into the world of telephony, and it is dragging the contest between open and proprietary code along with it.

Proprietary, paperless e-voting is
failing -- and selling

Proprietary, paperless e-voting is
failing -- and selling 05/03/2004 03:48 AM
Computer security experts are hoping a California election systems panel's recent rejection of embittered voting machine-maker Diebold's touch screen systems, among other legislative attempts and media-covered machine mess-ups, might lead to an embrace of paper backups and open source.

Linus Defends Proprietary File Formats

Linus Defends Proprietary File Formats 04/13/2005 02:30 PM

Microsoft Partially Opens Proprietary
XML Format

Microsoft Partially Opens Proprietary
XML Format 03/25/2005 11:53 AM

Intel, Partners To Develop Proprietary
UWB Spec

Intel, Partners To Develop Proprietary
UWB Spec 02/18/2004 10:38 PM
Frustrated by an impasse in the IEEE standards body, Intel Corp. and its partners have decided to pull out of the standards organization and develop their own version of ultrawideband technology.

Open-Source Developers Close In on
Proprietary Vendors

Open-Source Developers Close In on
Proprietary Vendors 04/05/2005 10:21 PM
Open-source vendors of enterprise application software will have competitive advantages over established proprietary license vendors, especially in the SMB field, says Larry Augustin, CEO of Medsphere Systems, during the Open Source Business Conference.

China May Drop Controversial Proprietary
Wi-Fi Security Requirement

China May Drop Controversial Proprietary
Wi-Fi Security Requirement 04/21/2004 05:02 PM
News.com's Richard Shim breaks the news that China might drop its requirement for foreign manufacturers to use a new, proprietary Wi-Fi security spec for products sold in that country: Shim's initial report provides no detail beyond the headline. China has said that Wi-Fi devices sold in the country after June 1 must include the WAPI (Wireless Authentication and Privacy Infrastructure) security system, which is proprietary to China, and can only be included in products by a handful of Chinese firms with which foreign companies must partner. Many U.S. firms objected and the Bush administration also stood up to bat. It's possible the WAPI action would have violated WTO rules, as well....

Azul leads wave of proprietary server
startups.

Azul leads wave of proprietary server
startups. 09/24/2004 10:10 PM
EE Times: Azul leads wave of proprietary server startups. Quite strange.

Tainted love: proprietary drivers and
the Linux kernel

Tainted love: proprietary drivers and
the Linux kernel 04/28/2004 08:55 AM
As reported on Slashdot and elsewhere, Linux kernel hackers have discovered that some proprietary modules running on the Linux kernel have been "lying" about their licensing. Doing so allows those modules to pass the automated license test done when they are loaded and thus escape the "tainted kernel" messages the loader would otherwise produce. NewsForge has gone behind the scenes and spoken to Linus Torvalds and the CEO of one of the firms providing proprietary modules for Linux to learn more about this story.

HOWTO de-obfuscate proprietary Sony
Network Walkman files

HOWTO de-obfuscate proprietary Sony
Network Walkman files 04/10/2005 02:56 PM
Cory Doctorow: Waider sez, "I've spent some time over the past fortnight unravelling Sony's obfuscated MP3 file format as used on the Network Walkman device I have, and probably others in the same product range. The URL has a full writeup that should allow folk to roll their own code - I've already got command-line tools to load, list and unload the device under Linux, and I've made a first pass at a plugin for XMMS to allow you to play files straight off the device. Note, this isn't ATRAC - it's obfuscated MP3."

* The file starts with a 4-byte signature, "WMMP"

* Next is a 4-byte longword giving the total file-size in bytes. This includes the file header, i.e. it's exactly what you'd see displayed in a directory listing of the file.

* Next is the duration of the track in milliseconds, again in a 4-byte longword.

* The third 4-byte longword gives the number of frames in the file. If you're trying to write a file to the device using your own code, I recommend ripping bits out of XMMS or mp3info to get this number, as I had difficulty locating a library that would calculate it without actually decoding the entire file.

* There are 16 bytes of magic: there's the 0x08 0x9f 0x9e 0xff sequence that occurs in the PBLIST file, followed by 0x01, and padded out to 16 bytes with 0x00. I've no idea what any of this is but it seems unchanging.

* The rest of the file is the obfuscated MP3 data, with no ID3 frames - strip those out before you encode or your file will not play in the device.

See, this is why DRM is doomed: some guy spends a couple weeks' spare time picking apart a file-format for the intellectual challenge, and then your system is irrevocably, totally, permanently b0rked. Sucks to be a DRM engineer: how do they sleep nights, anyway? Link (Thanks, Waider!)

AuctionWagon Inc Releases Second
Generation of Proprietary eBay
Consignment System to Public

AuctionWagon Inc Releases Second
Generation of Proprietary eBay
Consignment System to Public 06/24/2005 03:15 PM
AuctionWagon (www.auctionwagon.com), the world's first independent eBay consignment store, announced that it is releasing the second generation of its proprietary eBay drop-ff consignment system Store Manager Pro to the public today at the eBay Live! 2005 convention in San Jose. [PRWEB Jun 23, 2005]

Is Intel Building Copy Protected
Proprietary File Sharing System Into
Chips?

Is Intel Building Copy Protected
Proprietary File Sharing System Into
Chips? 03/30/2005 05:20 PM
This Reuters story is quite confusing, so hopefully more details are forthcoming that will explain what's really happening. The story claims that Intel has teamed up with media giant Bertelsmann to build chips that are "compatible with" Bertelsmann's new file sharing app. Bertelsmann announced that application last week, and it sounds basically like any other entertainment industry-approved file sharing app. It's not really about file sharing, but creating a broadcast distribution mechanism with a tollbooth. So why is Intel getting involved? That's not clear at all. Does this mean the file sharing system, as currently developed, doesn't work on Intel chips? That seems highly unlikely. What would it be working on? Does it mean that Intel is re-architecting its chips to include this proprietary copy-protected file sharing system at the chip level? That also seems highly unlikely (or, if true, highly disturbing). Intel (and others) make the chips on which all different kinds of applications can run. They shouldn't be favoring one type of application or building it in at the chip level. If anything, this is probably just a marketing relationship, where Intel may be tossing in a bit of help with designing the software. However, it still seems like a strange announcement.

Triton Opens Proprietary Intellectual
Property 'Triton Standard' to Public
Domain

Triton Opens Proprietary Intellectual
Property 'Triton Standard' to Public
Domain 07/20/2004 11:30 AM
Belga Direct Press Releases Jul 20 2004 3:04PM GMT

MIV Therapeutics Reports Successful
Progress of Animal Studies on
Proprietary Hydroxyapatite Coating

MIV Therapeutics Reports Successful
Progress of Animal Studies on
Proprietary Hydroxyapatite Coating 04/19/2005 09:29 AM
BC Technology Apr 19 2005 1:32PM GMT
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In defense of proprietary software

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