Which OS (Operating Systeym) do you think is best (Page 5) (Post deleted by oldskoolPunk )  the real slim DEEPy: i use various windows os'es and ,linux mint. i have used others in the past, but the hardware i have best interfaces with various windows os'es. when manufacturers dont open-source drivers, linux is useless (Edited by the real slim DEEPy) the real slim DEEPy: on the same hand, pc manufacturers have problems with early gen drivers for new windows versions, perhaps even service packs- because windows is very secretive about the underlying windows code (Edited by the real slim DEEPy)  lostnthenight: Valve has been investing in making linux games, hopefully nvidia gets their butt in gear with drivers....  lori100: The NSA Has Inserted Its Code Into Android OS topinfopost.com Security-Enhanced Android: NSA Edition Tech giants listed as part of the National Security Agency’s Prism spying program have gone to some lengths to convince the world they aren’t in bed with the U.S. government. Google (GOOG) has filed a request with the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act court asking permission to disclose more information about the government’s data requests. So there’s a certain irony that NSA programmers are now refining code that Google has approved for the company’s mobile operating system, Android. Google spokeswoman Gina Scigliano confirms that the company has already inserted some of the NSA’s programming in Android OS. “All Android code and contributors are publicly available for review at source.android.com,” Scigliano says, declining to comment further. Through its open-source Android project, Google has agreed to incorporate code, first developed by the agency in 2011, into future versions of its mobile operating system, which according to market researcher IDC runs on three-quarters of the smartphones shipped globally in the first quarter. NSA officials say their code, known as Security Enhancements for Android, isolates apps to prevent hackers and marketers from gaining access to personal or corporate data stored on a device. Eventually all new phones, tablets, televisions, cars, and other devices that rely on Android will include NSA code, agency spokeswoman Vanee’ Vines said in an e-mailed statement. NSA researcher Stephen Smalley, who works on the program, says, “Our goal is to raise the bar in the security of commodity mobile devices.” In a 2011 presentation obtained by Bloomberg Businessweek, Smalley listed among the benefits of the program that it’s “normally invisible to users.” The program’s top goal, according to that presentation: “Improve our understanding of Android security.” Vines wouldn’t say whether the agency’s work on Android and other software is part of or helps with Prism. “The source code is publicly available for anyone to use, and that includes the ability to review the code line by line,” she said in her statement. Most of the NSA’s suggested additions to the operating system can already be found buried in Google’s latest release—on newer devices including Sony’s (SNE) Xperia Z, HTC’s (2498:TT) One, and Samsung Electronics’ (005930:KS) Galaxy S4. Although the features are not turned on by default, according to agency documentation, future versions will be. In May the Pentagon approved the use of smartphones and tablets that run Samsung’s mobile enterprise software, Knox, which also includes NSA programming, the company wrote in a June white paper. Sony, HTC, and Samsung declined to comment. “Apple (AAPL) does not accept source code from any government agencies for any of our operating systems or other products,” says Kristin Huguet, a spokeswoman for the company. It’s not known if any other proprietary operating systems are using NSA code. SE for Android is an offshoot of a long-running NSA project called Security-Enhanced Linux. That code was integrated a decade ago into the main version of the open-source operating system, the server platform of choice for Internet leaders including Google, Facebook (FB), and Yahoo! (YHOO). Jeff Zemlin, the executive director of the Linux Foundation, says the NSA didn’t add any obvious means of eavesdropping. “This code was peer-reviewed by a lot of people,” he says.  Admiral Gnral Aladin: This is the beauty of open source software: The source code is open, and you get an enormous amount of peer-review. Now how about iOS, or Window Phone? It's binary and a lot harder to do any peer-review. How do you know they have no NSA shit? Simply because you trust their spokesperson? Additionally, NSA works on many things, such as securing their own servers. This is how they contribute to Linux SE (security enhanced). Not every NSA code is evil. They can be evil, which is why we need the beautiful opensource platform to peer-review the shit. In conclusion, since this is opensource (like Android, Linux..etc), the odds of having something nasty that is still not discovered is a lot lower than if the software is closed sourcecode (like iOS/WP). lori100: The NSA has an agenda, and it is certainly NOT protecting personal and corporate info from hackers when NSA is the hacker themselves.... Admiral Gnral Aladin: It does have a number of agendas. A subset of such agendas are against public interest (such as breaching privacy). This means a subset of their actions are against public interests too. But that does NOT mean that ALL of their actions are against public interest. Sometimes, you know, they public good code to opensource software. And thanks to such open platform, there is a massive peer-review that would increase the probability of public awareness should there be any backdoor.  greentea1967: Tired of paying Microsoft. Switched to Linux Open Source and free. Linux Mint and Ubuntu are easy to use and free to download. Thousands of open source free programs to download and run. No viruses or crashes. You can donate to keep them going. oldskoolPunk: Windows 8 is awesome on modern touch enabled devices. I love it. If your using a 4 year old dinosaur desktop I would recommend sticking with 7  in2tronix: For a OS that will still be fast after years of running and worry free Security, Linux all the way. But .... .... You still need a windows box just to take advantages of all PC Games created. So windows 8 & Debain Linux  PuppYofDoom: win 7/vista 64 bit hands down..... i like linux for making small pcs some theaters, controls for appliances, i do not however like how easy it is to jailbreak those same devices. i love direct x too much. so ima windows man. | Technology Chat Room Similar Conversations |
