Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!decwrl!waikato.ac.nz!canterbury!chem194 From: chem194@csc.canterbury.ac.nz (John Davis) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.applications Subject: Re: Kickstart 2.0 Message-ID: <1991Apr26.121524.510@csc.canterbury.ac.nz> Date: 26 Apr 91 00:15:24 GMT References: <1292@screamer.csee.usf.edu> <1991Apr22.084438.1975@rulway.LeidenUniv.nl> <47663@ut-emx.uucp> Organization: Chem Dept, U of Cant, ChCh NZ Lines: 32 In article <47663@ut-emx.uucp>, greg@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Greg Harp) writes: > Here's a thought: What if some joker took it upon theirself to hack around > the release a bit and possibly create an "OS-virus" of sorts? The ab20 > archive is great, but FTP sites are _not_ secure. Once the OS was on ab20, it'd be simple enough for the site administrator to change the protection on the file to read-only, stopping any attempts to put up a changed version in it's place. Of course there are other reasons CBM may not wish to do this (one of them would be the issue of how they release the documentation - without the manuals the OS is useless, also there's the question of what happens once the OS is _off_ that controlled site and on public BBS's) > Besides, I still think it would hurt the professional image of Commodore to > release something as important as an OS in such a haphazard way. Face it, > if C='s professional image starts sinking again we're in trouble. Releasing upgrades via ftp doesn't seem to worry Apple, and I wouldn't call them 'non-professional' (I've got _much_ better adjectives reserved for them:-). Having the latest release of the OS readily available is a very good idea after all, as it helps avoid people complaining about the machine crashing due to running old (buggy) releases, if anything it _improves_ their professional image (as they're seen to be dedicated to providing the best possible support to their users). ----------------------------------------------------------- | o John Davis - CHEM194@canterbury.ac.nz o | | o (Depart)mental Programmer,Chemistry Department o | | o University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand o |