I placed this note in the public folder of one of the Local Area Networked (LAN) PCs in the school unit where I spent most of my time from 2003-2007. That was in 2004. Back in those days, there was huge excitement about Microsoft and the Business Software Alliance doing raids (with the help of the National Bureau of Investigation) on Internet cafés and schools. Any PC found with pirated Microsoft Windows was to be confiscated and fined PhP100,000.00—each pirated software title installed in the PC would have gotten you fined PhP100,000.00. Needless to say, most school PC operating systems transformed from pirated Windows 98/XP to Bayanihan Linux (the government promoted distro) overnight. Some people made a killing selling cheap OEM Microsoft XP Home Edition (without the accompanying new PCs). The bad news was those PCs installed with Linux couldn't update their software through the Internet and some software didn't work. It made Linux "suck more" in their eyes. Here's the reason (posted for historical purposes only—things might have gone for the better since then—hopefully—but I doubt it):
FOR THE ORDINARY NETWORK USER:
This folder contains bits and pieces on Linux. Some distros too—the single CD ones. So try them out—in case the Business Software Alliance and the National Bureuau of Investigation's raid announcements finally made you decide to try open source software.
Really, Linux—by definition—is a platform that gives you freedom and choice. But this freedom can only be truly realized in a network free from proprietary shackles.
But, if you are going to use Linux on this network, remember this network has barriers to serious use of open source software—Microsoft and censorship.
The Microsoft Way
In order to access the Internet, this network's LAN users are made to pass through Microsoft's NTLM (New Technology Lan Manager) authentication scheme on a web proxy server that uses Windows NT. NTLM is Microsoft's proprietary way of identifying a network user (just a little better than 'basic,' but inferior to 'digest'—whatever those mean).
Because Linux and other non-M$ software refuse to bend over for Micro$oft they usually fail NTLM authentication.
With NTLM authentication, only Internet Explorer, Windows Update and software with built-in NTLM support can get through the Internet. Which means a lot of Linux software are broken on this one weird bottleneck.
Here are some of the Linux software/services that are normally useless on this network.
Open source, by definition, means work in continuous improvement, which means there should be a viable mechanism for updating it. Microsoft's NTLM authentication denies you this.
This crippling of Linux makes it less attractive to potential users. And this defeats the purpose of Open Source—freedom from Microsoft's greed and low-quality 'solutions'. Hence da Catch 22 chacha: You want us to be free from Microsoft but you favor Microsoft. Ano ba talaga, Big Brother?
So what's the point in using Linux if the network is rigged in favor of Microsoft?
Case in point: Preginet announced that NTP (network time protocol) is available through their servers so we can always have accurate time even if our hardware clocks are broken. They even posted howto's in their website. However, following their howto's won't make your NTP services work—not even in Windows(TM). Why? You guessed it: NTLM authentication or a very aggressive router/firewall. Which brings us to...
Anti-Research Censorship
Another purpose defeated is the highly touted rationale for this network: research. What kind of research can you do when your keywords are screened and you can't even search for even mundane topics like teenage pregnancy (because it contains 'teenage') and peacocks (because it has 'cocks')? The network uses some sort of 'badword filter' to achieve this.
We are grateful for the Internet access and all. But users should not be treated like children. We are grown-ups. We are not sex maniacs. Just adults with the usual 'libidinosity' ('libidinous curiosity'—and don't tell me you don't have it). Neither are we malicious computer hackers. We know we must protect the network, but we should do it without crippling normally expected Internet services.
One day I tried to download a PDF book dealing with the future of open source. Try as I might, I could not download it. It's title was "How Open Is The Future"—it's filename was howopenisthefuture.pdf ...
How open is the future? If it must pass through this kind of network censorship, you got your answer.
Grant us Three
The ordinary networked user just needs three things from the network managers:
FOR THE ORDINARY NETWORK USER:
This folder contains bits and pieces on Linux. Some distros too—the single CD ones. So try them out—in case the Business Software Alliance and the National Bureuau of Investigation's raid announcements finally made you decide to try open source software.
Really, Linux—by definition—is a platform that gives you freedom and choice. But this freedom can only be truly realized in a network free from proprietary shackles.
But, if you are going to use Linux on this network, remember this network has barriers to serious use of open source software—Microsoft and censorship.
The Microsoft Way
In order to access the Internet, this network's LAN users are made to pass through Microsoft's NTLM (New Technology Lan Manager) authentication scheme on a web proxy server that uses Windows NT. NTLM is Microsoft's proprietary way of identifying a network user (just a little better than 'basic,' but inferior to 'digest'—whatever those mean).
Because Linux and other non-M$ software refuse to bend over for Micro$oft they usually fail NTLM authentication.
With NTLM authentication, only Internet Explorer, Windows Update and software with built-in NTLM support can get through the Internet. Which means a lot of Linux software are broken on this one weird bottleneck.
Here are some of the Linux software/services that are normally useless on this network.
- Update/install–Fedora's package update, Ubuntu's Apt-Get and Synaptic, Bayanihan Linux's KPackage ...
- Web Browsers–Opera, Konqueror, Links ...
- File transfer–Bittorrent, KGet, WGet, Casablanca, various GNUtella clients like Limewire ...
- Instant messaging–Gaim, GnomeMeeting, Kopete, Yahoo Messenger for Linux ...
- IRC–Konversation, KSirc, Xchat ...
- Newsreaders–RSSOwl, Pan, AKgregator ...
- etc (never mind mail services, VoIP, webcam, and remote access software because the ordinary users just logon to YahooMail, GMail, Hotmail, and Eudora)
Open source, by definition, means work in continuous improvement, which means there should be a viable mechanism for updating it. Microsoft's NTLM authentication denies you this.
This crippling of Linux makes it less attractive to potential users. And this defeats the purpose of Open Source—freedom from Microsoft's greed and low-quality 'solutions'. Hence da Catch 22 chacha: You want us to be free from Microsoft but you favor Microsoft. Ano ba talaga, Big Brother?
So what's the point in using Linux if the network is rigged in favor of Microsoft?
Case in point: Preginet announced that NTP (network time protocol) is available through their servers so we can always have accurate time even if our hardware clocks are broken. They even posted howto's in their website. However, following their howto's won't make your NTP services work—not even in Windows(TM). Why? You guessed it: NTLM authentication or a very aggressive router/firewall. Which brings us to...
Anti-Research Censorship
Another purpose defeated is the highly touted rationale for this network: research. What kind of research can you do when your keywords are screened and you can't even search for even mundane topics like teenage pregnancy (because it contains 'teenage') and peacocks (because it has 'cocks')? The network uses some sort of 'badword filter' to achieve this.
We are grateful for the Internet access and all. But users should not be treated like children. We are grown-ups. We are not sex maniacs. Just adults with the usual 'libidinosity' ('libidinous curiosity'—and don't tell me you don't have it). Neither are we malicious computer hackers. We know we must protect the network, but we should do it without crippling normally expected Internet services.
One day I tried to download a PDF book dealing with the future of open source. Try as I might, I could not download it. It's title was "How Open Is The Future"—it's filename was howopenisthefuture.pdf ...
How open is the future? If it must pass through this kind of network censorship, you got your answer.
Grant us Three
The ordinary networked user just needs three things from the network managers:
- Enable Linux Update mechanisms (to keep even with Windows Update)—and if you want it the easy way, stop using Windows NT Server;
- Enable Network Time Protocol; and
- Stop screening our keywords like we were children or worse, criminals. The current content filtering is inimical to research and has no place in an institution that takes pride in its being progressive.
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