January 20, 2021
by sjvn01
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Elastic changes open-source license to monetize cloud-service use

Elastic is tackling Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) with its new license change. When Elastic, makers of the open-source search and analytic engine Elasticsearch and its companion data visualization dashboard Kibana, announced it was moving both programs’ source code from the Apache 2.0-license to the Server Side Public License (SSPL) and the Elastic License, you might have thought, “Who cares?” Oh, but if you use the Elasticsearch, Logstash, and Kibana (ELK) stack on the cloud, like Netflix, LinkedIn, Walmart, and thousands of other major companies do, you may end up caring a lot.

Elastic changes open-source license to monetize cloud-service use More>

January 19, 2021
by sjvn01
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Parler, the right-wing social network is dead, but a zombie webpage remains

After Amazon Web Services (AWS) Amazon Web Services (AWS) shut down the right-wing social network Parler, Parler CEO John Matze claimed Parler will be back with “many competing for our business.” Well. No. That didn’t turn out to be the case. But, a simple one-page Parler website is up and running on an Epik-hosted server.

Epik is a tiny, approximately 50 employees, domain registrar, and web hosting company based in Bellevue, Washington. It’s best known for hosting fake-news, far-right and neo-Nazi websites such as InfoWars, Gab, and The Daily Stormer.

Curiously, Epik officially denied having any “contact or discussions with Parler in any form regarding our organization becoming their registrar or hosting provider: on January 11, 2021. A whois search reveals, however, that on that same day, Epik became Parler’s internet domain registry.

In its statement, though, Epik also denounced the “kneejerk reaction” of major companies “deplatforming and terminating any relationship that on the surface looks problematic or controversial.” Besides AWS, Apple and Google removed the Parler smartphone client. As Matze himself has said on Fox News, no one wants to work with Parler after Amazon dropped the company. Matze concluded, bringing Parler back up is “basically impossible.”

Parler’sIP address itself is owned by DDoS-Guard. This Russian-owned company also hosts QAnon, 8chan, and the terrorist group Hamas. According to security expert Brian Krebs, “A review of the several thousand websites hosted by DDoS-Guard … includes a vast number of phishing sites and domains tied to cybercrime services or forums online.”

An image, purporting to show Parler’s server hardware requirements, shows the social network needs a minimum of 11,680 virtual CPUs; an internal network capable of dealing with at least 300 Gigabits per second (Gbps); and an internet connection that can handle 100 Gbps. That is well beyond Epik’s capabilities. To bring Parler back as it was would require the support of a major cloud provider.

Bringing up a one-page website, however, is trivial.

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January 19, 2021
by sjvn01
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Ethical-source movement opens new open-source organization

Ethical-source licenses, such as the Hippocratic License, have not been widely adopted. True, the Contributor Covenant, the first and most popular open-source project code of conduct has had success — it was adopted by the Linux kernel developers, but actual code ethical-source licenses have had a hard row to hoe. Today, seeking more users, there’s a new nonprofit group, the Organization for Ethical Source (OES).

Ethical-source movement opens new open-source organization More>

October 3, 2020
by sjvn01
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Would we even know if Trump were dying?

I only cover health and politics when they intersect with technology. But, boy do I know how to listen to press conferences to separate the wheat from the chaff. So, after listening to Trump’s doctor Sean Conley press conference, I can say:

Conley’s lying. If Trump is “slightly overweight,” I’m fashion model thin. If he’s going to lie about something so obviously untrue, nothing else he says can be taken seriously.

Trump’s been on oxygen. He may still be. Conley’s lousy at dodging questions and it really showed up on this point.

They knew he had COVID at least two days before Trump admitted it. Had he not come down with symptoms, it seems clear they’d never have admitted to it.

Conley dodged basic questions on: When was his last negative test? Has the president had lung damage? How was he infected, and when? What was his fever temperature?

So much for reporting, now for some analysis:

We need honest reports from the Water Reed doctors in charge of his care. Conley’s unreliable. For all we know, Trump could be declining.

I won’t be shocked if during this weekend Pence takes over as acting president. If he does, it will be because Trump is on a ventilator or otherwise completely incapacitated. I cannot see Trump giving up power unless he’s totally incapable of wielding it.

P.S. CNN’s Chief WH Correspondent, Jim Acosta, just reported “The WH TV pool just received this quote from ‘a source familiar with the President’s health <sjvn: Probably Mark Meadows>…; – ‘The President’s vitals over last 24 hours were very concerning and the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care. We are still not on a clear path to a full recovery.'”

P.P.S. If he’s really well why isn’t he tweeting?

Practical Technology

for practical people.

Elastic changes open-source license to monetize cloud-service use

Ethical-source movement opens new open-source organization

Would we even know if Trump were dying?