In article <46a8cc41@news.nucleus.com>,
"Colin B." <cbigam@somewhereelse.nucleus.com> wrote:

> In comp.security.misc plenty560@yahoo.com wrote:
> > Hi folks,
> >
> > Has anybody here ever built OpenOffice from sources, or know of
> > someone who has recently, who can say that doing so is possible?
> >
> > I ask because I am curious as to whether I should be trusting
> > the binaries coming from Sun.
> >
> > After all, it seems that so many big US corporations are
> > eager to cave in to the demands of the NSA or RIAA/MPAA.
> > I have to wonder whether OO maybe has spyware in
> > the binary download that is not in the source code download.
> > AT&T, Comcast, etc... why would Sun be any less unethical?
>
> One could dismiss this as paranoid trolling or ranting. However, I'll
> take it as a serious question.
>
> First of all, you're blurring the difference between software companies
> and service providers. AT&T, Comcast, etc., don't provide software--they
> just sell service.

Actually, most ISPs *do* provide software, typically to brand browsers
with the ISP's name ("Internet Explorer powered by Comcast", or
something like that) or configure network settings (default home page,
SMTP/POP servers, etc.) automatically. Use of it is generally optional,
but lots of newbies don't realize that and dutifully install the ISP's
CD.

--
Barry Margolin, barmar@alum.mit.edu
Arlington, MA
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