Pat Wilbur

Mailing List Notes for 2-23-05.

Mailing List: cgl_discussion (Carrier Grade Linux @ OSDL)

This list was a disappointment, because there has only been one post this entire month (which I confirmed at their archive), and it was a scam artist attempting a hoax to steal Paypal users' account names and passwords.

Mailing List: kismet-wireless-security (Techie Security List @ KismetWireless)

No activity at all since I joined, and I was unable to view any archives because they don't provide any for this specific list. As a result, I also joined the more-general
kismet-wireless list.

Mailing List: kismet-wiresless (General Kismet List @ KistmetWireless)

1. On average how many messages are there per day?
There's only approximately 1 message per day.

2. Are there many different people posting or just a few?
There are only about 12 people that have mentioned anyone so far, but no one is currently dominating the posts.

3. What were some of the major topics?
Besides the usual “How do I get this to work on my card since I didn't read the readme file and don't know which driver to specify for my card?” posts, and the “I just got a new pda, so, where's the readme for my model?” posts, the major topic was concerning the ZipIt that came out on the market just recently. The ZipIt is a wireless instant messenger device that claims to be the solution to everyone's connectivity issues, as if cell phones and TXT messaging weren't already popular and as if people would prefer to only be connected during those lengthy times of the day when the average person happens to get wireless reception that's open to the public. Anyway, the talk was about the possibility of porting Kismet to that device, or setting up a driver for its hardware if it was already running embedded linux which has been suspected but not yet confirmed.

4. What was the topic on the list that interested you the most?
The topic conerning the possibility for a Kismet port on something as innoccent as an instant messaging device.

5. Are the back issues of the list archived?
Yes.

6. Where can you join the list?
http://www.kismetwireless.net

7. Can the average user understand the topics on this list?
This list is mostly concerned with installing and operating Kismet, and rarely discusses anything beyond that, so the majority of the list is suitable for a beginner user/hacker/equivalent.

8. Who should join this list?
Anyone interested in hearing about new features that may be implemented in Kismet, anyone interested in installing and using kismet, and anyone interested in operating Kismet on various handhelds, devices, and awkward platforms.

9. Do new users post a lot of questions?
Yes.

10.How are new users treated on the list?

All new users are treated very well. They're very welcome to ask any question without ridicule, even if it is already covered in complete detail in the readme.

2005-02-23T12:02:26