[tlug] Skype & PaX

[David J Iannucci <jlinux@example.com>]

Just noticed that a very new (at least version number very advanced)
skype 4.0.0.7 has recently appeared in portage (Gentoo's package mgt
system). First reaction is surprise: since MSFT bought Skype last year,
I've thought that this foreshadowed the death (or at least stasis) of
the Linux client. Happy to see apparent progress, and if it is really a
sign that (haven't tried the thing yet) they are unifying the codebases
across platforms, even better.

One thing about this new version is that it has a USE (read: config)
flag to enable "paxmarking of the binary". I looked up PaX - sounds like
a good thing, on quick skim of Wikipedia page. But it looks kinda
dead-ish. Checked my kernel config - no items containing the string
/pax/. Is this relevant any more? Is it only relevant to SE or
"hardened" distros? If it's a dead thing, I wonder why it suddenly
appears as a build option for a brand new Skype client....

Dave