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Alsup givith and Alsup taketh away.

Judge Alsup for Supreme Court of the United States. He seems to be the only lawyer who understands how patents are supposed to work.

...most people would not understand what I am talking about.

It does not matter whether it is Widevine CDM, HTML 5 standards, Trusted Computing or something else.

Most people roll their eyes, when I mention freedom, privacy, and rights in the context of electronics. They often say, "Let them track me. I am not doing anything wrong." or "I need this for work." or "I don't care how it works. Just make it work." They slowly accept their freedom crumbling away.

The general populace is not impressed by:

-Examples where people are stopped or pulled over to have their phones searched.
-By police raids based on incorrect information upon users of IP addresses.
-By illegal seizures of bank accounts.
-By texts used as courtroom evidence on a daily basis.
-By people who are rendered unemployable, stalked, or killed over social media content.

and many more stark examples of their rights being violated.

While I am a true believer in Richard Stallman's wisdom, I find it disheartening to work toward compelling the ignorant masses to do what is in their own best interest. Unfortunately, many seem to be perpetually immune to common sense.

Nonexistent? I beg to differ.

Did they? There's little doubt, and even some sly statements, but did they actually admit it?

Not officially, but by multiple orchestrated "leaks" of details to the media. They certainly did not follow the usual "neither confirm nor deny" approach. See NY Times June 1, 2012
.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06...

https://www.theregister.co.uk/...
https://arstechnica.com/tech-p...

https://arstechnica.com/tech-p...

http://www.sos.la.gov/Pages/Ne...

"The Presidentâ(TM)s Commission has quickly politicized its work by asking states for an incredible amount of voter data that I have, time and time again, refused to release," Schedler (R-La.)Âsaid in a statement. "My response to the Commission is, you're not going to play politics with Louisiana's voter data, and if you are, then you can purchase the limited public information available by law to any candidate running for office. Thatâ(TM)s it."

Hey wait up, what about this https://itunes.apple.com/au/ap... taking into account this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... or this https://play.google.com/store/... taking into account this https://arstechnica.com/inform.... So basically just another way to fuck over prior to windows anal probe 10 users who did not default to NTFS because apparently M$ fucking lie onedrive works with a whole bunch of file systems, just not particular M$ file systems.

Little bit more info and slightly better photo (along with that shadowed one) here
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/07/red-teases-a-modular-1600-titanium-android-phone-with-a-3d-screen/
Not sure what a "phonedog" is, but if it's what I think then I don't want the phone back...

Something more like THIS https://arstechnica.com/gaming... :D

Something like this is my guess:

https://arstechnica.com/securi...

having an internet connection is not a right.

It is enough of a right that the supreme court ruled Social networking website bans for past sexual offenders unconstitutional.

Germany... underwater energy storage

Huh, but you think Russia is so innocent?

What about Putin's e-mails, huh? And I heard that he's trying to create a No-Fly Zone in Syria! That could lead to World War III!!

The utility conglomerates are worried about local generation of electricity - and they're getting help from Rick Perry. https://arstechnica.com/tech-p... Look for a lot more "stupid" like this.

Yeah...about that: https://arstechnica.com/security/2017/03/google-takes-symantec-to-the-woodshed-for-mis-issuing-30000-https-certs/.

AC "How the CIA infects air-gapped networks" (6/23/2017)
https://arstechnica.com/securi...
Shattered Assurance, Emotional Simian, Brutal Kangaroo, EZCheese, Lachesis.

Holy strawman, Batman! Either way, most people barely have any choice especially if you want service faster than 10 mbps.

At the FCC's 25Mbps download/3Mbps upload broadband standard, there are no ISPs at all in 30 percent of developed census blocks and only one offering service that fast in 48 percent of the blocks. About 55 percent of census blocks have no 100Mbps/10Mbps providers, and only about 10 percent have multiple options at that speed.

At the 10Mbps/1Mbps threshold—which captures slower DSL technology in addition to cable and fiber—about 90 percent of census blocks have at least two providers. These numbers exclude satellite, which is available nearly everywhere but has high latency and often low data caps.

Even these numbers overstate the amount of competition, because an ISP might offer service to only part of a census block. The percentage of households with choice is thus even lower.

https://arstechnica.com/inform...

From the story presented in the links.
"The intelligence captured ... specific instructions on the operation’s audacious objectives"
Why would anyone interesting risk talking over any insecure network?
Who talks on the phone or sends interesting orders down a network the USA sold another nation? Or any network that is at risk by the GCHQ, NSA or CIA?
"Hackers with ties to .... intelligence services"?
What ties? The data walked out thanks to a domestic staff member.
"To guard against leaks, subsequent meetings in the Situation Room followed the same protocols as planning sessions for the ..."
We are really reading about this secret online so soon?
"that ... was working to elect ... "
People all over the USA went to free elections and voted for a candidate they wanted and who could give great speeches in their states.
Want to win a US election? Find a presentable candidate who has the energy and charm to win in more states.
Re ' It was a case that took almost no time to solve, traced to the ... through cyber-forensics"
Nations that have such easy to find malware code litter issues don't hack.
An ip range, time of day, malware thats been in the wild for years and is in use by many people is not "cyber-forensics".
Any language use can be left as a fake trail for private sector "cyber-forensics" to find.
The US efforts showed "Marble" libraries include code used to obfuscate " with the add foreign languages option(4/3/2017)
https://arstechnica.com/securi...
Re "... is a remarkably elusive target." "extreme precautions to guard against surveillance" but we just had " specific instructions on the operation’s audacious objectives"?
Funny how the story has the order that really needed to be kept more secret been transmitted down the not very secure US export grade hardware network?

Someone in the USA walked out with some documents and gave it to the waiting media.
The US saw another Pentagon Papers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
"Julian Assange: 'A lot more material' coming on US elections" (July 27, 2016)
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/07...
""Perhaps one day the source or sources will step forward and that might be an interesting moment some people may have egg on their faces."

" a clandestine hand-off in a wooded area near American University with one of the email sources "
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new...
"The leakers' motivation was 'disgust at the corruption..."

they'll blame it on their migration to git as a way to tarnish linus' name, not the fact they used windows shit server 2k13 to host it on.

Then just build a series of wireless towers to the site. At some location with good optical and a selection of providers, build a tower.
Build more towers as needed to get some network to the off grid site.
Think of security and power needs too.

"How a group of neighbors created their own Internet service" (11/2/2015,)
https://arstechnica.com/inform...

In the civilized world (UK for example) you are prohibited from lying in your advertisements. For example Apple once claimed to sell the most powerful desktop computer, and was promptly fined and ordered to cancel their advertising campaign because of lies.

http://archive.arstechnica.com...

A number of years ago, when trying to get universities to outsource their email to gmail, google promised they wouldn't be scanning email for analytics, advertising, and tracking.

They flat-out lied the entire time:

https://arstechnica.com/tech-p...

Don't trust them.

Don't get me wrong, google has lots of handy services, but don't trust anything they say.

It legalized more over-immigration of quasi-legal stays without a visa for 6 years, then likely a path to still stay after that. It all reduces USA citizen jobs and pay. That's wrong. Look at every other country in the world and the USA is the only one that doesn't protect their own people.

WTF are you talking about? TFA doesn't talk about H1B at all but rather about 'startup visa' for foreign investors.

In order to qualify, a foreign entrepreneur has to raise at least $250,000 from well-known US investors. The rule grants a stay in the US of 30 months, which can be extended for an additional 30 months. Founders can't apply for a green card during that time.

Also, don't you understand the quote above from TFA? That's what it said. No green card for founders (investors). Alternative page

Not all that cynical, really. The history of IT is filled with stories about massive Government and Military IT upgrades that either don't pan out or run severely over budget and end up cancelled or drastically scaled down. For instance, air traffic control modernization has been a big issue since the Carter administration: https://www.forbes.com/sites/m... Then there's the IRS modernization: http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/... And various military software overhauls: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12... https://arstechnica.com/inform...

WTF are you talking about?

Stephen Colbert

https://arstechnica.com/securi...

https://www.linuxjournal.com/c...

https://www.linuxjournal.com/c...

Wear with pride:
https://www.linuxjournal.com/f...

"Google, never one to compete in a market with a single product, is apparently hard at work on a third operating system after Android and Chrome OS. This one is an open source, real-time OS called "Fuchsia." ... Unlike Android and Chrome OS, Fuchsia is not based on Linux—it uses a new, Google-developed microkernel called "Magenta." With Fuchsia, Google would not only be dumping the Linux kernel, but also the GPL: the OS is licensed under a mix of BSD 3 clause, MIT, and Apache 2.0."
https://arstechnica.com/gadget...

"Unlike Android and Chrome OS, Fuchsia is not based on Linux—it uses a new, Google-developed microkernel called "Magenta." With Fuchsia, Google would not only be dumping the Linux kernel, but also the GPL: the OS is licensed under a mix of BSD 3 clause, MIT, and Apache 2.0."
https://arstechnica.com/gadget...

Nothing is hackproof but running your own email server is a sensible option if you're half way competent. Just remember to make backups.

Arstechnica had a series on how to do it and why they chose the options they did. Quite informative:

https://arstechnica.com/inform...

Recall Marble and the language samples? It had Korean. (4/3/2017)
https://arstechnica.com/securi...

Hey cool I saw you on Ars Technica. Small world bro!

https://arstechnica.com/busine...

Perhaps you missed this incident a few years where Tim Cook defended Apple's use of renewable energy?

For the better part of the last decade, Apple has taken on a number of sustainability projects and adopted practices to reduce waste and carbon emissions. In 2012, it broke ground on a data center in Oregon in order to take advantage of low-cost renewable energy and has plans to make all of its facilities reliant on green energy. It generally scores highly with EPEAT, a federal environmental group that keeps a registry of "green" digital devices. And in May 2013, it hired Lisa Jackson, who formerly ran the Environmental Protection Agency, to help Apple with sustainability.

https://arstechnica.com/apple/2014/03/at-apple-shareholders-meeting-tim-cook-tells-off-climate-change-deniers/

you can browse the web right? because it has the edge browser (you know, the most secure browser of the big 3).
sure, edge might run in a container or something similar, and those are secure, right?
better read up on the last pwn2own - https://arstechnica.com/securi...

Right, because if they didn't bother with new versions, everyone would still be on Gingerbread.

As for what they're doing about it, read up on Project Treble.

Our gov had already partly revealed these phishing attempts. Her actions were pointless.

Regarding tracking her. In addition to her online statements and other tracking, she was probably tracked down because of the small yellow dot codes on the pages.

https://arstechnica.com/securi...

The depressing thing is thinking back to how many Millennials have never used a Spatial Finder at all... like ever.

*sigh* They probably don't remember Sad Mac icons either :(

Yes, get off my lawn.

I'm with you, 100%

New Kaby Lake iMacs arrive from Apple

New iMacs will be upgradeable to 64 GB of RAM on 27-inch configurations and 32 GB RAM on the 21.5-inch models.

Does "upgradeable" merely mean ka-ching ka-ching pre-sale "configurable" at 4x street price?

If so, buh bye, sweet spot. No sale.

Once upon a time I would have trusted Ars to know the difference. These days, I'm not so sure.

Ball sports doesn't:

Require permission from a game's inventor just to start your own league. Many publishers of proprietary video games used as esports assert their exclusive right to perform their games publicly, demanding either a royalty per match or even to shut down streams entirely. See "Why Nintendo can legally shut down any Smash Bros. tournament it wants" by Kyle Orland.

I am aware that the MLB, NFL, and NBA leagues tightly control broadcasts of their matches. But they have no legal standing against broadcasts of matches of a different league playing the same sport, unlike publishers of proprietary video games. The closest thing in ball sports to the exclusive right of the publisher of a proprietary video game is probably Arena Football League's patent on the use of rebound nets in indoor gridiron football. But other indoor gridiron football leagues successfully designed around that patent, and patents expire much sooner than copyrights anyway.

"The European Commission's decision will come after a seven-year investigation into the world's most popular internet search engine was triggered by scores of complaints from both U.S. and European rivals." Most of who are fronting for the Microsoft organization. You don't have to look far to find the Micrsoft connection:

CompTIA

Computing Technology Industry Association

Initiative for a Competitive Online Marketplace (ICOMP)

Association for Competitive Technology (ACT)

FairSearch

TradeComet

'Center for the Moral Defense of Capitalism' .. that's a real organization .. spends most of the time defending MICROS~1 :)

I say go for it. Millenials and whatever the younger generations are have been screwed over by boomers. If boomers want to throw peanuts to the younger generation in exchange for something they can easily regenerate, fine, it's better than the financial vampirism they've already done to education, social security etc.

Plus, as long as you match up the blood types and keep things clean, it doesn't hurt anyone. Unlike the stem cell superstition clinics currently targeting people with more money than ability to understand medical advice.

I get your point, but no, setting up an email server today is not a trivial task. Ars did a great piece on it here. The problem (compared to just throwing Postfix on a BSD box) is convincing all the "big boys" to talk to you. While essential these days, the anti-spam restrictions are a major pain in the ass.

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/02/how-to-run-your-own-e-mail-server-with-your-own-domain-part-1/

the full desktop Windows 10 variant is coming to ARM. It will be a 64-bit version, running on Qualcomm's latest and greatest processors (probably the Snapdragon 835), ... with the ability to run not only Universal Windows Platform apps [and] regular Win32 desktop applications.

> We also produce half of the inventions that make life better and longer. Perhaps we
> would all be better off if the rest of the world was more like us, not the other way around.

Let me translate... you have half the world's patent lawyers, and they go around patenting such obvious things that the American PTO is assumed to stand for "Patenting The Obvious". E.g...
* a shopping cart "and a computer" https://arstechnica.com/tech-p...
* swinging sideways on a swing https://yro.slashdot.org/story...
* a hairstyle that allows Donald Trump to cover up his bald spot https://patentyogi.com/america...

That sounds like something Casey Neistat wanted in the Samsung Dex: the ability to use it as a regular cellphone and then plug it into a docking station or PC to continue working on the cellphone.

https://youtu.be/uOFDmbUlrT4?t=101
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/03/samsung-dex-is-a-galaxy-s8-dock-that-makes-your-phone-into-a-desktop/

This is a very simplistic rule that is quite practical.

It's a rule that was made up to solve a problem that was imagined. We should have rules that are designed for real problems. But we can only consider one rule, because of the Net Neutrality dogma.

Except it's a very real scenario: After Netflix pays Comcast, speeds improve 65%

If you wanted to talk about a real case, then why did you make up the imaginary bing.com, google.com scenario?

How about a rule that only applies providers like Comcast in monopoly or near monopoly situations? And everyone else in non-monopoly situations is free of such rules. You could even make it considerably harsher than net neutrality, to make monopolies disadvantageous. That would start to address the real issues instead of the imaginary ones.

I'd say we should have as few rules as practical

I agree. This is a very simplistic rule that is quite practical.

we shouldn't enact real rules and police them with real internet police because of some imaginary scenarios involving google.com.

Except it's a very real scenario: After Netflix pays Comcast, speeds improve 65%

But the Net Neutrality side is too dogmatic, refusing to acknowledge anyone else's interests.

Whose interests does it refuse to acknowledge? I don't understand how it could be for anything but extorting sites to fork over cash like comcast did to netflix.

Declaring anyone who doesn't agree with you a "troll" because "what about my imaginary google.com scenario" isn't really a way to have a discussion.

That's not what I'm doing at all. If you read the comments above my original, none of them are actually about net neutrality but rather political troll posts.

Lawyer who founded Prenda Law is disbarred | Ars Technica
https://arstechnica.com/tech-p...
5/22/2017, 9:21 AM

This happened almost a week ago, but this is Slashdot so, grudgingly, I'll accept our new usage of the word 'just' in this context. Arstechnica has a good article:
https://arstechnica.com/tech-p...

Unlike this Windows 10s thingy where Edge is the default browser, Bing is the default search engine - end of story.

You're talking about Windows 10 S, the special locked-down version of Windows.

We'll see how much penetration this "walled-garden" variant of Windows really gets. And people can allegedly upgrade out of it. I'm not worried that Windows S is going to force its way onto people's desktops any time soon (unless OEM's start pre-installing S on new PC's in place of Home, charging a premium for Windows Home as an option, and Pro becomes a super-premium).

On the other hand, if Windows S is directed to schools and other specialized environments that could really benefit from a locked-down system, those same schools and specialized environments might exert some pressure on Microsoft to ease up on one thing or another. If a state-wide school system, for example, is hot for Windows S but absolutely requires a legacy Firefox-only plug-in written by some teacher years ago, Microsoft can probably be persuaded to let Firefox through.

Same for the default search engine. If Bing is gonna return pr0n or Alt-Hate results, I wouldn't want that in my computer labs for 8th graders. So get Microsoft to bend a bit and set the default search engine to Wikipedia or PBS? That might sell some Windows 10 S.

If Microsoft's not willing to bend, the only people I see running Windows 10 S are beta-testers for Edge and the Windows Store. There's a locked-down system out there already that's cheaper and more mature, if anyone wants it... it's called a Chromebook.

Unlike this Windows 10s thingy where Edge is the default browser, Bing is the default search engine - end of story.

You're talking about Windows 10 S, the special locked-down version of Windows.

We'll see how much penetration this "walled-garden" variant of Windows really gets. And people can allegedly upgrade out of it. I'm not worried that Windows S is going to force its way onto people's desktops any time soon (unless OEM's start pre-installing S on new PC's in place of Home, charging a premium for Windows Home as an option, and Pro becomes a super-premium).

On the other hand, if Windows S is directed to schools and other specialized environments that could really benefit from a locked-down system, those same schools and specialized environments might exert some pressure on Microsoft to ease up on one thing or another. If a state-wide school system, for example, is hot for Windows S but absolutely requires a legacy Firefox-only plug-in written by some teacher years ago, Microsoft can probably be persuaded to let Firefox through.

Same for the default search engine. If Bing is gonna return pr0n or Alt-Hate results, I wouldn't want that in my computer labs for 8th graders. So get Microsoft to bend a bit and set the default search engine to Wikipedia or PBS? That might sell some Windows 10 S.

If Microsoft's not willing to bend, the only people I see running Windows 10 S are beta-testers for Edge and the Windows Store. There's a locked-down system out there already that's cheaper and more mature, if anyone wants it... it's called a Chromebook.

You need a writeable share exposed to the intranet for this to work like wannacry. If you're running samba, that is very likely the case. Why else run samba than to allow windows machines on your network to access it? Many corporations use linux machines running samba as web servers for windows machines.

Once a windows or linux user opens any single email with an exploit and writes it to any samba share on your corporate network, the worm could then hit every machine within the intranet that is vulnerable.

What is really bad is that this response of denial is simply repeating history. The following quote is from this ars article).

"When the Windows vulnerability was first disclosed in April, many security experts assumed it would be hard to exploit because few computers would expose file- and print-sharing capabilities on the Internet. The rapid spread of WCry quickly dashed those assumptions. Dan Tentler, founder of security firm Phobos Group, told Ars that more than 477,000 Samba-enabled computers exposed port 445, although it wasn't clear how many of them were running a vulnerable version of the utility. Tentler cited figures returned by the Shodan computer search engine."