So they're becoming an Isp? - Great! Maybe that will give them some exposure to the legal/privacy problems arising from all those nutty anti-privacy and drm bills pushed through in Washington..
hehe.. or for concealing the identity of logged on people (by providing an anonymous service) - isn't that illegal in some states now ? I remember hearing the brouhaha about nat'ing becoming illegal due to this.. Would be fun if the first ISP to be tried in court was the FCC:-)/m
I've always subscribed to the theory that WiFi won't be profitable as a service itself, but will be provided for free as a "loss leader".
I always assumed however that it would be coffee shops and bookstores that used it to their competative advantage.
Next time I'm in DC, however, I'm going to patronize the FCC instead of any of the other federal agencies!
Seriously, Mike Powell seems to be on the forward edge, especially for a government official. It is good to have people in powerful places that understand technology and its transforming role, who can think independantly of lobbyists or position papers generated by their staff.
they would remove/change their stupid regulation that manufacturers claim forbid them to make opensource WiFi drivers... Well some do claim to have OSS drivers, even under GPL: http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS548876786 9.html , however their "driver" is only a stub to load a closedsource module, and I even wonder if they don't break the GPL by releasing a closed source driver under it.
check it out
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 1, Interesting
Can't a DC based Slashdotter pay a visit to the FCC and check it out? Is outbound port 25 blocked? I would assume it was, but they don't say in the release.
It seems pretty ironic that the FCC, while on the one hand leading a battle against spam, would choose to offer Wi-Fi, potentially catering to wannabe spammers.
I'm not sure that I understand this comment? I'm sure the FCC will not be connecting the access points directly to their internal network. A spammer sitting in their courtyard won't be able to access the FCC mail relay as if they were in the FCC. They'll only get "plain" access to the internet.
The spammers could run a sendmail process directly on their laptop that would route to the destination mail relay directly, but they could do this from any connection with any ISP. Does anyone filter outgoing SMTP packets? That would would be almost as bad as filter packets destined for port 80!
Why issue the press release as a PDF?
by
webword
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· Score: 3, Interesting
Is this press release meant for screen reading or printing? If it really meant for printing, I guess that's fine, but if it is meant for online reading it is stupid to use the PDF format. Jakob has some comments on this topic, if you care. Then again, some people think he's full of crap.
Does anyone filter outgoing SMTP packets? That would would be almost as bad as filter packets destined for port 80!
Lots of ISPs restrict port 25 connections to their own mail servers (vis. Earthlink), ostensibly to "prevent spam". And while it does raise the bar, it does not prevent spamming. It just coerces the spammer into using the ISP's mail servers from throwaway accounts.
Some ISPs are more draconian. Basic-level AT&T Prepaid Internet appears to permit only ports 80 and 443 to connect out. Their website (unavailable to outside connections, hence no link) hints at an "Enhanced Service" that permits FTP, VPN and some other goodies in return for "providing some information", but they don't tell you how to obtain it. I just put a virtual SSH server on port 80 and added a little port and X forwarding to turn the prepaid access into a usable service.
-- Mail? Put "slashdot" in the subject to pass the spam filters.
Never ending copyright loop
by
heyyojay
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· Score: 3, Interesting
They have just opend a can of worms. Now they are offering a service that can almost not be tracked, free for people to download music and illegal movies. If i were the guy in charge at the FCC (no offence) I would rethink this idea and change it quick because the free wifi can, and WILL be abused.
Slashdot Mirror
So they're becoming an Isp? - Great! Maybe that will give them some exposure to the legal/privacy problems arising from all those nutty anti-privacy and drm bills pushed through in Washington..
I always assumed however that it would be coffee shops and bookstores that used it to their competative advantage.
Next time I'm in DC, however, I'm going to patronize the FCC instead of any of the other federal agencies!
Seriously, Mike Powell seems to be on the forward edge, especially for a government official. It is good to have people in powerful places that understand technology and its transforming role, who can think independantly of lobbyists or position papers generated by their staff.
they would remove/change their stupid regulation that manufacturers claim forbid them to make opensource WiFi drivers...6 9.html , however their "driver" is only a stub to load a closedsource module, and I even wonder if they don't break the GPL by releasing a closed source driver under it.
Well some do claim to have OSS drivers, even under GPL:
http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS54887678
Can't a DC based Slashdotter pay a visit to the FCC and check it out? Is outbound port 25 blocked? I would assume it was, but they don't say in the release.
I'm not sure that I understand this comment? I'm sure the FCC will not be connecting the access points directly to their internal network. A spammer sitting in their courtyard won't be able to access the FCC mail relay as if they were in the FCC. They'll only get "plain" access to the internet.
The spammers could run a sendmail process directly on their laptop that would route to the destination mail relay directly, but they could do this from any connection with any ISP. Does anyone filter outgoing SMTP packets? That would would be almost as bad as filter packets destined for port 80!
Is this press release meant for screen reading or printing? If it really meant for printing, I guess that's fine, but if it is meant for online reading it is stupid to use the PDF format. Jakob has some comments on this topic, if you care. Then again, some people think he's full of crap.
How to Download YouTube Videos
Some ISPs are more draconian. Basic-level AT&T Prepaid Internet appears to permit only ports 80 and 443 to connect out. Their website (unavailable to outside connections, hence no link) hints at an "Enhanced Service" that permits FTP, VPN and some other goodies in return for "providing some information", but they don't tell you how to obtain it. I just put a virtual SSH server on port 80 and added a little port and X forwarding to turn the prepaid access into a usable service.
Mail? Put "slashdot" in the subject to pass the spam filters.
They have just opend a can of worms. Now they are offering a service that can almost not be tracked, free for people to download music and illegal movies. If i were the guy in charge at the FCC (no offence) I would rethink this idea and change it quick because the free wifi can, and WILL be abused.
Honeypot?