Nearly any data can be recovered given enough time and budget (much like cracking encryption). I read awhile back that forensics can use an electron microscope to read bit-for-bit from severly damaged platters.
The platter must be liquified or shredded to ensure no recovery.
Several years ago, I was using the Kyocera Palm "Smartphone" 6035 or something. You know that massive beast of a PDA. The phone featured a s/w keyguard to prevent accidential presses of the front flip pad. However, on top of the device is a big button which toggles OS suspend. There was NO s/w guard for this button. Many times, I would pull out the phone, and there blazes the LCD.
Another example are the older Motorola phones for (at the time) Nextel. When the battery is low, the device would do two annoying things. First, it beeps periodically (Mots still do this) until charged. ANNOYING! Second, the clock display is replaced by "Low Battery". Minor, yet still annoying.
My last example is more modern. Camera phones, IMHO, are nearly useless. Poor quality pictures, easily scratched lens. And, if you have a Verizon phone, you can't get your pictures off the camera with messaging at obsurd cost. Just another "feature" to market phones and extra services.
Really, its not that much trouble to carry an ID _and_ bank card. Seriously, what is wrong with cash and why cannot people use it? A bank card is still just spending your available cash.
I especially enjoy pissing off clerks with the Dollar Coins. I'm had several roll their eyes and mumble something indistinct when handed Sacagawea coins. I had one guy actually complain "no one every wants these fucking things".
What old school DVD player are _you_ using? Really, I'm just bustin balls. I know all COTS players can be forced to deny skip ahead. However, I have lately been using a media player for TV, DVDs and music. Wonderful OSS allows you to bypass "Would you steal a handbag?" and PLAY the movie.
The word is "enable" is a verb in the English language. It really burns my ass when business types dream up grotesque terms like "enablement" to satify a scheme like DRM attempting to say it helps consumers. It should remain DRM because the most accurate expansion is "Digital Restrictions Management". DRM does not enable consumers in anyway. It only protects business interests.
Soon some exec will propose "Consumer Rights Application Process". I can't wait.
Why does he target computers?
Would not any recording medium be suject to such an arguement, including simple pencil and paper?
Anyway, it not a single application or system that perserves information, but rather the high-level process which encompasses hardware maintenance and backups. In my experience, computers very easily "forget", its called a hard drive failure.
I have heard many middle aged and older people simply say "I don't know the first thing about computers, what do I really need it for anyway." My aunt and uncle are a good example. My uncle purchased a Compaq several years ago for his kids. It sits almost untouched even by my cousins. They simply have no interest.
Another example, I recently ran into my old boss from years back when I was in high school. I asked if he had an email address. His response: "No, computers piss me off. It takes too much time and money." He continued by explaining that his system got a virus, and rather than pay to have it fixed ( or attempt a DYI repair ) he returned the system to the store.
I suppose another factor is the preceived "challenge" in using new technology. Many people don't take personal risks, even trivial ones, if they believe they will fail. Back to my aunt. She is always out-and-about and it was almost impossible to reach here on her landline. Just last year I decided to get her a Virgin Mobile PrePay for her birthday, because she simply was never motivated to get a mobile on her own. However, now I think she appreciates having the "toy".
I cannot find any reference, however I recall reading an article several years ago which detailed a consumer deskpad which contained dozens of micro contacts. The idea was you simply lay your laptop, mobile phone, pda on the pad, and it begins to charge. Of course this product assumed that your devices were outfitted to use the charger. A microcontroller would actively sense the current between pad contacts, allowing charging, but preventing short circuits. Again, as I cannot locate this product now, I expect it did not take off.
Inductive charging also seems inefficient to me. The article claims 80% efficiency. What exactly do they mean? How many AC-DC conversions take place within this charger?
Also, my laptops require more like 80w. It may be okay for PDAs and mobile phones.
IMO, a good research project, but not yet near a consumer product.
For a company like Google, every aspect of their operations is trade secret. Why, because they are successful and competitors will want to steal that success.
What a foolish decision for the school board to make. I use Wikipeda daily; not for any serious research mind you. Do I accept all information on Wikipeda as fact, hell no. However, its an excellent starting point for discovering _more_ information on a subject. Using such a resource not only provides subject matter, but a means to develop judgement and critical thinking.
Obviously, this is just another control designed to mold young minds rather then TEACH kids to use their minds.
Many organizations do not have, nor want, VPN access to their corporate network. First, its offers another conduit for exploitation. A poorly managed VPN, much like wireless, is just another way malicious people can get at your data. I do agree that a properly implemented, and administered, VPN can be a very useful tool. However, that requires time and money. The biggest road block is the maintenance aspect. Remember, management often view IT services as a facilities expense, much like simple electricity service. They always want the least costly solution. Also, many old school managers do not see the benefit in VPN, often because they are more comfortable simply making copies of data onto their laptops and taking it home or on the road. I have read articles profiling occasions where business laptops storing customer information, including names, addresses, credit card info, etc are stolen. So if VPN is not an option, what is the alternative? Disk encryption or loss of productivity.
If the threat of interference was so great, I would expect that the FAA would prohibt carrying a mobile onboard whether powered or not. I once took a flight where I powered off my phone, then stowed it in my carry-on. Upon landing and retreiving my phone to make a call, I discovered that it was already powered on. I suspect that the power button was bumped during transit. We experienced no problems during the flight, and the crew made no mention of potential communication/avionics trouble (as if they would anyway).
Mythbusters attempted to expose the impact of mobile phones on avionics. They found that raw instruments will be effected by such transmissions. However, commerical planes are so well shielded, that even a high power RF generator cause no problem when transmitting inside the cabin at typical GSM, TDMA, and CDMA frequencies. Note, this was a Mythbuster show, and not a true scientific study. But all things considered, I suspect that the social reasons outweigh the technical.
I for one appreciate that mobile phones are not allowed on planes. Commerical flights are unpleasent enough without the added noise of mobile junkies.
I feel your pain, as I had a similar install experience with Covad. Unfortunately, Speakeasy is at the whim of local telco service providers. Covad charges Speakeasy when you miss an appointment. What option do they have but to recover their costs. Everything remains a business.
Is your humor an attempt to minimalize a fair, and IMO accurate, opinion of the state of US society and politics? And what type of vehicle do you choose to "afford" sir?
Learn to use pencil and paper, remember calculus may someday save your life. Get the most inexpensive handheld calc which can do the calculations you need to get though manual work. Then use your PC apps to check your work.
A TI-85 worked well for me for two years of high school and five years of college science and engineering. I have not touched it in five years. Everything is on the PC now.
Such ventures are done for their academic merit, not necessarily to immediately justify the cost. How else will be able to have such systems as a real consumer solution?
Besides, its simply interesting and fun to do something different and innovative.
Penn State issued a public IP for every machine connected to their network. It still may be so. Before Napster came down, I hosted my music collection, amongst other things, on the Internet via FTP.
In my time there, they did not, however, actively monitor systems for viruses and malware. I often received spam from student PCs attempting to spread viruses via attachments. Many lab systems suffered from various malware, although that improved in my last year after they switched to a pseudo-thin client setup.
Today, I see such IP allocations as wasteful. The worst is a power utility which I worked for a few years back. They have (had) a direct allocation (can not recall the exact size), which they used of course for business purposes. However, they also assigned public IPs to devices never exposed to the Internet, i.e PLC controllers and process control computers. Most unfortunate IMHO.
I use these lamps in many areas of my home. In my experience, pay alittle _more_ for the "big name" brand lamps, i.e. GE. Such lamps typically warm up faster, are brighter after warm-up, and last longer. Also, I had a GE lamp for which I paid approx $5. It failed after only a month of use. I emailed GE Lighting, and they responded immediately offering me two $7 coupons good toward any GE Lighting product.
I have one lamp which is in use approx 8 hours a day. It still works after two years. Try that with an incandecent blub.
The only issue I have had is finding CFLs which operate well in low temperatures.
I _had_ an HP desktop which I used for various purposes, Windows training, software testing, etc. The system came loaded with WinXP Home, which was adequate for my needs. I had recently refreshed the installation, using a retail Microsoft CD, but entering the OEM Product Key during setup. I activated the OS as required. So no problems. Then, a week or so later the motherboard was physically damaged after I dropped the case. I salvaged the hard drive, and installed it into a old IBM system. I refreshed the OS for the new system, assuming I could use the OEM Product Key from the damaged HP. Setup completed, but the OS would not activate. I called Microsoft and spoke with a nice woman with a British accent. I explained what had transpired, and my intended solution. She informed me that per the Windows EULA, I could not use the software license from the OEM on a "home-built" system.
It infuriated me that, from Microsoft's perspective, a damaged OEM motherboard results in a forfeit of the accompanying Windows license. The software was not damaged, so why can I not continue to use it? I realize there are business forces behind this, but I simply find it unfair and frustrating.
This is just one example of why I do not particularly like Microsoft as a company.
Only in Texas would someone further this sillyness. Assuming that the hunting party can do so safely, it is really necessary in the first place? "Cool, I shot a deer, can't see it, but I killed the thing".
I say, the blind hunter should outfit himself with a knife, hide in the brush, and using his elevated sense of smell and hearing, try and kill game as a predator would. That would impress me.
Slashdot Mirror
Nearly any data can be recovered given enough time and budget (much like cracking encryption). I read awhile back that forensics can use an electron microscope to read bit-for-bit from severly damaged platters.
The platter must be liquified or shredded to ensure no recovery.
Several years ago, I was using the Kyocera Palm "Smartphone" 6035 or something. You know that massive beast of a PDA. The phone featured a s/w keyguard to prevent accidential presses of the front flip pad. However, on top of the device is a big button which toggles OS suspend. There was NO s/w guard for this button. Many times, I would pull out the phone, and there blazes the LCD.
Another example are the older Motorola phones for (at the time) Nextel. When the battery is low, the device would do two annoying things. First, it beeps periodically (Mots still do this) until charged. ANNOYING! Second, the clock display is replaced by "Low Battery". Minor, yet still annoying.
My last example is more modern. Camera phones, IMHO, are nearly useless. Poor quality pictures, easily scratched lens. And, if you have a Verizon phone, you can't get your pictures off the camera with messaging at obsurd cost. Just another "feature" to market phones and extra services.
Dave
Really, its not that much trouble to carry an ID _and_ bank card. Seriously, what is wrong with cash and why cannot people use it? A bank card is still just spending your available cash. I especially enjoy pissing off clerks with the Dollar Coins. I'm had several roll their eyes and mumble something indistinct when handed Sacagawea coins. I had one guy actually complain "no one every wants these fucking things".
What old school DVD player are _you_ using? Really, I'm just bustin balls. I know all COTS players can be forced to deny skip ahead. However, I have lately been using a media player for TV, DVDs and music. Wonderful OSS allows you to bypass "Would you steal a handbag?" and PLAY the movie.
The word is "enable" is a verb in the English language. It really burns my ass when business types dream up grotesque terms like "enablement" to satify a scheme like DRM attempting to say it helps consumers. It should remain DRM because the most accurate expansion is "Digital Restrictions Management". DRM does not enable consumers in anyway. It only protects business interests.
Soon some exec will propose "Consumer Rights Application Process". I can't wait.
Why does he target computers? Would not any recording medium be suject to such an arguement, including simple pencil and paper? Anyway, it not a single application or system that perserves information, but rather the high-level process which encompasses hardware maintenance and backups. In my experience, computers very easily "forget", its called a hard drive failure.
I have heard many middle aged and older people simply say "I don't know the first thing about computers, what do I really need it for anyway." My aunt and uncle are a good example. My uncle purchased a Compaq several years ago for his kids. It sits almost untouched even by my cousins. They simply have no interest.
Another example, I recently ran into my old boss from years back when I was in high school. I asked if he had an email address. His response: "No, computers piss me off. It takes too much time and money." He continued by explaining that his system got a virus, and rather than pay to have it fixed ( or attempt a DYI repair ) he returned the system to the store.
I suppose another factor is the preceived "challenge" in using new technology. Many people don't take personal risks, even trivial ones, if they believe they will fail. Back to my aunt. She is always out-and-about and it was almost impossible to reach here on her landline. Just last year I decided to get her a Virgin Mobile PrePay for her birthday, because she simply was never motivated to get a mobile on her own. However, now I think she appreciates having the "toy".
DK
No, the device was thin like a desk pad and was _not_ wireless, but had dozens of small contacts.
Still, Splashpower is neat too.
I cannot find any reference, however I recall reading an article several years ago which detailed a consumer deskpad which contained dozens of micro contacts. The idea was you simply lay your laptop, mobile phone, pda on the pad, and it begins to charge. Of course this product assumed that your devices were outfitted to use the charger. A microcontroller would actively sense the current between pad contacts, allowing charging, but preventing short circuits. Again, as I cannot locate this product now, I expect it did not take off.
Inductive charging also seems inefficient to me. The article claims 80% efficiency. What exactly do they mean? How many AC-DC conversions take place within this charger?
Also, my laptops require more like 80w. It may be okay for PDAs and mobile phones.
IMO, a good research project, but not yet near a consumer product.
Well said.
For a company like Google, every aspect of their operations is trade secret. Why, because they are successful and competitors will want to steal that success.
What a foolish decision for the school board to make. I use Wikipeda daily; not for any serious research mind you. Do I accept all information on Wikipeda as fact, hell no. However, its an excellent starting point for discovering _more_ information on a subject. Using such a resource not only provides subject matter, but a means to develop judgement and critical thinking.
Obviously, this is just another control designed to mold young minds rather then TEACH kids to use their minds.
The (e)book burnings are just around the corner.
Many organizations do not have, nor want, VPN access to their corporate network. First, its offers another conduit for exploitation. A poorly managed VPN, much like wireless, is just another way malicious people can get at your data. I do agree that a properly implemented, and administered, VPN can be a very useful tool. However, that requires time and money. The biggest road block is the maintenance aspect. Remember, management often view IT services as a facilities expense, much like simple electricity service. They always want the least costly solution. Also, many old school managers do not see the benefit in VPN, often because they are more comfortable simply making copies of data onto their laptops and taking it home or on the road. I have read articles profiling occasions where business laptops storing customer information, including names, addresses, credit card info, etc are stolen. So if VPN is not an option, what is the alternative? Disk encryption or loss of productivity.
If the threat of interference was so great, I would expect that the FAA would prohibt carrying a mobile onboard whether powered or not. I once took a flight where I powered off my phone, then stowed it in my carry-on. Upon landing and retreiving my phone to make a call, I discovered that it was already powered on. I suspect that the power button was bumped during transit. We experienced no problems during the flight, and the crew made no mention of potential communication/avionics trouble (as if they would anyway).
Mythbusters attempted to expose the impact of mobile phones on avionics. They found that raw instruments will be effected by such transmissions. However, commerical planes are so well shielded, that even a high power RF generator cause no problem when transmitting inside the cabin at typical GSM, TDMA, and CDMA frequencies. Note, this was a Mythbuster show, and not a true scientific study. But all things considered, I suspect that the social reasons outweigh the technical.
I for one appreciate that mobile phones are not allowed on planes. Commerical flights are unpleasent enough without the added noise of mobile junkies.
I feel your pain, as I had a similar install experience with Covad. Unfortunately, Speakeasy is at the whim of local telco service providers. Covad charges Speakeasy when you miss an appointment. What option do they have but to recover their costs. Everything remains a business.
Is your humor an attempt to minimalize a fair, and IMO accurate, opinion of the state of US society and politics? And what type of vehicle do you choose to "afford" sir?
Go ahead, mod me down, I'm done with you.
Really, both parties, A.H. & J.G.W., while under-age, did this privately. How can the supposed "victim" also be the "perpetrator"?
He he he
Good one.
Learn to use pencil and paper, remember calculus may someday save your life. Get the most inexpensive handheld calc which can do the calculations you need to get though manual work. Then use your PC apps to check your work.
A TI-85 worked well for me for two years of high school and five years of college science and engineering. I have not touched it in five years. Everything is on the PC now.
Such ventures are done for their academic merit, not necessarily to immediately justify the cost. How else will be able to have such systems as a real consumer solution? Besides, its simply interesting and fun to do something different and innovative.
Penn State issued a public IP for every machine connected to their network. It still may be so. Before Napster came down, I hosted my music collection, amongst other things, on the Internet via FTP.
In my time there, they did not, however, actively monitor systems for viruses and malware. I often received spam from student PCs attempting to spread viruses via attachments. Many lab systems suffered from various malware, although that improved in my last year after they switched to a pseudo-thin client setup.
Today, I see such IP allocations as wasteful. The worst is a power utility which I worked for a few years back. They have (had) a direct allocation (can not recall the exact size), which they used of course for business purposes. However, they also assigned public IPs to devices never exposed to the Internet, i.e PLC controllers and process control computers. Most unfortunate IMHO.
I use these lamps in many areas of my home. In my experience, pay alittle _more_ for the "big name" brand lamps, i.e. GE. Such lamps typically warm up faster, are brighter after warm-up, and last longer. Also, I had a GE lamp for which I paid approx $5. It failed after only a month of use. I emailed GE Lighting, and they responded immediately offering me two $7 coupons good toward any GE Lighting product.
I have one lamp which is in use approx 8 hours a day. It still works after two years. Try that with an incandecent blub.
The only issue I have had is finding CFLs which operate well in low temperatures.
Forget the unsightly duct tape or foil wallets and liners. Check out this stylish "faraday caged apparel".
http://www.difrwear.com/products.shtml
And here's another one:
http://www.kenakai.com/
CN
I _had_ an HP desktop which I used for various purposes, Windows training, software testing, etc. The system came loaded with WinXP Home, which was adequate for my needs. I had recently refreshed the installation, using a retail Microsoft CD, but entering the OEM Product Key during setup. I activated the OS as required. So no problems. Then, a week or so later the motherboard was physically damaged after I dropped the case. I salvaged the hard drive, and installed it into a old IBM system. I refreshed the OS for the new system, assuming I could use the OEM Product Key from the damaged HP. Setup completed, but the OS would not activate. I called Microsoft and spoke with a nice woman with a British accent. I explained what had transpired, and my intended solution. She informed me that per the Windows EULA, I could not use the software license from the OEM on a "home-built" system.
It infuriated me that, from Microsoft's perspective, a damaged OEM motherboard results in a forfeit of the accompanying Windows license. The software was not damaged, so why can I not continue to use it? I realize there are business forces behind this, but I simply find it unfair and frustrating.
This is just one example of why I do not particularly like Microsoft as a company.
Dave K.
Only in Texas would someone further this sillyness. Assuming that the hunting party can do so safely, it is really necessary in the first place? "Cool, I shot a deer, can't see it, but I killed the thing".
I say, the blind hunter should outfit himself with a knife, hide in the brush, and using his elevated sense of smell and hearing, try and kill game as a predator would. That would impress me.