Did they ever work? In the 5-6 years I have been coming to/. it hasn't worked for me once. I gave up long ago and just use caps for emphasis. That doesn't work for properly displaying titles, latin, etc., though.
What REALLY bothers me is that now, since the format change, every few posts into a discussion something breaks and every subsequent post is double-spaced and the moderation tag is missing. Moderation tags are also missing from posts in the comments section of my account page (my posts, as well as all others).
The double-spacing really sucks...it turns every post into a wall of text and effectively doubles the scroll length of every discussion. If it was consistent, I might get used to it, but it seems completely random and sticks out as something "broken" each time I encounter it.
The laws that apply to government having access to ISPs, to access email records, are very different then the laws that apply to your own server. It is MUCH harder to get emails, legally, from you directly (or, more specifically, your server), primarily because you probably wouldn't just hand them over like ISPs do. Secondary is the fact that they often don't want us to KNOW we are being scrutinized and a subpoena pretty much blows that particular fish out of the water.
That being said, this is more then likely the application of pressure to move everyone to ISP-controlled servers and thus make it far easier for government to access your private emails, all in the name of "spam-prevention".
"The work was being done for a government agency. White Hat. "
Actually, it doesn't really matter anymore. What matters is the fact that, more then likely, ANONYMOUS now has these tools. We have to assume the entirety of HBGary's data were compromised--The Ars Technica article seems to imply a greater knowledge of these tools then the emails alone would impart. Hmm. The only reason I could see Anonymous not getting these tools after the caper they pulled off is if HBGary were so confident in their own products that they effectively kept them quarantined from outside networks, as they should have. But reason doesn't really stand out as being a characteristic of these guys--they claim to be "security specialists" then leave the fucking front door unlocked. Does that sound reasonable to you?
More power to them--the guys that wanted to use these tools now have a legitimate fear of being targeted by them themselves, and by, of all people, Anonymous. Fucking Awesome.
Once again, the cat is out of the bag, and Ars Technica is simply helping pass out the cookies. Care for a cookie, Greg?
So, in reality, things aren't really any different there then they are in other countries we see in full-swing upheaval--we just haven't heard about it in the media...yet.
"As the wikileaks DDOS attacks have shown us, most of them barely even qualify as script kiddies, and are ridiculously easy to catch..."
The problem with this statement is that it is already outdated--Anonymous has changed significantly since those attacks. Their methods are more refined, the tone of their announcements have changed in subtle ways. I think some fence-sitters saw what they were trying to do, were sympathetic and joined them. The efforts of Anonymous in regards to Wikileaks are front page news and I think they shared the beliefs of many of those fence-sitters--Wikileaks was getting shafted, not only by the government, but by corporations...publicly. The end result was, I think, an influx of talent.
Ask the CEO of HBGary. He and his company got MULCHED by Anonymous. It is not important how it happened, just that it happened. Give them a little credit--HBGary was a security company (...true, that's debatable now).
And besides, it's not about what they do, but who hears about it...any coverage is good coverage when the idea is to bring attention to something. The folks at WBC are about to find out that it is possible to have TOO much attention.
Emails can be the end of anyone if they are stupid enough to incriminate themselves. If it is found that emails outline a concerted, targeted effort on the part of the Westboro Baptist Church with the goal of committing a civil rights violation against any one person, then conspiracy charges and RICO can be applied.
From Wikipedia:
"Pro-life activists RICO laws were successfully cited in NOW v. Scheidler, 510 U.S. 249, 114 S. Ct. 798, 127 L.Ed. 2d 99 (1994), a suit in which certain parties, including the National Organization for Women, sought damages and an injunction against pro-life activists who physically block access to abortion clinics. The Court held that a RICO enterprise does not need an economic motive, and that the Pro-Life Action Network could therefore qualify as a RICO enterprise. The Court remanded for consideration of whether PLAN committed the requisite acts in a pattern of racketeering activity."
Granted, the emails themselves wouldn't stand a chance in court if they were first acquired illegally by Anonymous (I hope they realize this...), but may be sufficient to start further inquiry into these thugs.
"Yes, but it tries to put a stop on the next bunch of Wikileaks that are on their way..."
Too fucking late.
Only 4,091 of 251,287 of the diplomatic cables have been released so far.
Lets take a look at the way things are playing out. Starting in Tunisia, we have mass protests that eventually lead to the ouster of Tunisia's ruling elite. These protests started on December 17, 2010. Wikileaks had been releasing cables relating to Tunisia starting on November 30, 2010, more then two weeks before Mohamed Bouazizi self-immolated. Next is Egypt. Demonstrations there started on January 25, 2011. Wikileaks started releasing cables from Cairo on December 13, 2010. Next, Jordan. Protests started there in late-January. Wikileaks began releasing cables regarding Jordan as early as November 30, 2010. It goes on and on...
The fact of the matter is the events taking place there have all been preceded by cable releases that directly apply to those countries. I am surprised Brazil hasn't followed suit--plenty of cables to get people riled up in Brazil.
Reading between the lines? You bet. So fucking what--everyone does it. It is part of our "intuition", that inner-self that tells us the truths we do not want to hear. What I see are very scared men trying ANYTHING to stem the flow of cables. Shit is changing fast and Wikileaks is most certainly NOT helping things, as far as the scared little men are concerned. They are losing power, that which they hold in the highest possible esteem. These cables are being released strategically and the little men are starting to realize the shit they are in, finally understanding the true power of truth. To what end are they being released strategically? A shift of power from the elite and corrupt. To whom? Who knows. That remains to be seen.
The US government doesn't want Assange for execution or prosecution--they want to hold him hostage, alive, to stop the flow of cables. Nothing else will do as the little men know he has insurance. But, we all know that will not work. It is TOO FUCKING LATE. Julian knew what he was getting into, and life is full of risks.
The train is just leaving the station, folks. The real changes are still to come. Roughly 246, 000 cables left...
"Wires. That requires an external provider, either a private monopoly or the government. And of course that lets them tap the wire."
I had to re-read the article to find that crucial piece of information as I was expecting SOME sort of explanation in that regard--instead, completely missing. WTF? I was expecting something along the lines of data transfer using the electrical grid (even so, shutting off the grid would achieve the same thing--disruption), but no...not a single word in the article discusses data transfer.
Unless they have some alternative means of data transfer, that is to say something NOT using any existing hardware, this is all a bunch of bullshit. Complete, total bullshit.
Remember the monitor on the wall in the 1984 movie "1984"-- that archaic, snowy CRT tube that watched your every move, with some greasy gnome at the other end? Considering this is all bullshit, what other purpose could it have? Freedom Box? Really?
First sentence in the first section. "The average age for a video game player is 35".
Who the hell do they think their target audience would be for a movie of the same title and content? As you point out, precisely the same people that we're allowed to buy the game with a "Mature" rating...or did they expect the game would be sold to someone else, and thus include them in their demographic model? I wonder who that might be? The same people that wouldn't be allowed to see the movie, maybe?
Just make the damned movie. Never know, it could be the next "The Exorcist"...
"After several reissues, the film eventually earned $89,000,000 in domestic rentals.[38] To date, it has a total gross of $401,400,000 worldwide; if adjusted for inflation, this would be the top-grossing R-rated film of all time." (Wikipedia, again)
"If they want to download all of my recommended Netflix movies but dynamically delete them when I need more space.. again all the more power to them if it doesn't interfere with my normal browsing."
Ideally, that is precisely what all of this is about--honest intentions to better serve the customer.
What worries me more is the sort of abuse that can come from the same mechanics. From the summary:
"The proposed standard also raises the question: do we really want Amazon downloading everything it thinks you want to your tablet?"
The problem is that of mainstream consumer "guidance", and I don't mean that in a beneficial sense. Let me put it another way. Any given human-being has a given amount of time in which they can read each day. If the consumer is immediately confronted with some pre-chosen and instantly accessible material to read, and as a result actually read it, that is using up some of that limited time each day. If they do this enough, guide readers material choices, then they PRECLUDE the reading of other materials, such as opposing political views or damaging biographies. In short, drown it out in preference for something else. From the perspective of Amazon.com, for instance (and I use them as an example only because the poster above used them), it is a double-win--they get a sale either way, and they serve another purpose, quite possibly more sinister in nature--swaying public opinion, perhaps.
Netflix was beginning to do something similar to me, although I think it was entirely unintentional. As a result of their poorly designed "suggestions" software, the website was guiding me towards a more and more defined state of preference--and away from anything new and possibly more interesting to me. It stuck me in a rut simply by using it. To defeat this flaw, I still have to go back periodically and remove all of the settings that are automatically modified as I use Netflix (and for some reason they make it as tedious as hell to reset preferences). Again, unintentional and benign, but who is to say that this couldn't be abused if the consumer has no say in what is pre-loaded?
It would sure be nice to actually watch Instant-View movies in HD, though. As is, it's just a tease as my player always tries it anyways, only to have it stop, re-adjust resolution, then re-buffer on EVERY damn movie. And, as another/. article pointed out, none of the US ISPs are even capable of HD streaming Netflix without serious buffering.
"...Next, your phone's contact list is automatically forwarded to facebook."
Seriously, dude.
As well as the contents of their schedulers, alarm settings, GPS coordinates...
And from that, one can determine actual sleep schedule (from the times the GPS location remains idle), the stores in which one shops at (GPS locations), the routes one takes to friends houses (GPS locations, frequency of visits)...fuck dude, the list goes on. Just think of all the possible connections Facebook can deduce from that data provided, in REAL TIME. What is wrong with these people (and by that I mean both the users and Facebook)?
This is people paying for virtual Verichips. Doesn't anyone see this besides me? Does anyone REALLY expect Facebook to apply any real morality to the usage of such data? It will be sold to anyone that can pay. That is what Facebook does, sells data.
And I thought the government having this sort of data on so many people was spine-chilling, but corporations?
I am willing to bet that the second post in the comments section of that blog were what really worried some people. That phrase can have very different meanings, given the context of the blog post.
How am I supposed to have any confidence in BitCoin when the main exchange webpage can be Slashdotted into non-functionality? Or is that a DDOS I hear (same thing?)?
Seriously, if BitCoin wants respectability as a currency then they need to deal with such things. Sure, the page could be overloaded by users doing business, but how am I to determine that when I can't reach the exchange?
On another note, it occurred to me that the stability of Bitcoin is directly tied to the stability of the internet. No internet, no value. In a day when governments still maintain "kill switches" this is a valid concern. Until the internet has established neutrality (no, it does not exist yet...), the stability of Bitcoin will remain in question, at least as far as I am concerned. Unfortunately, that is enough to deter me from using it.
"Open up regedit, and go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Cdrom Look for the key 'AutoRun', and toggle between 1 for 'Enable' and 0 for 'Disable'."
will now apply to external drives, but, oddly, the above is STILL not in effect with this update. You still need to do the above if you want to block autorun on CDs/DVDs in a drive. My guess is soooooo many people are used to installers coming up automatically after popping a disc in a drive that many less-informed users might assume a problem with their drives when that doesn't happen anymore, not to mention that many will not know what to do at that point anyways. Figuring out to double-click the setup.exe may seem obvious to you and I, but...
I've always found it very annoying to plug in an external drive and have it start installing backup/crypto/anti-virus software without asking, and this will stop that.
So, basically no more holding down the SHIFT button while plugging in external drives (which, by the way, blocks both auto-run and auto-play, and as far as I know, and always has). For full coverage, install the update and make the above registry alteration--no auto-run or auto-play on CDs/DVDs or external drives and no holding SHIFT.
"...the only reason someone would sell it is because it has become cheaper to buy a new one than to maintain the old one!"
I fully expect some ISP out there to outbid these guys on the satellite simply to keep it out of their hands. Hell, they could drop a few million on the thing and simply let it rot in space--as long as the competition hurts more then them in the process, they still win.
Either that, or they simply lobby Congress to block the purchase for whatever reason, probably for something along the lines of "unfair business practices" simply because free is too hard to compete with.
Great idea (really!), but there are simply too many competitors with a lot more capital to spend, and as far as I know, bankruptcy courts will require open bidding on assets which means these guys will need a lot more then $150k. Any legal eagles out there able to clarify?
"If the Stanford Prison Experiment [prisonexp.org] has taught one and only one thing is that given power without oversight always leads to abuse and corruption."
Not to say that everyone that goes to Stanford is corrupt. I don't believe that for a moment. But, what I do believe is that this man has single-handedly done more damage to the liberty of US citizens then any other person. Don't take my word for it though, read up on the guy and come to your own conclusions.
"Hey, the Plague did great things for Europe - the drop in population made everyone more wealthy, and also helped workers gain more power and escape from serfdom."
Were you referring to my fiction, or the real Black Plague?
"The study predicts that Mobile devices with embedded Wi-Fi will make up most of the market."
And a particularly nasty virus turns into a digital "Black Plague" wiping out nearly 2/3 of the digital population, thereby kick-starting the Second Middle-Ages.
"Eh, isn't your ISP profiting off P2P, especially if you have some form of usage-based billing, or are paying extra for higher speed and/or transfer cap?"
This also occurred to me. I discount this theory for one reason--my own P2P tracking.
While I am sure there is some bias as a result of language, the vast majority of torrents I download have a high quantity of peers from Comcast, my own ISP. It is not unusual to see as much as 40%-50% of my peers resolve to Comcast. And, very surprisingly, they also seem to be the peers that are uploading to me at high rates, often accounting for 80%-90% of the total data per torrent.
How the hell does Comcast make money from this? I have never reached my 250GB cap on Comcast and I consider myself a "frequent" torrent client. While they did, not so long ago, throttle P2P, I regularly get 1.5-2.0MB sustained download speeds these days (provided the seeds are up to it). If I remember correctly, the vast majority of Comcast customers are not "usage-based" but rather simply capped (reasonably so, IMHO).
Trust me, I am not a big fan of Comcast (their private data-sharing policies suck), but for the life of me I cannot see how they are making any money here except by having...well, satisfied customers.
"The Pirate Bay has made a fantastical amount of money over the years from advertising..."
While this may be true (I don't know), the difference is that Hotfile charges the USERS for access, users that receive files in exchange for money. The Pirate pay makes no money as result of the files being shared--from neither uploader or downloader, but rather from advertisers who themselves have nothing to do with the files.
You're making a connection between money and goods, as well as between provider and receiver, that simply doesn't exist on The Pirate Bay, but does exist on Hotfile.
"That's right apple always overcharges for a premium and over price their gadgets anyways."
But do they include a bait-and-switch?
All I see here is concern for the register price for these tablets, not the fact that one month of Verizon service is also a 2 year service contract. Does anyone really expect VERIZON, of all companies, to go through the rigmarole of signing people up just for one months fees? Last I did business with them, they signed me up for another year of contact when I simply asked for a paper bill (for which they also charged me $1.99).
The four plants the "loan" is for are to be located in Texas, Georgia and two in Mississippi. This sounds very sketchy to me...why not build the plants where there are actually trees? Sounds more like a contract scam--the plants are never meant to be profitable. More then likely the builders make their money (paid for with our taxes) from the construction, the plants fail to make money (for whatever reason), plant operators default on loan, story over, we're out a billion dollars.
You build a wind-generator, you get something for your money. You build a pipe-dream, you get smoke.
Slashdot Mirror
"ffs...why don't italics tags work anymore?!"
Did they ever work? In the 5-6 years I have been coming to /. it hasn't worked for me once. I gave up long ago and just use caps for emphasis. That doesn't work for properly displaying titles, latin, etc., though.
What REALLY bothers me is that now, since the format change, every few posts into a discussion something breaks and every subsequent post is double-spaced and the moderation tag is missing. Moderation tags are also missing from posts in the comments section of my account page (my posts, as well as all others).
The double-spacing really sucks...it turns every post into a wall of text and effectively doubles the scroll length of every discussion. If it was consistent, I might get used to it, but it seems completely random and sticks out as something "broken" each time I encounter it.
Here I am, reading between the lines, again.
The laws that apply to government having access to ISPs, to access email records, are very different then the laws that apply to your own server. It is MUCH harder to get emails, legally, from you directly (or, more specifically, your server), primarily because you probably wouldn't just hand them over like ISPs do. Secondary is the fact that they often don't want us to KNOW we are being scrutinized and a subpoena pretty much blows that particular fish out of the water.
That being said, this is more then likely the application of pressure to move everyone to ISP-controlled servers and thus make it far easier for government to access your private emails, all in the name of "spam-prevention".
Think of the kids!
"They are most definitely 'Black Hat'."
"The work was being done for a government agency. White Hat. "
Actually, it doesn't really matter anymore. What matters is the fact that, more then likely, ANONYMOUS now has these tools. We have to assume the entirety of HBGary's data were compromised--The Ars Technica article seems to imply a greater knowledge of these tools then the emails alone would impart. Hmm. The only reason I could see Anonymous not getting these tools after the caper they pulled off is if HBGary were so confident in their own products that they effectively kept them quarantined from outside networks, as they should have. But reason doesn't really stand out as being a characteristic of these guys--they claim to be "security specialists" then leave the fucking front door unlocked. Does that sound reasonable to you?
More power to them--the guys that wanted to use these tools now have a legitimate fear of being targeted by them themselves, and by, of all people, Anonymous. Fucking Awesome.
Once again, the cat is out of the bag, and Ars Technica is simply helping pass out the cookies. Care for a cookie, Greg?
"Libya is a wealthier if not economically more equal country than either."
Not entirely accurate. The GOVERNMENT of Libya is wealthy. US diplomatic cables paint an entirely different picture then that you describe.
The locals...
http://213.251.145.96/cable/2008/07/08TRIPOLI530.html
http://213.251.145.96/cable/2008/11/08TRIPOLI889.html
http://213.251.145.96/cable/2009/01/09TRIPOLI22.html
The shit the locals have to put up with...
http://213.251.145.96/cable/2008/08/08TRIPOLI635.html
The leaders the locals have to put up with (not to be confused with the shit)...
http://213.251.145.96/cable/2010/02/10TRIPOLI95.html
http://213.251.145.96/cable/2008/07/08TRIPOLI592.html
With only more of the same shit to look forward to...
http://213.251.145.96/cable/2008/12/08TRIPOLI936.html
All it really takes to get Libyan panties in a bunch...
http://213.251.145.96/cable/2009/12/09TRIPOLI961.html
So, in reality, things aren't really any different there then they are in other countries we see in full-swing upheaval--we just haven't heard about it in the media...yet.
"As the wikileaks DDOS attacks have shown us, most of them barely even qualify as script kiddies, and are ridiculously easy to catch..."
The problem with this statement is that it is already outdated--Anonymous has changed significantly since those attacks. Their methods are more refined, the tone of their announcements have changed in subtle ways. I think some fence-sitters saw what they were trying to do, were sympathetic and joined them. The efforts of Anonymous in regards to Wikileaks are front page news and I think they shared the beliefs of many of those fence-sitters--Wikileaks was getting shafted, not only by the government, but by corporations...publicly. The end result was, I think, an influx of talent.
Ask the CEO of HBGary. He and his company got MULCHED by Anonymous. It is not important how it happened, just that it happened. Give them a little credit--HBGary was a security company (...true, that's debatable now).
And besides, it's not about what they do, but who hears about it...any coverage is good coverage when the idea is to bring attention to something. The folks at WBC are about to find out that it is possible to have TOO much attention.
"Do they even use email?"
Emails can be the end of anyone if they are stupid enough to incriminate themselves. If it is found that emails outline a concerted, targeted effort on the part of the Westboro Baptist Church with the goal of committing a civil rights violation against any one person, then conspiracy charges and RICO can be applied.
From Wikipedia:
"Pro-life activists
RICO laws were successfully cited in NOW v. Scheidler, 510 U.S. 249, 114 S. Ct. 798, 127 L.Ed. 2d 99 (1994), a suit in which certain parties, including the National Organization for Women, sought damages and an injunction against pro-life activists who physically block access to abortion clinics. The Court held that a RICO enterprise does not need an economic motive, and that the Pro-Life Action Network could therefore qualify as a RICO enterprise. The Court remanded for consideration of whether PLAN committed the requisite acts in a pattern of racketeering activity."
Granted, the emails themselves wouldn't stand a chance in court if they were first acquired illegally by Anonymous (I hope they realize this...), but may be sufficient to start further inquiry into these thugs.
"Yes, but it tries to put a stop on the next bunch of Wikileaks that are on their way..."
Too fucking late.
Only 4,091 of 251,287 of the diplomatic cables have been released so far.
Lets take a look at the way things are playing out. Starting in Tunisia, we have mass protests that eventually lead to the ouster of Tunisia's ruling elite. These protests started on December 17, 2010. Wikileaks had been releasing cables relating to Tunisia starting on November 30, 2010, more then two weeks before Mohamed Bouazizi self-immolated. Next is Egypt. Demonstrations there started on January 25, 2011. Wikileaks started releasing cables from Cairo on December 13, 2010. Next, Jordan. Protests started there in late-January. Wikileaks began releasing cables regarding Jordan as early as November 30, 2010. It goes on and on...
The fact of the matter is the events taking place there have all been preceded by cable releases that directly apply to those countries. I am surprised Brazil hasn't followed suit--plenty of cables to get people riled up in Brazil.
Reading between the lines? You bet. So fucking what--everyone does it. It is part of our "intuition", that inner-self that tells us the truths we do not want to hear. What I see are very scared men trying ANYTHING to stem the flow of cables. Shit is changing fast and Wikileaks is most certainly NOT helping things, as far as the scared little men are concerned. They are losing power, that which they hold in the highest possible esteem. These cables are being released strategically and the little men are starting to realize the shit they are in, finally understanding the true power of truth. To what end are they being released strategically? A shift of power from the elite and corrupt. To whom? Who knows. That remains to be seen.
The US government doesn't want Assange for execution or prosecution--they want to hold him hostage, alive, to stop the flow of cables. Nothing else will do as the little men know he has insurance. But, we all know that will not work. It is TOO FUCKING LATE. Julian knew what he was getting into, and life is full of risks.
The train is just leaving the station, folks. The real changes are still to come. Roughly 246, 000 cables left...
"Wires. That requires an external provider, either a private monopoly or the government. And of course that lets them tap the wire."
I had to re-read the article to find that crucial piece of information as I was expecting SOME sort of explanation in that regard--instead, completely missing. WTF? I was expecting something along the lines of data transfer using the electrical grid (even so, shutting off the grid would achieve the same thing--disruption), but no...not a single word in the article discusses data transfer.
Unless they have some alternative means of data transfer, that is to say something NOT using any existing hardware, this is all a bunch of bullshit. Complete, total bullshit.
Remember the monitor on the wall in the 1984 movie "1984"-- that archaic, snowy CRT tube that watched your every move, with some greasy gnome at the other end? Considering this is all bullshit, what other purpose could it have? Freedom Box? Really?
"At this point, though, it's a pure money grab."
"There is only IBM and ITT, and AT&T...and now Apple."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI5hrcwU7Dk
"Why the fuck would it matter?"
Precisely. Didn't they look at the demographics?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_culture
First sentence in the first section. "The average age for a video game player is 35".
Who the hell do they think their target audience would be for a movie of the same title and content? As you point out, precisely the same people that we're allowed to buy the game with a "Mature" rating...or did they expect the game would be sold to someone else, and thus include them in their demographic model? I wonder who that might be? The same people that wouldn't be allowed to see the movie, maybe?
Just make the damned movie. Never know, it could be the next "The Exorcist"...
"After several reissues, the film eventually earned $89,000,000 in domestic rentals.[38] To date, it has a total gross of $401,400,000 worldwide; if adjusted for inflation, this would be the top-grossing R-rated film of all time." (Wikipedia, again)
"If they want to download all of my recommended Netflix movies but dynamically delete them when I need more space.. again all the more power to them if it doesn't interfere with my normal browsing."
Ideally, that is precisely what all of this is about--honest intentions to better serve the customer.
What worries me more is the sort of abuse that can come from the same mechanics. From the summary:
"The proposed standard also raises the question: do we really want Amazon downloading everything it thinks you want to your tablet?"
The problem is that of mainstream consumer "guidance", and I don't mean that in a beneficial sense. Let me put it another way. Any given human-being has a given amount of time in which they can read each day. If the consumer is immediately confronted with some pre-chosen and instantly accessible material to read, and as a result actually read it, that is using up some of that limited time each day. If they do this enough, guide readers material choices, then they PRECLUDE the reading of other materials, such as opposing political views or damaging biographies. In short, drown it out in preference for something else. From the perspective of Amazon.com, for instance (and I use them as an example only because the poster above used them), it is a double-win--they get a sale either way, and they serve another purpose, quite possibly more sinister in nature--swaying public opinion, perhaps.
Netflix was beginning to do something similar to me, although I think it was entirely unintentional. As a result of their poorly designed "suggestions" software, the website was guiding me towards a more and more defined state of preference--and away from anything new and possibly more interesting to me. It stuck me in a rut simply by using it. To defeat this flaw, I still have to go back periodically and remove all of the settings that are automatically modified as I use Netflix (and for some reason they make it as tedious as hell to reset preferences). Again, unintentional and benign, but who is to say that this couldn't be abused if the consumer has no say in what is pre-loaded?
It would sure be nice to actually watch Instant-View movies in HD, though. As is, it's just a tease as my player always tries it anyways, only to have it stop, re-adjust resolution, then re-buffer on EVERY damn movie. And, as another /. article pointed out, none of the US ISPs are even capable of HD streaming Netflix without serious buffering.
http://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/01/28/0452216/Netflix-Compares-ISP-Streaming-Performance#comments
Two sides to every coin, and that's my two cents.
"...Next, your phone's contact list is automatically forwarded to facebook."
Seriously, dude.
As well as the contents of their schedulers, alarm settings, GPS coordinates...
And from that, one can determine actual sleep schedule (from the times the GPS location remains idle), the stores in which one shops at (GPS locations), the routes one takes to friends houses (GPS locations, frequency of visits)...fuck dude, the list goes on. Just think of all the possible connections Facebook can deduce from that data provided, in REAL TIME. What is wrong with these people (and by that I mean both the users and Facebook)?
This is people paying for virtual Verichips. Doesn't anyone see this besides me? Does anyone REALLY expect Facebook to apply any real morality to the usage of such data? It will be sold to anyone that can pay. That is what Facebook does, sells data.
And I thought the government having this sort of data on so many people was spine-chilling, but corporations?
Where is Howard Beale when you need him?
"Say no more"
I am willing to bet that the second post in the comments section of that blog were what really worried some people. That phrase can have very different meanings, given the context of the blog post.
Slight problem.
How am I supposed to have any confidence in BitCoin when the main exchange webpage can be Slashdotted into non-functionality? Or is that a DDOS I hear (same thing?)?
Seriously, if BitCoin wants respectability as a currency then they need to deal with such things. Sure, the page could be overloaded by users doing business, but how am I to determine that when I can't reach the exchange?
On another note, it occurred to me that the stability of Bitcoin is directly tied to the stability of the internet. No internet, no value. In a day when governments still maintain "kill switches" this is a valid concern. Until the internet has established neutrality (no, it does not exist yet...), the stability of Bitcoin will remain in question, at least as far as I am concerned. Unfortunately, that is enough to deter me from using it.
"What now?"
The functionality of the following...
"Open up regedit, and go to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Cdrom
Look for the key 'AutoRun', and toggle between 1 for 'Enable' and 0 for 'Disable'."
will now apply to external drives, but, oddly, the above is STILL not in effect with this update. You still need to do the above if you want to block autorun on CDs/DVDs in a drive. My guess is soooooo many people are used to installers coming up automatically after popping a disc in a drive that many less-informed users might assume a problem with their drives when that doesn't happen anymore, not to mention that many will not know what to do at that point anyways. Figuring out to double-click the setup.exe may seem obvious to you and I, but...
I've always found it very annoying to plug in an external drive and have it start installing backup/crypto/anti-virus software without asking, and this will stop that.
So, basically no more holding down the SHIFT button while plugging in external drives (which, by the way, blocks both auto-run and auto-play, and as far as I know, and always has). For full coverage, install the update and make the above registry alteration--no auto-run or auto-play on CDs/DVDs or external drives and no holding SHIFT.
"...the only reason someone would sell it is because it has become cheaper to buy a new one than to maintain the old one!"
I fully expect some ISP out there to outbid these guys on the satellite simply to keep it out of their hands. Hell, they could drop a few million on the thing and simply let it rot in space--as long as the competition hurts more then them in the process, they still win.
Either that, or they simply lobby Congress to block the purchase for whatever reason, probably for something along the lines of "unfair business practices" simply because free is too hard to compete with.
Great idea (really!), but there are simply too many competitors with a lot more capital to spend, and as far as I know, bankruptcy courts will require open bidding on assets which means these guys will need a lot more then $150k. Any legal eagles out there able to clarify?
"If the Stanford Prison Experiment [prisonexp.org] has taught one and only one thing is that given power without oversight always leads to abuse and corruption."
Guess who went to Stanford?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Sensenbrenner
Not to say that everyone that goes to Stanford is corrupt. I don't believe that for a moment. But, what I do believe is that this man has single-handedly done more damage to the liberty of US citizens then any other person. Don't take my word for it though, read up on the guy and come to your own conclusions.
"Hey, the Plague did great things for Europe - the drop in population made everyone more wealthy, and also helped workers gain more power and escape from serfdom."
Were you referring to my fiction, or the real Black Plague?
"The study predicts that Mobile devices with embedded Wi-Fi will make up most of the market."
And a particularly nasty virus turns into a digital "Black Plague" wiping out nearly 2/3 of the digital population, thereby kick-starting the Second Middle-Ages.
"Eh, isn't your ISP profiting off P2P, especially if you have some form of usage-based billing, or are paying extra for higher speed and/or transfer cap?"
This also occurred to me. I discount this theory for one reason--my own P2P tracking.
While I am sure there is some bias as a result of language, the vast majority of torrents I download have a high quantity of peers from Comcast, my own ISP. It is not unusual to see as much as 40%-50% of my peers resolve to Comcast. And, very surprisingly, they also seem to be the peers that are uploading to me at high rates, often accounting for 80%-90% of the total data per torrent.
How the hell does Comcast make money from this? I have never reached my 250GB cap on Comcast and I consider myself a "frequent" torrent client. While they did, not so long ago, throttle P2P, I regularly get 1.5-2.0MB sustained download speeds these days (provided the seeds are up to it). If I remember correctly, the vast majority of Comcast customers are not "usage-based" but rather simply capped (reasonably so, IMHO).
Trust me, I am not a big fan of Comcast (their private data-sharing policies suck), but for the life of me I cannot see how they are making any money here except by having...well, satisfied customers.
"The Pirate Bay has made a fantastical amount of money over the years from advertising..."
While this may be true (I don't know), the difference is that Hotfile charges the USERS for access, users that receive files in exchange for money. The Pirate pay makes no money as result of the files being shared--from neither uploader or downloader, but rather from advertisers who themselves have nothing to do with the files.
You're making a connection between money and goods, as well as between provider and receiver, that simply doesn't exist on The Pirate Bay, but does exist on Hotfile.
Programmers--Ultimately responsible.
As with any programming, there is the distinct likelihood of bugs--hell, more of an expectation.
I guess that makes every person on the ground beta testers? Still going to rely on the release-and-patch model?
"Do you need a diagram?"
Yes, please.
If you could, please include the cow and elephant as I am a bit confused as to how, exactly, they play a role in this.
"That's right apple always overcharges for a premium and over price their gadgets anyways."
But do they include a bait-and-switch?
All I see here is concern for the register price for these tablets, not the fact that one month of Verizon service is also a 2 year service contract. Does anyone really expect VERIZON, of all companies, to go through the rigmarole of signing people up just for one months fees? Last I did business with them, they signed me up for another year of contact when I simply asked for a paper bill (for which they also charged me $1.99).
Probably should have included a citation...
http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/03/government-backs-1-billion-plan-to-make-gas-from-wood-chips/
The four plants the "loan" is for are to be located in Texas, Georgia and two in Mississippi. This sounds very sketchy to me...why not build the plants where there are actually trees? Sounds more like a contract scam--the plants are never meant to be profitable. More then likely the builders make their money (paid for with our taxes) from the construction, the plants fail to make money (for whatever reason), plant operators default on loan, story over, we're out a billion dollars.
You build a wind-generator, you get something for your money. You build a pipe-dream, you get smoke.