This is a great idea... If nothing else, it might help induce certain monopolies to become more competitive and re-focus on creating better software, rather than spending its resources trying to crush its opponents.
And, as much as I would resist the government getting involved in standards-making and enforcement, it wouldn't be out of line for them to exert themselves toward making sure certain monopolies don't subvert the existing independent standards-making bodies through bribery and infiltration.
Several people use my computer at home. Plus, I use computers at several different IP addresses, some of which are in turn used by other people. So how can any IP address, by itself, be biographical information about me in particular?
More importantly, how can an IP address be identified with me directly? If "my" IP address is used to download porn, how do they know whether I did it, or someone else at my computer did it? How do they know it wasn't some Russian Mafia's botnet that took over my computer and did it?
In Putin's defense, he was slapping down a marketing pitch. The linked article gets it wrong on a subtle but significant detail: Mr. Dell didn't ask "If" Dell could help, he asked "How" Dell could help.
Who can blame Putin for being offended by the implication that Russia needed Mr. Dell's help? So he let him have it with both barrels, much as any of us might react to an unwanted and annoying telemarketer, if they gave us a similarly arrogant pitch.
And by the way, shouldn't the lame jokes be changed to start with "In post-Soviet Russia"?
Is there anyone with any depth technical knowledge at all, that seriously believes that we should use such a corruptible technology as electronic voting machines in our sacred voting process?
You can't secure them. Anybody with an ounce of sense about computer security knows this. Plus, there is no way to verify whether they are programmed to do what they should.
I'm going to connect a disk array to the "undernet" and call it the Panty-RAID.
Dare I predict the Slashdot headline when the first virus hits the undernet?
Why not: "Undernet Gets First Wedgie"
It's a marketing phrase, designed to encourage you to offload your computing to the Cloud.
The Cloud is where someone else controls your information, not you. Stallman says it's a trap. I'm inclined to believe him. When MicroHard starts promoting it? All the more reason to be leery of it.
Nothing in all the wonders of this technology can convince me that it wouldn't be forever prone to the flaw of outside contamination. What if I had just touched someone else's hand, who just handled drugs? This technology won't find me guilty?
Since this technology has to work with such minute amounts... How would this technology ever be able to prove that what it detected from your fingerprint, didn't get there from any of a thousand other indirect sources? How can they leap to the conclusion that what was found was something you encountered directly?
The main idea behind "buying local", has not much to do with buying from the local Wal-Mart.
It's about buying products that haven't had to be shipped hundreds or thousands of miles, when you have a choice. Like buying apples grown nearby, rather than from the other side of the world, even if they cost a little more. This would apply regardless of what retailer you bought the item from.
If this is creating a big psychological problem, why make the remote operators see any more than the live bomber pilots would? Is there a reason they must "watch it all the way to impact"?
You actually know of a parrot that can recite the next line in a movie, if you speak a famous movie quote?
I might pay money to see that, if it actually existed.
Except by that time, the infrastructure will be in place, and it will be too late.
The kill switch devices will have remotely reprogrammable logic, and once in place, they will not merely throw up their hands and give up the first time the system is defeated...they will just harden it until it is very difficult to subvert.
And subverting it will become a felony, as will disabling the device on your own car, or cell phone, or your camera (so it can't take pictures in "locker rooms and museums"... wtf?).
This is more than a slippery slope...this is teetering on the abyss of Orwell's wildest nightmare.
I use primarily Firefox during web development, because it seems more efficient and sensible to target a reasonably compliant browser first, and then adjust to IE afterward. I use Firefox mostly because having Firebug available is so useful during development and debugging.
Slashdot Mirror
Shall I be the first to ruin the fun by pointing out that this is just an April Fool's prank?
Texas is such a large textbook market that many publishers write to the state's standards.
Well, there's the crux of the problem. Book publishers probably shouldn't write the science textbooks. Scientists should.
This is a great idea... If nothing else, it might help induce certain monopolies to become more competitive and re-focus on creating better software, rather than spending its resources trying to crush its opponents.
And, as much as I would resist the government getting involved in standards-making and enforcement, it wouldn't be out of line for them to exert themselves toward making sure certain monopolies don't subvert the existing independent standards-making bodies through bribery and infiltration.
Of course, as any decent hacker knows, "Stop hacking please" is just a l33t-speak code message for, "Keep up the good work"!
Several people use my computer at home. Plus, I use computers at several different IP addresses, some of which are in turn used by other people. So how can any IP address, by itself, be biographical information about me in particular?
More importantly, how can an IP address be identified with me directly? If "my" IP address is used to download porn, how do they know whether I did it, or someone else at my computer did it? How do they know it wasn't some Russian Mafia's botnet that took over my computer and did it?
In Putin's defense, he was slapping down a marketing pitch. The linked article gets it wrong on a subtle but significant detail: Mr. Dell didn't ask "If" Dell could help, he asked "How" Dell could help.
Who can blame Putin for being offended by the implication that Russia needed Mr. Dell's help? So he let him have it with both barrels, much as any of us might react to an unwanted and annoying telemarketer, if they gave us a similarly arrogant pitch.
And by the way, shouldn't the lame jokes be changed to start with "In post-Soviet Russia"?
Eight-armed, in the sense that a starfish is five-armed. Not quite as sci-fi weird as the headline might sound.
You can't secure them. Anybody with an ounce of sense about computer security knows this. Plus, there is no way to verify whether they are programmed to do what they should.
And we argue over whether to have paper trails?
Until then, I'm sticking with Lynx!
And not to mention, the massive loss of dignity to Talk Like A Pirate Day.
I'm going to connect a disk array to the "undernet" and call it the Panty-RAID. Dare I predict the Slashdot headline when the first virus hits the undernet? Why not: "Undernet Gets First Wedgie"
It's a marketing phrase, designed to encourage you to offload your computing to the Cloud. The Cloud is where someone else controls your information, not you. Stallman says it's a trap. I'm inclined to believe him. When MicroHard starts promoting it? All the more reason to be leery of it.
Can't we just add some more tubes?
Excellent idea.
And all those people who say that cats always land on their feet... they just aren't throwing them right.
Sorry, but Bill Gates wiggling his rear does not sound the least bit "delicious" to me.
Please stop clogging the internet with your slashdotty posts now. You're slowing down my porn downloads.
Since this technology has to work with such minute amounts... How would this technology ever be able to prove that what it detected from your fingerprint, didn't get there from any of a thousand other indirect sources? How can they leap to the conclusion that what was found was something you encountered directly?
It's about buying products that haven't had to be shipped hundreds or thousands of miles, when you have a choice. Like buying apples grown nearby, rather than from the other side of the world, even if they cost a little more. This would apply regardless of what retailer you bought the item from.
And, like only China does this stuff. Egad...the U.S. would never stoop to doing such things!
If this is creating a big psychological problem, why make the remote operators see any more than the live bomber pilots would? Is there a reason they must "watch it all the way to impact"?
Embrace, Extend....
You actually know of a parrot that can recite the next line in a movie, if you speak a famous movie quote?
I might pay money to see that, if it actually existed.
Except by that time, the infrastructure will be in place, and it will be too late.
The kill switch devices will have remotely reprogrammable logic, and once in place, they will not merely throw up their hands and give up the first time the system is defeated...they will just harden it until it is very difficult to subvert.
And subverting it will become a felony, as will disabling the device on your own car, or cell phone, or your camera (so it can't take pictures in "locker rooms and museums"... wtf?).
This is more than a slippery slope...this is teetering on the abyss of Orwell's wildest nightmare.
I use primarily Firefox during web development, because it seems more efficient and sensible to target a reasonably compliant browser first, and then adjust to IE afterward. I use Firefox mostly because having Firebug available is so useful during development and debugging.