As a newbie to linux, this sort of information is important to me, and it's good to see that a topic like this gets the attention it deserves, rather than a chapter in a book about linux in general.
If the federal government does end up setting the statutes by which this sort of thing is regulated, it will serve to put down a single standing rule for every state in the union. However, as each state is a little bit different, wouldn't it be feasible to set down a blanket rule that requires/allows for interpretation by the individual state to suit it's constituents needs? Just a thought.
Everyone is discussing their "winners of 1999", so I thought I'd add my two cents worth. I know that the focus tends to be on technological advancements that make us all go oooh and ahhh, but here's something for us to keep in mind: WE are the real winners in 1999. Thanks to Linux going even more "mainstream" than before, the Linux gurus that were until recently looked at as wasting their time on an OS that would never go anywhere are suddenly a marketable commodity. People are starting to joing the Linux bandwagon in droves, bringing with them media attention and a newfound focus on Linux from some fairly big name companies. The added support, more applications, increased interest, and sudden desire to find people with Linux skills to work fo r you helps make everyone associated with Linux, from the kernel hackers to vocal and written advocates the real winners of this year, and hopefully it will carry over to the next as well
Here's what I'm wondering. Not having much to do with the digital signature software & hardware, I'm curious as to a couple of things. First off, I'm wondering what the possibility of forgery is, and to what degree security is involved in the devices/software that implement the signature. Secondly (and possibly a branch from the first question), I'd be interested to know what prevents someone from copying this signature and using it themselves. I'm obviously not well versed on the subject, buy these are the kinds of concerns I would expect a businessman to raise. Also, does anyone know if the bill would allow for businesses to refuse to allow the use of the signature? The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has limits.
As if MTV's journalistic integrity wasn't in question enough, now this. Perhaps at least it will convince other "mainstream" journalists to verify everything and get some background before they post or write a story like this again.
At the risk of creating a stereotype, I would like to think that the individuals who frequent Slasdot are usually very intelligent, well spoken people. We thirst for knowledge of any kind, and strive to teach the "masses" about our culture and tear down as many pre-conceived notions as possible. Then, when something like this comes up very little gets done (if you don't count complaining here on slashdot). I'm not trying to start a flame war, I actually have a suggestion. With as many great minds as there are visiting this site, couldn't we get together and write some sort of treatise for the masses in general explaining the differences between crackers and hackers, and essentially address the fears and misinformation that make our lives so much more difficult than need be sometimes? We write things like the jargon file, and there are a million "how to be a hacker" faqs, but none of these address the non-technical people that really need the education.
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As a newbie to linux, this sort of information is important to me, and it's good to see that a topic like this gets the attention it deserves, rather than a chapter in a book about linux in general.
If the federal government does end up setting the statutes by which this sort of thing is regulated, it will serve to put down a single standing rule for every state in the union. However, as each state is a little bit different, wouldn't it be feasible to set down a blanket rule that requires/allows for interpretation by the individual state to suit it's constituents needs? Just a thought.
Everyone is discussing their "winners of 1999", so I thought I'd add my two cents worth. I know that the focus tends to be on technological advancements that make us all go oooh and ahhh, but here's something for us to keep in mind: WE are the real winners in 1999. Thanks to Linux going even more "mainstream" than before, the Linux gurus that were until recently looked at as wasting their time on an OS that would never go anywhere are suddenly a marketable commodity. People are starting to joing the Linux bandwagon in droves, bringing with them media attention and a newfound focus on Linux from some fairly big name companies. The added support, more applications, increased interest, and sudden desire to find people with Linux skills to work fo r you helps make everyone associated with Linux, from the kernel hackers to vocal and written advocates the real winners of this year, and hopefully it will carry over to the next as well
Has anyone here used a RISC processor? I haven't, and I'm curious as to the performance level of these things running Linux....
Here's what I'm wondering. Not having much to do with the digital signature software & hardware, I'm curious as to a couple of things. First off, I'm wondering what the possibility of forgery is, and to what degree security is involved in the devices/software that implement the signature. Secondly (and possibly a branch from the first question), I'd be interested to know what prevents someone from copying this signature and using it themselves. I'm obviously not well versed on the subject, buy these are the kinds of concerns I would expect a businessman to raise. Also, does anyone know if the bill would allow for businesses to refuse to allow the use of the signature? The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has limits.
As if MTV's journalistic integrity wasn't in question enough, now this. Perhaps at least it will convince other "mainstream" journalists to verify everything and get some background before they post or write a story like this again.
At the risk of creating a stereotype, I would like to think that the individuals who frequent Slasdot are usually very intelligent, well spoken people. We thirst for knowledge of any kind, and strive to teach the "masses" about our culture and tear down as many pre-conceived notions as possible. Then, when something like this comes up very little gets done (if you don't count complaining here on slashdot). I'm not trying to start a flame war, I actually have a suggestion. With as many great minds as there are visiting this site, couldn't we get together and write some sort of treatise for the masses in general explaining the differences between crackers and hackers, and essentially address the fears and misinformation that make our lives so much more difficult than need be sometimes? We write things like the jargon file, and there are a million "how to be a hacker" faqs, but none of these address the non-technical people that really need the education.