When I saw them doing this a few weeks ago, I expressed to one of the employees that I found the preloaded XBox systems to be legally questionable. He just shrugged.
You were there and saw them selling games without their packaging? Were they selling games they bought or coppies without paying for them? It makes a difference and I'll be happier if they were arrested for selling coppies, but still pissed that the US federal government is being used as some kind of copyright police when the issue is really a civil not a criminal matter.
In any case, the article was unclear. All it said was that they had games on display:
Xbox video game console, that had been modified to hold larger hard drives and play pirated games. The modified consoles, some holding 15 or more games already copied to the hard drive, were on open display in the stores.
Show me a video store that does not have games on display and show me a computer that's not capable of playing a "pirated" game.
The ESA would like you to think that modifying a game, so that it will take a bigger hard drive or save a copy is against the law and will get you arrested, but I've yet to be shown that. If you were there and saw what they were doing, you can tell me one way or another.
No irony was intended. Let's try another more direct form,
CNet can't write a title.
Sam, the limits of form imposed by advertisement funded, dead tree writing are clear to see. I'm sure the title was made up by some editor, but I feel bad for you.
This wasn't posted by CmdrTaco.
When the nations "Paper of Record" can't get it right, what do you expect from the rest of us? Slashdot digs up news that matters and that's all I care about. Noam Chomsky would say that the media should not be able to write a proper sentence if it's working right. He claims the media's purpose is to limit thought and it does so by presenting what it's owners consider the limits of an acceptable future in an obnoxious and belligerent way. You are supposed to think of news and politics as unpleasant, unpolite and ultimately something beyond your control. What you get from your average 15 minutes a day of news "consumption" is direction not information. George Orwell's "Duck Speak" is exactly what you should expect.
Man I hope the quality of IBM Thinkpads doesn't drop. Thinkpads are (in my opinion) the best laptops you can buy.
Yes, IBM mechanical design was top notch. While I've only been lucky enough to own two thinkpads, both were tanks, both are more than five years old and both still work great. The 90 MHz Pentium model with 16 MB of RAM may be obsolete by now, but I still use it and think it will one day make a nice wireless router. My PII runs Debian excellently and I use it every day. At work, thinkpads survived Bill the truck driver who's favorite tool was a mallet. I've seen dozens of models with two or three major forms and all are carefully overbuilt without being big or heavy. At the same time, I've seen winbooks the same age with broken shells that are excruciating to work take apart and put back together.
IBM also has excellent owner and repair manuals online as PDFs. They tell you exactly how to operate and repair the thing. I've downloaded mine and will burn them to CD for whoever I give or sell them to.
This search engine isn't some sort of special anti-democracy device whose sole purpose is to oppress the Chinese people.
No, it's much more than that. It's a propaganda machine for the rest of the world too. Here's a hint, it's in English. They can't block Google outside of China or terrorize the rest of us with arrest for reading the wrong web page.
Here's another hint. Check out a search for Hungary. I thought of this because a few weeks ago was the 30th or 40th anniversary of the Soviet Union's invasion and brutal supresion of the a nascent anti-communist revolt. The Google result has the CIA world factbook as the second result. That's one data point, I'm sure you can find your own.
Any company dependent on money from China is going to have to let them censor their statements. You should ignore what your enemy says, because it's usually a waste of your time. I'm going to not worry about this new search engine and be happy for it.
Clinton is so bought. The substantial amount of money that China piled into the DNC to get Clinton elected. They got their money's worth out of him the way you describe. More importantly, Clinton removed the last real US trade barriers against communist countries like China. So, while we might not trade with Cuba, all your job are belong to Commie Party Bosses and slave labor.
It's people like those interviewed for the article that are the reason spyware and adware exist. People who are CLUELESS... Just like Nigerian scams, enlarge your penis spam, etc.
No, spyware and spam exist because some stupid people think they can make money that way or that a good way to harass their competition is to make their competition's users miserable. In short, it's because some people are stupid, greedy and malicious. The ultimate losers are those who waste their time and effort trying to get rich quick. The spammer who lives in a nice house is the exception that proves the rule that most make no money, especially when the exception goes to jail for some other fraud. It's more like Amway or work from home than anything else.
Which means that you must be familiar with Gimp plugins, and it looks like there is no manual to help you integrate this in Gimp, or to explain its use. And how likely is it that this will work with modern versions of Gimp? Would you trust your color management to a piece of software in this state? Is it worthwile to even read this website any further, unless you want to modify the software?
Oh, you mean plugins like script-foo and all that come with GIMP and just work? If it works, it's exactly what the guy needs, why discourage the attempt?
It may very well be worth modification of the software and special hardware to the author, but we can be sure that less effort will be required. He's got thousands of slides, so obviously lots of time and little cash. Those slides just as obviously mean a lot to him. The worst case scenerio is that he has to set up an old distro on a dedicated partion to make this thing work. That's not a big deal. The best case is that this project has not been modified for five years because it works as is.
Let's be honest. How many of us sit down to "just check e-mail" and find that nearly an hour has passed without really doing anything productive?
If you are a student learning composition, the time was productive. What's wasted time for you, may not be wasted time for others. I know that my Slashdotting has kept up my writing skills and vocabulary from results on standardized tests such as the GRE where I consistently perform well. As the article points out, email was a bright spot for academic achievement:
Academic performance rose among those who routinely engaged in writing e-mail or running educational software.
The kind of person who bothers to compose an email might also be the type of person who bothers to study harder anyway, but your general premise is a projection rather than a reasonable thought.
*ducks*
Where? I'm hungry and it's been a while since I've had some good game bird.
Computers can be extremely powerful tools for learning, but only if used in proper context.
Now there's a thought. My favorite quote from the article:
consensus holds that more research is needed to know exactly where computers make the most difference in an educational process. "There's this sort of bizarre belief that computers cast a spell over students and teachers and schools," says Christopher Dede, professor of learning technologies at the Harvard School of Education. "Can you imagine what would happen if you had the same in business, asking if computers were interfering with performance? It would be a big joke."
But it is a big joke. The spell has been cast by salesmen and silly adverts, such as M$'s "we see your potential" series. The same thing has happened in the business world. The result is that general purpose junk has been sold without clear and careful thought about use. Most schools are on the fourth generation of general purpose boxes run by people who have no clue about what real use can be made from them.
I didn't see mentioned anywhere in the article what types of software these kids were running.
They did mention that, but I would have liked to see more:
Academic performance rose among those who routinely engaged in writing e-mail or running educational software.
This comes as no surprise. People who write, learn how to write. Well written educational programs draw people in so that they spend their time learning. People who spend their time playing games would probably not be doing their homework if they did not have a computer, so the results are self selecting.
I'd have liked to have seen an OS breakdown. Debian has a wealth of scientific applications for the older kids who don't get the good computer useage the Openhimer group called for. Gperiodic, kstars and the like are excellent for anyone but especially useful for 12 and above. It's fantastic collection of mathematical routines, data manipulation tools, editors and publication aids are great for university level students. Even the Debian junior toys are good for younger students, though I've seen dedicated leaning feedback computers like magic pads that play games that are better for toddlers. My two year old liked playing tuberling, but most often plays with real world toys.
I can't imagine what information or materials that I'd have access to that would require that kind of clearance or identification process.
Don't take the program at face value. If you do, it won't make sense. Is there really any information that requires this kind of ID? Does anyone think the ID will really be effective in stopping data leaks? This measure is about control of people, not information. Neither you nor the thousands of low level clerks, bus drivers and others like that really need this kind of clearance. The reason you and all of those people will get these cards before the rest of us is because Uncle Sam has more power over you.
Spybot, search and destroy and Adaware by Lavasoft are free beer if not free speech. They might work for a month or two. Then you need go go to the pro:
But the fiber network backbone system is. That's why telcom cables and water pipes share the same public servitude and both are regulated by local governments. So long as the telcos control law at the federal level, real wireless replacements for cables will not be something you can afford or use.
Mesh nets are cool in theory, but it's wrong people should be forced to rely on an inferior technology so that an obsolete incumbent can continue to make a living. Just think of the local reverse osmosis company getting ownership of the water pipes and making things so expensive and difficult that passing buckets of river water from house to house started to look good. This too may come to pass as the overall standard of living in the US declines in order to support an ever less numerous and ever more powerful, ignorant and useless elite.
Sonny, of Sonny and Chere was a FUCKING SENATOR? THE GUY WHO'S "BEAT GOES ON" GAVE US 100 YEAR COPYRIGHTS? Something is very wrong here.
... it's not that useful for apprehending major criminals. Its real use is deterring the bozos who "celebrate" by firing guns into the air in urban areas. The Redwood City system has cut down on that problem, much to the relief of local residents.
So, while you are chasing down the so called "bozo", the criminal who set up the distraction is busy doing as they please. I'd prefer all those phone lines were used for an emergency response system that works.
That's a very interesting study you linked to and it confirms very well that the system is a waste of time. No one is ever caught, police workloads are increased to ineffectively track down something that is only reported 25% of the time to begin with.
I thought of this a few years ago, and am kicking myself for not doing anything about it. My system actually had the audio sample distinguish among a database of gunshots... I hereby patent this idea, with all of Slashdot as witnesses.
Haliburton will give you a nickel for that patent. Without them, what can you do? Consolidated industry sucks.
Of course it's third world friendly.
on
HIV Vaccine
·
· Score: 1
Also the article doesn't say how complex/expensive the process is per person. It doesn't sound like it's third world friendly, at least at the moment.
Oh come on now, think like an ass. This new treatment creates a whole new export for AIDS ravaged countries: aids infected human brains. Just imagine all of those potential costs being turned into assets. A 37% AIDS infection rate will be like hitting the jackpot! People in wealthy countries will pay top dollar. I'll bet the drug companies have already patented several business methods to harvest the product at minimal cost.
It's nice to talk about being tough on crime, but oftentimes what's really needed is not the cracking of a whip, or the monitoring of a camera, but rather a signature on a diploma, or on a paycheck. If you start suspecting everyone as a criminal, then they start seeing themselves as criminals and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
What you are noticing is a total lack of protection and respect for you by those who run our society. This camera is a guaranteed failure, which will at best enrich a few vendors. At worst it will be used as a tool of political oppression. If Big Brother can listen in on conversations in poor neighborhoods, he will soon have microphones everywhere. The people making decisions for you don't care what happens so long as you keep working for them and buying their crap.
Monitoring innocent people is not a "get tough on crime" thing to do. Executing murderers and giving stiff sentences to violent criminals instead of a five years at camp iron bar is. There is no excuse for harming your neighbor and people who do should be removed from society. Real law enforcement takes real policemen on the street, where they have a chance of showing up when called and catching the bad guys. Gun shot microphones will lead to wild goose chases when thugs figure out where the cameras don't see and fire into the air for fun. None of us can live with dignity under observation by an abusive state that thinks our lives are only worth five years of lock up but refuses to do what it takes to protect us.
Education, jobs, home and hearth all start with you knowing that you can keep what you earn and own. No one puts forth effort when they know that anything of value they have can be taken by thugs at any time. Real protection starts with the ability to call the police when you feel threatened, knowing that they will arrive in a timely fashion and those who do harm will be punished. Who's going to call the police when all that does is gain the attention of every thug on the block? Without real law enforcement, what have you got? Nothing, ever.
The people who dreamed up this plan could care less and it shows. They have got what they want and are not willing to part with it for your protection. Instead of building jails for the real animals, they are wasting money on crackpot ideas like this camera system that are supposed to lower the cost of law enforcement.
They should and do know better. Camera systems in the UK, originally put in to catch "terrorists" have neither caught terrorists nor deterred any form of crime. Big Brother is here.
Chinese, who are so militaristic that they spend 1/20th as much on their military as we do, with their economy that's over half the size of ours.
What do you know about Chinese spending? It's not like they have elected officials acting as watchdogs to tell the public they are responsible to. Nor do they have an independent and impartial press to report it. Even if they did, like the good old USA, you still might not know. Chinese government figures are about as good as the BS Winston's girlfriend made up for 1984 party bosses.
Intentions are more important than spending anyway. The last big worker's paradise does not spend money on creature comforts or the safety of their citizens. That's how they manage to kill thousands of people a year in their coal mines and have one of the most hazardous navy duty in the world. A country that's not afraid to run down it's own citizens with tanks is not afraid to use it's nukes. They are far more dangerous than the Russians who simply gave up when their people revolted.
"Linux users have the latest and greatest available all the time on the net" SP2 is also available on the net.
Better have a Mac or Linux to download it.
"CD publishers for five bucks or so"
Five bucks? What a rip off. MS is sending out free SP2 disks AND paying the postage for those who ask.
Woot, a $0.25 CD and $0.37 in postage (if you ask for it). The second bug fix for a three year old OS. I'm underwhelmed by the generosity of people who try to charge between one and three hundred dollars for an OS that has yet to include something as basic as a spell checker.
I mentioned CDs because some people still use dial up. A single CD purchase and Dial up internet represent the minimal cost of getting a computer working and on the net. Getting a 650MB iso with the average dial up provider is a painful process even with intelligent downloading programs with auto resume and a $5.00 CD looks like a good deal. You can buy a lot of $5.00 CDs with the $20 a month price difference between dial up and "broadband". $5.00 covers the cost of making the CDs. The software is free, of course, and your local Linux User's Group usually has a library you can use to get started. The average person can keep their system updated on dial up. CDs and broadband represent maximum costs for people who like to have multiple choices of latest and greatest without much fuss.
When you consider the cost of legally owning multiple coppies of Winblows, even a big broadband spender like me is a winner. At any given time, I've got five computers up. Each of those machines has a specific set of tasks and does them well. The operating systems alone would have set me back $1,000. The software to do anything useful another $500 at the least. That's enough money for three years worth of cable bills, but my poor Winblows computers would have been blown out after the first 4 minutes or so.
Great test, thanks for running and publishing it. I was astounded that 900 or so hits would be considered a low number of attacks over two weeks. The net really is ugly.
One thing that sprang to mind immediately was that email was not tested. Email seems to be a major vector of attack and is certainly one of the most frequent and important things people actually do with their computers. I'd love to see a test performed of modern mail clients, Outlook, Mozilla, Kmail, Evolution and whatever is on a Mac. It would take more time, but all you would need to do is sign up for mail accounts and wait for the spam to hit. No need to test the machines that failed the first test as there's little point in showing another hole on a platform with a half life measured in minutes. Windoze SP2, Linux and Mac should be tested to differentiate the platforms.
You used an OS that was released over 2 years ago, yet you used currently patched Linux and Mac boxes by way of comparison?
That's what's on the shelf and in people's closet. My latest Windoze disk is 98 second edition, but don't worry it only runs behind a firewall and it has no network card drivers. Most people have the CD that came with their computer and most of them are less than XP SP1. On the other hand, Linux users have the latest and greatest available all the time on the net or from CD publishers for five bucks or so. It would be very rare to have someone install an old version of Linux on a networked computer. I can't speak for Mac, but my impression is that they supply updates free of charge.
The "security risk" was the possibility of 'bad guys' inserting subtle bugs into Linux that could be exploited on the battlefield. On first glance, I'd call that unlikely but possible.
That scenerio is much more likely when code is written once by one person and never touched again. Free software is rewritten all the time. Closed source is more venerable to bug insertion by malicious employee, offshored work and especially an undetected break in to code servers. When it's closed, you don't really know if they got some guy in Moscow to write it, do you? The larger problem is bug removal, which free software excels in.
The compatability layer allows software written for embedded Linux to run on Green Hills's OS. Thus eliminating the alleged risk
I don't see the elimination of risk. Instead, I imagine they will create tons of bugs by trying to make a non free interface layer that will be difficult to write and maintain. My small experience with non free modules that have to be compiled along with kernel source has been dismal. The non free world does not have the resources to keep up with improvements and changes in the free world.
My father used to say that only fools don't admit when they're wrong
My mom warned me that asinine people often change what they say without admitting anything. I don't see any apology or retractions, do you? It is indeed foolish to act that way because people remember.
Slashdot Mirror
You were there and saw them selling games without their packaging? Were they selling games they bought or coppies without paying for them? It makes a difference and I'll be happier if they were arrested for selling coppies, but still pissed that the US federal government is being used as some kind of copyright police when the issue is really a civil not a criminal matter.
In any case, the article was unclear. All it said was that they had games on display:
Xbox video game console, that had been modified to hold larger hard drives and play pirated games. The modified consoles, some holding 15 or more games already copied to the hard drive, were on open display in the stores.
Show me a video store that does not have games on display and show me a computer that's not capable of playing a "pirated" game.
The ESA would like you to think that modifying a game, so that it will take a bigger hard drive or save a copy is against the law and will get you arrested, but I've yet to be shown that. If you were there and saw what they were doing, you can tell me one way or another.
No irony was intended. Let's try another more direct form,
CNet can't write a title.
Sam, the limits of form imposed by advertisement funded, dead tree writing are clear to see. I'm sure the title was made up by some editor, but I feel bad for you.
This wasn't posted by CmdrTaco.
When the nations "Paper of Record" can't get it right, what do you expect from the rest of us? Slashdot digs up news that matters and that's all I care about. Noam Chomsky would say that the media should not be able to write a proper sentence if it's working right. He claims the media's purpose is to limit thought and it does so by presenting what it's owners consider the limits of an acceptable future in an obnoxious and belligerent way. You are supposed to think of news and politics as unpleasant, unpolite and ultimately something beyond your control. What you get from your average 15 minutes a day of news "consumption" is direction not information. George Orwell's "Duck Speak" is exactly what you should expect.
Go back to sleep now.
Yes, IBM mechanical design was top notch. While I've only been lucky enough to own two thinkpads, both were tanks, both are more than five years old and both still work great. The 90 MHz Pentium model with 16 MB of RAM may be obsolete by now, but I still use it and think it will one day make a nice wireless router. My PII runs Debian excellently and I use it every day. At work, thinkpads survived Bill the truck driver who's favorite tool was a mallet. I've seen dozens of models with two or three major forms and all are carefully overbuilt without being big or heavy. At the same time, I've seen winbooks the same age with broken shells that are excruciating to work take apart and put back together.
IBM also has excellent owner and repair manuals online as PDFs. They tell you exactly how to operate and repair the thing. I've downloaded mine and will burn them to CD for whoever I give or sell them to.
The day I get want more is a long way off.
No, it's much more than that. It's a propaganda machine for the rest of the world too. Here's a hint, it's in English. They can't block Google outside of China or terrorize the rest of us with arrest for reading the wrong web page.
Here's another hint. Check out a search for Hungary. I thought of this because a few weeks ago was the 30th or 40th anniversary of the Soviet Union's invasion and brutal supresion of the a nascent anti-communist revolt. The Google result has the CIA world factbook as the second result. That's one data point, I'm sure you can find your own.
Any company dependent on money from China is going to have to let them censor their statements. You should ignore what your enemy says, because it's usually a waste of your time. I'm going to not worry about this new search engine and be happy for it.
Quoth the bum,
"I hope you all make lots of money,"
Thanks Bill. I hope your penis falls off.
No, spyware and spam exist because some stupid people think they can make money that way or that a good way to harass their competition is to make their competition's users miserable. In short, it's because some people are stupid, greedy and malicious. The ultimate losers are those who waste their time and effort trying to get rich quick. The spammer who lives in a nice house is the exception that proves the rule that most make no money, especially when the exception goes to jail for some other fraud. It's more like Amway or work from home than anything else.
What makes you think that this has not happened? The result would be what you see already, an increase in ID theft type crimes.
Oh, you mean plugins like script-foo and all that come with GIMP and just work? If it works, it's exactly what the guy needs, why discourage the attempt?
It may very well be worth modification of the software and special hardware to the author, but we can be sure that less effort will be required. He's got thousands of slides, so obviously lots of time and little cash. Those slides just as obviously mean a lot to him. The worst case scenerio is that he has to set up an old distro on a dedicated partion to make this thing work. That's not a big deal. The best case is that this project has not been modified for five years because it works as is.
If you are a student learning composition, the time was productive. What's wasted time for you, may not be wasted time for others. I know that my Slashdotting has kept up my writing skills and vocabulary from results on standardized tests such as the GRE where I consistently perform well. As the article points out, email was a bright spot for academic achievement:
Academic performance rose among those who routinely engaged in writing e-mail or running educational software.
The kind of person who bothers to compose an email might also be the type of person who bothers to study harder anyway, but your general premise is a projection rather than a reasonable thought.
*ducks*
Where? I'm hungry and it's been a while since I've had some good game bird.
Now there's a thought. My favorite quote from the article:
consensus holds that more research is needed to know exactly where computers make the most difference in an educational process. "There's this sort of bizarre belief that computers cast a spell over students and teachers and schools," says Christopher Dede, professor of learning technologies at the Harvard School of Education. "Can you imagine what would happen if you had the same in business, asking if computers were interfering with performance? It would be a big joke."
But it is a big joke. The spell has been cast by salesmen and silly adverts, such as M$'s "we see your potential" series. The same thing has happened in the business world. The result is that general purpose junk has been sold without clear and careful thought about use. Most schools are on the fourth generation of general purpose boxes run by people who have no clue about what real use can be made from them.
I didn't see mentioned anywhere in the article what types of software these kids were running.
They did mention that, but I would have liked to see more:
Academic performance rose among those who routinely engaged in writing e-mail or running educational software.
This comes as no surprise. People who write, learn how to write. Well written educational programs draw people in so that they spend their time learning. People who spend their time playing games would probably not be doing their homework if they did not have a computer, so the results are self selecting.
I'd have liked to have seen an OS breakdown. Debian has a wealth of scientific applications for the older kids who don't get the good computer useage the Openhimer group called for. Gperiodic, kstars and the like are excellent for anyone but especially useful for 12 and above. It's fantastic collection of mathematical routines, data manipulation tools, editors and publication aids are great for university level students. Even the Debian junior toys are good for younger students, though I've seen dedicated leaning feedback computers like magic pads that play games that are better for toddlers. My two year old liked playing tuberling, but most often plays with real world toys.
Don't take the program at face value. If you do, it won't make sense. Is there really any information that requires this kind of ID? Does anyone think the ID will really be effective in stopping data leaks? This measure is about control of people, not information. Neither you nor the thousands of low level clerks, bus drivers and others like that really need this kind of clearance. The reason you and all of those people will get these cards before the rest of us is because Uncle Sam has more power over you.
That should take care of things and you can spend the rest of your client's time showing them new and better software instead of fixing old crap.
Yeah, but with a half life of just 4 minutes, people don't see a real improvement no matter which way they go with Windows. "Yeah", you say, "but a Pee Cee with SP2 does not get owned so quickly." Of course, it does, when the user has email (conversation with study author), or browses. People know this and are not very happy.
Next time, give them Simply Mepis or Debian Sarge. It works, it's easy for both of you and they will thank you for it.
But the fiber network backbone system is. That's why telcom cables and water pipes share the same public servitude and both are regulated by local governments. So long as the telcos control law at the federal level, real wireless replacements for cables will not be something you can afford or use.
Mesh nets are cool in theory, but it's wrong people should be forced to rely on an inferior technology so that an obsolete incumbent can continue to make a living. Just think of the local reverse osmosis company getting ownership of the water pipes and making things so expensive and difficult that passing buckets of river water from house to house started to look good. This too may come to pass as the overall standard of living in the US declines in order to support an ever less numerous and ever more powerful, ignorant and useless elite.
Sonny, of Sonny and Chere was a FUCKING SENATOR? THE GUY WHO'S "BEAT GOES ON" GAVE US 100 YEAR COPYRIGHTS? Something is very wrong here.
So, while you are chasing down the so called "bozo", the criminal who set up the distraction is busy doing as they please. I'd prefer all those phone lines were used for an emergency response system that works.
That's a very interesting study you linked to and it confirms very well that the system is a waste of time. No one is ever caught, police workloads are increased to ineffectively track down something that is only reported 25% of the time to begin with.
Haliburton will give you a nickel for that patent. Without them, what can you do? Consolidated industry sucks.
Oh come on now, think like an ass. This new treatment creates a whole new export for AIDS ravaged countries: aids infected human brains. Just imagine all of those potential costs being turned into assets. A 37% AIDS infection rate will be like hitting the jackpot! People in wealthy countries will pay top dollar. I'll bet the drug companies have already patented several business methods to harvest the product at minimal cost.
I am in a bad mood, that's for sure.
What you are noticing is a total lack of protection and respect for you by those who run our society. This camera is a guaranteed failure, which will at best enrich a few vendors. At worst it will be used as a tool of political oppression. If Big Brother can listen in on conversations in poor neighborhoods, he will soon have microphones everywhere. The people making decisions for you don't care what happens so long as you keep working for them and buying their crap.
Monitoring innocent people is not a "get tough on crime" thing to do. Executing murderers and giving stiff sentences to violent criminals instead of a five years at camp iron bar is. There is no excuse for harming your neighbor and people who do should be removed from society. Real law enforcement takes real policemen on the street, where they have a chance of showing up when called and catching the bad guys. Gun shot microphones will lead to wild goose chases when thugs figure out where the cameras don't see and fire into the air for fun. None of us can live with dignity under observation by an abusive state that thinks our lives are only worth five years of lock up but refuses to do what it takes to protect us.
Education, jobs, home and hearth all start with you knowing that you can keep what you earn and own. No one puts forth effort when they know that anything of value they have can be taken by thugs at any time. Real protection starts with the ability to call the police when you feel threatened, knowing that they will arrive in a timely fashion and those who do harm will be punished. Who's going to call the police when all that does is gain the attention of every thug on the block? Without real law enforcement, what have you got? Nothing, ever.
The people who dreamed up this plan could care less and it shows. They have got what they want and are not willing to part with it for your protection. Instead of building jails for the real animals, they are wasting money on crackpot ideas like this camera system that are supposed to lower the cost of law enforcement.
They should and do know better. Camera systems in the UK, originally put in to catch "terrorists" have neither caught terrorists nor deterred any form of crime. Big Brother is here.
What do you know about Chinese spending? It's not like they have elected officials acting as watchdogs to tell the public they are responsible to. Nor do they have an independent and impartial press to report it. Even if they did, like the good old USA, you still might not know. Chinese government figures are about as good as the BS Winston's girlfriend made up for 1984 party bosses.
Intentions are more important than spending anyway. The last big worker's paradise does not spend money on creature comforts or the safety of their citizens. That's how they manage to kill thousands of people a year in their coal mines and have one of the most hazardous navy duty in the world. A country that's not afraid to run down it's own citizens with tanks is not afraid to use it's nukes. They are far more dangerous than the Russians who simply gave up when their people revolted.
Sure, but a repeatable and published test to point at would be nice.
Unforunately, that kind of test is a lot more work. I don't see us doing it any time soon.
Oh well, thanks for what you did.
Better have a Mac or Linux to download it.
"CD publishers for five bucks or so" Five bucks? What a rip off. MS is sending out free SP2 disks AND paying the postage for those who ask.
Woot, a $0.25 CD and $0.37 in postage (if you ask for it). The second bug fix for a three year old OS. I'm underwhelmed by the generosity of people who try to charge between one and three hundred dollars for an OS that has yet to include something as basic as a spell checker.
I mentioned CDs because some people still use dial up. A single CD purchase and Dial up internet represent the minimal cost of getting a computer working and on the net. Getting a 650MB iso with the average dial up provider is a painful process even with intelligent downloading programs with auto resume and a $5.00 CD looks like a good deal. You can buy a lot of $5.00 CDs with the $20 a month price difference between dial up and "broadband". $5.00 covers the cost of making the CDs. The software is free, of course, and your local Linux User's Group usually has a library you can use to get started. The average person can keep their system updated on dial up. CDs and broadband represent maximum costs for people who like to have multiple choices of latest and greatest without much fuss.
When you consider the cost of legally owning multiple coppies of Winblows, even a big broadband spender like me is a winner. At any given time, I've got five computers up. Each of those machines has a specific set of tasks and does them well. The operating systems alone would have set me back $1,000. The software to do anything useful another $500 at the least. That's enough money for three years worth of cable bills, but my poor Winblows computers would have been blown out after the first 4 minutes or so.
One thing that sprang to mind immediately was that email was not tested. Email seems to be a major vector of attack and is certainly one of the most frequent and important things people actually do with their computers. I'd love to see a test performed of modern mail clients, Outlook, Mozilla, Kmail, Evolution and whatever is on a Mac. It would take more time, but all you would need to do is sign up for mail accounts and wait for the spam to hit. No need to test the machines that failed the first test as there's little point in showing another hole on a platform with a half life measured in minutes. Windoze SP2, Linux and Mac should be tested to differentiate the platforms.
That's what's on the shelf and in people's closet. My latest Windoze disk is 98 second edition, but don't worry it only runs behind a firewall and it has no network card drivers. Most people have the CD that came with their computer and most of them are less than XP SP1. On the other hand, Linux users have the latest and greatest available all the time on the net or from CD publishers for five bucks or so. It would be very rare to have someone install an old version of Linux on a networked computer. I can't speak for Mac, but my impression is that they supply updates free of charge.
That scenerio is much more likely when code is written once by one person and never touched again. Free software is rewritten all the time. Closed source is more venerable to bug insertion by malicious employee, offshored work and especially an undetected break in to code servers. When it's closed, you don't really know if they got some guy in Moscow to write it, do you? The larger problem is bug removal, which free software excels in.
The compatability layer allows software written for embedded Linux to run on Green Hills's OS. Thus eliminating the alleged risk
I don't see the elimination of risk. Instead, I imagine they will create tons of bugs by trying to make a non free interface layer that will be difficult to write and maintain. My small experience with non free modules that have to be compiled along with kernel source has been dismal. The non free world does not have the resources to keep up with improvements and changes in the free world.
My mom warned me that asinine people often change what they say without admitting anything. I don't see any apology or retractions, do you? It is indeed foolish to act that way because people remember.