That wasn't very clear but from what I remember of the way this thing works, each country, or passport issuing authority has a master key. This key _may_ be used to sign and possibly encrypt the data on the passport's memory chip. The whole thing is basic PKI. However almost nobody seems to bother with implementing the PKI bit since it seems to be optional. Apparently reading a RFID passport seems to be magic enough that nobody's expected to figure it out.
If some body is more familiar with the details, feel free to correct me, it's been a while since I looked into this.
Some extra security could be added to the chips (proper key signing IIRC) but never is. Everybody knows about this but since it makes the US happy as part of their security theatre, nobody cares.
Rather than the picture of the mom and her kid, I think a diagram of how one works would be a lot more helpful.
And I really would have liked to know what kind of membrane he used (I suppose you can buy those though) or if he devised some other type of filtration system.
I for one, saw the picture and thought it was sweet.
It would have been sweeter to see a picture of the machine, or a diagram or something. This adds nothing to the story. We aren't on CNN (think "human interest" people ! Bah)
A warrant would be useful in the... Ah wait, we're at the border. Those guys can do whatever they want. And what's more, they aren't even proper public servants.
They just have a target to meet. If you're in the way... well, that sucks. They just won't care anyway. And I'm not sure they're able to (or that they really care -- or that it's worth their time to care).
Whatever the reason / cause, you're fucked. Make the best of it.
(whine whine, I've got rights !) (Hey Bob, here's another of them's whiners)
I thought that MIT students would want to demonstrate a little more class. War dialing/driving has been around forever. The concept is old school. I am sorry but I feel that there must be projects from MIT students that are more/. worthy that this.
I agree. The guy who played with the wii controllers to create 3D displays and interactive screens, etc. (can't remember where he was from) also was toying with low end hardware but did show inventiveness and creativity and came up with some genuinely fun stuff.
This is something Calvin would come up with (was Hobbes taking the pictures, is that why there's no stuffed tiger in any of them ?). Ok, except it's a trolley and not a cardboard box with "WarBoXing --No Grils Allowed" scratched on the side...
Conclusion? Linux is already on the right path, the worse that could be done to Linux, which I see popping up everyday, is to make it feel like a Mac.
I've been running Linux for ages, starting with the very first Slack and bought an iBook G4 (just before the transition to intel, I didn't mind much). I got it because it was a fairly good and inexpensive laptop for the amount of hardware. And I wanted to see what the fuss was about regarding the new Mac OS. So I used it as my mobile platform for about a year an a half. Then I gladly bought a Samsung, stuck Ubuntu and KDE on it and now have a much more comfortable environment. I honestly couldn't see what all the excitement was about Mac OS. Apart from the gloss it felt just like Windows. The interface is designed to run a single application, in Tiger the network integration was abysmal and there certainly wasn't anything intuitive about it. It just was relatively pretty.
From what I've seen the majority (with a few exceptions) of the Unix users I've met in various get togethers appear to feel that way.
apple makes money at 2.8%. do you really think that all these vendors pay X/each copy distributed?
Sadly they might, in increased fees for that "other" system they install on the 97.2% other machines they ship. This practice is nowadays supposedly "bad" but it might well still happen behind the scenes. Plus you don't get to ship the usual crud to offset costs (antivirus, misc inutilities, etc.).
However it's probable that the 2.8% aren't branded PCs but just generic assembled systems so it shouldn't have much of an impact on said vendors.
Slashdot Mirror
As for trasforming human waste (just urine, according TFA) into drinking water, well, I'm just mighty glad I didn't choose to become an astronaut.
Yes, we're lucky that kind of thing doesn't happen down here in nature. We wouldn't want to drink those yucky tainted atoms.
That wasn't very clear but from what I remember of the way this thing works, each country, or passport issuing authority has a master key. This key _may_ be used to sign and possibly encrypt the data on the passport's memory chip. The whole thing is basic PKI. However almost nobody seems to bother with implementing the PKI bit since it seems to be optional. Apparently reading a RFID passport seems to be magic enough that nobody's expected to figure it out.
If some body is more familiar with the details, feel free to correct me, it's been a while since I looked into this.
Hasn't this been known for a long time ?
Some extra security could be added to the chips (proper key signing IIRC) but never is. Everybody knows about this but since it makes the US happy as part of their security theatre, nobody cares.
Rather than the picture of the mom and her kid, I think a diagram of how one works would be a lot more helpful.
And I really would have liked to know what kind of membrane he used (I suppose you can buy those though) or if he devised some other type of filtration system.
I for one, saw the picture and thought it was sweet.
It would have been sweeter to see a picture of the machine, or a diagram or something. This adds nothing to the story. We aren't on CNN (think "human interest" people ! Bah)
Do not taunt Happy Dragon Warrior !
Ah but there are lots of keyboard layouts in Europe which makes this a bit complicated for laptops.
Lots of Sony models used to have trackpoints. Maybe some still do.
If people had listened to Hitler everyone would be speaking German and our consumer electronics would cost less.
So you're saying that the US came here in 1945 so that their electronics would cost less ? I knew there was something fishy about the whole deal !
A warrant would be useful in the... Ah wait, we're at the border. Those guys can do whatever they want. And what's more, they aren't even proper public servants.
They just have a target to meet. If you're in the way... well, that sucks. They just won't care anyway. And I'm not sure they're able to (or that they really care -- or that it's worth their time to care).
Whatever the reason / cause, you're fucked. Make the best of it.
(whine whine, I've got rights !)
(Hey Bob, here's another of them's whiners)
a description of the place to be searched,
The US border
and the persons or things to be seized,
Whoever happens to be crossing it and whatever he or she may be carrying.
Seems like everything is in order.
Nothing to see here, move along, move along please...
Of course not. But neither is it to fill you with lead. As long as everybody is having fun it doesn't really matter of course...
I thought that MIT students would want to demonstrate a little more class. War dialing/driving has been around forever. The concept is old school. I am sorry but I feel that there must be projects from MIT students that are more /. worthy that this.
I agree. The guy who played with the wii controllers to create 3D displays and interactive screens, etc. (can't remember where he was from) also was toying with low end hardware but did show inventiveness and creativity and came up with some genuinely fun stuff.
This is something Calvin would come up with (was Hobbes taking the pictures, is that why there's no stuffed tiger in any of them ?). Ok, except it's a trolley and not a cardboard box with "WarBoXing --No Grils Allowed" scratched on the side...
They really let anyone in MIT nowadays.
I have a teletype connected to a tin can that crosses the border with a long peice of twine, connected to another tin can connected to a modem.
That seems to fit the "definition of unreasonable" quite nicely.
Ah, so it would be a kind of high end Solitaire then ? Well I guess it makes more sense then. :)
I even bought an Ubuntu installed Dell for my mom and she hasn't been happier.
Then maybe you should give her her old computer back ?
Shouldn't a child strive to make its mom happy after all ?
That is partially because A) EEEs come with Linux by default
A) EEEs used to come with Linux by default
Here, fixed that for you.
Conclusion? Linux is already on the right path, the worse that could be done to Linux, which I see popping up everyday, is to make it feel like a Mac.
I've been running Linux for ages, starting with the very first Slack and bought an iBook G4 (just before the transition to intel, I didn't mind much). I got it because it was a fairly good and inexpensive laptop for the amount of hardware. And I wanted to see what the fuss was about regarding the new Mac OS.
So I used it as my mobile platform for about a year an a half. Then I gladly bought a Samsung, stuck Ubuntu and KDE on it and now have a much more comfortable environment. I honestly couldn't see what all the excitement was about Mac OS. Apart from the gloss it felt just like Windows. The interface is designed to run a single application, in Tiger the network integration was abysmal and there certainly wasn't anything intuitive about it. It just was relatively pretty.
From what I've seen the majority (with a few exceptions) of the Unix users I've met in various get togethers appear to feel that way.
apple makes money at 2.8%. do you really think that all these vendors pay X/each copy distributed?
Sadly they might, in increased fees for that "other" system they install on the 97.2% other machines they ship. This practice is nowadays supposedly "bad" but it might well still happen behind the scenes. Plus you don't get to ship the usual crud to offset costs (antivirus, misc inutilities, etc.).
However it's probable that the 2.8% aren't branded PCs but just generic assembled systems so it shouldn't have much of an impact on said vendors.
So, graphics are more important to you than gameplay?
Gameplay ? In Diablo ?
Wander
Bump in monster
Kill monster
Pick loot
Wander
Bump in monster
Kill monster
Pick loot
Wander
Bump in monster
Kill monster
Pick loot
Wander
Bump in monster
Kill monster
Pick loot
Wander
Bump in monster
Kill monster
Pick loot
Wander
Bump in monster
Kill monster
Pick loot
Sell loot
Wander
Bump in monster
Kill monster
Pick loot
*yawn*
No wonder they turned to the graphics for some novelty.
The idea that Microsoft does all it's own innovation is bunkum from the uninformed.
Oh yeah ? Well how about MS Bob then ? What have you got to say to that Mr wiseguy Huh ?
As long as we're applying reason to the Bible, why not acknowledge it as nothing more than a book of bronze age mythology and treat it as such?
If it was "bronze age mythology" then it wouldn't be written in English !
*ducks*
The middle one is Luke 12:33.
Would that be AM or PM ?
There's also Buckaroo Banzai who besides being a rock star was a physicist and a renowned brain surgeon. :)
In the end he changed his name to "Harold I. Libshitz" and everything finally went through.