I remember stumbling on Chips and Dips when I was looking through the Hope pages wondering what the department was doing. Seemed like a pretty interesting little project, so I've continued lurking and contributing when I could. I've really enjoyed the site, and can't thank Rob enough for all of the years of reading. It's still the site I use for my tech news, despite the Diggs, Reddits, and what-nots.
Thanks again. Rob, for Slashdot back then, and may there be many many more years of Slashdot to come!
I read the article, and I believe the reasons the author switched back to PHP was because he was more comfortable with it than Ruby. If you read deeper, you'll note that he appreciated the experience in dealing with Ruby, and brought some of it back with him to PHP, but he did not think it was right for his application. Seeing this as a "OMG! Ruby replaced with PHP!" is just another fanboy reading into it what he will.
Time to calm down here, people. Just because one person sees value in another set of tools doesn't mean you will too.
The reason people are so ticked off is because there is no technical reason for this addition to the iPod line. I'm willing to give up a little of the Apple magic and experience because the Apple hardware is at such a high quality, even without the Apple software. This is a slap in the face of the people who want to be able to hack on the hardware.
I still like the Mac, and I still like the hardware, but I see this encryption key as pointless.
Actually, I think Microsoft should force the user to download security patches. I know most people I talk to think that waiting for software patches is punishment, especially over a slow modem.
"You are required to download 900MB of patches. Estimated time until completed is 8 hours, 23 minutes. Allow us to stream this anti-piracy movie while your computer is inaccessible. Download time now increased to 10 hours, 42 minutes".
I think I'll wait for an article comparing the two from someone who doesn't have a dog in the fight. As much as I'm loathe to use Visual Studio, Eclipse isn't much better. Perhaps the term "sucks less" is apropos.
I used this opportunity to cancel my Monster account. It wasn't doing anything for me anyway, but I figured that if enough people did it, they might take it seriously. You can read my account closure experience here. To say they shrugged this off as a small breach is an understatement. They didn't do anything real until the problem had escalated out of hand. If you feel as I do that Monster didn't act appropriately, I encourage you to also cancel your account. Maybe then they'll realize what their mistake was in handling this situation.
If you're too young to remember "Schoolhouse Rock", then kindly get off my lawn.
My first civics lesson came from a cartoon ("I'm just a bill"). What was your point? Are you old enough to remember Big Math Attack? (http://gury.atari8.info/details_games/38.htm)?
Lets make a similar math book for all the boys who aren't interested in math. It should feature GI Joe's using math to kill each other, aliens, and anything gross or violent. For the older boys lets throw in some soft core porn to get their eyes on the page (males are after all more visual, right?).
I believe you're referring to the Edutainment movement, where we were supposed to think that solving math problems to shoot down little alien ships with numbers on them was going to make a generation of geniuses.
Wait, this company is doing business under the name "Parallel Processing"?
If this isn't a clear case of the trademark office falling asleep at the switch, I'm not sure what is. Perhaps their claim of irreparable harm could be restated "If we lose this case, it will cause our company irreparable harm".
Your conjecture makes no sense, and I'd like to subscribe to your crackpot-theory website.
Seriously, though, how does this make any sense at all? Lets suppose that your conjecture is implemented, and DRM is ineligible for patents. Companies would still be able to make money off of it because what would have previously been patented would now become a trade secret. The padlock is well understood, yet I think there are still companies making money off of padlock sales. And your extrapolation that if its ineligible for patent, ergo it could be opensource is ludicrous at best. Before software patents and the DMCA, there were ways to protect software through copy-protection schemes and other relics of lessons best left learned and not repeated. Unfortunately companies see DRM and the DMCA as the padlock on their virtual shed, while crackers and other pirates see the screws on the plastic handles holding the whole works shut. Patents, laws, and other schemes will not hamper determined companies from making new DRM solutions. The only deterrent is for companies to wake up and realize they are already in a losing arms race with those determined to break their DRM scheme. Until that happens, there will continue to be DRM and DRM-like schemes, regardless of patent or other legal protection.
I've had mixed luck signing up folks with AT&T using a combination of Firefox and Opera under Linux. They have some stylesheet or something that puts the back / next buttons off the browser pane, no matter what. Its silly that they'd have to go through so much trouble to make something so broken, but they managed to make the extra effort. Thanks alot guys.
I think there's a distinction here, though, between Sony the music label, and Sony the hardware manufacturer. Sony Music screwed up. Their hardware is not in question (although I think their approach to copying on Blu-Ray and SACD is misguided at best, but that's another story).
$15? Try $20-30 for anything remotely interesting.
They definitely are about gouging the fans. I have a can of $10 acrylic primer to prove it.:) (That's white acrylic spray paint for the rest of you folks).
I have to add that I'm not a big fan of these distributions 'just work'. It seems to imply: "This is a OS that even the dumbest can use." Something you can use even if you're still wondering: "How do I download the Internet?" I've been using Linux for over 10 years now on my primary desktop, and I completely appreciate that when I want to plug in a piece of hardware, if "just works". Your comment seems to imply that even seasoned veterans wouldn't want such functionality. You'd be wise to count the number of Macbooks at your next LUG or convention gathering to see how wrong this thinking is. Any cycles I can use that aren't burned up trying to figure how to get the f-ing video card or flash card working with my current setup are cycles I can use productively elsewhere.
This is a big mistake. People, ordinary people, have bills to pay. Real life costs money, and if someone offers you money to do something which, lets face it in this case, is a pretty trivial and short term thing, what's the big deal?
Oh wait, its microsoft, therefore it must be bad. Oh how very sheeplike.
The big deal is not that of the masses vs. Microsoft, as you so eloquently put it, but of this hippie-B*S* idea that if you blog, you best be putting your own thoughts down on that text-area widget. That's been one of the tacit rules of blogging, and to say that your thoughts were bought is the blogging equivalent of saying you'll name your first-born kid after some product for money. Whether you agree that this is an acceptable practice or not is entirely up to you, but understand there is a lot of people out there who view the blog as some sacred confessional that shall not be besmirched with bought-and-sold thoughts. That is the real problem with Microsoft, or any companies ad campain.
I have a shelf of Linux software that proves you wrong. I've paid for copies of StarOffice, Applixware, WordPerfect, Crossover (back when it was just a Quicktime plug in), MoneyDance and much more. The simple truth of why I'm not spending money for StarOffice anymore is because of OpenOffice does the trick for me, so I haven't upgraded past version 6. True, Linux has a reputation for trying to do things on the cheap, but to say that nobody will spend money for a Linux solution is quite offensive to me. If a product exists, and it isn't priced at some usurious rate (like Quicken for Mac vs. Quicken for Windows), then people will pay for it. (and before someone gets on my case about Quicken vs. Quickbooks, yes I know they're two different products, but I haven't had an opportunity to price them between Mac and Windows).
Walter: A laser dismantles the molecular structure of the object and the molecules remain suspended in the laser beam. Then when the computer lays out the model the molecules fall back into place and... voilà!
To the author of the "Bill of Lights", I suggest two pieces of tape... one piece of electrical tape to go over the offending light, and one piece of duct tape to apply over your cake hole.
I personally LIKE my computer area looking like the Bat Cave. "Relaxen un watchen das BLINKENLIGHTS!"
So yes, while PHP's advisories are about 10 orders of magnatude more numerous than Tomcat's, it still "bug that would let a remote user execute code or change configuration settings or read files or doing a double-free or any of that kind of thing".
And trust me, it's just as easy to create fragile code in Java that can open your server like goatse as it is in any language, but it does seem to me that PHP puts most of the yoke of security squarely on the coder's shoulders. Unfortunately, I've also seen the code produced from those programmers, and the yoke was way too heavy for them to bear.
I'm surprised none of the TurboGrafx games made that list. Honestly, that whole catalog is a lesson in bad art direction. They make the Sega Maser System games look like museum pieces. The TG16 bomberman cover is pretty hideous. http://mushi.net/hanashi/horror/bomberman.jpg
Seconded. I have EasyCalc and free42 loaded on mine. EasyCalc has some great graphing functionality (and it's GPLed) while Free42 is an excellent HP-42 emulator (having never run an actual HP42 that's a bit debatable, but I have run several programs using it, and they work just fine).
Slashdot Mirror
I have done double blind tests on my etchings...
Both people went blind.
I remember stumbling on Chips and Dips when I was looking through the Hope pages wondering what the department was doing. Seemed like a pretty interesting little project, so I've continued lurking and contributing when I could. I've really enjoyed the site, and can't thank Rob enough for all of the years of reading. It's still the site I use for my tech news, despite the Diggs, Reddits, and what-nots.
Thanks again. Rob, for Slashdot back then, and may there be many many more years of Slashdot to come!
I read the article, and I believe the reasons the author switched back to PHP was because he was more comfortable with it than Ruby. If you read deeper, you'll note that he appreciated the experience in dealing with Ruby, and brought some of it back with him to PHP, but he did not think it was right for his application. Seeing this as a "OMG! Ruby replaced with PHP!" is just another fanboy reading into it what he will.
Time to calm down here, people. Just because one person sees value in another set of tools doesn't mean you will too.
The reason people are so ticked off is because there is no technical reason for this addition to the iPod line. I'm willing to give up a little of the Apple magic and experience because the Apple hardware is at such a high quality, even without the Apple software. This is a slap in the face of the people who want to be able to hack on the hardware.
I still like the Mac, and I still like the hardware, but I see this encryption key as pointless.
Actually, I think Microsoft should force the user to download security patches. I know most people I talk to think that waiting for software patches is punishment, especially over a slow modem.
"You are required to download 900MB of patches. Estimated time until completed is 8 hours, 23 minutes. Allow us to stream this anti-piracy movie while your computer is inaccessible. Download time now increased to 10 hours, 42 minutes".
Am I the only person who thinks that contributing any interface code from Lotus Notes is a *bad* idea?
I think I'll wait for an article comparing the two from someone who doesn't have a dog in the fight. As much as I'm loathe to use Visual Studio, Eclipse isn't much better. Perhaps the term "sucks less" is apropos.
I used this opportunity to cancel my Monster account. It wasn't doing anything for me anyway, but I figured that if enough people did it, they might take it seriously. You can read my account closure experience here. To say they shrugged this off as a small breach is an understatement. They didn't do anything real until the problem had escalated out of hand. If you feel as I do that Monster didn't act appropriately, I encourage you to also cancel your account. Maybe then they'll realize what their mistake was in handling this situation.
If you're too young to remember "Schoolhouse Rock", then kindly get off my lawn.
My first civics lesson came from a cartoon ("I'm just a bill"). What was your point? Are you old enough to remember Big Math Attack? (http://gury.atari8.info/details_games/38.htm)?
Lets make a similar math book for all the boys who aren't interested in math. It should feature GI Joe's using math to kill each other, aliens, and anything gross or violent. For the older boys lets throw in some soft core porn to get their eyes on the page (males are after all more visual, right?).
I believe you're referring to the Edutainment movement, where we were supposed to think that solving math problems to shoot down little alien ships with numbers on them was going to make a generation of geniuses.
Wait, this company is doing business under the name "Parallel Processing"?
If this isn't a clear case of the trademark office falling asleep at the switch, I'm not sure what is. Perhaps their claim of irreparable harm could be restated "If we lose this case, it will cause our company irreparable harm".
Your conjecture makes no sense, and I'd like to subscribe to your crackpot-theory website.
Seriously, though, how does this make any sense at all? Lets suppose that your conjecture is implemented, and DRM is ineligible for patents. Companies would still be able to make money off of it because what would have previously been patented would now become a trade secret. The padlock is well understood, yet I think there are still companies making money off of padlock sales. And your extrapolation that if its ineligible for patent, ergo it could be opensource is ludicrous at best. Before software patents and the DMCA, there were ways to protect software through copy-protection schemes and other relics of lessons best left learned and not repeated. Unfortunately companies see DRM and the DMCA as the padlock on their virtual shed, while crackers and other pirates see the screws on the plastic handles holding the whole works shut. Patents, laws, and other schemes will not hamper determined companies from making new DRM solutions. The only deterrent is for companies to wake up and realize they are already in a losing arms race with those determined to break their DRM scheme. Until that happens, there will continue to be DRM and DRM-like schemes, regardless of patent or other legal protection.
I've had mixed luck signing up folks with AT&T using a combination of Firefox and Opera under Linux. They have some stylesheet or something that puts the back / next buttons off the browser pane, no matter what. Its silly that they'd have to go through so much trouble to make something so broken, but they managed to make the extra effort. Thanks alot guys.
I think there's a distinction here, though, between Sony the music label, and Sony the hardware manufacturer. Sony Music screwed up. Their hardware is not in question (although I think their approach to copying on Blu-Ray and SACD is misguided at best, but that's another story).
I believe the formula works like this:
Sony releases DRM protected discs = -5,000 pts.
DRM Discs contain rootkit = -10,000 pts.
Sony denies any wrongdoing = -60,000 pts.
Sony realizes mistake = +100 pts.
Sony releases patch = +1,000 pts.
Public realizes cure worse than the disease = -5,000 pts.
Sony recalls discs = +10,000 pts.
Sony releases BluRay and PS3 = 0 pts.
Sony sues DRM Manufacturer = + 1pts.
So, in total, Sony is 68,899 points in the hole. I think its safe to say they're still pariahs here.
$15? Try $20-30 for anything remotely interesting.
:) (That's white acrylic spray paint for the rest of you folks).
They definitely are about gouging the fans. I have a can of $10 acrylic primer to prove it.
Something you can use even if you're still wondering: "How do I download the Internet?" I've been using Linux for over 10 years now on my primary desktop, and I completely appreciate that when I want to plug in a piece of hardware, if "just works". Your comment seems to imply that even seasoned veterans wouldn't want such functionality. You'd be wise to count the number of Macbooks at your next LUG or convention gathering to see how wrong this thinking is. Any cycles I can use that aren't burned up trying to figure how to get the f-ing video card or flash card working with my current setup are cycles I can use productively elsewhere.
Oh wait, its microsoft, therefore it must be bad. Oh how very sheeplike.
The big deal is not that of the masses vs. Microsoft, as you so eloquently put it, but of this hippie-B*S* idea that if you blog, you best be putting your own thoughts down on that text-area widget. That's been one of the tacit rules of blogging, and to say that your thoughts were bought is the blogging equivalent of saying you'll name your first-born kid after some product for money. Whether you agree that this is an acceptable practice or not is entirely up to you, but understand there is a lot of people out there who view the blog as some sacred confessional that shall not be besmirched with bought-and-sold thoughts. That is the real problem with Microsoft, or any companies ad campain.
I have a shelf of Linux software that proves you wrong. I've paid for copies of StarOffice, Applixware, WordPerfect, Crossover (back when it was just a Quicktime plug in), MoneyDance and much more. The simple truth of why I'm not spending money for StarOffice anymore is because of OpenOffice does the trick for me, so I haven't upgraded past version 6. True, Linux has a reputation for trying to do things on the cheap, but to say that nobody will spend money for a Linux solution is quite offensive to me. If a product exists, and it isn't priced at some usurious rate (like Quicken for Mac vs. Quicken for Windows), then people will pay for it. (and before someone gets on my case about Quicken vs. Quickbooks, yes I know they're two different products, but I haven't had an opportunity to price them between Mac and Windows).
Walter: A laser dismantles the molecular structure of the object and the molecules remain suspended in the laser beam. Then when the computer lays out the model the molecules fall back into place and... voilà!
Alan: Great! Can it send me to Hawaii?
To the author of the "Bill of Lights", I suggest two pieces of tape... one piece of electrical tape to go over the offending light, and one piece of duct tape to apply over your cake hole.
I personally LIKE my computer area looking like the Bat Cave. "Relaxen un watchen das BLINKENLIGHTS!"
Here's a link to Secunia's Tomcat 5 advisories, one of which is a remote code buffer overflow exploit.
http://secunia.com/product/3571/?task=advisories
So yes, while PHP's advisories are about 10 orders of magnatude more numerous than Tomcat's, it still "bug that would let a remote user execute code or change configuration settings or read files or doing a double-free or any of that kind of thing".
And trust me, it's just as easy to create fragile code in Java that can open your server like goatse as it is in any language, but it does seem to me that PHP puts most of the yoke of security squarely on the coder's shoulders. Unfortunately, I've also seen the code produced from those programmers, and the yoke was way too heavy for them to bear.
I'm surprised none of the TurboGrafx games made that list. Honestly, that whole catalog is a lesson in bad art direction. They make the Sega Maser System games look like museum pieces. The TG16 bomberman cover is pretty hideous.
http://mushi.net/hanashi/horror/bomberman.jpg
Have you ever tried to read the GPL?
No, I succeeded.
Seconded. I have EasyCalc and free42 loaded on mine. EasyCalc has some great graphing functionality (and it's GPLed) while Free42 is an excellent HP-42 emulator (having never run an actual HP42 that's a bit debatable, but I have run several programs using it, and they work just fine).