Where do you find these morons....*ahem* I mean people? I'd love to get about 10 of them on really good terms so that I can slyly suggest that they just hand their "broken" computers over to me for disposal (read: reapplication as a Linux machine).
At least that way they'll be removed from the botnets and slave networks and be put to good use....
The most honest writing comes from the initial draft....notice that this is not to say it's the best, just that it truly reflects what you believe to be the brutal truth. This style of writing is what I enjoy the most. Thank you!
I have no expectations that they will become experts, but I would like to see them take away a basic rule set that will improve their chances that they will avoid the pitfall of malicious code.
Just like driving a car, a computer requires one to undergo some training and maintenance to completely understand it and become safer when operating the device. Right now, none is needed, although many sell these services, the general public doesn't recognize that these services should be taken seriously. All the public sees is money leaving their pocket, and they treat them like the warrantee, they completely ignore it after being told how much it costs. You wouldn't do that with car insurance, would you? Although it costs, you still pay it, sometimes because the state makes you, but more often because you realize that if you crash your car and don't have insurance, you're screwed. Even if you aren't screwed, you're still out more money than if you actually paid the insurance.
My point here is that it is the users RESPONSIBILITY to become educated, and that ignoring this responsibility will and is resulting in the problem we have today.
Congratulations....you've said what I would have if I had the proper words. I have immortalized you in a small fashion by putting your comments verbatim on the front page of my business site www.phaldor.net if you disagree with this, please let me know.
Ok, since I picked on you once, I do have to say that you are headed in the right direction. Users need to get a clue, particularly about allowing malicious code on their own systems through their own actions. You can have the best software and hardware protection money can buy or provide, but if the user doesn't understand safe computing practices, he's as good as the hacker himself sitting at the keyboard behind the protection.
Think of it this way, if you don't use a condom (or similar birth control device, including sterilization) for protection during herterosexual sex, what makes you think that you can guarantee that you won't get pregnant? Even if you use the condom, but don't use it correctly, there's no guarantee either. Listen up people, you have to get smart about your choices. The Futurama movie that just got released underlines this in a way that is humorous, but extremely pointed. Learn about safe computing, practice it, live it every day, and never let your guard down for any reason. I hate to be that way, but it's the only way to increase your chances that you won't be hit by a virus/trojan/malware/spyware bug.
A real life example, I had a customer (who will remain nameless), that came to me because his computer was running really slow. I fixed him up, educated him as much as I could, and sent him on his way. He called me up not more than a week later complaining about the same problem. I went over and discovered that he had downloaded the SAME THINGS THAT CAUSED the computer to break in the first place.....I told him this time he'd have to pay me. I haven't heard from him again, but he didn't pay me either so I have to assume his computer is still broke. Obviously, you can't help the ID-10-T's of the world....
I suppose my message to the masses is: If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.
> Firefox not having a history of letting websites run malicious code
You obviously do not pay too much attention to the news. There was one just released that had to do with Quicktime and Firefox. I know of several others where Firefox was either named specifically or generally, and why do you think they update their browser so often? More features? Get real dude, most of those updates are SECURITY VULNERABILITY fixes.
Re:The problem is that SETI is broken.
on
Is SETI Worth It?
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· Score: 1
Huge...as in several thousand miles across? Not sure they built it, but at one point they were planning a VLA that would span most of the northern hemisphere of the globe. This array is based on the very real and very old VLA in central New Mexico that has over 60 dishes in a three legged array that can be as tight as a few hundred yards or as wide as a mile or so across. I believe most of the data that the SETI team processes still comes from this array.
Oh, and your claim that we couldn't even hear ourselves from a neighboring star system is very inaccurate. Radio signals are much more likely to travel interstellarly than through an atmosphere and remain intact. Interference is what breaks a radio signal down, not distance.
Here's the kicker on this. What is to stop someone from copyrighting the conceptual method using psuedo code? This would allow for anyone to conceptually design a software program and copyright it using an arbitrary language. This could get really messy, which is why the lawyers out there stay in business. To take the example from above, someone could copyright, as a part of a program, "A method for incrementing the value of a variable by a single unit." and if it was found that anyone used this in their own copyright or patent, the original copyrighter could then sue and collect royalties.
Makes about as much sense as the person who sued (and won the case against) McDonalds because she spilled coffee in her own lap. No, we definitely do NOT want to allow copyrighting for software.....
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Where do you find these morons....*ahem* I mean people? I'd love to get about 10 of them on really good terms so that I can slyly suggest that they just hand their "broken" computers over to me for disposal (read: reapplication as a Linux machine).
At least that way they'll be removed from the botnets and slave networks and be put to good use....
The most honest writing comes from the initial draft....notice that this is not to say it's the best, just that it truly reflects what you believe to be the brutal truth. This style of writing is what I enjoy the most. Thank you!
true....I did enjoy the leagalese :-)
You do know that the use of the comment "get pregnant" applies to the couple as a whole, not the individual who possesses said penis?
I have no expectations that they will become experts, but I would like to see them take away a basic rule set that will improve their chances that they will avoid the pitfall of malicious code. Just like driving a car, a computer requires one to undergo some training and maintenance to completely understand it and become safer when operating the device. Right now, none is needed, although many sell these services, the general public doesn't recognize that these services should be taken seriously. All the public sees is money leaving their pocket, and they treat them like the warrantee, they completely ignore it after being told how much it costs. You wouldn't do that with car insurance, would you? Although it costs, you still pay it, sometimes because the state makes you, but more often because you realize that if you crash your car and don't have insurance, you're screwed. Even if you aren't screwed, you're still out more money than if you actually paid the insurance. My point here is that it is the users RESPONSIBILITY to become educated, and that ignoring this responsibility will and is resulting in the problem we have today.
Congratulations....you've said what I would have if I had the proper words. I have immortalized you in a small fashion by putting your comments verbatim on the front page of my business site www.phaldor.net if you disagree with this, please let me know.
Ok, since I picked on you once, I do have to say that you are headed in the right direction. Users need to get a clue, particularly about allowing malicious code on their own systems through their own actions. You can have the best software and hardware protection money can buy or provide, but if the user doesn't understand safe computing practices, he's as good as the hacker himself sitting at the keyboard behind the protection.
Think of it this way, if you don't use a condom (or similar birth control device, including sterilization) for protection during herterosexual sex, what makes you think that you can guarantee that you won't get pregnant? Even if you use the condom, but don't use it correctly, there's no guarantee either. Listen up people, you have to get smart about your choices. The Futurama movie that just got released underlines this in a way that is humorous, but extremely pointed. Learn about safe computing, practice it, live it every day, and never let your guard down for any reason. I hate to be that way, but it's the only way to increase your chances that you won't be hit by a virus/trojan/malware/spyware bug.
A real life example, I had a customer (who will remain nameless), that came to me because his computer was running really slow. I fixed him up, educated him as much as I could, and sent him on his way. He called me up not more than a week later complaining about the same problem. I went over and discovered that he had downloaded the SAME THINGS THAT CAUSED the computer to break in the first place.....I told him this time he'd have to pay me. I haven't heard from him again, but he didn't pay me either so I have to assume his computer is still broke. Obviously, you can't help the ID-10-T's of the world....
I suppose my message to the masses is: If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.
> Firefox not having a history of letting websites run malicious code
You obviously do not pay too much attention to the news. There was one just released that had to do with Quicktime and Firefox. I know of several others where Firefox was either named specifically or generally, and why do you think they update their browser so often? More features? Get real dude, most of those updates are SECURITY VULNERABILITY fixes.
Huge...as in several thousand miles across? Not sure they built it, but at one point they were planning a VLA that would span most of the northern hemisphere of the globe. This array is based on the very real and very old VLA in central New Mexico that has over 60 dishes in a three legged array that can be as tight as a few hundred yards or as wide as a mile or so across. I believe most of the data that the SETI team processes still comes from this array.
Oh, and your claim that we couldn't even hear ourselves from a neighboring star system is very inaccurate. Radio signals are much more likely to travel interstellarly than through an atmosphere and remain intact. Interference is what breaks a radio signal down, not distance.
Here's the kicker on this. What is to stop someone from copyrighting the conceptual method using psuedo code? This would allow for anyone to conceptually design a software program and copyright it using an arbitrary language. This could get really messy, which is why the lawyers out there stay in business. To take the example from above, someone could copyright, as a part of a program, "A method for incrementing the value of a variable by a single unit." and if it was found that anyone used this in their own copyright or patent, the original copyrighter could then sue and collect royalties. Makes about as much sense as the person who sued (and won the case against) McDonalds because she spilled coffee in her own lap. No, we definitely do NOT want to allow copyrighting for software.....