I can understand EA doing it - after all, they're 'just' a games company - but the one that really makes me laugh/cry is the British Computing Society. They're the professional organisation for IT-related careers in the UK and they send you your actual password! Of all the places that I'd expect decent security from, the nationally (possibly internationally) recognised organisation for IT pros would be it, but apparently not.
But is it the data on your network that is important, or the fact that anyone can hook on to your network and potentially start using it for anything they want? Most home networks (talking about the public as a whole, rather than/.) will have lots of music and games that are valuable in their own right (viruses writers are purposefully targeting game logins to steal them), but not the normal concept of "valuable". Not having the police break your door down because of what someone is doing on your network, or not having someone within your network having an easier job of infecting your machines than they would from outside the router/NAT also has its value.
Not that I've got round to playing the first version yet, but are they not going to mention the PC version again? Assassin's Creed 2 has been on the gaming shows already for XBox and PS3, but the PC version (the proper version for a proper machine) won't be out until late February in North American and "2010" in the rest of the world.
Surely they are developing on PCs, and the XBox is a cut-down PC, so they should be able to release it at the same time (and it should be better, since PCs can do more than XBoxes).
Even without encryption, getting access to the data on a laptop which uses OS password authentication requires some time and knowledge
I'm not exactly sure I'd call "throw a Linux Live disk" or "unscrew the HDD compartment, remove the disk and hook it up to a desktop" things that require much time or very much knowledge.
Chances are that thefts probably are to sell it and that they aren't interested in the data, but companies still shouldn't want to risk it (particularly if they work in a more sensitive environment with customers other than the standard commercial players).
If you scan everyone but a single group then that group will carry the explosives. You now know that you don't need to scan everyone else because they'll be the group carrying the explosives, so you stop scanning everyone else. That then means no-one is being scanned, so anyone could be carrying explosives again and you're back to square one.
While the statement "if you scan all but a group then you can guarantee that the group will be the ones most likely to carry something", you can't then extend that to the follow-on statement of "so we don't need to scan anyone, because we know who it is".
At the end of the day, it doesn't change the likelihood (someone who wants to bomb a plane will find a way) it just changes the probable attack surface (is it everyone or just a group who are most likely to be carrying explosives?)
But those two minutes for physical access a) require physical trespass, b) require you to be in a much riskier situation where you can get physically caught/trapped, c) tend to require more than 2 minutes because you've got things like locks on doors and d) require you to know where the router actually is.
By comparison, breaking WEP and hopping on a wireless network is simple, and how many people actually keep an eye on their router for rogue MAC numbers? Also, you do realise that MACs can be spoofed, so in the right situation you could potentially just usurp a machine or use the MAC of a real but currently disconnected one, right?
verything has its own ip, even projectors. And by God thats how its supposed to work
What, just in case someone wants to connect to the projector from some random remote location and display their own image?!? How many times do you ever need remote access to 99% of a University's computers, and 100% of its projectors?
One of the guys I work with used to be a "penetration tester" (paid/hired hacker;) ) and still has an interest in the area. He showed us a map of his route to work after he drove in with an Eee with wifi and GPS attached. With a bit of representation help, Google maps and a bit of colour coding then there was a surprising amount of people using WEP. Technically that's secured, but realistically it is as good as open for anyone with about 2 minutes and the right app (saw it demoed on the same Eee).
Not only that, but you need the space. My wife (g/f at the time) got a PS2 with the EyeToy and the exercise games. Great idea, and it worked okay in a sufficiently lit room, but not ideal in a student flat. Even if we moved the sofa out of the way as far as we could and stood on the opposite side of the room we were still too close and furniture/walls were still in the way. Some of these controllers don't need quite that much room, but you've still got obstacle issues.
Also, for anyone who has watched Michael McIntyre's latest standup DVD, don't forget about the "youngest son meets daddy playing tennis on the Wii" sketch;)
Did you know the largest facebook game developer company generates 1/6 of Electronic Art's revenue? Considering that it's a little bit stupid to see the constant "but facebook games is for stupid people" comments here on slashdot.
Not it isn't, it is still perfectly acceptable to say that "Facebook games are dumb" or "that's not real gaming". Making money != great gaming (in gaming, rather than financial, terms).
Or how about the laws about dodgy adverts/making money from illegal business are enforced and Google et al are fined for allowing their adverts to be used on dodgy websites (giving them a little bit of slack to at least catch it first)? That way no-one is unfairly taxed (i.e. advertisers who are more picky about adverts), and the laws that already exist are actually enforced.
Get over the hang-ups of nudity being naughty? How dare you suggest that. What impact would it have on the kids to know that every has such bits. Won't anyone think of the children!
What? We're in this ridiculous situation because people are thinking of the children and are taking it too far? Oh, okay.
Unfortunately I think we're too ingrained in the culture of "nudity = porn" (especially America and its Soul Corrupting Nipples, but also the UK) for the sensible approach of "it's just a bloody scanner, it isn't being used indecently and is no different to an anatomy book and is less indecent than some old works of art".
Unfortunately, while there is a difference between nudity (or even "vague outline nudity silhouette thing") and indecency, people have been too wound up in to frothing panic about paedophiles for them to realise that. Instead they'll have more than a few people complaining and filling law suits on their false association.
If you do not scan a specific group of people and this is known, you needn't scan anyone. Because all materials you are looking for will be carried by a member of that group of people.
With the wonderful circular impact that if you don't bother scanning because you've had this loophole that basically forces the items to a certain group of people then you'll end up with anyone carrying it because you're not scanning!
Unless you've got a very strange mod on that XBox (remember: the small slot is has is for peripherals, not for coins;) ) then you might still have to run out on to the streets and force coins on strangers.
As for the full arcade experience, it sounds like you just need to move to a rougher neighbourhood!
Wouldn't that require people to have an actual, proper computer to play their computer games on, rather than having some set-top games box? (which I hear is called a "con-soul" or "con-sell" or something?)
'The CEB's latest survey found that the willingness of IT employees to "exert high levels of discretionary effort" -- put in extra hours to solve a problem, make suggestions for improving processes, and generally seek to play a key role in an organization -- has plummeted to its lowest levels since the survey was launched 10 years ago.'
What? Has it taken people ten years to realise that you don't get credit for the extra hours (unless you're working horrendous amounts, which is almost seen as "expected") and that suggestions are generally ignored because they cost money? I thought technology was supposed to speed things up - how long would it have taken to realise that without IT?!
Ditto in the UK. I'm in a software dev-centric "research" job with a 37 hour week, 25 days annual leave (that's the minimum in our company after they brought all employees up to that level because of "age discrimination" for varying holiday based on length of employment), paid overtime, paid travel time and flexible working hours. Some aspects of America interest me as a place to live, but the work ethic sure as hell isn't one of them!
I think the main difference between CDs and games is the focus on the publisher. I don't have a clue who publishes my CDs, but my games stuff it in my face every time I start up. Ditto for films, actually, that have a slew of intro credits about who made it with who and who published it and who produced it and directed it and on and on and...yawn.
'We need to release this specific information. John, do you have a trusted friend at a major outlet? If so, call him/her and have a conversation. Idly mention this information and suggest that if it were published, that would be nice. No e-mails!'
Surely they need to know exactly what was told to them and have proof, so have the reporters not heard of taping the conversation? "No emails" is obviously a "we don't want a paper trail (even if it is obvious)" thing, but even having the conversation directly in the first place leaves some kind of trail!
this is actually laxer than the current DRM employed on digital content distribution - where you're locked into the device you download it to
Because, of course, being locked down to all the devices that support the DRM is so much better than being locked down to one device that people would never want true freedom.
Besides, even today you're not tied to one device with DRM. Got an old iTunes song? Great, you've got the options of iPod or iTunes on Windows or on Mac - that's mobile and the two main types of computer right there.
As a software developer (of sorts - technically a "researcher", but I program more) all I can say is this:
How do I get persistent royalties when people use my work by running the programs I wrote? I wrote it, so surely it is a creative work like a book and I deserve royalties. Surely copying it to memory is making another copy and deserves more royalties? Surely I should be able to stop people copying it to memory as well, even if it is just because I don't like that person, since it is my work. Some form of restriction management system for digital content should be created so that I can control what people do with my creation, even after I've sold it to them for a one-time fee with no additional contract in place!
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I can understand EA doing it - after all, they're 'just' a games company - but the one that really makes me laugh/cry is the British Computing Society. They're the professional organisation for IT-related careers in the UK and they send you your actual password! Of all the places that I'd expect decent security from, the nationally (possibly internationally) recognised organisation for IT pros would be it, but apparently not.
I don't believe you. Don't you know that 95% of statistics are made up on the spot?
But is it the data on your network that is important, or the fact that anyone can hook on to your network and potentially start using it for anything they want? Most home networks (talking about the public as a whole, rather than /.) will have lots of music and games that are valuable in their own right (viruses writers are purposefully targeting game logins to steal them), but not the normal concept of "valuable". Not having the police break your door down because of what someone is doing on your network, or not having someone within your network having an easier job of infecting your machines than they would from outside the router/NAT also has its value.
Not that I've got round to playing the first version yet, but are they not going to mention the PC version again? Assassin's Creed 2 has been on the gaming shows already for XBox and PS3, but the PC version (the proper version for a proper machine) won't be out until late February in North American and "2010" in the rest of the world.
Surely they are developing on PCs, and the XBox is a cut-down PC, so they should be able to release it at the same time (and it should be better, since PCs can do more than XBoxes).
I'm not exactly sure I'd call "throw a Linux Live disk" or "unscrew the HDD compartment, remove the disk and hook it up to a desktop" things that require much time or very much knowledge.
Chances are that thefts probably are to sell it and that they aren't interested in the data, but companies still shouldn't want to risk it (particularly if they work in a more sensitive environment with customers other than the standard commercial players).
If you scan everyone but a single group then that group will carry the explosives. You now know that you don't need to scan everyone else because they'll be the group carrying the explosives, so you stop scanning everyone else. That then means no-one is being scanned, so anyone could be carrying explosives again and you're back to square one.
While the statement "if you scan all but a group then you can guarantee that the group will be the ones most likely to carry something", you can't then extend that to the follow-on statement of "so we don't need to scan anyone, because we know who it is".
At the end of the day, it doesn't change the likelihood (someone who wants to bomb a plane will find a way) it just changes the probable attack surface (is it everyone or just a group who are most likely to be carrying explosives?)
But those two minutes for physical access a) require physical trespass, b) require you to be in a much riskier situation where you can get physically caught/trapped, c) tend to require more than 2 minutes because you've got things like locks on doors and d) require you to know where the router actually is.
By comparison, breaking WEP and hopping on a wireless network is simple, and how many people actually keep an eye on their router for rogue MAC numbers? Also, you do realise that MACs can be spoofed, so in the right situation you could potentially just usurp a machine or use the MAC of a real but currently disconnected one, right?
What, just in case someone wants to connect to the projector from some random remote location and display their own image?!? How many times do you ever need remote access to 99% of a University's computers, and 100% of its projectors?
One of the guys I work with used to be a "penetration tester" (paid/hired hacker ;) ) and still has an interest in the area. He showed us a map of his route to work after he drove in with an Eee with wifi and GPS attached. With a bit of representation help, Google maps and a bit of colour coding then there was a surprising amount of people using WEP. Technically that's secured, but realistically it is as good as open for anyone with about 2 minutes and the right app (saw it demoed on the same Eee).
Not only that, but you need the space. My wife (g/f at the time) got a PS2 with the EyeToy and the exercise games. Great idea, and it worked okay in a sufficiently lit room, but not ideal in a student flat. Even if we moved the sofa out of the way as far as we could and stood on the opposite side of the room we were still too close and furniture/walls were still in the way. Some of these controllers don't need quite that much room, but you've still got obstacle issues.
Also, for anyone who has watched Michael McIntyre's latest standup DVD, don't forget about the "youngest son meets daddy playing tennis on the Wii" sketch ;)
Not it isn't, it is still perfectly acceptable to say that "Facebook games are dumb" or "that's not real gaming". Making money != great gaming (in gaming, rather than financial, terms).
Or how about the laws about dodgy adverts/making money from illegal business are enforced and Google et al are fined for allowing their adverts to be used on dodgy websites (giving them a little bit of slack to at least catch it first)? That way no-one is unfairly taxed (i.e. advertisers who are more picky about adverts), and the laws that already exist are actually enforced.
Get over the hang-ups of nudity being naughty? How dare you suggest that. What impact would it have on the kids to know that every has such bits. Won't anyone think of the children!
What? We're in this ridiculous situation because people are thinking of the children and are taking it too far? Oh, okay.
Unfortunately I think we're too ingrained in the culture of "nudity = porn" (especially America and its Soul Corrupting Nipples, but also the UK) for the sensible approach of "it's just a bloody scanner, it isn't being used indecently and is no different to an anatomy book and is less indecent than some old works of art".
Unfortunately, while there is a difference between nudity (or even "vague outline nudity silhouette thing") and indecency, people have been too wound up in to frothing panic about paedophiles for them to realise that. Instead they'll have more than a few people complaining and filling law suits on their false association.
With the wonderful circular impact that if you don't bother scanning because you've had this loophole that basically forces the items to a certain group of people then you'll end up with anyone carrying it because you're not scanning!
Unless you've got a very strange mod on that XBox (remember: the small slot is has is for peripherals, not for coins ;) ) then you might still have to run out on to the streets and force coins on strangers.
As for the full arcade experience, it sounds like you just need to move to a rougher neighbourhood!
Wouldn't that require people to have an actual, proper computer to play their computer games on, rather than having some set-top games box? (which I hear is called a "con-soul" or "con-sell" or something?)
What? Has it taken people ten years to realise that you don't get credit for the extra hours (unless you're working horrendous amounts, which is almost seen as "expected") and that suggestions are generally ignored because they cost money? I thought technology was supposed to speed things up - how long would it have taken to realise that without IT?!
Ditto in the UK. I'm in a software dev-centric "research" job with a 37 hour week, 25 days annual leave (that's the minimum in our company after they brought all employees up to that level because of "age discrimination" for varying holiday based on length of employment), paid overtime, paid travel time and flexible working hours. Some aspects of America interest me as a place to live, but the work ethic sure as hell isn't one of them!
If there isn't any incentive for outing a tipster then why worry about a paper trail? ;)
I think the main difference between CDs and games is the focus on the publisher. I don't have a clue who publishes my CDs, but my games stuff it in my face every time I start up. Ditto for films, actually, that have a slew of intro credits about who made it with who and who published it and who produced it and directed it and on and on and...yawn.
Surely they need to know exactly what was told to them and have proof, so have the reporters not heard of taping the conversation? "No emails" is obviously a "we don't want a paper trail (even if it is obvious)" thing, but even having the conversation directly in the first place leaves some kind of trail!
So true. If only people could get stung by DRM more as well, but alas they don't.
As for the dropping of Madden '09, well, EA do have Madden '10 out, so they've got to get people buying it somehow!
Because, of course, being locked down to all the devices that support the DRM is so much better than being locked down to one device that people would never want true freedom.
Besides, even today you're not tied to one device with DRM. Got an old iTunes song? Great, you've got the options of iPod or iTunes on Windows or on Mac - that's mobile and the two main types of computer right there.
As a software developer (of sorts - technically a "researcher", but I program more) all I can say is this:
How do I get persistent royalties when people use my work by running the programs I wrote? I wrote it, so surely it is a creative work like a book and I deserve royalties. Surely copying it to memory is making another copy and deserves more royalties? Surely I should be able to stop people copying it to memory as well, even if it is just because I don't like that person, since it is my work. Some form of restriction management system for digital content should be created so that I can control what people do with my creation, even after I've sold it to them for a one-time fee with no additional contract in place!