It would seem to me that they have only network bandwidth and happier customers to gain by taking action. If, in fact, the problem is naive, unprotected users, wouldn't a complimentary firewall and de-rootkitter CD be appreciated, and benefit both user and ISP?
Yeah, but don't go reverse-engineering or decompiling Windows to prove your case, because that's forbidden by the Windows EULA, to which you agreed the last time you walked past a Windows PC.
Absolutely! Though somewhat discouraging in the short term, the product will be better in the long term, for the many eyes (some unfriendly, no doubt) searching for flaws. This is how you get good, robust software. A lot like peer-reviewed research.
So, don't get discouraged; changes will be made, recertification will happen, and OpenSSL will emerge better for the experience!
Early this year, I went from using a Win2K box to using an Ubuntu 5.10 (now 6.06) box as my primary browsing/email/text and spreadsheet system at home.
While Ubuntu *is* a bit slower in some respects than Windows (I give MS credit for speeding up the UI wherever they could), it never hangs, and I'm very happy with its flexibility.
Firefox has been my browser of choice ever since Netscape's purchse by AOL. It does have warts, but to me, its primary advantage is that it allows me much more control of my "browsing experience" than IE does. I can shut off pop-ups, block ads, install extensions and just about anything else I want to do. And, should I stumble across a website trying to install malware, it's gonna be a problem for them, because it won't run!
A fellow worker and I are having a small contest. The winner will be the first to "convert" a naive user -- mom, grandma, wife -- to using Linux exclusively (no force allowed, the user must willingly convert, and stay converted). The current version of Ubuntu is every bit as usable for browsing, email and text/spredsheet as Windows is. Many users don't ask for more, so our contest isn't as silly as it appears.
The BSA, however, according to numerous published reports, will not accept the COA as proof of license. Only the original purchase receipt with both the name of the buyer and seller is prrof of a valid license.
A: With the release of Windows XP Service Pack 2 the words "Proof of License" began appearing on COAs and Product Key labels. A genuine Microsoft COA or Product Key label with the words "Proof of License" indicates legal proof of ownership of the associated software. COA labels and Product Key labels should always accompany the product they are associated with and cannot be purchased separately.
[finally, something on Slashdot that I can comment intelligently about]
I work for a small (6 EE, 10 ME, 20 Industrial designers) design firm. Small and large companies come to us for all kinds of design work, some of it is development or improvement of EE designs.
We're always doing some sort of microprocessor/controller design, as well as CPLD and FPGA programmable logic. Pretty much every job we do incorporates one or more micros. In the past three years, I've used PICs, TI's MSP430, Freescales MC9S12, Atmels and probably a couple more. Development is done on PCs, running something like a Metroworks IDE. Sometimes we use an embedded OS like uCos, sometimes not.
At least from where I sit, microprocessors are still very much relevant. I'm currently working on an embedded controller for a mechanical system -- two motors, limit switches, temperature sensors and two serial communication ports to other controllers not built by us. There's analog and digital interface design, the micro is a Freescale 9S12, power supply regulators and more. Lots of fun!
>We *wish* we could use MS Office, because that's what the students need to know when the enter the workforce.
That would indeed be a laudable goal, if Microsoft didn't keep releasing new (and incompatible) versions of Office every few years.
I'll bet by the time your students get out into the workplace, Office 20xx will be as different from Office 2003 as Office 2003 was from Office 2000.
My learning curve on the basics of Office was pretty short. As was my learning curve on OpenOffice. Sure there are differences, but once you learn one, anything similar is pretty easy. My kids picked up OpenOffice right away after using Office 97.
The music recording and movie industry are clinging to outdated business plans, distribution and cost models, because they have been seeing increasing profits as the costs of production and distribution drop.
The technologists have seen the same thing, and ask: "why should I pay $17 for a CD when I can download the songs for $0.99 each off iTunes, or $0.11 each off AllofMP3.com?"
The answer probably lies somewhere between the two. Distribute non-DRM'd music and videos at a reasonable price. After all, making a small amount of money is better than making none. AllofMP3.com succeeds by making the price reasonable. It probably won't be around much longer, but that means there's going to be a vacuum...and an oppportunity. Unfortunately, the recording industry is probably *not* agile or innovative enough to capitalize on that opportunity.
I'm running an Ubuntu server, with two disks in a RAID 1 configuration. FTP, Samba local network shares and remote ssh for management. Only problem was finding FTP clients for Windows...I'm using WFTP, but CuteFTP works as well.
PC stops working, shop says it's cheaper to buy a new one than fix the old one, and of course, the new one comes with a new OS.
Old PC goes in the dumper along with a perfectly valid OS license (which could have been legitimately moved to the new machine, I believe)
All the second hand machines I have came with license stickers on the sides. Sadly, most of these licenses remain unused, as the machines are running Ubuntu Linux...
Nothing top secret or proprietary about that. The only details excerpted from previous public disclosures were some circuit numbers, a list of equipment and a schematic drawing of the coupling.
And as to the propriety of diclosing this "classified" connection...the NSA's evesdropping on US citizens' internet traffic. Often claimed and implied, but never proven. Here's the proof. It's about as "in the interest of national security" as Watergate and the breakin at Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist was.
When the government goes out of control, sometimes the citizens need to take back that control. You can be sure that if this was a Democratic administration, the Republicans would be crying bloody murder.
No, it isn't. I'm not sure where you bank, but I have never banked anywhere that used my SSN as the account number. How would you have more than one account?
My SSN is *on* my account records (how else would they file interest gains with the IRS?), but it is not the account number
BPL is a bad idea for the same reason DSL is not as good as fiber. You're forcing bandwidth where it's not supposed to be. That's always going to lose out to fiber and coax.
Have not seen verified throughput numbers for BPL but would be surprised if they are much better than DSL. And it gets worse with distance.
The power companies are going to be fighting an uphill battle against wireless, fiber and even DSL. My prediction is that it will be an expensive failure...demonstrated by the inability to achieve a subscriber density sufficient to cover costs.
If I were trying to do this on the real cheap, I'd use conductive bags. Cut a square of the material, place it backwards (inside out) over a plexi backer, with the LEDs behind it. A non-conductive) bezel over the front to keep all in place. Connect the conductive inner layer of the bag material to a high impedance circuit with a spring contact and sense the "body antenna effect" (as on the old microwave ovens),
It's much cheaper than metallized glass. But maybe you want to go that way.
Part of what makes the Web so great is the ability to surf foreign news sites, download videos of foreign TV shows, foreign music, order from foreign businesses...all the opportunities our corporate overlords here in the US have decided we don't need access to.
Segmenting the internet geographically would be a "Very Bad Idea".
One of my favorite books. It's disturbing to me to see the behaviors Brooks points out being repeated again and again. His book should be required reading for upper management in any development organization.
1/2 wavelength diameter, I think. So the size of the hole is related to the maximum frequency blocked.
You can see this in the attenuation (blockage factor) graph at the LessEMF website. As the frequency gets higher, the attenuation gets less, because the space between conductors becomes a larger fraction of the wavelength. Wavelength goes down as frequency goes up: L (meters) = 300/F (mhz) So, 10 GHz frequency means 15 mm half-wavelength, or about 1/16 inch.
We actually bought some fabric from these guys and tested it to see if a bag made of the material would block cell phone signals. It worked quite well - phone in the bag could not make or receive calls.
Actually, it's not "high voltage pulses". Macrovision has evolved past the stage where you could remove it with a "couple of passives and a one-shot" bypass circuit. Now, they mess with the level (and position, I belive) of the HSYNC pulse in a pseudorandom way. You need to work a bit harder to remove it, but I believe it's still possible with enough effort.
Ever try bringing your DVD player to a rental home where they have an old, RF-input only TV? Even with a video modulator, you're out of luck on a rainy day. Ask me how I know this.
Rather than try to remove Macrovision, I've taken the MythTV route. I replaced my Panasonic VHS recorder with a $150 PIII-900 class machine, a $80 200G hard drive and a $150 PVR-250 NTSC receiver card. For about $400 (and hours of fun for the idle mind setting it up!), I have my own, DRM-free, time-shifting PVR, DVD-player and -ripper, and video/audio archive. I can rip DVDs, record shows, skip commercials and transfer any of it to iPods or PCs. www.mysettopbox.tv will help you do it, too.
Slashdot Mirror
You probably meany "rougue", like the classic computer game game.
"We cheerfully overfulfill our quotas for the greater good of the people and the state."
It would seem to me that they have only network bandwidth and happier customers to gain by taking action.
If, in fact, the problem is naive, unprotected users, wouldn't a complimentary firewall and de-rootkitter CD be appreciated, and benefit both user and ISP?
Yeah, but don't go reverse-engineering or decompiling Windows to prove your case, because that's forbidden by the Windows EULA, to which you agreed the last time you walked past a Windows PC.
Absolutely! Though somewhat discouraging in the short term, the product will be better in the long term, for the many eyes (some unfriendly, no doubt) searching for flaws. This is how you get good, robust software. A lot like peer-reviewed research.
So, don't get discouraged; changes will be made, recertification will happen, and OpenSSL will emerge better for the experience!
Early this year, I went from using a Win2K box to using an Ubuntu 5.10 (now 6.06) box as my primary browsing/email/text and spreadsheet system at home.
While Ubuntu *is* a bit slower in some respects than Windows (I give MS credit for speeding up the UI wherever they could), it never hangs, and I'm very happy with its flexibility.
Firefox has been my browser of choice ever since Netscape's purchse by AOL. It does have warts, but to me, its primary advantage is that it allows me much more control of my "browsing experience" than IE does. I can shut off pop-ups, block ads, install extensions and just about anything else I want to do. And, should I stumble across a website trying to install malware, it's gonna be a problem for them, because it won't run!
A fellow worker and I are having a small contest. The winner will be the first to "convert" a naive user -- mom, grandma, wife -- to using Linux exclusively (no force allowed, the user must willingly convert, and stay converted). The current
version of Ubuntu is every bit as usable for browsing, email and text/spredsheet as Windows is. Many users don't ask for more, so our contest isn't as silly as it appears.
The BSA, however, according to numerous published reports, will not accept the COA as proof of license. Only the original purchase receipt with both the name of the buyer and seller is prrof of a valid license.
Catch-22, anyone?
From the Microsoft Web site:
Q: What is Proof of License?
A: With the release of Windows XP Service Pack 2 the words "Proof of License" began appearing on COAs and Product Key labels. A genuine Microsoft COA or Product Key label with the words "Proof of License" indicates legal proof of ownership of the associated software. COA labels and Product Key labels should always accompany the product they are associated with and cannot be purchased separately.
[finally, something on Slashdot that I can comment intelligently about]
I work for a small (6 EE, 10 ME, 20 Industrial designers) design firm. Small and large companies come to us for all kinds of design work, some of it is development or improvement of EE designs.
We're always doing some sort of microprocessor/controller design, as well as CPLD and FPGA programmable logic. Pretty much every job we do incorporates one or more micros. In the past three years, I've used PICs, TI's MSP430, Freescales MC9S12, Atmels and probably a couple more. Development is done on PCs, running something like a Metroworks IDE. Sometimes we use an embedded OS like uCos, sometimes not.
At least from where I sit, microprocessors are still very much relevant. I'm currently working on an embedded controller for a mechanical system -- two motors, limit switches, temperature sensors and two serial communication ports to other controllers not built by us. There's analog and digital interface design, the micro is a Freescale 9S12, power supply regulators and more. Lots of fun!
>We *wish* we could use MS Office, because that's what the students need to know when the enter the workforce.
That would indeed be a laudable goal, if Microsoft didn't keep releasing new (and incompatible) versions of Office every few years.
I'll bet by the time your students get out into the workplace, Office 20xx will be as different from Office 2003 as Office 2003 was from Office 2000.
My learning curve on the basics of Office was pretty short. As was my learning curve on OpenOffice. Sure there are differences, but once you learn one, anything similar is pretty easy. My kids picked up OpenOffice right away after using Office 97.
The music recording and movie industry are clinging to outdated business plans, distribution and cost models, because they have been seeing increasing profits as the costs of production and distribution drop.
The technologists have seen the same thing, and ask: "why should I pay $17 for a CD when I can download the songs for $0.99 each off iTunes, or $0.11 each off AllofMP3.com?"
The answer probably lies somewhere between the two. Distribute non-DRM'd music and videos at a reasonable price. After all, making a small amount of money is better than making none. AllofMP3.com succeeds by making the price reasonable. It probably won't be around much longer, but that means there's going to be a vacuum...and an oppportunity. Unfortunately, the recording industry is probably *not* agile or innovative enough to capitalize on that opportunity.
Ummm...you're not gonna like this.
/0x80
According to the IBM filing on Groklaw, tSCOg actually *is* claiming that the "magic number" concept is their property.
In addition, of course, to header files, the ELF format, the numbers assigned to signals, and a bunch of other POSIX spec stuff.
I'm running an Ubuntu server, with two disks in a RAID 1 configuration. FTP, Samba local network shares and remote ssh for management. Only problem was finding FTP clients for Windows...I'm using WFTP, but CuteFTP works as well.
I have always wondered if ASIMO's name was a nod to Asimov and his robotics books...
...have been forwarded to the FBI recently, as they seem to have been able to allocate 50 agents to the task of digging for Jimmy Hoffa.
PC stops working, shop says it's cheaper to buy a new one than fix the old one, and of course, the new one comes with a new OS.
Old PC goes in the dumper along with a perfectly valid OS license (which could have been legitimately moved to the new machine, I believe)
All the second hand machines I have came with license stickers on the sides. Sadly, most of these licenses remain unused, as the machines are running Ubuntu Linux...
Nothing top secret or proprietary about that. The only details excerpted from previous public disclosures were some circuit numbers, a list of equipment and a schematic drawing of the coupling.
And as to the propriety of diclosing this "classified" connection...the NSA's evesdropping on US citizens' internet traffic. Often claimed and implied, but never proven. Here's the proof. It's about as "in the interest of national security" as Watergate and the breakin at Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist was.
When the government goes out of control, sometimes the citizens need to take back that control. You can be sure that if this was a Democratic administration, the Republicans would be crying bloody murder.
...which will be another $30/month
No, it isn't. I'm not sure where you bank, but I have never banked anywhere that used my SSN as the account number. How would you have more than one account?
My SSN is *on* my account records (how else would they file interest gains with the IRS?), but it is not the account number
BPL is a bad idea for the same reason DSL is not as good as fiber. You're forcing bandwidth where it's not supposed to be. That's always going to lose out to fiber and coax.
Have not seen verified throughput numbers for BPL but would be surprised if they are much better than DSL. And it gets worse with distance.
The power companies are going to be fighting an uphill battle against wireless, fiber and even DSL. My prediction is that it will be an expensive failure...demonstrated by the inability to achieve a subscriber density sufficient to cover costs.
If I were trying to do this on the real cheap, I'd use conductive bags. Cut a square of the material, place it backwards (inside out) over a plexi backer, with the LEDs behind it. A non-conductive) bezel over the front to keep all in place. Connect the conductive inner layer of the bag material to a high impedance circuit with a spring contact and sense the "body antenna effect" (as on the old microwave ovens),
It's much cheaper than metallized glass. But maybe you want to go that way.
High energy arcs and UV radiation, among other things, can break the bonds in an oxygen molecule, thereby creating ozone.
Part of what makes the Web so great is the ability to surf foreign news sites, download videos of foreign TV shows, foreign music, order from foreign businesses...all the opportunities our corporate overlords here in the US have decided we don't need access to.
Segmenting the internet geographically would be a "Very Bad Idea".
One of my favorite books. It's disturbing to me to see the behaviors Brooks points out being repeated again and again. His book should be required reading for upper management in any development organization.
1/2 wavelength diameter, I think. So the size of the hole is related to the maximum frequency blocked.
You can see this in the attenuation (blockage factor) graph at the LessEMF website. As the frequency gets higher, the attenuation gets less, because the space between conductors becomes a larger fraction of the wavelength. Wavelength goes down as frequency goes up:
L (meters) = 300/F (mhz) So, 10 GHz frequency means 15 mm half-wavelength, or about 1/16 inch.
We actually bought some fabric from these guys and tested it to see if a bag made of the material would block cell phone signals. It worked quite well - phone in the bag could not make or receive calls.
Actually, it's not "high voltage pulses". Macrovision has evolved past the stage where you could remove it with a "couple of passives and a one-shot" bypass circuit. Now, they mess with the level (and position, I belive) of the HSYNC pulse in a pseudorandom way. You need to work a bit harder to remove it, but I believe it's still possible with enough effort.
Ever try bringing your DVD player to a rental home where they have an old, RF-input only TV? Even with a video modulator, you're out of luck on a rainy day. Ask me how I know this.
Rather than try to remove Macrovision, I've taken the MythTV route. I replaced my Panasonic VHS recorder with a $150 PIII-900 class machine, a $80 200G hard drive and a $150 PVR-250 NTSC receiver card. For about $400 (and hours of fun for the idle mind setting it up!), I have my own, DRM-free, time-shifting PVR, DVD-player and -ripper, and video/audio archive. I can rip DVDs, record shows, skip commercials and transfer any of it to iPods or PCs. www.mysettopbox.tv will help you do it, too.