If whoever holds the license on whatever software they took does not press copyright issues, then the free software licenses will never be taken seriously.
There is not yet a good application for Smart Cards in the USA yet. So far, the only application for them that I have seen at all is the savings machine at my local Virgin Megastore (Hey, they had Universal Indicator: Innovations in the Dynamics of Acid, which means I'll buy it). In other words, this is just a gimmick.
Good applications of smart card technology can be found in the BT (is that British Telecom? I'm American, I dunno) phonebooths in Great Britain. One card... easily rechargable... Electronic cash, anyone? Now, perhaps if they came out with phones with smart card readers in America, something that you could easily bill long distance to, just by inserting Brue (Crose enough!) or whatever smart chip card you have on you. Hell, eventually, someone will come out with electronic cash on those babies, and then, that'll be a lot more convenient than carrying around a wad of $20s... (look at the size of that guy's wad!)
Pretty much, though, there really isn't any useful application for smart cards right now in the USA. Perhaps it would be a little better if Amex and Visa rolled out applications and terminals to vendors before unleashing these technological wastes on us...
Ah, I miss the days when new technology was useful... and I'm only 18...
(off topic: I got some porn ad email in chinese... apparently they spidered the site, found my email, and sent it to me, because it had a link to a reply I wrote a looong time ago)
Well, of course some of us feel that all the blame being laid upon the internet is unjustly founded. I myself agree with this. I am a 17 year old male, who has been on the internet since the days of Winsock Trumpet was still the basic connection for us Win 3.1ers, and Archie and Gopher skills were still taught in school. I've been using computers since I was 7 or so with the Apple IIGS (a great computer... I still can't program C++ as well as I could with AppleBasic, but that's me). But, enough about me.
I remember the early days of Doom, which was given to me by a friend. I would best describe the violence contained therein as "cartoon violence." As if I could ever believe that the Doom Marine could possibly exist. Realisim in violent video games wasn't really even an issue until the release of Half-Life, which used realisitic models, not only for Gordon, but for various scientists and troops and the like. But still, I could tell the difference between what I saw on the screen, and what I saw in real life.
Back in the days of Quake II, I was heavily involved in playing LMCTF (Loki's Minion Capture the Flag, for the uninitiated), a CTF mod for the Quake II engine. I was in a clan, and the like. Even with the added social interaction as well as the added competition (as now your skills were seen by other people) still existed in the computer only, if at all. Even when Action Quake 2, which tried to be a semi-realistic simulation of actual combat, came out, I still knew that what I saw on my computer was not real.
Unlike those two involved in the Columine Massacre (I will call it a massacre, because that was what it was, regardless of the motives of said killers), I am not a loner though, either in real life, or on the internet. I more often than not am out with friends (albeit doing things that Bush and Gore would probably disapprove of as well, but I'm an average teenager, no matter how much they would like to deny it) instead of at home in front of my computer. I also have talked about video game violence with my parents, well before the Columbine Massacre. (Actually, it was around the time I was trying to write mods for the Quake 1 engine. Those were easy. Ahh... the good old days.) My parents, unlike about 50% of my peers' parents, actually give a damn.
I think that Gore and Bush would be surprised to see how little parental interaction goes on in the modern American household, whether it be about drinking, drugs, sex, or appropriate behavior on the internet. The internet (sites such as Stile Project) and violent games (whether online or off) should be the least of a good parents' worries, as there are more immediate and real threats to the "wholesome lifestyle."
And just remember: Who pays for the phone bills and the ISP bills? Unless they have credit cards, they wouldn't be able to pay for the ISP themselves. And unless their parents gave it to them, they wouldn't be able to have the credit card at all. (Yes, I do have a credit card; I need to pay for gas to get from home to school, to get groceries for my family, and I used to need it for my old job as a webmaster, but I have to pay my parents back immediately when the statement arrives, or they'll take it away from me. That's why I work.)
---------------------------
Garden of Eden Creation Kit
I don't care what you all say, as this was a really great book. Just remember; all of us reading this post haven't been reading/. since the beginning. Have pity on us, then, okay?
---------------------------
Garden of Eden Creation Kit
"The Code Book" by Simon Singh (recently reviewed on/.) has a section on quantum cryptography that's very good. Maybe now I can get all the kiddie porn I've always wanted but have been too afraid to ask for:)
A long time ago (soon after this book was published), I read a review of this book in the Nwe York Times. Having just read another book detailing the British cryptography efforts during WWII. However, this was more of a historical narrative from one of the insiders detailing how the author (whose name I forget) worked in Bletchley (sp?) Park. Anyways, I decided to also read this book, and I found it to be very informative. The section on Linear B was an showed an amazing feat of linguistic and cryptographic genius. The example of RSA encryption was very interesting, especaially when he gave some twelve digit or so numbers and said that it would take a few hours with a calculator to factor. Obviously, the TI-89 wasn't around back then. The increase in calculating power (just from the old handhelds to something as powerful as the TI-89) gives us a great hope for the future of cryptography. PGP now! PGP forever!:)
Slashdot Mirror
If I can't read it on lynx, I don't want to read it at all...
If whoever holds the license on whatever software they took does not press copyright issues, then the free software licenses will never be taken seriously.
There is not yet a good application for Smart Cards in the USA yet. So far, the only application for them that I have seen at all is the savings machine at my local Virgin Megastore (Hey, they had Universal Indicator: Innovations in the Dynamics of Acid, which means I'll buy it). In other words, this is just a gimmick.
Good applications of smart card technology can be found in the BT (is that British Telecom? I'm American, I dunno) phonebooths in Great Britain. One card... easily rechargable... Electronic cash, anyone? Now, perhaps if they came out with phones with smart card readers in America, something that you could easily bill long distance to, just by inserting Brue (Crose enough!) or whatever smart chip card you have on you. Hell, eventually, someone will come out with electronic cash on those babies, and then, that'll be a lot more convenient than carrying around a wad of $20s... (look at the size of that guy's wad!)
Pretty much, though, there really isn't any useful application for smart cards right now in the USA. Perhaps it would be a little better if Amex and Visa rolled out applications and terminals to vendors before unleashing these technological wastes on us...
Ah, I miss the days when new technology was useful... and I'm only 18...
(off topic: I got some porn ad email in chinese... apparently they spidered the site, found my email, and sent it to me, because it had a link to a reply I wrote a looong time ago)
Well, What about Memento? That was a good movie... umm... okay, lord of the rings looks to be "okay" as well, if it will ever come out...
---------------------------
Garden of Eden Creation Kit
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! Why do all the good people have to die? *cries*
---------------------------
Garden of Eden Creation Kit
Well, of course some of us feel that all the blame being laid upon the internet is unjustly founded. I myself agree with this. I am a 17 year old male, who has been on the internet since the days of Winsock Trumpet was still the basic connection for us Win 3.1ers, and Archie and Gopher skills were still taught in school. I've been using computers since I was 7 or so with the Apple IIGS (a great computer... I still can't program C++ as well as I could with AppleBasic, but that's me). But, enough about me.
I remember the early days of Doom, which was given to me by a friend. I would best describe the violence contained therein as "cartoon violence." As if I could ever believe that the Doom Marine could possibly exist. Realisim in violent video games wasn't really even an issue until the release of Half-Life, which used realisitic models, not only for Gordon, but for various scientists and troops and the like. But still, I could tell the difference between what I saw on the screen, and what I saw in real life.
Back in the days of Quake II, I was heavily involved in playing LMCTF (Loki's Minion Capture the Flag, for the uninitiated), a CTF mod for the Quake II engine. I was in a clan, and the like. Even with the added social interaction as well as the added competition (as now your skills were seen by other people) still existed in the computer only, if at all. Even when Action Quake 2, which tried to be a semi-realistic simulation of actual combat, came out, I still knew that what I saw on my computer was not real.
Unlike those two involved in the Columine Massacre (I will call it a massacre, because that was what it was, regardless of the motives of said killers), I am not a loner though, either in real life, or on the internet. I more often than not am out with friends (albeit doing things that Bush and Gore would probably disapprove of as well, but I'm an average teenager, no matter how much they would like to deny it) instead of at home in front of my computer. I also have talked about video game violence with my parents, well before the Columbine Massacre. (Actually, it was around the time I was trying to write mods for the Quake 1 engine. Those were easy. Ahh... the good old days.) My parents, unlike about 50% of my peers' parents, actually give a damn.
I think that Gore and Bush would be surprised to see how little parental interaction goes on in the modern American household, whether it be about drinking, drugs, sex, or appropriate behavior on the internet. The internet (sites such as Stile Project) and violent games (whether online or off) should be the least of a good parents' worries, as there are more immediate and real threats to the "wholesome lifestyle."
And just remember: Who pays for the phone bills and the ISP bills? Unless they have credit cards, they wouldn't be able to pay for the ISP themselves. And unless their parents gave it to them, they wouldn't be able to have the credit card at all. (Yes, I do have a credit card; I need to pay for gas to get from home to school, to get groceries for my family, and I used to need it for my old job as a webmaster, but I have to pay my parents back immediately when the statement arrives, or they'll take it away from me. That's why I work.)
---------------------------
Garden of Eden Creation Kit
I don't care what you all say, as this was a really great book. Just remember; all of us reading this post haven't been reading /. since the beginning. Have pity on us, then, okay?
---------------------------
Garden of Eden Creation Kit
"The Code Book" by Simon Singh (recently reviewed on /.) has a section on quantum cryptography that's very good. Maybe now I can get all the kiddie porn I've always wanted but have been too afraid to ask for :)
A long time ago (soon after this book was published), I read a review of this book in the Nwe York Times. Having just read another book detailing the British cryptography efforts during WWII. However, this was more of a historical narrative from one of the insiders detailing how the author (whose name I forget) worked in Bletchley (sp?) Park. Anyways, I decided to also read this book, and I found it to be very informative. The section on Linear B was an showed an amazing feat of linguistic and cryptographic genius. The example of RSA encryption was very interesting, especaially when he gave some twelve digit or so numbers and said that it would take a few hours with a calculator to factor. Obviously, the TI-89 wasn't around back then. The increase in calculating power (just from the old handhelds to something as powerful as the TI-89) gives us a great hope for the future of cryptography. PGP now! PGP forever! :)
Well, if Windows 2000 were banned, what would the German government use? Slackware? :)