I was wondering if you have recieved any job offers as a result of all of this. Certainly if I were really interested in protecting DVD's, I would be more inclined to hire people like you than to sue them. If you have not, how would you respond to such an offer?
I'd secretly record the bugs and then teach those Win2K adoring freaks a lesson AFTER it's been released.
Whether your like Microsoft or hate them, a lot of companies are going to purchase W2K. Releasing bugs after the shipment doesn't hurt Microsoft, it hurts the consumer. Releasing the bugs before the shipment, however, only hurts Microsoft.
So unless it is your goal to hurt honest consumers, you would be doing the right thing to release your findings as early as possible. Hopefully people will get a clue and not put themselves into the position of being burned by Microsoft.
He can't be retried, and they couldn't open up a new trial if they found anything new. If anything, I would like them to see what else I had on there. I'm not a 'FREE KEVIN' dork, but if I were him I would like to spit in their eye by showing them what else they didn't catch me for.
If this is the case, then why do we form divisions in the community based on software or hardware selections?
Most, not all, of use are males. Human males instinctively seperate themselves into groups (hunting groups or what not.) This kind of behavior is not exclusive to the internet, it has been going on for thousands of years. What's the big deal? Just be glad that violence and physical harm is impossible here.
Basically, people need their fun and games. There is nothing wrong with that.
No funding to make sure an asteroid doesn't see the huge "hit me" sign pasted over the north pole.
I thought Hollywood solved the evil asteroid problem? I mean, what are the odds of that happening anyway...sheesh. It would sure take care of the human infestation problem.
NASA finds extraterrestrial intelligence but Congress cut funding so they can't communicate with ET.
This has already happened. Basically, they re-routed the funds for the "Extend the Life of Human beings by 1.09xE1893274928374823479238 years" project. After we solve that problem, then we can start talking communication!
Congress cuts funding to those "damn welfare mothers" and redirects it to Rebock shoes so they can help economically disadvantaged CEOs.
Didn't Durkheim show that rich white men are 10 times more likely to off themselves than poor women? Welfare mothers don't have it that bad if you ask me....
Astronomy - God paints the 11-19th commandments on the moon Titan (and also gives instructions for contacting him), but due to cutbacks all telescopes were recycled to help Billy Graham talk about God on weekend sermons.
Oh great, give us another 10 Commandments and watch the crime rate skyrocket!
Nanotech - one of the few programs that actually gets funding. Result? Thousands of nanobots eat the president and covertly take over the world. Pinky is amused, but Brain is not.
We can all dream...
Medical - Cure for cancer shelved in favor of research on bigger breast implants.
No no no, we're supposed to be doing that genetically now, this is the 00's you know.
I don't think it would be possible to satisfy even the most basic of human desires as a computer program. Animals are emotional beings, which require contact with other emotional beings in various ways to stay healthy. If you were just a computer program, there would be no actual human contact, no sex, and no sunlight. Most of the things we take for granted, even sunlight, are an absolute must to maintain mental health and stability. I wouldn't even want to see an attempt at putting a human brain and personality into a computer, because whomever the unlucky bastard was, they'd suffer for an eternity.
OTOH, it may be possible to simulate all of these things. But then your not really living, are you?
Does anyone else see the irony that IBM is making the bucks (minus licensing fees?) from Sun's Java technology on Linux, which Sun thinks is a waste of time 8^)
If you look at the history of personal computers and software, the money has mostly been made by the exploiter - not the people or company who initially developed it.
But while we're on the subject of Transmeta, if you check out their Mobile systems webpage, they're showing off a picture of their product running Netscape with Slashdot being displayed. Soon trolls and First Posters can take their Slashdot anywhere on Earth!
Sun said they were unwilling to participate because they were working on a new version of Solaris. But in the case of Linux, they are always working on a new version. I think just for fun, they should have tried a 2.3.x devel kernel on their RedHat box to see how that held up.
And another thing, they briefly went over how the different OS's handled failures and load balancing, without giving any information as to their stability. I have never tried W2K and would have liked this information shared.
...these tools are typically cryptic and require a high level of proficiency to use effectively.
Isn't someone with a high level of proficiency more effective anyway?
The recent Business Week article basically pointed out all the major flaws with LinuxOne, for instance -
LinuxOne's prospectus raises other questions. One red flag is the section where it lists its board of directors. Normally, companies have 8 to 12 board members. But LinuxOne lists only one, by the name of Paul Kraus, who is an architect and the owner of a lithography shop, according to the prospectus. Are LinuxOne's financial statements audited? Yes, by a Reno (Nev.) CPA by the name of Mark Bailey, who runs his own firm. A member of a Big Five accounting firm he isn't.
Basically, they don't even have the money to hire real employees. This "lawyer" is probably an ambulance chaser who has no real experience, but I don't think the email was forged.
I think it all comes from this paranoia that some teenager in a dark room somewhere will destroy the world on the part of people who don't really understand it. It's amazing how politicians and lawmakers talk about how revolutionary the Internet and computers are, while at the same time doing everything to stamp it out.
Imagine if the RC Church had burned Gutenburg at the stake for inventing the printing press. And I'm sure they would have, if they could have realized the implications such an invention would have. Todays powers don't seem to want to make that mistake.
But that's not the point. Microsoft really deserves some negative attention. They deserve a taste of their own medicine. I don't think this will help Novell much, but with the US DoJ vs Microsoft in the news, plus a FUD campaign against the Windows line, managers will definitely think twice before using W2K. Novell's reasoning behind this is: "If there's less people using Windows, there's more people using NetWare." Though I don't think that will happen, it will have people seriously looking at alternatives.
Your forgetting that large sums of money are not thrown into the military for actual war, but furthering scientific research into making better weapons. Though I could care less about multi billion dollar methods of killing other humans, there are lots of times when the military gives its technology back to the people. For instance, an underwater air tank/rebreather system that was developed either for the SEALs or Marines (I don't remember), which allows closer studies of marine life and their behavior.
And without military spending, we wouldn't have other more notable weapons such as the atomic bomb, which actually furthered our understanding of nuclear physics.
However, I still would rather see more money being spent directly into scientific research, instead of waiting for the side effects of military developments.
Today would have been a very happy day for us here at 2600. After nearly five years in prison, this is the day that Kevin Mitnick is finally being released.
Ironically, that development is overshadowed by a very immediate threat to 2600, the hacker community, and people who value freedom everywhere. At 5:40 pm on Thursday, the Motion Picture Association of America was granted a preliminary injunction against us - and everyone we've ever had any contact with - prohibiting the distribution of the DeCSS source code. As a result we have had to remove our mirrors of DeCSS, css-auth and related information from the November article. Last week's complaint was filed at the last possible minute on a Friday before a three day weekend. This calculated and bullying move minimized media coverage and ensured that any publicity was only from their perspective. Not to mention of course the fact that the corporations that make up the MPAA collectively own just about every major media outlet in the country. Meanwhile the EFF legal defense team was busy preparing for the Tuesday DVD CCA hearing in California and we were busy preparing for the Mitnick release. We were given a grand total of about eight hours to consult with our attorneys, look for evidence, and write a declaration. Despite our having never been properly served, the judge only granted a continuance of a few hours making it impossible to assemble any evidence in time for the hearing. The judge essentially ignored our arguments and granted the preliminary injunction.
Gemstart owns a lot patents. One of them is a customized television programming guide whch can be used to control the vcr - similar to TiVo. But there are many other units out there with similar functionality, why not go after them? It seems Gemstart owns every patent which would involve indirect recording of television programming. Is this even that big a market? Looks like they are trying to sue other companies due to lack of customer interest in their products.
I think if it would be economical, wouldn't it be great to purchase a RW DVD one time, have the rental place write the movie to your DVD, coat it to corrode within three days, and be able to repeat this process? No more late fees, and money could be saved by not having to produce millions of discs. Instead, the consumer could pay something like $50 for the initial disc, plus $3 per rental. Of course, writing is still a lengthy process, and I'm sure the waiting line would grow too large, but it would be a neat idea.
UK patents can be renewed every five years for up to 25 years. However, in the US patents expire after 20 years, correct? So will this patent be protected internationally for the 25 years it is legal in the UK, or the 20 years that a patent applied for in the US lasts?
I'm probably wrong, but it could be used as a lie detector test. I think a lot of people will fill in misinformation (saying they have a P2 450 instead of a p166). However, if you list a lot of great hardware, and when it comes to these smaller unimportant items you just fill in what you actually have, they can see how it weighs against other things you have filled in. For instance, how many people do you know have dual P2's, a 32mb graphics card, and a 14" monitor? Or all that great hardware with a blow chunks soundcard that comes standard in low end Dell configurations?
It could be marketing, the above, or they just want to very accurately identify any potential problems. In any case, your still stuck with filling it out if you want to beta test their software.
Why haven't we developed cool spacecrafts like they had in Star Wars:TPM that can go straight into the atmosphere?
Actually, during the 1960's, the US developed a plane that could travel at the edge of space. Since then, NASA has been looking for a cheap way to get into space, and has created a contest among the various aerospace companies to produce such a plane. There was a show on either TLC or Discovery, and it showed that several of the companies were working on a craft that does exactly what you said.
It seems like every other day some company raised X million capital, or has filed for an IPO. Or maybe just a business or finance section could accomodate this type of news. Just an idea.
Judging from nearly every comment I've read, both this article and others, there aren't too many people who know the law, let alone know how to argue a case like this.
However, if you were really interested in helping the defendants, I'm sure you could put together a relief fund to help them pay for their lawyer fees (unless it is already being taken care of by the EFF/some other nonprof org, or they are exceedingly rich). Given the high volume of visitors to Slashdot, a link to such a fund on the front page gathering $10/pop would go a long way.
I think the funniest thing I ever saw on the Simpsons occurred on a rerun last night. Mr Burns had opened up a casino and was rooming there with Smithers, where he started going crazy. He held up a model airplane called the 'Spruce Moose' and told Smithers to hop in - at gunpoint. I laughed my ass off for 5 minutes.
Microsoft will never change its business practices unless it involves more people dumping money into their pockets, really. But there is no reason why Windows developers couldn't use SourceForge. The site is limited towards Open Source projects, not necessarily Linux.
Slashdot Mirror
I was wondering if you have recieved any job offers as a result of all of this. Certainly if I were really interested in protecting DVD's, I would be more inclined to hire people like you than to sue them. If you have not, how would you respond to such an offer?
Cryptome has something new everyday (transcripts, updates, etc.) Worth checking out if you're really into this case.
I'd secretly record the bugs and then teach those Win2K adoring freaks a lesson AFTER it's been released.
Whether your like Microsoft or hate them, a lot of companies are going to purchase W2K. Releasing bugs after the shipment doesn't hurt Microsoft, it hurts the consumer. Releasing the bugs before the shipment, however, only hurts Microsoft.
So unless it is your goal to hurt honest consumers, you would be doing the right thing to release your findings as early as possible. Hopefully people will get a clue and not put themselves into the position of being burned by Microsoft.
He can't be retried, and they couldn't open up a new trial if they found anything new. If anything, I would like them to see what else I had on there. I'm not a 'FREE KEVIN' dork, but if I were him I would like to spit in their eye by showing them what else they didn't catch me for.
If this is the case, then why do we form divisions in the community based on software or hardware selections?
Most, not all, of use are males. Human males instinctively seperate themselves into groups (hunting groups or what not.) This kind of behavior is not exclusive to the internet, it has been going on for thousands of years. What's the big deal? Just be glad that violence and physical harm is impossible here.
Basically, people need their fun and games. There is nothing wrong with that.
No funding to make sure an asteroid doesn't see the huge "hit me" sign pasted over the north pole.
I thought Hollywood solved the evil asteroid problem? I mean, what are the odds of that happening anyway...sheesh. It would sure take care of the human infestation problem.
NASA finds extraterrestrial intelligence but Congress cut funding so they can't communicate with ET.
This has already happened. Basically, they re-routed the funds for the "Extend the Life of Human beings by 1.09xE1893274928374823479238 years" project. After we solve that problem, then we can start talking communication!
Congress cuts funding to those "damn welfare mothers" and redirects it to Rebock shoes so they can help economically disadvantaged CEOs.
Didn't Durkheim show that rich white men are 10 times more likely to off themselves than poor women? Welfare mothers don't have it that bad if you ask me....
Astronomy - God paints the 11-19th commandments on the moon Titan (and also gives instructions for contacting him), but due to cutbacks all telescopes were recycled to help Billy Graham talk about God on weekend sermons.
Oh great, give us another 10 Commandments and watch the crime rate skyrocket!
Nanotech - one of the few programs that actually gets funding. Result? Thousands of nanobots eat the president and covertly take over the world. Pinky is amused, but Brain is not.
We can all dream...
Medical - Cure for cancer shelved in favor of research on bigger breast implants.
No no no, we're supposed to be doing that genetically now, this is the 00's you know.
I don't think it would be possible to satisfy even the most basic of human desires as a computer program. Animals are emotional beings, which require contact with other emotional beings in various ways to stay healthy. If you were just a computer program, there would be no actual human contact, no sex, and no sunlight. Most of the things we take for granted, even sunlight, are an absolute must to maintain mental health and stability. I wouldn't even want to see an attempt at putting a human brain and personality into a computer, because whomever the unlucky bastard was, they'd suffer for an eternity.
OTOH, it may be possible to simulate all of these things. But then your not really living, are you?
Does anyone else see the irony that IBM is making the bucks (minus licensing fees?) from Sun's Java technology on Linux, which Sun thinks is a waste of time 8^)
If you look at the history of personal computers and software, the money has mostly been made by the exploiter - not the people or company who initially developed it.
But while we're on the subject of Transmeta, if you check out their Mobile systems webpage, they're showing off a picture of their product running Netscape with Slashdot being displayed. Soon trolls and First Posters can take their Slashdot anywhere on Earth!
Sun said they were unwilling to participate because they were working on a new version of Solaris. But in the case of Linux, they are always working on a new version. I think just for fun, they should have tried a 2.3.x devel kernel on their RedHat box to see how that held up.
...these tools are typically cryptic and require a high level of proficiency to use effectively.
And another thing, they briefly went over how the different OS's handled failures and load balancing, without giving any information as to their stability. I have never tried W2K and would have liked this information shared.
Isn't someone with a high level of proficiency more effective anyway?
Basically, they don't even have the money to hire real employees. This "lawyer" is probably an ambulance chaser who has no real experience, but I don't think the email was forged.
I think it all comes from this paranoia that some teenager in a dark room somewhere will destroy the world on the part of people who don't really understand it. It's amazing how politicians and lawmakers talk about how revolutionary the Internet and computers are, while at the same time doing everything to stamp it out.
Imagine if the RC Church had burned Gutenburg at the stake for inventing the printing press. And I'm sure they would have, if they could have realized the implications such an invention would have. Todays powers don't seem to want to make that mistake.
But that's not the point. Microsoft really deserves some negative attention. They deserve a taste of their own medicine. I don't think this will help Novell much, but with the US DoJ vs Microsoft in the news, plus a FUD campaign against the Windows line, managers will definitely think twice before using W2K. Novell's reasoning behind this is: "If there's less people using Windows, there's more people using NetWare." Though I don't think that will happen, it will have people seriously looking at alternatives.
Your forgetting that large sums of money are not thrown into the military for actual war, but furthering scientific research into making better weapons. Though I could care less about multi billion dollar methods of killing other humans, there are lots of times when the military gives its technology back to the people. For instance, an underwater air tank/rebreather system that was developed either for the SEALs or Marines (I don't remember), which allows closer studies of marine life and their behavior.
And without military spending, we wouldn't have other more notable weapons such as the atomic bomb, which actually furthered our understanding of nuclear physics.
However, I still would rather see more money being spent directly into scientific research, instead of waiting for the side effects of military developments.
Here is a quick pasting of the article:
01/21/00
Today would have been a very happy day for us here at 2600. After nearly five years in prison, this is the day that Kevin Mitnick is finally being released.
Ironically, that development is overshadowed by a very immediate threat to 2600, the hacker community, and people who value freedom everywhere.
At 5:40 pm on Thursday, the Motion Picture Association of America was granted a preliminary injunction against us - and everyone we've ever had any contact with - prohibiting the distribution of the DeCSS source code. As a result we have had to remove our mirrors of DeCSS, css-auth and related information from the November article. Last week's complaint was filed at the last possible minute on a Friday before a three day weekend. This calculated and bullying move minimized media coverage and ensured that any publicity was only from their perspective. Not to mention of course the fact that the corporations that make up the MPAA collectively own just about every major media outlet in the country. Meanwhile the EFF legal defense team was busy preparing for the Tuesday DVD CCA hearing in California and we were busy preparing for the Mitnick release. We were given a grand total of about eight hours to consult with our attorneys, look for evidence, and write a declaration. Despite our having never been properly served, the judge only granted a continuance of a few hours making it impossible to assemble any evidence in time for the hearing. The judge essentially ignored our arguments and granted the preliminary injunction.
Gemstart owns a lot patents. One of them is a customized television programming guide whch can be used to control the vcr - similar to TiVo. But there are many other units out there with similar functionality, why not go after them? It seems Gemstart owns every patent which would involve indirect recording of television programming. Is this even that big a market? Looks like they are trying to sue other companies due to lack of customer interest in their products.
I think if it would be economical, wouldn't it be great to purchase a RW DVD one time, have the rental place write the movie to your DVD, coat it to corrode within three days, and be able to repeat this process? No more late fees, and money could be saved by not having to produce millions of discs. Instead, the consumer could pay something like $50 for the initial disc, plus $3 per rental. Of course, writing is still a lengthy process, and I'm sure the waiting line would grow too large, but it would be a neat idea.
UK patents can be renewed every five years for up to 25 years. However, in the US patents expire after 20 years, correct? So will this patent be protected internationally for the 25 years it is legal in the UK, or the 20 years that a patent applied for in the US lasts?
I'm probably wrong, but it could be used as a lie detector test. I think a lot of people will fill in misinformation (saying they have a P2 450 instead of a p166). However, if you list a lot of great hardware, and when it comes to these smaller unimportant items you just fill in what you actually have, they can see how it weighs against other things you have filled in. For instance, how many people do you know have dual P2's, a 32mb graphics card, and a 14" monitor? Or all that great hardware with a blow chunks soundcard that comes standard in low end Dell configurations?
It could be marketing, the above, or they just want to very accurately identify any potential problems. In any case, your still stuck with filling it out if you want to beta test their software.
Why haven't we developed cool spacecrafts like they had in Star Wars:TPM that can go straight into the atmosphere?
Actually, during the 1960's, the US developed a plane that could travel at the edge of space. Since then, NASA has been looking for a cheap way to get into space, and has created a contest among the various aerospace companies to produce such a plane. There was a show on either TLC or Discovery, and it showed that several of the companies were working on a craft that does exactly what you said.
Time for a new Slashdot Section: IPO'S.
It seems like every other day some company raised X million capital, or has filed for an IPO. Or maybe just a business or finance section could accomodate this type of news. Just an idea.
Judging from nearly every comment I've read, both this article and others, there aren't too many people who know the law, let alone know how to argue a case like this.
However, if you were really interested in helping the defendants, I'm sure you could put together a relief fund to help them pay for their lawyer fees (unless it is already being taken care of by the EFF/some other nonprof org, or they are exceedingly rich). Given the high volume of visitors to Slashdot, a link to such a fund on the front page gathering $10/pop would go a long way.
I think the funniest thing I ever saw on the Simpsons occurred on a rerun last night. Mr Burns had opened up a casino and was rooming there with Smithers, where he started going crazy. He held up a model airplane called the 'Spruce Moose' and told Smithers to hop in - at gunpoint. I laughed my ass off for 5 minutes.
Microsoft will never change its business practices unless it involves more people dumping money into their pockets, really. But there is no reason why Windows developers couldn't use SourceForge. The site is limited towards Open Source projects, not necessarily Linux.
Zdnet did a pretty good write up of SourceForge a couple weeks back or so.