Re:ST theme became clear the other day
on
New Heinlein Novel
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· Score: 1
In spite of the fact that you were really joking, your are at the point.
To use another Heinlein quote: "In any mature society, 'civil servant' is semantically equivalent to 'civil master.'"
The underlying theme of "Starship Troopers" was that citizens should truly serve before you're fit to rule.
Re:Scudder/ The Past Through Tomorrow
on
New Heinlein Novel
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· Score: 1
Speaking of Scudder,
In "The Past Through Tomorrow" they have a timeline, and on the early side was an invention called, "the Douglas-Martin Power Screen," from the story, "Let There Be Light," apparently a short story. It wasn't in "The Past Through Tomorrow," and I've never been able to find it anywhere else.
Just watch it when you see Johnathon Edwards (Crossing Over, on Sci Fi (never watched it, only saw ads and flicked past)) listed as editor or co-author.
That's why I thought in terms of a DRM bootloader conversing with the DRM BIOS. Stored public keys cause a problem, in that it gives the appearance of a conspiracy on the part of Microsoft, BIOS writers, and PC makers to lock out competitors. Stored public keys also mean "stored as of BIOS build date," which is immensely non-future-proof.
I honestly don't know the details of the DRM bootloader-BIOS "conversation" I propose, only that the bootloader can be a smaller chunk designed to: 1-authenticate itself to BIOS, and 2-validate and load the real OS kernel. It's an attempt to defer as much of the issue as possible as late as possible.
I suspect real enforcement of such open/closed systems would have to be based on legal threats under the DMCA - enough to stop business, but not hobbyists.
OTOH, businesses are starting to get out from under Microsoft's thumb, and enjoying it. I suspect they'll resist some sort of mandatory-Microsoft move like this.
Besides, other than a fun mental exercise, I DON'T WANT this problem solved. We're finally making progress getting out from under Win-modems and Win-graphics cards, it's not time to backslide into Win-PCs.
Ordinarily I would agree with you. It SHOULD work such that the DRM BIOS makes certain facilities available to a DROM OS.
OTOH...
Imagine a DRM OS that has a small special bootloader. The BIOS has a small conversation with this bootloader prior to allowing it to load the OS. If the bootloader "passes" the conversation test, it loads the OS. If it "fails" the test either shut the hardware off or HALT the cpu.
That wouldn't prevent reverse-engineering a bootloader that could boot a non-DRM OS. But it could prevent marketing it, by claiming protection for the bootloader under the DMCA. Hack together such a thing, and you're under the radar screen. Market such a thing, and you go to court.
Fortunately I haven't heard of such sophistication in DRM BIOS's, yet. Think for a moment what it would take for a BIOS at some date to "securely" allow loading an as-yet unwritten DRM OS a few years in the future, while not allowing an as-yet unwritten non-DRM OS to load. IMHO, keeping stored private keys just doesn't cut it, though maybe with enough lawyers.
Still, this would have to get past other lawyers to not look like collusion between BIOS writers and Microsoft. There would also be LOUD wailing and moaning to the effect, "Microsoft can't compete in security, so they're counting on legislation for their monopoly."
(One can readily argue that that last statement is unfair. One can also argue that Microsoft is already doing such things.)
>D) Proper saftey gear can be very uncomfortable and unwieldy, esspecially if it's fitted correctly. (I fog up goggles like you can't believe, even when I put anti-fog >crap in them.)
I worked a college summer at a rubber factory running a steam press. Every day they'd bring around two pairs of gloves for each of us. One pair for handling the molds and pulling the parts out/off, and one pair for handling the metal inserts that went into the mold as a component of the next batch of product.
Doing your job well depended on quickly changing gloves, so everybody cut their gloves, some more than others. I pretty much stuck to slits up the back of the hand, some also cut the cuffs off. Of course this reduces the protection available. That summer I always had burns somewhere on my arms or hands.
>C) Not everyone read MSDS like they should.
At the rubber factory, there was no discussion whatsoever of hazardous chemicals. My aunt worked in the same factory in the area where they dipped the aforementioned metal inserts in a special paint. She later had a bout of cancer. Related, or ordinary statistics.
My father worked in PVC, and was down in the bins cleaning them out before anyone required even a breath mask. He later had a bout with cancer. Statistics? How about adding that many workers from his area had similar cancers? (Don't have statistics handy.)
IMHO, after WWII we began an infatuation with all things modern, including chemicals. It is understandable that companies may not have taken proper precautions initially. My irritation comes in two specifics: 1: "We" didn't know what the risks were at first, but now that we know, we're making too much money and it's too expensive to fix things. 2: Of course it's bad, but if "we" fix things, then we'll be admitting we knew it's bad, and then we'll be open to lawsuits. Better to continue denial and "ignorance."
>A) Can't always stop it.
Oh, I also did summer work on farms. Now you want to talk about HAZARDOUS!
When I hired in at a "technology company" on Day One they gave us the HF safety talk.
Not only does HF pass through your skin and attack the bones, you don't even feel it (other than as a wet spot) until it reaches the bones. By then you're in a whole lotta trouble, prompt pre-feeling treatment is necessary.
The treatment is to soak/rinse the affected area in a mix of ethanol and water.
They also had the anecdote about a guy who got some on his pants, and exposed a rather large area. He had to sit in a tub of ethanol/water. (which can infuse through the skin) After necessary steps, he was sent home drunk. I presume he wasn't chastised for being drunk on Company Time.
I believe the reason business will LIKE having DRM in documents is that it allows them to control the content. Can you say "leak?" This could well do wonders to stop whistleblowers, doo-good'ers, and the like. It'll even help stall government or regulatory investigations. I'll presume that either the DRM keys are subject to subpoena, or that the DMCA has provisions allowing DRM cracking for law enforcement purposes, but that takes more time. If a company doesn't keep multiple DRM keys carefully bound to select data realms, they'd HAVE to fight a key subpoena because it exposes data outside the realm of the data subpoena.
Interoperability may be a minor concern compared with data control.
I was under the impression that SO is willing to use licensed code, where OO must all be open source. I also seem to remember hearing that import/export filters were some of the places they used licensed code, as opposed to 'core' code.
I've had this one out several times with my kids on their school reports. Their first instinct is to make things look pretty on the page - using spaces and the enter key. I've told them to just type in the content, and THEN we'll go after formatting.
Some of the time they even listen. Most of the time now they pretty much do this stuff on their own, so I don't know how they're doing it. When they ask for help, I get my opinion noted.
Even more recently there was talk of a "Liquid Fueled Flyback Booster" that would replace the SRBs with (drum roll, please) liquid fueled boosters with wings that could be flown back to a computer controlled runway landing.
Private sector ALWAYS GOOD. Government sectore ALWAYS BAD.
I've tried to say it here and other places before, with mixed reactions:
The government has no monopoly on stupidity. The success of the cartoon strip, "Dilbert" proves that business has its share - across the board.
I used to imagine that Scott Adams worked for my employer, but when he revealed that he worked for Pac Bell, I decided that the stupidity he writes of was universal to the high-tech industry. Then I found that my sister-in-law, who works in a doctors' office, finds it "meaningful," and others in non-high-tech say the same. Stupidity appears universal.
(No doubt some of you will apply it to this post, as well.)
As others have said, if you add a checkbox for NASA, you have to turn a lot of other items into checkboxes, too. That expands the tax form into a democratic government budget.
I have a funny feeling that at the end of the day, when you average in everybody's checkboxes, we'd end up about where we are, now. I suspect that there would be a few glaring differences, and some more subtle changes, but for the most part it would be moot.
As I said, most of us like it *somewhat* backwater.
UPC is actually pretty decent. Human cashiers are good - the automated checkout at Home Depot is a pain in the neck. For that matter, BigBoxLand (Home Depot, WalMart, Circuit City, ToysRUs, BedBath&Beyond, Best Buy, etc.) in Williston is a bit of a pain, even if the prices are a bit better. I try to keep a number on hand - a premium which I'll pay to 'buy local.'
But they don't have an id number for every id number, plus an id number for the reader, do they!
It takes the cashier enough tries to get the current barcodes read at the checkout. We'll need all the life-extension techniques they're talking about when we get in the checkout line with this new one.
Only problem is that you can't get just one. Try it, and another one will come ripping right out of the vacuum. Guess it's a two-or-three-for-the-price-of-one deal, though.
We know how to design faster memory, we've done it. Other than a few niches, the marketplace hasn't been willing to pay for it. So we're back to dirt cheap DRAM, because "It's what the customers want," or at least will pay for.
That said, there are inherent limits to reducing latency, mostly having to do with size. That's why L1 is the smallest cache, and L2 is a bigger cache. L1 is typically the biggest cache that can meet the fastest performance requirements. Because L2 performance is 'shielded' by L1, it's allowed to be slower, and can therefore be bigger. Size is the enemy of speed.
and no references to Neal Stephenson's "The Diamond Age". We're slipping.
Bring on the Drummers!
(I realize it's not nanotech, but carbon semiconductor fabrication is a steppingstone on the way there. I also realize it's not molecule-scale DigiComp, but still.)
Slashdot Mirror
In spite of the fact that you were really joking, your are at the point.
To use another Heinlein quote:
"In any mature society, 'civil servant' is semantically equivalent to 'civil master.'"
The underlying theme of "Starship Troopers" was that citizens should truly serve before you're fit to rule.
Speaking of Scudder,
In "The Past Through Tomorrow" they have a timeline, and on the early side was an invention called, "the Douglas-Martin Power Screen," from the story, "Let There Be Light," apparently a short story. It wasn't in "The Past Through Tomorrow," and I've never been able to find it anywhere else.
Anyone have a pointer?
Just watch it when you see Johnathon Edwards (Crossing Over, on Sci Fi (never watched it, only saw ads and flicked past)) listed as editor or co-author.
Are you really trying to tell us that Sean Connery is going to do yet ANOTHER James Bond movie?
That's why I thought in terms of a DRM bootloader conversing with the DRM BIOS. Stored public keys cause a problem, in that it gives the appearance of a conspiracy on the part of Microsoft, BIOS writers, and PC makers to lock out competitors. Stored public keys also mean "stored as of BIOS build date," which is immensely non-future-proof.
I honestly don't know the details of the DRM bootloader-BIOS "conversation" I propose, only that the bootloader can be a smaller chunk designed to: 1-authenticate itself to BIOS, and 2-validate and load the real OS kernel. It's an attempt to defer as much of the issue as possible as late as possible.
I suspect real enforcement of such open/closed systems would have to be based on legal threats under the DMCA - enough to stop business, but not hobbyists.
OTOH, businesses are starting to get out from under Microsoft's thumb, and enjoying it. I suspect they'll resist some sort of mandatory-Microsoft move like this.
Besides, other than a fun mental exercise, I DON'T WANT this problem solved. We're finally making progress getting out from under Win-modems and Win-graphics cards, it's not time to backslide into Win-PCs.
Ordinarily I would agree with you. It SHOULD work such that the DRM BIOS makes certain facilities available to a DROM OS.
OTOH...
Imagine a DRM OS that has a small special bootloader. The BIOS has a small conversation with this bootloader prior to allowing it to load the OS. If the bootloader "passes" the conversation test, it loads the OS. If it "fails" the test either shut the hardware off or HALT the cpu.
That wouldn't prevent reverse-engineering a bootloader that could boot a non-DRM OS. But it could prevent marketing it, by claiming protection for the bootloader under the DMCA. Hack together such a thing, and you're under the radar screen. Market such a thing, and you go to court.
Fortunately I haven't heard of such sophistication in DRM BIOS's, yet. Think for a moment what it would take for a BIOS at some date to "securely" allow loading an as-yet unwritten DRM OS a few years in the future, while not allowing an as-yet unwritten non-DRM OS to load. IMHO, keeping stored private keys just doesn't cut it, though maybe with enough lawyers.
Still, this would have to get past other lawyers to not look like collusion between BIOS writers and Microsoft. There would also be LOUD wailing and moaning to the effect, "Microsoft can't compete in security, so they're counting on legislation for their monopoly."
(One can readily argue that that last statement is unfair. One can also argue that Microsoft is already doing such things.)
>D) Proper saftey gear can be very uncomfortable and unwieldy, esspecially if it's fitted correctly. (I fog up goggles like you can't believe, even when I put anti-fog
>crap in them.)
I worked a college summer at a rubber factory running a steam press. Every day they'd bring around two pairs of gloves for each of us. One pair for handling the molds and pulling the parts out/off, and one pair for handling the metal inserts that went into the mold as a component of the next batch of product.
Doing your job well depended on quickly changing gloves, so everybody cut their gloves, some more than others. I pretty much stuck to slits up the back of the hand, some also cut the cuffs off. Of course this reduces the protection available. That summer I always had burns somewhere on my arms or hands.
>C) Not everyone read MSDS like they should.
At the rubber factory, there was no discussion whatsoever of hazardous chemicals. My aunt worked in the same factory in the area where they dipped the aforementioned metal inserts in a special paint. She later had a bout of cancer. Related, or ordinary statistics.
My father worked in PVC, and was down in the bins cleaning them out before anyone required even a breath mask. He later had a bout with cancer. Statistics? How about adding that many workers from his area had similar cancers? (Don't have statistics handy.)
IMHO, after WWII we began an infatuation with all things modern, including chemicals. It is understandable that companies may not have taken proper precautions initially. My irritation comes in two specifics:
1: "We" didn't know what the risks were at first, but now that we know, we're making too much money and it's too expensive to fix things.
2: Of course it's bad, but if "we" fix things, then we'll be admitting we knew it's bad, and then we'll be open to lawsuits. Better to continue denial and "ignorance."
>A) Can't always stop it.
Oh, I also did summer work on farms. Now you want to talk about HAZARDOUS!
When I hired in at a "technology company" on Day One they gave us the HF safety talk.
Not only does HF pass through your skin and attack the bones, you don't even feel it (other than as a wet spot) until it reaches the bones. By then you're in a whole lotta trouble, prompt pre-feeling treatment is necessary.
The treatment is to soak/rinse the affected area in a mix of ethanol and water.
They also had the anecdote about a guy who got some on his pants, and exposed a rather large area. He had to sit in a tub of ethanol/water. (which can infuse through the skin) After necessary steps, he was sent home drunk. I presume he wasn't chastised for being drunk on Company Time.
Yes, but IMHO it's the reason that business will JUMP at a DRM-enabled Office. Forced upgrades some time in the future are... some time in the future.
I believe the reason business will LIKE having DRM in documents is that it allows them to control the content. Can you say "leak?" This could well do wonders to stop whistleblowers, doo-good'ers, and the like. It'll even help stall government or regulatory investigations. I'll presume that either the DRM keys are subject to subpoena, or that the DMCA has provisions allowing DRM cracking for law enforcement purposes, but that takes more time. If a company doesn't keep multiple DRM keys carefully bound to select data realms, they'd HAVE to fight a key subpoena because it exposes data outside the realm of the data subpoena.
Interoperability may be a minor concern compared with data control.
I was under the impression that SO is willing to use licensed code, where OO must all be open source. I also seem to remember hearing that import/export filters were some of the places they used licensed code, as opposed to 'core' code.
I've had this one out several times with my kids on their school reports. Their first instinct is to make things look pretty on the page - using spaces and the enter key. I've told them to just type in the content, and THEN we'll go after formatting.
Some of the time they even listen. Most of the time now they pretty much do this stuff on their own, so I don't know how they're doing it. When they ask for help, I get my opinion noted.
Well obviously you can "disconfect" cookies and candy by blowing on them after picking them off of the floor.
Even more recently there was talk of a "Liquid Fueled Flyback Booster" that would replace the SRBs with (drum roll, please) liquid fueled boosters with wings that could be flown back to a computer controlled runway landing.
Also killed due to budget.
Oh, because you've forgotten the basic truisms:
Private sector ALWAYS GOOD.
Government sectore ALWAYS BAD.
I've tried to say it here and other places before, with mixed reactions:
The government has no monopoly on stupidity. The success of the cartoon strip, "Dilbert" proves that business has its share - across the board.
I used to imagine that Scott Adams worked for my employer, but when he revealed that he worked for Pac Bell, I decided that the stupidity he writes of was universal to the high-tech industry. Then I found that my sister-in-law, who works in a doctors' office, finds it "meaningful," and others in non-high-tech say the same. Stupidity appears universal.
(No doubt some of you will apply it to this post, as well.)
As others have said, if you add a checkbox for NASA, you have to turn a lot of other items into checkboxes, too. That expands the tax form into a democratic government budget.
I have a funny feeling that at the end of the day, when you average in everybody's checkboxes, we'd end up about where we are, now. I suspect that there would be a few glaring differences, and some more subtle changes, but for the most part it would be moot.
As I said, most of us like it *somewhat* backwater.
UPC is actually pretty decent. Human cashiers are good - the automated checkout at Home Depot is a pain in the neck. For that matter, BigBoxLand (Home Depot, WalMart, Circuit City, ToysRUs, BedBath&Beyond, Best Buy, etc.) in Williston is a bit of a pain, even if the prices are a bit better. I try to keep a number on hand - a premium which I'll pay to 'buy local.'
Welcome to the Economic Backwater of Vermont.
Of course most of us like it at least a little that way.
But they don't have an id number for every id number, plus an id number for the reader, do they!
It takes the cashier enough tries to get the current barcodes read at the checkout. We'll need all the life-extension techniques they're talking about when we get in the checkout line with this new one.
Only problem is that you can't get just one. Try it, and another one will come ripping right out of the vacuum. Guess it's a two-or-three-for-the-price-of-one deal, though.
I am not a number, I am a free man!
6
Do you want it cheap, or do you want it fast?
We know how to design faster memory, we've done it. Other than a few niches, the marketplace hasn't been willing to pay for it. So we're back to dirt cheap DRAM, because "It's what the customers want," or at least will pay for.
That said, there are inherent limits to reducing latency, mostly having to do with size. That's why L1 is the smallest cache, and L2 is a bigger cache. L1 is typically the biggest cache that can meet the fastest performance requirements. Because L2 performance is 'shielded' by L1, it's allowed to be slower, and can therefore be bigger. Size is the enemy of speed.
ROTFL, too bad I don't have any mod points, right now.
Maybe they should have. OTOH, one of these days I have to rent Forrest Gump - I've never seen it.
and no references to Neal Stephenson's "The Diamond Age". We're slipping.
Bring on the Drummers!
(I realize it's not nanotech, but carbon semiconductor fabrication is a steppingstone on the way there. I also realize it's not molecule-scale DigiComp, but still.)