My approach would be to put a cheap Linux box as a router/masq server. The machine I currently use for this application is an old HP Vectra/133 that I picked up for under US$100. Put 802.11 on the inside interface, and 10BaseT on the router side. This should cost significantly less than an access point, and do more for you.
I think that you want to avoid putting wireless talking directly to the router, as you will be opening up your DSL line to anyone within 1500' that wants to use it. Well, maybe you do want that;-).
Those horrible scientists, exploiting defensless algae so that we can continue our wasteful lifestyles. We should all live in caves as hunter gatherers rather than exploiting a single other living creature!
I have two Kinesis keyboards, one for work, one for home. If you aren't a touch typist, you will have trouble with this kbd. The stock layout also sucks for games, and I switch to a normal kbd for that purpose. You can also hook up foot switches to the keyboard, although I think that the official ones are over priced. I picked up a set of three switches with a controller from Bilbo that are mostly ok. Major weakness is that they can only be programmed from Windows, and the mouse button emulation has severe problems. I have the source to Windows mouse emulator program, so someday I should be able to fix that problem.
One problem that people might attribute to typing is what I call "mouse finger." I have found that most mice (especially the Microsoft Mouse) give me lots of pain in my right hand. Lately I've been using a Logitech TrackMan Marble, which seems to help a lot.
Tell me about it. I am currently going through Device Driver hell with Win2K, and I'm about ready to pop.
One issue that hasn't been covered a lot is MSFT's insistence that most of NT's stability problems are due to third party device drivers. But from long, agonized experience I can tell you that problems in device drivers are directly linked to NT's baroque I/O architecture, which makes even the simplest operations into torturous chains of DPCs with shifting IRQLs. If MSFT provided an I/O environment that was useable, there would be a lot fewer bugs in the drivers.
Oh, and about WindBag... I have yet to get it to read a symbol table without crashing on Win2K. Maybe its just me, but I had a lot fewer problems in NT4.
High frequency radio and homes generally won't mix too well. Even at relatively modest frequencies like 2.4Ghz, the line-of-sight has to be very good. Got a tree between you and the access node? Forget it. Raining? sorry, your data rate is going to go down.
Where microwave data links are good is linking office buildings across town. This works especially well when you have a couple large buildings that are willing to host your antennas. It might also work ok for apartment buildings. But for residences? Nope.
It's not so much a legacy driver problem, so much as a lack of foresight on the OS people's side! NeXT has had a solution for this problem for over a decade, and it looks like MacOS X will also be able to overcome this hurdle very easily; Display Postscript and Quartz, the PDF version of the above. I guess you could call this legacy software...
Sun also had a resoultion independant solution 12 years ago in the form NeWS(tm). Based on PostScript, incredibly slow but capable of doing many things that X still can only dream about. Too bad the only company outside of Sun to adopt it was SGI.
The problem is that the judge, quite rightly, has dismissed the defendants' claims as mere assertions without proof. And he is correct to do so, as this is a trial and not a flame-war. The judge does have an obligation to protect the plaintiffs from harm. The problem for the defense (and one reason why the ruling went against them in all matters) was that they argued only by assertion, and the judge was clearly irritated that they offered no proof.
The defense needs to prove, with evidence, that DeCSS does not facilitate piracy of DVDs. This should be pretty easy to do.
First, set up a computer with a DVD burner and DeCSS. Also provide a DVD player in a sealed box.
Use DeCSS to decrypt the movie of your choice, I suggest Inherit the Wind.
Make a DVD from the resulting files.
Insert the copied DVD into the player, which will refuse to recognize it.
Now, for the clincher. Hook up a second PC, connected to the first by a serial cable. Set the speed to 56k (a typical connection speed).
Copy the files to the machine. Be sure to put up a progress bar, preferably with a reasonably accurate "time remaining" counter.
This little demonstration would prove that DeCSS does not promote piracy either in the form of bootleg DVDs or electronic copying over the Internet, effectively refuting large parts of the plaintiff's case.
The remaining issue is more difficult. The defense must prove that CSS does not prevent illegal copying. I would suggest getting a real pirated DVD (someone once mentioned that they are available in Hong Kong?), and prove that it was not made by decrypting the contents of a legitimate DVD. I would suggest getting clearance from the court before trying to obtain the contraband DVD.
...a series of unencrypted MPEGS, which would then be considerably easier to distribute. Given current trends in bandwidth availability, the DVD derived MPEGs would become as easy to trade as MP3s
MP3 files are ~3-5 MB in size. DVD's are 3-5+ GB. That's three orders of magnitude. Even if Moore's Law applied to communications bandwidth (and I do not believe that it does) it would take 10 doublings of the current most common network connectivity (56k modem) to bring DVD's into the same realm of tradeibility that MP3 currently enjoys. Applying Moore's Law that would imply that in 15 years we will all of the equivalent of a dedicated OC3 coming into our homes.
A more realistic figure for doubling of widely available consumer bandwidth would seem to be 5 years. To achieve the 10 doublings that we're talking about would require 50 years. If DVD isn't entirely obsolete by then, I will be really surprised.
Yes, Dan Goldin will personally come to your house if you attempt to build a space shuttle that competes with NASA's monopoly on reuseable space vehicles. Better watch out! (I'm sure that you meant NSA).
It seems to me that the DVD CCA will use Johansen's arrest as evidence that what he did was illegal under Norwegian law. It is unlikely that his case will ever come to trial, where there is a chance he could be acquitted.
How are RedHat et al put at a disadvantage vis-a-vis Windows DVD players? The Windows developers had to pay for a license, and RedHat could, too. I seriously doubt that the DVD Consortium would turn them down.
Yet another case of a pre-emptive technology announcements. The fine print in the press release noted that these cells are at least 3-5 years from production. A lot can happen in that time.
And regardless, I would much rather have a Crusoe based machine that only needs a fill-up once a month than a Pentium that needs to be refilled every day.
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The DSS algorithm uses 40 bit keys specifically because of export restrictions.
What you really mean is Those who do not study OS/360 are doomed to reinvent UNIX, poorly.
I think that you want to avoid putting wireless talking directly to the router, as you will be opening up your DSL line to anyone within 1500' that wants to use it. Well, maybe you do want that ;-).
Those horrible scientists, exploiting defensless algae so that we can continue our wasteful lifestyles. We should all live in caves as hunter gatherers rather than exploiting a single other living creature!
One problem that people might attribute to typing is what I call "mouse finger." I have found that most mice (especially the Microsoft Mouse) give me lots of pain in my right hand. Lately I've been using a Logitech TrackMan Marble, which seems to help a lot.
TFN2000 is a DDoS tool that runs on Windows.
One issue that hasn't been covered a lot is MSFT's insistence that most of NT's stability problems are due to third party device drivers. But from long, agonized experience I can tell you that problems in device drivers are directly linked to NT's baroque I/O architecture, which makes even the simplest operations into torturous chains of DPCs with shifting IRQLs. If MSFT provided an I/O environment that was useable, there would be a lot fewer bugs in the drivers.
Oh, and about WindBag... I have yet to get it to read a symbol table without crashing on Win2K. Maybe its just me, but I had a lot fewer problems in NT4.
Where microwave data links are good is linking office buildings across town. This works especially well when you have a couple large buildings that are willing to host your antennas. It might also work ok for apartment buildings. But for residences? Nope.
My vote: Bloody Stupid Johnson. After all, how could such a notoriously bad designer consistently get work before the invention of software?
The defense needs to prove, with evidence, that DeCSS does not facilitate piracy of DVDs. This should be pretty easy to do.
First, set up a computer with a DVD burner and DeCSS. Also provide a DVD player in a sealed box.
Use DeCSS to decrypt the movie of your choice, I suggest Inherit the Wind.
Make a DVD from the resulting files.
Insert the copied DVD into the player, which will refuse to recognize it.
Now, for the clincher. Hook up a second PC, connected to the first by a serial cable. Set the speed to 56k (a typical connection speed).
Copy the files to the machine. Be sure to put up a progress bar, preferably with a reasonably accurate "time remaining" counter.
This little demonstration would prove that DeCSS does not promote piracy either in the form of bootleg DVDs or electronic copying over the Internet, effectively refuting large parts of the plaintiff's case.
The remaining issue is more difficult. The defense must prove that CSS does not prevent illegal copying. I would suggest getting a real pirated DVD (someone once mentioned that they are available in Hong Kong?), and prove that it was not made by decrypting the contents of a legitimate DVD. I would suggest getting clearance from the court before trying to obtain the contraband DVD.
MP3 files are ~3-5 MB in size. DVD's are 3-5+ GB. That's three orders of magnitude. Even if Moore's Law applied to communications bandwidth (and I do not believe that it does) it would take 10 doublings of the current most common network connectivity (56k modem) to bring DVD's into the same realm of tradeibility that MP3 currently enjoys. Applying Moore's Law that would imply that in 15 years we will all of the equivalent of a dedicated OC3 coming into our homes.
A more realistic figure for doubling of widely available consumer bandwidth would seem to be 5 years. To achieve the 10 doublings that we're talking about would require 50 years. If DVD isn't entirely obsolete by then, I will be really surprised.
Yes, Dan Goldin will personally come to your house if you attempt to build a space shuttle that competes with NASA's monopoly on reuseable space vehicles. Better watch out! (I'm sure that you meant NSA).
It seems to me that the DVD CCA will use Johansen's arrest as evidence that what he did was illegal under Norwegian law. It is unlikely that his case will ever come to trial, where there is a chance he could be acquitted.
How are RedHat et al put at a disadvantage vis-a-vis Windows DVD players? The Windows developers had to pay for a license, and RedHat could, too. I seriously doubt that the DVD Consortium would turn them down.
And regardless, I would much rather have a Crusoe based machine that only needs a fill-up once a month than a Pentium that needs to be refilled every day.