If MS starts an all-out attack on Linux, I think it will backfire in their faces.
Right now, no one knows about Linux, they might have heard it mentioned, but have no idea what it really is. If MS has AD campaigns, etc... against Linux, people will start looking into this "threat to Microsoft". No matter what they do they are screwed. If they don't do anything, Linux will eventually get big enough on its own. A real strategy for them would be to start leaving their Windows division behind, and become an all app company.
Does this mean we will have *super* photon lights in the future?
If you combined this with a transmeta chip, the power savings would be enormous!! If one of those regenerative keyboards was thrown into the mix, these things would last forever.
There is no way Microsoft is going to collapse in 6 months. None.
Microsoft has so many different streams of income that cutting one off will do nothing to the company. They may need to reorganize, they may need to downsize, but collapse? No way. Also, I fail to see what is so bad about Microsoft. If you want people to switch to Linux, you don't need to kill Microsoft. It seems a bit hypocritical that their strategy is to destroy all their competitors, and we hate them for it, yet when they might go down we all cheer.
Competition is good, and Microsoft isn't going anywhere.
Of course I meant only old copyrighted games are still copyrighted. You don't always know the reasons games are copyrighted, and it's not your software. They didn't have to spend their time making the game, and it isn't your right to just take it. If you have contacted the author and/or publisher, then I can see getting a copy, but if not, it's piracy.
Do you really know why people make the games they do?
Maybe someone made a game as a gift for someone, so that they could have something special. Something that everyone didn't have. Maybe they don't like the idea of everyone casually downloading "that old game" that they put their time and effort into. Maybe you don't know why they made it.
These games might not be generating revenue anymore, but they are still copyrighted works.
Can you imagine a world where everyone just took everything they wanted, without any thought for others? This is the type of world warez promotes. People stealing from others, doing it under the name of "sharing". They should just call it what it is, stealing and piracy. If I made a game, even if I wasn't selling it, I wouldn't want others to have it just because they could get it. I'm sure the authors of these old games feel the same way. They need to protect what they have put all their time and effort into.
Making money isn't the only reason for making games.
Sure, we wouldn't have nukes, but then we'd also have nothing like chemo therapy
I never said give up all research, I was specifically referring to P2P filesharing tools. If people keep making more of these, the internet will be heavily regulated by the government. They will see all the piracy from the "open source geeks", and get laws passed to stop it.
One of the only ways I can see to prevent it is to stop making the tools. If we stop making the tools, we will have a better name, and they will leave us alone. How many legitimate purposes could Napster have anyway? Wouldn't it be easier to go to mp3.com or something? P2P utilities cause nothing but problems.
I know exactly what you mean. I can't play counterstrike anymore because its turning me "violent". She says she is scared of me, and violent games, if I keep playing them, will eventually make me do violent acts. I have no idea where she is getting this, as I have never physically hurt her, and don't act as if I would.
It's the same thing with my music, my books, my movies... everything. If I am ever interested in anything, she is against it. I haven't really figured it out quite yet, but I will be 18 soon. Then I can do what I want with my life.
He provided many insightful comments in addition to his humorous comments, and occasional trolls. We lost a great member of the Slashdot community, and I feel it should be noted.
You can read his farewell speech HERE.
I'm waiting for them to send me one. After all the stupid sites they've gone after, I can't imagine them not coming after mine. After all it has pictures of their product.
If I get a cease and decist letter, there is no way I am taking my site down. I'm not worried about a letter from them.
What would effectively shut me down is if they told my isp/webhost that I was in violation of their agreement. They wouldn't want to be part of a legal problem, and would most likely pull the material. Other than that, I can see no reason why anyone should remove their CueCat site.
In the article it states that the FBI will be able to edit any findings that the university has. When they release it to the public, we will think that Carnivore is a perfectly fine system. I'm not sure that this "Review" of carnivore is really going to go like it should.
They need to have a system where the university can say anything they want about it, or people won't be able to see how bad it is... never mind, thats exactly what the government doesnt want.
I think I'm turning into one of those conspiracy theory people. I need to get out more.
Where do they draw the line? Will computers be illegal? No
Will encryption tools be illegal? Maybe, or restricted
Will security tools that can be used for hacking be illegal? Most likely
This is one of the worst laws I have heard of... We need to let our government know that it is not OK with us!
Another problem is what they consider hacking. Is ping flooding someone hacking? Maybe cracking a box? How about modifying an executable file... No more hex editors, they are a "hacking tool"
This could be the loss of freedom on the net as we are used to it now.
I find it interesting that the only use people have mentioned for the cuecat so far have been making databases of their items, and using the normal CueCat service.
There is so much more you can do with it... You can have your computer do things other than record data when you scan a barcode, especially if you print your own.
My friend had the idea of printing a sheet of barcodes, and having each one correspond to a playlist for XMMS. Just scan the barcode, and it starts playing.
I thought about this idea a bit, and realized I could use it for the arcade I am building. I wanted to keep the user as far away from the OS as possible, to preserve the arcade "feel". The way I hope to accomplish this is with a CueCat and a catalog of barcodes for each game. Just scan the barcode, the current game will stop, and the new one will start. It keeps the user focused on the games not the details of switching between them. I'm sure there are hundereds of other uses, just waiting to be thought up.
In regard to Digital Convergence monitoring flyingbuttmonkeys.com, they have also been monitoring my page. They would probably send me a cease and decist letter also, but they can't find my address.
Digital Convergence just needs to realize that they made a mistake, and that most people WILL use the CueCat for it's intended purpose. There is nothing they can do about it now... they are basically screwed and need to realize it before they get themselves even more messed up.
How much use can a barcode scanner really be to you at home ?
Well... let me think
Inventory of books/cds/anything
Using it to look up books on amazon
using it to start programs with the swipe of a barcode
Practically anything
I have a friend who was going to make a sheet of playlists for XMMS in barcode format, then just scan them to have it start playing that playlist.
I was also thinking that it would be kind of cool to put the decoder into barcode format using 128 encoding (only 7 lines of code now). Anyone done this yet? You can get a free barcode printer for linux... I cant remember what it's called right now, but it is there. Basically you can do a lot more than you think of at first. The possibilities are endless.
560 computers infected is not enough for a massive DDoS. Unless of course they were targetting someone on a dialup, which wouldnt matter anyway. What was the problem again?
You will have to buy a new box if you want to watch tv. The FCC has required that TV stations stop broadcasting analog signals by 2006. Yes, this will make all current TVs obsolete. Converter boxes will be available to convert the digital signal to analog, but I'm sure these will have copy protection stuff too. Your only option really, is to get a digital TV now, before this stuff is implemented.
My personal opinion is that everyone would be better off without TV anyway, but everyone can choose how to use their time...
Do hackers still believe in magic or practice a mystical religion?
The real question should be: Dd hackers ever believe in magic or practice a mystical religion?"
The closest I can think of geeks coming to this is Magic: The Gathering, and D&D. I don't think anyone (very few anyway) took this stuff seriously. It was just a game to geeks then, and it still is.
I don't know if users would really take the time to sort all their music into different areas for "formats". If it was implemented using ID3 tags, it would not work either. While it seems a sound idea in theory, Radio stations take care of the formatting issues, not the listener. I don't know if this is a feature that many people would take advantage of. I still think it would be kind of cool to see "formats" in a future release of xmms and winamp.
No this won't end up like DeCSS. They are at least getting around some encryption. These can be easily decoded by hand. Here's how:
CueCat output:
[junk].C3nZC3nZC3nZE3z3ChDYCNnY.fHmc.DhT3Chr1DxPYD xnW.
The first field can be ignored. The second field is a unique identifier for your cuecat. That can also be ignored. The third field (fHmc) is the barcode type. The final field is the barcode number.
To decode the output, split the section you want to decode into 4-byte chunks. Each character in this chunk should then be converted into a corresponding 8-bit number from the following set: "abc...ABC...0123...+-" with 'a' being 0, and '-' being 63. Remove the first 2 bits from each byte, then recombine them into 3 8-bit numbers. XOR each of these with 'C' (67), and the result is 3 decoded ASCII characters. Repeat this process for the rest of the numbers.
I made a program that did this for me, but I did do it by hand first, to see if it worked. I won't be releasing the program or source for obvious reasons, but it took less than an hour to make.
And lastly:
PEOPLE FROM DIGITALCONVERGENCE ARE READING EVERY COMMENT ON SLASHDOT
I have had 3 seperate hits to my cuecat page from the digitalconvergence.com domain. They read all the comments yet they still wont answer our basic questions... Remember this when posting comments.
Slashdot Mirror
If MS starts an all-out attack on Linux, I think it will backfire in their faces.
Right now, no one knows about Linux, they might have heard it mentioned, but have no idea what it really is. If MS has AD campaigns, etc... against Linux, people will start looking into this "threat to Microsoft". No matter what they do they are screwed. If they don't do anything, Linux will eventually get big enough on its own. A real strategy for them would be to start leaving their Windows division behind, and become an all app company.
Maybe some moderators don't see the humor in this post...
For the uninformed:
SEXXY is a they might be giants song.
I fail to see how this is trolling.
I used to fly alot for my job, so I bought a color gameboy. Got Pokemon, Mario Bros and Tetris. It's all you need.
It was you! You were the pilot that almost got me killed. Now I understand the screaming "NOT MY PIKACHU" coming from the cockpit...
Does this mean we will have *super* photon lights in the future?
If you combined this with a transmeta chip, the power savings would be enormous!! If one of those regenerative keyboards was thrown into the mix, these things would last forever.
There is no way Microsoft is going to collapse in 6 months. None.
Microsoft has so many different streams of income that cutting one off will do nothing to the company. They may need to reorganize, they may need to downsize, but collapse? No way. Also, I fail to see what is so bad about Microsoft. If you want people to switch to Linux, you don't need to kill Microsoft. It seems a bit hypocritical that their strategy is to destroy all their competitors, and we hate them for it, yet when they might go down we all cheer.
Competition is good, and Microsoft isn't going anywhere.
Of course I meant only old copyrighted games are still copyrighted. You don't always know the reasons games are copyrighted, and it's not your software. They didn't have to spend their time making the game, and it isn't your right to just take it. If you have contacted the author and/or publisher, then I can see getting a copy, but if not, it's piracy.
Do you really know why people make the games they do?
Maybe someone made a game as a gift for someone, so that they could have something special. Something that everyone didn't have. Maybe they don't like the idea of everyone casually downloading "that old game" that they put their time and effort into. Maybe you don't know why they made it.
These games might not be generating revenue anymore, but they are still copyrighted works.
Can you imagine a world where everyone just took everything they wanted, without any thought for others? This is the type of world warez promotes. People stealing from others, doing it under the name of "sharing". They should just call it what it is, stealing and piracy. If I made a game, even if I wasn't selling it, I wouldn't want others to have it just because they could get it. I'm sure the authors of these old games feel the same way. They need to protect what they have put all their time and effort into. Making money isn't the only reason for making games.
Sure, we wouldn't have nukes, but then we'd also have nothing like chemo therapy
I never said give up all research, I was specifically referring to P2P filesharing tools. If people keep making more of these, the internet will be heavily regulated by the government. They will see all the piracy from the "open source geeks", and get laws passed to stop it.
One of the only ways I can see to prevent it is to stop making the tools. If we stop making the tools, we will have a better name, and they will leave us alone. How many legitimate purposes could Napster have anyway? Wouldn't it be easier to go to mp3.com or something? P2P utilities cause nothing but problems.
I know exactly what you mean. I can't play counterstrike anymore because its turning me "violent". She says she is scared of me, and violent games, if I keep playing them, will eventually make me do violent acts. I have no idea where she is getting this, as I have never physically hurt her, and don't act as if I would.
It's the same thing with my music, my books, my movies... everything. If I am ever interested in anything, she is against it. I haven't really figured it out quite yet, but I will be 18 soon. Then I can do what I want with my life.
Hmmm... Heres a movie with a little of both: Summoner Geeks
Trust me, it's worth the download.
A method for announcing contests on a website that uses a gift certificate at ThinkGeek as a reward for the winner.
I know some of you will think this is off-topic, but I think it was the most significant event of the week.
Signal 11 left slashdot.
He provided many insightful comments in addition to his humorous comments, and occasional trolls. We lost a great member of the Slashdot community, and I feel it should be noted.
You can read his farewell speech HERE.
I'm waiting for them to send me one. After all the stupid sites they've gone after, I can't imagine them not coming after mine. After all it has pictures of their product.
If I get a cease and decist letter, there is no way I am taking my site down. I'm not worried about a letter from them.
What would effectively shut me down is if they told my isp/webhost that I was in violation of their agreement. They wouldn't want to be part of a legal problem, and would most likely pull the material. Other than that, I can see no reason why anyone should remove their CueCat site.
In the article it states that the FBI will be able to edit any findings that the university has.
When they release it to the public, we will think that Carnivore is a perfectly fine system. I'm not sure that this "Review" of carnivore is really going to go like it should.
They need to have a system where the university can say anything they want about it, or people won't be able to see how bad it is... never mind, thats exactly what the government doesnt want.
I think I'm turning into one of those conspiracy theory people. I need to get out more.
Where do they draw the line?
Will computers be illegal? No
Will encryption tools be illegal? Maybe, or restricted
Will security tools that can be used for hacking be illegal? Most likely
This is one of the worst laws I have heard of...
We need to let our government know that it is not OK with us!
Another problem is what they consider hacking. Is ping flooding someone hacking? Maybe cracking a box? How about modifying an executable file... No more hex editors, they are a "hacking tool"
This could be the loss of freedom on the net as we are used to it now.
I find it interesting that the only use people have mentioned for the cuecat so far have been making databases of their items, and using the normal CueCat service.
There is so much more you can do with it... You can have your computer do things other than record data when you scan a barcode, especially if you print your own.
My friend had the idea of printing a sheet of barcodes, and having each one correspond to a playlist for XMMS. Just scan the barcode, and it starts playing.
I thought about this idea a bit, and realized I could use it for the arcade I am building. I wanted to keep the user as far away from the OS as possible, to preserve the arcade "feel". The way I hope to accomplish this is with a CueCat and a catalog of barcodes for each game. Just scan the barcode, the current game will stop, and the new one will start. It keeps the user focused on the games not the details of switching between them. I'm sure there are hundereds of other uses, just waiting to be thought up.
In regard to Digital Convergence monitoring flyingbuttmonkeys.com, they have also been monitoring my page. They would probably send me a cease and decist letter also, but they can't find my address.
Digital Convergence just needs to realize that they made a mistake, and that most people WILL use the CueCat for it's intended purpose. There is nothing they can do about it now... they are basically screwed and need to realize it before they get themselves even more messed up.
Well... let me think
- Inventory of books/cds/anything
- Using it to look up books on amazon
- using it to start programs with the swipe of a barcode
- Practically anything
I have a friend who was going to make a sheet of playlists for XMMS in barcode format, then just scan them to have it start playing that playlist.I was also thinking that it would be kind of cool to put the decoder into barcode format using 128 encoding (only 7 lines of code now). Anyone done this yet? You can get a free barcode printer for linux... I cant remember what it's called right now, but it is there. Basically you can do a lot more than you think of at first. The possibilities are endless.
I know I didn't click an agreement... They didn't even get my address.
You can read about all my experiences in getting the CueCat here.
Warning: Pictures may load slowly on non-broadband connection
560 computers infected is not enough for a massive DDoS. Unless of course they were targetting someone on a dialup, which wouldnt matter anyway.
What was the problem again?
You will have to buy a new box if you want to watch tv. The FCC has required that TV stations stop broadcasting analog signals by 2006. Yes, this will make all current TVs obsolete. Converter boxes will be available to convert the digital signal to analog, but I'm sure these will have copy protection stuff too. Your only option really, is to get a digital TV now, before this stuff is implemented.
My personal opinion is that everyone would be better off without TV anyway, but everyone can choose how to use their time...
Dd = Did, sorry about that. Note to self: Use Preview button next time
Do hackers still believe in magic or practice a mystical religion?
The real question should be:
Dd hackers ever believe in magic or practice a mystical religion?"
The closest I can think of geeks coming to this is Magic: The Gathering, and D&D. I don't think anyone (very few anyway) took this stuff seriously. It was just a game to geeks then, and it still is.
I don't know if users would really take the time to sort all their music into different areas for "formats". If it was implemented using ID3 tags, it would not work either. While it seems a sound idea in theory, Radio stations take care of the formatting issues, not the listener. I don't know if this is a feature that many people would take advantage of. I still think it would be kind of cool to see "formats" in a future release of xmms and winamp.
No this won't end up like DeCSS. They are at least getting around some encryption. These can be easily decoded by hand. Here's how:D xnW.
CueCat output:
[junk].C3nZC3nZC3nZE3z3ChDYCNnY.fHmc.DhT3Chr1DxPY
The first field can be ignored. The second field is a unique identifier for your cuecat. That can also be ignored. The third field (fHmc) is the barcode type. The final field is the barcode number. To decode the output, split the section you want to decode into 4-byte chunks. Each character in this chunk should then be converted into a corresponding 8-bit number from the following set: "abc...ABC...0123...+-" with 'a' being 0, and '-' being 63. Remove the first 2 bits from each byte, then recombine them into 3 8-bit numbers. XOR each of these with 'C' (67), and the result is 3 decoded ASCII characters. Repeat this process for the rest of the numbers.
I made a program that did this for me, but I did do it by hand first, to see if it worked. I won't be releasing the program or source for obvious reasons, but it took less than an hour to make.
You can see my experiences with the CueCat HERE
Sorry about the large pictures, I don't have time to thumbnail them.
And lastly:
PEOPLE FROM DIGITALCONVERGENCE ARE READING EVERY COMMENT ON SLASHDOT
I have had 3 seperate hits to my cuecat page from the digitalconvergence.com domain. They read all the comments yet they still wont answer our basic questions... Remember this when posting comments.