OTOH, spies are justifiably hated whether or not they are good at it.
The irony of this situation is that we have the tools to improve privacy and trust, if only the 'geek' community would focus on the doings of Certificate Authorities as a major issue instead of constantly prattling about shiny-shiny.
We have two ex-MS managers (one that was in charge of MS's "intellectual property") suing a Linux company that has almost nil penetration in the desktop market over a desktop feature. And the timing is such that its essentially on cue from Steve Ballmer's comments.
Patents troll outfits engage in little or no engineering and marketing of their own. So how do you use your own patent arsenal against them??
I'm afraid the OIN has provided a false sense of security. FOSS cannot continue to flourish under what amounts to the patenting of mathematics, a fundamental threat to intellectual freedom.
This comes right on the heels of Steve Ballmer just suggesting that patent trolls go after RedHat. It was in the same speech he made about their intent to threaten RedHat and get FOSS application developers to write for Windows 'instead'.
No need. Red Hat, Novell, IBM, Sony, et al are in the Open Initiative Network. They use their patents as a shield and a sword, should ANYBODY try to start this type of war. Really?? Then why did Novell sign a patent deal with Microsoft?
How about something very simple and basic that many photographers rely on: White Balance.
GIMP doesn't have this essential feature. You can choose between two alternatives that miss the mark however: Auto White Balance (a cheap gimmick with results that look cheap) and the 'levels' adjustment requiring many more steps than PS, with white and black balance selection and a result that's not "complete" since its really a 3-part process but there is no realistic way to set the grey-balance for the mid-tones.
When MS shareholders are crying bloody murder due to plummeting sales and ROI, lawsuits will be the "defensive" measure most likely to make MS executives seem they are acting responsibly. Lawsuits against independent Linux vendors (and promises of garnished "IP" revenues) will seem a fragrant oasis as far as business models are concerned.
I agree about the MS astroturfing apparent here. Belittling the community's aversion to an abusive, all-consuming monopolist is not cool or defensible.
I have also noticed a dearth of mod points being used in many recent (otherwise popular) threads. Relatively few messages in these other threads are getting moderated, or perhaps the modding has been gravitating to stories I haven't read... Seems rather odd to me.
Linux hardware support will never achieve that semblance of near-perfect support that Windows has. That, in addition to the fact that Linux driver availability is already rather good.
I think it would be much more benefit to the community just maintaining an HCL people can use while they're shopping for hardware. That there is no such easily accessible list available tell me there is something wrong with the way Linux development relates to average PC users.
Microsoft has designed a tollbooth on general Linux usage without naming even a single patent. Novell's agreement with them set the precedent for acknowledging MS vague claims and actually implementing the tollbooth.
It is MS' insurance policy against Windows being pushed aside on the desktop by Linux; they will still get the revenue stream, even if they don't deserve a penny. When Windows sales really start flagging, just watch them start dragging Ubuntu distributors into court.
Novell should not be trusted, even if only for inept greed.
...may have prompted DiBona to field the idea of a Google-inspired license. They may be afraid of the 'viral' nature of the platform they are writing for.
If that's the case, then it points to some far-reaching stuff possibly coming out of their labs. Things that may require kernel modules...
The leading edge of generation Y are just starting to graduate from college. The demographic the summary refers to is probably the last half of Gen-X (the youngest of which are in their mid-20s). If anything, it is the Gen-Xers that have a more naive/trusting mentality toward IT and the web overall. We grew up with an Internet that had relatively scarce criminal activity.
Anyway... If you want to avoid browser vulnerabilities with GMail, simply use their free POP3 access (make sure SSL is enabled).
... a method for motivating people by making a currency prerequisite for certain transactions (hence, certain resources). In the case of the USD, one has been reliably able to buy oil and gas imports exclusively with dollars (thanks largely to the US military's presence abroad) for at least a couple decades. With other currencies, the resources being tied to them may take the form of labor, land, an array of utilities (either controlled by banks or governments) or some combination thereof.
Money is an abstraction allowing people to convert the value of particular, even idiosyncratic goods and services into a more "liquid" or universally desired form. Its a bit like having a gizmo that takes rotational energy from a single axis and can convert it to any other axis of your choosing X, Y or Z... so people create a fourth axis called 'money' to stand for all the others. Unfortunately, if everything becomes valued exclusively in its relationship to money, you can end up with a one-dimensional value system that obscures any realistic valuation of essential goods and services. In our case, the 'gizmos' proliferate instead of real wealth like education, manufacturing ability, conserved resources, etc. and eventually we find ourselves awash in 'gizmos' that have little or no energy stored in them.
I have come to the conclusion that I don't like it, for the following reasons:
1) It shifts position of some text as you mouse over the location bar. that will confuse novices.
2) It renders my current URL as "slashdot.org comments.pl" So, am I accessing a site called slashdot.org, or a site called comments.pl? An attacker could use reassuring script/directory names like " chase.com " to give the impression to novices that they are accessing a trusted domain.
3) It will prevent some novices from learning correct URL formatting.
I'd rather use a version of this extension which simply renders the non-domain parts in light-grey. I am planning on offering my own variation based on the more straightforward display concept.
Slashdot Mirror
OTOH, spies are justifiably hated whether or not they are good at it.
The irony of this situation is that we have the tools to improve privacy and trust, if only the 'geek' community would focus on the doings of Certificate Authorities as a major issue instead of constantly prattling about shiny-shiny.
Required reading here.
Look at how gleefully they advertise exploiting their trusted thiry-party (SSL Certificate Authority) status.
I think we need to consider switching all our browsers to a more trustworthy CA.
We have two ex-MS managers (one that was in charge of MS's "intellectual property") suing a Linux company that has almost nil penetration in the desktop market over a desktop feature. And the timing is such that its essentially on cue from Steve Ballmer's comments.
Consider that this lawsuit comes just as Vista is floundering and RedHat is set to release their desktop OS.
Patents troll outfits engage in little or no engineering and marketing of their own. So how do you use your own patent arsenal against them??
I'm afraid the OIN has provided a false sense of security. FOSS cannot continue to flourish under what amounts to the patenting of mathematics, a fundamental threat to intellectual freedom.
The other shoe is dropping.
And so does Apple.
So the question is why this lawsuit is aimed at companies that have almost no market penetration and revenues compared to Apple and MS.
Well, I think we know the answer to that: This ex-MS guy is doing his master's bidding.
This comes right on the heels of Steve Ballmer just suggesting that patent trolls go after RedHat. It was in the same speech he made about their intent to threaten RedHat and get FOSS application developers to write for Windows 'instead'.
Earth to Lumpy:
:-D
Flash drives have had wear-leveling as standard for several years.
Now, back to your utra-scuzzy crap kickers.
It sounds to me like we would have a motionless (timeless) 4D space.
Okay, is it speeding up or slowing down? Make up your mind...
I would think that all the redshifting we see indicates that our local time is speeding up if anything.
I believe the theory has more than 4 dimensions total.
How about something very simple and basic that many photographers rely on: White Balance.
GIMP doesn't have this essential feature. You can choose between two alternatives that miss the mark however: Auto White Balance (a cheap gimmick with results that look cheap) and the 'levels' adjustment requiring many more steps than PS, with white and black balance selection and a result that's not "complete" since its really a 3-part process but there is no realistic way to set the grey-balance for the mid-tones.
"Lawsuits are seppuku."
When MS shareholders are crying bloody murder due to plummeting sales and ROI, lawsuits will be the "defensive" measure most likely to make MS executives seem they are acting responsibly. Lawsuits against independent Linux vendors (and promises of garnished "IP" revenues) will seem a fragrant oasis as far as business models are concerned.
I agree about the MS astroturfing apparent here. Belittling the community's aversion to an abusive, all-consuming monopolist is not cool or defensible.
I have also noticed a dearth of mod points being used in many recent (otherwise popular) threads. Relatively few messages in these other threads are getting moderated, or perhaps the modding has been gravitating to stories I haven't read... Seems rather odd to me.
Then why did Balmer verbally threaten all other Linux distros?
Then why did MS pressure Linux cellphone vendors into the same deal? You think they're using Mono? Hah!
Linux hardware support will never achieve that semblance of near-perfect support that Windows has. That, in addition to the fact that Linux driver availability is already rather good.
I think it would be much more benefit to the community just maintaining an HCL people can use while they're shopping for hardware. That there is no such easily accessible list available tell me there is something wrong with the way Linux development relates to average PC users.
It's more sinister than that.
Microsoft has designed a tollbooth on general Linux usage without naming even a single patent. Novell's agreement with them set the precedent for acknowledging MS vague claims and actually implementing the tollbooth.
It is MS' insurance policy against Windows being pushed aside on the desktop by Linux; they will still get the revenue stream, even if they don't deserve a penny. When Windows sales really start flagging, just watch them start dragging Ubuntu distributors into court.
Novell should not be trusted, even if only for inept greed.
...may have prompted DiBona to field the idea of a Google-inspired license. They may be afraid of the 'viral' nature of the platform they are writing for.
If that's the case, then it points to some far-reaching stuff possibly coming out of their labs. Things that may require kernel modules...
...those two licenses are models of simplicity compared to most proprietary licenses.
The leading edge of generation Y are just starting to graduate from college. The demographic the summary refers to is probably the last half of Gen-X (the youngest of which are in their mid-20s). If anything, it is the Gen-Xers that have a more naive/trusting mentality toward IT and the web overall. We grew up with an Internet that had relatively scarce criminal activity.
Anyway... If you want to avoid browser vulnerabilities with GMail, simply use their free POP3 access (make sure SSL is enabled).
... a method for motivating people by making a currency prerequisite for certain transactions (hence, certain resources). In the case of the USD, one has been reliably able to buy oil and gas imports exclusively with dollars (thanks largely to the US military's presence abroad) for at least a couple decades. With other currencies, the resources being tied to them may take the form of labor, land, an array of utilities (either controlled by banks or governments) or some combination thereof.
Money is an abstraction allowing people to convert the value of particular, even idiosyncratic goods and services into a more "liquid" or universally desired form. Its a bit like having a gizmo that takes rotational energy from a single axis and can convert it to any other axis of your choosing X, Y or Z... so people create a fourth axis called 'money' to stand for all the others. Unfortunately, if everything becomes valued exclusively in its relationship to money, you can end up with a one-dimensional value system that obscures any realistic valuation of essential goods and services. In our case, the 'gizmos' proliferate instead of real wealth like education, manufacturing ability, conserved resources, etc. and eventually we find ourselves awash in 'gizmos' that have little or no energy stored in them.
I have come to the conclusion that I don't like it, for the following reasons:
1) It shifts position of some text as you mouse over the location bar. that will confuse novices.
2) It renders my current URL as "slashdot.org comments.pl"
So, am I accessing a site called slashdot.org, or a site called comments.pl?
An attacker could use reassuring script/directory names like " chase.com " to give the impression to novices that they are accessing a trusted domain.
3) It will prevent some novices from learning correct URL formatting.
I'd rather use a version of this extension which simply renders the non-domain parts in light-grey. I am planning on offering my own variation based on the more straightforward display concept.
That extension looks interesting. I am not sure that removing the protocol is a good idea, though.
What do you think?