I use a calling card which is only 5 cents per minute and will work regardless where I'm at (home, hotel, payphone along the highway). I've looked at Skype and think it's a cool idea, but don't see that it would save me money, or be as convenient.
>>>You are assuming the rack of glow lights has the ability to identify itself to the smart meter. Legacy devices will never register.
Good point but it doesn't really matter. Cops usually look for sudden spikes in power usage, or high usage, that indicates a growing operation. But now with smart meters the cops don't need to look - the meter can be programmed to automatically flag itself, and then the DEA can investigate.
Anonymous Coward wrote: >If you are running grow lamps, maybe talking about them in every single post you make to slashdot isn't the way to keep them a secret? Just a thought.
Yeah like I care. (1) I don't have any. (2) In the extremely unlikely event the DEA did show up, I'd just videotape the illegal police breakin, and then get my 15 minutes of fame on Glenn Beck, Rachel Maddown, and Youtube. It's an overall positive. - And thanks for the -1 mod.
Yeah but now they are putting meters inside appliances which will communicate with the central smart meter (house thermostat). So they'll be able to see if it's a plug-in hybrid or a rack of grow lights.
Aside-
Thank $deity that firefox has redline spell-checking. My fingers must be numb today - all kinds of typos
>>>One thing for sure though, you won't run LINUX, you won't run anything except what that black box says you can run.
Vice-versa: Some of us might start using Lubuntu Linux or Amiga OS specifically because we are told we can't. Some of us enjoy challenging tyrants in order to fight for freedom.
>>>there's the age old... "they put something called linux on it, and it looked like something a hacker might use" problem
Like that poor kid who was given detention. His crime? Demonstrating Linux on his personal laptop during study hall, and handing out free CDs of it to friends. The teacher assumed the kid was a pirate and punished him. She even went so far as to contact the guy who created the original CD, and scold him too! "I don't know why you are handing-out these CDs but I play to consult with lawyers and if necessary prosecute. We cannot allow you to corrupt our children." (Quoted from memory)
Fortunately a teacher has no real power, but imagine this story is the "teacher" was replaced with "NSA enforcement officer" knocking at your door and arresting you for illegal acts, such as handing out free copies of Ubuntu Linux OS. (And yes cops really are that fucking stupid. Go watch some vids on youtube.)
>>>When zealots can't distinguish between legitimate security and illegitimate spying
When liberty-lovers can not see that security and spying are the same thing ("Ahhh I see citizen 12 is using grow lamps - send the DEA to investigate"), then liberty will die for all of us.
>>>My internet traffic is not on a public roadway.
Maybe it's time we nerds setup our own private network. Something like Usenet or Fidnonet but much faster (the old 56k or 112k connections are not enough). On second thought, with advancing codecs maybe it would work. I just watched Doctor Who at dialup speeds (48k) and it was no more horrible than watching a VHS tape.
And to add to Franklin's quote:
- I would rather take the risk that there's a 1 in 300 million risk that a terrorist will kill me, than the 1-to-1 risk that a politician is watching me. Liberty to not be spied on is essential. And the enhanced Security is only temporary (until the next tyrant arises and decides to imprison german-Americans again). It is a lousy bargain to trade the former for the latter.
Maybe Alex Jones is smarter than he acts. He's been talking for months about Boxes being placed in homes (or at the curb) to monitor internet lines to ensure security. I thought he was nuts but now here it comes.
"Any who would give-up essential liberty for temporary security deserve neither." - Benjamin Franklin, Pennsylvanian
>>>hey aren't monitoring the communication of private citizens, they are monitoring incoming connections on critical infrastructure systems.
Like the smart meters being installed in Californian homes. All they need to do now is upgrade the firmware to include a little NSA spyware (literally) so they can how much energy you are using & what it was for. ("Running grow lamps in the basement - mmm interesting. Notify the Drug Agency.")
Patriot Act sucks
The Patriot Renewal Act which Obama signed sucks even more. At least George Duh Bush could claim he didn't know what was in the bill whe he signed it in 2001, but Obama observed the direct consequences of the law (police entering homes w/ self-written warrants; spying on communications; arrests without right of trial). He should have vetoed that bill.
>>>with enough cleverness and computing power another party could give you a different file with the same MD5 password hash.
Understood. Sounds like the old Checksums on X-MODEM downloads. The file was broken into 128-byte blocks, and each block had a checksum in order to catch errors generated by phoneline noise. HOWEVER the checksum was not unique. It was still possible for an error to generate a correct sum, and allow the file to pass through uncaught by the protocol.
NOW I understand. See everyone: Wouldn't it have been a lot easier to just EXPLAIN it to me, rather than insult or say "go google it"? Yes. I thought the MD5 number was like a ZIP file where the numbers code be "uncompressed" back into readable text. I didn't realize it was essentially a random, unrecoverable number.
C'mon. You mean to tell me I can take the collected works of Harry Potter and boil them down to a 128 bit MD5 number? Wow that's some amazing test compression. Even ZIP isn't that good!
Okay no, I really don't believe either you or wikipedia. Given the number carved on the Cyber Command's logo, there has to be a set maximum length the decoded text message could be.
>>>>> I believe you're wrong. I'm not aware of any FCC mandate that says Cable companies must switch to digital. >> >> http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/digitaltv.html See the top section of this page. This was mandated by the FCC. As I recall they want to use the analog spectrum for cell phone's as the spectrum provides better signal penetration. >>
That's true - channels 52 through 83 were given-over to cellular and other servies. BUT I was talking about CABLE which runs through a wire and doesn't interfere with wireless cellphones. Cable and over-the-air are different things.
>>>Have you ever considered that frugality is bollocks and is for the destitute, hippies, and lower-class American conservatives?
Sorry but it isn't bullshit. I saw what happened to my dad because he saved almost no money for retirement. He became destitute. Now I see my brother following the same path towards retirement without savings; he'll end up just like dad. - I prefer to follow the path of frugality, so that when I retire I'll have between 1 and 2 million dollars and can enjoy my old age without worrying how I will pay the rent or electric bill. .
>the rich and wealthy teach frugality to the lower classes, in a damn good attempt at freeing up more luxuries and things for their exclusive, upper-class use.
You have it backwards. The rich and wealthy (corporations and their boards) encourage NOT saving so they can keep raking-in profit via sales of their gadgets. They consider someone who saves money (like getting TV free) or pays off their bills each month (no interest) as a BAD consumer.
Ya know most people I've met who say, You don't need television...... well they have television in their homes. Perhaps it's not an actual TV, but they still watch plenty of television on their PCs or iGadgets or DVD players.
i.e. They are hypocrites. Not living the lifestyle they proclaim that poor people (who can't afford pay tv) should live. Kinda like Al Gore (who talks green but lives in a mansion). I'll buy into your "don't need tv" when you start living that lifestyle yourself.
(walks away to adjust antenna and watch Euronews - for free)
>>>I guarantee you I can fix a meal that would be more then enough calories for you to gain weight.
You probably can but I'd most likely leave half of it on the plate. You don't HAVE to be an animal and gollop everything in front of you - just as you don't have to go on a spending spree with your credit card. It's called self-control and using your fucking brain ,
Slashdot Mirror
>>>Name a decent alternative?
I use a calling card which is only 5 cents per minute and will work regardless where I'm at (home, hotel, payphone along the highway). I've looked at Skype and think it's a cool idea, but don't see that it would save me money, or be as convenient.
>>>You are assuming the rack of glow lights has the ability to identify itself to the smart meter. Legacy devices will never register.
Good point but it doesn't really matter. Cops usually look for sudden spikes in power usage, or high usage, that indicates a growing operation. But now with smart meters the cops don't need to look - the meter can be programmed to automatically flag itself, and then the DEA can investigate.
More likely they'll make you run Windows or Mac OS, and nothing else.
Anonymous Coward wrote:
>If you are running grow lamps, maybe talking about them in every single post you make to slashdot isn't the way to keep them a secret? Just a thought.
Yeah like I care. (1) I don't have any. (2) In the extremely unlikely event the DEA did show up, I'd just videotape the illegal police breakin, and then get my 15 minutes of fame on Glenn Beck, Rachel Maddown, and Youtube. It's an overall positive. - And thanks for the -1 mod.
Yeah but now they are putting meters inside appliances which will communicate with the central smart meter (house thermostat). So they'll be able to see if it's a plug-in hybrid or a rack of grow lights.
Aside-
Thank $deity that firefox has redline spell-checking. My fingers must be numb today - all kinds of typos
>>>monoculture of insecurity.
"Monopoly" is the word you're looking for, and an Uncle Sam monopoly is no better than a Comcast monopoly. On the contrary: It's worse.
.
>>>future exploits will involve DOS by getting the NSA sensors to trip
And of course the failure of the government to secure the net will be used as proof that we need more, not less government.
Anon. Coward wrote:
>>>lol you still believe in Obama..
lol your reading comprehension sucks..
>>>One thing for sure though, you won't run LINUX, you won't run anything except what that black box says you can run.
Vice-versa: Some of us might start using Lubuntu Linux or Amiga OS specifically because we are told we can't. Some of us enjoy challenging tyrants in order to fight for freedom.
>>>there's the age old... "they put something called linux on it, and it looked like something a hacker might use" problem
Like that poor kid who was given detention. His crime? Demonstrating Linux on his personal laptop during study hall, and handing out free CDs of it to friends. The teacher assumed the kid was a pirate and punished him. She even went so far as to contact the guy who created the original CD, and scold him too! "I don't know why you are handing-out these CDs but I play to consult with lawyers and if necessary prosecute. We cannot allow you to corrupt our children." (Quoted from memory)
Fortunately a teacher has no real power, but imagine this story is the "teacher" was replaced with "NSA enforcement officer" knocking at your door and arresting you for illegal acts, such as handing out free copies of Ubuntu Linux OS. (And yes cops really are that fucking stupid. Go watch some vids on youtube.)
>>>When zealots can't distinguish between legitimate security and illegitimate spying
When liberty-lovers can not see that security and spying are the same thing ("Ahhh I see citizen 12 is using grow lamps - send the DEA to investigate"), then liberty will die for all of us.
>>>My internet traffic is not on a public roadway.
Maybe it's time we nerds setup our own private network. Something like Usenet or Fidnonet but much faster (the old 56k or 112k connections are not enough). On second thought, with advancing codecs maybe it would work. I just watched Doctor Who at dialup speeds (48k) and it was no more horrible than watching a VHS tape.
And to add to Franklin's quote:
- I would rather take the risk that there's a 1 in 300 million risk that a terrorist will kill me, than the 1-to-1 risk that a politician is watching me. Liberty to not be spied on is essential. And the enhanced Security is only temporary (until the next tyrant arises and decides to imprison german-Americans again). It is a lousy bargain to trade the former for the latter.
Maybe Alex Jones is smarter than he acts. He's been talking for months about Boxes being placed in homes (or at the curb) to monitor internet lines to ensure security. I thought he was nuts but now here it comes.
"Any who would give-up essential liberty for temporary security deserve neither." - Benjamin Franklin, Pennsylvanian
>>>hey aren't monitoring the communication of private citizens, they are monitoring incoming connections on critical infrastructure systems.
Like the smart meters being installed in Californian homes. All they need to do now is upgrade the firmware to include a little NSA spyware (literally) so they can how much energy you are using & what it was for. ("Running grow lamps in the basement - mmm interesting. Notify the Drug Agency.")
Patriot Act sucks
The Patriot Renewal Act which Obama signed sucks even more. At least George Duh Bush could claim he didn't know what was in the bill whe he signed it in 2001, but Obama observed the direct consequences of the law (police entering homes w/ self-written warrants; spying on communications; arrests without right of trial). He should have vetoed that bill.
>>>with enough cleverness and computing power another party could give you a different file with the same MD5 password hash.
Understood. Sounds like the old Checksums on X-MODEM downloads. The file was broken into 128-byte blocks, and each block had a checksum in order to catch errors generated by phoneline noise. HOWEVER the checksum was not unique. It was still possible for an error to generate a correct sum, and allow the file to pass through uncaught by the protocol.
Oh okay.
NOW I understand. See everyone: Wouldn't it have been a lot easier to just EXPLAIN it to me, rather than insult or say "go google it"? Yes. I thought the MD5 number was like a ZIP file where the numbers code be "uncompressed" back into readable text. I didn't realize it was essentially a random, unrecoverable number.
>>>So it basically means that there is no limit.
C'mon. You mean to tell me I can take the collected works of Harry Potter and boil them down to a 128 bit MD5 number? Wow that's some amazing test compression. Even ZIP isn't that good!
Okay no, I really don't believe either you or wikipedia. Given the number carved on the Cyber Command's logo, there has to be a set maximum length the decoded text message could be.
>>>It's arguably stupid to not google it first to find out what it is, but that's a common failing on /.
I didn't "google" it but I did "wikipedia" it and could not find an answer to my question (What's the maximum length?)
>>>shutting off the fucking encryption and letting everybody use the perfectly good QAM tuners in their televisions
But then Comcast wouldn't be able to charge an extra $5 per set.
I wish people would realize that the United States, like the European Union, is a union of Sovereign States not a union of individuals.
And that's a good thing. The 50 (or 25) States provide checks-and-balances against the growth of a central tyranny (like Rome used to be).
>>>representative democracy would prevent them?
No but a Republic where the Law reigns Supreme would. The law would block the leadership from doing stupid stuff that violates individual rights.
(Except in those cases where the law is ignored of course - there needs to be punishment for those leaders.)
>>>>> I believe you're wrong. I'm not aware of any FCC mandate that says Cable companies must switch to digital.
>>
>> http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/digitaltv.html See the top section of this page. This was mandated by the FCC. As I recall they want to use the analog spectrum for cell phone's as the spectrum provides better signal penetration.
>>
That's true - channels 52 through 83 were given-over to cellular and other servies. BUT I was talking about CABLE which runs through a wire and doesn't interfere with wireless cellphones. Cable and over-the-air are different things.
>>>Have you ever considered that frugality is bollocks and is for the destitute, hippies, and lower-class American conservatives?
Sorry but it isn't bullshit. I saw what happened to my dad because he saved almost no money for retirement. He became destitute. Now I see my brother following the same path towards retirement without savings; he'll end up just like dad. - I prefer to follow the path of frugality, so that when I retire I'll have between 1 and 2 million dollars and can enjoy my old age without worrying how I will pay the rent or electric bill.
.
>the rich and wealthy teach frugality to the lower classes, in a damn good attempt at freeing up more luxuries and things for their exclusive, upper-class use.
You have it backwards. The rich and wealthy (corporations and their boards) encourage NOT saving so they can keep raking-in profit via sales of their gadgets. They consider someone who saves money (like getting TV free) or pays off their bills each month (no interest) as a BAD consumer.
If Free TV disappears, those shows won't be made because there won't be an outlet for them. Which means you won't be able to get them on DVD either
Ya know most people I've met who say, You don't need television...... well they have television in their homes. Perhaps it's not an actual TV, but they still watch plenty of television on their PCs or iGadgets or DVD players.
i.e. They are hypocrites. Not living the lifestyle they proclaim that poor people (who can't afford pay tv) should live. Kinda like Al Gore (who talks green but lives in a mansion). I'll buy into your "don't need tv" when you start living that lifestyle yourself.
(walks away to adjust antenna and watch Euronews - for free)
>>>I guarantee you I can fix a meal that would be more then enough calories for you to gain weight.
You probably can but I'd most likely leave half of it on the plate. You don't HAVE to be an animal and gollop everything in front of you - just as you don't have to go on a spending spree with your credit card. It's called self-control and using your fucking brain
,