I'm SOOOOO on-board with this concept. I for one volunteer to sit at the back of the plane with a a PSG-1 and deal with those offensive twits in 1st Class... all kidding aside, I can't imagine what the statistical extrapoliation of such a passenger list would predict, but I bet everyone would be really polite. As R.A. Heinlein said, a well-armed society is a polite one.
Could you PLEASE publicly (as in, post it in a blog, and then e-mail a copy) challenge M&B about this! I remember this as well and I find this kind of about-face to be a real kick in the teeth. Yes, I understand that they're trying to run a company and keep a roof over their heads, but this new license is really not suitable for a LOT of the folks who use and love MT. I mean, c'mon, I'm running MT on a dual-CPU PII, a half-dozen blogs (only 2 public) and 20+ authors (my friends and a couple of accounts that are just for automated postings & such). Do they seriously think that I'm going to cough up $600+ out of brand loyalty? I appreciate their effort, and I've donated to them in the past, but they're putting themselves in competition with several free (speech & beer) alternatives. While I can see MT becoming the tool of choice for ISP/ASP markets who want to provide weblog services to their clients, I think that the 'hobby' and 'lightweight' marketshare will either freeze at MT 2.6x or go elsewhere and take their marketshare to other blogging tools. I also imagine that all those folks writing MT 2.x plug-ins will quickly start duplicating the 'new' features that MT3 is hawking. Remember what happened when Kazaa sold out and a raft of other free P2P clients turned up the heat and started giving them a real run for the corporate money? I'm sure that this won't be the last we hear of it, and I wouldn't be suprised if MT rethinks it's licensing policy, but I'm almost positive that I'm going to move my MT blogs over to something else in the next 3-6 months. Best of luck to Mena & Ben in the wild woolly world of corporate software, but I hope you've got your mittens; a lot of folks are going to start giving you the cold shoulder over this.
I'm sorry if you interpretted my response as taking an opposed position to your original post. I think we both understand that on the individual level this is ++ungood for SCO's employees and a waste of time, money, resources and ink for everyone (Linus, *nix, RedHat, IBM, AutoZone, cat, dog, pony, etc...). I however am willing to take the somewhat less popular, and I'd believe slightly more pragmatic, view that these events are inevitable and addressing the issue at it's root will overall result in less long-term damage. No one wants to be out of a job because the boardroom is playing fast and loose with stock options and unrealistic business plans. But seeing as Darl, Canopy & Co. have embarked on the present course of action, I don't think it's realistic to just wail over it and complain. Find the bozos who endorse this destructive strip-mining of IP, marketshare and goodwill, shoot out their financial kneecaps and put their heads on stakes to ward off the next MBA-nitwit who thinks that such actions are 'good business practices'.
yes, the whole thing stinks and nothing good will come of it, but how much more would it stink, and how much worse would it be if we let them run unchecked. sometimes the surgeon has to sacrifice tissue to save the patient, he may not like it, but it's a necessary evil.
while I can understand your argument, and I agree that this does not bode well for the company's employees, I still think that in the long-term this is the 'best' course for this whole sorrid affair to follow. yes, it has nasty repercussions for the folks in the SCO cube-farm, but what kind of legal seal-bashing would be encouraged by letting SCO get away with this? If they got away with it this time, some other C?O with an ichy palm would think that these kinds of anti-FOSS/GPL antics were a neat way to mint money. Can you imagine the digital landscape in 2-5 years if we let Darl cart away the cash because big-bully-bill set him up to take cheap shots at the penguins? Perhaps BayStar will be a little bit more thorough in vetting the business plans of the companies they invest in? Maybe people will stop trying to rewrite/reinterpret their old contracts to get a better footing for creativity killing lawsuits? Maybe companies will return to the good old days of creating and selling products that consumers want and are willing to pay for, not just threatening people with lawsuits from ToonTown, UT.
Yes, our fellow techies are losing their jobs, but did you ever cry over Vader's poor unknowning Stormtrooper henchmen as they ate blaster-fire like the faceless minions they are? C'mon, if you're an employee of a company pulling antics like SCO, then you should either get your CV in order and start seriously looking for employment elsewhere or just lie down like a dog and get the whuppin' that's likely to come down the tracks.
someone, please bump the parent with +1 insightfull. this guy tells it like it is, not that we like it or it's how it should be, but how it works with management. TTFN
Re:The true drug cartells... - unfair mod. (OT)
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Feds Want to Tap VoIP
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· Score: 1
I'd like to challenge whoever modded the parent comment 'off-topic'. I think that cheekyboy is actually raising a good point. The USA (the country that I love) is losing it's unilateral control on the satellite/encrypt/information economy, and it's something that was bound to happen. Groups that we consider 'evil' (as we once hated the bear of mother russia or the regime of west germany) may soon be able to collect data and information using their own secure networks. Iran is looking to put up a comsat in the near future, the USSR and France have started opening up their satellite networks to businesses. Our government is trying to contain this situation and keep as much of a grasp on the flow of information around the world as they can. This is in their nature, and is in their design. I doubt that bin-whozen will be wispering into the mouthpiece of the first private VOIP-net cellphone within days of it's release in Ginza; but I do recognize that this 'leveling of the playing field' will be an unhappy day for the 1984-esqe fans. You may not think that this changing in the balance of who controls the floodgates of the 'information age' is pertinent to the topic. But some of us do, so save the 'OT' for the "bsd/linux/mac/sco/m$-is-dying" tripe, don't just smack it on something you don't happen to agree with.
wise words from a wise man: "The future is here. It's just not evenly distributed yet." - William Gibson
yes, I've been here long enough to know that one. I just found it quite amusing in the context. I need to submit that one to fark with IcyHotStuntaz composited in front of some Sunfire K15s all 'glistnin' with chrome, ST fibre and cold-cathode effects.
hmm, let's take a look at those two pesky little amendments you're refering to:
Amendment IV: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated.
I do not see how the right to be free from unnecessary search and seizure somehow mandates that evidence of criminal misconduct (vehicular manslaughter) is sacrosanct when it's on your property. Try hiding a murder weapon or stolen goods on your property and spread the word. I can almost guarantee that the nice police officers will be more than glad to show up at your doorstep with a search warrant and nice large smiles. Now, if the nice police officers are delayed in getting to your comfy abode, and the jack-boot gestapo get their first, kick in your door and start ripping appart your house without a warrant, then I hold that you're well within your rights to biotch, moan, complain and open fire if necessary. The law goes both ways, it protects the innocent, and defines culpability for the common man. But if the boys in blue are that intent on getting their hands on evidence that you've cleverly hidden in your carport, then they're probably going to get a nice legal warrant signed by a judge so that when they put you away, they do it clean. This is how the law works, if that sounds unreasonable, please feel free to book a flight elsewhere at the earliest opportunity.
Amendment V: No person shall...be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself...
Pleading the 5th Amendment in order to avoid self-incrimination has a very limited scope. The courts cannot force you to admit guilt, hence the ideal of innocent until proven guilty. If you invite someone into your home and then kill them without a damn good reason, you may find yourself in court, being asked questions along the lines of: "Did you kill Mr. Trollaxor on the night in question?" At that point, you are well within your right to invoke the 5th amendment; ie: refusing to incriminate yourself. Now, if you happen to have a nice setup of X10 cameras in your house, and the prosecution has the recorded footage of the murder entered as evidence, then you'd be laughed at if you tried to invoke the 5th amendment to prevent them from being used as evidence and possibly even 'proof' that you commited the deed. Now, please tell me how the information in your car's EDB, when it provides an accurate(*) record, is somehow sacrosanct and therefore protected by either the 4th or 5th amendments.
Now, I'm not saying that my idea of perfection is a police-state. I do lots of things inside my own house that my state, local and federal government may believe to be 'illegal', but as long as I do them privately and without affecting others, then I'm probably in a pretty good position to keep on doing them without Mrs. Grundy sticking her nose in my windows and calling the police on me, but if I do those same things in public, or put the public at risk for my actions, then I'm well aware of the kinds of consequences that could come my way. If you really want to live free and do so without the coppers meddling in your life, then move somewhere far enough away from the rest of us that you don't get the rest of us involved in your little games. I'd suggest someplace warm with plenty of palm-trees and a nice killing zone around your house, because if you want to live without being under the thumb of the law, then you need to be able to provide your own law.
(*) - again, I am not implying that an EDB provides an accurate enough log of events to be considered viable forensic evidence. But let's assume either a) enough people kick and holler to make this an issue where we really get accurate EDBs or they are given a limited status that defines what kinds of errors and aberant data they can produce in given situations. or b) people let this one slide, and then bemoan how they're getting zapped with speeding tickets
why shouldn't any given citizen be culpable for every minute of his/her life? if something happened to someone you care about, wouldn't you want justice? wouldn't you like a case solved? this is a tool that can be used to enforce 'compliance', if someones driving like a maniac, they're putting the general public at risk. please note that 'general public' includes, you, me, and every other person here. if someone around you
1. broke the law.
2. endangered the general public. wouldn't you want them to fess up to what happened? wouldn't we all like the answer when things like this happen? I'm no big-brother person myself, but if these things are accurate, and reliable, and tamper-proof; then why not use them? I'm not saying we should embrace them sight-unseen, but isn't this just an extension of forensic science? I expect that we'll see this featured in CSI any week now. These things have been in cars since the mid '90s if I recall, and they're here to stay. How prone are they to registering wheel-spin? how long of a recording window do they hold. it sounds to me like a reasonable demand in the name of public safety. but yes, I agree that standards need to be set and 3rd-party evaluations be the rule. besides, it's another excuse to keep my '91 Civic. {mwwwhaaahaahaha!}
hmm, I'd have to argue with you there... in the FAQ, they present it as:
Q: What can the XGameStation hardware do? How powerful is it? A: The processing power of the XGameStation is approximately 10x that of the Super Nintendo (SNES), and it's graphical capabilities are approximately 50-200% more advanced than the SNES. Moreover, the graphics subsystem was specifically designed to draw upon the best parts of the Atari 800, Apple II, Super Nintendo, and Commodore 64, the systems that drove the computer and video game revolutions. Check out the full specs here.
So I think it's safe to say that the XGameStation will at least be on level ground with the venerable SNES [tech specs here], and will most likely surpass it. However I don't know if it will be able to match the SNES games that actually used secondary processors (SuperFX, SA1, C4, audio DSPs...) in the game carts themselves (Starfox and several Capcom titles to name a few. But yeah... I still want one.
"I'm a social scientist--I don't know the difference between good and bad, only the difference between difference."
with everyone whining about how 'useless' this guy's statement is, perhaps you should pause for a second and count your blessings. I'm much happier with him acknowledging that he isn't looking to make moral judgements or even define which behavioral patterns are 'better' than others. I'd much rather have someone making their factual (as factual as UseNet is...) observations and leaving it at that. Then again I can say that while I detest Microsoft's foray into the arena of data-mining (because I think it's naive to think they won't look to use whatever knowledge about online inter-social/meme interaction for their own evil marketing gains...) I don't think that there are really any suprises here. 'They' can associate your online activities if you don't take active measures to prevent them. Everyone has their own kill-list and their own filters. I've got my friend, foes & freaks here on/. If you want to spout anti-american drivel or promote nazi-ism in France, you'd better not do it from your home or work account, duh... (c'mon, the PLO have known this for years) Then again, with the recent police-led 'back-dooring' of the AN.ON service, where can you realy go for reliable web-obfuscation? How long do you predict that kind of 'untraceable' access will last? The knowledge that Microsoft is going to get out of this research will not be earth-shattering, but I think it will provide MS with some new ammo to use in the onling realm of marketing and memes. I can easily imagine this evolving into a more successful (and possibly incideous) astro-turfing campaing along the lines of 7Up's dairy-drink. You remember that one, don't you? When all the bloggers started to scream at each other like Emo kids taunting 'sell-out' and 'poser'. This really should have been on your radar already, I know that I sure don't post to alt.sex.hello-kitty.underage from work, I hope you don't either.
hmm, sounds like an interesting challenge; marketing a high-end homebrew platform for the geek gamer market... From the marketing's slant, they're looking to build a lot of support for older console architectures (6250), they also mention the pheasability of emulators, and linux as well! (::insert 8-bit audio of penguins clapping::) With the BASIC and C support, I can imagine a lot of people who are interested in programing for console hardware will want to sink their teeth into it. Maybe the demo-scene will adore it and shower it with neat eye-candy. Maybe the coders will make us a whole slew of new games. Maybe the coders will make us a whole slew of FF-clones. Maybe the lawyers will feast on the corpses. Maybe I'll actually plunk down my own ~$99 and see if it would be a fun toy. It might even be better than watching pr0n! (j/k)
nope, but the HR peons and PHB's of the world have been told for decades that a College Degree is the only sign of knowledge. I think we all understand that in the tech field, especially in the modern arena of tightly focused areas of knowledge and need, this isn't necessarily true. But 90% of the time, your application/resume/CV can/will get 187'd by some HR Weasel who doesnt' see the correct TLA's and higher-ed bumphf on your resume. Then again, in my experience, the jobs in that 90% slice are just wage-slave positions. If you're looking for a job that will give you a chance to shine, expand, create and challenge yourself, find someone with a real need (networking, networking, networking... and I ain't talking cat-5 baby.) and show them how the person standing in front of them can meet and surpass their needs. To be perfectly honest, I've never enjoyed a job or contract position that involved the usual Dog & Pony show infront of HR Weasels. But if you truely know your chops, you can impress the IT guy who needs someone to do Routers, HW, Support, Code, whatever. And THAT's the best way to get a position. Don't entirely end-run HR (they get pretty pissy about that, it shows them to be extraneous and endangers their self-esteem), but don't expect them to call you back either.
Well, from the sounds of the noise comming from the UbiSoft camp, I'd guess that their lawyers are hoping for something more along the lines of: "Shadowbane Servers Hacked, Jailarity Ensues"
how about the original Foxfire book. I are you interested in the social structure and culture that these skills come from or do you want the most efficient methods? do you want the History or the Science of these skills? Either way I'd stay out of the 'how to make a still' chapter unless you want very urban ATF breaking up your mash bucket and stoving in your cooker. Ah the good old days of moonshine and salting deer. Those guys might stand a chance against the SCA camp folks... maybe.
Re:HEY SLASHDOT, A CS PIONEER HAS DIED
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MIT Gnome Invasion
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· Score: 1
Hmm, I'll leave it to a second party with mod points to decide if the parent is a honorable, valid point or a well crafted troll masquerading beneath a less honorable, valid point.
c'mon guys, can't you create an April Fools thread with a bit more credibility... If I see this same story in this month's GamePro I'm gonna want my money back. 'from the theoretical-weight-of-information dept.' sheesh! let's just give it away from the start. oh well, better luck next year.
Actually, ColaMan is correct but he's incorrectly refering to finished product as cement, it's actualy concrete. Cement is a specific binder used to make concrete, and acts to amalgamate the other ingredients into the final product, concrete. Sure, it might be splitting hairs, but at least the guy tried.
And yeah, this kinda off-topic, I've got the karma to burn.
One thing that I have had pounded into my head by all the great unix geeks who have taken the time to lead me down the path of linux enlightenment is that 'root' should be viewed as the last resort for most tasks. With some sensible configuration of 'sudo' and permissions management, I can do 90% of my 'admin' tasks without having to login as root. Your users can handle all their own files, copy, move, ftp, grep and do almost 100% of their day-to-day work with just their user permissions. ("users cannot abuse privliges they do not have". - anon. unix admin.) When someone comes by and says that they need a new version of perl, or they would like you to install some lib that they need for some project, _that_ is when you break out the 'su -' and take off the kid gloves. I've had a couple of people tell me that you only should need root access when something is seriously b0rken, it's not how you login to check your mail, logs, or grip the squid logs for porn. As an extended metaphor, I drive my car (a user interaction) and can go under the hood to top off the fluids, change filters, etc. (sudo-ish stuff, simple interactions) by myself, but if I need to install new cams or take off the cylinder head, I leave that to my mechanic (root) who has the larger knowledge of what everything does and how to perform intricate tasks that are beyond day-to-day maintence and require complete control of the system. I'm not going to say that there aren't risks with having a user account that bypasses the entire security model of a complex multi-user environment, but I think that on a machine which is run/maintained by a knowledgeable/responsible admin the functionality of 'root' in complex circumstances far outweighs the risk of having the account comprimised.
Darkness Productions spoke the following out of his ass... "Best Buy might be an option. The money isn't the best (about $7 to start), but they get 90% of the stuff in the store at 5% over cost. Which means a cheap plasma TV..."
If you read the actual question he was asking, he's looking opportunities that will allow him to bring in extra income, not ways of spending an additional low-wage paycheck on material goods that he doesn't necessarily need. Someone who's thinking ahead and planning on how he can leverage his knowledge and skill set into a better life for his expanding family (and kudos to him for deciding to adopt instead of 'DIYing his own.') has better things to spend his money on that expensive trend-whore gadgets.
And yes, I posted this as a response, instead of just slapping you with (-1 offtopic).
he may be a bit brutish when enlightening us, but it does appear that he is explaining some of the aspects that many of us (myself included) are not presently aware. we're not necessarily here to critique his tone, I for one am more interested in his content.
Slashdot Mirror
poland cannot into global warming?
I'm SOOOOO on-board with this concept. I for one volunteer to sit at the back of the plane with a a PSG-1 and deal with those offensive twits in 1st Class...
all kidding aside, I can't imagine what the statistical extrapoliation of such a passenger list would predict, but I bet everyone would be really polite. As R.A. Heinlein said, a well-armed society is a polite one.
Could you PLEASE publicly (as in, post it in a blog, and then e-mail a copy) challenge M&B about this! I remember this as well and I find this kind of about-face to be a real kick in the teeth.
Yes, I understand that they're trying to run a company and keep a roof over their heads, but this new license is really not suitable for a LOT of the folks who use and love MT. I mean, c'mon, I'm running MT on a dual-CPU PII, a half-dozen blogs (only 2 public) and 20+ authors (my friends and a couple of accounts that are just for automated postings & such). Do they seriously think that I'm going to cough up $600+ out of brand loyalty?
I appreciate their effort, and I've donated to them in the past, but they're putting themselves in competition with several free (speech & beer) alternatives.
While I can see MT becoming the tool of choice for ISP/ASP markets who want to provide weblog services to their clients, I think that the 'hobby' and 'lightweight' marketshare will either freeze at MT 2.6x or go elsewhere and take their marketshare to other blogging tools.
I also imagine that all those folks writing MT 2.x plug-ins will quickly start duplicating the 'new' features that MT3 is hawking.
Remember what happened when Kazaa sold out and a raft of other free P2P clients turned up the heat and started giving them a real run for the corporate money?
I'm sure that this won't be the last we hear of it, and I wouldn't be suprised if MT rethinks it's licensing policy, but I'm almost positive that I'm going to move my MT blogs over to something else in the next 3-6 months.
Best of luck to Mena & Ben in the wild woolly world of corporate software, but I hope you've got your mittens; a lot of folks are going to start giving you the cold shoulder over this.
I'm sorry if you interpretted my response as taking an opposed position to your original post. I think we both understand that on the individual level this is ++ungood for SCO's employees and a waste of time, money, resources and ink for everyone (Linus, *nix, RedHat, IBM, AutoZone, cat, dog, pony, etc...).
I however am willing to take the somewhat less popular, and I'd believe slightly more pragmatic, view that these events are inevitable and addressing the issue at it's root will overall result in less long-term damage.
No one wants to be out of a job because the boardroom is playing fast and loose with stock options and unrealistic business plans. But seeing as Darl, Canopy & Co. have embarked on the present course of action, I don't think it's realistic to just wail over it and complain. Find the bozos who endorse this destructive strip-mining of IP, marketshare and goodwill, shoot out their financial kneecaps and put their heads on stakes to ward off the next MBA-nitwit who thinks that such actions are 'good business practices'.
yes, the whole thing stinks and nothing good will come of it, but how much more would it stink, and how much worse would it be if we let them run unchecked. sometimes the surgeon has to sacrifice tissue to save the patient, he may not like it, but it's a necessary evil.
while I can understand your argument, and I agree that this does not bode well for the company's employees, I still think that in the long-term this is the 'best' course for this whole sorrid affair to follow.
yes, it has nasty repercussions for the folks in the SCO cube-farm, but what kind of legal seal-bashing would be encouraged by letting SCO get away with this? If they got away with it this time, some other C?O with an ichy palm would think that these kinds of anti-FOSS/GPL antics were a neat way to mint money. Can you imagine the digital landscape in 2-5 years if we let Darl cart away the cash because big-bully-bill set him up to take cheap shots at the penguins?
Perhaps BayStar will be a little bit more thorough in vetting the business plans of the companies they invest in? Maybe people will stop trying to rewrite/reinterpret their old contracts to get a better footing for creativity killing lawsuits? Maybe companies will return to the good old days of creating and selling products that consumers want and are willing to pay for, not just threatening people with lawsuits from ToonTown, UT.
Yes, our fellow techies are losing their jobs, but did you ever cry over Vader's poor unknowning Stormtrooper henchmen as they ate blaster-fire like the faceless minions they are? C'mon, if you're an employee of a company pulling antics like SCO, then you should either get your CV in order and start seriously looking for employment elsewhere or just lie down like a dog and get the whuppin' that's likely to come down the tracks.
someone, please bump the parent with +1 insightfull. this guy tells it like it is, not that we like it or it's how it should be, but how it works with management. TTFN
I'd like to challenge whoever modded the parent comment 'off-topic'. I think that cheekyboy is actually raising a good point. The USA (the country that I love) is losing it's unilateral control on the satellite/encrypt/information economy, and it's something that was bound to happen. Groups that we consider 'evil' (as we once hated the bear of mother russia or the regime of west germany) may soon be able to collect data and information using their own secure networks. Iran is looking to put up a comsat in the near future, the USSR and France have started opening up their satellite networks to businesses.
Our government is trying to contain this situation and keep as much of a grasp on the flow of information around the world as they can. This is in their nature, and is in their design. I doubt that bin-whozen will be wispering into the mouthpiece of the first private VOIP-net cellphone within days of it's release in Ginza; but I do recognize that this 'leveling of the playing field' will be an unhappy day for the 1984-esqe fans.
You may not think that this changing in the balance of who controls the floodgates of the 'information age' is pertinent to the topic. But some of us do, so save the 'OT' for the "bsd/linux/mac/sco/m$-is-dying" tripe, don't just smack it on something you don't happen to agree with.
wise words from a wise man:
"The future is here. It's just not evenly distributed yet." - William Gibson
yes, I've been here long enough to know that one.
I just found it quite amusing in the context. I need to submit that one to fark with IcyHotStuntaz composited in front of some Sunfire K15s all 'glistnin' with chrome, ST fibre and cold-cathode effects.
Internet1 is old and busted.
bwaaah! +1 funny
I do not see how the right to be free from unnecessary search and seizure somehow mandates that evidence of criminal misconduct (vehicular manslaughter) is sacrosanct when it's on your property. Try hiding a murder weapon or stolen goods on your property and spread the word. I can almost guarantee that the nice police officers will be more than glad to show up at your doorstep with a search warrant and nice large smiles. Now, if the nice police officers are delayed in getting to your comfy abode, and the jack-boot gestapo get their first, kick in your door and start ripping appart your house without a warrant, then I hold that you're well within your rights to biotch, moan, complain and open fire if necessary. The law goes both ways, it protects the innocent, and defines culpability for the common man.
But if the boys in blue are that intent on getting their hands on evidence that you've cleverly hidden in your carport, then they're probably going to get a nice legal warrant signed by a judge so that when they put you away, they do it clean. This is how the law works, if that sounds unreasonable, please feel free to book a flight elsewhere at the earliest opportunity.
Pleading the 5th Amendment in order to avoid self-incrimination has a very limited scope. The courts cannot force you to admit guilt, hence the ideal of innocent until proven guilty. If you invite someone into your home and then kill them without a damn good reason, you may find yourself in court, being asked questions along the lines of: "Did you kill Mr. Trollaxor on the night in question?"
At that point, you are well within your right to invoke the 5th amendment; ie: refusing to incriminate yourself.
Now, if you happen to have a nice setup of X10 cameras in your house, and the prosecution has the recorded footage of the murder entered as evidence, then you'd be laughed at if you tried to invoke the 5th amendment to prevent them from being used as evidence and possibly even 'proof' that you commited the deed.
Now, please tell me how the information in your car's EDB, when it provides an accurate(*) record, is somehow sacrosanct and therefore protected by either the 4th or 5th amendments.
Now, I'm not saying that my idea of perfection is a police-state. I do lots of things inside my own house that my state, local and federal government may believe to be 'illegal', but as long as I do them privately and without affecting others, then I'm probably in a pretty good position to keep on doing them without Mrs. Grundy sticking her nose in my windows and calling the police on me, but if I do those same things in public, or put the public at risk for my actions, then I'm well aware of the kinds of consequences that could come my way.
If you really want to live free and do so without the coppers meddling in your life, then move somewhere far enough away from the rest of us that you don't get the rest of us involved in your little games. I'd suggest someplace warm with plenty of palm-trees and a nice killing zone around your house, because if you want to live without being under the thumb of the law, then you need to be able to provide your own law.
(*) - again, I am not implying that an EDB provides an accurate enough log of events to be considered viable forensic evidence. But let's assume either a) enough people kick and holler to make this an issue where we really get accurate EDBs or they are given a limited status that defines what kinds of errors and aberant data they can produce in given situations. or b) people let this one slide, and then bemoan how they're getting zapped with speeding tickets
if someone around you
1. broke the law.
2. endangered the general public.
wouldn't you want them to fess up to what happened? wouldn't we all like the answer when things like this happen? I'm no big-brother person myself, but if these things are accurate, and reliable, and tamper-proof; then why not use them?
I'm not saying we should embrace them sight-unseen, but isn't this just an extension of forensic science? I expect that we'll see this featured in CSI any week now. These things have been in cars since the mid '90s if I recall, and they're here to stay. How prone are they to registering wheel-spin? how long of a recording window do they hold.
it sounds to me like a reasonable demand in the name of public safety. but yes, I agree that standards need to be set and 3rd-party evaluations be the rule.
besides, it's another excuse to keep my '91 Civic. {mwwwhaaahaahaha!}
So I think it's safe to say that the XGameStation will at least be on level ground with the venerable SNES [tech specs here], and will most likely surpass it. However I don't know if it will be able to match the SNES games that actually used secondary processors (SuperFX, SA1, C4, audio DSPs...) in the game carts themselves (Starfox and several Capcom titles to name a few.
But yeah... I still want one.
"I'm a social scientist--I don't know the difference between good and bad, only the difference between difference."
/. If you want to spout anti-american drivel or promote nazi-ism in France, you'd better not do it from your home or work account, duh... (c'mon, the PLO have known this for years)
with everyone whining about how 'useless' this guy's statement is, perhaps you should pause for a second and count your blessings. I'm much happier with him acknowledging that he isn't looking to make moral judgements or even define which behavioral patterns are 'better' than others. I'd much rather have someone making their factual (as factual as UseNet is...) observations and leaving it at that.
Then again I can say that while I detest Microsoft's foray into the arena of data-mining (because I think it's naive to think they won't look to use whatever knowledge about online inter-social/meme interaction for their own evil marketing gains...) I don't think that there are really any suprises here. 'They' can associate your online activities if you don't take active measures to prevent them. Everyone has their own kill-list and their own filters. I've got my friend, foes & freaks here on
Then again, with the recent police-led 'back-dooring' of the AN.ON service, where can you realy go for reliable web-obfuscation? How long do you predict that kind of 'untraceable' access will last?
The knowledge that Microsoft is going to get out of this research will not be earth-shattering, but I think it will provide MS with some new ammo to use in the onling realm of marketing and memes. I can easily imagine this evolving into a more successful (and possibly incideous) astro-turfing campaing along the lines of 7Up's dairy-drink.
You remember that one, don't you? When all the bloggers started to scream at each other like Emo kids taunting 'sell-out' and 'poser'.
This really should have been on your radar already, I know that I sure don't post to alt.sex.hello-kitty.underage from work, I hope you don't either.
hmm, sounds like an interesting challenge; marketing a high-end homebrew platform for the geek gamer market...
From the marketing's slant, they're looking to build a lot of support for older console architectures (6250), they also mention the pheasability of emulators, and linux as well! (::insert 8-bit audio of penguins clapping::)
With the BASIC and C support, I can imagine a lot of people who are interested in programing for console hardware will want to sink their teeth into it.
Maybe the demo-scene will adore it and shower it with neat eye-candy.
Maybe the coders will make us a whole slew of new games.
Maybe the coders will make us a whole slew of FF-clones.
Maybe the lawyers will feast on the corpses.
Maybe I'll actually plunk down my own ~$99 and see if it would be a fun toy. It might even be better than watching pr0n! (j/k)
nope, but the HR peons and PHB's of the world have been told for decades that a College Degree is the only sign of knowledge.
I think we all understand that in the tech field, especially in the modern arena of tightly focused areas of knowledge and need, this isn't necessarily true.
But 90% of the time, your application/resume/CV can/will get 187'd by some HR Weasel who doesnt' see the correct TLA's and higher-ed bumphf on your resume.
Then again, in my experience, the jobs in that 90% slice are just wage-slave positions. If you're looking for a job that will give you a chance to shine, expand, create and challenge yourself, find someone with a real need (networking, networking, networking... and I ain't talking cat-5 baby.) and show them how the person standing in front of them can meet and surpass their needs.
To be perfectly honest, I've never enjoyed a job or contract position that involved the usual Dog & Pony show infront of HR Weasels.
But if you truely know your chops, you can impress the IT guy who needs someone to do Routers, HW, Support, Code, whatever. And THAT's the best way to get a position. Don't entirely end-run HR (they get pretty pissy about that, it shows them to be extraneous and endangers their self-esteem), but don't expect them to call you back either.
bwaahha! another great sluggy.com reference goes wizzing under the radar!
Well, from the sounds of the noise comming from the UbiSoft camp, I'd guess that their lawyers are hoping for something more along the lines of:
"Shadowbane Servers Hacked, Jailarity Ensues"
how about the original Foxfire book. I are you interested in the social structure and culture that these skills come from or do you want the most efficient methods? do you want the History or the Science of these skills?
Either way I'd stay out of the 'how to make a still' chapter unless you want very urban ATF breaking up your mash bucket and stoving in your cooker. Ah the good old days of moonshine and salting deer. Those guys might stand a chance against the SCA camp folks... maybe.
Hmm, I'll leave it to a second party with mod points to decide if the parent is a honorable, valid point or a well crafted troll masquerading beneath a less honorable, valid point.
just wonderin...
bwaaaah! funny +1
c'mon guys, can't you create an April Fools thread with a bit more credibility... If I see this same story in this month's GamePro I'm gonna want my money back. 'from the theoretical-weight-of-information dept.' sheesh! let's just give it away from the start. oh well, better luck next year.
Actually, ColaMan is correct but he's incorrectly refering to finished product as cement, it's actualy concrete. Cement is a specific binder used to make concrete, and acts to amalgamate the other ingredients into the final product, concrete. Sure, it might be splitting hairs, but at least the guy tried.
And yeah, this kinda off-topic, I've got the karma to burn.
One thing that I have had pounded into my head by all the great unix geeks who have taken the time to lead me down the path of linux enlightenment is that 'root' should be viewed as the last resort for most tasks. With some sensible configuration of 'sudo' and permissions management, I can do 90% of my 'admin' tasks without having to login as root. Your users can handle all their own files, copy, move, ftp, grep and do almost 100% of their day-to-day work with just their user permissions. ("users cannot abuse privliges they do not have". - anon. unix admin.)
When someone comes by and says that they need a new version of perl, or they would like you to install some lib that they need for some project, _that_ is when you break out the 'su -' and take off the kid gloves.
I've had a couple of people tell me that you only should need root access when something is seriously b0rken, it's not how you login to check your mail, logs, or grip the squid logs for porn.
As an extended metaphor, I drive my car (a user interaction) and can go under the hood to top off the fluids, change filters, etc. (sudo-ish stuff, simple interactions) by myself, but if I need to install new cams or take off the cylinder head, I leave that to my mechanic (root) who has the larger knowledge of what everything does and how to perform intricate tasks that are beyond day-to-day maintence and require complete control of the system.
I'm not going to say that there aren't risks with having a user account that bypasses the entire security model of a complex multi-user environment, but I think that on a machine which is run/maintained by a knowledgeable/responsible admin the functionality of 'root' in complex circumstances far outweighs the risk of having the account comprimised.
Darkness Productions spoke the following out of his ass...
"Best Buy might be an option. The money isn't the best (about $7 to start), but they get 90% of the stuff in the store at 5% over cost. Which means a cheap plasma TV..."
If you read the actual question he was asking, he's looking opportunities that will allow him to bring in extra income, not ways of spending an additional low-wage paycheck on material goods that he doesn't necessarily need. Someone who's thinking ahead and planning on how he can leverage his knowledge and skill set into a better life for his expanding family (and kudos to him for deciding to adopt instead of 'DIYing his own.') has better things to spend his money on that expensive trend-whore gadgets.
And yes, I posted this as a response, instead of just slapping you with (-1 offtopic).
he may be a bit brutish when enlightening us, but it does appear that he is explaining some of the aspects that many of us (myself included) are not presently aware. we're not necessarily here to critique his tone, I for one am more interested in his content.