Bump doesn't use Bluetooth on iPhone - 3rd party apps are prevented to use BT. Both phones send their GPS coordinates and the Bump servers match the requests based on time and location. However sometime the matching doesn't happen because the information send by one phone arrives faster than the other, or because the GPS is not accurate enough at that location... And in the middle of a meeting, spending 5+ mn to sync the phones is too much.
Bluetooth would indeed simplify the process.
It's amazing how strongly the cold war could catalyze and realize the Moon project 50 years ago (US side), while the technology was... 50 years behind, without the help of fast computing.
I'd never have imagined to see a comment like this on Slashdot
You must be kidding, or you must be new, or you must suffer from the Memento syndrom. There are plenty of posts like this one. They're usually from AC, and don't survive in the >-1 universe more than a couple of minutes. Or maybe you were looking after some karma? My post being an easy target, and you expected some recognition from your criticism, like the schoolboy proud to blame another student in front of the teacher, for something the teacher disapproves. Frankly, after a few hours of work, I look back at it and I agree that it may sound plain stupid. Or maybe because some readers took it that literally, I feel sad. My post was funnier than insightful. Or maybe more interesting than funny. Or, even, more informative than interesting. Because I still believe what I said, not meaning any flamebait or whatever. I have been a long time, and still am, in the computers business, and I meet, interview and work with IT people in different companies, various countries. I see how they behave. I see how they perform, and take a guess on how they will perform. There is a difference between the staff used to Windows and the staff used to Unix (same position). I'm not saying one is more clever than this other. Certainly not. I just believe that the Linux/Unix staff - I mean in companies, not the student at home - is usually more opened to different systems (including Windows) than the Windows staff. That "openess" allow them to find solutions either in engineering or in development faster and usually better. This is actually a general rule. The more you see/travel/visit/meet/eat/read/learn, the more likely you are to find interesting alternatives to a given "idea/problem". A neural network needs a lot of various information to be performant. Some Unix people go work on Windows, and they produce a valuable output. But the majority of the Windows staff has never worked on a Unix based OS. My post was establishing the base for that: Windows people are usually less keen to work on Unix, than Unix people on Windows. Yes, some Unix geeks are reluctant to work on Windows. But they could. Many of the Windows staff cannot (or don't want to) stand in front of a console, or have to deal with the network interfaces file, or the iptables. Why deal with iptables when a GUI does it for you? Right. Agreed. And the GUI is less likely to make a mistake (iptables is pretty complex after all). But someones who makes the effort of understanding iptables will stand better in front of other technical problems. This is merely an observation. You can take that the positive side: Windows people prefer a clean and nicely made GUI.
Ok, so let's take the problem from another angle: an admin installs a GUI to perform administration of his high value system from the Internet. Yes, the hack requires some strong knowledge, I must agree. But an admin who decides to install such convenient graphical tool is wrong in the first place. Such a RDP protocol is obviously more complex than a simple ssh, and is more likely to get cracked. What I'm trying to say, and this is the real problem, is that Windows admins are so used to GUIs that they miss other more secure alternatives. You said you hate GUI based management. The regular Windows admins hate the console based management.
a system where many admins cannot write firewall rules and file ACLs is better then a system with a GUI for the same
Fortunately, "admins" who don't understand iptables or chmod (there are graphical aides anyway) are usually using something else, like Windows. I'm not saying Linux is safer, always and forever, I'm saying the way Linux is to be apprehended makes it more likely to be operated by skilled professionals. There are of course brilliant people Windows side, and both systems complexity is similar, but the thing is that the GUI layer makes it accessible to more people who think they understand the system since the graphical tool is visually convenient. It's like Javascript and C/C++. Some people program in Javascript - more accessible since the interpreter takes care of many things - and only know JS. They think they master programming. Do they? I don't think so - at least most of them.
It's not the same thing. The problem is the tool in the first place. A GUI to perform admin of a remote server is dangerous. It makes the tool usable to a larger audience. Windows people are used to windowed environment. That has always been the case (at least in the 2000s). This makes the administration more comfortable, and easy to perform. When you don't know what to do, go through the menus and find what you need. That system has some drawbacks - the RDP problem is part of the price to pay.
Ok, so there are some weaknesses / bugs and patches to be applied to Linux. There are, there were, and there will be. Always. But are we on the same scale here? We are talking about a remote administration GUI security hole ; that nice graphics and windows based environment that allows almost any brainless geek to damage the system from any angle, visually, like a game.
Yes, but Linux people are used to SSH and text based commands, at least for servers. What I mean is that Linux admins are much less used to / tempted to enjoy the luxury of a windowed environment to perform the administration of their servers, than Windows admins who learn from day 1 that administration goes through the nice and easy to understand GUI. I'm happy with a restricted SSH access, and this is not likely to change soon.
just most people don't even know it exists or wtf to do with it
TFA is about admin management through RDP - not the lambda user around. Allowing a SSH (via a simple user) to connect to a server, and allow some text-based administration from the specialists is one thing, opening a GUI remote administration tool with menus and all that give hints on the howtos mess up with the machine is something else.
Windows N+1 is usually an improvement over Windows N. But what really makes people buy N+1?
- the Windows label?
- the "N+1" difference over "N"?
The answer is, still, in 2012, because people prefer a "cheaper" solution (over Mac), an easy no question purchase, a "standard comp that resembles the one I use in my company" as it has been the case for 20+ years. Tons of PCs are sold daily, and guess what? The latest Windows (besides Vista maybe) comes with it. So, when the time for Windows N+1 has come, N+1 sells well...
Most of people are not rushing to get N+1 over N. They renew their PC to improve the hard. And N+1, automatically, magically, traditionally, and, above all, commercially, comes in it.
When most of big companies start to stop (!) renewing their Microsoft contracts / purchasing PCs (almost) blindly, the (N+1)/N ratio will start to weight a lot more.
I've never been the greatest Microsoft advocate, but if that system indeed works as well as promised MS will go risen in my esteem. Not that they will care at all. But compared to the anaemic progress made by Google Translate over the past years (in both design and efficiency regards), Microsoft would deserve some increased consideration.
This is about the most sensible government related news I've heard in about a decade
This is so true. While I doubt about it, that would be even greater if it could have a bit of influence over the other European countries. E.g. France, a country that currently takes the exact opposite direction.
Slashdot Mirror
If anyone has a secure wi-fi spot, will the "I did not download that file, someone did by accessing my wi-fi" excuse remain valid?
Not a big risk, compared to having a Muzzie drive up on a scooter and shoot you
Among the killer victims are both members of the Jewish AND Muslim communities.
Bump doesn't use Bluetooth on iPhone - 3rd party apps are prevented to use BT. Both phones send their GPS coordinates and the Bump servers match the requests based on time and location. However sometime the matching doesn't happen because the information send by one phone arrives faster than the other, or because the GPS is not accurate enough at that location... And in the middle of a meeting, spending 5+ mn to sync the phones is too much.
Bluetooth would indeed simplify the process.
I'd prefer a no-paper solution. Like a standard/protocol to exchange that information between cell phones (e.g. a working Bump).
Don't confuse "South Koera" with the The "Communist North Koera"
Exactly, North Korea did succeed in cloning long ago.
Succeed == Adopt. So the question may be rephrased as "Why programmers adopt a language?", and this time you can post a constructive answer.
It's amazing how strongly the cold war could catalyze and realize the Moon project 50 years ago (US side), while the technology was... 50 years behind, without the help of fast computing.
When I post this message, it'll be exactly midnight. And when you read it, it'll be exactly midnight.
3.14159265358979323846 26433832795028841971 69399375105820974944 59230781640628620899 8628034825342..70679
Too bad you were not born in 1592
Hmm are you sure it ain't the ratio between the area of a disk and the square of its radius?
I'd never have imagined to see a comment like this on Slashdot
You must be kidding, or you must be new, or you must suffer from the Memento syndrom. There are plenty of posts like this one. They're usually from AC, and don't survive in the >-1 universe more than a couple of minutes. Or maybe you were looking after some karma? My post being an easy target, and you expected some recognition from your criticism, like the schoolboy proud to blame another student in front of the teacher, for something the teacher disapproves. Frankly, after a few hours of work, I look back at it and I agree that it may sound plain stupid. Or maybe because some readers took it that literally, I feel sad. My post was funnier than insightful. Or maybe more interesting than funny. Or, even, more informative than interesting. Because I still believe what I said, not meaning any flamebait or whatever. I have been a long time, and still am, in the computers business, and I meet, interview and work with IT people in different companies, various countries. I see how they behave. I see how they perform, and take a guess on how they will perform. There is a difference between the staff used to Windows and the staff used to Unix (same position). I'm not saying one is more clever than this other. Certainly not. I just believe that the Linux/Unix staff - I mean in companies, not the student at home - is usually more opened to different systems (including Windows) than the Windows staff. That "openess" allow them to find solutions either in engineering or in development faster and usually better. This is actually a general rule. The more you see/travel/visit/meet/eat/read/learn, the more likely you are to find interesting alternatives to a given "idea/problem". A neural network needs a lot of various information to be performant. Some Unix people go work on Windows, and they produce a valuable output. But the majority of the Windows staff has never worked on a Unix based OS. My post was establishing the base for that: Windows people are usually less keen to work on Unix, than Unix people on Windows. Yes, some Unix geeks are reluctant to work on Windows. But they could. Many of the Windows staff cannot (or don't want to) stand in front of a console, or have to deal with the network interfaces file, or the iptables. Why deal with iptables when a GUI does it for you? Right. Agreed. And the GUI is less likely to make a mistake (iptables is pretty complex after all). But someones who makes the effort of understanding iptables will stand better in front of other technical problems. This is merely an observation. You can take that the positive side: Windows people prefer a clean and nicely made GUI.
Ok, so let's take the problem from another angle: an admin installs a GUI to perform administration of his high value system from the Internet. Yes, the hack requires some strong knowledge, I must agree. But an admin who decides to install such convenient graphical tool is wrong in the first place. Such a RDP protocol is obviously more complex than a simple ssh, and is more likely to get cracked. What I'm trying to say, and this is the real problem, is that Windows admins are so used to GUIs that they miss other more secure alternatives. You said you hate GUI based management. The regular Windows admins hate the console based management.
a system where many admins cannot write firewall rules and file ACLs is better then a system with a GUI for the same
Fortunately, "admins" who don't understand iptables or chmod (there are graphical aides anyway) are usually using something else, like Windows. I'm not saying Linux is safer, always and forever, I'm saying the way Linux is to be apprehended makes it more likely to be operated by skilled professionals. There are of course brilliant people Windows side, and both systems complexity is similar, but the thing is that the GUI layer makes it accessible to more people who think they understand the system since the graphical tool is visually convenient. It's like Javascript and C/C++. Some people program in Javascript - more accessible since the interpreter takes care of many things - and only know JS. They think they master programming. Do they? I don't think so - at least most of them.
Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) is a proprietary protocol developed by Microsoft, which provides a user with a graphical interface to another computer
Don't you think it is easier to hack a computer from a windowed based tool where you see the menus and all, than from an austere text based prompt?
It's not the same thing. The problem is the tool in the first place. A GUI to perform admin of a remote server is dangerous. It makes the tool usable to a larger audience. Windows people are used to windowed environment. That has always been the case (at least in the 2000s). This makes the administration more comfortable, and easy to perform. When you don't know what to do, go through the menus and find what you need. That system has some drawbacks - the RDP problem is part of the price to pay.
Ok, so there are some weaknesses / bugs and patches to be applied to Linux. There are, there were, and there will be. Always. But are we on the same scale here? We are talking about a remote administration GUI security hole ; that nice graphics and windows based environment that allows almost any brainless geek to damage the system from any angle, visually, like a game.
Yes, but Linux people are used to SSH and text based commands, at least for servers. What I mean is that Linux admins are much less used to / tempted to enjoy the luxury of a windowed environment to perform the administration of their servers, than Windows admins who learn from day 1 that administration goes through the nice and easy to understand GUI. I'm happy with a restricted SSH access, and this is not likely to change soon.
just most people don't even know it exists or wtf to do with it
TFA is about admin management through RDP - not the lambda user around. Allowing a SSH (via a simple user) to connect to a server, and allow some text-based administration from the specialists is one thing, opening a GUI remote administration tool with menus and all that give hints on the howtos mess up with the machine is something else.
I'm feeling well. I'm on Linode (Linux). Not a flamebait. It could happen to Linux as well. But it doesn't.
Can't find one even myself! Sounds like it's no fun anymore :-|
...you're rich! 70~80% accuracy beats the 70~80% of people who don't know/use/master the graph theory, thus you're gonna win 70~80% of online bets.
Windows N+1 is usually an improvement over Windows N. But what really makes people buy N+1?
- the Windows label?
- the "N+1" difference over "N"?
The answer is, still, in 2012, because people prefer a "cheaper" solution (over Mac), an easy no question purchase, a "standard comp that resembles the one I use in my company" as it has been the case for 20+ years. Tons of PCs are sold daily, and guess what? The latest Windows (besides Vista maybe) comes with it. So, when the time for Windows N+1 has come, N+1 sells well...
Most of people are not rushing to get N+1 over N. They renew their PC to improve the hard. And N+1, automatically, magically, traditionally, and, above all, commercially, comes in it.
When most of big companies start to stop (!) renewing their Microsoft contracts / purchasing PCs (almost) blindly, the (N+1)/N ratio will start to weight a lot more.
I've never been the greatest Microsoft advocate, but if that system indeed works as well as promised MS will go risen in my esteem. Not that they will care at all. But compared to the anaemic progress made by Google Translate over the past years (in both design and efficiency regards), Microsoft would deserve some increased consideration.
This is about the most sensible government related news I've heard in about a decade
This is so true. While I doubt about it, that would be even greater if it could have a bit of influence over the other European countries. E.g. France, a country that currently takes the exact opposite direction.