Aren't these violations felonies? If so, then why are criminals employed by the FBI instead of in prison? If not, then (aside from the invasion of privacy), what's the problem?
It's like what's holding back Google Wave; there's no one to talk to. I've had encryption setup for about a decade. I've tried convincing people to set it up. In the end, I'm talking to myself.
If encryption is going to go mainstream, then setting it up and using it has to be the default configuration. Pretend it's a new version of Microsoft Word, defaulting to a new file format. There you go, everyone has upgraded (kicking and screaming).
Apple, Microsoft and Linux distributions need to establish (and export) new keys (or import existing keys) as part of the first boot processes, and use encryption if the destination user has a key by default. It's the only way it will happen.
I do occasional consulting, and people are pirating my services with free online support forums. Based on my estimates, I'm losing hundreds of millions in consulting fees every year. I wonder why these pirates aren't shut down? Oh, that's right, I forgot to buy a government official. My bad.
That's the point at which IANA is no longer the one handing out addresses. It's also the point at which the market for IP addresses opens, and companies start selling subnets.
There aren't 4.3 billion Internet facing IP addresses. The bulk are held and used internally by companies (for no good reason). People complain about NAT all the time, but it works. How many Internet facing IP addresses are used by Google's quarter million servers?
$ host google.com google.com has address 64.233.169.104 google.com has address 64.233.169.105 google.com has address 64.233.169.106 google.com has address 64.233.169.147 google.com has address 64.233.169.99 google.com has address 64.233.169.103
Does any company really need more than a/29 subnet?
The copyright, trademark, and patent insanity will only stop once everyone is negatively impacted. It's got to get (much) worse before it will get better.
[blockquote]The original definition of "byte" was the number of bits used to encode a character of text and is the basic memory-addressable element in a computer. It never originally meant "8 bits".[/blockquote]
That is the definition of 'octet', a term frequently used in telecom. People confuse byte and octet all the time, because popular hardware architectures use an octet as a byte.
The Internet was designed to work around roadblocks to the free flow of data.
If the media companies push hard enough, more people will simply setup private proxies. A PC with a private proxy looks just like a PC with a user, to a site like Hulu. You can even tunnel it over ssh or a traditional VPN if you want to get fancy. Blocking ports doesn't work, unless you block them all; software is flexible.
It only takes one person out of seven billion to make something available to the other 6,999,999,999 people. There is simply no way to stop data from moving. It's a fundamental property of information. Even flash drive via carrier pigeon has higher bandwidth than most people get.
Someone needs to shake some sense into the media industries. The only thing they are doing is failing their shareholders.
As a town in Minnesota discovered, all you have to do is threaten to roll your own. Suddenly 50Mb/s for $50/month is available.
The problem isn't technology, population density or land area. The problem is that local government provide a monopoly (or oligopoly), so there is no incentive to truly cut margins and invest in infrastructure. Stop that, and companies will find a way to keep getting that check in the mail.
Many commercially successful products use Linux. Tivo anyone? Why wouldn't anyone want to identify themselves with Linux, unless there's a commercial tie-in with a competitor (Apple or Microsoft)?
However, being woken up to fix a downed server (often because somebody uploaded improperly tested code etc) or having to continually cancel my weekend plans due to unforeseen "issues" really sucked.
That's what "production practices and procedures" and "change control approval processes" are really for. To keep people from interrupting you while you're having fun. Or sleeping.:)
I think it's wonderful that you still code after retirement - you probably liked your job.
I thought of work in a somewhat reversed manner than most. I like learning, mostly the sciences. My primary interest is in computers and networking. I worked at the places I worked because of what I could learn - I probably would have done the same for free. That they paid me was really a bonus. Fortunately, they didn't know that.:)
I started reading about computers when I was in elementary school, at a time when that meant mainframes (that few people even knew existed). There's always the discussion of whether programming is an art or just a job. It's both, just as some people are artists and some are house painters.
That doesn't make me a great programmer (on the contrary, I'd rate myself mediocre), just as every artist doesn't have a painting in the Louvre. It's just something that's inherent in the way I'm wired. It makes me happy.
Seriously, though, what do you primarily write code in these days? Do you find that you have less of a desire to learn new languages and more of a desire to just Get Things Done?
I mostly use scripting: bash and tcl/expect. Over my career, I learned and used about four dozen languages. I see them now as being more the same than they are different. There is rarely an inherent benefit in one over the other. Bash is always available on the platforms I use. When I need more complex code tcl/expect provides command interaction and timer-based processing.
In both cases, the code executes more than fast enough on a single user modern desktop. Compiling code is unnecessary, especially when the majority of the heavy lifting is being performed by highly optimized GNU utilities.
I don't have a problem learning new languages, I just see less of a reason to. Just as fewer people see a need to write assembly now (I did that for 15 years), I imagine in another couple of decades (if that long) compiled languages will seem antiquated to most. You'll be telling someone on Slashdot that you coded in a compiled language for 15 years then. And it will seem just as strange.:)
I retired eight years ago. I write code almost every day. Being ultimately lazy, I try to automate everything that I see. If it's a function that has to be performed more than once, and some aspect can be simplified with software, I write the code.
Most everything is for my own use, and not generally applicable. A few things are more broadly useful, and those I've released under the GPL. Even those only get a few hundred interested people with the same niche interests.
Some people are carpenters, and they work in their shops. Some people are artists, and they work with their medium. People that are really programmers must write code.
This is 2009 after all, and the telecoms have already been paid for 45Mb/s symmetrical bandwidth to everyone.
No, they haven't. Where did this rumor start?
If you actually check the facts, you'll discover that the government hasn't given the telecoms a single cent towards improving national broadband. Nothing at all.
The telecoms were given $200B in financial incentives in the 1990s to provide symmetrical 45Mb/s bandwidth and universal service. Read this, or at PBS. Or just Google it yourself.
My suggestion to the FCC was for symmetrical bandwidth to be included in the definition. You can't really have cloud-based services, if you can't effectively move data to the cloud.
I'd personally also like to see a 10Mb/s lower bound. This is 2009 after all, and the telecoms have already been paid for 45Mb/s symmetrical bandwidth to everyone.
I know I shouldn't reply to trolls, but... If your medical expenses for a year exceed $35,000 (not hard to do at all), your chance of having your health insurance canceled retroactively is 50%. That link helps explain some of the math, but the testimony it is based is in the public record from the recent House hearings on rescission (the retroactive cancellation of individual health insurance policies).
The 'circumvention' you're referring to occurred in the firmware of the DVD drive, and is in accordance with the requirements of the movie industry.
The copy operation does not involve a circumvention, as it only asks the DVD drive for data, and the drive complies. Per the DMCA:
Circumvention, according to Section 1201(a)(3)(A), means "to descramble a scrambled work, to decrypt an encrypted work, or otherwise to avoid, bypass, remove, deactivate, or impair a technological measure, without the authority of the copyright owner."
Copy 'protection' that is so ineffective that you don't even notice is not copy protection in any sense.
1. Pop in a DVD. 2. Play with your favorite player for a while. 3. Decide to copy the DVD to your HD. 4. Done.
When did a circumvention occur? Certainly not during the playback, which is legal. Certainly not during the copy, since no keys were even used.
The problem is with the law, not with the technology. I legally own the DVD. I legally own the player. I should legally be able to play the content. Playing the movie on my laptop or PMP does not take money out anyone's pocket. I paid for the content and the hardware. Beyond that, it's none of the industry's business what I do.
You're right; you can only do this on DVDs after the title key has been presented.
However, if I start to play the DVD and quit, I can then copy it. The copying software itself obviously is not decrypting/circumventing anything, so why is it covered under DMCA?
Slashdot Mirror
Aren't these violations felonies? If so, then why are criminals employed by the FBI instead of in prison? If not, then (aside from the invasion of privacy), what's the problem?
It's like what's holding back Google Wave; there's no one to talk to. I've had encryption setup for about a decade. I've tried convincing people to set it up. In the end, I'm talking to myself.
If encryption is going to go mainstream, then setting it up and using it has to be the default configuration. Pretend it's a new version of Microsoft Word, defaulting to a new file format. There you go, everyone has upgraded (kicking and screaming).
Apple, Microsoft and Linux distributions need to establish (and export) new keys (or import existing keys) as part of the first boot processes, and use encryption if the destination user has a key by default. It's the only way it will happen.
I do occasional consulting, and people are pirating my services with free online support forums. Based on my estimates, I'm losing hundreds of millions in consulting fees every year. I wonder why these pirates aren't shut down? Oh, that's right, I forgot to buy a government official. My bad.
That's the point at which IANA is no longer the one handing out addresses. It's also the point at which the market for IP addresses opens, and companies start selling subnets.
There aren't 4.3 billion Internet facing IP addresses. The bulk are held and used internally by companies (for no good reason). People complain about NAT all the time, but it works. How many Internet facing IP addresses are used by Google's quarter million servers?
$ host google.com
google.com has address 64.233.169.104
google.com has address 64.233.169.105
google.com has address 64.233.169.106
google.com has address 64.233.169.147
google.com has address 64.233.169.99
google.com has address 64.233.169.103
Does any company really need more than a /29 subnet?
The copyright, trademark, and patent insanity will only stop once everyone is negatively impacted. It's got to get (much) worse before it will get better.
4-bit microcontrollers are still made.
That's what I was saying; read the thread again.
[blockquote]The original definition of "byte" was the number of bits used to encode a character of text and is the basic memory-addressable element in a computer. It never originally meant "8 bits".[/blockquote]
That is the definition of 'octet', a term frequently used in telecom. People confuse byte and octet all the time, because popular hardware architectures use an octet as a byte.
Since we're talking about ARM, WinXP/Vista/7 aren't relevant. The point of comparison is Windows Mobile/CE.
Why is this moderated funny?
The Internet was designed to work around roadblocks to the free flow of data.
If the media companies push hard enough, more people will simply setup private proxies. A PC with a private proxy looks just like a PC with a user, to a site like Hulu. You can even tunnel it over ssh or a traditional VPN if you want to get fancy. Blocking ports doesn't work, unless you block them all; software is flexible.
It only takes one person out of seven billion to make something available to the other 6,999,999,999 people. There is simply no way to stop data from moving. It's a fundamental property of information. Even flash drive via carrier pigeon has higher bandwidth than most people get.
Someone needs to shake some sense into the media industries. The only thing they are doing is failing their shareholders.
As a town in Minnesota discovered, all you have to do is threaten to roll your own. Suddenly 50Mb/s for $50/month is available.
The problem isn't technology, population density or land area. The problem is that local government provide a monopoly (or oligopoly), so there is no incentive to truly cut margins and invest in infrastructure. Stop that, and companies will find a way to keep getting that check in the mail.
It seems that they forgot that unlimited bandwidth promotes open source and Creative Commons content too.
Oh, and cloud computing. And free online education.
Probably all things they have never heard of, so they're not important.
Many commercially successful products use Linux. Tivo anyone? Why wouldn't anyone want to identify themselves with Linux, unless there's a commercial tie-in with a competitor (Apple or Microsoft)?
I thought of work in a somewhat reversed manner than most. I like learning, mostly the sciences. My primary interest is in computers and networking. I worked at the places I worked because of what I could learn - I probably would have done the same for free. That they paid me was really a bonus. Fortunately, they didn't know that. :)
I started reading about computers when I was in elementary school, at a time when that meant mainframes (that few people even knew existed). There's always the discussion of whether programming is an art or just a job. It's both, just as some people are artists and some are house painters.
That doesn't make me a great programmer (on the contrary, I'd rate myself mediocre), just as every artist doesn't have a painting in the Louvre. It's just something that's inherent in the way I'm wired. It makes me happy.
I mostly use scripting: bash and tcl/expect. Over my career, I learned and used about four dozen languages. I see them now as being more the same than they are different. There is rarely an inherent benefit in one over the other. Bash is always available on the platforms I use. When I need more complex code tcl/expect provides command interaction and timer-based processing.
In both cases, the code executes more than fast enough on a single user modern desktop. Compiling code is unnecessary, especially when the majority of the heavy lifting is being performed by highly optimized GNU utilities.
I don't have a problem learning new languages, I just see less of a reason to. Just as fewer people see a need to write assembly now (I did that for 15 years), I imagine in another couple of decades (if that long) compiled languages will seem antiquated to most. You'll be telling someone on Slashdot that you coded in a compiled language for 15 years then. And it will seem just as strange. :)
I retired eight years ago. I write code almost every day. Being ultimately lazy, I try to automate everything that I see. If it's a function that has to be performed more than once, and some aspect can be simplified with software, I write the code.
Most everything is for my own use, and not generally applicable. A few things are more broadly useful, and those I've released under the GPL. Even those only get a few hundred interested people with the same niche interests.
Some people are carpenters, and they work in their shops. Some people are artists, and they work with their medium. People that are really programmers must write code.
I'm 53, and I'd go on a one way trip to Mars in a heartbeat. Where can I sign up?
There are things in life more important than personal safety. I think too many have forgotten that.
The telecoms were given $200B in financial incentives in the 1990s to provide symmetrical 45Mb/s bandwidth and universal service. Read this, or at PBS. Or just Google it yourself.
My suggestion to the FCC was for symmetrical bandwidth to be included in the definition. You can't really have cloud-based services, if you can't effectively move data to the cloud.
I'd personally also like to see a 10Mb/s lower bound. This is 2009 after all, and the telecoms have already been paid for 45Mb/s symmetrical bandwidth to everyone.
I know I shouldn't reply to trolls, but... If your medical expenses for a year exceed $35,000 (not hard to do at all), your chance of having your health insurance canceled retroactively is 50%. That link helps explain some of the math, but the testimony it is based is in the public record from the recent House hearings on rescission (the retroactive cancellation of individual health insurance policies).
The 'circumvention' you're referring to occurred in the firmware of the DVD drive, and is in accordance with the requirements of the movie industry.
The copy operation does not involve a circumvention, as it only asks the DVD drive for data, and the drive complies. Per the DMCA:
Circumvention, according to Section 1201(a)(3)(A), means "to descramble a scrambled work, to decrypt an encrypted work, or otherwise to avoid, bypass, remove, deactivate, or impair a technological measure, without the authority of the copyright owner."
No such action occurred for the copy.
Copy 'protection' that is so ineffective that you don't even notice is not copy protection in any sense.
1. Pop in a DVD.
2. Play with your favorite player for a while.
3. Decide to copy the DVD to your HD.
4. Done.
When did a circumvention occur? Certainly not during the playback, which is legal. Certainly not during the copy, since no keys were even used.
The problem is with the law, not with the technology. I legally own the DVD. I legally own the player. I should legally be able to play the content. Playing the movie on my laptop or PMP does not take money out anyone's pocket. I paid for the content and the hardware. Beyond that, it's none of the industry's business what I do.
You're right; you can only do this on DVDs after the title key has been presented.
However, if I start to play the DVD and quit, I can then copy it. The copying software itself obviously is not decrypting/circumventing anything, so why is it covered under DMCA?