If I were a hard drive manufacturer, and this bill passed, I'd make it easy to for the user to "accidentally" zap a component on the drive board that had the "unfortunate" effect of disabling this type of protection.
Or if I wanted to be more blatant, I could easily put it on a jumper block so it's an "option for export markets".
I can't see why it wouldn't be in the manufacturer's interest to do something like this if this bill passed.
Umm, easy access cases were available for PC's long before Apple ever incorporated them. I remember buying a case for a 486DX-33 that had a hinged door built into the side.
Mac II, circa 1986. Just pop open the top.
Granted, the original Macs (128K, SE, etc.) were a real pain.
I transfer MP3 to my Nomad II (64MB via USB) and it still takes too long. I shudder to think of what it would be like to transfer 5GB over USB!
Re:And here comes Carnivore...
on
More WTC News
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· Score: 1
I agree with most of your post. But you also posted this:
"Taking down the WTC may have great publicity value and resulted in massive loss of life, but in the big picture it has no strategic value -- it was just a big honkin' office building. A smarter target would have been FBI, CIA, or NSA headquarters."
...or the Pentagon? Or the White House? Or Air Force One? I'm not trying to analyze anything here, just raising questions. Why was the Pentagon targetted? It's not nearly as significant (symbolically) as the WTC.
Although it is true that hydrogen was probably not the main factor in the Hindenberg disaster, that doesn't mean that it isn't dangerous inside the hull of a Zeppelin.
Back in the days of luxury Zeppelin travel, passengers boarding the craft would have to turn over their lighters and matches to the crew. Smoking was allowed only in a special "smoking room" which was specifically designed to contain any fires (no matter how small).
Originally, the man behind the Hindenberg (can't remember his name right now) wanted to use helium instead of hydrogen. Unfortunately, the Zeppelin co. could not secure any helium from its primary supplier, the U.S., because of strained relationships with the Nazis (despite a personal meeting with Roosevelt himself).
Oh yeah - NT? New Technology? I'm told that's the same expansion as the NT in Windows NT. *sniff sniff* I think I smell a lawsuit.
Well, they're two totally different products, so I don't there is a basis for a lawsuit. Then again, once must consider the similarities:
1. They're both bloated
2. Zeppelins are filled with hot explosive gas (at least the original ones). MS Marketing department is filled with hot explosive gas.
3. Both have a history of fatal crashes.
Actually I'm a big fan of Zeppelins, so it kind of makes me shudder to make these comparisons. At least Zeppelins are stable platforms.
Re:Shrek: The Future of Computer Games?
on
Reviews:Shrek
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· Score: 1
It will be even cooler when "Shrekken" is released.
So I'm in LA and have a clear LOS to Hollywood and the Westside (plus I'm pretty high up, so no major obstacles).
Anyone interested in an OpenNAP server hosted by BMG?
Give the people at Slashdot some credit. When I submitted my L.A. getting nuked story, I got a pretty quick email reply with the answer I was looking for.
We all knew that Napster was planning this all along - leverage piracy to become really huge (30 million plus users) and then sell out to the record companies. And all the while singing the tune of "fight the man!" to get its users to defend it.
None of you reading this really thought that Hummer Winblad VP invested $10 million in Napster just so you could get music for free, did you? Not only did they leverage music piracy to gain leverage with the industry, but they also leveraged the public's "stick it to the man" attitude as well. I especially enjoyed the "write your Congressional Representative and tell them about the evil music industry" bit they had on their website a while back.
Well, the Napster people are laughing all the way to the bank. I honestly applaud them for a well executed plan.
But for some odd reason, I get the feeling that independent artists and labels won't be receiving any royalty payments for music traded through BMG Napster.
I think as a server, it will do just fine as any other *nix that's out there. The foundation of OS X is basically NeXT which has been in use for years for some very specialized applications (I still remember working at a hospital where NeXT was used on radiology imaging servers).
I'm a little more worried about it being a consumer OS - if you've used the Mac OS for any significant period of time (I'm not saying you haven't) you should know the reasons why.
I believe this is why Apple keeps delaying the final release date of OS X - they still need to add some things to make it fundamentally Mac like - for example, being able to add a hardware driver to the OS by simply dropping a file into the system folder.
I've used DP4 for a while now. For me, DP4 has been very stable, but coming from a Mac user experience, it's starting to look like Windows without the blue screen.
With EVs, you're trading in mobile emissions (cars/trucks/buses) for point emissions (power plants). THEN you have to add on top of that, efficiency losses due to transmitting the power over the power grid, and losses in storing the electricity in the battery (and then again in taking it out).
While this is true, also realize that there are massive economies of scale in the production of energy at the powerplant, as opposed to millions of cars producing and combusting their own energy.
I believe that the pollution problem stems more from accepted lifestyles in our society than anything else. Look at all the SUV's out there today! And that behemoth the Ford Excursion (they should rename it the Valdez). Believe me, I had little sympathy for all the people crying and whining about gas prices a few months ago.
Not only that, it really amazes me how far people are willing to drive to work to have some massive house out in the suburbs. I live in Los Angeles and there are people who commute to work here from Victorville which is (with the typical rush hour traffic) a two to three hour commute one way.
I've decided to skip the massive house and live in a small apartment two miles away from where I work. I fill up my gas tank about once a month, and that still seems like too much.
Check out this site for some cool links regarding electric powered vehicles.
I'm not looking for an electric powered car, because most of my gas consumption is related to short trips around town - trips where most of the time I'm not carrying any other passengers. I live in L.A. where weather related issues aren't much of a problem for me, so naturally I've had my eye on this thing for the past few months. Looks like the perfect thing to tool around town with, as well as deal with the parking situation here.
I'll keep the gas powered vehicle for long trips where I can get the most MPG.
So run it over ssh. There's always a technical solution to whatever Sony or the music industry manages to accomplish. Besides, they don't own the infrastructure and their pockets are not deep enough to buy it.
And for every technical solution we have, there's a cheap marketing solution that they have. That solution could come in the form of a Playstation 2 that supports its own proprietary encryption format that they control and market in such a way that most people won't bother to use anything else.
I'm not suggesting they will ever be able to eliminate distributed file sharing completely, just limit it to perpetually buy themselves time. This can be done by providing the easy, cheap solution for most people that works for their (Sony's) interests. On the other hand, the technologically literate (a very small minority mind you) will have access to the best channels of information.
So here's what they should do: make sure that napster stays the no1 source of illegal mp3s. This way it is controlled since the users all go to central servers. They can insert adds, encrypted mp3, etc and make some money.
But besides that, encryption. You can't filter something out if you don't know what it is. And napster et al can not only change port numbers, but actualy layer over HTTP (IE send each packet as a HTTP request, etc, not hard to do, and not even a bad idea really)
Encryption would work best and that's definitely where the technology of distributed file sharing is headed. What I see for the future is a constant leapfrog battle between the distributed file sharing technologies and the technologies (and corporations) trying to stop it.
I'm just speculating here, but when he says "firewall" perhaps he means packet filtering the Napster protocol at the provider level.
And I don't think changing the port number of protocols that Napster and Gnutella use (to something like port 80) will help much either. I believe there are certain firewall modules being developed at this time can "understand" and learn how certain protocols work and travel over networks, and filter them out accordingly.
I do recall that a module for Firewall-1 could filter out Java and Javascript out of web pages for "security purposes". This was back in 1997. You might want to have a look at products such as Websense, etc.
Perhaps they should just sit by the subway station with a hat out?
Excellent analogy. However, I'd liken it more sitting by at every subway station, at all times simultaneously collecting pocket change. Now that would be a great racket.
I don't think it's appropriate to compare advertising between Yahoo! and Napster. Yahoo! will command a significantly higher CPM rate for their service, mainly because of the value of their brand.
Napster is not a valuable brand. Sure, everybody knows who Napster is, but unfortunately advertisers associate Napster with copyright infringement (even if you don't). It's just as if I had an 31337 \/\/4r3z s1+3 I might get a lot of traffic, but I would be providing very little value to an advertiser. Keep in mind that most people that log on to Napster are basically there to leech MP3's and would pay very little attention to the advertising.
I'd be surprised if Napster could ever make a profit through advertising, given their current business model. I'm sure they are aware of this and are hoping for a quick exit strategy (i.e. acquisition). I think their plan was to get big, get acquired, and get out (and make their money) before the law stepped in. Unfortunately for them, it's a little too late. Not that I feel sorry for them, because they could really care less about the music, their users, or anything else for that matter. They're in it for the quick buck.
But, really, this is a little silly. They're not even sure at this point if there IS an infringement, yet the pull the plug? There's the "justice system" firing before they knew they had a gun again.
Well, I'm not sure what exactly they meant to do, but if Napster is shutdown for more than 2 weeks it's history. People will use alternative means to get their MP3's, and once they start doing so I don't believe they'll come back to Napster if it ever comes back online (I know it hasn't even officially shut down yet!).
In my mind, as long as policies are straightforward, unambiguous, and reasonable, then I have no problems with abiding by them. If I do find them to be objectionable, then I can always find a new employer. I guess I missed your point--how exactly is this unjust and unfair?
Providing a computer to do university work at home carries an assumption privacy for many individuals. If the university does not believe in this assumption (correlation between home and privacy) then they should be crystal clear about its policy and certify that the user is aware of the policy.
Of course, the Dean is personally responsible as well for assuming this rule of privacy, as there is no clearly defined rule in this case. The best thing to assume when someone "gives" you something is that any other assumptions you have can be thrown out the window.
Fruit of the Poisonous Tree Where you get your information from matters as much as how someone else got it. IANAL, but I believe Adobe wants to apply the same laws regarding insider trading to a breach of contract (specifically, an NDA). Not that it can be done under current law (insider trading is criminal) so we're hitting something new here. Of course, you can't enforce a law that hasn't been passed yet, so MacNN should be okay. But this incident covers some new legal ground, so I would expect to see similar cases in the future.
Slashdot Mirror
If I were a hard drive manufacturer, and this bill passed, I'd make it easy to for the user to "accidentally" zap a component on the drive board that had the "unfortunate" effect of disabling this type of protection.
Or if I wanted to be more blatant, I could easily put it on a jumper block so it's an "option for export markets".
I can't see why it wouldn't be in the manufacturer's interest to do something like this if this bill passed.
Mac II, circa 1986. Just pop open the top.
Granted, the original Macs (128K, SE, etc.) were a real pain.
I transfer MP3 to my Nomad II (64MB via USB) and it still takes too long. I shudder to think of what it would be like to transfer 5GB over USB!
"Taking down the WTC may have great publicity value and resulted in massive loss of life, but in the big picture it has no strategic value -- it was just a big honkin' office building. A smarter target would have been FBI, CIA, or NSA headquarters."
Very odd indeed... perhaps not.
Although it is true that hydrogen was probably not the main factor in the Hindenberg disaster, that doesn't mean that it isn't dangerous inside the hull of a Zeppelin.
Back in the days of luxury Zeppelin travel, passengers boarding the craft would have to turn over their lighters and matches to the crew. Smoking was allowed only in a special "smoking room" which was specifically designed to contain any fires (no matter how small).
Originally, the man behind the Hindenberg (can't remember his name right now) wanted to use helium instead of hydrogen. Unfortunately, the Zeppelin co. could not secure any helium from its primary supplier, the U.S., because of strained relationships with the Nazis (despite a personal meeting with Roosevelt himself).
Well, they're two totally different products, so I don't there is a basis for a lawsuit. Then again, once must consider the similarities:
1. They're both bloated
2. Zeppelins are filled with hot explosive gas (at least the original ones). MS Marketing department is filled with hot explosive gas.
3. Both have a history of fatal crashes.
Actually I'm a big fan of Zeppelins, so it kind of makes me shudder to make these comparisons. At least Zeppelins are stable platforms.
It will be even cooler when "Shrekken" is released.
So I'm in LA and have a clear LOS to Hollywood and the Westside (plus I'm pretty high up, so no major obstacles). Anyone interested in an OpenNAP server hosted by BMG?
I would guess that they don't go to Digital Hell because they never existed in the first place. Would you send them there if they did?
Give the people at Slashdot some credit. When I submitted my L.A. getting nuked story, I got a pretty quick email reply with the answer I was looking for.
True, but Bertelsmann is a German company and may find itself obligated to follow the German government's laws against Nazi speech and propaganda.
None of you reading this really thought that Hummer Winblad VP invested $10 million in Napster just so you could get music for free, did you? Not only did they leverage music piracy to gain leverage with the industry, but they also leveraged the public's "stick it to the man" attitude as well. I especially enjoyed the "write your Congressional Representative and tell them about the evil music industry" bit they had on their website a while back.
Well, the Napster people are laughing all the way to the bank. I honestly applaud them for a well executed plan.
But for some odd reason, I get the feeling that independent artists and labels won't be receiving any royalty payments for music traded through BMG Napster.
I'm a little more worried about it being a consumer OS - if you've used the Mac OS for any significant period of time (I'm not saying you haven't) you should know the reasons why.
I believe this is why Apple keeps delaying the final release date of OS X - they still need to add some things to make it fundamentally Mac like - for example, being able to add a hardware driver to the OS by simply dropping a file into the system folder.
I've used DP4 for a while now. For me, DP4 has been very stable, but coming from a Mac user experience, it's starting to look like Windows without the blue screen.
While this is true, also realize that there are massive economies of scale in the production of energy at the powerplant, as opposed to millions of cars producing and combusting their own energy.
I believe that the pollution problem stems more from accepted lifestyles in our society than anything else. Look at all the SUV's out there today! And that behemoth the Ford Excursion (they should rename it the Valdez). Believe me, I had little sympathy for all the people crying and whining about gas prices a few months ago.
Not only that, it really amazes me how far people are willing to drive to work to have some massive house out in the suburbs. I live in Los Angeles and there are people who commute to work here from Victorville which is (with the typical rush hour traffic) a two to three hour commute one way.
I've decided to skip the massive house and live in a small apartment two miles away from where I work. I fill up my gas tank about once a month, and that still seems like too much.
I'm not looking for an electric powered car, because most of my gas consumption is related to short trips around town - trips where most of the time I'm not carrying any other passengers. I live in L.A. where weather related issues aren't much of a problem for me, so naturally I've had my eye on this thing for the past few months. Looks like the perfect thing to tool around town with, as well as deal with the parking situation here.
I'll keep the gas powered vehicle for long trips where I can get the most MPG.
And for every technical solution we have, there's a cheap marketing solution that they have. That solution could come in the form of a Playstation 2 that supports its own proprietary encryption format that they control and market in such a way that most people won't bother to use anything else.
I'm not suggesting they will ever be able to eliminate distributed file sharing completely, just limit it to perpetually buy themselves time. This can be done by providing the easy, cheap solution for most people that works for their (Sony's) interests. On the other hand, the technologically literate (a very small minority mind you) will have access to the best channels of information.
So here's what they should do: make sure that napster stays the no1 source of illegal mp3s. This way it is controlled since the users all go to central servers. They can insert adds, encrypted mp3, etc and make some money.
Perfect example :)
Encryption would work best and that's definitely where the technology of distributed file sharing is headed. What I see for the future is a constant leapfrog battle between the distributed file sharing technologies and the technologies (and corporations) trying to stop it.
And I don't think changing the port number of protocols that Napster and Gnutella use (to something like port 80) will help much either. I believe there are certain firewall modules being developed at this time can "understand" and learn how certain protocols work and travel over networks, and filter them out accordingly.
I do recall that a module for Firewall-1 could filter out Java and Javascript out of web pages for "security purposes". This was back in 1997. You might want to have a look at products such as Websense, etc.
Do you know of any current glasses that also offer a built in tracker? Seems to me this would be a great combo for flight sims and other games.
Excellent analogy. However, I'd liken it more sitting by at every subway station, at all times simultaneously collecting pocket change. Now that would be a great racket.
Napster is not a valuable brand. Sure, everybody knows who Napster is, but unfortunately advertisers associate Napster with copyright infringement (even if you don't). It's just as if I had an 31337 \/\/4r3z s1+3 I might get a lot of traffic, but I would be providing very little value to an advertiser. Keep in mind that most people that log on to Napster are basically there to leech MP3's and would pay very little attention to the advertising.
I'd be surprised if Napster could ever make a profit through advertising, given their current business model. I'm sure they are aware of this and are hoping for a quick exit strategy (i.e. acquisition). I think their plan was to get big, get acquired, and get out (and make their money) before the law stepped in. Unfortunately for them, it's a little too late. Not that I feel sorry for them, because they could really care less about the music, their users, or anything else for that matter. They're in it for the quick buck.
Well, I'm not sure what exactly they meant to do, but if Napster is shutdown for more than 2 weeks it's history. People will use alternative means to get their MP3's, and once they start doing so I don't believe they'll come back to Napster if it ever comes back online (I know it hasn't even officially shut down yet!).
So, is this the end of Napster?
Providing a computer to do university work at home carries an assumption privacy for many individuals. If the university does not believe in this assumption (correlation between home and privacy) then they should be crystal clear about its policy and certify that the user is aware of the policy.
Of course, the Dean is personally responsible as well for assuming this rule of privacy, as there is no clearly defined rule in this case. The best thing to assume when someone "gives" you something is that any other assumptions you have can be thrown out the window.
Fruit of the Poisonous Tree
Where you get your information from matters as much as how someone else got it. IANAL, but I believe Adobe wants to apply the same laws regarding insider trading to a breach of contract (specifically, an NDA). Not that it can be done under current law (insider trading is criminal) so we're hitting something new here. Of course, you can't enforce a law that hasn't been passed yet, so MacNN should be okay. But this incident covers some new legal ground, so I would expect to see similar cases in the future.