The real problem now is because of shit laws like the DMCA, HowardForums is probably going to be taken down until they can find legal help to fight this. At this point- it depends on whether or not the legal department of their ISP has a clue and is willing to fight this.
All of this because at least one person is an idiot at MobiTV for leaving an open URL exposed to the Internet, trusting "Security by Obscurity". If anything- HowardForums should contact Sprint (it seems the URL is for them) and the content providers about MobiTV's lax security in protecting their interests.
So, an obscure Microsoft-centric platform isn't getting attention from developers?
Maybe it is because Web developers want to write applications that can be used on a wide variety of hardware and software platforms. Probably because the people who are PAYING said developers want that.
I was in a Computer Science degree program back in the mid-90s. I ended up dropping out due to an employer and shift change that made it impossible for me to continue taking classes due to scheduling issues. I didn't feel too bad about that though, because...
The CS program was so outdated it was laughable. The required courses covered basics that even at that time were common knowledge among any computer enthusiasts. For example- I was required to take a "Introduction to Computer Keyboarding" class, which covered touch typing and those mysterious Function Keys, as well as how to execute such important maneuvers as [CTRL]+C. They managed to stretch this to en entire semester! I also had to take an "Introduction to Computers" class, including such topics as "This is what a hard disk drive looks like." and "How to install memory". These are classes I had to pay for, and buy books for. The real excitement began when I had to learn PASCAL, which had been a dead language for probably five years at that point.
At the time- I had a (shit-worthless) Associates Degree in Electronics, had been a database manager and mainframe computer operator (IBM) for five years (each), and had over 20 years of computer experience overall. I learned BASIC on a teletype machine, had almost every "PC" since the beginning, and was well-versed in CP/M before DOS was inflicted on the world.
Around 2000, I talked to a recruiter for one of those nationwide "Get your degree on your own schedule." Universities about thier CS program. Guess what- they have semester long "Introduction to Computer Keyboarding" and "Introduction to Computers" classes too. AND- I HAVE to take them (again) because they won't accept the classes I took previously! They also wouldn't give me any credit at all for working as a computer professional for 15+ years. The up-side: they are teaching C++, and not PASCAL.
So- unless things have really changed since then- CS degree programs are a joke, and I can see why their numbers are low. Real computer people aren't going to take them, because they are required to work so far beneath their ability. If I have to pay an educational institution- I want to pay for classes that are actually relevant in today's working world that are going to challenge me to learn more. Right now- I get PAID to attack challenges working for a corporation.
With overhead- throughput on a DS3 is only about 43Mbps. All things considered- that's not a very large pipe (tube?) at all, especially considering the amount of traffic it would have to carry for wholesale surveillance. There are a lot of small to mid-sized companies that have OC3s, including mine. You can get one for only around $3k/month with the right carrier/contract. If anything- an OC-3 would be slightly more impressive, but considering the millions of customers and transactions that would need to be monitored- that also is unlikely.
I'm with several others- I think the story is BS. For them to actually do what everyone is paranoid about- they would probably need an OC-24 (~1.2Gbps) from every single large data center/central office in the country. They would also need a lot of CPU cycles and manpower to actually monitor that traffic.
I'm not saying they don't, but it does make a single DS3 from one carrier seem pretty irrelevant. If they are doing it- I'd love to see their QoS implementation in action.:)
I know this will likely be seen as a troll and will hit my Karma but...
Seriously- who cares. Vista is probably the worst operating system to ever be produced (relative to others at the time), if not second behind Windows ME. My company tested it on several computers and has started removing it because it has proved to be almost unusable. It is also a technical support nightmare.
We are actually starting to go to Macs (something I never in my life thought I'd see). I haven't been able to talk them into actually trying Linux, unfortunately, even though I've run it for a couple of years now.
Someone should start a Web site for people to give away the Vista keys they don't want.
TomTom's MapShare is maddeningly difficult to use, and at least as of now- isn't even cross platform. Newer TomToms only work with Windows, not Mac (and none of them work with Linux). It seems like it is more of a promotional gimmick than an actual feature.
I thought this had been relegated to "vaporware" a couple of years ago. It's nice to see they are finally are producing them.
I love the concept, although I'm not as excited about having the standard alpha/numeric keys in OLED, having all the function and option keys configurable like that is a fantastic idea.
Hopefully the price will come down and the engineering will get better. I actually think it would be great for laptops- where there are so many special function keys that can be difficult to see in dimly-lit environments. OLEDs are supposed to be extremely energy efficient, but I'll admit they would probably still use an excessive amount of battery power.
As for this- I need something I can type on all day that doesn't cost $450.
Oh, wait, no Linux support. Just lost all of my interest.
Seems like a good idea. Although like someone else- I'm amazed that the DOE actually cares about something like this...
Right now- LED lighting is great for some applications, especially portable lighting, automotive/truck lighting, and small things like night/marker lights in the home. It is ridiculously expensive for home lighting, even when you consider the lifespan of the lamp assemblies. Then again- CFL lights used to cost 3-4x what they do now too, so maybe cheaper manufacturing processes can be developed.
If Sony/Blu-ray hadn't been throwing money at studios, Blu-ray wouldn't have had a chance. They introduced a player with no Internet connectivity and no good way to upgrade the firmware, and then they decide to change the "standard" after players were already out there. Of course, this was mostly because Sony is literally orgasmic over DRM, and they had just forgotten that maybe Internet connectivity would be a good idea.
I agree with what at least one other has said- I hope Sony gets their asses sued too. I'll admit- as an "bleeding edge" "early adopter" the lawsuit in this article probably doesn't have a lot of merit, but hopefully it will bring to light Sony's tactics and Blu-ray's flaws.
The really bad thing is we've come to an age where now you have to worry about what "version" your home entertainment system is too. At least CD and DVD were standards. There was no DVD v1.1! I have to get that movie I loved on standard DVD, because my Blu-ray player isn't the right version. What a load of...
I don't think Linus is out of touch at all. The Linux Kernel, which IS Linux, does exactly what it is supposed to do. It provides a functional interface between applications and the hardware of a computer.
I think a lot of people confuse Linux with what runs on top of it- like the GNU utilities, shells (like BASH) and desktop environments. This statement sums it up, I think: Ubuntu is NOT an operating system.
Technically Vista isn't either (and no, I don't mean that as a joke). It's a GUI to a Microsoft kernel OS. Unlike Linux- since it isn't open source, nobody can write a better one. Fortunately with Linux- people can.:)
I think it really depends on how happy you are where you are at...
Do you like what you are doing, and do you like the company you are working for?
If you do- I'd stay and gun for the IT Manager job. Although- if they just hired one out of the blue without even offering it to you- that may be the writing on the wall...
I'm a sysadmin/network manager/developer right now, and from what I've seen my boss go through in the last 8 years- I don't want his job. For that reason- I wouldn't be all that eager to be an IT Manager anyway. You are just a fall-guy every time something goes wrong, and you have to constantly explain to upper management how you can't give them what they want because they won't give you a budget to do anything with. I really don't think that's all that unusual...
With the economy on the decline- I would be very hesitant to leave any job right now, even in IT.
Okay, I'm not going to say this isn't a big deal, because it obviously is, but really- it's pretty damn obvious when you install it that it wants to be in constant communication with home-base. This really shouldn't be "news" to someone who has installed it. I do agree that they should do a much better job of informing people up-front that their product requires this.
I installed Trixbox as a test. I've had an active Asterisk install going for over a year, and was looking for a simple interface my tech. support guy could deal with for phone moves. I wasn't impressed. There seemed to be a lot of unnecessary overhead and ties to Fonality's servers, and it just flat-out couldn't deal with my hardware configuration (multiple T1 and analog ports tied to an existing PBX). Frankly- it came off as something like "free for now", until you get tied to it and we decide to start charging for accessing our servers, which you have no choice but to do.
There is a great book called: Asterisk - The Future of Telephony (get the 2nd edition, which makes the first look pretty sad). This is really all you need to get rolling with Asterisk. It's good to understand the config files and database integration possibilities, even if you later decide to go with something like FreePBX or AsteriskNow to make things easier. If you have a decent Linux background, Asterisk can be cake once you have a bit of education about how phone systems operate.
Cell providers SHOULD have been required to have backup power a long time ago. I suppose the big problem here is it took the FCC this long to mandate it. It seems like a poor business decision on the part of the cellular providers not to have backup power to begin with. What's one of the first things someone picks up when the power goes out? Cell phone!
My Broadcom wireless card in my Dell laptop worked as soon as I installed Gutsy (well, actually starting with an earlier Tribe/Beta of Gutsy).
For the record- despite hours and hours of tweaks and NDISWrapper suggestions from the Internet, I had never been able to get this card to work prior to now. I had just written off wireless access while running Ubuntu.
I had this idea over a decade ago. I wish I had written it down somewhere.
It came from my experience in the Navy 20+ years ago. They set up lots of things in shipping containers- laundromats, workshops, arcades, stores, even temporary offices. It occurred to me that a pretty efficient and portable server room could be set up in one. I even suggested it to my company when they were considering a "remote" data warehouse at the other end of their parking lot.
In any case- it certainly isn't a new or original idea. I love Google, but I can't believe they actually patented this.
Make coffee while reading Slashdot and other tech news. When Outlook (yik) eventually starts- I check email for any issues that may have come up overnight or over the weekend.
Working in the industry- I believe it is important to stay on top of tech news, especially when it comes to security issues.
I know a lot of people are arguing against this, especially those concerned about things like what OSs and software would be acceptable and personal privacy. Those are very valid concerns, but I think this could be a good thing if done right.
It appears from the article that this would only come up if there was an incident (fraud case or theft) that warranted it. Frankly- there are WAY too many people using computers online that shouldn't be. I have seen too many computers with outdated or no anti-malware software installed, no firewall, and at least several months behind on security updates. These same people set up open WiFi hotspots in their homes and have never heard of a VPN. They also save all of their logins and passwords in their browser without any additional security, and are suckers for phishing scams.
I'll bet just about everyone on Slashdot knows at least one person like this. Why should a bank or any other online company have to pay for their stupidity or negligence? Granted- I'm sure they wouldn't pass on any savings to consumers, but we could always hope.
I visited this when it was still active yesterday.
Something that doesn't show up in the Google Cache that really added to the whole thing before it was deleted: Ubuntu got a 5-star rating, and there were several glowing commentaries about how much more usable and stable it is compared to Windows.
I have to admit my issues are with ATI... I stopped using nVidia cards after several bad experiences with Windows crashes. It would be interesting to try one out again now that I'm not using Windows...:)
Slashdot Mirror
He probably left his own wireless connection open because he didn't know any better, and his "neighbor" was surfing porn on it.
The real problem now is because of shit laws like the DMCA, HowardForums is probably going to be taken down until they can find legal help to fight this. At this point- it depends on whether or not the legal department of their ISP has a clue and is willing to fight this.
All of this because at least one person is an idiot at MobiTV for leaving an open URL exposed to the Internet, trusting "Security by Obscurity". If anything- HowardForums should contact Sprint (it seems the URL is for them) and the content providers about MobiTV's lax security in protecting their interests.
So, an obscure Microsoft-centric platform isn't getting attention from developers?
Maybe it is because Web developers want to write applications that can be used on a wide variety of hardware and software platforms. Probably because the people who are PAYING said developers want that.
Just a thought.
I thought companies realized that "Security by Obscurity" doesn't work many years ago. What a bunch of idiots.
I was in a Computer Science degree program back in the mid-90s. I ended up dropping out due to an employer and shift change that made it impossible for me to continue taking classes due to scheduling issues. I didn't feel too bad about that though, because...
The CS program was so outdated it was laughable. The required courses covered basics that even at that time were common knowledge among any computer enthusiasts. For example- I was required to take a "Introduction to Computer Keyboarding" class, which covered touch typing and those mysterious Function Keys, as well as how to execute such important maneuvers as [CTRL]+C. They managed to stretch this to en entire semester! I also had to take an "Introduction to Computers" class, including such topics as "This is what a hard disk drive looks like." and "How to install memory". These are classes I had to pay for, and buy books for. The real excitement began when I had to learn PASCAL, which had been a dead language for probably five years at that point.
At the time- I had a (shit-worthless) Associates Degree in Electronics, had been a database manager and mainframe computer operator (IBM) for five years (each), and had over 20 years of computer experience overall. I learned BASIC on a teletype machine, had almost every "PC" since the beginning, and was well-versed in CP/M before DOS was inflicted on the world.
Around 2000, I talked to a recruiter for one of those nationwide "Get your degree on your own schedule." Universities about thier CS program. Guess what- they have semester long "Introduction to Computer Keyboarding" and "Introduction to Computers" classes too. AND- I HAVE to take them (again) because they won't accept the classes I took previously! They also wouldn't give me any credit at all for working as a computer professional for 15+ years. The up-side: they are teaching C++, and not PASCAL.
So- unless things have really changed since then- CS degree programs are a joke, and I can see why their numbers are low. Real computer people aren't going to take them, because they are required to work so far beneath their ability. If I have to pay an educational institution- I want to pay for classes that are actually relevant in today's working world that are going to challenge me to learn more. Right now- I get PAID to attack challenges working for a corporation.
I thought the same thing...
:)
With overhead- throughput on a DS3 is only about 43Mbps. All things considered- that's not a very large pipe (tube?) at all, especially considering the amount of traffic it would have to carry for wholesale surveillance. There are a lot of small to mid-sized companies that have OC3s, including mine. You can get one for only around $3k/month with the right carrier/contract. If anything- an OC-3 would be slightly more impressive, but considering the millions of customers and transactions that would need to be monitored- that also is unlikely.
I'm with several others- I think the story is BS. For them to actually do what everyone is paranoid about- they would probably need an OC-24 (~1.2Gbps) from every single large data center/central office in the country. They would also need a lot of CPU cycles and manpower to actually monitor that traffic.
I'm not saying they don't, but it does make a single DS3 from one carrier seem pretty irrelevant. If they are doing it- I'd love to see their QoS implementation in action.
I know this will likely be seen as a troll and will hit my Karma but...
Seriously- who cares. Vista is probably the worst operating system to ever be produced (relative to others at the time), if not second behind Windows ME. My company tested it on several computers and has started removing it because it has proved to be almost unusable. It is also a technical support nightmare.
We are actually starting to go to Macs (something I never in my life thought I'd see). I haven't been able to talk them into actually trying Linux, unfortunately, even though I've run it for a couple of years now.
Someone should start a Web site for people to give away the Vista keys they don't want.
While not "portable", I have an Eclipse GPS that allows me to flag roads as "preferred" and "avoid" to accomplish this.
The down-side is it has 5-year-old maps and it costs $400 to update them with a new DVD.
I ended up buying a TomTom just to get semi-current maps, but I've found its routings leave a lot to be desired.
TomTom's MapShare is maddeningly difficult to use, and at least as of now- isn't even cross platform. Newer TomToms only work with Windows, not Mac (and none of them work with Linux). It seems like it is more of a promotional gimmick than an actual feature.
I thought this had been relegated to "vaporware" a couple of years ago. It's nice to see they are finally are producing them.
I love the concept, although I'm not as excited about having the standard alpha/numeric keys in OLED, having all the function and option keys configurable like that is a fantastic idea.
Hopefully the price will come down and the engineering will get better. I actually think it would be great for laptops- where there are so many special function keys that can be difficult to see in dimly-lit environments. OLEDs are supposed to be extremely energy efficient, but I'll admit they would probably still use an excessive amount of battery power.
As for this- I need something I can type on all day that doesn't cost $450.
Oh, wait, no Linux support. Just lost all of my interest.
Seems like a good idea. Although like someone else- I'm amazed that the DOE actually cares about something like this...
Right now- LED lighting is great for some applications, especially portable lighting, automotive/truck lighting, and small things like night/marker lights in the home. It is ridiculously expensive for home lighting, even when you consider the lifespan of the lamp assemblies. Then again- CFL lights used to cost 3-4x what they do now too, so maybe cheaper manufacturing processes can be developed.
If Sony/Blu-ray hadn't been throwing money at studios, Blu-ray wouldn't have had a chance. They introduced a player with no Internet connectivity and no good way to upgrade the firmware, and then they decide to change the "standard" after players were already out there. Of course, this was mostly because Sony is literally orgasmic over DRM, and they had just forgotten that maybe Internet connectivity would be a good idea.
I agree with what at least one other has said- I hope Sony gets their asses sued too. I'll admit- as an "bleeding edge" "early adopter" the lawsuit in this article probably doesn't have a lot of merit, but hopefully it will bring to light Sony's tactics and Blu-ray's flaws.
The really bad thing is we've come to an age where now you have to worry about what "version" your home entertainment system is too. At least CD and DVD were standards. There was no DVD v1.1! I have to get that movie I loved on standard DVD, because my Blu-ray player isn't the right version. What a load of...
I don't think Linus is out of touch at all. The Linux Kernel, which IS Linux, does exactly what it is supposed to do. It provides a functional interface between applications and the hardware of a computer.
:)
I think a lot of people confuse Linux with what runs on top of it- like the GNU utilities, shells (like BASH) and desktop environments. This statement sums it up, I think: Ubuntu is NOT an operating system.
Technically Vista isn't either (and no, I don't mean that as a joke). It's a GUI to a Microsoft kernel OS. Unlike Linux- since it isn't open source, nobody can write a better one. Fortunately with Linux- people can.
I think it really depends on how happy you are where you are at...
Do you like what you are doing, and do you like the company you are working for?
If you do- I'd stay and gun for the IT Manager job. Although- if they just hired one out of the blue without even offering it to you- that may be the writing on the wall...
I'm a sysadmin/network manager/developer right now, and from what I've seen my boss go through in the last 8 years- I don't want his job. For that reason- I wouldn't be all that eager to be an IT Manager anyway. You are just a fall-guy every time something goes wrong, and you have to constantly explain to upper management how you can't give them what they want because they won't give you a budget to do anything with. I really don't think that's all that unusual...
With the economy on the decline- I would be very hesitant to leave any job right now, even in IT.
I don't doubt there is some 2.4Ghz issue with the XBox 360, but this article started to sound way too much like an ad for Meru about half-way through.
Okay, I'm not going to say this isn't a big deal, because it obviously is, but really- it's pretty damn obvious when you install it that it wants to be in constant communication with home-base. This really shouldn't be "news" to someone who has installed it. I do agree that they should do a much better job of informing people up-front that their product requires this. I installed Trixbox as a test. I've had an active Asterisk install going for over a year, and was looking for a simple interface my tech. support guy could deal with for phone moves. I wasn't impressed. There seemed to be a lot of unnecessary overhead and ties to Fonality's servers, and it just flat-out couldn't deal with my hardware configuration (multiple T1 and analog ports tied to an existing PBX). Frankly- it came off as something like "free for now", until you get tied to it and we decide to start charging for accessing our servers, which you have no choice but to do. There is a great book called: Asterisk - The Future of Telephony (get the 2nd edition, which makes the first look pretty sad). This is really all you need to get rolling with Asterisk. It's good to understand the config files and database integration possibilities, even if you later decide to go with something like FreePBX or AsteriskNow to make things easier. If you have a decent Linux background, Asterisk can be cake once you have a bit of education about how phone systems operate.
Telecom COs have always had backup power.
Cell providers SHOULD have been required to have backup power a long time ago. I suppose the big problem here is it took the FCC this long to mandate it. It seems like a poor business decision on the part of the cellular providers not to have backup power to begin with. What's one of the first things someone picks up when the power goes out? Cell phone!
Plus, seriously, does anyone believe that Sony isn't doing the same thing for Blu-Ray?
I generally hate Microsoft, but this really isn't news.
My Broadcom wireless card in my Dell laptop worked as soon as I installed Gutsy (well, actually starting with an earlier Tribe/Beta of Gutsy).
For the record- despite hours and hours of tweaks and NDISWrapper suggestions from the Internet, I had never been able to get this card to work prior to now. I had just written off wireless access while running Ubuntu.
Now- works like a charm!
LOL! I didn't think about it this way. I live in a trailer full of computers and networking equipment. I could be a patent violator! :)
I had this idea over a decade ago. I wish I had written it down somewhere.
It came from my experience in the Navy 20+ years ago. They set up lots of things in shipping containers- laundromats, workshops, arcades, stores, even temporary offices. It occurred to me that a pretty efficient and portable server room could be set up in one. I even suggested it to my company when they were considering a "remote" data warehouse at the other end of their parking lot.
In any case- it certainly isn't a new or original idea. I love Google, but I can't believe they actually patented this.
Make coffee while reading Slashdot and other tech news. When Outlook (yik) eventually starts- I check email for any issues that may have come up overnight or over the weekend.
Working in the industry- I believe it is important to stay on top of tech news, especially when it comes to security issues.
I know a lot of people are arguing against this, especially those concerned about things like what OSs and software would be acceptable and personal privacy. Those are very valid concerns, but I think this could be a good thing if done right.
It appears from the article that this would only come up if there was an incident (fraud case or theft) that warranted it. Frankly- there are WAY too many people using computers online that shouldn't be. I have seen too many computers with outdated or no anti-malware software installed, no firewall, and at least several months behind on security updates. These same people set up open WiFi hotspots in their homes and have never heard of a VPN. They also save all of their logins and passwords in their browser without any additional security, and are suckers for phishing scams.
I'll bet just about everyone on Slashdot knows at least one person like this. Why should a bank or any other online company have to pay for their stupidity or negligence? Granted- I'm sure they wouldn't pass on any savings to consumers, but we could always hope.
I visited this when it was still active yesterday.
Something that doesn't show up in the Google Cache that really added to the whole thing before it was deleted: Ubuntu got a 5-star rating, and there were several glowing commentaries about how much more usable and stable it is compared to Windows.
I have to admit my issues are with ATI... I stopped using nVidia cards after several bad experiences with Windows crashes. It would be interesting to try one out again now that I'm not using Windows... :)