So why are we (the government) spending millions of dollars protecting intangible property while every day virii, worms, bots and other malware are being distributed via email and http servers, social networks and advertisers? There's a huge underground industry supporting worm and virii R&D in order to generate income from sources ranging from advertising revenue all the way to identity theft and credit fraud. Sources distributing this malware are easily identifiable, and could quite possibly be contained if only the primary distribution points could be shut down rather quickly. Likewise, a more proactive approach to unsolicited email advertisements (spam) would make it less cost effective for spammers to distribute malware. To me this is a much bigger impact, more victims and far more important than busting someone for sharing a copy of "Son of the Mask." That movie sucked anyway, and Jamie Kennedy looks nothing like Rocky Dennis.
I've been purchasing Wide Dynamic Range cameras for 3 years now for my company. They make for fantastic surveillance cameras. By the way, WDR is even more dramatic than HDR (though this is only theoretical, as there's no industry standard definition of HDR vs WDR). I think this is only new in that multiple high-resolution full-motion cameras have been used in conjunction with one another to create a very high quality video stream in HDR, whereas the surveillance cameras I've purchased are only 4CIF and I only record about 4-8fps with them, certainly not high resolution or full motion.
HDR/WDR is fantastic technology, and its niche has been in surveillance, but very few people even in the surveillance industry have recognized the benefits. WDR allows you to see vivid facial features in extreme backlit shots or excessively dark environments.
Well, in the case of Windows XP and common corporate practices, it's not unusual for an individual that would require administrative rights to log in with an account in the Administrators group on a regular basis, whether administrative tasks will be performed or not. I've worked for companies where 1 in 3 users have administrative rights on their workstation due to a "business need" which may have been a one-time task, but the escalated privileges remain indefinitely. 1 in 3 is an awful lot of people in a company with over 100,000 employees.
So your argument is that Rackspace themselves are not entitled to freedom of speech because they're in a position of authority in that they have the power to pull the plug on this guy's speech? Think about that for a minute. Rackspace shutting down the website is just as much an expression of constitutional freedom of speech as is the government allowing this guy to have a book burning in the first place. Rackspace is free to express their disagreement by removing one of his platforms of expression, a platform which they own anyway. They aren't the be-all end-all of web hosting, so he's free to find another web host or host it himself. Contrary to popular belief, freedom of speech does not entitle every American with the right to run their mouths with impunity, it merely protects every American from laws and government intervention as a result of expression of freedom of speech. Is it an expression of freedom of speech to shout "OMG MUSLIMS WILL KILL US ALL" in the middle of a shopping center? Perhaps it is. But it's just as much freedom of speech for the manager of that shopping center to kick you out if they disagree with you.
I disagree with the free speech argument here, as this douchebag's hosting company pulled the plug on him on their own, not due to a court order or criminal proceedings. They have just as much right to express their freedom of speech by disagreeing through the act of pulling the plug on his website as this guy has to burn books. Freedom of speech doesn't protect you from consequences outside of the legal system, including someone disagreeing and not allowing you to use their platform to spout nonsense. Try again. You'll have an argument if the government orders his website shut down after he decides to host it himself.
+5 informative?! The parent didn't explicitly say Rackspace was an ISP:
It is funny how the ISP's and Hosting companies want all that common carrier protection...
That was a pretty general statement, and still addressed hosting companies alongside ISP's. Way to go moderators for throwing away mod points on a douche that chose not to participate in the topical discussion, but rather chose to start an off-topic semantic argument instead.
I didn't read TFA, but this is brilliant. A major cause of accidents on highways is inconsistent speeds among nearby vehicles. Slow moving vehicles such as loaded trucks in the way of fast moving smaller vehicles are a recipe for disaster. A variance in speeds results in increased lane changes, slow downs, speed ups and a cascade of other changes to driving patterns, all of which contribute to accidents. 90mph is only a safe highway speed if all vehicles maintain a comparable average speed, not if only some do. As others have already said, accident rates will rise significantly, and the knee-jerk reaction will be to lower speed limits as many legislators believe speed kills, not variance in speed.
My company invested millions of dollars into a central monitoring facility, with a large video wall driven by Crestron equipment. The idea was the video wall could display news/weather alongside alarms/outages in real time, with geographic mapping capabilities. Workstations were quad displays on adjustable motorized desks which sat atop a raised platform for simple network runs. A large executive "war room" style conference room was built with a glass wall overlooking the platform and video wall believed to be useful in the event of some catastrophic failure. All other staff sat in cubicles surrounding the platform with glass cube walls anywhere that would otherwise obstruct the view of the platform/video wall. A secure mantrap was put in place to restrict access to the facility. Dedicated bathrooms were installed with showers in the monitoring area in case critical staff were quarantined for extended periods of time.
It was impressive when it was built, but within a couple years, the video wall has been dismantled and parts sold off due to its impracticality. The right software was never found to perform the type of "geographic" monitoring conceived, partly due to bureaucracy. Network redundancy was overlooked, which made the monitoring facility itself non-functional during an outage. The facility lacked appropriate backup generators and UPS to keep the facility running during a thunderstorm. The platform desks required too much real estate and allowed no room for growth, so they have been replaced by cubicles. The secure mantrap was an inconvenience for upper management, so the inner door was disabled, defeating the mantrap. The quad displays ironically obstructed the view of the video wall when it was still in place, and did not fit in the cubicles when they were installed, so these were reduced to 2. All critical staff were sent home to telecommute because they took up too much real-estate required for day-to-day operations, and it made more sense to not have critical staff in a single central location anyway.
The point is, don't get too caught up in building 'CTU' from 24. The right monitoring software platform makes all the difference, as does intelligent network redundancy, telephony and backup power.
Your assumption is that these three groups, alcoholics, fatties and smokers, are mutually exclusive. I would have to see some significant proof showing alcoholics in general eat healthier than the median and do not smoke. I, for one, am an alcoholic, and I've observed first-hand the unhealthy environment bars tend to be - filled with cigarette smoke, booze and greasy deep-fried fatty foods. I myself don't expect to live past 40, but we'll see.
Here are some interesting numbers from the primary Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory download site, a free game produced by splash damage that has a native Linux client in addition to Windows and Mac OS X clients.
Windows Downloads: 414,792
Linux Downloads: 104,975
Mac OS X Downloads: 38,518
I think it's safe to infer that in the demographic that would download a high quality free multiplayer game available on all three platforms, Linux appears to be about 3x more viable a target platform than Mac OS X, and 1/4th as viable as Windows. This may be due to the lack of quality games on the Linux platform, however, and a higher percentage of Linux users are acquiring the game as opposed to Windows users that have a much larger choice of games available to them.
I had missed the original mention of the Judge, and I couldn't agree more. I am totally on the same page as you with respect to penetration. What a worthless weapon. With all that recoil, yet an extreme lack of penetration, you may as well try to stone your assailant biblical style. I myself carry a.45, and I practice with it when I can afford to do so (.45 ammo is not cheap, especially in the past 2 years.) I can handle the recoil pretty well, and I'm a good shot, but it takes a little longer to train on your target than a 9mm. I've never had to pull it out in a life-or-death situation and I'm not sure I'm comfortable with doing so. A good friend of mine used to be a law enforcement officer, and he loves his big guns. But for defense, he insists on a 9mm which he learned the hard way has enough stopping power to save his life, is easier to control, and it carries many more rounds in case the first few miss.
Just a warning, you can't practice with a 9mm and expect to be accurate with a.45. They are not the same weapon, and if you pull out your.45 in a high pressure situation after practicing with your 9mm, you're going to miss. Also, it should be noted, you can get an "LEO only" clip (try eBay, your local pawn shop/gun shop or some other shady internet site) for the Glock 9mm that holds a ridiculous amount of ammo, and with enough practice, you can get those rounds off pretty damn quick and accurately too. The sheer number of rounds and speed of discharge makes up for the lack of stopping power of a single 9mm, especially since you'll probably need to get a few shots in before you actually hit your target.
Also, you're misrepresenting the meaning of "penetration." Penetration refers to how far through a target the bullet will travel, whereas expansion is the reciprocal of penetration, and refers to how big a hole you make inside your target when the bullet mushrooms out. You don't want penetration, you want expansion. You can't have both, as a round that is designed for both is intended to take down a moose and expand after travelling 3/4ths of the way through it. Most humans are just not as thick as a moose. Unless you live in Iowa.
It's all relative to the homes around you. I can confidently say my home is secure without elaborating on the methods of security, as I live in a neighborhood where NONE of my neighbors lock their doors or windows. They won't dare chance crossing my tank of frickin' sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their frickin' heads, when they can invade my neighbor's house with no effort.
Really? I notice you didn't back up your claim with sources, but anti-gun "pundits" often cite that same "fact" but with some major flaws. First of all, gun ownership in the United States is not as ubiquitous as these "pundits" want you to believe. Please note, too, that the areas with the highest crime rates in the United States, especially home invasion and burglary, are areas that have instituted HANDGUN BANS (Like Chicago, New York City, Washington DC, Baltimore, most of California), yet their crime statistics are still lumped in every single time this argument is made.
You also made the assertion that legal gun ownership is not a 'deterrent', as it "encourages criminals to be better equipped." REALLY!? Criminals do not want a challenge. If a criminal knows they have a pretty good chance of going up against a paranoid citizen with a gun strapped to his mattress, they're likely to strike elsewhere. They do not want to go into a gunfight, no matter how well equipped they are. If that means going 2 miles away into the city where there's a gun ban, and curiously higher rates of home invasions (not making a causality error here, as they often have an overtasked police department as well), they will do it. There are plenty of low hanging apples for them to pick, such as the house just across the border in which the occupant frequently leaves her bedroom window open and sleeps in nothing but a lacy black thong.
Next you claim that "burglars frequently defeat canine security systems with... meat." Sounds like you watch too many cartoons. A home invader is more likely to find a different target if the one they were initially going to invade would have them encountering a big ass dog.
The bottom line is, anything that may present a challenge to a home invader is a deterrent, be it a dog, guns, locked doors, an alarm system, surveillance cameras, security glass, thorn bushes beneath windows and adequate lighting. Also, gun ownership is a responsibility that can't be taken lightly, and responsible care for the weapon means ensuring it doesn't get into the wrong hands, yet is available when you need it.
Can someone explain why this is unique from existing Blu-Ray technology, which is precisely the same wavelength of the visible spectrum as this purported new technology? Also, why are we still developing visible lasers instead of pursuing UV rays, which are a significantly smaller wavelength, therefore permitting even denser optical storage as well as countless medical uses?
If this does result in a new format, I see a digital cinema revolution on the horizon (which should have happened already anyway) as feature films could fit on a single disc, eliminating the need for hard-drive caches, tape and film reels. Though home theater technology may lead to this "revolution" being the death of cinema.
Except for the fact that there was NO INFRINGEMENT. Once again, the trademarked phrase was never actually used by ThinkGeek, and the only thing (at least) the first page of the C&D stated as far as actual infringement was on the part of other parties using it while referencing Unicorn Meat, which isn't ThinkGeek's liability.
I am not a lawyer, however, just an entertained American with common sense, which I understand has no place in the court room.
Slashdot Mirror
So why are we (the government) spending millions of dollars protecting intangible property while every day virii, worms, bots and other malware are being distributed via email and http servers, social networks and advertisers? There's a huge underground industry supporting worm and virii R&D in order to generate income from sources ranging from advertising revenue all the way to identity theft and credit fraud. Sources distributing this malware are easily identifiable, and could quite possibly be contained if only the primary distribution points could be shut down rather quickly. Likewise, a more proactive approach to unsolicited email advertisements (spam) would make it less cost effective for spammers to distribute malware. To me this is a much bigger impact, more victims and far more important than busting someone for sharing a copy of "Son of the Mask." That movie sucked anyway, and Jamie Kennedy looks nothing like Rocky Dennis.
Natalie Portman, naked and petrified covered in hot grits...?
(that should be good for some pointless funny points)
I don't know why you need me for this. She records all of her encounters in High Dynamic Range herself.
I've been purchasing Wide Dynamic Range cameras for 3 years now for my company. They make for fantastic surveillance cameras. By the way, WDR is even more dramatic than HDR (though this is only theoretical, as there's no industry standard definition of HDR vs WDR). I think this is only new in that multiple high-resolution full-motion cameras have been used in conjunction with one another to create a very high quality video stream in HDR, whereas the surveillance cameras I've purchased are only 4CIF and I only record about 4-8fps with them, certainly not high resolution or full motion.
HDR/WDR is fantastic technology, and its niche has been in surveillance, but very few people even in the surveillance industry have recognized the benefits. WDR allows you to see vivid facial features in extreme backlit shots or excessively dark environments.
I haven't thought of PDF's as safe in a couple years now.
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9176117/PDF_exploits_explode_continue_climb_in_2010
Well, in the case of Windows XP and common corporate practices, it's not unusual for an individual that would require administrative rights to log in with an account in the Administrators group on a regular basis, whether administrative tasks will be performed or not. I've worked for companies where 1 in 3 users have administrative rights on their workstation due to a "business need" which may have been a one-time task, but the escalated privileges remain indefinitely. 1 in 3 is an awful lot of people in a company with over 100,000 employees.
So your argument is that Rackspace themselves are not entitled to freedom of speech because they're in a position of authority in that they have the power to pull the plug on this guy's speech? Think about that for a minute. Rackspace shutting down the website is just as much an expression of constitutional freedom of speech as is the government allowing this guy to have a book burning in the first place. Rackspace is free to express their disagreement by removing one of his platforms of expression, a platform which they own anyway. They aren't the be-all end-all of web hosting, so he's free to find another web host or host it himself. Contrary to popular belief, freedom of speech does not entitle every American with the right to run their mouths with impunity, it merely protects every American from laws and government intervention as a result of expression of freedom of speech. Is it an expression of freedom of speech to shout "OMG MUSLIMS WILL KILL US ALL" in the middle of a shopping center? Perhaps it is. But it's just as much freedom of speech for the manager of that shopping center to kick you out if they disagree with you.
I disagree with the free speech argument here, as this douchebag's hosting company pulled the plug on him on their own, not due to a court order or criminal proceedings. They have just as much right to express their freedom of speech by disagreeing through the act of pulling the plug on his website as this guy has to burn books. Freedom of speech doesn't protect you from consequences outside of the legal system, including someone disagreeing and not allowing you to use their platform to spout nonsense. Try again. You'll have an argument if the government orders his website shut down after he decides to host it himself.
It is funny how the ISP's and Hosting companies want all that common carrier protection...
That was a pretty general statement, and still addressed hosting companies alongside ISP's. Way to go moderators for throwing away mod points on a douche that chose not to participate in the topical discussion, but rather chose to start an off-topic semantic argument instead.
...or Natalie Portman, naked and petrified.
What TF is 4chan? Is this news?
I didn't read TFA, but this is brilliant. A major cause of accidents on highways is inconsistent speeds among nearby vehicles. Slow moving vehicles such as loaded trucks in the way of fast moving smaller vehicles are a recipe for disaster. A variance in speeds results in increased lane changes, slow downs, speed ups and a cascade of other changes to driving patterns, all of which contribute to accidents. 90mph is only a safe highway speed if all vehicles maintain a comparable average speed, not if only some do. As others have already said, accident rates will rise significantly, and the knee-jerk reaction will be to lower speed limits as many legislators believe speed kills, not variance in speed.
My company invested millions of dollars into a central monitoring facility, with a large video wall driven by Crestron equipment. The idea was the video wall could display news/weather alongside alarms/outages in real time, with geographic mapping capabilities. Workstations were quad displays on adjustable motorized desks which sat atop a raised platform for simple network runs. A large executive "war room" style conference room was built with a glass wall overlooking the platform and video wall believed to be useful in the event of some catastrophic failure. All other staff sat in cubicles surrounding the platform with glass cube walls anywhere that would otherwise obstruct the view of the platform/video wall. A secure mantrap was put in place to restrict access to the facility. Dedicated bathrooms were installed with showers in the monitoring area in case critical staff were quarantined for extended periods of time.
It was impressive when it was built, but within a couple years, the video wall has been dismantled and parts sold off due to its impracticality. The right software was never found to perform the type of "geographic" monitoring conceived, partly due to bureaucracy. Network redundancy was overlooked, which made the monitoring facility itself non-functional during an outage. The facility lacked appropriate backup generators and UPS to keep the facility running during a thunderstorm. The platform desks required too much real estate and allowed no room for growth, so they have been replaced by cubicles. The secure mantrap was an inconvenience for upper management, so the inner door was disabled, defeating the mantrap. The quad displays ironically obstructed the view of the video wall when it was still in place, and did not fit in the cubicles when they were installed, so these were reduced to 2. All critical staff were sent home to telecommute because they took up too much real-estate required for day-to-day operations, and it made more sense to not have critical staff in a single central location anyway.
The point is, don't get too caught up in building 'CTU' from 24. The right monitoring software platform makes all the difference, as does intelligent network redundancy, telephony and backup power.
http://cmdrtaco.net/rw/
Your assumption is that these three groups, alcoholics, fatties and smokers, are mutually exclusive. I would have to see some significant proof showing alcoholics in general eat healthier than the median and do not smoke. I, for one, am an alcoholic, and I've observed first-hand the unhealthy environment bars tend to be - filled with cigarette smoke, booze and greasy deep-fried fatty foods. I myself don't expect to live past 40, but we'll see.
Here are some interesting numbers from the primary Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory download site, a free game produced by splash damage that has a native Linux client in addition to Windows and Mac OS X clients.
I think it's safe to infer that in the demographic that would download a high quality free multiplayer game available on all three platforms, Linux appears to be about 3x more viable a target platform than Mac OS X, and 1/4th as viable as Windows. This may be due to the lack of quality games on the Linux platform, however, and a higher percentage of Linux users are acquiring the game as opposed to Windows users that have a much larger choice of games available to them.
http://www.fileshack.com/browse.x/1773
I missed this question on the census form... we may have already surpassed 5,000,000,000.
I had missed the original mention of the Judge, and I couldn't agree more. I am totally on the same page as you with respect to penetration. What a worthless weapon. With all that recoil, yet an extreme lack of penetration, you may as well try to stone your assailant biblical style. I myself carry a .45, and I practice with it when I can afford to do so (.45 ammo is not cheap, especially in the past 2 years.) I can handle the recoil pretty well, and I'm a good shot, but it takes a little longer to train on your target than a 9mm. I've never had to pull it out in a life-or-death situation and I'm not sure I'm comfortable with doing so. A good friend of mine used to be a law enforcement officer, and he loves his big guns. But for defense, he insists on a 9mm which he learned the hard way has enough stopping power to save his life, is easier to control, and it carries many more rounds in case the first few miss.
Just a warning, you can't practice with a 9mm and expect to be accurate with a .45. They are not the same weapon, and if you pull out your .45 in a high pressure situation after practicing with your 9mm, you're going to miss. Also, it should be noted, you can get an "LEO only" clip (try eBay, your local pawn shop/gun shop or some other shady internet site) for the Glock 9mm that holds a ridiculous amount of ammo, and with enough practice, you can get those rounds off pretty damn quick and accurately too. The sheer number of rounds and speed of discharge makes up for the lack of stopping power of a single 9mm, especially since you'll probably need to get a few shots in before you actually hit your target.
Also, you're misrepresenting the meaning of "penetration." Penetration refers to how far through a target the bullet will travel, whereas expansion is the reciprocal of penetration, and refers to how big a hole you make inside your target when the bullet mushrooms out. You don't want penetration, you want expansion. You can't have both, as a round that is designed for both is intended to take down a moose and expand after travelling 3/4ths of the way through it. Most humans are just not as thick as a moose. Unless you live in Iowa.
It's all relative to the homes around you. I can confidently say my home is secure without elaborating on the methods of security, as I live in a neighborhood where NONE of my neighbors lock their doors or windows. They won't dare chance crossing my tank of frickin' sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their frickin' heads, when they can invade my neighbor's house with no effort.
Really? I notice you didn't back up your claim with sources, but anti-gun "pundits" often cite that same "fact" but with some major flaws. First of all, gun ownership in the United States is not as ubiquitous as these "pundits" want you to believe. Please note, too, that the areas with the highest crime rates in the United States, especially home invasion and burglary, are areas that have instituted HANDGUN BANS (Like Chicago, New York City, Washington DC, Baltimore, most of California), yet their crime statistics are still lumped in every single time this argument is made.
You also made the assertion that legal gun ownership is not a 'deterrent', as it "encourages criminals to be better equipped." REALLY!? Criminals do not want a challenge. If a criminal knows they have a pretty good chance of going up against a paranoid citizen with a gun strapped to his mattress, they're likely to strike elsewhere. They do not want to go into a gunfight, no matter how well equipped they are. If that means going 2 miles away into the city where there's a gun ban, and curiously higher rates of home invasions (not making a causality error here, as they often have an overtasked police department as well), they will do it. There are plenty of low hanging apples for them to pick, such as the house just across the border in which the occupant frequently leaves her bedroom window open and sleeps in nothing but a lacy black thong.
Next you claim that "burglars frequently defeat canine security systems with... meat." Sounds like you watch too many cartoons. A home invader is more likely to find a different target if the one they were initially going to invade would have them encountering a big ass dog. The bottom line is, anything that may present a challenge to a home invader is a deterrent, be it a dog, guns, locked doors, an alarm system, surveillance cameras, security glass, thorn bushes beneath windows and adequate lighting. Also, gun ownership is a responsibility that can't be taken lightly, and responsible care for the weapon means ensuring it doesn't get into the wrong hands, yet is available when you need it.
Can someone explain why this is unique from existing Blu-Ray technology, which is precisely the same wavelength of the visible spectrum as this purported new technology? Also, why are we still developing visible lasers instead of pursuing UV rays, which are a significantly smaller wavelength, therefore permitting even denser optical storage as well as countless medical uses? If this does result in a new format, I see a digital cinema revolution on the horizon (which should have happened already anyway) as feature films could fit on a single disc, eliminating the need for hard-drive caches, tape and film reels. Though home theater technology may lead to this "revolution" being the death of cinema.
Amazon has already done this. I think it was a silly move, since most of us are down here on earth.
The politically correct term is actually "berries of color."
Except for the fact that there was NO INFRINGEMENT. Once again, the trademarked phrase was never actually used by ThinkGeek, and the only thing (at least) the first page of the C&D stated as far as actual infringement was on the part of other parties using it while referencing Unicorn Meat, which isn't ThinkGeek's liability.
I am not a lawyer, however, just an entertained American with common sense, which I understand has no place in the court room.