As for whether "terrorists" would target the power grid, I don't see it. Not much bang for the buck. How many died in this, the biggest outage in the US for decades?
Yes, but this was a "controlled" shutdown of parts of the grid. I'd imagine it would take a bit more than 24 hours to get it all back up and running if parts of the grid were to be destroyed. Especially if those were central parts of the grid, and involved the destruction or incapacitation of one or two major plants.
I can relate, buddy! I could never use one of those fancy iDesks - my desk currently contains:
Plastic "in/out/misc" document sorter full of God knows what. I assume it's bills.
One ancient HP LaserJet 6P (powered off atm. I think it has become sentient)
Cup full of pens. None of them work.
Messy tangle of post-its and pieces of paper with scribbles on them. I'm not touching that.
iPAQ usb cradle. Why? Beats me...
ISDN phone. Unplugged, after I rewired the patch panel to get a second ethernet connection to my office.
Artsy-fartsy scentet ceramic stones. Well they used to be scented...
4 port USB hub (finally something remotely useful!)
Monitor/keyboard/speakers (goes without saying)
Box of blank CD-R disks, box of screen wipes, and a water bottle stacked on top of eachother
Dr. Dobbs journal from a couple of years back
Half empty glass of coke (or half full, depending on your level of mindless optimism)
Packet of cigarettes (Lucky Strike) and a lighter.
Coffee mug, empty. Well at least there aren't any liquids in it.
Ugly-looking "IKEA" wooden CD-shelf.
Another plastic tray thingy containing a broken wall clock, filofax, IDE harddrive, copier paper, Unix System Admin handbook and an RS-232 gender changer.
Well that about covers everything within reach at the moment. I need a bigger desk...
What is the point of encryption if you have to give up the keys. I say its up the the spooks to have the capabilities to crack my encryption rather than force me to hand over the keys.
IANAA (I Am Not An American), but just out of curiosity (and possibly a bit off topic) - doesn't the 5th ammendment factor in here? I mean, handing over your crypto keys may or may not incriminate you, and thus you should have the right not to disclose them, right?
Or is this whole "constitution" thing moot by now?
Ah well that makes more sense - sorry =) I don't buy their products, but then I don't use them either...
I must say I chuckled with some ammount of glee myself when I read the article - not because Microsoft get their license violated, but because they've made the same stupid mistake they've made with every software release ever. Believing that silly yet cumbersome copy protection mechanisms will somehow prevent piracy is just stupid, and one would think they'd learned that lesson by now - so why the surprise when it happens again?
At first, when I saw this, I chuckled. Then, I thought about all the times I've seen stories on/. about some company using GPL'ed code in their closed-source product.
[snip] Either respect other people's licenses, or don't be surprised when they don't respect yours.
Hmm, I'm not sure what you're trying to say here, but if you mean that it's OK for Microsoft to steal GPL'ed code because some kids are pirating windows, I have to disagree. Speaking from my own experience, piracy is not really an issue, except with games and maybe personal operating systems. Companies buy their licenses and try to keep legit - despite what the BSA will have you believe. Corporate "piracy" has more to do with poor license management.
So is it OK for MS to rip off Free Software deveopers' code because some kid wanted to run Windows 2003 Server on his box at home?
Wrong; the above code causes the query text input box to get focus once the page loads, so you don't have to click it manually to enter a query. A very useful, and common, feature.
document.f.q refers to the widget named "q" in the form named "f".
While I agree with the sentiment, I think it would be a really bad idea to do this. Not sure how it is in the US, but around here the largest problem with computer crimes is that they are rarely reported. Companies just don't want to deal with all the bad press and extra attention that follows a report of a computer related break-in. Coupled with the fact that this type of crime is only very rarely solved, only fractions of the incidents get reported - it's not worth it. Enforcing something like this would most certainly have a negative impact on this trend, thus further reducing the number of reported computer crimes.
CV == Curriculum Vitae. Basically, a summary of your eduacation and work experience tragetted at prospective employers. Not sure how it differs from a "Resumé" - they might be the same thing for all I know.
Uhm, actually Mother Earth would care very much if humans were to magically disappear over night, as the average surface temperature of the planet would drop dramatically. Don't remember the numbers right now, sorry. Remember, warming up the atmosphere isn't all bad, and we've done that for a long time. Even the body heat of ~5 billion people contribute signifficantly.
Actually, I own one of those (Seiko Kinetic) watches. The one I have does not store power by winding a spring, but rather by charging a small capacitor. With a fully charged capacitor, the watch can go on for about 3-4 days without any movement what so ever - a great plus for someone as lazy as I am;)
Yes, well - as I said, we're talking elementary school here - 1st grade (6 year olds) and up. Silly typing games would do just fine - teaching 6 year olds C programming might be a bit over the top:))
Silly does it - click the numbers, find the missing letter, etc.
Great idea, and exactly what I am trying to do. But as I mentioned in an other comment, I'm having a few obstacles to successfully moving my local school to linux.
Quick summary: educational software.
This is a rural school, with no regular IT staff, so they will need all the help they can get - which I would be glad to volunteer.
A question that might be a bit off topic, but I think not: what about educational software? You see, I am considering helping out my local school by donating some old hardware (some of my own stuff that's gathering dust in the basement, maybe use my contacts in the IT biz to get some more), but I really don't want to give them something for which they would have to shell out a load of money for software licenses (thus leaving the computers unused for lack of OS/software).
Installing Linux is something I would be thrilled to do, since it is what I work with and it is the OS I am the most familiar with - plus it won't cost them anything. But what good is that if there is no educational software available? I'm thinking elementary school stuff, like spelling/grammar, mathematics, geography, educational games - that sort of stuff.
I'd prefer if it was opensource - not because I'm a zealot or anything, but since english is not our mother tongue, I guess I'd have to do a bit of translation work before they can use it.
I'm totally ignorant as to what's available, any suggestions (reply or mail) would be very welcome in deed.
Try using the dynamically linked version. The statically linked version of Opera is linked against a QT version that is not compiled with anti aliased font support.
This has been discussed before, among other places on Bugtraq. The concept has many flaws:
The morality aspect - you are "taking control" of someone elses hardware/software
The legal aspect - this still constitutes "cracking" as you have illegally gained access to a computer system that is not yours. Breaking into someones house is not OK just because you only intended to do their dishes.
The practical aspect - the worst side effect of internet worms is not primarily damage done to the infected systems, but bandwidth consumed and resources depleted as a result of the worm spreading.
I don't know of any real-life implementations of this (I somehow have the feeling I have heard of it, but it escapes me right now), but the concept has been debated at length during prior "worm attacks". There are probably many other reasons why this is not a good idea, but I think these are the most signifficant.
Despite the impression one might get when reading the interview, text based adventure/rpg games are not IMO completely dead - they still have a following.
As I am an old MUD addict who still do the occational crusades online, I have noticed that the user-base on these things are not declining at any noticable rate. The average age of the players may be higher than in the "golden days" of text adventures, but they still do have a strong following.
FYI: I mostly play on Viking MUD - not the largest of the MUDs, but it's the one I've been hanging around. I also use Frotz - the multiplatform Z-Engine - to play Infocom games on Linux. Not to forget of course, the original text adventure "Adventure" that has always been part of the Slackware Linux distribution, and the unforgettable Foom - a text adventure based on ID Softwares Doom game, using TADS - the Text Adventure Development System.
I think it would be really interesting to figure out what exactly goes on in the Bermuda triangle. More ships and planes have been lost there than anywhere else
Bullshit. You've been reading too much Berlitz methinks. If you want to know what really goes on in the Bermuda triangle, check out James Randis book "Flim Flam!". An old one, but it covers the claims made a bout the triangle in great detail.
What it boils down to, is that the area has no more ship/plane wrecks or disappearences than any other place along the american coast. The myth about the triangle came to be mostly because of horribly bad journalism, and total lack of research.
All nice and dandy - but me being a geek, I always machine-wash my clothes at 90 degrees celsius, using whatever detergent I can find on sale. Surely, this will have som negative impact on the bacteria?
Since I never iron my shirts, I guess that won't be much of a problem though.
AFAIK, the problem was related to the unmounting of ReiserFS partitions - in which case you'd rarely notice it as you'd normally only unmount during shutdown. Dunno, might cause the box to hang while running rc.S.
Slackware 8.0 - which ships with 2.4.5 - comes with a small patch to fix that particular problem.
Hey, I remember those! If I remember correctly, the official procedure to remedy this, was to lift your ApleIII a couple of inches from the table, then drop it to reseat the IC.
Kinda funny - sounds like something you'd hear from the BOFH, not Apple Helpdesk:)
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Yes, but this was a "controlled" shutdown of parts of the grid. I'd imagine it would take a bit more than 24 hours to get it all back up and running if parts of the grid were to be destroyed. Especially if those were central parts of the grid, and involved the destruction or incapacitation of one or two major plants.
- Plastic "in/out/misc" document sorter full of God knows what. I assume it's bills.
- One ancient HP LaserJet 6P (powered off atm. I think it has become sentient)
- Cup full of pens. None of them work.
- Messy tangle of post-its and pieces of paper with scribbles on them. I'm not touching that.
- iPAQ usb cradle. Why? Beats me...
- ISDN phone. Unplugged, after I rewired the patch panel to get a second ethernet connection to my office.
- Artsy-fartsy scentet ceramic stones. Well they used to be scented...
- 4 port USB hub (finally something remotely useful!)
- Monitor/keyboard/speakers (goes without saying)
- Box of blank CD-R disks, box of screen wipes, and a water bottle stacked on top of eachother
- Dr. Dobbs journal from a couple of years back
- Half empty glass of coke (or half full, depending on your level of mindless optimism)
- Packet of cigarettes (Lucky Strike) and a lighter.
- Coffee mug, empty. Well at least there aren't any liquids in it.
- Ugly-looking "IKEA" wooden CD-shelf.
- Another plastic tray thingy containing a broken wall clock, filofax, IDE harddrive, copier paper, Unix System Admin handbook and an RS-232 gender changer.
Well that about covers everything within reach at the moment. I need a bigger desk...IANAA (I Am Not An American), but just out of curiosity (and possibly a bit off topic) - doesn't the 5th ammendment factor in here? I mean, handing over your crypto keys may or may not incriminate you, and thus you should have the right not to disclose them, right?
Or is this whole "constitution" thing moot by now?
I must say I chuckled with some ammount of glee myself when I read the article - not because Microsoft get their license violated, but because they've made the same stupid mistake they've made with every software release ever. Believing that silly yet cumbersome copy protection mechanisms will somehow prevent piracy is just stupid, and one would think they'd learned that lesson by now - so why the surprise when it happens again?
[snip]
Either respect other people's licenses, or don't be surprised when they don't respect yours.
Hmm, I'm not sure what you're trying to say here, but if you mean that it's OK for Microsoft to steal GPL'ed code because some kids are pirating windows, I have to disagree. Speaking from my own experience, piracy is not really an issue, except with games and maybe personal operating systems. Companies buy their licenses and try to keep legit - despite what the BSA will have you believe. Corporate "piracy" has more to do with poor license management.
So is it OK for MS to rip off Free Software deveopers' code because some kid wanted to run Windows 2003 Server on his box at home?
Ow!! What was that for?!!
Sorry, allready been done. Allthough I don't think RMS would approve of the license...
Methinks someone else could do with a course in basic UNIX commandline tools... How about "grep" for instance?
Wrong; the above code causes the query text input box to get focus once the page loads, so you don't have to click it manually to enter a query. A very useful, and common, feature. document.f.q refers to the widget named "q" in the form named "f".
Go here and grab your favourite
While I agree with the sentiment, I think it would be a really bad idea to do this. Not sure how it is in the US, but around here the largest problem with computer crimes is that they are rarely reported. Companies just don't want to deal with all the bad press and extra attention that follows a report of a computer related break-in. Coupled with the fact that this type of crime is only very rarely solved, only fractions of the incidents get reported - it's not worth it. Enforcing something like this would most certainly have a negative impact on this trend, thus further reducing the number of reported computer crimes.
CV == Curriculum Vitae. Basically, a summary of your eduacation and work experience tragetted at prospective employers. Not sure how it differs from a "Resumé" - they might be the same thing for all I know.
It could have been a life size doll!
Uhm, actually Mother Earth would care very much if humans were to magically disappear over night, as the average surface temperature of the planet would drop dramatically. Don't remember the numbers right now, sorry. Remember, warming up the atmosphere isn't all bad, and we've done that for a long time. Even the body heat of ~5 billion people contribute signifficantly.
Actually, I own one of those (Seiko Kinetic) watches. The one I have does not store power by winding a spring, but rather by charging a small capacitor. With a fully charged capacitor, the watch can go on for about 3-4 days without any movement what so ever - a great plus for someone as lazy as I am ;)
Silly does it - click the numbers, find the missing letter, etc.
Quick summary: educational software.
This is a rural school, with no regular IT staff, so they will need all the help they can get - which I would be glad to volunteer.
Installing Linux is something I would be thrilled to do, since it is what I work with and it is the OS I am the most familiar with - plus it won't cost them anything. But what good is that if there is no educational software available? I'm thinking elementary school stuff, like spelling/grammar, mathematics, geography, educational games - that sort of stuff.
I'd prefer if it was opensource - not because I'm a zealot or anything, but since english is not our mother tongue, I guess I'd have to do a bit of translation work before they can use it.
I'm totally ignorant as to what's available, any suggestions (reply or mail) would be very welcome in deed.
Try using the dynamically linked version. The statically linked version of Opera is linked against a QT version that is not compiled with anti aliased font support.
- The morality aspect - you are "taking control" of someone elses hardware/software
- The legal aspect - this still constitutes "cracking" as you have illegally gained access to a computer system that is not yours. Breaking into someones house is not OK just because you only intended to do their dishes.
- The practical aspect - the worst side effect of internet worms is not primarily damage done to the infected systems, but bandwidth consumed and resources depleted as a result of the worm spreading.
I don't know of any real-life implementations of this (I somehow have the feeling I have heard of it, but it escapes me right now), but the concept has been debated at length during prior "worm attacks". There are probably many other reasons why this is not a good idea, but I think these are the most signifficant.As I am an old MUD addict who still do the occational crusades online, I have noticed that the user-base on these things are not declining at any noticable rate. The average age of the players may be higher than in the "golden days" of text adventures, but they still do have a strong following.
FYI: I mostly play on Viking MUD - not the largest of the MUDs, but it's the one I've been hanging around. I also use Frotz - the multiplatform Z-Engine - to play Infocom games on Linux. Not to forget of course, the original text adventure "Adventure" that has always been part of the Slackware Linux distribution, and the unforgettable Foom - a text adventure based on ID Softwares Doom game, using TADS - the Text Adventure Development System.
Bullshit. You've been reading too much Berlitz methinks. If you want to know what really goes on in the Bermuda triangle, check out James Randis book "Flim Flam!". An old one, but it covers the claims made a bout the triangle in great detail.
What it boils down to, is that the area has no more ship/plane wrecks or disappearences than any other place along the american coast. The myth about the triangle came to be mostly because of horribly bad journalism, and total lack of research.
Since I never iron my shirts, I guess that won't be much of a problem though.
Slackware 8.0 - which ships with 2.4.5 - comes with a small patch to fix that particular problem.
Kinda funny - sounds like something you'd hear from the BOFH, not Apple Helpdesk :)