That's a sticky issue. Both political parties here participate in it, as well as cry foul when it happens. It's legal probably because both sides see it as a tool to use to their advantage. So as a whole, neither side really loses. About the only big loser are the American people, but few in power really care about them.:P
I watched most of that POS with my VCR on fast forward. There is no redeeming quality in that special whatsoever, but I had to see just how horrible it was.
I think it will happen eventually, since MB manufacturers have to deal with the costs attributed to a bad flash somehow. Even if their approach is "you screwed it up, you pay to fix it", it still costs them in reputation and customer loyalty. I think we'll see it eventually, although the consumer may not even be aware the feature exists. It'll just be one of those "I heard company X is more reliable" issues.
I was just thinking about that. This technology could make crashing an airplane as easy as adding all known airports into the database. Or altering the database so the only allowable flight path leads straight for a nuclear reactor. Granted, this would have to be done by someone with maintenance access, but airport tarmacs have never been as secure as they needed to be.
Also, what's to stop hijackers from jamming GPS signals? It's relatively easy to accomplish, and the system would be useless then. Sure it makes navigation more difficult, but you can always wait until you have the target in sight to do it.
How long until the porn industry utilizes this technology? After all, aren't they the early adopters? I can envision having a TGP porn searcher or automated casting searches.
Mysterously, 36 computer employees were killed late Monday night and early Tuesday morning around the country while setting up a display for a new pocket PC. Fellow employees witnessed an arch of electricity hitting the victims and surrounding electronics. One witness commented "it was like a scene out of Command and Conquer."
The manufacturer of the pocket PC, Sharp, refused to comment officially on the incidents, saying only "we have the most powerful line of pocket PCs on the face of the planet".
The SL-C300 is the mini-laptop that will be available in Japan. That one has the 640x480 display. The SL-5600 is the Pocket PC that will be available in the US in a couple months. It has the 240x320 display.
If the RIAA wins this case, it could do severe damage to the Internet. It would mean that American ISPs and backbone providers can be forced to block websites located outside the United States who may violate American laws. This means coporations start resorting to sueing or even threatening backbone providers to block websites they don't like. Now since many webservers host multiple websites, some on the same IP, this could lead to legitimate websites being blocked as well.
Worse yet, what happens if for some reason the backbone providers start getting overzealous in blocking? What if the ISP hosting the website periodically juggles around the IPs to throw off the filters? Or what if they open up alternate ports for the webserver to get around a simple port 80 block? In these cases, backbone providers may block the entire ISPs assigned IP block. Depending on how this is done, they could just block port 80 on that IP block, or worse, all traffic.
If backbone providers start resorting to blocking all traffic to offending ISPs, it would blackout portions of the Internet from the United States. It would become the United States own great firewall.
There are DRM problems with the NetMD line. The software it comes with will only allow you to "check out" an MP3 file onto 4 MDs. If you want to put it on another disc, the software makes you "check in" the file and delete it from another disc. There's also no way to transfer files back from the MD player. Ironically, Sony calls this DRM-ridden software OpenMD!
An open source alternative is being developed. Unfortunately, since Sony is using their Magic Gate encryption scheme in the NetMD protocol, it looks unlikely that a fully functional open alternative will ever exist. The last I checked, they were looking at transfering the files via the analog out and using the protocol to do file naming and recording start/stop.
It's unfortunate that Sony took such a user-hostle approach to this MD player. Had there been less restrictions on the NetMD line I would have gladly purchased one.
If we really want to change the culture and get rid of the diamond craze, we're going to have to do something about it. Not buying diamonds is a start, but we can do better. Why not start issuing anti-diamond propaganda? Make posters/webpages/etc associating DeBeers with the terrorist and other inhuman groups they support. Start negative terms for diamonds and culture around them. Start advocating diamond alternatives, showing them in a good light. Start showing other people anti-diamond websites, pictures, articles, etc. and let them know the reality of the diamond trade. Make people feel guilty about supporting DeBeers.
My point is that society is heavily influenced by language. If you don't believe me, take a look at advertising. To affect others, we need to use this to our advantage. This is what companies spend billions of dollars a year doing. That might seem like a lot to compete against, but it really isn't if enough people believe differently. The trick is to get people who believe in what you're trying to accomplish to help you advocate it.
Obviously, this grass roots approach is useful in other fights. Linux advocacy can really be influenced in this manner. The problem with Linux is that this advocacy is mostly kept inside the tech community. For example, many people outside of the tech industry see nothing wrong with running Outlook. If we start showing Outlook in a very negative light, less people would use it. The tricky part is not coming on too strongly or doing other things to make what you're fighting for look bad.
Qwest wants to roll out all DMT RADSL for new installations. Ths is something that the 675 cannot do. The 675 supports CAP RADSL, and the 678 supports both. This is why Qwest is pushing the 678 so much. In some cases, we've been able to convince Qwest to not force a customer to upgrade to the 678.
The reason Qwest is pushing DMT so much is that it gives better service. They can provide DMT at points farther away from the central office than with CAP. It is also capable of providing a faster connection (if you're willing to pay the $$$ to upgrade) over the same copper. So DMT is the better technology. The problem is that Qwest is pushing it in cases when CAP would be a viable alternative.
As far as getting a 675, cavet emptor. It will be difficult to get a reliable answer out of Qwest as to wether it is possible to use a 675 or not. The first line customer service and tech support probably won't know You should try to find an ISP with good customer service that will help you do it. To see if its even worth fighting for, check with Qwest and find out what speed your phone line is rated for. If it isn't faster than 768K, or if DSL just became available in the last year, you probably won't win.
They'll find a way to screw you over still. Wait until you want to switch ISPs or upgrade to a higher bandwidth connection. You're going to hear: "You have a Cisco 675? You need a Cisco 678 to upgrade your account. Do you want to lease or purchase it?"
I work at an ISP and Qwest has already tried to pull that over on some of our customers. We ended up talking to a few people at Qwest and convincing them it wasn't needed.
Reminds me of the stories about various things (a shoe, potatoes, etc.) being placed in the astroid field in Empire Strikes Back. Personally, I'm indifferent. If they use them, I could care less unless I notice it. Who really cares if one of the faceless extras is member of Nsync?
The article isn't about X-Box defects, it's about Microsoft's poor customer support for those defects. Part of selling a product in America is to support the consumer if the product is defective. This is what Microsoft is doing wrong, providing poor support. The reason why you don't see articles about the Gamecube or PS2 is that the support they offer for defective products is adequate. If Microsoft doesn't fix their support problems, they'll get a bad reputation with consumers. If they let this continue further, it'll hurt their sales.
The article also doesn't say that 200 people received bad customer service. It quoted an industry analyst using 200 people as an example. Unfortunately, the article doesn't provide good numbers for the rate of bad service problems.
Notifying that large list of people could cause problems. First, you'd have to talk to somebody who could understand the consequences. Then, you'd have to prove it to them that you do have it. After that, you'd run the slight risk of somebody claiming your discovery, or worse, knocking you off to keep the knowledge hidden (like in Mercury Rising). That may be unlikely, but the government could always consider it a risk to national security and take other measures to prevent the release. In the best case, you'd have to wait 6+ months for the government to switch their systems, if not longer. They may even ask you to NEVER release it, or keep delaying the release. All this hassle (and risk) just to save them.
To avoid all of these problems you'd either have to destroy the knowledge or release it immediately.
Actually, it could be worse. What happens if Microsoft sells that information? You'd get lots of junk mail and telemarketers advertising "adult services". You might be able to explain the TV ads, but trying explaining the catalog a week in the mail!
I don't see why they are going after people who contribute to piracy of business apps...those companies will make money anyways. Games and consumer applications are where piracy actually hurts.
For business applications, the software publisher markets the software for the businesses. They also know that those businesses can pay a lot of money for it too. That's why prices for Photoshop and some of Microsoft's business apps are so high - businesses will pay for it. Businesses won't pirate the applications because if they do, they are at risk for a pricey BSA audit. The audits are designed to cost the business as much money as possible, so thats the last thing they want, so they'll usually pay up.
Consumers really can't afford those applications, but it doesn't really matter since the software publisher doesn't expect them to buy it anyways. So consumer pirating of costly business applications costs software publishers nearly nothing. It may even help the publishers by having more people trained into using their product.
Consumer applications, however, are another matter. Businesses rarely buy those titles, so they can't hike the costs up - they need to make it easy for their target audience to buy (usally around $50). By pirating consumer applications, it will hurt the publishers. Thats why you see so many anti-piracy measures on games and other consumer apps. Some of Microsoft's decisions regarding Windows (such as forcing bundling, XP's activation, and no CDs with new systems) reflects this as well.
In the end, the people who pirate the games and consumer applications they love are hurting themselves. There wouldn't be a Quake III unless people had bought Quake I and Quake II. If you like to try out products, fine. But if you like it, pay the companies who created them.
I disagree with your point, but I also disagree with the general Slashdot presumption that the BSA is completely evil.
Your arguments fall short because they are all based on people. People are very likely to take risks, and follow other. Rockstars, crowds at traffic lights, etc. are people, not businesses. Businesses don't take as many risks. Most of the time when a business breaks a law they either get away with it, or get punished but still profit from breaking it. This is why environmental laws are a joke - they don't hurt the bottom line of the businesses that break the laws.
Most of the software available is made for businesses. They are also priced for businesses, which is why Photoshop and Office are so expensive. Most businesses will want to stay out of legal hassles if possible because it hurts the bottom line. With the BSA, there is a likelyhood of legal hassles for businesses that pirate software (this is why BSA isn't all bad). Therefore, most businesses will try to pay for most of the software they own. So if most businesses pay full price for their applications, business software makers are getting their money back, even if every household pirates software.
The place that this breaks down is on the consumer end. With CD burners and warez groups, consumer software makers have to actively fight piracy. Microsoft has their own solution for this - muscle the PC maker into bundling their software with the computer. Other companies aren't so lucky. That's why you see so many games with anti-piracy protection - because they need it to cut down on piracy, or they'll lose money.
IMO, the BSA should stick to doing software raids on businesses that are truly pirating. For business software, they should ignore the piracy. A college student pirating a copy of Photoshop or the latest version of Windows won't hurt Adobe or Microsoft much at all. Game piracy, on the other hand, should be discouraged. If you pirate a crappy game and trash it in a week, fine. But if you keep playing it, you should buy it. Otherwise the game market will dry up.
If my link is throttled, then HOW I use that link is realy no business of my ISP's - unless I'm doing something that's actually against the law. If they don't have the infrastructure to support the bandwidth I'm paying for, that is not MY problem . If they can't support X users at Y bandwidth, then they have no business SELLING X users Y bandwidth.
In other venues, it's called fraud.
Unfortunately it is your problem. If you want cheap broadband, you're going to have to make some sacrafices. You can't expect an ISP to let you average near 500k/sec continuously over an entire month and still sell the account at less than $50. They can't get the bandwidth that cheaply! If you have a problem with it, go get a dedicated line. Sure it's expensive, but you're paying for what you get.
As for your fraud comment, look at overbookings in the airline industry. They overbook all the time because people don't always use what they buy. If they stopped the practice, they'd have to raise the ticket price. In the ISP industry, most users don't use the bandwidth they buy. They typically use less than a tenth of it. That intermittent usage allows the ISP to oversell bandwidth. Most of the time it works, except when the people use it constantly.
For those customers the ISPs have to make a choice: approach the customer about the bandwidth and see if they can reduce it, cancel the account, limit the bandwidth for that user, or pass on the loss to the other customers.
Slashdot Mirror
That's a sticky issue. Both political parties here participate in it, as well as cry foul when it happens. It's legal probably because both sides see it as a tool to use to their advantage. So as a whole, neither side really loses. About the only big loser are the American people, but few in power really care about them. :P
I watched most of that POS with my VCR on fast forward. There is no redeeming quality in that special whatsoever, but I had to see just how horrible it was.
Many of these appear to be typos from Japanese domains:
marketing.jp/tk2nd.dip.jp/
www.adtek.co.jp/
www.kirin.co.jp/
www.kt.rim.or.jp/
www.nhk.or.jp/
www.portopialand.co.jp/
www.sagawa-exp.co.jp/
www.smt.city.sendai.jp/
www.taiyogo.co.jp/
According to one of their press releases it will retail for $300.
I think it will happen eventually, since MB manufacturers have to deal with the costs attributed to a bad flash somehow. Even if their approach is "you screwed it up, you pay to fix it", it still costs them in reputation and customer loyalty. I think we'll see it eventually, although the consumer may not even be aware the feature exists. It'll just be one of those "I heard company X is more reliable" issues.
I was just thinking about that. This technology could make crashing an airplane as easy as adding all known airports into the database. Or altering the database so the only allowable flight path leads straight for a nuclear reactor. Granted, this would have to be done by someone with maintenance access, but airport tarmacs have never been as secure as they needed to be.
Also, what's to stop hijackers from jamming GPS signals? It's relatively easy to accomplish, and the system would be useless then. Sure it makes navigation more difficult, but you can always wait until you have the target in sight to do it.
I suggest a hard drive cooler. If you mount your HD in it, it will bring in outside air, and it'll flow near the other 5.25" devices.
How long until the porn industry utilizes this technology? After all, aren't they the early adopters? I can envision having a TGP porn searcher or automated casting searches.
Mysterously, 36 computer employees were killed late Monday night and early Tuesday morning around the country while setting up a display for a new pocket PC. Fellow employees witnessed an arch of electricity hitting the victims and surrounding electronics. One witness commented "it was like a scene out of Command and Conquer." The manufacturer of the pocket PC, Sharp, refused to comment officially on the incidents, saying only "we have the most powerful line of pocket PCs on the face of the planet".
The SL-C300 is the mini-laptop that will be available in Japan. That one has the 640x480 display. The SL-5600 is the Pocket PC that will be available in the US in a couple months. It has the 240x320 display.
If the RIAA wins this case, it could do severe damage to the Internet. It would mean that American ISPs and backbone providers can be forced to block websites located outside the United States who may violate American laws. This means coporations start resorting to sueing or even threatening backbone providers to block websites they don't like. Now since many webservers host multiple websites, some on the same IP, this could lead to legitimate websites being blocked as well.
Worse yet, what happens if for some reason the backbone providers start getting overzealous in blocking? What if the ISP hosting the website periodically juggles around the IPs to throw off the filters? Or what if they open up alternate ports for the webserver to get around a simple port 80 block? In these cases, backbone providers may block the entire ISPs assigned IP block. Depending on how this is done, they could just block port 80 on that IP block, or worse, all traffic.
If backbone providers start resorting to blocking all traffic to offending ISPs, it would blackout portions of the Internet from the United States. It would become the United States own great firewall.
There are DRM problems with the NetMD line. The software it comes with will only allow you to "check out" an MP3 file onto 4 MDs. If you want to put it on another disc, the software makes you "check in" the file and delete it from another disc. There's also no way to transfer files back from the MD player. Ironically, Sony calls this DRM-ridden software OpenMD!
An open source alternative is being developed. Unfortunately, since Sony is using their Magic Gate encryption scheme in the NetMD protocol, it looks unlikely that a fully functional open alternative will ever exist. The last I checked, they were looking at transfering the files via the analog out and using the protocol to do file naming and recording start/stop.
It's unfortunate that Sony took such a user-hostle approach to this MD player. Had there been less restrictions on the NetMD line I would have gladly purchased one.
If we really want to change the culture and get rid of the diamond craze, we're going to have to do something about it. Not buying diamonds is a start, but we can do better. Why not start issuing anti-diamond propaganda? Make posters/webpages/etc associating DeBeers with the terrorist and other inhuman groups they support. Start negative terms for diamonds and culture around them. Start advocating diamond alternatives, showing them in a good light. Start showing other people anti-diamond websites, pictures, articles, etc. and let them know the reality of the diamond trade. Make people feel guilty about supporting DeBeers.
My point is that society is heavily influenced by language. If you don't believe me, take a look at advertising. To affect others, we need to use this to our advantage. This is what companies spend billions of dollars a year doing. That might seem like a lot to compete against, but it really isn't if enough people believe differently. The trick is to get people who believe in what you're trying to accomplish to help you advocate it.
Obviously, this grass roots approach is useful in other fights. Linux advocacy can really be influenced in this manner. The problem with Linux is that this advocacy is mostly kept inside the tech community. For example, many people outside of the tech industry see nothing wrong with running Outlook. If we start showing Outlook in a very negative light, less people would use it. The tricky part is not coming on too strongly or doing other things to make what you're fighting for look bad.
Qwest wants to roll out all DMT RADSL for new installations. Ths is something that the 675 cannot do. The 675 supports CAP RADSL, and the 678 supports both. This is why Qwest is pushing the 678 so much. In some cases, we've been able to convince Qwest to not force a customer to upgrade to the 678.
The reason Qwest is pushing DMT so much is that it gives better service. They can provide DMT at points farther away from the central office than with CAP. It is also capable of providing a faster connection (if you're willing to pay the $$$ to upgrade) over the same copper. So DMT is the better technology. The problem is that Qwest is pushing it in cases when CAP would be a viable alternative.
As far as getting a 675, cavet emptor. It will be difficult to get a reliable answer out of Qwest as to wether it is possible to use a 675 or not. The first line customer service and tech support probably won't know You should try to find an ISP with good customer service that will help you do it. To see if its even worth fighting for, check with Qwest and find out what speed your phone line is rated for. If it isn't faster than 768K, or if DSL just became available in the last year, you probably won't win.
They'll find a way to screw you over still. Wait until you want to switch ISPs or upgrade to a higher bandwidth connection. You're going to hear: "You have a Cisco 675? You need a Cisco 678 to upgrade your account. Do you want to lease or purchase it?"
I work at an ISP and Qwest has already tried to pull that over on some of our customers. We ended up talking to a few people at Qwest and convincing them it wasn't needed.
Which of your own books you enjoyed writting the most? Which books by others did you enjoy reading the most?
Reminds me of the stories about various things (a shoe, potatoes, etc.) being placed in the astroid field in Empire Strikes Back. Personally, I'm indifferent. If they use them, I could care less unless I notice it. Who really cares if one of the faceless extras is member of Nsync?
The article isn't about X-Box defects, it's about Microsoft's poor customer support for those defects. Part of selling a product in America is to support the consumer if the product is defective. This is what Microsoft is doing wrong, providing poor support. The reason why you don't see articles about the Gamecube or PS2 is that the support they offer for defective products is adequate. If Microsoft doesn't fix their support problems, they'll get a bad reputation with consumers. If they let this continue further, it'll hurt their sales.
The article also doesn't say that 200 people received bad customer service. It quoted an industry analyst using 200 people as an example. Unfortunately, the article doesn't provide good numbers for the rate of bad service problems.
Notifying that large list of people could cause problems. First, you'd have to talk to somebody who could understand the consequences. Then, you'd have to prove it to them that you do have it. After that, you'd run the slight risk of somebody claiming your discovery, or worse, knocking you off to keep the knowledge hidden (like in Mercury Rising). That may be unlikely, but the government could always consider it a risk to national security and take other measures to prevent the release. In the best case, you'd have to wait 6+ months for the government to switch their systems, if not longer. They may even ask you to NEVER release it, or keep delaying the release. All this hassle (and risk) just to save them.
To avoid all of these problems you'd either have to destroy the knowledge or release it immediately.
...Or maybe I'm just being too pessimistic.
Actually, it could be worse. What happens if Microsoft sells that information? You'd get lots of junk mail and telemarketers advertising "adult services". You might be able to explain the TV ads, but trying explaining the catalog a week in the mail!
I don't see why they are going after people who contribute to piracy of business apps...those companies will make money anyways. Games and consumer applications are where piracy actually hurts.
For business applications, the software publisher markets the software for the businesses. They also know that those businesses can pay a lot of money for it too. That's why prices for Photoshop and some of Microsoft's business apps are so high - businesses will pay for it. Businesses won't pirate the applications because if they do, they are at risk for a pricey BSA audit. The audits are designed to cost the business as much money as possible, so thats the last thing they want, so they'll usually pay up.
Consumers really can't afford those applications, but it doesn't really matter since the software publisher doesn't expect them to buy it anyways. So consumer pirating of costly business applications costs software publishers nearly nothing. It may even help the publishers by having more people trained into using their product.
Consumer applications, however, are another matter. Businesses rarely buy those titles, so they can't hike the costs up - they need to make it easy for their target audience to buy (usally around $50). By pirating consumer applications, it will hurt the publishers. Thats why you see so many anti-piracy measures on games and other consumer apps. Some of Microsoft's decisions regarding Windows (such as forcing bundling, XP's activation, and no CDs with new systems) reflects this as well.
In the end, the people who pirate the games and consumer applications they love are hurting themselves. There wouldn't be a Quake III unless people had bought Quake I and Quake II. If you like to try out products, fine. But if you like it, pay the companies who created them.
The article in question is available here:
SecurityFocus Mail List Archive - File Extensions Spoofable in MSIE download dialog
I disagree with your point, but I also disagree with the general Slashdot presumption that the BSA is completely evil.
Your arguments fall short because they are all based on people. People are very likely to take risks, and follow other. Rockstars, crowds at traffic lights, etc. are people, not businesses. Businesses don't take as many risks. Most of the time when a business breaks a law they either get away with it, or get punished but still profit from breaking it. This is why environmental laws are a joke - they don't hurt the bottom line of the businesses that break the laws.
Most of the software available is made for businesses. They are also priced for businesses, which is why Photoshop and Office are so expensive. Most businesses will want to stay out of legal hassles if possible because it hurts the bottom line. With the BSA, there is a likelyhood of legal hassles for businesses that pirate software (this is why BSA isn't all bad). Therefore, most businesses will try to pay for most of the software they own. So if most businesses pay full price for their applications, business software makers are getting their money back, even if every household pirates software.
The place that this breaks down is on the consumer end. With CD burners and warez groups, consumer software makers have to actively fight piracy. Microsoft has their own solution for this - muscle the PC maker into bundling their software with the computer. Other companies aren't so lucky. That's why you see so many games with anti-piracy protection - because they need it to cut down on piracy, or they'll lose money.
IMO, the BSA should stick to doing software raids on businesses that are truly pirating. For business software, they should ignore the piracy. A college student pirating a copy of Photoshop or the latest version of Windows won't hurt Adobe or Microsoft much at all. Game piracy, on the other hand, should be discouraged. If you pirate a crappy game and trash it in a week, fine. But if you keep playing it, you should buy it. Otherwise the game market will dry up.
If my link is throttled, then HOW I use that link is realy no business of my ISP's - unless I'm doing something that's actually against the law. If they don't have the infrastructure to support the bandwidth I'm paying for, that is not MY problem . If they can't support X users at Y bandwidth, then they have no business SELLING X users Y bandwidth.
In other venues, it's called fraud.
Unfortunately it is your problem. If you want cheap broadband, you're going to have to make some sacrafices. You can't expect an ISP to let you average near 500k/sec continuously over an entire month and still sell the account at less than $50. They can't get the bandwidth that cheaply! If you have a problem with it, go get a dedicated line. Sure it's expensive, but you're paying for what you get.
As for your fraud comment, look at overbookings in the airline industry. They overbook all the time because people don't always use what they buy. If they stopped the practice, they'd have to raise the ticket price. In the ISP industry, most users don't use the bandwidth they buy. They typically use less than a tenth of it. That intermittent usage allows the ISP to oversell bandwidth. Most of the time it works, except when the people use it constantly.
For those customers the ISPs have to make a choice: approach the customer about the bandwidth and see if they can reduce it, cancel the account, limit the bandwidth for that user, or pass on the loss to the other customers.
This just goes to prove Sturgeon's law:
Ninety percent of everything is crap.