check out the Bellona foundation's page : their Northern Fleet page is superbly detailed and they have tons of technical details about Russia's subs and surface ships. They even have some information about projects such as the Severodvinsk-class 4th-generation submarine class that got canned when the Berlin wall collapsed, or never got finished due to lack of funding.
"the Mars Odyssey spacecraft has detected large deposits of hydrogen at high latitudes using its neutron spectrometer. This may indicate significant water ice on the surface of Mars!"
Can this spectrometer also detect oxygen ? because it seems to me that if it detects large deposits of oxygen at exactly the same place as the large deposits of hydrogens, about, say, half the amount of hydrogen detected, then there is a really good chance that the deposits of hydrogens are water, and not some silly hydrate that wouldn't be usable by a Martian colony.
And water isn't all a Martian colony needs : if oxygen is found, there will be at least the raw material to give a Martian colony a chance of breathing something usable, so the rocket that propels them there doesn't have to carry tons and tons of the stuffs from Earth.
"Anti-virus software vendors said Monday they don't want to create a loophole in their security products to let the FBI or other government agencies use a virus to eavesdrop on the computer communications of suspected criminals."
And in 1968, the Hugues Glomar Explorer was looking for nodules on the pacific floor...
Seriously though, how plausible do you think the following scenario is :
McAfee receptionist: Hello gentlemen, how can I direct you ?
Men in black: [showing their IDs] We work for the department of Homeland security. We need to speak to the CEO at once. You also are not to mention our visit to anyone by measure of national security.
MR: [picking up the phone] Mr. Sampath, important visitors for you.
Srivats Sampath: What can I do for you folks ?
MIB: Your company is under strict orders from the FBI and the department of Homeland security to provide appropriate backdoors in the software it produces. These backdoors are confidential-defense and must be revealed to the following persons only : [list of persons]. Any of you or your employees who have knowledge of these backdoors who reveals the existence of the backdoors will be detained and judged by a military court. Any question ?
SS: [going into brown alert] Yes yes Mister, anything you say. Have a good day Sir.
SS: [later, talking to the PR guy] John, write the following press annoucement and send it immediately to PRNewsWire : McAfee will NOT NEVER EVER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES NOT ON YOUR LIFE install any backdoor ever in our software. Never ever. Promise.
You think I'm paranoid ? Heck yes I am. The above is a bad fiction, and if nothing else, it certainly shows that I have no knowledge of who does what in the government, but my point is : none of these anti-viruses are open-source, how the hell are we supposed to know they're saying the truth ? especially nowaday, can you really trust anybody even remotely involved in computer security to tell you the truth ? Well, I'm taking the easy way out of that dilemma and I'm sticking to "alternative operating systems" that don't require proprietary anti-virus softwares in the first place, and that are known not to contain backdoors as long as the user administers the box properly.
"The bank claimed the allegations were fabricated and demanded the story be retracted. The court ruled that the online journalist was protected under the First Amendment"...
Okay, please forgive me if the following question is dumb, I am a law idiot :
If the story is indeed fabricated and the bank can prove it, doesn't the journalist's story become libel ? As long as the bank doesn't have proof that the allegations are false, isn't the article simply considered an opinion ?
If the article is considered libel, can't the journalist (or the newspaper) be prosecuted, 1st amendment or not ?
"Therein lies the problem, because if "free software" = ILLEGAL, then doesn't it follow that "Free Software" = ILLEGAL as well (in the mind of the common man)?"
You're right, and it's not new : when do you think was the last time the average Joe Sixpack heard the term "hacker" and thought of someone trying to disassemble things to understand how they work ? "hacker" today means "pirate", and although I like to think of myself as a hacker, it's been years I haven't been confident stating that to anybody (mainly because I'd have to explain the difference to someone who's already instantly convinced he/she's dealing with a thief).
"That is a scary, but interesting thought to contemplate, that of the manipulation of the masses through words, by the BSA (which may or may not be a front organization for Microsoft - anybody got data to back that assertation up?), with the goal to ultimately cause Linux and other Free Software to be viewed as illegal, with the intention of destroying the movement."
Interesting, I hadn't thought about it that way. It's just really plausible. Hmmm...
"Or maybe I am just overly paranoid, hmm...?"
Probably, and you should be. Everybody needs a healthy dose of paranoia in this business. But if you're also schizophrenic like I am, it's okay because you outnumber your enemies 2 to 1;-)
"While the availability of free software over the Internet is a growing problem, the largest loss comes from unlicensed copying in the workplace, said Robert M. Kruger, vice president for enforcement at the BSA."
Mr. Kruger is right : why isn't somebody doing something about these "kernel.org" and "gnu.org" people who make all that evil free software available to everybody ?
"The computer software industry loses $12 billion per year due to piracy, according to a May 2001 report by the piracy-fighting Business Software Alliance."
And guess which company is the most prominent member of the BSA ? (hint : it's a monopoly that milks the software industry)
Consider the technologies and what you expect from it. Mainly, the technologies are :
Magnetic storage : the data is sensitive to electromagnetic fields, heat, and the magnetism in the ferrite particules decays over time (i.e. the data has a reasonable chance to get corrupted after 5 to 10 years, even if the media is properly stored). Also, reading a magnetic medium can wear out the medium, but that's not an issue if you just want backups. The bit density on these media is good, and the price per megabyte is excellent.
Optical storage : there is no decay in theory, but I read somewhere that pressed CDs actually have a lifespan of 20 to 30 years even when properly stored, and CDR(W) even much less, especially when stored exposed to sunlight. I'm not certain there is much real-life data on the durability of DVDs. The bit density is good, but not as good as magnetic storage, and the price per megabyte, I guess, is comparable, but mastering optical media requires more effort.
I'm not considering the fact that magnetic storage media are re-writable, since you're talking about doing backups. So I guess, the question really boils down to whether or not you want to have backups that are more reliable over time, and whether or not you want to spend the time and effort to create CDs or DVDs of your data.
Then of course, there is the question of obsolescence : CDs have been around for years, and I don't think they're going to disappear any time soon. However, tapes for example can become unreadable because nobody makes readers anymore (ever tried to re-read a 80Mb Colorado tape recently ?). Same goes for hard-drives, although I'll admit IDE and SCSI interfaces will be around for quite a while longer.
Then of course, if you really badly want your data stored safely for the longest time, you can get yourself an old punchcard deck, a very large box of punchcards, and there is a fair chance that some archeologist in the year 4000 will find them in a dig just above where you house used to be;-)
Just imagine if someone creates alt.history.usenet_archive that would contain the archive of all usenet messages (including alt.history.usenet_archive, (including alt.history.usenet_archive, (including alt.history.usenet_archive, (including alt.history.usenet_archive...))))...
Good thing Google made a Usenet archive without using a news server !
/. isn't good at repeating its own stories anymore
on
Geminid Meteor Shower
·
· Score: 0, Troll
"Looks like Win98 is slated for execution June 30, 2003."
Okay, so I admit Win95 and Win98 are truly atrocious DOS-based turds, and M$ is technically right to phase them out.
*but*
Consider this : have you ever tried RealNetwork's RealPlayer ? you'd download the free version, install it, then after a while, it tells you that it didn't want to work anymore and that you have to go download a newer version from RealNetwork's site. You're happy with the version you have, but the software maker refuses to let you decide whether or not you want to keep the old version and not go through the pain of re-installing again.
Well, similarly, there are a whole lot of people out there who have a Win9x OS installed, and a bunch of apps that work reasonably well with it, and they'd be quite happy to keep using it. But M$ has decided to discontinue support for Win9x, so in effect, they've decided for the user what they should use. RealPlayer is a royal pain in the @ss when it disables itself, but at least it's free. When M$ discontinues support for Win9x, they slowly and painlessly force you to go *buy* a newer version of their OS !
Of course, it's nothing new, every manufacturer in the world (software, hardware, automotive...) ends up discontinuing products, but usually it's only after the product is really very deprecated. I can still find aftermarket parts for my 30 year old car for example, but who's going to make aftermarket "parts" for Win9x ? nobody, because M$ is the only one to know what is in their products. And do you think a 5 year old OS is deprecated ? Linus Torvalds probably begs to differ.
So at the end of the day, it just goes to show that people should really consider opensource OSes as a long-term alternative for Windows : in 15 years, if you don't find a driver for your Linux kernel v1.2, you can always end up making it yourself if it's important enough to you. Or you can recompile this old program that you really need badly. Just like I can adapt parts from other brands of cars to mine, or even remanufacture one from scratch if I have to, because the car isn't "closed source".
In short, fsck planned obsolescence and fsck Micro$oft...
I submit that Schmidt is in fact very very well placed to know about most if not all vulnerabilities and (possibly) backdoors in Micro$oft products. I bet the guy will be working actively on methods to snoop on Windows users, extract their data and intall trojans in their systems (Magic Lantern anyone ?).
Here's a guy who was working for the largest software monopoly in history and now works as security honcho for the most powerful government in history, with people like Ashcroft in it. Makes my nose bleed just thinking about it. The more I see what's happening in Micro$oft's giant sphere of influence, the more I'm glad to be a Linux user, that's for damn sure.
If NASA starts concentrating on Pluto now, I can't imagine where the Mars Society crackpots will setup their formica space station to train for the planet's environment.
"Sure IBM is the 800 pound gorilla of the tech world, but wouldn't the MPAA and RIAA be a 950,000 kilo crocodile compared to it?"
The RIAA is a business association, so it's more like a very large community of monkeys, the sum of all the monkeys weighting probably as much as your crocodile.
But seriously though, the RIAA is not so stupid as to sue IBM. No no, instead they would sue uServ users one by one (or simply threaten them with a couple of C&Ds). They only go after people when they're sure to win, like when they went after Napster.
"There's a program to do the seperating of tracks for you here"
I knew about programs like this for ripping vinyls. However, I don't think I would use that on CDs : I can think of at least two of my CDs where two or more tracks "never stop", i.e. there is one very long musical segment that the producer of the CD decided to split in several tracks. In that case, blank detection won't work.
Slashdot Mirror
check out the Bellona foundation's page : their Northern Fleet page is superbly detailed and they have tons of technical details about Russia's subs and surface ships. They even have some information about projects such as the Severodvinsk-class 4th-generation submarine class that got canned when the Berlin wall collapsed, or never got finished due to lack of funding.
Can this spectrometer also detect oxygen ? because it seems to me that if it detects large deposits of oxygen at exactly the same place as the large deposits of hydrogens, about, say, half the amount of hydrogen detected, then there is a really good chance that the deposits of hydrogens are water, and not some silly hydrate that wouldn't be usable by a Martian colony.
And water isn't all a Martian colony needs : if oxygen is found, there will be at least the raw material to give a Martian colony a chance of breathing something usable, so the rocket that propels them there doesn't have to carry tons and tons of the stuffs from Earth.
is very cool.
If someone could find a way to turn mercury into gold, [blah blah]
If a person could find an function f(x) that returns the xth prime number, [blah blah]
If only it was easy to find any decimal of PI with a simple formula, [blah blah]
If only I could make up a nice AskSlashdot to get my story posted, [blah blah]
And in 1968, the Hugues Glomar Explorer was looking for nodules on the pacific floor ...
Seriously though, how plausible do you think the following scenario is :
McAfee receptionist : Hello gentlemen, how can I direct you ?
Men in black : [showing their IDs] We work for the department of Homeland security. We need to speak to the CEO at once. You also are not to mention our visit to anyone by measure of national security.
MR : [picking up the phone] Mr. Sampath, important visitors for you.
Srivats Sampath : What can I do for you folks ?
MIB : Your company is under strict orders from the FBI and the department of Homeland security to provide appropriate backdoors in the software it produces. These backdoors are confidential-defense and must be revealed to the following persons only : [list of persons]. Any of you or your employees who have knowledge of these backdoors who reveals the existence of the backdoors will be detained and judged by a military court. Any question ?
SS : [going into brown alert] Yes yes Mister, anything you say. Have a good day Sir.
SS : [later, talking to the PR guy] John, write the following press annoucement and send it immediately to PRNewsWire : McAfee will NOT NEVER EVER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES NOT ON YOUR LIFE install any backdoor ever in our software. Never ever. Promise.
You think I'm paranoid ? Heck yes I am. The above is a bad fiction, and if nothing else, it certainly shows that I have no knowledge of who does what in the government, but my point is : none of these anti-viruses are open-source, how the hell are we supposed to know they're saying the truth ? especially nowaday, can you really trust anybody even remotely involved in computer security to tell you the truth ? Well, I'm taking the easy way out of that dilemma and I'm sticking to "alternative operating systems" that don't require proprietary anti-virus softwares in the first place, and that are known not to contain backdoors as long as the user administers the box properly.
"being slashdotted" or "karma whore" ? after all, /. is science-fiction, even it's a lot more fiction than science.
Does this has anything to do with the current /. poll ? If so, should we expected to find CowboyNeal in the Oxford dictionary anytime soon ?
Okay, please forgive me if the following question is dumb, I am a law idiot :
If the story is indeed fabricated and the bank can prove it, doesn't the journalist's story become libel ? As long as the bank doesn't have proof that the allegations are false, isn't the article simply considered an opinion ?
If the article is considered libel, can't the journalist (or the newspaper) be prosecuted, 1st amendment or not ?
You're right, and it's not new : when do you think was the last time the average Joe Sixpack heard the term "hacker" and thought of someone trying to disassemble things to understand how they work ? "hacker" today means "pirate", and although I like to think of myself as a hacker, it's been years I haven't been confident stating that to anybody (mainly because I'd have to explain the difference to someone who's already instantly convinced he/she's dealing with a thief).
"That is a scary, but interesting thought to contemplate, that of the manipulation of the masses through words, by the BSA (which may or may not be a front organization for Microsoft - anybody got data to back that assertation up?), with the goal to ultimately cause Linux and other Free Software to be viewed as illegal, with the intention of destroying the movement."
Interesting, I hadn't thought about it that way. It's just really plausible. Hmmm ...
"Or maybe I am just overly paranoid, hmm...?"
Probably, and you should be. Everybody needs a healthy dose of paranoia in this business. But if you're also schizophrenic like I am, it's okay because you outnumber your enemies 2 to 1 ;-)
Mr. Kruger is right : why isn't somebody doing something about these "kernel.org" and "gnu.org" people who make all that evil free software available to everybody ?
And guess which company is the most prominent member of the BSA ? (hint : it's a monopoly that milks the software industry)
Magnetic storage : the data is sensitive to electromagnetic fields, heat, and the magnetism in the ferrite particules decays over time (i.e. the data has a reasonable chance to get corrupted after 5 to 10 years, even if the media is properly stored). Also, reading a magnetic medium can wear out the medium, but that's not an issue if you just want backups. The bit density on these media is good, and the price per megabyte is excellent.
Optical storage : there is no decay in theory, but I read somewhere that pressed CDs actually have a lifespan of 20 to 30 years even when properly stored, and CDR(W) even much less, especially when stored exposed to sunlight. I'm not certain there is much real-life data on the durability of DVDs. The bit density is good, but not as good as magnetic storage, and the price per megabyte, I guess, is comparable, but mastering optical media requires more effort.
I'm not considering the fact that magnetic storage media are re-writable, since you're talking about doing backups. So I guess, the question really boils down to whether or not you want to have backups that are more reliable over time, and whether or not you want to spend the time and effort to create CDs or DVDs of your data.
Then of course, there is the question of obsolescence : CDs have been around for years, and I don't think they're going to disappear any time soon. However, tapes for example can become unreadable because nobody makes readers anymore (ever tried to re-read a 80Mb Colorado tape recently ?). Same goes for hard-drives, although I'll admit IDE and SCSI interfaces will be around for quite a while longer.
Then of course, if you really badly want your data stored safely for the longest time, you can get yourself an old punchcard deck, a very large box of punchcards, and there is a fair chance that some archeologist in the year 4000 will find them in a dig just above where you house used to be ;-)
Good thing Google made a Usenet archive without using a news server !
Gee /. posters, pay attention, it's "Leonid", not "Geminid" ...
Okay, so I admit Win95 and Win98 are truly atrocious DOS-based turds, and M$ is technically right to phase them out.
*but*
Consider this : have you ever tried RealNetwork's RealPlayer ? you'd download the free version, install it, then after a while, it tells you that it didn't want to work anymore and that you have to go download a newer version from RealNetwork's site. You're happy with the version you have, but the software maker refuses to let you decide whether or not you want to keep the old version and not go through the pain of re-installing again.
Well, similarly, there are a whole lot of people out there who have a Win9x OS installed, and a bunch of apps that work reasonably well with it, and they'd be quite happy to keep using it. But M$ has decided to discontinue support for Win9x, so in effect, they've decided for the user what they should use. RealPlayer is a royal pain in the @ss when it disables itself, but at least it's free. When M$ discontinues support for Win9x, they slowly and painlessly force you to go *buy* a newer version of their OS !
Of course, it's nothing new, every manufacturer in the world (software, hardware, automotive ...) ends up discontinuing products, but usually it's only after the product is really very deprecated. I can still find aftermarket parts for my 30 year old car for example, but who's going to make aftermarket "parts" for Win9x ? nobody, because M$ is the only one to know what is in their products. And do you think a 5 year old OS is deprecated ? Linus Torvalds probably begs to differ.
So at the end of the day, it just goes to show that people should really consider opensource OSes as a long-term alternative for Windows : in 15 years, if you don't find a driver for your Linux kernel v1.2, you can always end up making it yourself if it's important enough to you. Or you can recompile this old program that you really need badly. Just like I can adapt parts from other brands of cars to mine, or even remanufacture one from scratch if I have to, because the car isn't "closed source".
In short, fsck planned obsolescence and fsck Micro$oft ...
Oh I see ...
I bet they even submitted the link themselves ...
Is this Italian for "nulled out" ?
Here's a guy who was working for the largest software monopoly in history and now works as security honcho for the most powerful government in history, with people like Ashcroft in it. Makes my nose bleed just thinking about it. The more I see what's happening in Micro$oft's giant sphere of influence, the more I'm glad to be a Linux user, that's for damn sure.
Do you really think Tony Blair or G.W. Bush are fully human ?
If NASA starts concentrating on Pluto now, I can't imagine where the Mars Society crackpots will setup their formica space station to train for the planet's environment.
The RIAA is a business association, so it's more like a very large community of monkeys, the sum of all the monkeys weighting probably as much as your crocodile.
But seriously though, the RIAA is not so stupid as to sue IBM. No no, instead they would sue uServ users one by one (or simply threaten them with a couple of C&Ds). They only go after people when they're sure to win, like when they went after Napster.
I can't wait to see the RIAA try to sue IBM. God I love this industry ...
I have a Seiko kinetic on my wrist that tells me reality goes faster than Slashdot (and tells me the time too).
I knew about programs like this for ripping vinyls. However, I don't think I would use that on CDs : I can think of at least two of my CDs where two or more tracks "never stop", i.e. there is one very long musical segment that the producer of the CD decided to split in several tracks. In that case, blank detection won't work.