Perhaps we are looking at this the wrong way round? Could it be that their intention was to block all of SoMe, politics and wikipedia, to allow students to concentrate, discourage c&p homework, and to encourage students to think for themselves? The "think of the children, block the pr0n" is just a cover.
And I missed the point where OP said someone had already made the open-source stuff available for free - in the windows app store. Just because its open source doesn't automatically mean you can "apt-get install" it on Windows.
Mine does. It's hosted on github, so label the issue as "bug" if the documentation is wrong, or "enhancement" if it is missing. I promise nobody is going to flame you, and the fact that you show interest probably will make the documentation appear, even if you don't contribute it yourself.
He says that 80% of the fiber in the world runs through the US, 80% of the calls in the world are recorded.
That has to be complete and utter bullshit. Why would a domestic call be routed through a country on the other side of the world, just because there happens to be fiber optic cables there? And all domestic calls outside of the USA account for just 20% of the total? I doubt it.
Are you mad when car turn signals blink? Even brake lights turn on and off in an attempted to get people's attention.
This is the crux of my point. Blinking lights mean something exceptional is happening, like someone stopping, turning or overtaking. A cyclist going their way is not exceptional, and having the tail (or front!) light blink is "crying wolf". Interesting link, thanks. Seems I am not alone in my opininon:
A flashing beacon on a bicycle yielded a greater detection but not recognition distance when compared with reflectors (588m versus 444m and 59m versus 71m respectively).
How is it the fault of the US Government when news agencies are going at each other neck-and-neck, to have the latest, sensationalist story (to drive up ad revenue)?
By having such laws that allow these unscrupulous news agenices to do what they do? See: everything can always be blamed on the government.
But I'd sure like to know how someone arrived from "arrested in the Maledives" to "arrested by US Secret Service". One heck of an interpolation.
In all these years, nobody has rear-ended me in the dark. Even if the back lights of my car doesn't blink. The battery argument I understand, but to that I say "Luxury!". We used to have dynamos on our bikes, and we could not even dream about rear lights.
Why should a rear light flash in the first place? I don't think it adds at all to a rear lights functionality, and does cause - at least for me - a rise in adrenaline: flashing usually means something is out of order, or exceptional (e.g. emergency vehicles or someone hitting the breaks).
IMHO, all patents patent an abstract idea to some extent. There is always an element of "we can do X to achieve Y" in any invention, and that is in my definition an "abstract idea". If there is no abstract idea behind a patent, then the invention most likely is "obvious", and not patentable.
Even if they started demand a working prototype/demo at the patent office would concrete implementations of "abstract ideas" be patented.
The problem is that the entire system is a quagmire, and it doesn't get any better by people yelling that "software patents are evil" - that's just missing the point.
Perhaps this was never done at MIT before, and that is the news? Speaking seriously, I feel sorry for MIT with all the nonsense headlines like this one, ridiculing the school over the past few years. It almost feels like someone is on a vendetta against MIT. Sure, the team might have done something new (didn't read TFP), all kudos to them for that. But was this truly the best thing since sliced bread?
These are not doctors and patients, but researchers. And the device in question is a passive recorder of brain activity (AFAIK).
Also, I don't think that many people want to record the brain activity of mice, so the biggest cost here is that the equipment is pretty custom made causing big non-recurring expenses.
Furthermore, an IC subcontractor had made a miniturized four dedicated custom ICs into one, and from the article it sounds this device was the first to use the new chip. Expect all other manufacturers to jump to this new chip too, probably shaving off big % of the total price.
This is news only for the intersection of the sets "neuroscientists" and "nerd". The rest of us are happily unafected.
I don't have a parking space at work, reserved or othervise. And the office furniture is uncomfortable as-is. Might just take up obesity for its benefits, if this law passes.
Well, at least our children (we?) are not fucked, as the previous generation managed to thwart the nuclear apocalypse. Should we do any less with the threat of the apocalypse we are facing now?
Slashdot Mirror
TFA is a F:n video!
Perhaps we are looking at this the wrong way round?
Could it be that their intention was to block all of SoMe, politics and wikipedia, to allow students to concentrate, discourage c&p homework, and to encourage students to think for themselves?
The "think of the children, block the pr0n" is just a cover.
And I missed the point where OP said someone had already made the open-source stuff available for free - in the windows app store.
Just because its open source doesn't automatically mean you can "apt-get install" it on Windows.
From TFA: the message that pops up to the victims ends with:
Copyright 2014 SynoLocker(TM) All Rights Reserved.
I have a real hard time respecting that copyright...
Make drugs (three of them), not war!
Intersting idea - how are you planning to sell this idea to the US military?
Teach me right not to c&p...
very large screen (close to 8 1/2 x 11 as possible) for reading legal documents, documentation, and basically the size that every PDF is aimed at
8.27 Ã-- 11.7 would be even better!
That is definetly not the environment attract the proper staff to build sports cars in.
We totally /.'d Youtube now - at the time of writing this, the video has been watched 2k times. After several hours of being on the /. front page.
Mine does. It's hosted on github, so label the issue as "bug" if the documentation is wrong, or "enhancement" if it is missing.
I promise nobody is going to flame you, and the fact that you show interest probably will make the documentation appear, even if you don't contribute it yourself.
American companies and companies in 5 eyes countries build most of the worlds telephone and internet systems.
At least Ericsson, Huawei, NSN and Alcatel-Lucent beg to differ...
So long as the NSA pays for the fiber, why would anyone object?
Let's route all our traffic once around the globe, just to get increase the lag?
No, does not compute.
He says that 80% of the fiber in the world runs through the US, 80% of the calls in the world are recorded.
That has to be complete and utter bullshit. Why would a domestic call be routed through a country on the other side of the world, just because there happens to be fiber optic cables there? And all domestic calls outside of the USA account for just 20% of the total? I doubt it.
I think any election a century or so ago qualifies now.
Are you mad when car turn signals blink? Even brake lights turn on and off in an attempted to get people's attention.
This is the crux of my point. Blinking lights mean something exceptional is happening, like someone stopping, turning or overtaking. A cyclist going their way is not exceptional, and having the tail (or front!) light blink is "crying wolf".
Interesting link, thanks. Seems I am not alone in my opininon:
A flashing beacon on a bicycle yielded a greater detection but not
recognition distance when compared with reflectors (588m versus
444m and 59m versus 71m respectively).
How is it the fault of the US Government when news agencies are going at each other neck-and-neck, to have the latest, sensationalist story (to drive up ad revenue)?
By having such laws that allow these unscrupulous news agenices to do what they do?
See: everything can always be blamed on the government.
But I'd sure like to know how someone arrived from "arrested in the Maledives" to "arrested by US Secret Service". One heck of an interpolation.
In all these years, nobody has rear-ended me in the dark. Even if the back lights of my car doesn't blink.
The battery argument I understand, but to that I say "Luxury!". We used to have dynamos on our bikes, and we could not even dream about rear lights.
Why should a rear light flash in the first place? I don't think it adds at all to a rear lights functionality, and does cause - at least for me - a rise in adrenaline: flashing usually means something is out of order, or exceptional (e.g. emergency vehicles or someone hitting the breaks).
Parent is modded +5 insightful ??
I was thinking +5 funny, or even a -1 off topic. Insightful is just wrong
IMHO, all patents patent an abstract idea to some extent. There is always an element of "we can do X to achieve Y" in any invention, and that is in my definition an "abstract idea". If there is no abstract idea behind a patent, then the invention most likely is "obvious", and not patentable.
Even if they started demand a working prototype/demo at the patent office would concrete implementations of "abstract ideas" be patented.
The problem is that the entire system is a quagmire, and it doesn't get any better by people yelling that "software patents are evil" - that's just missing the point.
This entire debate is a red herring.
You mean the rifled musket?
Fifty countries around the globe have already signed [...] including [...] the European Union.
Who cares about a secret trade agreement? Of course there are secret agreements... But that the EU finally shows its true colours - this is the news!
Perhaps this was never done at MIT before, and that is the news?
Speaking seriously, I feel sorry for MIT with all the nonsense headlines like this one, ridiculing the school over the past few years. It almost feels like someone is on a vendetta against MIT.
Sure, the team might have done something new (didn't read TFP), all kudos to them for that. But was this truly the best thing since sliced bread?
These are not doctors and patients, but researchers. And the device in question is a passive recorder of brain activity (AFAIK).
Also, I don't think that many people want to record the brain activity of mice, so the biggest cost here is that the equipment is pretty custom made causing big non-recurring expenses.
Furthermore, an IC subcontractor had made a miniturized four dedicated custom ICs into one, and from the article it sounds this device was the first to use the new chip. Expect all other manufacturers to jump to this new chip too, probably shaving off big % of the total price.
This is news only for the intersection of the sets "neuroscientists" and "nerd". The rest of us are happily unafected.
I don't have a parking space at work, reserved or othervise. And the office furniture is uncomfortable as-is. Might just take up obesity for its benefits, if this law passes.
Well, at least our children (we?) are not fucked, as the previous generation managed to thwart the nuclear apocalypse.
Should we do any less with the threat of the apocalypse we are facing now?