You know, Microsoft keeps claiming that it need the freedom to innovate, and then we all jump all over them claiming that they've stolen all the hardware and software that they've put out. Maybe they're not referring to technology innovations. I think they're referring to business practice innovations. They're finding new ways to use contracts to force OEM manufacturers and consumers into a circle of profit for them.
This bothers me. How long was it known that there was this flaw in the kernel? Why didn't we hear about it before? Why wasn't there a simple patch to 2.2.15 that eliminated the flaw (as opposed to the few extra features we got in 2.2.16)? I guess it's possible that it's not a very easy to exploit bug, since Alan Cox, in the announcement, said he didn't recommend updating unless you had untrusted users.
That's actually the beauty of the techniques used by companies like Akamai and Sandpiper. They take the burden off the end user for finding a local mirror. When you try to access a pages on their servers, it automatically selects the closest one to you.
Well, we still have crappy music and the industry is thriving. I'd say that the crappy music (that is, the stuff with mass appeal like TRL) is what's keeping it alive.
With regard to the second quote: if he feels that he's overpaid, he should give his music away or sell it for less, but he still has the right to be overpaid if he wants to. If people are willing to pay for his music, why not? On the other hand, artists that do not feel they are overpaid should have the right to get the proceeds from their work.
I am reminded of a great quote from A Man for All Seasons: Thomas More: This country is planted thick with laws from coast to coast. Man's laws, not God's. And if you cut them down--and you're just the man to do it--do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then?
For your ISP connection you wouldn't want the government listening in, but he's wanting to post stuff that he wants people to see, so tapping isn't really a problem. On the other hand, if Russia is willing to pass laws that allow easy tapping, what are the laws regarding shutting it down (the real issue here)?
I don't understand Katz's anger at the violations of privacy that he seems to think Metallica has perpetrated. If you want to use Napster, you are required to create a log-in name and password. If you're required to give them some kind of identification, how can you expect to be anonymous? People who know how the Internet works (even on a very basic level) know that it's a trivial matter to see the IP address of a computer you're connecting to. The people that have been caught have no reasonable expectation of privacy.
I also am upset by Katz's assumption that these are "kids." I suppose that some people may consider us kids, but as a college student I am amazed by the level of music piracy going on here. We have free, fast Internet connections in our dorm rooms, so most student have MTV on their TV, and when they hear a song they like, they turn around, get on Napster, and download it. Now, after criticizing Katz for assuming they're kids, I can't really assume they're college students, but colleges have been banning Napster faster than ISP's.
Katz seems to think that using intimidation is a bad thing. I think Metallica is trying to show people that you can't get the product of their labor and give it away for free. They are trying to show people that there are consequences to stealing property, even if it is intellectual property, and if the lawsuits keep other people from pirating music, then we're all (US citizens) saving money from not having to pay for the court costs in more lawsuits. Personally, I hope Metallica wins. I'd much rather see criminals punished for using Napster as a medium for theft than see the entire medium be banned.
Expect them to use some kind of "secure," proprietary format with a player that can read the datestamp and disable it. Someone will crack it, yes, but we don't know how long it will take.
I still think that a subscription model would be great for movies and music. They've got to make it easier to find the music I want and pay for it than it would be for me to pirate it. If I could have access to, for example, every Nine Inch Nails album for $20 a month, for streaming from anywhere, I'd pay it, and over a year they'd have made just as much money as I've spent on the CD's.
So, since an industry as a whole is successful, it is okay to steal from them? If I stole millions of dollars from a bank, would that be okay since the banking industry is hardly going, "belly up"?
You misunderstand his argument. He's pointing out that the MPAA is saying that with online piracy, they'll go belly up, while the software industry has online piracy and has not gone belly up. It's still not OK to pirate, but it's going to happen, and if the software industry can deal with it, so can the movie industry. It may not be right, but it's going to happen some day anyway.
I tried smartplay, but since it creates a matrix of all your MP3's it takes about 10 minutes to load/save its database of my 2000 MP3's. Cool idea, though.
For me, it's more than not wanting them tracking me. I don't want to support a company that tracks people. That's why I installed the Internet Junkbuster, and I have it set to block anything from doubelick.net.
The Internet Junkbuster is a non-caching proxy that you run on your local computer. You tell it URL's to block and sites that you want to allow cookies from. It's really great. I can deny ads from doubleclick and any other company, as well as anything else I feel like blocking. It supports regexes for those that want them. I can allow cookies from Slashdot and deny them from everyone else.
That's true. In addition to the "Making of" special that was shown on HBO, the DVD has a special showing how "bullet time" was done. It shows stage by stage, from the setup of the cameras, to the jumpy shot done in front of a green screen, to the final composited scene. "What is Bullet Time?" is chapter 19 or 22 (both work), and you might want to also check out chapter 33, which is a behind-the-scenes about the rooftop fight.
First off, I'd like to say that I don't think there's any way to stop research into these areas. Humans are curious, and we're not going to stop just because people tell us to.
Jon seems to have the assumption that discriminating based on genetics is bad. Is it, though? I agree that discrimination based on color, beliefs, or nationality is bad, but that's because none of those issues determine a person's worth intellectually or physically. When we're talking about sending people on space missions, though, it's important to pick someone who is not flawed physically. There's no reason why the character in Gattacca shouldn't have had a desk job at some random company, but weaseling his way into space flight just hurt society.
Discrimination is not all bad; we need to be careful about the basis of our discrimination and whether it is consistent with what we need. If we're picking someone to be a taxi driver, we don't need someone with an exceptional intelligence (not to knock taxi drivers), but when hiring a college professor, it's a definite asset.. We discriminate when we hire people for jobs now, and genetics just gives us more information. That information can be used when we need to pick a good Shuttle astronaut, and it can be safely ignored when we're hiring a new janitor. People with heart conditions should be discriminated against for jobs in which their heart condition can cause harm but not for jobs in which it's irrelevant.
That's my point: there is no way to do a 128 bit brute force, at least not on an abstract cipher. Even a quantum computer will only be able to break in with 2**64 effort (or 2**84 with 168 bit 3DES keys). A quantum computer with that kind of power is decades away, and while the NSA does have advanced tech, it's highly unlikely that they're 20 years ahead of state-of-the-art.
The point is that they might not have to brute-force it. It's possible that they've found a way to factor very large numbers, a breakthrough which would render all the current ciphers useless. In addition, the NSA being 20 years ahead of the public is not unheard of. Hopefully someone who knows better than me can elaborate, but I believe that when DES was being developed, the NSA made some suggestions that no one could figure out. They seemed useless at the time, but 20 years later, when the public discovered differential cryptanalysis, the suggestions were what kept the cipher safe. The logical conclusion would be that the NSA knew about DC 20 years before the public.
Re:If it's really so harmless... User Experience
on
Another Software Spy
·
· Score: 1
Having to confirm that stuff every boot of every game would get annoying quickly. It is really bad UI design to use confirmation dialogs when doing anything other than deleting.
How about a one-time confirmation at install time? It asks you things like where you want it installed, and I think this is at least as important.
It was done and this was a fully known issue in all previous test versions of q3. It was cleanly documented and disableable via the console. You make such a big point of reading the documentation, yet it seems you missed this little nugget.
Could you please provide a reference? I can't find documentation of this anywhere.
CDDB only records your email address when you submit a new disc. If you're just looking up disc info (like if your player is requesting a track listing), no email address is sent or recorded.
I've got to say that Bill Gates is one of the worst public speakers I've ever heard. In he "video" press release that he released yesterday he looked like he was trying not to laugh. The Judge has said that he hurt consumers and stifled innovation, but he still insists that he's helping consumers. Does anyone still believe him?
Check it out, Slashdot: Google Does Linux dated Aug 6, 1998. Google had the link to the Linux search on their front page at that point, then they moved the link; now it's on the front page again. It has always been there. *sigh*
Look at the press release. It's from July, 1997. I've seen this picture in books. Why is it on Slashdot? I could understand some breakthrough, but this site is "News for Nerds," and this story isn't news.
I've got two usable hands, but I got a BAT Personal Keyboard from Infogrip. It's great for quick typing tasks, like reading email or typing URL's, but it wouldn't cut it for anything like writing papers.
Slashdot Mirror
You know, Microsoft keeps claiming that it need the freedom to innovate, and then we all jump all over them claiming that they've stolen all the hardware and software that they've put out. Maybe they're not referring to technology innovations. I think they're referring to business practice innovations. They're finding new ways to use contracts to force OEM manufacturers and consumers into a circle of profit for them.
This bothers me. How long was it known that there was this flaw in the kernel? Why didn't we hear about it before? Why wasn't there a simple patch to 2.2.15 that eliminated the flaw (as opposed to the few extra features we got in 2.2.16)? I guess it's possible that it's not a very easy to exploit bug, since Alan Cox, in the announcement, said he didn't recommend updating unless you had untrusted users.
I believe he meant that the server side would be written in Java. If done properly, we would see no difference (besides a possible speed difference).
That's actually the beauty of the techniques used by companies like Akamai and Sandpiper. They take the burden off the end user for finding a local mirror. When you try to access a pages on their servers, it automatically selects the closest one to you.
I think Apple's innovation ranks right up there with Microsoft's, except that they don't try to squash whomever they steal from.
I haven't seen anything to indicate that this was stolen from someone else. It looks like Apple invented it. What makes you say that they stole it?
Well, we still have crappy music and the industry is thriving. I'd say that the crappy music (that is, the stuff with mass appeal like TRL) is what's keeping it alive.
With regard to the second quote: if he feels that he's overpaid, he should give his music away or sell it for less, but he still has the right to be overpaid if he wants to. If people are willing to pay for his music, why not? On the other hand, artists that do not feel they are overpaid should have the right to get the proceeds from their work.
I am reminded of a great quote from A Man for All Seasons:
Thomas More: This country is planted thick with laws from coast to coast. Man's laws, not God's. And if you cut them down--and you're just the man to do it--do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then?
For your ISP connection you wouldn't want the government listening in, but he's wanting to post stuff that he wants people to see, so tapping isn't really a problem. On the other hand, if Russia is willing to pass laws that allow easy tapping, what are the laws regarding shutting it down (the real issue here)?
I don't understand Katz's anger at the violations of privacy that he seems to think Metallica has perpetrated. If you want to use Napster, you are required to create a log-in name and password. If you're required to give them some kind of identification, how can you expect to be anonymous? People who know how the Internet works (even on a very basic level) know that it's a trivial matter to see the IP address of a computer you're connecting to. The people that have been caught have no reasonable expectation of privacy.
I also am upset by Katz's assumption that these are "kids." I suppose that some people may consider us kids, but as a college student I am amazed by the level of music piracy going on here. We have free, fast Internet connections in our dorm rooms, so most student have MTV on their TV, and when they hear a song they like, they turn around, get on Napster, and download it. Now, after criticizing Katz for assuming they're kids, I can't really assume they're college students, but colleges have been banning Napster faster than ISP's.
Katz seems to think that using intimidation is a bad thing. I think Metallica is trying to show people that you can't get the product of their labor and give it away for free. They are trying to show people that there are consequences to stealing property, even if it is intellectual property, and if the lawsuits keep other people from pirating music, then we're all (US citizens) saving money from not having to pay for the court costs in more lawsuits. Personally, I hope Metallica wins. I'd much rather see criminals punished for using Napster as a medium for theft than see the entire medium be banned.
Expect them to use some kind of "secure," proprietary format with a player that can read the datestamp and disable it. Someone will crack it, yes, but we don't know how long it will take.
I still think that a subscription model would be great for movies and music. They've got to make it easier to find the music I want and pay for it than it would be for me to pirate it. If I could have access to, for example, every Nine Inch Nails album for $20 a month, for streaming from anywhere, I'd pay it, and over a year they'd have made just as much money as I've spent on the CD's.
Did I miss something? Where did the Marilyn Manson reference come from?
You misunderstand his argument. He's pointing out that the MPAA is saying that with online piracy, they'll go belly up, while the software industry has online piracy and has not gone belly up. It's still not OK to pirate, but it's going to happen, and if the software industry can deal with it, so can the movie industry. It may not be right, but it's going to happen some day anyway.
I tried smartplay, but since it creates a matrix of all your MP3's it takes about 10 minutes to load/save its database of my 2000 MP3's. Cool idea, though.
For me, it's more than not wanting them tracking me. I don't want to support a company that tracks people. That's why I installed the Internet Junkbuster, and I have it set to block anything from doubelick.net.
The Internet Junkbuster is a non-caching proxy that you run on your local computer. You tell it URL's to block and sites that you want to allow cookies from. It's really great. I can deny ads from doubleclick and any other company, as well as anything else I feel like blocking. It supports regexes for those that want them. I can allow cookies from Slashdot and deny them from everyone else.
There are now live links just below the top story on CNN.com, but they don't seem to be showing it on television.
That's true. In addition to the "Making of" special that was shown on HBO, the DVD has a special showing how "bullet time" was done. It shows stage by stage, from the setup of the cameras, to the jumpy shot done in front of a green screen, to the final composited scene. "What is Bullet Time?" is chapter 19 or 22 (both work), and you might want to also check out chapter 33, which is a behind-the-scenes about the rooftop fight.
First off, I'd like to say that I don't think there's any way to stop research into these areas. Humans are curious, and we're not going to stop just because people tell us to.
Jon seems to have the assumption that discriminating based on genetics is bad. Is it, though? I agree that discrimination based on color, beliefs, or nationality is bad, but that's because none of those issues determine a person's worth intellectually or physically. When we're talking about sending people on space missions, though, it's important to pick someone who is not flawed physically. There's no reason why the character in Gattacca shouldn't have had a desk job at some random company, but weaseling his way into space flight just hurt society.
Discrimination is not all bad; we need to be careful about the basis of our discrimination and whether it is consistent with what we need. If we're picking someone to be a taxi driver, we don't need someone with an exceptional intelligence (not to knock taxi drivers), but when hiring a college professor, it's a definite asset.. We discriminate when we hire people for jobs now, and genetics just gives us more information. That information can be used when we need to pick a good Shuttle astronaut, and it can be safely ignored when we're hiring a new janitor. People with heart conditions should be discriminated against for jobs in which their heart condition can cause harm but not for jobs in which it's irrelevant.
That's my point: there is no way to do a 128 bit brute force, at least not
on an abstract cipher. Even a quantum computer will only be able to break in
with 2**64 effort (or 2**84 with 168 bit 3DES keys). A quantum computer
with that kind of power is decades away, and while the NSA does have
advanced tech, it's highly unlikely that they're 20 years ahead of
state-of-the-art.
The point is that they might not have to brute-force it. It's possible that they've found a way to factor very large numbers, a breakthrough which would render all the current ciphers useless. In addition, the NSA being 20 years ahead of the public is not unheard of. Hopefully someone who knows better than me can elaborate, but I believe that when DES was being developed, the NSA made some suggestions that no one could figure out. They seemed useless at the time, but 20 years later, when the public discovered differential cryptanalysis, the suggestions were what kept the cipher safe. The logical conclusion would be that the NSA knew about DC 20 years before the public.
Having to confirm that stuff every boot of every game would get annoying quickly. It is really bad UI design to use confirmation dialogs when
doing anything other than deleting.
How about a one-time confirmation at install time? It asks you things like where you want it installed, and I think this is at least as important.
It was done and this was a fully known issue in all previous test versions of q3. It was cleanly documented and disableable via the console. You make such a big point of reading the documentation, yet it seems you missed this little nugget.
Could you please provide a reference? I can't find documentation of this anywhere.
CDDB only records your email address when you submit a new disc. If you're just looking up disc info (like if your player is requesting a track listing), no email address is sent or recorded.
Jay Tamboli
I've got to say that Bill Gates is one of the worst public speakers I've ever heard. In he "video" press release that he released yesterday he looked like he was trying not to laugh. The Judge has said that he hurt consumers and stifled innovation, but he still insists that he's helping consumers. Does anyone still believe him?
Check it out, Slashdot: Google Does Linux dated Aug 6, 1998. Google had the link to the Linux search on their front page at that point, then they moved the link; now it's on the front page again. It has always been there. *sigh*
Look at the press release. It's from July, 1997. I've seen this picture in books. Why is it on Slashdot? I could understand some breakthrough, but this site is "News for Nerds," and this story isn't news.
I've got two usable hands, but I got a BAT Personal Keyboard from Infogrip. It's great for quick typing tasks, like reading email or typing URL's, but it wouldn't cut it for anything like writing papers.