I've got AT&T Broadband in New Hampshire, and I recently found out something interesting. Apparently, AT&T has different TOS restrictions for different states/areas. In other states, the subscriber agreement specifically forbids servers of any kind. In NH, it simply says "it is the sole responsibility of the customer to keep their machines secure, including configuring any servers they choose to run."
I found this out when I mentioned servers while talking to a tech support guy, and he told me that servers were prohibited. I challenged him to show me the clause in the agreement that said this, and he pointed me to a web site. On the site, it asks for your zip code, and you get a different version of the agreement depending on your location. He was looking at the Massachusetts version, and I was looking at the New Hampshire one. Apparently he hadn't been aware of the distinction either until then:)
They might be picking random targets because they don't know any better. Things are getting so desperate that they'll attack anything that has the word "Music" in the title.
I vote we write a piece of software called MusicShareNet which does something trivial and unrelated, like editing text. Then we advertise it all over the place, and see if we can get the RIAA to panic and sue the authors:)
Re:We will always carry it with us...
on
MS DOS: A Eulogy
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· Score: 1
There's nothing a prompt cant handle!
Hmm, I seem to be having trouble playing Max Payne on just the command prompt... any idea what I might be doing wrong?
Want to see if we can do something about this? Everyone go grab a pen and mail a letter to the DoJ about this (err... better make that a fax... I bet they're not too keen on mail right now). Explain exactly what they're doing, and spell out why it's blatantly anticompetetive. Explain that the web is based on open standards so that any browser can be used, and that by doing this they are trying to strongarm people to use their browser only.
If the DoJ is aware of even half of what goes on, they'll be more capable of fighting a court battle.
In theory, this is absolutely the correct approach to take. However, for every smart person that does this, there is another person who goes: Duuuuh, ok, and "upgrades" their browser, thus fueling the monopoly.
If we were a majority, it would be a lot different. On the other hand, if we were a majority, ms would have been quashed a long time ago.
I have personally experienced Dell "tech-support", and I learned 2 things:
1. They don't really want to replace stuff, and will dodge the issue for as long as possible. You must be persistent. Don't let them hang up on you until the issue is resolved. In my case, it was a bad memory chip, and I had to demand to speak to a manager just to get them to send me a replacement. Yell, kick, and scream if necessary. If you're under warranty, they have to help you eventually.
2. Most of the tech support people are quite clueless and non-technical. (ironic, no?) So if step #1 fails, you can simply convince them that something ELSE is wrong. Invent some kind of severe hardware problem that would force them to replace the entire unit. As they run through their textbook list of tests, make up some symptoms that are consistent with your imaginary problem, and after a bit more kicking and screaming, you should have a brand new system.
I'm a big fan of the Microchip PIC family too, and I'm glad to see someone mention it. Some advice for anyone who wants to get started with PICs: don't go out and buy a $200 programmer, it's much cheaper to build one yourself.
First, choose which chip you want to use for most of your projects. The most popular for hobbyists (my personal choice too) is the pic16f84a. It can perform up to 5 million instructions per second, has 68 bytes of RAM and 64 bytes of static EEPROM. It costs around $4 per chip, but is fully reprogrammable, so you can reuse it as much as you want.
Then search the web for a programmer circuit for your PIC. Here is the one I built. It works very well and costs $20, total.
... is that I'm lazy and a procrastinator. I've been meaning to call/write my congressperson and senators for a week now, but I keep putting it off or forgetting it. To get me to do something, it needs to be easy, and it needs to be something I can't back out of once I start. Given that, I have a suggestion:
Remember when Microsoft sent out letters to people and told them to sign and send them to their representatives? Well, trying to force that on people was obviously silly, but the general idea was good. If I had a letter in my hand that said exactly what I wanted to express, and all I had to do was sign it and drop it in the mail, I'd have no reason to procrastinate.
Suppose we form a web site where good writers can put together coherent, intelligent letters on various issues. Concerned citizens can go to the site, browse the letters for one they like, and download it in a printer-friendly form. On the same site, they can also look up the address and fax numbers of their representatives, so all they have to do is sign it and mail it in.
Yes, I know the EFF has some of these features. However, it would be useful if the community could contribute sample letters, and if the process was even easier than it is now. Remember, the target audience is me, the lazy, disorganized procrastinator.
I just talked to one of my friends at microsoft, and apparently his workstation just got infected with the new virus. Good to see that they're reaping the benefits of their own products:)
If I understand how GPS works, it wouldn't be useful at all in this case. GPS satellites essientially broadcast a strong signal to the ground, and this signal is measured by receivers, which then calculate their position. There is no communication in the other direction. In other words, GPS is very good at telling you where you are, but not capable of telling others where you are.
So even if GPS signals could penetrate the rubble, there would be no way to use that to locate people.
Many years ago I read a book by Hawking that talked about black holes, so I'll relate what I can remember. If this is incorrect or has changed in recent years, let me know...
The origin of Hawking radiation is not due to the fact that something actually escapes from the black hole; this is still impossible. What's essentially believed to happen is this: something weird happens at the event horizon, causing particle/antiparticle pairs to be created. Most of these pairs are destroyed immediately, but some are aligned in such a way that the particle is ejected outside the event horizon, while the antiparticle falls inside. The antiparticle destroys a particle inside the black hole, while the outside particle escapes and is measured as Hawking radiation. The net result of this process is that something has been "relocated" to the outside of the black hole, even though nothing technically "escaped".
If this happens faster than the black hole can acquire new matter, then it will eventually evaporate.
The signal could also carry additional data, such as a vehicle identification number, thus enabling officers to pick the offending vehicle out of a crowd, Kolesar said.
Gee, that's great. While you're at it, how about transmitting the driver's criminal history so that the police officer can "keep a closer eye" on formerly convicted criminals! Also show a list of the 5 most recent destinations of the car so they can check if you've been anywhere you shouldn't be. Or better yet, give the car a program that DECIDES if you're a potential risk for criminal activity and radios the police for help!
routers will have to become a lot more powerful before they can even begin to handle the load of IPv6
I disagree. Routing has become overly complicated due to CIDR and other "hacks" that compensate for the lack of addresses. Routers practically need to look at the entire address to figure out where to send it. The advantage of IPv6 is that it allows us to reorganize the address space in a way that is easier (more heirarchical) to route. Each server can simply handle one or two octets of the address, and delegate all further processing to the "next router down".
Also, changing addressing schemes doesn't mean we'll instantly have millions of new machines using the new addresses. In the beginning, we'll have the same number of addresses and a simpler routing strategy, which will put less strain on individual routers. In the future, when people do start using all the new addresses, it will be trivial to scale the routing strategy up by adding new layers of routers to the heirarchy.
"Do we want everything connected to the Internet?"
Whenever I've thought about IPv6 and its "suggested applications", this is the first thought that's come to mind. The answer is clearly "no, I don't want the entire world to be able to connect to my fridge." But don't you imply that level of connectivity when you assign your fridge an IP address? Not necessarily. What we should see with the switch to IPv6 is a shift of focus from "addresses" to "routes". Let me explain:
Right now, particularly in the ISP world, packet destinations are very address-centric; each customer has one or two IP addresses, and if a packet arrives at those addresses, it is delivered to the customer, either directly or through a hub.
With the number of IP addresses available in IPv6, it would be silly for an ISP to only give you a few addresses, or even a few hundred addresses. Instead, they will give out entire class B networks, and (here's the key), simply route any packet addressed to that network over the customer's connection. Since you can't just stick several thousand devices on a lan, having a full-featured router in your home will be a requirement to sort out all the incoming packets.
Once there's a router in everyone's home, it's trivial to set them up as firewalls so that someone can't hack your fridge from the outside. Sure, your fridge can still initiate a connection to the supermarket and order more milk, and everything works with no NAT hackery, since the fridge has its own IP address within your subnet. Or, you could require authentication when connecting to the fridge from outside, but still be able to address it by its unique IP from anywhere.
So, the bottom line is: more IP addresses leads to required home routers, which are trivially set up as firewalls.
I don't NEED a Class A address. I don't WANT a Class A address. I want a single way of reaching me.
That's fine, you can use 00.11.22.33.44.55.66.77.88.99.AA.BB.CC.DD.00.00 as your sole internet connection (and drop all other packets). But go ahead, keep those other 65535 addresses in case you decide you want them later. Meanwhile, the businesses that WANT that many addresses can be allocated the same sized chunk as you, and can use all the addresses.
It's all about flexibility and uniformity. It reduces the address crunch (which does exist, despite the fact that some people only want one address), and it dramatically simplifies routing.
Eh, that's nothing! There's a company in Europe somewhere (I forget the name) that's been running an OpenVMS system for 17 years with zero downtime. Now that's impressive:)
Slashdot Mirror
This reminds me of a quote I saw on a fridge magnet several years ago:
"I found Jesus... He was hiding behind the sofa the whole time!"
-- Brett
I've got AT&T Broadband in New Hampshire, and I recently found out something interesting. Apparently, AT&T has different TOS restrictions for different states/areas. In other states, the subscriber agreement specifically forbids servers of any kind. In NH, it simply says "it is the sole responsibility of the customer to keep their machines secure, including configuring any servers they choose to run."
:)
I found this out when I mentioned servers while talking to a tech support guy, and he told me that servers were prohibited. I challenged him to show me the clause in the agreement that said this, and he pointed me to a web site. On the site, it asks for your zip code, and you get a different version of the agreement depending on your location. He was looking at the Massachusetts version, and I was looking at the New Hampshire one. Apparently he hadn't been aware of the distinction either until then
-- Brett
Yes! Dr. Sbaitso ruled! I'll bet many people here remember it. But...
How many people know where the name Dr. Sbaitso actually came from?
They might be picking random targets because they don't know any better. Things are getting so desperate that they'll attack anything that has the word "Music" in the title.
:)
I vote we write a piece of software called MusicShareNet which does something trivial and unrelated, like editing text. Then we advertise it all over the place, and see if we can get the RIAA to panic and sue the authors
Hmm, I seem to be having trouble playing Max Payne on just the command prompt... any idea what I might be doing wrong?
;)
Want to see if we can do something about this? Everyone go grab a pen and mail a letter to the DoJ about this (err... better make that a fax... I bet they're not too keen on mail right now). Explain exactly what they're doing, and spell out why it's blatantly anticompetetive. Explain that the web is based on open standards so that any browser can be used, and that by doing this they are trying to strongarm people to use their browser only.
If the DoJ is aware of even half of what goes on, they'll be more capable of fighting a court battle.
In theory, this is absolutely the correct approach to take. However, for every smart person that does this, there is another person who goes: Duuuuh, ok, and "upgrades" their browser, thus fueling the monopoly.
If we were a majority, it would be a lot different. On the other hand, if we were a majority, ms would have been quashed a long time ago.
1. They don't really want to replace stuff, and will dodge the issue for as long as possible. You must be persistent. Don't let them hang up on you until the issue is resolved. In my case, it was a bad memory chip, and I had to demand to speak to a manager just to get them to send me a replacement. Yell, kick, and scream if necessary. If you're under warranty, they have to help you eventually.
2. Most of the tech support people are quite clueless and non-technical. (ironic, no?) So if step #1 fails, you can simply convince them that something ELSE is wrong. Invent some kind of severe hardware problem that would force them to replace the entire unit. As they run through their textbook list of tests, make up some symptoms that are consistent with your imaginary problem, and after a bit more kicking and screaming, you should have a brand new system.
First, choose which chip you want to use for most of your projects. The most popular for hobbyists (my personal choice too) is the pic16f84a. It can perform up to 5 million instructions per second, has 68 bytes of RAM and 64 bytes of static EEPROM. It costs around $4 per chip, but is fully reprogrammable, so you can reuse it as much as you want.
Then search the web for a programmer circuit for your PIC. Here is the one I built. It works very well and costs $20, total.
Happy hacking!
Remember when Microsoft sent out letters to people and told them to sign and send them to their representatives? Well, trying to force that on people was obviously silly, but the general idea was good. If I had a letter in my hand that said exactly what I wanted to express, and all I had to do was sign it and drop it in the mail, I'd have no reason to procrastinate.
Suppose we form a web site where good writers can put together coherent, intelligent letters on various issues. Concerned citizens can go to the site, browse the letters for one they like, and download it in a printer-friendly form. On the same site, they can also look up the address and fax numbers of their representatives, so all they have to do is sign it and mail it in.
Yes, I know the EFF has some of these features. However, it would be useful if the community could contribute sample letters, and if the process was even easier than it is now. Remember, the target audience is me, the lazy, disorganized procrastinator.
I just talked to one of my friends at microsoft, and apparently his workstation just got infected with the new virus. Good to see that they're reaping the benefits of their own products :)
Not a good way of reporting the problem :)
Imagine how you'd feel if aliens sent a "research probe" to Earth that landed on your house and drilled a big hole through it!
If I understand how GPS works, it wouldn't be useful at all in this case. GPS satellites essientially broadcast a strong signal to the ground, and this signal is measured by receivers, which then calculate their position. There is no communication in the other direction. In other words, GPS is very good at telling you where you are, but not capable of telling others where you are.
So even if GPS signals could penetrate the rubble, there would be no way to use that to locate people.
The origin of Hawking radiation is not due to the fact that something actually escapes from the black hole; this is still impossible. What's essentially believed to happen is this: something weird happens at the event horizon, causing particle/antiparticle pairs to be created. Most of these pairs are destroyed immediately, but some are aligned in such a way that the particle is ejected outside the event horizon, while the antiparticle falls inside. The antiparticle destroys a particle inside the black hole, while the outside particle escapes and is measured as Hawking radiation. The net result of this process is that something has been "relocated" to the outside of the black hole, even though nothing technically "escaped".
If this happens faster than the black hole can acquire new matter, then it will eventually evaporate.
Maybe he's got some plans to provide some funky "scalable" window feature, where you could draw to an arbitrary location and zoom in/out on windows.
Or maybe he plans to integrate some 3d effects in the desktop which would necessitate using FP coordinates...
Gee, that's great. While you're at it, how about transmitting the driver's criminal history so that the police officer can "keep a closer eye" on formerly convicted criminals! Also show a list of the 5 most recent destinations of the car so they can check if you've been anywhere you shouldn't be. Or better yet, give the car a program that DECIDES if you're a potential risk for criminal activity and radios the police for help!
"This here slope sure is slippery!"
%
Damn.
For the convenience of everyone who likes using the registration link, here ya go.
;)
-- Brett
*golf clap*
-- Brett
I work for Compaq... boy, I bet it's gonna be weird at work tomorrow...
I disagree. Routing has become overly complicated due to CIDR and other "hacks" that compensate for the lack of addresses. Routers practically need to look at the entire address to figure out where to send it. The advantage of IPv6 is that it allows us to reorganize the address space in a way that is easier (more heirarchical) to route. Each server can simply handle one or two octets of the address, and delegate all further processing to the "next router down".
Also, changing addressing schemes doesn't mean we'll instantly have millions of new machines using the new addresses. In the beginning, we'll have the same number of addresses and a simpler routing strategy, which will put less strain on individual routers. In the future, when people do start using all the new addresses, it will be trivial to scale the routing strategy up by adding new layers of routers to the heirarchy.
-- Brett
Whenever I've thought about IPv6 and its "suggested applications", this is the first thought that's come to mind. The answer is clearly "no, I don't want the entire world to be able to connect to my fridge." But don't you imply that level of connectivity when you assign your fridge an IP address? Not necessarily. What we should see with the switch to IPv6 is a shift of focus from "addresses" to "routes". Let me explain:
Right now, particularly in the ISP world, packet destinations are very address-centric; each customer has one or two IP addresses, and if a packet arrives at those addresses, it is delivered to the customer, either directly or through a hub.
With the number of IP addresses available in IPv6, it would be silly for an ISP to only give you a few addresses, or even a few hundred addresses. Instead, they will give out entire class B networks, and (here's the key), simply route any packet addressed to that network over the customer's connection. Since you can't just stick several thousand devices on a lan, having a full-featured router in your home will be a requirement to sort out all the incoming packets.
Once there's a router in everyone's home, it's trivial to set them up as firewalls so that someone can't hack your fridge from the outside. Sure, your fridge can still initiate a connection to the supermarket and order more milk, and everything works with no NAT hackery, since the fridge has its own IP address within your subnet. Or, you could require authentication when connecting to the fridge from outside, but still be able to address it by its unique IP from anywhere.
So, the bottom line is: more IP addresses leads to required home routers, which are trivially set up as firewalls.
-- Brett
That's fine, you can use 00.11.22.33.44.55.66.77.88.99.AA.BB.CC.DD.00.00 as your sole internet connection (and drop all other packets). But go ahead, keep those other 65535 addresses in case you decide you want them later. Meanwhile, the businesses that WANT that many addresses can be allocated the same sized chunk as you, and can use all the addresses.
It's all about flexibility and uniformity. It reduces the address crunch (which does exist, despite the fact that some people only want one address), and it dramatically simplifies routing.
-- Brett
Eh, that's nothing! There's a company in Europe somewhere (I forget the name) that's been running an OpenVMS system for 17 years with zero downtime. Now that's impressive :)
-- Brett