I knew there was something devilishly illegal about my 4 year old son's Rescue Heroes toys - the ones that use a digital chip embedded into the backs of the toys to play back some voice clips. These obviously illegal digital playback devices are a menace to society and it's up to us law-abiding, upstanding citizens to destroy this threat to freedom....
If hollywood is truely threatened by these harmless playthings, then maybe they should go out of business.
I've said this numerous times before, and I'll continue to say it until someone at AutoDesk and/or Intuit listen up and actually pay attention...
When AutoCAD and QuickBooks have Linux versions available, I will gladly and immediately purchase them. Yes, they must be equal to or better than their Windows counterparts (well, duhhhh).
Does anyone from AutoDesk or Intuit even read these pages???
Some would have you believe that the operation of a Radio Frequency Receiving Device is somehow illegal when said receiver operates on a public, unlicensed band? Exactly what is the logic here? I don't get it.
Even the transmission of a signal to interact with the other transmitter isn't necessarily illegal. It is quite common for a radio to identify itself (indeed, some FCC regs could be interpreted to say that such identification is required).
The fact that the signal on that radio frequency is computer generated and meant for another computer is irrelevent. It is still an open, unlicensed, public channel. With the exception of transmission power rules and the usual FCC Part 15 stuff (doesn't cause radio interference, etc...), there are no regulations on the use of the band in question.
Now, rules about driving a car with an open laptop in your lap may be a bit more compelling. Then again, if you are stupid enough to do this, then you deserve the brick wall you are about to collide with...
Personally, my favorite connector has to be the Camlok E-series power connector. There is just something "interesting" about a connector that is rated for 400+ amps of current flow. And just TRY to break one or pull it off the wire...
For multipin, I would have to say that the old IBM Latchback connectors are tops on my list. 240+ pins, all designed to mate at the same time, all gold plated, and designed for low level signals (unamplified audio for example). Single cam based latching mechanism, keyed, and easily maintainable.
Of course, if you have never work in a concert hall, you probably will NEVER see any of these connectors in real life....
It's also quite hard to get any decent levels of current flow out of a "mini" transformer. By decent, I mean an amp or more. Mini transformers, even split bobbin types, typically use #36 AWG wire or smaller. It's dangerous to try to get even half an amp to flow through wire that small...
However, if holding a house warming party and inviting the local fire department is your idea of fun, go for it...
When we can run AutoCAD, Quickbooks Pro, and the Allen Bradley Programming tools (RSLogix), then I'll be able to dump Windows 2000 completely. Until then, I have to stay in the Windows world...
I did this (Dallas stuff) years ago..
on
Am I Hot or Not
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· Score: 1
My how old news becomes new again...
I have had a Dallas Semiconductor library for Linux available from my FTP site for about 4-5 years now. Completely open source too. Worked just fine with the DS-1820 and DS-1920 temperature sensors. Heck, I still use it to this day to do temperature checks of equipment.
Let's see. Their argument is that freeware stuff isn't secure? Exactly what is their proof of this? They DO have some evidence to back up their claims, don't they?
How many hundreds (thousands??) of products and devices would they need as proof of security? How many code audits must OpenSSH submit to before it is suddenly (magically) now secure?
It does not logically follow that having the source code in the public view makes a product insecure. One only need look at Microsoft's Outlook products versus Evolution to see the evidence to shoot that argument down.
I had an old Palm 5000 (before the convenience of backlights). Worked just fine until one day the touchscreen simply died. C'est Le Vie...
Now, I have an Ipaq 3635 and just love it. It's capable of running Linux, it has decent rechargable batteries in it, has a nice PCMCIA slot on it, it can be used as a portable security scanner, and did I mention that it can run Linux?
The color screen is pretty decent too. It can even play mpeg files.
What I have done in the past is to write out the policy in a form that would only require a signature. Then present it to the powers that be. If they need explainations, then explain why this policy is necessary.
The trick overall is to do as much legwork as possible so the boss has very little to do but read and sign. If you approach the boss saying "I need you to write a policy to ban people downloading porn." then you add to your bosses workload. If you say "Here is a policy that prohibits downloading porn on the network, please approve it", then the bosses time committment is significantly reduced and the likelyhood of it being implemented is high.
Of course, stay on it, daily if needed. It may not hurt to create a graph or two showing bandwidth utilization vs. time of day, broken down by workstation. It would probably be even better if use used something to capture the stream so you could show your boss exactly what these people are doing.
If all that doesn't work, don't be afraid to document (via email or other dated message delivery service like sending it to yourself in a USPS letter) everything that you asked to have happen, when you asked, the results, etc, etc... create the paper trail. Then be prepared to go above the boss (PTA, School Board, Press).
and quite often not one of them is qualified for the position.
While I am sure you don't do this in your company, I have personally seen companies hide behind their so-called qualifications as an excuse to going overseas (H1-B) for labor. How so? By advertising something like this:
Help Wanted: Entry Level PL/SQL Programmer with on the job Seibel or PeopleSoft experience. Must be able to configure and optimize Oracle Servers on AIX 4.2. Must have Bachelors Degree, Masters preferred. Must be able to work alone and solve complex problems. Expect 60 hours work a week - minimum. Starting Salary: $35k.
Of course, they get no responses (or responses from people without the "qualifications"), giving them the justification to go overseas to fill the requirement. Meanwhile, several people who may know PL/SQL and Oracle and can learn (quickly) how to deal with Seibel or Peoplesoft are passed over - if they can even afford to work for such a low amount of money.
If I take a computer I own, format the hard drive with an electromagnet, and donate it to a public school with a free copy of a Linux distro, what the screaming Hell(tm) does it matter that it once had Windows on it?
Well, with any modern hard drive, if you format it with an electro-magnet, you may as well throw the drive into the landfill. You see, there is one platter on the drive that contains the "servo track". This servo track is how the read/write heads know where on the disk they are. Without a servo track, the drive will not be able to seek, and you won't be able to read or write to it. Erasing with an electro-magnet is indiscriminate enough to erase the servo track along with the data tracks.
No recession huh? An interesting, if completely unsupportable notion...
Try telling this to the thousands of unemployed individuals (engineers and other professionals) who can't find work within their chosen professions. Try telling this to the hundreds of businesses (not dot com's) that tanked due to the lack of consumer spending. Try telling this to the share holders of KMart or any other large corp that simply couldn't deal with the economic slowdown.
There has indeed been a recession, regardless of the government's refusal to admit it. Besides, it wouldn't exactly be a smart thing for the government to admit it while it was still in place - would create a self-fulfilling prophecy.
You state that "...there are so many things wrong with this...". I would like to ask you to please clarify this for us.
Here in Michigan, we - the parents, are generally responsible for the actions of our children. In fact, it is not totally unusual for the legal system to hold parents accountable and even culpable for our childrens actions. There have been well publisized reports of parents being made to serve jail time because their kids (repeatedly) skipped school. If my son is in a position to cause me to have to go to jail, I indeed have a right, let alone an obligation to know about it.
If you still see this device as "wrong", then you are obviously not a parent. Please come back when you are qualified to give an opinion on this.
People, if we are going to attack this, then we need to get this sort of information out into the open - as far and as wide as possible.
I am suggesting that each of us (within the US anyhow) write a concise letter outlining the SSSCA and what it means to the general public and send this letter to the editor of your local news paper.
While congresscritters find it easy to dismiss one or two people who write, they find it quite impossible to dismiss one or two thousand! There is strength in numbers. Let's educate the public about this sillyness.
Re:Should I send this to my congressmen?
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SSSCA Hearing
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DO NOT EMAIL this or any other correspondence to your congresscritter. Email is routinely ignored by them. Faxes are just one step above email and also don't carry much weight. To make an impression, send via the postal service (priority mail to make the package stand out), or deliver it in person to their office. Best would be to deliver it directly to the congresscritter, but they generally avoid public contact if the cameras aren't rolling.
Television Stations have had this capability for over 15 years now. I remember back in college (1986) when I worked for the local PBS affiliate, we had just started to get in new 1" VTR's (Video Tape Recorders) - Hitachi's. These 1" units were to replace our aging 2" Quad machines. One of the neater features of the Hitachi's were their ability to time-compress or time-expand a show.
For example, if we had a time slot of 58:20 and the show on the tape reel was 59:05, we could program the Hitachi to play 59:05 worth of tape in 58:20 with full frame lock. There was even an option available (we didn't buy it) that allowed us to connect the audio output to an Eventide Harmonizer to "pitch correct" the audio when you did this time correction to a program. This was in 1986.
This is old news, about old technology. Move along - nothing to see here....
Yes they do have "network licenses". The callout listed is what CDW recommended. Even the CDW guy told me how "difficult" it is to know what the best way to license any particular situation. Microsoft apparently doesn't know how to keep things simple.
In the city I live in, the council is forbidden by city charter to have any direct control over the day-to-day operations of the city. The council is basically the law setting body for the community, and they also are the "boss" for the City Manager. The City Manager is the "CEO" of the city - he runs it based on the direction of the council.
So to get something like this to work around here, it would either have to be a directive from the council to the manager, or it would have to be passed as an ordinance. I could see the last one happening, requiring the city to show preference to Open Source Software (Linux, *BSD, etc), in any/all city computer purchases.
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I knew there was something devilishly illegal about my 4 year old son's Rescue Heroes toys - the ones that use a digital chip embedded into the backs of the toys to play back some voice clips. These obviously illegal digital playback devices are a menace to society and it's up to us law-abiding, upstanding citizens to destroy this threat to freedom....
If hollywood is truely threatened by these harmless playthings, then maybe they should go out of business.
I've said this numerous times before, and I'll continue to say it until someone at AutoDesk and/or Intuit listen up and actually pay attention...
When AutoCAD and QuickBooks have Linux versions available, I will gladly and immediately purchase them. Yes, they must be equal to or better than their Windows counterparts (well, duhhhh).
Does anyone from AutoDesk or Intuit even read these pages???
Let me see if I get this straight...
Some would have you believe that the operation of a Radio Frequency Receiving Device is somehow illegal when said receiver operates on a public, unlicensed band? Exactly what is the logic here? I don't get it.
Even the transmission of a signal to interact with the other transmitter isn't necessarily illegal. It is quite common for a radio to identify itself (indeed, some FCC regs could be interpreted to say that such identification is required).
The fact that the signal on that radio frequency is computer generated and meant for another computer is irrelevent. It is still an open, unlicensed, public channel. With the exception of transmission power rules and the usual FCC Part 15 stuff (doesn't cause radio interference, etc...), there are no regulations on the use of the band in question.
Now, rules about driving a car with an open laptop in your lap may be a bit more compelling. Then again, if you are stupid enough to do this, then you deserve the brick wall you are about to collide with...
I thought that the FBI wanted the "...biggest and the best hackers..."
I guess that should be "brightest and the best"... Oops...
Personally, my favorite connector has to be the Camlok E-series power connector. There is just something "interesting" about a connector that is rated for 400+ amps of current flow. And just TRY to break one or pull it off the wire...
For multipin, I would have to say that the old IBM Latchback connectors are tops on my list. 240+ pins, all designed to mate at the same time, all gold plated, and designed for low level signals (unamplified audio for example). Single cam based latching mechanism, keyed, and easily maintainable.
Of course, if you have never work in a concert hall, you probably will NEVER see any of these connectors in real life....
It's also quite hard to get any decent levels of current flow out of a "mini" transformer. By decent, I mean an amp or more. Mini transformers, even split bobbin types, typically use #36 AWG wire or smaller. It's dangerous to try to get even half an amp to flow through wire that small...
However, if holding a house warming party and inviting the local fire department is your idea of fun, go for it...
Well, if it's addresses they want, why not give them some addresses to play with...
This could be "educational"...
When we can run AutoCAD, Quickbooks Pro, and the Allen Bradley Programming tools (RSLogix), then I'll be able to dump Windows 2000 completely. Until then, I have to stay in the Windows world...
My how old news becomes new again...
I have had a Dallas Semiconductor library for Linux available from my FTP site for about 4-5 years now. Completely open source too. Worked just fine with the DS-1820 and DS-1920 temperature sensors. Heck, I still use it to this day to do temperature checks of equipment.
Let's see. Their argument is that freeware stuff isn't secure? Exactly what is their proof of this? They DO have some evidence to back up their claims, don't they?
How many hundreds (thousands??) of products and devices would they need as proof of security? How many code audits must OpenSSH submit to before it is suddenly (magically) now secure?
It does not logically follow that having the source code in the public view makes a product insecure. One only need look at Microsoft's Outlook products versus Evolution to see the evidence to shoot that argument down.
I had an old Palm 5000 (before the convenience of backlights). Worked just fine until one day the touchscreen simply died. C'est Le Vie...
Now, I have an Ipaq 3635 and just love it. It's capable of running Linux, it has decent rechargable batteries in it, has a nice PCMCIA slot on it, it can be used as a portable security scanner, and did I mention that it can run Linux?
The color screen is pretty decent too. It can even play mpeg files.
Try THAT on your palm device...
Where is Dune in the list?
What I have done in the past is to write out the policy in a form that would only require a signature. Then present it to the powers that be. If they need explainations, then explain why this policy is necessary.
The trick overall is to do as much legwork as possible so the boss has very little to do but read and sign. If you approach the boss saying "I need you to write a policy to ban people downloading porn." then you add to your bosses workload. If you say "Here is a policy that prohibits downloading porn on the network, please approve it", then the bosses time committment is significantly reduced and the likelyhood of it being implemented is high.
Of course, stay on it, daily if needed. It may not hurt to create a graph or two showing bandwidth utilization vs. time of day, broken down by workstation. It would probably be even better if use used something to capture the stream so you could show your boss exactly what these people are doing.
If all that doesn't work, don't be afraid to document (via email or other dated message delivery service like sending it to yourself in a USPS letter) everything that you asked to have happen, when you asked, the results, etc, etc... create the paper trail. Then be prepared to go above the boss (PTA, School Board, Press).
and quite often not one of them is qualified for the position.
While I am sure you don't do this in your company, I have personally seen companies hide behind their so-called qualifications as an excuse to going overseas (H1-B) for labor. How so? By advertising something like this:
Help Wanted: Entry Level PL/SQL Programmer with on the job Seibel or PeopleSoft experience. Must be able to configure and optimize Oracle Servers on AIX 4.2. Must have Bachelors Degree, Masters preferred. Must be able to work alone and solve complex problems. Expect 60 hours work a week - minimum. Starting Salary: $35k.
Of course, they get no responses (or responses from people without the "qualifications"), giving them the justification to go overseas to fill the requirement. Meanwhile, several people who may know PL/SQL and Oracle and can learn (quickly) how to deal with Seibel or Peoplesoft are passed over - if they can even afford to work for such a low amount of money.
The Linux version is larger due to the presence of the GUI widget library (SOL). On Win32, OOo uses the internal MS widget set.
If I take a computer I own, format the hard drive with an electromagnet, and donate it to a public school with a free copy of a Linux distro, what the screaming Hell(tm) does it matter that it once had Windows on it?
Well, with any modern hard drive, if you format it with an electro-magnet, you may as well throw the drive into the landfill. You see, there is one platter on the drive that contains the "servo track". This servo track is how the read/write heads know where on the disk they are. Without a servo track, the drive will not be able to seek, and you won't be able to read or write to it. Erasing with an electro-magnet is indiscriminate enough to erase the servo track along with the data tracks.
No recession huh? An interesting, if completely unsupportable notion...
Try telling this to the thousands of unemployed individuals (engineers and other professionals) who can't find work within their chosen professions. Try telling this to the hundreds of businesses (not dot com's) that tanked due to the lack of consumer spending. Try telling this to the share holders of KMart or any other large corp that simply couldn't deal with the economic slowdown.
There has indeed been a recession, regardless of the government's refusal to admit it. Besides, it wouldn't exactly be a smart thing for the government to admit it while it was still in place - would create a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Michael:
You state that "...there are so many things wrong with this...". I would like to ask you to please clarify this for us.
Here in Michigan, we - the parents, are generally responsible for the actions of our children. In fact, it is not totally unusual for the legal system to hold parents accountable and even culpable for our childrens actions. There have been well publisized reports of parents being made to serve jail time because their kids (repeatedly) skipped school. If my son is in a position to cause me to have to go to jail, I indeed have a right, let alone an obligation to know about it.
If you still see this device as "wrong", then you are obviously not a parent. Please come back when you are qualified to give an opinion on this.
Does anyone have an audio file (.wav or .mp3) of the deposition of Mr. Ballmer?
People, if we are going to attack this, then we need to get this sort of information out into the open - as far and as wide as possible.
I am suggesting that each of us (within the US anyhow) write a concise letter outlining the SSSCA and what it means to the general public and send this letter to the editor of your local news paper.
While congresscritters find it easy to dismiss one or two people who write, they find it quite impossible to dismiss one or two thousand! There is strength in numbers. Let's educate the public about this sillyness.
DO NOT EMAIL this or any other correspondence to your congresscritter. Email is routinely ignored by them. Faxes are just one step above email and also don't carry much weight. To make an impression, send via the postal service (priority mail to make the package stand out), or deliver it in person to their office. Best would be to deliver it directly to the congresscritter, but they generally avoid public contact if the cameras aren't rolling.
This is funny! Someone thinking this is "news".
Television Stations have had this capability for over 15 years now. I remember back in college (1986) when I worked for the local PBS affiliate, we had just started to get in new 1" VTR's (Video Tape Recorders) - Hitachi's. These 1" units were to replace our aging 2" Quad machines. One of the neater features of the Hitachi's were their ability to time-compress or time-expand a show.
For example, if we had a time slot of 58:20 and the show on the tape reel was 59:05, we could program the Hitachi to play 59:05 worth of tape in 58:20 with full frame lock. There was even an option available (we didn't buy it) that allowed us to connect the audio output to an Eventide Harmonizer to "pitch correct" the audio when you did this time correction to a program. This was in 1986.
This is old news, about old technology. Move along - nothing to see here....
Dude:
GVSU (Grand Valley State University) is in Grand Rapids, not Saginaw.
Yes they do have "network licenses". The callout listed is what CDW recommended. Even the CDW guy told me how "difficult" it is to know what the best way to license any particular situation. Microsoft apparently doesn't know how to keep things simple.
In the city I live in, the council is forbidden by city charter to have any direct control over the day-to-day operations of the city. The council is basically the law setting body for the community, and they also are the "boss" for the City Manager. The City Manager is the "CEO" of the city - he runs it based on the direction of the council.
So to get something like this to work around here, it would either have to be a directive from the council to the manager, or it would have to be passed as an ordinance. I could see the last one happening, requiring the city to show preference to Open Source Software (Linux, *BSD, etc), in any/all city computer purchases.