Didn't the OEMs handle the home user switch from Win ME to XP by shipping their boxes with Me and a coupon for XP when it became available? Did that happen, or did I just imaginize that?
Yes, AC, I do realize that there are many laws that a corporation must obey. I didn't get my nick because I am a communist. I'm just saying that there is a vast difference between a company that finds every possible loophole in the law to do really shitty things ("evil") and a company that generally does the right thing because it is the right thing to do ("good")
While I think that companies should be approprately punished when they do stupid things like this, what was the real risk in this case? If it was an inside job, then the risk was 100%. However, if it was just a stupid but honest mistake then I think that a number of fairly unlikely things would have to happen before the data was fully compromised:
A criminal would have to spend some quality time at the dump hoping to find something like this He would have to find it (I'm guessing the the dump(s) for NYC are pretty big) He would have to have the right equipment to read the data (SCSI tape drives are somewhat rare on home computers nowadays) The data would have to be in the right format (I'm guessing that the data wasn't in tab delimited text) The data would have to be unencrypted or very weakly encrypted (people who can break strong encryption have better ways to steal than waiting around a landfill)
I don't usually wear a tin-foil hat and I believe that most conspiracy theories are bullshit. That being said, does anyone else wonder what would happen if Google, as a publicly traded company, decided to set aside their "Don't be evil" values? The primary fiduciary duty of the leaders of a company are not to be "not evil", they are to create wealth for the shareholders. Right now it is to Google's advantage to be good just as it is to ExxonMobil's advantage to be bad, because both actions are creating wealth for the shareholders of each company. What if Google's business model doesn't sustain the profits that the shareholders expect?
Don't get me wrong: I love using Google. I think the Internet is a better place because of them. I'm just starting to worry that maybe we are depending too much on a company that, despite the best efforts and intentions of its founders, may not be able to maintain its presently outstanding values.
Would you buy a car if you had to get your VIN checked every time that you needed to buy parts for it? Would you buy a car if you knew that there was going to be a manufacturer recall almost every day that required replacing or adding parts? I'll add a twist: what if you thought that same brand of car was the only brand allowed in your company parking lot? What if you thought that brand of car was the only brand of car that you could get parts for?
I think that the above hypothetical scenario is a simple analogy of what I like to call "The Windows Problem". Nobody likes WGA. Nobody likes the endless parade of patches and hotfixes that require a reboot as often as not. Nobody likes having to be ever vigilant against security threats. People are starting to see that Windows is very flawed. Since we as a society have spent the majority of our IT budget for the last 20 years on making this one OS the (often) only platform for our IT solutions, how do we change course now?
There are those who believe that once people hear the Good News about Linux they will throw off their Microsoft shackles and march hand-in-hand into the FOSS promised land. OK, maybe I overstated that a little, but you get the point and you know the type. Ubuntu is ridiculously easy to install, but my mother couldn't do it. She uses XP because that's what Dell installed on her computer. Even though she sees Windows as the only reasonable alternative, she still bitches about it. "Normal" people had a hard enough time getting Windows to do what they want it to do, and they'll be damned if they are going to learn it all over again.
I want to make the obligatory cow jokes, but none come to mind. This looks interesting to me because my previous attempts at AJAX have ended in frustration. I'm not a super web code slinger, so anything that automates the process would be welcome.
You'll all be sorry after I buy loads of this stock first thing tomorrow morning. I'll be lording my millions over all of you by tea-time. I don't what has come over me, but I feel an overpowering desire to dump my entire 401(k) into this.
I just set my available time to 12:45 am to 1:00 am. It cuts down on those annoying meeting requests. Of course, I'll be screwed if some joker decides to have 15 minute meeting in the middle of the night, but I'm betting that won't happen anytime soon:)
In the TBG (time before google) my mother-in-law died. The funeral was out of town and the stupid, stupid newspaper printed this fact along with the dates and times of the wake and funeral AND HER ADDRESS. When we got back her house looked like Christmas morning after the Grinch had come to town. I'm surprised they didn't steal the wallpaper off the wall; they certainly had enough time.
I could easily see something like this happening, even in a small town like we were in.
Am I the only one who thinks that it is hysterical that a low-UID user cross-posted into a thread about old people being denied internet service? No offense, RichMan. All in good fun...
I run Ubuntu on VMWare on top of XP (I play with several other OSs that way, too) . For me, it is the best of both worlds. Why should anyone care? Apple should care if there are any others like me. I was this (thumb and finger 1 mm apart) close to getting a mac, but why would I pay $2K+ when I can get almost all of what I want for $1K? Apple make some sweet products, but not that sweet.
My Evil Stepmother once told me that she wanted to go to community college to learn how to "do computer".
She would never pass a test like this. She thinks that AOL is the internet. She also thinks that it is great that there is lots of free (as in spyware, not beer or speech) software out there like gator and comet cursor.
I think that she is an excellent example of a real, average computer user.
I spent over ten years working on the factory floor before I moved into process automation at my company.
There are downsides to both jobs in terms of stress. In my new job, if I make a mistake, I can bring an entire insulin plant to a screeching halt (downtime costs about $300,000 an hour and we can't make enough medicine even at full capacity.) Also, I get frustrated with some of the office politics bullshit that all office jobs seem to have.
I have no plans to return to the factory floor. Crushing boredom, endless repetition, and being treated like an idiot (or least a mildly retarded robot) was much more stressful for me.
I can't tell you how to deal with your stress. For me, I just happy to have a good job so that I can provide for my family. I'd rather be a little stressed about my job than stressed about not being able to feed my kids.
Why do these fool-ass companies come out with these idiot marketing plans and devices that are guarranteed to fail?
This plan ("People own TVs. People own computers. We've got to be able to make money off of that somehow...") reminds me of the underpants gnomes on South Park:
If the Chinese government doesn't like for their citizens to go to internet cafes, maybe they'll run over the customers with tanks, like they ran over students in Tiananmen Square...
That would fit in with their general methods for dealing with any person or group of people who try to think for themselves or deviate from party dogma.
I agree with you that Microsoft has it's place as a useful contributor to the IT marketplace, but I don't agree with the tired old "Open/Free Software == Communism" line.
The motivating force behind the Open Source and Free Software movements is GREAT software made by people who LOVE to write software.
Think of it this way, would you rather buy a piece of furniture from:
A. A master craftsman who builds works of art in his workshop by hand, and then sells them at cost (or gives them away to people he knows will appreciate them.)
OR
B. A large corporation that slaps together particle board with wire staples and then sells it at a price that ensures at least a 60% profit margin.
For me the answer is A.
Also you mentioned the befnefit to charity that has resulted from Bill Gate's wealth. Why wait for Bill to throw some scraps to his favorite charity? If you want your money to go to your favorite charity, may I suggest that you write a check yourself?
You go to a car dealership, and pick out a car. During test drive, the salesman explains that the CD player, the fuel gage, the speedometer, and "maybe some other stuff" do not work.
He says: "Don't worry, the car company will have fixes for most of these problems 'soon' "
If I was in that situation, I would leave without buying the car.
So, why do we accept software that is sold in such a condition?
Just as we demand that a new vehicle be in perfect working order when we drive it off the lot, we should demand that software be in perfect working order when we install it.
Progress of Democracy in the US
1776: "Live Free or Die"
Um...
Wouldn't the diver heat up from atomospheric friction and just burn up? I thought that the space shuttle was covered with tiles because it got up to 3000 degrees C or something crazy like that.
Linux being a threat to Micros~1 is PR BS to throw off the DOJ, just nother tool in the attempt to avert the breakup.
I know a lot of computer semi-literate people who have never heard of Linux, BSD, or any other technology that Micros~1 doesn't want them to know about. With a PR blitz, they will go from not knowing anything about Linux to knowing that it is BAD.
I remember a friend who got angry with me after I explained what Linux was to him. He got a confused look on his face and said "Why would anyone want an operating system that isn't from Microsoft ?!"
As if I had suggested that pehaps there wasn't a God...
This is the face of the average computer user. They LIKE AOL, think Windows Me works great, and have never heard of souce code.
Putting on Aluminized Suit in preparation for the flames
Slashdot Mirror
Didn't the OEMs handle the home user switch from Win ME to XP by shipping their boxes with Me and a coupon for XP when it became available? Did that happen, or did I just imaginize that?
Yes, AC, I do realize that there are many laws that a corporation must obey. I didn't get my nick because I am a communist. I'm just saying that there is a vast difference between a company that finds every possible loophole in the law to do really shitty things ("evil") and a company that generally does the right thing because it is the right thing to do ("good")
While I think that companies should be approprately punished when they do stupid things like this, what was the real risk in this case? If it was an inside job, then the risk was 100%. However, if it was just a stupid but honest mistake then I think that a number of fairly unlikely things would have to happen before the data was fully compromised:
A criminal would have to spend some quality time at the dump hoping to find something like this
He would have to find it (I'm guessing the the dump(s) for NYC are pretty big)
He would have to have the right equipment to read the data (SCSI tape drives are somewhat rare on home computers nowadays)
The data would have to be in the right format (I'm guessing that the data wasn't in tab delimited text)
The data would have to be unencrypted or very weakly encrypted (people who can break strong encryption have better ways to steal than waiting around a landfill)
I don't usually wear a tin-foil hat and I believe that most conspiracy theories are bullshit. That being said, does anyone else wonder what would happen if Google, as a publicly traded company, decided to set aside their "Don't be evil" values? The primary fiduciary duty of the leaders of a company are not to be "not evil", they are to create wealth for the shareholders. Right now it is to Google's advantage to be good just as it is to ExxonMobil's advantage to be bad, because both actions are creating wealth for the shareholders of each company. What if Google's business model doesn't sustain the profits that the shareholders expect?
Don't get me wrong: I love using Google. I think the Internet is a better place because of them. I'm just starting to worry that maybe we are depending too much on a company that, despite the best efforts and intentions of its founders, may not be able to maintain its presently outstanding values.
Would you buy a car if you had to get your VIN checked every time that you needed to buy parts for it? Would you buy a car if you knew that there was going to be a manufacturer recall almost every day that required replacing or adding parts? I'll add a twist: what if you thought that same brand of car was the only brand allowed in your company parking lot? What if you thought that brand of car was the only brand of car that you could get parts for?
I think that the above hypothetical scenario is a simple analogy of what I like to call "The Windows Problem". Nobody likes WGA. Nobody likes the endless parade of patches and hotfixes that require a reboot as often as not. Nobody likes having to be ever vigilant against security threats. People are starting to see that Windows is very flawed. Since we as a society have spent the majority of our IT budget for the last 20 years on making this one OS the (often) only platform for our IT solutions, how do we change course now?
There are those who believe that once people hear the Good News about Linux they will throw off their Microsoft shackles and march hand-in-hand into the FOSS promised land. OK, maybe I overstated that a little, but you get the point and you know the type. Ubuntu is ridiculously easy to install, but my mother couldn't do it. She uses XP because that's what Dell installed on her computer. Even though she sees Windows as the only reasonable alternative, she still bitches about it. "Normal" people had a hard enough time getting Windows to do what they want it to do, and they'll be damned if they are going to learn it all over again.
Unless everyone else switches first.
I want to make the obligatory cow jokes, but none come to mind. This looks interesting to me because my previous attempts at AJAX have ended in frustration. I'm not a super web code slinger, so anything that automates the process would be welcome.
You'll all be sorry after I buy loads of this stock first thing tomorrow morning. I'll be lording my millions over all of you by tea-time. I don't what has come over me, but I feel an overpowering desire to dump my entire 401(k) into this.
I just set my available time to 12:45 am to 1:00 am. It cuts down on those annoying meeting requests. Of course, I'll be screwed if some joker decides to have 15 minute meeting in the middle of the night, but I'm betting that won't happen anytime soon :)
In the TBG (time before google) my mother-in-law died. The funeral was out of town and the stupid, stupid newspaper printed this fact along with the dates and times of the wake and funeral AND HER ADDRESS. When we got back her house looked like Christmas morning after the Grinch had come to town. I'm surprised they didn't steal the wallpaper off the wall; they certainly had enough time.
I could easily see something like this happening, even in a small town like we were in.
Am I the only one who thinks that it is hysterical that a low-UID user cross-posted into a thread about old people being denied internet service? No offense, RichMan. All in good fun...
I run Ubuntu on VMWare on top of XP (I play with several other OSs that way, too) . For me, it is the best of both worlds. Why should anyone care? Apple should care if there are any others like me. I was this (thumb and finger 1 mm apart) close to getting a mac, but why would I pay $2K+ when I can get almost all of what I want for $1K? Apple make some sweet products, but not that sweet.
My Evil Stepmother once told me that she wanted to go to community college to learn how to "do computer".
She would never pass a test like this. She thinks that AOL is the internet. She also thinks that it is great that there is lots of free (as in spyware, not beer or speech) software out there like gator and comet cursor.
I think that she is an excellent example of a real, average computer user.
I spent over ten years working on the factory floor before I moved into process automation at my company.
There are downsides to both jobs in terms of stress. In my new job, if I make a mistake, I can bring an entire insulin plant to a screeching halt (downtime costs about $300,000 an hour and we can't make enough medicine even at full capacity.) Also, I get frustrated with some of the office politics bullshit that all office jobs seem to have.
I have no plans to return to the factory floor. Crushing boredom, endless repetition, and being treated like an idiot (or least a mildly retarded robot) was much more stressful for me.
I can't tell you how to deal with your stress. For me, I just happy to have a good job so that I can provide for my family. I'd rather be a little stressed about my job than stressed about not being able to feed my kids.
I'm going to overclock my Timex Sinclair!!!
I'm backing up all of my data onto 8-track tapes and storing them on the dashboard of my car. They will be safe forever there...
130 Degrees F (~55 C) all year 'round
100% Humidity
105+ dB
Molten Metal flying through the air
Had to wipe the grease off the monitors of the floor computers to see each day.
Had to replace said monitors every 4 months
but...
You could have all the free (as in beer) gatorade that you could drink !
Did I mention that it was hot and dangerous?
Why do these fool-ass companies come out with these idiot marketing plans and devices that are guarranteed to fail?
This plan ("People own TVs. People own computers. We've got to be able to make money off of that somehow...") reminds me of the underpants gnomes on South Park:
Step One: Collect underpants
Step Two: ???
Step Three: Profit!
If the Chinese government doesn't like for their citizens to go to internet cafes, maybe they'll run over the customers with tanks, like they ran over students in Tiananmen Square...
That would fit in with their general methods for dealing with any person or group of people who try to think for themselves or deviate from party dogma.
Real nice bunch running that country...
As a proud and free citizen of the United States, I have free and unfettered access to the internet, because it is completely free (as in speech).
Except:
1. Access child pornography.
2. Commit treason, espinonage, or other subversive acts.
3. Access "pirated" MP3s.
4. Access the seven lines of code that can decrypt a DVD.
10. Use encryption technology that makes snooping through my personal correspondence hard for the FBI. (COMING SOON
1,124. Use products or services not authorized by the friendly Microsoft-Intel-AOL-Time-Warner monop^H^H^H^H^H conglomerate. (COMING SOON
Other than those things (and just a few more...),
I CAN DO ANYTHING I WANT !!!
I agree with you that Microsoft has it's place as a useful contributor to the IT marketplace, but I don't agree with the tired old "Open/Free Software == Communism" line.
The motivating force behind the Open Source and Free Software movements is GREAT software made by people who LOVE to write software.
Think of it this way, would you rather buy a piece of furniture from:
A. A master craftsman who builds works of art in his workshop by hand, and then sells them at cost (or gives them away to people he knows will appreciate them.)
OR
B. A large corporation that slaps together particle board with wire staples and then sells it at a price that ensures at least a 60% profit margin.
For me the answer is A.
Also you mentioned the befnefit to charity that has resulted from Bill Gate's wealth. Why wait for Bill to throw some scraps to his favorite charity? If you want your money to go to your favorite charity, may I suggest that you write a check yourself?
The Indianapolis Star is famous for being very biased in favor of republican / conservative ideologies.
I love living in Indianapolis, but like the man (Mike Royko ?) said, I wouldn't use that newspaper to wrap a dead fish...
Progress of Democracy in the US
1776: "Live Free or Die"
You go to a car dealership, and pick out a car. During test drive, the salesman explains that the CD player, the fuel gage, the speedometer, and "maybe some other stuff" do not work.
He says: "Don't worry, the car company will have fixes for most of these problems 'soon' "
If I was in that situation, I would leave without buying the car.
So, why do we accept software that is sold in such a condition?
Just as we demand that a new vehicle be in perfect working order when we drive it off the lot, we should demand that software be in perfect working order when we install it.
Progress of Democracy in the US
1776: "Live Free or Die"
I like to use WebWasher when I surf on my windows box.
It does a real nice job of stripping out the banner ads and the popups.
Progress of Democracy in the US
1776: "Live Free or Die"
Um...
Wouldn't the diver heat up from atomospheric friction and just burn up? I thought that the space shuttle was covered with tiles because it got up to 3000 degrees C or something crazy like that.
Linux being a threat to Micros~1 is PR BS to throw off the DOJ, just nother tool in the attempt to avert the breakup.
I know a lot of computer semi-literate people who have never heard of Linux, BSD, or any other technology that Micros~1 doesn't want them to know about. With a PR blitz, they will go from not knowing anything about Linux to knowing that it is BAD.
I remember a friend who got angry with me after I explained what Linux was to him. He got a confused look on his face and said "Why would anyone want an operating system that isn't from Microsoft ?!"
As if I had suggested that pehaps there wasn't a God...
This is the face of the average computer user. They LIKE AOL, think Windows Me works great, and have never heard of souce code.
Putting on Aluminized Suit in preparation for the flames