What really gets me is that the same people who are calling for the book to be thrown at this guy were the same people who said that Kevin Mitnick was getting the raw end of the stick.
The fact is, spamming may be a looser profession, but nobody got hurt, and I am sure that the costs to IBM were minimal.
Sure. I coulda phrased my point better, but I am a Florida voter, so you should expect me to be a little bit confused.
WHAT! I voted for BSD? I meant to vote for Windows! Check my Chad! It's indented!
Actually, the PPP compression code exists outside of the actual kernel, so it could very well be BSD code. If BSD code were used within the Linux kernel itself, that would be a violation of both licenses.
Although I think you are trying to argue against my line of thinking, I think that you are actually in agreement with me.
This whole issue of emotional attachment to software is completely emotional and not logical. I maintain that Linux is better than BSD, but that belief stems completely from my emotions and has nothing to do with reality.
Neal Stephensons In the Beginning Was The Command Line really hits this right on the head. It's a good read, and I recommend it.
Well. I would have to disagree with you. I am not talking about distributions. I am talking about the kernel, which is what Linux is. So what does Apache have to do with Linux?
Therefore, where am I deluding myself? Just because a Linux distribution might include BSD licensed software, that does not mean that the Linux Kernel includes BSD licensed source code.
Now. I don't have anything against the various BSDs and the programmers who are working on them. I simply like the GPL better. I like the fact that if you modify the source you return the code back to the community.
I freely admit that my decision to use Linux over one of the BSDs is NOT an issue of technical excellence. It is a personal decision based on the fact that I agree with Stallman on the GPL. However, this does not prevent me from using software that is licensed under non-GPL licenses.
The point of my post, which you responded to, was to point out the fact that choosing Linux over BSD has nothing to do with the technology involved, but everything to do with how you feel about the technology. It is a completely subjective decision. If I wanted the more technically superior OS I would probably pick either FreeBSD or NetBSD.
Look. I really don't appreciate your calling my post nonsense. Your post says pretty much the same thing that mine did; that choosing Linux over BSD has no real logical basis. It is purely an emotional choice. It sounds like you completely ignored the first 90% of my post and only read the last 10% in which I said that I prefer Linux to BSD.
However, I do see the validity that in many ways BSD is quite a bit more useful in certain applications then Linux is.
It all boils down to licensing issues. The BSD license allow corporations more opportunities to capitilize on their investment into the OS, while Linux leaves the corporations open to fear that they might not be able to turn a profit.
I personally prefer the GPL because it gives more rights to me, the consumer. That is why I will stick with Linux even if BSD manages to push it's technological advantage right thru the ceiling.
I am so very tired of carrying around this 5 pound battery sucking laptop, and finally we are goind to have transmeta products that weigh more than vapor!
Who on Earth would want a computer that is liable to lock you out of your house just because it is having a bad day?
I DEFINATELY would not want to use one of these in a mission-critical environment!
Please don't be so narrowminded as to assume that hacking requires that you code. Hacking merely requires that you do something that transcends ordinary thinking... Like Al Gore hacking the Florida election process...
You know, this would be great if it ever came out with a real product. I do, however, have a problem with the picture of their HMD. That thing is just plain UGLY.
What I would like is a HMD that displays to one eye. Sorry, I still want to see the real world too.
If the description is published in an internal document, there would be no proof that the document was actually created on the date that the company claims that it was, ala the following conversation:
BRUCE - Hey. I have a great idea! Let's invent High Definition Television!
JIM - But Bruce, High Definition Television already exists, someone else holds the patent.
BRUCE - Aha! But we could put together a little business case that describes the technology in it's entirety and then back-date it for 1972! We would blow the HDTV patent out of the water due to prior art! Ha ha ha!
JIM - My God! It just might work! You are a genius man!
The whole thing could be solved by the registering of "unpatents". Allow companies and individuals to register technologies and idea in a way that simply sets up and official registry of "prior use."
Then, make it simpler to register "prior use" then to register a patent.
That would help take care of part of the problem.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with a company taking out a patent on something that may appear outwardly to be "stupid."
Many companies do this on a regular basis simply to ensure that no one else can get that patent and possibly prevent them from using the idea/technology.
The problem arises when companies actually begin to try and enforce their "stupid" patents (can we say 'one-click shopping?'). It is at that point, when companies begin to enforce stupidity that we should go to the Courts and overturn such things.
I am sure that a simple registry edit will allow Windows Whistler to run unsigned code, just like a registry edit will allow WinNT to logon to a domain server without using encryption.
I think that Microsoft may actually have it's customers best interests in mind with this one. How much flak did MS get over not preventing virii like "love bug"? This will certainly make it more difficult for "Joe average computer illiterate" to execute malicious code.
However, maybe these poor bastards who run into virii problems should just move to a more secure OS.
I couldn't get to the link.
If anyone managed to get a copy in their cache, could you please post a copy? That way I can make an informed comment in this discussion, unlike the one below:
It seems to me that this would have to be a write-once, read-many type of device?
I tried Corel Linux 1.0 when it first came out. There were a number of good features, like being able to authenticate (graphically) via a windows NT domain right out of the box.
I think Corel missed their market with their distro though. Linux has simply not broken into the desktop market in mass yet... and that was one of the things that Corel Linux was hoping for. Give it a few years and a Corel Linux-like distribution will probably do very well.
I am glad to hear that Plex86 (FreeMWare) is having great successes. I am currently a VMware and WINE user and look forward to having other choices available.
One of the great (and under-documented) features of VMWare is the vmware-mount.pl script that allows the user to mount a vmware disk image as though it were an ordinary directory on the U*ix filesystem.
I have had great sucess using this scipt and my vmware disk file (nt4.dsk) with the WINE 'emulator'. I have my wine.conf file pointed to where I have mounted the disk image (/mnt/vmware).
I personally feel that emulating Windows under U*nix is a good thing, it allows people like myself, who only have one machine and hesitate to reboot just to use a small application, and additional level of flexibility.
Ah yes.
I run the "VICE" emulator on my Laptop so I can carry around all my favorite old C64 games.
Unfortunately, I have never had the pleasure of running GEOS on the C64. I did, however, run PC GEOS under DOS before I switched to Linux. GEOS is still a wicked cool environment, expecially considering that it can run on such a small memory footprint.
What I always wanted as a kid was a portable Commodore 64 (wasn't there a luggable model 64sx?)
I have pulled one of my old C64's apart, and it looks like it would be very difficult to reconfigure the internals (but I am no expert, so it may be easier for some of you).
Anyone have any ideas on how to do this?
This book sounds like it plays on age old fears about being excluded from society for refusing to consent to being "one" with the masses.
It's like that whole concept of the "666" mark of the beast in Christianity. Unless you have the mark you can't buy or sell or otherwise take part in society. But if you do take the mark you are somehow damned.
This is a great theme to work with because these "religious" fears are so ingrained that they affect the psyche of even persons who are outside of the traditional realm of Christianity. Hey, just watch "The Omen" I, II and III and see if it doesn't make you a bit uncomfortable.
I think this book will be going on my "to read" list also. It has hit upon one of those "universal themes" that are sure to keep this book current even many years from now.
No no no. I think you missed something in the translation.
I am not saying that Slashdot should have asked permission BEFORE the individuals posted their comments. What I am saying is that, when the decision was made to incorporate the comments into a print format, Slashdot should have said "hey, we are thinking about doing this. What do you all thing?" and then contacted individuals whose comments were going to be used in the book.
This would not have affected the quality of the original posts because they would still have been made prior to the individual being aware that the information was going to be used in a book.
A lot of individuals on Slashdot have grown to greatly dislike Jon Katz (I think just for the sake of disliking him). Personally, I have had times where I have loved what Katz had to say and others where I totally disagree with him. That is what makes Jon so much fun to have around.
I think some of these individuals were angered at the idea of Katz putting another book onto his resume at the expense of innocent Slashdotters. I can understand that.
What angers me about the whole "Hellmouth" series by Katz is the fact that he justifies what Eric and Dennis did that April 20th at Columbine. I keep hearing the message repeated that it was "understandable". It is not okay for Geeks to kill the less-fortunate lemming masses simply because they are being 'picked on.'
That is what Quake and DOom are for. So you can release the anger and the frustration in a medium where no one get hurt.
No. I am not justifying the endless scorn that Dennis Klebold and Eric Harris probably endured at Columbine. Trust me. When I was in High School back in the 1980's my friends and I were constantly harrassed (and by people who had been our friends back in grade school.) I took my frustrations out killing monsters the Bard's Tale on the my C-64.
I personally feel that I am a better person for what I went through back then. High School was the "Crappiest days of my life." And I remember them fondly. The hours in the computer lab. Trading the latest pirated copies of software. And best of all, blowing away EVERYONE's expectations about that quiet little introverted nerd who ended up with the starring role in the Senior Class musical. Who would have thought?
Slashdot Mirror
What really gets me is that the same people who are calling for the book to be thrown at this guy were the same people who said that Kevin Mitnick was getting the raw end of the stick.
The fact is, spamming may be a looser profession, but nobody got hurt, and I am sure that the costs to IBM were minimal.
Sure. I coulda phrased my point better, but I am a Florida voter, so you should expect me to be a little bit confused. WHAT! I voted for BSD? I meant to vote for Windows! Check my Chad! It's indented!
Actually, the PPP compression code exists outside of the actual kernel, so it could very well be BSD code. If BSD code were used within the Linux kernel itself, that would be a violation of both licenses.
Although I think you are trying to argue against my line of thinking, I think that you are actually in agreement with me.
This whole issue of emotional attachment to software is completely emotional and not logical. I maintain that Linux is better than BSD, but that belief stems completely from my emotions and has nothing to do with reality.
Neal Stephensons In the Beginning Was The Command Line really hits this right on the head. It's a good read, and I recommend it.
Ouch. If my post came across in any way as being flamebait, then it is me who should be doing the apologizing. Sorry.
Well. I would have to disagree with you. I am not talking about distributions. I am talking about the kernel, which is what Linux is. So what does Apache have to do with Linux? Therefore, where am I deluding myself? Just because a Linux distribution might include BSD licensed software, that does not mean that the Linux Kernel includes BSD licensed source code. Now. I don't have anything against the various BSDs and the programmers who are working on them. I simply like the GPL better. I like the fact that if you modify the source you return the code back to the community. I freely admit that my decision to use Linux over one of the BSDs is NOT an issue of technical excellence. It is a personal decision based on the fact that I agree with Stallman on the GPL. However, this does not prevent me from using software that is licensed under non-GPL licenses. The point of my post, which you responded to, was to point out the fact that choosing Linux over BSD has nothing to do with the technology involved, but everything to do with how you feel about the technology. It is a completely subjective decision. If I wanted the more technically superior OS I would probably pick either FreeBSD or NetBSD. Look. I really don't appreciate your calling my post nonsense. Your post says pretty much the same thing that mine did; that choosing Linux over BSD has no real logical basis. It is purely an emotional choice. It sounds like you completely ignored the first 90% of my post and only read the last 10% in which I said that I prefer Linux to BSD.
I am a Linux user.
However, I do see the validity that in many ways BSD is quite a bit more useful in certain applications then Linux is.
It all boils down to licensing issues. The BSD license allow corporations more opportunities to capitilize on their investment into the OS, while Linux leaves the corporations open to fear that they might not be able to turn a profit.
I personally prefer the GPL because it gives more rights to me, the consumer. That is why I will stick with Linux even if BSD manages to push it's technological advantage right thru the ceiling.
Free as in Stallman not as in Raymond.
I am so very tired of carrying around this 5 pound battery sucking laptop, and finally we are goind to have transmeta products that weigh more than vapor!
Who on Earth would want a computer that is liable to lock you out of your house just because it is having a bad day? I DEFINATELY would not want to use one of these in a mission-critical environment!
Yes, it is a hack.
What you have to remember is that not all hacks are related to software.
This is a hardware hack, just like taking an old Amiga 1200 and making it into a portable computer system.
Please don't be so narrowminded as to assume that hacking requires that you code. Hacking merely requires that you do something that transcends ordinary thinking... Like Al Gore hacking the Florida election process...
You know, this would be great if it ever came out with a real product. I do, however, have a problem with the picture of their HMD. That thing is just plain UGLY.
What I would like is a HMD that displays to one eye. Sorry, I still want to see the real world too.
That is stupid.
If the description is published in an internal document, there would be no proof that the document was actually created on the date that the company claims that it was, ala the following conversation:
BRUCE - Hey. I have a great idea! Let's invent High Definition Television!
JIM - But Bruce, High Definition Television already exists, someone else holds the patent.
BRUCE - Aha! But we could put together a little business case that describes the technology in it's entirety and then back-date it for 1972! We would blow the HDTV patent out of the water due to prior art! Ha ha ha!
JIM - My God! It just might work! You are a genius man!
Well, if you made such a database that was PART of the patent office, you might actually be able to make some progress.
Of course, a better solution would be to get rid of the patent office all together.
And just a quick reply to your sig:
I voted for Harry Browne.
The whole thing could be solved by the registering of "unpatents". Allow companies and individuals to register technologies and idea in a way that simply sets up and official registry of "prior use." Then, make it simpler to register "prior use" then to register a patent. That would help take care of part of the problem.
Look.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with a company taking out a patent on something that may appear outwardly to be "stupid."
Many companies do this on a regular basis simply to ensure that no one else can get that patent and possibly prevent them from using the idea/technology.
The problem arises when companies actually begin to try and enforce their "stupid" patents (can we say 'one-click shopping?'). It is at that point, when companies begin to enforce stupidity that we should go to the Courts and overturn such things.
There. I feel better.
AH! But the Virus would first have to be executed in order to modify the registry!
What we have here is a failure to communicate... bilingually.
I am sure that a simple registry edit will allow Windows Whistler to run unsigned code, just like a registry edit will allow WinNT to logon to a domain server without using encryption.
I think that Microsoft may actually have it's customers best interests in mind with this one. How much flak did MS get over not preventing virii like "love bug"? This will certainly make it more difficult for "Joe average computer illiterate" to execute malicious code.
However, maybe these poor bastards who run into virii problems should just move to a more secure OS.
I couldn't get to the link. If anyone managed to get a copy in their cache, could you please post a copy? That way I can make an informed comment in this discussion, unlike the one below: It seems to me that this would have to be a write-once, read-many type of device?
This would truly be bad.
I tried Corel Linux 1.0 when it first came out. There were a number of good features, like being able to authenticate (graphically) via a windows NT domain right out of the box.
I think Corel missed their market with their distro though. Linux has simply not broken into the desktop market in mass yet... and that was one of the things that Corel Linux was hoping for. Give it a few years and a Corel Linux-like distribution will probably do very well.
I am glad to hear that Plex86 (FreeMWare) is having great successes. I am currently a VMware and WINE user and look forward to having other choices available.
One of the great (and under-documented) features of VMWare is the vmware-mount.pl script that allows the user to mount a vmware disk image as though it were an ordinary directory on the U*ix filesystem.
I have had great sucess using this scipt and my vmware disk file (nt4.dsk) with the WINE 'emulator'. I have my wine.conf file pointed to where I have mounted the disk image (/mnt/vmware).
I personally feel that emulating Windows under U*nix is a good thing, it allows people like myself, who only have one machine and hesitate to reboot just to use a small application, and additional level of flexibility.
Now, does Plex work with PC-GEOS?
I knew this would happen. I got moderated down for using the word "karma."
And that is okay. However, my comment was certainly "On Topic", it was merely assinine.
I would have probably moderated me down as "Redundant".
It turns out that the Russians have finally decided (for the 5th time) to let Mir fall out of the sky (oh my God! They killed Kenny!)
I heard it on NPR's "All Things Considered" this morning on my way into work.
Funny, but yesterday I heard a report that the Russians were getting ready to send up a couple of cosmonauts to play Mir rangers again.
Ah yes. I run the "VICE" emulator on my Laptop so I can carry around all my favorite old C64 games. Unfortunately, I have never had the pleasure of running GEOS on the C64. I did, however, run PC GEOS under DOS before I switched to Linux. GEOS is still a wicked cool environment, expecially considering that it can run on such a small memory footprint.
What I always wanted as a kid was a portable Commodore 64 (wasn't there a luggable model 64sx?) I have pulled one of my old C64's apart, and it looks like it would be very difficult to reconfigure the internals (but I am no expert, so it may be easier for some of you). Anyone have any ideas on how to do this?
This book sounds like it plays on age old fears about being excluded from society for refusing to consent to being "one" with the masses.
It's like that whole concept of the "666" mark of the beast in Christianity. Unless you have the mark you can't buy or sell or otherwise take part in society. But if you do take the mark you are somehow damned.
This is a great theme to work with because these "religious" fears are so ingrained that they affect the psyche of even persons who are outside of the traditional realm of Christianity. Hey, just watch "The Omen" I, II and III and see if it doesn't make you a bit uncomfortable.
I think this book will be going on my "to read" list also. It has hit upon one of those "universal themes" that are sure to keep this book current even many years from now.
No no no. I think you missed something in the translation.
I am not saying that Slashdot should have asked permission BEFORE the individuals posted their comments. What I am saying is that, when the decision was made to incorporate the comments into a print format, Slashdot should have said "hey, we are thinking about doing this. What do you all thing?" and then contacted individuals whose comments were going to be used in the book.
This would not have affected the quality of the original posts because they would still have been made prior to the individual being aware that the information was going to be used in a book.
A lot of individuals on Slashdot have grown to greatly dislike Jon Katz (I think just for the sake of disliking him). Personally, I have had times where I have loved what Katz had to say and others where I totally disagree with him. That is what makes Jon so much fun to have around.
I think some of these individuals were angered at the idea of Katz putting another book onto his resume at the expense of innocent Slashdotters. I can understand that.
What angers me about the whole "Hellmouth" series by Katz is the fact that he justifies what Eric and Dennis did that April 20th at Columbine. I keep hearing the message repeated that it was "understandable". It is not okay for Geeks to kill the less-fortunate lemming masses simply because they are being 'picked on.'
That is what Quake and DOom are for. So you can release the anger and the frustration in a medium where no one get hurt.
No. I am not justifying the endless scorn that Dennis Klebold and Eric Harris probably endured at Columbine. Trust me. When I was in High School back in the 1980's my friends and I were constantly harrassed (and by people who had been our friends back in grade school.) I took my frustrations out killing monsters the Bard's Tale on the my C-64.
I personally feel that I am a better person for what I went through back then. High School was the "Crappiest days of my life." And I remember them fondly. The hours in the computer lab. Trading the latest pirated copies of software. And best of all, blowing away EVERYONE's expectations about that quiet little introverted nerd who ended up with the starring role in the Senior Class musical. Who would have thought?