Can't Control the Web...
on
Taming the Web
·
· Score: 3, Insightful
... Tell that to users in China or Afganistan. The government actively shuts down ISP's and terminates all connections to "undesireable" sites. Once big brother becomes involved, personal liberties go right out the window. And don't try to tell me that "it could never happen here". Think again. You mean to tell me that if some alphabetic government agency or powerful international corporation started putting MASSIVE pressure on backbone providers to shut down... (enter offending matter here - Movies - MP3 - p0rn)... they couldn't get action?
Sure... most of us would raise hell. But if they withstood? Then we're the ones who get screwed.
If you haven't visited this site, you should. Books 24x7 is a site that has online versions of technical books, in their entirety. For example, in "My Bookshelf" I have quick links to books on ColdFusion, ASP, Perl, Javascript and more (all known and well reviewed books too). The beautiful part is once you're registered, you can access these books from anywhere. Nice to always have your tech reference with you.
I got access through my employer. You might want to look into if you can talk your boss into getting the same deal for your workgroup (if you have one)
I'm with you... My friend and I BURST out laughing for a good 30 seconds... I'm sure we got quite a few strange looks with, "But... he's dying... that's not funny." thoughts.
Too bad the movie had far too many holes for me to enjoy. Oh well, I'll never see that $5.75 again.
Does it seem to anyone else, that the legislators involved with submitting this,
really have no idea how the Internet really works?
Sure, it is a terrific idea for there to be a known safe place for all kids
to go, where they would not be exposed to adult themed material. And, this would
work, if there was one overarching managing body for the entire Internet...
BUT THERE ISN'T! ICANN, despite their name, can't. The US Government CERTAINLY
can't do it (even as much as they'd like too).
There is never going to be any group/committee/whatever who approves everything
on the Internet. And nobody in their right mind would want that anyway.
"Yeah, I'd love to get that web site posted... just let me submit it to
the *insert governing body here* and hopefully they'll approve it and it will
be up by the end of the month..."
The Internet is the final frontier. It's the high-tech wild west. Its up for
grabs and you simply can't rely on the goodness and community warm fuzzies of
all its users. There will always be pervs soliciting kids on line. There will
always be companies marketing directly to those oh-so-young-and-impressional
future buyers. That is, unless, some sort of better technology (Internet2 for
example?) comes along.
I see a lot of people concerned about "stress" on the power grid by transmitting data across it. This doesn't work that way. It doesn't actually use the power cables to transmit data. The data is piggy-backed along the magnetic field surrounding the powerline, created by the electricty surging thru it. Very cool.
I did a presentation on this back in college a few years ago. Doesn't sound like a whole lot has changed. Companies involved all think "their" standard is the best and everyone else should conform to them. Not to mention the first time they tried to roll this, it wasn't ready yet. But thats nothing new. Look at the recordable DVD market for further reference.
I really hope they get this figured out soon. I think the technology is super cool and the speeds are respectable. I recommend everyone to read up on it. You'll be impressed.
We need the folks over at Spawn.com to get to work... Those McFarlane figures RULE. My "Slap Shot" Hanson Brothers and Bob and Doug McKenzie are incredible. How great would it be to have Monty Python figures from all the movies?
Hell... if he made figures for "Shaft", Holy Grail (which is a MUCH better movie) can't be far behind, right?
I live in Idaho, just north of Utah and we have as many mormons per capita as Utah. I see a lot of the same sorts of things here. The ULTRA conservatives feel they have the right... nay... the necessity to limit the lives of everyone else around them. Whether they believe the same or not.
Boise is now looking into about a dozen different ordinances to limit "Adult Businesses". Everything from strip clubs to book stores to some theatres where they might... GASP... show nudity in a play. One of the funnier ones is that they want to not allow any of "these undesireable businesses" within 1000 feet in any direction of any residence, park, church, school, government building, and about 10 other types of places. That doesn't sound all that bad until you start to think about it. There end up being exactly 2 locations in this town of 200,000 which meet these requirements. Hmmmm... not like they planned it that way, eh? It really is a pathetic exersise to watch. Any one who stands against them, (Much like this student) gets attacked in every way the authorities know how.
I would assume that you could find a lawyer to make a pretty good case against expullsion. That seems to be a VERY harsh punishment for nothing more than providing a forum.
When are they going to learn? I really loathe these authority figures who think that as long as they can keep people from doing what they want or expressing themselves that everything in they're little world is OK. *sigh*
How long do you suppose it will be until the RIAA takes their "pound of flesh" they feel they deserve for completely missing the digital music boat? They are so intent on crushing anything that even comes close to their precious domain, that they will fight this to their last dying breath.
I'm waiting for them to bring suit against TCP/IP or something... You gotta figure that is next.
"It is plainly obvious, your Honor, that this technology enables the transmission of unauthorized duplicated copyrighted material. Therefore, we ask that you impose an injunction against TCP/IP. We just want to protect our god given rights here. WE'RE THE VICTIMS! Honest!"
That is hillarious! I got that exact same email, only the "remove" email link was going to a Yahoo address. I find it interesting these people send these spams out from multiple addresses at a time, hoping to get around filtering schemes and the like. I know more than once, I will get multiple copies of the exact same piece of spam, except with a different "sender" address.
*sigh*
I still say we need to find a way to DDoS the phone numbers that are included with most of these spams. Espically if its an 800 number, since those are usually billed on a per call basis. Just a thought.
they basically tell you that small somatic doses of radiation are practically harmless
Of course the TELL you that! Would anyone volunteer to work with them, only for college money, if they said "well... we won't give you much radiation, but it will be enough to mutate your gametes and cause your kids to come out with 3 eyeballs."?
Just playing devils advocate here... not like the government ever lies to us... right?:-)
It seems to me that since we can seldom (if ever) actually contact said spammer thru email, there must be another way. By reading the article, it looks like most, if not all spam has some sort of phone number on it.
Now, if someone could only figure out a great way of DDoSing those SOB's phone numbers. Espically if its toll free, since they ususally pay for those lines by number of calls. I think that would really hit them where it hurts.
Its not so much that I worry I won't be able to say no... Believe me, I say
no... often... I just think that before too long, if I'm not entertained by
the mindless drivel they continue to shove down our throats, I will have NOTHING
to entertain me. Companies won't want to risk it, so they will pander EVERYTHING
to those who gladly follow the herd mentality. (Survivor fans, I'm talking to
you)
Hmmmm... Anyone else think that we are getting closer and closer to EVERYTHING
being about marketing? We aren't allowed to make up our own minds any more.
We can't have opinions. If we do, we are obviously not the 'target audience'
they're going for. Movies are dumbed down to the lowest common denominator.
TV shows are only concerned about their 'share'. Niche markets are a thing of
the past. Even on the web. Content sites are going down the tubes... or they
are bought/run by huge companies posing as fans.
*sigh*
Doesn't anyone else with a brain in their head find this disappointing?
However, my question is about all the other crap that the manufacturer installs
on those machines they sell. My parents friends bought a PC from a big name
outfit a couple of months ago. Not a bad system... good amounts of RAM and disk
space... and a pretty good processor. Well, they were wondering why it didn't
seem as fast as their PC's at work with comparable hardware setups... I checked
their system resources after a reboot... 43% free! There was so much proprietary
crap that was installed from the factory, that this machine was brought to its
knees. I couldn't believe my eyes. I'm sure a lot of those programs were there
to 'idiot-proof' those PC's and make supporting them easier... but honestly,
that was insane. (a quick msconfig cleared a lot of that up...)
I don't think the manufacturers need to load ANY MORE software to outgoing
systems, without explaining to customers exactly what is there, and how to remove
it if they don't want it.
I can see these things as being very useful. Like the other post says, searching through packed debris for survivors.... How bout inspecting nuclear piping at power plants for flaws or wear on the inside of pipes? I'm sure the military is watching their development very closely... if I'm fighting an urban war, and had a dozen of these things out ahead of my location scouting for enemies, I'd be VERY happy. My $0.02.
Point made! I admit I'm no international policy expert, so I'm a slave to what our media tells me. I really want Russia to get it's sh*t together, because it makes the world a safer place. If this guy's 20 Mil will help that, all the better. Now, if we could lose about 85% of the lawyers in this country, we could actually live... companies could put out products... teachers could teach... etc. etc. etc...
I think it would make me very nervous to invest a lot of money in Russia right now. Between the governmental problems (they can't even afford to pay their military) and the mafia who control EVERYTHING... I think someone with 20 mil could find a better place to put it.
To anyone who thinks that printing is not important... they should work printer tech support for a little while. I did that for HP for over a year, and people become VERY HOT when they can't print for any reason. It is truly scary.
I've had instances where I just answered the call and without my saying a word the person on the other end is screaming, crying, yelling, curssing, threatening legal action, and asking to speak to everyone from my supervisor to the CEO.
I think it's important to those people. And many other 'normal' people.
Cheers,
Jason
Slashdot Mirror
Sure... most of us would raise hell. But if they withstood? Then we're the ones who get screwed.
Think about it.
Jason
I got access through my employer. You might want to look into if you can talk your boss into getting the same deal for your workgroup (if you have one)
Jason
Too bad the movie had far too many holes for me to enjoy. Oh well, I'll never see that $5.75 again.
Jason
Jason
Sure, it is a terrific idea for there to be a known safe place for all kids to go, where they would not be exposed to adult themed material. And, this would work, if there was one overarching managing body for the entire Internet... BUT THERE ISN'T! ICANN, despite their name, can't. The US Government CERTAINLY can't do it (even as much as they'd like too).
There is never going to be any group/committee/whatever who approves everything on the Internet. And nobody in their right mind would want that anyway.
"Yeah, I'd love to get that web site posted... just let me submit it to the *insert governing body here* and hopefully they'll approve it and it will be up by the end of the month..."
The Internet is the final frontier. It's the high-tech wild west. Its up for grabs and you simply can't rely on the goodness and community warm fuzzies of all its users. There will always be pervs soliciting kids on line. There will always be companies marketing directly to those oh-so-young-and-impressional future buyers. That is, unless, some sort of better technology (Internet2 for example?) comes along.
My $0.02
Jason
Just for clarification
I did a presentation on this back in college a few years ago. Doesn't sound like a whole lot has changed. Companies involved all think "their" standard is the best and everyone else should conform to them. Not to mention the first time they tried to roll this, it wasn't ready yet. But thats nothing new. Look at the recordable DVD market for further reference.
I really hope they get this figured out soon. I think the technology is super cool and the speeds are respectable. I recommend everyone to read up on it. You'll be impressed.
Is it just me, or does the name "Arent Fox" sound like a character from a really bad Anime movie?
It's probably just me...
We need the folks over at Spawn.com to get to work... Those McFarlane figures RULE. My "Slap Shot" Hanson Brothers and Bob and Doug McKenzie are incredible. How great would it be to have Monty Python figures from all the movies?
Hell... if he made figures for "Shaft", Holy Grail (which is a MUCH better movie) can't be far behind, right?
I live in Idaho, just north of Utah and we have as many mormons per capita as Utah. I see a lot of the same sorts of things here. The ULTRA conservatives feel they have the right... nay... the necessity to limit the lives of everyone else around them. Whether they believe the same or not.
Boise is now looking into about a dozen different ordinances to limit "Adult Businesses". Everything from strip clubs to book stores to some theatres where they might... GASP... show nudity in a play. One of the funnier ones is that they want to not allow any of "these undesireable businesses" within 1000 feet in any direction of any residence, park, church, school, government building, and about 10 other types of places. That doesn't sound all that bad until you start to think about it. There end up being exactly 2 locations in this town of 200,000 which meet these requirements. Hmmmm... not like they planned it that way, eh? It really is a pathetic exersise to watch. Any one who stands against them, (Much like this student) gets attacked in every way the authorities know how.
I would assume that you could find a lawyer to make a pretty good case against expullsion. That seems to be a VERY harsh punishment for nothing more than providing a forum.
When are they going to learn? I really loathe these authority figures who think that as long as they can keep people from doing what they want or expressing themselves that everything in they're little world is OK. *sigh*
My $0.02
Jason
How long do you suppose it will be until the RIAA takes their "pound of flesh" they feel they deserve for completely missing the digital music boat? They are so intent on crushing anything that even comes close to their precious domain, that they will fight this to their last dying breath.
I'm waiting for them to bring suit against TCP/IP or something... You gotta figure that is next.
"It is plainly obvious, your Honor, that this technology enables the transmission of unauthorized duplicated copyrighted material. Therefore, we ask that you impose an injunction against TCP/IP. We just want to protect our god given rights here. WE'RE THE VICTIMS! Honest!"
Sheesh... save it.
That is hillarious! I got that exact same email, only the "remove" email link was going to a Yahoo address. I find it interesting these people send these spams out from multiple addresses at a time, hoping to get around filtering schemes and the like. I know more than once, I will get multiple copies of the exact same piece of spam, except with a different "sender" address.
*sigh*
I still say we need to find a way to DDoS the phone numbers that are included with most of these spams. Espically if its an 800 number, since those are usually billed on a per call basis. Just a thought.
they basically tell you that small somatic doses of radiation are practically harmless
Of course the TELL you that! Would anyone volunteer to work with them, only for college money, if they said "well... we won't give you much radiation, but it will be enough to mutate your gametes and cause your kids to come out with 3 eyeballs."?
Just playing devils advocate here... not like the government ever lies to us... right? :-)
It seems to me that since we can seldom (if ever) actually contact said spammer thru email, there must be another way. By reading the article, it looks like most, if not all spam has some sort of phone number on it.
Now, if someone could only figure out a great way of DDoSing those SOB's phone numbers. Espically if its toll free, since they ususally pay for those lines by number of calls. I think that would really hit them where it hurts.
My $0.02
Jason
Which is exactly how I spend most of my time...
Jason
Its not so much that I worry I won't be able to say no... Believe me, I say no... often... I just think that before too long, if I'm not entertained by the mindless drivel they continue to shove down our throats, I will have NOTHING to entertain me. Companies won't want to risk it, so they will pander EVERYTHING to those who gladly follow the herd mentality. (Survivor fans, I'm talking to you)
Jason
Hmmmm... Anyone else think that we are getting closer and closer to EVERYTHING being about marketing? We aren't allowed to make up our own minds any more. We can't have opinions. If we do, we are obviously not the 'target audience' they're going for. Movies are dumbed down to the lowest common denominator. TV shows are only concerned about their 'share'. Niche markets are a thing of the past. Even on the web. Content sites are going down the tubes... or they are bought/run by huge companies posing as fans.
*sigh*
Doesn't anyone else with a brain in their head find this disappointing?
Jason
Of course, censorware is bad...
However, my question is about all the other crap that the manufacturer installs on those machines they sell. My parents friends bought a PC from a big name outfit a couple of months ago. Not a bad system... good amounts of RAM and disk space... and a pretty good processor. Well, they were wondering why it didn't seem as fast as their PC's at work with comparable hardware setups... I checked their system resources after a reboot... 43% free! There was so much proprietary crap that was installed from the factory, that this machine was brought to its knees. I couldn't believe my eyes. I'm sure a lot of those programs were there to 'idiot-proof' those PC's and make supporting them easier... but honestly, that was insane. (a quick msconfig cleared a lot of that up...)
I don't think the manufacturers need to load ANY MORE software to outgoing systems, without explaining to customers exactly what is there, and how to remove it if they don't want it.
Jason
I can see these things as being very useful. Like the other post says, searching through packed debris for survivors.... How bout inspecting nuclear piping at power plants for flaws or wear on the inside of pipes? I'm sure the military is watching their development very closely... if I'm fighting an urban war, and had a dozen of these things out ahead of my location scouting for enemies, I'd be VERY happy. My $0.02.
Point made! I admit I'm no international policy expert, so I'm a slave to what our media tells me. I really want Russia to get it's sh*t together, because it makes the world a safer place. If this guy's 20 Mil will help that, all the better. Now, if we could lose about 85% of the lawyers in this country, we could actually live... companies could put out products... teachers could teach... etc. etc. etc...
I think it would make me very nervous to invest a lot of money in Russia right now. Between the governmental problems (they can't even afford to pay their military) and the mafia who control EVERYTHING... I think someone with 20 mil could find a better place to put it.
To anyone who thinks that printing is not important... they should work printer tech support for a little while. I did that for HP for over a year, and people become VERY HOT when they can't print for any reason. It is truly scary. I've had instances where I just answered the call and without my saying a word the person on the other end is screaming, crying, yelling, curssing, threatening legal action, and asking to speak to everyone from my supervisor to the CEO. I think it's important to those people. And many other 'normal' people. Cheers, Jason