What we need is something analogous to IRC where all but the higher intelligence/true geeks can do their thing without it being flooded by idiots and junk. Also some sort of file verification system is needed beyond a user rating system that is pretty fool-proof and solid to keep things legit and flowing smoothly.
That would be much like USENET has been and still is. It's as fast as your newsfeed provider allows. News hosts can be found that hold files for at least 30 full days. Leeching doesn't hurt anyone. The initial part of the learning curve is high which stops a lot of people from uploading junk. File verification is easy. Don't download the file until it's been up for a few days. If it's bad/non-working then there will be plenty of replies mentioning that.
I've been burned enough times by game distributors that it would be better to ask me "where do you return the USENET version of your game that you downloaded so you wouldn't get screwed (no flowers, no kiss) again by a game that won't work on your computer without crashing every 10 minutes"
What's the real difference between the versions? I mean, M$ doesn't really change too much between versions, nor does any software for that matter.
Only incompatibility that prevents Office 2000 from reading Office 2003 files.
The 'incompatibility' should prevent Office 2000 from using extended features from 2003 files from working. It SHOULDN'T make Office 2000 completely incapable of reading many Office 2003 files.
A big part of security is PHYSICAL security. Physical access to these systems is strictly controlled. In the classified areas I've worked in, you're not even allowed to bring in a cell phone. So it's not likely anyone would be allowed to bring such a device as a USB wireless adapter.
That is very true but the thing is that since it's not likely, security won't be watching for that quite as much unless they are hardware geeks. They'll be looking for obvious things like cell phones (pictures, recording) yet could easily miss seeing (or knowing what it is) a wireless USB adapter if it were shipped in and packed with other hardware especially if its case is gone.
It's like "nobody expects the Spanish inquisition!". It's what's not expected that often bites people in the ass.
Yes, I remember the fateful day that AOL first got USENET accesss...Spring, 1994. The first problem was their USENET server duplicating every post several times.
It was a rather dark day, but then again, we had a lot of fun in alt.aol-sucks and other groups telling AOLers (like those you mentioned, not the mature people) that we knew where they lived.
All we had to do was mention the city (by looking at the post headers) and threaten to give out their address and phone number. It scared the crap out of those 'I'm calling AOL because you're violating the AOL Terms Of Service!' types. We'd often get panicked 'IM SRY PLEZE DONT' post/email replies.
And, back to the 'AOL Fine' subject, even back then AOL was making it extremely difficult to stop the billing. Many people were getting screwed because direct withdrawals & CC charges would not stop.
It took 11 years until something was finally done about it. Even back then, it often took a lot to cancel charges and we'd post information similar to what's below (from the FAQ) in reply to people who couldn't get AOL to cancel their accounts:
"America Online
8619 Westwood Center Drive
Vienna, VA 22182-2285
Send a certified letter with a return receipt. This will protect you in
the event that AOL decides to continue billing you, as you'll have proof
of when you canceled and proof that your letter was received by AOL.
E-mail: AOL used to offer the "cancel online" function at Keyword: Cancel,
but supposedly hasn't for some time now. And even when they did offer this
service, it didn't always work. The moral: don't count on e-mail to close
an account.
Get TOSsed: Be enough of a jerk on AOL and they'll cancel you!
You only need to register your logins on the other IM systems and you've just obsoleted the need for Trillian, Gaim, Kopete and all the other half-assed attempts at IM unification.
They may be half-assed, but it's better than having 5 asses clogging up my resources.
After all, I could look around for money but it would be much more efficient to throw a blanket over the robot, steal it, and put it up for sale on ebay.
Or, I could start a new fad by mailing the owners pictures of the robot vacationing in other countries.
There have been studies that suggest sleep is simply a method for the brain to purge itself of "weak memories" (basically clean up the clutter) rather than rebuilding muscles/organs as you suggest. Has anybody else read these studies? I wish I had a link for the one I read. I'll look for it.
Interesting, but it doesn't explain why my cats sleep so darned much.
It's not like they really need to purge a bunch of 'food, chase the mouse, take a dump, lick butt, repeat' memories each day.
Some of us are jealous of the relative ease with which the rest of you fall asleep. (The absolute worst is sharing a hotel room after a long trip, where your traveling companion falls asleep right away, but you don't fall asleep for hours)
I've suffered with insomnia for all of my life. Various techniques such as drugs, meditation, and other relaxation techiniques don't work in that even if I do get to sleep, I wake up soon afterwards.
(Actually, the latter 2 help me during the day to keep my brain from going into the depression cycles I used to deal with constantly so it's not all bad). At least I'm happy most of the time now. Most chronic depression can be blamed on bad sleeping patterns. Treating chronic depression directly is most often fruitless because it's not the main issue.)
I've learned to live with that. I work for myself so I can get up at 11:00am and go off to fix computers. I completely avoid the 'zOMG, I have to be to work in 60 minutes and I haven't slept a wink' stress.
But, what really makes me jealous is that my girlfriend can go to sleep anywhere, anytime, (I'm not kidding) in 1 or 2 minutes. She just decides to go to sleep and she's sleeping for ~6 hours straight.
I'm not sure what I'd trade to be able to fall asleep that fast and go through a full sleep cycle with ease. It would probably be something pretty significant.
"Plug-ins for the new Sidebar are also available including a to-do list, clock, and more.
Yes, but do we trust those plug-ins? Google doesn't and says so on the plug-in page.
What if a plug-in author (for example) sneaks in features like this plug-in has but doesn't mention it? Will the average firewall notice a problem once Google Desktop has been given permission to access the internet?:
What's New in Laplink Everywhere 4
* Remote desktop search powered by Google Desktop Search from any web-enabled device with the ability to act on the search results directly from a browser.
* Native integration of Microsoft's Remote Desktop Protocol to extend Remote Desktop to allow remote control over the Internet and through firewalls.
* Ability to send files of any size or type using a secure, click-and-download web link from any web-connected PC or handheld device.
* New, easier to use Laplink Everywhere website.
* Streamlined user interface for handheld devices to enable fast access to each Laplink Everywhere service.
* Support for leading web browsers including Internet Explorer, Netscape, Firefox and Opera.
* Support for leading operating systems used by web-enabled PDA and Smartphones including Windows Mobile, PocketPC, Palm and Symbian.
The more idiot friendly a peer to peer protocol is made, the more idiots you get. Yay now we get more people who care nothing about seeding and all about the getting!
That's one of the reasons that USENET is still going strong with quality file trading after all of these years. Since it's still (relatively compared to P2P) hard to post/leech (combining parts, dealing with missing ones, etc...) easily without seperate pieces of software to deal with it, it is ignored by the masses and the media.
It takes an hour or so to learn how to use USENET well by reading FAQs. With P2P, there are wizards that take care of that and people can start downloading complete files in less than a minute.
True but that is because right now there is no restrictions being placed on WMP as of yet. Make it so Cletus' new compooter can't play them moving pictures and Madine will get upset. So they will hook up to that there Intarwebs and get another player.
True. But, Microsoft & Friends are being sneaky about it. For example, the xbox360 will have a WMP front-end. Those consumers won't have a choice at that point unless they modify their xbox360's to quite an extent.
It's not like the side of the xbox360 container will say 'by the way, no more pirating for you if you use this device'.
The standard also paves the way for optional content protection, which is not automatically part of the standard, Lempesis said. Instead, a module could be added by manufacturers to prevent unauthorized content from being viewed on the display--a feature surely to be a hit in Hollywood.
So, VESA is apparently dodging DRM yet the standard inherently allows DRM to be used. (Which is not surprising or unexpected)
Somehow that didn't deter developers in the times of Amiga from writing games "1MB RAM required", so all A500 users had to buy extension cards to use new state-of-the-art games
That wasn't a console.
Console players are not as used to system requirements as computer users are.
Computer users face those requirements every time they purchase a software item.
Why does anyone think the "illegitimate" spammers don't do exactly the same thing? Especially when, at $5/hr (about what US min wage is, I think) 5 seconds of effort (an overestimate, most likely, after you've been doing it for an hour) works out to about 2/3rds of a CENT...and that has the potential to reach hundreds of people before someone flags it? ONE worker could do 720 an hour...
I'd block their ip address range as soon as my software let me know that I was getting pounded by verifications from one place.
Or, I could be really Evil and just have the web site respond more and more slowly as more verifications stacked up from any particular subnet.
That says global warming may well stave off the next ice age, and this wiill be no bad thing for our species. Now I suspect that this would be better acheived deliberately and with planning, rather than through polution. Whichever way it happens though, given that I live in england, a country which was covered to a depth of several kilometers in ice during the last ice age, I can't say I mind too much, however it happens.
If we were able to hold off an ice age for a while, it would just make the ice age that much more wicked when it shows up.
Weather doesn't follow common sense. For instance, most people would think that after 5 years of drought that it's most likely that the next year will bring an end to the drought. Actually, it's the opposite. The longer a drought goes on, the more likely it will continue. (Even the ancients noticed this but blamed it on curses by God or whoever could be the scapegoat)
On a similar note, the longer we hold an ice age back, the larger and more violent the swing will be to our 'other' climate.
I, for one, don't think that humans have as much of an influence on the climate as a whole as we think we do. And, I don't hear much at all about global warming in the winter.
Slashdot Mirror
Filed: December 14, 2000
PCT Filed: December 14, 2000
PCT NO: PCT/US00/33717
371 Date: September 3, 2002
102(e) Date: September 3, 2002
PCT PUB.NO.: WO01/62359
PCT PUB. Date: August 30, 2001
What we need is something analogous to IRC where all but the higher intelligence/true geeks can do their thing without it being flooded by idiots and junk. Also some sort of file verification system is needed beyond a user rating system that is pretty fool-proof and solid to keep things legit and flowing smoothly.
That would be much like USENET has been and still is. It's as fast as your newsfeed provider allows. News hosts can be found that hold files for at least 30 full days. Leeching doesn't hurt anyone. The initial part of the learning curve is high which stops a lot of people from uploading junk. File verification is easy. Don't download the file until it's been up for a few days. If it's bad/non-working then there will be plenty of replies mentioning that.
I've been burned enough times by game distributors that it would be better to ask me "where do you return the USENET version of your game that you downloaded so you wouldn't get screwed (no flowers, no kiss) again by a game that won't work on your computer without crashing every 10 minutes"
Sure, a Taser, on the rare occasion, can kill someone, but its a much more efficient alternative to a gun.
Yes, pistol shots usually don't hit a human target in a police vs criminal encounter.
OTOH, a taser has a much more likely-hood of hitting it's target vs # of times uses per encounter vs # of times a pistol is used per encounter.
I'm waiting for my "Kevin Costner gills" to pop outta my neck. Already have the sail boat ready to go.
I welcome global warming as long as I am not required to slowly torture myself by watching the worst post-apocalyptic movie ever - Waterworld.
What's the real difference between the versions? I mean, M$ doesn't really change too much between versions, nor does any software for that matter.
Only incompatibility that prevents Office 2000 from reading Office 2003 files.
The 'incompatibility' should prevent Office 2000 from using extended features from 2003 files from working. It SHOULDN'T make Office 2000 completely incapable of reading many Office 2003 files.
Moderation in EVERYTHING is key
Don't forget that the above encompasses Moderation itself.
A big part of security is PHYSICAL security. Physical access to these systems is strictly controlled. In the classified areas I've worked in, you're not even allowed to bring in a cell phone. So it's not likely anyone would be allowed to bring such a device as a USB wireless adapter.
That is very true but the thing is that since it's not likely, security won't be watching for that quite as much unless they are hardware geeks. They'll be looking for obvious things like cell phones (pictures, recording) yet could easily miss seeing (or knowing what it is) a wireless USB adapter if it were shipped in and packed with other hardware especially if its case is gone.
It's like "nobody expects the Spanish inquisition!". It's what's not expected that often bites people in the ass.
USB is still thrown up in the air. I'm very uncomfortable with it but our client uses it quite often to transfer data.
Lots of stuff WILL be thrown up in the air if someone connects a USB wireless adapter.
Yes, I remember the fateful day that AOL first got USENET accesss...Spring, 1994. The first problem was their USENET server duplicating every post several times.
It was a rather dark day, but then again, we had a lot of fun in alt.aol-sucks and other groups telling AOLers (like those you mentioned, not the mature people) that we knew where they lived.
All we had to do was mention the city (by looking at the post headers) and threaten to give out their address and phone number. It scared the crap out of those 'I'm calling AOL because you're violating the AOL Terms Of Service!' types. We'd often get panicked 'IM SRY PLEZE DONT' post/email replies.
And, back to the 'AOL Fine' subject, even back then AOL was making it extremely difficult to stop the billing. Many people were getting screwed because direct withdrawals & CC charges would not stop.
It took 11 years until something was finally done about it. Even back then, it often took a lot to cancel charges and we'd post information similar to what's below (from the FAQ) in reply to people who couldn't get AOL to cancel their accounts:
http://anti-aol.org/faqs/aas/faq1.html
" America Online
8619 Westwood Center Drive
Vienna, VA 22182-2285
Send a certified letter with a return receipt. This will protect you in the event that AOL decides to continue billing you, as you'll have proof of when you canceled and proof that your letter was received by AOL.
E-mail: AOL used to offer the "cancel online" function at Keyword: Cancel, but supposedly hasn't for some time now. And even when they did offer this service, it didn't always work. The moral: don't count on e-mail to close an account.
Get TOSsed: Be enough of a jerk on AOL and they'll cancel you!
Why defend the multi-protocol clients when they're a greater pain in the ass to use?
I didn't. I said that 1 client is better than 5 for me.
That's all. No more. No less. Different folks, different strokes.
You only need to register your logins on the other IM systems and you've just obsoleted the need for Trillian, Gaim, Kopete and all the other half-assed attempts at IM unification.
They may be half-assed, but it's better than having 5 asses clogging up my resources.
After all, I could look around for money but it would be much more efficient to throw a blanket over the robot, steal it, and put it up for sale on ebay.
Or, I could start a new fad by mailing the owners pictures of the robot vacationing in other countries.
Wait, it could take it's own damned pictures!
There have been studies that suggest sleep is simply a method for the brain to purge itself of "weak memories" (basically clean up the clutter) rather than rebuilding muscles/organs as you suggest. Has anybody else read these studies? I wish I had a link for the one I read. I'll look for it.
Interesting, but it doesn't explain why my cats sleep so darned much.
It's not like they really need to purge a bunch of 'food, chase the mouse, take a dump, lick butt, repeat' memories each day.
Some of us are jealous of the relative ease with which the rest of you fall asleep. (The absolute worst is sharing a hotel room after a long trip, where your traveling companion falls asleep right away, but you don't fall asleep for hours)
I've suffered with insomnia for all of my life. Various techniques such as drugs, meditation, and other relaxation techiniques don't work in that even if I do get to sleep, I wake up soon afterwards.
(Actually, the latter 2 help me during the day to keep my brain from going into the depression cycles I used to deal with constantly so it's not all bad). At least I'm happy most of the time now. Most chronic depression can be blamed on bad sleeping patterns. Treating chronic depression directly is most often fruitless because it's not the main issue.)
I've learned to live with that. I work for myself so I can get up at 11:00am and go off to fix computers. I completely avoid the 'zOMG, I have to be to work in 60 minutes and I haven't slept a wink' stress.
But, what really makes me jealous is that my girlfriend can go to sleep anywhere, anytime, ( I'm not kidding ) in 1 or 2 minutes. She just decides to go to sleep and she's sleeping for ~6 hours straight.
I'm not sure what I'd trade to be able to fall asleep that fast and go through a full sleep cycle with ease . It would probably be something pretty significant.
Minority Report was based on a Philip K Dick novel from the 60s
Actually, a short story in 1956.
"Plug-ins for the new Sidebar are also available including a to-do list, clock, and more.
Yes, but do we trust those plug-ins? Google doesn't and says so on the plug-in page.
What if a plug-in author (for example) sneaks in features like this plug-in has but doesn't mention it? Will the average firewall notice a problem once Google Desktop has been given permission to access the internet?:
What's New in Laplink Everywhere 4
* Remote desktop search powered by Google Desktop Search from any web-enabled device with the ability to act on the search results directly from a browser.
* Native integration of Microsoft's Remote Desktop Protocol to extend Remote Desktop to allow remote control over the Internet and through firewalls.
* Ability to send files of any size or type using a secure, click-and-download web link from any web-connected PC or handheld device.
* New, easier to use Laplink Everywhere website.
* Streamlined user interface for handheld devices to enable fast access to each Laplink Everywhere service.
* Support for leading web browsers including Internet Explorer, Netscape, Firefox and Opera.
* Support for leading operating systems used by web-enabled PDA and Smartphones including Windows Mobile, PocketPC, Palm and Symbian.
just pisses me off and makes me want to hurt people after I play Counter-Strike Source!
The more idiot friendly a peer to peer protocol is made, the more idiots you get. Yay now we get more people who care nothing about seeding and all about the getting!
That's one of the reasons that USENET is still going strong with quality file trading after all of these years. Since it's still (relatively compared to P2P) hard to post/leech (combining parts, dealing with missing ones, etc...) easily without seperate pieces of software to deal with it, it is ignored by the masses and the media.
It takes an hour or so to learn how to use USENET well by reading FAQs. With P2P, there are wizards that take care of that and people can start downloading complete files in less than a minute.
True but that is because right now there is no restrictions being placed on WMP as of yet. Make it so Cletus' new compooter can't play them moving pictures and Madine will get upset. So they will hook up to that there Intarwebs and get another player.
True. But, Microsoft & Friends are being sneaky about it. For example, the xbox360 will have a WMP front-end. Those consumers won't have a choice at that point unless they modify their xbox360's to quite an extent.
It's not like the side of the xbox360 container will say 'by the way, no more pirating for you if you use this device'.
who the hell uses that POS anyway?
The people who have it preloaded on their Dell, Gateway, HP, Sony, Toshiba, etc...
That's more than just a small slice of the consumer market.
The standard also paves the way for optional content protection, which is not automatically part of the standard, Lempesis said. Instead, a module could be added by manufacturers to prevent unauthorized content from being viewed on the display--a feature surely to be a hit in Hollywood.
So, VESA is apparently dodging DRM yet the standard inherently allows DRM to be used. (Which is not surprising or unexpected)
Somehow that didn't deter developers in the times of Amiga from writing games "1MB RAM required", so all A500 users had to buy extension cards to use new state-of-the-art games
That wasn't a console.
Console players are not as used to system requirements as computer users are.
Computer users face those requirements every time they purchase a software item.
Why does anyone think the "illegitimate" spammers don't do exactly the same thing? Especially when, at $5/hr (about what US min wage is, I think) 5 seconds of effort (an overestimate, most likely, after you've been doing it for an hour) works out to about 2/3rds of a CENT...and that has the potential to reach hundreds of people before someone flags it? ONE worker could do 720 an hour...
I'd block their ip address range as soon as my software let me know that I was getting pounded by verifications from one place.
Or, I could be really Evil and just have the web site respond more and more slowly as more verifications stacked up from any particular subnet.
That says global warming may well stave off the next ice age, and this wiill be no bad thing for our species. Now I suspect that this would be better acheived deliberately and with planning, rather than through polution. Whichever way it happens though, given that I live in england, a country which was covered to a depth of several kilometers in ice during the last ice age, I can't say I mind too much, however it happens.
If we were able to hold off an ice age for a while, it would just make the ice age that much more wicked when it shows up.
Weather doesn't follow common sense. For instance, most people would think that after 5 years of drought that it's most likely that the next year will bring an end to the drought. Actually, it's the opposite. The longer a drought goes on, the more likely it will continue. (Even the ancients noticed this but blamed it on curses by God or whoever could be the scapegoat)
On a similar note, the longer we hold an ice age back, the larger and more violent the swing will be to our 'other' climate.
I, for one, don't think that humans have as much of an influence on the climate as a whole as we think we do. And, I don't hear much at all about global warming in the winter.