When SBC first started offering DSL (many moons ago), they would only install it on a second line. This second line did not require a phone number. They have since moved away from that, but for reasons too long to get into, I still have service setup that way. Whenever I talked to them, they always encourage me to switch to the Yahoo DSL branded offering. They really want the line back.
Interesting. I'm considering VMware for other uses, including creating a "guest" VM that can be deleted and restored from a clean backup on a periodic basis. I individually encrypt sensitive documents. I don't have many. For passwords, I store them in an encrypted document, but rather than containing the actual passwords, I store a character or two mixed with asterisks ("*"). This gives me enough information to know what the password is, without actually storing the real password.
The network is protected by a hardware firewall and each PC has a software firewall.
Bingo! The prices are ridiculous given the absence of raw materials. I actually sent a message to Palm about 6 months ago asking why the prices were so high. They put me in contact with one of the publishers (I can't remember the name at the moment.) who basically said that print publishing is still not stored in an electronic form. This sounds insane, but it's probably true. So turning a book into an e-book requires a fair amount of effort.
Assuming this is true, once the industry moves to the computer age, e-book prices should drop.
Sooner or later it all boils down to trust. Someone has to administer the information which automatically means that person or persons has the ability to bypass any security put in place. Control the DBA (tough to do) and you still have to worry about the security guy.
Hire people you can trust with sensitive information and treat them well. That's the best security around.
This is probably a redundant comment, but all you need is a multi-substitution cipher to have unbreakable encryption. In the 1800's, Thomas Jefferson Beale created the Beale Cipher's using this technique to encrypt the directions to a supposed treasure. He was not the first to do this, but the Beale Cipher's are probably the most popular example. Typically you would use an historic document as the key. You'd start numbering from the first letter onward including spaces. Each "A" would have multiple numbers to choose from as a substitute, as would each space, etc. To encrypt a document, you simply use any of the available substitutes for the letter or space or punctuation mark and separate the results by a comma. In the end, you'd have a long series of numbers. Statistical analysis and brute force are both useless in this case.
The only way to decrypt the message is to get a copy of the key. This sounds a lot like a one time pad in that regard (but I'm certainly no expert).
I'd have to agree with the redundant strategy. If you have both DSL and Cable access, the chances of both being down at the same time is pretty small. Of course both have to be available in your area. The combined cost is probably cheaper than a business class line(although you'd want to check this) and I suspect more reliable. After all, I don't want to be reimbursed for lost time. What I really want is no lost time.
If your employer is willing to foot the bill for DSL, pay for Cable out of your own pocket. If you're really paranoid, keep a second machine on each and replicate your work between machines on a regular (and frequent basis). If either machine goes down (or either connection), you've got a hot spare.
As someone who has a degree in chemical engineering (and 7 years experience in the field) and who has worked in the software field even longer, the notion that programming is engineering doesn't quite feel right. It's an issue that has been around for a while and seems to resurface periodically. To be honest, it's just a name and in the grand scheme of things I don't really care if someone chooses to call themselves an engineer.
However, the problem that a lot of "traditional" engineers have is that all engineering fields share a common set of courses. These core classes include more than mathematics and they are generally not part of the Computer Science curriculum.
Computer Science is no less challenging a field than engineering, but just as chemistry and physics majors are not engineers, neither are computer scientists.
Re:But that's most engineering curriculums
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CS vs CIS
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· Score: 1
I majored in chemical engineering as an undergrad and the best times I had (from an educational point of view) were when I managed to have half tech courses and half liberal arts stuff. (Granted, I couldn't manage that often.) Both can be mind expanding, but different parts of the mind. The problem solving skills you pick up in an engineering style program cannot be duplicated anywhere. Knowing how to construct a sentence or two doesn't hurt either.
Engineering courses should not just be about how to do a specific job. Most of mine weren't. They're supposed to be a mix of the practical and how things work. There's a lot more value in understanding. It means you can apply your knowledge to situations you haven't seen before.
Just my two cents worth.
A lot of employers believe as you do, that indentured servitude is only fair.:-) The biggest problem I see is that it sets the wrong tone between employer and employee. Loyalty isn't what it used to be. The mergers and layoffs of the '80's took care of that. But loyalty does still exist. I've seen it. I've even felt it on occasion. But tell me that you want me to sign something or I can't take a course, and loyalty goes out the window. The only thing that is left is a business arrangement. A job should be more than the exchange of services for money. If that's all that it is, I'll jump ship as soon as the time is up and get more money elsewhere.
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When SBC first started offering DSL (many moons ago), they would only install it on a second line. This second line did not require a phone number. They have since moved away from that, but for reasons too long to get into, I still have service setup that way. Whenever I talked to them, they always encourage me to switch to the Yahoo DSL branded offering. They really want the line back.
Interesting. I'm considering VMware for other uses, including creating a "guest" VM that can be deleted and restored from a clean backup on a periodic basis. I individually encrypt sensitive documents. I don't have many. For passwords, I store them in an encrypted document, but rather than containing the actual passwords, I store a character or two mixed with asterisks ("*"). This gives me enough information to know what the password is, without actually storing the real password.
The network is protected by a hardware firewall and each PC has a software firewall.
Bingo! The prices are ridiculous given the absence of raw materials. I actually sent a message to Palm about 6 months ago asking why the prices were so high. They put me in contact with one of the publishers (I can't remember the name at the moment.) who basically said that print publishing is still not stored in an electronic form. This sounds insane, but it's probably true. So turning a book into an e-book requires a fair amount of effort.
Assuming this is true, once the industry moves to the computer age, e-book prices should drop.
Sooner or later it all boils down to trust. Someone has to administer the information which automatically means that person or persons has the ability to bypass any security put in place. Control the DBA (tough to do) and you still have to worry about the security guy.
Hire people you can trust with sensitive information and treat them well. That's the best security around.
This is probably a redundant comment, but all you need is a multi-substitution cipher to have unbreakable encryption. In the 1800's, Thomas Jefferson Beale created the Beale Cipher's using this technique to encrypt the directions to a supposed treasure. He was not the first to do this, but the Beale Cipher's are probably the most popular example. Typically you would use an historic document as the key. You'd start numbering from the first letter onward including spaces. Each "A" would have multiple numbers to choose from as a substitute, as would each space, etc. To encrypt a document, you simply use any of the available substitutes for the letter or space or punctuation mark and separate the results by a comma. In the end, you'd have a long series of numbers. Statistical analysis and brute force are both useless in this case.
The only way to decrypt the message is to get a copy of the key. This sounds a lot like a one time pad in that regard (but I'm certainly no expert).
I'd have to agree with the redundant strategy. If you have both DSL and Cable access, the chances of both being down at the same time is pretty small. Of course both have to be available in your area. The combined cost is probably cheaper than a business class line(although you'd want to check this) and I suspect more reliable. After all, I don't want to be reimbursed for lost time. What I really want is no lost time.
If your employer is willing to foot the bill for DSL, pay for Cable out of your own pocket. If you're really paranoid, keep a second machine on each and replicate your work between machines on a regular (and frequent basis). If either machine goes down (or either connection), you've got a hot spare.
As someone who has a degree in chemical engineering (and 7 years experience in the field) and who has worked in the software field even longer, the notion that programming is engineering doesn't quite feel right. It's an issue that has been around for a while and seems to resurface periodically. To be honest, it's just a name and in the grand scheme of things I don't really care if someone chooses to call themselves an engineer.
However, the problem that a lot of "traditional" engineers have is that all engineering fields share a common set of courses. These core classes include more than mathematics and they are generally not part of the Computer Science curriculum.
Computer Science is no less challenging a field than engineering, but just as chemistry and physics majors are not engineers, neither are computer scientists.
I majored in chemical engineering as an undergrad and the best times I had (from an educational point of view) were when I managed to have half tech courses and half liberal arts stuff. (Granted, I couldn't manage that often.) Both can be mind expanding, but different parts of the mind. The problem solving skills you pick up in an engineering style program cannot be duplicated anywhere. Knowing how to construct a sentence or two doesn't hurt either. Engineering courses should not just be about how to do a specific job. Most of mine weren't. They're supposed to be a mix of the practical and how things work. There's a lot more value in understanding. It means you can apply your knowledge to situations you haven't seen before. Just my two cents worth.
A lot of employers believe as you do, that indentured servitude is only fair. :-) The biggest problem I see is that it sets the wrong tone between employer and employee. Loyalty isn't what it used to be. The mergers and layoffs of the '80's took care of that. But loyalty does still exist. I've seen it. I've even felt it on occasion. But tell me that you want me to sign something or I can't take a course, and loyalty goes out the window. The only thing that is left is a business arrangement. A job should be more than the exchange of services for money. If that's all that it is, I'll jump ship as soon as the time is up and get more money elsewhere.