It is absolutely unbelievable. I found those forums because I was deeply disturbed that this "Lasership" was used to deliver my media player which was delivered to the wrong address and then opened by "someone" and then delivered to me. I found rather quickly that I am not alone and that Amazon has a practice of simply replacing whatever was lost or stolen by Lasership out of their own pockets.
I don't buy from Amazon any longer and I won't until I find out that Lasership is either out of business or no longer shipping for Amazon. That Amazon hosts the forums which have nothing good to say about Lasership and continues throwing money their way amazes me. And now to find out that they actually read these forums and in some cases RESPOND leaves me puzzled as to why they do nothing about Lasership.
Well don't count them out yet. I *AM* a Texan. But I will be the first to admit there are some things that just "ain't rite..."
Recently, and I believe it was here on Slashdot, Texas was proposing a bill which would outlaw the use of drones by ordinary citizens to spy on business especially when they are being used to detect illegal activity such as polluting the environment. This was a move designed to prevent whistle blowers, not to defend any rights or for public safety.
A bill to prevent wireless snooping stinks of the same motives. While I'm great the with the results if they manage to get it passed, my problem is who might be behind it and why. Having lived in the Dallas area and dealt with the likes of former police Bolton and commissioner John Wiley Price, I am no stranger to corruption in business and government in Texas. It's quite likely in my opinion that this bill comes from people in Texas trying to keep themselves protected from FBI investigations. The FBI has been known to investigate those people (business and politicians in Texas) a *LOT*.
"As little as possible" and only answer what is asked with the minimum requirement. Be polite, but if it's not their business, it's not to be answered.
"Do you know why I stopped you?"
"No."
"Because... blah blah blah"
"Oh, okay."
Present required documentation as requested. Let him do his thing. Answer "no sir" and "yes sir" where applicable. Sign where requested. Fasten seat belt and leave when he's done.
It sounds like you saw that video though. It's all great advice.
Innocent people WANT to be helpful. It's not helpful. Not to them and not to you. If you say something they are somehow required to respond to in some way, you just made the interview last longer than it would have been otherwise.
But some things I find are usefule to say at a traffic stop. "I gotta use the bathroom" is at the top of the list. If they find out they have to arrest you for some reason, they will have you in their car and if you can't hold it, they are dealing with it. Turns out they will be less likely to run the full panel of whatever checks they normally do because they won't want to risk you pooping in their car. Also, pick your nose. They know you have to use their pen. You just might get a free pen out of the deal if they insist you sign or they'll take the easy way out and issue a warning.
The bad thing is when you use your dominance in one area (desktop OSes and Office suites) to dominate other markets to the point of harm to both the competition and to end users.
This can be seen as a requirement to use MSIE in order to use Outlook Web Access. Though this wasn't, to my knowledge, used in the case against Microsoft, it is a strong example of how Microsoft pushed its dominance into other areas to the harm and exclusion of others. This is antitrust.
Imagine if someone like me had an effective monopoly on automobile tires and I used that to expand into the road construction business resulting in roads that were "more compatible" with my tires than those of competitors.
It doesn't matter if this is true in only a small fraction of the cases. Are you going to gamble with your future that you won't get a bad cop whose actions are driven by getting higher numbers?
I'm sorry, but ambition is a great driver for capitalism. Idealism is what should be encouraged in government service.
The police are NOT our friends. They have their job. Their job descriptions make every one of us a suspect at every moment of every day. Our ridiculous legal system makes us guilty of something or anything at any given moment of every day. If you open your mouth at all, you have already said too much. This is not an exaggeration.
If we want a system where the police are not our adversaries, we should create a means by which advancement is measured not by the number of tickets or criminals arrested, but by how few and by how much, in theory, crime has been reduced. One approach makes them seek out criminals often confusing innocents while the other approach makes them more careful before they even classify something as a crime at all!
Normally, even I put Windows on machines and hope for the best. But some recent experiences I have had with some Ubuntu loads (I'm a redhat guy... I would not likely use Ubuntu for myself) have really impressed me with how well new users can adapt to it.
I have a son, for example, who has not recently asked me for any help with hit Ubuntu netbook... not recently, not in the past year or more. Reliable as all get-out. Well I take that back... there was one thing where updates somehow resulted in the system not working. I figured it out in a few seconds and had him back on his way. But why is Ubuntu good for my son and for other users? It's all about purpose and approach.
Firstly, in his case, it is an internet device. For most people that's all computers are. And since the MSIE-only web is ALREADY a thing of the past, that old argument is already gone. And since all of his functions are seriously easy to find, there's no learning there either even if it's not behind a start button. And yes, I encountered resistance to it not being Windows. But then I just asked him questions which guided him to the realization that it's the INTERNET he wants, not Windows. It's the functions on the internet he wanted, not the OS. And it seriously didn't take him long to get past it.
It also didn't hurt that I had to clean his malware infested machine(s) numerous times over the years and he accepts his responsibility in all of that and would rather not have to deal with it in the future.
Is this for everyone? Hell no. There will be people who want to go the the store and buy a greeting card maker program and expect it to run. Can't do it with Linux. You can show them alternatives and stuff... heck, lots of web sites do that now. But they probably already bought the software before they asked you to help install it. So it's not for everyone and establishing eligibility and suitability is paramount.
And does my son use Windows? Yup!! It has his Ubuntu netbook but he also has a Windows 7 machine too... for games mostly. But that's the beauty. He now ONLY uses it for the games. Where do we get most of the malware? "The Web" "Email" Right? Well those things are under Ubuntu. I've never heard of anyong getting malware from the games themselves. (Not to say it doesn't happen, just that I never heard of it.) In any case under this usage configuration, he now has reference data on his Ubuntu and the action on his Windows. And NEITHER trouble me all that much at all!
I couldn't be happier.
Also, in the more distant past, I did something similar -- the purpose approach -- and set up Linux for my older step-father. He was running strong for a very long time on RedHat... before it became Fedora. It was good... though I seem to recall on one visit his desktop had a LOT of "setup.exe" "setup(1).exe" and the like. I smile when I saw them. Knew what they meant and was glad it didn't happen. That old machine has undoubtedly been replaced by other relatives and most likely Windows... and you know? That's THEIR problem now and I'm quite sure that step-dad was thinking "I never had that trouble with his [Linux geek step-son] set up..."
Linux is a tough fit because Windows is so pervasive. It's out there and it's very, very expected. But even online banking and the like work perfectly with Linux as the host OS while using a browser other than MSIE. It's still bad enough that you have to nearly make apologies for the state of the industry while you are explaining how things work. But the most important thing to me is that the things which work under Linux WORK. That's email, web, skype, chat, printing and all that. They work.
If by ultra-capitalist you mean that even and especially the government is available to the highest bidder, then you're pretty much right. It disgusts me to face that fact as much as my initial reaction was to find a way to deny it. I kind of can't.
But there's one thing that's driving government which isn't money -- it's guilt -- especially white male guilt. I have recently been exploring the deep and dark hole that is the justice system and the differences between the rights of men and women. It's far worse than I could ever have imagined. Racial politics are nearly the same though it's showing signs of trying to normalize. And don't even think about criticizing the US Israel policy -- nuclear guilt, blame and labeling will follow.
But after that, it's money. How else can you explain how parties who offer so little get so much? (Don't read that the wrong way. I'm just saying they don't 'contribute' millions or billions to government in exchange for anything.)
I suppose, however, since "swatch" did so well when it did, an iWatch would do okay... a little okay... customized clock faces, multiple time zones, GPS for tracking and a few biometric sensors to compete with those exercise oriented watches. I somehow don't think they will go that route.... I expect an iPod for the wrist. Anything I would want them to do will probably never happen... especially being able to change watch batteries.
Interestingly, over this weekend I came across the original version of "Horton hears a Who" which goes a long way to show how foolish "Idiocracy" is. Apparently, the version I knew as a child was not the one I thought it was... still Horton the elephant, but "Horton Hatches the Egg" talking about being faithful and true to your word. (The most recent version of the Horton story combines the two in some horrible ways.)
Anyway... seek out the original Horton hears a Who. Dr. Suess... one of the great rappers and philosophers of all time whose lessons don't quite fit in with today's popular culture of consumerism and group thought.
I think you lack experience in this area. I personally work for a company which requires government interfacing and all of the strict standards and polocies associated. Yes, some archiving does require PDF/A. However there are other forms of data which are best stored in a more accessible format. Often times, the government requires both PDF and the original format simultaneously.
But what would be a likely reason for needing the original source document? Lots. Verification/validation, for starters but also, data extraction for other purposes as well.
As much as you would like to believe otherwise, Microsoft, the currently "too big to fail" entity, is still a company whose command over the market is subject to change just as Word Perfect once owned that market leaving [especially] the legal business which was heavily entrenched in work perfect from way back to manage a difficult situation as everyone ELSE was using MS Word while the courts and other legal offices used WP for the longest time... some still do! And the reason? Backwards compatibility and the ability to read those documents properly. Word has the option to read the WP formats but...it isn't always correct enough for the legal trade.
A router?! A computer that is dedicated to the purpose of moving data along a network path and/or deciding which network paths based on some rules and protocols.
Maybe I'm missing something here, but it seems to me one of the industry's biggest shams is the gross overvaluation of Cisco networking. Is it really so much better than all the others or are they cloaked in so much brand naming and the hallowed process by which people become "certified" that people forget what the actual purpose of Cisco's stuff is?
it is supposed to make a difference when government entities require that ISO standards are followed when possible and one exists for documents, that it should be used. So if/when government follows its own laws and policies, they would have to select software which utilizes an accepted ISO format. If Microsoft wasn't able to manipulate its way through, there would have been some really tough questions to answer.
And let's be clear on how important an issue this is. We're talking about government record keeping. We are talking about file formats wihich should be able to stand the test of time... 10 years, 50 years, 100 years from now if documents are to be accessed, which format do you think would be most accessible? A clean and clearly defined spec (ODF) or an XML formatted memory dump (OOXML)?
As for MS Office getting it right? Do you actually use MS Office? I more than use it, I support it so I get to identify and manage problems associated with its use. I encounter problems all the time... well not "all" the time, but often enough to keep me employed.
This is exactly the kind of revolving door that I find the most revolting.
I'm in favor of Android prospering, but I'm not in favor of government officials (public servants?) being rewarded with high paying jobs. "I'm sorry, we can't give you cash outright, but we can give you a job where you don't actually have to do anything useful." How is that not still bribery?
*.DOC(X) is not just he most universally accepted format for word processing documents, it's the most universally EXPECTED format for word processing documents.
And then there's the ridiculously high amount of integration which is the expected norm for all of this. It's more than just office. It's everything it touches. And as we saw when Microsoft took an active role in attempting to stop ODF from becoming an ISO standard and we saw it in how Microsoft inexplicably got an incomplete and impossible to implement standard fast-tracked through the same process.
They have no shame or sense of morality when it comes to defending their territory and will never allow anything to get in their way.
Now, if there were such a collaboration I'd be all over it. Right now? I just can't see it happening.
True. It needs virtual testing before it gets printed.
If the machine can be modelled and all the math is done, weak spots in the designs should be detectable and the design updated. Why do they have to print it and test it? Sounds unsafe.
1. People dislike Oracle as a company 2. The purposes/reasons for exploiting have shifted significantly 3. Sun was likely more friendly to people presenting information about bugs to be fixed.
I think the people exploiting Java has a LONG list of vulternabilities in queue. With each update of Java, fixing the last known holes, they just update their exploit code to utilize the next vulnerability in their queue. This could go on for a long, long time.
And where I work, we have to use Documentum Webtop which requires Java. Now they have us pushing Java updates all the time.
Oracle needs to pay out a bounty for Java vulnerabilities so collect as many as possible so the next fix(es) will be better.
The Librarian of Congress issued an EXEMPTION under the DMCA essentially spelling out "you cannot make a DMCA claim against people and other entities with regards to phones." That exemption expired.
Now in addition to the big carriers benefiting from this expired exemption, who would be the pedestrian violators of this under the DMCA? Well, the geek crowd to be sure, but more importantly, it would be the smaller operators who resell mobile services to people at bargain prices. This has reduced the efficiency by which the carriers rape the consumers. Many consumers are wising up and leaving their contracts for pre-paid service and bringing their expensive smart phones with them. You know, those over-priced carrots they use to draw consumers into a two-year committment prison?
So you see, this is yet another abuse of the DMCA to abuse consumers in ways "not intended."
Someone shoudl craft a petition to have the DMCA repealed. It is as simple as that. It is frequently abused and used to abuse others. It's just bad law.
Slashdot Mirror
I'm sorry but this really surprises me. Anyone ever hear of Lasership?
Look here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/forum/cd/discussion.html?cdForum=Fx20DX5GEB7TUX8&cdThread=TxM0IX0I78173Y
Or here: http://www.amazon.com/forum/amazon%20carrier%20feedback/ref=cm_cd_pg_pg1?_encoding=UTF8&cdForum=Fx2KOZSYK6OUZ6Y&cdPage=1&cdThread=Tx27GEWWFTOKU9T
It is absolutely unbelievable. I found those forums because I was deeply disturbed that this "Lasership" was used to deliver my media player which was delivered to the wrong address and then opened by "someone" and then delivered to me. I found rather quickly that I am not alone and that Amazon has a practice of simply replacing whatever was lost or stolen by Lasership out of their own pockets.
I don't buy from Amazon any longer and I won't until I find out that Lasership is either out of business or no longer shipping for Amazon. That Amazon hosts the forums which have nothing good to say about Lasership and continues throwing money their way amazes me. And now to find out that they actually read these forums and in some cases RESPOND leaves me puzzled as to why they do nothing about Lasership.
Well don't count them out yet. I *AM* a Texan. But I will be the first to admit there are some things that just "ain't rite..."
Recently, and I believe it was here on Slashdot, Texas was proposing a bill which would outlaw the use of drones by ordinary citizens to spy on business especially when they are being used to detect illegal activity such as polluting the environment. This was a move designed to prevent whistle blowers, not to defend any rights or for public safety.
A bill to prevent wireless snooping stinks of the same motives. While I'm great the with the results if they manage to get it passed, my problem is who might be behind it and why. Having lived in the Dallas area and dealt with the likes of former police Bolton and commissioner John Wiley Price, I am no stranger to corruption in business and government in Texas. It's quite likely in my opinion that this bill comes from people in Texas trying to keep themselves protected from FBI investigations. The FBI has been known to investigate those people (business and politicians in Texas) a *LOT*.
"As little as possible" and only answer what is asked with the minimum requirement. Be polite, but if it's not their business, it's not to be answered.
"Do you know why I stopped you?"
"No."
"Because... blah blah blah"
"Oh, okay."
Present required documentation as requested. Let him do his thing. Answer "no sir" and "yes sir" where applicable. Sign where requested. Fasten seat belt and leave when he's done.
It sounds like you saw that video though. It's all great advice.
Innocent people WANT to be helpful. It's not helpful. Not to them and not to you. If you say something they are somehow required to respond to in some way, you just made the interview last longer than it would have been otherwise.
But some things I find are usefule to say at a traffic stop. "I gotta use the bathroom" is at the top of the list. If they find out they have to arrest you for some reason, they will have you in their car and if you can't hold it, they are dealing with it. Turns out they will be less likely to run the full panel of whatever checks they normally do because they won't want to risk you pooping in their car. Also, pick your nose. They know you have to use their pen. You just might get a free pen out of the deal if they insist you sign or they'll take the easy way out and issue a warning.
It, by itself is not the bad thing.
The bad thing is when you use your dominance in one area (desktop OSes and Office suites) to dominate other markets to the point of harm to both the competition and to end users.
This can be seen as a requirement to use MSIE in order to use Outlook Web Access. Though this wasn't, to my knowledge, used in the case against Microsoft, it is a strong example of how Microsoft pushed its dominance into other areas to the harm and exclusion of others. This is antitrust.
Imagine if someone like me had an effective monopoly on automobile tires and I used that to expand into the road construction business resulting in roads that were "more compatible" with my tires than those of competitors.
It doesn't matter if this is true in only a small fraction of the cases. Are you going to gamble with your future that you won't get a bad cop whose actions are driven by getting higher numbers?
I'm sorry, but ambition is a great driver for capitalism. Idealism is what should be encouraged in government service.
Can't be said enough.
The police are NOT our friends. They have their job. Their job descriptions make every one of us a suspect at every moment of every day. Our ridiculous legal system makes us guilty of something or anything at any given moment of every day. If you open your mouth at all, you have already said too much. This is not an exaggeration.
If we want a system where the police are not our adversaries, we should create a means by which advancement is measured not by the number of tickets or criminals arrested, but by how few and by how much, in theory, crime has been reduced. One approach makes them seek out criminals often confusing innocents while the other approach makes them more careful before they even classify something as a crime at all!
Teamviewer is much cooler.
Normally, even I put Windows on machines and hope for the best. But some recent experiences I have had with some Ubuntu loads (I'm a redhat guy... I would not likely use Ubuntu for myself) have really impressed me with how well new users can adapt to it.
I have a son, for example, who has not recently asked me for any help with hit Ubuntu netbook... not recently, not in the past year or more. Reliable as all get-out. Well I take that back... there was one thing where updates somehow resulted in the system not working. I figured it out in a few seconds and had him back on his way. But why is Ubuntu good for my son and for other users? It's all about purpose and approach.
Firstly, in his case, it is an internet device. For most people that's all computers are. And since the MSIE-only web is ALREADY a thing of the past, that old argument is already gone. And since all of his functions are seriously easy to find, there's no learning there either even if it's not behind a start button. And yes, I encountered resistance to it not being Windows. But then I just asked him questions which guided him to the realization that it's the INTERNET he wants, not Windows. It's the functions on the internet he wanted, not the OS. And it seriously didn't take him long to get past it.
It also didn't hurt that I had to clean his malware infested machine(s) numerous times over the years and he accepts his responsibility in all of that and would rather not have to deal with it in the future.
Is this for everyone? Hell no. There will be people who want to go the the store and buy a greeting card maker program and expect it to run. Can't do it with Linux. You can show them alternatives and stuff... heck, lots of web sites do that now. But they probably already bought the software before they asked you to help install it. So it's not for everyone and establishing eligibility and suitability is paramount.
And does my son use Windows? Yup!! It has his Ubuntu netbook but he also has a Windows 7 machine too... for games mostly. But that's the beauty. He now ONLY uses it for the games. Where do we get most of the malware? "The Web" "Email" Right? Well those things are under Ubuntu. I've never heard of anyong getting malware from the games themselves. (Not to say it doesn't happen, just that I never heard of it.) In any case under this usage configuration, he now has reference data on his Ubuntu and the action on his Windows. And NEITHER trouble me all that much at all!
I couldn't be happier.
Also, in the more distant past, I did something similar -- the purpose approach -- and set up Linux for my older step-father. He was running strong for a very long time on RedHat... before it became Fedora. It was good... though I seem to recall on one visit his desktop had a LOT of "setup.exe" "setup(1).exe" and the like. I smile when I saw them. Knew what they meant and was glad it didn't happen. That old machine has undoubtedly been replaced by other relatives and most likely Windows... and you know? That's THEIR problem now and I'm quite sure that step-dad was thinking "I never had that trouble with his [Linux geek step-son] set up..."
Linux is a tough fit because Windows is so pervasive. It's out there and it's very, very expected. But even online banking and the like work perfectly with Linux as the host OS while using a browser other than MSIE. It's still bad enough that you have to nearly make apologies for the state of the industry while you are explaining how things work. But the most important thing to me is that the things which work under Linux WORK. That's email, web, skype, chat, printing and all that. They work.
If by ultra-capitalist you mean that even and especially the government is available to the highest bidder, then you're pretty much right. It disgusts me to face that fact as much as my initial reaction was to find a way to deny it. I kind of can't.
But there's one thing that's driving government which isn't money -- it's guilt -- especially white male guilt. I have recently been exploring the deep and dark hole that is the justice system and the differences between the rights of men and women. It's far worse than I could ever have imagined. Racial politics are nearly the same though it's showing signs of trying to normalize. And don't even think about criticizing the US Israel policy -- nuclear guilt, blame and labeling will follow.
But after that, it's money. How else can you explain how parties who offer so little get so much? (Don't read that the wrong way. I'm just saying they don't 'contribute' millions or billions to government in exchange for anything.)
I suppose, however, since "swatch" did so well when it did, an iWatch would do okay... a little okay... customized clock faces, multiple time zones, GPS for tracking and a few biometric sensors to compete with those exercise oriented watches. I somehow don't think they will go that route.... I expect an iPod for the wrist. Anything I would want them to do will probably never happen... especially being able to change watch batteries.
I tend to think that the AI coding in the typical game is more complex than routing. Sorry. It's complex, sure. But not *THAT* complex.
/joke>
Much of the time, the trolls ARE lawyers, but yes, I agree. The justice system is not supposed to be a "for profit" thing.
Interestingly, over this weekend I came across the original version of "Horton hears a Who" which goes a long way to show how foolish "Idiocracy" is. Apparently, the version I knew as a child was not the one I thought it was... still Horton the elephant, but "Horton Hatches the Egg" talking about being faithful and true to your word. (The most recent version of the Horton story combines the two in some horrible ways.)
Anyway... seek out the original Horton hears a Who. Dr. Suess... one of the great rappers and philosophers of all time whose lessons don't quite fit in with today's popular culture of consumerism and group thought.
Every format is alterable. Every format.
I think you lack experience in this area. I personally work for a company which requires government interfacing and all of the strict standards and polocies associated. Yes, some archiving does require PDF/A. However there are other forms of data which are best stored in a more accessible format. Often times, the government requires both PDF and the original format simultaneously.
But what would be a likely reason for needing the original source document? Lots. Verification/validation, for starters but also, data extraction for other purposes as well.
As much as you would like to believe otherwise, Microsoft, the currently "too big to fail" entity, is still a company whose command over the market is subject to change just as Word Perfect once owned that market leaving [especially] the legal business which was heavily entrenched in work perfect from way back to manage a difficult situation as everyone ELSE was using MS Word while the courts and other legal offices used WP for the longest time... some still do! And the reason? Backwards compatibility and the ability to read those documents properly. Word has the option to read the WP formats but...it isn't always correct enough for the legal trade.
A router?! A computer that is dedicated to the purpose of moving data along a network path and/or deciding which network paths based on some rules and protocols.
Maybe I'm missing something here, but it seems to me one of the industry's biggest shams is the gross overvaluation of Cisco networking. Is it really so much better than all the others or are they cloaked in so much brand naming and the hallowed process by which people become "certified" that people forget what the actual purpose of Cisco's stuff is?
it is supposed to make a difference when government entities require that ISO standards are followed when possible and one exists for documents, that it should be used. So if/when government follows its own laws and policies, they would have to select software which utilizes an accepted ISO format. If Microsoft wasn't able to manipulate its way through, there would have been some really tough questions to answer.
And let's be clear on how important an issue this is. We're talking about government record keeping. We are talking about file formats wihich should be able to stand the test of time... 10 years, 50 years, 100 years from now if documents are to be accessed, which format do you think would be most accessible? A clean and clearly defined spec (ODF) or an XML formatted memory dump (OOXML)?
As for MS Office getting it right? Do you actually use MS Office? I more than use it, I support it so I get to identify and manage problems associated with its use. I encounter problems all the time... well not "all" the time, but often enough to keep me employed.
Prolblem is a lot of businesses and individuals are still on 2007.
This is exactly the kind of revolving door that I find the most revolting.
I'm in favor of Android prospering, but I'm not in favor of government officials (public servants?) being rewarded with high paying jobs. "I'm sorry, we can't give you cash outright, but we can give you a job where you don't actually have to do anything useful." How is that not still bribery?
The moment "everyone" goes to the same platform is the moment everything slows to a crawl or even a stop.
Critical mass.
*.DOC(X) is not just he most universally accepted format for word processing documents, it's the most universally EXPECTED format for word processing documents.
And then there's the ridiculously high amount of integration which is the expected norm for all of this. It's more than just office. It's everything it touches. And as we saw when Microsoft took an active role in attempting to stop ODF from becoming an ISO standard and we saw it in how Microsoft inexplicably got an incomplete and impossible to implement standard fast-tracked through the same process.
They have no shame or sense of morality when it comes to defending their territory and will never allow anything to get in their way.
Now, if there were such a collaboration I'd be all over it. Right now? I just can't see it happening.
True. It needs virtual testing before it gets printed.
If the machine can be modelled and all the math is done, weak spots in the designs should be detectable and the design updated. Why do they have to print it and test it? Sounds unsafe.
A few things are different:
1. People dislike Oracle as a company
2. The purposes/reasons for exploiting have shifted significantly
3. Sun was likely more friendly to people presenting information about bugs to be fixed.
I think the people exploiting Java has a LONG list of vulternabilities in queue. With each update of Java, fixing the last known holes, they just update their exploit code to utilize the next vulnerability in their queue. This could go on for a long, long time.
And where I work, we have to use Documentum Webtop which requires Java. Now they have us pushing Java updates all the time.
Oracle needs to pay out a bounty for Java vulnerabilities so collect as many as possible so the next fix(es) will be better.
The Librarian of Congress issued an EXEMPTION under the DMCA essentially spelling out "you cannot make a DMCA claim against people and other entities with regards to phones." That exemption expired.
Now in addition to the big carriers benefiting from this expired exemption, who would be the pedestrian violators of this under the DMCA? Well, the geek crowd to be sure, but more importantly, it would be the smaller operators who resell mobile services to people at bargain prices. This has reduced the efficiency by which the carriers rape the consumers. Many consumers are wising up and leaving their contracts for pre-paid service and bringing their expensive smart phones with them. You know, those over-priced carrots they use to draw consumers into a two-year committment prison?
So you see, this is yet another abuse of the DMCA to abuse consumers in ways "not intended."
Someone shoudl craft a petition to have the DMCA repealed. It is as simple as that. It is frequently abused and used to abuse others. It's just bad law.