So that means that we must condemn a company that tries to do a socially responsible thing?
If they were so 'socially responsible', they'd put a governor in their cars that limited their speed to about 45. Barely legal on the highways, uses less gas, less wear and tear on the vehicles, less emissions, etc. Their motive was profit, pure and simple. Either by charging the fines, lower insurance rates, or a combination of both.
They tried that exact scheme in Virginia - they had little posts along the highway that emitted low level X and Ka band RF. They had to stop, though, because their license allowed mobile use of those freqs, not fixed use. Chalk up one in the good guy column for the FCC!
Correct me if I'm wrong in your part of the world, but every car I've ever driven does illuminate every idiot light when you turn the key to start the car. They go off once the car is up and running. Everyone I know knows to ignore them (in fact, that's when you check for burned-out bulbs!) So what's wrong with messages from the kernel as it boots? They're easy enough to ignore, and are very handy when things get scrogged up.
Having asked around about this issue, I've found that most jurisdictions consider USING a radar detector to be evading the law. In Virginia (one of two states where they're illegal), you can possess one, but it must be either in the trunk or in the back seat, with no power applied.
In short, detecting the signal isn't the issue, it using the knowledge of the signal to avoid getting a ticket that gets you in trouble.
Just a nit - it is not illegal for ordinary citizens to listen in on cordless telephones (at least the 47/49 MHz variety.) For whatever reason, there is no 'expectation of privacy'. As you said, cell phones are a different story.
Until the ECPA (Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986) it was legal for any citizen to monitor any signal, with 2 caveats: you couldn't divulge the contents of the transmission to a third party, and you couldn't use the information for 'personal gain.' The ECPA introduced the concept of a transmission 'intended for your receipt' - anything that wasn't is not legal to listen to. What a wide and ambiguous statement! I think we need to return to the 1934 rules.
Craig Mundie, a senior vice president at Microsoft and one of its software strategists, will argue that the company already follows the best attributes of the open-source model by sharing the original programmer's instructions, or source code, more widely than is generally realized.
I realize that in some *very limited* circumstances, MS does share their source code, but to make a comment such as this is just plain deceitful.
Maybe they're talking about the guy that cracked into their servers and nabbed the winXP code... 8-)
Of course you mean, "For all Constitutional freedoms except those that are not 'politically correct' like those spelled out in the second amendment, join the ACLU", right?
I get anxious when control is taken away from the user. I really hate when products produced these days are "dumbed down" to make them useable by idiots and any level of control is destroyed.
Ummm...like Macintoshes? I hate being greeted by a frowning Mr. Mac - wouldn't an error message be more useful? Of course - but then you wouldn't want the user to try and fix anything, would you?
Education was typically limited to HS & then consisted mostly of rote memorization.
It appears to me that we're falling back into the rote memorization trap. At least in Virginia, the unnatural emphasis on the SOL (Standards of Learning) tests has pushed teachers back into drilling their students on the test material. IMHO the worst thing that the SOL tests could have been perverted into is just this sort of emphasis on a narrow band of knowledge in order to pass the SOLs so the state funds your school. The teachers and students should not have access to the test materials a priori, and the teachers should not be allowed to spend classtime drilling the students specifically to pass the test. The test and its results should accurately reflect the abilities of the students, not their ability to regurgitate factoids or the ability of the teacher to drill info into their heads long enough to pass.
Keep in mind that the highest note on a piano is somewhere near 4 kHz...
That may be true, but that figure is for the fundamental tone of the highest note. In order to sound like a piano and not a signal generator, the notes of a piano are complex combinations of harmonics, not pure tones. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if there were audible harmonics up to 16kHz or so.
Is it just me, or isn't the argument moot? In order to make opt-out work, companies will have to keep a list of personal information of the opt-outers, thereby violating the wishes of the out-outers (not having their private info on file). The companies will have to keep lots of personal info to make sure they don't accidentally send stuff to a opt-outer - the lists of consumers they buy won't all have SSN, phone, etc, so they'll have to basically keep as much info on file about you to prevent mailings as they would if you were an opt-inner!
If I want to give, for example, my mortgage brokers access to my financial information, I tell them which sub-box they can find that in, and the key for the sub-box.
Better yet, I'll take the info I want them to see out of my box and encrypt it with my private key, then their public key. They are the only ones that can read it, and since my public key decrypts it, I was the one who sent it.
Silly boy, you're assuming that the "Windows and Mac communities" will be anything more that anthropological museum exhibits in the '30s (right next to australopithicus using a twirling stick to start a fire).
Good analogy. It reminds me of the crap they were pulling with the I-Opener - you can't modify it, or else (and this was undisputedly real, corporeal, physical property!!!)
Why? For the purposes you want ot use it for, copper cables are just as adequate. Where you really win out with fiber is either long-distance, or extreme-bandwidth per strand, neither of which you will be using in your house.
Two words: "Copper Conducts." or "Lightning Strike." or "A Car-hits-pole-and-powerline-crosses-data-lines."
I would feel much better with a nice optoisolated fiber line into my house. I cringe every time we have a thunderstorm 'cause my ISDN router is hooked to a 2 mile long antenna asking for inductive (or worse, conductive) surges.
Slashdot Mirror
If they were so 'socially responsible', they'd put a governor in their cars that limited their speed to about 45. Barely legal on the highways, uses less gas, less wear and tear on the vehicles, less emissions, etc. Their motive was profit, pure and simple. Either by charging the fines, lower insurance rates, or a combination of both.
They tried that exact scheme in Virginia - they had little posts along the highway that emitted low level X and Ka band RF. They had to stop, though, because their license allowed mobile use of those freqs, not fixed use. Chalk up one in the good guy column for the FCC!
Correct me if I'm wrong in your part of the world, but every car I've ever driven does illuminate every idiot light when you turn the key to start the car. They go off once the car is up and running. Everyone I know knows to ignore them (in fact, that's when you check for burned-out bulbs!) So what's wrong with messages from the kernel as it boots? They're easy enough to ignore, and are very handy when things get scrogged up.
In short, detecting the signal isn't the issue, it using the knowledge of the signal to avoid getting a ticket that gets you in trouble.
Until the ECPA (Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986) it was legal for any citizen to monitor any signal, with 2 caveats: you couldn't divulge the contents of the transmission to a third party, and you couldn't use the information for 'personal gain.' The ECPA introduced the concept of a transmission 'intended for your receipt' - anything that wasn't is not legal to listen to. What a wide and ambiguous statement! I think we need to return to the 1934 rules.
PS - I'm a ham, too.
Sorry, my friend, but your card number fails the secret 'mod 10' check built into every swipable account number. Nice try, though.
What's lightening? I guess they were checking to see if the cow was accidentally filled with helium? Oh, they meant lightning...
I realize that in some *very limited* circumstances, MS does share their source code, but to make a comment such as this is just plain deceitful.
Maybe they're talking about the guy that cracked into their servers and nabbed the winXP code... 8-)
"Sodium chloride, the chemical name of table salt, consists of equal parts of sodium and chloride."
That's like saying Prozac(tm) consists of equal parts Pro and Zac.
Of course you mean, "For all Constitutional freedoms except those that are not 'politically correct' like those spelled out in the second amendment, join the ACLU", right?
I get anxious when control is taken away from the user. I really hate when products produced these days are "dumbed down" to make them useable by idiots and any level of control is destroyed.
Ummm...like Macintoshes? I hate being greeted by a frowning Mr. Mac - wouldn't an error message be more useful? Of course - but then you wouldn't want the user to try and fix anything, would you?
Does that mean Microsoft can stop annoying Europeans too?
I Doubt anyone can stop those Annoying Europeans - not even Microsoft!!! 8-)
Education was typically limited to HS & then consisted mostly of rote memorization.
It appears to me that we're falling back into the rote memorization trap. At least in Virginia, the unnatural emphasis on the SOL (Standards of Learning) tests has pushed teachers back into drilling their students on the test material. IMHO the worst thing that the SOL tests could have been perverted into is just this sort of emphasis on a narrow band of knowledge in order to pass the SOLs so the state funds your school. The teachers and students should not have access to the test materials a priori, and the teachers should not be allowed to spend classtime drilling the students specifically to pass the test. The test and its results should accurately reflect the abilities of the students, not their ability to regurgitate factoids or the ability of the teacher to drill info into their heads long enough to pass.
That may be true, but that figure is for the fundamental tone of the highest note. In order to sound like a piano and not a signal generator, the notes of a piano are complex combinations of harmonics, not pure tones. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if there were audible harmonics up to 16kHz or so.
Oh, if it's robotic, then Otto Pilot must be aboard. Where's Julie Haggarty in case of trouble?
Reducto Ad Absurdum.
Here for more info.
If I want to give, for example, my mortgage brokers access to my financial information, I tell them which sub-box they can find that in, and the key for the sub-box.
Better yet, I'll take the info I want them to see out of my box and encrypt it with my private key, then their public key. They are the only ones that can read it, and since my public key decrypts it, I was the one who sent it.
Silly boy, you're assuming that the "Windows and Mac communities" will be anything more that anthropological museum exhibits in the '30s (right next to australopithicus using a twirling stick to start a fire).
a small, thin wedge that I can put in my shoes to generate power with every step! As much as I weigh, I could supply power for most of California!
The Post Office may have such limitations, but I'll bet the DEA doesn't. See This AIR article (look for "wrapped brick").
Good analogy. It reminds me of the crap they were pulling with the I-Opener - you can't modify it, or else (and this was undisputedly real, corporeal, physical property!!!)
Bah. Not nearly so bad as "I Need Tampons."
Why? For the purposes you want ot use it for, copper cables are just as adequate. Where you really win out with fiber is either long-distance, or extreme-bandwidth per strand, neither of which you will be using in your house.
Two words: "Copper Conducts." or "Lightning Strike." or "A Car-hits-pole-and-powerline-crosses-data-lines."
The bad casters, of course, just break.
Actually, the bad casters are hacked to bits by the strength +6 warrior as they attempt to get their spell off in time... 8-)