I wasn't totally sure, but hey, I just can't help working in an FSM reference...
I have a family member who thinks the whole ID thing is a big step in the right direction, so I perk up a bit when I see material on the subject... I should have included some smilies;)
Ironically, I think your essay, while in jest, almost exactly captures the ID "argument" - don't be surprised if you see the (terrorist) Pat Robertson use it as another example of "scientists" supporting the theory !
And just to stay ever so slightly on topic, do you suppose God could write up a requirements specification so convoluted that even he couldn't implement it ???
I wouldn't go to the same trouble in terms of specifications and plans to slap together a doghouse as I would to build my own home. I would expect someone building a skyscraper to go to more trouble again. The same applies to software.
But really, why bother with *any* specifications - after all, God will just re-arrange the code through Uncaused Force (per you sig) and make it run well if you are a good person. And using the specs for determining the cause of any bugs is useless, I mean, if you can't determine why a bug is happening, then obviously it's because God wants the bug to happen;)
I'm personally more apt to believe the FSM theory.
Actually, some folks think baboons are more intelligent than gorillas... Steve Van Nattan is one. Here's a really odd little story...
This will be a hard one to write. Baboons are naughty animals by human standards, and many a tourist has been shocked at the manners of these hairy beasts. I personally think the chimpanzee is highly over-rated as to intelligence. Liberal animal huggers most often give the chimp credit for being the smartest ape because he, like his alleged fool evolutionary heir, man, can smoke cigars and ride bicycles. A baboon would flunk if cigars are the deciding factor. Nevertheless, I vote for baboons in the intelligence ratings. I think you may agree after you read this story.
"They mated and were done in about two minutes. I guess he thought they were finished and went back to eating his celery. All of their matings before had been brief, usually only one or two copulations. But she turned around and stared at him again, just like before. He tried to turn away, but she stayed inches away from his face. They ended up mating thirty-three times that day. It was so funny, because he kept that celery in his hand the whole time and never got a chance to eat it. At the end of the day he came inside and passed out with that sorry wilted stalk still clenched in his fist."
Watch out for popups from the linked site/article...
And can someone please post a link to the same information sans the popups crap, then send a note to the editor... I would, but I'm getting the hell outta work and going home right now.
And I agree with a comment on the listed site, this is great, but what we really need is a clear judgement based on the facts, not technical wrangling (the RIAA will just amend other suits).
True, but these are two types of wrongs - on one hand we have the billion-dollar multi-national corporation FedEx claiming DMCA violations and that various laws have been broken, and on the other you have some guy who LEGALLY requested boxes from FedEx (who then promptly shipped them to him).
Are you really suggesting that censoring a website, massive fines, and jail time is appropriate for what you described as 'abusing the honor system' by getting some free boxes from FedEx ? Are you also suggesting that FedEx will have to end it's shipping materials program in the havoc that was unleashed by this site ? Or is this a case of trying to justify the FedEx position to look 'fair and balanced' (strike that, 'fair and balanced' is copywrited and Slashdot will have to be sued off the internet now to protect Fox News!)
Sorry, that should have read "RackSpace scrambled the techs" - IndyMedia was the affected party here, *RackSpace* was the one who rolled over like a well-trained dog.
I'm not sure which is worse... that IndyMedia scrambled the techs and pulled everything when all they were supposedly* required to delivery was logs, or that CNet is now delivering news in blog format just to try to be cool;)
*Good point from the poster below, there may have been PATRIOTACT subpoenas too, we'll never know since it's a federal crime even to mention it !
The two dollar bill incident occured at my local BestBuy, which is right across the street from my bank... I was soooooo tempted (then I remembered about the PATRIOT ACT and decided against it:)
If you haven't already, you must experience the W00t! Basically it's one deal a day, good until sold out. I bought my robomower there, and almost bought a 3ghz HP PC (yuk! HP) this past weekend. Keep any eye on the product photos, they often inject some humorous twist...
From the site:
What is woot and who's behind it?
woot.com is an online store and community run by the employees of a 10 year old consumer electronics distributor that focuses on close-outs and generally buying stuff cheap. Since the distributor doesn't sell to end users, Woot, Inc provides us with an employee-store slash market-testing type of place. Hopefully the boss won't take notice. We anticipate profitability by 2043 -- by then we should be retired; someone smarter might take over and jack up the prices.
I see only 1 item, do you sell anything else?
No. We sell 1 item per day until it is sold out or until 11:59pm central time when it is replaced (see next entry for details). However, each item we sell is in stock and typically ships within 2-3 business days.
What is the schedule for new items?
OK - this is simpler than it sounds: A new product is released at 12am central time Monday through Friday mornings (if you are not a morning person, this can be described as Sunday - Thursday at midnight. better?) Friday's product will last through the weekend unless we sell out. If a product sells out during it's run, a new item will not appear until the next release time. You will know if a product is sold out, because the main page says "SOLD OUT" instead of "I want one". (clever, eh?)
There's a book an Amazon called "What a Way to Go: Fabulous Funerals of the Famous and Infamous" about interesting funerals, and Jim Henson's in it. They don't have the entire letter, just a quote which might help you...
Yeah, I searched a bit and couldn't find *anything* which is odd, since I thought the entire human collective knowledge was out there:)
My advice, IBM Lotus Domino products. It's the most powerful, flexible, and comprehensive tool out there. Technically, it's a software development platform for collaboration and messaging. But there's a subset of tools called "Quickplace" which includes out-of-the-box features that I think would be perfect for you.
From the IBM Quickplace site:
* Provides anytime, anywhere access to collective knowledge, information-sharing, tasks and team calendar events whether on-line or disconnected.
* Seamlessly establishes a working community with a sense of accountability, whether team members are centralized or geographically dispersed.
* Increases team productivity and efficiency by virtualizing asynchronous collaboration processes, and optionally integrates them with real time.
* Increases responsiveness among colleagues, customers, business partners and suppliers by facilitating instant formation of working teams -- whether team members reside within or beyond the organization.
* Facilitates faster, collective decision making by centralizing timely and accurate information, and granting all team members equal opportunity to review and react.
* Helps make your teams more productive and self-sufficient through easy, instant assembly of collaborative applications using team space templates -- with just a browser.
I've been using it for years, and I still haven't found anything I can't get it to do. Note that it's not for transactional systems (airline ticket systems) and it's not a relational database system (which is a plus!), but it's just perfect for what you described...
My email is shown here at Slashdot (thank you SpamCop), so please feel free to email any questions you might have and I'd be happy to help. I'm not a consultant and I'm busy anyway, so I can't build you a system or anything (this is not a pitch:), but I would be happy to field any questions you have (I have about 10 years experience with Domino).
Herald of the Terminators, the Robomower RL500 crawls over your lawn like a worker ant, paring back the living grass, making our world more suitable for the robot masters that will ultimately enslave us.
Yard by verdant yard, that which was once free, organic and wild is brought to heel under the RL500's durable, rust-free mowing deck. After your formerly luxuriant lawn is tamed, how long will it be before the Robomower turns its quintuple horsepower equivalent cutting system on you?
(If the Robmower RL500 rises up against you or any member of your puny human community in less than 90 days, subdue it and return it--it's still under warranty.)
There are a number of sites I check daily, some are 'deal sites' such as SlickDeals..., but one of the more interesting has to be w00t !
They have a new deal every day (except weekends), once they run out, that's it ! Don't miss their famous "Bag 'o Crap" specials, and always read the details and the photo (they have some of the most entertaining descriptions evar), and keep and eye out for bravewoman.
I actually bought and actively use the RoboMower RL850 I saw there one day (love it, by the way).
With all the advances in KM over the years, maybe a more interesting approach would be to have the system aggregate/rate responses over a period of time and respond with the top 3 or so. As planned, I would think the system described is less than useful, it would be downright obnoxious once it hit critical mass (go read every first post on/. for a preview).
It is obviously not time to let this drop yet... it seems that there are a ton of MOG article still available on sys-con. A quick look at the ones from May 9 at 4pm, and a few relevant older ones, and it seems that the feedback for those is still active.
Not what I would call an adequate removal of that trash (amazing, if you haven't read the article in question, please do so now, I'm actually a bit shocked it got published anywhere !!!)
That's my local Best/Worst Buy, and my bank is right across the street @!... oh, and did I mention that I need a CD/RW for my mom's machine this weekend...
Maybe I should have my wife arrange bail now !
Seriously it is right up the street... and also seriously, does BB have any idea what's going to happen now that this is making the broader news (/., CNET Buzz, others) ??? I can just picture cash drawers at BB all over the country filling up with $2 bills (what slot do you put them in)...
Wow. Best Buy gets slammed for what seems to be fraudulous billing practices, poorly trained cashiers, idiotic managesrs, while the overzealous rookies in the BCPD get slammed, the Feds get slammed, and the $2 bill gets the best publicity it's seen since in years... there just SO much to love about this story (Thank you Michael Olesker!) (Obligatory BugMeNot)
I have an open bet that still hasn't been satisfied...
I'll put one Domino developer (me) up against 5 Java developers on any project (bigger the better) and still, the Notes app will be completed in half the time with better functionality (FT Search, online access, security, replication, integration w/ other data, etc.) Heck, I can get most projects completed faster than the Java guys and gals can get their environment set up, and when you add implementation to the mix - it's almost too easy !
And you're right about the supposed OSS sheep - many of them just don't get it... nice setup by the way (no M$ !)
Please, when you are bashing Lotus Notes, if it's the mail client you have issue with, try to state that. Saying you don't like Lotus Notes is like saying you had a bad experience with a car you owned in college, therefor all cars suck !
If you don't like the mail client, use Outlook instead, the servers have IMAP and POP. If your apps suck, thank a developer (I guess if a VB app you used once sucked, that would mean all computers suck or something?). Red Box of Death ? Try moving to a version from this MILLENNIUM !
Letsee, I remember distinctly years ago when LoveBug virus hit, everyone was down but the Notes folks... the UI may not be exactly like Microsoft (which is why I think many of you don't like it, it's not Windows:) but the "mail" is robust and secure enough that it doesn't get viruses, you can restore a single user or many (Exchange 2k3 just recently got that I think), and the PKI security is enough that the CIA, FBI, NSA and other TLOs have to use it. Or, if you prefer, you can authenticate using LDAP (even to Active Directory) and even BE the LDAP authentication server for other apps.
Sure, the next argument is that small little 8 person companies don't need the level of security, failover, extensibility, etc. that an enterprise environment requires... That's true, but they don't want Exchange and the overhead it requires either.
A special note to the consultant or whomever in another posting here - *you* haven't converted any shops to Notes lately (and you are The World???) - but the net turnover last year was almost 1500 big shops switching from Microsuck to Lotus (next time research before you slam). Check out the recent case studies if you like.
For those folks that care, you should know that Lotus Notes isn't email software - email is like 10% of what it does... Lotus is workflow applications, web applications, blogs, middleware and integration, document management, presence awareness (Lotus Sametime IM is #1 in the Fortune 500). And let's not forget, they support open standards more than anyone, period (you would think OSS folks would get this???) If you want you data in XML, you got it... with Microsuck you get their closed version. You can have an app server that runs Domino, attaches to MySQL, output pages using Perl and PHP... anything you want really (simply put, it's incredibly extensible).
Platforms ? You can run it on Windows, AIX, Solaris, z/OS, iSeries, o yeah, they even have a version FOR LINUX, RedHat and UnitedLinux certified ! (where's Exchange for Linux?).
Thank you for choosing to Download DtecNet Parent File Scan.
Parent File Scan is brought to you by DtecNet Software ApS. This free program allows you to search your computer for installed P2P applications as well as movie and music files. You will then be given the option to remove the identified applications and delete infringing movie and music files in a few easy steps. The program does not distinguish between legal and illegal copies, as it is up to the user to determine, whether the files found by the program have been acquired legally, or whether the material should be deleted. Information generated by the program will be made available only to the program's user and will not be shared with or reported to DtecNet Software or any other body.
The FAQ is even more insightful, here's a few choice items: Q: Does the program distinguish between legal and illegal copies of multimedia files? A: No. The program does not distinguish between legal and illegal copies. It is up to the user to determine whether the files found by the program have been acquired legally, or if the material should be deleted.
Q: How do I recover deleted files? A: You can't. Once files are deleted, they cannot be recreated.
Oh, and it removes some "P2P software" if you want as well (Because obviously BitTorrent is for thieves)
From ZDNet:
Parent File Scan also uses a very liberal definition of file-swapping software. In a test on a CNET News.com computer, the software identified Mirc--a client for the Internet Relay Chat network, where files can be swapped, but where tens of thousands of wholly legal conversations happen every day--and Mercora, a streaming Web radio service that uses peer-to-peer technology but does not allow file swapping.
This isn't about teaching kids right from wrong, it's about the MPAA using FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt) to get their way. This amounts to a fear-based campaign. I ran it on my system, and it highlighted something like 10,000 files. Most of them were audio files that were legitimate parts of programs installed on my computer - including Windows itself.
Some copyright detector this is.
Ok, we all know the type of user I'm talking about... those windows folks who have 18 quirky sounds, some obnoxiously colored background/desktop, who change 'themes' every two days (often after I remove them so I can save my sanity while I fix their latest screw-ups), and who think the Internet is what a computer "is."
What's going to happen when these folks run the 'MPAA scanner' and it recommends that they delete these 'bad files' - whammo ! away go the freaky grunts and squirts and squeaks they love so dearly, and they race to phone to call me to 'fix their Internet' again... Oh my.
Slashdot Mirror
I wasn't totally sure, but hey, I just can't help working in an FSM reference...
I have a family member who thinks the whole ID thing is a big step in the right direction, so I perk up a bit when I see material on the subject... I should have included some smilies
Ironically, I think your essay, while in jest, almost exactly captures the ID "argument" - don't be surprised if you see the (terrorist) Pat Robertson use it as another example of "scientists" supporting the theory !
And just to stay ever so slightly on topic, do you suppose God could write up a requirements specification so convoluted that even he couldn't implement it ???
I wouldn't go to the same trouble in terms of specifications and plans to slap together a doghouse as I would to build my own home. I would expect someone building a skyscraper to go to more trouble again. The same applies to software.
But really, why bother with *any* specifications - after all, God will just re-arrange the code through Uncaused Force (per you sig) and make it run well if you are a good person. And using the specs for determining the cause of any bugs is useless, I mean, if you can't determine why a bug is happening, then obviously it's because God wants the bug to happen
I'm personally more apt to believe the FSM theory.
Actually, some folks think baboons are more intelligent than gorillas... Steve Van Nattan is one. Here's a really odd little story...
Wild Gorillas Impress With Their Tools... oh my, they do.
(Seriously, this is from a real book)
Excerpt From "Gorillas among Us: A Primate Ethnographer's Book of Days"
Clear, concise, complete... and no popups !
Watch out for popups from the linked site/article...
And can someone please post a link to the same information sans the popups crap, then send a note to the editor... I would, but I'm getting the hell outta work and going home right now.
And I agree with a comment on the listed site, this is great, but what we really need is a clear judgement based on the facts, not technical wrangling (the RIAA will just amend other suits).
True, but these are two types of wrongs - on one hand we have the billion-dollar multi-national corporation FedEx claiming DMCA violations and that various laws have been broken, and on the other you have some guy who LEGALLY requested boxes from FedEx (who then promptly shipped them to him).
Are you really suggesting that censoring a website, massive fines, and jail time is appropriate for what you described as 'abusing the honor system' by getting some free boxes from FedEx ? Are you also suggesting that FedEx will have to end it's shipping materials program in the havoc that was unleashed by this site ? Or is this a case of trying to justify the FedEx position to look 'fair and balanced' (strike that, 'fair and balanced' is copywrited and Slashdot will have to be sued off the internet now to protect Fox News!)
Sorry, that should have read "RackSpace scrambled the techs" - IndyMedia was the affected party here, *RackSpace* was the one who rolled over like a well-trained dog.
I'm not sure which is worse... that IndyMedia scrambled the techs and pulled everything when all they were supposedly* required to delivery was logs, or that CNet is now delivering news in blog format just to try to be cool
*Good point from the poster below, there may have been PATRIOTACT subpoenas too, we'll never know since it's a federal crime even to mention it !
+5 Snarky !
The two dollar bill incident occured at my local BestBuy, which is right across the street from my bank... I was soooooo tempted (then I remembered about the PATRIOT ACT and decided against it:)
If you haven't already, you must experience the W00t! Basically it's one deal a day, good until sold out. I bought my robomower there, and almost bought a 3ghz HP PC (yuk! HP) this past weekend. Keep any eye on the product photos, they often inject some humorous twist...
From the site:
What is woot and who's behind it?
woot.com is an online store and community run by the employees of a 10 year old consumer electronics distributor that focuses on close-outs and generally buying stuff cheap. Since the distributor doesn't sell to end users, Woot, Inc provides us with an employee-store slash market-testing type of place. Hopefully the boss won't take notice. We anticipate profitability by 2043 -- by then we should be retired; someone smarter might take over and jack up the prices.
I see only 1 item, do you sell anything else?
No. We sell 1 item per day until it is sold out or until 11:59pm central time when it is replaced (see next entry for details). However, each item we sell is in stock and typically ships within 2-3 business days.
What is the schedule for new items?
OK - this is simpler than it sounds: A new product is released at 12am central time Monday through Friday mornings (if you are not a morning person, this can be described as Sunday - Thursday at midnight. better?) Friday's product will last through the weekend unless we sell out. If a product sells out during it's run, a new item will not appear until the next release time. You will know if a product is sold out, because the main page says "SOLD OUT" instead of "I want one". (clever, eh?)
There's a book an Amazon called "What a Way to Go: Fabulous Funerals of the Famous and Infamous" about interesting funerals, and Jim Henson's in it. They don't have the entire letter, just a quote which might help you...
Yeah, I searched a bit and couldn't find *anything* which is odd, since I thought the entire human collective knowledge was out there
Good luck ! Post it or email me if you find it.
My advice, IBM Lotus Domino products. It's the most powerful, flexible, and comprehensive tool out there. Technically, it's a software development platform for collaboration and messaging. But there's a subset of tools called "Quickplace" which includes out-of-the-box features that I think would be perfect for you.
From the IBM Quickplace site:
* Provides anytime, anywhere access to collective knowledge, information-sharing, tasks and team calendar events whether on-line or disconnected.
* Seamlessly establishes a working community with a sense of accountability, whether team members are centralized or geographically dispersed.
* Increases team productivity and efficiency by virtualizing asynchronous collaboration processes, and optionally integrates them with real time.
* Increases responsiveness among colleagues, customers, business partners and suppliers by facilitating instant formation of working teams -- whether team members reside within or beyond the organization.
* Facilitates faster, collective decision making by centralizing timely and accurate information, and granting all team members equal opportunity to review and react.
* Helps make your teams more productive and self-sufficient through easy, instant assembly of collaborative applications using team space templates -- with just a browser.
I've been using it for years, and I still haven't found anything I can't get it to do. Note that it's not for transactional systems (airline ticket systems) and it's not a relational database system (which is a plus!), but it's just perfect for what you described...
My email is shown here at Slashdot (thank you SpamCop), so please feel free to email any questions you might have and I'd be happy to help. I'm not a consultant and I'm busy anyway, so I can't build you a system or anything (this is not a pitch:), but I would be happy to field any questions you have (I have about 10 years experience with Domino).
Don't miss the developerWorks site for Domino (plenty of info), and feel free to ask questions in the forums (it's a friendly group!).
Really, it doesn't matter if you believe in alien intelligence, because alien intelligence believes in you
(Image)
Friendly Robotics Robomower RL500
The Rise of the Machines (into Landscaping Professions)
$179.99 + $5 Shipping and Handling
Herald of the Terminators, the Robomower RL500 crawls over your lawn like a worker ant, paring back the living grass, making our world more suitable for the robot masters that will ultimately enslave us.
Yard by verdant yard, that which was once free, organic and wild is brought to heel under the RL500's durable, rust-free mowing deck. After your formerly luxuriant lawn is tamed, how long will it be before the Robomower turns its quintuple horsepower equivalent cutting system on you?
(If the Robmower RL500 rises up against you or any member of your puny human community in less than 90 days, subdue it and return it--it's still under warranty.)
There are a number of sites I check daily, some are 'deal sites' such as SlickDeals..., but one of the more interesting has to be w00t !
They have a new deal every day (except weekends), once they run out, that's it ! Don't miss their famous "Bag 'o Crap" specials, and always read the details and the photo (they have some of the most entertaining descriptions evar), and keep and eye out for bravewoman.
I actually bought and actively use the RoboMower RL850 I saw there one day (love it, by the way).
Well, perhaps part of it is/was:
Read The Jedi Knights: Jedi Academy (something)?
Rent The Jedi Knights: Jedi Academy Software?
And apparently JAS means something in the Jedi Knights game world, not sure what yet, anyone ?
No, really... that's what it says.
With all the advances in KM over the years, maybe a more interesting approach would be to have the system aggregate/rate responses over a period of time and respond with the top 3 or so. As planned, I would think the system described is less than useful, it would be downright obnoxious once it hit critical mass (go read every first post on
It is obviously not time to let this drop yet... it seems that there are a ton of MOG article still available on sys-con. A quick look at the ones from May 9 at 4pm, and a few relevant older ones, and it seems that the feedback for those is still active.
Not what I would call an adequate removal of that trash (amazing, if you haven't read the article in question, please do so now, I'm actually a bit shocked it got published anywhere !!!)
Finally a party that my wife *can't* possibly make me late to...
That's my local Best/Worst Buy, and my bank is right across the street @!... oh, and did I mention that I need a CD/RW for my mom's machine this weekend...
Maybe I should have my wife arrange bail now !
Seriously it is right up the street... and also seriously, does BB have any idea what's going to happen now that this is making the broader news (/., CNET Buzz, others) ??? I can just picture cash drawers at BB all over the country filling up with $2 bills (what slot do you put them in)...
Wow. Best Buy gets slammed for what seems to be fraudulous billing practices, poorly trained cashiers, idiotic managesrs, while the overzealous rookies in the BCPD get slammed, the Feds get slammed, and the $2 bill gets the best publicity it's seen since in years... there just SO much to love about this story (Thank you Michael Olesker!) (Obligatory BugMeNot)
True dat
I have an open bet that still hasn't been satisfied...
I'll put one Domino developer (me) up against 5 Java developers on any project (bigger the better) and still, the Notes app will be completed in half the time with better functionality (FT Search, online access, security, replication, integration w/ other data, etc.) Heck, I can get most projects completed faster than the Java guys and gals can get their environment set up, and when you add implementation to the mix - it's almost too easy !
And you're right about the supposed OSS sheep - many of them just don't get it... nice setup by the way (no M$ !)
Please, when you are bashing Lotus Notes, if it's the mail client you have issue with, try to state that. Saying you don't like Lotus Notes is like saying you had a bad experience with a car you owned in college, therefor all cars suck !
If you don't like the mail client, use Outlook instead, the servers have IMAP and POP.
If your apps suck, thank a developer (I guess if a VB app you used once sucked, that would mean all computers suck or something?).
Red Box of Death ? Try moving to a version from this MILLENNIUM !
Letsee, I remember distinctly years ago when LoveBug virus hit, everyone was down but the Notes folks... the UI may not be exactly like Microsoft (which is why I think many of you don't like it, it's not Windows:) but the "mail" is robust and secure enough that it doesn't get viruses, you can restore a single user or many (Exchange 2k3 just recently got that I think), and the PKI security is enough that the CIA, FBI, NSA and other TLOs have to use it. Or, if you prefer, you can authenticate using LDAP (even to Active Directory) and even BE the LDAP authentication server for other apps.
Sure, the next argument is that small little 8 person companies don't need the level of security, failover, extensibility, etc. that an enterprise environment requires... That's true, but they don't want Exchange and the overhead it requires either.
A special note to the consultant or whomever in another posting here - *you* haven't converted any shops to Notes lately (and you are The World???) - but the net turnover last year was almost 1500 big shops switching from Microsuck to Lotus (next time research before you slam). Check out the recent case studies if you like.
For those folks that care, you should know that Lotus Notes isn't email software - email is like 10% of what it does... Lotus is workflow applications, web applications, blogs, middleware and integration, document management, presence awareness (Lotus Sametime IM is #1 in the Fortune 500). And let's not forget, they support open standards more than anyone, period (you would think OSS folks would get this???) If you want you data in XML, you got it... with Microsuck you get their closed version. You can have an app server that runs Domino, attaches to MySQL, output pages using Perl and PHP... anything you want really (simply put, it's incredibly extensible).
Platforms ? You can run it on Windows, AIX, Solaris, z/OS, iSeries, o yeah, they even have a version FOR LINUX, RedHat and UnitedLinux certified ! (where's Exchange for Linux?).
Check it out for yourself.
Here's who created the scanner, and what they have to say about it...
Thank you for choosing to Download DtecNet Parent File Scan. Parent File Scan is brought to you by DtecNet Software ApS. This free program allows you to search your computer for installed P2P applications as well as movie and music files. You will then be given the option to remove the identified applications and delete infringing movie and music files in a few easy steps. The program does not distinguish between legal and illegal copies, as it is up to the user to determine, whether the files found by the program have been acquired legally, or whether the material should be deleted. Information generated by the program will be made available only to the program's user and will not be shared with or reported to DtecNet Software or any other body.
The FAQ is even more insightful, here's a few choice items:
Q: Does the program distinguish between legal and illegal copies of multimedia files?
A: No. The program does not distinguish between legal and illegal copies. It is up to the user to determine whether the files found by the program have been acquired legally, or if the material should be deleted.
Q: How do I recover deleted files?
A: You can't. Once files are deleted, they cannot be recreated.
Oh, and it removes some "P2P software" if you want as well (Because obviously BitTorrent is for thieves)
From ZDNet:
Parent File Scan also uses a very liberal definition of file-swapping software. In a test on a CNET News.com computer, the software identified Mirc--a client for the Internet Relay Chat network, where files can be swapped, but where tens of thousands of wholly legal conversations happen every day--and Mercora, a streaming Web radio service that uses peer-to-peer technology but does not allow file swapping.
Argh...
This is from a person called "Southpaw018" on BBR:
Re: Nice tool for parents to keep eye on kids
This isn't about teaching kids right from wrong, it's about the MPAA using FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt) to get their way. This amounts to a fear-based campaign. I ran it on my system, and it highlighted something like 10,000 files. Most of them were audio files that were legitimate parts of programs installed on my computer - including Windows itself.
Some copyright detector this is.
Ok, we all know the type of user I'm talking about... those windows folks who have 18 quirky sounds, some obnoxiously colored background/desktop, who change 'themes' every two days (often after I remove them so I can save my sanity while I fix their latest screw-ups), and who think the Internet is what a computer "is."
What's going to happen when these folks run the 'MPAA scanner' and it recommends that they delete these 'bad files' - whammo ! away go the freaky grunts and squirts and squeaks they love so dearly, and they race to phone to call me to 'fix their Internet' again... Oh my.