This is *exactly* what I first thought, but then I realized that that's not at all what was being said.
I believe (s?)he was saying that with a GPS and a satellite phone, you could use the GPS to get your precise coordinates, and then use the phone to call/e-mail them to someone.
But I agree, it does sound a lot like you're supposed to *be* tracked by your GPS.
Apparently, police and fire stations will have public Internet access. Does anyone else find the concept of going to the fire station to send e-mail to be a bit bizarre? "Hi, sorry it's taken me so long to respond, but I haven't been able to get to the local fire station this week..."
Also... Don't get me wrong, I have no reason to doubt the integrity of the police, but some people do. So... Wonder what they'll think about Internet censorship if you do your e-mail from a *police station*?
And yet another thing - won't people be in the way? I don't quite see this taking off that well, but if it does, it could become a pain to get to these local places for "normal" reasons...
What's to stop someone from throwing up a page anywhere they can - such as Geocities or FortuneCity - with an auto-forward? You'd click on a link to a legitimite site, only to be forwarded elsewhere... Just please don't *USE* this idea, anyone!:)
Haven't decided whether it looks irratating or not yet...
You can turn it off in your preferences section if it is annoying.
I really have to agree with you. Everyone's arguing that loads of flash will load the page down, and that makeovers are invariably worse...
I don't think anyone is advocating use of Flash, massive JavaScript crap, or anything like that. Take a look at the themes on SourceForge. There's one that uses some graphics and has a real pleasing look, one without graphics that looks a bit bland but is quicker, and a real small version.
The simple ability to change your color scheme would please me. I agree, actually, with your comments about the developers' section; it would just require a couple extra lines in their backend code to check the color. Of course, I suppose that has teh potential to slow things down.
Themes or not, I've gotta hand it to them for a job well done with the upgrade.
I know, they're going to need a Quad Xeon or something just to support me... I'm thinking that it'd be real cool to whip up a script to refresh the page every minute... Of course, I'd feel *real* bad doing this on a 2.4 MHz computer... Especially seeing that I'm thinking of buying a computer that's 1,000 times faster than this. (Dual 1.2 GHz)
Cool site, really cool hardware, but I don't think the hardware will last long, especially after we link to it...
Well... At some point (long ago) I went to Netcraft's "What's that site running?" section, and it told me it was FreeBSD. Supposedly they've switched to Windows 2000, but, as you can see if you read through all the posts, a lot of people still suspect that it's running FreeBSD on the 'back end'.
While the general media uses "hacked" to mean "broken into, the technically 'correct' definition of a "hack" (especially among the/. crowd) is, well... A modification. Thus, saying that he "hacked" the Audrey doesn't mean that he broke into it; it means that he modified it extensively, to the point of getting to the shell.
Has anyone considered the fact that he could potentially be 'extradited' (is that the right word?) back to the US? If it was just for violating a US law while in Russia, I'm sure the Russian government would never allow it, but fleeing while on bail may be a slightly different story... And if, by chance, he does flee, and the extradition is successfuly, he's screwed...
No, IANAL, but take what I said into consideration before fleeing...
To date, I've received two e-mails with 'virus' attachments. I have not known either person. What's with that?! Do viruses have the capabilities to randomly generate valid e-mail addresses?
BTW, I'm yet to get *anything* from SirCam, I'm so disappointed...:D ________________________________________________
I occasionally VNC into my Linux box from a Windows box elsewhere at home, over 100 Mbps switched Ethernet. It's very slow. Then one time, I vnc'ed into a remote box on a T1. (I have a cable modem.) That was quite fast.
So I think my point is that it can be processor-intensive, too. ________________________________________________
My concern, aside from the obvious security issues, is bandwidth. Sure, my cable modem is fast, but what about when 40 people all try using it? I'd most likely end up setting a firewall/router up to give priority to anything coming from the internal LAN, which would mean that the 'guests' would, at times, have practically no bandwidth to use. And if no one ever has any bandwidth, no one will care that they can get wireless access, which makes this whole (otherwise very interesting) idea useless. ________________________________________________
I like this idea, although I realized a potential problem with the idea.
If I give two of my friends access to my 'LAN,' each would allow the other access to their 'LAN.' However, if my two friends disliked each other, they could conceivably launch DOS attacks from each others' connections, while being perfectly kind to me.
Another situation is this: a guy with a questionable background is nice to you, and you hesitantly give him access. He's well behaved enough, you never get complaints about him. But soon his friends come over, and get into your network, and they are constantly DDoSing your ISP and the FBI, both of which are currently trying to track down where it's coming from.
Now, your plan is still far better than allowing any stranger access; with a bit of work it could potentially work. Although things never seem to scale wonderfully; people seem to find ways to abuse just about anything. ________________________________________________
I've always wanted to design a little battery-powered box that would monitor network traffic over a wireless LAN, and probe for security holes.
What I'd really like to find out is exactly how many homes have wireless LANs; I'd expect there to be a lot. If you were in the mood, you could also configure this black box idea to try to find a printer, and dump a file describing the holes there.
Now, wouldn't you be motivated to fix the security holes on your network if a description of them suddenly appeared on your printer? 'Course, a description might be in order so they don't get too freaked out...:-D ________________________________________________
Actually, I've gotta say that Adobe isn't half as bad as most other companies. All they wanted was for the KIllustrator to change the title which, you've gotta admit, is *very* similar. Confusingly similar, maybe not, but enough to make me think that maybe Adobe ported it...?
Most companies would be suing them and cursing the GPL, and accusing Linux of infringing on their trademarks...
As far as the other stuff you say, though... I think you're probably right about them losing the Linux market. Although, actually, if they ported PhotoShop to Linux, I'd use it. (Provided it was actually *affordable*; I know it's a "hugely powerful" tool, but ~$600?! I'll sacrifice my familiarity with PhotoShop and just use the GIMP for that price...) ________________________________________________
Re:Books about Graphic Software...
on
The Blender Book
·
· Score: 1
I agree with you entirely, although I personally believe that a book is a little more than "nice to have" -- it can guide you, suggesting what areas to "play with." I played with Photoshop for quite some time, and got quite good at it. But then I flipped through a book, and saw a whole bunch of things that I never knew I could do...
So essentially, you'll learn best from playing with the tool, but I suggest having the book on hand to guide you. ________________________________________________
Now, not that I'm accusing them or anything, but...
How easy would it be for them to keep a database - someone from IP 1.2.3.4 tried "p4ssw0rd" and we said it was secure; and then log into that IP, and try common account names using that password?
Again, not that I'm accusing them or anything... ________________________________________________
Can you actually use an asterisk as a password? In regular expressions, it does mean "everything"; do you know if UNIX will get confused by this? I'd *love* to set my password to a bunch of asterisks. 'Course, that's probably not very secure... ________________________________________________
The ultimate way to get everyones' passwords: Post an article to Slashdot, getting hundreds of people to post comments describing exactly how they got their password.
Talk about "social engineering"...;) ________________________________________________
Yes, I agree. There's a big difference between writing the root password down in black permanent marker on your monitor, and keeping a list of accounts/passwords located somewhere in the middle of your wallet.
If someone is so desperate to steal my wallet, I'm okay with them reading my Netscape cache file and looking at some of my digital pictures... ________________________________________________
Well... It was deliberately configured that way. The system's primary function was to stream MP3s to the world, but *not* to the school. (They weren't blocked or anything; but no in the school would really have a chance to listen, aside from maybe the administration, who would most likely not take kindly to Korn...)
I think security was also a concern; if his box running the default RedHat install was compromised, he wouldn't leave the school wide open for massive exploits. ________________________________________________
That's a good question. We know the admin well, although a Catholic high school doesn't strike me as the first place that would be willing to host a Linux box streaming pirated Korn songs...:) ________________________________________________
Slashdot Mirror
I believe (s?)he was saying that with a GPS and a satellite phone, you could use the GPS to get your precise coordinates, and then use the phone to call/e-mail them to someone.
But I agree, it does sound a lot like you're supposed to *be* tracked by your GPS.
Apparently, police and fire stations will have public Internet access. Does anyone else find the concept of going to the fire station to send e-mail to be a bit bizarre? "Hi, sorry it's taken me so long to respond, but I haven't been able to get to the local fire station this week..."
Also... Don't get me wrong, I have no reason to doubt the integrity of the police, but some people do. So... Wonder what they'll think about Internet censorship if you do your e-mail from a *police station*?
And yet another thing - won't people be in the way? I don't quite see this taking off that well, but if it does, it could become a pain to get to these local places for "normal" reasons...
What's to stop someone from throwing up a page anywhere they can - such as Geocities or FortuneCity - with an auto-forward? You'd click on a link to a legitimite site, only to be forwarded elsewhere... Just please don't *USE* this idea, anyone! :)
Haven't decided whether it looks irratating or not yet...
You can turn it off in your preferences section if it is annoying.
I don't think anyone is advocating use of Flash, massive JavaScript crap, or anything like that. Take a look at the themes on SourceForge. There's one that uses some graphics and has a real pleasing look, one without graphics that looks a bit bland but is quicker, and a real small version.
The simple ability to change your color scheme would please me. I agree, actually, with your comments about the developers' section; it would just require a couple extra lines in their backend code to check the color. Of course, I suppose that has teh potential to slow things down.
Themes or not, I've gotta hand it to them for a job well done with the upgrade.
Maybe the batteries are running low again...? ;)
Imagine a Beowulf cluster of these? ;)
Everyone says "Walkmans", and I believe that may be correct. However, "Walkmen" does sound far better.
Cool site, really cool hardware, but I don't think the hardware will last long, especially after we link to it...
Well... At some point (long ago) I went to Netcraft's "What's that site running?" section, and it told me it was FreeBSD. Supposedly they've switched to Windows 2000, but, as you can see if you read through all the posts, a lot of people still suspect that it's running FreeBSD on the 'back end'.
While the general media uses "hacked" to mean "broken into, the technically 'correct' definition of a "hack" (especially among the /. crowd) is, well... A modification. Thus, saying that he "hacked" the Audrey doesn't mean that he broke into it; it means that he modified it extensively, to the point of getting to the shell.
Has anyone considered the fact that he could potentially be 'extradited' (is that the right word?) back to the US? If it was just for violating a US law while in Russia, I'm sure the Russian government would never allow it, but fleeing while on bail may be a slightly different story... And if, by chance, he does flee, and the extradition is successfuly, he's screwed...
No, IANAL, but take what I said into consideration before fleeing...
BTW, I'm yet to get *anything* from SirCam, I'm so disappointed... :D
________________________________________________
So I think my point is that it can be processor-intensive, too.
________________________________________________
My concern, aside from the obvious security issues, is bandwidth. Sure, my cable modem is fast, but what about when 40 people all try using it? I'd most likely end up setting a firewall/router up to give priority to anything coming from the internal LAN, which would mean that the 'guests' would, at times, have practically no bandwidth to use. And if no one ever has any bandwidth, no one will care that they can get wireless access, which makes this whole (otherwise very interesting) idea useless.
________________________________________________
If I give two of my friends access to my 'LAN,' each would allow the other access to their 'LAN.' However, if my two friends disliked each other, they could conceivably launch DOS attacks from each others' connections, while being perfectly kind to me.
Another situation is this: a guy with a questionable background is nice to you, and you hesitantly give him access. He's well behaved enough, you never get complaints about him. But soon his friends come over, and get into your network, and they are constantly DDoSing your ISP and the FBI, both of which are currently trying to track down where it's coming from.
Now, your plan is still far better than allowing any stranger access; with a bit of work it could potentially work. Although things never seem to scale wonderfully; people seem to find ways to abuse just about anything.
________________________________________________
> perl -e print a nuclear bomb in six lines of perl. Or can you?; perl: No match.
Then again, the fact that it's not matching any nuclear bombs is probably good...
________________________________________________
What I'd really like to find out is exactly how many homes have wireless LANs; I'd expect there to be a lot. If you were in the mood, you could also configure this black box idea to try to find a printer, and dump a file describing the holes there.
Now, wouldn't you be motivated to fix the security holes on your network if a description of them suddenly appeared on your printer? 'Course, a description might be in order so they don't get too freaked out... :-D
________________________________________________
Most companies would be suing them and cursing the GPL, and accusing Linux of infringing on their trademarks...
As far as the other stuff you say, though... I think you're probably right about them losing the Linux market. Although, actually, if they ported PhotoShop to Linux, I'd use it. (Provided it was actually *affordable*; I know it's a "hugely powerful" tool, but ~$600?! I'll sacrifice my familiarity with PhotoShop and just use the GIMP for that price...)
________________________________________________
So essentially, you'll learn best from playing with the tool, but I suggest having the book on hand to guide you.
________________________________________________
How easy would it be for them to keep a database - someone from IP 1.2.3.4 tried "p4ssw0rd" and we said it was secure; and then log into that IP, and try common account names using that password?
Again, not that I'm accusing them or anything...
________________________________________________
Can you actually use an asterisk as a password? In regular expressions, it does mean "everything"; do you know if UNIX will get confused by this? I'd *love* to set my password to a bunch of asterisks. 'Course, that's probably not very secure...
________________________________________________
Talk about "social engineering"... ;)
________________________________________________
If someone is so desperate to steal my wallet, I'm okay with them reading my Netscape cache file and looking at some of my digital pictures...
________________________________________________
I think security was also a concern; if his box running the default RedHat install was compromised, he wouldn't leave the school wide open for massive exploits.
________________________________________________
That's a good question. We know the admin well, although a Catholic high school doesn't strike me as the first place that would be willing to host a Linux box streaming pirated Korn songs... :)
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