Looks like the NSA has published an app to the appStore.
Who would have thought that such an innocuous "secret" app would be non-secret. The fools! The government will find you, and track you - there is no way around it. It's a conspiracy, man!.
And what better way than to appeal to one's vanity and build an app to let you complain. Social Engineering at its best.
You are assuming the Dictionary is from Webster. It isn't in this case - it is a rainbow table containing all possible combinations of 7,8,9+ characters. Kind of the million monkey Shakespeare scenario - sooner or later they'll get to that combination. I remember a password cracker that used to put 2 & 3 word combinations from the Unix dictionary together to build up its guessing-dictionary.
Now - 7 words vs 7 letters, the dictionary is smaller for 7 letters and can be broken in "seconds." 7 Words (about 56 letters) - I don't think rainbow tables are that large yet.
A co-worker used to monitor the size of rainbow tables and always make sure his password was 1 character longer. That may have also been his versioning mechanism. "1" "11" "111" "1111".... easy to remember and "harder" to guess. I knew another guy who used the password "za" - his reasoning: yeah lots of people might try "a" but who tries "z" ? and people might try all 1 character passwords and then move onto longer ones like length "8"... figuring they'd skip length "2" because only dumb people have length 1 - everyone else has at least 6 or 8. He was probably good at the Battle Ship game.
I use 2-factor with Google and have yet to receive a text message indicating that somebody has guessed my relatively short password. Living on the edge:-)
Yes but - seems that the color would be more immersive.
My Dad simply put a small lamp with a "10W" nightlight bulb behind his TV that turns on/off through the aux power port on the TV box. The room is pretty dark - even during the day. So this light actually makes it more comfortable to watch TV. I did something similar in my house too.
A simple light - that changes color. That goes to 10. That cool DIY in the link - goes to 11.
Yes - I can understand this - it is exactly my experience. I'm not type A so I am capable of putting the phone down. Of course I find Siri is often less than useful. Yes it will make a call for me, or read/dictate my texts. But that's about it. It ain't no Google search (damit man, I have questions and need answers). I rarely make calls from my car - but when I do I ask Siri who usually responds.... "Sorry - I can't do that right now!" [grrrr]
I rented a newer car that had a touchscreen system for all adjustments. Temp, air ducts, radio. I spent more time with eyes on the screen than looking out the window. I really my physical round knobs in my car - just twist to an approximate position without looking. I thought we learned our lessons back in the 90' with stereos and push button volume controls - ooh those irked me (too loud...down down down down down down....). And Honda - that big knob in the center of the dash looks important and useful - like a big volume control or fan speed selector. But noooo - it's a friggen menu selector.
What do I do in my car? Listen to music. And this is where my car iPhone integration kit is handy - simple old school push buttons on the radio. These are integrated to playlists from my phone. Plain and simple. Button 1 is rock, 2 is softer, 3 podcasts, 4 kids, 5 surprise me. Or Pandora via a tap before I start driving. I've used newer ones in more modern cars that can itemize the choices via USB.
Sorry - but weren't these pictures stolen? Somebody entered "her house" and ran off with the photos.
Does it matter if she was underage or not? Is this not like possession of stolen property? Is this really copyright?!
They may have used the child-porn argument to expedite and raise the stakes. I don't think thats the real problem. Kids will be kids - different issue, and a problem that needs to be resolved (cultural change - more kids are having underaged "parties" etc).
I read an article over on the Register about this (I didn't know the backstory) and apparently porn.com wants to talk to the person who took the photos - saying it doesn't appear that she own copyright - the person who took the photos does.
Fine - you stole from that person (did you seek permission? did you get a release from the model? did you file with the California "over age 18" registry?) No - instead they were posted first and seek forgiveness later.
The local museum has one of these - it uses a combo of XBox and that poly-sand stuff that sticks together. Kids can make mountains, rivers, and lakes with their hands. The kinect detects the depth and then the XBox animates the terrain.
Rather than having people stack sand - they need a bendable floor that changes shape. Kind of like those toys with 1000's of nails/pins in them that conform to the shape of an object. Place a solenoid on each one and raise/lower to the necessary shape - covered with a plain cloth. Then project onto it.
I have been granted moderator points today - and I'm stuck on this article. Going through the comments here I don't know which ones meet the definition of Trolls, Flame, Insightful, or Funny. I could mark everything here as offtopic - or all of the above. Then again - maybe I should go back to the original article and mark it as Flamebait - at least that would better explain the flavor of the comments posted here.
An opinion posing as an actual conclusion. Halfway through I wondered if this was from a sister Onion site.
Maybe the summary should have said, "I found an Opinion piece about science...."
I too haven't any major issues with iOS8 performance or interaction-wise (iPhone 5 & iPad 3). Yes - seems apps launched the first time after upgrading are taking longer to load (and one App even lost it's security activation key - asking me to reactivate my device with their website). Seems the upgrade is "big" and possibly many deleted their cached data. Performance seems to be fine for second+ launches and I'm slowly discovering the new features hidden around the system.
Most annoying thing so far - "this app is tracking your location in the background" - seems Apple is going to ask me this question for each of my 100 apps that use location. More annoying - there is no option for "Only when app is Running" - either On or Off... unless the app supports that new mode. I don't want the weather app tracking my every move in the background - I'm willing to wait for them to update my current weather location when I open the app.
And biggest bug found so far - handsfree integration with my car stereo seems to be broken. Playlists selected won't play (although the car shows the time counting up) - fast forwarding through songs causes samples of audio to play, but silence otherwise, and sometimes loops on the first 1 second (inconsistent repeatability of the problem). Forcing it to fast-forward for about 30 seconds finally made it play. Or picking a playlist from the iPhone works fine (which requires hands-on).
Smallest bug - Unlock screen was overlaid on top of "now-playing" Album art making it impossible to see the PIN keys. After unlocking it I haven't seen this happen since (took a screen shot to prove it happened).
For a major OS upgrade - it seems to be working fine. Battery life seems to be the same, all apps are working, and nothing crashing.
Arrr matey. The new phone is so large it need an external monitor to wear on your wrist.
Kind of like when the Mac got big and became two parts - an external monitor and the CPU case under the desk? Plus computers got hot, used lots of power, and.... gosh seems like history repeating itself in mobile form.
Artistic license or great Conspiracy? It is a sort of mixed message isn't it. The "from the side" images don't show this bezel protruding - along with an "artistic" shadow.
As for the other images - they all clearly show the camera bezel. https://www.apple.com/iphone-6... This isn't like it's a great selling feature - meaning - is it material or just marketing?
Scroll down to the "Streamlined: inside and out" and "Elements of Design" and you'll clearly see the camera "protruding."
It's quite possible that the side view looked "strange" with a little hair-thin spec that was removed "for clarity." Kind of like cereal "enlarged to show texture" (or make you hungry) ?
Gosh - having a phone so large it requires an external monitor you wear on your wrist? Or a thin bezel sticking out from the back? Oh the horror.
When I first read the headline I thought it had a huge bulge ala Lumia or that Android phone (name escapes me). This looks like a small ring bezel.
As for ugly design? I kind of welcome a small bump - I keep putting my finger over the lens (or very close to it causing a shadow) because I can't remember which corner the lens is in. Since it has a very wide angle view and rotates automatically - the way I hold it sometimes causes a shadow that I don't see until post editing (esp with video - I use two hands to stabilize the phone). I look like the Queen drinking tea with one pinky held out.
Having a small but obvious bump would provide me some tactile feedback. Personally I'd like a slight hour-glass shape so I could tell up from down when pulling from my pocket (I have black on black and don't use a case). My Palm Pre had a rubber backside and a thinner bottom - so it was easy to align in my hand without looking.
As for the ethics of making the models look thinner and prettier - that's a horse of a different color.
After seeing the keynote I went looking in my iPhone/iTunes for the album - expecting to see a "Free" where "Buy" usually appears (or Buy $0.00). I couldn't even find the album for a long time (still can't find it on my PC w/ iTunes). Next stop - Google, to discover that it was already on my phone. Sure enough - when browsing through my Artist list there was a new entry to U2, and all of the songs marked with the "download from cloud" icon.
From a user perspective it was confusing and expected to "buy it" (first) like any other album. Let's pretend I'm not a U2 fan. Sure I've purchased albums from other band and decided I didn't like it later - and simply deleted it. I now forever have this album in my list that Genius will try to mix and play from when at home on Wifi.
While I appreciate being able to discover "new" music - I'm not in control of it. I can't put it back on the shelf. Kind of ugly.
They assume everyone likes the same entertainment. Sure - U2 is probably more universally liked than the Juicy Bananas.
I have been using the "Yes..and" Improv method of Step In.
"What? Again? My damn kid put a virus on the computer again? Boy!! Get your Ass down here now... yes you... talk to this guy... WTF (whack)" [pull phone away from head, change voice "No Dad, that hurts, let go, stop, ow ow" "You get the phone with this guy right now and fix this.... and after we're going to have a talk...."
or -- two old people "Ethel - do you understand what this guy wants? Something about a computer... hmm.. our grandson was over last week. Hold on while I get him"
or -- "Oh - I've been waiting for you to call. See I have this problem where....."
of course if I'm in a rush I just say, "I have a Mac" and they hang up immediately. Seriously.. click.
Yes - an obvious UI should reduce the need for documentation. Are you documenting every single screen - and is it really useful?
We split everything into a few buckets:
* Proper and Intended Use of the product
* End User Training
* Suggested workflow and use (kind of a how-to accomplish important tasks)
If users are unable to accomplish their work without reading the documentation - then there is a problem. Our documentation went down from "feet thick" to a small "1 cm thick" manual. Via a removal of duplication and splitting into Role based helped keep changes to a minimum.
Of course - if the UI is changing that drastically every year - are the customers happy? It sounds like there's a huge investment from the customer base to re-learn the product every year. At some point I'd get tired of that and slow down how often I upgraded...or went looking for a less complicated product.
To answer your general question: Yes - it is possible and you will be successful in doing it. Wider question, not asked but we all derived, it sounds like some change control needs to happen.
Yes - thank you for this - I'll add my follow on here.
I've heard people speak of this difference as Computer Scientist (strategy/concepts) vs a Computer Engineer (code monkey/skills)
Your job will be to solve problems - what language you use is secondary. Solving the problem efficiently is more important than the language you use. My current company outsources to the lowest bidder the code monkey/maint jobs and retains the educated people to solve the hard problems.
Differences in teaching methodology via an example: I recently took a Relational database class at the local University (my alma mater), and a younger friend did the same at a local "skills" College. I learned Relational Algebra & Calculus, how one mathematically reduces a statement to find the shortest/fastest "plan" - brush up on set theory, and how modern "search" is really done. He learned SQL Syntax and how to write/type SQL. I also looked at his C#/Java class and he was learning Syntax - whereas I remember learning Linked Lists the differences between Asm/Lisp/C/Prolog (yea - a while ago) - Functional vs Imperative vs Logic vs... etc and syntax came only as part of learning the concepts and visiting each language.
Coding-wise, when I went to University - Java didn't exist (actually, ANSI-C had just become - well ANSI Standard C, my K&R book was stamped "NEW! Updated for ANSI-C"). But I learned what Garbage collection was - in the class on memory management and CPU architecture. What is a Heap/Stack and why approaches such as Garbage collection are useful (including algorithms for multi vs single pass culling) There were little 1 credit classes to learn specific languages(e.g. later on C++). Heck - I even learned how an ALU physically works in my EE class (that was way-cool ! A light bulb went on and I switched from EE to CS)
The best classes where the Analysis of Algorithms & Data Structures. While I hated it at the time, learning what O(n) means has turned out to be very helpful - esp when applied to other concepts like Bandwidth and Latency. A lot of "new" programmers don't understand latency and believe trips across the wire are just fine - yo - make as many as you'd like. In my day a trip across the wire was from the CPU to main memory. No adays it is from browser to web-server. However, with proper training one learns the Min/Max of "as few as necessary"
If your method of solving a problem can't possibly go faster - fiddling with code will only improve it in single digit percentages. Knowing why this is and finding the better algorithm or mathematical simplification/reduction will improve execution time by double/triple or maybe exponentially - and thus make you a better asset.
The government has certain protections not afforded to the rest of us. You can't sue the gov't for certain things (like having an accident on the highway). I don't recall what this protection is called. But I don't believe it can be extended.
Therefore - is SWAT responsible for things that go wrong? And can they be individually sued ? The Govt can contract - but can they extend protections?
Ooooh, what an interesting definition they've put on themselves.
I'm growing weary of the "smartphone" - yes, it is very nice to have. But I look at my life and being mobile. Personally a smaller phone would be better - my phone is not my computer.
I'm reminded of the Dilbert where he's surfing the web with one eye on his smartwatch, "h..t..t..p...://w...w...w..."
My watch tells me the time. Sure I could fish around in my pockets and pull out the phone, turn it on, then put it back in my pocket. Or glance at my wrist - done. Although I don't really need to know the time - guessing tends to be good enough. A quick glance is important.
Hence - what is a wearable for me: My watch is jewlery/dressy, waterproof, shockproof, multiple years between charges...and above all cheap. If I smash it - I'll buy a new one. It is small, doesn't weigh much, and is fast & good at doing it's main function.
I've wished that my phone could come apart into a smaller piece. Reading SMS ("hi - we're running late"), Weather alerts, and phone call (emergency), and a few other basic functions when I'm out hiking/biking etc. Having a hunk of aluminum and glass in my pocket is not inconvenient (and some want a bigger phone?!)
Therefore the mobile watch sounds good. It must have week of battery - I can't be tied to a power cord, esp when traveling. Waterproof, show the time, weather alerts (the only news that really matters), and since it is a sensor - measure some data to help monitor daily goals for exercise. And above all - needs to look nice, and not be a piece of black rubber.
Although being able to take a photo and post to {insert social media of week} could be fun.
Yes - I have two. A cell phone and a data-only device (iPad w/LTE). Do Kindles count as a mobile activation?
I wonder if cars count?! I know people with cars that use cell technology to phone home.
I read through the article and he draws a distinction between people vs handsets. I didn't see though if it was voice devices or whether hotspot/data-only devices make up that stat (there was discussion with regards to revenue breakdowns).
Now - will mobile data allow a way to skip over the cable-internet providers and offer real competition?
Slashdot Mirror
Looks like the NSA has published an app to the appStore.
Who would have thought that such an innocuous "secret" app would be non-secret. The fools! The government will find you, and track you - there is no way around it. It's a conspiracy, man!.
And what better way than to appeal to one's vanity and build an app to let you complain. Social Engineering at its best.
Yes, Thank you!!
I was looking for the /. angle - being all techie and what not. That was going to be my post today but you beat me to it.
Secure data centers. Lock'em up and throw away the key.
>> But I'm pretty sure that "gopher banana rim plunger" would be fairly immune to attack, although perhaps unpleasant to visualize.
Not anymore.
You are assuming the Dictionary is from Webster. It isn't in this case - it is a rainbow table containing all possible combinations of 7,8,9+ characters. Kind of the million monkey Shakespeare scenario - sooner or later they'll get to that combination. I remember a password cracker that used to put 2 & 3 word combinations from the Unix dictionary together to build up its guessing-dictionary.
Now - 7 words vs 7 letters, the dictionary is smaller for 7 letters and can be broken in "seconds." 7 Words (about 56 letters) - I don't think rainbow tables are that large yet.
A co-worker used to monitor the size of rainbow tables and always make sure his password was 1 character longer. That may have also been his versioning mechanism. "1" "11" "111" "1111" .... easy to remember and "harder" to guess. I knew another guy who used the password "za" - his reasoning: yeah lots of people might try "a" but who tries "z" ? and people might try all 1 character passwords and then move onto longer ones like length "8"... figuring they'd skip length "2" because only dumb people have length 1 - everyone else has at least 6 or 8. He was probably good at the Battle Ship game.
I use 2-factor with Google and have yet to receive a text message indicating that somebody has guessed my relatively short password. Living on the edge :-)
Yeah exactly! I feel PETA is saying, blah blah blah - use petrol and kill off the animals.
Wait - the "slow food" movement would say "go local."
I'm so confused. Is global warming coming or not?!
Yes but - seems that the color would be more immersive.
My Dad simply put a small lamp with a "10W" nightlight bulb behind his TV that turns on/off through the aux power port on the TV box. The room is pretty dark - even during the day. So this light actually makes it more comfortable to watch TV. I did something similar in my house too.
A simple light - that changes color. That goes to 10. That cool DIY in the link - goes to 11.
Yes - I can understand this - it is exactly my experience. I'm not type A so I am capable of putting the phone down. Of course I find Siri is often less than useful. Yes it will make a call for me, or read/dictate my texts. But that's about it. It ain't no Google search (damit man, I have questions and need answers). I rarely make calls from my car - but when I do I ask Siri who usually responds.... "Sorry - I can't do that right now!" [grrrr]
I rented a newer car that had a touchscreen system for all adjustments. Temp, air ducts, radio. I spent more time with eyes on the screen than looking out the window. I really my physical round knobs in my car - just twist to an approximate position without looking. I thought we learned our lessons back in the 90' with stereos and push button volume controls - ooh those irked me (too loud...down down down down down down....). And Honda - that big knob in the center of the dash looks important and useful - like a big volume control or fan speed selector. But noooo - it's a friggen menu selector.
What do I do in my car? Listen to music. And this is where my car iPhone integration kit is handy - simple old school push buttons on the radio. These are integrated to playlists from my phone. Plain and simple. Button 1 is rock, 2 is softer, 3 podcasts, 4 kids, 5 surprise me. Or Pandora via a tap before I start driving. I've used newer ones in more modern cars that can itemize the choices via USB.
It all worked beautifully until...iOS8
Sorry - but weren't these pictures stolen? Somebody entered "her house" and ran off with the photos.
Does it matter if she was underage or not? Is this not like possession of stolen property? Is this really copyright?!
They may have used the child-porn argument to expedite and raise the stakes. I don't think thats the real problem. Kids will be kids - different issue, and a problem that needs to be resolved (cultural change - more kids are having underaged "parties" etc).
I read an article over on the Register about this (I didn't know the backstory) and apparently porn.com wants to talk to the person who took the photos - saying it doesn't appear that she own copyright - the person who took the photos does.
Fine - you stole from that person (did you seek permission? did you get a release from the model? did you file with the California "over age 18" registry?) No - instead they were posted first and seek forgiveness later.
The local museum has one of these - it uses a combo of XBox and that poly-sand stuff that sticks together. Kids can make mountains, rivers, and lakes with their hands. The kinect detects the depth and then the XBox animates the terrain.
Rather than having people stack sand - they need a bendable floor that changes shape. Kind of like those toys with 1000's of nails/pins in them that conform to the shape of an object. Place a solenoid on each one and raise/lower to the necessary shape - covered with a plain cloth. Then project onto it.
A new breed of holodeck?
I have been granted moderator points today - and I'm stuck on this article. Going through the comments here I don't know which ones meet the definition of Trolls, Flame, Insightful, or Funny. I could mark everything here as offtopic - or all of the above. Then again - maybe I should go back to the original article and mark it as Flamebait - at least that would better explain the flavor of the comments posted here.
An opinion posing as an actual conclusion. Halfway through I wondered if this was from a sister Onion site.
Maybe the summary should have said, "I found an Opinion piece about science...."
Have at it.
I too haven't any major issues with iOS8 performance or interaction-wise (iPhone 5 & iPad 3). Yes - seems apps launched the first time after upgrading are taking longer to load (and one App even lost it's security activation key - asking me to reactivate my device with their website). Seems the upgrade is "big" and possibly many deleted their cached data. Performance seems to be fine for second+ launches and I'm slowly discovering the new features hidden around the system.
Most annoying thing so far - "this app is tracking your location in the background" - seems Apple is going to ask me this question for each of my 100 apps that use location. More annoying - there is no option for "Only when app is Running" - either On or Off... unless the app supports that new mode. I don't want the weather app tracking my every move in the background - I'm willing to wait for them to update my current weather location when I open the app.
And biggest bug found so far - handsfree integration with my car stereo seems to be broken. Playlists selected won't play (although the car shows the time counting up) - fast forwarding through songs causes samples of audio to play, but silence otherwise, and sometimes loops on the first 1 second (inconsistent repeatability of the problem). Forcing it to fast-forward for about 30 seconds finally made it play. Or picking a playlist from the iPhone works fine (which requires hands-on).
Smallest bug - Unlock screen was overlaid on top of "now-playing" Album art making it impossible to see the PIN keys. After unlocking it I haven't seen this happen since (took a screen shot to prove it happened).
For a major OS upgrade - it seems to be working fine. Battery life seems to be the same, all apps are working, and nothing crashing.
Arrr matey. The new phone is so large it need an external monitor to wear on your wrist.
Kind of like when the Mac got big and became two parts - an external monitor and the CPU case under the desk? Plus computers got hot, used lots of power, and.... gosh seems like history repeating itself in mobile form.
Well Shiver me-timbers - You might be on to something. Arrrr Matey this could be why the scurvy bought Beats and tried them-thar earpods.
Arrr next-gen DRM will be in the headset itself!!!!
Arrrgg.
Human nature? Yes. People naturally tune out to the horrible and try to move on.
RadioLab had a nice piece on the topic called "In The Dust Of This Planet"
http://www.radiolab.org/story/...
Artistic license or great Conspiracy? It is a sort of mixed message isn't it. The "from the side" images don't show this bezel protruding - along with an "artistic" shadow.
As for the other images - they all clearly show the camera bezel. https://www.apple.com/iphone-6... This isn't like it's a great selling feature - meaning - is it material or just marketing?
Scroll down to the "Streamlined: inside and out" and "Elements of Design" and you'll clearly see the camera "protruding."
It's quite possible that the side view looked "strange" with a little hair-thin spec that was removed "for clarity." Kind of like cereal "enlarged to show texture" (or make you hungry) ?
Gosh - having a phone so large it requires an external monitor you wear on your wrist? Or a thin bezel sticking out from the back? Oh the horror.
When I first read the headline I thought it had a huge bulge ala Lumia or that Android phone (name escapes me). This looks like a small ring bezel.
As for ugly design? I kind of welcome a small bump - I keep putting my finger over the lens (or very close to it causing a shadow) because I can't remember which corner the lens is in. Since it has a very wide angle view and rotates automatically - the way I hold it sometimes causes a shadow that I don't see until post editing (esp with video - I use two hands to stabilize the phone). I look like the Queen drinking tea with one pinky held out.
Having a small but obvious bump would provide me some tactile feedback. Personally I'd like a slight hour-glass shape so I could tell up from down when pulling from my pocket (I have black on black and don't use a case). My Palm Pre had a rubber backside and a thinner bottom - so it was easy to align in my hand without looking.
As for the ethics of making the models look thinner and prettier - that's a horse of a different color.
After seeing the keynote I went looking in my iPhone/iTunes for the album - expecting to see a "Free" where "Buy" usually appears (or Buy $0.00). I couldn't even find the album for a long time (still can't find it on my PC w/ iTunes). Next stop - Google, to discover that it was already on my phone. Sure enough - when browsing through my Artist list there was a new entry to U2, and all of the songs marked with the "download from cloud" icon.
From a user perspective it was confusing and expected to "buy it" (first) like any other album. Let's pretend I'm not a U2 fan. Sure I've purchased albums from other band and decided I didn't like it later - and simply deleted it. I now forever have this album in my list that Genius will try to mix and play from when at home on Wifi.
While I appreciate being able to discover "new" music - I'm not in control of it. I can't put it back on the shelf. Kind of ugly.
They assume everyone likes the same entertainment. Sure - U2 is probably more universally liked than the Juicy Bananas.
oh yeah - I'm sure they've never heard that joke before.
har har. [click]
I have been using the "Yes..and" Improv method of Step In.
"What? Again? My damn kid put a virus on the computer again? Boy!! Get your Ass down here now... yes you... talk to this guy... WTF (whack)" [pull phone away from head, change voice "No Dad, that hurts, let go, stop, ow ow" "You get the phone with this guy right now and fix this.... and after we're going to have a talk...."
or -- two old people "Ethel - do you understand what this guy wants? Something about a computer... hmm.. our grandson was over last week. Hold on while I get him"
or -- "Oh - I've been waiting for you to call. See I have this problem where....."
of course if I'm in a rush I just say, "I have a Mac" and they hang up immediately. Seriously.. click.
Yes - an obvious UI should reduce the need for documentation. Are you documenting every single screen - and is it really useful?
We split everything into a few buckets:
* Proper and Intended Use of the product
* End User Training
* Suggested workflow and use (kind of a how-to accomplish important tasks)
If users are unable to accomplish their work without reading the documentation - then there is a problem. Our documentation went down from "feet thick" to a small "1 cm thick" manual. Via a removal of duplication and splitting into Role based helped keep changes to a minimum.
Of course - if the UI is changing that drastically every year - are the customers happy? It sounds like there's a huge investment from the customer base to re-learn the product every year. At some point I'd get tired of that and slow down how often I upgraded...or went looking for a less complicated product.
To answer your general question: Yes - it is possible and you will be successful in doing it.
Wider question, not asked but we all derived, it sounds like some change control needs to happen.
Good luck.
Yes - thank you for this - I'll add my follow on here.
I've heard people speak of this difference as Computer Scientist (strategy/concepts) vs a Computer Engineer (code monkey/skills)
Your job will be to solve problems - what language you use is secondary. Solving the problem efficiently is more important than the language you use. My current company outsources to the lowest bidder the code monkey/maint jobs and retains the educated people to solve the hard problems.
Differences in teaching methodology via an example: I recently took a Relational database class at the local University (my alma mater), and a younger friend did the same at a local "skills" College. I learned Relational Algebra & Calculus, how one mathematically reduces a statement to find the shortest/fastest "plan" - brush up on set theory, and how modern "search" is really done. He learned SQL Syntax and how to write/type SQL. I also looked at his C#/Java class and he was learning Syntax - whereas I remember learning Linked Lists the differences between Asm/Lisp/C/Prolog (yea - a while ago) - Functional vs Imperative vs Logic vs... etc and syntax came only as part of learning the concepts and visiting each language.
Coding-wise, when I went to University - Java didn't exist (actually, ANSI-C had just become - well ANSI Standard C, my K&R book was stamped "NEW! Updated for ANSI-C"). But I learned what Garbage collection was - in the class on memory management and CPU architecture. What is a Heap/Stack and why approaches such as Garbage collection are useful (including algorithms for multi vs single pass culling) There were little 1 credit classes to learn specific languages(e.g. later on C++). Heck - I even learned how an ALU physically works in my EE class (that was way-cool ! A light bulb went on and I switched from EE to CS)
The best classes where the Analysis of Algorithms & Data Structures. While I hated it at the time, learning what O(n) means has turned out to be very helpful - esp when applied to other concepts like Bandwidth and Latency. A lot of "new" programmers don't understand latency and believe trips across the wire are just fine - yo - make as many as you'd like. In my day a trip across the wire was from the CPU to main memory. No adays it is from browser to web-server. However, with proper training one learns the Min/Max of "as few as necessary"
If your method of solving a problem can't possibly go faster - fiddling with code will only improve it in single digit percentages. Knowing why this is and finding the better algorithm or mathematical simplification/reduction will improve execution time by double/triple or maybe exponentially - and thus make you a better asset.
The government has certain protections not afforded to the rest of us. You can't sue the gov't for certain things (like having an accident on the highway). I don't recall what this protection is called. But I don't believe it can be extended.
Therefore - is SWAT responsible for things that go wrong? And can they be individually sued ? The Govt can contract - but can they extend protections?
Ooooh, what an interesting definition they've put on themselves.
I'm growing weary of the "smartphone" - yes, it is very nice to have. But I look at my life and being mobile. Personally a smaller phone would be better - my phone is not my computer.
I'm reminded of the Dilbert where he's surfing the web with one eye on his smartwatch, "h..t..t..p...://w...w...w..."
My watch tells me the time. Sure I could fish around in my pockets and pull out the phone, turn it on, then put it back in my pocket. Or glance at my wrist - done. Although I don't really need to know the time - guessing tends to be good enough. A quick glance is important.
Hence - what is a wearable for me: My watch is jewlery/dressy, waterproof, shockproof, multiple years between charges...and above all cheap. If I smash it - I'll buy a new one. It is small, doesn't weigh much, and is fast & good at doing it's main function.
I've wished that my phone could come apart into a smaller piece. Reading SMS ("hi - we're running late"), Weather alerts, and phone call (emergency), and a few other basic functions when I'm out hiking/biking etc. Having a hunk of aluminum and glass in my pocket is not inconvenient (and some want a bigger phone?!)
Therefore the mobile watch sounds good. It must have week of battery - I can't be tied to a power cord, esp when traveling. Waterproof, show the time, weather alerts (the only news that really matters), and since it is a sensor - measure some data to help monitor daily goals for exercise. And above all - needs to look nice, and not be a piece of black rubber.
Although being able to take a photo and post to {insert social media of week} could be fun.
The hackers gained access to " name, [...], physical address, phone number and date of birth"
But they "did not [access] other confidential personal information"
What other personal information is there on the planet? Your name, address and DOB is pretty much everything needed for identify theft.
Okay - I guess they didn't get Health records. Seriously though - what "other confidential information" does eBay store?
Yes - I have two. A cell phone and a data-only device (iPad w/LTE). Do Kindles count as a mobile activation?
I wonder if cars count?! I know people with cars that use cell technology to phone home.
I read through the article and he draws a distinction between people vs handsets. I didn't see though if it was voice devices or whether hotspot/data-only devices make up that stat (there was discussion with regards to revenue breakdowns).
Now - will mobile data allow a way to skip over the cable-internet providers and offer real competition?