Every country with any capability at all has done this for all of recorded history.
The US spies on everyone because it has the technical means to do so. The USSR/Russia does it, France, the UK, everyone does it. It is sometimes used to feed information to big businesses (by all countries!). Just realize that by and large, everyone reading this story lives in a country that does it, and that every country WOULD do it if they had the resources.
I used Vonage over RRunner for a year, and it was really pretty good most of the time, even on international calls. Far better than cellular, for sound quality and reliability. I am surprised you had trouble.
As far as the telcos go, I don't feel sorry for them at all. They are horribly mismanaged, and misbill every single customer they have. They need more competition. Think where DSL was, until cable started really eating their lunch.
The best thing for you to do (IMO) is buy a Shuttle XPC. They have all the stuff built-in, except the video card, and you can fit the newest ATi cards in it without overheating or causing power problems.
It is probably the easiest PC to set up, since all peripherals are already connected. You just drop in your processor and memory, add the hard drive & DVD-Rom, and you are off and running.
They perform very, very well. I recommend the AMD CPUs to maximize your bang:buck ratio.
the network has drawn thousands of students from universities around the country to trade files and chat at speeds that far exceed what even ordinarily swift campus networks can provide.
Thank God! I guess Instant Messaging on this network really is instant. No more of those 100 ms delays!
Right now, the userbase is small, the difficulty high. More usability will mean more consistency, and more stupid users, which will make the platform a much bigger target than it is now.
Jerky's law As the number of users grows, so do the number of successful attacks.
In my personal experience, and from reading CIO magazine, it seems like much of this is a herd mentality. Since other CIOs are doing it, everyone has to have a program at the very least studying it, and pilot programs, etc. The herd mentality rules. Pressure from stock holders, is quoted often. Starting with the desired end result, the data is massaged until the numbers add up, most of the time by leaving out some key information, like flexibility, responsiveness, communication, synergy or several other things that are "soft" data. This is the same thing that happened when the IBMs and EDS made the big push, and everyone bought into it, outsourced and then realized that much of IT was a function that could be better done in house. Seems to me this is more of the same cycle, but with a bit of observation and analysis, this money-wasting circle could be avoided. So ask them how they successfully resist the "give the boss what he wants" in the analysis phase, and how much is being done because it is fashionable.
How about Duke Nukem 4? If/when it ever comes out, it will have to be personally delivered by strippers to meet expectations.
HL2 is derivative. Same character+almost the same situation=derivative, no matter how much frosting is on it.
I think HL:Blue Shift and Op For were excellent games and fleshed out the HL universe. HL2 may be terrific in its own right, but it truly is an incredibly safe choice by Valve.
And this "code leak delay" seems more and more just a front for actually finishing the game (don't get me started about STEAM).
The War Powers Act is a sham. Presidents don't challenge it, because they know that Congress can just cut off funding for things they don't like. Neither side wants to use the War Powers Act, because the constitutionality has not been defined, and both sides know they can pretty much work around it anyway. Also, for everyone out there talking about an undeclared war, there is no specific constitutional requirement that says what the words of the declaration must be. Congress authorizing force is constitutionally the same as declaring war, and this has been done in both Iraq wars, and Vietnam (Gulf of Tonkin resolution). Congress can cut off funds anytime it wishes to bring the troops home.
Do you think the designers of the Soviet systems, and the actual implementers gave a shit about quality or doing the job right? From everything I have read, nobody there really cared much about anything other than CYA, and lying about the 5 year plan. If the KGB gave the stuff to the engineers, or it just "appeared", it seems perfectly reasonable that is was used as a shortcut to get things done.
I don't know if this example is accurate, but counting on Soviet engineers to care about quality or the "provenance" of a system that saved them lots of work, and would allow them to blame others when the inevitable failure came seems a bit naive.
The EQ "zones" computers were running on NT 4 when it first came out, and for about the first 2 years. I don't know what it has switched to now. The application basically only used the TCP/IP stack of NT, but yes, Virgina, it was on NT4.
I can't "prove" it, but I got that straight from a friend of mine, that was one of the original EQ team (and you would instantly recognize his Avatar name).
We can have all kinds of items about beta releases of esoteric distros (bioinformatics) and a free tool that might help most of the people around here isn't news?
(Remember way more than half of the people on Slashdot are using windows)
I spoke my mind, every day, and every company meeting, and at every forum. Didn't really help the company, but it soothed the employees, because "someone" was asking the hard questions, and the CEO really appreciated it, believe it or not. We were at more than 300 people.
I got a lot of respect, from everyone up and down the chain of command, and from many in the rank and file. And I sure could sleep well at night.;)
Telling the truth is going to make you enemies, but if you don't do it, it will eat at you, and you will lose any real desire to make a difference. You will just be collecting checks, then.
Your project description reminds me of a quote from Dune: "If you give orders on a subject, you will always have to give orders on that subject." -- Duke Leto.
I have found that if you have the right team, and they understand the mission, very little process is needed.
Those are two big givens, and after 8 years in Military-Industrial complex, I know all about processes, and how to abuse and avoid them.
Thank God for startups!
Slashdot Mirror
Every country with any capability at all has done this for all of recorded history.
The US spies on everyone because it has the technical means to do so. The USSR/Russia does it, France, the UK, everyone does it. It is sometimes used to feed information to big businesses (by all countries!).
Just realize that by and large, everyone reading this story lives in a country that does it, and that every country WOULD do it if they had the resources.
I used Vonage over RRunner for a year, and it was really pretty good most of the time, even on international calls. Far better than cellular, for sound quality and reliability. I am surprised you had trouble.
As far as the telcos go, I don't feel sorry for them at all. They are horribly mismanaged, and misbill every single customer they have. They need more competition. Think where DSL was, until cable started really eating their lunch.
The best thing for you to do (IMO) is buy a Shuttle XPC. They have all the stuff built-in, except the video card, and you can fit the newest ATi cards in it without overheating or causing power problems.
It is probably the easiest PC to set up, since all peripherals are already connected. You just drop in your processor and memory, add the hard drive & DVD-Rom, and you are off and running.
They perform very, very well. I recommend the AMD CPUs to maximize your bang:buck ratio.
Looks like they have been going to the SCO charm school. I bet SCO sues them for stealing business secrets.
Would this be the Egyptian god that new users pray to?
From the article:
the network has drawn thousands of students from universities around the country to trade files and chat at speeds that far exceed what even ordinarily swift campus networks can provide.
Thank God! I guess Instant Messaging on this network really is instant. No more of those 100 ms delays!
This should get a +1 million, clever.
Way to go dude.
and you could tell who hasnt patched their machines.
bigger payoffs.
Right now, the userbase is small, the difficulty high. More usability will mean more consistency, and more stupid users, which will make the platform a much bigger target than it is now.
Jerky's law
As the number of users grows, so do the number of successful attacks.
In my personal experience, and from reading CIO magazine, it seems like much of this is a herd mentality. Since other CIOs are doing it, everyone has to have a program at the very least studying it, and pilot programs, etc. The herd mentality rules. Pressure from stock holders, is quoted often.
Starting with the desired end result, the data is massaged until the numbers add up, most of the time by leaving out some key information, like flexibility, responsiveness, communication, synergy or several other things that are "soft" data.
This is the same thing that happened when the IBMs and EDS made the big push, and everyone bought into it, outsourced and then realized that much of IT was a function that could be better done in house. Seems to me this is more of the same cycle, but with a bit of observation and analysis, this money-wasting circle could be avoided.
So ask them how they successfully resist the "give the boss what he wants" in the analysis phase, and how much is being done because it is fashionable.
Can you imagine how great arguments would be with your SO? It would be a race to see who can find the proper clips to prove what was said.
Or at work, so you could playback exactly what you were told to do when everything blows up.
Somehow, I just don't think these things will make most people happy.
How about Duke Nukem 4? If/when it ever comes out, it will have to be personally delivered by strippers to meet expectations.
HL2 is derivative. Same character+almost the same situation=derivative, no matter how much frosting is on it.
I think HL:Blue Shift and Op For were excellent games and fleshed out the HL universe. HL2 may be terrific in its own right, but it truly is an incredibly safe choice by Valve.
And this "code leak delay" seems more and more just a front for actually finishing the game (don't get me started about STEAM).
Not to mention William Hurt's sleepwalking through it.
I thought Lynch's was much, much better, and Dune is my favorite book of all time.
The War Powers Act is a sham.
Presidents don't challenge it, because they know that Congress can just cut off funding for things they don't like.
Neither side wants to use the War Powers Act, because the constitutionality has not been defined, and both sides know they can pretty much work around it anyway.
Also, for everyone out there talking about an undeclared war, there is no specific constitutional requirement that says what the words of the declaration must be. Congress authorizing force is constitutionally the same as declaring war, and this has been done in both Iraq wars, and Vietnam (Gulf of Tonkin resolution). Congress can cut off funds anytime it wishes to bring the troops home.
Do you think the designers of the Soviet systems, and the actual implementers gave a shit about quality or doing the job right? From everything I have read, nobody there really cared much about anything other than CYA, and lying about the 5 year plan.
If the KGB gave the stuff to the engineers, or it just "appeared", it seems perfectly reasonable that is was used as a shortcut to get things done.
I don't know if this example is accurate, but counting on Soviet engineers to care about quality or the "provenance" of a system that saved them lots of work, and would allow them to blame others when the inevitable failure came seems a bit naive.
The EQ "zones" computers were running on NT 4 when it first came out, and for about the first 2 years. I don't know what it has switched to now.
The application basically only used the TCP/IP stack of NT, but yes, Virgina, it was on NT4.
I can't "prove" it, but I got that straight from a friend of mine, that was one of the original EQ team (and you would instantly recognize his Avatar name).
And pretty soon after that, it will be 90 Venusian days (248:1).
Yeah, I searched high and low for info on this too. Why is it such a big secret?
Isn't News?
We can have all kinds of items about beta releases of esoteric distros (bioinformatics) and a free tool that might help most of the people around here isn't news?
(Remember way more than half of the people on Slashdot are using windows)
I have a 2001FP. It is absolutely awesome, and I get no ghosting in any game, even at 1600x1200. I cannot recommend it enough, if you have the cash.
> "I just notice" that this post wasn't proofed before it was posted.
Ha,Ha! You mispeeled proofread!
(Yes, yes, I know. It just makes it funnier.)
George Will said this.
I spoke my mind, every day, and every company meeting, and at every forum. Didn't really help the company, but it soothed the employees, because "someone" was asking the hard questions, and the CEO really appreciated it, believe it or not. We were at more than 300 people.
;)
I got a lot of respect, from everyone up and down the chain of command, and from many in the rank and file. And I sure could sleep well at night.
Telling the truth is going to make you enemies, but if you don't do it, it will eat at you, and you will lose any real desire to make a difference. You will just be collecting checks, then.
Than the most powerful thing created by a bunch of nerds?
Your project description reminds me of a quote from Dune: "If you give orders on a subject, you will always have to give orders on that subject." -- Duke Leto. I have found that if you have the right team, and they understand the mission, very little process is needed. Those are two big givens, and after 8 years in Military-Industrial complex, I know all about processes, and how to abuse and avoid them. Thank God for startups!