I play string-bass in a Christian Blues band, and all the original tunes we write are protected by the "poor-Man's Copyright" -- quite simply, placing an original manuscript/recording in a package, date it, seal it, mail it to yourself, receive it in the mail, notorize it,and then DON'T open it UNTIL/UNLESS someone steals it from you.
Once the offending party meets you in the Deposition Room in a Court of Law, open the package (and notorize a statement claiming the package was untampered and inspected before offending witnesses). The defendant pays all court costs, and you win (you might not receive any punitive damages for "pain and suffereing" -- but then again, you didn't suffer any pain, did you ??)....
Re-package the manuscript/recording, and include all notorized statements, INCLUDING one more stating the package has been re-sealed without tampering with the contents, and start over, in the event someone tries to pull this stunt on you again....
It's free, it's painless, it's legal... and no one gets short any $$ unless they're pulling something that's otherwise protected by Copyright Law....
Stands for Not Another Completely Hueristic Operating System....
It's essentially a bare-bones OS skeleton, that is highly-customizeable, in the sense that every student in a class of 25 will write different algorithms....
There's a standardized "four-phase" curriculum used world-wide, and each phase has 8-12 projects (most are more design-oriented than code writing)... fun stuff...
Sure, it's used pretty heavily in graduate OS studies; but who's to say younger students can't "analyze" the system calls, file systems, and virtual memory constructions...
I'm surprised that microsoft.com webmaster didn't take the time to apply hyper-links to the "45 percent of secure web sites" or the "52 of the top 100 Internet shopping sites" running Windows.... don't know why, but this is pretty shoddy marketing, no?
[nevermind that this just may very well be FUD]
I also fail to believe that Microsoft can really make a product [ IIS ?? Gimmie a break] hat has been designed to perform on the internet. Not that Sun CAN, but at least they have marketed themselves as such in the past (with the stats -- please see above)....
Just for kicks, I clicked on the "Windows 2000 Reliability" link, downloaded the article (no Virginia, I wasn't expecting much), and again, I was surprised by the lack of marketing savvy Micorosft is presenting Win2000: live satellite feeds? Yesterday's gimmick.... THIS will be Micorosft's demise, NOT their reputation for buggy software...
And will you have a voice once the IPO passes (and do you have a voice right now, for that matter) ?
There's nothing inherently WRONG with Andover news, except that there's so many OTHER sources just like it - so much competition, that is, for my attention.... so why should I start every working day with Andover ?
Now, IMOHO, I used to like TechSightings, and yes, I visit it about once a week or so.... anymore, TechSightings is rather mediocre, BUT my point is that I think Andover would not be pleased to know that I only visit their site once a day - and the advertising on that page doesn't exactly, well, grab my attention....
Dave's Linux Page ? Honestly, I've never checked it out (because it doesn't get my attention ?)... I went there once or twice when it first was built, and if I recall, it was not OBVIOUS that it was for newbies (IS IT for newbies ?? I still don't know )... it just seems like a little research in 'net demographics might just get D's LP on the map.... and THIS seems like the Achille's Heel of Andover: it's NOT on the map, because the map is overpopulated....
Will this change after the IPO ? Is it merely an issue of not getting the proper consultation, or is Andover not focused on a specific demographic (like, er, SlashDot is..)
Free Code and the Funnies ? Well, I USED to... but again, why go to Andover for this (by the way, it was TechSightings that first introduced my to UserFriendly.org ).... why is Andover TRYING to be like everyone else ? Do they intend on forming themselves as a cookie-cutter, one-site-fits-all news source (sounds like a little OS from Redmond, but that's my opinion)...
I had always heard that a policeman was the second most stressful job (maybe even more stressful than an air traffic controller);
The next most stresssful job, I have always read, is that of a lab technician (regarding your note about a surgeon: often times, a surgeon has become habituated to all the things that would cause stress).
Sure, I would like to think that a Help Desk job is the second most stressful job (since a am a HD worker, and no, it is NOT the least stressful job out there).
I would definitely place it in the top twenty, though. Moreover, I should note that of the three HD jobs I've heard in the past five years, I have noticed that HD positions tend to avoid HARSH office politics - a stressor in itself....
Someone kindly expalin "science-fiction" to Katz
on
The Timekeeper
·
· Score: 3
The truth is that neither saw the future very clearly, and the work of both underscores the hubris of people who think they know how technology will evolve. The only thing predictable about technology over the centuries is that it isn't predictable.
I was never aware the ability to predict the furture is what makes or breaks the notoriety of an SF writer....
Last I checked, an SF writer is there to predict/explore/comment on the potential interaction with humanity and his/her surroundings, with a [key word coming up] SCIENTIFIC pretext....
At the time of Kaufman's heyday, sure, everyone had an agent, but there wasn't as much competition for the buck as we have today, 15-20 years later. We want to be entertained, and we want to laugh, and we want to see someone push the limits, as long as it's entertaining. Today we have cable TV, high-spaz network TV, the Internet, and Jon Katz.
Maybe this was true in Kaufman's day, too, but Carrey has successfully made Kaufman an entertainer, and in those moments where Kaufman is portrayed as the entertainer that went too far, Carey becomes a performance genius. This was true for Kaufman, too: this was why his "Taxi" character and lunge lizard characters were so popular: had these characters been the Real Andy, he would have been remembered as an idiot - and no man behind that idiot.
There is no better "proof" of this than the SNL phone-in, where viewers decided that they didn't like Andy's art form, and opted not to see it anymore on late-night television. I suppose I can credit Andy for staying true to his form and not sell out to what the masses wanted him to become; but truth of the matter is, we didn't like Andy - and yet, he's regarded today as a legend.
Someone please answer me this question: is it true that Andy didn't recover from his lung disease because everyone close to him thought he was just performing again (and by the time they realized he was serious, it was too late)?
.... but is probaby the norm: there are separate departments for Computer Science and Computer Technology. CS would include a class as "Introduction to Algorithms," whereas CT would (and does) have a class titled "Installing and Maintaining a LAN," with "Mastering Windows NT" as the class textbook.
Now, I'm not sure if there's actually a "degree" available in CT, but students are welcome to take "X" number of CT classes as electives, PLUS the college makes a fair profit from non-major students whose employers are paying for these CT classes. In other words, as long as there's money for the college to earn, there will always be these relatively "highly-specialized, vendor-specific" CT classes....
Sure, security's a big issue with cable, but com21 (www.com21.com) makes a cable modem that features an everything-but-speaks-Shakespere firewall server....
Instead of focusing on a "duet" of misfits, the media had chosen to focus on a "gang" that they had belonged to months prior to the shootings.
I'm not saying the mainstream media did a GOOD JOB reporting the events last Spring, but I'm not sure what has changed, notwithstanding the "fear of geeks" that they created.
In the name of comic relief, and NOT to suggest a cheap joke, I suggest this: ABC-TV's "Freaks and Geeks" will have a wider audience because of the tragedy.
I remember reading "the Crucible," and the same method of thinking was there: yup, it prays like a Christian, it confesses like a Christian, and it floats on water like a Christian; but nope, it's still not Open Source, so it must certainly be a witch.
I whole-heartedly agree with many of the observations presented here, but I disagree with the conclusion, that it's geared for the teen-cum-'Net demographic.
I quote: BWP is, in many ways, the perfect teenage/Web movie. It's unnerving without being frightening. It has lots of suspense and little horror. Its young actors were tossed into the woods with no script, clear direction, and dwindling amounts of food. So they were highly credible.
According to this article, my parents would HATE this film. In fact, they loved it, not because it's scary, but because so much of the horror that attracted them to the theatre (we saw this when it first opened) is "suggested" and never even seen.
I quote again: Is this really an "Internet movie?" Or is it simply a good movie for kids whose real implications are too complex and unpleasant for the disconnected, decidedly non-interactive giant companies that run media, movie and other information and entertainment industries?
BWP works because our minds fill in the holes when an incomplete picture is viewed, and hence is perceived as real, even if our imagination kicks in.
Seems like the only hype is that only teens and internet users have an imagination. Had this been the case, those same teens wouldn't think it was funny that people gazed into the radio in the fifties and were scared witless (again, the power of suggestion).
Lawyers who will be defending victims of underwriters and even IPO's probably aren't laughing at all.
Let me make it clear: I think this was a real hoot !! But about three years ago, Corporation X became VEEEEERY interested in the reliability of Vendor Y's equipment.... Corporation Z, who's been in the red and have been treading water by their ability to make something a tax write-off, soon decided there's money to be made here (similiar to how Orange County, CA decided a few years ago that they had a case against their underwriters who "didn't adequately advise us of the risks of the investments we made, and led us to bankruptcy" a few years back).
This URL is not so much an open ticket for the sue-happy, but it undermines the importance of a stable Y2K policy. Those poor lawyers who can't take a joke....
If he deserves to go to jail, as you say, aren't you waiving all your authority to the legal system, and "let them do as they please" to Mitnick ??
I know that sounds extreme, and I don't believe it myself; but nor do I find the logic in your argument, either -- that "he should be punished badly, but hey, not THAT badly !!"
Not that I speak from experience, but I SUSPECT that many/most criminals pursue SOME degree of risk analysis, considering what might happen if he/she gets caught. I'm not convinced Mitnick DIDN'T consider the possibility that he'd become a poster child -- to some degree, is this NOT what he was hoping for ??
And now, ask again, did he or did he deserve all of this? Ask Kevin this question when/if he gets his computer back.... I SUSPECT he won't care, and he'll go on the internet...
Thanks, Kevin, for teaching us about the inclination for a corrupt soul of our government: Please learn your lesson next time....
Card owes more to Faulkner than he realizes (cf. The Sound and the Fury -- same story told four times, by an idiot, a suicidal, a town hellion, and a family slave). The difference is, Card is insightful about the characters' relationships (i.e., how Bean relates to bender, and vice versa).
I have read other Bender books more than once, and I'm sure I'll read this one again.
[formerly Gateway 2000] purchasing the rights to install Amiga on their systems? I still do.
I don't mean to imply that I have any devotion to Gateway (even though they WERE my first Phone tech support job, AND my first desktop), but these pix are definitely an interesting development for Gateway, no?
OK, OK, truth be told, I HAVE been looking for an excuse to add an Amiga to my home LAN; and if Gateway is willing to purchase on of these mama's...
The Summer of 2001 will also bring us (no kidding, I warn you) "Son of the Beast," as in Son of (say it all together now) the "Biggest, Baddest, Longest, Fastest Roller Coaster in the world."
Not only is it allegedly the highest hill and steepest downfall ever, it is also the first time a wooden coaster will go upside-down....
I usually hit both parks (Cedar Point @ Sandusky, OH, and Kings' Island near Cincinnati, OH) every Summer, but have not yet made it to Cedar Point. AAA Members get tickets to each for only $18.
Kings' Island's new Coaster this year "Face/Off" (as in the Travolta/Cage film, and NO, I do not understand the tie-in) -- hangs you beneath the track while you stand up (kinda) and goes upside down twice, and then over the entire track backwards again. My wife and I waited in line for nearly two hours for a 48-second ride, and yet it was worth it: you have absolutely no sense of direction (partly because your eye-view is rather limited), and then you stop, hang, then go backwards....
... nor is cDc actively and eagerly PURSUING the "saint" label.... we're talking about CULT OF THE DEAAAAAAAAAAAD COOOOOOOOOOOW... I'm not at all sure where their name came from, but I don't believe it's a savior relec.
Notwithstanding my personal feelings that the mischief is best caught by the cunning and mischevious, it seems that this comparison of SMS and BO2K is perhaps the most objective criticism cDc has ever published against MicroSoft (or anyone else). It certainly falls under the "cunning" category, which is probably a reputation cDc aspires for.
Did anyone else watch "60 Minutes" last week, when it was reported that Amazon lost nearly $4 Billion last year, and yet the company is currently worth nearly $10 billion because the growth potential is so great over the next few years ??
I don't mean to allude to the possibility that Amazon would had struck a deal with Columbia House [but then, if Microsoft can invest in Apple, anything else can happen, right?], but I wonder how CDNow's investment in Columbia House will affect everyone else.
But more importantly [yes, Virginia, this is only a joke], does this mean I'll have more choices with my Columbia membership?
But seriously, I do wonder how this merge will effect the public (as in PEOPLE, as in the Constitution's "WE THE PEOPLE"). I bet there won't be ANY benefits.
Re:An actual quote from MS's PR machine:
on
BO2K cracked
·
· Score: 1
You're right... I never thought of that....
So MS is kinda like an HMO: YOU buy the product, you allegedly benefit from the product, and it is COMPLETELY YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to do ALL the checking and qualifying of the integrity of the product (so that WHEN things go awry, YOU'RE responsible to represent your OWN interests). the product vendor has too wide of a userbase to care about your lone satisfaction....
Is this what you mean ? Again, not an easy joke, but a request for elaboration and clarification...
Slashdot Mirror
I play string-bass in a Christian Blues band, and all the original tunes we write are protected by the "poor-Man's Copyright" -- quite simply, placing an original manuscript/recording in a package, date it, seal it, mail it to yourself, receive it in the mail, notorize it,and then DON'T open it UNTIL/UNLESS someone steals it from you.
Once the offending party meets you in the Deposition Room in a Court of Law, open the package (and notorize a statement claiming the package was untampered and inspected before offending witnesses). The defendant pays all court costs, and you win (you might not receive any punitive damages for "pain and suffereing" -- but then again, you didn't suffer any pain, did you ??) ....
Re-package the manuscript/recording, and include all notorized statements, INCLUDING one more stating the package has been re-sealed without tampering with the contents, and start over, in the event someone tries to pull this stunt on you again ....
It's free, it's painless, it's legal ... and no one gets short any $$ unless they're pulling something that's otherwise protected by Copyright Law ....
Stands for Not Another Completely Hueristic Operating System ....
It's essentially a bare-bones OS skeleton, that is highly-customizeable, in the sense that every student in a class of 25 will write different algorithms ....
There's a standardized "four-phase" curriculum used world-wide, and each phase has 8-12 projects (most are more design-oriented than code writing) ... fun stuff ...
Sure, it's used pretty heavily in graduate OS studies; but who's to say younger students can't "analyze" the system calls, file systems, and virtual memory constructions ...
http://www.cs.duke.EDU/~narten/110/nachos/main/m ain.html
I'm surprised that microsoft.com webmaster didn't take the time to apply hyper-links to the "45 percent of secure web sites" or the "52 of the top 100 Internet shopping sites" running Windows .... don't know why, but this is pretty shoddy marketing, no?
[nevermind that this just may very well be FUD]
I also fail to believe that Microsoft can really make a product [ IIS ?? Gimmie a break] hat has been designed to perform on the internet. Not that Sun CAN, but at least they have marketed themselves as such in the past (with the stats -- please see above) ....
Just for kicks, I clicked on the "Windows 2000 Reliability" link, downloaded the article (no Virginia, I wasn't expecting much), and again, I was surprised by the lack of marketing savvy Micorosft is presenting Win2000: live satellite feeds? Yesterday's gimmick .... THIS will be Micorosft's demise, NOT their reputation for buggy software ...
I'm hoping the suits aren't THIS counter-intuitive, but time will tell ...
There's nothing inherently WRONG with Andover news, except that there's so many OTHER sources just like it - so much competition, that is, for my attention .... so why should I start every working day with Andover ?
Now, IMOHO, I used to like TechSightings, and yes, I visit it about once a week or so .... anymore, TechSightings is rather mediocre, BUT my point is that I think Andover would not be pleased to know that I only visit their site once a day - and the advertising on that page doesn't exactly, well, grab my attention ....
Dave's Linux Page ? Honestly, I've never checked it out (because it doesn't get my attention ?) ... I went there once or twice when it first was built, and if I recall, it was not OBVIOUS that it was for newbies (IS IT for newbies ?? I still don't know ) ... it just seems like a little research in 'net demographics might just get D's LP on the map .... and THIS seems like the Achille's Heel of Andover: it's NOT on the map, because the map is overpopulated ....
Will this change after the IPO ? Is it merely an issue of not getting the proper consultation, or is Andover not focused on a specific demographic (like, er, SlashDot is ..)
Free Code and the Funnies ? Well, I USED to ... but again, why go to Andover for this (by the way, it was TechSightings that first introduced my to UserFriendly.org ) .... why is Andover TRYING to be like everyone else ? Do they intend on forming themselves as a cookie-cutter, one-site-fits-all news source (sounds like a little OS from Redmond, but that's my opinion) ...
The next most stresssful job, I have always read, is that of a lab technician (regarding your note about a surgeon: often times, a surgeon has become habituated to all the things that would cause stress).
Sure, I would like to think that a Help Desk job is the second most stressful job (since a am a HD worker, and no, it is NOT the least stressful job out there).
I would definitely place it in the top twenty, though. Moreover, I should note that of the three HD jobs I've heard in the past five years, I have noticed that HD positions tend to avoid HARSH office politics - a stressor in itself ....
The truth is that neither saw the future very clearly, and the work of both underscores the hubris of people who think they know how technology will evolve. The only thing predictable about technology over the centuries is that it isn't predictable.
I was never aware the ability to predict the furture is what makes or breaks the notoriety of an SF writer ....
Moreover, I guess Katz thinks Orwell's 1984 is/was about, well, 1984 ....
Last I checked, an SF writer is there to predict/explore/comment on the potential interaction with humanity and his/her surroundings, with a [key word coming up] SCIENTIFIC pretext ....
At the time of Kaufman's heyday, sure, everyone had an agent, but there wasn't as much competition for the buck as we have today, 15-20 years later. We want to be entertained, and we want to laugh, and we want to see someone push the limits, as long as it's entertaining. Today we have cable TV, high-spaz network TV, the Internet, and Jon Katz.
Maybe this was true in Kaufman's day, too, but Carrey has successfully made Kaufman an entertainer, and in those moments where Kaufman is portrayed as the entertainer that went too far, Carey becomes a performance genius. This was true for Kaufman, too: this was why his "Taxi" character and lunge lizard characters were so popular: had these characters been the Real Andy, he would have been remembered as an idiot - and no man behind that idiot.
There is no better "proof" of this than the SNL phone-in, where viewers decided that they didn't like Andy's art form, and opted not to see it anymore on late-night television. I suppose I can credit Andy for staying true to his form and not sell out to what the masses wanted him to become; but truth of the matter is, we didn't like Andy - and yet, he's regarded today as a legend.
Someone please answer me this question: is it true that Andy didn't recover from his lung disease because everyone close to him thought he was just performing again (and by the time they realized he was serious, it was too late)?
Paper computers have undoubtedly revolutionized th evoting process ....
1) Table of Contents is on 73; 2) Out of 432 pages, it seems like almost half are ads; 3) Nearly 20 two-page ads;
Now, I'm not sure if there's actually a "degree" available in CT, but students are welcome to take "X" number of CT classes as electives, PLUS the college makes a fair profit from non-major students whose employers are paying for these CT classes. In other words, as long as there's money for the college to earn, there will always be these relatively "highly-specialized, vendor-specific" CT classes ....
Sure, security's a big issue with cable, but com21 (www.com21.com) makes a cable modem that features an everything-but-speaks-Shakespere firewall server ....
I'm not saying the mainstream media did a GOOD JOB reporting the events last Spring, but I'm not sure what has changed, notwithstanding the "fear of geeks" that they created.
In the name of comic relief, and NOT to suggest a cheap joke, I suggest this: ABC-TV's "Freaks and Geeks" will have a wider audience because of the tragedy.
I remember reading "the Crucible," and the same method of thinking was there: yup, it prays like a Christian, it confesses like a Christian, and it floats on water like a Christian; but nope, it's still not Open Source, so it must certainly be a witch.
I quote: BWP is, in many ways, the perfect teenage/Web movie. It's unnerving without being frightening. It has lots of suspense and little horror. Its young actors were tossed into the woods with no script, clear direction, and dwindling amounts of food. So they were highly credible.
According to this article, my parents would HATE this film. In fact, they loved it, not because it's scary, but because so much of the horror that attracted them to the theatre (we saw this when it first opened) is "suggested" and never even seen.
I quote again: Is this really an "Internet movie?" Or is it simply a good movie for kids whose real implications are too complex and unpleasant for the disconnected, decidedly non-interactive giant companies that run media, movie and other information and entertainment industries?
BWP works because our minds fill in the holes when an incomplete picture is viewed, and hence is perceived as real, even if our imagination kicks in.
Seems like the only hype is that only teens and internet users have an imagination. Had this been the case, those same teens wouldn't think it was funny that people gazed into the radio in the fifties and were scared witless (again, the power of suggestion).
Let me make it clear: I think this was a real hoot !! But about three years ago, Corporation X became VEEEEERY interested in the reliability of Vendor Y's equipment .... Corporation Z, who's been in the red and have been treading water by their ability to make something a tax write-off, soon decided there's money to be made here (similiar to how Orange County, CA decided a few years ago that they had a case against their underwriters who "didn't adequately advise us of the risks of the investments we made, and led us to bankruptcy" a few years back).
This URL is not so much an open ticket for the sue-happy, but it undermines the importance of a stable Y2K policy. Those poor lawyers who can't take a joke ....
[they should check out Wiley Miller's strip every now and then]
I know that sounds extreme, and I don't believe it myself; but nor do I find the logic in your argument, either -- that "he should be punished badly, but hey, not THAT badly !!"
Not that I speak from experience, but I SUSPECT that many/most criminals pursue SOME degree of risk analysis, considering what might happen if he/she gets caught. I'm not convinced Mitnick DIDN'T consider the possibility that he'd become a poster child -- to some degree, is this NOT what he was hoping for ??
And now, ask again, did he or did he deserve all of this? Ask Kevin this question when/if he gets his computer back .... I SUSPECT he won't care, and he'll go on the internet ...
Thanks, Kevin, for teaching us about the inclination for a corrupt soul of our government: Please learn your lesson next time ....
AOL:Good evening, AOL Technical Support. How may I help you today ??
Me: Yes, I having some trouble conn -
AOL: ... Excuse me just one moment please, I'm getting some interefernece on this line. Are you by chance talking on a cordless phone?
Me: No ....
AOL:Oh, nevermind, I think it was just a lear jet passing over our building here ...
Me: Lear jet ??!! I didn't know Dulles flew in Lear's ....
Oh no, they don't. They're flying in my one of my fellow workers ...
Me: Huh ??
I have read other Bender books more than once, and I'm sure I'll read this one again.
[formerly Gateway 2000] purchasing the rights to install Amiga on their systems? I still do.
I don't mean to imply that I have any devotion to Gateway (even though they WERE my first Phone tech support job, AND my first desktop), but these pix are definitely an interesting development for Gateway, no?
OK, OK, truth be told, I HAVE been looking for an excuse to add an Amiga to my home LAN; and if Gateway is willing to purchase on of these mama's ...
http://www.pki.com/Rides_Attractions/ActionZone/Ac tionZoneHome.html#FaceOff
The Summer of 2001 will also bring us (no kidding, I warn you) "Son of the Beast," as in Son of (say it all together now) the "Biggest, Baddest, Longest, Fastest Roller Coaster in the world."
Not only is it allegedly the highest hill and steepest downfall ever, it is also the first time a wooden coaster will go upside-down ....
I usually hit both parks (Cedar Point @ Sandusky, OH, and Kings' Island near Cincinnati, OH) every Summer, but have not yet made it to Cedar Point. AAA Members get tickets to each for only $18.
Kings' Island's new Coaster this year "Face/Off" (as in the Travolta/Cage film, and NO, I do not understand the tie-in) -- hangs you beneath the track while you stand up (kinda) and goes upside down twice, and then over the entire track backwards again. My wife and I waited in line for nearly two hours for a 48-second ride, and yet it was worth it: you have absolutely no sense of direction (partly because your eye-view is rather limited), and then you stop, hang, then go backwards ....
Notwithstanding my personal feelings that the mischief is best caught by the cunning and mischevious, it seems that this comparison of SMS and BO2K is perhaps the most objective criticism cDc has ever published against MicroSoft (or anyone else). It certainly falls under the "cunning" category, which is probably a reputation cDc aspires for.
Did anyone else watch "60 Minutes" last week, when it was reported that Amazon lost nearly $4 Billion last year, and yet the company is currently worth nearly $10 billion because the growth potential is so great over the next few years ??
I don't mean to allude to the possibility that Amazon would had struck a deal with Columbia House [but then, if Microsoft can invest in Apple, anything else can happen, right?], but I wonder how CDNow's investment in Columbia House will affect everyone else.
But more importantly [yes, Virginia, this is only a joke], does this mean I'll have more choices with my Columbia membership?
But seriously, I do wonder how this merge will effect the public (as in PEOPLE, as in the Constitution's "WE THE PEOPLE"). I bet there won't be ANY benefits.
You're right ... I never thought of that ....
So MS is kinda like an HMO: YOU buy the product, you allegedly benefit from the product, and it is COMPLETELY YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to do ALL the checking and qualifying of the integrity of the product (so that WHEN things go awry, YOU'RE responsible to represent your OWN interests). the product vendor has too wide of a userbase to care about your lone satisfaction ....
Is this what you mean ? Again, not an easy joke, but a request for elaboration and clarification ...