...the Defence Signals Directorate listens to just about every bit of communications in Australia
Geez, every time some government does something like this we run around screaming about restrictions on our freedom. No one's restricting your freedom -- you still have to freedom to not communicate. I mean, that's what I do... aside from Slashdot, that is. I just got tired of all the PGP, SSL, and Cocoa Crunchies Decoder Wheels and stopped communicating altogether. Problem solved.
No one's forcing you to communicate with other people, just like no one's forcing you to use Windows...
(If you can't detect the sarcasm in the above statements, you really shouldn't be roaming the Web without a guardian)
Will the majority of the computer using populace still be double clicking, dragging and dropping, and 'opening' folders and hard drives 10, 15 years from now?
No. The majority of the computer-using populace will be having one of the following conversations with their computers:
Bob? Yes, John? How long has it been since I emailed mom? It's been three weeks, John. You should really send her another. Right. Send her this: Dear Mom...
Bob? Can I help you, Sally? How long has it been since I got a letter from John? Three weeks, but his computer tells me it looks like he's trying to write a new one now. Splendid... let me know when it arrives.
Bob? What? Leave the toaster oven alone. But it doesn't have the latest... I don't CARE! I do not want to upgrade it. All right, Steve. I'll remind you in 30 days.
The lucky ones will be those who remember how to use the desktop metaphor or the CLI.
In the article she says she set up several accounts but only gave one of those addresses to a third party (she bought a gift certificate from Borders). Less than a week later, the email address she gave to Borders began receiving more spam than the other addresses.
The only difference between the accounts is that the one she divulged to Borders received more spam; therefore Borders sold her address (and who knows what else), despite the fact that Borders told her its "Privacy Policy" prohibits it from doing that. The only reason the reporter didn't write "Borders lied" is because then the WSJ could get slapped with a lawsuit.
The lesson here is that companies are in no way obligated to tell you (or a WSJ reporter) the truth if it's not in their best interest. Companies imply that Privacy Policies are binding legal contracts, but they're not; they are statements of what the company thinks you want to hear.
Joe Consumer walks into his local drugstore to get a prescription filled. While he waits, he notices a colorful gumball machine by the door. "Only 10 cents," Joe says to himself. "I'm not willing to spend 25 cents on a whole pack of gum, but I can spare a dime for a gumball." Thus, Joe pays 5 times as much for gum from the machine as he would for gum from the counter.
The next day, Joe goes to his supermarket. There's a bank of vending machines by the entrance: $1 for a can of Coke, $1 for a can of Pepsi, and $0.99 for the "Harry Potter" movie he took his kids to see a few months earlier (and spent $21 in the process). "Hmm... for less than the cost of a Coke, I could be a hero tonight and bring home Harry Potter." They watch it that night, but the kids want to see it again, and again, and ultimately he's bought the $0.99 version five times before he gets around to buying the replayable version for $20. He's paid AOL-TW $25 for a DVD that only costs $20.
Multiply that extra $5 by the 30 million AOL subscribers (a person willing to pay AOL 12 times a year will have no problem buying Harry Potter six times) alone and AOL can spend $150 million on acquisitions or campaign contributions without having to scratch (let alone dent) its budget.
If it works, next year it will cost $2.50. I remember the day the gumballs inexplicably rocketed from a penny apiece to a dime apiece; the day I showed up at the drugstore with my penny collection.
Opt-in is seen as a tougher standard because it forces companies to sell consumers on the idea of information sharing.
How awful for the companies, and the consumers!
Can you imagine what life would be like if my local grocery stores had to sell me their products? I'd have to go to the store, know what products I needed, wait in line with my neighbors and then have to actually sign a credit card receipt. What a nightmare!
Fortunately, all the local stores automatically deliver the products I don't realize I need and deduct the cost from my checking account. As if I'd actually want to know how much they're taking! That would totally cut into time I'd much rather spend exploring all the special offers I've been getting in my email.
Perhaps I'm just a troll, but doesn't Microsoft claim that when it steals ideas from other companies, it's not really stealing because it costs Microsoft so much to develop their own version of the technology? It's innovating.
If that's the measuring stick, couldn't one argue that pirating Office isn't stealing because he had to tie up his phone line for a week to download the installer?
Disclaimer: I think piracy is wrong, but Devil's Advocate is an important role to play.
...the President of Microsoft Germany is outraged...
Maybe it's just too early in the morning, but am I the only one who felt a chill at the sight of a totalitarian regime's name placed before "Germany?" Anyway, the first thought that came to mind was that a Microsoft Reich would have a Fuhrer, not a President.
Going back to sleep now... wake me up when the discussion's over...
If you've got a perfectly good working PC, why you would go through the angst of replacing it?
<SARCASM>Because Windows XP is ever so much prettier than 98 but you can't upgrade because you still haven't found the operating instructions your 5-year-old box's cup-holder thingamajig.
Besides, "GIGA-hertz" sounds so cool and you were planning to buy a "calming sounds of jet engines" CD anyway. ZOOM!</SARCASM>
For crying out loud, they're not "bugs," they're "features."
Holy shit! Microsoft is stopping all new work to upgrade features?! This is really bad:
Feature: Activate your copy of Windows over the phone
Problem: too insecure; people are still pirating Windows.
Solution: New version will require a passport account (social security number, photo ID and thumbprint).
Feature: Windows plays nice with your appliances
Problem: too insecure; allows anyone anywhere to control any Windows XP box.
Solution: New version will only work with upcoming Microsoft Appliances line (IntelliFridge, IntelliToaster, IntelliBlender, IntelliSink, IntelliTrash).
Feature: Outlook and Outlook Express VB scripts
Problem: too insecure; allows students in third-world countries to disrupt email all over the world.
Solution: New version will only receive email from hotmail accounts (passport protected).
My roommate got the George Foreman Grill for Xmas, but it wasn't much help because he didn't know he had to defrost meat before cooking it.
Ultimately he got an industrial-strength utility light (the kind with a grating over the bulb) from the garage. He flipped it over, turned it on and left the meat on the grating for 20 minutes.
The hot gases belching out of your car's exhaust are not just useless waste. They are a laser waiting to happen...
If only this could be applied to the hot gases belching out my laptop's rear vent. Could they be a DVD player's laser waiting to happen? Better yet, could they be used to shore up the battery's charge?
Ideally, if the excess heat was converted back into electricity, I wouldn't need to waste electricity on the fan, and I could substantially extend my battery life. Oh well, I can still dream.
Now I can set up a fake investment site, and if anyone actually calls my bluff, I can avoid prosecution by sending them the following email:
Congratulations! You've beaten the SEC Internet Trust Challenge! This is actually a fake investment site set up by the SEC to teach consumers about trust on the Internet. We'll refund your money within 30 days AND send you your Winner's Bonus. Thanks for playing, and remember: it pays to be Safe on the Internet!
Bob Johnson Ass't Director of Consumer Protection, F Section Securities and Exchange Commission Washington, DC 20006
The Washington Post ran an article about two years ago on a study of internet usage in major metropolitan areas in the U.S. It claimed that the Washington, DC area was the most "wired" region in the country, with about 50% of adults having some access to the Internet.
IIRC, the expected techie cities followed, but the percentages quickly dropped below 30%. Outside those areas, the percentage of adults who have internet access was much lower than that.
In industrialized nations with relatively strong economies, the average internet access rate is probably below 20%. China and India each have populations around 1 billion, but what miniscule fraction of a percentage of their citizens have internet access. Most of the world's population doesn't even have electricity.
I think the percentage of people who (1) have electricity, (2) can afford a computer, (3) have the training to use a computer, (4) and have access to the Internet is probably less than 5%. In fact, I suspect it's closer to 1%.
Still, I think Microsoft's 200 million figure is exaggerated... the result of convenient accounting. Personally, I have at least a dozen Passport accounts that MS automatically gave me when I signed up for Hotmail accounts I only used once. I have never given MS my credit card number or even my real zip code, and I never will, yet I am over a dozen Passport users. Heck, my imaginary dog has two Hotmail accounts (he complained that the first one was full of spam, so I signed him up for a second account).
Aside from users like me (and my imaginary dog), I had a friend who wrote a commercial script to log into Hotmail. To test it, he wrote another script that created thousands of Hotmail (and Passport) accounts. He did the same thing with Yahoo, and apparently this phenomenon is common enough that Yahoo now requires new users to use "Word Verification" to "prevent automated registrations."
So, which state attorney general do you expect will be the first to announce he's signed up for a Passport account?
EPIC: We urge you to pursue Microsoft Passport. Unnamed State Attorney General: Thanks for recommending this great service. I transfer all my documents through Hotmail now and with Microsoft's upcoming Intellisignature Technology I can sign sign everything with just a click of my mouse.
You can run Linux in an isolated environment on your computer and when you want to freeze a process, VPC can save the state of the environment. When you thaw it hours or years later, the environment doesn't know any time has passed. Since VPC can run multiple instances on the same machine, you can put the critical process in its own environment.
It's a funny article, but it could have gone a long way toward solve the problem if it had offered unemployed readers alternatives to spamming.
The same applies to this Slashdot discussion. The people who have the technology openings people want are probably Slashdot readers (<SARCASM>who would want to work for someone who wasn't Slashdot-aware?</SARCASM>). Or perhaps you've already hired some outstanding candidate who found a way to get your attention without resorting to spam.
So let's put the question to you:
What's the best way for genuine, qualified, informed candidates to distinguish themselves from this rabble?
The biggest part of the breakthrough isn't the chips themselves, but that HP plans to be able to 'fix' chips which come out with imperfections, thus saving money on an already cheap process."
No, the biggest part of the breakthrough is that a non-printer division of HP was able to announce its accomplishment before Fiorina could shut it down .
From the "Have you ever flashy-thinged me? Kay? I ain't playin'. Have you ever flashy-thinged me?" department:
<SARCASM>
In related news, the FBI has announced that its stealthy "Magic Lantern" program is officially being launched under the name "fbiJack."
"This guy got lucky, but how 'bout you, Slick?" taunted Special Agent Kay. "Wouldn't you feel better knowing that fbiJack is running on your machine? You can pick up an installer disk at any U.S. Post Office or download it from Microsoft.com." </SARCASM>
Reuters often puts stories on the wire before the AP does, but at a great cost. In general, Reuters stories are:
not as well written as AP stories
more likely to contain factual errors
more likely to contain typos
My rule of thumb in posting wire stories on washingtonpost.com was that I would treat Reuters stories as a "heads up" and then wait for the AP version. If no AP story appeared and I still wanted to post the story, I'd run it through a spellchecker and then subject it to careful scrutiny.
Something like this story could still get through, but the point is that news organizations should know to be more careful with Reuters.
Slashdot Mirror
No one's forcing you to communicate with other people, just like no one's forcing you to use Windows...
(If you can't detect the sarcasm in the above statements, you really shouldn't be roaming the Web without a guardian)
Someone should put this guy in touch with NASA, since it seems he has come closer to building a space elevator than they have.
The only difference between the accounts is that the one she divulged to Borders received more spam; therefore Borders sold her address (and who knows what else), despite the fact that Borders told her its "Privacy Policy" prohibits it from doing that. The only reason the reporter didn't write "Borders lied" is because then the WSJ could get slapped with a lawsuit.
The lesson here is that companies are in no way obligated to tell you (or a WSJ reporter) the truth if it's not in their best interest. Companies imply that Privacy Policies are binding legal contracts, but they're not; they are statements of what the company thinks you want to hear.
Correction (hey, it's late...er, early): Joe pays twice as much for the gum from the machine... But the point remains the same.
The next day, Joe goes to his supermarket. There's a bank of vending machines by the entrance: $1 for a can of Coke, $1 for a can of Pepsi, and $0.99 for the "Harry Potter" movie he took his kids to see a few months earlier (and spent $21 in the process). "Hmm... for less than the cost of a Coke, I could be a hero tonight and bring home Harry Potter." They watch it that night, but the kids want to see it again, and again, and ultimately he's bought the $0.99 version five times before he gets around to buying the replayable version for $20. He's paid AOL-TW $25 for a DVD that only costs $20.
Multiply that extra $5 by the 30 million AOL subscribers (a person willing to pay AOL 12 times a year will have no problem buying Harry Potter six times) alone and AOL can spend $150 million on acquisitions or campaign contributions without having to scratch (let alone dent) its budget.
If it works, next year it will cost $2.50. I remember the day the gumballs inexplicably rocketed from a penny apiece to a dime apiece; the day I showed up at the drugstore with my penny collection.
Can you imagine what life would be like if my local grocery stores had to sell me their products? I'd have to go to the store, know what products I needed, wait in line with my neighbors and then have to actually sign a credit card receipt. What a nightmare!
Fortunately, all the local stores automatically deliver the products I don't realize I need and deduct the cost from my checking account. As if I'd actually want to know how much they're taking! That would totally cut into time I'd much rather spend exploring all the special offers I've been getting in my email.
If that's the measuring stick, couldn't one argue that pirating Office isn't stealing because he had to tie up his phone line for a week to download the installer?
Disclaimer: I think piracy is wrong, but Devil's Advocate is an important role to play.
Going back to sleep now... wake me up when the discussion's over...
Besides, "GIGA-hertz" sounds so cool and you were planning to buy a "calming sounds of jet engines" CD anyway. ZOOM!</SARCASM>
Holy shit! Microsoft is stopping all new work to upgrade features?! This is really bad:
Ultimately he got an industrial-strength utility light (the kind with a grating over the bulb) from the garage. He flipped it over, turned it on and left the meat on the grating for 20 minutes.
That's much more efficient than my local Yellow Pages... I have to read through the first 364 pages before I get to "Pizza Hut."
Ideally, if the excess heat was converted back into electricity, I wouldn't need to waste electricity on the fan, and I could substantially extend my battery life. Oh well, I can still dream.
IIRC, the expected techie cities followed, but the percentages quickly dropped below 30%. Outside those areas, the percentage of adults who have internet access was much lower than that.
In industrialized nations with relatively strong economies, the average internet access rate is probably below 20%. China and India each have populations around 1 billion, but what miniscule fraction of a percentage of their citizens have internet access. Most of the world's population doesn't even have electricity.
I think the percentage of people who (1) have electricity, (2) can afford a computer, (3) have the training to use a computer, (4) and have access to the Internet is probably less than 5%. In fact, I suspect it's closer to 1%.
Still, I think Microsoft's 200 million figure is exaggerated... the result of convenient accounting. Personally, I have at least a dozen Passport accounts that MS automatically gave me when I signed up for Hotmail accounts I only used once. I have never given MS my credit card number or even my real zip code, and I never will, yet I am over a dozen Passport users. Heck, my imaginary dog has two Hotmail accounts (he complained that the first one was full of spam, so I signed him up for a second account).
Aside from users like me (and my imaginary dog), I had a friend who wrote a commercial script to log into Hotmail. To test it, he wrote another script that created thousands of Hotmail (and Passport) accounts. He did the same thing with Yahoo, and apparently this phenomenon is common enough that Yahoo now requires new users to use "Word Verification" to "prevent automated registrations."
EPIC: We urge you to pursue Microsoft Passport.
Unnamed State Attorney General: Thanks for recommending this great service. I transfer all my documents through Hotmail now and with Microsoft's upcoming Intellisignature Technology I can sign sign everything with just a click of my mouse.
I'm still waiting for my year-2000-model flying car...
Nothing to worry about... just relax and someone will send a doctor over to fix you.
You can run Linux in an isolated environment on your computer and when you want to freeze a process, VPC can save the state of the environment. When you thaw it hours or years later, the environment doesn't know any time has passed. Since VPC can run multiple instances on the same machine, you can put the critical process in its own environment.
The same applies to this Slashdot discussion. The people who have the technology openings people want are probably Slashdot readers (<SARCASM>who would want to work for someone who wasn't Slashdot-aware?</SARCASM>). Or perhaps you've already hired some outstanding candidate who found a way to get your attention without resorting to spam.
So let's put the question to you:
No, the biggest part of the breakthrough is that a non-printer division of HP was able to announce its accomplishment before Fiorina could shut it down .
<SARCASM>
In related news, the FBI has announced that its stealthy "Magic Lantern" program is officially being launched under the name "fbiJack."
"This guy got lucky, but how 'bout you, Slick?" taunted Special Agent Kay. "Wouldn't you feel better knowing that fbiJack is running on your machine? You can pick up an installer disk at any U.S. Post Office or download it from Microsoft.com."
</SARCASM>
Reuters often puts stories on the wire before the AP does, but at a great cost. In general, Reuters stories are:
My rule of thumb in posting wire stories on washingtonpost.com was that I would treat Reuters stories as a "heads up" and then wait for the AP version. If no AP story appeared and I still wanted to post the story, I'd run it through a spellchecker and then subject it to careful scrutiny.
Something like this story could still get through, but the point is that news organizations should know to be more careful with Reuters.