And that's why there's no effective insurgency in Iraq, and it's become a peaceful paradise for U.S. troops. Without tanks, nerve gas and nuclear weapons, guerilla forces would be forced to rely on small arms and improvised weaponry, which obviously are of no use fighting a large, well equipped force.
It's called asynchronous warfare, and if you have enough people with small arms working together, who are willing to sacrifice everything for their cause, I think you'd be surprised at how effective they can be.
Disruptive != disorderly. You can hold a protest march, acquire permits which will make it perfectly legal, and traffic will be re-routed or streets/intersections closed as the march goes through. This can easily be called disruptive, but the protesters can be acting in a perfectly orderly manner (marching on their route, holding up their signs, etc).
If everything that was disruptive was disorderly (in the sense of "Disorderly Conduct"), NYC would have to get rid of the Thanksgiving Day Parade, and the Presidential motorcade would never be allowed out of the garage.
...and the thing figures out its payload/mission will destroy it?
Just tell it that it will get 72 virgin-bots in the robotic afterlife for carrying out its mission. Seems to work well enough for the human version of the scenario you just described...
Parents should be more diligent not with monitoring every single thing their kids do on the computer
Yeah, C'mon parents......teach your kids not to post video after they firebomb buildings. Make those nosey cops find the perpetrators the old fashioned way.
Okay, I've seen lots of reasons so far why ebooks suck, so I'll toss in a few things I like about them.
Device: I tend to read ebooks on my Pocket PC, which I tend to have along with me most of the time. At any given time I have 8 or 10 novels loaded (some are just favourites, others are new that are 'in queue). I enjoy reading, so having a mini-library with me comes in handy when I have a few minutes to kill (gassing up my car, waiting on lines, etc). I personally don't seem to have any problems with eye-strain, but as always YMMV. The screen is quite legible in sunlight, and I like the added bonus of being able to read in the dark without turning on a lamp.
Software: I like the Palm reader, available from Peanut Press (it goes by another name now, but I can never remember as they've changed a few times). To me, the prices aren't all that bad as I look at it as a trade-off....no physical copy, but I can re-download anything I've bought when I like, and my bookshelf is available to me anywhere I have an internet connection. The books are DRM'd, but it's not a particularly onerous form of DRM (again, IMO). The key to unlock the book is the credit card number you used to pay for the book. I've had no problems moving books from one device to another, and it's a fairly easy way to remember the code (I just look at my card). For those that like to loan out their books, I can see that being a problem, but I don't tend to loan many out myself. I suppose though that if it's someone you trust with your CC number, you could do it that way (I'm not recommending this though).
You can also software to format text files in the Palm format (do with that information what you will).
Anyway, I enjoy them, and while they're far from perfect you may find them worth looking into.
It sounds like either he had no idea what their VB programmers did, or they had some fairly serious problems with their hiring practices.....If all they did was write meaningless programs that no one used, why did the company have them?
Most people have the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" mentality.
I think it goes a little deeper, more like "if it ain't broke, don't break it". Now before I get vaporized for saying that, I LIKE linux. I do not think that switching to linux is "stepping down" from Windows (quite the opposite in most cases). The problem is that people are worried that if they switch from Windows, they'll suddenly no longer be able to do what they already do. Right or wrong, this is the perception. Part of the problem may also be, oddly, that Linux is free. There is a mentality out there that says if it's free, it can't be as good as what I pay for. I've seen it many times on a smaller scale where a freeware app will do the job, but people *want* to pay for the other one because they feel that free == lesser-quality. Again, not true, but that's a perception that many people seem to have.
One of the big tasks here is changing perceptions, which can be much harder than making great software. Especially if you don't have a multimillion dollar advertising budget.
An intersting aside is that apparently Alistair Cooke, the host of "Masterpiece Theatre" was one of the deceased who's organs were harvested by these people.
TFA tries to put this up as a competing service to iTunes/Napster, but there's a pretty large gaping hole there.....content. While it looks like an interesting service, especially for people who like unsigned/indy type releases, that's not really competing with the other services. Their customers are buying mainly releases from "mainstream" sources (the big record companies). Saying that this is serious competition to iTunes is more a delusion of grandeur than a realistic statement.
That could be the case, but there's no way that I'd believe a contractor's laptop is a safer place for sensitive data than a server sitting on the company network that the contractor would need to VPN into. On the network, there would be multiple levels of security, and an audit trail to see who accessed data and when. The contractor's laptop should be considered insecure the moment it's outside of the company's control (ie, at the contractor's house). There's no way to know if he's running a firewall (sure, it could be installed, but he may turn it off for some reason while he's plugged into his cable-modem), or who is actually accessing the machine (maybe his brother-in-law the meth addict is fishing for credit card numbers on it). Most financial institutions are very picky about data access (rightfully so), and typically access to customer data is restricted.
Those things may be true, but we're talking about a consultant in the financial industry, not a small-town doctor. If they can't afford the proper tools for their business (loan management), like a secure network, maybe they shouldn't be in that business. That aside, even the doctor in your example absolutely should be doing more than just putting the files on his laptop and saying he's done. The files should be encrypted at the very least, which would be a reasonable step. What happens if patient files are stolen (or if he just forgets his laptop at the coffee shop), and those files are published? He'll be spending far more time on lawsuits from [rightfully in my opinion] angry patients than he will practicing medicine for a very long time.
I spend plenty of time on the front lines of people's businesses, and security is always a concern on any system I deal with. Like I said before, maybe there was a good reason, but I don't see it...
Slashdot Mirror
And that's why there's no effective insurgency in Iraq, and it's become a peaceful paradise for U.S. troops. Without tanks, nerve gas and nuclear weapons, guerilla forces would be forced to rely on small arms and improvised weaponry, which obviously are of no use fighting a large, well equipped force.
It's called asynchronous warfare, and if you have enough people with small arms working together, who are willing to sacrifice everything for their cause, I think you'd be surprised at how effective they can be.
Disruptive != disorderly. You can hold a protest march, acquire permits which will make it perfectly legal, and traffic will be re-routed or streets/intersections closed as the march goes through. This can easily be called disruptive, but the protesters can be acting in a perfectly orderly manner (marching on their route, holding up their signs, etc).
If everything that was disruptive was disorderly (in the sense of "Disorderly Conduct"), NYC would have to get rid of the Thanksgiving Day Parade, and the Presidential motorcade would never be allowed out of the garage.
...and the thing figures out its payload/mission will destroy it?
Just tell it that it will get 72 virgin-bots in the robotic afterlife for carrying out its mission. Seems to work well enough for the human version of the scenario you just described...
Parents should be more diligent not with monitoring every single thing their kids do on the computer
Yeah, C'mon parents......teach your kids not to post video after they firebomb buildings. Make those nosey cops find the perpetrators the old fashioned way.
In Soviet Russia, repetitious, mass-market, tired-old-jokes tell you!
How does this affect the *really* big gambling sites, like NASDAQ and the NYSE?
Ohhhhhh, not *that* kind of gambling....silly me.
Okay, I've seen lots of reasons so far why ebooks suck, so I'll toss in a few things I like about them.
Device: I tend to read ebooks on my Pocket PC, which I tend to have along with me most of the time. At any given time I have 8 or 10 novels loaded (some are just favourites, others are new that are 'in queue). I enjoy reading, so having a mini-library with me comes in handy when I have a few minutes to kill (gassing up my car, waiting on lines, etc). I personally don't seem to have any problems with eye-strain, but as always YMMV. The screen is quite legible in sunlight, and I like the added bonus of being able to read in the dark without turning on a lamp.
Software: I like the Palm reader, available from Peanut Press (it goes by another name now, but I can never remember as they've changed a few times). To me, the prices aren't all that bad as I look at it as a trade-off....no physical copy, but I can re-download anything I've bought when I like, and my bookshelf is available to me anywhere I have an internet connection. The books are DRM'd, but it's not a particularly onerous form of DRM (again, IMO). The key to unlock the book is the credit card number you used to pay for the book. I've had no problems moving books from one device to another, and it's a fairly easy way to remember the code (I just look at my card). For those that like to loan out their books, I can see that being a problem, but I don't tend to loan many out myself. I suppose though that if it's someone you trust with your CC number, you could do it that way (I'm not recommending this though).
You can also software to format text files in the Palm format (do with that information what you will).
Anyway, I enjoy them, and while they're far from perfect you may find them worth looking into.
It sounds like either he had no idea what their VB programmers did, or they had some fairly serious problems with their hiring practices.....If all they did was write meaningless programs that no one used, why did the company have them?
That was a really interesting article. Thanks for the link.
I just glanced at the headline and could've sworn it said "Sony Announces Death-Ray Roll Out"
need more coffee.
And will the rootkit now come directly from the drive, before you ever insert a CD/DVD?
elicit. How did your question elicit this type of response.
As for the question itself, I leave that to others....
Most people have the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" mentality.
I think it goes a little deeper, more like "if it ain't broke, don't break it". Now before I get vaporized for saying that, I LIKE linux. I do not think that switching to linux is "stepping down" from Windows (quite the opposite in most cases). The problem is that people are worried that if they switch from Windows, they'll suddenly no longer be able to do what they already do. Right or wrong, this is the perception. Part of the problem may also be, oddly, that Linux is free. There is a mentality out there that says if it's free, it can't be as good as what I pay for. I've seen it many times on a smaller scale where a freeware app will do the job, but people *want* to pay for the other one because they feel that free == lesser-quality. Again, not true, but that's a perception that many people seem to have.
One of the big tasks here is changing perceptions, which can be much harder than making great software. Especially if you don't have a multimillion dollar advertising budget.
MSNBC ran a story on this the other day....
An intersting aside is that apparently Alistair Cooke, the host of "Masterpiece Theatre" was one of the deceased who's organs were harvested by these people.
Dammit, that should have been "The STEAMBOAT Springs Police Dispatchers of Doom".
I suck.
So what is Steamboat Springs doing, that needs Windows ?
I take it you've never met "The Silver Springs Police Dispatchers of Doom" in World of Warcraft then.....
TFA tries to put this up as a competing service to iTunes/Napster, but there's a pretty large gaping hole there.....content. While it looks like an interesting service, especially for people who like unsigned/indy type releases, that's not really competing with the other services. Their customers are buying mainly releases from "mainstream" sources (the big record companies). Saying that this is serious competition to iTunes is more a delusion of grandeur than a realistic statement.
Inch by inch, we're getting closer to living in a massive panopticon.
Take that back right now, or I'll kill you!
Music quality will continue to get better
It sure will....the new Kevin Federline album is due out any time now!
damn your spelling-nazi straigt to ell!
Oh really, and how do you respond to reports regarding certain of the more sedentary, perpetual viewers? We want answers Mr. Grossman.
The winner of the 2006 SuperBowl was:
a) The Pittsburg Steelers
b) The Seattle Seahawks
c) Bud Light
d) CowboyNeal
That could be the case, but there's no way that I'd believe a contractor's laptop is a safer place for sensitive data than a server sitting on the company network that the contractor would need to VPN into. On the network, there would be multiple levels of security, and an audit trail to see who accessed data and when. The contractor's laptop should be considered insecure the moment it's outside of the company's control (ie, at the contractor's house). There's no way to know if he's running a firewall (sure, it could be installed, but he may turn it off for some reason while he's plugged into his cable-modem), or who is actually accessing the machine (maybe his brother-in-law the meth addict is fishing for credit card numbers on it). Most financial institutions are very picky about data access (rightfully so), and typically access to customer data is restricted.
Those things may be true, but we're talking about a consultant in the financial industry, not a small-town doctor. If they can't afford the proper tools for their business (loan management), like a secure network, maybe they shouldn't be in that business. That aside, even the doctor in your example absolutely should be doing more than just putting the files on his laptop and saying he's done. The files should be encrypted at the very least, which would be a reasonable step. What happens if patient files are stolen (or if he just forgets his laptop at the coffee shop), and those files are published? He'll be spending far more time on lawsuits from [rightfully in my opinion] angry patients than he will practicing medicine for a very long time.
I spend plenty of time on the front lines of people's businesses, and security is always a concern on any system I deal with. Like I said before, maybe there was a good reason, but I don't see it...