I see that you have that FUD generator hooked-up and working. You need to tweak it a bit to automatically include comments like "OS X R0X0RZ" or "You'll never find anything like this happpening with in order to boost your Karma.
I find it quite interesting that so many people start getting ugly when Windows Vista is mentioned. It's as if people expected a Ferrari Enzo and got a Ferrari F50 instead. Yes, there was lots of hype generated for Vista - but not any more or less than the buzz for Windows 95.
What I also find interesting is that if you do a close examination of most of the complaints concerning Vista you'll find that they echo what was said about Windows 95, Windows 2000 & Windows XP - and most of the complaints were from users who were running those releases on hardware that could barely keep-up with the OS. Yes, for XP there were some significant performance increases wrought by SP1 & SP2 - but how long did we have to wait for SP2?
It has been clearly shown by many analysts (that don't work for Microsoft or Microsoft-supported groups) that at least 70% of the performance complaints were from users who took the upgrade path instead of doing a clean install; this is exactly what those of us in the Vista / Longhorn Beta saw time and time again; the bits carried-over from the previous OS were the primary causes for slugish performance.
As for me, I run a dual-boot system: Vista Ultimate 32 & XP X64. I also had XP SP2 as well, and the performance of Vista on what is now a fairly "pedestrian" system (DFI LanParty UT nF4 SLI-D, Athlon 64 4000+ (Sledgehammer), 1GB OCZ RAM, eVGA GeForce 6800 GT)) is at least as equal as XP or XP X64 in perfomance. People who obviously aren't aware of Vista's memory management code freak-out when they see 90% of their memory in use when nothing substantial is running and automatically pronounce Vista to be a memory hog. Google "Superfetch" and you'll understand one of the differences of Vista.
An interesting backstory about the "downgrage" to XP that some companies have been offering is that quite a few people ended-up being unhappy with the downgrade and actually switched-back to Vista. Chris Pirillo was actually one who took this path, and he appears to be somewhat happy with Vista. I'm doing things with Vista that would make XP or XP X64 to spit and stutter - like sending streaming audio to the server that webcast through, chatting on an IRC Network (the one that I help manage), and playing "Halo" or "Homeworld 2" when I'm taking a break and aren't doing a live music show. Trying to do that on XP or XP X64 would be a huge hassle, but Vista handles it perfectly, with the video settings for both games (or any game for that matter) at max resolutions, LOD, Shadows, etc.
So - is this nothing but FUD being generated by cranks & crackpots? Possibly. Am I somehow magically blessed with the "incredibly-smooth-and-fast" install of Vista? Definitely not.
I don't think I could add anything more to that analysis, XorNand.
It appears to me that the Slashdot Overlords have either lost their collective minds and have forgotten to vet posted articles, or that the inmates truely have taken over the asylum.
Sadly, I believe it's more along the lines of "Cool - another Microsoft-bashing post...let's get it posted ASAP and bypass any vet-ing of the content; no one would ever submit an article here that was both anti-Microsoft and was dishonest and disingenuous...would they?"
The last time I checked, Microsoft has more of a liberal / left-wing / Democrat bent than a conservative / right-wing / Republican leaning direction. So, to go off on a very left-field tangent with your "Haliburton" comment would indicate that your own take on this is definitely not from far-left-field, but in another ballpark alltogether. Your link between Microsoft and Haliburton and/or "Conservatism" would be akin to linking Richard M. Stallman (See, Rich...I just didn't use "RMS" this time!) to Apple; yes, analogy is not directly related, but IMHO it explains the incongruency for that linkage.
You're fairly accurate about the attention level paid to T3/DS3 versus T1/DS1 problems due to the fact that companies/telcos with T3/DS3 circuits usually have more than one customer on their DS3 facilities; it's the "squeaky wheel" situation in those cases, and when you have 28 customers complaining about service outages or impairments the "squeak" is louder than a single DS1 - hence, DS3 outages or service impairments will get much more attention.
The "squeak" factor goes up exponentially once you start dealing with higher-capacity circuts (STS-1/OC-1 up through OC-192 and beyond). Major backbone facilities providers (Tier-1)also have escalation paths that are followed for outages which require sufficient technical staff to resolve those outages - hence the tighter SLAs for those customers.
Wasn't it reported somewhere that citizens of EU nations, when offered the "N" versions of Windows either purchased Windows from sources where the full versions were available or pirated the full-versions instead of purchasing the "N" version?
So much for the so-called "consumer protection" the EU is offering it's "citizens".
The entire article, as well as the inter-related articles, were a very interesting read. In those articles, I read no commentary, speech, anecdote, quote or phrase from officials that the sole purpose of this new law was to "spy" on British Citizens. Such comments were plainly manufactured as supposition and conjecture.
With the steady influx of Jihadists moving throughout Europe, it's a high priority to positively identify people who are indeed citizens of The Crown, and to positively identify those people who actually have no business or right to remain in England. The case of the bombings in the UK Underground and the botched arrests in Great Britain is a klaxon to be listened to in regards to making positive identification of illegals and vital to National security. It's very odd to me that people in the UK and the US take such a lack of interest in their own safety and security from Terrorist attacks, to the point of saying that they don't want things like National ID Cards and tighter security and surveillance because that would infringe on their Constitutional Rights. The question then becomes this: what is more important - your safety from more terrorist attacks (and if you don't think that there will be more, then you should have your head examined) or the false sense of security you have now? Yes, I said "false sense of security" - because whether you know it or not, data regarding you is already sifted, sorted and stored. With access to your financial transactions, someone could find out what your daily & weekly habits are; where you shop, where you get gas, where you bought your last CD, the usual places you like to party at, which daycare do you take your children to, which schools your children attend, etc. With that info, they can follow your weekly habits with ease. Your image is already captured by Store/Mall Security, and also by the Police Dept. in the downtown sections of major cities. Now, with this knowledge, do you feel like your privacy has been invaded? You shouldn't, because you didn't have those feelings 10 years ago when all of this was actually being done or started. Did you feel less secure before Sept. 11, 2001? All of this data gathering goes way back to at least 1996/97. Did you feel more or less secure back then, in contrast to today?
The so-called "Privacy Advocates" are just trying to play on people's fears to get larger donations to their non-profit organizations. You've been watched, in one degree or another since the 1980's. If using a National ID Card to prove you are who you are actually worked, it would be a godsend in protecting your right to staying alive, because it would also help to weed-out people who are already here and waiting for their signal to attack.
If a National ID System was in place in the US before January 2001 and our Imigration Laws much tighter than they are now, Mohamed Atta and the rest of the 9/11 Hijackers would have been arrested, detained and deported. No War in Afghanistan and the WTC would still be standing and the 2,819 people who worked there would stil be alive - and you would still feel secure from intrusion into your lives, not knowing that both the government and businesses already have enough information about you to construct your weekly - if not, daily - habits.
Let me get this straight: a company or store that uses part of their staff to ensure that they have control measures in place to reduce shrinkage (shoplifting) has no right to verify that what you're walking out the door with after your purchase is the ONLY thing that you're walking out the door with, besides your own personal items?
Along those lines: Microsoft has no right to verify that the software being used on any given computer that wishes to receive updates or new software is indeed legitimate and not pirated software? I suppose that you also believe that if you are pulled-over by the Police for speeding that they don't have the right to check to see if your Licence Plates aren't connected with an Arrest Warrant or that you yourself don't have any Arrest Warrants?
That's not Orwellian - It's good business practice!
Legitimate Installed Software: "Hi, I'm Windows Vista installed on this computer - here is my Product ID and Product Keys"
Microsoft: "Hello, Windows Vista installed on that computer - your Product ID and Keys are legitimate. Here is the authorization to download the software you requested; while you're doing that, I'll just take the Product ID & Key and toss it in the garbage, since I don't need it. Also, here's a tiny bit of code to put on your system to show that your copy of Windows Vista is indeed legitimate"
SCENARIO 2
Pirated Software: "Hi, I'm Windows Vista installed on this computer - here is my Product ID and Product Keys"
Microsoft: "Hmmm...the Product ID and Keys you just sent me for authorization to receive downloads appears to be on a list of previously used and hence suspicious Product IDs and Keys; consequently, you are not authorized to download the software you requested and we're just going to keep the Product ID and Key you provided for further tracking of this obviously-pirated copy of Windows."
--ScottKin
Re:Because it didn't affect him?
on
Is Vista a Trap?
·
· Score: -1
Solution: Watch the HD-DVD on a consumer HD-DVD player and don't have it hooked-up to or part of your computer. The best solutions are usually the easiest.
Oh, I'm sorry - I keep on forgeting that many of the people that still visit/. still live in their parent's basement, have more than 2 30" monitors and want that HD-DVD player for their PC so they can watch Hentai in even higher definition.
I think you're taking a very narrow-minded view on the current state of things here in "Evil America(tm)". I can travel where I want to within the USA, I don't need "travel papers" or documents to travel between states or regions of the US. Yes, the security is tighter at the airports, but in order to keep people safe there must be additional precautions.
The problem with the kind of disclosure that the so-called Civil Rights organizations want - the un-sealing and de-classification of "Secret" and "Top Secret" information and absolute transparency of information - would reveal to those persons who wish to plan and execute attacks against the US and it's citizens the exact nature, technology and procedures taken in order to prevent such attacks. Revealing where the trap is and how the trap works gives someone the knowledge to evade the trap. By revealing the procedures taken to gather information on potential attacks, we give those who are planning such attacks the information they need to get around those procedures.
The flip-side of that coin is this: if we aren't told what things are being done then we don't have anything to base how we judge the effectiveness of how our government is doing and whether we feel more or less "safe"; this directly translates to how satisfied we as a nation are with the job that we have tasked our elected government and it's appendages (FBI, CIA, NSA, NRO & DoD) to do in order to protect it's citizens. In addition, there is a current mindset in the US that the US Government is monitoring and watching it's citizens every move, listening for what we say (whether it be natural or electronic) and being more and more intrusive into our private lives. They fear that George Orwell's "1984" is just 20 years late.
As for me, I'm more pragmatic than those who jump on their bandwagon or soapbox - hence, what I see as "reality" may not be in-line with most people. I feel that those people who fear that they're being watched & monitored have something to hide; whether it be that they cheated on their Income Tax, or that they're padding their expense account or cheating on their wife/husband/spouse/partner or even patently-illegal things like buying or selling drugs or committing corporate espionage. People really have no idea how "intruded" they already are in today's society; Credit & Debit Card purchases are tracked and buying habits are collected and sold to advertizers...phone call records are kept and collected. Most employers perform exhaustive investigations into new and current employees to minimize the employer's risks and liability, including Credit Reports.
The frustrating part of this whole debate on "Security & Safety versus Liberty and Freedom" is devicive at best; The moment that someone claims that their rights and freedoms are being abused, everyone tends to get into lock-step with that person or group because "Freedom" and "Liberty" are huge, hot-button issues today. Interestingly, this exposes what I believe to be a common, nearly nation-wide misconception of what those words - "Freedom" and "Liberty" mean.
When our Founding Fathers crafted the documents that created this great nation, those issues were as serious to them as the issues we face. They desired to be free ("Freedom") from British rule and from the oppresiveness of England's King George. They wanted to have a voice and the right to chose how they were governed ("Liberty"). Today, both of those terms have been horridly twisted and their true meaning perverted. We have been brainwashed in our liberal-leaning schools and by the many media outlets to believe that the terms "Freedom" and "Liberty" are absolute - that we have the right to do whatever we want, as long as we are not caught (the old and worn-out "Do No Harm" mantra of the . That is the searing truth of today. This is not "Freedom" nor "Liberty" - it's the absolution of personal responsibility and the lack of desire to live an honest & responsible life. THere is a phrase that's being tossed-about these days: "
Unfortunately, MythTV (or any other similar product, like Windows Media Center Edition) does not integrate smoothly with EchoStar & DishNetwork's receivers - that is, unless you want to dangle an unsightly IR-Blaster wire and use silicone adhesive to stick it onto the IR receiver window. If someone would consider back-of-set Serial Interfaces (some DVB boxes do have them), then that is a slightly-better solution - or even (gasp) bluetooth.
If EchStar would expand on their long-dead PCI DVB card to allow it to be used with solutions like MythTV, MyHTPC and MCE we would then have the ideal solution for both the homebrew / FOSS camp and MCE users......but of course, it's a dream I have.
1. Apple Computers appeal to those who DO desire form & aesthetics (read "pretty") from their OS and their hardware. Apple's top product designer, Jonathan Ive, has put his unique stamp on Apple products ever since the first iMac and has been the driving, if not instrumental force in Apple's hardware design.
2. Apple's OS X also is visually appealing, with a glossy-glass look, sliding and glideing windows & pop-ups, not to mention the "Dock" (which was originally found in a more utilitarian version in Steve Job's NeXT box and NeXTStep OS). OS X oozes sopistication and style and integration that is to be admired.
3. With #1 and #2 we can deduce that Apple's product appeal to a very select, very particular customer type - those that think that form & aesthetic design is important. It's those people who usually enjoy fine art, Chrome & Glass furniture & accents and other such "visually appealing" products.
4. Based on #1, #2 & #3, we can see why Apple only has the product share that it has - it appeals to the Elietist / Artsy segment, or those people who want to be able to proudly keep their noses in the air - or those who want to be like those that can proudly hold their noses in the air.
5. Read "Snobs"
6. Based on #1 through #5, we can also see why Microsoft-based systems hold the market-share that they do: They are people who just want to get things done, who don't *really* give a rat's ass about the lack of aesthetics or form of their computer: they just want to be able to be on the Internet, to write letters, do some financial work, maybe even do things as esoteric as producing music without caring that their computer looks "pretty".
To stem the onslaught of people who are going to poo-poo this post and claim that Apple systems are more stable than PC's, please examine the following facts.
1. The Apple core platform is homogenous: Apple doesn't have to worry about other hardware manufacturer's motherboards being used in their systems, because there isn't any other core hardware (read "Motherboard") than the system-level components that came with the computer out-of-the-box. Yes, you can add or replace peripheral hardware easy enough; you can upgrade pretty much anything and be nearly guaranteed that the hardware is going to work. Why? Because there is only ONE motherboard design that Apple has to worry about for that model! Apple's systems are stable because they don't give you any choice in the actual hardware that makes-up the system. Bootcamp does change things slightly, but only on the Windows-on-Apple front. People that have gone the other direction - loading OS X on PCs - in the beginning and still now get a fairly chilly response from Apple (Note: if this has actually changed, PLEASE feel free to correct me).
2.If Microsoft made it's own computers like Apple does, 99.99% of all BSODs would be history. Since the original IBM 5150 Hardware Reference and it's open hardware architecture spawned an entire mega-industry, the PC is a very open hardware platform. Look at the number of Motherboard manufacturers and their variety of designs; In short, it's a small miracle that any OS of consequence can even properly run on the variety of hardware that's still viable in today's market. Microsoft Windows systems run nearly BSOD-free, and the DOA rate is on-par with what Apple's DOA rate on out-of-the-box systems when compared and balanced against market share.
3. Most BSODs on Windows systems are due to one of the following problems: Incompatable Hardware, Innept coding & desing of 3rd Party Drivers, and poorly written & designed 3rd Party software. Please note that Apple systems are not immune to having OS or App crashes; any Apple owner that has said that their system has *never* crashed is either lying through their teeth or has had incredible luck in dodging that bullet.
4. Other causes of Windows BSODs are "User Head Space" issues where the user has cluelessly an
I absolutely agree with you, LaNMaN2000 - I can't see how this solution is significant enough for large-scale adoption. There are plenty of other things to help prevent RSI in those people that use a mouse; taking rests from using it, other activities that don't use a mouse, along with alternatives like digitizers with pens and touchpads. The use of a pen with a digitizing surface is a more natural method than using a mouse, but if you look at how we type and compare that with how we hold computer mice, the shape of the hand is nearly identical, with the exception of widely spaced fingers.
IMHO, This is an interesting attempt at reducing RSI in pointers, but only that.
Amazing how that statement puts the European spin on things - that "NASA is ESA's partner".
More like "ESA is a contributor to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope program". ESA only contributes 15% to HST. Turning that around says that the HST is NASA's by 85%. Also, didn't those Solar Panels get jettisoned years ago in favor of superior panels produced by "someone else" (read "USA")
Looks like your "QED" appears to me nothing more than "FUD"
If you want to check Vista our for yourself and prove your point, get on the Beta and test it. Make it break (been there, did that). Show Microsoft it's weaknesses by submitting bug reports on what you see as broken...or is it that you're afraid of finding something that works better than the brand of *nix that you're using?
I've posted this over and over and over in countless other blogs and forums: 90% of the Vista nay-sayers haven't even tried Vista or seen it in operation, and are only parroting what they've heard from other nay-sayers. Even in the current collection of Vista Beta Testers (CTP, TAP, TBT) there are those that want Vista to be perfect NOW, and I laugh at them; I've been a Beta Tester on-and-off for Microsoft since 1984 (and an actual Software Test Engineer at Microsoft on several products) and I've seen more problems with their beta releases than anyone would dare to see - but the point that seems to be eluding everyone is that it's BETA CODE - It's in no way ready for release at this time. Most of the bugs being dealt with at this time are application compatability issues with older software and problems with audio drivers. Oddly enough, when I installed Halo and hadn't updated the audio drivers (completely new audio stack), Halo repeatedly blue-screened (Yes, blue-screened and not red-screened) with the age-old "IRQL_NOT_LESS_THAN_OR EQUAL" error.
Reserve your judgement on Vista when it's actually released and available at your local stores, and let the chips fall where they may!
"Rewrite of Windows Vista underway? Hogwash!
I can't believe that headlines get written like this. Totally 100% false. Provably so. I totally agree with Alec Saunders. Can the journalist and editor who wrote this do some homework please?
Update: I just talked with Frank Shaw, vice president at Waggener Edstrom (Microsoft's main PR company), he says this article is absolutely not true. Frank knows more people inside Microsoft than anyone else I know (he hangs out with all the execs). There aren't any Xbox developers moving to Windows, he tells me (verified from other people I know inside Microsoft too).
What people are forgetting here is the Arab mind-set - where their allegiances change virtually overnight.
Iraq was, at one point, an ally of the US because we were against Iran - this was during the Iran-Iraq war. Ayatolla Khomeni was our enemy then, not Saddam Hussein.
The US gave support to Osama bin Laden and the Mujahideen during the occupation of Afghanisan by...oh, golly-gee, our mortal enemy at that time - the USSR!
As soon as the Soviet Army withdrew from Afghanistan and left the Taliban in place, OBL's Mujahideen then turned on the hand that had fed it during their fight to force the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.
Allegiances in the Middle East are worth less than the desert plains and sand, with the exception of Israel and Jordan.
..and wow - my honest appraisal of how 25+ years in IT/IS/MIS/DP has shown me that F/OSS software isn't all that it's cracked-up to be and I get down-moderated as "Flamebait"?
I would have expected the propeller-head fan-boys to at least mod me -4 for just being who I am.
Doesn't this illustrate the difference between F/OSS projects and actual, commercial products, where commercial products have excellent (if not spectacular) features and performance with very little work on the user's part to get the product working, and where an F/OSS project has 20% of the feature-set and requires 80% of the work to be done by the user on a somewhat-comparable solution...and they have the gall to say that F/OSS is better?
Slashdot Mirror
I see that you have that FUD generator hooked-up and working. You need to tweak it a bit to automatically include comments like "OS X R0X0RZ" or "You'll never find anything like this happpening with in order to boost your Karma.
--ScottKin
I find it quite interesting that so many people start getting ugly when Windows Vista is mentioned. It's as if people expected a Ferrari Enzo and got a Ferrari F50 instead. Yes, there was lots of hype generated for Vista - but not any more or less than the buzz for Windows 95.
What I also find interesting is that if you do a close examination of most of the complaints concerning Vista you'll find that they echo what was said about Windows 95, Windows 2000 & Windows XP - and most of the complaints were from users who were running those releases on hardware that could barely keep-up with the OS. Yes, for XP there were some significant performance increases wrought by SP1 & SP2 - but how long did we have to wait for SP2?
It has been clearly shown by many analysts (that don't work for Microsoft or Microsoft-supported groups) that at least 70% of the performance complaints were from users who took the upgrade path instead of doing a clean install; this is exactly what those of us in the Vista / Longhorn Beta saw time and time again; the bits carried-over from the previous OS were the primary causes for slugish performance.
As for me, I run a dual-boot system: Vista Ultimate 32 & XP X64. I also had XP SP2 as well, and the performance of Vista on what is now a fairly "pedestrian" system (DFI LanParty UT nF4 SLI-D, Athlon 64 4000+ (Sledgehammer), 1GB OCZ RAM, eVGA GeForce 6800 GT)) is at least as equal as XP or XP X64 in perfomance. People who obviously aren't aware of Vista's memory management code freak-out when they see 90% of their memory in use when nothing substantial is running and automatically pronounce Vista to be a memory hog. Google "Superfetch" and you'll understand one of the differences of Vista.
An interesting backstory about the "downgrage" to XP that some companies have been offering is that quite a few people ended-up being unhappy with the downgrade and actually switched-back to Vista. Chris Pirillo was actually one who took this path, and he appears to be somewhat happy with Vista. I'm doing things with Vista that would make XP or XP X64 to spit and stutter - like sending streaming audio to the server that webcast through, chatting on an IRC Network (the one that I help manage), and playing "Halo" or "Homeworld 2" when I'm taking a break and aren't doing a live music show. Trying to do that on XP or XP X64 would be a huge hassle, but Vista handles it perfectly, with the video settings for both games (or any game for that matter) at max resolutions, LOD, Shadows, etc.
So - is this nothing but FUD being generated by cranks & crackpots? Possibly. Am I somehow magically blessed with the "incredibly-smooth-and-fast" install of Vista? Definitely not.
--ScottKin
I don't think I could add anything more to that analysis, XorNand.
It appears to me that the Slashdot Overlords have either lost their collective minds and have forgotten to vet posted articles, or that the inmates truely have taken over the asylum.
Sadly, I believe it's more along the lines of "Cool - another Microsoft-bashing post...let's get it posted ASAP and bypass any vet-ing of the content; no one would ever submit an article here that was both anti-Microsoft and was dishonest and disingenuous...would they?"
How does the kool-aid taste?
--ScottKin
The last time I checked, Microsoft has more of a liberal / left-wing / Democrat bent than a conservative / right-wing / Republican leaning direction. So, to go off on a very left-field tangent with your "Haliburton" comment would indicate that your own take on this is definitely not from far-left-field, but in another ballpark alltogether. Your link between Microsoft and Haliburton and/or "Conservatism" would be akin to linking Richard M. Stallman (See, Rich...I just didn't use "RMS" this time!) to Apple; yes, analogy is not directly related, but IMHO it explains the incongruency for that linkage.
--ScottKin
Looks like the innocent-looking wiki.goonfleet.com brings you the love from Goatse.
Now I know why some mammals kill their young.
--ScottKin
Ah, yes - the typical response from the mental midgets.
Who are you tasting these days?
And of course, they are such friggin' cowards that, of course, they choose to be a coward of the anonymous kind.
Enjoy your ignorance, fscktards.
--ScottKin
I, for one, would like to know why he lost his original AOL accounts in the first place.
;)
Hacking, maybe?
ScottKin
Just to make a slight correction to your post:
PlayStation (Original PlayStation, or PS1) != PSX
THIS is a PSX:
http://www.ps3land.com/psx.php
Here's more:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PSX_(DVR)
Yes, it's older than a PS3 - but it's much more than a PS2, and virtually impossible to find in the US. You can find them once in a blue moon on eBay.
You're fairly accurate about the attention level paid to T3/DS3 versus T1/DS1 problems due to the fact that companies/telcos with T3/DS3 circuits usually have more than one customer on their DS3 facilities; it's the "squeaky wheel" situation in those cases, and when you have 28 customers complaining about service outages or impairments the "squeak" is louder than a single DS1 - hence, DS3 outages or service impairments will get much more attention.
The "squeak" factor goes up exponentially once you start dealing with higher-capacity circuts (STS-1/OC-1 up through OC-192 and beyond). Major backbone facilities providers (Tier-1)also have escalation paths that are followed for outages which require sufficient technical staff to resolve those outages - hence the tighter SLAs for those customers.
--ScottKin
Which consumers are being protected; EU Citizens?
Wasn't it reported somewhere that citizens of EU nations, when offered the "N" versions of Windows either purchased Windows from sources where the full versions were available or pirated the full-versions instead of purchasing the "N" version?
So much for the so-called "consumer protection" the EU is offering it's "citizens".
The entire article, as well as the inter-related articles, were a very interesting read. In those articles, I read no commentary, speech, anecdote, quote or phrase from officials that the sole purpose of this new law was to "spy" on British Citizens. Such comments were plainly manufactured as supposition and conjecture.
With the steady influx of Jihadists moving throughout Europe, it's a high priority to positively identify people who are indeed citizens of The Crown, and to positively identify those people who actually have no business or right to remain in England. The case of the bombings in the UK Underground and the botched arrests in Great Britain is a klaxon to be listened to in regards to making positive identification of illegals and vital to National security. It's very odd to me that people in the UK and the US take such a lack of interest in their own safety and security from Terrorist attacks, to the point of saying that they don't want things like National ID Cards and tighter security and surveillance because that would infringe on their Constitutional Rights. The question then becomes this: what is more important - your safety from more terrorist attacks (and if you don't think that there will be more, then you should have your head examined) or the false sense of security you have now? Yes, I said "false sense of security" - because whether you know it or not, data regarding you is already sifted, sorted and stored. With access to your financial transactions, someone could find out what your daily & weekly habits are; where you shop, where you get gas, where you bought your last CD, the usual places you like to party at, which daycare do you take your children to, which schools your children attend, etc. With that info, they can follow your weekly habits with ease. Your image is already captured by Store/Mall Security, and also by the Police Dept. in the downtown sections of major cities. Now, with this knowledge, do you feel like your privacy has been invaded? You shouldn't, because you didn't have those feelings 10 years ago when all of this was actually being done or started. Did you feel less secure before Sept. 11, 2001? All of this data gathering goes way back to at least 1996/97. Did you feel more or less secure back then, in contrast to today?
The so-called "Privacy Advocates" are just trying to play on people's fears to get larger donations to their non-profit organizations. You've been watched, in one degree or another since the 1980's. If using a National ID Card to prove you are who you are actually worked, it would be a godsend in protecting your right to staying alive, because it would also help to weed-out people who are already here and waiting for their signal to attack.
If a National ID System was in place in the US before January 2001 and our Imigration Laws much tighter than they are now, Mohamed Atta and the rest of the 9/11 Hijackers would have been arrested, detained and deported. No War in Afghanistan and the WTC would still be standing and the 2,819 people who worked there would stil be alive - and you would still feel secure from intrusion into your lives, not knowing that both the government and businesses already have enough information about you to construct your weekly - if not, daily - habits.
--ScottKin
Let me get this straight: a company or store that uses part of their staff to ensure that they have control measures in place to reduce shrinkage (shoplifting) has no right to verify that what you're walking out the door with after your purchase is the ONLY thing that you're walking out the door with, besides your own personal items?
Along those lines: Microsoft has no right to verify that the software being used on any given computer that wishes to receive updates or new software is indeed legitimate and not pirated software? I suppose that you also believe that if you are pulled-over by the Police for speeding that they don't have the right to check to see if your Licence Plates aren't connected with an Arrest Warrant or that you yourself don't have any Arrest Warrants?
That's not Orwellian - It's good business practice!
--ScottKin
No, think along these lines...
SCENARIO 1
Legitimate Installed Software: "Hi, I'm Windows Vista installed on this computer - here is my Product ID and Product Keys"
Microsoft: "Hello, Windows Vista installed on that computer - your Product ID and Keys are legitimate. Here is the authorization to download the software you requested; while you're doing that, I'll just take the Product ID & Key and toss it in the garbage, since I don't need it. Also, here's a tiny bit of code to put on your system to show that your copy of Windows Vista is indeed legitimate"
SCENARIO 2
Pirated Software: "Hi, I'm Windows Vista installed on this computer - here is my Product ID and Product Keys"
Microsoft: "Hmmm...the Product ID and Keys you just sent me for authorization to receive downloads appears to be on a list of previously used and hence suspicious Product IDs and Keys; consequently, you are not authorized to download the software you requested and we're just going to keep the Product ID and Key you provided for further tracking of this obviously-pirated copy of Windows."
--ScottKin
Oh, I'm sorry - I keep on forgeting that many of the people that still visit
--ScottKin
I think you're taking a very narrow-minded view on the current state of things here in "Evil America(tm)". I can travel where I want to within the USA, I don't need "travel papers" or documents to travel between states or regions of the US. Yes, the security is tighter at the airports, but in order to keep people safe there must be additional precautions.
The problem with the kind of disclosure that the so-called Civil Rights organizations want - the un-sealing and de-classification of "Secret" and "Top Secret" information and absolute transparency of information - would reveal to those persons who wish to plan and execute attacks against the US and it's citizens the exact nature, technology and procedures taken in order to prevent such attacks. Revealing where the trap is and how the trap works gives someone the knowledge to evade the trap. By revealing the procedures taken to gather information on potential attacks, we give those who are planning such attacks the information they need to get around those procedures.
The flip-side of that coin is this: if we aren't told what things are being done then we don't have anything to base how we judge the effectiveness of how our government is doing and whether we feel more or less "safe"; this directly translates to how satisfied we as a nation are with the job that we have tasked our elected government and it's appendages (FBI, CIA, NSA, NRO & DoD) to do in order to protect it's citizens. In addition, there is a current mindset in the US that the US Government is monitoring and watching it's citizens every move, listening for what we say (whether it be natural or electronic) and being more and more intrusive into our private lives. They fear that George Orwell's "1984" is just 20 years late.
As for me, I'm more pragmatic than those who jump on their bandwagon or soapbox - hence, what I see as "reality" may not be in-line with most people. I feel that those people who fear that they're being watched & monitored have something to hide; whether it be that they cheated on their Income Tax, or that they're padding their expense account or cheating on their wife/husband/spouse/partner or even patently-illegal things like buying or selling drugs or committing corporate espionage. People really have no idea how "intruded" they already are in today's society; Credit & Debit Card purchases are tracked and buying habits are collected and sold to advertizers...phone call records are kept and collected. Most employers perform exhaustive investigations into new and current employees to minimize the employer's risks and liability, including Credit Reports.
The frustrating part of this whole debate on "Security & Safety versus Liberty and Freedom" is devicive at best; The moment that someone claims that their rights and freedoms are being abused, everyone tends to get into lock-step with that person or group because "Freedom" and "Liberty" are huge, hot-button issues today. Interestingly, this exposes what I believe to be a common, nearly nation-wide misconception of what those words - "Freedom" and "Liberty" mean.
When our Founding Fathers crafted the documents that created this great nation, those issues were as serious to them as the issues we face. They desired to be free ("Freedom") from British rule and from the oppresiveness of England's King George. They wanted to have a voice and the right to chose how they were governed ("Liberty"). Today, both of those terms have been horridly twisted and their true meaning perverted. We have been brainwashed in our liberal-leaning schools and by the many media outlets to believe that the terms "Freedom" and "Liberty" are absolute - that we have the right to do whatever we want, as long as we are not caught (the old and worn-out "Do No Harm" mantra of the . That is the searing truth of today. This is not "Freedom" nor "Liberty" - it's the absolution of personal responsibility and the lack of desire to live an honest & responsible life. THere is a phrase that's being tossed-about these days: "
Unfortunately, MythTV (or any other similar product, like Windows Media Center Edition) does not integrate smoothly with EchoStar & DishNetwork's receivers - that is, unless you want to dangle an unsightly IR-Blaster wire and use silicone adhesive to stick it onto the IR receiver window. If someone would consider back-of-set Serial Interfaces (some DVB boxes do have them), then that is a slightly-better solution - or even (gasp) bluetooth.
...but of course, it's a dream I have.
If EchStar would expand on their long-dead PCI DVB card to allow it to be used with solutions like MythTV, MyHTPC and MCE we would then have the ideal solution for both the homebrew / FOSS camp and MCE users...
--ScottKin
Do you want the Truth? Can you handle the truth?
1. Apple Computers appeal to those who DO desire form & aesthetics (read "pretty") from their OS and their hardware. Apple's top product designer, Jonathan Ive, has put his unique stamp on Apple products ever since the first iMac and has been the driving, if not instrumental force in Apple's hardware design.
2. Apple's OS X also is visually appealing, with a glossy-glass look, sliding and glideing windows & pop-ups, not to mention the "Dock" (which was originally found in a more utilitarian version in Steve Job's NeXT box and NeXTStep OS). OS X oozes sopistication and style and integration that is to be admired.
3. With #1 and #2 we can deduce that Apple's product appeal to a very select, very particular customer type - those that think that form & aesthetic design is important. It's those people who usually enjoy fine art, Chrome & Glass furniture & accents and other such "visually appealing" products.
4. Based on #1, #2 & #3, we can see why Apple only has the product share that it has - it appeals to the Elietist / Artsy segment, or those people who want to be able to proudly keep their noses in the air - or those who want to be like those that can proudly hold their noses in the air.
5. Read "Snobs"
6. Based on #1 through #5, we can also see why Microsoft-based systems hold the market-share that they do: They are people who just want to get things done, who don't *really* give a rat's ass about the lack of aesthetics or form of their computer: they just want to be able to be on the Internet, to write letters, do some financial work, maybe even do things as esoteric as producing music without caring that their computer looks "pretty".
To stem the onslaught of people who are going to poo-poo this post and claim that Apple systems are more stable than PC's, please examine the following facts.
1. The Apple core platform is homogenous: Apple doesn't have to worry about other hardware manufacturer's motherboards being used in their systems, because there isn't any other core hardware (read "Motherboard") than the system-level components that came with the computer out-of-the-box. Yes, you can add or replace peripheral hardware easy enough; you can upgrade pretty much anything and be nearly guaranteed that the hardware is going to work. Why? Because there is only ONE motherboard design that Apple has to worry about for that model! Apple's systems are stable because they don't give you any choice in the actual hardware that makes-up the system. Bootcamp does change things slightly, but only on the Windows-on-Apple front. People that have gone the other direction - loading OS X on PCs - in the beginning and still now get a fairly chilly response from Apple (Note: if this has actually changed, PLEASE feel free to correct me).
2.If Microsoft made it's own computers like Apple does, 99.99% of all BSODs would be history. Since the original IBM 5150 Hardware Reference and it's open hardware architecture spawned an entire mega-industry, the PC is a very open hardware platform. Look at the number of Motherboard manufacturers and their variety of designs; In short, it's a small miracle that any OS of consequence can even properly run on the variety of hardware that's still viable in today's market. Microsoft Windows systems run nearly BSOD-free, and the DOA rate is on-par with what Apple's DOA rate on out-of-the-box systems when compared and balanced against market share.
3. Most BSODs on Windows systems are due to one of the following problems: Incompatable Hardware, Innept coding & desing of 3rd Party Drivers, and poorly written & designed 3rd Party software. Please note that Apple systems are not immune to having OS or App crashes; any Apple owner that has said that their system has *never* crashed is either lying through their teeth or has had incredible luck in dodging that bullet.
4. Other causes of Windows BSODs are "User Head Space" issues where the user has cluelessly an
No - you used obtuse and unrelated facts or content to prop-up your own stance on an issue.
THAT is what a Straw-Man Argument is. Your post is a perfect example.
Comparing the ACLU or the NAACP to a money-making venture is about obtuse as you can get.
Wait - what am I saying? the ACLU and NAACP *are* money-making ventures, aren't they?
--ScottKin
I absolutely agree with you, LaNMaN2000 - I can't see how this solution is significant enough for large-scale adoption. There are plenty of other things to help prevent RSI in those people that use a mouse; taking rests from using it, other activities that don't use a mouse, along with alternatives like digitizers with pens and touchpads. The use of a pen with a digitizing surface is a more natural method than using a mouse, but if you look at how we type and compare that with how we hold computer mice, the shape of the hand is nearly identical, with the exception of widely spaced fingers.
IMHO, This is an interesting attempt at reducing RSI in pointers, but only that.
--ScottKin
Amazing how that statement puts the European spin on things - that "NASA is ESA's partner".
More like "ESA is a contributor to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope program". ESA only contributes 15% to HST. Turning that around says that the HST is NASA's by 85%. Also, didn't those Solar Panels get jettisoned years ago in favor of superior panels produced by "someone else" (read "USA")
Utterly Hilarious!
--ScottKin
Looks like your "QED" appears to me nothing more than "FUD"
If you want to check Vista our for yourself and prove your point, get on the Beta and test it. Make it break (been there, did that). Show Microsoft it's weaknesses by submitting bug reports on what you see as broken...or is it that you're afraid of finding something that works better than the brand of *nix that you're using?
I've posted this over and over and over in countless other blogs and forums: 90% of the Vista nay-sayers haven't even tried Vista or seen it in operation, and are only parroting what they've heard from other nay-sayers. Even in the current collection of Vista Beta Testers (CTP, TAP, TBT) there are those that want Vista to be perfect NOW, and I laugh at them; I've been a Beta Tester on-and-off for Microsoft since 1984 (and an actual Software Test Engineer at Microsoft on several products) and I've seen more problems with their beta releases than anyone would dare to see - but the point that seems to be eluding everyone is that it's BETA CODE - It's in no way ready for release at this time. Most of the bugs being dealt with at this time are application compatability issues with older software and problems with audio drivers. Oddly enough, when I installed Halo and hadn't updated the audio drivers (completely new audio stack), Halo repeatedly blue-screened (Yes, blue-screened and not red-screened) with the age-old "IRQL_NOT_LESS_THAN_OR EQUAL" error.
Reserve your judgement on Vista when it's actually released and available at your local stores, and let the chips fall where they may!
--ScottKin
"Rewrite of Windows Vista underway? Hogwash! I can't believe that headlines get written like this. Totally 100% false. Provably so. I totally agree with Alec Saunders. Can the journalist and editor who wrote this do some homework please?
Update: I just talked with Frank Shaw, vice president at Waggener Edstrom (Microsoft's main PR company), he says this article is absolutely not true. Frank knows more people inside Microsoft than anyone else I know (he hangs out with all the execs). There aren't any Xbox developers moving to Windows, he tells me (verified from other people I know inside Microsoft too).
More on this story is on Memeorandum."
See Robert Scoble's statement on this issue
Enjoy!
What people are forgetting here is the Arab mind-set - where their allegiances change virtually overnight.
Iraq was, at one point, an ally of the US because we were against Iran - this was during the Iran-Iraq war. Ayatolla Khomeni was our enemy then, not Saddam Hussein.
The US gave support to Osama bin Laden and the Mujahideen during the occupation of Afghanisan by...oh, golly-gee, our mortal enemy at that time - the USSR!
As soon as the Soviet Army withdrew from Afghanistan and left the Taliban in place, OBL's Mujahideen then turned on the hand that had fed it during their fight to force the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.
Allegiances in the Middle East are worth less than the desert plains and sand, with the exception of Israel and Jordan.
--ScottKin
..and wow - my honest appraisal of how 25+ years in IT/IS/MIS/DP has shown me that F/OSS software isn't all that it's cracked-up to be and I get down-moderated as "Flamebait"?
I would have expected the propeller-head fan-boys to at least mod me -4 for just being who I am.
What a joke Slashdot has become!
--S
Doesn't this illustrate the difference between F/OSS projects and actual, commercial products, where commercial products have excellent (if not spectacular) features and performance with very little work on the user's part to get the product working, and where an F/OSS project has 20% of the feature-set and requires 80% of the work to be done by the user on a somewhat-comparable solution...and they have the gall to say that F/OSS is better?
--ScottKin