granted, but often tech support eprsonell will see this as the only possible solution. Unless they have gotten a memmo about a problem with a certain area, they automatically think the problem is the customers computer. When we know a lot better, they still contnue to make us try to do pointless things.
Yet at the same time, for those of us that know what we are doing, the retarded reps who keep saying to reboot and reconnect or to reset the IP only frusterate people more!
The Nigerian government has set up a website to combat/.'rs who continually bring down websites. An official has been quoted saying "We are sick and tired of websites being taken down because of Slashdot. It is a menace that must be stopped!"
The biw question I see is support. While MS still dominates the home office setting, StarOffice might just take a small market share. I have used MS Office in the past, and the tech support simply does not in any way shape or form exist. I tihnk that if they offer REAL tech support, StarOffice may be a viable solution for the non-technically inclined. I say this because there are many people that build systems for friends and familt members. If I knew StarOffice would provide good tech support, I would gladly purchase that for the computer than obtaining purchasing MS Office.
Why do laptops get stolen? Lets go through the list
1) leaving it unatended in a vehicle 2) leaving it unatended in a public (or even private place) 3) theft by force (steraling it at knife/gunpoint)
Those seem to be the most common. Numbers 1 and 2 can easily be circumvented by actually HOLDING ON TO IT. Number 3 you can do nothing about. Most likely, the security system will not be armed when Numebr 3 happens, so you are still SOL. So, why bother?
The article states that many companies software allows a piece of info (IP, phone number, etc) to be broadcasted once it goes online. What happens when you have software such as Zone Alarm which blocks all outgoing connections except those specified by the user? I could see that it would probably work if you had enables that program, but if you had not, the thief would see a ncie little message saying that it is trying to conenct once s/he got online.
What makes a person tech savy? There is no cpecific test to answer this. For instance, I can fix 99% of all problems any school may run into (senior in HS by the way). I have no problem with Windows administration or anything to do with hardware. Almost everyone would consider me tech savvy. At the same time, I do not understand 60% of what is posted on the/. front page! So must a person have a page long list of credentials to be tech savvy, or do they only need to have to be comfortable with computers?
Most of us would not mind paying for a lot of high quality services on the internet. The problem is that I (and many others) sure as heck will not pay until I know EXACTLY what I am getting. This presents the obvious problem of how to manage free vs paid accounts.
This is no different than what many IRC networks do. For instance, Dalnet has a policy where they will ban entire ISP's because they will not eliminate hackers.
The price tag apears to be $3,000. I ask why pay this?
If I have the extra cupboard space (and many people have it), I can easily build a similar system. Take an empty kitchen cupboasrd of mine. It is 11.5 inches deep, 16 inches wide, and 19 inches tall. Using this available space, I can fit a LCD monitor into the front facing (15 inch). I could also add say a DVD drive and mount it underneath. To protect everything could be encased in plexi.
The total cost would be under around 1200.
Wile this is a good all in one solution, I beleive that the more savvy users could easily build a much cheaper solution.
"But the my original point was that in *computer hardware*, regular sellers are a bigger risk to the buyer, hence it's good to have some way to identify them."
ah, but is there a way to truly identify someone?
You can get their phone number
-they change it
You get their address
-they used someone elses (friends, relative,, etc)
you get their e-mail
-yeah right
You send through Paypal
-we ALL know Paypal practically encourages people to rip others off, they never have as far as I have EVER heard made an effort to stop someone
You have their e-bay account
-they get a new one
"Sellers who start every auction with "$1.00" prices are more likely to be "pros" at this auction business than those who start with something realistic. See above re those who sell hardware regularly on ebay. "
Me and many others that sell on E-bay ALWAYS start auctions at 1 buck. The reason is that you ALWAYS get bids.
check http://cgi2.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeed back&userid=steven@jeffery.com if you do not believe (well, minus the $31.00 starting bid).
I have had bids up to and beyond what I expected on EVERYTHING I have ever sold on e-bay when I have started at 1 buck. Its a tacktic used by people that actually know how to get things sold.
for the record, I have never been burned. Before I bid on any computer hardware, I ALWAYS contact the seller to make sure they know their stuff and are not some warehouse manager.
Its all about how DeCSS is being used. There ARE many legitamate people using it for legit reasons. For instance, I own a copy of both the VHS and DVD versions of The Matrix. Why do I not have a right to have a copy of my PC?
YES, I understand it is not legal, but that is not the issue. What is law and what is moral is always in a struggle.
So the US will spend millions on this investigation, and what to show for it? A few thousand in fines, and a few million more to jail a bunch of people for a few years. Wow, we have gotten so far ahead!
I like how they say "billions in software." I wonder how much companies would really get from any of those people. Most people who pirate software can't aford it in the first place. I mean, who can afford to spend 500 on office and another 500 on Adobe programs just for a semi-intermediate user.
"What are the odds that antivirus software could be updated to find this virus? It obviously couldn't be cross-platform either. And if the gov't somehow manages to pressure a/v companies into not including it in virus defs, what would happen if some malicious kiddie got hold of the code, and unleashed a much more destructive version, knowing full well that most machines were not protected? Who would be liable in that case? "
If I found out that they new about this virus, they would be in court with me 5 minutes later!
NIMBY factor. Not In My Back Yard. This means that no matter where you try to build a new airport, too many people will object. Most of the existing airports HAVE been built away from cities. The problem is that people build housing closer and closer. Then, people start complaining about the noise, etc. Take KCI (Kasnas City International). Today is is about 30 miles from anything major. Fifteen years from today there will be housing around there. Its just the way things work.
>2) projectile shot at the plane. More likely, a large rifle might give enough accuracy, and can cause the engine to drop out. A bird would cause similar damage, but usually those types of incidents are recoverable.
What are the ods of a rifle hitting the engine? The plane is flying at a few hundred miles per hour, and has at least some altitude (5 miles distance from the airport).
Slashdot Mirror
I looked at the front page and my jaw hung open for about 10 seconds, then I realised what todays date is.
granted, but often tech support eprsonell will see this as the only possible solution. Unless they have gotten a memmo about a problem with a certain area, they automatically think the problem is the customers computer. When we know a lot better, they still contnue to make us try to do pointless things.
Yet at the same time, for those of us that know what we are doing, the retarded reps who keep saying to reboot and reconnect or to reset the IP only frusterate people more!
The Nigerian government has set up a website to combat /.'rs who continually bring down websites. An official has been quoted saying "We are sick and tired of websites being taken down because of Slashdot. It is a menace that must be stopped!"
Isn't this related to http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/02/26/179206 &mode=thread
Maybe link it on the main page?
The biw question I see is support. While MS still dominates the home office setting, StarOffice might just take a small market share. I have used MS Office in the past, and the tech support simply does not in any way shape or form exist. I tihnk that if they offer REAL tech support, StarOffice may be a viable solution for the non-technically inclined. I say this because there are many people that build systems for friends and familt members. If I knew StarOffice would provide good tech support, I would gladly purchase that for the computer than obtaining purchasing MS Office.
Do people expect Mandrake to just hand out millions of copies of paid software for free? get real!
Why do laptops get stolen? Lets go through the list
1) leaving it unatended in a vehicle
2) leaving it unatended in a public (or even private place)
3) theft by force (steraling it at knife/gunpoint)
Those seem to be the most common. Numbers 1 and 2 can easily be circumvented by actually HOLDING ON TO IT. Number 3 you can do nothing about. Most likely, the security system will not be armed when Numebr 3 happens, so you are still SOL. So, why bother?
The article states that many companies software allows a piece of info (IP, phone number, etc) to be broadcasted once it goes online. What happens when you have software such as Zone Alarm which blocks all outgoing connections except those specified by the user? I could see that it would probably work if you had enables that program, but if you had not, the thief would see a ncie little message saying that it is trying to conenct once s/he got online.
just something to consider
What makes a person tech savy? There is no cpecific test to answer this. For instance, I can fix 99% of all problems any school may run into (senior in HS by the way). I have no problem with Windows administration or anything to do with hardware. Almost everyone would consider me tech savvy. At the same time, I do not understand 60% of what is posted on the /. front page! So must a person have a page long list of credentials to be tech savvy, or do they only need to have to be comfortable with computers?
Is that tarrif per CD or per package?
Is this writeup not the most poorly written ever seen on Slashdot?
Is Michael having some issues today?
Most of us would not mind paying for a lot of high quality services on the internet. The problem is that I (and many others) sure as heck will not pay until I know EXACTLY what I am getting. This presents the obvious problem of how to manage free vs paid accounts.
This is no different than what many IRC networks do. For instance, Dalnet has a policy where they will ban entire ISP's because they will not eliminate hackers.
The price tag apears to be $3,000. I ask why pay this?
If I have the extra cupboard space (and many people have it), I can easily build a similar system. Take an empty kitchen cupboasrd of mine. It is 11.5 inches deep, 16 inches wide, and 19 inches tall. Using this available space, I can fit a LCD monitor into the front facing (15 inch). I could also add say a DVD drive and mount it underneath. To protect everything could be encased in plexi.
The total cost would be under around 1200.
Wile this is a good all in one solution, I beleive that the more savvy users could easily build a much cheaper solution.
"But the my original point was that in *computer hardware*, regular sellers are a bigger risk to the buyer, hence it's good to have some way to identify them."
ah, but is there a way to truly identify someone?
You can get their phone number
-they change it
You get their address
-they used someone elses (friends, relative,, etc)
you get their e-mail
-yeah right
You send through Paypal
-we ALL know Paypal practically encourages people to rip others off, they never have as far as I have EVER heard made an effort to stop someone
You have their e-bay account
-they get a new one
see my point?
"Sellers who start every auction with "$1.00" prices are more likely to be "pros" at this auction business than those who start with something realistic. See above re those who sell hardware regularly on ebay. "
d back&userid=steven@jeffery.com if you do not believe (well, minus the $31.00 starting bid).
Me and many others that sell on E-bay ALWAYS start auctions at 1 buck. The reason is that you ALWAYS get bids.
check http://cgi2.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFee
I have had bids up to and beyond what I expected on EVERYTHING I have ever sold on e-bay when I have started at 1 buck. Its a tacktic used by people that actually know how to get things sold.
for the record, I have never been burned. Before I bid on any computer hardware, I ALWAYS contact the seller to make sure they know their stuff and are not some warehouse manager.
Its all about how DeCSS is being used. There ARE many legitamate people using it for legit reasons. For instance, I own a copy of both the VHS and DVD versions of The Matrix. Why do I not have a right to have a copy of my PC?
YES, I understand it is not legal, but that is not the issue. What is law and what is moral is always in a struggle.
How long will it be before website owners get really pissed that whenever a website gets slashdotted, it goes DOWN real quick....
Some people HAVE to use those applications.
So the US will spend millions on this investigation, and what to show for it? A few thousand in fines, and a few million more to jail a bunch of people for a few years. Wow, we have gotten so far ahead!
I like how they say "billions in software." I wonder how much companies would really get from any of those people. Most people who pirate software can't aford it in the first place. I mean, who can afford to spend 500 on office and another 500 on Adobe programs just for a semi-intermediate user.
"What are the odds that antivirus software could be updated to find this virus? It obviously couldn't be cross-platform either. And if the gov't somehow manages to pressure a/v companies into not including it in virus defs, what would happen if some malicious kiddie got hold of the code, and unleashed a much more destructive version, knowing full well that most machines were not protected? Who would be liable in that case? "
If I found out that they new about this virus, they would be in court with me 5 minutes later!
NIMBY factor. Not In My Back Yard. This means that no matter where you try to build a new airport, too many people will object. Most of the existing airports HAVE been built away from cities. The problem is that people build housing closer and closer. Then, people start complaining about the noise, etc. Take KCI (Kasnas City International). Today is is about 30 miles from anything major. Fifteen years from today there will be housing around there. Its just the way things work.
>2) projectile shot at the plane. More likely, a large rifle might give enough accuracy, and can cause the engine to drop out. A bird would cause similar damage, but usually those types of incidents are recoverable.
What are the ods of a rifle hitting the engine? The plane is flying at a few hundred miles per hour, and has at least some altitude (5 miles distance from the airport).
hmm