Excuse me for pointing out the obvious. I haven't come across a post that spells it out. (And we should try to spell things out to the non-digerati.)
If there is a law requiring a backdoor to all encryption technology, that will include corporate email and tools like ssh.
As we all know, there is no such thing as a secure weakness. At some point, these backdoors will be hacked out, and that will be a goldmine for corporate espionage and penetration.
The FBI's zeal in making the public "safe" from external threats will be exchanged for foreign corporations ability to outcompete U.S. based corporations. Not to mention give an advantage to the Chinese.
You mean we're supposed to expect that clown act from last year to protect our hallowed constitutional rights? The one that abrogated states rights and prevented any recount in order to ensure the chief clown is a conservative?
Its a lot more effective to tell those McCarthy-ite legislators that we'll fire their asses if they pass legislation we don't like, than to pin our hopes on the current supreme court justices.
You don't understand that just because life goes on after a bad law is passed that there is no problem. I, for one, do not want to live like a muslim under a Christian Sharia. You are like the frog in the slowly boiling pot.
Transporters a couple of decades after warp drive??? Phasers that don't match the TOS pilot? Bumpy headed Klingons??? Hell, they might as well have put a holodeck on the damn ship! Bet you anything they'll have a holodeck on a planet...
Paramount is run by greedy record-executive idiots! ST:TOS was a raging sci-fi phenomenon a couple of years after its cancellation. It lasted long enough to push out a sequel show after not being on the air for ten years! You'd think they would be able to find writers and set designers that could marginally follow details set in the first series. Hollywood does this for every movie; they have geeks on the set who's job is to make sure that all the visual details match the previous take.
And like the record industry, Paramount is going to kill this goose.
Unless its an idle attempt at spurring genetic modification research, his assertions are flawed.
AI will probably never overtake humans in any intellectual endeavor, even if chip engineering goes down to the molecular level. The most sophisticated thinking computer is already in existence and he/she is reading this message right now. Living organisms have much more sophisticated neural circuitry and better reaction time than any silicon computer can hope to achieve. (Except perhaps in Quake. Mebbe Hawking is correct where it counts...)
So what if my calculator can figure out cubic roots to the 13th place faster and more accurately than I can hope to achieve? That's not intelligence or sentience. Any mega-cascade of logic gates is never going to beat out the efficiency of a patch of neurons.
Moore's "Law" is not a physical constant, and it will hit the wall when circuit engineering goes to quantum level. Kinda sad that Hawking doesn't realize it; good thing his bread & butter is in theoretical physics.
When neural net theory and biocircuitry engineering starts to approach organism level performance, that's when you should start sh*tting in your pants...
Wow, do I feel silly. This is the first time I've heard of it. (And I was on the net before the age of webbrowsers.) Ah well, can't miss what never existed to me.
But wouldn't these "gems" have a better chance of existing if someone would take the trouble to promote them???
Its not just a matter of determining a fixed quantity of material. The machinery used to determine the measure is also affected by its environment. A room that increases its temperature by 1 degree is going to cause the spring to stretch that much further (or coil to conduct X more electrons).
Also, the Earth does not exert gravity at the exact same force at all points on the globe at all times. Gravity is "currently" one of the forces involved in the measure of weight.
Finally, the speed of the Earth's motion could produce some relativistic effects on the measure (although I'm not sure it would apply in this case).
"Sheeze, why not just define it as 1.498e20 atoms of carbon (or whatever number), and be
done with it."
No problemo - as soon as you figure out a practical method for counting out those atoms on the
floor of your typical machine shop. 'Oops - dropped another one. Someone blow the oil off it
NO NOT THAT HARD - damm, out the window'.
If you define the number of atoms of a particular element to make up a kilogram, you've made a precise definition measure of mass.
What is the practical concern if the physical reference measure is off by a couple thousand atoms (or has a range of error)???
I find the idea "electrical reference measure" a fascinating idea; I just hope the gov't is not wasting millions of dollars trying to implement it.
"Hmmm, space probe or electrical reference measure... Which do I choose?"
Who's the moron who called the post flamebait?!?!
on
Trident Micro Update
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
The poster has given a dead on assessment of the current Trident situation. Trident will not give documentation to XFree86 under the conditions it has previously agreed to give the documentation. XFree86 cannot accept an NDA agreement that requires obfuscating source code, or receiving only a binary component for a feature supported by XFree86.
Who cares that Trident SAYS they support the Linux community if they make it functionally impossible to produce code based on their "support"?
If you want to have working Trident drivers for Linux, the Linux community will still have to apply its consumer pressure in order for XFree86 to be able to provide Trident drivers.
M$ Bob, this is Slashdot. Its not NPR, and he's not supposed to be Walter Cronkite. If Taco wants to make a tongue-in-cheek observation, he's damn well entitled to do so, without your post-menstrual whining.
And a guy who can't properly spell hypocrisy and has a userid greater than 300000 really shouldn't try to condescend to CmdrTaco...
Hurd is based on a different design that will allow it to do things the Linux kernel is not capable of doing. Linux's ubiquity is not Hurd's problem.
Hurd's problem is that its based on a microkernel with performance flaws, that its significantly more difficult to develop efficient code than Linux, and its rate of progress resembles US IRS computerization projects.
I wish people wouldn't support proprietary software companies. I don't see why people bitch about Microsoft and then think Apple should get a free ride.
It's for people who prefer a straightforward configuration and component package. People who like to MODIFY their installation with new kernels & software packages would probably prefer it. There's nothing easier or instructional about it.
If you think you need handholding or better all around package function, you're better off starting with RedHat or Mandrake.
Heck, even Democrats sound coherent after witnessing the absurdities and abuses that go on down here--and for a Democrat to sound coherent ought to give you an idea of how bad things are down here.
You actually find George W. Bush to be a coherent speaker?
'Tis true. People tend to assume that reports issued from a university has to adhere to certain scientific standards. [...] All the facts that go against him are dismissed as "anecdotal", and all the facts for him are evidence, no matter how anecdotal they are.
If you bothered to interpret what you read, you'd realize that the link is a synopsis of his TESTIMONY to House Subcommittee on Immigration. Of course he's going to use anecdotes to support his positions. Example is the quickest way to convey a point. He's ADVOCATING a position. The testimony is not his published RESEARCH on the issue.
Another assumption people have is that University staff are radical hippie academics. This report however, reads like a conspiracy theory from someone with a bone to grind. Probably based on a revenge motive after some job he got fired from many years ago.
This Norman Matloff fellow is not interested in programmers. Put his name into Google and find an array of anti-immigration articles and sites. It seems that this person is just a hard core protectionist worried about them dang forners takin' jobs from honest 'muricans.
Hmmm, you have a point. I wonder what if I changed the name to "Linus Torvalds"...
This Linus Torvalds fellow is not interested in software corporations. Put his name into Google and find an array of anti-capitalist articles and sites. It seems that this person is just a hard core anarchist not worried about free software taking jobs from honest 'muricans.
Yes there is a point. Matloff appears to be heavily cited on immigration/H1-B issues because he expended some effort in investigating the matter. How other people (incorrectly?) interpret what he says does not mean he necessarily supports their positions.
Mental note: Researchers always have to relate every neat phenomenon to some never-going-to-be-practical use (i.e. prevent car accidents) in order to recieve $$$$$ from the industry.
Like implementing a bare-bone artificial version of the Giant Lobular Movement Detector into a car's steering control to avoid colliding into objects in motion at high speed? Do you think the GLMD is processing multiple-vector calculus formulas to determine the physical point of collision and then avoid it? Or that it just has a real effective way of figuring how to avoid objects in motion? Whose operating principles could also be applied to aircraft, robots in the home, etc.?
Actually these claims are made with hopes to recieve $$$$$ from the industry, but the industry is too smart to fall for it.
I'm glad these scientists are pissing away money in this manner. And I'm glad they're smarter than you.
...and not much of a grasp of military history, technology, or operating concepts.
The US is the only country in the history of the world to have been in the situation of knowing it could conquer the rest of the world and yet not do it.
I think a few million Russians (followed by a few million Chinese) would beg to differ. And note that NATO's creation was a response to Soviet military numbers in Eastern Europe. The Almighty US certainly did not want to foot the bill for Europe's defense by itself (let alone conquer it).
While other countries might bad mouth the U.S. they also realize this simple truth: at the end of World War II the rest of the world was at the mercy of the U.S., and mercy is exactly what the U.S. showed.
And what could the US do otherwise? Blow up the same planet it lives on? The US sure didn't look merciful to the Vietnamese, Laotians, Cambodians, Iranians, East Timorese, Nicuaraguans, or citizens of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. (And I am sure I am missing a cold war atrocity somewhere...)
Please make an attempt to examine your beliefs and verify facts before doing the US rah rah dance. It really embarrasses US citizens who know better.
Slashdot Mirror
Excuse me for pointing out the obvious. I haven't come across a post that spells it out. (And we should try to spell things out to the non-digerati.)
If there is a law requiring a backdoor to all encryption technology, that will include corporate email and tools like ssh.
As we all know, there is no such thing as a secure weakness. At some point, these backdoors will be hacked out, and that will be a goldmine for corporate espionage and penetration.
The FBI's zeal in making the public "safe" from external threats will be exchanged for foreign corporations ability to outcompete U.S. based corporations. Not to mention give an advantage to the Chinese.
Oh damn, I posted this already. I hope they don't start snooping for my TCP/IP connections 2 years from now...
You mean we're supposed to expect that clown act from last year to protect our hallowed constitutional rights? The one that abrogated states rights and prevented any recount in order to ensure the chief clown is a conservative?
Its a lot more effective to tell those McCarthy-ite legislators that we'll fire their asses if they pass legislation we don't like, than to pin our hopes on the current supreme court justices.
You don't understand that just because life goes on after a bad law is passed that there is no problem. I, for one, do not want to live like a muslim under a Christian Sharia. You are like the frog in the slowly boiling pot.
Wonderful article.
Isn't the article missing something about him getting married in the '90's to some Yugoslav woman?
Doesn't anyone know how he manages his money, given his mental illness? The guy was a functional basket case in his late youth to early adulthoood.
Transporters a couple of decades after warp drive??? Phasers that don't match the TOS pilot? Bumpy headed Klingons??? Hell, they might as well have put a holodeck on the damn ship! Bet you anything they'll have a holodeck on a planet...
Paramount is run by greedy record-executive idiots! ST:TOS was a raging sci-fi phenomenon a couple of years after its cancellation. It lasted long enough to push out a sequel show after not being on the air for ten years! You'd think they would be able to find writers and set designers that could marginally follow details set in the first series. Hollywood does this for every movie; they have geeks on the set who's job is to make sure that all the visual details match the previous take.
And like the record industry, Paramount is going to kill this goose.
Unless its an idle attempt at spurring genetic modification research, his assertions are flawed.
AI will probably never overtake humans in any intellectual endeavor, even if chip engineering goes down to the molecular level. The most sophisticated thinking computer is already in existence and he/she is reading this message right now. Living organisms have much more sophisticated neural circuitry and better reaction time than any silicon computer can hope to achieve. (Except perhaps in Quake. Mebbe Hawking is correct where it counts...)
So what if my calculator can figure out cubic roots to the 13th place faster and more accurately than I can hope to achieve? That's not intelligence or sentience. Any mega-cascade of logic gates is never going to beat out the efficiency of a patch of neurons.
Moore's "Law" is not a physical constant, and it will hit the wall when circuit engineering goes to quantum level. Kinda sad that Hawking doesn't realize it; good thing his bread & butter is in theoretical physics.
When neural net theory and biocircuitry engineering starts to approach organism level performance, that's when you should start sh*tting in your pants...
Wow, do I feel silly. This is the first time I've heard of it. (And I was on the net before the age of webbrowsers.) Ah well, can't miss what never existed to me.
But wouldn't these "gems" have a better chance of existing if someone would take the trouble to promote them???
The simple answer: The environment.
Its not just a matter of determining a fixed quantity of material. The machinery used to determine the measure is also affected by its environment. A room that increases its temperature by 1 degree is going to cause the spring to stretch that much further (or coil to conduct X more electrons).
Also, the Earth does not exert gravity at the exact same force at all points on the globe at all times. Gravity is "currently" one of the forces involved in the measure of weight.
Finally, the speed of the Earth's motion could produce some relativistic effects on the measure (although I'm not sure it would apply in this case).
"Sheeze, why not just define it as 1.498e20 atoms of carbon (or whatever number), and be done with it."
No problemo - as soon as you figure out a practical method for counting out those atoms on the floor of your typical machine shop. 'Oops - dropped another one. Someone blow the oil off it NO NOT THAT HARD - damm, out the window'.
If you define the number of atoms of a particular element to make up a kilogram, you've made a precise definition measure of mass.
What is the practical concern if the physical reference measure is off by a couple thousand atoms (or has a range of error)???
I find the idea "electrical reference measure" a fascinating idea; I just hope the gov't is not wasting millions of dollars trying to implement it.
"Hmmm, space probe or electrical reference measure... Which do I choose?"
The poster has given a dead on assessment of the current Trident situation. Trident will not give documentation to XFree86 under the conditions it has previously agreed to give the documentation. XFree86 cannot accept an NDA agreement that requires obfuscating source code, or receiving only a binary component for a feature supported by XFree86.
Who cares that Trident SAYS they support the Linux community if they make it functionally impossible to produce code based on their "support"?
If you want to have working Trident drivers for Linux, the Linux community will still have to apply its consumer pressure in order for XFree86 to be able to provide Trident drivers.
I use it to get streaming techno while I work, and it cuts down on my caffeine consumption.
M$ Bob, this is Slashdot. Its not NPR, and he's not supposed to be Walter Cronkite. If Taco wants to make a tongue-in-cheek observation, he's damn well entitled to do so, without your post-menstrual whining.
And a guy who can't properly spell hypocrisy and has a userid greater than 300000 really shouldn't try to condescend to CmdrTaco...
Hurd is based on a different design that will allow it to do things the Linux kernel is not capable of doing. Linux's ubiquity is not Hurd's problem.
Hurd's problem is that its based on a microkernel with performance flaws, that its significantly more difficult to develop efficient code than Linux, and its rate of progress resembles US IRS computerization projects.
I wish people wouldn't support proprietary software companies. I don't see why people bitch about Microsoft and then think Apple should get a free ride.
It's for people who prefer a straightforward configuration and component package. People who like to MODIFY their installation with new kernels & software packages would probably prefer it. There's nothing easier or instructional about it.
If you think you need handholding or better all around package function, you're better off starting with RedHat or Mandrake.
Heck, even Democrats sound coherent after witnessing the absurdities and abuses that go on down here--and for a Democrat to sound coherent ought to give you an idea of how bad things are down here.
You actually find George W. Bush to be a coherent speaker?
Every network sticks a logo or a watermark image in the corner of the screen.
They need to have David Duchovny make a guest appearance. He learns the shocking news, and then with a dead-pan smirk, ask Scully,
"Next time, can I watch...?"
Ironic is how the Linux public was better off NOT knowing this story. (Just think of the extra customers they could have driven over to Linux...)
'Tis true. People tend to assume that reports issued from a university has to adhere to certain scientific standards. [...] All the facts that go against him are dismissed as "anecdotal", and all the facts for him are evidence, no matter how anecdotal they are.
If you bothered to interpret what you read, you'd realize that the link is a synopsis of his TESTIMONY to House Subcommittee on Immigration. Of course he's going to use anecdotes to support his positions. Example is the quickest way to convey a point. He's ADVOCATING a position. The testimony is not his published RESEARCH on the issue.
Another assumption people have is that University staff are radical hippie academics. This report however, reads like a conspiracy theory from someone with a bone to grind. Probably based on a revenge motive after some job he got fired from many years ago.
Oh yeah, you're being factual and unbiased ...
This Norman Matloff fellow is not interested in programmers. Put his name into Google and find an array of anti-immigration articles and sites. It seems that this person is just a hard core protectionist worried about them dang forners takin' jobs from honest 'muricans.
Hmmm, you have a point. I wonder what if I changed the name to "Linus Torvalds"...
This Linus Torvalds fellow is not interested in software corporations. Put his name into Google and find an array of anti-capitalist articles and sites. It seems that this person is just a hard core anarchist not worried about free software taking jobs from honest 'muricans.
Yes there is a point. Matloff appears to be heavily cited on immigration/H1-B issues because he expended some effort in investigating the matter. How other people (incorrectly?) interpret what he says does not mean he necessarily supports their positions.
"Essentially, we made little armchairs for them and stuck them in front of TV screens," said Dr Rind.
Damn. You'd think these scientists would have better things to do than make cochroaches comfortable and entertain them.
Mental note: Researchers always have to relate every neat phenomenon to some never-going-to-be-practical use (i.e. prevent car accidents) in order to recieve $$$$$ from the industry.
Like implementing a bare-bone artificial version of the Giant Lobular Movement Detector into a car's steering control to avoid colliding into objects in motion at high speed? Do you think the GLMD is processing multiple-vector calculus formulas to determine the physical point of collision and then avoid it? Or that it just has a real effective way of figuring how to avoid objects in motion? Whose operating principles could also be applied to aircraft, robots in the home, etc.?
Actually these claims are made with hopes to recieve $$$$$ from the industry, but the industry is too smart to fall for it.
I'm glad these scientists are pissing away money in this manner. And I'm glad they're smarter than you.
See: Lego Vs Mecchano & Engineering Knowledge
To recap: Word to you physicists...
...and not much of a grasp of military history, technology, or operating concepts.
The US is the only country in the history of the world to have been in the situation of knowing it could conquer the rest of the world and yet not do it.I think a few million Russians (followed by a few million Chinese) would beg to differ. And note that NATO's creation was a response to Soviet military numbers in Eastern Europe. The Almighty US certainly did not want to foot the bill for Europe's defense by itself (let alone conquer it).
While other countries might bad mouth the U.S. they also realize this simple truth: at the end of World War II the rest of the world was at the mercy of the U.S., and mercy is exactly what the U.S. showed.And what could the US do otherwise? Blow up the same planet it lives on? The US sure didn't look merciful to the Vietnamese, Laotians, Cambodians, Iranians, East Timorese, Nicuaraguans, or citizens of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. (And I am sure I am missing a cold war atrocity somewhere...)
Please make an attempt to examine your beliefs and verify facts before doing the US rah rah dance. It really embarrasses US citizens who know better.