Why not just work with credit card merchants. Many of these spams are for crap you can buy with a credit card.
So have police [or a taskforce] use specially marked cards [that otherwise appear like a credit card to the spammer]. Then when the merchant puts the transaction through their details are sent back to the task force.
e.g.
1. Get spam 2. Go there, buy shit 3. They try to collect with merchant 4. They then get a knock on the door a day later from the FBI or something.
Spammers already don't accept money orders and cheques [for obvious reasons] so let's make them afraid of credit cards as well.
And before anyone thinks this is entrapment step #1 takes care of that. They're selling to you without solicitation....
Aside from that I also really don't understand why spammers spam. I mean I don't know what a r0llex is, can't use any v1@gra and really can't afford a hom3 l0@n at the moment. So why bother emailing me over and over and over again.
I'm sure if I wanted herbal penis meds I'd already be in business transaction with the spammer anyways.
Oh well, can always just stop using email I guess.
Modern crypto isn't based on oddly configured puzzles [e.g. once you learn the algo the solution is simple].
While this is a nice puzzle and certainly I couldn't solve it in the 2 mins I was staring at it this has nothing todo with modern crypto. Have an AES breaking contest if you want to promote real research.
I can speak about the going ons inside the house [since I don't really care to watch] but from a "consumer" standpoint I saw visible protests by stores. It wasn't uncommon to see "you pay more because of canadian levies" in shops as huge as FutureShop [equiv to the american BestBuy].
It was quite clear that the retail outlets weren't too happy about the levies.... Neither are the citizens since well I use my recordable media for software backups not music.
However, the canadian music industry feels they "deserve" more money. Instead of actually, oh I don't know, earning the fucking money they'd rather guilt trip the citizens and pressure the house to bend to their whims.
"There's no good logic to inately banning drunk drivers from the road (or anyone needing to have a driver's license). If you're incapable of driving responsibly, you should be stopped regardless of intoxication. If a drunk driver is shown to be seriously negligent, they deserve time in a jail, not having a piece of plastic removed from them."
Um... where do you live? Where I live if you're caught DUI you can get both jail time and a license suspended/removed.
It's not like the sentencing judges only option is to suspend the license. Specially if people/property was damaged in the act.
I suggest you stop trying to sensationalize the situation. Jail isn't where you put all people who violate laws. That's a fairly tale told by the walker texas ranger.
I have a 20 hour battery [1.6mAh] that plugs into the charger port. So it works with my DS too...
I prolly won't get 28 hours off it but I'd at least expect to be able to fully charge the DS from dead once or twice [though usually I just charge after playing for a while so the DS is always near full].
So by your logic a judge can ban a pedophile from being near school yards? That's upto the individual schools todo?
Gotcha. Top notch logic there.
And for crying out loud get with reality. Being banned from the internet is not the same as being banned from freedom of speech.
The net is a medium. If you're in this position [e.g. of getting a ban] then you abused it. This is EXACTLY the same as banning drunk drivers from the road. I mean you do have a right of free assembly.
So by your logic drunk drivers should have their licenses back too. I mean why step on their freedoms!
So by all I read here:
- jailing white collar hackers/spammers/etc good. - simply banning them from the net bad.
I'd much rather see fewer people in a prison environment for non-violent crimes and actually receiving proper punishment for the crime.
I mean did your parents lock you in the cellar every time you misbehaved as a kid or did they choose punishments that suited the crime [e.g. being deprive of a toy, grounded, etc]
Though really "nowadays" you never know. Real security comes from trusting no one but that's not practical. Even in the bsd/linux world most users don't look at the binaries [let alone source code] of the tools they use that closely...
If there was no alternative at the time then you just write your own. Writing a "sprintf" clone isn't that hard. Alternatively you can find another way to accomplish the goal.
It's a fairly simple programming concept. Always make sure what is stored is smaller [or equal size] than the space available for it.
It's **GOOD** that people find this and I think they should get credit...
but have you read the reports?... uses strcat...... uses scanf...
HOLY CRAP? People still use those? Christ almighty get with the program people!
I don't think they found "hard to find bugs" moreso they prolly grep'ed for things like gets, strcat, strcpy, scanf, fscanf and then checked if they weren't capped properly.
All in all I think it's good they did it though... I guess I'm sitting on the fence about cheering DJB on with this one.
"I don't know if you're trying to be a troll or not, so I'll reply back hoping you're not. Using the net is a right because freedom of speech is a right."
This is a logical fallacy [see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logical_fallacy] and simply isn't true [at least in Canada and the USA]
The internet is a medium for communication. Sure you have the right to say whatever you want. Just not over the internet. Just like if you walk in my store I can stop you from talking about a competitor by *forcing* you to leave.
As for your comment about spam. Well it's "spam" when it's unsolicited. If I didn't ask for your barrage [no matter how noble] I still don't want to see it. What makes your "cause" any more worthy of my time than what I decide I want to participate in?
Using the net is not a right. Sorry about that little drop of reality...
I agree that random "stipulations" are not going to make productive parolees but neither is protesting that you have a right to something.
I say you get caught spamming people you should have your ability to use the net curtailed. Makes fucking sense to me.
I'm so tired of having MY net experience ruined by asshat spammers, virus writers and yuppy windows users [who are criminals in my mind] just because people like you may feel guilty by handing out a fair sentence.
Should a spammer get 10 years in jail? Not really. Should they be banned from net access for 10 years? Hell yes.
I don't get the jist of buying tickets online. I can walk into my local theater [or drive 3 hours to Syracuse for fun] and buy tickets on the spot without trouble.
Seems a "business model MBA style" if I ever saw one.
While definitely a plus the SP style charger isn't exactly what I would call "bulky". Of course I also like to go places prepared...;-) [say to France with a transformer so I'm not shocked to learn my 110v battery charger doesn't work there like some of my colleagues...].
As someone who owns both an SP and a DS... I can say I like them both. The DS battery life isn't really an issue unless you're gonna be in a car for say 8hrs straight.
I bring my [DS] with me to school and what not and play 10 mins here or there throughout the day. The battery never dies [I charge it when I get home]. Granted the SP is bit easier to hold and has a better life for car rides I wouldn't discount the DS yet.
My only gripe about the DS [other than the health warning on boot] is the lack of games. Really defeats the purpose of a souped-up game unit if you don't have anything to play with it. I really hope they actually go with new games and not just N64 rehash only games. I mean waverace/zelda/etc would be cool on the DS but I could really use a new game or two.
To that end though the only thing I really play on my SP is PocketNES anyways. I couldn't care less for most SNES rehash games plus I can pack way more NES games on my flash cart than native GBA games.
Tom
Re:A momentous occasion in the history of crap gam
on
BZFlag goes Platinum
·
· Score: 1
"bad graphics" and "not fun" shouldn't be the same idea. Admitedly the game ain't your typical run/shooter like say halo... but neither is solitaire....
If anything this game proves that the average "pr0 g@m3r" is nothing more than a low IQ mongrel looking for the next visual stimuli...
Yeah sure some flash is good but not if you sacrifice game play.
For instance, doom3 looks beautiful. It's also a horrible game. Way too repetitive and really didn't have any "new" game elements [e.g. think of board game rules] that make it stand out from all the other FPSes.
You don't need a TFLOP rated game to have fun. You just have to engage the persons creativity/thought process in a positive way.
Windows: Have to pay for anti-virus, have to pay for firewall, have to pay for spyware removal, have to pay for a copy of windows and then you have to pay someone to set it up.
*BSD/Linuxes: Have to pay for someone to set it up.
--- Say you want to write: (a or b) and (c nor d) xor (e nand f)
In Pascal/Delphi you write (a or b) and (c nor d) xor (e nand f) ---
I don't recall nor, nand being operators in Turbo Pascal 6 or 7.
Oh that's right. Borland "updates" the language with every release. Unlike say C which is a standard that largely hasn't changed much since the 80s [yes, there are many nitpicking details that have changed but pretty much any C89/C90 code will compile nowadays].
So when I write "C" programs I'm not writing "Delphi 2005" programs or whatever...
Also "hand holding to write prototypes"... well then you suck as a software developer. Pascal units have implementation and interface sections. The "interface" section DEFINES THE PROTOTYPES FOR THE FUNCTIONS.
So if you write all of your code in one huge source file without breaking up the code... well you can't develop code properly.
Big companies exploit that by patenting something they know they can implement [resources and/or it's not complete]. If you can't actually make your invention you can at least publish it so nobody else can monopolize it.
I don't think patents are really fair in any sense. I mean the incentive for invention shouldn't be money. It should be progress. Until we evolve beyond that we're just going to be running the gambit on how to screw "the other guy" since well, that's what capitalism is.
My point though is why punish those who worked hard as well? Patent searches are clearly not an easy thing to do given the amount of mascarading patent attorneys do to make the inventions they represent sound legit.
The point of my reply is to show how dated patent law is. When patent law was written there were what? Maybe a few thousand patents out there?... at best.
Now there are millions and I wouldn't be surprised to see the magic 10M figure hit next year at the going rate.
I'd say unless you can prove that the "violator" had to have known about your patent [assuming the patent is legit] then the "violator" should be in the clear. Sure you shouldn't be able to file a patent but why be punished?
I think what upsets FOSS developers most is that more often than not they're caught up in patent disputes totally by accident. They implement something to solve a problem. I seriously doubt they do patent shopping to see what they can violate. Then after all the hard work they put into their software they're told by some greedy money grubbing asshat "nope! I have a patent on the XOR operator and now you must pay me a million kajillion billion dollars!"
I think patent reform is a must. Some ideas
1. One year ban on any company that files an invalid patent. 2. Make patent filing accessible to all [e.g. free or near free] 3. You must actually use your patent within a year of filing and the use must be clearly evident. 4. Actually write claims in clear specific English and not legalese 5. The patent must contain enough information to actually implement the invention 6. Patents should only be valid for 10 years. 7. The patent database should be categorized by the use of the invention. 8. Patents should be audited before being filed by experts in the field of the invention. Not just some lowly patent attorney. Possibly use some web based feedback system.;-)
Slashdot Mirror
Why not just work with credit card merchants. Many of these spams are for crap you can buy with a credit card.
...
So have police [or a taskforce] use specially marked cards [that otherwise appear like a credit card to the spammer]. Then when the merchant puts the transaction through their details are sent back to the task force.
e.g.
1. Get spam
2. Go there, buy shit
3. They try to collect with merchant
4. They then get a knock on the door a day later from the FBI or something.
Spammers already don't accept money orders and cheques [for obvious reasons] so let's make them afraid of credit cards as well.
And before anyone thinks this is entrapment step #1 takes care of that. They're selling to you without solicitation.
Aside from that I also really don't understand why spammers spam. I mean I don't know what a r0llex is, can't use any v1@gra and really can't afford a hom3 l0@n at the moment. So why bother emailing me over and over and over again.
I'm sure if I wanted herbal penis meds I'd already be in business transaction with the spammer anyways.
Oh well, can always just stop using email I guess.
Tom
I normally love PA...That comic was retarded and certainly not worth all the guff.
First off, where's the watch? No pacman shirt?
hehehe...
Yeah and they still call themselves Futureshop though...
Oddly enough in Ottawa there is a BestBuy right across from a Futureshop...
My point of making that comment though was for the American folk who done never heard of Futureshop.
Tom
Modern crypto isn't based on oddly configured puzzles [e.g. once you learn the algo the solution is simple].
While this is a nice puzzle and certainly I couldn't solve it in the 2 mins I was staring at it this has nothing todo with modern crypto. Have an AES breaking contest if you want to promote real research.
Tom
I can speak about the going ons inside the house [since I don't really care to watch] but from a "consumer" standpoint I saw visible protests by stores. It wasn't uncommon to see "you pay more because of canadian levies" in shops as huge as FutureShop [equiv to the american BestBuy].
... Neither are the citizens since well I use my recordable media for software backups not music.
It was quite clear that the retail outlets weren't too happy about the levies.
However, the canadian music industry feels they "deserve" more money. Instead of actually, oh I don't know, earning the fucking money they'd rather guilt trip the citizens and pressure the house to bend to their whims.
Tom
"There's no good logic to inately banning drunk drivers from the road (or anyone needing to have a driver's license). If you're incapable of driving responsibly, you should be stopped regardless of intoxication. If a drunk driver is shown to be seriously negligent, they deserve time in a jail, not having a piece of plastic removed from them."
Um... where do you live? Where I live if you're caught DUI you can get both jail time and a license suspended/removed.
It's not like the sentencing judges only option is to suspend the license. Specially if people/property was damaged in the act.
I suggest you stop trying to sensationalize the situation. Jail isn't where you put all people who violate laws. That's a fairly tale told by the walker texas ranger.
Tom
I have a 20 hour battery [1.6mAh] that plugs into the charger port. So it works with my DS too...
I prolly won't get 28 hours off it but I'd at least expect to be able to fully charge the DS from dead once or twice [though usually I just charge after playing for a while so the DS is always near full].
Tom
So by your logic a judge can ban a pedophile from being near school yards? That's upto the individual schools todo?
... glad I'm the only sane one here.
Gotcha. Top notch logic there.
And for crying out loud get with reality. Being banned from the internet is not the same as being banned from freedom of speech.
The net is a medium. If you're in this position [e.g. of getting a ban] then you abused it. This is EXACTLY the same as banning drunk drivers from the road. I mean you do have a right of free assembly.
So by your logic drunk drivers should have their licenses back too. I mean why step on their freedoms!
So by all I read here:
- jailing white collar hackers/spammers/etc good.
- simply banning them from the net bad.
I'd much rather see fewer people in a prison environment for non-violent crimes and actually receiving proper punishment for the crime.
I mean did your parents lock you in the cellar every time you misbehaved as a kid or did they choose punishments that suited the crime [e.g. being deprive of a toy, grounded, etc]
Tom
Agreed.
Though really "nowadays" you never know. Real security comes from trusting no one but that's not practical. Even in the bsd/linux world most users don't look at the binaries [let alone source code] of the tools they use that closely...
Tom
If there was no alternative at the time then you just write your own. Writing a "sprintf" clone isn't that hard. Alternatively you can find another way to accomplish the goal.
It's a fairly simple programming concept. Always make sure what is stored is smaller [or equal size] than the space available for it.
Tom
It's **GOOD** that people find this and I think they should get credit...
... uses strcat ... ... uses scanf ...
but have you read the reports?
HOLY CRAP? People still use those? Christ almighty get with the program people!
I don't think they found "hard to find bugs" moreso they prolly grep'ed for things like gets, strcat, strcpy, scanf, fscanf and then checked if they weren't capped properly.
All in all I think it's good they did it though... I guess I'm sitting on the fence about cheering DJB on with this one.
Tom
"I don't know if you're trying to be a troll or not, so I'll reply back hoping you're not. Using the net is a right because freedom of speech is a right."
This is a logical fallacy [see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logical_fallacy] and simply isn't true [at least in Canada and the USA]
The internet is a medium for communication. Sure you have the right to say whatever you want. Just not over the internet. Just like if you walk in my store I can stop you from talking about a competitor by *forcing* you to leave.
As for your comment about spam. Well it's "spam" when it's unsolicited. If I didn't ask for your barrage [no matter how noble] I still don't want to see it. What makes your "cause" any more worthy of my time than what I decide I want to participate in?
Just who's side are you on?
Tom
Using the net is not a right. Sorry about that little drop of reality...
I agree that random "stipulations" are not going to make productive parolees but neither is protesting that you have a right to something.
I say you get caught spamming people you should have your ability to use the net curtailed. Makes fucking sense to me.
I'm so tired of having MY net experience ruined by asshat spammers, virus writers and yuppy windows users [who are criminals in my mind] just because people like you may feel guilty by handing out a fair sentence.
Should a spammer get 10 years in jail? Not really. Should they be banned from net access for 10 years? Hell yes.
Tom
whoa whoa whoa there. You're saying people should be responsible for their actions?
That's a new one. What will you think of next, that our actions have consequences or that there are OTHER people out there?
Hippies like you are what's wrong with this nation. Dollar made on someones back is the american dream n'est pas?
Tom
[hint: sarcasm]
Man I thought I was the only one...
I don't get the jist of buying tickets online. I can walk into my local theater [or drive 3 hours to Syracuse for fun] and buy tickets on the spot without trouble.
Seems a "business model MBA style" if I ever saw one.
Tom
While definitely a plus the SP style charger isn't exactly what I would call "bulky". Of course I also like to go places prepared... ;-) [say to France with a transformer so I'm not shocked to learn my 110v battery charger doesn't work there like some of my colleagues...].
Tom
As someone who owns both an SP and a DS ... I can say I like them both. The DS battery life isn't really an issue unless you're gonna be in a car for say 8hrs straight.
I bring my [DS] with me to school and what not and play 10 mins here or there throughout the day. The battery never dies [I charge it when I get home]. Granted the SP is bit easier to hold and has a better life for car rides I wouldn't discount the DS yet.
My only gripe about the DS [other than the health warning on boot] is the lack of games. Really defeats the purpose of a souped-up game unit if you don't have anything to play with it. I really hope they actually go with new games and not just N64 rehash only games. I mean waverace/zelda/etc would be cool on the DS but I could really use a new game or two.
To that end though the only thing I really play on my SP is PocketNES anyways. I couldn't care less for most SNES rehash games plus I can pack way more NES games on my flash cart than native GBA games.
Tom
"bad graphics" and "not fun" shouldn't be the same idea. Admitedly the game ain't your typical run/shooter like say halo... but neither is solitaire....
If anything this game proves that the average "pr0 g@m3r" is nothing more than a low IQ mongrel looking for the next visual stimuli...
Yeah sure some flash is good but not if you sacrifice game play.
For instance, doom3 looks beautiful. It's also a horrible game. Way too repetitive and really didn't have any "new" game elements [e.g. think of board game rules] that make it stand out from all the other FPSes.
You don't need a TFLOP rated game to have fun. You just have to engage the persons creativity/thought process in a positive way.
Tom
I honestly [and without hestiation] doubt they're "all that trained" in the first place.
This is why we have virus/trojans/scams in the first place remember.
Tom
Windows:
Have to pay for anti-virus, have to pay for firewall, have to pay for spyware removal, have to pay for a copy of windows and then you have to pay someone to set it up.
*BSD/Linuxes:
Have to pay for someone to set it up.
Hmm... and the TOC of Linux is higher because...?
Tom
gah?
;-)
You having an afair with a real os?
Some of us come home to a *bsd/linux distro setup
Tom
---
Say you want to write:
(a or b) and (c nor d) xor (e nand f)
In Pascal/Delphi you write
(a or b) and (c nor d) xor (e nand f)
---
I don't recall nor, nand being operators in Turbo Pascal 6 or 7.
Oh that's right. Borland "updates" the language with every release. Unlike say C which is a standard that largely hasn't changed much since the 80s [yes, there are many nitpicking details that have changed but pretty much any C89/C90 code will compile nowadays].
So when I write "C" programs I'm not writing "Delphi 2005" programs or whatever...
Also "hand holding to write prototypes"... well then you suck as a software developer. Pascal units have implementation and interface sections. The "interface" section DEFINES THE PROTOTYPES FOR THE FUNCTIONS.
So if you write all of your code in one huge source file without breaking up the code... well you can't develop code properly.
Tom
I know this is going to be modded as flamebait or whatever... ...but...
Who cares?
First, don't FOSS alternatives exist?
Second, from personal experience lavc's mpeg4 is good enough even at relatively low rates [sub 1 mbps].
Third, I'm tired of one person getting credit for shit. I'm sure it wasn't just Jon sitting at his puter typing away to make this happen.
Tom
Big companies exploit that by patenting something they know they can implement [resources and/or it's not complete]. If you can't actually make your invention you can at least publish it so nobody else can monopolize it.
I don't think patents are really fair in any sense. I mean the incentive for invention shouldn't be money. It should be progress. Until we evolve beyond that we're just going to be running the gambit on how to screw "the other guy" since well, that's what capitalism is.
Tom
My point though is why punish those who worked hard as well? Patent searches are clearly not an easy thing to do given the amount of mascarading patent attorneys do to make the inventions they represent sound legit.
... at best.
;-)
The point of my reply is to show how dated patent law is. When patent law was written there were what? Maybe a few thousand patents out there?
Now there are millions and I wouldn't be surprised to see the magic 10M figure hit next year at the going rate.
I'd say unless you can prove that the "violator" had to have known about your patent [assuming the patent is legit] then the "violator" should be in the clear. Sure you shouldn't be able to file a patent but why be punished?
I think what upsets FOSS developers most is that more often than not they're caught up in patent disputes totally by accident. They implement something to solve a problem. I seriously doubt they do patent shopping to see what they can violate. Then after all the hard work they put into their software they're told by some greedy money grubbing asshat "nope! I have a patent on the XOR operator and now you must pay me a million kajillion billion dollars!"
I think patent reform is a must. Some ideas
1. One year ban on any company that files an invalid patent.
2. Make patent filing accessible to all [e.g. free or near free]
3. You must actually use your patent within a year of filing and the use must be clearly evident.
4. Actually write claims in clear specific English and not legalese
5. The patent must contain enough information to actually implement the invention
6. Patents should only be valid for 10 years.
7. The patent database should be categorized by the use of the invention.
8. Patents should be audited before being filed by experts in the field of the invention. Not just some lowly patent attorney. Possibly use some web based feedback system.
Tom