Whether they call it SDMI or WKRP or CBYNL, only a watermarking scheme will keep you from ripping audio from your CD (or from your Kazaa buddy's CD) to the player - and no current watermarking scheme is secure, thus any device currently available should suit your needs.
Nonetheless, I'm going to boycott any CD with any sort of watermark (currently boycotting music is very easy, as very little is produced).
I for one am glad that Slashdot continues to post these sorts of stories.
Improving chip design is pretty much just business as normal, but every now and then it's worth it to hear what the latest thing is (and an estimate of when it's coming down the pipes).
Of course, it's more fun when they build transistors out of blue-green algae, or computers self assemble on cheese, or such - but new gate materials are important too (and certainly it's news for nerds.)
I would agree that most users are pretty poor at adjusting to new software.
I think kids have to be thought of differently though, at least to some extent. I'm certainly no expert, but people growing up today seem to be able to understand computers.
I'm basing this on horribly anecdotal evidence - I don't know hundreds of young people.
You're certainly right, though. Installing Linux in a school would demand very good understanding on the part of the school's tech resources - and I don't know whether it's the right move.
In any case, though, I don't think a student who learned to do Word Processing on StarOffice would come out horribly disadvantaged. I learned Word Processing on an Apple IIe. Also, the level of instruction (even in high schools), is so basic that most applications won't show much divergence from their MS counterparts.
I agree that with good management, the effective number of boxes can become much lower. However, it's still going to be a signficant drain. Whatever solution, no matter how fancy, is going to require a lot of outside help to get going. Maybe not in school districts with amazingly competent staff (but in these cases, why don't they have Linux running already?)
It would be good for Linux in general to have this user base - but what's good for Linux in the long term is not necessarily what's good for a Red Hat right now (surely they can't have too much cash on hand right now).
In summary: if the Red Hat proposal ever worked out (and it's not MS's decision!), the support would either be
A: Minimal - bad enough that school districts would end up buying support/another OS
or
B: Very expensive, not within Red Hat's ability to provide on current cash
As long as a school computer lab is well supported and the teachers have an understanding of what's going on, I don't think it matters what OS kids are learning on.
And I'm one of the biggest MS apologists here...
As if it matters what word processing program they use! Any feature they learn will be so similar in any modern program as to be interchangeable. Ditto browsers and spreadsheets.
I think it's a great idea for Red Hat to put together an educational distribution.
I think it's a great idea to give it out free. However, Red Hat is in the business of selling services. Giving away software AND service is not a good business model (and hasn't been for almost 2 years).
No. One billion divided by $1000 per box is one million boxes. The original settlement called for 200,000 boxes (for a nominal $50) and the remainder in software.
Here's a quote from The Register:
"The money freed by removing Microsoft's software from the settlement equation is enough to buy one million PCs, instead of the 200,000 proposed by Microsoft, Red Hat says. "
Of course, I can't actually read the article on redhat, as their server has been slashdotted for a while...
Red Hat is going to support 1 million PC's for free. How much would that cost? How many do they currently support? Do they realize the beating these machines take? Do they think that school teachers and librarians (who usually do the first line support) have any computer knowledge?
Red hat is going to support 1 million installations of RED HAT LINUX for free.
This reminds me of the thread a while back on "Do we need a new mail server?"
Why ask a general question about metrics, when you have so much more information than the general case? You know how much work you do to maintain the code. This information makes you the absolute best person in the world to answer your question.
A verification language is used to put a chip in design through its paces. A program like Verilog is used to design a chip, then engineers will write test programs for the chip and see what happens. Those will be written in a verification language.
Someone else could explain this better most likely.
Since you seem to have access to development hardware, perhaps you'll know. Or someone will..
Does MS give developers their own key (ie, let them sign exe's willy-nilly for use on off-the-shelf boxes), or does it sign them itself? What are the odds of a rogue developer helping in the hack effort?
I don't know how, but I managed to include a space before.htm in the link above. Oops.
PS: Good luck on getting a machine to write the goofy little disks that the GameCube uses. I'm afraid all of these consoles have significant buy-in. Too bad.
Hopefully someone writes a signed x-box executable that will run arbitrary code off the hard disk or Internet.
Thank goodness it's MS in charge of the security, or I'd say it's impossible:)
Avoiding hackers seems to pretty much be stated goal for all 3 of these platforms.
Their logic makes sense. On a platform like the PS one, piracy was rampant. Even if a game checked for the CD somehow, the game binary could be edited to skip the check. With signed binaries, this becomes 4 steps more difficult for the hacker, and saves the developer the work of doing counter-piracy themselves.
To get a sense of how persistent hackers are (and how they're dealt with), check out the article on Gamasutra about the anti-piracy work in Spyro for PS one.
http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20011017/dodd_ 01.htm (login may be required, I don't remember)
Years ago we tried to set up client Internet access via odd port numbers. Resistance every step of the way from client networking people, client management, and even our own ISP (who controlled our firewall, in those days). I can't even imagine trying it now that web based everything is even more entrenched.
SOAP has merely subscribed to the common perception - the Internet is the WWW. I think it's probably the only way it would have caught on as much as it has.
Full disclosure: our web apps create "bitty windows" to exchange data. I apologize to anyone who feels dirty after hearing that.
Re:you miss my point entirely
on
XBox Released
·
· Score: 1
Seems to me you just plain changed your mind. You said:
"there are currently no games which i could see benefitting from this on any console, NOR ANY IN THE FUTURE." - emphasis added
There are already plenty of console games that work over the Internet (mostly on Dreamcast). MS has plans for MMRPG's and such. Whether they're good or not, or whether you'll like them is up for debate. But the Ethernet port will certainly be "useful" in making them work.
How can you possibly say this? Surely you can't think that the ability to connect machines together is useless? Surely? Please? Obviously the millions who play games on the Internet aren't having any fun.
"an ethernet connection on a console isn't some gaming messiah. there are currently no games which i could see benefitting from this on any console, nor any in the future.
Did you miss the fact that the X-Box is buggy and the games aren't any fun and all you'll see is the green screen of death and it the graphics are grainy and Halo pauses every time you step and the games aren't original and it is logically impossible that they would be because MS would suck the creativity out of developers just by looking at them and a game like Halo could only be creative if it was ported to the PS2 where the control pad isn't unusable and the heat doesn't burn down your house and the xbox is too big?
1. Linu-X-box with a simple word processor and spreadsheet. Should require no setup, and should sell at Walwart cheap.
2. Printer/keyboard/mouse adapters - again they should be cheap.
At some point, the upgrade cycle for PC's just isn't paying off for home users - this may be the next big thing.
And who cares if MS is the one taking the shaft on the hardware?
You laugh, but Freecell is the only reason my wife lets me have a computer at home.
I hope that XBox is hacked soon, as I think it has the possibility to really democratize computing (without really enriching MS, they'll take the shaft on producing hardware).
I want to see a cheap keyboard and printer peripheral. And a cheap word processor (OS is irrelevant, as each disc ships with it). These could be great things. These might even prove effective office machines (new meaning to commodity hardware).
Slashdot Mirror
Whether they call it SDMI or WKRP or CBYNL, only a watermarking scheme will keep you from ripping audio from your CD (or from your Kazaa buddy's CD) to the player - and no current watermarking scheme is secure, thus any device currently available should suit your needs.
Nonetheless, I'm going to boycott any CD with any sort of watermark (currently boycotting music is very easy, as very little is produced).
I for one am glad that Slashdot continues to post these sorts of stories.
Improving chip design is pretty much just business as normal, but every now and then it's worth it to hear what the latest thing is (and an estimate of when it's coming down the pipes).
Of course, it's more fun when they build transistors out of blue-green algae, or computers self assemble on cheese, or such - but new gate materials are important too (and certainly it's news for nerds.)
I agree with all of your assertions, except
"Don't use IIS."
This just isn't an option for a lot of people. I would change this to:
"If you use IIS, you need to make sure you check BugTraq/cert EVERY day."
I would also add:
"If you use IIS with COM components via ASP, make sure the DLL's are not in a publicly accessible directory."
This happens a lot, and makes DLL's lots easier to break.
I'm going to start offering a free service. Just send me your credit card number, and I'll make sure it's not being used maliciously.
Don't worry about my expenses. I'll cover them somehow. After all, the net is full of "Good deals".
INetPub means "INetPublic" not "INetPubrobably a great place to put my credit card numbers".
Why are stupid people not to blame for anything anymore?
I would agree that most users are pretty poor at adjusting to new software.
I think kids have to be thought of differently though, at least to some extent. I'm certainly no expert, but people growing up today seem to be able to understand computers.
I'm basing this on horribly anecdotal evidence - I don't know hundreds of young people.
You're certainly right, though. Installing Linux in a school would demand very good understanding on the part of the school's tech resources - and I don't know whether it's the right move.
In any case, though, I don't think a student who learned to do Word Processing on StarOffice would come out horribly disadvantaged. I learned Word Processing on an Apple IIe. Also, the level of instruction (even in high schools), is so basic that most applications won't show much divergence from their MS counterparts.
I agree that with good management, the effective number of boxes can become much lower. However, it's still going to be a signficant drain. Whatever solution, no matter how fancy, is going to require a lot of outside help to get going. Maybe not in school districts with amazingly competent staff (but in these cases, why don't they have Linux running already?)
It would be good for Linux in general to have this user base - but what's good for Linux in the long term is not necessarily what's good for a Red Hat right now (surely they can't have too much cash on hand right now).
In summary: if the Red Hat proposal ever worked out (and it's not MS's decision!), the support would either be
A: Minimal - bad enough that school districts would end up buying support/another OS
or
B: Very expensive, not within Red Hat's ability to provide on current cash
As long as a school computer lab is well supported and the teachers have an understanding of what's going on, I don't think it matters what OS kids are learning on.
And I'm one of the biggest MS apologists here...
As if it matters what word processing program they use! Any feature they learn will be so similar in any modern program as to be interchangeable. Ditto browsers and spreadsheets.
I think it's a great idea for Red Hat to put together an educational distribution.
I think it's a great idea to give it out free. However, Red Hat is in the business of selling services. Giving away software AND service is not a good business model (and hasn't been for almost 2 years).
No. One billion divided by $1000 per box is one million boxes. The original settlement called for 200,000 boxes (for a nominal $50) and the remainder in software.
Here's a quote from The Register:
"The money freed by removing Microsoft's software from the settlement equation is enough to buy one million PCs, instead of the 200,000 proposed by Microsoft, Red Hat says. "
Of course, I can't actually read the article on redhat, as their server has been slashdotted for a while...
$1 billion = 1 million PC's
Red Hat is going to support 1 million PC's for free. How much would that cost? How many do they currently support? Do they realize the beating these machines take? Do they think that school teachers and librarians (who usually do the first line support) have any computer knowledge?
Red hat is going to support 1 million installations of RED HAT LINUX for free.
This is insane. It's just a PR stunt.
This reminds me of the thread a while back on "Do we need a new mail server?"
Why ask a general question about metrics, when you have so much more information than the general case? You know how much work you do to maintain the code. This information makes you the absolute best person in the world to answer your question.
I had an old SilentWriter (huge beast, great because it had a never-ending toner cartridge, it was huge).
I had to change a jumper or dip (can't remember) on the back to switch it to LaserJet II mode.
-Dave
A verification language is used to put a chip in design through its paces. A program like Verilog is used to design a chip, then engineers will write test programs for the chip and see what happens. Those will be written in a verification language.
Someone else could explain this better most likely.
Since you seem to have access to development hardware, perhaps you'll know. Or someone will..
Does MS give developers their own key (ie, let them sign exe's willy-nilly for use on off-the-shelf boxes), or does it sign them itself? What are the odds of a rogue developer helping in the hack effort?
I don't know how, but I managed to include a space before .htm in the link above. Oops.
:)
PS: Good luck on getting a machine to write the goofy little disks that the GameCube uses. I'm afraid all of these consoles have significant buy-in. Too bad.
Hopefully someone writes a signed x-box executable that will run arbitrary code off the hard disk or Internet.
Thank goodness it's MS in charge of the security, or I'd say it's impossible
Avoiding hackers seems to pretty much be stated goal for all 3 of these platforms.
_ 01 .htm (login may be required, I don't remember)
Their logic makes sense. On a platform like the PS one, piracy was rampant. Even if a game checked for the CD somehow, the game binary could be edited to skip the check. With signed binaries, this becomes 4 steps more difficult for the hacker, and saves the developer the work of doing counter-piracy themselves.
To get a sense of how persistent hackers are (and how they're dealt with), check out the article on Gamasutra about the anti-piracy work in Spyro for PS one.
http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20011017/dodd
I hope that was an improvised line...
Years ago we tried to set up client Internet access via odd port numbers. Resistance every step of the way from client networking people, client management, and even our own ISP (who controlled our firewall, in those days). I can't even imagine trying it now that web based everything is even more entrenched.
SOAP has merely subscribed to the common perception - the Internet is the WWW. I think it's probably the only way it would have caught on as much as it has.
Full disclosure: our web apps create "bitty windows" to exchange data. I apologize to anyone who feels dirty after hearing that.
Seems to me you just plain changed your mind. You said:
"there are currently no games which i could see benefitting from this on any console, NOR ANY IN THE FUTURE." - emphasis added
There are already plenty of console games that work over the Internet (mostly on Dreamcast). MS has plans for MMRPG's and such. Whether they're good or not, or whether you'll like them is up for debate. But the Ethernet port will certainly be "useful" in making them work.
How can you possibly say this? Surely you can't think that the ability to connect machines together is useless? Surely? Please? Obviously the millions who play games on the Internet aren't having any fun.
"an ethernet connection on a console isn't some gaming messiah. there are currently no games which i could see benefitting from this on any console, nor any in the future.
Did you miss the fact that the X-Box is buggy and the games aren't any fun and all you'll see is the green screen of death and it the graphics are grainy and Halo pauses every time you step and the games aren't original and it is logically impossible that they would be because MS would suck the creativity out of developers just by looking at them and a game like Halo could only be creative if it was ported to the PS2 where the control pad isn't unusable and the heat doesn't burn down your house and the xbox is too big?
That's it! You must be some sort of MS mole!
X-Box could be the new Commodore 64, just needs:
1. Linu-X-box with a simple word processor and spreadsheet. Should require no setup, and should sell at Walwart cheap.
2. Printer/keyboard/mouse adapters - again they should be cheap.
At some point, the upgrade cycle for PC's just isn't paying off for home users - this may be the next big thing.
And who cares if MS is the one taking the shaft on the hardware?
You laugh, but Freecell is the only reason my wife lets me have a computer at home.
I hope that XBox is hacked soon, as I think it has the possibility to really democratize computing (without really enriching MS, they'll take the shaft on producing hardware).
I want to see a cheap keyboard and printer peripheral. And a cheap word processor (OS is irrelevant, as each disc ships with it). These could be great things. These might even prove effective office machines (new meaning to commodity hardware).
You're right, he does insinuate guilt on the part of the security community in this instance - he is wrong to do so and I hadn't noticed that.
Indeed, MS is doing some scapegoating - but I do think their plan makes some sense. It'll be interesting to see how their RFC is received.