Built in camera, software included, toss in Apple Remote Desktop 3 and it is remotely administrable. Very stable, not as subject to thousands of viruses, very decent power consumption, etc.
Hey, is it just me or did we manage to/. the "Sue me first" site? Their server seems to be curled up fetal on the bottom of the rack right now. Good job guys.
I have not had an opportunity to peruse the ins and outs of these new and proposed laws, but as a retired businessman, who runs a six node wired/wireless network for myself and family at home, I wonder if as a 'network operator' of my own private LAN I will need a few terabytes of storage, etc. to meet the retention requirements.
Sounds ridiculous, but it all depends on the wording, eh?
For example, the four computers connected to my Comcast cable IP go through a router who's MAC address claims it is an Apple iMac I haven't had for a number of years, and in fact is probably part of a landfill somewhere...
The reason the router still thinks it's an obsolete iMac is that having the router continue that charade is easier than getting Comcast to regognize a new MAC address, which is needed because my MAC is how they determine I'm not a Comcast customer, but an Earthlink customer via Comcast 'last mile' (so I get connected to an Earthlink IP not Comcast).
Kruger said. 'But what's happening is when they're tuning into their iPod or Blackberry or cell phone or video game, they're walking into speeding buses and moving automobiles. It's becoming a nationwide problem.'
"Think of it as evolution in action." --Larry Niven, Oath of Fealty)
*IF* there were "perfect" DRM, a DRM that did not extend beyond or 'expand' the copyright laws into areas they do not cover, and if that "perfect" DRM didn't remove any rights from either side of the equation, and allowed me to personally listen to music I've bought the right to listen to whenever/wherever I want to, I would have no problems with the DRM in any real sense.
I seriously doubt that such a thing is possible with ANY current hardware/software.
I personally ran into a "DRM problem" last year. The sound system in both my vehicles will play "MP3 CDs" and I have a large collection of DRM protected music bought on-line from iTunes. For long trips I like having "travel CDs" that have hours of music on them so I'm not constantly fiddling with the CD player while trying to drive. iTunes refused to allow me to directly make an MP3 CD with any of those songs on it.
Yes, I could legitimately have converted to full AIFF audio, burned CDs of them (max about 72 minutes each) and then converted those to MP3 and burned a couple of 6.5 hour MP3 CDs for the car. iTunes would have allowed that without objecting, but then I would have all these "regular" CDs I'd burned and didn't want - a total waste.
Instead, I used some third party open source software to directly convert every last protected iTunes bit of music to unprotected MP3s.
Shortly after that, Apple once again made internal changes to iTunes to prevent that software from working - and I have not bought one single iTunes selection since. Hmmmmmmmmmmm...
I don't wish to copy and distribute music to others, I just want to listen to music at home and in my cars. Until I can do that, simply, easily, and without ridiculous extra steps, I won't be buying more DRM'd music.
I've used position sensitive passwords where both my hands make the same remembered movements on the keyboard, with different results depending on start position since I worked at Bell Labs in the early '80s.
It allows me easily repeated logins to assorted systems, without having obvious passwords. I've found that three simple patterns with five different starting positions provide me with enough variation in long passwords to meet my needs without writing down the passwords anywhere.
At MOST all I would ever need to remember is the initial character, and the rest is automatic and lightening fast, just like playing a familiar piece of music...
I feel fairly secure with my simple method - and I feel it is better than many much more complex methods.
Right now I'm on my iBook with a typical number of windows and tabs open.
I just counted 16 windows (spread over eleven apps) and 5 browser tabs open.
This laptop rarely gets shut down, it usually just sleeps between uses. Restarts are probably every two or three weeks.
Even when working in meatspace I used to work in layers on my physical desk. As a project manager/engineer I'd often have a large number of simultaneous projects running, and needed rapid access to all of them, depending on who the next call came from.
My laptop "desktop" is very reminiscent of my old (real) desktop.
...the judge orders ICANN to pull their DNS, and IF they actually do it, the estimate is that SPAM could incease 4X.
If so, I sincerely hope that somehow the increase in SPAM to the judge's court is even higher - at least double that.
The only way that folks who purposely damage the system for the majority of users will learn, no matter that it may be just not understanding what they are doing, is if they see a direct effect - a strong direct effect - on their own personal use of the system.
...it's nice to finally have some concrete back-up from those directly involved, instead of just having to piece things together from what leaked out around the edges.
No matter if SCO loses as they should, the millions of dollars their phony lawsuits cost others, the doubt they cast over all of 'free' software, and the delays in some companies considering a move to Linux until Vista could finally be made (allegedly) viable, definately helped Microsoft.
Hopefully there will be enough of a tie-in for Microsoft to be pursued for their part in the charade.
One of my blog entries has the phrase "ATM Instructions" as its title http://www.tijil.org/blog/?p=15, and it has been amazing to watch the sudden upswing over the last few days is searches for that phrase hitting it.
What's funny, is it's a rather poor joke that I use as a take off point to discuss a specific sort of illogic.
...having laws regarding technology made by people who don't really know the technology involved seems like a bad idea.
From the ariicle:
'From 1 October 2007, manufacturers must place warning labels on all equipment capable of receiving Wi-Fi signals, according to the new state law.'
This also shows how having articles made by people who don't really know the technology involved seems like a bad idea.
The actual law (link to the law text attached to the article) this has no statement that even hints at that. Instead, it clearly and plainly defines those items that will require the warning, and those definitions are not only correct, but quite adequate.
Nice to know that the writers of the law did a better job than the writers of the article.
Also nice to know that my little 'Canary' WiFi detector will continue to be quite legit, and not covered by the law, at all.
"Hmmm...
So your parents/children/cousins/gf/bf cannot use your internet connection when they visit you? Seems a bit draconian."
Sure they can - takes about 40 seconds to add a new MAC address to the 'recognized' list and give 'em a login. From that point on their system can get on whenever they want it to. (Only ones besides mine in there right now are my mum's and a couple of friend's machines. No one else has needed to get in.)
Most folks don't bring a 'puter to use, they just use one of the 5 on my household LAN, anyway.:)
"...I guess that you drive exactly the speed limit, always cross the street at crosswalks, etc..."
Well, actually that's not too far off...;^P
My last traffic ticket was in 1978 for 'five over' on the freeway...
====
From my livingroom right now, my laptop can see 6 WiFi signals strong and stable enough to connect to, plus mine (which is locked down by passwords and MAC addresses).
Of those six 'other' bases, I only know where one is - my upstairs neighbor. The WiFi nets in this apartment complex make for a pretty thick RF soup...
Of those six 'other' bases, only two are set up as other than "wide open" to all comers.
I have a contract with my provider that in multiple places in the contract/TOS/AUP prohibits me from doing so. Here's one:
6.c. Multiple Users: The Service and the ______ Equipment shall be used only by you and by members of your immediate household living with you at the same address. You acknowledge that you are executing this Agreement on behalf of all persons who use the ______ Equipment and/or Service by means of the Customer Equipment. You shall have sole responsibility for ensuring that all other users understand and comply with the terms and conditions of this Agreement and the AUP.
This, and other parts of my contract with my provider, prohibit sharing of my 8Mbs internet access.
No matter how "nice" it might be to allow casual users to have access to the internet from my WiFi, I am not allowed to do so.
Years ago (when I still had landlines) I had a box that intercepted all incoming calls without allowing the phones to ring. It delivered a simple message "Please enter your desired extension, or, if you do not know the extension, please dial "O" or wait on the line. Bleep!"
People were given one of several numbers to enter: 472 for family, 333 for work, 505 for businesses, for example.
472 always rang through with a particular ring, 333 rang through with another, 505 it would allow through or not depending on how I set the switch, with yet a third ring style.
Anyone who didn't have a good three digit number went to the answering machine, with no audible ring on any phone.
It was simple and effective, and anyone with the proper code could get through from any touch-tone phone.
People never had any problem with my giving them an extension number, as in "Call me when my car is ready, 206 555 0293, extension 505.)
I don't know if anyone still makes that simple box, but it would be worth checking for...
...but instead of seeing ever more reliable, rugged, and functional portable phones, my carrier insists on delivering ever more complex devices that still don't do their primary function (being a phone) any better than cellphones five or more years old.
Even in 'safer' environments where IEDs are not as likely, the value of legit US papers might make it worthwhile for 'black hats' to quickly sort out who is carrying what, so that those actually carrying a passport, or other RFID'd papers, can be tagged for special attention...
Now that even a common MasterCard advertises its presence, and almost waves a "steal me, I'm right here!!!" flag, well shielded wallets and purses are almost a necessity.
The future is here, and as usual it arrived sooner than we expected and in the wrong order...
The Homeland Security site, in the section that discusses the testing of the current RFID equipped '94's, suggests reading the info contained in the chops from up to 100 feet away on a regular basis:
* US VISIT intends to build upon the technologies and management systems previously employed for entry in order to realize an automated entry exit process. RFID technology offers a solution for a potentially faster, biometrically enhanced entry exit operation.
* Using an automatic identifier, RFID technology can detect a visitor at a distance (up to 100 feet) and provide primary inspection with entry information. RFID technology can also provide a mechanism for an accurate and timely record of exits without requiring visitors to interrupt their travels by stopping or even slowing down to check out. ...
* US VISIT will ensure that our visitors' information is always protected. The RFID technology used by US VISIT will protect sensitive information because it will read only a randomly-generated number that links to visitors' information stored securely in a database. It will also be tamper proof and difficult to counterfeit or surreptitiously read.
A part of the problem is that each linked-to URL is DIFFERENT and each posting IP is DIFFERENT.
We ARE banning IDs and IPs, which MAY explain why there are no repeat posts from them, but there seems to be a virtually unlimited number of IPs, from around the world (UK, US, Poland, Japan, Germany, France, etc.), that these turkeys hit from.
...but those moderators burn out pretty damned quickly under the load that a concentrated attack can bring - every damned day.
The most recent batch to hit the site where I'm one of the mods, often use a *@mail.ru e-mail address and eight to ten character random character strings as the registered name.
Most of those we are getting link to sites like the following:
Possibly because I already have but they haven't bothered to answer?
Yeah! That's it!;o)
The only response I have been able to get from either Sony or Sunncomm is the one automated response from Sunncomm saying they would get right back to me, back in early December.
Personally I'm not that worried, but the "support" from Sony has been considerably less than stellar.:o(
Slashdot Mirror
Built in camera, software included, toss in Apple Remote Desktop 3 and it is remotely administrable. Very stable, not as subject to thousands of viruses, very decent power consumption, etc.
--Tomas
Hey, is it just me or did we manage to /. the "Sue me first" site? Their server seems to be curled up fetal on the bottom of the rack right now. Good job guys.
--Tomas
...the term "printed circuit," doesn't it? :o)
--Tomas
After reading the article, I thought maybe I'd slipped up a bit and somehow missed a few weeks, but no, it's not April First...
:o)
*I* want some of what *THEY* are smoking...
--Tomas
I have not had an opportunity to peruse the ins and outs of these new and proposed laws, but as a retired businessman, who runs a six node wired/wireless network for myself and family at home, I wonder if as a 'network operator' of my own private LAN I will need a few terabytes of storage, etc. to meet the retention requirements.
Sounds ridiculous, but it all depends on the wording, eh?
--Tomas
For example, the four computers connected to my Comcast cable IP go through a router who's MAC address claims it is an Apple iMac I haven't had for a number of years, and in fact is probably part of a landfill somewhere...
The reason the router still thinks it's an obsolete iMac is that having the router continue that charade is easier than getting Comcast to regognize a new MAC address, which is needed because my MAC is how they determine I'm not a Comcast customer, but an Earthlink customer via Comcast 'last mile' (so I get connected to an Earthlink IP not Comcast).
--Tomas
"Think of it as evolution in action." --Larry Niven, Oath of Fealty)
--
Tomas
*IF* there were "perfect" DRM, a DRM that did not extend beyond or 'expand' the copyright laws into areas they do not cover, and if that "perfect" DRM didn't remove any rights from either side of the equation, and allowed me to personally listen to music I've bought the right to listen to whenever/wherever I want to, I would have no problems with the DRM in any real sense.
I seriously doubt that such a thing is possible with ANY current hardware/software.
I personally ran into a "DRM problem" last year. The sound system in both my vehicles will play "MP3 CDs" and I have a large collection of DRM protected music bought on-line from iTunes. For long trips I like having "travel CDs" that have hours of music on them so I'm not constantly fiddling with the CD player while trying to drive. iTunes refused to allow me to directly make an MP3 CD with any of those songs on it.
Yes, I could legitimately have converted to full AIFF audio, burned CDs of them (max about 72 minutes each) and then converted those to MP3 and burned a couple of 6.5 hour MP3 CDs for the car. iTunes would have allowed that without objecting, but then I would have all these "regular" CDs I'd burned and didn't want - a total waste.
Instead, I used some third party open source software to directly convert every last protected iTunes bit of music to unprotected MP3s.
Shortly after that, Apple once again made internal changes to iTunes to prevent that software from working - and I have not bought one single iTunes selection since. Hmmmmmmmmmmm...
I don't wish to copy and distribute music to others, I just want to listen to music at home and in my cars. Until I can do that, simply, easily, and without ridiculous extra steps, I won't be buying more DRM'd music.
--
Tomas
I've used position sensitive passwords where both my hands make the same remembered movements on the keyboard, with different results depending on start position since I worked at Bell Labs in the early '80s.
It allows me easily repeated logins to assorted systems, without having obvious passwords. I've found that three simple patterns with five different starting positions provide me with enough variation in long passwords to meet my needs without writing down the passwords anywhere.
At MOST all I would ever need to remember is the initial character, and the rest is automatic and lightening fast, just like playing a familiar piece of music...
I feel fairly secure with my simple method - and I feel it is better than many much more complex methods.
--
Tomas
Right now I'm on my iBook with a typical number of windows and tabs open.
I just counted 16 windows (spread over eleven apps) and 5 browser tabs open.
This laptop rarely gets shut down, it usually just sleeps between uses. Restarts are probably every two or three weeks.
Even when working in meatspace I used to work in layers on my physical desk. As a project manager/engineer I'd often have a large number of simultaneous projects running, and needed rapid access to all of them, depending on who the next call came from.
My laptop "desktop" is very reminiscent of my old (real) desktop.
--
Tomas
...the judge orders ICANN to pull their DNS, and IF they actually do it, the estimate is that SPAM could incease 4X.
If so, I sincerely hope that somehow the increase in SPAM to the judge's court is even higher - at least double that.
The only way that folks who purposely damage the system for the majority of users will learn, no matter that it may be just not understanding what they are doing, is if they see a direct effect - a strong direct effect - on their own personal use of the system.
--
Tomas
...it's nice to finally have some concrete back-up from those directly involved, instead of just having to piece things together from what leaked out around the edges.
No matter if SCO loses as they should, the millions of dollars their phony lawsuits cost others, the doubt they cast over all of 'free' software, and the delays in some companies considering a move to Linux until Vista could finally be made (allegedly) viable, definately helped Microsoft.
Hopefully there will be enough of a tie-in for Microsoft to be pursued for their part in the charade.
--
Tomas
What's funny, is it's a rather poor joke that I use as a take off point to discuss a specific sort of illogic.
--
Tomas
The actual law (link to the law text attached to the article) this has no statement that even hints at that. Instead, it clearly and plainly defines those items that will require the warning, and those definitions are not only correct, but quite adequate.
Nice to know that the writers of the law did a better job than the writers of the article.
Also nice to know that my little 'Canary' WiFi detector will continue to be quite legit, and not covered by the law, at all.
--
Tomas
Sure they can - takes about 40 seconds to add a new MAC address to the 'recognized' list and give 'em a login. From that point on their system can get on whenever they want it to. (Only ones besides mine in there right now are my mum's and a couple of friend's machines. No one else has needed to get in.)
Most folks don't bring a 'puter to use, they just use one of the 5 on my household LAN, anyway.
--
Tomas (BOFH)
Well, actually that's not too far off...
My last traffic ticket was in 1978 for 'five over' on the freeway...
====
From my livingroom right now, my laptop can see 6 WiFi signals strong and stable enough to connect to, plus mine (which is locked down by passwords and MAC addresses).
Of those six 'other' bases, I only know where one is - my upstairs neighbor. The WiFi nets in this apartment complex make for a pretty thick RF soup...
Of those six 'other' bases, only two are set up as other than "wide open" to all comers.
--
Tomas
No matter how "nice" it might be to allow casual users to have access to the internet from my WiFi, I am not allowed to do so.
--
Tomas
Years ago (when I still had landlines) I had a box that intercepted all incoming calls without allowing the phones to ring. It delivered a simple message "Please enter your desired extension, or, if you do not know the extension, please dial "O" or wait on the line. Bleep!"
People were given one of several numbers to enter: 472 for family, 333 for work, 505 for businesses, for example.
472 always rang through with a particular ring, 333 rang through with another, 505 it would allow through or not depending on how I set the switch, with yet a third ring style.
Anyone who didn't have a good three digit number went to the answering machine, with no audible ring on any phone.
It was simple and effective, and anyone with the proper code could get through from any touch-tone phone.
People never had any problem with my giving them an extension number, as in "Call me when my car is ready, 206 555 0293, extension 505.)
I don't know if anyone still makes that simple box, but it would be worth checking for...
--
Tomas
I even wrote in my blog about this last year.
Yup!
Even in 'safer' environments where IEDs are not as likely, the value of legit US papers might make it worthwhile for 'black hats' to quickly sort out who is carrying what, so that those actually carrying a passport, or other RFID'd papers, can be tagged for special attention...
Now that even a common MasterCard advertises its presence, and almost waves a "steal me, I'm right here!!!" flag, well shielded wallets and purses are almost a necessity.
The future is here, and as usual it arrived sooner than we expected and in the wrong order...
--
Tomas
Not only that, this is discussing doing that while the RFID equipped form is in the possession of the person in a moving car...
A couple of inches? Yeah, right.
--
Tomas
A part of the problem is that each linked-to URL is DIFFERENT and each posting IP is DIFFERENT.
We ARE banning IDs and IPs, which MAY explain why there are no repeat posts from them, but there seems to be a virtually unlimited number of IPs, from around the world (UK, US, Poland, Japan, Germany, France, etc.), that these turkeys hit from.
...but those moderators burn out pretty damned quickly under the load that a concentrated attack can bring - every damned day.
c om/
The most recent batch to hit the site where I'm one of the mods, often use a *@mail.ru e-mail address and eight to ten character random character strings as the registered name.
Most of those we are getting link to sites like the following:
http://www.drugsn.com/
http://phentermine.snow-send.com/
http://internet-casino-gambling-online.snow-send.
http://xanax.crasn.com/
http://www.drugname.net/
http://adipex.crasn.com/
Be nice to be able to nuke 'em from orbit...
--
Tomas
Yes. If Apple didn't exist, Microsoft would have to invent it.
For years Apple, as small a percentage of the desktop market as it was, was one of the few things that made Microsoft "Not a Monopoly."
--
Tomas
Possibly because I already have but they haven't bothered to answer?
;o)
:o(
Yeah! That's it!
The only response I have been able to get from either Sony or Sunncomm is the one automated response from Sunncomm saying they would get right back to me, back in early December.
Personally I'm not that worried, but the "support" from Sony has been considerably less than stellar.
--
Tomas