Keeping in the spirit of things, I'll start taking bids on some slashdot logins with 50 Karma points each.
Yes, that's right. If you want to be influential in the/. community (and who doesn't), you need to be able to post with the +1 bonus. Now you could go about the long and tedious process of posting insightful, informative, funny, or just plain underratted comments. But that takes time, and you're a busy person.
Leave the dirty work to us. We here at KarmaCo have the knowledge and experience to create YOUR perfect Slashdot ID. Our trained Karma Consultants know how to build Karma quickly. We post early, we can be funny, we say nice things about Linux and Open Software, and mean things about Microsoft. Once your ID has reached the magical 50 point Karma Level, and after we've received your payment, we turn the password over to you.
Once you take control of the ID you can troll all you'd like as you wait for your Karma level to slowly decrease. Alternatively, you can post non-troll messages without having to concern yourself with others' opinions of you. Remember, your new Slashdot ID makes you look important and smart. Because not only do you get the +1 bonus, but other people will recognize you as that-guy-who-said-that-cool-thing-last-month.
But wait, there's more. Act now and we'll include a limited edition Signal_11 flame.
Bletcheley Park, where Alan Turing and others defeated the German Enigma (as well as other codes) during WW2 is also in some financial trouble. If you find yourself in England, it's worth a trip. Until then, they could use your support (or you can buy stuff from them).
Having visited Bletcheley Park for the first time last year, I highly recommend the trip. If you have any interest in WW2, code breaking, or the history of computing, it is a great place to visit. You can really feel the history as you walk past the huts where Turing and others worked. If you've read Cryptonomicon or The Code Book, it's even cooler.
3!=1. The writer just left out something useful like "Last time." Read it again, with my addition:
Twice this month, Internet security consultant Jeremiah Grossman, 24, poked gaping security holes in Hotmail and Passport, Microsoft's free Web-based e-mail and identity-authentication services. Last time It took just three lines of code for Grossman to breach Hotmail filters and access Passport ID and credit card data. The second time it took just one line.
So, let's say that MS Hailstorm is implemented and within a couple of years, a good portion of users have their data and software settings stored on.Net servers, and can access it with their Passport login and password.
Now let's say that someone finds another flaw in passport (I know, hard to believe, but go with me here). Needless to say, Hailstorm users will be left vulnerable. The question is, will the Hailstorm and Passport EULA protect MS when it comes to legal liability for a) lost data, and b) copied or stolen data (loss of intellectual property, etc...)
My guess is that even if they are to blame, MS won't be legally liable. Doesn't sound like a good choice for users...
For fun, try downloading and installing the RealPlayer on a windows machine. The fun includes:
Trying to find the link to the free basic RealPlayer on their web site. (this includes closing pop up windows trying to sell you the Plus version)
submitting fake identification to avoid marketing spam during the install
taking back the associated file extensions (even after indicating that you didn't want them associated to begin with)
closing the "RealPlayer StartCenter" and removing it from the startup group (and dealing with the scary warnings in doing so)
getting rid of the channels and other ad content on the player itself (note that not all crap can be removed)
disabling "entertainment flashes"
disabling the ability of streamed media to open your web browser (why the hell?)
turning off upgrade notifications (for 30 days at least)
disabling "product flashes"
turning off the options that send usage data to RealNetworks and to the content provider
disabling cookies
My god, all I want to do is watch and listen to streaming media. Remember when Real stood up to MS and they were the good guys? Now, they have more crap and bloat and privacy infringing garbage than anything MS has offered. It's just a media player dammit.
Don't even get me started on RealNetworks and Major League Baseball charging for network access to radio feeds. They are paid by the stations and now they expect fans to pay too... And their service sucks...
When politicians try to become bioethicists without a solid knowledge of the underlying science, these things are going to happen.
By blocking future federal funds for newly created (and non-contaminated) stem cells, Bush has assured that nearly all major US innovations in stem cell research will be created by biotech companies. These companies will undoubtedly patent their work, and be more motivated to extract the greatest possible profits from their work (as they have to turn a profit on their investment), while publicly funded research generally requires federal access to patented techniques at little to no cost. Non-federal users of university patents generally don't have to pay as much for licenses, because the universities a) don't have to turn a profit, and b) don't have to repay the initial investment.
In addition, Bush's decision has not prevented unused in vitro embryos from being destroyed. They simply get thrown out now, rather than having their stem cells extracted for research purposes.
When a child dies, parents have the option to donate their organs to save others. When an embryo is destroyed, the Bush decision doesn't enable "parents" to do the same thing.
A list of those who are opposed to stem cell research should be kept, then when they contract a disease that can be treated with a stem cell derived cure, they should be refused treatment.
Once you get something executing on a Palm platform it can really take over, but it's fairly hard to spread malicous code around on the palm. Most people only beam business cards, not executable applications.
The palm does present a fairly straightforward vulnerability to beamed viruses. Because you can beam applications as well as data, and the verification screen that the palm displays upon receipt of an item is generally just "okayed," there is a possibility for sending malicious apps.
I'm sure somebody could write an app or a hack that captured beam attempts and sent virus code instead of (or in addition to) the intended data. So, you try to beam a business card and a small application gets sent to the other person. The new application is named, lets say, "Preferences" or "Updater", the person runs it, and infects their own palm... etc. etc. (and imagine a trojan with a time delayed payload... a cool app with a feature set like vidigo could be all over the place before Bad Things happen...)
A lack of tech savvy users, coupled with frequent beaming is a potential danger. Not pretty...
From the article: "Some kids are more predictable than others. He would be the surprising type"
Being the "surprising type" with a vocabulary of 200 words probably indicates that the program is not particularly good. The range of possible behaviors is pretty small for such a system. As the vocabulary and complexity of possible utterances increases, it is likely that the "surprising" aspect of Hal is going to move into "bizarre" territory.
As Chomsky pointed out, relying strictly on positive and negative feedback is not enough to develop language...
1. Bring an allen wrench to work
2. Stay late each night, "working"
3. Every night expand your cubicle a couple of inches.
4. Within a month or two, you should own the place.
Seriously, I've installed cheap 3 foot tall book cases on top of my desk. Lots of surface area, relatively small footprint. Also, consider one of those cool under the desk keyboard drawers, that gives a decent amount of deskspace. Of course, if you can get a flat panel monitor, you can use the area behind it for storage.
Where I used to work, we set up a small "library" of our group's O'Reilly books and other useful manuals. This was in a locked cabinet for which all team members knew the location of the key. It's nice because you have access to more resources, and still have room for your nerf weapons on the desk.
Look carefully, and you'll see a teeny, tiny drop in apache coupled with a gain in MS. Oh My God, The Sky Is Falling!!!
Seriously, the article has a few good points. E.g., a decent standard gui administration tool would be nice.
Of course, how long until MS starts trumeting the cool P2P aspects of IIS? You know, Code Red contacts other IIS systems, each contacting others, eventually building a gnutella-like network...
RIAA says "we never threatened to sue, leave us alone..."
Felton, apparently, gives presentation
So, how does this affect the lawsuit? Can Felton still sue to prevent the RIAA from deciding to go after him down the road, or does it simply become a matter of principle?
From the article: For hundreds of years, some of the keenest minds in science sought in vain to tap the secret of how blacksmiths in ancient India and the Middle East fashioned a supremely tough metal known as Damascus steel.
[snip]
Although Verhoeven and Pendray have patented their technique...
In addition to de Groot's work, Ericcson & Simon's "The Mind's Eye In Chess" provided an even more complete picture of the phenomenon, and described the processes that differ in players of differing abilities. Essentially, experts can chunk the board into meaningful units, while less capable players cannot. (It's kind of like in The Matrix where everyone can see what's going on, even though it looks like a bunch of green characters flying by.) Experts don't "see" farther ahead than less expert players, they are able to explore better options.
One interesting finding that Ericcson & Simon found is that if a chess board is arranged in a pattern that could arise during a game, experts were much better than novices at remembering the layout. However, if the same pieces were randomly placed on the board, novices actually performed better!
The really sad thing is that these cognitive photographers don't even cite the relevant literature (e.g., deGroot and Ericcson & Simon), and that they think they've discovered something new. If you read the Nature article, it is apparent that they have a cool tool, and they are studying problems they don't understand. Seriously, reinventing the wheel isn't that impressive.
I recently installed Snood and it came with Gator and OfferCompanion. Here's what sucked:
During the install process I was told that Snood came with the "coolest" new software, and that Gator would be automatically installed. No option to install without it (unlike Bearshare).
After installation, Gator didn't immediately start up, appear in the start menu, or appear in the "add/remove programs" menu. It waited about 5-10 minutes before popping up. This prevented me from immediately uninstalling this parasitic software.
After killing Gator, my firewall caught the "Onflow Player Installer" trying to access it's web site.
When I was finally able to uninstall Gator, it's uninstall program warned me that "Deleting your user information will erase all your passwords account numbers and login IDs." I can imagine a novice aborting the uninstall after a warning like that. It doesn't mention that it is only referring to the data that you gave Gator.
If this software was really useful, you'd think people would want to install it. Remember ThirdVoice, it was a tool that let users annotate web pages with their own content that was visible to other ThirdVoice users. It never acheived the market penetration it needed. There's a program that people could actually find useful, and it didn't make it. I can only imagine the sheer contempt for the user that these companies must have. To resort to such deceptive and misleading practices just to show some unwanted advertisements...
I've said it before and I'll say it again: finding new surface area for advertisements is not a creative endeavor. These people are the biggest hacks in the world, and deserve to watch Rosie O'Donnell eat BBQ ribs without a napkin.
I think it'll take a good deal of work to get the media (and thus, the public) to understand that this case is different from the typical "evil hacker" story. In general, when somebody gets arrested for some type of computer crime, we hear stories about how they "broke in" to top secret systems, intent on destroying or stealing valuable data and wreaking havoc on the poor victim. In this case, it has to be made very clear that this guy did something that was legal where he lived, then came to the US to do something legal, and was arrested. (An excellent example of both time-shifting and space-shifting if I ever saw one).
Second, it should be made very clear that the original complainant, Adobe, has stated that they don't feel he should be charged.
The third point that should be made is that this tool only works for people who have purchased the book, and it allows them to remove certain restrictions, e.g., reading their book on a different computer.
Perhaps what this movement needs is a blind person who uses the tool to enable the read-aloud function of adobe reader to work...
Salon has a pretty good article on the whole parasite software thing. KaZaA figures prominently. There are some reasonable aspects of bundling such software, but it's ridiculuous to do so without a)allowing opt-out and b)clearly notifying users...
This essentially disconnects the second drive, so you have to choose one or the other. If you have data that you'd like to share across boot drives it looks like you'll have to install a third, slave drive.
The Windows XP operating system leaves the user with little choice but to employ
Passport. As soon as the user starts a computer and uses a modem, a dialog box appears
on the screen stating: "You've just connected to the Internet. You need a Passport to use
Windows XP Internet communications features (such as instant messaging, voice chat
and video), and to access Net-enabled features. Click here to set up your Passport."
Wow, this sounds as bad as This story from earlier. What the heck are "Net-enabled features" in this context? Reminds me of those lame ass banner ads that look like error messages "Click here to optimize your system." Or junk (snail) mail that is printed with a font to appear to be handwritten.
Marketing people are slime, they should all be forced to spend large amounts of time with John Tesh.
You'd need a more complex device, this one can only associate your moves with 4 different buttons. Good technique in the martial arts is much more subtle than whether your right leg crossed a certain beam or not.
Some golf trainers are using systems that overlay the outline of a professional golfer on the video image of the student. The student and teacher can then see how the student deviates from ideal form. Even then, the golf pro is an important component.
I think that eventually systems will be available that can be used for detecting much more detailed kinesthetic data, perhaps the suits used for digital animation of human behavior...
Slashdot Mirror
Keeping in the spirit of things, I'll start taking bids on some slashdot logins with 50 Karma points each.
/. community (and who doesn't), you need to be able to post with the +1 bonus. Now you could go about the long and tedious process of posting insightful, informative, funny, or just plain underratted comments. But that takes time, and you're a busy person.
Yes, that's right. If you want to be influential in the
Leave the dirty work to us. We here at KarmaCo have the knowledge and experience to create YOUR perfect Slashdot ID. Our trained Karma Consultants know how to build Karma quickly. We post early, we can be funny, we say nice things about Linux and Open Software, and mean things about Microsoft. Once your ID has reached the magical 50 point Karma Level, and after we've received your payment, we turn the password over to you.
Once you take control of the ID you can troll all you'd like as you wait for your Karma level to slowly decrease. Alternatively, you can post non-troll messages without having to concern yourself with others' opinions of you. Remember, your new Slashdot ID makes you look important and smart. Because not only do you get the +1 bonus, but other people will recognize you as that-guy-who-said-that-cool-thing-last-month.
But wait, there's more. Act now and we'll include a limited edition Signal_11 flame.
Act now, low ID #'s are going fast!
Bletcheley Park, where Alan Turing and others defeated the German Enigma (as well as other codes) during WW2 is also in some financial trouble. If you find yourself in England, it's worth a trip. Until then, they could use your support (or you can buy stuff from them).
Having visited Bletcheley Park for the first time last year, I highly recommend the trip. If you have any interest in WW2, code breaking, or the history of computing, it is a great place to visit. You can really feel the history as you walk past the huts where Turing and others worked. If you've read Cryptonomicon or The Code Book, it's even cooler.
Among the headers from the veridian server when I retrieved the hacked page was
Last-Modified: Wed, 09 May 2001 12:53:30 GMT
I'm sure they'll get to it in due time...
3!=1. The writer just left out something useful like "Last time." Read it again, with my addition:
Twice this month, Internet security consultant Jeremiah Grossman, 24, poked gaping security holes in Hotmail and Passport, Microsoft's free Web-based e-mail and identity-authentication services. Last time It took just three lines of code for Grossman to breach Hotmail filters and access Passport ID and credit card data. The second time it took just one line.
So, let's say that MS Hailstorm is implemented and within a couple of years, a good portion of users have their data and software settings stored on .Net servers, and can access it with their Passport login and password.
Now let's say that someone finds another flaw in passport (I know, hard to believe, but go with me here). Needless to say, Hailstorm users will be left vulnerable. The question is, will the Hailstorm and Passport EULA protect MS when it comes to legal liability for a) lost data, and b) copied or stolen data (loss of intellectual property, etc...)
My guess is that even if they are to blame, MS won't be legally liable. Doesn't sound like a good choice for users...
IF Campaign-Contributions-From-Supporters > Campaign-Contributions-From-Opponents THEN Pass-Law
- Trying to find the link to the free basic RealPlayer on their web site. (this includes closing pop up windows trying to sell you the Plus version)
- submitting fake identification to avoid marketing spam during the install
- taking back the associated file extensions (even after indicating that you didn't want them associated to begin with)
- closing the "RealPlayer StartCenter" and removing it from the startup group (and dealing with the scary warnings in doing so)
- getting rid of the channels and other ad content on the player itself (note that not all crap can be removed)
- disabling "entertainment flashes"
- disabling the ability of streamed media to open your web browser (why the hell?)
- turning off upgrade notifications (for 30 days at least)
- disabling "product flashes"
- turning off the options that send usage data to RealNetworks and to the content provider
- disabling cookies
My god, all I want to do is watch and listen to streaming media. Remember when Real stood up to MS and they were the good guys? Now, they have more crap and bloat and privacy infringing garbage than anything MS has offered. It's just a media player dammit.Don't even get me started on RealNetworks and Major League Baseball charging for network access to radio feeds. They are paid by the stations and now they expect fans to pay too... And their service sucks...
Of course, H2G2 is really cool...
When politicians try to become bioethicists without a solid knowledge of the underlying science, these things are going to happen.
By blocking future federal funds for newly created (and non-contaminated) stem cells, Bush has assured that nearly all major US innovations in stem cell research will be created by biotech companies. These companies will undoubtedly patent their work, and be more motivated to extract the greatest possible profits from their work (as they have to turn a profit on their investment), while publicly funded research generally requires federal access to patented techniques at little to no cost. Non-federal users of university patents generally don't have to pay as much for licenses, because the universities a) don't have to turn a profit, and b) don't have to repay the initial investment.
In addition, Bush's decision has not prevented unused in vitro embryos from being destroyed. They simply get thrown out now, rather than having their stem cells extracted for research purposes.
When a child dies, parents have the option to donate their organs to save others. When an embryo is destroyed, the Bush decision doesn't enable "parents" to do the same thing.
A list of those who are opposed to stem cell research should be kept, then when they contract a disease that can be treated with a stem cell derived cure, they should be refused treatment.
The palm does present a fairly straightforward vulnerability to beamed viruses. Because you can beam applications as well as data, and the verification screen that the palm displays upon receipt of an item is generally just "okayed," there is a possibility for sending malicious apps.
I'm sure somebody could write an app or a hack that captured beam attempts and sent virus code instead of (or in addition to) the intended data. So, you try to beam a business card and a small application gets sent to the other person. The new application is named, lets say, "Preferences" or "Updater", the person runs it, and infects their own palm... etc. etc. (and imagine a trojan with a time delayed payload... a cool app with a feature set like vidigo could be all over the place before Bad Things happen...)
A lack of tech savvy users, coupled with frequent beaming is a potential danger. Not pretty...
Of course, the responsible thing to do would be any or all of the following
"Some kids are more predictable than others. He would be the surprising type"
Being the "surprising type" with a vocabulary of 200 words probably indicates that the program is not particularly good. The range of possible behaviors is pretty small for such a system. As the vocabulary and complexity of possible utterances increases, it is likely that the "surprising" aspect of Hal is going to move into "bizarre" territory.
As Chomsky pointed out, relying strictly on positive and negative feedback is not enough to develop language...
Seriously, these are good guys who actually provide quality products at reasonable prices. It would be a shame to see them go.
2. Stay late each night, "working"
3. Every night expand your cubicle a couple of inches.
4. Within a month or two, you should own the place.
Seriously, I've installed cheap 3 foot tall book cases on top of my desk. Lots of surface area, relatively small footprint. Also, consider one of those cool under the desk keyboard drawers, that gives a decent amount of deskspace. Of course, if you can get a flat panel monitor, you can use the area behind it for storage.
Where I used to work, we set up a small "library" of our group's O'Reilly books and other useful manuals. This was in a locked cabinet for which all team members knew the location of the key. It's nice because you have access to more resources, and still have room for your nerf weapons on the desk.
Seriously, the article has a few good points. E.g., a decent standard gui administration tool would be nice.
Of course, how long until MS starts trumeting the cool P2P aspects of IIS? You know, Code Red contacts other IIS systems, each contacting others, eventually building a gnutella-like network...
So, how does this affect the lawsuit? Can Felton still sue to prevent the RIAA from deciding to go after him down the road, or does it simply become a matter of principle?
For hundreds of years, some of the keenest minds in science sought in vain to tap the secret of how blacksmiths in ancient India and the Middle East fashioned a supremely tough metal known as Damascus steel.
[snip]
Although Verhoeven and Pendray have patented their technique...
Can you say Prior Art?
3. Final Fantasy
2. Escape from Bastille
1. Shrek
Good thing it doesn't have region coding...
One interesting finding that Ericcson & Simon found is that if a chess board is arranged in a pattern that could arise during a game, experts were much better than novices at remembering the layout. However, if the same pieces were randomly placed on the board, novices actually performed better!
The really sad thing is that these cognitive photographers don't even cite the relevant literature (e.g., deGroot and Ericcson & Simon), and that they think they've discovered something new. If you read the Nature article, it is apparent that they have a cool tool, and they are studying problems they don't understand. Seriously, reinventing the wheel isn't that impressive.
- During the install process I was told that Snood came with the "coolest" new software, and that Gator would be automatically installed. No option to install without it (unlike Bearshare).
- After installation, Gator didn't immediately start up, appear in the start menu, or appear in the "add/remove programs" menu. It waited about 5-10 minutes before popping up. This prevented me from immediately uninstalling this parasitic software.
- After killing Gator, my firewall caught the "Onflow Player Installer" trying to access it's web site.
- When I was finally able to uninstall Gator, it's uninstall program warned me that "Deleting your user information will erase all your passwords account numbers and login IDs." I can imagine a novice aborting the uninstall after a warning like that. It doesn't mention that it is only referring to the data that you gave Gator.
- If this software was really useful, you'd think people would want to install it. Remember ThirdVoice, it was a tool that let users annotate web pages with their own content that was visible to other ThirdVoice users. It never acheived the market penetration it needed. There's a program that people could actually find useful, and it didn't make it. I can only imagine the sheer contempt for the user that these companies must have. To resort to such deceptive and misleading practices just to show some unwanted advertisements...
I've said it before and I'll say it again: finding new surface area for advertisements is not a creative endeavor. These people are the biggest hacks in the world, and deserve to watch Rosie O'Donnell eat BBQ ribs without a napkin.Second, it should be made very clear that the original complainant, Adobe, has stated that they don't feel he should be charged.
The third point that should be made is that this tool only works for people who have purchased the book, and it allows them to remove certain restrictions, e.g., reading their book on a different computer.
Perhaps what this movement needs is a blind person who uses the tool to enable the read-aloud function of adobe reader to work...
Salon has a pretty good article on the whole parasite software thing. KaZaA figures prominently. There are some reasonable aspects of bundling such software, but it's ridiculuous to do so without a)allowing opt-out and b)clearly notifying users...
This essentially disconnects the second drive, so you have to choose one or the other. If you have data that you'd like to share across boot drives it looks like you'll have to install a third, slave drive.
Pretty cool, now if they can only get it so that you could power an SUV...
The Windows XP operating system leaves the user with little choice but to employ Passport. As soon as the user starts a computer and uses a modem, a dialog box appears on the screen stating: "You've just connected to the Internet. You need a Passport to use Windows XP Internet communications features (such as instant messaging, voice chat and video), and to access Net-enabled features. Click here to set up your Passport."
Wow, this sounds as bad as This story from earlier. What the heck are "Net-enabled features" in this context? Reminds me of those lame ass banner ads that look like error messages "Click here to optimize your system." Or junk (snail) mail that is printed with a font to appear to be handwritten.
Marketing people are slime, they should all be forced to spend large amounts of time with John Tesh.
Some golf trainers are using systems that overlay the outline of a professional golfer on the video image of the student. The student and teacher can then see how the student deviates from ideal form. Even then, the golf pro is an important component.
I think that eventually systems will be available that can be used for detecting much more detailed kinesthetic data, perhaps the suits used for digital animation of human behavior...