At least when my power spikes, I know Emacs has an annoying tilde file with most of my data in it...
You might like to know that Emacs also has an annoying #filename# file that very likely has ALL your data. The tilde file is only the original as it was when you opened the file. Emacs saves all changes every 30 seconds or so to the # file.
Microsoft's ability to track, profile, and monitor the 165 million Passport users has far-reaching and profound implications for privacy protection in general...
Anybody have any idea where this astonishing number comes from? Considering that the letter is written to the FTC, an American government agency, one would expect that this refers to the number of expected US customers. (It's not in the FTC's charter to consider Non-US customers). That would mean 59% of the US population not only has access to a computer, but is expected to sign up for Passport!
The population of the US is around 280 million. Subtracting off people too old, too young, too poor, too cheap, too afraid, too stupid, too stoned, too non-technical, or too incarcerated to use or have access to a computer, I wouldn't think there would be anywhere near enough people left in the US to make 165 million users of Passport, even if everyone else signed up for it. Where are all these people supposed to come from?
I think it hurts their case to throw around unsubstantiated numbers like this.
You aren't giving up any freedom. You want to fly with an ID card? Great, it helps the check-in process. You don't? Ok, check-in an hour earlier for security screening.
Let's see if I understand this - in order to avoid the hassle of a full-press body cavity search taking upwards of an hour, all a terrorist needs to do is make sure he has a valid ID card?
I feel safer already. I've never heard of a person with a valid ID card committing an act of terrorism.
I like the waste-their-time approach when I've got time to spare, otherwise the don't call list is best.
Yep. My uncle is king of the waste-their-timers. When he gets a telemarketing call, he says "tell me more!" very excitedly, then lays the phone down and walks away. When the phone starts making those phone-is-off-the-hook noises, he knows to go hang it up.
Believe or not, that sometimes takes 15 or 20 minutes.
Let's see:
Autocad: Windows Only
LON-Maker: Windows Only
ER/Studio and Describe: Windows Only
Some other important software: Windows Only.
You might try cycas to replace Autocad. The full version is commercial (which I have not used), but there's a hamstrung trial version you can download for free. The free version works great.
I don't know about Autocad file compatibility. The commercial versions can only import DFX-12 2D/3D files, so you may have some problems there if Autocad can't export DFX files. It doesn't look like Cycas can read DWG files.
I'm with you, I tend to believe that heat is the problem on these drives.
My 75GB GXP has been working great since January, and the computer's only been off 3 times since then for servicing. Current uptime is 89 days, and the drive gets a read/write request from a seti@home client every few seconds so it doesn't spin down very often.
The drive is installed in a removable rack with two fans, intake and exhaust. (Intake is from outside the case, naturally). It stays very cool. I've accidentally bumped it around quite a bit (running and not running) and have had no problems. From my experience I would think minor shock damage isn't an issue.
In other news today, Richard Stallman's mother announced that from now on, Mr. Stallman will be legally known as "MOM/Richard", in acknowledgement of her contributions to his existence.
Give me a gun, show me Falwell, and the world shall be a better place...
If you really mean that, that makes you the same as Falwell and the same as Bin Laden - self-righteously intolerant of another viewpoint to such a degree you're willing to destroy anyone holding that viewpoint.
Falwell and his ilk serve as a wonderful negative example. They should live forever. People hear discussions of the shortcomings of his thinking, and when they next hear his pontifications they think "Damn. He really IS an idiot!". Where before his faults weren't really in focus, suddenly everything becomes clear. That lesson would be lost if he weren't alive and spewing.
Tuesday was only the latest lesson that self-righteous intolerance is the greatest evil this world knows. Please don't let yourself fall victim to it.
Oh please. The suffering and death of innocent Iraqi civilians is 100% the fault of Saddam Hussein. He is deliberately withholding food and medicine from his people to gain international support to stop the sanctions. I can't believe you can't see through such an obvious lie.
The oil he sells is ten times what it takes to feed his people. It just so happens that those biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons he wants cost quite a bit of money, so something's gotta give. What gives is not his precious weapons, that's for sure.
American oil companies use U.S. military and political force to obtain their oil.
Even you admit this information would come as a great surprise to the vast majority of Americans. Americans, one of the most wired, hooked up, informed populace in the world. In a world where OPEC can cut off supplies and raise oil prices at will, it seems to me that the burden of proof is on you.
How do you know what's going on if the State Dept. is keeping it a secret? Are you special in some way? Have an inside line on what's REALLY happening? Or is this just more slashdot hubris?
Don't look now, but I think I see a black helicopter hovering outside your window.
However, some web sites with disaster related stories are still displaying ads. This seems to be one instance in which the so-called "old media" still has more savvy than the "new".
It may just be that when the old media does it they cut into profits, and when the "new" media does it they move their bankruptcy date closer. The one is noblesse oblige, the other is simple survival.
Absolutely right, set up what they know how to use, no preaching.
Having said that, and from the If-Only-Things-Were-Different dept. (or maybe Preaching-To-The-Choir dept.):
The Red Cross is dead in the water here because they're waiting for valid licenses for each and every computer they need to use. They have been forced into this by Microsoft business practices. Their software simply won't work without a valid license activation key.
If the world were instead dominated by Linux and free software, a single CD would have them up and running in minutes. A single CD could reload and restore from backup an entire CITY if need be. Everything from PCs to servers to mainframes. No sitting around waiting for permission from the powers-that-be. And no feeling guilty about copying the software as needed.
The parent poster is correct, this should certainly not be pushed now. But later, at the appropriate time, the Red Cross and other relief agencies should be made aware of the time-saving aspects of free software in these types of situations. If free software meets their needs, it could save lives.
Re:What can be done about terrorism?
on
More On Tragedy
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· Score: 1
Hmmm... wasn't it somewhere around what is now Iraq or Iran where Genghis Khan got so pissed off he killed every man, woman, child, and domestic animal in an entire country? I'm sure a whole host of internal problems were "solved" with that approach.
What's going on now in the Middle East is, in a nutshell, High-Tech Easy-going Society meets Dark Ages Religious-fanatic Society. That there is friction should surprise no one.
Let's hope both of these societies can grow up enough to avoid a modern repeat of the Genghis Khan Maneuver.
At this moment I'm preparing to write a letter to my senators, but unsure if they'll actually listen to me, a 16 year old male from CA.
Senate term of office is 6 years. You'll be of voting age in 2 years. Most likely, you'll be voting age next time they are up for re-election. They'll listen to you the same as they listen to any voter.
And hey, remember that these are aerospace engineering professors, who aren't always at the vanguard of computing technology. I mean, I've had to do research with them using F77
I can only conclude by this statement that you are a victim of ignorance and prejudice on the part of those who taught you your computing skills.
I am a practicing aerospace engineer working on state-of-the-art fighter aircraft, and we use and code in Fortran 77 every day.
Why?
1. Nothing is more straightforward to code - Fortran is just standard math, standard english, some english abbreviations, and a few rules to make it all work.
2. I can show fairly complex Fortran code to a computer-illiterate boss and he can read and understand it! Try that with c++ or perl or lisp.
3. No compiled or interpreted language is faster for crunching numbers. Not even close. The speed of well-written and optimized Fortran is right with optimized assembler, and that's as good as it gets. If you doubt this, run your own Pepsi challenge - you may be in for a shock.
For these reasons, Fortran is the standard computing language of scientists and engineers the world over, particularly when number-crunching is called for. If you have a job to do, reach for the best tool to do it. Don't let prejudice or unfamiliarity stand in your way.
Re:How is it different from "The Bazaar?"
on
Mob Software
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· Score: 1
Isn't this basically just the standard Open-Source development model, but restated with a lot more cool poetry?
Yes, but no.
It's really the "million monkeys pounding on a million typewriters for a million years" theory, enhanced with a darwinistic survival-of-the-fittest feedback loop.
The writer may not have intended it that way, but that's really what he's advocating:
"Let's have a whole bunch of people try real hard for a real long time, and eventually all the (rockets/software) that doesn't work will explode, leaving us with stuff that works".
I'll bet you a beer that Scalia votes against Microsoft. Everybody thinks Scalia is a pure conservative but he's not. He's a conservative libertarian, and doesn't take kindly to the kind of high-handedness coming out of Redmond.
If you don't believe me, go back and look at some of the "WTF?" rulings of his that surprised everyone, like the recent one against police using thermal imaging on a suspect's house. If you look at those rulings with "libertarian?" in mind, they will make a lot more sense.
Prediction: The court will provide a temporary injunction allowing XP to be put on the market until they make a decision. Then they won't make a decision until... Windows XP is actually released into the wild and the issue becomes moot.
The Supreme Court knows they're going to hear this case eventually, and they usually don't want to hear the same case twice. Right now the case is tennis-balling between the District and Appeals Courts - a situation the S.C. is famous for staying out of. They don't want to hear cases until they have fully exhausted the lower courts. Plus there doesn't seem to be any pressing reason for the Supremes to consider this case right now, which almost guarantees they won't.
My prediction is they won't hear it (yet).
But as you say, that's not the point. The point is whether Microsoft can delay long enough to release Windows XP with all it's new monopoly-leveraging tricks. I think the Supreme Court's leanings may be revealed in how fast they reject the appeal. Fast would be a "we know what you're up to and we don't like it" message.
But look on the bright side. One way or another, Microsoft's behavior with Windows XP, MS/TCP,.NET, and a whole host of other issues will be heard in very short order in federal court. The DoJ is quite aware of these issues, and is certain to make them the centerpiece of the remedy hearings. It's going to go very bad for Microsoft if the new District judge sees that at the very time when Microsoft should be playing nice, they're busy putting in place plans for top-to-bottom domination of the internet.
It's clear that Microsoft still doesn't get it. They think they're off the hook for being split up, but they may be in for a rude surprise in District court.
I'm not talking about legitimate self-defense against excessive use of force by "the authorities", but the best answer to that is probably a hasty retreat followed by contacting the various news media who nowadays would just as soon air sensational footage of police violence and violation of the rights of peaceful protesters, complete with interviews of the peaceful protesters detailing the violence visited on them by the police, as they would footage of protesters crossing the line into rioting.
A nice vision, unfortunately, it just won't happen. Media coverage (in the US) of the recent anti-globalization protests NEVER SHOWED the peaceful 99% of the protestors, never mind interviewing them. The clips were all of the "violent nutcases", which is the impression the viewer is left with.
The news media are money/ratings driven, and violence begets ratings. Interviews that make people think do not beget ratings.
It appears to me that Dmitri hasn't committed any act in this country chargeable under the DMCA. It's particulary interesting that the company president/owner was present when Dmitri was arrested since he would be the one responsible for the product being sold in the US.
Some reports (sorry, no link) said Dmitri personally sold floppies of the software to an undercover FBI agent on the convention floor. If that's the case, the FBI is just doing their job, enforcing the law. DMCA is a bad law, but I don't think anybody really wants law enforcement agencies deciding for themselves which laws to enforce and which to ignore.
Slashdot Mirror
I don't know where Bobo the Space Chimp got that surreal definition of per se, but here is what my book dictionary says:
per se, by, of, for, or in itself; intrinsically.[ L]
You used it correctly.
No matter how much CLI experience you have, that doesn't help you when trying to learn how to do a new task.
Yep. It takes a long time for a CLI newbie to go from "I've got a shitload of files I need to make the same small change to", to a simple
$perl -pi -e 's/oldstring/newstring/g' *shitload*
You might like to know that Emacs also has an annoying #filename# file that very likely has ALL your data. The tilde file is only the original as it was when you opened the file. Emacs saves all changes every 30 seconds or so to the # file.
You really meant to say "pound file", right?
Anybody have any idea where this astonishing number comes from? Considering that the letter is written to the FTC, an American government agency, one would expect that this refers to the number of expected US customers. (It's not in the FTC's charter to consider Non-US customers). That would mean 59% of the US population not only has access to a computer, but is expected to sign up for Passport!
The population of the US is around 280 million. Subtracting off people too old, too young, too poor, too cheap, too afraid, too stupid, too stoned, too non-technical, or too incarcerated to use or have access to a computer, I wouldn't think there would be anywhere near enough people left in the US to make 165 million users of Passport, even if everyone else signed up for it. Where are all these people supposed to come from?
I think it hurts their case to throw around unsubstantiated numbers like this.
Let's see if I understand this - in order to avoid the hassle of a full-press body cavity search taking upwards of an hour, all a terrorist needs to do is make sure he has a valid ID card?
I feel safer already. I've never heard of a person with a valid ID card committing an act of terrorism.
Yep. My uncle is king of the waste-their-timers. When he gets a telemarketing call, he says "tell me more!" very excitedly, then lays the phone down and walks away. When the phone starts making those phone-is-off-the-hook noises, he knows to go hang it up.
Believe or not, that sometimes takes 15 or 20 minutes.
You might try cycas to replace Autocad. The full version is commercial (which I have not used), but there's a hamstrung trial version you can download for free. The free version works great.
I don't know about Autocad file compatibility. The commercial versions can only import DFX-12 2D/3D files, so you may have some problems there if Autocad can't export DFX files. It doesn't look like Cycas can read DWG files.
I'm with you, I tend to believe that heat is the problem on these drives.
My 75GB GXP has been working great since January, and the computer's only been off 3 times since then for servicing. Current uptime is 89 days, and the drive gets a read/write request from a seti@home client every few seconds so it doesn't spin down very often.
The drive is installed in a removable rack with two fans, intake and exhaust. (Intake is from outside the case, naturally). It stays very cool. I've accidentally bumped it around quite a bit (running and not running) and have had no problems. From my experience I would think minor shock damage isn't an issue.
In other news today, Richard Stallman's mother announced that from now on, Mr. Stallman will be legally known as "MOM/Richard", in acknowledgement of her contributions to his existence.
If you really mean that, that makes you the same as Falwell and the same as Bin Laden - self-righteously intolerant of another viewpoint to such a degree you're willing to destroy anyone holding that viewpoint.
Falwell and his ilk serve as a wonderful negative example. They should live forever. People hear discussions of the shortcomings of his thinking, and when they next hear his pontifications they think "Damn. He really IS an idiot!". Where before his faults weren't really in focus, suddenly everything becomes clear. That lesson would be lost if he weren't alive and spewing.
Tuesday was only the latest lesson that self-righteous intolerance is the greatest evil this world knows. Please don't let yourself fall victim to it.
Oh please. The suffering and death of innocent Iraqi civilians is 100% the fault of Saddam Hussein. He is deliberately withholding food and medicine from his people to gain international support to stop the sanctions. I can't believe you can't see through such an obvious lie.
The oil he sells is ten times what it takes to feed his people. It just so happens that those biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons he wants cost quite a bit of money, so something's gotta give. What gives is not his precious weapons, that's for sure.
Oh, wait. A hotmail.com address. Silly me.
How's that bunker smelling these days, Saddam?
Even you admit this information would come as a great surprise to the vast majority of Americans. Americans, one of the most wired, hooked up, informed populace in the world. In a world where OPEC can cut off supplies and raise oil prices at will, it seems to me that the burden of proof is on you.
How do you know what's going on if the State Dept. is keeping it a secret? Are you special in some way? Have an inside line on what's REALLY happening? Or is this just more slashdot hubris?
Don't look now, but I think I see a black helicopter hovering outside your window.
It may just be that when the old media does it they cut into profits, and when the "new" media does it they move their bankruptcy date closer. The one is noblesse oblige, the other is simple survival.
Absolutely right, set up what they know how to use, no preaching.
Having said that, and from the If-Only-Things-Were-Different dept. (or maybe Preaching-To-The-Choir dept.):
The Red Cross is dead in the water here because they're waiting for valid licenses for each and every computer they need to use. They have been forced into this by Microsoft business practices. Their software simply won't work without a valid license activation key.
If the world were instead dominated by Linux and free software, a single CD would have them up and running in minutes. A single CD could reload and restore from backup an entire CITY if need be. Everything from PCs to servers to mainframes. No sitting around waiting for permission from the powers-that-be. And no feeling guilty about copying the software as needed.
The parent poster is correct, this should certainly not be pushed now. But later, at the appropriate time, the Red Cross and other relief agencies should be made aware of the time-saving aspects of free software in these types of situations. If free software meets their needs, it could save lives.
Hmmm... wasn't it somewhere around what is now Iraq or Iran where Genghis Khan got so pissed off he killed every man, woman, child, and domestic animal in an entire country? I'm sure a whole host of internal problems were "solved" with that approach.
What's going on now in the Middle East is, in a nutshell, High-Tech Easy-going Society meets Dark Ages Religious-fanatic Society. That there is friction should surprise no one.
Let's hope both of these societies can grow up enough to avoid a modern repeat of the Genghis Khan Maneuver.
Senate term of office is 6 years. You'll be of voting age in 2 years. Most likely, you'll be voting age next time they are up for re-election. They'll listen to you the same as they listen to any voter.
I can only conclude by this statement that you are a victim of ignorance and prejudice on the part of those who taught you your computing skills.
I am a practicing aerospace engineer working on state-of-the-art fighter aircraft, and we use and code in Fortran 77 every day.
Why?
For these reasons, Fortran is the standard computing language of scientists and engineers the world over, particularly when number-crunching is called for. If you have a job to do, reach for the best tool to do it. Don't let prejudice or unfamiliarity stand in your way.
Yes, but no.
It's really the "million monkeys pounding on a million typewriters for a million years" theory, enhanced with a darwinistic survival-of-the-fittest feedback loop.
The writer may not have intended it that way, but that's really what he's advocating:
"Let's have a whole bunch of people try real hard for a real long time, and eventually all the (rockets/software) that doesn't work will explode, leaving us with stuff that works".
Oh golly.
Brighter than me Brighter than you Brighter than anything On your shoe
I'll bet you a beer that Scalia votes against Microsoft. Everybody thinks Scalia is a pure conservative but he's not. He's a conservative libertarian, and doesn't take kindly to the kind of high-handedness coming out of Redmond.
If you don't believe me, go back and look at some of the "WTF?" rulings of his that surprised everyone, like the recent one against police using thermal imaging on a suspect's house. If you look at those rulings with "libertarian?" in mind, they will make a lot more sense.
The Supreme Court knows they're going to hear this case eventually, and they usually don't want to hear the same case twice. Right now the case is tennis-balling between the District and Appeals Courts - a situation the S.C. is famous for staying out of. They don't want to hear cases until they have fully exhausted the lower courts. Plus there doesn't seem to be any pressing reason for the Supremes to consider this case right now, which almost guarantees they won't.
My prediction is they won't hear it (yet).
But as you say, that's not the point. The point is whether Microsoft can delay long enough to release Windows XP with all it's new monopoly-leveraging tricks. I think the Supreme Court's leanings may be revealed in how fast they reject the appeal. Fast would be a "we know what you're up to and we don't like it" message.
But look on the bright side. One way or another, Microsoft's behavior with Windows XP, MS/TCP, .NET, and a whole host of other issues will be heard in very short order in federal court. The DoJ is quite aware of these issues, and is certain to make them the centerpiece of the remedy hearings. It's going to go very bad for Microsoft if the new District judge sees that at the very time when Microsoft should be playing nice, they're busy putting in place plans for top-to-bottom domination of the internet.
It's clear that Microsoft still doesn't get it. They think they're off the hook for being split up, but they may be in for a rude surprise in District court.
A nice vision, unfortunately, it just won't happen. Media coverage (in the US) of the recent anti-globalization protests NEVER SHOWED the peaceful 99% of the protestors, never mind interviewing them. The clips were all of the "violent nutcases", which is the impression the viewer is left with.
The news media are money/ratings driven, and violence begets ratings. Interviews that make people think do not beget ratings.
Some reports (sorry, no link) said Dmitri personally sold floppies of the software to an undercover FBI agent on the convention floor. If that's the case, the FBI is just doing their job, enforcing the law. DMCA is a bad law, but I don't think anybody really wants law enforcement agencies deciding for themselves which laws to enforce and which to ignore.
Anybody got a link on this?