...is to treat your e-mail address like you treat other personal, abusable personal information.
Do what I do: create a Yahoo (or some other free e-mail) account and use that address for all questionable forms you fill out.
I've had the same address now for almost three years now and receive about five spams per week, at most.
Maybe that works well on a personal level, it's what I suggest to my friends. However, on a professional level, it doesn't work. You need to give your address out to people, you need them to be able to contact you. That's the nature of doing business, and being careful who you give it to only goes so far.
All it takes is for one person who has your address to be careless and have their address book harvested by a worm. That may be beyond their control, maybe their IT department is clueless. Maybe they use your address on a webform to send you "info" or a "greeting card".
That's why spam filters are necessary, some of us cannot work without having our email addresses out in the real world.
Am I the only one wondering when we're going to see a TCO study involving the use of Mac OS? Surely there has to be some cost savings in reduced downtime and administration with using a Mac...
Unfortunately, there's no cost savings switching to Mac; in fact the cost to the company goes up because they end up having to remove the cheap industrial drip coffee maker and replace with a latte machine and more expensive coffee.
He said "in the US", not "in my eyes". He said exactly what he meant and said it well. You read what you wanted to read and said it silly.
You've got it completely backwards. I replied to exactly what he said. If he'd said he didn't see anything until the 90's, that would have been fine since that's a personal issue. But claiming it hasn't been in the US news is ignorant; just because one only watches FOX news and reads the NY Post and hasn't seen anything doesn't mean it hasn't been in the news; it's been in the papers continuously for the past 40 years, been debated endlessly in the opinions sections, the sunday editions. Just because one chooses not to look doesn't mean it's not there.
Sounds like a good way to make a global whitelist!
It won't be any different from individuals creating their own whitelist, since you can't implement whitelists at the ISP level since most people do not use PGP and cannot be forced to use it.
It wouldn't stop spammers at all though, since spammers could still create legitimate keys, send out a billion spam then delete those email accounts and move on. It may slow it down a bit until some smart spammer creats a program to automate the process of creating, registering, and authenticating the key, but I doubt it will take too much time and effort.
I find it uncomfortable to hold a laptop in my lap and try to type. The angle is all wrong. Is this really an issue since most laptops are used as stationary workstations?
The primary reason I and many people I know purchased laptops was to do work on the long train or bus ride to/from work. I would guess that that's where "laptop" came from, since there's no place to put one except on your lap.
Everyone not living under a rock should know about the China-Taiwon issue. The India-Pakistan issue over Kashmir didn't really become a news item in the US till IIRC the late 90s.
And what rock were you living under that you didn't see anything about the Kashmir until the 90's? The dispute over the Kashmir between Pakistan and India has been ongoing since 1947, two years before the US helped Kuomintang refugees set themselves up as an independent state.
Marketing has an idea, then they *leak* the information to some site. Then Steve and the marketing watch/. Depending on our reaction, they decide if they should proceed, what features they should or shouldn't include... and save a bundle of money on actual market research.
Exactly. First rule of professionals; use the right tool. Buying professional class tools will pay for itself quickly, while cobbling together a hack (while cool in itself) wastes a lot of time and sometimes costs more in lost revenues.
Professional class tools are expensive, no doubt about it. There's a reason for it, they're usually worth every penny. If you can't afford it, then you better figure out a way to save up the money. If you don't want to spend the money on professional tools, then you'd better rethink your goals.
I've long said if you give me a holodeck and replicator I'm never (ever) coming out.
The holodeck, when it comes out, will be just an engine, and will probably have some military simulation since they're the ones who probably paid for most of it.
After it's out, people will write mods, and you'll have to leave the simulation at some point to search for and download. I mean, maybe you'll be happy with Natalie v1.0, but could you stay in there knowing that the soon to be released v1.5 comes with hot grits? And who knows what v2.0 will bring. Sooner or later you'll want to check out the latest mods and updates.
As much as I never want to die, and I really really don't, living to a 1000 years old seems a tad bit excessive. After awhile, the risk of being alive is diminished and we no longer have a rush to do things. With a deadline of a 1000 years (more than ten times the above average we have now), it gives new meaning to putting stuff off till tommorow. Much of the excitement that makes life so worth living will be lost.
I can think of so many things I'd love to do, but really don't have the time or money for. Having an infinite lifespan to accomplish things means that I have much more time to enjoy the things; meaning more happiness in my view.
And I suppose when we start having people living till 1000, they'll come out with treatments to help you live to 10,000. etc etc etc.
If you'd have read the article, you'd see that living to 1000 depends not on any miracle, but on risks. Once science figure out how to stop the aging process, you can live forever theoretically. But with risks, like getting struck by lightning (1 in 500,000), if you lived long enough you would get struck, and maybe killed (1 in 3,000,000). You have a much greater risk of slipping in the tub and dying, 1 in 2000. Every year you have a 1 in 75 chance of getting killed in an auto accident; living to 1000 under those odds is a longshot.
Fortunately, corporate ethics have progressed in leaps and bounds in the past twenty years. Today, the world can sleep soundly knowing that increasingly de-regulated industries have learned their lessons and would never risk innocent lives in the name of saving a buck.
Exactly, we'll never have to worry about corrupt corporations again, with Enron, Parmalat, HealthSouth showing us how far corporations have come in the past twenty years. Think of all those people with no more retirement funds, I'm sure they're sleeping soundly.
How many people had to die before Firestone recalled tires and Ford offered replacements? How many cars have the big three recalled in the past year? And the pharmaceutical industry? Fen-Phen's still on the market, right? How about Vioxx? Both were FDA approved... you can sleep tight knowing that once the FDA approves something it's perfectly safe. Oh yeah, and don't forget ImClone and how much they cared about their shareholders.
Companies may have gotten better, but not by much.
Also, and I'm really not trying to start a flame war here, but first, what's wrong with a janitor having a laptop, and why assume that it's a janitor stealing the laptop? I would guess that it's a disgruntled employee or just-fired employee (that's not properly escorted out) that would pull a stunt like that. And I would think that laptops are stolen from public places like libraries and parks rather and work places where I think a system like this might not be as useful.
I don't have any numbers, but most of the laptops that I've heard of being stolen were stolen by complete strangers who managed to sneak into secured areas. Usually dressed in suits, they just wander around purposefully until they see an unwatched laptop grab it and quickly walk out. That's why it's important not to let strangers in behind you.
"Garth Montgomery says the court heard evidence that Kazaa's software already had the ability to block copyrighted tracks built in"
Really. I thought it was illegal to lie in court. Perjury I think its called.
No. It's only illegal to lie under oath on the stand. Mongomery is making a case, and is only saying things he believes will support his case. It does not have to be true. It might be proved false by the other side. Ultimately it's up to the jury to decide if the prosecution's claims hold water.
For the non geek, there are only two web browsers, Microsoft and Netscape.
Nah, for non-geeks, there are only two web browsers: AOL and Yahoo. As anyone on the street what browser they use, and I bet the vast majority would say AOL or Yahoo.
Some more hip non-geeks might reply "Google"... but only because they've installed the Google toolbar.
On the home desktop machine running XPSP2, as most are, updates are INSTALLED automatically. That's right - no user intervention.
Re-read the parent post; he's arguing that all programs that connect to the web automatically update without giving the user a choice. I'm pointing out that Windows GIVES YOU THE OPTION. Yes, even in XP you can turn of Automatic Updates, as is recommended by most people. No serious professional leaves Windows Automatic Update enabled. Check your Security Panel under Control Panels.
In the corporate setting, it's very easy to not rely on the standard windows update to update clients - hotfixes and service packs are easily deployed over the network from a central server, again, without user intervention.
Again, that means that Automatic Updates are turned off on the client, and pushed out from from the Server. Yes, you can set it a client to automatically check a local server an automatically download from local server if there are updates, but no corporation does this; having 20,000 systems checking a local update server is a lot of useless traffic. So automatic udpate is disabled on all clients and updates pushed out from the server when needed.
Acrobat reader is not a worry of mine - the only PDFs people read here are generated by ghostscript, and as with the service packs, etc., is very easy to update remotely using scripts. Our anti-virus isn't Norton, but Sophos, so that IS updated automatically.
Again, reread the post. Yes, I know many programs can automatically update. Most programs are written so they will NOTIFY you that an update is available, and ask if you want it installed. Sophos automatically updates itself only because during initial configuration you clicked on an option to allow it to automatically connect, download, and install the updates. Most programs are written like that, they give you the option.
I can see where you're confused, but I can assure you these problems you state don't exist any more.
Re-read the parent post, it said programs that connect to the web *automatically* update, and I am saying that many programs give you the option .
They guy has surely mastered the art of tinkering...
Mastered? Maybe, but I kinda think having a 2D CAD program and access to a computer assisted 60w laser cutting machine kinda moves him from "tinkerer" to "professional". A master tinkerer would have drawn everything out on a chalkboard and whipped up a case from cut up soda cans and plywood.
Not everything does, but every piece of software that talks to the internet DOES get automatically patched, which is where the vulnerabilities come in.
That's BS as well. Windows allows you to set automatic updates so it will connect to the server, see if there are any updates available, but not actually update. Norton Antivirus connects to the server to check for updates, but does not update itself unless you tell it to. Adobe Acrobat Reader is one that unfortunately checkes every single time and reminds you there are updates available, but it does not download them until you tell it to. So no, ALL programs do not automatically update themselves.
The masses are not ready to commit everything to web based applications just yet.
No? Why not? Just about everyone I know uses web based mail today, though there are still a few leftovers (who also happen to still use dial-up so I don't think they really count). People are getting more and more used to doing everything online; really, is there that much difference between writing an email to your friend and writing a letter via "GOffice"? Sure, it's online, but with a broadband connection you probably can't tell the difference. And no more shuttling the file from the office to home since it's stored in a common location.
What do most home users/small offices use Word for? Writing letters? What if Google allowed something like a "print to mail", that printed, metered, and sent the snail mail letter? Or faxed messages for you, and billed you at the end of the month? All those people making newsletters and such, how easy it would be to Google from "GOffice" and find thousands of images to use?
I think there's a huge potential for Google to muscle into Microsoft's bread and butter, MS Office. Really, I doubt "mom" would really know the difference between MS Word and "GOffice"; and if you said "GOffice" documents would be available while staying over at Aunt Jude's, and she could easily share it, send it, email it, or fax it to Barbara in Cali, then she'd much rather use "GOffice".
Maybe I should try to find new ways for viruses to spread, hide themselves, etc., but not write a virus, but patent them. I'm sure a virus writer will not check any patents, and then if some new virus is spread and the one who has written it is caught, I'll sue him for royalties.
You'd have to be quick though; find a bug in a MS product, write an exploit and patent it quickly. If you wait too long the virus and previous incarnations will all be prior art.
Not that the overworked and underclued USPTO *wouldn't* grant you a patent regardless...
Re:Smells like bullshit
on
The Music Man
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· Score: 1
I'm sure his ISPs haven't noticed anything peculiar about 100% downloading, all the time?
His main download is probably a business class account. The article does say he has two Cable internet connections, one for his family and one for downloading. The ISP won't care about how much he downloads on a business class account as long as he keeps paying business class rates.
Slashdot Mirror
Do what I do: create a Yahoo (or some other free e-mail) account and use that address for all questionable forms you fill out.
I've had the same address now for almost three years now and receive about five spams per week, at most.
Maybe that works well on a personal level, it's what I suggest to my friends. However, on a professional level, it doesn't work. You need to give your address out to people, you need them to be able to contact you. That's the nature of doing business, and being careful who you give it to only goes so far.
All it takes is for one person who has your address to be careless and have their address book harvested by a worm. That may be beyond their control, maybe their IT department is clueless. Maybe they use your address on a webform to send you "info" or a "greeting card".
That's why spam filters are necessary, some of us cannot work without having our email addresses out in the real world.
1. Come up with a very basic idea with no details.
2. Ask Slashdot for opinions.
3. ???
4. Profit!
Seriously, does he want us to write his business plan for him?
Am I the only one wondering when we're going to see a TCO study involving the use of Mac OS? Surely there has to be some cost savings in reduced downtime and administration with using a Mac...
Unfortunately, there's no cost savings switching to Mac; in fact the cost to the company goes up because they end up having to remove the cheap industrial drip coffee maker and replace with a latte machine and more expensive coffee.
He said "in the US", not "in my eyes". He said exactly what he meant and said it well. You read what you wanted to read and said it silly.
You've got it completely backwards. I replied to exactly what he said. If he'd said he didn't see anything until the 90's, that would have been fine since that's a personal issue. But claiming it hasn't been in the US news is ignorant; just because one only watches FOX news and reads the NY Post and hasn't seen anything doesn't mean it hasn't been in the news; it's been in the papers continuously for the past 40 years, been debated endlessly in the opinions sections, the sunday editions. Just because one chooses not to look doesn't mean it's not there.
Sounds like a good way to make a global whitelist!
It won't be any different from individuals creating their own whitelist, since you can't implement whitelists at the ISP level since most people do not use PGP and cannot be forced to use it.
It wouldn't stop spammers at all though, since spammers could still create legitimate keys, send out a billion spam then delete those email accounts and move on. It may slow it down a bit until some smart spammer creats a program to automate the process of creating, registering, and authenticating the key, but I doubt it will take too much time and effort.
I find it uncomfortable to hold a laptop in my lap and try to type. The angle is all wrong. Is this really an issue since most laptops are used as stationary workstations?
The primary reason I and many people I know purchased laptops was to do work on the long train or bus ride to/from work. I would guess that that's where "laptop" came from, since there's no place to put one except on your lap.
Everyone not living under a rock should know about the China-Taiwon issue. The India-Pakistan issue over Kashmir didn't really become a news item in the US till IIRC the late 90s.
And what rock were you living under that you didn't see anything about the Kashmir until the 90's? The dispute over the Kashmir between Pakistan and India has been ongoing since 1947, two years before the US helped Kuomintang refugees set themselves up as an independent state.
Marketing has an idea, then they *leak* the information to some site. Then Steve and the marketing watch /. Depending on our reaction, they decide if they should proceed, what features they should or shouldn't include... and save a bundle of money on actual market research.
Exactly. First rule of professionals; use the right tool. Buying professional class tools will pay for itself quickly, while cobbling together a hack (while cool in itself) wastes a lot of time and sometimes costs more in lost revenues.
Professional class tools are expensive, no doubt about it. There's a reason for it, they're usually worth every penny. If you can't afford it, then you better figure out a way to save up the money. If you don't want to spend the money on professional tools, then you'd better rethink your goals.
I've long said if you give me a holodeck and replicator I'm never (ever) coming out.
The holodeck, when it comes out, will be just an engine, and will probably have some military simulation since they're the ones who probably paid for most of it.
After it's out, people will write mods, and you'll have to leave the simulation at some point to search for and download. I mean, maybe you'll be happy with Natalie v1.0, but could you stay in there knowing that the soon to be released v1.5 comes with hot grits? And who knows what v2.0 will bring. Sooner or later you'll want to check out the latest mods and updates.
As much as I never want to die, and I really really don't, living to a 1000 years old seems a tad bit excessive. After awhile, the risk of being alive is diminished and we no longer have a rush to do things. With a deadline of a 1000 years (more than ten times the above average we have now), it gives new meaning to putting stuff off till tommorow. Much of the excitement that makes life so worth living will be lost.
I can think of so many things I'd love to do, but really don't have the time or money for. Having an infinite lifespan to accomplish things means that I have much more time to enjoy the things; meaning more happiness in my view.
And I suppose when we start having people living till 1000, they'll come out with treatments to help you live to 10,000. etc etc etc.
If you'd have read the article, you'd see that living to 1000 depends not on any miracle, but on risks. Once science figure out how to stop the aging process, you can live forever theoretically. But with risks, like getting struck by lightning (1 in 500,000), if you lived long enough you would get struck, and maybe killed (1 in 3,000,000). You have a much greater risk of slipping in the tub and dying, 1 in 2000. Every year you have a 1 in 75 chance of getting killed in an auto accident; living to 1000 under those odds is a longshot.
Fortunately, corporate ethics have progressed in leaps and bounds in the past twenty years. Today, the world can sleep soundly knowing that increasingly de-regulated industries have learned their lessons and would never risk innocent lives in the name of saving a buck.
Exactly, we'll never have to worry about corrupt corporations again, with Enron, Parmalat, HealthSouth showing us how far corporations have come in the past twenty years. Think of all those people with no more retirement funds, I'm sure they're sleeping soundly.
How many people had to die before Firestone recalled tires and Ford offered replacements? How many cars have the big three recalled in the past year? And the pharmaceutical industry? Fen-Phen's still on the market, right? How about Vioxx? Both were FDA approved... you can sleep tight knowing that once the FDA approves something it's perfectly safe. Oh yeah, and don't forget ImClone and how much they cared about their shareholders.
Companies may have gotten better, but not by much.
Also, and I'm really not trying to start a flame war here, but first, what's wrong with a janitor having a laptop, and why assume that it's a janitor stealing the laptop? I would guess that it's a disgruntled employee or just-fired employee (that's not properly escorted out) that would pull a stunt like that. And I would think that laptops are stolen from public places like libraries and parks rather and work places where I think a system like this might not be as useful.
I don't have any numbers, but most of the laptops that I've heard of being stolen were stolen by complete strangers who managed to sneak into secured areas. Usually dressed in suits, they just wander around purposefully until they see an unwatched laptop grab it and quickly walk out. That's why it's important not to let strangers in behind you.
"Garth Montgomery says the court heard evidence that Kazaa's software already had the ability to block copyrighted tracks built in"
Really. I thought it was illegal to lie in court. Perjury I think its called.
No. It's only illegal to lie under oath on the stand. Mongomery is making a case, and is only saying things he believes will support his case. It does not have to be true. It might be proved false by the other side. Ultimately it's up to the jury to decide if the prosecution's claims hold water.
For the non geek, there are only two web browsers, Microsoft and Netscape.
Nah, for non-geeks, there are only two web browsers: AOL and Yahoo. As anyone on the street what browser they use, and I bet the vast majority would say AOL or Yahoo.
Some more hip non-geeks might reply "Google"... but only because they've installed the Google toolbar.
On the home desktop machine running XPSP2, as most are, updates are INSTALLED automatically. That's right - no user intervention.
Re-read the parent post; he's arguing that all programs that connect to the web automatically update without giving the user a choice. I'm pointing out that Windows GIVES YOU THE OPTION. Yes, even in XP you can turn of Automatic Updates, as is recommended by most people. No serious professional leaves Windows Automatic Update enabled. Check your Security Panel under Control Panels.
In the corporate setting, it's very easy to not rely on the standard windows update to update clients - hotfixes and service packs are easily deployed over the network from a central server, again, without user intervention.
Again, that means that Automatic Updates are turned off on the client, and pushed out from from the Server. Yes, you can set it a client to automatically check a local server an automatically download from local server if there are updates, but no corporation does this; having 20,000 systems checking a local update server is a lot of useless traffic. So automatic udpate is disabled on all clients and updates pushed out from the server when needed.
Acrobat reader is not a worry of mine - the only PDFs people read here are generated by ghostscript, and as with the service packs, etc., is very easy to update remotely using scripts. Our anti-virus isn't Norton, but Sophos, so that IS updated automatically.
Again, reread the post. Yes, I know many programs can automatically update. Most programs are written so they will NOTIFY you that an update is available, and ask if you want it installed. Sophos automatically updates itself only because during initial configuration you clicked on an option to allow it to automatically connect, download, and install the updates. Most programs are written like that, they give you the option.
I can see where you're confused, but I can assure you these problems you state don't exist any more.
Re-read the parent post, it said programs that connect to the web *automatically* update, and I am saying that many programs give you the option .
Some experts said growth was disappointing, far behind countries that include South Korea, Taiwan and Canada.
Which experts would that be? The "expert" consultants who negotiate sales of user access solutions for Time Warner, Comcast, and OptOnline?
Personally, I'm happy that the number only doubled instead of tripled or quadrupled and saturated the already oversold local lines.
They guy has surely mastered the art of tinkering...
Mastered? Maybe, but I kinda think having a 2D CAD program and access to a computer assisted 60w laser cutting machine kinda moves him from "tinkerer" to "professional". A master tinkerer would have drawn everything out on a chalkboard and whipped up a case from cut up soda cans and plywood.
Only one of the top 10 gaining queries for the week ending Nov 8th could be considered remotely related to porn.
That's my fault, I was on vacation and didn't have access to the net. The numbers should be back to normal this week.
Not everything does, but every piece of software that talks to the internet DOES get automatically patched, which is where the vulnerabilities come in.
That's BS as well. Windows allows you to set automatic updates so it will connect to the server, see if there are any updates available, but not actually update. Norton Antivirus connects to the server to check for updates, but does not update itself unless you tell it to. Adobe Acrobat Reader is one that unfortunately checkes every single time and reminds you there are updates available, but it does not download them until you tell it to. So no, ALL programs do not automatically update themselves.
The masses are not ready to commit everything to web based applications just yet.
No? Why not? Just about everyone I know uses web based mail today, though there are still a few leftovers (who also happen to still use dial-up so I don't think they really count). People are getting more and more used to doing everything online; really, is there that much difference between writing an email to your friend and writing a letter via "GOffice"? Sure, it's online, but with a broadband connection you probably can't tell the difference. And no more shuttling the file from the office to home since it's stored in a common location.
What do most home users/small offices use Word for? Writing letters? What if Google allowed something like a "print to mail", that printed, metered, and sent the snail mail letter? Or faxed messages for you, and billed you at the end of the month? All those people making newsletters and such, how easy it would be to Google from "GOffice" and find thousands of images to use?
I think there's a huge potential for Google to muscle into Microsoft's bread and butter, MS Office. Really, I doubt "mom" would really know the difference between MS Word and "GOffice"; and if you said "GOffice" documents would be available while staying over at Aunt Jude's, and she could easily share it, send it, email it, or fax it to Barbara in Cali, then she'd much rather use "GOffice".
I got lost at "responsible data managers". WTF is that? I haven't heard of RDMs before...
Well, the parent said "our mice" can right click. Sure, OSX can recognize a right mouse click, but your standard Mac mouse still can't right-click.
Maybe I should try to find new ways for viruses to spread, hide themselves, etc., but not write a virus, but patent them. I'm sure a virus writer will not check any patents, and then if some new virus is spread and the one who has written it is caught, I'll sue him for royalties.
You'd have to be quick though; find a bug in a MS product, write an exploit and patent it quickly. If you wait too long the virus and previous incarnations will all be prior art.
Not that the overworked and underclued USPTO *wouldn't* grant you a patent regardless...
I'm sure his ISPs haven't noticed anything peculiar about 100% downloading, all the time?
His main download is probably a business class account. The article does say he has two Cable internet connections, one for his family and one for downloading. The ISP won't care about how much he downloads on a business class account as long as he keeps paying business class rates.