IANAL, but the story demonstrated that a bowling ball works great as a projectile. A bowling ball is so heavy that it certainly contains "any other chemical substance [...] not limited to [...]", I would guess some metal. Wouldn't that make a bowling ball a "destructive device" by the above 12301 (a) (1), and posession a public offence rendering max 1 year in jail + $10000.
Perhaps it is because I've been reading too much of slashdot, but it seems these RIAA folks can be to netizens what military police have been to citizens in fascist dictatorships. In the OSS movement you ofter hear that "Don't whine, show me the code". Well, what about the following idea: RIAA honeypots.
Do a couple of something like: dd if=/dev/zero of=LOTR.Two.Towers.Complete.dvdrip.divx.avi
Make a webpage with links to your fake warez and post it to search engines.
Repeat the previous with different variations
Wait for your ISP or the RIAA to contact you.
Reply with a polite and legally correct letter asking for proof that you have infringed on someones copyright... This letter could be prepared by someone from the filesharing community who has studied law. Please someone fill in the details here
Goto 1.
IANAL, would this work? A couple hundred thousand of these fake cases could perhaps force the RIAA to go after the real bad guys -- the ones that make pirating a business.
I must admit I run XP on my laptop at home. Reading the discussion above, I see that the reasons for running windows on a tablet PC are even greater. However, I don't use many windows apps. I run a VNC viewer on my laptop, which gives me a full-screen linux desktop. When I need a windows app to control something on the local laptop or use a windows app, I just hit alt-tab.
I now wonder how good this use of VNC would be at solving/working around the missing features in Linux.
I guess I can rotate the screen, but I would probably have to restart vncviewer.
On what level is the handwriting stuff? Can I write on the tablet and get the writing as keystrokes through VNC?
[insert your issue from the discussion above here]?
Do the IDs tell what the product is?
on
Walmart to Push RFID
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
Are the RFIDs on products plain serial numbers without meaning, or do they contain information about the product? Would it be worthwile to by a handheld RFID reader and scan for fun stuff in crowded places, e.g., recently bought:
Aren't the little tags dangling off of my keychains, the ones I flash at the office doors to get in, also RFIDs? If all these get all standardized, then won't this be analogical to me having a barcode tattooed to my forehead when I walk past the cash register. Perhaps the stores no longer need to push member discount cards to customers in order to maintain their database of who buys what if the customers have their own RFIDs.
As you say it would be nice if the RFIDs were deactivated when leaving the store. Otherwise, if the keychain RFIDs are more secure in some way, and don't work for third party tracking purposes, perhaps an individual can still be tracked if he is carrying stuff previously bought with RFIDs still intact?
The definition is relevant and meaningful
on
Defining "Planet"
·
· Score: 1
Questions pertaining to the planets are a favourite in many kinds of different quizes, and the popularity of e.g., tv-quizes show that these are important to real people. Changing the definition of planet can change the lives of many.
The last question in do you want to be a millionaire: What is name of the smallest plantet?
Using smelly (in a general sense) stuff for something useful always gets attention. Lets just hope that this fact will not get in the way for efficient, innovative uses of cheap if not free resources. Some years ago, IIRC in Sweden, the media found out that heat from the local crematory was used for district heating. The result was a scandal that forced the authorities to quit it. Now only the crows benefit from the heat:-(.
RAID is no substitute for backups (and vice versa). For example: what if you are a little too light on the 'rm -rf'? However, with a second terabyte harddrive you can of course do real backups to the other drive. Think of how many DAT tapes that drive makes up for.
So, I would go with three drives: two for the RAID, and a third for backups.
I have moved my very noisy server into a kitchen closet that previously held a small refrigerator. So it has a power outlet and is well ventilated. No more noise in the bedroom (at least from the server;-). And buying wireless LAN equipment to connect the server to my laptop costs less than the quiet case in the article.
I have no degree in chemistry or medicine, but if I have understood things correctly, as a rule of thumb the poisonousness of alcohols increase by the number of carbon atoms in the molecule. By that rule, methanol should be less poisonous than ethanol. It is the by-products of the metabolization of methanol (formaldehyde and formic acid) that are really poisonous.
Tons of unrestricted information should give the Chinese a chance to bypass the biased/false national news and make up their own minds. and that is probably a good thing.
Yes probably a good thing, as it cannot be bad. But, how successfully have the US citizens succeeded in bypassing their biased national news? And the percentage of Chinese with Internet access will remain tiny in comparison with the US. However, I am confident that all individuals are able to make up their own minds --- with or without unfiltered Internet access.
Sure, it is too easy for the evil-minded and the criminals to exploit the lack of expert know-how of other people. And it is really bad that Kazaa's user interface makes such malicious activities even easier.
This is of course not limited to Kazaa. Try a google search on '"Index of/" inbox.dbx' and you will most probably make the same kind of finds.
It is also not limited to the Internet or computers. It is all too easy to find a large group of people of which a fair percentage is susceptible to some kind of deceit because they don't know better. They often have no way of knowing. A year ago we had this twisted local who dressed up as a policeman, walked up to tourists and said he was looking for couterfeit money and demanded to see their wallets. Too many fell for it and saw the fake policeman walking away with their cash.
You are supposed to do it using an (m,n)-threshold scheme. That is, divide the secret into n parts, so that with any m of these parts you can calculate the secret, but with any number of parts less than m, you don't get any information about the secret. Such schemes are easily constructed using elementary number theory, IIRC there is on based on the chinese remainder theorem. See also this FAQ
More importantly, I see great dangers in today's practice of using only Microsoft software in IT education. Our children will grow up to only know how to use this software. This is dangerous in the same way as having an entire wheat field being the exact same cloned genotype. A disease can wipe out the whole crop.
FYI: the company with people from the Dynamics team is Lifix Systems. And, as you say, Green Packet does this now, we (and Cisco and SUN) have done it for years...
Slashdot Mirror
IANAL, but the story demonstrated that a bowling ball works great as a projectile. A bowling ball is so heavy that it certainly contains "any other chemical substance [...] not limited to [...]", I would guess some metal. Wouldn't that make a bowling ball a "destructive device" by the above 12301 (a) (1), and posession a public offence rendering max 1 year in jail + $10000.
Also google for "crazy laws".
- Do a couple of something like: dd if=/dev/zero of=LOTR.Two.Towers.Complete.dvdrip.divx.avi
- Make a webpage with links to your fake warez and post it to search engines.
- Repeat the previous with different variations
- Wait for your ISP or the RIAA to contact you.
- Reply with a polite and legally correct letter asking for proof that you have infringed on someones copyright... This letter could be prepared by someone from the filesharing community who has studied law. Please someone fill in the details here
- Goto 1.
IANAL, would this work? A couple hundred thousand of these fake cases could perhaps force the RIAA to go after the real bad guys -- the ones that make pirating a business.One bit, that ought to be enough for anybody... :-)
Now there is good advise: Be brave, pipe the contents from an url posted on slashdot by Anonymous Coward directly to /bin/sh!
Are you kidding?!
- pregnancy tests
- sex toys, porn and lubricant
- medication for embarassing illnesses
- guns
Any other suggestions?Aren't the little tags dangling off of my keychains, the ones I flash at the office doors to get in, also RFIDs? If all these get all standardized, then won't this be analogical to me having a barcode tattooed to my forehead when I walk past the cash register. Perhaps the stores no longer need to push member discount cards to customers in order to maintain their database of who buys what if the customers have their own RFIDs.
As you say it would be nice if the RFIDs were deactivated when leaving the store. Otherwise, if the keychain RFIDs are more secure in some way, and don't work for third party tracking purposes, perhaps an individual can still be tracked if he is carrying stuff previously bought with RFIDs still intact?
Questions pertaining to the planets are a favourite in many kinds of different quizes, and the popularity of e.g., tv-quizes show that these are important to real people. Changing the definition of planet can change the lives of many.
The last question in do you want to be a millionaire: What is name of the smallest plantet?
Ouch!
Using smelly (in a general sense) stuff for something useful always gets attention. Lets just hope that this fact will not get in the way for efficient, innovative uses of cheap if not free resources. Some years ago, IIRC in Sweden, the media found out that heat from the local crematory was used for district heating. The result was a scandal that forced the authorities to quit it. Now only the crows benefit from the heat :-(.
Rotting? Fires? Freak elephant attacks?
All of those apply to other buildings as well.
> WEP stands for Wireless Equivalent Privacy
It most certainly does not. WEP stands for Wired Equivalent Privacy
I don't think my wife would like me having a girlfriend...
I am actually considering electrolux's vacuum-cleaning robot. Does anyone have opinions on that one?
What are other affordable and useful robots? I know only of the vacuum-cleaner and Husqwarna's lawn-mower.
RAID is no substitute for backups (and vice versa). For example: what if you are a little too light on the 'rm -rf'? However, with a second terabyte harddrive you can of course do real backups to the other drive. Think of how many DAT tapes that drive makes up for. So, I would go with three drives: two for the RAID, and a third for backups.
IIRC, treatment is dialysis of the blood, NaHCO3 and folic acid. Ethanol is given to slow down the conversion of the methanol into the poisons.
I have moved my very noisy server into a kitchen closet that previously held a small refrigerator. So it has a power outlet and is well ventilated. No more noise in the bedroom (at least from the server ;-). And buying wireless LAN equipment to connect the server to my laptop costs less than the quiet case in the article.
I have no degree in chemistry or medicine, but if I have understood things correctly, as a rule of thumb the poisonousness of alcohols increase by the number of carbon atoms in the molecule. By that rule, methanol should be less poisonous than ethanol. It is the by-products of the metabolization of methanol (formaldehyde and formic acid) that are really poisonous.
Yes probably a good thing, as it cannot be bad. But, how successfully have the US citizens succeeded in bypassing their biased national news? And the percentage of Chinese with Internet access will remain tiny in comparison with the US. However, I am confident that all individuals are able to make up their own minds --- with or without unfiltered Internet access.
It is also not limited to the Internet or computers. It is all too easy to find a large group of people of which a fair percentage is susceptible to some kind of deceit because they don't know better. They often have no way of knowing. A year ago we had this twisted local who dressed up as a policeman, walked up to tourists and said he was looking for couterfeit money and demanded to see their wallets. Too many fell for it and saw the fake policeman walking away with their cash.
Tie Batman to the hour hand of a huge clock...
You are supposed to do it using an (m,n)-threshold scheme. That is, divide the secret into n parts, so that with any m of these parts you can calculate the secret, but with any number of parts less than m, you don't get any information about the secret. Such schemes are easily constructed using elementary number theory, IIRC there is on based on the chinese remainder theorem. See also this FAQ
What if you call your aunt in the US?
More importantly, I see great dangers in today's practice of using only Microsoft software in IT education. Our children will grow up to only know how to use this software. This is dangerous in the same way as having an entire wheat field being the exact same cloned genotype. A disease can wipe out the whole crop.
FYI: the company with people from the Dynamics team is Lifix Systems. And, as you say, Green Packet does this now, we (and Cisco and SUN) have done it for years...