"Now if an RFID appears in range there are two checks to determine if the item was stolen. First, the RFID existing at all is an indicator since it was supposed to be destroyed. Second, if the RFID appears in the database then according to policy the item is in fact stolen."
So, what you're talking about is theft from Bentton, the mfr of the garment,before sale, and not the buyer. Why should I, the customer have to bear the cost for the creation and destruction (and possible mischief as well) of an RFID tag that serves no useful purpose for me after purchase??
Looks to me, Benetton is copying the MS model (of making the customer pay for things which have no benefit), and failing miserably.
From the referenced article: " Benetton said in a release that it "is currently analyzing RFID.. and... no feasibility studies have yet been undertaken"
Where have they said no, as Cmdr Taco claims??
and then...
"Benetton... embedded ags could be used to track the movements of people other than thieves." whereas Philips says: "Philips said...labels to track its garments throughout its supply chain."
Something fishy here - how can Bentton track thieves, unless they have a database of tags and owners? Does it mean they tag the owner as well, so I can't lend clothing without informing Benetton? This theft-prevention stuff is silly.
and lastly, from the article:
"Bentton said it "reserves the right" to use the technology in the future."
That does not amount to saying No, in my book.
The only thing dramatic is the Slashdot presentation...
Exactly!! Just y'day we had this guy Lance something getting Visual Studio.Net Student edition free - illegal without license. We're still staying tuned with Sasha... Sometime back, we had leaks of Office 2003. Who'd want to download that monster?? Earlier still, MS was supposed to be losing money on the XBox - I even remember some very detailed articles regarding cracking of the XBox.. Then again, SP1 for XP had leaked..
What's gonna leak next? Service Pack for Win2K3?? To hell with Open Source Security etc.. this is just a cheap trick to get folks interested - it also reflects desperation in the mktg dept. After all, how often can you meet customers in person and tell them about the 'latest and greatest' OS from Redmond? Maybe those chaps figured Slashdot is a better conduit..
Don't wake me again when MS leaks something, this is just silly.
" Surely you're refering to tech community and not to the general population"
I'm sure he's referring to the tech community. I'm yet to meet a techy type or a geek who's apathetic to other techies' needs and feelings.
GNU users are apathetic ! Windows users are pathetic!!
Re:I have to wonder...
on
TiVo++ from India
·
· Score: 5, Insightful
"this is one of the dreaded consequences of outsourcing jobs to India."
Oddly enough, American technology is to a large extent, devleoped by Indians. Consider this: about 30% of Microsoft employees are Indians. Similarly, NASA has more than 25% Inidans.Outside of Seattle, the only other development centers for MS is in Hyderabad, Inida and Israel. Secondly, remember that American Corporate success depends on countries like India for their markets. Why'd you think Bill Gates spent 4 days in India? Philanthropy? AIDS aids? Think again.
"I mean, the development of these type of technology used to be the patrimony of the US."
See what this has led to... most of the innovation in the US suffers from this self-centred outlook. The Media-Center PC edition is an example. Sony, Toshiba, Panasonic etc. have now joined to put Linux onto their electronics. American tech focusses on 'lock-in' and 'lock-out' rather than 'features' and open-ness. Take GPS, Qualcomm, Microsoft and Adobe as examples. Cellphones within the US are generally a few generations behind Europe, Japan and even India!!
" Is this the result of the US losing their position as main providers of R&D?"
On the contrary, it's the result of pampering a few US entities for actions which Americans wouldn't stand for, from other nations. I'd name Microsoft, Adobe, Qualcomm etc. in this list. It's also a result of the American education system, though I'd need to write a lot to explain this.
"What will be left afterwards?"
The fruits of what's been sown. For starters, I'd suggest Americans need to be more understanding, tolerant and mature. There's no need to get angry at the French or paranoid about job-loss to third-world Indians. A little introspection will go a long way.
" a history of windows blue screens."
Actullay, I'd like to see some innovation here. I'd like to choose my favorite color of crash, in the Control Panel. Also, I'd like a GUI even after a crash.
Yet abother option could be to display a fixed graphic page instead of the Blue Screen. When I'm developing, it helps if I reboot from a GUI rather than a dump.
I know you said Flamebait, but what the heck. The full distro of Windows that you talk of, does NOT include the apps, which are part of these other distro.
Many otherr full-distros come in a single floppy! And some of these can read Windows files as well..
I remember while rejecting the case for breaking up MS, Dubya said we don't want to send the wrong messages to American Corporations. They mustn't feel endangered to carry on innovating in their own country.
What message does jailing students send to American citizens? The one I can hear is "Innovative students who offend Corporations will be jailed. Even if the 'guilty act' does not merit such severe action ".
From the ref. article: "Either you choose the Napsterization model, and accept that your technology must be utterly bulletproof; or you choose the casual-copying model, and accept that you will not prevent Napsterization. You can't have it both ways"
If you're a big enough monopoloy, you can PRETEND to have a bulletproof model - sell the model to the copyright holders, and sell (indirectly) a cracking tool to the mass market. Build yet another platform (Palladium) to break the latter tool.
In a major blunder, Microsoft leaked copies of Service Pack 2.1b for the ShortShrift Operating System. The OS itself is due to be released only late 2004. The Service Pack fixes about 231 blunders in the LongHorn a.k.a ShortShrift OS.
Steve Boiler explained the rationale: Frequently, we are criticised for long delays in fixing bugs in our code. As part of our Secure Computing Initiative, we now write Service Packs first, before writing the code. This helps us to solve problems faster than the Open Source Community.
The Service Pack has since been taken down, but the new OS is expected to be leaked shortly.
1. Put up a product at a ridiculous price on Amazon, say about 10% normal price. 2. Get noticed. 3. (optional) Process about 10 orders at absurd price, to gain goodwill from market. 4. After a threshold number of 'absurd' orders, take down product. 5. Send link to Slashdot. 6. Enjoy.
Wonder what Amazon's charging HPaq for all the 'free' attention.
Right... and that region is likely to be Germany and/or France rather than Iraq. Simply 'cos Iraqi citizens and theri military are the least likely ones to be using GPS anyway!
This control over upgrade / degrade has more scope for misuse, IMHO.
It appears this measure would likely cause more nuisance and annoyance to Europe than Iraq. Do the Iraqis drive GPS navigated cars? Seems unlikely, given what we hear about the economy there.
The Iraqi military is unlikely to depend on unreliable US controlled GPS data for it's own defence.
This strategy seems like Microsoft releasing a Service Pack to quash Mozilla, in the name of fighting Opera.
Actually, it sounds like a good business model. Instead of making a superior product, it's better to build a lousy one, devise a con tool, anti-virus, anti-spam whatever.
Sell it to as many suckers as possible. When you reach a critical mass, devise a tool to kill the first product and milk the buggers dry.
X-Box modders watch out as well.
How much does the spirit of an 800lb gorilla weigh?
"and do a lot of good when they start getting close."
Excuse me, I haven't heard of a single entity that has benefitted from proximity to MS. You can ask Corel, Intel, Citrix, SAP etc. etc. The very fact that MS has coined a term called the Shared Source License (SSL) to take aim at the GPL betrays their true intentions while moving closer.
True to the naming traditions at MS, SSL is a misnomer. It joins a great list of product names that mean the opposite of their literal meanings. Sharing indicates relinquishing rights. If I've got a couple of candies and I share one of them with you, it shouldn't matter to me what you intend doing with that candy.
Other MS misnomers: DRM : Digital Restrictions Management. MS Works : The classic oxymoron. TCPA : (Un)Trustworthy.... Service Pack : Silly Promotion. XP : Xtreme Pain etc.. and now, SSL : Stealthy Software License
The difference is the direction from which MS is approaching the GPL. The SOFT Shared Source License is an excuse and a concession for an inferior, crippled and potentially evil software. The SSL came AFTER the product (Windows).
The GPL is an uncompromising, tough license that has helped build a mature product and a healthy market. The TOUGH license was written first, then came the products and services.
GNU users are apathetic. Windows users are pathetic.
Slashdot Mirror
"Now if an RFID appears in range there are two checks to determine if the item was stolen. First, the RFID existing at all is an indicator since it was supposed to be destroyed. Second, if the RFID appears in the database then according to policy the item is in fact stolen."
So, what you're talking about is theft from Bentton, the mfr of the garment,before sale, and not the buyer. Why should I, the customer have to bear the cost for the creation and destruction (and possible mischief as well) of an RFID tag that serves no useful purpose for me after purchase??
Looks to me, Benetton is copying the MS model (of making the customer pay for things which have no benefit), and failing miserably.
From the referenced article: .. and ... no feasibility studies have yet been undertaken"
... embedded ags could be used to track the movements of people other than thieves."
" Benetton said in a release that it "is currently analyzing RFID
Where have they said no, as Cmdr Taco claims??
and then...
"Benetton
whereas Philips says:
"Philips said...labels to track its garments throughout its supply chain."
Something fishy here - how can Bentton track thieves, unless they have a database of tags and owners? Does it mean they tag the owner as well, so I can't lend clothing without informing Benetton? This theft-prevention stuff is silly.
and lastly, from the article:
"Bentton said it "reserves the right" to use the technology in the future."
That does not amount to saying No, in my book.
The only thing dramatic is the Slashdot presentation...
"girls come second to spam any day" And my spam is full of pretty girls :-)
" I still don't want it!"
Exactly!!
Just y'day we had this guy Lance something getting Visual Studio.Net Student edition free - illegal without license. We're still staying tuned with Sasha...
Sometime back, we had leaks of Office 2003. Who'd want to download that monster??
Earlier still, MS was supposed to be losing money on the XBox - I even remember some very detailed articles regarding cracking of the XBox..
Then again, SP1 for XP had leaked..
What's gonna leak next? Service Pack for Win2K3?? To hell with Open Source Security etc.. this is just a cheap trick to get folks interested - it also reflects desperation in the mktg dept. After all, how often can you meet customers in person and tell them about the 'latest and greatest' OS from Redmond? Maybe those chaps figured Slashdot is a better conduit..
Don't wake me again when MS leaks something, this is just silly.
" Surely you're refering to tech community and not to the general population"
I'm sure he's referring to the tech community. I'm yet to meet a techy type or a geek who's apathetic to other techies' needs and feelings.
GNU users are apathetic !
Windows users are pathetic!!
"this is one of the dreaded consequences of outsourcing jobs to India."
Oddly enough, American technology is to a large extent, devleoped by Indians. Consider this: about 30% of Microsoft employees are Indians. Similarly, NASA has more than 25% Inidans.Outside of Seattle, the only other development centers for MS is in Hyderabad, Inida and Israel.
Secondly, remember that American Corporate success depends on countries like India for their markets. Why'd you think Bill Gates spent 4 days in India? Philanthropy? AIDS aids? Think again.
"I mean, the development of these type of technology used to be the patrimony of the US."
See what this has led to... most of the innovation in the US suffers from this self-centred outlook. The Media-Center PC edition is an example. Sony, Toshiba, Panasonic etc. have now joined to put Linux onto their electronics. American tech focusses on 'lock-in' and 'lock-out' rather than 'features' and open-ness. Take GPS, Qualcomm, Microsoft and Adobe as examples.
Cellphones within the US are generally a few generations behind Europe, Japan and even India!!
" Is this the result of the US losing their position as main providers of R&D?"
On the contrary, it's the result of pampering a few US entities for actions which Americans wouldn't stand for, from other nations. I'd name Microsoft, Adobe, Qualcomm etc. in this list.
It's also a result of the American education system, though I'd need to write a lot to explain this.
"What will be left afterwards?"
The fruits of what's been sown. For starters, I'd suggest Americans need to be more understanding, tolerant and mature. There's no need to get angry at the French or paranoid about job-loss to third-world Indians. A little introspection will go a long way.
" a history of windows blue screens." Actullay, I'd like to see some innovation here. I'd like to choose my favorite color of crash, in the Control Panel. Also, I'd like a GUI even after a crash. Yet abother option could be to display a fixed graphic page instead of the Blue Screen. When I'm developing, it helps if I reboot from a GUI rather than a dump.
I know you said Flamebait, but what the heck. The full distro of Windows that you talk of, does NOT include the apps, which are part of these other distro. Many otherr full-distros come in a single floppy! And some of these can read Windows files as well..
I remember while rejecting the case for breaking up MS, Dubya said we don't want to send the wrong messages to American Corporations. They mustn't feel endangered to carry on innovating in their own country.
What message does jailing students send to American citizens? The one I can hear is "Innovative students who offend Corporations will be jailed. Even if the 'guilty act' does not merit such severe action ".
The first few students to get jail terms would be:
Russians - like Skylarov.
Non-whites - can't think of a gentler way of putting it.
Non-pork-eating students.
This would dovetail neatly into their propoganda that stealing == terrorism.
Webcams in London can be 'arranged' to switch off, apparently.
http://theregister.co.uk/content/6/29343.html
Just be nice to the geek boss though.
His pics will be all over town if he drinks anymore.
Must ask them to serve Blue Beer next time.
From the ref. article:
"Either you choose the Napsterization model, and accept that your technology must be utterly bulletproof; or you choose the casual-copying model, and accept that you will not prevent Napsterization. You can't have it both ways"
If you're a big enough monopoloy, you can PRETEND to have a bulletproof model - sell the model to the copyright holders, and sell (indirectly) a cracking tool to the mass market. Build yet another platform (Palladium) to break the latter tool.
In a major blunder, Microsoft leaked copies of Service Pack 2.1b for the ShortShrift Operating System. The OS itself is due to be released only late 2004. The Service Pack fixes about 231 blunders in the LongHorn a.k.a ShortShrift OS.
Steve Boiler explained the rationale: Frequently, we are criticised for long delays in fixing bugs in our code. As part of our Secure Computing Initiative, we now write Service Packs first, before writing the code. This helps us to solve problems faster than the Open Source Community.
The Service Pack has since been taken down, but the new OS is expected to be leaked shortly.
1. Put up a product at a ridiculous price on Amazon, say about 10% normal price.
2. Get noticed.
3. (optional) Process about 10 orders at absurd price, to gain goodwill from market.
4. After a threshold number of 'absurd' orders, take down product.
5. Send link to Slashdot.
6. Enjoy.
Wonder what Amazon's charging HPaq for all the 'free' attention.
Right... and that region is likely to be Germany and/or France rather than Iraq. Simply 'cos Iraqi citizens and theri military are the least likely ones to be using GPS anyway!
This control over upgrade / degrade has more scope for misuse, IMHO.
It appears this measure would likely cause more nuisance and annoyance to Europe than Iraq. Do the Iraqis drive GPS navigated cars? Seems unlikely, given what we hear about the economy there.
The Iraqi military is unlikely to depend on unreliable US controlled GPS data for it's own defence.
This strategy seems like Microsoft releasing a Service Pack to quash Mozilla, in the name of fighting Opera.
Looks like you've got a Borked edition of GPS. Call Operq for the Service Pack.
" Users depending on GPS systems may want to do sanity checks on any data "
Which sane person would rely on GPS data for something even as trivial as navigation? Incidentally, how does one check GPS data? Against another GPS??
Actually, it sounds like a good business model. Instead of making a superior product, it's better to build a lousy one, devise a con tool, anti-virus, anti-spam whatever.
Sell it to as many suckers as possible. When you reach a critical mass, devise a tool to kill the first product and milk the buggers dry.
X-Box modders watch out as well.
How much does the spirit of an 800lb gorilla weigh?
"and do a lot of good when they start getting close."
....
Excuse me, I haven't heard of a single entity that has benefitted from proximity to MS. You can ask Corel, Intel, Citrix, SAP etc. etc. The very fact that MS has coined a term called the Shared Source License (SSL) to take aim at the GPL betrays their true intentions while moving closer.
True to the naming traditions at MS, SSL is a misnomer. It joins a great list of product names that mean the opposite of their literal meanings. Sharing indicates relinquishing rights. If I've got a couple of candies and I share one of them with you, it shouldn't matter to me what you intend doing with that candy.
Other MS misnomers:
DRM : Digital Restrictions Management.
MS Works : The classic oxymoron.
TCPA : (Un)Trustworthy
Service Pack : Silly Promotion.
XP : Xtreme Pain
etc..
and now, SSL : Stealthy Software License
The difference is the direction from which MS is approaching the GPL. The SOFT Shared Source License is an excuse and a concession for an inferior, crippled and potentially evil software. The SSL came AFTER the product (Windows).
The GPL is an uncompromising, tough license that has helped build a mature product and a healthy market. The TOUGH license was written first, then came the products and services.
GNU users are apathetic. Windows users are pathetic.
Actually MS may be moving RAPIDLY towards GPL. They see it as a huge threat to their continued success.
So, it's right to say they're moving closer. In the same way Dubya's moving closer to Iraq.
"Microsoft is a company that wants to make money. They will eventually do whatever their customers demand. "
Normal companies start of by doing what their customers want. If they do that well and long enough, eventually they make money.
It appears your thought process has been corrupted by the MS philosophy, hence you see bias where none exists.