Am I the only person who is connecting this farce with reality???
Sorry, I am truly not MS bashing. I am instead just reading everything so I can actually see what this really means.
Here it is in a nutshell
PALLADIUM
Or perhaps you all should install or allow Windoze to install any of these new "security upgrades" and read the license agreement that tells you their DRM is being installed as well, and grants them access to your system.
C'mon people! It was on/. where this first became big news! It was here that the forced DRM install in Media Player was discussed. It was here that people pointed out the newest service packs came with the preliminary DRM's and granted MS the right to install all of DRM and use it at their discretion.
As in 21 years, MS has not lived up to their security obligations no matter how many times (like this new "initiative" is the first), and they clearly state in their docs, readmes or/and license that DRM is being installed... do you really have any doubts who the security "fixes" are for?
True - but a smoke detector uses far less power, so power level isnt necessarily a measurement of anything. Also, EM radiation (as given off by a picture tube) can cause lots of bad things to happen (cancer of course being one). The EM radiation by an A-bomb is indeed dangerous in more wavelengths than a picture tube, but they arent talking about putting an a bomb or fusion reactor in a cell phone or computer.
How much radiation leaks from a microwave? Many Consumer Reports (the company/magazine) used to show a lot that leaked... betcha that's far worse as well.
Anyone have any idea how long radioactive isotopes have been used in smoke detectors and similar in home devices? Much less how much radiation still leaks from "low emmision" TV's and monitors - or projection TVs?
Check it out, then tell me if this is a big deal.
(it's not.)
Space Ace and Dragons Lair (unless Ubi's plans changed, and I already own Space Ace which was released this way) are DVD's. That's all - hence any system capable of playing a DVD is compatible. A disk format change for GameCube (or the requirement for the DVD add-on) and viola! Multi platform video game!
I've already played Space Ace on DVD Player, PC, xBox and more - same disk, but on all cases, there are unnacceptable (to me) pauses between selected sequences.
So... unless their plans changed, DL is just another DVD just like the recent Space Ace release (at least that's what the "Coming Soon" announcement that came with Space Ace claimed).
We dont run any IBM SCSI or IDE over 40GB (36GB & 40GB largest respectively), ALL the Seagates seem to suffer bearing or motor burnout - so far 37% of them died all while running in well cooled $6,000 Tricord ES Series filtered dual redundant power supplied drive arrays (ie: they werent abused heat, air quality or power wise).
The IBM, btw, was gotten operational again with a little WD40 in the bearing hole under the label (woulda used lithium grease or something better, but no time, and the drive is very old so other than backing up a whopping 2GB of data, I really dont care about it).
Every FuSH|Tsu drive we own (12 total) has failed except one - which is inside a machine that we dont use and dont turn on (so for all I know it too is dead or will die soon). Most were (9 of them) SCSI drives with ridiculously high MTBF touted in the docs. The last, which is sure to fail by the neato sounds it made when I powered on the system to see if it still spins, is also SCSI, and my guess is if we do decide to use the system, it'll be on it's way too (old Apple Quadra that just sits there since we've gotten newer hardware - the drive is not the original, but instead a larger, few year old replacement).
"According to this article at the Stereophile Guide to Home Theatre, Tivo and SonicBlue have decided: 'We believe that perhaps if we team up, we may have a chance at pushing our products onto the masses, since they are already being obsoleted by a dozen other initiatives that are coming built into future TV and HDTV products. With luck, we'll make enough money off of it that we'll have a few bucks in our pocket when we have to bail out sometime later down the road.' the former adversaries said in a joint statement.
The article also discusses their plans for marketing and also how they plan to respond to criticisms that the DVR market is doomed." 'With luck and enough of a spin on it, perhaps we can pull enough wool over people's eyes that they dont realize that the DVR market is already dead... we're just hoping there are enough sheep in the world for all the wool we'll need for that feat.'
It seems all OS's but Windows allow for positioning storage. OS/2 and eComStation allow it in OS/2's extended attributes, which allows for GUI windows to open in whatever state and/or position as when closed (or in some cases as when the program was instructed to save window positions). From what I understand of some of the virtual desktop implementations of various Linux GUIs and desktop extensions, it is capable of a similar "feat" - and should thus easily be capable of the "massive" jump to storing and reusing desktop/monitor positions.
OS/2 (and thus eCS) also allow via REXX, for window positions to be monitored, restored, moved, etc when apps are opened or closed... takes a little REXX knowledge (litterally a little) and some competent (but minimal... maybe a couple hundred lines if that much) programming and object positioning and state (which is what it really is under OS/2 & eCS) can be enhanced above it's current capabilities.
Looks like once again companies had to spend time writing around a MS deficiency.
RSJ has software that will allow you to burn, read, and connect to any CD or CDr... and if it has multiple "sessions" or directory listings (as the "copy protection" seems to be, you just connect to the first one... extract the data (audio data in this case) and burn a new copy with a properly created track list minus the garbage listings that ate in "session" 2 and higher.
Apparently, it is unrealisticly simplistic to have wireless access on the run if you have both of the following
(1) A Palm Pilot, Handspring Visor, Clie, etc
(2) A digital cell phone
Then, simply put, all you need is a cable and a
dialup account.
You connect the cable to the digital "Universal(ly different) Connector" on the Palm and then to the connector on your cell phone, configure Palm (v3.1 and up) networking settings for standard dialup via (insert account info of your ISP there) and viola! You are all set.
Problem seems to be everyone wants to sell very expensive connection "software" and cable sets. Well, most everyone. In doing a search, I ran into "The Supply Net" (link goes to cable for my Pam m505 and Kyocera 2135 as an example - but you can choose a myriad of combinations from the site).
The beauty is, with the right browser software (numerous available) you are not limited to just WML pages.
The Supply Net has instructions as well on their site. (PS: I dont work for The Supply Net, or even have any experience with other than my one order for the product indicated - they were found by doing a search on Google and not giving up till I found a reasonable solution for the Kyocera cable that is in the Kyocera catalog that Kyocera thinks doesnt exist and knows nothing about - even though it is in print)
Hope this helps others find a cheap, reasonable speed (depends on your cell carrier), alternative to mobile wireless.
Many of the Adaptec cards support that. One identical card in each machine, and instead of terminating the end of the SCSI run, you run it to the second machine, configure the card and drivers, and viola! You are done!
The way the manual reads, it seems it should work in all supported OS's, but I cannot confirm that.
Because the 'Net is mostly carried (at one point or another)via telephone circuits doesnt allow it to be regulated as such.
That would be akin to paying diesel fuel prices for your home heating oil. You dont. Automotive fuel, even when it is the same as home fuel, is regulated and taxed differently. So, saying that all cars and truck owners are taxed 70 cents for a gallon of fuel oil, so all homeowners should be (just because many or most use the same oil) wouldnt be a good idea.
Expanding a regulation to cover all aspects of the 'net because most use, for a limited portion of it's operations, certain otherwise regulated technologies would be difficult just based off the fact that many 'Net offerings dont qualify for those regulations - meaning no "jurisdiction"for lack of a better word...
It all depends on how you learn, how you work and how you think. People thought to have or diagnosed with "ADD" seem (from my experience and from watching others who work with me in a similar situation) work very well with multiple monitors.
I work on 4 at a time... usually using 3 of the four in any shorter time frame.
This is truly a "to each their own" type of thing dependent on the brain of the person who wants - or doesnt want - multiple monitors.
- Rob
In additional developments...
on
Blogger Hacked
·
· Score: 4, Funny
"Blogger currently has no official news: its main page simply apologizes for being slashdotted if they re-enable full content, making their downtime for repairs even worse since they'll probably suffer from the same accessing problem as many other sites linked to from/.'s home page."
This is no major feat. This is so NOT a feat, that it's amazingly NOT one.
I own 5 IBM Intellistation M Pro workstations (Netfinity Servers by another name). They are dual CPU beasts that support (mostly externally - only 6 internal bays) 29 SCSI (UW2) and 4 EIDE (ATA100). They contain 3 massive case fans, one massive power supply fans and the CPU fans.
With the stock fans and a quiet hard drive, they are ungodly quiet. You can barely hear them with your ear on the case. With the stock drive, they are a little louder... a whopping 43 decibels with *2* XEON processors.
With a well selected drive and CPU fans (only 1 was the stock IBM fan so I had to find a silent one for the 2nd CPU), it drops below the 40 mark at 1.5 feet distance.
Oh... and just for those disbelievers, here's the pdf's to the manuals for the slightly louder of the Intellistations (I have 3 models... but this is the only one I could find online...)
One big problem if AOL goes under is lots less people (clueless or otherwise) online... means less people to support keeping the Internet infrastructure "working"
And that all might be a moot point soon anyway thanks to WorldCom after all AOL really doesnt have
dialup numbers. UUNet owns those numbers, as well as MSN, WebTV, UUNet and a few dozen no-name Internet companies use those numbers and resell access to the Internet through UUNet.
Thus this may be the biggest problem with WorldCom going under - they may take the supposedly largest chunk of the Internet population with them when those people lose access...
MSN, WebTV, AOL... many smaller ISPs... supposedly accounting for 60%+
Looks like the Internet collaspe has begun with a boom that'll be far larger than it's dotcom boom!
I am seriously doubting that "Valerie" switched after all...
Check the.doc files (text editor, not in Office) and you may notice that it lacks the path info and the ".doc" extension that WinWord of any version put in the bottom of the document. If she were using WinWord the bottom should have something akin to:
C : \ M y D o c u m e n t s \ F o r m s \S h o w O f f Y o u r S k i l l s . d o c
Instead, it has S h o w O f f Y o u r S k i l l s and references to MAC paths in MAC fashion.
Ooops... they couldnt even get their paid for writer to switch as she claimed...
This is directly from the MS Page - emphasis added by me:
*Editor's Note: Now that we've successfully converted our writer to a Windows PC, we will be working on getting her to try a Pocket PC. Stay tuned for more developments!
Do you have an idea for a story? We'd love to hear from you. How have you used Microsoft software to make your home or work life easier, more fun, faster, or simpler? Submit your ideas, and you could get published on the Insider Web site! Submit Your Idea Today!
Note that it says an IDEA for a story... give 'em an idea... they'll write a story.
Note that it also clearly states that "Miss Freelance Writer" is one of "their writers" - not very unbiased.
There was a boat that went down near the Bermuda Triangle. The family members had gotten a call from one of the women on the boat, and asked the phone company to help them track it after the boat went missing to try to get some closure. It took years and a battle to the supreme court, but eventually the records were released showing within a few hundred feet, where the boat was when the signal from the phone was lost. The boat, unfortunately, was still not found, but facts are, that in 1991, they were tracking (and still keeping the logs) of every cell phone - even in the waters where coverage existed.
I doubt it's any different today - other than resolution being better (being able to more accurately pinpoint a phone's location).
There is no such thing as anonymous surfing...
on
Anonymous Surfing?
·
· Score: 4, Interesting
Everyone considering "anonymous" surfing should first consider their reasons for doing so or more appropriately what their fears are of being monitored.
We run a web based newsgroup service called BinFeeds and sometimes have users who are concerned about anonymous surfing.
First point we often tell them is this. We dont care what service you use, we know who you are. Like any subscription service... you have to log in, and thus we know who we are sending the data to - unless someone stole your account. Many of our customers think that services like the anonymizer will protect them from that. In our experience, webmasters running protected sites more often run into "anonymizer-like" users actually being people with stolen accounts or who are using it for other purposes (site mirroring, etc). 75% of Anonymizer users on our service have been of that type and they (The Anonymizer owners) refuse to act (disable the account, block the user, assist in the credit fraud investifation, etc) or take months (thus we currently block all Anonymizer users). On signups, 95% of Anonymizer users are those trying to fraudulently use a credit card. We expect both from noting the increase of such errors on Anonymizer and from our own decisions, that many webmasters will be blocking such services on an increasing basis, because for us to track anonymous users is very difficult (even though I learned it is trivial from my time at a very very large ISP/Telco).
Basically, if you just dont want your ISP to have a log of where you are surfing and what you are doing, then great! Look into one and sign up for whichever service best meets those needs.
If you are worrying about law enforcement officials or a big ISP tracking usage then just surf normally.
Though they will never admit it the telcos (or fiber providers of similar technology) know exactly what you are looking at and more importantly, where you are. By "where you are" I mean that literally. Your physical address.
On CableModems as in the initial post, it may be more difficult, but under DSL, T3, T1 (DS1, which is often dual sDSL circuits nowadays) and dialup, etc, there are multiple networking protocols and layers not ever discussed. The telcos run their own network protocols and layers on their hardware that route the data for the ISP's data layer over the telco equipment.
In the past, while working for a major ISP (who owns a very large chunk of the Internet backbone and their own fiber network and telco), a person was seriously breaching our AUP terms and the law for actions he was doing using one of our customer's accounts. He THOUGHT he was anonymous, but since we owned our telco arm (and since they are all interconnected) we did a network (circuit) trace on the connection and viola! Through that we end up with the physical address (street address and number) of the loser.
Most people forget or dont realize that in order for your local telco to be able to route internet data to you, they needed your physical address to bring the wires to your house. The network hardware isnt computer based in the sense we all think and runs different protocols in a transparent fashion that doesnt make the end user think of it as anything more than a wire going to a router someplace else (like on an internal ethernet/TCPIP network), but it is not. It is it's own network on different hardware that transports the signals to "standard" network routers (Cisco, Ascend, etc). Much like NetBIOS over TCP/IP. To the user once configured, it's "Windows file sharing" and that's it, but the reality is it is running through TCPIP.
Since "we" (my former employer) ran such a large telco, a simple call to the NOC (telco) got us the info in under 5 minutes. This can be done to an active connection or to a past connection via the activity logs. Also easy to coordinate with the other telcos for cooperation since they needed us/we needed them for the telco services to work.
If you as a user or owner of a small ISP try to get that info you will get a dozen different "I dont think that's possible" or "There is no way of doing that" or "I dont know what you are talking about" answers. Just the way it works. No one is supposed to know it works that way, and few people actually seem to think nowadays - even the technical ones - about how such a system would work - or half the world would realize that any entity with enough "power" or authority can determine exactly where you are at what you are connected to, anonymous surfing, encryption and proxying aside.
Just the sad truth... even if you are on a cell phone (btw, the logs for your location when your cell phone is ON (and in some phone's cases, off as well as long as it has power) are kept for decades and have been since the late 80's at least... right down to a few hundred foot circle.
The only problem with all of this...
on
IBM, MS Critique MySQL
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
While people can argue the technical merits of each database app till the end of time, first, a lot is dependant on individual situations. One server we run FoodPlaces Restaurant Guide has a far larger database set than our XXX Binary Image Newsgroup (USENET) Server. The hardware is slightly in favor of BinFeeds, but we have lotsa problems with table errors and such, even though currently the FoodPlaces tables are far larger and far more complex.
The reason quite simply seems to be the way MySQL handles threads, concurrent operations, locking and errors. FoodPlaces is primarily database read queries with no updates, inserts or such, while BinFeeds uses tons of update, insert and fetches. MySQL bombs horribly in such a situation.
Point is, I can post tons of numbers showing the amazing power of MySQL based off the limited updates and inserts on FoodPlaces and the high traffic of the site, or I can post logs of table crashes that sometimes exceed 2 an hour for BinFeeds, with only adequate performance.
It may be interesting to see TRUE real world
results that show how MySQL handles varying ranges of each database "function" occuring "concurrently" (inserts, updates, deletes, fetches, etc). For a BinFeeds setup, we should have stuck with DB2, even with some of the xtra coding it needed. We're going back to it in October. For FoodPlaces (which is what erroneously made us switch to DB2 for BinFeeds) MySQL is ideal and the performance is fine.
The really big problem is that MySQL.com does/used to advertise the following:
From MySQL.COM MySQL is the world's most popular Open Source Database, designed for speed, power and precision in mission critical, heavy load use.
From that statement (also in the manual), and the FoodPlaces results, as well as more in the manual touting MySQL's ability to handle concurrent operations, we made the decision to switch BinFeeds to MySQL. Bad move - based off good test results for FP and other similar type sites - and more importantly off erroneous, misleading info in the manual.
Slashdot Mirror
Sorry, I am truly not MS bashing. I am instead just reading everything so I can actually see what this really means.
Here it is in a nutshell
PALLADIUM
Or perhaps you all should install or allow Windoze to install any of these new "security upgrades" and read the license agreement that tells you their DRM is being installed as well, and grants them access to your system.
C'mon people! It was on /. where this first became big news! It was here that the forced DRM install in Media Player was discussed. It was here that people pointed out the newest service packs came with the preliminary DRM's and granted MS the right to install all of DRM and use it at their discretion.
As in 21 years, MS has not lived up to their security obligations no matter how many times (like this new "initiative" is the first), and they clearly state in their docs, readmes or/and license that DRM is being installed... do you really have any doubts who the security "fixes" are for?
Rob
How much radiation leaks from a microwave? Many Consumer Reports (the company/magazine) used to show a lot that leaked... betcha that's far worse as well.
Rob
Check it out, then tell me if this is a big deal. (it's not.)
Rob
I've already played Space Ace on DVD Player, PC, xBox and more - same disk, but on all cases, there are unnacceptable (to me) pauses between selected sequences.
So... unless their plans changed, DL is just another DVD just like the recent Space Ace release (at least that's what the "Coming Soon" announcement that came with Space Ace claimed).
Rob
Fujitsu
Seagate
Western Digital
Samsung
HP
Maxtor / IBM (tie).
The IBM and Seagate drives (and a Western Digital) all run WebBinaries XXX Thumbnailed Newsgroups and WhoreBoyz so they get pounded (no pun intended) pretty regularly.
We dont run any IBM SCSI or IDE over 40GB (36GB & 40GB largest respectively), ALL the Seagates seem to suffer bearing or motor burnout - so far 37% of them died all while running in well cooled $6,000 Tricord ES Series filtered dual redundant power supplied drive arrays (ie: they werent abused heat, air quality or power wise).
The IBM, btw, was gotten operational again with a little WD40 in the bearing hole under the label (woulda used lithium grease or something better, but no time, and the drive is very old so other than backing up a whopping 2GB of data, I really dont care about it).
The Maxtor was a little newer.
Robert
The article also discusses their plans for marketing and also how they plan to respond to criticisms that the DVR market is doomed." 'With luck and enough of a spin on it, perhaps we can pull enough wool over people's eyes that they dont realize that the DVR market is already dead... we're just hoping there are enough sheep in the world for all the wool we'll need for that feat.'
At least, that's my translation of it...
- Rob
OS/2 (and thus eCS) also allow via REXX, for window positions to be monitored, restored, moved, etc when apps are opened or closed... takes a little REXX knowledge (litterally a little) and some competent (but minimal... maybe a couple hundred lines if that much) programming and object positioning and state (which is what it really is under OS/2 & eCS) can be enhanced above it's current capabilities.
Looks like once again companies had to spend time writing around a MS deficiency.
Oh well...
-Rob
- Rob
(1) A Palm Pilot, Handspring Visor, Clie, etc
(2) A digital cell phone
Then, simply put, all you need is a cable and a dialup account.
You connect the cable to the digital "Universal(ly different) Connector" on the Palm and then to the connector on your cell phone, configure Palm (v3.1 and up) networking settings for standard dialup via (insert account info of your ISP there) and viola! You are all set.
Problem seems to be everyone wants to sell very expensive connection "software" and cable sets. Well, most everyone. In doing a search, I ran into "The Supply Net" (link goes to cable for my Pam m505 and Kyocera 2135 as an example - but you can choose a myriad of combinations from the site).
The beauty is, with the right browser software (numerous available) you are not limited to just WML pages.
The Supply Net has instructions as well on their site. (PS: I dont work for The Supply Net, or even have any experience with other than my one order for the product indicated - they were found by doing a search on Google and not giving up till I found a reasonable solution for the Kyocera cable that is in the Kyocera catalog that Kyocera thinks doesnt exist and knows nothing about - even though it is in print)
Hope this helps others find a cheap, reasonable speed (depends on your cell carrier), alternative to mobile wireless.
- Rob
The way the manual reads, it seems it should work in all supported OS's, but I cannot confirm that.
Rob
That would be akin to paying diesel fuel prices for your home heating oil. You dont. Automotive fuel, even when it is the same as home fuel, is regulated and taxed differently. So, saying that all cars and truck owners are taxed 70 cents for a gallon of fuel oil, so all homeowners should be (just because many or most use the same oil) wouldnt be a good idea.
Expanding a regulation to cover all aspects of the 'net because most use, for a limited portion of it's operations, certain otherwise regulated technologies would be difficult just based off the fact that many 'Net offerings dont qualify for those regulations - meaning no "jurisdiction"for lack of a better word...
-Rob
This is truly a "to each their own" type of thing dependent on the brain of the person who wants - or doesnt want - multiple monitors.
- Rob
-Rob
I own 5 IBM Intellistation M Pro workstations (Netfinity Servers by another name). They are dual CPU beasts that support (mostly externally - only 6 internal bays) 29 SCSI (UW2) and 4 EIDE (ATA100). They contain 3 massive case fans, one massive power supply fans and the CPU fans.
With the stock fans and a quiet hard drive, they are ungodly quiet. You can barely hear them with your ear on the case. With the stock drive, they are a little louder... a whopping 43 decibels with *2* XEON processors.
With a well selected drive and CPU fans (only 1 was the stock IBM fan so I had to find a silent one for the 2nd CPU), it drops below the 40 mark at 1.5 feet distance.
Oh... and just for those disbelievers, here's the pdf's to the manuals for the slightly louder of the Intellistations (I have 3 models... but this is the only one I could find online...)
M Pro
- Rob
And that all might be a moot point soon anyway thanks to WorldCom after all AOL really doesnt have dialup numbers. UUNet owns those numbers, as well as MSN, WebTV, UUNet and a few dozen no-name Internet companies use those numbers and resell access to the Internet through UUNet.
Thus this may be the biggest problem with WorldCom going under - they may take the supposedly largest chunk of the Internet population with them when those people lose access...
MSN, WebTV, AOL... many smaller ISPs... supposedly accounting for 60%+
Looks like the Internet collaspe has begun with a boom that'll be far larger than it's dotcom boom!
- Rob
Check the .doc files (text editor, not in Office) and you may notice that it lacks the path info and the ".doc" extension that WinWord of any version put in the bottom of the document. If she were using WinWord the bottom should have something akin to:
C : \ M y D o c u m e n t s \ F o r m s \S h o w O f f Y o u r S k i l l s . d o c
Instead, it has S h o w O f f Y o u r S k i l l s and references to MAC paths in MAC fashion.
Ooops... they couldnt even get their paid for writer to switch as she claimed...
-Rob
Valerie Mallinson (Wes Rataushk & Assc Inc) is also apparently the author of:
MS EnCarta FUD Paper
... meaning she's a black male 7th grader. Or a white female married adult... or perhaps she is a group of 4 older people of varied ethnicities. Cant print? You're probably running MS Windoze XP and are pretty screwed!
Either Valerie has multiple diverse personalities or all or most of these "submissions" are penned by her and falsly attributed to others.
-Rob
*Editor's Note: Now that we've successfully converted our writer to a Windows PC, we will be working on getting her to try a Pocket PC. Stay tuned for more developments!
Do you have an idea for a story? We'd love to hear from you. How have you used Microsoft software to make your home or work life easier, more fun, faster, or simpler? Submit your ideas, and you could get published on the Insider Web site! Submit Your Idea Today!
Note that it says an IDEA for a story... give 'em an idea... they'll write a story.
Note that it also clearly states that "Miss Freelance Writer" is one of "their writers" - not very unbiased.
- Rob
I doubt it's any different today - other than resolution being better (being able to more accurately pinpoint a phone's location).
Here are a few links to similar articles:
Wired
ePinions - cites 164 foot pinpointing US govt mandated
Another recorded use of triangulation
Interesting article about triangulation
Unfortunately, this is old news that has been "hidden" right in plain view of the general public.
-Rob
- Rob
We run a web based newsgroup service called BinFeeds and sometimes have users who are concerned about anonymous surfing.
First point we often tell them is this. We dont care what service you use, we know who you are. Like any subscription service... you have to log in, and thus we know who we are sending the data to - unless someone stole your account. Many of our customers think that services like the anonymizer will protect them from that. In our experience, webmasters running protected sites more often run into "anonymizer-like" users actually being people with stolen accounts or who are using it for other purposes (site mirroring, etc). 75% of Anonymizer users on our service have been of that type and they (The Anonymizer owners) refuse to act (disable the account, block the user, assist in the credit fraud investifation, etc) or take months (thus we currently block all Anonymizer users). On signups, 95% of Anonymizer users are those trying to fraudulently use a credit card. We expect both from noting the increase of such errors on Anonymizer and from our own decisions, that many webmasters will be blocking such services on an increasing basis, because for us to track anonymous users is very difficult (even though I learned it is trivial from my time at a very very large ISP/Telco).
Basically, if you just dont want your ISP to have a log of where you are surfing and what you are doing, then great! Look into one and sign up for whichever service best meets those needs.
If you are worrying about law enforcement officials or a big ISP tracking usage then just surf normally.
Though they will never admit it the telcos (or fiber providers of similar technology) know exactly what you are looking at and more importantly, where you are. By "where you are" I mean that literally. Your physical address.
On CableModems as in the initial post, it may be more difficult, but under DSL, T3, T1 (DS1, which is often dual sDSL circuits nowadays) and dialup, etc, there are multiple networking protocols and layers not ever discussed. The telcos run their own network protocols and layers on their hardware that route the data for the ISP's data layer over the telco equipment.
In the past, while working for a major ISP (who owns a very large chunk of the Internet backbone and their own fiber network and telco), a person was seriously breaching our AUP terms and the law for actions he was doing using one of our customer's accounts. He THOUGHT he was anonymous, but since we owned our telco arm (and since they are all interconnected) we did a network (circuit) trace on the connection and viola! Through that we end up with the physical address (street address and number) of the loser.
Most people forget or dont realize that in order for your local telco to be able to route internet data to you, they needed your physical address to bring the wires to your house. The network hardware isnt computer based in the sense we all think and runs different protocols in a transparent fashion that doesnt make the end user think of it as anything more than a wire going to a router someplace else (like on an internal ethernet/TCPIP network), but it is not. It is it's own network on different hardware that transports the signals to "standard" network routers (Cisco, Ascend, etc). Much like NetBIOS over TCP/IP. To the user once configured, it's "Windows file sharing" and that's it, but the reality is it is running through TCPIP.
Since "we" (my former employer) ran such a large telco, a simple call to the NOC (telco) got us the info in under 5 minutes. This can be done to an active connection or to a past connection via the activity logs. Also easy to coordinate with the other telcos for cooperation since they needed us/we needed them for the telco services to work.
If you as a user or owner of a small ISP try to get that info you will get a dozen different "I dont think that's possible" or "There is no way of doing that" or "I dont know what you are talking about" answers. Just the way it works. No one is supposed to know it works that way, and few people actually seem to think nowadays - even the technical ones - about how such a system would work - or half the world would realize that any entity with enough "power" or authority can determine exactly where you are at what you are connected to, anonymous surfing, encryption and proxying aside.
Just the sad truth... even if you are on a cell phone (btw, the logs for your location when your cell phone is ON (and in some phone's cases, off as well as long as it has power) are kept for decades and have been since the late 80's at least... right down to a few hundred foot circle.
- Rob
How can I get in on this great deal???
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Why! are! you! writing! like! this!?
"Bones! Why! Did! He die?!?!"
While people can argue the technical merits of each database app till the end of time, first, a lot is dependant on individual situations. One server we run FoodPlaces Restaurant Guide has a far larger database set than our XXX Binary Image Newsgroup (USENET) Server. The hardware is slightly in favor of BinFeeds, but we have lotsa problems with table errors and such, even though currently the FoodPlaces tables are far larger and far more complex.
The reason quite simply seems to be the way MySQL handles threads, concurrent operations, locking and errors. FoodPlaces is primarily database read queries with no updates, inserts or such, while BinFeeds uses tons of update, insert and fetches. MySQL bombs horribly in such a situation.
Point is, I can post tons of numbers showing the amazing power of MySQL based off the limited updates and inserts on FoodPlaces and the high traffic of the site, or I can post logs of table crashes that sometimes exceed 2 an hour for BinFeeds, with only adequate performance.
It may be interesting to see TRUE real world results that show how MySQL handles varying ranges of each database "function" occuring "concurrently" (inserts, updates, deletes, fetches, etc). For a BinFeeds setup, we should have stuck with DB2, even with some of the xtra coding it needed. We're going back to it in October. For FoodPlaces (which is what erroneously made us switch to DB2 for BinFeeds) MySQL is ideal and the performance is fine.
The really big problem is that MySQL.com does/used to advertise the following:
From MySQL.COM
MySQL is the world's most popular Open Source Database, designed for speed, power and precision in mission critical, heavy load use.
From that statement (also in the manual), and the FoodPlaces results, as well as more in the manual touting MySQL's ability to handle concurrent operations, we made the decision to switch BinFeeds to MySQL. Bad move - based off good test results for FP and other similar type sites - and more importantly off erroneous, misleading info in the manual.
-Rob