Except that you share electrical infrastructure with your community... The power you use affects how much excess capacity is available, how many power plants need to be built, etc... The lightbulbs everyone uses is, at a county and state level, an issue that affects a lot of people.
Now if you want to go Amish on us and supply your own power with solar cells and diesel generators, then it truly doesn't matter what kind of bulb you use.
And, also, please realize that organizations like the NSA aren't free to discuss their techniques in a public forum... so they can't publicly tell Sen. Wyden why they don't have the capability to answer his questions.
Okay, I remember reading (probably on Wired) that the NSA has an unusual definition of "intercept" when it came to domestic telephone calls... An "intercept" for them was going back and analyzing their recordings, not the actual "making" of the recording.
If, for instance, I merely record raw packet data on the network and do not interpret it... then I've "captured the firehose", but I don't know what I've got until I analyze it.
If I have the budget to "capture the firehose" for the entire US telephone network, but I only need to analyze 10-20K "intercepts" per year, then I probably wouldn't have the equipment or staff to evaluate the details of all the data I have.
If that's the situation, then I'd probably respond similarly to Wyden's request. In order to answer his questions I'd have to analyze ALL the data I have, which I don't have the resources or budget to do... and even if I did, it'd expose the details of all comunications on the network... which would be an invasion of privacy.
To: met@msk.com Subject: Re: your letter to the copyright office
I have just read of your letter to the Copyright Office claiming that your clients reject the view that consumers should expect perpetual access to a copyrighted work.
I have only one response.
Please identify, with specificity, the section in the Copyright Act where it grants copyright owners the authority to deny access to a protected work that has been legitimately obtained. I can save you lots of time, you won't find it. The right of the consumer to access a work protected under the act is implicit in the sale. The consumer did not rent or lease authorization to "access" the protected work, it was an outright "purchase" of that authorization and the revocation of that authorization is not permitted.
TeX/LaTeX have been used for scientific journal articles for over 20 years. It's going to be difficult to replace something that has proven itself to be reliable for that length of time.
Please remember that your "structured document processor" needs to be supported by the journal you're going to submit to.
And also remember that journals already know what their layout requirements are, and already provide the necessary header files, so unless you're a journal publisher yourself I have to question why you need to create your own document class.
I've personally used TeX/LaTeX for 20 years. The absolute best implementation I've ever seen is TeXtures by Blue Sky Research. I started using TeXtures (v0.91) back in 1988. Unfortunately, it's only available on the Mac. However, if your job is to produce high-quality scientific publications then buying a Mac for TeXtures is probably the best use of your time and money. It really is that good.
The user interface is very Mac-like (always has been), and you can see the typeset results immediately as it dynamically updates your typeset document as you type.
"Publicly available" is an adjective phrase that describes source code that is available to the public.
The phrase "Open Source" (capitalized or otherwise) was not widely used before folks like Eric Raymond and OSI started promoting it. The term has a specific meaning within the context of software development that you are attempting to re-define.
If you are doing advanced work in math, you have no business learning how to maintain a Linux system. This will distract you from your studies and research. The only reason a math major should learn Linux is if they plan to fail as a mathematician and need a second career option. But who am I to talk, I failed as a physicist and have been a sys-admin for 20 years...:-)
Buy a Macintosh. Everything you want to do in Python is possible on the Macintosh.
Buy Textures. This is a commercial TeX/LaTeX system for the Macintosh published by Blue Sky TeX Systems. It costs money but is worth every penny. There is student pricing. I have used it since 1987.
It's about knowing that the developer isn't a known criminal or terrorist, doesn't have ties with criminals or terrorists, isn't blackmail-able, and can be punished under US law. How can you possibly verify this with a foreign developer?
Having been a Unix System Administrator for 19 years, I have learned that letting the new release "upgrade" your old machine is a bad idea and should be avoided. Here are my reasons why:
1. The vendor can never test against all reasonable end-user modifications. There's not enough time. 2. So, unless your system is completely stock, the upgrade path for *your* system hasn't been tested. 3. And if the upgrade path hasn't been tested, then there's a good chance it may break something.
The way to get perfect results every time is to assume ALL upgrades will actually be complete re-installs, and plan your configuration accordingly. Done correctly, your re-install won't involve losing any user data or important configuration files.
This also makes the vendors' life easier, as they don't have to test their upgrade process against all previous versions. The vendor may be deluded into believing that they can handle upgrades without re-installing, but they will only manage it for a little while. It's easy to do if you only have one or two earlier releases, but the complications expand geometrically as the number of prior releases goes up.
That there may not be copper reserves available for a massive deployment of additional copper. Due to increased demand in developing countries there is a copper shortage coming in the next 15 years.
Unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material FOR PROFIT is clearly illegal. This will go down faster than Napster, and everyone who "shared" in the revenue could be liable for the full penalty.
Don't do it, man...
Of course we're a living Dilbert strip...
on
The Living Dilbert?
·
· Score: 1
Not sure why you would expect the private sector to be better than the military.
The only loyalty corporations are required to maintain is loyalty to the almighty dollar.
One reason the military is more snafu'd than usual is because they began importing modern corporate management techniques several decades ago. If you don't believe me, re-read Colin Powell's autobiography sometime...
Classified data is not the issue. Industrial espionage is a big issue that you should not underestimate, and the government is becoming more aware of information security issues.
Sensitive-but-unclassified (SBU) data also deserves protection, and many non-military government facilities have Information Assurance policies that they are required to follow. Proving that a vendors' facilities and processes cannot be exploited by agents of foreign governments is not a simple matter.
Yes, the possibility exists that the process is being exploited in favor of US companies, but please realize that foreign employees are harder to investigate, subpoena, or imprison than those in the US. It is, therefore, more important to give foreign suppliers a thorough review.
Let's not forget that PDF is a Federal Information Processing Standard (aka FIPS). Adobe is required to provide free PDF readers and to provide open format specifications as a condition of remaining part of FIPS.
Based on the information in the article, it's not clear what physical principles he's appealling to that would justify adding more parameters to the gravitational model.
I could generate a bicubic mesh from a bunch of random data and claim that I had a "theory" that explained it all. Noone would ever be able to "invalidate" my claim that a polynomial fitting function matched all available data.
But no matter how complicated my polynomials become, my curve-fitting exercise will never reveal that the random data is created by radioactive decay.
You're right. Content providers have no accord with Bellsouth. Therefore their traffic doesn't get any higher priority than anybody elses.
What you're failing to take into account is that not all bandwidth is equal. There are different levels of service, the lowest of which is the "all packets are equal" service. Very democratic, but it doesn't work well for streaming audio and video.
A high-bandwidth service like streaming audio or video needs to reserve a minimum bandwidth to be useable. This is a higher Quality of Service (QoS) than is usually needed for your traditional web or ftp server.
Also, remember that viruses can put a lot of traffic on a net, which would definitely screw up your streaming music video. There's also a lot of traffic every time there's a major OS update released on the 'net.
If Apple (Vonage!) wants iTunes (VoIP!) traffic to get higher priority than other types of traffic, then somebody pays for the increased level of service.
Customers want flat-fee pricing. That's a fact of life. But higher QoS costs more and there's only one place left to go... to the companies selling the high-QoS content.
Would you pay more to haul your firewood in an HOV lane if it meant you could complete deliveries faster during rush hour? Yes? No? Kinda depends on what rush hour is like in your area...
What if your firewood supplier could guarantee their customers that they'd always get to use the HOV lane for their firewood deliveries? Would their customers like that? Yes. Would they make more money? Well, that would depend on how much they pay for those HOV passes...
More importantly, when it's done this way, you don't have to pay more for your truck rental...
Look, moving video over the net requires a steady high-bandwidth transfer while downloading the latest Fedora iso does not. Guaranteeing a steady high-speed transfer is a different level of service that has a cost.
Big companies would rather deal with other big companies than millions of households. There's less overhead.
Besides, this is just the Walmart model. Walmart charges it's suppliers for shelf usage and placement, why can't Bell South charge content "suppliers" for premium bandwidth with guaranteed service levels?
Ha! I work at the University of Texas. Any software I create during my employment is the property of the UT System. There is no concept of "my" time in my employement contract, as I am an FLSA-exempt employee. And it doesn't matter if it's on my own equipment or theirs.
And since the UT System is part of the Government of the State of Texas, everything I produce is owned by the State.
As a practicing Information System Security Officer myself, there's two things you need to complete before you install anything:
Step 0:
You must get the proper briefings from your site's Information Systems Security Manager.
At a minimum, you will need to get a Software Validation briefing and possibly an ISSO briefing.
If you haven't completed an SV briefing, then you are not authorized to install ANY operating system on classified hardware.
You will need the ISSO briefing if you are responsible for creating user accounts or are responsible for maintaining the audit records for the system.
Step 1:
You must have a System Security Plan (SSP). This document tells you how your system must be configured, both in terms of physical security and system/network security.
Your SSP, and any systems created under it, need an Interim Approval To Operate (IATO) from the Defense Security Service before you can begin processing classified information.
If you have an existing (approved!) SSP, and your ISSM is authorized to self-certify the OS you are using, then things can happen relatively quickly.
If you do NOT have a pre-existing (approved!) SSP for this new system, then you could be looking at months before your new system is cleared for classified processing.
When I write software as part of my job, whether as employee or contractor, my work-product is generally considered as work-for-hire. I.e. I don't own it because *they* paid me to produce it.
Slashdot Mirror
Except that you share electrical infrastructure with your community... The power you use affects how much excess capacity is available, how many power plants need to be built, etc... The lightbulbs everyone uses is, at a county and state level, an issue that affects a lot of people.
Now if you want to go Amish on us and supply your own power with solar cells and diesel generators, then it truly doesn't matter what kind of bulb you use.
And, also, please realize that organizations like the NSA aren't free to discuss their techniques in a public forum... so they can't publicly tell Sen. Wyden why they don't have the capability to answer his questions.
Okay, I remember reading (probably on Wired) that the NSA has an unusual definition of "intercept" when it came to domestic telephone calls... An "intercept" for them was going back and analyzing their recordings, not the actual "making" of the recording.
If, for instance, I merely record raw packet data on the network and do not interpret it... then I've "captured the firehose", but I don't know what I've got until I analyze it.
If I have the budget to "capture the firehose" for the entire US telephone network, but I only need to analyze 10-20K "intercepts" per year, then I probably wouldn't have the equipment or staff to evaluate the details of all the data I have.
If that's the situation, then I'd probably respond similarly to Wyden's request. In order to answer his questions I'd have to analyze ALL the data I have, which I don't have the resources or budget to do... and even if I did, it'd expose the details of all comunications on the network... which would be an invasion of privacy.
To: met@msk.com
Subject: Re: your letter to the copyright office
I have just read of your letter to the Copyright Office claiming that your clients reject the view that consumers should expect perpetual access to a copyrighted work.
I have only one response.
Please identify, with specificity, the section in the Copyright Act where it grants copyright owners the authority to deny access to a protected work that has been legitimately obtained. I can save you lots of time, you won't find it. The right of the consumer to access a work protected under the act is implicit in the sale. The consumer did not rent or lease authorization to "access" the protected work, it was an outright "purchase" of that authorization and the revocation of that authorization is not permitted.
Have a nice day,
TeX/LaTeX have been used for scientific journal articles for over 20 years. It's going to be difficult to replace something that has proven itself to be reliable for that length of time.
Please remember that your "structured document processor" needs to be supported by the journal you're going to submit to.
And also remember that journals already know what their layout requirements are, and already provide the necessary header files, so unless you're a journal publisher yourself I have to question why you need to create your own document class.
I've personally used TeX/LaTeX for 20 years. The absolute best implementation I've ever seen is TeXtures by Blue Sky Research. I started using TeXtures (v0.91) back in 1988. Unfortunately, it's only available on the Mac. However, if your job is to produce high-quality scientific publications then buying a Mac for TeXtures is probably the best use of your time and money. It really is that good.
The user interface is very Mac-like (always has been), and you can see the typeset results immediately as it dynamically updates your typeset document as you type.
Nooo...
"Publicly available" is an adjective phrase that describes source code that is available to the public.
The phrase "Open Source" (capitalized or otherwise) was not widely used before folks like Eric Raymond and OSI started promoting it. The term has a specific meaning within the context of software development that you are attempting to re-define.
Gee, I didn't know Slash depended heavily on floating-poing math performance... I thought it was all about moving bytes around.
If you are doing advanced work in math, you have no business learning how to maintain a Linux system. This will distract you from your studies and research. The only reason a math major should learn Linux is if they plan to fail as a mathematician and need a second career option. But who am I to talk, I failed as a physicist and have been a sys-admin for 20 years... :-)
Buy a Macintosh. Everything you want to do in Python is possible on the Macintosh.
Buy Textures. This is a commercial TeX/LaTeX system for the Macintosh published by Blue Sky TeX Systems. It costs money but is worth every penny. There is student pricing. I have used it since 1987.
Focus, dammit!
It's about knowing that the developer isn't a known criminal or terrorist, doesn't have ties with criminals or terrorists, isn't blackmail-able, and can be punished under US law. How can you possibly verify this with a foreign developer?
Having been a Unix System Administrator for 19 years, I have learned that letting the new release "upgrade" your old machine is a bad idea and should be avoided. Here are my reasons why:
1. The vendor can never test against all reasonable end-user modifications. There's not enough time.
2. So, unless your system is completely stock, the upgrade path for *your* system hasn't been tested.
3. And if the upgrade path hasn't been tested, then there's a good chance it may break something.
The way to get perfect results every time is to assume ALL upgrades will actually be complete re-installs, and plan your configuration accordingly. Done correctly, your re-install won't involve losing any user data or important configuration files.
This also makes the vendors' life easier, as they don't have to test their upgrade process against all previous versions. The vendor may be deluded into believing that they can handle upgrades without re-installing, but they will only manage it for a little while. It's easy to do if you only have one or two earlier releases, but the complications expand geometrically as the number of prior releases goes up.
That there may not be copper reserves available for a massive deployment of additional copper. Due to increased demand in developing countries there is a copper shortage coming in the next 15 years.
v eFuels.htm
Please see:
http://www.doi.gov/ocl/2006/RenewableAndAlternati
Unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material FOR PROFIT is clearly illegal. This will go down faster than Napster, and everyone who "shared" in the revenue could be liable for the full penalty.
Don't do it, man...
Not sure why you would expect the private sector to be better than the military.
The only loyalty corporations are required to maintain is loyalty to the almighty dollar.
One reason the military is more snafu'd than usual is because they began importing modern corporate management techniques several decades ago. If you don't believe me, re-read Colin Powell's autobiography sometime...
Would we even be having this discussion if the Linux kernel had been licensed under the LGPL?
Classified data is not the issue. Industrial espionage is a big issue that you should not underestimate, and the government is becoming more aware of information security issues.
Sensitive-but-unclassified (SBU) data also deserves protection, and many non-military government facilities have Information Assurance policies that they are required to follow. Proving that a vendors' facilities and processes cannot be exploited by agents of foreign governments is not a simple matter.
Yes, the possibility exists that the process is being exploited in favor of US companies, but please realize that foreign employees are harder to investigate, subpoena, or imprison than those in the US. It is, therefore, more important to give foreign suppliers a thorough review.
And how does this increased level of risk compare to, ummm, death by car?
Let's not forget that PDF is a Federal Information Processing Standard (aka FIPS). Adobe is required to provide free PDF readers and to provide open format specifications as a condition of remaining part of FIPS.
Based on the information in the article, it's not clear what physical principles he's appealling to that would justify adding more parameters to the gravitational model.
I could generate a bicubic mesh from a bunch of random data and claim that I had a "theory" that explained it all. Noone would ever be able to "invalidate" my claim that a polynomial fitting function matched all available data.
But no matter how complicated my polynomials become, my curve-fitting exercise will never reveal that the random data is created by radioactive decay.
It doesn't smell like Physics to me...
You're right. Content providers have no accord with Bellsouth. Therefore their traffic doesn't get any higher priority than anybody elses.
What you're failing to take into account is that not all bandwidth is equal. There are different levels of service, the lowest of which is the "all packets are equal" service. Very democratic, but it doesn't work well for streaming audio and video.
A high-bandwidth service like streaming audio or video needs to reserve a minimum bandwidth to be useable. This is a higher Quality of Service (QoS) than is usually needed for your traditional web or ftp server.
Also, remember that viruses can put a lot of traffic on a net, which would definitely screw up your streaming music video. There's also a lot of traffic every time there's a major OS update released on the 'net.
If Apple (Vonage!) wants iTunes (VoIP!) traffic to get higher priority than other types of traffic, then somebody pays for the increased level of service.
Customers want flat-fee pricing. That's a fact of life. But higher QoS costs more and there's only one place left to go... to the companies selling the high-QoS content.
Would you pay more to haul your firewood in an HOV lane if it meant you could complete deliveries faster during rush hour? Yes? No? Kinda depends on what rush hour is like in your area...
What if your firewood supplier could guarantee their customers that they'd always get to use the HOV lane for their firewood deliveries? Would their customers like that? Yes. Would they make more money? Well, that would depend on how much they pay for those HOV passes...
More importantly, when it's done this way, you don't have to pay more for your truck rental...
Look, moving video over the net requires a steady high-bandwidth transfer while downloading the latest Fedora iso does not. Guaranteeing a steady high-speed transfer is a different level of service that has a cost.
Big companies would rather deal with other big companies than millions of households. There's less overhead.
Besides, this is just the Walmart model. Walmart charges it's suppliers for shelf usage and placement, why can't Bell South charge content "suppliers" for premium bandwidth with guaranteed service levels?
None of this stealing would be happening without Cisco...
To say "becoming" is to use the wrong tense. Try "have become" or "became"...
Ha! I work at the University of Texas. Any software I create during my employment is the property of the UT System. There is no concept of "my" time in my employement contract, as I am an FLSA-exempt employee. And it doesn't matter if it's on my own equipment or theirs.
And since the UT System is part of the Government of the State of Texas, everything I produce is owned by the State.
Welcome to Amerika
As a practicing Information System Security Officer myself, there's two things you need to complete before you install anything:
Step 0:
You must get the proper briefings from your site's Information Systems Security Manager.
At a minimum, you will need to get a Software Validation briefing and possibly an ISSO briefing.
If you haven't completed an SV briefing, then you are not authorized to install ANY operating system on classified hardware.
You will need the ISSO briefing if you are responsible for creating user accounts or are responsible for maintaining the audit records for the system.
Step 1:
You must have a System Security Plan (SSP). This document tells you how your system must be configured, both in terms of physical security and system/network security.
Your SSP, and any systems created under it, need an Interim Approval To Operate (IATO) from the Defense Security Service before you can begin processing classified information.
If you have an existing (approved!) SSP, and your ISSM is authorized to self-certify the OS you are using, then things can happen relatively quickly.
If you do NOT have a pre-existing (approved!) SSP for this new system, then you could be looking at months before your new system is cleared for classified processing.
When I write software as part of my job, whether as employee or contractor, my work-product is generally considered as work-for-hire. I.e. I don't own it because *they* paid me to produce it.
Why doesn't that work for Wedding photos?