No offense, but I should point out that the average upload on attbi's network as indicated by speed tests on broadbandreports.com is far below 256. Sure, some special markets are being allowed to experiment within their local region, but its certainly not even close to uniform or widely possible.
I should know, i was until recently a victim of their shitty network. a single test would look wonderful, but monitoring the connection over time, I began to realize it was the exception, not the rule.
I dont think so much that its necessarily something that we are afraid of, per se, but here's how the resoning breaks out: The Internet has been declared a national resource or "Critical Infrastructure" or whatever.
This means someone in the Government gets paid to sit there and worry about "the Internet" and all the things we might want to protect that are accessible online. Think infrastructure, not national secrets, and you get the idea.
So, its not that the idea of terrorists with anonymous internet access is so bad (which is good since as has been pointed out, its not something we could stop anyway). I think the point that people are missing is that the bigger size pipe you have, the larger threat you are to whatever it is we are trying to protect. Internet cafes and standalone kiosks and library terminals are unlikely to be able to effectively conduct a large scale DOS attack (although you could have one set up and "start" it from there), whereas the average corporate lan gives you quite a larger pipe to blast from.
In addition to this, there's no way to automate exploiting open library access, whereas (an extremely unlikely) well coordinated terrorist group could indeed automate the process of gaining access and launching zombie clients, and when these WAPs are unsecured, thats as easy as walking up to the building next door with a laptop. So as much as I disagree that it is likely that any of this will ever happen, I think I understand why these are a concern. The same reason Code Red gets away with causing so much damage is because its so simple its automatic, and because its target is a widely distributed platform likely to be hooked up to a nice fat pipe.
most of the linux desktops have this incoroprated, and its one of the reasons I stick with KDE, is for this very feature. Its not limitless, but its an excellent start.
I like them too, but my problem is this: you go to all this effort of setting up your playlists, getting artists saved in your catalog and defining your tastes, and listen to the music, and everythings fine. But you stop paying for their service and poof, its all gone, like it never was. Its like paying for access to your own music collection, continual. You get nothing to keep. Most of the albums I had bookmarked on there, I already owned and just liked to be able to use the interface to access it all at the computer, without needing to rip.
Possibly one reason his proposal hasn't been accepted is because he doesn't seem to be pitching it very well. His rhetorical style is weak, and doesn't effectively convince me of what hes trying to say. He does make a stand on his authority as an expert, but this comes without any other really supportive logic. The first questions I would ask, if I were one of the Cabinet members he was trying to reach would be "How did you arrive at these numbers for different departments? Are you qualified to know the things you have stated as facts in this proposal?"
Just because you feel like mister poopy pants about a game on a system that _hasn't_ actually been released officially yet because it wasn't released by the company you like or on _your_ system of choice first, doesn't mean it sucks or it died.
By all online accounts, and my own play testing experience, you're wrong. The game is incredible.
frankly, all the bitching about microsoft buying bungie so they could use the game as a launch title is silly. if you want the game, buy their console. I'm planning on it, and the first title in it will be Halo.
PS. The prequel book they just released about the Halo world is _good_. Think Enders Game meets Dark Angel.
Cause this article makes him sound like the worst sort of MS mouthpiece available. And a chump to boot.
The sad thing of it is, though, he likely makes a bazillion times more money than I do and has more job security than God. And he is where he is, because he is willing to make such statements on behalf of The Company. I have no doubt he probably believes those things he is quoted as saying, deep down in his heart. So the only conclusion is what? That he's saying something obviously braindead that CIO's out there will hear and believe? It may be. Or not.
Absolutely right. We're supposed to be all about _choice_! I just set my filter level to the appropriate level and skim, FGS. It's only a vocal portion of / . demanding the removal of a Choice.
I have yet to find a good, well organized resource calling for such volunteers and matching them up against necessary projects. I'm not really quite yet up to a full semi-official "HOWTO" for the linuxdoc distribution, but that covers only a small group of needs, as you point out here.
If you build it, they will come. If someone is actively seeking these people and making it easy to match such alternative-resources to projects as necessary, the people will come to you. Just like any other meritocracy...
(not saying there's not one out there, I'm just still looking for it. something like sourceforge perhaps...)
Re:2.4.12-aa1, or even better 2.4.12-pre3aa1
on
Linux Kernel Bugs
·
· Score: 2
consider the occasional glance at the Kernel Notes:
http://kt.zork.net/kernel-traffic/latest.html
These are well-written summaries of the kenel traffic, posts to the linux kernel developers mailing list. archived, searchable, and fully linked. Quite the handy shortcut to useful content on getting those kernels up to date....
"This way, you have all the advantages of open source, yet you can take comfort in the fact that your software is written by professionals."
You do _not_ get all the advantages of open source. Microsoft and others keep deliberately confusing the issue with references to "shared source" and all the rest, but it is not the same, nor does it gain all the benefits of truly Open software..Net and similar subscription based models still suffer most of the consequences of commercial, closed source software licences. I believe ESR and others have described these differences far more elequently than I.
and BTW, last I checked, using Open Source software was no guarantee that your software was not written by a professional. Many OS developers are paid for their work, and besides, in a meritocracy, software should be written and improved by those best able to do it. So-called professionals are just as much to blame for the issue described in the article
incidentally, I don't think the "click of death" thing really is too overblown, but should be avoidable in at least one case:
the computer labs bought about 100 machines all with Zip drives installed, and one by one they all gave the "click" and died. all further disks inserted into the drive would be munged. eventually, someone figured out that something mechanical would break inside the drive if you inserted a standard 3 inch floppy into the drive. Thus why, one by one, they all almost died, because the students would come in and screw em up....
you have never seen pathetic until you have seen a grad student on his knees screaming at the loss of his masters thesis, due to the fact that the "backup media" died.... O. the humanity.
(I always backed up things on the university network. way more reliable, and they pay someone plenty of money to keep it working. o, and they back up twice a day...)
People considering a change from the top should look at the report card of their IT department in recent times. It's been a bad summer for MS products...
I hate to ask, but are you assuming that everyone who was unable to reach your site never came back to complete the interrupted transaction? If so, I don't believe I would take the numbers themselves quite as seriously. It's unreasonable to assume that based on the average amount of business time a given site remains offline due to Local problems , that people haven't learned "gee, maybe I should come back in 5 minutes". It's kind of a new "internet-ism".
People posting damage estimates should included some indication at how they were arrived at: its just a part of gaining credibility. 50 different companies are going to estimate it 50 different ways, and everyone from consultants to law enforcement will have their own definition.
but on the not-so-cynical side, "damage" has a wide range of meanings and uses. Ask any insurance salesman. And thats another point: by casting the net wide on what they classify as damage, they are fiddling with the end bill that is created as a result from all the devastation.* Think of the insurance claim this is.... Thats real money, and the only question is will it cripple an already down-in-the-mouth economy, or will the "war machine" generate the dough Bush is looking for?
*sounds kinda like what they do in "hacker trials" (or some may say "selective justice")
i believe (can someone else back this up?) that there are certain tax benefits and bonuses for companies that have a certain percentage of the office registered as telecommunters. This was, IIRC, part of the clean-air legislation thats been bandied about.
(i recall a wired article you could look for on exactly this topic, i suggest locating it as well)
Telecommuting is a good PR thing to have on your employee services pages too, to make your place of business a more attractive place to work. Microsoft became famous just for being one of the first places to offer certain kinds of perks, like free sodas. This is now almost standard in many tech-firms (not all, depending on profits, etc etc). Perks are catchy:)
In any case, happy employees == productive employees. Ask anyone in Personnel...
Sorry, you're wrong. At large state universities and likely more and more at smaller institutions, online access is not only an advantage, it's _required_ for many of the classes. It's very common at UW for students to be required to subscribe to a mailing list or listserv the first day of class, and for TA's to conduct their office hours via email since we can't all jam in their mini-cube. (ah, the wonders of a state institution)
it's not just a case of over-embracing technology, we're to the point where these things are part of what allows the whole system to work. Assignments are turned in online sometimes, grades and schedules are managed via secure hhtp, and the servers house our homework.
The view from the top doesn't spread effectively enough from the center, creating a bell curve not unlike the immense quality-of-life gap between First and Third world nations.
As an aside, the recent protests did actually make it on the news in some places, and I think this article in the Times is a reflection of that. This is almost simple enough for average people to understand, if not care about.
I was simply using his position as the lead singer of perhaps a more widely recognizable band as opposed to something like, say, his bid for mayor. Which was funny as hell...
"Rejoice Friends! Big Government Is Over.
...
A national law, establishing childrens bedtime.
Betime Patrol! will check up on you,
(Make sure your bracelets on,)
The Nanny State, to reach down your pants
to check and see if you've been moistening yourselves with any unauthorized substance without permission.
Tag Them! Curfew Them! Keep them down. Keep them at home, to school, to rent a video on the way home, and stay home, just like at work,
Do not gather after dark. Curfew! It's such a family oriented word. A much more acceptable, smiling, soft word. A much more palatable concept than "Martial Law". Put your bracelets on, you're safer when you're watched...
Don't go outside, youll set the alarms off..."
With apologies to Jello Biafra, lead singer of the Dead Kennedies and much more, whose spoken word was set to techno backbeat by Coldcut. Find the MP3 by Coldcut, "Every Home A Prison". (not the toned-down version by Keoki) It ranks about my favorite song ever.
Slashdot Mirror
No offense, but I should point out that the average upload on attbi's network as indicated by speed tests on broadbandreports.com is far below 256. Sure, some special markets are being allowed to experiment within their local region, but its certainly not even close to uniform or widely possible.
I should know, i was until recently a victim of their shitty network. a single test would look wonderful, but monitoring the connection over time, I began to realize it was the exception, not the rule.
DSL forever, baby...
I dont think so much that its necessarily something that we are afraid of, per se, but here's how the resoning breaks out: The Internet has been declared a national resource or "Critical Infrastructure" or whatever.
This means someone in the Government gets paid to sit there and worry about "the Internet" and all the things we might want to protect that are accessible online. Think infrastructure, not national secrets, and you get the idea.
So, its not that the idea of terrorists with anonymous internet access is so bad (which is good since as has been pointed out, its not something we could stop anyway). I think the point that people are missing is that the bigger size pipe you have, the larger threat you are to whatever it is we are trying to protect. Internet cafes and standalone kiosks and library terminals are unlikely to be able to effectively conduct a large scale DOS attack (although you could have one set up and "start" it from there), whereas the average corporate lan gives you quite a larger pipe to blast from.
In addition to this, there's no way to automate exploiting open library access, whereas (an extremely unlikely) well coordinated terrorist group could indeed automate the process of gaining access and launching zombie clients, and when these WAPs are unsecured, thats as easy as walking up to the building next door with a laptop. So as much as I disagree that it is likely that any of this will ever happen, I think I understand why these are a concern. The same reason Code Red gets away with causing so much damage is because its so simple its automatic, and because its target is a widely distributed platform likely to be hooked up to a nice fat pipe.
it all depends what size stick you carry.
most of the linux desktops have this incoroprated, and its one of the reasons I stick with KDE, is for this very feature. Its not limitless, but its an excellent start.
I like them too, but my problem is this: you go to all this effort of setting up your playlists, getting artists saved in your catalog and defining your tastes, and listen to the music, and everythings fine. But you stop paying for their service and poof, its all gone, like it never was. Its like paying for access to your own music collection, continual. You get nothing to keep. Most of the albums I had bookmarked on there, I already owned and just liked to be able to use the interface to access it all at the computer, without needing to rip.
Possibly one reason his proposal hasn't been accepted is because he doesn't seem to be pitching it very well. His rhetorical style is weak, and doesn't effectively convince me of what hes trying to say. He does make a stand on his authority as an expert, but this comes without any other really supportive logic. The first questions I would ask, if I were one of the Cabinet members he was trying to reach would be "How did you arrive at these numbers for different departments? Are you qualified to know the things you have stated as facts in this proposal?"
Appears they are slashdotted to hell and back.
(sigh)
okay Mr. Cranky Troll, you win, I'm posting.
Just because you feel like mister poopy pants about a game on a system that _hasn't_ actually been released officially yet because it wasn't released by the company you like or on _your_ system of choice first, doesn't mean it sucks or it died.
By all online accounts, and my own play testing experience, you're wrong. The game is incredible.
frankly, all the bitching about microsoft buying bungie so they could use the game as a launch title is silly. if you want the game, buy their console. I'm planning on it, and the first title in it will be Halo.
PS. The prequel book they just released about the Halo world is _good_. Think Enders Game meets Dark Angel.
i thought it was "revolution is the opiate of the masses"...
?
i hope Jim Allchin's out looking for a new job.
Cause this article makes him sound like the worst sort of MS mouthpiece available. And a chump to boot.
The sad thing of it is, though, he likely makes a bazillion times more money than I do and has more job security than God. And he is where he is, because he is willing to make such statements on behalf of The Company. I have no doubt he probably believes those things he is quoted as saying, deep down in his heart. So the only conclusion is what? That he's saying something obviously braindead that CIO's out there will hear and believe? It may be. Or not.
go, Consumer!
great comment, i just hope you're wrong on one aspect:
I hope that despite M$'s objections, we get linux on the XBOX anyway, because as cool as the PS2 is, the XB is cooler...
Absolutely right. We're supposed to be all about _choice_! I just set my filter level to the appropriate level and skim, FGS. It's only a vocal portion of / . demanding the removal of a Choice.
why not just browse at +3 or 4 and Get Over It?
where do we sign up to offer such services?
I have yet to find a good, well organized resource calling for such volunteers and matching them up against necessary projects. I'm not really quite yet up to a full semi-official "HOWTO" for the linuxdoc distribution, but that covers only a small group of needs, as you point out here.
If you build it, they will come. If someone is actively seeking these people and making it easy to match such alternative-resources to projects as necessary, the people will come to you. Just like any other meritocracy...
(not saying there's not one out there, I'm just still looking for it. something like sourceforge perhaps...)
consider the occasional glance at the Kernel Notes:
http://kt.zork.net/kernel-traffic/latest.html
These are well-written summaries of the kenel traffic, posts to the linux kernel developers mailing list. archived, searchable, and fully linked. Quite the handy shortcut to useful content on getting those kernels up to date....
one objection to your answer:
.Net and similar subscription based models still suffer most of the consequences of commercial, closed source software licences. I believe ESR and others have described these differences far more elequently than I.
"This way, you have all the advantages of open source, yet you can take comfort in the fact that your software is written by professionals."
You do _not_ get all the advantages of open source. Microsoft and others keep deliberately confusing the issue with references to "shared source" and all the rest, but it is not the same, nor does it gain all the benefits of truly Open software.
and BTW, last I checked, using Open Source software was no guarantee that your software was not written by a professional. Many OS developers are paid for their work, and besides, in a meritocracy, software should be written and improved by those best able to do it. So-called professionals are just as much to blame for the issue described in the article
incidentally, I don't think the "click of death" thing really is too overblown, but should be avoidable in at least one case:
the computer labs bought about 100 machines all with Zip drives installed, and one by one they all gave the "click" and died. all further disks inserted into the drive would be munged. eventually, someone figured out that something mechanical would break inside the drive if you inserted a standard 3 inch floppy into the drive. Thus why, one by one, they all almost died, because the students would come in and screw em up....
you have never seen pathetic until you have seen a grad student on his knees screaming at the loss of his masters thesis, due to the fact that the "backup media" died.... O. the humanity.
(I always backed up things on the university network. way more reliable, and they pay someone plenty of money to keep it working. o, and they back up twice a day...)
Absolutely.
Some one mod this man up...
People considering a change from the top should look at the report card of their IT department in recent times. It's been a bad summer for MS products...
I hate to ask, but are you assuming that everyone who was unable to reach your site never came back to complete the interrupted transaction? If so, I don't believe I would take the numbers themselves quite as seriously. It's unreasonable to assume that based on the average amount of business time a given site remains offline due to Local problems , that people haven't learned "gee, maybe I should come back in 5 minutes". It's kind of a new "internet-ism".
People posting damage estimates should included some indication at how they were arrived at: its just a part of gaining credibility. 50 different companies are going to estimate it 50 different ways, and everyone from consultants to law enforcement will have their own definition.
but on the not-so-cynical side, "damage" has a wide range of meanings and uses. Ask any insurance salesman. And thats another point: by casting the net wide on what they classify as damage, they are fiddling with the end bill that is created as a result from all the devastation.* Think of the insurance claim this is.... Thats real money, and the only question is will it cripple an already down-in-the-mouth economy, or will the "war machine" generate the dough Bush is looking for?
*sounds kinda like what they do in "hacker trials" (or some may say "selective justice")
-
i believe (can someone else back this up?) that there are certain tax benefits and bonuses for companies that have a certain percentage of the office registered as telecommunters. This was, IIRC, part of the clean-air legislation thats been bandied about.
:)
(i recall a wired article you could look for on exactly this topic, i suggest locating it as well)
Telecommuting is a good PR thing to have on your employee services pages too, to make your place of business a more attractive place to work. Microsoft became famous just for being one of the first places to offer certain kinds of perks, like free sodas. This is now almost standard in many tech-firms (not all, depending on profits, etc etc). Perks are catchy
In any case, happy employees == productive employees. Ask anyone in Personnel...
GET THAT LINK TO BUGZILLA OUT OF THE STORY, EDITORS!
There's nothing relevant or terribly useful at all at the link, and SomeOfUsAreTryingToWORK!
(calming down a little)
Revise the story, please!!!!!!
Sorry, you're wrong. At large state universities and likely more and more at smaller institutions, online access is not only an advantage, it's _required_ for many of the classes. It's very common at UW for students to be required to subscribe to a mailing list or listserv the first day of class, and for TA's to conduct their office hours via email since we can't all jam in their mini-cube. (ah, the wonders of a state institution)
it's not just a case of over-embracing technology, we're to the point where these things are part of what allows the whole system to work. Assignments are turned in online sometimes, grades and schedules are managed via secure hhtp, and the servers house our homework.
The view from the top doesn't spread effectively enough from the center, creating a bell curve not unlike the immense quality-of-life gap between First and Third world nations.
As an aside, the recent protests did actually make it on the news in some places, and I think this article in the Times is a reflection of that. This is almost simple enough for average people to understand, if not care about.
I'm aware of this, really.
I was simply using his position as the lead singer of perhaps a more widely recognizable band as opposed to something like, say, his bid for mayor. Which was funny as hell...
"Rejoice Friends! Big Government Is Over.
...
A national law, establishing childrens bedtime.
Betime Patrol! will check up on you,
(Make sure your bracelets on,)
The Nanny State, to reach down your pants
to check and see if you've been moistening yourselves with any unauthorized substance without permission.
Tag Them! Curfew Them! Keep them down. Keep them at home, to school, to rent a video on the way home, and stay home, just like at work,
Do not gather after dark. Curfew! It's such a family oriented word. A much more acceptable, smiling, soft word. A much more palatable concept than "Martial Law". Put your bracelets on, you're safer when you're watched...
Don't go outside, youll set the alarms off..."
With apologies to Jello Biafra, lead singer of the Dead Kennedies and much more, whose spoken word was set to techno backbeat by Coldcut. Find the MP3 by Coldcut, "Every Home A Prison". (not the toned-down version by Keoki) It ranks about my favorite song ever.