Isn't it wierd how one scary theory cancels out another? It's almost like the scientists are having fun trying to outdo each other in their competition for "scary theory" funding, or whatever they call it in the current budget.
Or what if the encrypted data was put there by a virus or some other source?
If you really want to hide something under the new rules, encrypt it and store it on a network of zombie computers, or a p2p network. That will cause real problems for others, but you'll never have possession to be charged with not providing the keys.
Or, just compromise your enemy's computer and store some encrypted files there and then turn them in as a concerned citizen. Even if they manage to get aquitted, the implied guilt during the process will destroy their lives. It's sort of scary if they're gonna assume you are the one who did the encryption simply because you possess the file.
I remember using the DOS debug command to perform a low level format of a hard drive. I bought a Western Digital RLL controller and a 40MB MFM hard dive. Using the low level format, I was able to format that drive with RLL encoding to get 65MB of drive space out of my 40MB drive.
Explain that they will need to pay for the software before you install it, but if they want you to install Linux and OpenOffice, then you'll be happy to comply and it won't cost them anything for the software.
I can let some of it slide but I would be worried if the leader of an OSS project has a lot of venom for another project. It clouds their decision making.
You are so right!
I think the main risk is that the focus is moved off creating the best solution. When anyone starts spending time and effort tripping up their "opponent", they inevitably slow down their own progress. In a worst case, the goal becomes the defeat of the opponent, rather than the success of your own program.
Except that blocklists don't stop you sending email, they merely allow others to decide whether to accept that mail. Or do you think other people should be forced to accept any and every email you send?
You've missed the point, at least in the business world. I've spent many hours explaining to end users at other companies that the decision that their IT dept or ISP made to use a blacklist is preventing some of their customers from contacting them. This conversation usually clear things up quickly with a several very polite emails or phone calls from their email admin to make sure it's working (at this point, he's probably hoping to save his job after making an ill-informed decision to use the list int the first place).
The point is that in a business environment, wasted time is wasted money, and the block lists are dangerous for business use. Use them for your own personal use, but put your company on it at your own peril.
Our ISP (a company who shall remain nameless, but the spell checker want to change it to "venison") is on several lists which have blocked their entire netblock as being dynamic. The creator of the blocklist is just an idiot who can't undertand whois records and so just blocks everything because it's the only way he can get his mind around tough concepts like subnets. We finally added another ISP and use them to send email. I don't care if anyone sets up a block list, I don't even care who uses them unless they want to do business with us, then they've wasted my time, and then I care.
I imagine plants must be incredibly difficult to "declare extinct", after all - how would you show for sure that none are present in a country the size of America? Whilst plants may seem to be local to a specific area because of their preference for a certain type of soil, pH or shade, it doesn't follow that, because the ones you know about are dead, then the plant is extinct.
Good point. This is obviously a case where there was a rush to judgement 70 years ago. It also tends to be a self-fulfilling prophecy in that few botanists were looking for an "extinct" species. Perhaps that gave it the time to recover. It's also well accepted that seeds can survive for a long time under some pretty adverse conditions and restart a population that was thought to be long gone.
You're also right about the motivations. An extinct species has a certain "cache'". I know because I breed tropical fish and I have 3 species that are "known" to be extinct in the wild. 2 of these are annual fish that lay eggs in the mud, then die when their pond dries out. They don't seem to have as much longevity as plant seeds, but the same principle could bring them back. Since they still exist in the aquaium hobby, we are happily breeding them and the tag "extinct in the wild" does make them more interesting. I'm honestly not sure how excited I would be to find that they were rediscovered. I think I would be pleased, but it's so cool to have such rare fish living and breeding in my basement. They are prolific too, I can assure you they didn't die out from low libidos.
My concern is, what if the pipe sucks up all these exotic bottom-dwelling fish?
Think of it like a tubular hot tub for the fish. They get an exciting ride to a warmer place for a little while before having to rejoin the real world.
It really sounds kind of fun. They'll likely have a blast!
If I decide to get up for a potty break while your flash ads are playing, does that mean I'm stealing from you?
Perhaps you should turn all your web pages into PDF's and make potential viewers download and view them that way so you can get the level of control you seek. Still, I'm not sure how you can prevent people from visually skipping over portions of the content that they consider less interesting, but I'm sure the guys who devised the current DVD formats are working on that problem already, so you may soon be able to close that loophole as well.
Curiously, I haven't ever viewed your website (that I know of), and my desire to do so is less now than before I even knew it existed. But you will be saving whatever server bandwidth I might have consumed, so this looks like a win-win.
More than two weeks will make the whole thing akward.
In this case, I would agree, but that is not a general rule, even in this field. Every time I've changed positions (going back at least 15 years) I've left on the best of terms, always with at least 4 weeks notice. Several times I have actually interleaved my work days between the 2 companies to make the transfer of knowledge as seemless as possible. It was easy to negotiate this with my new employer because they realized then the sort of employee they were getting (often the new position had some "ramp up" time anyway).
Giving an extra effort even when you might not get a visible, immediate payback will always help more than it costs you. Call it "karma", good will, or "the Golden Rule", but being nice has it's rewards. The last job I left, gave me a 3 month consulting retainer in case they needed me (and they did, one time) and left my company-paid ISDN private connection in place during that time "just in case". All accounts and passwords were also left in place (including root access to all production systems) to faciliate my access to my former employer's systems because they trusted me. Both parties benefited from this arrangement and I left feeling like I had given my best to the company, both during and after my employement.
Somebody hand me a cluestick, because that guy really needs a whack with it.
Seriously, how can the CEO of a Linux-oriented company say something like this. He's either:
a) managed to avoid listening to his engineers,
b) got them cowed into telling him only what he wants to hear, or
c) he's found the most clueless engineers on the planet to work for him (did he hire people from Microsoft, or what?).
I think he's hearing rumors that people are criticizing Linspire for running as root and they are thinking about changing that, but honestly can't figure out why it's better to not run as root. He wants a list of reasons for the marketing of their new "secure" version of Linspire.
Well, I for one am not helping with this, he can do his own homework, I'm not letting him copy mine.
Ack, I can hardly type for laughing so hard. Thanks!
This is the funniest post I've read in a long time. What a mental image that presents. I know he'd do it too.
I think this same math explains why a new computer costing $399 comes with $50,000 worth of "free" software. No wonder people think "free" software is crap. Oh, and it turns out that it's not really free after all.
Linus got the kernel caught in this same sort of marketing-speak and now he using a personal attack to deflect criticism from the original decision, which like most proprietary software looked really good at the time, but turned out to be a huge waste of resources.
Bruce is right, Linus really got this one wrong, both then and now. RMS usually makes me a bit uneasy, but in this case, he (and a multitude of others) have every right to get in Linus' face and say "See, I told you so!".
Slashdot Mirror
Isn't it wierd how one scary theory cancels out another? It's almost like the scientists are having fun trying to outdo each other in their competition for "scary theory" funding, or whatever they call it in the current budget.
Remember - Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.
Simon
If you really want to hide something under the new rules, encrypt it and store it on a network of zombie computers, or a p2p network. That will cause real problems for others, but you'll never have possession to be charged with not providing the keys.
Or, just compromise your enemy's computer and store some encrypted files there and then turn them in as a concerned citizen. Even if they manage to get aquitted, the implied guilt during the process will destroy their lives. It's sort of scary if they're gonna assume you are the one who did the encryption simply because you possess the file.
I remember using the DOS debug command to perform a low level format of a hard drive. I bought a Western Digital RLL controller and a 40MB MFM hard dive. Using the low level format, I was able to format that drive with RLL encoding to get 65MB of drive space out of my 40MB drive.
I didn't think I could ever use that much space.
You only need to remember 2 dates each year and that's easily cronable.
We'll be the first to break the 100% barrier.
Fellow geeks -- it doesn't get any better than this. When we cross the 100% barrier, the sky is the limit, I tell ya!
A: A Speedbump
1-800-SCAM-NOW
(you really should check this stuff before you hit the post button)
Explain that they will need to pay for the software before you install it, but if they want you to install Linux and OpenOffice, then you'll be happy to comply and it won't cost them anything for the software.
You are so right!
I think the main risk is that the focus is moved off creating the best solution. When anyone starts spending time and effort tripping up their "opponent", they inevitably slow down their own progress. In a worst case, the goal becomes the defeat of the opponent, rather than the success of your own program.
You've missed the point, at least in the business world. I've spent many hours explaining to end users at other companies that the decision that their IT dept or ISP made to use a blacklist is preventing some of their customers from contacting them. This conversation usually clear things up quickly with a several very polite emails or phone calls from their email admin to make sure it's working (at this point, he's probably hoping to save his job after making an ill-informed decision to use the list int the first place).
The point is that in a business environment, wasted time is wasted money, and the block lists are dangerous for business use. Use them for your own personal use, but put your company on it at your own peril.
Our ISP (a company who shall remain nameless, but the spell checker want to change it to "venison") is on several lists which have blocked their entire netblock as being dynamic. The creator of the blocklist is just an idiot who can't undertand whois records and so just blocks everything because it's the only way he can get his mind around tough concepts like subnets. We finally added another ISP and use them to send email. I don't care if anyone sets up a block list, I don't even care who uses them unless they want to do business with us, then they've wasted my time, and then I care.
Make them sit in a cold room and listen to rap music all day.
Oh wait, we can't do that, it's inhumane!
The funny thing is, I don't have any kids....
Good point. This is obviously a case where there was a rush to judgement 70 years ago. It also tends to be a self-fulfilling prophecy in that few botanists were looking for an "extinct" species. Perhaps that gave it the time to recover. It's also well accepted that seeds can survive for a long time under some pretty adverse conditions and restart a population that was thought to be long gone.
You're also right about the motivations. An extinct species has a certain "cache'". I know because I breed tropical fish and I have 3 species that are "known" to be extinct in the wild. 2 of these are annual fish that lay eggs in the mud, then die when their pond dries out. They don't seem to have as much longevity as plant seeds, but the same principle could bring them back. Since they still exist in the aquaium hobby, we are happily breeding them and the tag "extinct in the wild" does make them more interesting. I'm honestly not sure how excited I would be to find that they were rediscovered. I think I would be pleased, but it's so cool to have such rare fish living and breeding in my basement. They are prolific too, I can assure you they didn't die out from low libidos.
Think of it like a tubular hot tub for the fish. They get an exciting ride to a warmer place for a little while before having to rejoin the real world.
It really sounds kind of fun. They'll likely have a blast!
Wow, no wonder you posted AC!
Perhaps you should turn all your web pages into PDF's and make potential viewers download and view them that way so you can get the level of control you seek. Still, I'm not sure how you can prevent people from visually skipping over portions of the content that they consider less interesting, but I'm sure the guys who devised the current DVD formats are working on that problem already, so you may soon be able to close that loophole as well.
Curiously, I haven't ever viewed your website (that I know of), and my desire to do so is less now than before I even knew it existed. But you will be saving whatever server bandwidth I might have consumed, so this looks like a win-win.
In this case, I would agree, but that is not a general rule, even in this field. Every time I've changed positions (going back at least 15 years) I've left on the best of terms, always with at least 4 weeks notice. Several times I have actually interleaved my work days between the 2 companies to make the transfer of knowledge as seemless as possible. It was easy to negotiate this with my new employer because they realized then the sort of employee they were getting (often the new position had some "ramp up" time anyway).
Giving an extra effort even when you might not get a visible, immediate payback will always help more than it costs you. Call it "karma", good will, or "the Golden Rule", but being nice has it's rewards. The last job I left, gave me a 3 month consulting retainer in case they needed me (and they did, one time) and left my company-paid ISDN private connection in place during that time "just in case". All accounts and passwords were also left in place (including root access to all production systems) to faciliate my access to my former employer's systems because they trusted me. Both parties benefited from this arrangement and I left feeling like I had given my best to the company, both during and after my employement.
From now on, let's insist that they connect the Linux server to the network while they are running the benchmark.
If you need strong data integrity but not high availability, choose MS SQL Server.
And if you need both, choose Oracle or Postgresql, depending on whether low price or enterprise-grade support is more important to you.
Larry said very clearly that his company is the most open source friendly company in existance. Surely he wouldn't lie about that would he?
Seriously, I'd have modded you up, but you were already at the max.
Seriously, how can the CEO of a Linux-oriented company say something like this. He's either:
a) managed to avoid listening to his engineers,
b) got them cowed into telling him only what he wants to hear, or
c) he's found the most clueless engineers on the planet to work for him (did he hire people from Microsoft, or what?).
I think he's hearing rumors that people are criticizing Linspire for running as root and they are thinking about changing that, but honestly can't figure out why it's better to not run as root. He wants a list of reasons for the marketing of their new "secure" version of Linspire.
Well, I for one am not helping with this, he can do his own homework, I'm not letting him copy mine.
Ack, I can hardly type for laughing so hard. Thanks!
This is the funniest post I've read in a long time. What a mental image that presents. I know he'd do it too.
Linus got the kernel caught in this same sort of marketing-speak and now he using a personal attack to deflect criticism from the original decision, which like most proprietary software looked really good at the time, but turned out to be a huge waste of resources.
Bruce is right, Linus really got this one wrong, both then and now. RMS usually makes me a bit uneasy, but in this case, he (and a multitude of others) have every right to get in Linus' face and say "See, I told you so!".
Colonel Panic seems trivial once you've had General Failure try to read your hard disk.