How is connecting to an FTP server, performing a valid anonymous
login, and retrieiving a file, qualitatively different than
r00t-kitting someone's server and slurping whatever you can find?
Sure - it seems clear as night or day to you or I, but
say it in a way that will stand up to judicial review, and keep in
mind that the SCOTUS takes a dim view of statutes that include "Go ask
Slashdot"...
Now, run the following gray-area test-cases against that statute,
and see where they land.
Suppose your favorite web-site (http://cluon.com/) is coming out with something new.
You dictionary search their web-root and find something fascinating in/top_secret. Authorized access or not?
Deep linking. I'm tired of deadbeats deep-linking into
e-my-pretty-pony.net, cutting into my multi-million dollar revenue
stream of banner ads. I do some clever hacks with http_referer, to
prevent deep linking.
Someone writes a browser-plugin to spoof the header, so you can get
that lucious pony-pr0n. Authorized or not?
As a Perl bigot, let me be the first to say neener, neener,
neener. Of course, I realize that pack()/unpack() could be just
as likely to contain this fault, so there but for the grace of God
go I...
Curiously, my feelings about PHP are about the same as my feelings
about Linux -- it isn't that I think it's awful -- I just hate its
fanboys.
And it is a trivial case to inject power into the ethernet stream... look at a circuit for putting repeater power on a T1 span from the late 70s... You just need to redo the magnetics to handle the higher passband of Ethernet.
Who's to say that a cheapie network extender installed in a rat's nest of cabling five years ago wouldn't start a fire when you hook something like this up?
How about the same UL (and their international equivalents) standards that already keep these same devices from catching fire if accidentally connected to telecoms lines.
Your assertion that...used to them being safe as phone lines... begs the question*. Phone lines are not intrinsically safe, and the central office can easily provide several watts of power at 90VAC for ringers.
*Look, ma! Someone on slashdot who knows what 'begs the question' means!
In the US, at least, to meet Part 68, telephone gear must also handle line-crosses to 600Vac without creating a hazardous situation.
There is no fundamental reason that DC power-pass could not be made to work with Gig-E, just as a single pair can simultaneously carry RF, DC power, and a tuning voltage (the feedline to the LNB for a DBS satellite).
Other Annual Nerd News Events (Funny, dammit)
on
Geminid Meteor Shower
·
· Score: 2, Funny
Remember, in a few weeks, the year number will increment for all users of the Gregorian calendar.
You read it here on/. first! Warn all your friends -- don't be one of those saps still writing 2004 on your checks come next January!
The only problem is obviously the high voltage - if you are going to have 12 year olds messing with these things you need to make sure the cameras are insulated well before you let anyone turn on the power
I'm serious here: Let him get zapped. The currents available from a circuit like that are pretty darned unlikely to inflict serious damage, but they'll taach a lesson that no amount of stern talking will ever do: Voltage can really hurt.
I am glad all of my early electronic playing was on vaccum tube gear -- I learned (painfully) at an early age to keep in mind that the B-plus supply is ten kinds of no fun.
Re:A clean bill of health.
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Broadband Bits
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· Score: 1
As disinclined as I am to feed the trolls...
Sixty years ago, sure, those were serious issues in economic development. Now, sanitation and water are not top issues, because in most of the developed world, they are solved problems.
While fantasizing about vigilanteism is entertaining, it really is not a good idea, just because of the lack of control.... to-wit:
Hey, HeadCrackers Ltd. I was recently DDoSed by a group of hackers, led by someone who uses the slashdot handle Tyndmyr. I don't know anything else about him, but I would really appreciate it if someone would lop off a few fingers. Not only did he totally scrag my website "e-My-pretty-pony", costing me millions of dollars in lost sales revenue overnight, but he sent henchmen to my house who dyed my cat blue! I really hate him! MURDER! DEATH! KILL!
I think this should illustrate the potential for abuse.
The language issue is that Indian programmers can, by and large, read and write English. Something that consistent readers of Slashdot will find American programmers are incapable of.
I have been contracting for most of my adult life.
My list of ten tips for success:
Find a niche. Learn some obscure system or language that will set you apart from the herd. Do you want to be one of 7,412 guys who spent the weekend installing distro and now call themslves Linux consultants, or the one guy who has experience integrating MumblefrotzOS with ObscureDatabase?
Go for breadth. (This contradicts number 1). While specialization is a good thing, you also will need to answer any question of the form Can you....? with Yes!.
Build a portfolio. Take on non-paying projects for non-profit groups that will give you absolute technical control and complete them and polish them well. Write good code. Document it well.
Set limits. Decide how much you want to work in a week, and then limit yourself to that schedule. Don't fall into the trap of thinking "I could go to the movies, or I could bill three hours on Project P." Have work time and play time.
Partner with a starving artist. Nothing will turn a potential client away from you as fast as a great piece of code with an ugly face on it. If you don't have an eye for UI, hook up with someone who DOES, and trade her skills for yours.
Do it because you love it. You will spend a lot fo time doing this. If you do not LOVE coding/software enginerring, go find a comfortable job where you can slack off and disappear in the organization.
It is okay to play hard to get. Do not take the project where the client comes to you and says, "well, we spent 90% of the budget hiring Joe Loser and we can't use anything he wrote - we want you to do the entire project for 10% of the budget." These people will not reward your hard work with loyalty. They will forever see you as a door mat.
Learn to write good contracts/specifications. Most clients really don't know exactly what they want, so you are not going to get anything like a reasonable specification out of them. That means you need to write a specification for what you intend to write, and then get the client to sign off on that. Add on time-and-material for any changes that deviate from that written specification.
Work with a mentor. Find a successful contractor that does something like you want to do, and work with them for a few years. Swallow a little pride and take the crumbs from their table - successful contractors always have more work than they can do personally, and will be glad to sub out simple projects to a newcomer.
Never fail to deliver on a contract. Bad news travels ten times faster than good news. Getting out from under a reputation as a flake is nearly impossible.
That's the point - they say PBX is dead. They sell VoIP. Big shock there.
Yeah, but they are also a major player in traditional PBX hardware. They are writing about the changes in an industry they have been in for some years.
I was under the impression that even though the wheels are turning, if you turn the key off, no gas is sent to the engine and the engine would quickly be at 0 RPM
Your impression is wrong. So long as your car is in gear, there is a mechanical connection between the wheels and the engine. (In a standard transmission auto, until you come to a dead stop; in an automatic transmission until some very low speed where insufficient power is backfed through the torque converter to continue turning the engine against its own compression. On the order of 15 to 30 km/h.
Well -- I have had several Fiats in my days. One of which the front half of the car was held to the back half basically by the fenders, because the frame was broken, so yes they did have...curious...failure modes.
On the other hand, there was a period in the 50s and 60s where Italian sports cars ruled the roost. And they were well engineered.
Back to French autos: I had a friend who owned a Peugeot - and he complained, as we were waiting for the tow truck, This car has had parts fail that I'd never even HEARD of! What the hell is a fuel accumulator?!. I speculated it was a pressure buffer in the fuel injection system.
True, but moving to Lock is substantially past Off... Also, in one car I had (maybe that same Volvo) the steering lock-pawl did not fall in until the key was actually removed from the switch.
Unless you have one of the (few) cars with electrical power steering, you certainly will not lose power steering by shutting of the ignition.
So long as the engine is turning, the entirely mechanical power steering pump will continue to rotate and provide pressure to the system.
So long as the engine is generating manifold vacuum, you will have power brake boost. Beyond that, some cars (I know my old Volvo had one) have a diaphragm vacuum pump in addition to manifold vacuum to power the brake booster.
The only danger in killing ignition is in carburated autos, where you will continue to run fuel through the engine without spark. This will destroy any catalytic converter, and has a good chance of causing numerous backfires, and damaging the remainder of the exhaust system.
In the same Volvo wagon with the vacuum pump, it had a major overheating problem, but with its fuel-injected engine, killing ignition was a non-issue. No electricity, no fuel pump, no backfire. After climbing a long grade and getting up to 130, cresting the hill, and killing the ignition would cool it back down in just a few tens of seconds just from pumping all that relatively cold air through the engine. (Of course, shock cooling the engine was probably worse for it than the overheating, but it was a dispos-a-car anyway.)
Slashdot Mirror
This is an interesting question ...
How is connecting to an FTP server, performing a valid anonymous login, and retrieiving a file, qualitatively different than r00t-kitting someone's server and slurping whatever you can find?
Sure - it seems clear as night or day to you or I, but say it in a way that will stand up to judicial review, and keep in mind that the SCOTUS takes a dim view of statutes that include "Go ask Slashdot"...
Now, run the following gray-area test-cases against that statute, and see where they land.
See? It's not always cut and dried.
As a Perl bigot, let me be the first to say neener, neener, neener. Of course, I realize that pack()/unpack() could be just as likely to contain this fault, so there but for the grace of God go I ...
Curiously, my feelings about PHP are about the same as my feelings about Linux -- it isn't that I think it's awful -- I just hate its fanboys.
And it is a trivial case to inject power into the ethernet stream ... look at a circuit for putting repeater power on a T1 span from the late 70s ... You just need to redo the magnetics to handle the higher passband of Ethernet.
Your assertion that ...used to them being safe as phone lines... begs the question*. Phone lines are not intrinsically safe, and the central office can easily provide several watts of power at 90VAC for ringers.
*Look, ma! Someone on slashdot who knows what 'begs the question' means!
In the US, at least, to meet Part 68, telephone gear must also handle line-crosses to 600Vac without creating a hazardous situation.
I sure hope your job isn't soothsayer.
There is no fundamental reason that DC power-pass could not be made to work with Gig-E, just as a single pair can simultaneously carry RF, DC power, and a tuning voltage (the feedline to the LNB for a DBS satellite).
Remember, in a few weeks, the year number will increment for all users of the Gregorian calendar.
You read it here on /. first! Warn all your friends -- don't be one of those saps still writing 2004 on your checks come next January!
Obligatory Tom Lehrer quote:
From That Was The Year That WasI've put a few links to this posting around this thread, because I think it is the best metaphor for explaining the context of Gore's quote.
If there were a Best Of Slashdot, this comment would get my nomination.
This guy said it best
This guy said it best
What this guy says
I've dealt with bonehead programmers from India, bonehead programmers from Mexico, and bonehead programmers from Berkeley.
India does not have any monopoly on clueless newbies: Why, just look at how many we have here on /., most of whom are from the US :)
I am glad all of my early electronic playing was on vaccum tube gear -- I learned (painfully) at an early age to keep in mind that the B-plus supply is ten kinds of no fun.
As disinclined as I am to feed the trolls ...
Sixty years ago, sure, those were serious issues in economic development. Now, sanitation and water are not top issues, because in most of the developed world, they are solved problems.
While fantasizing about vigilanteism is entertaining, it really is not a good idea, just because of the lack of control.... to-wit:
I think this should illustrate the potential for abuse.HAND
The language issue is that Indian programmers can, by and large, read and write English. Something that consistent readers of Slashdot will find American programmers are incapable of.
I have been contracting for most of my adult life.
My list of ten tips for success:
Well -- I have had several Fiats in my days. One of which the front half of the car was held to the back half basically by the fenders, because the frame was broken, so yes they did have ...curious...failure modes.
On the other hand, there was a period in the 50s and 60s where Italian sports cars ruled the roost. And they were well engineered.
Back to French autos: I had a friend who owned a Peugeot - and he complained, as we were waiting for the tow truck, This car has had parts fail that I'd never even HEARD of! What the hell is a fuel accumulator?!. I speculated it was a pressure buffer in the fuel injection system.
I don't get it. Is this a Belgium reference?
When I do feel the need, I order papas fritas
True, but moving to Lock is substantially past Off ... Also, in one car I had (maybe that same Volvo) the steering lock-pawl did not fall in until the key was actually removed from the switch.
Uhmmmmmmmm ... no.
Unless you have one of the (few) cars with electrical power steering, you certainly will not lose power steering by shutting of the ignition.
So long as the engine is turning, the entirely mechanical power steering pump will continue to rotate and provide pressure to the system.
So long as the engine is generating manifold vacuum, you will have power brake boost. Beyond that, some cars (I know my old Volvo had one) have a diaphragm vacuum pump in addition to manifold vacuum to power the brake booster.
The only danger in killing ignition is in carburated autos, where you will continue to run fuel through the engine without spark. This will destroy any catalytic converter, and has a good chance of causing numerous backfires, and damaging the remainder of the exhaust system.
In the same Volvo wagon with the vacuum pump, it had a major overheating problem, but with its fuel-injected engine, killing ignition was a non-issue. No electricity, no fuel pump, no backfire. After climbing a long grade and getting up to 130, cresting the hill, and killing the ignition would cool it back down in just a few tens of seconds just from pumping all that relatively cold air through the engine. (Of course, shock cooling the engine was probably worse for it than the overheating, but it was a dispos-a-car anyway.)
He was driving a Renault?
People -- there is a reason the least often uttered phrase in the world is Quality French Engineering