Looks like we have some fresh talent in the/. editorial pool:
From the Spamhous Project page, we have:
EMARKETERSAMERICA.ORG, INC.,
A Florida Non Profic Corporation.
Non Profic? What's so bad about Profics?
And from the emarketersamerica page, we have:
U.S. Economy Will Suffer if Anti-Spammers Get Their Way and
Crippled the Billion Dollar e-Mail Marketing Business
Certainly you mean The U.S. Economy, and perhaps even the present-tense Cripple instead of the past-tense Crippled.
Sigh
I'm upset because I went through twelve years of school and never learned:
list of real-world skills and lessons
Did you learn how to learn? The rest comes easy. If you learned that the only path to knowledge comes from your classroom teachers, then you're screwed and you should be upset.
If, on the other hand, you learned that you are capable of seeking and attaining knowledge, then your schooling was not a waste.
There is no way to teach you all of life's lessons in 12 years. Decent schooling can equip you to learn them, the rest is up to you.
Now I'm off to think up a new sig along the lines of "you can't learn life's lessons from google, at least not with site=slashdot.org"
Of course, you could look in a real dictionary, like the OED, and see what they have to say. And they say that access as a verb can be traced back to at least 1962, in a comp sci context no less:
access, v. 1. trans. a. To gain access to (data, etc., held in a computer or computer-based system, or the system itself).
1962 A. M. ANGEL in M. C. Yovits Large-Capacity Memory Techniques for Computing Systems 150 Through a system of binary-coded addresses notched into each card, a particular card may be accessed for read and write operations.
Mom was an english teacher during the period that this particular bit of linguistic evolution was happening. I fully realize that I'm fighting a long-since lost battle, but it's one of the perversions of the languange that I'm unwilling to accept.
Access is a noun. Hence one can perform an act which becomes illegal access, one can grant or revoke access, but one cannot access something anymore than one can plane, car, or fireplug.
Of course, bitching on/. about grammar is about as pointless as crying "Dupe" But what the hell, I do that too.
--
Registration is just the first step
on
Surviving Tornadoes
·
· Score: 3, Funny
Oh sure, it seems harmless now -- "Just register your shelter with the government, and we'll help you out later!" But the next thing you know, Big Brother has these lists of shelters! It only makes it easier when they need to confiscate them later!! I tell you what, you can have my unregistered shelter when you pry it from my cold, dead hands!
...and lead to faster computers and telecommunication equipment.
Doesn't it seem like this catch-phrase is tacked onto every new discovery? Couldn't these folks just be making nifty flashlight bulb replacements? Does EVERYTHING need to give us faster computers?
Most households only have one computer. No network. no multiple machines. Johnny, Dad, Mom, and Suzie all use the same computer. A multi-user OS is the proper way to do this, so that Dad doesn't have to worry about Johnny fscking up his files, or if dad is the administrator, of johnny, suzie, or mom fscking up the computer system files.
Your take -- The problem is that most households have 1 PC, the solution is a multi-user OS
The Lindows view -- you've got the problem right, but the solution is to make PCs cheap enough to be commodity instead of big iron. As someone else points out, The cost of one Dell gets you 4 Lindows OS PCs.
My ex-g/f and her two children certainly have no problems with the linux box I built for them.
But a geek still had to build it for them. And if your ex and her kids are not geeks, then they're stuck with what you've provided. They still have the PITA factor of dealing with root if they need to change something (new printer, new version of Netscape)
I'm not trying to take a stand on the root/non-root debate, but I think many non-root folks are missing the point. Robertson is trying to take a new perspective on pushing Linux into previously impenetrable markets. Bitching that he's just a lazy sysadmin promoting lazy system admin habits is missing that point.
Close, but no cigar. (although your post is +1 Funny, not -1 Overrated)
Popularity with the/. crowd doesn't get you sales, it only drives up your bandwidth expense. We're all a bunch of cheap-ass bastards that expect cheetos and Mtn Dew delivered on a silver platter for free.
Oh yeah, and OGG support too.
Sorry, Mac OS X is not running as root out of the box.
While the first user is an Admin, they do no have root access, there are many directories they can't see, and they can't go in and trash stuff in another users account.
While you point out an interesting distinction (BSD/OSX's difference between admin and root) it is beside the point.
Robertson's contention is that commodity PCs aren't running as multi-user systems. The person who powers it on is the user, the admin, the only one using it. There are no "other users" to trash. The tradeoff is convenience/security. Some claim that it's better to spend your day-to-day operations in an unpriv account, and intentionally change to a priv account when those privs are needed. Robertson's claim is that non-geeks don't want to make that distinction or take that extra step, and the reduction in protection is worth it for ease of use and the resulting acceptance.
He's in an interesting position by pushing an OS for folks without CS (or generally geeky) backgrounds. My linux boxes all have non-priv accounts, and I use sudo when I need it. To be quite honest though, I'm typing on a win2k box, and my user has full Administrator privs. It is also a single-user system. There are no other users who's data needs to be protected. Am I more vulnerable to OS damage from inadvertant actions? Sure. Do I care enough to give up the convenience, not really.
Sorry to disappoint, but she moved later that year.
No prom, no 2.5-kids-and-a-dog. I don't think I showed her my programming prowess. (How geeky do you think I am? Wait, don't answer that)
Again I say: It was the 3rd grade, what did you expect?
I got a big tattoo of my SSN in barcode format right on my forehead.
That way people know who I am.
It is unclear from any of those links if this makes me cool or not.
Without even checking on the links, I can answer. This does not make you cool.
I'm not saying you're not cool, but if you are, it would be in spite of your forehead, not because of it.
And you're going to get ~30GB of storage how, exactly?
The article says they're at 5 cards at 4G each today. We're 2/3rds of the way there. Expect card capacity to increase.
--
I don't WANT to hear the same crap over and over
on
Machine Learning and MP3s
·
· Score: 4, Interesting
Here's a short version of what I want to hear: "Something that challenges my tastes."
Mostly, I listen to Radio 1190, the CU Boulder station. I'd say that I enjoy about 1 song in 4. I keep listening because I find out about local bands that I'd never hear, I hear indie bands (not just bands running on the "indie" branch of a major label) and I get DJs who love what they do. (here's where I give mad props to Milkman Dan)
What's your spiffy MP3-scanning-neural-network-plugin going to do with me, eh?
Not anymore, but I worked for a fortune100 company through the 90s. We had invention disclosure forms (spit out three of those a month) followed by draft applications for the USPTO (lucky to get one of those every year or two) followed by actual applications, followed by issued patents.
I have 8 applications in my name, and two patents issued in my name (jointly - the whole project team in each instance)
Are the inventions worthwhile? Not in the slightest. But collectively, the sizeable (400ish?) portfolio of patents enabled my previous employer to add about a 15% premium to the company's price tag when they got bought. For me, I suspect their mention on my resume` helped by employability and/or my salary at each subsequent job.
Plus I have some spiffy plaques in a box somewhere in the garage.
--
Social engineering more than phreaking
on
Phreaking Not Dead Yet
·
· Score: 5, Insightful
IMHO, this is more social engineering scam than phreaking. The telephone network is still operating perfectly normally, and the folks doing the hack aren't using any extra-ordinary control over the network.
Interesting read, just the same.
In "Revenge of the Nerds," Woz tells the story of phreaking his way to Vatican City and trying to get the pope on the line, claiming to be Kissinger (IIRC)
Do you have a favorite story, either because of the people involved, the tech (high tech or low tech) used, or the problems solved along the way?
Uh Bill, that already is illegal. That's a federal crime. Covering your tracks after committing a crime is already illegal.
Covering your tracks when you aren't breaking the law shouldn't be banned.
IAAE, and while I have no basis from which to say "this is likely to be a scam" I can certainly say that the site does NOT give me any kind of confidence that the concept works.
They have a prototype, but only one picture of it. They have a video of the prototype in some sort
of testing facility, but the sound is intermittent, the video cuts from scene to scene for no apparent reason, and there isn't ever a shot OF THE ENGINE actually running. Think "alien autopsy" but not as credible.
Tell you what, guys. If you've got a WORKING PROTOTYPE of a revolutionary (no pun intended) internal combustion engine, and if you've already applied for the patents, then why not spend an hour producing a decent video of your invention in action? As they say, extra-ordinary claims require extra-ordinary proof.
Slashdot Mirror
Looks like we have some fresh talent in the /. editorial pool:
From the Spamhous Project page, we have:
EMARKETERSAMERICA.ORG, INC., A Florida Non Profic Corporation.
Non Profic? What's so bad about Profics?
And from the emarketersamerica page, we have:
U.S. Economy Will Suffer if Anti-Spammers Get Their Way and Crippled the Billion Dollar e-Mail Marketing Business
Certainly you mean The U.S. Economy, and perhaps even the present-tense Cripple instead of the past-tense Crippled.
Sigh
--
If, on the other hand, you learned that you are capable of seeking and attaining knowledge, then your schooling was not a waste.
There is no way to teach you all of life's lessons in 12 years. Decent schooling can equip you to learn them, the rest is up to you.
Now I'm off to think up a new sig along the lines of "you can't learn life's lessons from google, at least not with site=slashdot.org"
--
--
Access is a noun. Hence one can perform an act which becomes illegal access, one can grant or revoke access, but one cannot access something anymore than one can plane, car, or fireplug.
/. about grammar is about as pointless as crying "Dupe"
Of course, bitching on
But what the hell, I do that too.
--
Oh sure, it seems harmless now -- "Just register your shelter with the government, and we'll help you out later!"
But the next thing you know, Big Brother has these lists of shelters! It only makes it easier when they need to confiscate them later!!
I tell you what, you can have my unregistered shelter when you pry it from my cold, dead hands!
--
Wouldn't you?
--
Personally I keep a pretty long hosts file
If you post your hosts file as a Journal entry, I'll befriend you.
--
...and lead to faster computers and telecommunication equipment.
Doesn't it seem like this catch-phrase is tacked onto every new discovery? Couldn't these folks just be making nifty flashlight bulb replacements? Does EVERYTHING need to give us faster computers?
--
The Lindows view -- you've got the problem right, but the solution is to make PCs cheap enough to be commodity instead of big iron. As someone else points out, The cost of one Dell gets you 4 Lindows OS PCs.
But a geek still had to build it for them. And if your ex and her kids are not geeks, then they're stuck with what you've provided. They still have the PITA factor of dealing with root if they need to change something (new printer, new version of Netscape)
I'm not trying to take a stand on the root/non-root debate, but I think many non-root folks are missing the point. Robertson is trying to take a new perspective on pushing Linux into previously impenetrable markets. Bitching that he's just a lazy sysadmin promoting lazy system admin habits is missing that point.
--
Close, but no cigar. (although your post is +1 Funny, not -1 Overrated)
/. crowd doesn't get you sales, it only drives up your bandwidth expense. We're all a bunch of cheap-ass bastards that expect cheetos and Mtn Dew delivered on a silver platter for free.
Popularity with the
Oh yeah, and OGG support too.
--
Robertson's contention is that commodity PCs aren't running as multi-user systems. The person who powers it on is the user, the admin, the only one using it. There are no "other users" to trash.
The tradeoff is convenience/security. Some claim that it's better to spend your day-to-day operations in an unpriv account, and intentionally change to a priv account when those privs are needed. Robertson's claim is that non-geeks don't want to make that distinction or take that extra step, and the reduction in protection is worth it for ease of use and the resulting acceptance.
He's in an interesting position by pushing an OS for folks without CS (or generally geeky) backgrounds. My linux boxes all have non-priv accounts, and I use sudo when I need it. To be quite honest though, I'm typing on a win2k box, and my user has full Administrator privs. It is also a single-user system. There are no other users who's data needs to be protected. Am I more vulnerable to OS damage from inadvertant actions? Sure. Do I care enough to give up the convenience, not really.
--
Sorry to disappoint, but she moved later that year. No prom, no 2.5-kids-and-a-dog. I don't think I showed her my programming prowess. (How geeky do you think I am? Wait, don't answer that)
Again I say: It was the 3rd grade, what did you expect?
--
Ok, I'll confess -- My line 10 was really "PRINTLN "I LOVE AMY MCCRACKEN"
It was the 3rd grade, what did you expect?
--
10 PRINTLN "HELLO WORLD"
20 GOTO 10
And this is filler, since my impersonation of pre-shift key BASIC triggered the lameness filter
--
did they get the brand new ones, or did they get some of the older models
Sheesh, you're worse than my 5-year old.
Here ya go son, have some cotton candy.
But Daaaaad, that other kid got a bigger one!
--
This does not make you cool.
I'm not saying you're not cool, but if you are, it would be in spite of your forehead, not because of it.
--
--
Here's a short version of what I want to hear: "Something that challenges my tastes."
Mostly, I listen to Radio 1190, the CU Boulder station. I'd say that I enjoy about 1 song in 4. I keep listening because I find out about local bands that I'd never hear, I hear indie bands (not just bands running on the "indie" branch of a major label) and I get DJs who love what they do. (here's where I give mad props to Milkman Dan)
What's your spiffy MP3-scanning-neural-network-plugin going to do with me, eh?
--
Not anymore, but I worked for a fortune100 company through the 90s. We had invention disclosure forms (spit out three of those a month) followed by draft applications for the USPTO (lucky to get one of those every year or two) followed by actual applications, followed by issued patents.
I have 8 applications in my name, and two patents issued in my name (jointly - the whole project team in each instance)
Are the inventions worthwhile? Not in the slightest. But collectively, the sizeable (400ish?) portfolio of patents enabled my previous employer to add about a 15% premium to the company's price tag when they got bought.
For me, I suspect their mention on my resume` helped by employability and/or my salary at each subsequent job.
Plus I have some spiffy plaques in a box somewhere in the garage.
--
IMHO, this is more social engineering scam than phreaking. The telephone network is still operating perfectly normally, and the folks doing the hack aren't using any extra-ordinary control over the network.
Interesting read, just the same.
--
Doh! Don't post before coffee
nice catch. Maybe that explains the "overrated" mods.
--
In "Revenge of the Nerds," Woz tells the story of phreaking his way to Vatican City and trying to get the pope on the line, claiming to be Kissinger (IIRC)
Do you have a favorite story, either because of the people involved, the tech (high tech or low tech) used, or the problems solved along the way?
--
Skydude - my reps know me by name. Do you know the bill's title and/or number? I'd be glad to drop them a line.
--
Uh Bill, that already is illegal. That's a federal crime. Covering your tracks after committing a crime is already illegal.
Covering your tracks when you aren't breaking the law shouldn't be banned.
--
IAAE, and while I have no basis from which to say "this is likely to be a scam" I can certainly say that the site does NOT give me any kind of confidence that the concept works.
They have a prototype, but only one picture of it.
They have a video of the prototype in some sort of testing facility, but the sound is intermittent, the video cuts from scene to scene for no apparent reason, and there isn't ever a shot OF THE ENGINE actually running. Think "alien autopsy" but not as credible.
Tell you what, guys. If you've got a WORKING PROTOTYPE of a revolutionary (no pun intended) internal combustion engine, and if you've already applied for the patents, then why not spend an hour producing a decent video of your invention in action?
As they say, extra-ordinary claims require extra-ordinary proof.
--