Belkin can fuck with the settings on your router from their office, without your permission, consent, or knowledge. You can intentionally go to their web site which then comes back at your router to flip the bit, but there is no reason they couldn't manually send your ip address (ie. your router) the same flag setting code and have it start changing settings on your router.
You have an 8 megabit per second downstream connection to the 'net at your house? DAMN! Where in the USA can I find that kind of bandwidth for under a king's ransom?
-I will be avoiding Belkin products especially those with "intelligence" (such as routers)
Well therein lies the problem. A router is supposed to do one thing, and do it well. Router stuff. They bastardized it and now you never really know if it is going to do 'Router stuff' or advertisments.
How about keyboards? Video cards (yea I know they don't make video cards, but still.) What if every once in a while a modem called overseas to connect to their ISP instead of connecting to whatever you told it to connect to (has a foundation of truth, long time ago it was a scam centered around porn IIRC)
Those are all HARDWARE built with a purpose, supposed to be bulletproof. It is one thing for it to glitch, but to fuxor up a connection intentionally so they can serve you ads?
I used Delphi for several years. If they had adopted ODBC database connectivity instead of their Borland custom database connectivity I would still be using Delphi and Builder.
And Novell is a company with a) the resources (money, hardware, and knowledge) to pull it off, and b) a damn fine reason to want it to succeed. I guess the question becomes : is it worth winning at any cost, or is it something ok to lose?
Results 1 - 20 of about 9,330. Search took 0.33 seconds.
I'm not saying Real Player is spyware. I am saying that nine thousand proximity hits in Google is more than just a coincidence. MPGs or AVIs, use a fairly old codec to make a customer base from the majority of people.
I didn't do a massive search through their archives but I did see some Van Halen - bravo for that.
Bluetooth has a range of about 15 feet (5 meters). If someone Bluetooth spams you then you look around for the dick with a Sony Ericsson T68i in his hand pushing the buttons and you walk over and beat the shit out of him.
There are a zillion places to download music in MP3 (or whatever) form, iTunes being legal to boot.
That niche is being served.
MTV didn't get to where it got by playing music, they got to where they are by playing MUSIC VIDEOS. So put all the videos (particularly the old school stuff) up for purchase as downloads and use a decent codec that doesn't require a spyware laced install on the client.
Damn, I should patent that.
We already have MP3s. Sell us MPGs of the music videos.
This clue brought to you by the number 4 and the letter V.
Win or lose, there are going to be a turning points in the history Linux that people (we) will refer to in describing the rise and fall (or rise and continue to rise.) This will be one of those points.
Sort of like when you ordered the push for Stalingrad during WWII. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but we look back and point at that as one of the turning points.
Disclaimer : Read my journal - the last thing I want is to lose support and patches for RH9. Maybe give me the benefit of a doubt and assume I meant 'nain in the coffin' in a good way.
-Project Gutenberg is completely legit. It electronically publishes works that are out of copyright.
-What you are proposing is outright copyright infringement.
-I have to wonder who will pay for this 'fat pipe' you speak of, and how long the upstream will last.
Whoops, I should have been more clear on that one. You are totally correct in that the solution I proposed totally violates every known law and moral statute defined in just about every nation on the planet with regards to the distribution of digital content without proper licensure or authority. I may have been too subtle with my 'haven' clause.
In addition to needing to haven the MP3z, MPGz, AVIz and JPGz, someone was going to have to actually foot the bill for the hardware and a serious pipe. Given RedHat's recent announcement that they were dropping their standard (free) Linux as of version 9.0 (I think support and updates stop in April, read the other/. thread) I guess this is going to be out of the question - but honestly what could it cost? $5M for a year seems overkill but I could see BlackHat.com (I made that up, no offense to whoever the real BlackHat.com) burning through that to get it done.
I didn't say it was going to be legal, I just said it would work. You want Linux to overtake Microsoft as the preferred workstation - this will work if failure is not an option.
-Any on have some good suggestions on alternatives keeping in mind that I have to use something with "name brand" recognition?
Microsoft.
Just kidding, wanted to see how many of you would spew code on your keyboards.
How about perhaps seeing this/. post as the first step in convincing RH to rethink their position. Work with them to develop a business model that works, is profitable, and allows them to continue support and updates - because of momentum the thought crossing many minds is 'if not them, who?'
Actually you grazed on something I hadn't thought of... this could be a serious nail in the coffin for Linux of any sort, for exactly the reason you described : perception. Sun, HP, IBM, Microsoft... these are companies dedicated to the long term survival of whatever OS and platform they propose - and RedHat is dropping their Linux platform.
Yes I hacked out most of the facts and worked a lot on perception. To many, RedHat -is- Linux. No distinction between Linux9.0 and LinuxEE or whatever, Linux is RedHat and RedHat is Linux in the eyes of those one step behind the rest (like me, with regards to Linux.) This is more than just losing support from RH on the desktop version of Linux 9.0, this could be losing support from your CIO, he could see this as easy justification in going back to mandating (IBM/HP/Microsoft/Whatever.)
I would worry less about the particular version of RH and worry more about the viability of the Linux Movement as a whole based on this recent change in the wind.
Disclaimer : I have one RH 9.0 machine and am still fairly new to the scene (heavy MS user, but open minded and branching out to explore my options.)
Windows98 is your problem. No joke, a machine with nothing other than Windows98 and Office installed will blue screen on you running nothing more than Internet Explorer. We had the same issues you describe on a friend's machine, wiped it clean and installed Win2000 and it has been rock solid ever since.
I do stand behind your decision to buy a new box, however. Note that you are probably going to get WinXP home with that machine, or for another $75 WinXP Pro (I highly recommend the Pro version if you have to go XP.) I am a firm believer in the Dell hardware and have several of their machines (the 5 I use regularly are all Dell machines - two laptops, two servers and a new Dimension desktop.) They all run fine, but I am very picky about not installing lots of crap - something you may not have control over in your environment.
The hot setup: Watch www.fatwallet.com - the forums, the hot deals. What you are looking for is not a price mistake, but a good deal on a package. Get a machine from Dell Small Business, the prices are better and they don't pre-install nearly as much crap as their Home machines. If you don't want to run WinXP (want to run Linux eventually, or Win2000) get a PowerEdge 400sc from their server division - you can order those without OS and buy your own licenses elsewhere but they do come with drivers for both of those OSs. Watch for a sale on the 18" LCD - I love mine. Currently you are not particularly happy with the experience of a FrankenBox (one you put together from parts.) Remember that when you are contemplating downgrading every component with the intent to upgrade it with aftermarket hardware (bigger SATA drives, video card, audio card, etc.) The one exception would be the memory, bottom it out and order massive upgrades from www.crucial.com
All that seems really expensive and a lot of work, I would at least consider getting a copy of Win2000Pro - talk to whoever built the system for you see if he has a cheap OEM copy. Going from 98 to 2000 is going to make a world of difference and if it doesn't you are out the cost of the OS - talk to him and see if he will pre-agree to refund your money if it doesn't make things better.
Know why VHS beat Beta? Porn. Know why the Internet is the fastest growing technology in the history of man (first to 1M users, first to 10M users, etc..)? Porn. Know why cable TV caught on, people paying for television when it was free (20+ years ago)? Porn. Know why MS sold so many damn XBoxes? Halo. Not available on the PC.
I had a point in there somewhere but I lost it.
Want Linux to catch on as the must have technology? Release the 'must have' entertainment on Linux and if possible make Linux the only platform it is available on... and the 'must have' entertainment over the past few years seems to be : incredible first person shooters for the guys, Lifetime Channel'esque Sims for the ladies, music, chat, and porn. Do you think that the XBox would have been nearly as strong a hit if Halo had been available on the PC? Does anybody actually think AOL caught on like wildfire because it was good?
You come up with the killer entertainment quad of multiplayer games for men, games for women, free music and movie downloads untraceable by the RIAA, and porn, IM too - available nowhere else but on Linux - and watch Linux overtake the existing platforms.
Hell right now it is questionable as to whether or not I am actually able (technologically or legally) on Linux to even watch DVD's that I bought in the store. It doesn't run Everquest, Star Wars Galaxies, DAoC. I'm not aware of any P2P tools for Linux (doesn't mean there aren't any, just none that I am aware of), GAIM doesn't seem to cooperate with MSN/IM (anymore), and open source porn isn't all it is cracked up to be.
You want Linux to be the 'must have' OS? Find some haven country totally immune to copyright laws. Drop in the fattest pipe you have ever, ever seen. Start up the multimedia equivalent of the Gutenburg project and start ripping DVDs and CDs on the most insane scale you can imagine - every title ever produced totally clean and ready to download. Host a collection of porn that would make even Usenet obsolete. Insure that they can only be accessed via a Linux box and insure that they can't get busted. Come out with an IM that is only available on Linux. Make it user friendly, no pop-ups or ads, no spyware or malware, make it fast, and make it free. You do that and Linux will overtake Windows (etc.) as the home user desktop in less than 24 months.
Install Windows 2000 Professional and Office 2000 Professional. Patch it up. Install AdSubtract or some other pop-up blocker, WinZip, McAfee. Create a regular ol' user that can't install software or make changes and let her log in as that guy.
That will be the smoothest, most solid machine you will ever see unless you are overheating the hardware or have another hardware problem. Runs fine on a PIII 1GHz, maybe sufficiently fine on a PII 300MHz box.
Am I the only one to see this from the other side?
Conversation 50 years ago: Scientist1 : Nice theory, that uranium fusion and plutonium fission, but where could we possibly test it? Scientist2 : I dunno, somewhere real far away. S1 : Japan? S2 : Hmm it could get ugly if it works... S1 : Bah, I say we go for it.
Conversation Today: S1 : Nice theory, spreading a thin layer of carbon tetrachloride over a lake to keep water from evaporating. What could go wrong? S2 : Umm I dunno, that's a pretty delicate ecosystem you are talking about. Could kill everything in the lake, stop rain from coming down destroying livestock and crops for years. S1 : I know, India! They don't eat the cows anyways so no worries if we kill their livestock. S2 : (boggle) S1 : Bah, I say we go for it.
Re:It is Christmas, give them what they REALLY wan
on
Christmas Bonuses?
·
· Score: 1
I see it as promising, actually. It is going to come up and explained as thus : Last year the company had a great year profit wise and the owner decided to invest a chunk of the profits back into the company... and he let each of us decide how to invest $1,500 back into the company to make it a better place for us. I bought the twin LCD setup. Martha bought an iPod, iPaq, and an iMac for doing desktop publishing, Javi bought an SMP machine from Dell because he wanted a dually to experiment with, and Jack went on a 1 week training course for.NET. There are no guarantees that it will happen again, but last year each of us had some serious say so as to how our individual work environments were going to be set up.
I think they also used it to frac oil wells. (Frac an oil well means set off a small explosion way down the pipe thousands of feet underground to make lots of cracks in the surrounding material, so the oil flows better.)
Slashdot Mirror
We want to hire you to lead our Sales Prevention Team.
Sincerely,
Eric D.
Belkin Corporation.
Off topic, but every time I see IANAL I think IANAL
Just keep that in mind, all you IANALs.
Literal translation :
Belkin can fuck with the settings on your router from their office, without your permission, consent, or knowledge. You can intentionally go to their web site which then comes back at your router to flip the bit, but there is no reason they couldn't manually send your ip address (ie. your router) the same flag setting code and have it start changing settings on your router.
Wow. Freaky.
You have an 8 megabit per second downstream connection to the 'net at your house? DAMN! Where in the USA can I find that kind of bandwidth for under a king's ransom?
-I will be avoiding Belkin products especially those with "intelligence" (such as routers)
Well therein lies the problem. A router is supposed to do one thing, and do it well. Router stuff. They bastardized it and now you never really know if it is going to do 'Router stuff' or advertisments.
How about keyboards?
Video cards (yea I know they don't make video cards, but still.)
What if every once in a while a modem called overseas to connect to their ISP instead of connecting to whatever you told it to connect to (has a foundation of truth, long time ago it was a scam centered around porn IIRC)
Those are all HARDWARE built with a purpose, supposed to be bulletproof. It is one thing for it to glitch, but to fuxor up a connection intentionally so they can serve you ads?
Fuck that.
ericd@belkin.com
Sales Prevention Team
Belkin Corporation.
I used Delphi for several years. If they had adopted ODBC database connectivity instead of their Borland custom database connectivity I would still be using Delphi and Builder.
I found it amusing, in an oriental sort of way.
I already described how to make Linux take over the consumer desktop in under a year.
And Novell is a company with a) the resources (money, hardware, and knowledge) to pull it off, and b) a damn fine reason to want it to succeed.
I guess the question becomes : is it worth winning at any cost, or is it something ok to lose?
Google "real player" + spyware
Results 1 - 20 of about 9,330. Search took 0.33 seconds.
I'm not saying Real Player is spyware. I am saying that nine thousand proximity hits in Google is more than just a coincidence.
MPGs or AVIs, use a fairly old codec to make a customer base from the majority of people.
I didn't do a massive search through their archives but I did see some Van Halen - bravo for that.
Bluejacking.
... well you can imagine the rest.
Sounds like a show in Vegas, the next generation of the Blue Man Group. Three bald guys painted blue
-Why would it be different with Bluetooth?
Bluetooth has a range of about 15 feet (5 meters). If someone Bluetooth spams you then you look around for the dick with a Sony Ericsson T68i in his hand pushing the buttons and you walk over and beat the shit out of him.
There are a zillion places to download music in MP3 (or whatever) form, iTunes being legal to boot.
That niche is being served.
MTV didn't get to where it got by playing music, they got to where they are by playing MUSIC VIDEOS. So put all the videos (particularly the old school stuff) up for purchase as downloads and use a decent codec that doesn't require a spyware laced install on the client.
Damn, I should patent that.
We already have MP3s. Sell us MPGs of the music videos.
This clue brought to you by the number 4 and the letter V.
I was being overly dramatic. It happens.
Win or lose, there are going to be a turning points in the history Linux that people (we) will refer to in describing the rise and fall (or rise and continue to rise.) This will be one of those points.
Sort of like when you ordered the push for Stalingrad during WWII. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but we look back and point at that as one of the turning points.
Disclaimer : Read my journal - the last thing I want is to lose support and patches for RH9. Maybe give me the benefit of a doubt and assume I meant 'nain in the coffin' in a good way.
-Project Gutenberg is completely legit. It electronically publishes works that are out of copyright.
/. thread) I guess this is going to be out of the question - but honestly what could it cost? $5M for a year seems overkill but I could see BlackHat.com (I made that up, no offense to whoever the real BlackHat.com) burning through that to get it done.
-What you are proposing is outright copyright infringement.
-I have to wonder who will pay for this 'fat pipe' you speak of, and how long the upstream will last.
Whoops, I should have been more clear on that one. You are totally correct in that the solution I proposed totally violates every known law and moral statute defined in just about every nation on the planet with regards to the distribution of digital content without proper licensure or authority. I may have been too subtle with my 'haven' clause.
In addition to needing to haven the MP3z, MPGz, AVIz and JPGz, someone was going to have to actually foot the bill for the hardware and a serious pipe. Given RedHat's recent announcement that they were dropping their standard (free) Linux as of version 9.0 (I think support and updates stop in April, read the other
I didn't say it was going to be legal, I just said it would work. You want Linux to overtake Microsoft as the preferred workstation - this will work if failure is not an option.
-Any on have some good suggestions on alternatives keeping in mind that I have to use something with "name brand" recognition?
/. post as the first step in convincing RH to rethink their position. Work with them to develop a business model that works, is profitable, and allows them to continue support and updates - because of momentum the thought crossing many minds is 'if not them, who?'
Microsoft.
Just kidding, wanted to see how many of you would spew code on your keyboards.
How about perhaps seeing this
Actually you grazed on something I hadn't thought of ... this could be a serious nail in the coffin for Linux of any sort, for exactly the reason you described : perception. Sun, HP, IBM, Microsoft ... these are companies dedicated to the long term survival of whatever OS and platform they propose - and RedHat is dropping their Linux platform.
Yes I hacked out most of the facts and worked a lot on perception. To many, RedHat -is- Linux. No distinction between Linux9.0 and LinuxEE or whatever, Linux is RedHat and RedHat is Linux in the eyes of those one step behind the rest (like me, with regards to Linux.) This is more than just losing support from RH on the desktop version of Linux 9.0, this could be losing support from your CIO, he could see this as easy justification in going back to mandating (IBM/HP/Microsoft/Whatever.)
I would worry less about the particular version of RH and worry more about the viability of the Linux Movement as a whole based on this recent change in the wind.
Disclaimer : I have one RH 9.0 machine and am still fairly new to the scene (heavy MS user, but open minded and branching out to explore my options.)
Windows98 is your problem. No joke, a machine with nothing other than Windows98 and Office installed will blue screen on you running nothing more than Internet Explorer. We had the same issues you describe on a friend's machine, wiped it clean and installed Win2000 and it has been rock solid ever since.
:
I do stand behind your decision to buy a new box, however. Note that you are probably going to get WinXP home with that machine, or for another $75 WinXP Pro (I highly recommend the Pro version if you have to go XP.) I am a firm believer in the Dell hardware and have several of their machines (the 5 I use regularly are all Dell machines - two laptops, two servers and a new Dimension desktop.) They all run fine, but I am very picky about not installing lots of crap - something you may not have control over in your environment.
The hot setup
Watch www.fatwallet.com - the forums, the hot deals. What you are looking for is not a price mistake, but a good deal on a package.
Get a machine from Dell Small Business, the prices are better and they don't pre-install nearly as much crap as their Home machines.
If you don't want to run WinXP (want to run Linux eventually, or Win2000) get a PowerEdge 400sc from their server division - you can order those without OS and buy your own licenses elsewhere but they do come with drivers for both of those OSs.
Watch for a sale on the 18" LCD - I love mine.
Currently you are not particularly happy with the experience of a FrankenBox (one you put together from parts.) Remember that when you are contemplating downgrading every component with the intent to upgrade it with aftermarket hardware (bigger SATA drives, video card, audio card, etc.) The one exception would be the memory, bottom it out and order massive upgrades from www.crucial.com
All that seems really expensive and a lot of work, I would at least consider getting a copy of Win2000Pro - talk to whoever built the system for you see if he has a cheap OEM copy. Going from 98 to 2000 is going to make a world of difference and if it doesn't you are out the cost of the OS - talk to him and see if he will pre-agree to refund your money if it doesn't make things better.
Crap I forgot my disclaimer : I am posting this from a Linux desktop (Redhat 9.0).
Know why VHS beat Beta? Porn.
... and the 'must have' entertainment over the past few years seems to be : incredible first person shooters for the guys, Lifetime Channel'esque Sims for the ladies, music, chat, and porn. Do you think that the XBox would have been nearly as strong a hit if Halo had been available on the PC? Does anybody actually think AOL caught on like wildfire because it was good?
Know why the Internet is the fastest growing technology in the history of man (first to 1M users, first to 10M users, etc..)? Porn.
Know why cable TV caught on, people paying for television when it was free (20+ years ago)? Porn.
Know why MS sold so many damn XBoxes? Halo. Not available on the PC.
I had a point in there somewhere but I lost it.
Want Linux to catch on as the must have technology? Release the 'must have' entertainment on Linux and if possible make Linux the only platform it is available on
You come up with the killer entertainment quad of multiplayer games for men, games for women, free music and movie downloads untraceable by the RIAA, and porn, IM too - available nowhere else but on Linux - and watch Linux overtake the existing platforms.
Hell right now it is questionable as to whether or not I am actually able (technologically or legally) on Linux to even watch DVD's that I bought in the store. It doesn't run Everquest, Star Wars Galaxies, DAoC. I'm not aware of any P2P tools for Linux (doesn't mean there aren't any, just none that I am aware of), GAIM doesn't seem to cooperate with MSN/IM (anymore), and open source porn isn't all it is cracked up to be.
You want Linux to be the 'must have' OS? Find some haven country totally immune to copyright laws. Drop in the fattest pipe you have ever, ever seen. Start up the multimedia equivalent of the Gutenburg project and start ripping DVDs and CDs on the most insane scale you can imagine - every title ever produced totally clean and ready to download. Host a collection of porn that would make even Usenet obsolete. Insure that they can only be accessed via a Linux box and insure that they can't get busted. Come out with an IM that is only available on Linux. Make it user friendly, no pop-ups or ads, no spyware or malware, make it fast, and make it free. You do that and Linux will overtake Windows (etc.) as the home user desktop in less than 24 months.
Install Windows 2000 Professional and Office 2000 Professional. Patch it up. Install AdSubtract or some other pop-up blocker, WinZip, McAfee. Create a regular ol' user that can't install software or make changes and let her log in as that guy.
That will be the smoothest, most solid machine you will ever see unless you are overheating the hardware or have another hardware problem. Runs fine on a PIII 1GHz, maybe sufficiently fine on a PII 300MHz box.
DAMN!
...
:
Am I the only one to see this from the other side?
Conversation 50 years ago:
Scientist1 : Nice theory, that uranium fusion and plutonium fission, but where could we possibly test it?
Scientist2 : I dunno, somewhere real far away.
S1 : Japan?
S2 : Hmm it could get ugly if it works
S1 : Bah, I say we go for it.
Conversation Today
S1 : Nice theory, spreading a thin layer of carbon tetrachloride over a lake to keep water from evaporating. What could go wrong?
S2 : Umm I dunno, that's a pretty delicate ecosystem you are talking about. Could kill everything in the lake, stop rain from coming down destroying livestock and crops for years.
S1 : I know, India! They don't eat the cows anyways so no worries if we kill their livestock.
S2 : (boggle)
S1 : Bah, I say we go for it.
I see it as promising, actually. It is going to come up and explained as thus : Last year the company had a great year profit wise and the owner decided to invest a chunk of the profits back into the company ... and he let each of us decide how to invest $1,500 back into the company to make it a better place for us. I bought the twin LCD setup. Martha bought an iPod, iPaq, and an iMac for doing desktop publishing, Javi bought an SMP machine from Dell because he wanted a dually to experiment with, and Jack went on a 1 week training course for .NET. There are no guarantees that it will happen again, but last year each of us had some serious say so as to how our individual work environments were going to be set up.
I think they also used it to frac oil wells. (Frac an oil well means set off a small explosion way down the pipe thousands of feet underground to make lots of cracks in the surrounding material, so the oil flows better.)
When Diplomacy Fails ...