You would think so but this backdoor in all versions of Windows since Win95 was only recently discovered thanks to an external security researcher: But according to two witnesses attending the conference, even Microsoft’s top crypto programmers were astonished to learn that the version of ADVAPI.DLL shipping with Windows 2000 contains not two, but three keys. Brian LaMachia, head of CAPI development at Microsoft was “stunned” to learn of these discoveries, by outsiders. The latest discovery by Dr van Someren is based on advanced search methods which test and report on the “entropy” of programming code.
Within the Microsoft organisation, access to Windows source code is said to be highly compartmentalized, making it easy for modifications to be inserted without the knowledge of even the respective product managers.
But is it possible to compile all of this "free" source code and get a working Windows installation? I didn't think so. So the Windows code is just an academic exercise... not something that you can audit, fix, and install.
According to the NYT article http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/10/world/spies-dragnet-reaches-a-playing-field-of-elves-and-trolls.html
In 2007, as the N.S.A. and other intelligence agencies were beginning to explore virtual games, N.S.A. officials met with the chief technology officer for the manufacturer of Second Life, the San Francisco-based Linden Lab. The executive, Cory Ondrejka, was a former Navy officer who had worked at the N.S.A. with a top-secret security clearance.
He visited the agency’s headquarters at Fort Meade, Md., in May 2007 to speak to staff members over a brown bag lunch, according to an internal agency announcement. “Second Life has proven that virtual worlds of social networking are a reality: come hear Cory tell you why!” said the announcement. It added that virtual worlds gave the government the opportunity “to understand the motivation, context and consequent behaviors of non-Americans through observation, without leaving U.S. soil.”
Mr. Ondrejka, now the director of mobile engineering at Facebook, said through a representative that the N.S.A. presentation was similar to others he gave in that period, and declined to comment further.
You're right. Here are the side effects of Qsymia: SIDE EFFECTS
The following important adverse reactions are described below and elsewhere in the labeling:
Fetal Toxicity: [see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS and Use in Specific Populations]
Elevation in Heart Rate [see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS]
Suicidal Behavior and Ideation [see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS]
Acute Angle Closure Glaucoma [see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS]
Mood and Sleep Disorders [see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS]
Cognitive Impairment [see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS]
Metabolic Acidosis [see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS]
It's interesting that a long scary list of side effects should be considered routine. I am not willing to take this risk for a very small temporary benefit. (BTW, about two years ago I decided I needed to lose some weight. Over 6 months I lost 21 pounds just by eating less and eating healthy and I have kept the weight off. BMI is now 22.) Weight loss is hard because it involves behavior change. Taking a pill is not an effective solution. Pills have side effects. Pills only cause a small weight loss (at best). Most people gain the weight back quickly.
Perhaps doctors don't prescribe them because: - they don't work very well in the short term and not at all in the long term - they are expensive - they have lots of bad side effects:
Qsymia has particular risks for pregnancy, as it can cause birth defects if taken in the first months of pregnancy, even before a woman knows she is pregnant. Women of childbearing age must use effective birth control to keep from becoming pregnant while taking Qsymia.
Qsymia should not be taken by:
Pregnant women
People with glaucoma
People who have been told they have an overactive thyroid
People taking a type of antidepressant called a MAOI
People allergic to phentermine or topiramate
Belviq should not be taken by:
Pregnant or nursing women
People taking drugs linked to valvular heart disease, such as cabergoline (Dostinex)
Belviq should be taken with caution by:
People taking certain medicines for depression; migraine; the common cold; or mood, anxiety, psychotic, or thought disorders
Men with conditions that predispose them to erections lasting more than four hours. These conditions include sickle cell anemia, multiple myeloma, and leukemia
Men with a deformed penis
Qsymia and Belviq each come with a long list of important safety information, but this list is different for each drug.
Here's a good article that looks at emissions based on the type of fuel. http://shrinkthatfootprint.com/electric-cars-green If you look at the map "Emissions equivalent MPG", you'll see that Australia CO2 emissions are about equivalent to a 26MPG petrol car whereas the in the US (nationwide average fuel mix) it's about equivalent to a 40MPG car. India (all coal) is about a 20 MPG car whereas Brazil is equivalent to a 134 MPG car.
You could have the copyright law state that you always have a right to your own work. You can give or rent or lease it to others to use but you would always have a right to the work and you couldn't prevent the author from having the right to copy the work.
The people who actually did the work and wrote the manual or designed the project. Corporations are not people. Corporations cannot create any "works". People create works. People should own their creations.
Why are there no botnets of Mac or Linux machines? It's all Windows. I know Windows is more "popular". Is that why the popular girls and guys always are infected? Since most Mac and Linux machines run without any anti-virus software, you would think they would be easy targets... unless, of course, there was something about the OS itself which was better than Windows (duh). Also, you have to stop blaming the users for the problems with Windows. I don't think Mac or Linux users are any smarter but they seem to avoid these nasty infections.
I haven't used Windows in years but I thought that Microsoft was trying to make Windows more secure... I guess that was just PR. I can't believe that people put up with all the malware on Windows... it has to be a huge security threat.
"High-speed pursuits cause nearly 400 deaths a year and cost the government more than a billion dollars a year in damages, lawsuits, and medical bills." "... Fischbach says that in most pursuits a minimum of $3,000 in property damage occurs."
Would be much easier and better to just not start a high speed chase in the first place and avoid the risk of police mayhem. I liked this idea much better: http://www.gizmag.com/starchase-gps-police-tracking/29590/ Just zap the perp with a GPS and follow him at leisure.
Some years ago when I moved my company into a new office and wanted to keep the cost down, I installed rain gutters (and occasional downspout) on the walls inside to run telephone and ethernet. It was inexpensive compared to official cable trays and hid the wiring nicely. Gutters are standard architectural details and since they are very visible you can find nice looking designs and colors.
So your point is...? - We should all just shut up like good sheeple? - We should learn to like spying? - Torture is good! - They are saving us from the terrorists! - Lady Gaga?
"Why the hell?" Yes, indeed, nuclear. Why the hell?... the Price Anderson Act, which limits the liability of the nuclear industry in case of a serious nuclear accident — leaving taxpayers on the hook for potentially hundreds of billions in compensation costs; Why the hell?... federal disposal of nuclear waste in a permanent repository, which will save the industry billions at taxpayer expense; Why the hell? and licensing regulations, wherein the report recommends that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission further grease the skids of its quasi-judicial licensing process to preclude successful interventions from opponents. Why the hell has the nuclear industry receive over $100 billion in subsidies? Why the hell?: the energy bill has the federal government providing loan guarantees covering 50 percent of the cost of building 8,400 Megawatts of new nuclear power, the equivalent of six or seven new power plants. The Congressional Research Service estimated that these loan guarantees alone would cost taxpayers $14 to $16 billion. The Congressional Budget Office believes “the risk of default on such a loan guarantee to be very high — well above 50 percent. Why the hell? In 2005, the Energy Policy Act provided another $13 billion of subsidies, tax incentives and other support for the nuclear power industry. It also created the energy loan guarantee program. In December 2007, Congress and George W. Bush approved $20.5 billion in nuclear loan guarantees under this program ($18.5 billion for new atomic reactors, $2 billion for new uranium enrichment facilities). Construction subsidies ~ $3.25 billion + $18.5 billion in loan guarantees
$18.5 billion in loan guarantees for new reactors. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the default rate is “very high – well above 50 percent.”
Authorization of $2 billion in “risk insurance” to pay the industry for any delays in construction and operation licensing for 6 new reactors, including delays due to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission or litigation. The payments would include interest on loans and the difference between the market price and the contractual price of power.
Authorization of more than $1.25 billion for a nuclear reactor in Idaho to generate hydrogen fuel Operating subsidies ~ $5.7 billion + Limited Liability
Reauthorization of the Price-Anderson Act, extending the industry’s liability cap to cover new nuclear power plants built in the next 20 years
Incentives for “modular” reactor designs (such as the pebble bed reactor, which has never been built anywhere in the world) by allowing a combination of smaller reactors to be considered one unit, thus lowering the amount that the nuclear operator is responsible to pay under Price-Anderson
Production tax credits of 1.8-cent for each kilowatt-hour up to 6,000 megawatts of nuclear-generated electricity from new reactors during the first 8 years of operation, costing $5.7 billion in revenue losses to the U.S. Treasury through 2025 Radioactive waste subsidies ~ $22 billion thus far + guaranteed waste removal
DOE-utility contracts guaranteeing that the nuclear waste will be removed from the site within 10 year of shutdown or the US taxpayer pays for spend fuel storage costs
One mil (one-tenth of one cent) per kilowatt-hour paid by ratepayers receiving electricity from nuclear reactors to pay for a geologic repository for the spent fuel; the Nuclear Waste Fund currently has $22 billion Shut-down subsidies ~ $1.3 billion
Changes the rules for nuclear decommissioning funds that are to be used to clean up closed nuclear plant sites by repealing the cost of service requirement for contributions to a fund and allowing the transfer of pre-1984 decommissioning costs to a qualified fund, costing taxpayers $1.3 billion
Oh dear. You do seem to have "issues". Have you talked to your therapist? Why do you fear Wolfram? Has Mathematica intimidated you? Are you afraid that Wolfram will take over your life? Wolfram Mathematica and the Wolfram language will be included in the Raspbian distribution. Raspbian is the standard recommended distribution that most people install. There are other OS distributions, of course, such as XBMC for specialized uses.
Slashdot Mirror
You would think so but this backdoor in all versions of Windows since Win95 was only recently discovered thanks to an external security researcher:
But according to two witnesses attending the conference, even Microsoft’s top crypto programmers were astonished to learn that the version of ADVAPI.DLL shipping with Windows 2000 contains not two, but three keys. Brian LaMachia, head of CAPI development at Microsoft was “stunned” to learn of these discoveries, by outsiders. The latest discovery by Dr van Someren is based on advanced search methods which test and report on the “entropy” of programming code.
Within the Microsoft organisation, access to Windows source code is said to be highly compartmentalized, making it easy for modifications to be inserted without the knowledge of even the respective product managers.
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2013/06/microsoft-programmed-in-nsa-backdoor-in-windows-by-1999.html
But is it possible to compile all of this "free" source code and get a working Windows installation?
I didn't think so.
So the Windows code is just an academic exercise... not something that you can audit, fix, and install.
According to the NYT article http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/10/world/spies-dragnet-reaches-a-playing-field-of-elves-and-trolls.html
In 2007, as the N.S.A. and other intelligence agencies were beginning to explore virtual games, N.S.A. officials met with the chief technology officer for the manufacturer of Second Life, the San Francisco-based Linden Lab. The executive, Cory Ondrejka, was a former Navy officer who had worked at the N.S.A. with a top-secret security clearance.
He visited the agency’s headquarters at Fort Meade, Md., in May 2007 to speak to staff members over a brown bag lunch, according to an internal agency announcement. “Second Life has proven that virtual worlds of social networking are a reality: come hear Cory tell you why!” said the announcement. It added that virtual worlds gave the government the opportunity “to understand the motivation, context and consequent behaviors of non-Americans through observation, without leaving U.S. soil.”
Mr. Ondrejka, now the director of mobile engineering at Facebook, said through a representative that the N.S.A. presentation was similar to others he gave in that period, and declined to comment further.
You're right. Here are the side effects of Qsymia:
SIDE EFFECTS
The following important adverse reactions are described below and elsewhere in the labeling:
Fetal Toxicity: [see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS and Use in Specific Populations]
Elevation in Heart Rate [see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS]
Suicidal Behavior and Ideation [see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS]
Acute Angle Closure Glaucoma [see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS]
Mood and Sleep Disorders [see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS]
Cognitive Impairment [see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS]
Metabolic Acidosis [see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS]
Sorry... I'm not taking my chances here.
It's interesting that a long scary list of side effects should be considered routine.
I am not willing to take this risk for a very small temporary benefit.
(BTW, about two years ago I decided I needed to lose some weight. Over 6 months I lost 21 pounds just by eating less and eating healthy and I have kept the weight off. BMI is now 22.)
Weight loss is hard because it involves behavior change. Taking a pill is not an effective solution. Pills have side effects. Pills only cause a small weight loss (at best). Most people gain the weight back quickly.
Perhaps doctors don't prescribe them because:
- they don't work very well in the short term and not at all in the long term
- they are expensive
- they have lots of bad side effects:
Qsymia has particular risks for pregnancy, as it can cause birth defects if taken in the first months of pregnancy, even before a woman knows she is pregnant. Women of childbearing age must use effective birth control to keep from becoming pregnant while taking Qsymia.
Qsymia should not be taken by:
Pregnant women
People with glaucoma
People who have been told they have an overactive thyroid
People taking a type of antidepressant called a MAOI
People allergic to phentermine or topiramate
Belviq should not be taken by:
Pregnant or nursing women
People taking drugs linked to valvular heart disease, such as cabergoline (Dostinex)
Belviq should be taken with caution by:
People taking certain medicines for depression; migraine; the common cold; or mood, anxiety, psychotic, or thought disorders
Men with conditions that predispose them to erections lasting more than four hours. These conditions include sickle cell anemia, multiple myeloma, and leukemia
Men with a deformed penis
Qsymia and Belviq each come with a long list of important safety information, but this list is different for each drug.
Which part of "cross-platform" don't you understand?
The ACA will fix this problem by mandating vaccine coverage (free).
Screw greedy docs and insurance companies.
Here's a good article that looks at emissions based on the type of fuel.
http://shrinkthatfootprint.com/electric-cars-green
If you look at the map "Emissions equivalent MPG", you'll see that Australia CO2 emissions are about equivalent to a 26MPG petrol car whereas the in the US (nationwide average fuel mix) it's about equivalent to a 40MPG car.
India (all coal) is about a 20 MPG car whereas Brazil is equivalent to a 134 MPG car.
I've owned printers which used that much electricity when they were "sleeping".
You could have the copyright law state that you always have a right to your own work. You can give or rent or lease it to others to use but you would always have a right to the work and you couldn't prevent the author from having the right to copy the work.
The people who actually did the work and wrote the manual or designed the project.
Corporations are not people. Corporations cannot create any "works". People create works. People should own their creations.
Why are there no botnets of Mac or Linux machines? It's all Windows.
I know Windows is more "popular". Is that why the popular girls and guys always are infected?
Since most Mac and Linux machines run without any anti-virus software, you would think they would be easy targets... unless, of course, there was something about the OS itself which was better than Windows (duh).
Also, you have to stop blaming the users for the problems with Windows. I don't think Mac or Linux users are any smarter but they seem to avoid these nasty infections.
I haven't used Windows in years but I thought that Microsoft was trying to make Windows more secure... I guess that was just PR.
I can't believe that people put up with all the malware on Windows... it has to be a huge security threat.
I click ads on Slashdot (even though I could disable them) in order to support the site. I've even bought stuff this way.
According to this BI article: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-high-tech-gps-tracker-that-is-a-game-changer-for-police-2013-11
"High-speed pursuits cause nearly 400 deaths a year and cost the government more than a billion dollars a year in damages, lawsuits, and medical bills."
"... Fischbach says that in most pursuits a minimum of $3,000 in property damage occurs."
Would be much easier and better to just not start a high speed chase in the first place and avoid the risk of police mayhem.
I liked this idea much better:
http://www.gizmag.com/starchase-gps-police-tracking/29590/
Just zap the perp with a GPS and follow him at leisure.
My ATT DSL is 3 Mb/s down and 300 Kb/s up, you insensitive clod.
Some years ago when I moved my company into a new office and wanted to keep the cost down, I installed rain gutters (and occasional downspout) on the walls inside to run telephone and ethernet. It was inexpensive compared to official cable trays and hid the wiring nicely.
Gutters are standard architectural details and since they are very visible you can find nice looking designs and colors.
So your point is...?
- We should all just shut up like good sheeple?
- We should learn to like spying?
- Torture is good!
- They are saving us from the terrorists!
- Lady Gaga?
Eastasia
"We have always been at war with Eastasia"
A postdoc to teach at a community college?
Our local community college is staffed with M.S. and M.A. (and no PhD's or postdocs).
"Why the hell?"
Yes, indeed, nuclear.
Why the hell?... the Price Anderson Act, which limits the liability of the nuclear industry in case of a serious nuclear accident — leaving taxpayers on the hook for potentially hundreds of billions in compensation costs;
Why the hell?... federal disposal of nuclear waste in a permanent repository, which will save the industry billions at taxpayer expense;
Why the hell? and licensing regulations, wherein the report recommends that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission further grease the skids of its quasi-judicial licensing process to preclude successful interventions from opponents.
Why the hell has the nuclear industry receive over $100 billion in subsidies?
Why the hell?: the energy bill has the federal government providing loan guarantees covering 50 percent of the cost of building 8,400 Megawatts of new nuclear power, the equivalent of six or seven new power plants. The Congressional Research Service estimated that these loan guarantees alone would cost taxpayers $14 to $16 billion. The Congressional Budget Office believes “the risk of default on such a loan guarantee to be very high — well above 50 percent.
Why the hell?
In 2005, the Energy Policy Act provided another $13 billion of subsidies, tax incentives and other support for the nuclear power industry. It also created the energy loan guarantee program.
In December 2007, Congress and George W. Bush approved $20.5 billion in nuclear loan guarantees under this program ($18.5 billion for new atomic reactors, $2 billion for new uranium enrichment facilities).
Construction subsidies ~ $3.25 billion + $18.5 billion in loan guarantees
$18.5 billion in loan guarantees for new reactors. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the default rate is “very high – well above 50 percent.”
Authorization of $2 billion in “risk insurance” to pay the industry for any delays in construction and operation licensing for 6 new reactors, including delays due to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission or litigation. The payments would include interest on loans and the difference between the market price and the contractual price of power.
Authorization of more than $1.25 billion for a nuclear reactor in Idaho to generate hydrogen fuel
Operating subsidies ~ $5.7 billion + Limited Liability
Reauthorization of the Price-Anderson Act, extending the industry’s liability cap to cover new nuclear power plants built in the next 20 years
Incentives for “modular” reactor designs (such as the pebble bed reactor, which has never been built anywhere in the world) by allowing a combination of smaller reactors to be considered one unit, thus lowering the amount that the nuclear operator is responsible to pay under Price-Anderson
Production tax credits of 1.8-cent for each kilowatt-hour up to 6,000 megawatts of nuclear-generated electricity from new reactors during the first 8 years of operation, costing $5.7 billion in revenue losses to the U.S. Treasury through 2025
Radioactive waste subsidies ~ $22 billion thus far + guaranteed waste removal
DOE-utility contracts guaranteeing that the nuclear waste will be removed from the site within 10 year of shutdown or the US taxpayer pays for spend fuel storage costs
One mil (one-tenth of one cent) per kilowatt-hour paid by ratepayers receiving electricity from nuclear reactors to pay for a geologic repository for the spent fuel; the Nuclear Waste Fund currently has $22 billion
Shut-down subsidies ~ $1.3 billion
Changes the rules for nuclear decommissioning funds that are to be used to clean up closed nuclear plant sites by repealing the cost of service requirement for contributions to a fund and allowing the transfer of pre-1984 decommissioning costs to a qualified fund, costing taxpayers $1.3 billion
If oil and coal and nuclear are so great, why do they need subsidies?
Oh dear.
You do seem to have "issues".
Have you talked to your therapist?
Why do you fear Wolfram?
Has Mathematica intimidated you?
Are you afraid that Wolfram will take over your life?
Wolfram Mathematica and the Wolfram language will be included in the Raspbian distribution. Raspbian is the standard recommended distribution that most people install. There are other OS distributions, of course, such as XBMC for specialized uses.