Does this mean I will eventually not be able to use "try rebooting the system" (to try and solve a problem)? In all seriousness, I think this will make us rethink our problem-solving approach. Powering-off is a great way to "wipe the slate clean" as it were.
In most cases, a "warm reboot" (i.e. processor reset) gives exactly the same effect as a "cold reboot" (i.e. switching off and on again). Which proofs that you don't need to have clean memory for a reboot. After all, whatever is in memory doesn't matter when it's not read or executed.
Could a virus sit in waiting, and do nothing that a non-priviledged user wouldn't be able to do, and then avoid any user prompts until it detects that another sudo prompt for a different application has been fired. And then fire something right after that one is passed to cause another prompt. The user would probably just think it's for the other program they just allowed, and let the virus do it's thing.
Interesting thought. Usually sudo will not give another prompt if fired shortly after a previous sudo. So the hypothetical malware would indeed get root access completely unnoticed (once having obtained root access, it can of course easily remove any traces of that root access in log files).
By Rice's theorem, proving any non-trivial property of a program is equivalent to the halting problem. Hence AV detection is an ultimately losing battle. But then, there is no need to be able to prove 100% that the software is harmful. The simple rule could be: If you cannot proof that it isn't harmful, it's a security risk. Of course for that rule to be useful, the class of programs where you can prove it has to be large enough to allow for any useful behaviour. This certainly is hard, and maybe it's not achievable, but I don't know of any proof for that.
Note that the halting problem does not say that you cannot write a program which can tell for some algorithms if they will halt. The halting problem says that no program can decide it on all algorithms. That makes algorithms deciding the halting problem (or an equivalent problem) for some algorithms no less obsolete than G\"odel's proof that not all true theorems can be proven makes proofs in mathematics obsolete.
I don't remember the last time I got infected (over 5 years?).
Well, actually you got infected yesterday. However it's a new kind of virus which not only manipulates your computer, but also your brain. You'll consider your computer's behaviour as absolutely normal, even if it differs extremely from what it was before. Your memory is just manipulated to tell you it was always the way it was now.
It's going to be self referential! By the time the 50k articles get picked out, there will be an article on the book and hopefully the book will contain the article on itself! Sweet! But by the time the book comes out, the article about the book will certainly be outdated!
Seriously, what happened to the tags that users were able to contribute in the past? Yes some people were submitting 30 character tags and abusing the system but that was short lived. It's a shame that Slashdot has become less interactive where user feedback and contributions are relegated to the ghetto of comments and paying $10-$20 for an accepted submission like Piquepaille and that Imaginary Property guy. I don't see anything different from previous. The tags are there, and so is the small triangle, clicking on which opens the line where you can enter tags.
Well, I've found a show where there's absolute no advertising whatsoever, not even hidden. It's obviously very old, from the time when there was no sound, and no colors. Indeed, it's so old that even white was not yet discovered; the screen is just black. That show seems to be sent 24 hours a day without a single advertising break, and no product placement either. It's not easy to find, because they didn't put it on those numbered buttons you usually use to select your channel, but they put it on a separate button, which they labelled "OFF" (I guess that's the broadcaster's name). I can only suggest that channel.
You mean, things like Heisenberg compensators, Dilithium crystals which can withstand antimatter, malfunctioning transporters which split a person into a good and an evil part,...? And in case you complain that this is all Star Trek, well, the idea of using humans as batteries isn't exactly plausible either: Where do those humans get their energy from, and why can't the machines get it from the same source directly? Or maybe you're a Star Wars fan? So where's the plausibility of the force?
Face it, a lot of SciFi is far from plausible within the known laws of the universe.
It's 9 pictures, of which 3 have kittens. You have to identify the correct three. There are 84 ways to select 3 of 9, and only one is right.
Of course, randomly choosing 3 images is much faster than doing OCR on a distorted text, so it probably is not a big problem for the spammer if only every 84th attempt succeeds...
According to this statistics, about 1/3 of the energy in France comes from oil (or at least, came from oil two years ago), with another 1/7 from natural gas. Remember, electricity is only part of the energy consumption. Electric cars are the exception, and so is electric heating of buildings.
Having 33% of your energy production dependent on oil can well be considered "addicted". Would the oil sources disappear over night, you'd certainly have much trouble (as would the rest of the industrialized world).
GIMP was not really created as a gfx program. It was created as an excuse to conduct the huge experiment in user interface called GTK, and image processing abilities are just an afterthought after that mad scientist experiment.
Gimp was written for an environment where this feature was standard. Even the very first X window manager I've used (ctwm, back then) came with virtual desktops. That was 1992, some years before the first version of Gimp was published.
Slashdot Mirror
If the format is open, the browsers can support it out of the box.
Wasn't core dumped?
Not to mention MRAM, FeRAM, PRAM, ...
In most cases, a "warm reboot" (i.e. processor reset) gives exactly the same effect as a "cold reboot" (i.e. switching off and on again). Which proofs that you don't need to have clean memory for a reboot. After all, whatever is in memory doesn't matter when it's not read or executed.
How successful would be a virus that only can infect the computers of programmers? I guess, not very.
Interesting thought.
Usually sudo will not give another prompt if fired shortly after a previous sudo. So the hypothetical malware would indeed get root access completely unnoticed (once having obtained root access, it can of course easily remove any traces of that root access in log files).
If the home directory is noexec, it is not enough for a virus. A virus cannot do harm if it doesn't get executed.
Note that the halting problem does not say that you cannot write a program which can tell for some algorithms if they will halt. The halting problem says that no program can decide it on all algorithms. That makes algorithms deciding the halting problem (or an equivalent problem) for some algorithms no less obsolete than G\"odel's proof that not all true theorems can be proven makes proofs in mathematics obsolete.
Well, actually you got infected yesterday. However it's a new kind of virus which not only manipulates your computer, but also your brain. You'll consider your computer's behaviour as absolutely normal, even if it differs extremely from what it was before. Your memory is just manipulated to tell you it was always the way it was now.
Is the project by any chance codenamed X1000? If so, just keep them away from toy makers.
You mean:
Erde: groesstenteils harmlos.
(The "oe" should actually be an umlaut-o, and the ss a sharp s, but the latest changes to Slashdot seem to have broken non-US letters.)
Well, I've found a show where there's absolute no advertising whatsoever, not even hidden. It's obviously very old, from the time when there was no sound, and no colors. Indeed, it's so old that even white was not yet discovered; the screen is just black. That show seems to be sent 24 hours a day without a single advertising break, and no product placement either. It's not easy to find, because they didn't put it on those numbered buttons you usually use to select your channel, but they put it on a separate button, which they labelled "OFF" (I guess that's the broadcaster's name). I can only suggest that channel.
That may be risky, however.
..."
"New calculations by scientists reveal the unexpected result that the comet Microsoft Vista will crash into the Intel Mars base
You mean, things like Heisenberg compensators, Dilithium crystals which can withstand antimatter, malfunctioning transporters which split a person into a good and an evil part, ...?
And in case you complain that this is all Star Trek, well, the idea of using humans as batteries isn't exactly plausible either: Where do those humans get their energy from, and why can't the machines get it from the same source directly?
Or maybe you're a Star Wars fan? So where's the plausibility of the force?
Face it, a lot of SciFi is far from plausible within the known laws of the universe.
You are trying to switch off a Microsoft sponsored show. Cancel or Allow?
It's 9 pictures, of which 3 have kittens. You have to identify the correct three. There are 84 ways to select 3 of 9, and only one is right.
...
Of course, randomly choosing 3 images is much faster than doing OCR on a distorted text, so it probably is not a big problem for the spammer if only every 84th attempt succeeds
What about combining both methods: The LOLCAT CAPTCHA!
Actually, Captchas testing the ability to do basic logical reasoning would probably be more helpful in most boards.
According to this statistics, about 1/3 of the energy in France comes from oil (or at least, came from oil two years ago), with another 1/7 from natural gas. Remember, electricity is only part of the energy consumption. Electric cars are the exception, and so is electric heating of buildings.
Having 33% of your energy production dependent on oil can well be considered "addicted". Would the oil sources disappear over night, you'd certainly have much trouble (as would the rest of the industrialized world).
From what I hear, the Chinese government can.
Why should it get the word "shop"? I cannot buy anything with it.
And if it ever gets a single window interface, PLEASE make it optional.
That's definitively wrong. Originally Gimp used Motif.
Gimp was written for an environment where this feature was standard. Even the very first X window manager I've used (ctwm, back then) came with virtual desktops. That was 1992, some years before the first version of Gimp was published.