I can see this concept being extended to the Internet: By placing an unsecured box on the network, you have introduced an Attractive Nuisance, and it can be argued that the machine's owner bear responsibility for collateral damage.
Possibly, yes.
I'm more concerned with the steady trend towards individuals avoiding personal responsibility in a general sense.
IMNHO a computer's owner does have some responsibility to maintain a reasonably secure system (e.g. patched/firewalled), at least in the "greater good" sense.
The root problem is our increasing reliance on a system (the internet) that is inherently insecure and vulnerable to any number of exploits.
The Current climate in the US is leading in exactly that direction- I reckon than non government personnel will soon be limited as to which (if any) encryption tools they may possess/use.
It is true that strong encryption could be used to ill effect by criminals/terrorist organizations etc. BUT it is critical that the 4th amandment not be further eroded (by the Patriot Act) than it already has.
Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
While I realize that patents can be given for Ideas and processes this patent is every bit as absurd as the patent awarded last year for a method to swing. Yep, a method to swing e.g. in the playground. So if you have children take care that their use of the swings in the playground does not infring on any patented methodology...
It is a nice real world illustration of game theory.
Road cycling is even more heavily influenced by drafting and the cooperation between rivals that is required to succeed.
Google on Von Neuman / Game theory etc.for further reading.
I aggree it is a great game, but shouldn't the government be putting that money to better use? I meen it's just a recruiting tool isn't it?
It is a recruiting tool but not a bad idea overall. Consider how difficult selling enlistment in the armed forces is.Every little bit of positive PR helps achieve that goal. Having served 8 years in the Army, and being old enough to remember the draft, I really appreciate the importance of having a dedicated volunteer force rather than a conscripted army.
That out of context quote is a bit misleading- full quote below:
"We are considering making Inferno available under a `dual licence' scheme. Under such a scheme, you can choose between two licences:
* It is available as `Free Software' (in the sense of the Free Software Foundation) if the use you make of it will also be made available on the same terms, as Free Software.
* A more conventional software licence if the result of your work using Inferno will not or cannot be made Free Software.
The January 2003 Vita Nuova Newsletter item that mentioned this distinguished between `free for non-commercial use' and a `traditional software licence for commercial use', but the distinction given above is the one we are actually considering. (Unfortunately, a scribbled change to the newsletter to make the distinction we intended was illegible and not applied!)" Status: Under consideration: no decision has yet been made. Comments welcome, to karen@vitanuova.com.
There is another project Thunderbird that will create a mail client as an adjunct to Phoenix. My understanding is that the approach will be more modular in nature so as to enable stand alone use of the browser, the mail client or both.
""Unfortunately, theft of copyrighted works is the predominant use of peer-to-peer networks today," French said. "Peer-to-peer networks are primarily used today for the unauthorized public distribution and reproduction of copyrighted works."
If this legislation does go through imagine the potential impact on the open source movement...
It will be all to easy to apply the same logic to Open Source developers/providers adding another avenue of attack to corporations that feel threatened by open source...
The headline is certainly an attention getter but it is probably a good idea to delve a little deeper into the substance of the article. A slightly more expanded article (also in german) provides some needed details.
The data for the report was provided by a worldwide group of journalists, researchers and legal experts.
1. The reasoning for the relatively poor showing of the United States is attributed to increased control/restriction of information availble to journalists since the 9-11 attacks.
2. Also notable is that Costa Rica placed 15th.
3. Austria, South Africa and Japan are tied in 26th place.
4. Italy ranks 40th.
(my opinion now) My beef with this report is that it does not give us any substantive information as to EXACTLY which criteria were applied to generate the rankings list. I lived overseas for 8.5 years (in europe) and noticed a strong tendancy to portray one's own country as better than the others... Sort of the same behaviour Americans tend to exhibit towards the rest of the world.
Freedom as applied to the press or as applied to individuals is a very subjective thing indeed. It is nearly impossible to objectively quantify things that are largely subjective in nature.
a staple on my PDA ever since I acquired it. No it is not convenient to read in that format but it is very handy to have a dozen or so books on my Handspring, especially while traveling.
I will certainly embrace the addition of newer titles- most of what has been availble until mow has been Project Gutenberg/public domain stuff.
"I think people are losing focus to what Linux really is. (snip)...But this development does not take away the mere fact that Linux itself is still a Unix based environment which is (and should be) configurable using vi at all times.
Yes and no. Software and language have a lot in common in that they are both constantly evolving. many people still study Latin and believe it to be an "ideal", logically constructed language. Of course it is also a dead language.
The point is that if we adhere to any one inflexible definition of what is and is not Linux we will surely hinder progress.
Whether we like it or not ease of installation and use issues continue to limit the utility of Linux for Joe/Jane user.
The average Joe does not give a hoot which OS he uses- that individual just wants it to work.
IMHO Linux is whatever its users make it. I have no idea how Linux will look in 2 year's time let alone in 5 years. I do know is that it will continue to change; probably in some ways that are utterly unanticpated at the present time.
That article seems to be nothing more than another chapter in the OSS/Non-OSS Jihad. The author's arguements are loosly tied together by sweeping generalisms.
This piece reminds me of the anti-nuclear power folks I ran into in the late '70s- They'd ask me: "Please sign our petition" (come to our demonstration/whatever)..
I'd respond "Why?"
Their response was invariably:
"Well because Nuclear power is BAD"
Only very few people could ever get beyond the statement and support the opinion with actual facts. Puppets no more...
I believe that access to computing/software can be an important tool in helping the parts of the world that are less fortunate than we in the first world are. It is imperative, IMHO, that we don't apply our values to someone elses culture.
There are certainly more pressing issues impacting the developing world than which flavor of software is in use, e.g. an adaquate food supply, health care, and at least a semblance of basic human rights that we so easily take for granted.
I know a bunch of women who were far more addicted to Diablo II than I ever was. When the DII/LOD expansion came out there were certainly plentiful female beta testers.
"So what exactly is this for, remotely wardriving in Afganistan?"
There is certaibly a military requirement to have a look at areas that may have been subjected to NBC (Nuclear,Bilogical,Chemical) contamination without putting personnell at risk.
A large RC vehicle was (still is?) used to measure radiation levels inside the remains of the facility at Chernobyl.
Similar technology is also in use today by bomb squads.
Secure ordering online is a lot like "safe Sex"-
you can minimize risk but can't get rid of it altogether.
That being said- any browser (Mozilla included) that supports standard protocols e.g. https etc. should give you a fair degree of security whilst shopping.
Mozilla won't compromise your security. You might compromise your own security (but that is a whole other topic).
Slashdot Mirror
Probably not on Mozilla itself (but) there is a real move towards a less monolithic approach with projects like Firebird & Thunderbird.
I can see this concept being extended to the Internet: By placing an unsecured box on the network, you have introduced an Attractive Nuisance, and it can be argued that the machine's owner bear responsibility for collateral damage. Possibly, yes. I'm more concerned with the steady trend towards individuals avoiding personal responsibility in a general sense. IMNHO a computer's owner does have some responsibility to maintain a reasonably secure system (e.g. patched/firewalled), at least in the "greater good" sense. The root problem is our increasing reliance on a system (the internet) that is inherently insecure and vulnerable to any number of exploits.
with that assessment. Unless Cable/Sat access becomes price-competitive with air, e.g. FREE there will always be a niche for the air stations.
The Current climate in the US is leading in exactly that direction- I reckon than non government personnel will soon be limited as to which (if any) encryption tools they may possess/use. It is true that strong encryption could be used to ill effect by criminals/terrorist organizations etc. BUT it is critical that the 4th amandment not be further eroded (by the Patriot Act) than it already has.
Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
While I realize that patents can be given for Ideas and processes this patent is every bit as absurd as the patent awarded last year for a method to swing. Yep, a method to swing e.g. in the playground. So if you have children take care that their use of the swings in the playground does not infring on any patented methodology...
It is a nice real world illustration of game theory. Road cycling is even more heavily influenced by drafting and the cooperation between rivals that is required to succeed. Google on Von Neuman / Game theory etc.for further reading.
I aggree it is a great game, but shouldn't the government be putting that money to better use? I meen it's just a recruiting tool isn't it?
It is a recruiting tool but not a bad idea overall. Consider how difficult selling enlistment in the armed forces is.Every little bit of positive PR helps achieve that goal. Having served 8 years in the Army, and being old enough to remember the draft, I really appreciate the importance of having a dedicated volunteer force rather than a conscripted army.
That out of context quote is a bit misleading- full quote below:
"We are considering making Inferno available under a `dual licence' scheme. Under such a scheme, you can choose between two licences:
* It is available as `Free Software' (in the sense of the Free Software Foundation) if the use you make of it will also be made available on the same terms, as Free Software.
* A more conventional software licence if the result of your work using Inferno will not or cannot be made Free Software.
The January 2003 Vita Nuova Newsletter item that mentioned this distinguished between `free for non-commercial use' and a `traditional software licence for commercial use', but the distinction given above is the one we are actually considering. (Unfortunately, a scribbled change to the newsletter to make the distinction we intended was illegible and not applied!)"
Status: Under consideration: no decision has yet been made. Comments welcome, to karen@vitanuova.com.
There is another project Thunderbird that will create a mail client as an adjunct to Phoenix. My understanding is that the approach will be more modular in nature so as to enable stand alone use of the browser, the mail client or both.
""Unfortunately, theft of copyrighted works is the predominant use of peer-to-peer networks today," French said. "Peer-to-peer networks are primarily used today for the unauthorized public distribution and reproduction of copyrighted works."
If this legislation does go through imagine the potential impact on the open source movement...
It will be all to easy to apply the same logic to Open Source developers/providers adding another avenue of attack to corporations that feel threatened by open source...
The headline is certainly an attention getter but it is probably a good idea to delve a little deeper into the substance of the article. A slightly more expanded article (also in german) provides some needed details.
The data for the report was provided by a worldwide group of journalists, researchers and legal experts.
1. The reasoning for the relatively poor showing of the United States is attributed to increased control/restriction of information availble to journalists since the 9-11 attacks.
2. Also notable is that Costa Rica placed 15th.
3. Austria, South Africa and Japan are tied in 26th place.
4. Italy ranks 40th.
(my opinion now) My beef with this report is that it does not give us any substantive information as to EXACTLY which criteria were applied to generate the rankings list. I lived overseas for 8.5 years (in europe) and noticed a strong tendancy to portray one's own country as better than the others... Sort of the same behaviour Americans tend to exhibit towards the rest of the world.
Freedom as applied to the press or as applied to individuals is a very subjective thing indeed. It is nearly impossible to objectively quantify things that are largely subjective in nature.
a staple on my PDA ever since I acquired it. No it is not convenient to read in that format but it is very handy to have a dozen or so books on my Handspring, especially while traveling. I will certainly embrace the addition of newer titles- most of what has been availble until mow has been Project Gutenberg/public domain stuff.
"I think people are losing focus to what Linux really is. (snip)...But this development does not take away the mere fact that Linux itself is still a Unix based environment which is (and should be) configurable using vi at all times. Yes and no. Software and language have a lot in common in that they are both constantly evolving. many people still study Latin and believe it to be an "ideal", logically constructed language. Of course it is also a dead language.
The point is that if we adhere to any one inflexible definition of what is and is not Linux we will surely hinder progress.
Whether we like it or not ease of installation and use issues continue to limit the utility of Linux for Joe/Jane user.
The average Joe does not give a hoot which OS he uses- that individual just wants it to work.
IMHO Linux is whatever its users make it. I have no idea how Linux will look in 2 year's time let alone in 5 years. I do know is that it will continue to change; probably in some ways that are utterly unanticpated at the present time.
I'm going to enjoy the ride...
"She did it because Microsoft told her to do it, and paid her"
That is exactly the point. It does not matter what the individual in question did or did not do-
Microsoft can't blame her just because they either did not do their homework or just got plain sloppy.
Whatever happened to accountability anyway? Oh that's right- Martha Stewart is going to do a new show on that subject...
That article seems to be nothing more than another chapter in the OSS/Non-OSS Jihad. The author's arguements are loosly tied together by sweeping generalisms. This piece reminds me of the anti-nuclear power folks I ran into in the late '70s- They'd ask me: "Please sign our petition" (come to our demonstration/whatever).. I'd respond "Why?" Their response was invariably: "Well because Nuclear power is BAD" Only very few people could ever get beyond the statement and support the opinion with actual facts. Puppets no more... I believe that access to computing/software can be an important tool in helping the parts of the world that are less fortunate than we in the first world are. It is imperative, IMHO, that we don't apply our values to someone elses culture. There are certainly more pressing issues impacting the developing world than which flavor of software is in use, e.g. an adaquate food supply, health care, and at least a semblance of basic human rights that we so easily take for granted.
I know a bunch of women who were far more addicted to Diablo II than I ever was. When the DII/LOD expansion came out there were certainly plentiful female beta testers.
"So what exactly is this for, remotely wardriving in Afganistan?" There is certaibly a military requirement to have a look at areas that may have been subjected to NBC (Nuclear,Bilogical,Chemical) contamination without putting personnell at risk. A large RC vehicle was (still is?) used to measure radiation levels inside the remains of the facility at Chernobyl. Similar technology is also in use today by bomb squads.
Secure ordering online is a lot like "safe Sex"- you can minimize risk but can't get rid of it altogether. That being said- any browser (Mozilla included) that supports standard protocols e.g. https etc. should give you a fair degree of security whilst shopping. Mozilla won't compromise your security. You might compromise your own security (but that is a whole other topic).
It has been delayed until next week. They are pushing the mail client a bit forward as well. See the post on the Phoenix Forum for details.