I'm working on CenterStage, and I think the parent is not as "Interesting" as the mods would have us believe. His media center itself would be "interesting", because we haven't implemented anything but the most basic of functions in CenterStage yet, and it's currently still in alpha 0.1.
So unless you'd like to just be able to watch movies full-screen, which it can do, you might want to wait a while.
Should be farther, not further. Farther is used for lengths, further to denote something being to a greater degree. Thus the blurb should read "...farther than the orbit of jupiter..."
Just my two cents. Oh, and I didn't RTFA, but it didn't seem very worthy anyways.
Oddly enough, a project exists at ARL that does exactly that. If you feel like reading about it, look at http://sgl.arlut.utexas.edu/.
I don't think it's closed source, but since I'm working on it, it never really seems closed or open to me:-P. The problem isn't that we don't want it to be open, it's that the propagation models aren't written in house, and they're all closed.
I thought perhaps, that some reading this may not like to have to open up acrobat or Open Office... Enjoy:
Microsoft Windows: A lower Total Cost of
0wnership
August 12, 2004
Introduction
Microsoft has long asked third party analysts for accurate
assessments of the total cost of ownership of Microsoft Windows
deployments, especially against the Linux deployments commonly
going into all segments of the market. However, Immunity, Inc. as a
third party assessment provider has, until now, not done a thorough
analysis, using Immunity proprietary data to tell the true story about
the costs of Open Source.
The point of contact for this paper is Dave Aitel, Vice President of
Media Relations, Immunity, Inc. He can be reached at
mailto:dave@immunitysec.com. Further information on Immunity, Inc. is
available at http://www.immunitysec.com/ .
Executive Summary
Based on our analysis, Microsoft Windows has one half the Total Cost
of 0wnership (TC0) of modern Fedora Core Linux based technologies.
Immunity's Methodology
Immunity has four major services: Training on exploit development
and vulnerability analysis, Application Security Consulting, the
CANVAS assessment product, and the Immunity Vulnerability Sharing
Club. In each of these, the costs to penetrate (0wn) systems based on
Microsoft Windows Technologies was compared to the costs against a
modern Linux system. In general there are three aspects to 0wning a
system. These three things, Vulnerability Detection, Exploit
Development, and Attack Execution, were used by Immunity to
determine the costs to 0wn the different operating systems in
configurations encountered during Immunity engagements. As
Immunity is not in the rootkit (http://www.rootkit.com/) writing business, this
paper does not cover the costs of maintaining 0wnership over a given
OS.
Vulnerability Detection
There are several factors that affect how difficult it is to find
vulnerabilities on a target platform. Some of these are listed below.
Immunity's judgments are drawn from our current collection of
remote 0day in the VSC, countless 0day in custom applications for
Immunity Consulting customers across many different operating
systems and over 80 remote exploits in CANVAS.
Portability of common exploit development tools
IDA-Pro, the premier disassembler and reverse engineering tool (a
database and a disassembler together make for a powerful
combination) is able to disassemble both Linux and Windows binaries,
but only runs on Windows. A Linux version is, however, rumored to be
in the works.
PDB (Python Debugger), Immunity's newest tool in the armory, is
available only for Windows (although the client is available on both
Linux and Windows). This tool allows for many advanced scripts to be
run, widely automating the exploit development process.
Ollydbg (Visual Debugger), is far superior to GDB in many ways
needed for exploit development. In addition, windbg and Softice
provide valuable options for debugging at the kernel and user level.
The TC0 advantage is clearly obvious for the Windows platform.
Availability of Fish
Finding a vulnerability is like finding a fish. If the pond is overfished,
it's harder to find them. Hackers are rather evenly split between
running Linux and running Mac OSX. As much as few professional
NASCAR drivers drive Dodge Neons, a negligible amount of skilled
hackers use Windows as their primary OS.
Not to mention, many Win32 fish are given out for free by Microsoft
when releasing patches. (See
I can't see Apple ever releasing a Tablet PC... Here's why:
1. Cost is too much. Non-Apple users already see Macs as too expensive, so a Tablet (unless it were uncharacteristically inexpensive), would just fuel the fire.
2. Appeal. Yes, I know it would be sexy as all get out. But really, Macs are a niche market... I use mine to code and write webpages, and love how easy it makes many things, as well as the tinkerability of th OS, but the market for Macs is still (sadly) around 2-3%. Tablet computers would comprise a subset of that, so they wouldn't be economically feasible. Think G4 cube.
3. Finally. Technical issues. From the drawings, this thing is pretty thin. Apple would have to find a very low heat, low energy processor to use (the G4 qualifies), but also a very small size Mobo, GFX card, etc. With all the logic board problems of recent iBooks, I would seriously doubt whether they're considering releasing something as iffy as a Tablet.
Then again, they did (without Steve, btw) originally bring us the Newton, iPod and widespread GUI, so perhaps they will revolutionize Tablet PC's as well?
Yes, I know I could have done that, but I don't use Firefox on my laptop... I use Safari, and I'm too lazy to go around adding hosts to block to my router tables.
Although it may seem like some sort of poetic justice that Doubleclick was attacked...
The attacks had more far-reaching effects. Pages would take forever to load for me (certain pages, not all), if they used doubleclick ads, simply because the browser was waiting for the final item (the ad) to load.
Whether or not you like doubleclick, their widespread adoption made this a productivity hit for those of us who frequent pages w/ doubleclick content (even if we never notice it).
But then again, he's also trying to get us to the moon and Mars.
I think that Americans could benefit from a committee established to promote the complete adoption of a nationwide FTTP network or other such network to connect us at faster rates.
Having broadband and a video cam, for instance, is no good for me, because my girlfriend has dial-up, thus limiting chat options. I blame lots of this on American capitalism, but perhaps if we get a Democratic congress again, this can be quelled.
I recently saw a 1.5 Mbps line referred to as "shitty" by a Japanese blogger. In America, that's supposedly pretty fast for a consumer. We need to look to countries like S. Korea for inspiration, stop trying to milk money out of customers by capping uploads and such, and just modernize our damn nation.
My parents got an e-mail stating that we were charged $3000 for a new Dell laptop. Nevermind that we all use Macs.
So I check out the site... Looks professional, seems legit, but it asks for a bank account and social number on a non-secure connection... Phishy?
I checked out the root domain of the given address and ran a search to see to whom the site was registered. Definitely not a real company, an individual, and the root domain didn't exist as an accessible webpage. Not the kind of thing that is very professional. I bounced the e-mail back and dismissed it. Our credit bill the next month didn't have a Dell laptop on it. What do you know?
All it takes is some common sense to get out of these things, but perhaps real companies should start adopting S/MIME or PGP to ensure their identities to make it more apparent to a layperson.
Of course, a false company could just as easily hide behind these "foolproof" authentication mechanisms.
I haven't RTFA, but...
Apple is just adding more meta-data to that already used by HFS+. They will still be using a journaled HFS+ and the forthcoming Spotlight will just make use of the meta-data they are adding to their FS.
Many decry HFS+ as outmoded and inefficient, but with the changes Apple is making, it is looking more promising.
I hope M$ puts something new out because NTFS is getting a bit long in the tooth.
Just my $0.02.
If I recall correctly, the Russians would march troops right over the blast area to see what kinds of effects the radiation would have on men. I don't know if they were Russian troops or prisoners, but either way.
Of course, it could have been the Chinese, or maybe just my rightist history teacher's bias against the Communists.
I've never even used Konfabulator, and I've used Macs since about 15 years ago (I started on a Centris 610), but from what I've seen, Dashboard is nothing more than a direct ripoff of Konfabulator in the same way that iTunes beat out Audion, and Sherlock beat Watson. I am planning on being a developer for a living, and when the company I have devoted my resources to does something as despicable as this it really bugs me. Yes, they have the resources to make the shareware part of the OS, and they may even implement it better, but that doesn't mean that Arlo Rose shouldn't receive at least some sort of compensation for their acts. Yellowdog Linux is looking more appetizing every day.
Is it just me, or does this sound scarily familiar to Microsoft's failed attempts to "settle" by giving free copies of Windows to schools? I hope that no more companies are allowed to "atone" for their sins by giving out freebies to further secure their footholds in the marketplace. Not that Will Smith was going to do much for that anyways, but its the principle of the matter.
That's a valid point, but UT2k4 has a built in player that allows one to change tracks in-game... Much more convenient than minimizing & changing something in iTunes, or using my T616 and Sony-Ericsson Clicker to change tracks. I'd imagine the in-game player might take a bit less CPU than iTunes as well.
I've RTFA, but couldn't find any information to answer this:
As an SBC user currently considering switching to cable, I'm wondering if, when they upgrade the lines, I will be upgraded for free, or if they'll charge me for it. I can probably assume it's the latter, but I can only be hopeful until then.
Then again, if I can get 25 Mbps for a few extra Franklins a year, who really cares?
If anyone knows any information about the upgrades regarding pricing for users (SBC has always been really dodgy about discussing pricing) I'd be happy to know.
A bit off topic, but it will come up anyways, so mod me however you wish:
I've used iTunes since its inception (on OS 9), and have bought around 30-40 songs since the release of iTMS US (and have also downloaded the countless weekly free tracks). The DRM, while not particularly inconvenient to me (I have a 20GB iPod) seems to be a great sticking point to others. I have never had the need to use my music on more than 3 computers simultaneously, and have never needed to burn a playlist so many times as to exceed the iTunes limit (and even then you can change the playlist and burn again)
That said, the steps necessary to convert my favorite fragging tracks to.ogg for use in UT2004 seemed unnecessarily complex (burn to cd, rip to wav, encode to ogg), and as such I am wondering if a DRM is really necessary. I haven't pirated music in over a year now, and indeed have no such music on my laptop (or iPod) currently: I am now more prone to buy music from iTMS.
I am proud of Apple's successes and hope they go far in the future, but DRM is a dangerous and narrow path, and I only hope that Steve Jobs doesn't take his penchant for control too far with this one. Until that time, the current implementation is sufficient for me, and with new technologies such as Airtunes connectivity and convergence are becoming more mainstream: the need for DRM-less files is becoming less.
However... Apple needs to open their format to other companies. I dont give a damn, Steve, if iPod comprises 50%, 75% or even 100% of the market, if another company wants to use your insanely great AAC Protected format, they should be able to. The fact that consumers cannot use other digital devices to play the product Apple is selling is a major sticking point with many, and the tools necessary to allow this are being intentionally broken with each successive iTunes release.
Yes, I'm a fervent Mac Evangelist, but while this works perfectly for me, getting a friend with another mp3 player to start using a Mac and/or the iTMS is going to be pretty hard if I have to explain to him that he has to break the user agreement to play the files by breaking the DRM.
The format needs to be opened, and it needs to happen soon.
Brings a whole new meaning to the networking term "trunk".
I can see it now:
Defendant: No, no, no your honor, you've got it all wrong! Her battery died and I was just jumpstarting her devices!
Judge: Couldn't you have just shaken her hand?
Defendant: I thought if we got our juices flowing, maybe the conductivity would be greater?
Better yet, does anyone know anyone the RIAA has actually sued? I'd love to hear from someone who has had to go through this first hand.
I currently have no pirated music of any sort on my machine, but have had in the past. Those who continue to do this are probably going to eventually get caught, and I'm curious to see how many of them who were careless enough to get caught actually frequent Slashdot.
I'm a junior in high school, and I, having read this full article, now disagree with the statement about "freaks", or "stoners".
Perhaps my school is an isolated incident, but drug use really does permeate all rungs of social hierarchy. I know many in the athletic "A" popularity rung that use a whole slew of drugs, and regularly hear about others in the "E" popularity that do the same. I'm probably somewhere in the middle, a self-proclaimed member of the intelligentsia class, but also not horribly unpopular (or physically repulsive, if i do say so myself).
However, I don't do these things, but as a member of a "B-C" rung, have been asked to, and have seen many not unlike myself fall victim to such temptations, and even be arraigned for dealing X, heroin, crack, shrooms, and others once they hit college.
Overall, I agree quite thoroughly with this article, and see myself in many of the comparisons; however, when the author says the "freaks" are freaks, and the "stoners" are an attempt by the said groups to create a separate subclass for themselves, I-at least in my experience of 17 years-must disagree.
In my school, the popularity comes first, the drugs are not always too slow in following.
Its sooo much slower than ethernet, even now by a factor of four. When you network with PC friends, no one else has gigabit, the mac pro-sumer models are the only ones with that, so the only platform where even the old firewire was slower was the pro mac models.
Apple has a beta version of firewire over IP now, and i used it for a direct uplink to my quake server at the last lan party, and while pings weren't always 4 times smaller than the PC's, they were consistently lower.
While that may be a while away since cables cost so much, there are still devices that desperately need firewire. The iPod is a great example of what an MP3 player should be. I see those great archos players, and realized I could never get all my mp3's on them in a rush due to the 1.1 USB in most of them. Firewire's transmission speed for that is amazing, and it charges the device off of the computers port simultatneously.
And for digital video, of course, there IS no other option
Slashdot Mirror
I'm working on CenterStage, and I think the parent is not as "Interesting" as the mods would have us believe. His media center itself would be "interesting", because we haven't implemented anything but the most basic of functions in CenterStage yet, and it's currently still in alpha 0.1. So unless you'd like to just be able to watch movies full-screen, which it can do, you might want to wait a while.
Should be farther, not further. Farther is used for lengths, further to denote something being to a greater degree. Thus the blurb should read "...farther than the orbit of jupiter..."
Just my two cents. Oh, and I didn't RTFA, but it didn't seem very worthy anyways.
Oddly enough, a project exists at ARL that does exactly that. If you feel like reading about it, look at http://sgl.arlut.utexas.edu/.
:-P. The problem isn't that we don't want it to be open, it's that the propagation models aren't written in house, and they're all closed.
I don't think it's closed source, but since I'm working on it, it never really seems closed or open to me
I thought perhaps, that some reading this may not like to have to open up acrobat or Open Office... Enjoy:
Microsoft Windows: A lower Total Cost of 0wnership
August 12, 2004
Introduction
Microsoft has long asked third party analysts for accurate assessments of the total cost of ownership of Microsoft Windows deployments, especially against the Linux deployments commonly going into all segments of the market. However, Immunity, Inc. as a third party assessment provider has, until now, not done a thorough analysis, using Immunity proprietary data to tell the true story about the costs of Open Source.
Other sources of 3rd party information can be found here: http://www.microsoft.com/mscorp/facts/default.asp
The point of contact for this paper is Dave Aitel, Vice President of Media Relations, Immunity, Inc. He can be reached at mailto:dave@immunitysec.com. Further information on Immunity, Inc. is available at http://www.immunitysec.com/ .
Executive Summary
Based on our analysis, Microsoft Windows has one half the Total Cost of 0wnership (TC0) of modern Fedora Core Linux based technologies.
Immunity's Methodology
Immunity has four major services: Training on exploit development and vulnerability analysis, Application Security Consulting, the CANVAS assessment product, and the Immunity Vulnerability Sharing Club. In each of these, the costs to penetrate (0wn) systems based on Microsoft Windows Technologies was compared to the costs against a modern Linux system. In general there are three aspects to 0wning a system. These three things, Vulnerability Detection, Exploit Development, and Attack Execution, were used by Immunity to determine the costs to 0wn the different operating systems in configurations encountered during Immunity engagements. As Immunity is not in the rootkit (http://www.rootkit.com/) writing business, this paper does not cover the costs of maintaining 0wnership over a given OS.
Vulnerability Detection
There are several factors that affect how difficult it is to find vulnerabilities on a target platform. Some of these are listed below. Immunity's judgments are drawn from our current collection of remote 0day in the VSC, countless 0day in custom applications for Immunity Consulting customers across many different operating systems and over 80 remote exploits in CANVAS.
Portability of common exploit development tools
IDA-Pro, the premier disassembler and reverse engineering tool (a database and a disassembler together make for a powerful combination) is able to disassemble both Linux and Windows binaries, but only runs on Windows. A Linux version is, however, rumored to be in the works.
PDB (Python Debugger), Immunity's newest tool in the armory, is available only for Windows (although the client is available on both Linux and Windows). This tool allows for many advanced scripts to be run, widely automating the exploit development process.
Ollydbg (Visual Debugger), is far superior to GDB in many ways needed for exploit development. In addition, windbg and Softice provide valuable options for debugging at the kernel and user level.
The TC0 advantage is clearly obvious for the Windows platform.
Availability of Fish
Finding a vulnerability is like finding a fish. If the pond is overfished, it's harder to find them. Hackers are rather evenly split between running Linux and running Mac OSX. As much as few professional NASCAR drivers drive Dodge Neons, a negligible amount of skilled hackers use Windows as their primary OS.
Not to mention, many Win32 fish are given out for free by Microsoft when releasing patches. (See
I can't see Apple ever releasing a Tablet PC... Here's why:
1. Cost is too much. Non-Apple users already see Macs as too expensive, so a Tablet (unless it were uncharacteristically inexpensive), would just fuel the fire.
2. Appeal. Yes, I know it would be sexy as all get out. But really, Macs are a niche market... I use mine to code and write webpages, and love how easy it makes many things, as well as the tinkerability of th OS, but the market for Macs is still (sadly) around 2-3%. Tablet computers would comprise a subset of that, so they wouldn't be economically feasible. Think G4 cube.
3. Finally. Technical issues. From the drawings, this thing is pretty thin. Apple would have to find a very low heat, low energy processor to use (the G4 qualifies), but also a very small size Mobo, GFX card, etc. With all the logic board problems of recent iBooks, I would seriously doubt whether they're considering releasing something as iffy as a Tablet.
Then again, they did (without Steve, btw) originally bring us the Newton, iPod and widespread GUI, so perhaps they will revolutionize Tablet PC's as well?
Just my 0.02$
Yes, I know I could have done that, but I don't use Firefox on my laptop... I use Safari, and I'm too lazy to go around adding hosts to block to my router tables.
Although it may seem like some sort of poetic justice that Doubleclick was attacked...
The attacks had more far-reaching effects. Pages would take forever to load for me (certain pages, not all), if they used doubleclick ads, simply because the browser was waiting for the final item (the ad) to load.
Whether or not you like doubleclick, their widespread adoption made this a productivity hit for those of us who frequent pages w/ doubleclick content (even if we never notice it).
But then again, he's also trying to get us to the moon and Mars.
I think that Americans could benefit from a committee established to promote the complete adoption of a nationwide FTTP network or other such network to connect us at faster rates.
Having broadband and a video cam, for instance, is no good for me, because my girlfriend has dial-up, thus limiting chat options. I blame lots of this on American capitalism, but perhaps if we get a Democratic congress again, this can be quelled.
I recently saw a 1.5 Mbps line referred to as "shitty" by a Japanese blogger. In America, that's supposedly pretty fast for a consumer. We need to look to countries like S. Korea for inspiration, stop trying to milk money out of customers by capping uploads and such, and just modernize our damn nation.
But haven't fallen.
My parents got an e-mail stating that we were charged $3000 for a new Dell laptop. Nevermind that we all use Macs.
So I check out the site... Looks professional, seems legit, but it asks for a bank account and social number on a non-secure connection... Phishy?
I checked out the root domain of the given address and ran a search to see to whom the site was registered. Definitely not a real company, an individual, and the root domain didn't exist as an accessible webpage. Not the kind of thing that is very professional. I bounced the e-mail back and dismissed it. Our credit bill the next month didn't have a Dell laptop on it. What do you know?
All it takes is some common sense to get out of these things, but perhaps real companies should start adopting S/MIME or PGP to ensure their identities to make it more apparent to a layperson.
Of course, a false company could just as easily hide behind these "foolproof" authentication mechanisms.
I haven't RTFA, but... Apple is just adding more meta-data to that already used by HFS+. They will still be using a journaled HFS+ and the forthcoming Spotlight will just make use of the meta-data they are adding to their FS. Many decry HFS+ as outmoded and inefficient, but with the changes Apple is making, it is looking more promising. I hope M$ puts something new out because NTFS is getting a bit long in the tooth. Just my $0.02.
If I recall correctly, the Russians would march troops right over the blast area to see what kinds of effects the radiation would have on men. I don't know if they were Russian troops or prisoners, but either way.
Of course, it could have been the Chinese, or maybe just my rightist history teacher's bias against the Communists.
This is how you get linux on there...
I've never even used Konfabulator, and I've used Macs since about 15 years ago (I started on a Centris 610), but from what I've seen, Dashboard is nothing more than a direct ripoff of Konfabulator in the same way that iTunes beat out Audion, and Sherlock beat Watson. I am planning on being a developer for a living, and when the company I have devoted my resources to does something as despicable as this it really bugs me. Yes, they have the resources to make the shareware part of the OS, and they may even implement it better, but that doesn't mean that Arlo Rose shouldn't receive at least some sort of compensation for their acts. Yellowdog Linux is looking more appetizing every day.
Now we can finally build our own WiFi Surfboards!!! Apart from the crazy ones, mobos like this will probably open up a whole slew of new uses.
Is it just me, or does this sound scarily familiar to Microsoft's failed attempts to "settle" by giving free copies of Windows to schools? I hope that no more companies are allowed to "atone" for their sins by giving out freebies to further secure their footholds in the marketplace. Not that Will Smith was going to do much for that anyways, but its the principle of the matter.
That's a valid point, but UT2k4 has a built in player that allows one to change tracks in-game... Much more convenient than minimizing & changing something in iTunes, or using my T616 and Sony-Ericsson Clicker to change tracks. I'd imagine the in-game player might take a bit less CPU than iTunes as well.
NTT DoCoMo announces they'll be upgrading Tokyo and the surrounding areas' lines to 15-25 tbps.
I've RTFA, but couldn't find any information to answer this:
As an SBC user currently considering switching to cable, I'm wondering if, when they upgrade the lines, I will be upgraded for free, or if they'll charge me for it. I can probably assume it's the latter, but I can only be hopeful until then.
Then again, if I can get 25 Mbps for a few extra Franklins a year, who really cares?
If anyone knows any information about the upgrades regarding pricing for users (SBC has always been really dodgy about discussing pricing) I'd be happy to know.
A bit off topic, but it will come up anyways, so mod me however you wish:
.ogg for use in UT2004 seemed unnecessarily complex (burn to cd, rip to wav, encode to ogg), and as such I am wondering if a DRM is really necessary. I haven't pirated music in over a year now, and indeed have no such music on my laptop (or iPod) currently: I am now more prone to buy music from iTMS.
I've used iTunes since its inception (on OS 9), and have bought around 30-40 songs since the release of iTMS US (and have also downloaded the countless weekly free tracks). The DRM, while not particularly inconvenient to me (I have a 20GB iPod) seems to be a great sticking point to others. I have never had the need to use my music on more than 3 computers simultaneously, and have never needed to burn a playlist so many times as to exceed the iTunes limit (and even then you can change the playlist and burn again)
That said, the steps necessary to convert my favorite fragging tracks to
I am proud of Apple's successes and hope they go far in the future, but DRM is a dangerous and narrow path, and I only hope that Steve Jobs doesn't take his penchant for control too far with this one. Until that time, the current implementation is sufficient for me, and with new technologies such as Airtunes connectivity and convergence are becoming more mainstream: the need for DRM-less files is becoming less.
However... Apple needs to open their format to other companies. I dont give a damn, Steve, if iPod comprises 50%, 75% or even 100% of the market, if another company wants to use your insanely great AAC Protected format, they should be able to. The fact that consumers cannot use other digital devices to play the product Apple is selling is a major sticking point with many, and the tools necessary to allow this are being intentionally broken with each successive iTunes release.
Yes, I'm a fervent Mac Evangelist, but while this works perfectly for me, getting a friend with another mp3 player to start using a Mac and/or the iTMS is going to be pretty hard if I have to explain to him that he has to break the user agreement to play the files by breaking the DRM.
The format needs to be opened, and it needs to happen soon.
I stumbled across this link, and although it strictly deals with bandwidth (not also with power, as in the Microsoft technology), it must be posted.
...*ducks*
Because, although many of us have suspected it before, it is now pretty much obvious that sooner or later, penises will have higher bandwidths than cable modems.
Brings a whole new meaning to the networking term "trunk".
I can see it now:
Defendant: No, no, no your honor, you've got it all wrong! Her battery died and I was just jumpstarting her devices!
Judge: Couldn't you have just shaken her hand?
Defendant: I thought if we got our juices flowing, maybe the conductivity would be greater?
Better yet, does anyone know anyone the RIAA has actually sued? I'd love to hear from someone who has had to go through this first hand.
I currently have no pirated music of any sort on my machine, but have had in the past. Those who continue to do this are probably going to eventually get caught, and I'm curious to see how many of them who were careless enough to get caught actually frequent Slashdot.
Just my 2 cents
I wonder when they'll ever figure out that suing your consumers is not an effective business model?
Is that not illegal yet?
I'm a junior in high school, and I, having read this full article, now disagree with the statement about "freaks", or "stoners".
Perhaps my school is an isolated incident, but drug use really does permeate all rungs of social hierarchy. I know many in the athletic "A" popularity rung that use a whole slew of drugs, and regularly hear about others in the "E" popularity that do the same. I'm probably somewhere in the middle, a self-proclaimed member of the intelligentsia class, but also not horribly unpopular (or physically repulsive, if i do say so myself).
However, I don't do these things, but as a member of a "B-C" rung, have been asked to, and have seen many not unlike myself fall victim to such temptations, and even be arraigned for dealing X, heroin, crack, shrooms, and others once they hit college.
Overall, I agree quite thoroughly with this article, and see myself in many of the comparisons; however, when the author says the "freaks" are freaks, and the "stoners" are an attempt by the said groups to create a separate subclass for themselves, I-at least in my experience of 17 years-must disagree.
In my school, the popularity comes first, the drugs are not always too slow in following.
Respectfully,
A Pompous Geek-MacGoldstein
Its sooo much slower than ethernet, even now by a factor of four. When you network with PC friends, no one else has gigabit, the mac pro-sumer models are the only ones with that, so the only platform where even the old firewire was slower was the pro mac models.
Apple has a beta version of firewire over IP now, and i used it for a direct uplink to my quake server at the last lan party, and while pings weren't always 4 times smaller than the PC's, they were consistently lower.
While that may be a while away since cables cost so much, there are still devices that desperately need firewire. The iPod is a great example of what an MP3 player should be. I see those great archos players, and realized I could never get all my mp3's on them in a rush due to the 1.1 USB in most of them. Firewire's transmission speed for that is amazing, and it charges the device off of the computers port simultatneously.
And for digital video, of course, there IS no other option