My company laptop runs whole disk encryption on it. It's software based so it decrypts the drive on a successful login to the main OS.
Therein also lies the problem.
In the event the OS goes screwy and doesn't want to boot for some reason, you have no way of fixing the problem without doing a complete re-image.
You can't boot your favorite Linux ISO disc and drop into the Windows partition and ' fix ' anything as the entire drive is encrypted. Linux doesn't even see the drive as a valid partition.
You can't decrypt it until it boots, and if it doesn't boot you're stuck. Same thing is going to apply to the hardware versions. A simple glitch will kill everything on your drive.
I find it more to my liking to encrypt certain directories or files instead. This way a soft ware glitch ( which is far more common than a hardware one ) doesn't kill my entire drive leaving me with few ( if any ) options to recover it.
Start accusing customers of illegal downloading and you damn well better have undeniable evidence to back it up. The days of the courts just giving the RIAA whatever it wants are quickly coming to a close.
I figure the ISPs will play ball in this court until they make a mistake or two and get stung by the lawsuit that will follow. Unless the RIAA is paying them enough money to absorb the costs of inevitable litigation, it will be a very short game indeed.
It seems to me the RIAA is simply trying to shed its 'bad-guy' image by outsourcing the dirty work to the ISPs.
In fact, I figure the lawsuit will be forthcoming over privacy issues once AT&T and Comcast make it official. After all, they have to monitor everything downloaded in order to ensure you're not doing anything ' questionable '. Once that technology is in place, who gets to make the determination of what is questionable ?
Competing services like VOIP, video on demand, etc. etc. would be prime targets if the ISP offers the same services. . .
Speaking of Comcast. . . .
I got a chuckle out of a Comcast representative a few days ago telling me how amazing the new 50MB speed tier was. I had to ask myself:
" Why would I want to pay for a 50MB tier when Comcast throttles
my connection the moment I saturate it with a large file ? "
8MB DL throttled down to 200k is MUCH cheaper than a 50MB DL throttled down to 200k.
In the end though, I'm paying way too much for a 200k connection:D
As long as you have Comcast as a service provider, it doesn't matter how much speed they give you if they are throttling back your connection the moment you saturate it by pulling in a large file.
You know, their NEW and IMPROVED network management service that is supposed to make everything so much better for us all:|
What's the point in even using speed comparisons as a marketing issue if this is how they handle folks who even try to utilize what they're paying for ?
I downloaded a 2GB file earlier ( DvD training video from Digital Tutors ) and watched my initial connection of 800K+ get smacked down to 200K for the remainder of the download.
Nothing like waiting an extra 4X as long. . . it's Comcastic !!!:| Hell, I went and cooked dinner in the interim. It's like a rehash of the early days of the net where your connection speed gave you a line by line download of any picture you wanted to look at.
Now, while I can't prove it's Comcast who is doing this, it's pretty common no matter what source I pull from. Starts out nice and zippy ( I supposedly have a 6-8MB down connection speed ) but get's whacked down to about 200K / sec long before the file is finished.
So I guess the question is: Why do I care about having a world record setting download speed if the ISP is going to throttle it five seconds after you start using it ? It would be cheaper to go with their basic connection speed as it's what you're going to end up with anyway once you trigger the throttle.
Competition ? Sure we have competition. We have Verizon DSL. Who tries to push their DSL service over the worst copper plant ( phone lines ) the world has ever seen. If the wind blows the wrong way, you can kiss your DSL connection good bye. On a GOOD day, I was getting 56K connection speeds. Verizon DSL customer support blamed Verizon Telco and vice versa.
After getting India on the phone and listening to them follow their flowchart trouble-shooting technique. I was told that I needed to ( I kid you not here )
REBOOT MY RECYCLE BIN ( That is a word for word quote )
Apparently the trash bin on a single comupter can degrade the DSL service of not only the computer with the full trash can, but every other computer on the network as well. The thought of shooting myself briefly crossed my mind:|
This is my choice for competition. One day I'll just give the net up completely due to the very sh*tty choices I have available.
Unfortunately for me, I will never see U-Verse as a possibility as I do not live within an AT&T serving area.
So hey, if the government wants to step in and regulate this industry, I'm all for it. Can't be much worse than it already is for far too many people. I can fix their spying issues with encryption, I can't fix Comcast and their BS network management games from my end.
The idea is being kicked around for car registration stickers to contain an RFID chip.
Imagine a world where your car can be tracked anywhere, anytime on any road. By placing sensors at pre-determined intervals, they can calculate your speed and auto-mail a ticket if you exceed it at any time.
A police cruiser outfitted with RFID readers can scan cars at a scary rate simply by driving by them. Bounce that tag number against a database and it will alert the officer of any violations the car has ( or it's owners ) in damn near real time.
Of course a hand held stun-gun of a few hundred thousand volts will do wonders to that RFID chip, but don't be surprised to see it coming to a car near you:D
It's still a damn tax regardless of what we call it. Someone has realized a gas tax is a problem if we are pushing for higher and higher mpg.
All of a sudden folks aren't using as much gas. Oh noes ! There goes our revenue ! This was predicted back when folks started taking electric cars seriously.
A substantial amount of money is made by taxing fuel. If we use half the fuel, they get half the tax revenue. Thus, a new tax system is needed to ensure a continued revenue stream.
What to do? What to do. . . .
Maybe we should double the existing tax?
or
Institute a driving tax! Of course! Brilliant!
This way, no matter what, they will get their tax money. ( Unless you quit driving of course )
Then, of course, we'll introduce the non-driving tax next to cover that one. . .:|
--
Laws are written to protect the stupid ones from the obvious solution.
While it took all of a few minutes to 'solve' manually, it merely shows folks that their interests in puzzle solving can actually be of some use in the field of crypto.
A more interesting use would be to put currently unbroken ciphers in use by ( insert organization here ) and see if the online community can break them. Why settle of X number of employees when you have have Y^Z folks doing it for free (fun) ?
for the time being consoles appear to have the title for gaming platforms outside of the MMO's.
I don't game on my PC anymore but it's not due to the hardware. Rather, it's the annoying software issues that keep me from gaming on the PC.
You have to run a Microsoft OS for most games. You have to run Vista for some to run at all. A few are made for Mac ( very few ) Practically zero on Linux
SecureRom, limited online activation, and other bullsh*t DRM schemes aren't helping.
There are several games I wanted to play on the PC, but refused to load them due to all the DRM sh*t that comes with them.
Spore and Bioshock being but two. . . .
The fact that I have yet, in recent years, been able to purchase a game, install it, and start playing it immediately without downloading a mega patch to ' fix ' all the issues that should have been dealt with prior to the damn thing shipping.
If the console developers ever bother to stick a keyboard and a mouse into the hardware mix, I would be sold. Done deal. I would never load another game on my PC again.
So,for me anyway, it's not the hardware that's crippling the PC gaming capabilities, it's the unfinished, bug-ridden, DRM laden software that's killing it off. . . .
There will come a time when people quit taking shit from corrupt police. When that day comes, expect it to be a very violent and unpleasant day.
Back on subject though:
It's a simple concept to./'s but apparently not the rest of the world.
DO NOT KEEP QUESTIONABLE DATA UNENCRYPTED ON YOUR COMPUTER. EVER.
Period. Simple as that.
It's not a perfect setup. Keyloggers and whatnot will bypass even the toughest encryption scheme. As will your partner in crime if he gets busted and plea bargins your ass for a lighter sentence.
It'll help tremendously if the man kicks your door down and confiscates everything. It's more realistic than thermite containers above your hard drives:) Though that would work too. . .
They had a prime role in the attempt to destroy the downloading business model to begin with.
The download business benefits the newcomers to the music business far more than the established bands.
It sounds to me like Metallica is simply trying to cut out as much overhead as they can since their music isn't what it once was. More of a desperation move than anything else.
When Metallica pulled their little stunt that started all this years ago, I destroyed every Metallica album I owned ( pretty much all of them ) and never regretted the decision to do so.
If I recall it correctly, Comcast adamantly denied they were doing anything with the P2P folks until the numbers started coming out stating otherwise.
Now that the evidence is mounting and the FCC has their spotlight on them, they want to be all apologetic and use the " Lets all play nice " card.
Hell, AT&T won't even admit they run a dedicated fiber line over to the NSA folks. It'll take full blown immunity from litigation before they EVER admit to that one.
Make no mistake about it. The people are not going to have the ability to change the corporate way of thinking when it comes to Internet Service. It will take government level involvement ( or the threat of it ) before this bullsh*t stops. The big boys don't like Big Brother looking over their shoulder any more than the rest of us do. . . . .
What are you going to do ? Drop them as your ISP provider ? LOL Yeah and if you're lucky to HAVE an alternative you would have already done so by now.
They enjoy monopoly status and they know it. They know if you want broadband service at all, you're pretty much stuck with them.
Until the monopolies are broken up for broadband providers, the companies cannot be trusted to police themselves as they have little reason to do so. They don't have to compete with anyone.
This kind of behavior actually makes more sense from a Comcast perspective.
Not that I agree with it mind you, it's simply the cheaper alternative when faced with bandwidth limiting or expanding your infrastructure.
If you can identify what may cause serious headaches for your network and / or your available bandwidth you are simply one step closer to making the call to minimize it's effect by whatever means you have available.
In this case, the degradation of the P2P applications in the hope that the masses ' give up ' on technology that obviously doesn't work well. When, in fact, it works wonderfully when Comcast isn't meddling with it. Once the majority of users give up on it, that part of your network headache has been dealt with and you can move on to the next one.
Problem is, what is the next one ?
Competing VOIP applications ? High-Def video content ? Anything that isn't considered ' Comcastic ' ? Ever wonder why your VOIP application doesn't work as well as it should ? Is is shoddy programming or shady ISP's degrading the service so you'll use their own product instead ? Tin hat ? Probably. I will not put it past any company anymore. The ever increasing profit margin trumps all. Ethics, honor, respect. All of it. It's pathetic really.
It's lovely that Comcast decided to throw in the towel and wants to make it all go away. The real problem is it took them getting CAUGHT before it happened. These aren't the actions of a company who wants to make the internet a better and equal place for everyone. These are the actions of a company who are now worried their actions mightget the government involved and REALLY start causing problems when it comes to network management.
Not that any fine ( even a record setting one ) would even make them flinch. Think about how much money Comcast pulls in monthly. The fine would have to be several Billion dollars before they would even notice it.
The idea there is broad-band level competition is laughable. I have two choices. Comcast or Verizon DSL across a copper plant that is so old and degraded ( they bought it from GTE ) that I would set a world record if my download speeds exceeded 1MB down. When it worked at all that is.
Problem with the DSL line ? Call the DSL folks. Oh no ! It's not our DSL service, it's the copper phone lines! Call the phone company ! Oh noes ! DSL problems ? It can't be the phone lines, call the DSL folks ! Wash / rinse and repeat until your sanity catches fire.
Been there, done that.
As much as I hate to say it, the major ISP's NEED some regulation or oversight in how they provide service. It's pretty obvious they can't be trusted to police themselves. Comcast is the poster child of that idea much to their dismayI'm sure.
Think the other ISP's aren't doing something similar ? Please. They just haven't been caught yet.
Houston is another city that is installing red light cameras just as fast as they can get them up.
Police review the video footage of any vehicle that triggers the camera. If you're found to have committed the offense, the ticket is generated and mailed to you. They also send a link along to the video where you can watch yourself blow the light:)
You normally won't see a ticket if the light was still yellow on entering the intersection. Most folks who are seeing the violations are blatantly blasting through the intersection after the light has gone red.
So the way the system is set up currently, you can tell fairly quickly if the light is cycling faster than it should and if you truly deserved the citation.
While I may be incorrect, I've always held to the thinking that ultra-efficient gasoline vehicles would actually increase the price of gas.
Companies typically like to see their profit margin stay level ( worst case ) or increase.
If we started using 50% less gasoline tomorrow for whatever reason, in order for Big Oil to maintain their current profits ( not increase them, just maintain them ) they would have to raise the price of Gas by 50% to compensate for less consumption.
So while we would be technically using far less Gasoline, the price would increase enough to offset any savings we would see from using less gas to begin with.
My understanding is a similar issue has shown up with Water in the drought stricken states here. Due to the drought, they are under strict water use guidelines so the consumption has dropped off dramatically. However, in order to maintain profits the water companies have spiked their prices accordingly. Same formula.
Less consumption = less water company profit unless the price is increased to compensate.
The only way to see lower gas prices ( as much as I hate to say it ) is to regulate how much profit Big Oil can make off of everyone else who is paying for Gas it provides.
There is quite the possibility that certain Law Enforcement members have direct access to the switch itself. Switch being the Nortel DMS, Lucent 5ESS, Eriksons, and whatnot. All that is required is RAS or VPN access to the backbone network and they have the keys to the kingdom at that point.
Several flavors of devices sit on the network which convert a telnet session into an async connection directly tied to the switch. It's just like sitting at the main console. . . .
( Cisco comm servers, Datakit and Applied Innovation switches to name but a few )
Thus, anyone with access to the network who has knowledge of the IP / Socket of the mediation device can connect directly to the switch itself.
What level of access to the main switch at that point is beyond my knowledge, but I can say that while some have been configured specifically for CALEA, there are multiple channels that can be used for access on any given switch.
All things considered, if the tech works as well as GM is hoping for, then accidents would be far, FAR fewer than what we see today. Owning a self-drive capable car might even LOWER your insurance payments as you're taking the human out of the equation. Think about what causes most accidents. Hardware failure ? Um. . no.
Usually it's stupidity on the drivers part. Driving too fast, ( or too slow in the wrong lane ) didn't see the vehicle next to them, drunk, racing, rubbernecking, on the phone, whatever. Remove the driver from the equation and 99% of the traffic fatalities will probably go away.
Once the tech arrives, it would probably take 5-10 years to get the changeover completed. Once that happens, most of the accidents and the reasons behind them would vanish. Talk all you wish on your phone. Eat your breakfast and rubberneck till you are blue in the face. The computer won't run the light, blow the stopsign or try to race the idiot next to you. Freeway traffic will likely be self-drive ONLY.
Hell, they may even RAISE the speed limits. The ones we have now have to factor in the idiot equation. Remove the human problem and higher speeds navigated via computer will be just as safe ( if not safer ) than the lower ones driven by their flesh and blood counterparts. the lower ones.
With my drive testing the limits of my sanity on a daily basis ( ~80 miles roundtrip to the office through the worst traffic Houston has to offer ) I'll be first in line if / when this tech becomes available.
The limit in the United States for LASER POINTERS is 5mw. . . . .
However, AFAIK, there isn't a limit ( outside of the size of your bank account ) for PORTABLE LASERS. This is why the systems from Dragonlasers and WickedLasers can be sold within the United States.
They are not being classified as a LASER POINTER. They meet all the requirements of the higher powered versions including the ability to close the aperture, and keys to enable the device.
A 200mw green laser is no more / less powerful than it's red / blue / infrared counterparts of the same power level. If the couple were truly evil, they would have used an infrared lab laser with an output of 5-15 Watts. The officer wouldn't even know what happened until his eyes 'popped'. Infrared is actually more dangerous because of the lack of the blink factor. Shine a bright light in your eyes and you'll close them / turn away to deal with it. Infrared you won't even realize you're in danger until it's too late.
A green laser appears to be more powerful because the human eye can see that wavelength a lot better than we do with the red end of the spectrum. So while it LOOKS brighter, 200mw is still 200mw any way you slice it, thus the green lasers are no more powerful than any others. ( Based solely on color / wavelength )
You're right. . . . if I get tired of my freedom and wish to go to jail I will do the following:
I will go out and purchase about 500 of these devices and mount them in an array. Think of it as a laser based spotlight. . . . .
If Mr. "Oh my eyes hurt, and I was disoriented and they should be locked up for life " had issues with the single laser, imagine his reaction when he is the recipient of the cumulative effects of 500 of these things all shining at the same point in space. . . . .
I mean, if you're going to go to jail for something as silly as this, you may as well go for the gusto and outfit this thing with a focusing lens in front of it. Try to catch the aircraft on fire !:)
We've been voting the idiots of our government into power for years and I haven't really seen any improvement thus far. At some point you have to come to the realization that voting folks in or out makes little difference when, over the course of time, they all act the same way.
Perhaps I should go 'protest'. Hold a march ? Write a book ? Freedom of speech is an amazing thing, problem is, no one is listening.
The sooner folks realize the laws of this nation do NOT apply to those in power, the quicker this will all get sorted out. Unless some amazing miracle happens, the Telecom's will likely get immunity from the government.
As a result, they will be free to do whatever the government asks of them in the future as they will have the ultimate get out of jail card to play.
Here's another lovely quote for you:
Q: What's the difference between the US and a Dictatorship? A: A Dictator has the backbone to ADMIT he's a Dictator.
While I will agree that the usual analysis and / or brute forcing of a strong crypto key is beyond conventional computing ( all bets are off once quantum systems arrive ) in any decent amount of time, if you are a significant person of interest you can bet your crypto key isn't even going to slow them down.
They won't NEED your confession because they will have long ago installed the key-loggers necessary to obtain it themselves. Or worked out a plea bargain for your recipient on the other end in exchange for immunity from prosecution.
Plead the Fifth all you like, the prosecution will just get a good chuckle out of it.
It makes little difference now. The bill is already in motion to get pushed into law that will provide the Telecom's with immunity for their actions concerning the spy programs that have been in effect for the past administration or two.
Our Congress is so spineless they will never stand up to the White House when push comes to shove. I'm nearly to the point of giving up trying to vote in some new blood because it seems while the names and faces change, they're all cut from the same mold. Republican, Democrat, they're all just about as corrupt as the next.
About the only thing that's guaranteed from our Congress is their yearly pay raise. I find it hilarious that our government loves to talk sh*t about foreign governments yet we can't even hold an election without becoming the joke of the planet.
About the only way to fix this is to start completely over.
To use a favorite quote of mine:
" I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure. "
Easy answer. Because the Police are not showing any respect towards non-officers by tasing first and asking questions later. Folks who are doing no more than disagreeing with an officer are getting lit up with these things. God forbid you question authority. After all, our police force is impeccable and would NEVER do anything questionable, or *gasp* illegal. No really ! *rolls eyes*
Seen any of the Internet Videos regarding police brutality or overstepping their bounds lately ? No ? Go see some then ask why I should be obedient or respectful towards any officer these days. I look nervous to the officer on scene ? Perhaps I'm wondering if he's going to whip out his taser because I'm not following his orders fast enough. Maybe I'm wondering if I'm going to join the rest of the folks who have died because some lazy ass officer decides to use his new toy because my nervousness was making the officer nervous. . .
" If the cop wants to arrest you, LET them quietly and then let the judge sort things out. "
You tend to forget that your word vs an officers = you lose. Period. End of story. Regardless if you are in the right or not. Officer's word > your word. Every single time. ( Unless you have video evidence to prove otherwise )
I no longer blame folks who run from police. Your safety is no longer a guarantee once you are in their control. ( How many have died while in police custody now ? ) Since the departments don't feel there is a problem, there must not be a problem. . . . you're not questioning us are you CITIZEN ? ( zzzzzap )
While I cannot condone it, when the first instance of Citizen X gunning down Officer Y out of fear for their life, I can only say " Told you so. " Example after example is being seen by the public. Nothing is being done and more and more folks are dying daily to the so called ' lethal force alternative ' that is known as the Taser.
To the Police: Failure to reign in your cowboys will ultimately result in a public that no longer trusts those sworn to protect them. If you think you have anti-police issues now. . . just wait. Pretty soon, you'll be just as much of an enemy as the criminals are.
Try to imagine working in an environment where absolutely no one trusts you.
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. . it also has some pitfalls as well.
My company laptop runs whole disk encryption on it.
It's software based so it decrypts the drive on a
successful login to the main OS.
Therein also lies the problem.
In the event the OS goes screwy and doesn't want
to boot for some reason, you have no way of fixing
the problem without doing a complete re-image.
You can't boot your favorite Linux ISO disc and
drop into the Windows partition and ' fix '
anything as the entire drive is encrypted. Linux
doesn't even see the drive as a valid partition.
You can't decrypt it until it boots, and if it
doesn't boot you're stuck. Same thing is going
to apply to the hardware versions. A simple
glitch will kill everything on your drive.
I find it more to my liking to encrypt certain
directories or files instead. This way a soft
ware glitch ( which is far more common than a
hardware one ) doesn't kill my entire drive
leaving me with few ( if any ) options to
recover it.
The ISPs have to tread carefully here.
Start accusing customers of illegal downloading and you damn well
better have undeniable evidence to back it up. The days of the
courts just giving the RIAA whatever it wants are quickly coming
to a close.
I figure the ISPs will play ball in this court until they make a
mistake or two and get stung by the lawsuit that will follow.
Unless the RIAA is paying them enough money to absorb the costs
of inevitable litigation, it will be a very short game indeed.
It seems to me the RIAA is simply trying to shed its 'bad-guy'
image by outsourcing the dirty work to the ISPs.
In fact, I figure the lawsuit will be forthcoming over privacy
issues once AT&T and Comcast make it official. After all, they
have to monitor everything downloaded in order to ensure you're
not doing anything ' questionable '. Once that technology is in
place, who gets to make the determination of what is questionable ?
Competing services like VOIP, video on demand, etc. etc. would be
prime targets if the ISP offers the same services. . .
Speaking of Comcast. . . .
I got a chuckle out of a Comcast representative a few days ago
telling me how amazing the new 50MB speed tier was. I had to
ask myself:
" Why would I want to pay for a 50MB tier when Comcast throttles
my connection the moment I saturate it with a large file ? "
8MB DL throttled down to 200k is MUCH cheaper than a 50MB DL throttled
down to 200k.
In the end though, I'm paying way too much for a 200k connection :D
As long as you have Comcast as a service provider,
it doesn't matter how much speed they give you if
they are throttling back your connection the moment
you saturate it by pulling in a large file.
You know, their NEW and IMPROVED network management :|
service that is supposed to make everything so much
better for us all
What's the point in even using speed comparisons as
a marketing issue if this is how they handle folks
who even try to utilize what they're paying for ?
I downloaded a 2GB file earlier ( DvD training
video from Digital Tutors ) and watched my initial
connection of 800K+ get smacked down to 200K for
the remainder of the download.
Nothing like waiting an extra 4X as long. . . it's :| Hell, I went and cooked dinner
Comcastic !!!
in the interim. It's like a rehash of the early
days of the net where your connection speed gave
you a line by line download of any picture you
wanted to look at.
Now, while I can't prove it's Comcast who is doing
this, it's pretty common no matter what source I pull
from. Starts out nice and zippy ( I supposedly have
a 6-8MB down connection speed ) but get's whacked down
to about 200K / sec long before the file is finished.
So I guess the question is: Why do I care about having
a world record setting download speed if the ISP is going
to throttle it five seconds after you start using it ? It
would be cheaper to go with their basic connection speed
as it's what you're going to end up with anyway once you
trigger the throttle.
Competition ? Sure we have competition. We have Verizon
DSL. Who tries to push their DSL service over the worst
copper plant ( phone lines ) the world has ever seen. If
the wind blows the wrong way, you can kiss your DSL
connection good bye. On a GOOD day, I was getting 56K
connection speeds. Verizon DSL customer support blamed
Verizon Telco and vice versa.
After getting India on the phone and listening to them
follow their flowchart trouble-shooting technique. I was
told that I needed to ( I kid you not here )
REBOOT MY RECYCLE BIN ( That is a word for word quote )
Apparently the trash bin on a single comupter can degrade :|
the DSL service of not only the computer with the full trash
can, but every other computer on the network as well. The
thought of shooting myself briefly crossed my mind
This is my choice for competition. One day I'll just give
the net up completely due to the very sh*tty choices I have
available.
Unfortunately for me, I will never see U-Verse as a possibility
as I do not live within an AT&T serving area.
So hey, if the government wants to step in and regulate this
industry, I'm all for it. Can't be much worse than it already
is for far too many people. I can fix their spying issues with
encryption, I can't fix Comcast and their BS network management
games from my end.
Bad news man.
The idea is being kicked around for car registration
stickers to contain an RFID chip.
Imagine a world where your car can be tracked
anywhere, anytime on any road. By placing sensors
at pre-determined intervals, they can calculate
your speed and auto-mail a ticket if you exceed it
at any time.
A police cruiser outfitted with RFID readers can
scan cars at a scary rate simply by driving by
them. Bounce that tag number against a database
and it will alert the officer of any violations
the car has ( or it's owners ) in damn near real
time.
Of course a hand held stun-gun of a few hundred :D
thousand volts will do wonders to that RFID chip,
but don't be surprised to see it coming to a
car near you
It's still a damn tax regardless of what we call
it. Someone has realized a gas tax is a problem
if we are pushing for higher and higher mpg.
All of a sudden folks aren't using as much gas.
Oh noes ! There goes our revenue ! This was
predicted back when folks started taking electric
cars seriously.
A substantial amount of money is made by taxing
fuel. If we use half the fuel, they get half the
tax revenue. Thus, a new tax system is needed
to ensure a continued revenue stream.
What to do? What to do. . . .
Maybe we should double the existing tax?
or
Institute a driving tax! Of course! Brilliant!
This way, no matter what, they will get their
tax money. ( Unless you quit driving of course )
Then, of course, we'll introduce the non-driving :|
tax next to cover that one. . .
--
Laws are written to protect the stupid ones
from the obvious solution.
The idea is to generate interest in the subject :D
While it took all of a few minutes to 'solve'
manually, it merely shows folks that their interests
in puzzle solving can actually be of some use in
the field of crypto.
A more interesting use would be to put currently
unbroken ciphers in use by ( insert organization
here ) and see if the online community can break
them. Why settle of X number of employees when
you have have Y^Z folks doing it for free (fun) ?
When we start trying to apply the laws of the
land to the realm of make believe our justice
system will have officially lost it's mind. . .
Next we'll be appointing a Cartoon Czar. . .
for the time being consoles appear to have the
title for gaming platforms outside of the MMO's.
I don't game on my PC anymore but it's not due
to the hardware. Rather, it's the annoying
software issues that keep me from gaming on the PC.
You have to run a Microsoft OS for most games.
You have to run Vista for some to run at all.
A few are made for Mac ( very few )
Practically zero on Linux
SecureRom, limited online activation, and other
bullsh*t DRM schemes aren't helping.
There are several games I wanted to play on the
PC, but refused to load them due to all the DRM
sh*t that comes with them.
Spore and Bioshock being but two. . . .
The fact that I have yet, in recent years, been
able to purchase a game, install it, and start
playing it immediately without downloading a
mega patch to ' fix ' all the issues that should
have been dealt with prior to the damn thing
shipping.
If the console developers ever bother to stick
a keyboard and a mouse into the hardware mix, I
would be sold. Done deal. I would never load
another game on my PC again.
So,for me anyway, it's not the hardware that's
crippling the PC gaming capabilities, it's the
unfinished, bug-ridden, DRM laden software that's
killing it off. . . .
Heh.
You'll be thrilled to know AT&T seems to FINALLY
taken the whole data security thing somewhat
seriously.
All corporate imaged laptops that leave company
buildings are getting whole disk encryption to
help protect the data within.
Now if they can simply train their employees
to quit leaving the damn things in their cars
. . . .
I believe the vendor used is Checkpoint.
Absolutely.
There is only one outcome when folks without guns
try to stand up against those who do.
There will come a time when people quit taking
./'s but apparently not
:) Though that would work too. . .
shit from corrupt police. When that day comes,
expect it to be a very violent and unpleasant day.
Back on subject though:
It's a simple concept to
the rest of the world.
DO NOT KEEP QUESTIONABLE DATA
UNENCRYPTED ON YOUR COMPUTER. EVER.
Period. Simple as that.
It's not a perfect setup. Keyloggers and whatnot
will bypass even the toughest encryption scheme.
As will your partner in crime if he gets busted
and plea bargins your ass for a lighter sentence.
It'll help tremendously if the man kicks your
door down and confiscates everything. It's more
realistic than thermite containers above your
hard drives
Not a chance.
They had a prime role in the attempt to destroy
the downloading business model to begin with.
The download business benefits the newcomers to
the music business far more than the established
bands.
It sounds to me like Metallica is simply trying
to cut out as much overhead as they can since
their music isn't what it once was. More of a
desperation move than anything else.
When Metallica pulled their little stunt that
started all this years ago, I destroyed every
Metallica album I owned ( pretty much all of
them ) and never regretted the decision to do so.
Guess they never learned you reap what you sow.
If I recall it correctly, Comcast adamantly denied
they were doing anything with the P2P folks until
the numbers started coming out stating otherwise.
Now that the evidence is mounting and the FCC has
their spotlight on them, they want to be all
apologetic and use the " Lets all play nice "
card.
Hell, AT&T won't even admit they run a dedicated
fiber line over to the NSA folks. It'll take
full blown immunity from litigation before they
EVER admit to that one.
Make no mistake about it. The people are not going
to have the ability to change the corporate way of
thinking when it comes to Internet Service. It will
take government level involvement ( or the threat of
it ) before this bullsh*t stops. The big boys don't
like Big Brother looking over their shoulder any more
than the rest of us do. . . . .
What are you going to do ? Drop them as your ISP
provider ? LOL Yeah and if you're lucky to HAVE an
alternative you would have already done so by now.
They enjoy monopoly status and they know it. They
know if you want broadband service at all, you're
pretty much stuck with them.
Until the monopolies are broken up for broadband
providers, the companies cannot be trusted to police
themselves as they have little reason to do so. They
don't have to compete with anyone.
This kind of behavior actually makes more sense from a Comcast perspective.
Not that I agree with it mind you, it's simply the cheaper alternative when
faced with bandwidth limiting or expanding your infrastructure.
If you can identify what may cause serious headaches for your network
and / or your available bandwidth you are simply one step closer to
making the call to minimize it's effect by whatever means you have available.
In this case, the degradation of the P2P applications in the hope that
the masses ' give up ' on technology that obviously doesn't work
well. When, in fact, it works wonderfully when Comcast isn't meddling
with it. Once the majority of users give up on it, that part of your
network headache has been dealt with and you can move on to the next one.
Problem is, what is the next one ?
Competing VOIP applications ? High-Def video content ? Anything that
isn't considered ' Comcastic ' ? Ever wonder why your VOIP application
doesn't work as well as it should ? Is is shoddy programming or shady
ISP's degrading the service so you'll use their own product instead ? Tin
hat ? Probably. I will not put it past any company anymore. The ever
increasing profit margin trumps all. Ethics, honor, respect. All of it.
It's pathetic really.
It's lovely that Comcast decided to throw in the towel and wants to make
it all go away. The real problem is it took them getting CAUGHT before it
happened. These aren't the actions of a company who wants to make the
internet a better and equal place for everyone. These are the actions of
a company who are now worried their actions mightget the government involved
and REALLY start causing problems when it comes to network management.
Not that any fine ( even a record setting one ) would even make them flinch.
Think about how much money Comcast pulls in monthly. The fine would have to
be several Billion dollars before they would even notice it.
The idea there is broad-band level competition is laughable. I have two
choices. Comcast or Verizon DSL across a copper plant that is so old
and degraded ( they bought it from GTE ) that I would set a world record
if my download speeds exceeded 1MB down. When it worked at all that is.
Problem with the DSL line ? Call the DSL folks. Oh no ! It's not our
DSL service, it's the copper phone lines! Call the phone company ! Oh
noes ! DSL problems ? It can't be the phone lines, call the DSL folks !
Wash / rinse and repeat until your sanity catches fire.
Been there, done that.
As much as I hate to say it, the major ISP's NEED some regulation or
oversight in how they provide service. It's pretty obvious they can't
be trusted to police themselves. Comcast is the poster child of that
idea much to their dismayI'm sure.
Think the other ISP's aren't doing something similar ? Please.
They just haven't been caught yet.
Houston is another city that is installing red
:)
light cameras just as fast as they can get them up.
Police review the video footage of any
vehicle that triggers the camera. If you're found
to have committed the offense, the ticket is
generated and mailed to you. They also send a link
along to the video where you can watch yourself
blow the light
You normally won't see a ticket if the light
was still yellow on entering the intersection.
Most folks who are seeing the violations are
blatantly blasting through the intersection
after the light has gone red.
So the way the system is set up currently, you
can tell fairly quickly if the light is cycling
faster than it should and if you truly deserved
the citation.
While I may be incorrect, I've always held to the thinking that ultra-efficient gasoline
vehicles would actually increase the price of gas.
Companies typically like to see their profit margin stay level ( worst case ) or increase.
If we started using 50% less gasoline tomorrow for whatever reason, in order for Big Oil
to maintain their current profits ( not increase them, just maintain them ) they would have
to raise the price of Gas by 50% to compensate for less consumption.
So while we would be technically using far less Gasoline, the price would increase enough
to offset any savings we would see from using less gas to begin with.
My understanding is a similar issue has shown up with Water in the drought stricken states
here. Due to the drought, they are under strict water use guidelines so the consumption
has dropped off dramatically. However, in order to maintain profits the water companies
have spiked their prices accordingly. Same formula.
Less consumption = less water company profit unless the price is increased to compensate.
The only way to see lower gas prices ( as much as I hate to say it ) is to regulate how
much profit Big Oil can make off of everyone else who is paying for Gas it provides.
Thoughts ?
There is quite the possibility that certain Law Enforcement members
have direct access to the switch itself. Switch being the Nortel DMS,
Lucent 5ESS, Eriksons, and whatnot. All that is required is RAS or VPN
access to the backbone network and they have the keys to the kingdom
at that point.
Several flavors of devices sit on the network which convert a telnet
session into an async connection directly tied to the switch. It's just
like sitting at the main console. . . .
( Cisco comm servers, Datakit and Applied Innovation switches to name but a few )
Thus, anyone with access to the network who has knowledge of the IP / Socket
of the mediation device can connect directly to the switch itself.
What level of access to the main switch at that point is beyond my knowledge,
but I can say that while some have been configured specifically for CALEA,
there are multiple channels that can be used for access on any given switch.
All things considered, if the tech works as well as GM is hoping for, then accidents would be
far, FAR fewer than what we see today. Owning a self-drive capable car might even LOWER your
insurance payments as you're taking the human out of the equation. Think about what causes most
accidents. Hardware failure ? Um. . no.
Usually it's stupidity on the drivers part. Driving too fast, ( or too slow in the wrong lane )
didn't see the vehicle next to them, drunk, racing, rubbernecking, on the phone, whatever.
Remove the driver from the equation and 99% of the traffic fatalities will probably go away.
Once the tech arrives, it would probably take 5-10 years to get the changeover completed. Once
that happens, most of the accidents and the reasons behind them would vanish. Talk all you wish on
your phone. Eat your breakfast and rubberneck till you are blue in the face. The computer won't run
the light, blow the stopsign or try to race the idiot next to you. Freeway traffic will likely be
self-drive ONLY.
Hell, they may even RAISE the speed limits. The ones we have now have to factor in the idiot
equation. Remove the human problem and higher speeds navigated via computer will be just as safe
( if not safer ) than the lower ones driven by their flesh and blood counterparts.
the lower ones.
With my drive testing the limits of my sanity on a daily basis ( ~80 miles roundtrip to the office
through the worst traffic Houston has to offer ) I'll be first in line if / when this tech becomes
available.
Trivia:
The limit in the United States for LASER POINTERS is 5mw. . . . .
However, AFAIK, there isn't a limit ( outside of the size of your bank account )
for PORTABLE LASERS. This is why the systems from Dragonlasers and WickedLasers
can be sold within the United States.
They are not being classified as a LASER POINTER. They meet all the requirements
of the higher powered versions including the ability to close the aperture, and
keys to enable the device.
Um. . . no.
A 200mw green laser is no more / less powerful than it's red / blue / infrared counterparts
of the same power level. If the couple were truly evil, they would have used an infrared
lab laser with an output of 5-15 Watts. The officer wouldn't even know what happened until
his eyes 'popped'. Infrared is actually more dangerous because of the lack of the blink
factor. Shine a bright light in your eyes and you'll close them / turn away to deal with
it. Infrared you won't even realize you're in danger until it's too late.
A green laser appears to be more powerful because the human eye can see that wavelength a
lot better than we do with the red end of the spectrum. So while it LOOKS brighter,
200mw is still 200mw any way you slice it, thus the green lasers are no more powerful than
any others. ( Based solely on color / wavelength )
You're right. . . . if I get tired of my freedom and wish to go to jail I will do the
:)
following:
I will go out and purchase about 500 of these devices and mount them in an array.
Think of it as a laser based spotlight. . . . .
If Mr. "Oh my eyes hurt, and I was disoriented and they should be locked up for life "
had issues with the single laser, imagine his reaction when he is the recipient of the
cumulative effects of 500 of these things all shining at the same point in space. . . . .
I mean, if you're going to go to jail for something as silly as this, you may as
well go for the gusto and outfit this thing with a focusing lens in front of it. Try
to catch the aircraft on fire !
Not really. It's actually the:
We've been voting the idiots of our government into power for years
and I haven't really seen any improvement thus far. At some point
you have to come to the realization that voting folks in or out makes
little difference when, over the course of time, they all act the
same way.
Perhaps I should go 'protest'. Hold a march ? Write a book ?
Freedom of speech is an amazing thing, problem is, no one is listening.
The sooner folks realize the laws of this nation do NOT apply to those
in power, the quicker this will all get sorted out. Unless some amazing
miracle happens, the Telecom's will likely get immunity from the government.
As a result, they will be free to do whatever the government asks of them
in the future as they will have the ultimate get out of jail card to play.
Here's another lovely quote for you:
Q: What's the difference between the US and a Dictatorship?
A: A Dictator has the backbone to ADMIT he's a Dictator.
Please.
While I will agree that the usual analysis and / or brute forcing of a strong crypto key
is beyond conventional computing ( all bets are off once quantum systems arrive ) in any
decent amount of time, if you are a significant person of interest you can bet your
crypto key isn't even going to slow them down.
They won't NEED your confession because they will have long ago installed the
key-loggers necessary to obtain it themselves. Or worked out a plea bargain for your
recipient on the other end in exchange for immunity from prosecution.
Plead the Fifth all you like, the prosecution will just get a good chuckle out of it.
It makes little difference now. The bill is already in motion to get pushed into law
that will provide the Telecom's with immunity for their actions concerning the spy
programs that have been in effect for the past administration or two.
Our Congress is so spineless they will never stand up to the White House when push
comes to shove. I'm nearly to the point of giving up trying to vote in some new
blood because it seems while the names and faces change, they're all cut from the
same mold. Republican, Democrat, they're all just about as corrupt as the next.
About the only thing that's guaranteed from our Congress is their yearly pay raise.
I find it hilarious that our government loves to talk sh*t about foreign governments
yet we can't even hold an election without becoming the joke of the planet.
About the only way to fix this is to start completely over.
To use a favorite quote of mine:
" I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure. "
" Why NOT be respectful and obedient? "
Easy answer. Because the Police are not showing any respect towards non-officers
by tasing first and asking questions later. Folks who are doing no more than
disagreeing with an officer are getting lit up with these things. God forbid
you question authority. After all, our police force is impeccable and would
NEVER do anything questionable, or *gasp* illegal. No really ! *rolls eyes*
Seen any of the Internet Videos regarding police brutality or overstepping
their bounds lately ? No ? Go see some then ask why I should be obedient or
respectful towards any officer these days. I look nervous to the officer on
scene ? Perhaps I'm wondering if he's going to whip out his taser because I'm
not following his orders fast enough. Maybe I'm wondering if I'm going to join
the rest of the folks who have died because some lazy ass officer decides to use
his new toy because my nervousness was making the officer nervous. . .
" If the cop wants to arrest you, LET them quietly and then let the judge sort things out. "
You tend to forget that your word vs an officers = you lose. Period. End of story.
Regardless if you are in the right or not. Officer's word > your word. Every single time.
( Unless you have video evidence to prove otherwise )
I no longer blame folks who run from police. Your safety is no longer a guarantee once
you are in their control. ( How many have died while in police custody now ? ) Since the
departments don't feel there is a problem, there must not be a problem. . . . you're not
questioning us are you CITIZEN ? ( zzzzzap )
While I cannot condone it, when the first instance of Citizen X gunning down Officer Y
out of fear for their life, I can only say " Told you so. " Example after example is
being seen by the public. Nothing is being done and more and more folks are dying daily
to the so called ' lethal force alternative ' that is known as the Taser.
To the Police: Failure to reign in your cowboys will ultimately result in a public that
no longer trusts those sworn to protect them. If you think you have anti-police issues
now. . . just wait. Pretty soon, you'll be just as much of an enemy as the criminals are.
Try to imagine working in an environment where absolutely no one trusts you.