A cop selling you some cocaine, then arresting you.. . what do you think undercover narcs do? It's only entrapment if the cop induces you to do something illegal that you wouldn't otherwise have done. The line between the cop saying "Hey, want to buy some cocaine?", and the suspect saying "Hey, will you sell me some cocaine?"
As far as it applies to P2P... hell if I know. The user initiates the search, which could be construed as initiating the transaction. But you could also argue that the user wasn't necessarily looking for copyrighted material, they just happened to see it while cruising for legal.mp3 files. I'm sure it will be resolved in court after hundreds of hours of legal arguments and millions and millions of dollars transferred to the lawyers bank accounts.
Is that severe enough for me? No, not really. Maybe you haven't noticed that there are fanatics out there who are more then happy to give up their own lives to further their cause. Somehow I can't qutie see a finger-wagging "Don't set that bomb off, or you're really be sorry!" being much of a deterrent.
Not to mention that tracing my lineage back and wiping them out would be punishing a bunch of innocent folks. What if I hate my family? What a great way to get back at them!
Absolutely. I think I'll build a few bombs in my garage, maybe brew up some anthrax or smallpox virus. Hey, as long as I don't do anything with them, the penalty shouldnt' be too severe... right?
And of course it wouldn't be hard at all to drop a hardware key logger like this on a system, do something to hose up the software, then call tech support.
Odds are if it's a pure software problem the tech will never look at the back of the machine. Once he's fixed the problem and wandered off, you can retrieve the keystroke monitor and you probably have the admin account name and password.
Thats a good point. Maybe the answer is to have two different kinds of systems.. open systems that anyone can use, and do whatever they want, and a smaller number of "secure" systems. Secure systems would be locked down a lot tighter, maybe reloaded after each user, and you'd be much more limited in what you could do on them. But users could do their banking/love letter writing/whatever in relative security.
On the other hand, what are the legal implications of an employee using his high speed connection at work to surf for kiddy porn? Or traffic in pirated software, or make drug deals, or whatever. If you think a few employees playing solitaire hurts productivity, wait until the FBI shows up and confiscates every computer in the place, plus all the backups, and holds onto them for five years. Then you'll have a real productivity bottleneck.
If I was going to put a corporate policy in place, I'd probably try to find some outside company to do the monitoring. It's too easy for someone inside the company to abuse their position.
Yeah, I saw that page too. Damn, I was tempted to hit that button and put in a fake company. Or even a legit one. Or it'd be funny to put in some company that doesn't even own any computers.
But then I thought, "No, what if everyone did that? What would happen to the BSA?"
You might want to check out who the BSA members are before you decide you're not going to buy software from any company that employs them. Lets see... Microsoft, Apple, HP, Adobe, Cisco, Novell... quite a collection.
The comparisons to the IRS are pretty apt, though. What generally happens is that the BSA gets a tip from some disgruntled employee/ex-employee that company X is using pirated software. The BSA picks a few of those companies at random (or maybe they have some criteria) and takes 'em to court. Unfortunately, the onus is on Company X to prove that they have licenses for all the software they're using. If they can't, they have to pay for the software and generally get whacked with "punitive damages" as well.
The BSA uses those cases to threaten everyone else into doing those bogus "self-audits" and sending hush money to the BSA.
I don't mind paying for the software my company uses, but keeping track of all the licenses is a major pain in the ass. Every software seller has a different definition of what you have to be able to present to prove that you have a license. A piece of paper? Something with the serial number? The installation CD?
Then they all have different license terms. Some require you to buy one copy for each computer, some let you buy one copy for each concurrent user, some let you uninstall the software from one system and put in on a different one, some make you you buy a fresh copy for each system... it's a HUGE hassle, and the software vendors don't really seem to give a crap about how difficult they're making it for their customers.
When I first read this, I thought it was a pretty stupid idea. Sure, I rarely use floppy drives, but there are times when I *do* use them, and they save my ass when nothing else works.
But thats me, a semi-literate computer user. Thats not who Dell is targeting with this system. They're targeting home users who surf the web and read Email and play "Sims" and balance their checkbook and thats all. Those people wouldn't know a floppy if it bit them in the ass, won't need it for anything, and won't miss it when it's gone. They're not going to be flashing their bios or fixing dead computers by copying drivers from another system. If something acts up, they'll call Dell and let a technician come out and fix it.
I don't think Dell is doing this to save money on drives so much as to save space in their tiny cases and to have one less component that might fail or cause problems.
Doesn't this new policy,announced in the midst of all the DDOS attacks, seem kinda like slapping a new coat of paint on a burning building?
Anyway, I'm kinda saddened to see this happen. Not because I ever used Dal for file sharing, but because it seems like the first step on that looooong slipperly slope of regulating the network. One of the charms of Dal has always been it's freedom. It didn't matter how obscure your interest, or how strange your kink... there was probably a Dal channel with a few people just like you. Now they're shutting down the file sharing channels. Maybe next week they'll shut down the "illegal" channels... the pedos, the bomb makers, the druggies. The week after that? Who knows?
Making crap coffee taste like the good stuff is impressive, but not terribly useful. Now, if they can make bean sprouts and tofu and brown rice taste like steak and chocolate and ice cream... *then* they'll have something.
It's not a bad thing if there's a corresponding rise in the stock price of several small companies. AOL lost these customers to other ISPs, specifically those that can provide broadband connections.
Don't tell 3DRealms. I hear they're *this* close to shipping DNF, and I'd hate for them to have to go back and try to redo it without flashy graphics, T&A, or Duke himself.
Or go the other way... write a virus that hijacks all the users personal info and sends it to you, then formats their hard drive. Just have it pop up a permission window first, asking the user if they want to install your "Hard drive cleaning untility".
Well, it's a much more crowded country, for one thing. Even the deserted areas really aren't. And probably there aren't that many more injuries then there were before, they're just getting more publicity.
I'm just wondering if it's really necessary to have an emergency session and pass a bunch of laws prohibiting this sort of thing. Considering how long they've been around, wouldn't it be a better idea to just wait for the fad to pass, rather then draw a bunch of attention to it and make it more attractive to the kids by passing a bunch of vague laws?
Not to assist you in getting too far off topic... but the percieved "cool" factor in cheating at a game like CS is inversely proportional to your skill at said game. If you're a good player, cheating becomes boring quickly. If you suck, cheating is great, it's the only way you can compete, and you can't imagine playing without it.
Besides, I've found that you'll be accused of cheating whether you're actually doing it or not. Some people just can't accept the fact that others can play the game better then they can.
You could also factor in the value of your old card, assuming you sell it on EBay or something. If you're one of those who tosses your ti4600 in the trash when you install your 9700, don't bother.
Oddly enough, my 16 meg Voodoo II didn't get a single bid...
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A cop selling you some cocaine, then arresting you.. . what do you think undercover narcs do? It's only entrapment if the cop induces you to do something illegal that you wouldn't otherwise have done. The line between the cop saying "Hey, want to buy some cocaine?", and the suspect saying "Hey, will you sell me some cocaine?"
.mp3 files. I'm sure it will be resolved in court after hundreds of hours of legal arguments and millions and millions of dollars transferred to the lawyers bank accounts.
As far as it applies to P2P... hell if I know. The user initiates the search, which could be construed as initiating the transaction. But you could also argue that the user wasn't necessarily looking for copyrighted material, they just happened to see it while cruising for legal
I'm not sure I understand what you're asking.
Is that severe enough for me? No, not really. Maybe you haven't noticed that there are fanatics out there who are more then happy to give up their own lives to further their cause. Somehow I can't qutie see a finger-wagging "Don't set that bomb off, or you're really be sorry!" being much of a deterrent.
Not to mention that tracing my lineage back and wiping them out would be punishing a bunch of innocent folks. What if I hate my family? What a great way to get back at them!
Absolutely. I think I'll build a few bombs in my garage, maybe brew up some anthrax or smallpox virus. Hey, as long as I don't do anything with them, the penalty shouldnt' be too severe... right?
Where do I go to get my white hat?
And of course it wouldn't be hard at all to drop a hardware key logger like this on a system, do something to hose up the software, then call tech support.
Odds are if it's a pure software problem the tech will never look at the back of the machine. Once he's fixed the problem and wandered off, you can retrieve the keystroke monitor and you probably have the admin account name and password.
Thats a good point. Maybe the answer is to have two different kinds of systems.. open systems that anyone can use, and do whatever they want, and a smaller number of "secure" systems. Secure systems would be locked down a lot tighter, maybe reloaded after each user, and you'd be much more limited in what you could do on them. But users could do their banking/love letter writing/whatever in relative security.
And this relates to us how, exactly?
On the other hand, what are the legal implications of an employee using his high speed connection at work to surf for kiddy porn? Or traffic in pirated software, or make drug deals, or whatever. If you think a few employees playing solitaire hurts productivity, wait until the FBI shows up and confiscates every computer in the place, plus all the backups, and holds onto them for five years. Then you'll have a real productivity bottleneck.
If I was going to put a corporate policy in place, I'd probably try to find some outside company to do the monitoring. It's too easy for someone inside the company to abuse their position.
Well, no. Software is different from couches. You can't buy one couch and then install it in 500 different cubicles.
I'm surprised I have to explain this to you.
Yeah, I saw that page too. Damn, I was tempted to hit that button and put in a fake company. Or even a legit one. Or it'd be funny to put in some company that doesn't even own any computers.
But then I thought, "No, what if everyone did that? What would happen to the BSA?"
So I didn't.
Honest.
You might want to check out who the BSA members are before you decide you're not going to buy software from any company that employs them. Lets see... Microsoft, Apple, HP, Adobe, Cisco, Novell... quite a collection.
The comparisons to the IRS are pretty apt, though. What generally happens is that the BSA gets a tip from some disgruntled employee/ex-employee that company X is using pirated software. The BSA picks a few of those companies at random (or maybe they have some criteria) and takes 'em to court. Unfortunately, the onus is on Company X to prove that they have licenses for all the software they're using. If they can't, they have to pay for the software and generally get whacked with "punitive damages" as well.
The BSA uses those cases to threaten everyone else into doing those bogus "self-audits" and sending hush money to the BSA.
I don't mind paying for the software my company uses, but keeping track of all the licenses is a major pain in the ass. Every software seller has a different definition of what you have to be able to present to prove that you have a license. A piece of paper? Something with the serial number? The installation CD?
Then they all have different license terms. Some require you to buy one copy for each computer, some let you buy one copy for each concurrent user, some let you uninstall the software from one system and put in on a different one, some make you you buy a fresh copy for each system... it's a HUGE hassle, and the software vendors don't really seem to give a crap about how difficult they're making it for their customers.
Too bad the guy doesn't know jack about computers. He thinks you need to update your virus defs every single time you go to send or recieve mail.
When I first read this, I thought it was a pretty stupid idea. Sure, I rarely use floppy drives, but there are times when I *do* use them, and they save my ass when nothing else works.
But thats me, a semi-literate computer user. Thats not who Dell is targeting with this system. They're targeting home users who surf the web and read Email and play "Sims" and balance their checkbook and thats all. Those people wouldn't know a floppy if it bit them in the ass, won't need it for anything, and won't miss it when it's gone. They're not going to be flashing their bios or fixing dead computers by copying drivers from another system. If something acts up, they'll call Dell and let a technician come out and fix it.
I don't think Dell is doing this to save money on drives so much as to save space in their tiny cases and to have one less component that might fail or cause problems.
And here I was going to complain about how I had to write programs on punch cards. I guess I just didn't realize how good I had it.
You probably had a real life. No need for a simulated one, then.
Doesn't this new policy,announced in the midst of all the DDOS attacks, seem kinda like slapping a new coat of paint on a burning building?
Anyway, I'm kinda saddened to see this happen. Not because I ever used Dal for file sharing, but because it seems like the first step on that looooong slipperly slope of regulating the network. One of the charms of Dal has always been it's freedom. It didn't matter how obscure your interest, or how strange your kink... there was probably a Dal channel with a few people just like you. Now they're shutting down the file sharing channels. Maybe next week they'll shut down the "illegal" channels... the pedos, the bomb makers, the druggies. The week after that? Who knows?
Making crap coffee taste like the good stuff is impressive, but not terribly useful. Now, if they can make bean sprouts and tofu and brown rice taste like steak and chocolate and ice cream... *then* they'll have something.
It's not a bad thing if there's a corresponding rise in the stock price of several small companies. AOL lost these customers to other ISPs, specifically those that can provide broadband connections.
Lay off the drugs.
Or pop for a DX9 compliant video card. Your choice.
Don't tell 3DRealms. I hear they're *this* close to shipping DNF, and I'd hate for them to have to go back and try to redo it without flashy graphics, T&A, or Duke himself.
I'm sure their tech support department is feverishly working to respond to all the tech support requests.
You can read Hungarian, right?
Or go the other way... write a virus that hijacks all the users personal info and sends it to you, then formats their hard drive. Just have it pop up a permission window first, asking the user if they want to install your "Hard drive cleaning untility".
If they click "OK", you're covered... right?
Well, it's a much more crowded country, for one thing. Even the deserted areas really aren't. And probably there aren't that many more injuries then there were before, they're just getting more publicity.
I'm just wondering if it's really necessary to have an emergency session and pass a bunch of laws prohibiting this sort of thing. Considering how long they've been around, wouldn't it be a better idea to just wait for the fad to pass, rather then draw a bunch of attention to it and make it more attractive to the kids by passing a bunch of vague laws?
Not to assist you in getting too far off topic... but the percieved "cool" factor in cheating at a game like CS is inversely proportional to your skill at said game. If you're a good player, cheating becomes boring quickly. If you suck, cheating is great, it's the only way you can compete, and you can't imagine playing without it.
Besides, I've found that you'll be accused of cheating whether you're actually doing it or not. Some people just can't accept the fact that others can play the game better then they can.
You could also factor in the value of your old card, assuming you sell it on EBay or something. If you're one of those who tosses your ti4600 in the trash when you install your 9700, don't bother.
Oddly enough, my 16 meg Voodoo II didn't get a single bid...