Every time I think of Sun, I think about my commute home past their headquarters. In the summer of 2001 (if memory serves correct), I drove by via San Tomas and saw a tree in one of those planter boxes - like the wooden boxes that trees come in when you buy them from a nursery.
This tree was a HUGE oak tree though - had to be 100 feet tall at least, with a trunk that was probably 5 feet wide. And it sat there in a big planter box waiting to be "planted." The transportation costs alone must have cost a fortune.
The point is, while the industry began plunging into the abyss, Sun was farting around buying full-blown oak trees to make their campus look "pretty" - while other companies were working to stay afloat.
It seemed then that they had their blinders on, and while a fair amount of companies are stabilizing now here in the valley, they seem to be trying to stop the bleeding a bit late.
Perhaps if they'd spent less time farting around with building campuses and more time on building their market, they'd be in better shape. After all - if you let your employees go, who's going to look at the trees?
Just a thought... it seemed symbolic to me of what was wrong there - perspective. Shame though... they're so much more likeable than MS.
Yep - it's a disappointment here. He had indicated very recently that April 8 would be the point in which it would not affect the case. I left a message for him on April 7th regarding the article posting the next day, and to call if there were any issues. The story was posted at about 5:15 EST, after court would recess.
Had it not been for the fact that Google cached it in no time, I would have been happy to pull it. However, the cat was already out of the bag, so it stayed.
So yes, the circumstances are a bit disappointing.
There are a couple of things wrong here, which indicate that you've not read the article (and that the original poster got it a bit wrong.)
First off, we knew we'd get subpoenaed, and were ready if that happened.
Second, the notes aren't incriminating to Lamo beyond what some might find offensive regarding his personality (ie. giving someone money to help them get drugs.) If that's pretext for additional charges, we're all in trouble.
Third, none of the the questions or the answers related to his crimes or hacks. What you see in the interview is the transcription of our interview, verbatim.
Here's the interview, folks... we've been/.'ed before, but never at this magnitude. The server op is working to get things evened out, but in the meantime here is the text:
When did you get started getting interested in security online?
"That'd depend on how you define started, I guess. My first exposure to computers was my Dad's Commodore 64 when I was six or seven, and as you may have read somewhere, I was interested in making things work differently than the way they were intended - loading, then inputting it and using the list command to see all of the code contained within it to see what the hell I was supposed to do with this blind corner that didn't seem to go anywhere."
What kind of games?
"Text-based adventure, like Zork-style."
What moved you to move from disk-based security to a larger scale type of interest?
"To me there's never been that much of a differentiation, in the sense that what I do is less about a particular methodology of technology that's applicable to some technology but not applicable to others. And more about seeing things differently - seeing things that people see everyday, but seeing them in a way that they never saw, that people who created them never intended them to be seen. To see them, to see what is around them and make them more as the sum of their parts and in doing so cause them to operate in a way that was never intended, expected or even thought possible."
Have you always done this type of thing alone, or do you prefer doing it in a team of other people?
"I've always worked alone pretty much. I will occasionally give pointers, but I very much believe that nobody should look at me as an example to be followed - in the sense that if there's anything that I've done, it's... occupied a space in our world that previously was not occupied. And if there's anything that I can say to anybody that is considering starting out on their own, it's to do something that nobody before them has done. And as such, if I was to really try to unduly influence anybody's path, even by working with them, I'd think that I'd be being untrue to the nature of what I do."
There was a question on the site from someone asking if there were any "schools" or any places to become a "pro hacker." Do you have any suggestions as to where people could go or what you suggest for people who were interested in being an enthusiast?
"The mean streets of Washington D.C. on two dollars a day. Surviving on that - that's a hack."
What was your favorite city in terms of your travels?
"I don't think I have one particular favorite. I have strong affinities to DC, Philadelphia, San Francisco and probably Sacramento, as well as Pittsburgh."
You've been referred to as the "homeless hacker," or "helpful hacker." What started you on the road? Did you have to leave your home against your will - did your parents kick you out or was it something you chose to do?
"No, my parents have always been very good to me. They've always been there for me, no matter what, and they're really great people. When I was seventeen or so, they moved to Sacramento."
Did you like her? Was she a good mom?
"Yeah, she's a great mom. How many moms would stand on the doorstep of a home and tell the FBI "thou shalt not pass," essentially?"
She had said that she wished that you would do something something that everyone would see as positive. Is there any sort of discontent between your family and you when it comes to this field, or is it something you're moving past now?
"The family's in some hard financial straits right now. In many ways I think they don't see what I do as I see it, and certainly not be involved in that respect. They, I believe, view it (computing) more as a hobby and don't really understand, and it seemed to be much closer to being about religion for me."
I call troll - noone on earth can possibly consider "L33T speak" (however you spell it) to be anything but pathetic and weak.
I suppose if you want to have a script kiddie for a kid, maybe this works. Don't be surprised though when the kid gets to be about 15 and kills you in your sleep.
No - I'm not shocked at all. Hey - if you want to claim garbage like that as fact, so be it.
It's a fact that France has 10% unemployment and surrenders at the drop of a hat. Just as it's fact that French women wear more perfume, as they shower less (statistically true, btw.)
Flamebait? I suppose since an American said it, it must be. C'est la vie.
Nothing wrong with capitalism - but it's probably safe to say (considering their past) that Blizzard could easily make this guy's life difficult. Why someone would be dumb enough to do this is beyond me, aside from the need for cash. And considering the high profile that this release has, the seller might have to make some additional cash to settle, if Blizzard is as cranky as usual.
I don't normally bitch about modding, but give me a friggin break! Flamebait?
The point is - there's such a thing as too many set-top boxes. I've got enough already. When someone starts to integrate features rather than selling me another box for each, I'll buy another. In the meantime, forget it.
"Personally, I'd love to see it an FCC rule that whenever a market worth of TV stations come up for a renewal, the station that has done the least to serve the public interest during the previous license period doesn't get renewed and their license goes up for bids in an auction."
That depends on what you consider to be in the "public interest."
I'd suggest that a fair amount of people would consider all-porn, all-day, all-channels to be in the public interest. That doesn't mean that it's a good idea - it just means that whoever has the authority to decide what "the public interest" is would be able to dictate our content. And we know how well the FCC does on that now.
No - you should lose your license when you are breaking defined rules. Otherwise, the legal costs that would inevitably arise per license renewal would drive smaller companies out - leaving companies like Time-Warner, DirecTV as the only potential licensees left in the game.
Interesting approach, but I think I'll skip this one. Considering all of the different set-top boxes that I've got already for different media purposes, I think one more might kick-start a cancer cluster. My dog likes to lie in front of the TV - one more device will likely make him glow.
When someone can build a set-top box with PVR built-in, streaming capability from a fileserver, gigabit & wireless LAN capabilities, DVD burner *and* the ability to play DRM-protected files, I'll buy another. In the meantime, no more boxes!
"...you can't flood sites, steal music, or copy DVDs without repercussion"
Funny, but I seem to recall some torrents being placed here to lessen the load on some Slashdotted sites, so people could view the videos, docs, etc from those buried sites - without adding to the source's pain.
As an attorney, perhaps you should read up on the benefits before opening your yap. Perhaps this will make sense: There are other uses for it than just piracy, just as there's more use for electricity than executing murderers.
As I sat here pondering this article, tinfoil hat atop my head, I realized that the government was telling me something... Knowing that the government does everything ass-backwards, it is clear that their security standards are warning us of an impending attack by aliens.
Open source is about sharing, but it's also about crediting the original author. A simple duplication of content isn't contributing, unless *at the minimum* credit is given where credit is deserved.
If someone replicates someone else's article, then doesn't even credit the author or source, that's not open source. It's someone stealing someone else's thunder in an attempt to look informative. This is akin to someone setting up an install of PHP-nuke, Postnuke, or something else that's ridiculously easy to install - then claiming that they built it themself.
No. It's not open-source. It's an example of how dumbasses flourish on the net.
Look - if a search engine was a schoolbus, Yahoo would be the short one.
When Yahoo and Google learn how to properly catalog php pages without requiring mod_rewrite fudging by website owners, perhaps then it'd be worth investing in some ads. After all, if website owners can get it to work, why can't they?
Also - when Yahoo can effectively filter out the link-redirect scams going on, it might be more enticing for potential advertisers. Paying for the "opportunity" to be listed amongst top-ranking link scammers isn't worth much, IMHO.
As for websurfers, I'd suggest Vivisimo. There's nothing better than clustered results!
If the feds tried to arrest every person who had committed some sort of crime and then posted it to the internet, I have a feeling that Slashdot would be very quiet.
I try not to. After reading several of his opinion pieces, it's clear that his words are up for the highest bidder - and in the process, he shows the true value of the title 'analyst.'
My dog analyzes his previous work when I let him out in the yard - is he an analyst too?
Under the 'Enderle definition,' I would bet that my dog would make a more educated, honest evaluation of said item.
Slashdot Mirror
Every time I think of Sun, I think about my commute home past their headquarters. In the summer of 2001 (if memory serves correct), I drove by via San Tomas and saw a tree in one of those planter boxes - like the wooden boxes that trees come in when you buy them from a nursery.
This tree was a HUGE oak tree though - had to be 100 feet tall at least, with a trunk that was probably 5 feet wide. And it sat there in a big planter box waiting to be "planted." The transportation costs alone must have cost a fortune.
The point is, while the industry began plunging into the abyss, Sun was farting around buying full-blown oak trees to make their campus look "pretty" - while other companies were working to stay afloat.
It seemed then that they had their blinders on, and while a fair amount of companies are stabilizing now here in the valley, they seem to be trying to stop the bleeding a bit late.
Perhaps if they'd spent less time farting around with building campuses and more time on building their market, they'd be in better shape. After all - if you let your employees go, who's going to look at the trees?
Just a thought... it seemed symbolic to me of what was wrong there - perspective. Shame though... they're so much more likeable than MS.
Yep - it's a disappointment here. He had indicated very recently that April 8 would be the point in which it would not affect the case. I left a message for him on April 7th regarding the article posting the next day, and to call if there were any issues. The story was posted at about 5:15 EST, after court would recess.
Had it not been for the fact that Google cached it in no time, I would have been happy to pull it. However, the cat was already out of the bag, so it stayed.
So yes, the circumstances are a bit disappointing.
There are a couple of things wrong here, which indicate that you've not read the article (and that the original poster got it a bit wrong.)
First off, we knew we'd get subpoenaed, and were ready if that happened.
Second, the notes aren't incriminating to Lamo beyond what some might find offensive regarding his personality (ie. giving someone money to help them get drugs.) If that's pretext for additional charges, we're all in trouble.
Third, none of the the questions or the answers related to his crimes or hacks. What you see in the interview is the transcription of our interview, verbatim.
Thus, under your criteria, prepare to be amazed.
It looks like the php portion of the site is up (of course, probably only until I state that it is) - here's the link:
Techfocus
Here's the interview, folks... we've been /.'ed before, but never at this magnitude. The server op is working to get things evened out, but in the meantime here is the text:
When did you get started getting interested in security online?
"That'd depend on how you define started, I guess. My first exposure to computers was my Dad's Commodore 64 when I was six or seven, and as you may have read somewhere, I was interested in making things work differently than the way they were intended - loading, then inputting it and using the list command to see all of the code contained within it to see what the hell I was supposed to do with this blind corner that didn't seem to go anywhere."
What kind of games?
"Text-based adventure, like Zork-style."
What moved you to move from disk-based security to a larger scale type of interest?
"To me there's never been that much of a differentiation, in the sense that what I do is less about a particular methodology of technology that's applicable to some technology but not applicable to others. And more about seeing things differently - seeing things that people see everyday, but seeing them in a way that they never saw, that people who created them never intended them to be seen. To see them, to see what is around them and make them more as the sum of their parts and in doing so cause them to operate in a way that was never intended, expected or even thought possible."
Have you always done this type of thing alone, or do you prefer doing it in a team of other people?
"I've always worked alone pretty much. I will occasionally give pointers, but I very much believe that nobody should look at me as an example to be followed - in the sense that if there's anything that I've done, it's... occupied a space in our world that previously was not occupied. And if there's anything that I can say to anybody that is considering starting out on their own, it's to do something that nobody before them has done. And as such, if I was to really try to unduly influence anybody's path, even by working with them, I'd think that I'd be being untrue to the nature of what I do."
There was a question on the site from someone asking if there were any "schools" or any places to become a "pro hacker." Do you have any suggestions as to where people could go or what you suggest for people who were interested in being an enthusiast?
"The mean streets of Washington D.C. on two dollars a day. Surviving on that - that's a hack."
What was your favorite city in terms of your travels?
"I don't think I have one particular favorite. I have strong affinities to DC, Philadelphia, San Francisco and probably Sacramento, as well as Pittsburgh."
You've been referred to as the "homeless hacker," or "helpful hacker." What started you on the road? Did you have to leave your home against your will - did your parents kick you out or was it something you chose to do?
"No, my parents have always been very good to me. They've always been there for me, no matter what, and they're really great people. When I was seventeen or so, they moved to Sacramento."
Did you like her? Was she a good mom?
"Yeah, she's a great mom. How many moms would stand on the doorstep of a home and tell the FBI "thou shalt not pass," essentially?"
She had said that she wished that you would do something something that everyone would see as positive. Is there any sort of discontent between your family and you when it comes to this field, or is it something you're moving past now?
"The family's in some hard financial straits right now. In many ways I think they don't see what I do as I see it, and certainly not be involved in that respect. They, I believe, view it (computing) more as a hobby and don't really understand, and it seemed to be much closer to being about religion for me."
A
The badger may not stink after installation, but the story did - from beginning to end.
Unleash the fury of a mighty Slashdotting, if only to prevent others from wasting their time reading it.
Do it for all of us. Do it for the children!
I'd imagine Osama would find it useful in Afghanistan.
I call troll - noone on earth can possibly consider "L33T speak" (however you spell it) to be anything but pathetic and weak.
I suppose if you want to have a script kiddie for a kid, maybe this works. Don't be surprised though when the kid gets to be about 15 and kills you in your sleep.
No - I'm not shocked at all. Hey - if you want to claim garbage like that as fact, so be it.
It's a fact that France has 10% unemployment and surrenders at the drop of a hat. Just as it's fact that French women wear more perfume, as they shower less (statistically true, btw.)
Flamebait? I suppose since an American said it, it must be. C'est la vie.
Nice moderating - how this isn't flamebait is beyond me.
Let me add to the discussion with a healthy fuck-off, then. Mod to insightful, and it should match the moderationg style today.
A commercial from a few years ago comes to mind...
"Why don't we make another RACING game???"
Nothing wrong with capitalism - but it's probably safe to say (considering their past) that Blizzard could easily make this guy's life difficult. Why someone would be dumb enough to do this is beyond me, aside from the need for cash. And considering the high profile that this release has, the seller might have to make some additional cash to settle, if Blizzard is as cranky as usual.
And already, some idiot is auctioning off his beta test account...
Ebay auction
I don't normally bitch about modding, but give me a friggin break! Flamebait?
The point is - there's such a thing as too many set-top boxes. I've got enough already. When someone starts to integrate features rather than selling me another box for each, I'll buy another. In the meantime, forget it.
"Personally, I'd love to see it an FCC rule that whenever a market worth of TV stations come up for a renewal, the station that has done the least to serve the public interest during the previous license period doesn't get renewed and their license goes up for bids in an auction."
That depends on what you consider to be in the "public interest."
I'd suggest that a fair amount of people would consider all-porn, all-day, all-channels to be in the public interest. That doesn't mean that it's a good idea - it just means that whoever has the authority to decide what "the public interest" is would be able to dictate our content. And we know how well the FCC does on that now.
No - you should lose your license when you are breaking defined rules. Otherwise, the legal costs that would inevitably arise per license renewal would drive smaller companies out - leaving companies like Time-Warner, DirecTV as the only potential licensees left in the game.
Interesting approach, but I think I'll skip this one. Considering all of the different set-top boxes that I've got already for different media purposes, I think one more might kick-start a cancer cluster. My dog likes to lie in front of the TV - one more device will likely make him glow.
When someone can build a set-top box with PVR built-in, streaming capability from a fileserver, gigabit & wireless LAN capabilities, DVD burner *and* the ability to play DRM-protected files, I'll buy another. In the meantime, no more boxes!
"...you can't flood sites, steal music, or copy DVDs without repercussion"
Funny, but I seem to recall some torrents being placed here to lessen the load on some Slashdotted sites, so people could view the videos, docs, etc from those buried sites - without adding to the source's pain.
As an attorney, perhaps you should read up on the benefits before opening your yap. Perhaps this will make sense: There are other uses for it than just piracy, just as there's more use for electricity than executing murderers.
As I sat here pondering this article, tinfoil hat atop my head, I realized that the government was telling me something... Knowing that the government does everything ass-backwards, it is clear that their security standards are warning us of an impending attack by aliens.
Spaceman SPIF is coming to cause us much PAIN.
Ah, the irony. The emulator of the Playstation and the Xbox (with a twist of Hello Kitty), coming out against emulators.
Remember when they used to define the industry?
Bull.
Open source is about sharing, but it's also about crediting the original author. A simple duplication of content isn't contributing, unless *at the minimum* credit is given where credit is deserved.
If someone replicates someone else's article, then doesn't even credit the author or source, that's not open source. It's someone stealing someone else's thunder in an attempt to look informative. This is akin to someone setting up an install of PHP-nuke, Postnuke, or something else that's ridiculously easy to install - then claiming that they built it themself.
No. It's not open-source. It's an example of how dumbasses flourish on the net.
Look - if a search engine was a schoolbus, Yahoo would be the short one.
When Yahoo and Google learn how to properly catalog php pages without requiring mod_rewrite fudging by website owners, perhaps then it'd be worth investing in some ads. After all, if website owners can get it to work, why can't they?
Also - when Yahoo can effectively filter out the link-redirect scams going on, it might be more enticing for potential advertisers. Paying for the "opportunity" to be listed amongst top-ranking link scammers isn't worth much, IMHO.
As for websurfers, I'd suggest Vivisimo. There's nothing better than clustered results!
If the feds tried to arrest every person who had committed some sort of crime and then posted it to the internet, I have a feeling that Slashdot would be very quiet.
We need to lock this guy in the same room with Enderle, then throw away the key.
Oh - I almost forgot. Let's put Darl in there too.
I try not to. After reading several of his opinion pieces, it's clear that his words are up for the highest bidder - and in the process, he shows the true value of the title 'analyst.'
My dog analyzes his previous work when I let him out in the yard - is he an analyst too?
Under the 'Enderle definition,' I would bet that my dog would make a more educated, honest evaluation of said item.
This is enough reason to lock that feature up:
http://dani.progoth.com/IMAG0097.JPG
Eeek! Bad Code! Naughty Code!