Do you really think people who say that would change their minds as long as the government could cite some perceived improvements in security as justification for the extra surveillence? I honestly don't think they would. *THAT'S* what's scary.
No, what's scary is that we sit in the United States talking about saving freedom by fighting terrorists and their supporters in the Middle East when we have an entire country like China who openly tracks and oppresses their people but we stand idly by and let their money pay for our war on the wrong tyrannies. I could go on to say the same thing about Brittan, the United States itself, etc but I won't bother, I'm preaching to the choir.
What is even more scary is that here in the US, and I'm just as much at fault as anyone I chastise, we are letting more and more occur without standing up for what our country was founded on. We call the true freedom fights protesters instead of patriots. We don't rise up in huge numbers against one of the most evil, horrifying, and ironic Presidents that has ever graced our White House. We sit here on Slashdot, huddled around in our offices and our homes, and talk about serious change by use of our free and democratic process but watch as the President threatens to keep our lawmakers in session past their beloved vacation unless they allow him to spy on Americans and their friends and family some more. Even if they had ignored his bullshit, he would have just passed an Executive Order stating he could do it anyway all while continuing to use precious "Homeland Security" resources finding the source of the leak so that he could jail them indefinitly as a terrorist or traitor while he's the one that is by far the leading example. So much for democracy...
We're all a bunch of fucking pussies and that's what's scary.
Perhaps the reason you think that is because you used Linux for the last time 5 years ago. Want to know why theres so many Linux users today (myself included)? Because it's now better than Windows.
I guess I wasn't clear enough. I last used Linux as my only OS on the desktop in 2002. I still run Linux (and have since 1997) as a server OS but it has made no improvements (in fact, the "desktop" software for X is even more bloated, slow, and horrifying than it was in 2002) since I left it which is why it remains relegated to SMTP, DNS, HTTP, SSH, etc all of which is does VERY well.
How about they stop making shitty software and play nice with everyone else?
Have you ever used XP or 2000? It's not "shitty". It's certainly not the best thing ever, but it sure as fuck beats using Linux for a desktop machine. Please note that I ran Linux as my only OS from 1997 through 2002 and then went back and haven't returned.
Vista was a mistake (much like 3.11 or ME) but they have made some OSs that are quite solid, work just fine for the majority of users, and are deployed (tactics or not) on 100s of millions of computers.
I don't think Microsoft should be hailed for their business practices but they certainly haven't always made "shitty" software.
Do they really need to spend thousands of dollars analyzing data to determine there's more crime around check-cashing stores on paydays?
You know, when you get down to it, there's a lot of stuff that jumps out after the fact that says, "why the fuck didn't we notice that before?" But when you're doing the day to day work (in any field) you may ignore or not even know about what seems unbelievably obvious.
Just because this particular piece of information was the most prevalent in the story does not mean it's the only thing to come out of the reporting and it's certainly not the last thing that will be. Give it time. Data-mining's best fruits come from long term studies of data using a variety of methods.
this could provide a channel for showing (or not) that third party applications doesn't automatically mean disruption of the provider network.
Whatever bullshit AT&T is trying to feed its customers about the reason for this being disabled because of "network interruption" needs to stop. This is simply that AT&T had persuaded Apple to not allow third party development so that AT&T could profit from selling their own applications.
If you want to fix this, I suggest the following it: take all of the cables away from the existing telcos and make one nationwide heavily regulated company that would just maintain the lines and sell bandwidth to whoever could afford it. That would go a long way towards leveling the playing field.
And somehow a single government controlled monopoly will be better than numerous independent monopolies?
We have watched as the monopolies have leveraged their power, money and influence over plenty of other government entities (financially mostly) and what makes you think that they won't do the same thing here? In fact, this will be even worse IMHO. Only one person to pay off to make sure you shut out the little guy.
Parents today obviously have ZERO interest in spending time with their children and monitoring their activities and habits.
Being that I am finally of the age where my friends and co-workers have young children and I myself may soon have a child, I am noticing more and more the teaching and parenting skills that people have.
Now, I am continuously out and about and watch the result of poor parenting when the little bastard bites your leg but recently I have been noticing a backlash against this. Parents are starting to spank their kids again (in public no less, the horror!), sternly talking to them instead of baby talk and asking what their true feelings are, and generally raising children that aren't going to run out in the middle of the street and then stare at you like it was your fault that you almost hit them.
What this is, aside from the vocal minority of those parents that are still parentally retarded, is the politicians doing everything they can to create more censorship and centralized control under the guise of saving the children. If anything, these people aren't bad parents because they can't control their brats, it's that they can't control their government.
Not controlling the government is far more scary than some little shithead not getting to watch Denis Leary call someone a fucking cocksucker and talk about his erection likelihood on Rescue Me.
If it helps, keep in mind that their conviction of these crimes will follow them around pretty much for the rest of their lives. Most employment applications require the applicant to be forthcoming on felony convictions. For good jobs, many applications indicating a felony conviction find their way very quickly to the circular file. Life will be very hard for them. Maybe better than prison, but still very hard.
Perhaps you didn't read what I had to say. The judge presiding in the case offered to write a letter of recommendation if one of the convicted had problems getting a job.
He fled the country, was laundering money, and (most egregiously) was trying to hire a hitman to kill one of the children of a witness against him.
Not only did he flee the country, but he fled the country to setup shop outside of US jurisdiction to have the money keep rolling in. Why he ever came back at that point I'll never know. I guess the lure of his $1.5 million home and numerous fancy cars in Prior Lake, MN was too much for him.
I don't think his sentence was excessive in the least. What I do think is a joke is the leniency that was shown to all of his employees. Minus the call center operator, the rest of them were just as fucking guilty. Just because they had a conscience once they were busted shouldn't allow them to get off with slaps on the wrists and promises by the judge to write future recommendation letters if they have problems gaining employment with a conviction.
I misread "downtown Winnipeg" as "down to WalMart".
No worries, they're are both equally awful.
Re:Am I the only one who just doesn't care about H
on
Blue Blu-ray
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
I really don't care for the HD craze, I still buy plain old DVDs. Am I really in the minority?
No, you aren't but the industry definitely wants you to believe that you are. See the most recent commercial w/the dude from the Sopranos talking about his HD-DVD player and how it makes his regular DVDs look even better...
They know that consumers are unlikely to upgrade so soon after their full conversion from VHS.
---
My feeling as to why Sony is now playing with the Porn Industry is b/c Blu-Ray has yet to be cracked and they are hoping that with HD-DVD being toast that they will get to be the winner. With the porn industry a little annoyed by the pirating of their DVDs (but not taking the steps the MPAA is), they are hoping that they will be able to be better protected with the new format.
if you don't like one of the low-buck airlines you were dissing, you are welcome to pay a little more you cheap bastard and get good service.
I also noted that Northwest (who I refuse to fly because of their absolutely shitty customer service, horrible track record, and awful unionized staff) had major issues this weekend.
As far as being a "cheap bastard", that's not true at all. I didn't say any cash by flying Airtran, they were just the airline that had the schedule that was acceptable for my trip. I couldn't leave at 6 AM on Friday and I didn't want to return at 6 AM on Sunday the following weekend. I wanted to fly out mid-afternoon on Friday and return late on Sunday (we were staying in Edisto Beach, SC and flying into Savannah and I needed time to drive -- a 6 AM flight would have required me leaving at ~2:30 AM)
Fly Midwest Airlines when you can. You get first classish seating and very good customer service. Let's hope that Airtran doesn't end up buying them out like they are trying to.
Bruce Schneier recently had the chance to sit down with Kip Hawley, head of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and discuss some of the frustrations travelers experience head-on.
I have flown quite a bit this past year and visited airports across the country (for pleasure, never for business) and have never once had a run in with the TSA. My issues are solely with the airlines and their "customer service".
Last night was a prime example. Flying from SAV to ATL and on to MSP. My flight out of SAV was delayed from 19:42 to 22:15 and then in ATL we were originally delayed out until 01:20 then moved back to 22:10 (which I would have missed the connection) and then back to 00:10 (which was actually 00:30). We arrived at MSP 45 minutes late (which isn't that bad overall).
The flight from ATL to MSP has a TERRIBLE track record according to Flight Stats (0.9 out of 5 stars).
Then with Northwest's pilots calling in sick and them dropping ~9% of their flights for the weekend (170 to 200 flights) is just a joke.
The TSA hasn't exactly been friendly or courteous but at least they are doing their job. The airlines, OTOH, aren't doing anything except making a big hole and getting bailed out by the taxpayers while paying their CEO's millions.
The ignorance level when it comes to illegal aliens is amazing. Being upset about illegal aliens is one thing but the blatant racism is not only unnecessary but it just makes you look like a fucking retard.
Next time, drop the rhetoric that has been so popular against homosexuals and illegal aliens recently and instead talk about it in civil terms.
We'll, it could be worse. We could use massive bulk mailing, pay much less, and blanket a larger area based solely on zip code like most companies do.
I wish my company hadn't decided to go the route they did but in the end, regardless of my words speaking against it, it's was not my choice to make. All I do is tell them the effectiveness of it.
It sucks but it's a fact of life if I want to keep my job.
From the article: 'He sent spam to recovering gambling addicts enticing them to gambling Web sites. He used e-mail addresses of people known to have bought antianxiety medication or antidepressants and targeted them with pharmaceutical spam. Response rates to spam tend to be a fraction of 1 percent.
I work with targeted communications and our success rates with similar lists are just as "successful". We were looking to contact Juniors and Seniors in HS to let them know of our offerings and had a list that supposedly contained names and addresses (no e-mail/phone) of people that would be in this demographic. Out of 9800 people we had a 0.93% response rate. Being that the cost of that list was as low as it was we will do it again...
I can only imagine what an advantage it is having such a low communication cost (it costs us.41/each) and having a 1% return rate... If only I could retire on the money I make;)
The FCC will still operate pretty much as it always has with regards to broadcast TV: in reaction to 'public' outrage.
The FCC shouldn't have the power to do anything other than regulate spectrum. When did the FCC become my mother? Oh yeah, when the conservative factions on both sides of the fence decided they know best.
This issue is real NOW, and, from what we read here on the other side of the pond, it's becoming increasingly out of control.
I guess that pond is smooth as glass and all you are seeing is your own reflection as you gaze across. How quickly you forget about those traffic congestion cameras the police now have real-time access to.
Slashdot Mirror
Do you really think people who say that would change their minds as long as the government could cite some perceived improvements in security as justification for the extra surveillence? I honestly don't think they would. *THAT'S* what's scary.
No, what's scary is that we sit in the United States talking about saving freedom by fighting terrorists and their supporters in the Middle East when we have an entire country like China who openly tracks and oppresses their people but we stand idly by and let their money pay for our war on the wrong tyrannies. I could go on to say the same thing about Brittan, the United States itself, etc but I won't bother, I'm preaching to the choir.
What is even more scary is that here in the US, and I'm just as much at fault as anyone I chastise, we are letting more and more occur without standing up for what our country was founded on. We call the true freedom fights protesters instead of patriots. We don't rise up in huge numbers against one of the most evil, horrifying, and ironic Presidents that has ever graced our White House. We sit here on Slashdot, huddled around in our offices and our homes, and talk about serious change by use of our free and democratic process but watch as the President threatens to keep our lawmakers in session past their beloved vacation unless they allow him to spy on Americans and their friends and family some more. Even if they had ignored his bullshit, he would have just passed an Executive Order stating he could do it anyway all while continuing to use precious "Homeland Security" resources finding the source of the leak so that he could jail them indefinitly as a terrorist or traitor while he's the one that is by far the leading example. So much for democracy...
We're all a bunch of fucking pussies and that's what's scary.
Perhaps the reason you think that is because you used Linux for the last time 5 years ago. Want to know why theres so many Linux users today (myself included)? Because it's now better than Windows.
I guess I wasn't clear enough. I last used Linux as my only OS on the desktop in 2002. I still run Linux (and have since 1997) as a server OS but it has made no improvements (in fact, the "desktop" software for X is even more bloated, slow, and horrifying than it was in 2002) since I left it which is why it remains relegated to SMTP, DNS, HTTP, SSH, etc all of which is does VERY well.
How about they stop making shitty software and play nice with everyone else?
Have you ever used XP or 2000? It's not "shitty". It's certainly not the best thing ever, but it sure as fuck beats using Linux for a desktop machine. Please note that I ran Linux as my only OS from 1997 through 2002 and then went back and haven't returned.
Vista was a mistake (much like 3.11 or ME) but they have made some OSs that are quite solid, work just fine for the majority of users, and are deployed (tactics or not) on 100s of millions of computers.
I don't think Microsoft should be hailed for their business practices but they certainly haven't always made "shitty" software.
Do they really need to spend thousands of dollars analyzing data to determine there's more crime around check-cashing stores on paydays?
You know, when you get down to it, there's a lot of stuff that jumps out after the fact that says, "why the fuck didn't we notice that before?" But when you're doing the day to day work (in any field) you may ignore or not even know about what seems unbelievably obvious.
Just because this particular piece of information was the most prevalent in the story does not mean it's the only thing to come out of the reporting and it's certainly not the last thing that will be. Give it time. Data-mining's best fruits come from long term studies of data using a variety of methods.
this could provide a channel for showing (or not) that third party applications doesn't automatically mean disruption of the provider network.
Whatever bullshit AT&T is trying to feed its customers about the reason for this being disabled because of "network interruption" needs to stop. This is simply that AT&T had persuaded Apple to not allow third party development so that AT&T could profit from selling their own applications.
If you want to fix this, I suggest the following it: take all of the cables away from the existing telcos and make one nationwide heavily regulated company that would just maintain the lines and sell bandwidth to whoever could afford it. That would go a long way towards leveling the playing field.
And somehow a single government controlled monopoly will be better than numerous independent monopolies?
We have watched as the monopolies have leveraged their power, money and influence over plenty of other government entities (financially mostly) and what makes you think that they won't do the same thing here? In fact, this will be even worse IMHO. Only one person to pay off to make sure you shut out the little guy.
Then you'll hit the point where they can afford it instead of stealing it.
And yet, it's still not as cheap as committing copyright infringement.
Burger replied simply 'because they want you to pay for that right'.
I already did, with my taxes. I have fair-use rights that trump the media industries desire to make money.
Discussion over.
Parents today obviously have ZERO interest in spending time with their children and monitoring their activities and habits.
Being that I am finally of the age where my friends and co-workers have young children and I myself may soon have a child, I am noticing more and more the teaching and parenting skills that people have.
Now, I am continuously out and about and watch the result of poor parenting when the little bastard bites your leg but recently I have been noticing a backlash against this. Parents are starting to spank their kids again (in public no less, the horror!), sternly talking to them instead of baby talk and asking what their true feelings are, and generally raising children that aren't going to run out in the middle of the street and then stare at you like it was your fault that you almost hit them.
What this is, aside from the vocal minority of those parents that are still parentally retarded, is the politicians doing everything they can to create more censorship and centralized control under the guise of saving the children. If anything, these people aren't bad parents because they can't control their brats, it's that they can't control their government.
Not controlling the government is far more scary than some little shithead not getting to watch Denis Leary call someone a fucking cocksucker and talk about his erection likelihood on Rescue Me.
If it helps, keep in mind that their conviction of these crimes will follow them around pretty much for the rest of their lives. Most employment applications require the applicant to be forthcoming on felony convictions. For good jobs, many applications indicating a felony conviction find their way very quickly to the circular file. Life will be very hard for them. Maybe better than prison, but still very hard.
Perhaps you didn't read what I had to say. The judge presiding in the case offered to write a letter of recommendation if one of the convicted had problems getting a job.
He fled the country, was laundering money, and (most egregiously) was trying to hire a hitman to kill one of the children of a witness against him.
Not only did he flee the country, but he fled the country to setup shop outside of US jurisdiction to have the money keep rolling in. Why he ever came back at that point I'll never know. I guess the lure of his $1.5 million home and numerous fancy cars in Prior Lake, MN was too much for him.
I don't think his sentence was excessive in the least. What I do think is a joke is the leniency that was shown to all of his employees. Minus the call center operator, the rest of them were just as fucking guilty. Just because they had a conscience once they were busted shouldn't allow them to get off with slaps on the wrists and promises by the judge to write future recommendation letters if they have problems gaining employment with a conviction.
It looks just like any other Unix implementation. Maybe a little black cube with some multi-colored letters on top. I call them sprinkles.
Oh, you mean after the Web 2.0 bubble bursts? Probably like a deflated weather balloon just waiting for capital to be pumped in for Web 3.0.
I misread "downtown Winnipeg" as "down to WalMart".
No worries, they're are both equally awful.
I really don't care for the HD craze, I still buy plain old DVDs. Am I really in the minority?
No, you aren't but the industry definitely wants you to believe that you are. See the most recent commercial w/the dude from the Sopranos talking about his HD-DVD player and how it makes his regular DVDs look even better...
They know that consumers are unlikely to upgrade so soon after their full conversion from VHS.
---
My feeling as to why Sony is now playing with the Porn Industry is b/c Blu-Ray has yet to be cracked and they are hoping that with HD-DVD being toast that they will get to be the winner. With the porn industry a little annoyed by the pirating of their DVDs (but not taking the steps the MPAA is), they are hoping that they will be able to be better protected with the new format.
if you don't like one of the low-buck airlines you were dissing, you are welcome to pay a little more you cheap bastard and get good service.
I also noted that Northwest (who I refuse to fly because of their absolutely shitty customer service, horrible track record, and awful unionized staff) had major issues this weekend.
As far as being a "cheap bastard", that's not true at all. I didn't say any cash by flying Airtran, they were just the airline that had the schedule that was acceptable for my trip. I couldn't leave at 6 AM on Friday and I didn't want to return at 6 AM on Sunday the following weekend. I wanted to fly out mid-afternoon on Friday and return late on Sunday (we were staying in Edisto Beach, SC and flying into Savannah and I needed time to drive -- a 6 AM flight would have required me leaving at ~2:30 AM)
Fly Midwest Airlines when you can. You get first classish seating and very good customer service. Let's hope that Airtran doesn't end up buying them out like they are trying to.
Bruce Schneier recently had the chance to sit down with Kip Hawley, head of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and discuss some of the frustrations travelers experience head-on.
I have flown quite a bit this past year and visited airports across the country (for pleasure, never for business) and have never once had a run in with the TSA. My issues are solely with the airlines and their "customer service".
Last night was a prime example. Flying from SAV to ATL and on to MSP. My flight out of SAV was delayed from 19:42 to 22:15 and then in ATL we were originally delayed out until 01:20 then moved back to 22:10 (which I would have missed the connection) and then back to 00:10 (which was actually 00:30). We arrived at MSP 45 minutes late (which isn't that bad overall).
The flight from ATL to MSP has a TERRIBLE track record according to Flight Stats (0.9 out of 5 stars).
Then with Northwest's pilots calling in sick and them dropping ~9% of their flights for the weekend (170 to 200 flights) is just a joke.
The TSA hasn't exactly been friendly or courteous but at least they are doing their job. The airlines, OTOH, aren't doing anything except making a big hole and getting bailed out by the taxpayers while paying their CEO's millions.
I didn't ask him to STFU. I told him that he should not detract from his valid argument by being racist.
The ignorance level when it comes to illegal aliens is amazing. Being upset about illegal aliens is one thing but the blatant racism is not only unnecessary but it just makes you look like a fucking retard.
Next time, drop the rhetoric that has been so popular against homosexuals and illegal aliens recently and instead talk about it in civil terms.
Thanks.
We'll, it could be worse. We could use massive bulk mailing, pay much less, and blanket a larger area based solely on zip code like most companies do.
I wish my company hadn't decided to go the route they did but in the end, regardless of my words speaking against it, it's was not my choice to make. All I do is tell them the effectiveness of it.
It sucks but it's a fact of life if I want to keep my job.
From the article: 'He sent spam to recovering gambling addicts enticing them to gambling Web sites. He used e-mail addresses of people known to have bought antianxiety medication or antidepressants and targeted them with pharmaceutical spam. Response rates to spam tend to be a fraction of 1 percent.
.41/each) and having a 1% return rate... If only I could retire on the money I make ;)
I work with targeted communications and our success rates with similar lists are just as "successful". We were looking to contact Juniors and Seniors in HS to let them know of our offerings and had a list that supposedly contained names and addresses (no e-mail/phone) of people that would be in this demographic. Out of 9800 people we had a 0.93% response rate. Being that the cost of that list was as low as it was we will do it again...
I can only imagine what an advantage it is having such a low communication cost (it costs us
The FCC will still operate pretty much as it always has with regards to broadcast TV: in reaction to 'public' outrage.
The FCC shouldn't have the power to do anything other than regulate spectrum. When did the FCC become my mother? Oh yeah, when the conservative factions on both sides of the fence decided they know best.
This issue is real NOW, and, from what we read here on the other side of the pond, it's becoming increasingly out of control.
I guess that pond is smooth as glass and all you are seeing is your own reflection as you gaze across. How quickly you forget about those traffic congestion cameras the police now have real-time access to.
Well, it's both of our faults. We just don't get paid for continuously fucking up.
It would seem that there's a kink in the Firehose again .