It's hardly surprising that we actually can get objects that originates from outside our solar system. There isn't much of a fence around the solar system.
What could be really interesting is to pick samples from this comet to check for more complex molecules. It's not really that we have seen our "own" comets all the way through yet, so we don't know much about possible variations.
We don't even know much about how the comets were created, and that means that there is a lot of uncertainty involved. A possible scenario is that the comets originates from a larger object that has cracked up, which may explain why most of them are similar in composition and that this new comet is from another source. Just compare the variations in composition of the planets we have in the solar system.
There is still so much to learn about the universe.
You will be amazed how much bad code and how many bad working habits there exists out in large companies.
It's not surprising that there are those that calls for more stringent methods of testing and analysis of code.
But coding a solution is only part of a bigger problem. Managers wants to be in control, and the larger the company is the more layers it has to provide for (generally dead meat) and the tighter the bulkheads between the departments. This means that there is more need for advanced processes in a larger company than in a small. Further there are a lot of slack in the process from decision to the issue of the task in a large company. This also means that the time left to do actual coding is sometimes really cut down to almost nothing.
It's somewhat like piloting a supertanker. You have to plan the turn long before it's time to turn. And you can't stop when you see something ahead - it's too late.
But to write software that's reliable and with as few bugs as possible it's also important to educate the developers in various methods of keeping at least the simple bugs at bay. It's not that hard to avoid compiler warnings. Using tools like FindBugs and PurifyPlus are also very useful.
It is possible that this was a partial setup, but in this case it was the question of a deception message that was about to be sent using encryption that was probably already blown at the time.
And mind that the encryption wasn't US encryption, but German encryption so if the encryption was blown and the agent was already cold then it may have been a semi-arranged situation where it was real life data that already had cooled that was used.
And the whole setup could have been intentional from the intelligence point of view because in some cases you may want to double-deceive the counterpart. This means that the counterpart may have to think that they got false data, but the data was actually real, and then it was necessary to seed confusion. Be aware that this message may not be the message intended to be the one they wanted to obscure but another much more sensitive. Because if you reveal that you know of something then a lot of the earlier messages also will be cast in doubt.
So the question why this photo was taken may be revealed in another message, but we may never see an answer to that.
Espionage and counter-intelligence is never straight, it's full of deception and double-deception.
This actually leads to a story (I can't confirm it, but someone else may) that an intelligence officer with knowledge about the D-day landing sites was captured in France and when the Germans questioned him he did give them the correct info straight on, but they didn't trust that so after some torture he instead claimed that the beaches around Calais was the landing site.
Provide only 600V 400Hz AC inside the prison. That will render standard equipment unusable. And they can still toast their hot dogs if they are careful.
And why not intercept all calls by setting up a prison-wide base-station? Use the ECHELON system or something to take care of the intercepted calls.
A world wide grid makes me think about that old science fiction story where the grid finally is connected and the first question someone asks is: "Is there a God"
And gets the answer: "Now there is"
(Reservations for the accuracy in my quotes)
Not that it's likely right now. But if there is a world-wide grid then there is in theory an awful lot of computing power available. It's interesting to see what can be done with such a solution.
A more interesting approach would be to make sure that there is the "how does this work" question that arises.
By not just having a cool gadget but also having something that has to be figured out how it works then that will tickle the mind and allow for bigger potentials.
Electronic construction from discrete components (transistors, resistors, capacitors and a soldering iron) will be something that can really challenge the mind. A course in electronics is also good. There are special soldering technique courses, but that may come at a later stage.
Since the MAC address is local only to the segment where it is used that is of relatively limited use.
Client side certs are also a thing that isn't easy to spoof since they have to be signed to be useful. Any certs that are self-signed can easily be dismissed.
Network security is a lot about segmentation, and using routers with correct setups means that you can easily filter out spoofed addresses.
A bigger problem is all the proprietary protocols or encapsulated protocols circulating on a network. The big problem is that some of these protocols may be open to attacks of various kinds.
Today it's feasible to build yourself a machine with 32 cores using 4-core AMD:s 4-core processors and a Tyan n4250QE with a M4985 daughterboard. This will give you 64 cores to play with.
In a not too far future we will see processors with a larger number of cores and therefore we will soon bang our heads into that wall. At least those of us that toy with parallelism.
Even worse - the security features on these items aren't even verified by the people receiving the card or check.
And most transactions are legitimate, which means that if every transaction was to be inspected thoroughly then the amount of work in shops etc. would increase considerably.
It's all about money - it costs to check and verify transactions.
Slashdot Mirror
It's hardly surprising that we actually can get objects that originates from outside our solar system. There isn't much of a fence around the solar system.
What could be really interesting is to pick samples from this comet to check for more complex molecules. It's not really that we have seen our "own" comets all the way through yet, so we don't know much about possible variations.
We don't even know much about how the comets were created, and that means that there is a lot of uncertainty involved. A possible scenario is that the comets originates from a larger object that has cracked up, which may explain why most of them are similar in composition and that this new comet is from another source. Just compare the variations in composition of the planets we have in the solar system.
There is still so much to learn about the universe.
If you want to be sneaky you could just scan the papers and create a new document with different wording and hand it to them signed.
If they accept it without checking then it's their problem.
Sneaky - yes, legal - maybe, immoral - somewhat.
A car's personality is more than it's looks.
If it was only the look of the Miata that counted then it wouldn't have been such a success.
It's also about how it feels to drive and how well the design of the driver's area is done.
You will be amazed how much bad code and how many bad working habits there exists out in large companies.
It's not surprising that there are those that calls for more stringent methods of testing and analysis of code.
But coding a solution is only part of a bigger problem. Managers wants to be in control, and the larger the company is the more layers it has to provide for (generally dead meat) and the tighter the bulkheads between the departments. This means that there is more need for advanced processes in a larger company than in a small. Further there are a lot of slack in the process from decision to the issue of the task in a large company. This also means that the time left to do actual coding is sometimes really cut down to almost nothing.
It's somewhat like piloting a supertanker. You have to plan the turn long before it's time to turn. And you can't stop when you see something ahead - it's too late.
But to write software that's reliable and with as few bugs as possible it's also important to educate the developers in various methods of keeping at least the simple bugs at bay. It's not that hard to avoid compiler warnings. Using tools like FindBugs and PurifyPlus are also very useful.
It's a sign of the time that people seem to misspell "e" and "i" all the time.
So soon et siims to mii that iviryoni es goeng to swap thim around.
It is possible that this was a partial setup, but in this case it was the question of a deception message that was about to be sent using encryption that was probably already blown at the time.
And mind that the encryption wasn't US encryption, but German encryption so if the encryption was blown and the agent was already cold then it may have been a semi-arranged situation where it was real life data that already had cooled that was used.
And the whole setup could have been intentional from the intelligence point of view because in some cases you may want to double-deceive the counterpart. This means that the counterpart may have to think that they got false data, but the data was actually real, and then it was necessary to seed confusion. Be aware that this message may not be the message intended to be the one they wanted to obscure but another much more sensitive. Because if you reveal that you know of something then a lot of the earlier messages also will be cast in doubt.
So the question why this photo was taken may be revealed in another message, but we may never see an answer to that.
Espionage and counter-intelligence is never straight, it's full of deception and double-deception.
This actually leads to a story (I can't confirm it, but someone else may) that an intelligence officer with knowledge about the D-day landing sites was captured in France and when the Germans questioned him he did give them the correct info straight on, but they didn't trust that so after some torture he instead claimed that the beaches around Calais was the landing site.
And who really thinks that what they show in the ads are the truth?
Don't mix football with the american version of football that's more a sub-division of rugby.
Oh - you can write non-ascii characters, but you will have to write the character entities yourself:
"Räksmörgås."
And there should be a court order for each case before any action is taken against an ISP customer.
If I was an ISP I would first ask for any kind of court ruling in each case before providing any information to the *AA:s.
If we allow bypassing of the legal system then we can end up with companies and organizations fabricating evidence just to silence people.
Provide only 600V 400Hz AC inside the prison. That will render standard equipment unusable. And they can still toast their hot dogs if they are careful.
And why not intercept all calls by setting up a prison-wide base-station? Use the ECHELON system or something to take care of the intercepted calls.
Another question is if they by injecting information into the HTML stream is violating the copyright of the original content.
Otherwise this is also a good motivation for sites and users to use HTTPS more.
A world wide grid makes me think about that old science fiction story where the grid finally is connected and the first question someone asks is:
"Is there a God"
And gets the answer:
"Now there is"
(Reservations for the accuracy in my quotes)
Not that it's likely right now. But if there is a world-wide grid then there is in theory an awful lot of computing power available. It's interesting to see what can be done with such a solution.
It is feasible, and another way is to never shut down the computer.
Unfortunately the login procedure also takes a considerable amount of time, and if there are login scripts to be executed it's even worse.
Since the computer is provided by the employer the employer is also responsible for any wasted time due to insufficient computer action.
Police action will always make the cause more public so if you want to make some great headlines make sure that the police takes action against you.
And what does John Cleese have to say about this?
A more interesting approach would be to make sure that there is the "how does this work" question that arises.
By not just having a cool gadget but also having something that has to be figured out how it works then that will tickle the mind and allow for bigger potentials.
Electronic construction from discrete components (transistors, resistors, capacitors and a soldering iron) will be something that can really challenge the mind. A course in electronics is also good. There are special soldering technique courses, but that may come at a later stage.
Maybe McCain doesn't suck that much, but he is surrounded by some that do...
Consider what may happen if McCain has to leave before the term is over, that may be a problem.
Not only that, but also ISP:s are out to cut down the openness of the internet in order to be able to sell just their own services at a high price.
Since the MAC address is local only to the segment where it is used that is of relatively limited use.
Client side certs are also a thing that isn't easy to spoof since they have to be signed to be useful. Any certs that are self-signed can easily be dismissed.
Network security is a lot about segmentation, and using routers with correct setups means that you can easily filter out spoofed addresses.
A bigger problem is all the proprietary protocols or encapsulated protocols circulating on a network. The big problem is that some of these protocols may be open to attacks of various kinds.
Darn - too little caffeine - I can't count! Of course - only 32 cores!
So why the limit?
Are they only having a byte to store the core ID?
Today it's feasible to build yourself a machine with 32 cores using 4-core AMD:s 4-core processors and a Tyan n4250QE with a M4985 daughterboard. This will give you 64 cores to play with.
In a not too far future we will see processors with a larger number of cores and therefore we will soon bang our heads into that wall. At least those of us that toy with parallelism.
Thanks - you have now revealed a new security hole for malicious software to use.
OK, it wasn't unexpected, and now we have a new potential security threat to take care of. Infected Blu-Ray disks.
Microsoft is moving more and more into a closed environment and the latest releases of Vista/Office 2007 are also an indication of this.
Once users are bogged down into that marsh they have a hard time to change to anything else.
It seems like we are heading back into the mainframe world of thinking and then we slowly have to accept that the software evolution becomes stagnant.
Even worse - the security features on these items aren't even verified by the people receiving the card or check.
And most transactions are legitimate, which means that if every transaction was to be inspected thoroughly then the amount of work in shops etc. would increase considerably.
It's all about money - it costs to check and verify transactions.