To be perfectly honest, there's no legislation to go after the "Joe Average Infected Computer User" for spreading the original worm. What makes you think they'd be all set to jump on (supposed) "White Hats" with systems that only respond to attacks in an effort to stem them (technically "illegal" or not)?
Before I had a webserver up-n-running doing useful stuff, I had Code Red Vigilante running on port 80; it felt good knowing that machines that had tried to infect me were being warned that they were infected... you know, trying to be a good netizen and enlighten my fellow surfer.
Of course, I was able to do that because I could look through the Java code I was installing and determine exactly what that code was doing (ie, not fall victim to a socially engineered attack where I mistakenly INSTALL someone's worm code on my computer!)
No... the real question won't be how this all gets sorted out legally; we'll figure out how to use technology to stop this crap before any law gets passed to "protect me."
The real question will be how do we protect the average person in the interim without making them easily exploitable targets for malicious anti-worm code that is, in essence, a socially-engineered worm attack in its own right.
Because keeping an astronaut alive in space is so expensive and risky, we struggle to leverage the capacity of each member of the small crew through devices such as the Personal Satellite Assistant, an intelligent flying appliance. And some of you may recall occasional glimpses of Shuttle astronauts using laptops to assist them in various ways.
If Microsoft had its way, this would be powered by "Clippy.";)
Astronaught (types into console): "Jetison all waste"
Clippy: Did you mean jetison all remaining oxygen?
*Any* complex machinery/construction/whatever is going to need maintenance over time. What I find irritating isn't so much that NASA thinks pieces need to be replaced, but the public's reaction to such news. "What?!? You want more of my money to *repair* the darn thing before it is done being built?"
Just because it is in space things doesn't mean things won't wear out. This isn't the Star Trek Universe.
Although, it should be interesting to see how the need for maintenance will affect the development of the spacestation. Sometimes it seems like it was projected based purely on a "best-case" scenario (ie, everything works right the first time and works right until all the work is done).
I'd like to see how this impacts projected missions to the ISS... if they don't step up the number (of missions), will this lead to an escalating decay in productivity (ie, every flight will be just to bring repair parts for what has been built already?).
Personally, I was ticked off at the activation mechanism; it was downright stupid for them to require installation *and* running of a resident program to ensure people don't steal their software when that software is (usually) used only once. I really want CDILLA running in background all year when I took 3 hours ONE TIME to do my taxes. Or, of course, it has to all be uninstalled (bear in mind, you were required to uninstall TurboTax *before* you could remove CDILLA... otherwise you wouldn't be able to uninstall TurboTax!).
I read a bunch of suggestions that would have made more sense for their security. For example, generate a key that uses the address used to file the taxes... sure, you still have the annoyance of having to contact them for a registration key, but you remove the necessity of having separate keys for different machines, and reinstall is a snap.
Of course, you could also key it off of a SSN, but that's a little too "big brother" for my taste.
Although it requires more trust on the consumer's part (ok, admittedly, I don't have this level of trust for Intuit), they could expand their online version of the tax software... not only control who has access, but you eliminate the annoyance of keeping old copies of the software around (for tax revision, whatever), updates, and even storage of old returns. And they save tons of cash on not distributing media. It could be spun as a "win-win" for the consumer.
Nope... they chose to put a resident program on my computer. Using my resources to "protect" their property. Unacceptable.
Despite the affiliation with Microsoft, I too will be switching to TaxCut.
First, the article uses references to Moore's Law as though that's an accurate guage of how quickly we should expect bio technology to advance based on the comparison to advances in computer technology.
That premise is inherently flawed. Moore's Law was applicable as an *observation* of the rate at which computing technology advanced... not a rule governing it. I don't think its application is valid for other technologies.
For example, for Artificial Intelligence, one would have expected us to have solved a lot of the problems simply because the base of the technology (computer technology, no less!) can double in power every few years. This isn't the case for AI, however... we've been stuck with virtually the same models and limitations for well over 50 years, despite the availability of better computer power; the fundamental mathematics and algorithms are what stump that growth... how does one apply Moore's Law to that?
In this same respect, suggesting that biotech is also going to advance at the same pace as computer technology is loaded with the same folly. Perhaps the power available to analyze will increase as per Moore's "law" (because of more powerful computers being available), but that doesn't mean the answers to questions will necessarily be made readily available.
We're going to need plain-old experimentation and scientific method to progress through this technology.
I can just see it, too... IE will "accidentally" resolve www.google.com to search.msn.com. And while the lawsuits are going, M$ will claim (as in, for marketing purposes) marketshare as proof that their search is better.
And when it does come out in the courts some ump-teen years later with Microsoft guilty of uncompetitve practices, Bill will cough up the $300M to google and "fix" the "bug."
I've seen this history before... I don't expect them to change a winning formula. 8P
Actually, the ISPs have been defending their customers... or, at least, have been trying to.
The article is really about a potential reversal of a lower court's decision to force the ISPs to give up the names of the customers associated with the IPs accused of uploading.
Bear in mind (as some other thoughtful posters have noted), *downloading* isn't a violation... it is the people who upload that are distributing archival copies (and, thus, breaking the fair-use backup protection).
All in all, this is just highlighting how broken the whole copyright system is... actually, the whole IP protection systems (I'll include patents in there) are broken. Further more, I can't say these problems are unique to areas where money is concerned; with the rapid development of global communication, almost all systems (including social ones) are suffering because they're not prepared to handle this change in technology.
As a society, we're simply not ready to handle the connected-ness we've achieved.
At some point in the future, Earth will get hit by a global-killer! That's statistically probable, too! (given infinite time... well, ok... maybe we don't have INFINITE time, but... close enough for government work).
Oops! Shouldn't have posted this... now the National Inquirer will have fodder to run with this overly-used story for another 10 years.;)
I'll start worrying about the accuracy of asteroid collision prediction after they manage to figure out how to predict rain 3 days from now with better than 70% accuracy. 8/
It seems that the crux of this issue comes down to who's really infringing on the copyright.
It boils down to how the RIAA is trying to obtain the names and if the ISPs are a participating member of the "theft."
They have the right under the law to get the names of the offenders before they bring suit.
This seems reasonable.
They've chosen to go after the ISPs because they'd have the easiest (if only) way of identifying which people are the "thieves."
HOWEVER, just because the RIAA has the right to go after the names doesn't automatically mean the ISPs have to give them up.
I think this will boil down to deciding who is culpable in the pirating of music. If the RIAA can prove in court that the ISPs are actively infringing on the copyrights, then they'll be open to be sued to get the names of their "accomplices" (ie, Joe Downloader).
However, if the RIAA can't connect the ISPs with the downloaders, then they might be SOL.
It is a similar question faced by gun manufacturers. People would like to see them be liable (responsible) when someone dies from a gunshot wound. I believe it has been held up in court that simply providing the means to commit the crime *isn't* a crime when that wasn't the intention. Put more plainly, if the gun makers intended people to use the guns in crime, then they would be liable. However, since they provide guns for other legal uses, the fact that they can be used for evil isn't a strong legal point.
To make the point more obvious, it would be like making car manufacturers liable when people use cars to run people over. Absurd, I think you'd agree.
I'm hoping the courts will make the similar connection and stop the RIAA subpoenas. To this point, just because the ISP provides the network connectivity that makes P2P pirating possible, it wasn't the original intention. Hence, they aren't delivering a service for the purpose of supporting illegal activity... they're not directly culpable... so they should be able to tell the RIAA, "find your names on your own."
Checking on the model they introduced at the beginning of the year, it seems roughly equivalent to the Sharp Zaurus 5500 (which I own). Forgive me for pointing it out, but can't the 5500 be had new for about $240? Or, are they planning on introducing something "more powerful" for $300?
I'm glad to see more entries into the handheld market that are trying to utilize linux... but, I can't say the price-point is compelling.
Besides, there's still issues with making the platform "plug-n-play" enough so you can get real use out of it without being a somewhat familiar with linux at the start. Anyone who's put OpenZaurus on their Z will be able to relate... especially when it comes to Synching with a desktop.
Unless this new entry makes it easier for "Mom" to use a PDA, I can't say it'll make much of a dent.
I think they're banking on the fact that most companies wouldn't re-organize around a pricing scheme for a product. Heck, even if they did, then that company would go through a *lot* of effort just to be a Sun customer; my guess is if someone went through that much trouble, Sun wouldn't mind if they skipped out on some fees because, obviously, they're a committed customer!
No... the "real loss" would come from start-up types who would want to have the Sun name but not pay the Sun licensing. These companies could organize a separate business unit with a "single employee," outsource all their IT hosting/whatever to that company, and avoid the fees.
But, seriously... would one ever expect a company of that size to generate big $$$ for Sun?
Actually, there's going to be a huge future in grid programming once they can figure out how to best implement controls/tracking (for billing, of course... we wouldn't want to give people access to programs for *free*, right? 8P ).
Even Microsoft is looking at how they can do this. Of course, the face of a P2P network would change... you'd no longer have people with machines powering the network. Instead, you'd have machines controlled by "corporations" and the average user would be given the equivalent of a dumb-terminal to access those resources.
Think about it... for a simple monthly fee, you'll get access to games, apps, whatever. And if the network bandwidth increases enough, you can even off-load CPU intensive applications to the grid (like graphics processing... how'd you like it if you never had to upgrade hardware again!).
Of course, that will all require more bandwidth and connectivity than is commercially available/viable now.
Maybe the question isn't if P2P will survive... but, in what form will it move to next?
I believe Lotus Notes uses encryption only between Lotus Notes servers. Now if that's strictly internal (internal server to internal server) or if that means between Lotus servers at separate companies, I'm not sure. 8/
But, for Lotus outgoing SMTP, I don't think it uses anything special... even STARTTLS (which isn't in wide adoption yet... I have my postfix instance at home setup to accept/use it if available, though). But, as you pointed out, that's minimal protection at best because anywhere in the chain it might hit a non-TLS encryption server.
The whole system needs to be locked down better/differently. If we find a better way of connecting messages back to the originating sender (ie, we know who sent it because it was authenticated all the way back to a particular user), we might also be able to start curbing SPAM some; I'm sure there are plenty of spammers who wouldn't like being connected non-anonymously with their cruft. Of course, that requires the entire system, end-to-end, be secure and authenticated, IMHO.
The ability to plug-in PGP has been a part of several mail clients for a while... mutt, pine, etc. But, this has been the domain of the "more than casual" user... I would dread explaining to Mom how to setup her private/public keys, let alone why she should use encryption and the dreaded "how does this work" discussion.
There's quite a bit of difficulty, methinks, in adopting this technology at any level the average user is aware of. I mean, the only way I can see wide-spread adoption happening successfully is you don't even let the users know how their mail is being encrypted/decrypted. Otherwise, you leave it open to too much user error: the dreaded "I lost my keys," or "Bob-IT-Guy, can you decrypt this important mail sitting in Sally's inbox... she's on vacation and we need it now!"
You take the (oh... forgive me) Lotus Notes approach (I'm *not* a fan, but I understand this aspect of the software): it can be setup so the encrypt and decrypt happens transparently to the user between Lotus Notes servers. If you had something along this level between mail servers, then you might start getting into secure transmission of e-mail.
Man... there are so many areas to lock-down... while I'm a big fan of PGP, it seems like the whole nature of the e-mail communication system needs to be looked at and (potentially) overhauled. So what if the message is transmitted securely between me sending it and you receiving it? If you do it at a user level, then you need universal support built into all the different mail reader applications. If you do it at the server level, then you need to lock-down the security more tightly at the server level (can your admins read your mail? Sure can! Not that it isn't already that open today). And how are keys managed? And who do you trust? And who manages how public keys get distributed?
Right now, it is all fairly manual (unless the tools have been updated since I last looked at them).
I can hear it now... can... opening... worms... everywhere!;)
If the barrier to entry for Joe Average is the amount of time it takes to level-up *AND* that effort is required anew when you start a new game, why not change the leveling up system to be cross-game compatible?
This isn't to say that one can just import characters from Dark Age of Camelot into Star Wars Galaxies. But, maybe one could present a character of such-n-such level, and be started off with a higher level character in the new game.
It would require agreements between companies. OR, more fiendish, if a single company implemented such a scheme, it might encourage customer loyalty; why start fresh on company X's game when you can get a leg-up by going to the new game by your current game's company?
Although that might aid in adoption of new games by existing players, it doesn't address the "level-up chore" that keeps casual players outside the loop. Admittedly, that's what keeps me out of the MMORPG type games and in with the FPS... I can put it down, pick it up, and enjoy it in small doses.
Are they going to find a way to make the computer automatically generate that tele-type "clickety-clack" sound everytime a key is pressed... as is so popular in movies today to show how "advanced" the laptop the hero's using is?;)
Seriously, outside of "looking pretty" and appealing to a (seemingly growing) generation of case-modders, what's the point?
One suggestion was you can see if you have bad memory. Umm... (forgive the Windows-specific example) I can tell that when I get a BSOD... or the machine fails to boot.
Someone should tell these memory manufacturers that they should spend more money increasing the access speed of their memory instead of making it "pretty." Or, at the very least, work on heat dissipation.
I'm not going to be really happy until the line blurs between L1 cache and main memory.;)
"We're can't say for certain what happened and when, but we can say with almost 90% certainty that when the power went out, people went without power. We think it might be related to some electrical do-hickey thingy that someone was supposed to be watching carefully in case it broke, but we're not confident enough to make that bold a statement... nor to claim that anything actually 'broke'.
"But what we *can* say is that we feel strongly that we feel something different should have happened. An appropriate amount of blame will be laid... oh yes... and we'll make the bad people pay."
I've heard that starting with next year's models, a lot of manufacturers are going to offer both Hybrid fuel system cars, but also in "traditional" body styles. Of course this is a rumor so... YMMV (pun intended).;)
I have a bud who owns one and loves it (the Toyota hybrid). While the mileage isn't as good as they advertise it to be, it certainly is up there... almost as good as the old Geo Metro 3-cylinder car.;) And you can't beat how cool it is when you're sitting at a stop light and the car is absolutely silent. 8)
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To be perfectly honest, there's no legislation to go after the "Joe Average Infected Computer User" for spreading the original worm. What makes you think they'd be all set to jump on (supposed) "White Hats" with systems that only respond to attacks in an effort to stem them (technically "illegal" or not)?
Before I had a webserver up-n-running doing useful stuff, I had Code Red Vigilante running on port 80; it felt good knowing that machines that had tried to infect me were being warned that they were infected... you know, trying to be a good netizen and enlighten my fellow surfer.
Of course, I was able to do that because I could look through the Java code I was installing and determine exactly what that code was doing (ie, not fall victim to a socially engineered attack where I mistakenly INSTALL someone's worm code on my computer!)
No... the real question won't be how this all gets sorted out legally; we'll figure out how to use technology to stop this crap before any law gets passed to "protect me."
The real question will be how do we protect the average person in the interim without making them easily exploitable targets for malicious anti-worm code that is, in essence, a socially-engineered worm attack in its own right.
Because keeping an astronaut alive in space is so expensive and risky, we struggle to leverage the capacity of each member of the small crew through devices such as the Personal Satellite Assistant, an intelligent flying appliance. And some of you may recall occasional glimpses of Shuttle astronauts using laptops to assist them in various ways.
;)
If Microsoft had its way, this would be powered by "Clippy."
Astronaught (types into console): "Jetison all waste"
Clippy: Did you mean jetison all remaining oxygen?
Ahhhh.... DOH! ;) ).
/., Idiot!" fish so I can have it surgically implanted on my brain. 8)
;)
If I could mod myself down, I would for that bone-headed a typo (I'd be lucky if it was my last, too.
Nope... I need them to find the "Proof-Read your own posts on
Hmmm... now that I'm wishing for special fish, can they find one that will eat Trolls and people who post "*BSD is DEAD!" ?
Will they ever find the famed Babel Fish? ;)
*Any* complex machinery/construction/whatever is going to need maintenance over time. What I find irritating isn't so much that NASA thinks pieces need to be replaced, but the public's reaction to such news. "What?!? You want more of my money to *repair* the darn thing before it is done being built?"
Just because it is in space things doesn't mean things won't wear out. This isn't the Star Trek Universe.
Although, it should be interesting to see how the need for maintenance will affect the development of the spacestation. Sometimes it seems like it was projected based purely on a "best-case" scenario (ie, everything works right the first time and works right until all the work is done).
I'd like to see how this impacts projected missions to the ISS... if they don't step up the number (of missions), will this lead to an escalating decay in productivity (ie, every flight will be just to bring repair parts for what has been built already?).
Personally, I was ticked off at the activation mechanism; it was downright stupid for them to require installation *and* running of a resident program to ensure people don't steal their software when that software is (usually) used only once. I really want CDILLA running in background all year when I took 3 hours ONE TIME to do my taxes. Or, of course, it has to all be uninstalled (bear in mind, you were required to uninstall TurboTax *before* you could remove CDILLA... otherwise you wouldn't be able to uninstall TurboTax!).
I read a bunch of suggestions that would have made more sense for their security. For example, generate a key that uses the address used to file the taxes... sure, you still have the annoyance of having to contact them for a registration key, but you remove the necessity of having separate keys for different machines, and reinstall is a snap.
Of course, you could also key it off of a SSN, but that's a little too "big brother" for my taste.
Although it requires more trust on the consumer's part (ok, admittedly, I don't have this level of trust for Intuit), they could expand their online version of the tax software... not only control who has access, but you eliminate the annoyance of keeping old copies of the software around (for tax revision, whatever), updates, and even storage of old returns. And they save tons of cash on not distributing media.
It could be spun as a "win-win" for the consumer.
Nope... they chose to put a resident program on my computer. Using my resources to "protect" their property. Unacceptable.
Despite the affiliation with Microsoft, I too will be switching to TaxCut.
First, the article uses references to Moore's Law as though that's an accurate guage of how quickly we should expect bio technology to advance based on the comparison to advances in computer technology.
That premise is inherently flawed. Moore's Law was applicable as an *observation* of the rate at which computing technology advanced... not a rule governing it. I don't think its application is valid for other technologies.
For example, for Artificial Intelligence, one would have expected us to have solved a lot of the problems simply because the base of the technology (computer technology, no less!) can double in power every few years. This isn't the case for AI, however... we've been stuck with virtually the same models and limitations for well over 50 years, despite the availability of better computer power; the fundamental mathematics and algorithms are what stump that growth... how does one apply Moore's Law to that?
In this same respect, suggesting that biotech is also going to advance at the same pace as computer technology is loaded with the same folly. Perhaps the power available to analyze will increase as per Moore's "law" (because of more powerful computers being available), but that doesn't mean the answers to questions will necessarily be made readily available.
We're going to need plain-old experimentation and scientific method to progress through this technology.
They can just make it the "default" search in IE.
I can just see it, too... IE will "accidentally" resolve www.google.com to search.msn.com. And while the lawsuits are going, M$ will claim (as in, for marketing purposes) marketshare as proof that their search is better.
And when it does come out in the courts some ump-teen years later with Microsoft guilty of uncompetitve practices, Bill will cough up the $300M to google and "fix" the "bug."
I've seen this history before... I don't expect them to change a winning formula. 8P
So I expose my nephews to the game, have them go out and murder their classmates and sue for millions to ala the GTA lawsuit? ;)
Video games... the witch hunt for the new century! 8P
Actually, the ISPs have been defending their customers... or, at least, have been trying to.
The article is really about a potential reversal of a lower court's decision to force the ISPs to give up the names of the customers associated with the IPs accused of uploading.
Bear in mind (as some other thoughtful posters have noted), *downloading* isn't a violation... it is the people who upload that are distributing archival copies (and, thus, breaking the fair-use backup protection).
All in all, this is just highlighting how broken the whole copyright system is... actually, the whole IP protection systems (I'll include patents in there) are broken. Further more, I can't say these problems are unique to areas where money is concerned; with the rapid development of global communication, almost all systems (including social ones) are suffering because they're not prepared to handle this change in technology.
As a society, we're simply not ready to handle the connected-ness we've achieved.
At some point in the future, Earth will get hit by a global-killer! That's statistically probable, too! (given infinite time... well, ok... maybe we don't have INFINITE time, but... close enough for government work).
;)
Oops! Shouldn't have posted this... now the National Inquirer will have fodder to run with this overly-used story for another 10 years.
I'll start worrying about the accuracy of asteroid collision prediction after they manage to figure out how to predict rain 3 days from now with better than 70% accuracy. 8/
I remember this game (in a different form) from a long time ago on the C-64. Except back then it was called "Hot Wheels." ;)
It also creates a startup file in /usr/local/etc/rc.d for you to use, if you wish.
No biggie... just disable the default invocation and rename the sshd.sh.example script in the above directory to sshd.sh.
What *I* found a little confusing is that everything I read stated I should be using 3.7.1, but they're providing a patched version of 3.6.1. 8/
It seems that the crux of this issue comes down to who's really infringing on the copyright.
It boils down to how the RIAA is trying to obtain the names and if the ISPs are a participating member of the "theft."
They have the right under the law to get the names of the offenders before they bring suit.
This seems reasonable.
They've chosen to go after the ISPs because they'd have the easiest (if only) way of identifying which people are the "thieves."
HOWEVER, just because the RIAA has the right to go after the names doesn't automatically mean the ISPs have to give them up.
I think this will boil down to deciding who is culpable in the pirating of music. If the RIAA can prove in court that the ISPs are actively infringing on the copyrights, then they'll be open to be sued to get the names of their "accomplices" (ie, Joe Downloader).
However, if the RIAA can't connect the ISPs with the downloaders, then they might be SOL.
It is a similar question faced by gun manufacturers. People would like to see them be liable (responsible) when someone dies from a gunshot wound. I believe it has been held up in court that simply providing the means to commit the crime *isn't* a crime when that wasn't the intention. Put more plainly, if the gun makers intended people to use the guns in crime, then they would be liable. However, since they provide guns for other legal uses, the fact that they can be used for evil isn't a strong legal point.
To make the point more obvious, it would be like making car manufacturers liable when people use cars to run people over. Absurd, I think you'd agree.
I'm hoping the courts will make the similar connection and stop the RIAA subpoenas. To this point, just because the ISP provides the network connectivity that makes P2P pirating possible, it wasn't the original intention. Hence, they aren't delivering a service for the purpose of supporting illegal activity... they're not directly culpable... so they should be able to tell the RIAA, "find your names on your own."
Checking on the model they introduced at the beginning of the year, it seems roughly equivalent to the Sharp Zaurus 5500 (which I own). Forgive me for pointing it out, but can't the 5500 be had new for about $240?
Or, are they planning on introducing something "more powerful" for $300?
I'm glad to see more entries into the handheld market that are trying to utilize linux... but, I can't say the price-point is compelling.
Besides, there's still issues with making the platform "plug-n-play" enough so you can get real use out of it without being a somewhat familiar with linux at the start. Anyone who's put OpenZaurus on their Z will be able to relate... especially when it comes to Synching with a desktop.
Unless this new entry makes it easier for "Mom" to use a PDA, I can't say it'll make much of a dent.
I think they're banking on the fact that most companies wouldn't re-organize around a pricing scheme for a product. Heck, even if they did, then that company would go through a *lot* of effort just to be a Sun customer; my guess is if someone went through that much trouble, Sun wouldn't mind if they skipped out on some fees because, obviously, they're a committed customer!
No... the "real loss" would come from start-up types who would want to have the Sun name but not pay the Sun licensing. These companies could organize a separate business unit with a "single employee," outsource all their IT hosting/whatever to that company, and avoid the fees.
But, seriously... would one ever expect a company of that size to generate big $$$ for Sun?
I agree completely.
Actually, there's going to be a huge future in grid programming once they can figure out how to best implement controls/tracking (for billing, of course... we wouldn't want to give people access to programs for *free*, right? 8P ).
Even Microsoft is looking at how they can do this. Of course, the face of a P2P network would change... you'd no longer have people with machines powering the network. Instead, you'd have machines controlled by "corporations" and the average user would be given the equivalent of a dumb-terminal to access those resources.
Think about it... for a simple monthly fee, you'll get access to games, apps, whatever. And if the network bandwidth increases enough, you can even off-load CPU intensive applications to the grid (like graphics processing... how'd you like it if you never had to upgrade hardware again!).
Of course, that will all require more bandwidth and connectivity than is commercially available/viable now.
Maybe the question isn't if P2P will survive... but, in what form will it move to next?
I hope this isn't just some tactic by Ford to draw a better price from Microsoft ala the article about the Microsoft VS. Linux Slush Fund
It would really be a win for the computing world in general if this signalled real competition in the corporate workplace for the MS monopoly.
I believe Lotus Notes uses encryption only between Lotus Notes servers. Now if that's strictly internal (internal server to internal server) or if that means between Lotus servers at separate companies, I'm not sure. 8/
But, for Lotus outgoing SMTP, I don't think it uses anything special... even STARTTLS (which isn't in wide adoption yet... I have my postfix instance at home setup to accept/use it if available, though). But, as you pointed out, that's minimal protection at best because anywhere in the chain it might hit a non-TLS encryption server.
The whole system needs to be locked down better/differently. If we find a better way of connecting messages back to the originating sender (ie, we know who sent it because it was authenticated all the way back to a particular user), we might also be able to start curbing SPAM some; I'm sure there are plenty of spammers who wouldn't like being connected non-anonymously with their cruft. Of course, that requires the entire system, end-to-end, be secure and authenticated, IMHO.
The ability to plug-in PGP has been a part of several mail clients for a while... mutt, pine, etc. But, this has been the domain of the "more than casual" user... I would dread explaining to Mom how to setup her private/public keys, let alone why she should use encryption and the dreaded "how does this work" discussion.
;)
There's quite a bit of difficulty, methinks, in adopting this technology at any level the average user is aware of. I mean, the only way I can see wide-spread adoption happening successfully is you don't even let the users know how their mail is being encrypted/decrypted. Otherwise, you leave it open to too much user error: the dreaded "I lost my keys," or "Bob-IT-Guy, can you decrypt this important mail sitting in Sally's inbox... she's on vacation and we need it now!"
You take the (oh... forgive me) Lotus Notes approach (I'm *not* a fan, but I understand this aspect of the software): it can be setup so the encrypt and decrypt happens transparently to the user between Lotus Notes servers. If you had something along this level between mail servers, then you might start getting into secure transmission of e-mail.
Man... there are so many areas to lock-down... while I'm a big fan of PGP, it seems like the whole nature of the e-mail communication system needs to be looked at and (potentially) overhauled. So what if the message is transmitted securely between me sending it and you receiving it? If you do it at a user level, then you need universal support built into all the different mail reader applications. If you do it at the server level, then you need to lock-down the security more tightly at the server level (can your admins read your mail? Sure can! Not that it isn't already that open today). And how are keys managed? And who do you trust? And who manages how public keys get distributed?
Right now, it is all fairly manual (unless the tools have been updated since I last looked at them).
I can hear it now... can... opening... worms... everywhere!
Ah... one step closer to making the Borg a reality... ;)
That's not half-bad an idea (sort of)...
If the barrier to entry for Joe Average is the amount of time it takes to level-up *AND* that effort is required anew when you start a new game, why not change the leveling up system to be cross-game compatible?
This isn't to say that one can just import characters from Dark Age of Camelot into Star Wars Galaxies. But, maybe one could present a character of such-n-such level, and be started off with a higher level character in the new game.
It would require agreements between companies. OR, more fiendish, if a single company implemented such a scheme, it might encourage customer loyalty; why start fresh on company X's game when you can get a leg-up by going to the new game by your current game's company?
Although that might aid in adoption of new games by existing players, it doesn't address the "level-up chore" that keeps casual players outside the loop. Admittedly, that's what keeps me out of the MMORPG type games and in with the FPS... I can put it down, pick it up, and enjoy it in small doses.
Are they going to find a way to make the computer automatically generate that tele-type "clickety-clack" sound everytime a key is pressed... as is so popular in movies today to show how "advanced" the laptop the hero's using is? ;)
;)
Seriously, outside of "looking pretty" and appealing to a (seemingly growing) generation of case-modders, what's the point?
One suggestion was you can see if you have bad memory. Umm... (forgive the Windows-specific example) I can tell that when I get a BSOD... or the machine fails to boot.
Someone should tell these memory manufacturers that they should spend more money increasing the access speed of their memory instead of making it "pretty." Or, at the very least, work on heat dissipation.
I'm not going to be really happy until the line blurs between L1 cache and main memory.
"We're can't say for certain what happened and when, but we can say with almost 90% certainty that when the power went out, people went without power. We think it might be related to some electrical do-hickey thingy that someone was supposed to be watching carefully in case it broke, but we're not confident enough to make that bold a statement... nor to claim that anything actually 'broke'.
"But what we *can* say is that we feel strongly that we feel something different should have happened. An appropriate amount of blame will be laid... oh yes... and we'll make the bad people pay."
I've heard that starting with next year's models, a lot of manufacturers are going to offer both Hybrid fuel system cars, but also in "traditional" body styles. Of course this is a rumor so... YMMV (pun intended). ;)
;)
I have a bud who owns one and loves it (the Toyota hybrid). While the mileage isn't as good as they advertise it to be, it certainly is up there... almost as good as the old Geo Metro 3-cylinder car.
And you can't beat how cool it is when you're sitting at a stop light and the car is absolutely silent. 8)