This is no Knee-Jerk reaction. This is a planned, coordinated effort to erode the rights of US citizens and provide complete totalitarian power to the US government over not only US citizens but worldwide. 9/11 was a very convenient and long awaited justification.
To submit a comment on a blog, you must type in a series of letters and numbers for a non-machine-readable image (like when you forget your password here on Slashdot).
This will at least prevent automated blog spam....I don't know why this solution isn't deployed already.
Pr0n sites place unrelated keywords in their html code to increase traffic from search engines. This is IP infringement without question, it dilutes the trademark, blah, blah, blah... So Nintendo has a company spider "adult" sites looking for their trademarks and mass mail "infringers" with scary legalese. Pretty much the same tactics as the RIAA.
The United States Government, or more specifically, the power hungry megalomaniacs and corporate interests that run it, are the most signifant threat to world, including the United States itself. Stalin and Hitler would have died to have the tools and technology at its disposal. There is now the means to individually track just about every citizen in the USA, for whatever reason the government sees fit.
Our "leaders" understand that in this new information society, the best and easiest way to control a population is through information. Our own leaders are waging psychological warfare on the world, especially Americans. Their tactics are straight from Hitler's Propaganda Minister. For example see this .
Propaganda to the home front must create an optimum anxiety level.
Propaganda must reinforce anxiety concerning the consequences of defeat.
Propaganda must label events and people with distinctive phrases or slogans.
They must evoke desired responses which the audience previously possesses.
They must be capable of being easily learned.
They must be utilized again and again, but only in appropriate situations.
...but I digress. Extensive covert monitoring of citizens is no different than mass arrest and interrogation, or warrantless search. It is just physically un-intrusive, and much much easier.
This is just another example of a government attaining the infrastructure it needs to exert more power. It makes perfect sense.
Earlier last month, the Secret Service requested visitor logs from Indymedia to determine who posted personal info about GOP delegates. It looks like Big Brother really wanted that info.
Please explain the concept of killing people that kill people to show that killing people is wrong.
How do you define freedom? Does it include brain activity and other vital signs? Please explain especially in context of the large civilian casualties in Iraq.
Unfortunately, software patents are now a hazard of software development now. This is exactly why so many people are opposed to them, patents stifle innovation and stifle creativity, merely by existing.
...just because your paranoid doesn't mean they're not after you.
POSIX is a set of interoperability standards and is protected by US copyright law.
UNIX is a brand name owned by the Open Group, and is licensed for software that passes their certification process.
The entire point of POSIX and UNIX is that there is a standard interface, but differing implementation. Individual developers (including Linus) and the FSF own the copyrights to the code of the kernel and userland. Linus owns the trademark "Linux," but there are not patents on UNIX or POSIX.
If AT&T couldn't play the patent card when they sued Berkeley (BSD Unix), no one will or can now.
ITS A DIFFERENT PLATFORM!...I will repeat...ITS A DIFFERENT PLATFORM! Your Windows skills will NOT transfer to a completely different OS.
Secondly, how many Windows users do you know that actually install hardware and drivers? I wish I had a nickel for every person that has given me a dumb look when I mentioned "Control Panel," or even "Windows Explorer."
First, current optical "chip" technology uses infrared light, as silicon is transparent to IR. Also, several technologies use waveguides that are actually smaller than the wavelength of light used. And last, optical chips have the potential to be several magnitudes faster than electronic, so the size of the chip really doesnt matter.
It is a very valid point that 95%+ of end-users don't need to have exploit code to know that their software is vulnerable (and I am a member of that group, as I am no developer). The burning question is whether exploit code should be published period. As a matter of principle I think it should, and many would agree with me. Information wants to be free, and we all know there are drawbacks to an open information society.
In the end, it comes down to developers fixing their software in a timely fashion. Whether or not they are paid for their work, and as much as we appreciate it, they have a responsibilty to those that use their software to make sure it is not a liability. It is just the right thing to do.
When it comes to OSS vs. CSS security, the pros and cons come to a close balance. Crackers have to reverse engineer vulnerabilities in closed software. OSS is open, but under more review. Its really a matter of preference. Either way, vigilance is paramount, and informed users make for more secure users.
Customers have a right to know that they are using vulnerable software, and be given the chance to secure themselves in any way possible. When I say customers, that means not only joe sixpack, but the admins of mission-critical and sensitive systems as well. If the vendor is unable or unwilling to fix the problem in a reasonable amount of time, the public should be given the ability to. Security through obscurity is a farce. Script kiddies might take exploit code once it is posted, but the crackers that otherwise know of these exploits are the ones doing the real damage.
Information can be abused, yes, but personally, I think it is better than ignorance.
I was referring to the fact that you can easily run a downloaded copy of linux on a $100 used pc. My comment was referring to the new commodity nature of computing.
...so what is your point? If all the poor (and/or price conscious) people shopping at WalMart give their kids a cheap linux computer...then BOOM...linux is the OS that the unwashed masses are familiar with. Windows will be seen as the overpriced POS it is. Windows became popular because it was cheap and almost freely available...such is happening to Linux, except Linux is actually a quality product, and the hardware necessary to run is it practically free.
Think about it, Linux, which is free, can run on hardware that costs as much as a Windows license alone.
mkisofs && cdrecord is quite superior actually. I thought Nero was the shiznit until I started recording cd's at the command line under Linux. It is much faster and predictable. Just create a folder and copy files (or symlinks), and type a single command.
In America, a company is legally a single entity or person. The issue is more legal than grammatical, and has nothing to do with corrupting English. Besides, we have no queen.
...there would be yet another reason not to use Microsoft???
Simple, if a product is a hassle to use, dont buy it. Find an alternative. Whats is so freekin' hard about that. We aren't slaves to the Microsoft Empire, just sharecroppers.
There's a wagon heading out, why not jump on? Change is not easy, but sometimes its worth it.
In classic open source fashion...
I suggest a standalone proggie (or browser java app, mozilla plugin, etc) that downloads/serves Slashdot content and linked pages a-la bittorrent. The more concurrent views an article gets, the faster the download. Slashdot hosts a simple XML file that points to the site as a seed, the first viewers actually hit the site, and subsequently share the content as long as the site is up. No outside content is hosted on Slashdot itself, servers aren't inundated, and Slashdotters get mad fast downloads...
Slashdot Mirror
This is no Knee-Jerk reaction. This is a planned, coordinated effort to erode the rights of US citizens and provide complete totalitarian power to the US government over not only US citizens but worldwide. 9/11 was a very convenient and long awaited justification.
To submit a comment on a blog, you must type in a series of letters and numbers for a non-machine-readable image (like when you forget your password here on Slashdot). This will at least prevent automated blog spam. ...I don't know why this solution isn't deployed already.
Pr0n sites place unrelated keywords in their html code to increase traffic from search engines. This is IP infringement without question, it dilutes the trademark, blah, blah, blah... So Nintendo has a company spider "adult" sites looking for their trademarks and mass mail "infringers" with scary legalese. Pretty much the same tactics as the RIAA.
Our "leaders" understand that in this new information society, the best and easiest way to control a population is through information. Our own leaders are waging psychological warfare on the world, especially Americans. Their tactics are straight from Hitler's Propaganda Minister. For example see this .
This is just another example of a government attaining the infrastructure it needs to exert more power. It makes perfect sense.
Earlier last month, the Secret Service requested visitor logs from Indymedia to determine who posted personal info about GOP delegates. It looks like Big Brother really wanted that info.
See link for more info.
Please explain the concept of killing people that kill people to show that killing people is wrong.
How do you define freedom? Does it include brain activity and other vital signs? Please explain especially in context of the large civilian casualties in Iraq.
The only BSOD I have seen on WinXP also required a complete reinstall (massive corruption)
...watch as McCarthy...I mean Rumsfeld, rounds up all the commies...I mean terrorists.
indeed, we cannot be complacent.
...just because your paranoid doesn't mean they're not after you.
Unfortunately, software patents are now a hazard of software development now. This is exactly why so many people are opposed to them, patents stifle innovation and stifle creativity, merely by existing.
POSIX is a set of interoperability standards and is protected by US copyright law.
UNIX is a brand name owned by the Open Group, and is licensed for software that passes their certification process.
The entire point of POSIX and UNIX is that there is a standard interface, but differing implementation. Individual developers (including Linus) and the FSF own the copyrights to the code of the kernel and userland. Linus owns the trademark "Linux," but there are not patents on UNIX or POSIX.
If AT&T couldn't play the patent card when they sued Berkeley (BSD Unix), no one will or can now.
Sit back and enjoy your open code...
If it were Kazaa's network, they would be out of business. Kazaa testified in court that they only provide a client.
Make a man a fire he is warm for a night, set a man afire and he is warm for a lifetime.
ITS A DIFFERENT PLATFORM!...I will repeat...ITS A DIFFERENT PLATFORM! Your Windows skills will NOT transfer to a completely different OS.
Secondly, how many Windows users do you know that actually install hardware and drivers? I wish I had a nickel for every person that has given me a dumb look when I mentioned "Control Panel," or even "Windows Explorer."
If Linux isn't usable, Windows isn't either.
just my $0.02.
"standards"
First, current optical "chip" technology uses infrared light, as silicon is transparent to IR. Also, several technologies use waveguides that are actually smaller than the wavelength of light used. And last, optical chips have the potential to be several magnitudes faster than electronic, so the size of the chip really doesnt matter.
I guess I missed his point to an extent myself =)
It is a very valid point that 95%+ of end-users don't need to have exploit code to know that their software is vulnerable (and I am a member of that group, as I am no developer). The burning question is whether exploit code should be published period. As a matter of principle I think it should, and many would agree with me. Information wants to be free, and we all know there are drawbacks to an open information society.
In the end, it comes down to developers fixing their software in a timely fashion. Whether or not they are paid for their work, and as much as we appreciate it, they have a responsibilty to those that use their software to make sure it is not a liability. It is just the right thing to do.
When it comes to OSS vs. CSS security, the pros and cons come to a close balance. Crackers have to reverse engineer vulnerabilities in closed software. OSS is open, but under more review. Its really a matter of preference. Either way, vigilance is paramount, and informed users make for more secure users.
Customers have a right to know that they are using vulnerable software, and be given the chance to secure themselves in any way possible. When I say customers, that means not only joe sixpack, but the admins of mission-critical and sensitive systems as well. If the vendor is unable or unwilling to fix the problem in a reasonable amount of time, the public should be given the ability to. Security through obscurity is a farce. Script kiddies might take exploit code once it is posted, but the crackers that otherwise know of these exploits are the ones doing the real damage.
Information can be abused, yes, but personally, I think it is better than ignorance.
I was referring to the fact that you can easily run a downloaded copy of linux on a $100 used pc. My comment was referring to the new commodity nature of computing.
...so what is your point? If all the poor (and/or price conscious) people shopping at WalMart give their kids a cheap linux computer...then BOOM...linux is the OS that the unwashed masses are familiar with. Windows will be seen as the overpriced POS it is. Windows became popular because it was cheap and almost freely available...such is happening to Linux, except Linux is actually a quality product, and the hardware necessary to run is it practically free.
Think about it, Linux, which is free, can run on hardware that costs as much as a Windows license alone.
...only in the sense that my gamecube or dvd player is connected to it. Otherwise it is useless to me. Broadcast and cable TV sucks.
My girlfriend watches it though. American Idol...*retch*
mkisofs && cdrecord is quite superior actually. I thought Nero was the shiznit until I started recording cd's at the command line under Linux. It is much faster and predictable. Just create a folder and copy files (or symlinks), and type a single command.
In America, a company is legally a single entity or person. The issue is more legal than grammatical, and has nothing to do with corrupting English. Besides, we have no queen.
...there would be yet another reason not to use Microsoft???
Simple, if a product is a hassle to use, dont buy it. Find an alternative. Whats is so freekin' hard about that. We aren't slaves to the Microsoft Empire, just sharecroppers.
There's a wagon heading out, why not jump on? Change is not easy, but sometimes its worth it.
In classic open source fashion...
I suggest a standalone proggie (or browser java app, mozilla plugin, etc) that downloads/serves Slashdot content and linked pages a-la bittorrent. The more concurrent views an article gets, the faster the download. Slashdot hosts a simple XML file that points to the site as a seed, the first viewers actually hit the site, and subsequently share the content as long as the site is up. No outside content is hosted on Slashdot itself, servers aren't inundated, and Slashdotters get mad fast downloads...
just my $0.02....
its just as easy, if not easier to tell someone to type "modprobe driver" than ask them to drill through several windows and select several options.
any way...I was referring to pre-built OEM systems, which is the norm.