It seems a bit petulant to question an institutional IT policy using reference to an article that's apparently over 10 years old.
From the article (emphasis mine): "I tested a beta of PGP disk version 1 for Microsoft Corp. Windows95 version 1 in Network Computing's University of Wisconsin lab, installing it on an AMD K6 200-MHz computer with 9 GB of Ultra DMA EIDE drives and 64 MB of SDRAM memory.
As to why full-disk encryption might be required, many states now have data-loss notification laws that require you notify anyone that might be affected unless the drive is completely encrypted. This is the case in my state, though my institution only recommends full-disk encryption on laptops or very high-risk data. The best option to keep sensitive data safe is to keep it on a protected file server in a physically secure, monitored location (i.e. campus data center) rather than on a random local computer in someone's lab; however, this doesn't always work for high-performance analysis. And there's also the "I want my data in my lab so I can hug the server" mindset to deal with in some situations.
Of course, my perspective may be a bit skewed. As a technical policy enforcer at a higher-ed institution, I'm fairly used to hearing a myriad of excuses for why policies, even those based on specific state or federal laws, shouldn't apply to someone's particular academic research context. On average, I've found that faculty arguments against IT policies are as creative and insubstantial as the excuses that their students give for late homework.
I've always been one of those that argues against the corrolation between violent videogames and real-world violence, and always will be.
However, this topic is the one strange loophole. I've noticed myself thinking in game-mode several times after extended play sessions, but only once did I ever really act like I was in a game. Two years ago, on Memorial day weekend when the girl-friend was out of town, my roommates and I spent all weekend playing Driver (and drinking), without any real-world driving (thank you, delivery men).
Tuesday comes, and I get in my car and head to work. About half-way there, while I'm in my normal driving-to-work mental fog, I notice a cop car coming down the other side of the road. When it was about a hundred feet away, the cop car turned on it's flashers.
My brain screamed DODGE, and reflexively, I whipped my car over a lane and hit the gas. Thankfully, my common sense kicked in right away and I slowed down only a moment after gunning it, but I felt like a total ass. I'm just glad that the cop had pressing business, or that little Driver-inpired manuever might have forced me to come up with a good excuse real quick to avoid a ticket.
Of course, I blame the all the alcohol I drank that weekend for creating the conditioned response, not the game.
I have no problem with ads during install or in optional screen savers, in fact it seems like a good idea to me. The Linux community needs to find a way to generate more money so that it can compete with the gorillas out there. I know the whole commercial concept seems terrifying to many of the Free Software people, but as long as the ads are optional, or are non-intrusive, I'd say go ahead and make some cash. I've always thought games, especially of the MMO* type, should sell ad space in the game. Why not use virtual billboards to pay your subscription cost? But again, it must not interfere with what you're actually trying to do, be it run an OS or play a game.
That's my 2 cents, but I'll let you pay the taxes on them.
We all know games are what makes people kill. It's a proven historical fact. After all, it is well documented that Stalin used to play chess. We certainly cannot allow such murder-simulators to taint our children. I for one believe congress should ban any and all games on the market. I believe they should start with checkers and move their way up.
"Sunner said that most of the problems caused by SoBig involve the time and cost of cleaning the worm from computer systems."
My experience with this virus may be abnormal, but I have to completely disagree with that statement. As a dispatch tech for a large state university, I've been up to my eyes in emails related to the virus, but have only found
However, the amount of email traffic on campus has been mind-boggling -- it even took down our mail servers a few times. And less than 10% of the emails were from the virus. Most of them were f*cking auto-notification emails from other servers that someone had sent the damn virus, which thanks to the spoofing feature, was almost never true. Why don't server admins turn off such notifications when dealing with a mass-mailer/spoofer virus? All these assorted servers managed to do was clog up our mail server with these meaningless "you have sent us a virus" emails that do nothing but contribute to any damage the does!! IMHO, the REAL cost of dealing with this virus was bearing the burden of 100,000 stupid auto-generated emails that other servers were sending us, in response to emails that didn't even come from us.
Under the SCO licensing terms, would that mean that the owner of the Furbeowulf (a cluster of Furby's running Linux) would have to pay for embedded licenses or multiprocessor licenses?
Telemarketing is an industry based on intruding upon other people's privacy and time. I will not weep for their loss.
And, as my boss once said regarding an angry client: "Maintaining their livelihood is none of my concern."
Now they just need to add a database so you can scan someone's ID and have it look up their personal history to give a reading on how unethical or irresponsible they are.
He's not any sort of program, Saark. He's a user. I want him in the games until he dies playing...
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It seems a bit petulant to question an institutional IT policy using reference to an article that's apparently over 10 years old.
From the article (emphasis mine):
"I tested a beta of PGP disk version 1 for Microsoft Corp. Windows95 version 1 in Network Computing's University of Wisconsin lab, installing it on an AMD K6 200-MHz computer with 9 GB of Ultra DMA EIDE drives and 64 MB of SDRAM memory.
As to why full-disk encryption might be required, many states now have data-loss notification laws that require you notify anyone that might be affected unless the drive is completely encrypted. This is the case in my state, though my institution only recommends full-disk encryption on laptops or very high-risk data. The best option to keep sensitive data safe is to keep it on a protected file server in a physically secure, monitored location (i.e. campus data center) rather than on a random local computer in someone's lab; however, this doesn't always work for high-performance analysis. And there's also the "I want my data in my lab so I can hug the server" mindset to deal with in some situations.
Of course, my perspective may be a bit skewed. As a technical policy enforcer at a higher-ed institution, I'm fairly used to hearing a myriad of excuses for why policies, even those based on specific state or federal laws, shouldn't apply to someone's particular academic research context. On average, I've found that faculty arguments against IT policies are as creative and insubstantial as the excuses that their students give for late homework.
I've always been one of those that argues against the corrolation between violent videogames and real-world violence, and always will be.
However, this topic is the one strange loophole. I've noticed myself thinking in game-mode several times after extended play sessions, but only once did I ever really act like I was in a game. Two years ago, on Memorial day weekend when the girl-friend was out of town, my roommates and I spent all weekend playing Driver (and drinking), without any real-world driving (thank you, delivery men).
Tuesday comes, and I get in my car and head to work. About half-way there, while I'm in my normal driving-to-work mental fog, I notice a cop car coming down the other side of the road. When it was about a hundred feet away, the cop car turned on it's flashers.My brain screamed DODGE, and reflexively, I whipped my car over a lane and hit the gas. Thankfully, my common sense kicked in right away and I slowed down only a moment after gunning it, but I felt like a total ass. I'm just glad that the cop had pressing business, or that little Driver-inpired manuever might have forced me to come up with a good excuse real quick to avoid a ticket.
Of course, I blame the all the alcohol I drank that weekend for creating the conditioned response, not the game.
I have no problem with ads during install or in optional screen savers, in fact it seems like a good idea to me. The Linux community needs to find a way to generate more money so that it can compete with the gorillas out there. I know the whole commercial concept seems terrifying to many of the Free Software people, but as long as the ads are optional, or are non-intrusive, I'd say go ahead and make some cash. I've always thought games, especially of the MMO* type, should sell ad space in the game. Why not use virtual billboards to pay your subscription cost? But again, it must not interfere with what you're actually trying to do, be it run an OS or play a game.
That's my 2 cents, but I'll let you pay the taxes on them.
We all know games are what makes people kill. It's a proven historical fact. After all, it is well documented that Stalin used to play chess. We certainly cannot allow such murder-simulators to taint our children. I for one believe congress should ban any and all games on the market. I believe they should start with checkers and move their way up.
"Sunner said that most of the problems caused by SoBig involve the time and cost of cleaning the worm from computer systems."
My experience with this virus may be abnormal, but I have to completely disagree with that statement. As a dispatch tech for a large state university, I've been up to my eyes in emails related to the virus, but have only found However, the amount of email traffic on campus has been mind-boggling -- it even took down our mail servers a few times. And less than 10% of the emails were from the virus. Most of them were f*cking auto-notification emails from other servers that someone had sent the damn virus, which thanks to the spoofing feature, was almost never true. Why don't server admins turn off such notifications when dealing with a mass-mailer/spoofer virus? All these assorted servers managed to do was clog up our mail server with these meaningless "you have sent us a virus" emails that do nothing but contribute to any damage the does!!
IMHO, the REAL cost of dealing with this virus was bearing the burden of 100,000 stupid auto-generated emails that other servers were sending us, in response to emails that didn't even come from us.
Under the SCO licensing terms, would that mean that the owner of the Furbeowulf (a cluster of Furby's running Linux) would have to pay for embedded licenses or multiprocessor licenses?
Telemarketing is an industry based on intruding upon other people's privacy and time. I will not weep for their loss.
And, as my boss once said regarding an angry client: "Maintaining their livelihood is none of my concern."
Now they just need to add a database so you can scan someone's ID and have it look up their personal history to give a reading on how unethical or irresponsible they are.
He's not any sort of program, Saark. He's a user. I want him in the games until he dies playing...