I seem to recall that SETI@home started off as open source, but subsequently closed to avoid people creating clients that worked quickly, submitted much data, but did so erroneously. Security though obscurity, I hear you say, but it *is* a problem
There may not be Linux port right now, but I have to say that I'm very impressed with the team's open attitude and the way that they are actively attempting to support various Unix flavours, including Mac OS X as quickly as they can. They take forum suggestions seriously, so get involved.
I'm a SETI and Folding user, but I have to say that I find this project very compelling. We know that cancer is serious, and there are big businesses looking to find answers. The question of climate change is potentially more serious, in my opinion. But we need to find out for sure
The site of that test is now a mecca for diving enthusiasts, but the person who owns the dive rights only opens the waters for very limited usage. Hence divers dream about being able to dive in the waters which now has an immensely rich biodiversity. But they know they are unlikely to ever get there.
FWIW's the test was an astonishing attempt to try and see what effect the bomb would have on a real fleet. There is at least one aircraft carrier down there.
Surely they can do all that without buying Blogger or selling the software to free.
Unless they are embedding something in the license which gives them additional rights over the blogged content.
Your argument seems to rest on the belief that most spam contains 'opinion' that has the right to be expressed.
Now, does the belief that my penis is to small count as opinion? what if the mail consists of the characters 'tretretrdytreye' - opinion? what about if the mail consists of a self-replicating Word macro. Is that an opinion? and would it be a restraint of free speech to turn macros off?
Not intended as a flame, but there are interesting gradations here. It could be argued that spam, like the person who shouts 'fire!' in the movie theatre, is actually a DoS attack
I'm an avid reader, and read aa lot of books on the Tube (London metro) on the way to work. Conventional newspapers are impossible read while strap-hanging and books are difficult (you have to let go to the strap to turn the page and you are usually propelled into someone's lap). However I read several public domain texts on my old Palm V and it really is the most practical medium.
As for smalI screen sizes - suspect that once this type of technology catches on.
Yes,
Seems an extraordinary decision to me, if this is right. I suspect that something is being mis-reported here. What does Apple do when the Department of Whatever becomes a customer, patch the general distribution of Mac OS X? That sounds sensible, and scalable - not.
Surely Apple would be much more lilely to create a separate 'Government Edition installer' that wouldlet the customer define a logo for the start-up screen and a message etc.
I suspect this build has some demo code in it, or that someone is pulling someone's leg.
There are a couple of reasons that the iPod appeals, I think - and it must appeal for some reason, given the number that are being bought. Only one is revolutionary:
1. The styling and usability - nice, but not revolutionary. I suspect this accounts for many sales. Include in this the very nice desktop integration with Macs
2. Firewire support. Not sure if the other devices you site have this, but it makes a real difference managing large libraries. Also makes it a much more practical external disk.
3. Programmability. This, I think sets it apart from the herd - teh sheer number of hacks, tweaks 'turn-your-iPod-into-a-PDA' patches out there makes the iPod quite an interesting open-ish platform.
No, I don't have one. But I would really rather like one.
Because the iMac is postioned as a plug-and-play consumer appliance. That is its positioning, its raison d'etre.
The towers are positioned as the professional boxes - lots of options, upgradable etc.
Now, you can argue that this is a purely marketing-led distinction, and you would be right. But Apple has decided that consumers like their machines simple and are put of by more choice than 'fast, faster, fastest'
I really wasn't trying to be funny there guys, I was trying to point out that a potentially really serious issue will not be taken seriously if people aren't a bit more precise about the nature of the risks.
You don't want someone to take the last section as I have and conclude 'scare mongering rubbish'
OK, now there are some pretty serious implications if the files described in the transcript are what they appear to be. However, I have to say, I'm not that impressed by the quality of some of the reasoning:
... you see, a modem is always two way. If you can pull the information in, you can also push it back through the pipeline the other direction. So that means if they can pull the information in, they can also send information back into those machines.
What is wrong with this picture? And if nothing is wrong why can't I edit the Slashdot home page?
I think the thing that you are missing here is the possibility that app writers or OS builders will start building facilities into their wares that are disabled if DRM is turned off.
I can well imagine a certain company producing a version of its Office suite that works 'best' with DRM enabled in the BIOS or a DVD/Video/Audio player that requires DRM for certain operations.
This would give machine manufacturers a strong incentive to buy DRM-enabled Bi-i (or is that BIOSen?)
While I've just about managed to educate friends and familly about the need to run Windows Update, WU does not in itself warn of critical security issues - you have to remember to visit Office Update manually... and who is going to do that? No one, in my experience.
but it gets better - The Office Security updates require you to insert the original CD. This seems a mighty strange move, and not terribly useful for me since the CD is several thousand miles away locked up in a cupboard on the other side of the Atlantic.
Can anyone explain the warped logic here? I could understand it if the new patches enabled new functionality? but these are security patches.
The problem that the RIAA has is that the very flexibility of the medium (it plays in cars, on PCs, portables, is ripplable to MP3 etc) is one of the things that makes it popular in today's market.
Your logic is, unfortunately predicated on belief that the RIAA's policy will trigger a large scale consumer backlash, an anti-record company jihad, if you like.
Well, it may, but it may not. I suspect that the wider non-Slashdot-reading audience, the small-scale downloaders already feel uneasy about the morality of 'stealing music' they've done it because: (a) it has appeared to be a victimless crime (b) they have had a feeling of invunerability to capture.
The RIAA's tactics are designed to eat away at both of these perceptions. I suspect that they will work well enough to make a goodly proportion of file-swappers more nervous and reduce activity on the networks. So far so good for the RIAA.
I'm dubious about there being a widescale backlash, however I'm also very very dubious about any consequent increase in music sales.
The RIAA believes that filesharing is the main culprit slowing industry sales, I think it is wrong. It needs to realise that the idea of packaging artists works into monolithic albums was an accident of format, and not something that its customers really want.
Slashdot Mirror
Ah yes. Thank goodness those clean cut, caucasian all American lads never go gun crazy.
I seem to recall that SETI@home started off as open source, but subsequently closed to avoid people creating clients that worked quickly, submitted much data, but did so erroneously. Security though obscurity, I hear you say, but it *is* a problem
I'm a SETI and Folding user, but I have to say that I find this project very compelling. We know that cancer is serious, and there are big businesses looking to find answers. The question of climate change is potentially more serious, in my opinion. But we need to find out for sure
"So where do you draw the line? someone stuck their tongue out at you in the playground? What if they murdered you?"
Well there you go then. Obviously guilty.
The site of that test is now a mecca for diving enthusiasts, but the person who owns the dive rights only opens the waters for very limited usage. Hence divers dream about being able to dive in the waters which now has an immensely rich biodiversity. But they know they are unlikely to ever get there. FWIW's the test was an astonishing attempt to try and see what effect the bomb would have on a real fleet. There is at least one aircraft carrier down there.
Surely they can do all that without buying Blogger or selling the software to free. Unless they are embedding something in the license which gives them additional rights over the blogged content.
Now, does the belief that my penis is to small count as opinion? what if the mail consists of the characters 'tretretrdytreye' - opinion? what about if the mail consists of a self-replicating Word macro. Is that an opinion? and would it be a restraint of free speech to turn macros off?
Not intended as a flame, but there are interesting gradations here. It could be argued that spam, like the person who shouts 'fire!' in the movie theatre, is actually a DoS attack
As for smalI screen sizes - suspect that once this type of technology catches on.
Surely Apple would be much more lilely to create a separate 'Government Edition installer' that wouldlet the customer define a logo for the start-up screen and a message etc.
I suspect this build has some demo code in it, or that someone is pulling someone's leg.
1. The styling and usability - nice, but not revolutionary. I suspect this accounts for many sales. Include in this the very nice desktop integration with Macs
2. Firewire support. Not sure if the other devices you site have this, but it makes a real difference managing large libraries. Also makes it a much more practical external disk.
3. Programmability. This, I think sets it apart from the herd - teh sheer number of hacks, tweaks 'turn-your-iPod-into-a-PDA' patches out there makes the iPod quite an interesting open-ish platform.
No, I don't have one. But I would really rather like one.
Because the iMac is postioned as a plug-and-play consumer appliance. That is its positioning, its raison d'etre. The towers are positioned as the professional boxes - lots of options, upgradable etc. Now, you can argue that this is a purely marketing-led distinction, and you would be right. But Apple has decided that consumers like their machines simple and are put of by more choice than 'fast, faster, fastest'
You don't want someone to take the last section as I have and conclude 'scare mongering rubbish'
What is wrong with this picture? And if nothing is wrong why can't I edit the Slashdot home page?
I can well imagine a certain company producing a version of its Office suite that works 'best' with DRM enabled in the BIOS or a DVD/Video/Audio player that requires DRM for certain operations.
This would give machine manufacturers a strong incentive to buy DRM-enabled Bi-i (or is that BIOSen?)
While I've just about managed to educate friends and familly about the need to run Windows Update, WU does not in itself warn of critical security issues - you have to remember to visit Office Update manually... and who is going to do that? No one, in my experience.
but it gets better - The Office Security updates require you to insert the original CD. This seems a mighty strange move, and not terribly useful for me since the CD is several thousand miles away locked up in a cupboard on the other side of the Atlantic.
Can anyone explain the warped logic here? I could understand it if the new patches enabled new functionality? but these are security patches.
The problem that the RIAA has is that the very flexibility of the medium (it plays in cars, on PCs, portables, is ripplable to MP3 etc) is one of the things that makes it popular in today's market.
They face a dilemma
Your logic is, unfortunately predicated on belief that the RIAA's policy will trigger a large scale consumer backlash, an anti-record company jihad, if you like. Well, it may, but it may not. I suspect that the wider non-Slashdot-reading audience, the small-scale downloaders already feel uneasy about the morality of 'stealing music' they've done it because: (a) it has appeared to be a victimless crime (b) they have had a feeling of invunerability to capture. The RIAA's tactics are designed to eat away at both of these perceptions. I suspect that they will work well enough to make a goodly proportion of file-swappers more nervous and reduce activity on the networks. So far so good for the RIAA. I'm dubious about there being a widescale backlash, however I'm also very very dubious about any consequent increase in music sales. The RIAA believes that filesharing is the main culprit slowing industry sales, I think it is wrong. It needs to realise that the idea of packaging artists works into monolithic albums was an accident of format, and not something that its customers really want.