I don't think showing extensions is going to fix anything. The problem is that Outlook uses the same registry database as the rest of Windows for determining what to do with files (based on file name extensions and associated applications). So filetypes like.html,.jpg,.gif,.mid,.wav, etc., open automatically. The actual format of the file doesn't matter, it's just handed over to shell execute based on those three characters after the period. The shell routine apparently ignores the extension and looks inside the file to determine if it is choosing the correct helper application. -Oh, it's actually a Windows executable? No problem!- Boom! Your machine is infected.
Microsoft could greatly improve Outlook's security by giving the program its own minimal, user-configurable filetype registry. It could further improve it by making HTML available as a MIME-encoded attachment only. However, I didn't design or write Outlook and OE, so I have no idea how complicated this might be.
No, but I read the article and found that I skipped lots of stuff. I had done only the updates to the module utilities because it was the most obvious problem.
...this will help me. 2.6.1 is the only kernel in the series that actually compiled on my machines. I struck out and 2.6.2, and I just struck out on 2.6.3 a couple of days ago. Both of those fail during module compile. Both fail on all machines I've tried them on.
Bud isn't the worst, but it's close. I don't know how you can like a "gourmet" beer and Bud at the same time. All those cheap beers taste will aluminum shavings mixed in rubbing alcohol.
the Ruby Ridge guy was responsible for everything that happened
So Randy Weaver shot his wife in the face? Can I see the evidence to back that one up, because when I last checked my news sources, they were all pretty clear on the fact that a government agent did it. I don't think the FBI or the ATF would even dispute that.
Honestly though, this is how it works: Federalists/Socialists put more power into the hands of government agencies. Right-wingers prophetize the potential abuses of power, then when they are in power they fulfill their own prophecy. Both sides create the problem. If you truly despise conservatives, think of how the current new legislation you support could be abused by the next party in power.
I assume BPL will take off in areas where cable modem/dsl aren't yet available.
I seriously doubt that. If there was money to be made in those sparsely populated areas, telecos and cable companies would be tripping over themselves to get last-mile solutions deployed. The truth is that the areas are "rural" because a lot of people don't live there. Less people means less potential revenue. There's no reason to think that BPL would be any easier to deploy on some antiquated leg of the power system than some antiquated leg of the phone system. That is, if BPL even worked.
I don't think the problem with pricing and bandwidth is competition, it's adoption. IIRC DSL rolled out in my town over 5 years ago. The majority of Internet users *still* get their data over an analog modem connection. Nothing's going to happen as far as pricing or infrastructure unless there are mobs of people throwing money at their ISPs and demanding the fastest possible connection. The consumer's perception is that basic DSL is a "premium" service. The phone company's perception is that basic DSL is an entry-level service. That's a problem that needs to be dealt with if we are to expect faster connections in the future.
Bandwidth is too damn expensive, and real tests [failures] of BPL show that it doesn't approach to reliability or throughput of any of the currently-deployed high-speed connections. Let's stop wasting time on vaporware and maybe steer some of that interest into why bandwidth is so hideously expensive. It may not have the get-rich-quick appeal of some self-proclaimed Astounding Technological Discovery of the 21st Century, but everyone stands to make money from it in the long run.
I jokingly suggested buying Russian attack copters. But that's not really going to happen. It's good to keep the defense projects local for security's sake.
Sorry about that run-on sentence. I tried to fix it, but managed to mangle it even more.:-(
Well, we don't know that answer, but we can probably rule out "dumb". I jokingly suggested buying Russian attack copters before, but really that's not going to happen because for security's sake; It's good to keep the defense projects local. My guess is that the companies involved said, "this is what it's actually going to cost to build a bunch of these." The Bush administration is probably looking to cut programs to fund the occupation in the Middle East, and when they saw the price tag, they got sticker shock.
How many Russian Mi-28s could we buy for just the $2 billion contract penalty?
Re:You can't get parts from India...
on
Orwellian Tech Support
·
· Score: 4, Interesting
The irony is I am an indian. The sad fact is quite a lot of the indians who work at call centers in india are in fact technology graduates and masters, and quite knowledgable. But they choose those jobs, simply because it pays their rent. And the lack of a familiar accent to american consumers is bring them a bad name.
Sorry, no offense intended to Indians, but I have a difficult time understanding the accent. Some accents I just have trouble with. But that really isn't the issue for me. The issue is that phone tech support can only fill the role of a live FAQ list. Seriously, the bulk of tech support questions could be covered by a few beginner's computing courses and a small handy reference.
I'm sure the Indian call center staffers are intelligent and knowledgeable. The problem is that these big mail-order PC mega-corps dumped product at ultra-low prices and killed off the little local computer shops. Those places were actually the first line of tech support for these companies, and it didn't cost the mail-order companies one red cent. Plus walk-in or on-site was a more efficient way to solve problems, since the customer didn't have to sit there for hours and describe things to a support rep. My former customers (I no longer do PC repair) were more than happy to pay me money to fix a warrantied computer so they didn't have to call their vendor's tech support lines.
So, I have two views on this. I'd like to see some of these mail-order companies endure a harsh consumer backlash. On the other hand, I'm kind of glad to see consumers put the screws to these big mail-order companies, and force them to keep their support promises. Along with this, Indians have job opportunities that otherwise might not have existed.
I'm begging for a flaming here, but I'm not too worried about the Americans; When the average Indian can start a business in one day but paying $20 for a S&U Tax permit, and actually expect to make a living, then we can compare US jobs to Indians jobs.
My clan has two female players out of roughly 40 total players. We play combat-oriented games. They play in the leagues alongside the rest of us. Their skill is in step with the amount of time they spend playing, just like every other player in our clan. We don't treat them any differently, and they don't demand to be treated differently. If someone sees a "problem" with the fact that females do not like to play these types of games, why alienate the brave few by segregating them in a separate (and likely very small) league.
...that you don't hear about: Large collections of ping zombies, and large collections of SMTP spam relays under hostile control (I can't think of a better term than 'hostile'). Come on, how many distributed supercomputers out there have tens of thousands to millions of nodes?
Nope, we're talking about two different things here. The tests aren't usually part of the course. Most people are smart enough to get a book and just skip to the tests. After all, we're talking about schooling, not just taking the finals.
And yes, during the height of the dot-com job flood, taking those seven courses and buying the course materials weighed in around $14,000. In case you guys are wondering, I didn't take the MCSE courses.
Although this would in some ways divert more money into certain areas of space vehicle development, what is the point? Is there some threat that the U.S. faces that requires these sort of weapons? Not only do we possess the nuclear, chemical and biological arsenals to end all arsenals, but we also have the most heavily funded, most technologically advanced air, sea and ground forces on the face of the planet, not to mention significant amounts of expenditure in non-lethal weapons and counter-weapons R&D.
I'm not what you'd call an anti-war activist, but if I actually had a say in these projects, I'd give 'em a big, fat thumbs-down. Seriously, what's the point?
Re:Halophiles vs. Viking Landers
on
Brine on Mars?
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
I didn't know that the organisms necessarily had to be alive to show their presence.
If you take the proprietary driver, it means that at some point you may not be able to get your work done. That's great that Intel is going to attempt an on-time release for Linux drivers once. But what happens every time the kernel changes? Or some system library changes? Or the compiler changes?
And I'm not blaming Intel for this one either. Hardware installation under Linux is a nightmare of inconsistency. If the shipped kernel doesn't fully support your hardware, good luck! The typical Windows user is still not ready to compile a kernel.
I sort of like what Nvidia does with it's video cards: The 'compile a small kernel interface on-the-spot' type of script. I'm sorry to hear about the fellow with the Nforce chipset problems, but Nvidia's video card drivers are solid.
To top it off, suicide by handgun is the most efficient way, meaning if a kid at their weakest moment decides to do it, there's no looking back. Where as pills and cutting can often be saved.
This is a whole other discussion, but yes, I follow the reports from CDC/BATFE/FBI, and self-inflicted wounds is the #1 cause of death involving guns. Being a pro-gun guy myself, I'm a little worried that this is apparently swept under the rug. I don't know if bio-auth is going to have any effect on this, but there doesn't seem to be a whole lot legislation or studies involving suicide. Or maybe there is and no one knows what course of action to take? Considering that suicide accounts for more than half of all gun-related deaths, I don't understand why accidental deaths (very small percentage) or death by assault weapon (either accidental or homicide - still small percentage) attract so much legislative attention.
Because as neurotic, overreactive safety-hounds get their way in our societies, legal fixes like this lean more toward prevention (pipe dream or perhaps totalitarian nightmare) than relying on the responsibility of the citizen, or even a good balance. Simply put, making only the DWIs use it means they will be missing potentially dangerous drunks that haven't been caught yet. I'd also say something about rehabilitated drinkers, but this law punishes non-drinkers too, so it's pointless.
So, once again, our government is pursuing a technology that authorizes the use of some item deemed too dangerous to operate for "us" ignorant subjects. We've already been through this with biometric auth in handguns. Look: A car ignition system is a fairly simple device to understand. All that fancy stuff like a think steering column guard, steel keyhole guard and double-sided key- it just protects two wires. Cross those two wires, and a relay shuts and spins up the starter. There is going to have to be a whole other agency to inspect these vehicles for compliance. It will be prohibitively expensive. The random tests would be more of a distraction than a loud radio and wireless phone combined. It won't be 100% accurate (oops, you used a strong mouthwash this morning?) What's to stop a driver from drinking until he is intoxicated while he is driving around?
If DUI is such a runaway problem in NM, why don't they:
1. Put a freeze on liquor licensing for about 10 years. 2. Raise taxes on alcoholic beverages to... 3....hire more highway police 4. Suspend licenses for a minimum of 90 days after a DUI arrest 5. Have police include popular bars and package stores in their routes at night (very effective way to catch drunks in the Northeast).
I see a lot of huffing about blood alcohol levels, but I've yet to see a study that includes information about where the drunks are coming from. Do they drink at home? Do they drink in a bar? Do they go to a package store and drink while they drive home?
The purpose of capitalism isn't to produce great, working, innovative products. The purpose of capitalism is to generate (suprise!) capital.
True, but in the course of doing so, they "thought outside the box", and prevented competing products from functioning, or in some cases, even being distributed. So the flipside of the issue is that they prevented capital from being generated for other companies, and not by direct competition. Bad Capitalism if you will. (Gored oxen and such)
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I don't think showing extensions is going to fix anything. The problem is that Outlook uses the same registry database as the rest of Windows for determining what to do with files (based on file name extensions and associated applications). So filetypes like .html, .jpg, .gif, .mid, .wav, etc., open automatically. The actual format of the file doesn't matter, it's just handed over to shell execute based on those three characters after the period. The shell routine apparently ignores the extension and looks inside the file to determine if it is choosing the correct helper application. -Oh, it's actually a Windows executable? No problem!- Boom! Your machine is infected.
Microsoft could greatly improve Outlook's security by giving the program its own minimal, user-configurable filetype registry. It could further improve it by making HTML available as a MIME-encoded attachment only. However, I didn't design or write Outlook and OE, so I have no idea how complicated this might be.
No, but I read the article and found that I skipped lots of stuff. I had done only the updates to the module utilities because it was the most obvious problem.
...this will help me. 2.6.1 is the only kernel in the series that actually compiled on my machines. I struck out and 2.6.2, and I just struck out on 2.6.3 a couple of days ago. Both of those fail during module compile. Both fail on all machines I've tried them on.
Bud isn't the worst, but it's close. I don't know how you can like a "gourmet" beer and Bud at the same time. All those cheap beers taste will aluminum shavings mixed in rubbing alcohol.
DSL is for old-style phone systems only. The minute they put in a fibre-to-copper box in your neighborhood you cannot have DSL any longer.
Interesting! How about providing some detail and references? This is something I'd like to learn about.
the Ruby Ridge guy was responsible for everything that happened
So Randy Weaver shot his wife in the face? Can I see the evidence to back that one up, because when I last checked my news sources, they were all pretty clear on the fact that a government agent did it. I don't think the FBI or the ATF would even dispute that.
Honestly though, this is how it works: Federalists/Socialists put more power into the hands of government agencies. Right-wingers prophetize the potential abuses of power, then when they are in power they fulfill their own prophecy. Both sides create the problem. If you truly despise conservatives, think of how the current new legislation you support could be abused by the next party in power.
I assume BPL will take off in areas where cable modem/dsl aren't yet available.
I seriously doubt that. If there was money to be made in those sparsely populated areas, telecos and cable companies would be tripping over themselves to get last-mile solutions deployed. The truth is that the areas are "rural" because a lot of people don't live there. Less people means less potential revenue. There's no reason to think that BPL would be any easier to deploy on some antiquated leg of the power system than some antiquated leg of the phone system. That is, if BPL even worked.
I don't think the problem with pricing and bandwidth is competition, it's adoption. IIRC DSL rolled out in my town over 5 years ago. The majority of Internet users *still* get their data over an analog modem connection. Nothing's going to happen as far as pricing or infrastructure unless there are mobs of people throwing money at their ISPs and demanding the fastest possible connection. The consumer's perception is that basic DSL is a "premium" service. The phone company's perception is that basic DSL is an entry-level service. That's a problem that needs to be dealt with if we are to expect faster connections in the future.
Bandwidth is too damn expensive, and real tests [failures] of BPL show that it doesn't approach to reliability or throughput of any of the currently-deployed high-speed connections. Let's stop wasting time on vaporware and maybe steer some of that interest into why bandwidth is so hideously expensive. It may not have the get-rich-quick appeal of some self-proclaimed Astounding Technological Discovery of the 21st Century, but everyone stands to make money from it in the long run.
It's not a question of effort. It's a shortcoming of my hearing. This has no bearing on the historical roots of the language.
correction:
:-(
I jokingly suggested buying Russian attack copters. But that's not really going to happen. It's good to keep the defense projects local for security's sake.
Sorry about that run-on sentence. I tried to fix it, but managed to mangle it even more.
Well, we don't know that answer, but we can probably rule out "dumb". I jokingly suggested buying Russian attack copters before, but really that's not going to happen because for security's sake; It's good to keep the defense projects local. My guess is that the companies involved said, "this is what it's actually going to cost to build a bunch of these." The Bush administration is probably looking to cut programs to fund the occupation in the Middle East, and when they saw the price tag, they got sticker shock.
How many Russian Mi-28s could we buy for just the $2 billion contract penalty?
The irony is I am an indian. The sad fact is quite a lot of the indians who work at call centers in india are in fact technology graduates and masters, and quite knowledgable. But they choose those jobs, simply because it pays their rent. And the lack of a familiar accent to american consumers is bring them a bad name.
Sorry, no offense intended to Indians, but I have a difficult time understanding the accent. Some accents I just have trouble with. But that really isn't the issue for me. The issue is that phone tech support can only fill the role of a live FAQ list. Seriously, the bulk of tech support questions could be covered by a few beginner's computing courses and a small handy reference.
I'm sure the Indian call center staffers are intelligent and knowledgeable. The problem is that these big mail-order PC mega-corps dumped product at ultra-low prices and killed off the little local computer shops. Those places were actually the first line of tech support for these companies, and it didn't cost the mail-order companies one red cent. Plus walk-in or on-site was a more efficient way to solve problems, since the customer didn't have to sit there for hours and describe things to a support rep. My former customers (I no longer do PC repair) were more than happy to pay me money to fix a warrantied computer so they didn't have to call their vendor's tech support lines.
So, I have two views on this. I'd like to see some of these mail-order companies endure a harsh consumer backlash. On the other hand, I'm kind of glad to see consumers put the screws to these big mail-order companies, and force them to keep their support promises. Along with this, Indians have job opportunities that otherwise might not have existed.
I'm begging for a flaming here, but I'm not too worried about the Americans; When the average Indian can start a business in one day but paying $20 for a S&U Tax permit, and actually expect to make a living, then we can compare US jobs to Indians jobs.
My clan has two female players out of roughly 40 total players. We play combat-oriented games. They play in the leagues alongside the rest of us. Their skill is in step with the amount of time they spend playing, just like every other player in our clan. We don't treat them any differently, and they don't demand to be treated differently. If someone sees a "problem" with the fact that females do not like to play these types of games, why alienate the brave few by segregating them in a separate (and likely very small) league.
...that you don't hear about: Large collections of ping zombies, and large collections of SMTP spam relays under hostile control (I can't think of a better term than 'hostile'). Come on, how many distributed supercomputers out there have tens of thousands to millions of nodes?
Correction to above:
Most people AREN'T smart enough...
D'OH!!
Nope, we're talking about two different things here. The tests aren't usually part of the course. Most people are smart enough to get a book and just skip to the tests. After all, we're talking about schooling, not just taking the finals.
And yes, during the height of the dot-com job flood, taking those seven courses and buying the course materials weighed in around $14,000. In case you guys are wondering, I didn't take the MCSE courses.
Right, so that just reinforces what others have been saying. Your $14,000 for MSCE cert is better spent elsewhere.
Are these rods the size of VWs or something? That's pretty ambitious, if you ask me.
Maybe they're planning on firing them at Mars, so the rover doesn't have to dig so far to find Martian rat dens.
Although this would in some ways divert more money into certain areas of space vehicle development, what is the point? Is there some threat that the U.S. faces that requires these sort of weapons? Not only do we possess the nuclear, chemical and biological arsenals to end all arsenals, but we also have the most heavily funded, most technologically advanced air, sea and ground forces on the face of the planet, not to mention significant amounts of expenditure in non-lethal weapons and counter-weapons R&D.
I'm not what you'd call an anti-war activist, but if I actually had a say in these projects, I'd give 'em a big, fat thumbs-down. Seriously, what's the point?
I didn't know that the organisms necessarily had to be alive to show their presence.
??
If you take the proprietary driver, it means that at some point you may not be able to get your work done. That's great that Intel is going to attempt an on-time release for Linux drivers once. But what happens every time the kernel changes? Or some system library changes? Or the compiler changes?
And I'm not blaming Intel for this one either. Hardware installation under Linux is a nightmare of inconsistency. If the shipped kernel doesn't fully support your hardware, good luck! The typical Windows user is still not ready to compile a kernel.
I sort of like what Nvidia does with it's video cards: The 'compile a small kernel interface on-the-spot' type of script. I'm sorry to hear about the fellow with the Nforce chipset problems, but Nvidia's video card drivers are solid.
Straying offtopic (my fault), but:
To top it off, suicide by handgun is the most efficient way, meaning if a kid at their weakest moment decides to do it, there's no looking back. Where as pills and cutting can often be saved.
This is a whole other discussion, but yes, I follow the reports from CDC/BATFE/FBI, and self-inflicted wounds is the #1 cause of death involving guns. Being a pro-gun guy myself, I'm a little worried that this is apparently swept under the rug. I don't know if bio-auth is going to have any effect on this, but there doesn't seem to be a whole lot legislation or studies involving suicide. Or maybe there is and no one knows what course of action to take? Considering that suicide accounts for more than half of all gun-related deaths, I don't understand why accidental deaths (very small percentage) or death by assault weapon (either accidental or homicide - still small percentage) attract so much legislative attention.
Because as neurotic, overreactive safety-hounds get their way in our societies, legal fixes like this lean more toward prevention (pipe dream or perhaps totalitarian nightmare) than relying on the responsibility of the citizen, or even a good balance. Simply put, making only the DWIs use it means they will be missing potentially dangerous drunks that haven't been caught yet. I'd also say something about rehabilitated drinkers, but this law punishes non-drinkers too, so it's pointless.
...hire more highway police
So, once again, our government is pursuing a technology that authorizes the use of some item deemed too dangerous to operate for "us" ignorant subjects. We've already been through this with biometric auth in handguns. Look: A car ignition system is a fairly simple device to understand. All that fancy stuff like a think steering column guard, steel keyhole guard and double-sided key- it just protects two wires. Cross those two wires, and a relay shuts and spins up the starter. There is going to have to be a whole other agency to inspect these vehicles for compliance. It will be prohibitively expensive. The random tests would be more of a distraction than a loud radio and wireless phone combined. It won't be 100% accurate (oops, you used a strong mouthwash this morning?) What's to stop a driver from drinking until he is intoxicated while he is driving around?
If DUI is such a runaway problem in NM, why don't they:
1. Put a freeze on liquor licensing for about 10 years.
2. Raise taxes on alcoholic beverages to...
3.
4. Suspend licenses for a minimum of 90 days after a DUI arrest
5. Have police include popular bars and package stores in their routes at night (very effective way to catch drunks in the Northeast).
I see a lot of huffing about blood alcohol levels, but I've yet to see a study that includes information about where the drunks are coming from. Do they drink at home? Do they drink in a bar? Do they go to a package store and drink while they drive home?
The purpose of capitalism isn't to produce great, working, innovative products. The purpose of capitalism is to generate (suprise!) capital.
True, but in the course of doing so, they "thought outside the box", and prevented competing products from functioning, or in some cases, even being distributed. So the flipside of the issue is that they prevented capital from being generated for other companies, and not by direct competition. Bad Capitalism if you will. (Gored oxen and such)