>? Software adds on features over time. Thats how it works.
Yes, and thats why the original Mozilla project was such a failure. You want a web browser? Naww, you need a html editor, newsreader, and email client too!
I understand adding more to a project, changes in UI, changes in architecture, etc, but another damn search method?? Right now you can type anything in the url bar, in the search box next to it, or into any search engine. Adding in NLP is just more bloat. You can already search through a variety of methods.
NL stuff seems great for an add-on. Im sure there's a niche of people who would love it. Shame the devs, assorted project managers, and other bureaucrats dont agree.
>So, don't upgrade. Seriously, what is wrong with you people?
I have to upgrade if I want the security patches.
Perhaps someone will create a Firefoxed version of Firefox and repeat the cycle of distilling a light-ish app from a bloated mess.
Ive also been looking for a sub-100. This is what Ive found:
1. Nokia tablet. These things run linux and can be gotten used on ebay for under $100. Youre not getting e-ink or anything fancy, but its small and light and can display a variety of formats.
2. Used old laptop or netbook. Its overkill for ebooks but they work in a pinch.
3. OLPC. A bit out of the pricerange, but a used one might make for a good ebook reader.
None of these solutions support DRM, but you can at least view text, doc, PDFs, and comic book format. Right now I just have an old laptop permanently in the bedroom as a defacto ebook reader/slingbox client. I dont read much outside of the house. I sometimes read on my treo, but the screen is sub-optimal.
The downside is that Amazon and Sony see ebook readers as premium items. They start at $300. No one seems to be selling a budget ebook reader. Im guessing the market for the low end is simply too crowded with devices that can double as ebook readers in a pinch.
Selling hardware that works on certain software is "riding their coat tails?" Wow, talk about having an anti-consumer attitude. Hell, we're not even talking about freedom to tinker. This is freedom to install! Wow, this guy gots +5 on slashdot? Wow.
The best password in the world wont help if the forum software and the server it runs on is vulnerable, like in this case. In that case we can just get your plaintext password.
What forum software writers need to do is stop storing everything in plaintext. Hash it.
Your account isnt only as safe as the password you use, its only as safe as the security of the server its stored on.
Of course not. This is slashdot, home of the irrational MS critics. Hell, i dont like MS, but I feel that someone should rail against FUD and bullshit on here, regardless of who is the target.
Look, if the file wouldnt download you'd have taco posting "I CANT DOWNLOAD A FIX FROM A LINUX MACHINE TO COPY TO A BORKED VISTA MACHINE. EVERYONE GET OUTRAGED."
But if it does download its "HOLY CATS, IT DIDNT USE MY USERAGENT STRING TO FIGURE OUT IM ACTUALLY ON A COMMODORE64!!!!"
What? Windows' ACL much more complex than the "proper" user, group, and world method in unix. The NSA built SELinux to address this. In other words, Linux needs to catch up to windows.
The UAC wont ask for a password if you are already an admin. if you want to input a password you can run as non-admin, as you should be doing.
Two senators for 400k people? No thanks. Its bad enough places like Wyoming get two senators. Why should I have two senators split between 12 million people and they get two senators for so few? This leads to an unequal situation in the senate.
Just make it part of Virginia and call it a day, but its so poor and crime ridden, no one wants it.
This really is the best method. Its cross-platform and no matter what strategies the ad people try, I'm still blocking their server. Not to mention ad servers are a security risk. Most "Antivirus 2009" infections are from compromised ad servers delivering fake ads for the malware. These malware ads look a lot more legitimate when served up by forbes.com.
Just block them wholesale. Perhaps they will learn that we dont want overlays and popups. A simple ad that targets me really is a lot more effective than these tricks.
I wouldnt be surprised if these were non-biting or male just to avoid any liability. Bill Gates isnt stuipd and even if he was his lawyers wouldnt let him do anything dangerous.
>It needs to be very simple, no physical buttons, no moving parts, built in solar cell on the back, screen on the front, complete touch interface. Simplify, simplify, simplify.
India and tried and has failed with the Simputer, which is a real, you know, computer.
The problem is that you cant dictate need. If there's no legitimate need for an ultra cheap machine then you simply cant create need. People will ignore it, just like they did with the linux based simputer. If people are doing fine with cafes, phones, and computer labs in school then they wont get excited over a subsidized inferior machine.
When there's need, the streets will find a way and capitalism will refine it and package it. You dont start from the top, you start from the bottom (basement hackers, kids, startups). This is why so many grand top-down designs of "great ideas" and utopias always fail. Buckminster Fuller and Dean Kamen never realized why they were completely irrelevant.
>So, who else is shocked that Team $10 laptop didn't actually have the magic bullet? No hands? Hmm.
The morons in the previous thread who argued that "DUDE, CORPORATIONS PAY LIKE 5% OF RETAIL TO MAKE COMPUTERS, 10 DOLLAR LAPTOP IS POSSIBL!!!" These people were modded +5 insightful. My replies were either modded down or ignored by the mods. So much for the "wisdom of crowds" eh?
Obviously, these people dont understand the margin on computers is razor-thin and life isnt just one big conspiracy to get you. A $150-200 dollar laptop thats usable? Yes. A ten dollar laptop? No.
If the virus can modify the fixit binary then it already has admin access. Why would the author go through another hoop? Just attack the system.
The attack Im thinking of is spoofing the fixit4me button on a random webpage and hoping the user downloads your malware, but that's a trojan/social attack that works for just about anything (click here to install flash, etc).
Some kind of intelligent tool should be doable. Most PC problems are pretty basic and automating the fix straight from the KB makes sense for non-techies. I imagine a common scenario for this will be used by people who know a little tech, but are afraid of modifying the registry or installing a patch as opposed to the clueless grandma. This person would probably see the problem in the event viewer, click on the "what does this mean" button and be sent to the KB with the fixit tool sitting there.
>Education is the key to solving the most common issues.
Thats true of most problems, but a lot of people will never learn and simply will require hand-holding forever. Automated tools can do a lot of this hand-holding for them. Automated tools can also help those who understand the issue but may not be technical enough to perform their own fix.
Yep, this is exactly what they did with hotmail. They bought it and ran the BSD servers for years. Eventually they switched to Win2k. If its cost-effective to stay with the old setup, then they will stay with the old setup. When its time for a major rewrite they'll just migrate to MS tools.
The point is that if the universe "is teeming with life" but there are less than 300 technological civilizations then, guess what, its not actually teeming with life. There are 70 sextillion stars in the universe, but we cant get more than 300 civilizations who can broadcast at one time?
>So you're saying, for example, Kentucky (101.7 People/sq mi)is about the same as France (297/sq mi)?
You cant cherry pick stats for your own disengenious argument.
Denmark is 22 people per sq mile and is one of the top broadband providers in Europe. 40 for Finland.
What all these countries have in common is good government. You can have all these broadband toys if you wish, but not with the current US system and the cronyism that comes with it.
Look at New York state.. The second largest city (Buffalo) is five hundred or so miles away from the largest city.
That's fine, thats just a fiber run. We cant even get intra-city communications to anywhere near 100mbps like we see in Asia or Europe.
Im left to ask why?
Its the cronyism. The population density excuse is a myth. Hell, why doesnt Connecticut have 100mbps? They have an ultra-dense 700 people per sq mile. There are NINE states more dense than France, yet here we are with shitty ADSL with DSLAMs several miles apart with no plays to deploy more or all the RST packets we can eat from Comcast.
If the universe is teeming with life then there would be a whole lot more than 300 civilizations out there who can transmit on this level. I think the paradox still stands.
Thats a fair assessment, but the US east of the Mississippi is a lot like any European country. Lots of cities withing short distance of each other. The argument that the US is too spread out applies only to the western states. I think there's a real problem here with broadband. At the very least the east coast would have 100mbps service to be on par with Korea or some European nations.
Me, because Im the one cleaning the spyware from those applications when her browser doesnt work anymore or she is getting random pop-ups for "antivirus 2009."
No, she'll just use the computer as before. Double-click here for the browser, go to this bookmark for the email, etc. The more difficult it is to install "BADASS WALLPAPER OF THE DAY" and "MAGICAL CURSOR 3000!!!!" the better.
>But in general, UAC is an annoying system that most users completely tune out.
That seems pretty defeatist. The problem I see with UAC is:
1. The system should never allow anyone to disable it
2. It should ask for a password
The problem is that whiny geeks are resistant to change so everything gets half-assed. Users shouldnt be running as admin 24/7 and installing software should be a chore. System changes should be serious. The more we half-ass this the more botnets get created.
>So what exactly do the other 99% of Russians know about PCs?
An analysis of some botnet code (WaPo security fix blog a few days ago) showed that they wont install if the default character set is russian. Why would a botnet operator give up the opportunity to get millions of russian computers? I think there's a real and concrete connection here between these scammers and the FSB or Putin himself.
Putin likes to play himself off as a legitimate politician, but he's a thug and a criminal. Talking shit about American business gets votes and influence, but not real world results. Reminds me of all the middle-east dictators and theocrats who give long rambling speeches against the west. Its a great distraction from the real corruption and poverty at home.
Dell's expense still reflect the total cost and real market price of this PC.
>Dell *assembles* computers from off the self parts made by other people.
Exactly. Assembly is an expense. Design is an expense. Marketing is an expense. Warranties are an expense. Ongoing support is an expense. You cant just look at the cost of the components and think, "Well, these will magically form themselves into a product for the end user. So all expenses past component price are some unneeded middle-man."
You can remove marketing from this equation for the Indian PC, but you arent removing assembly, design, warranty and support. Actually, it would be disingenuous to remove marketing as an expense. This program is being marketed by tax dollars.
Slashdot Mirror
>? Software adds on features over time. Thats how it works.
Yes, and thats why the original Mozilla project was such a failure. You want a web browser? Naww, you need a html editor, newsreader, and email client too!
I understand adding more to a project, changes in UI, changes in architecture, etc, but another damn search method?? Right now you can type anything in the url bar, in the search box next to it, or into any search engine. Adding in NLP is just more bloat. You can already search through a variety of methods.
NL stuff seems great for an add-on. Im sure there's a niche of people who would love it. Shame the devs, assorted project managers, and other bureaucrats dont agree.
>So, don't upgrade. Seriously, what is wrong with you people?
I have to upgrade if I want the security patches.
Perhaps someone will create a Firefoxed version of Firefox and repeat the cycle of distilling a light-ish app from a bloated mess.
Ive also been looking for a sub-100. This is what Ive found:
1. Nokia tablet. These things run linux and can be gotten used on ebay for under $100. Youre not getting e-ink or anything fancy, but its small and light and can display a variety of formats.
2. Used old laptop or netbook. Its overkill for ebooks but they work in a pinch.
3. OLPC. A bit out of the pricerange, but a used one might make for a good ebook reader.
None of these solutions support DRM, but you can at least view text, doc, PDFs, and comic book format. Right now I just have an old laptop permanently in the bedroom as a defacto ebook reader/slingbox client. I dont read much outside of the house. I sometimes read on my treo, but the screen is sub-optimal.
The downside is that Amazon and Sony see ebook readers as premium items. They start at $300. No one seems to be selling a budget ebook reader. Im guessing the market for the low end is simply too crowded with devices that can double as ebook readers in a pinch.
>Psystar is simply riding their coat tails.
Selling hardware that works on certain software is "riding their coat tails?" Wow, talk about having an anti-consumer attitude. Hell, we're not even talking about freedom to tinker. This is freedom to install! Wow, this guy gots +5 on slashdot? Wow.
I guess your sig says it all.
The best password in the world wont help if the forum software and the server it runs on is vulnerable, like in this case. In that case we can just get your plaintext password.
What forum software writers need to do is stop storing everything in plaintext. Hash it.
Your account isnt only as safe as the password you use, its only as safe as the security of the server its stored on.
Of course not. This is slashdot, home of the irrational MS critics. Hell, i dont like MS, but I feel that someone should rail against FUD and bullshit on here, regardless of who is the target.
Look, if the file wouldnt download you'd have taco posting "I CANT DOWNLOAD A FIX FROM A LINUX MACHINE TO COPY TO A BORKED VISTA MACHINE. EVERYONE GET OUTRAGED."
But if it does download its "HOLY CATS, IT DIDNT USE MY USERAGENT STRING TO FIGURE OUT IM ACTUALLY ON A COMMODORE64!!!!"
What? Windows' ACL much more complex than the "proper" user, group, and world method in unix. The NSA built SELinux to address this. In other words, Linux needs to catch up to windows.
The UAC wont ask for a password if you are already an admin. if you want to input a password you can run as non-admin, as you should be doing.
>Why do games need an Operating System as bloated as Windows? They don't. That's why Direct-X exists, ironically.
Because people dont want to reboot, fuck around with ini files, etc to just play games like we used to.
>DirectX is a library interface
You cant dismiss libraries. Its part of the value of the OS.
>or making DC a state
Two senators for 400k people? No thanks. Its bad enough places like Wyoming get two senators. Why should I have two senators split between 12 million people and they get two senators for so few? This leads to an unequal situation in the senate.
Just make it part of Virginia and call it a day, but its so poor and crime ridden, no one wants it.
This really is the best method. Its cross-platform and no matter what strategies the ad people try, I'm still blocking their server. Not to mention ad servers are a security risk. Most "Antivirus 2009" infections are from compromised ad servers delivering fake ads for the malware. These malware ads look a lot more legitimate when served up by forbes.com.
Just block them wholesale. Perhaps they will learn that we dont want overlays and popups. A simple ad that targets me really is a lot more effective than these tricks.
I wouldnt be surprised if these were non-biting or male just to avoid any liability. Bill Gates isnt stuipd and even if he was his lawyers wouldnt let him do anything dangerous.
>It needs to be very simple, no physical buttons, no moving parts, built in solar cell on the back, screen on the front, complete touch interface. Simplify, simplify, simplify.
India and tried and has failed with the Simputer, which is a real, you know, computer.
The problem is that you cant dictate need. If there's no legitimate need for an ultra cheap machine then you simply cant create need. People will ignore it, just like they did with the linux based simputer. If people are doing fine with cafes, phones, and computer labs in school then they wont get excited over a subsidized inferior machine.
When there's need, the streets will find a way and capitalism will refine it and package it. You dont start from the top, you start from the bottom (basement hackers, kids, startups). This is why so many grand top-down designs of "great ideas" and utopias always fail. Buckminster Fuller and Dean Kamen never realized why they were completely irrelevant.
>So, who else is shocked that Team $10 laptop didn't actually have the magic bullet? No hands? Hmm.
The morons in the previous thread who argued that "DUDE, CORPORATIONS PAY LIKE 5% OF RETAIL TO MAKE COMPUTERS, 10 DOLLAR LAPTOP IS POSSIBL!!!" These people were modded +5 insightful. My replies were either modded down or ignored by the mods. So much for the "wisdom of crowds" eh?
Obviously, these people dont understand the margin on computers is razor-thin and life isnt just one big conspiracy to get you. A $150-200 dollar laptop thats usable? Yes. A ten dollar laptop? No.
If the virus can modify the fixit binary then it already has admin access. Why would the author go through another hoop? Just attack the system.
The attack Im thinking of is spoofing the fixit4me button on a random webpage and hoping the user downloads your malware, but that's a trojan/social attack that works for just about anything (click here to install flash, etc).
Some kind of intelligent tool should be doable. Most PC problems are pretty basic and automating the fix straight from the KB makes sense for non-techies. I imagine a common scenario for this will be used by people who know a little tech, but are afraid of modifying the registry or installing a patch as opposed to the clueless grandma. This person would probably see the problem in the event viewer, click on the "what does this mean" button and be sent to the KB with the fixit tool sitting there.
>Education is the key to solving the most common issues.
Thats true of most problems, but a lot of people will never learn and simply will require hand-holding forever. Automated tools can do a lot of this hand-holding for them. Automated tools can also help those who understand the issue but may not be technical enough to perform their own fix.
Yep, this is exactly what they did with hotmail. They bought it and ran the BSD servers for years. Eventually they switched to Win2k. If its cost-effective to stay with the old setup, then they will stay with the old setup. When its time for a major rewrite they'll just migrate to MS tools.
The point is that if the universe "is teeming with life" but there are less than 300 technological civilizations then, guess what, its not actually teeming with life. There are 70 sextillion stars in the universe, but we cant get more than 300 civilizations who can broadcast at one time?
>So you're saying, for example, Kentucky (101.7 People/sq mi)is about the same as France (297/sq mi)?
You cant cherry pick stats for your own disengenious argument.
Denmark is 22 people per sq mile and is one of the top broadband providers in Europe. 40 for Finland.
What all these countries have in common is good government. You can have all these broadband toys if you wish, but not with the current US system and the cronyism that comes with it.
Look at New York state.. The second largest city (Buffalo) is five hundred or so miles away from the largest city.
That's fine, thats just a fiber run. We cant even get intra-city communications to anywhere near 100mbps like we see in Asia or Europe.
Im left to ask why?
Its the cronyism. The population density excuse is a myth. Hell, why doesnt Connecticut have 100mbps? They have an ultra-dense 700 people per sq mile. There are NINE states more dense than France, yet here we are with shitty ADSL with DSLAMs several miles apart with no plays to deploy more or all the RST packets we can eat from Comcast.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_population_density
If the universe is teeming with life then there would be a whole lot more than 300 civilizations out there who can transmit on this level. I think the paradox still stands.
Thats a fair assessment, but the US east of the Mississippi is a lot like any European country. Lots of cities withing short distance of each other. The argument that the US is too spread out applies only to the western states. I think there's a real problem here with broadband. At the very least the east coast would have 100mbps service to be on par with Korea or some European nations.
Me, because Im the one cleaning the spyware from those applications when her browser doesnt work anymore or she is getting random pop-ups for "antivirus 2009."
No, she'll just use the computer as before. Double-click here for the browser, go to this bookmark for the email, etc. The more difficult it is to install "BADASS WALLPAPER OF THE DAY" and "MAGICAL CURSOR 3000!!!!" the better.
>But in general, UAC is an annoying system that most users completely tune out.
That seems pretty defeatist. The problem I see with UAC is:
1. The system should never allow anyone to disable it
2. It should ask for a password
The problem is that whiny geeks are resistant to change so everything gets half-assed. Users shouldnt be running as admin 24/7 and installing software should be a chore. System changes should be serious. The more we half-ass this the more botnets get created.
>Win7 kernel feels like it's about 90% the same as Vista
How the heck do you know how a kernel feels? Is this slashdot or the Sylvia Brown psychic detective forums?
>So what exactly do the other 99% of Russians know about PCs?
An analysis of some botnet code (WaPo security fix blog a few days ago) showed that they wont install if the default character set is russian. Why would a botnet operator give up the opportunity to get millions of russian computers? I think there's a real and concrete connection here between these scammers and the FSB or Putin himself.
Putin likes to play himself off as a legitimate politician, but he's a thug and a criminal. Talking shit about American business gets votes and influence, but not real world results. Reminds me of all the middle-east dictators and theocrats who give long rambling speeches against the west. Its a great distraction from the real corruption and poverty at home.
Nor do they pass safety regulations anywhere else. Sure its cheap. Its a shell around a motorcycle with two extra wheels for balance.
Dell's expense still reflect the total cost and real market price of this PC.
>Dell *assembles* computers from off the self parts made by other people.
Exactly. Assembly is an expense. Design is an expense. Marketing is an expense. Warranties are an expense. Ongoing support is an expense. You cant just look at the cost of the components and think, "Well, these will magically form themselves into a product for the end user. So all expenses past component price are some unneeded middle-man."
You can remove marketing from this equation for the Indian PC, but you arent removing assembly, design, warranty and support. Actually, it would be disingenuous to remove marketing as an expense. This program is being marketed by tax dollars.