Not too many Congressmen want to go home to their districts labelled as "against national security"...
Asking them to prove that they did NOT violate privacy of Americans in contravention of their Charter is also obviously impossible, since they would have to "prove" that they did not dispose of evidence, and so forth. So it's an utterly bogus request.
Soliciting whistleblowing employees past and present is more logical if one believes that the Agency violates its charter.
Yes, they're executive branch. There've been hearings before on matters potentially embarrassing to the NSA, although IIRC their budget is still pretty much hidden from most of Congress (excepting, perhaps, intelligence committee members).
Note, 'tho, that the NSA's charter is pretty darn specific. In most circumstances, they are NOT allowed to deliberately eavesdrop on an American citizen, or to arrange for any other nation to do so -- and their own FAQ reiterates this. Exceptions, if memory serves, include conversations with foreign nationals.
Consequently, they stand to get nailed if anybody proves that they directly or indirectly (via UKUSA) arrange for blanket SIGINT collection on domestic conversations...
Aye to the stability. Even major software releases -- particularly in the gaming industry -- suffer on PCs due to the vast array of hardware. For instance, many DVD and CD-RW drives cannot use certain forms of copy-protected CDs. Many video and sound cards can introduce game-crashing incompatibilities. Other software already existing on the system can cause library conflicts. And so forth.
On a controlled system like a standard console, these problems can easily be caught -- there's ONE basic configuration to work with, and perhaps a few peripherals or minor upgrades.
Maybe their algorithm involves tables or has some other reliance on a fixed key length. Or, perhaps there's a known algorithmic weakness where adding the additional bits does not strengthen it that much...
I got the impression that the system was meant for things like portable music players, which don't usually have full-fledged removable sound cards. So if it has a built-in speaker and no audio output ports, or it's built *into* speakers with no audio output ports...
Given the emphasis on space efficiency (1500 bytes memory req'd) the target is most likely NOT desktop computers.
Suppose you lived in a dictatorial state, where normally you were left alone but the local authorities reserved the right to pop into your house and take anything they choose. Oh, and if you resist or complain, you'll be summarily executed.
Even if they don't *ever* USE that right, you've lost something -- control. It may be intangible, which perhaps makes it a difficult concept for some people to grasp, but it matters.
Once an author's work is out being used by others in ways beyond his consent, he's lost control. Others may choose to redistribute freely, perhaps ruining him; others may choose to make their own derivative works, confusing everybody else; others may abuse it in any way to their hearts' content. That's all possible unless intellectual property is respected.
Or, perhaps, you'd like to share your identity, including likeness and supporting documents, with the rest of Slashdot. Share your work with your competitors, providing all rights to do as they see fit. And so forth.
One approach would to politely inform sysadmins that their users may be running servers (against various ISP's TOS), and running Napster in particular (which can be a bandwidth hog, leading to its outright ban at various institutions). The ISP may find that its own policy requires an internal investigation and booting of users, even ignoring copyright infringement issues (again, usually against TOS).
Which is perfectly fine from a content provider's POV. After all, if standard searches mostly turn up just bozos renaming their files incorrectly in order to assist others in misconduct (arguably obstruction...)
...then not too many folks will be able to use the Napster/Gnutella search engines for getting the music they're searching for. Bottom line: the service becomes useless, and content providers are happy if many folks simply make searches pointless.
Stability is an issue when you've got a build that takes *4 HOURS* of continuous swapping, on a P233 w/ 64MB (this was a couple o' years ago. Happily, I've not needed to run 'nmake.exe' since then...).
And compared to hacking up an MFC application (hrm, ever extend an MFC widget? Not pleasant -- often the methods you want to override, aren't meant to be) with overkill, or using Xforms and getting it done *cleanly* and quickly...
I'm quite fond of a library called 'xforms' -- it's got a graphical layout tool, which means that you can put together a decent GUI utility in an afternoon. (GUI design NOT being something that I want to spend time on...). Lay out the widgets, let it generate stub code for callbacks (ANSI C), and then add your own. Quick and easy.
It depends on X, however. If you're looking for something more portable, TK and Java's AWT are probably the main ways to go.
mpegs? Try freshmeat.net; ISTR that there's an entry for smpeg, and one for mtv. The former is SDL based, and therefore has... issues, if you've got an Aureal Vortex-based card.
Not everybody gets upgrades as part of a package deal -- for instance, there are a LOT of Win9X and WinNT machines out there belonging to people who haven't been shipped Win2K CDs, and probably won't be shipped WinME CDs either.
So use a hardware-based solution, installed in a few laptops with transmitters that alert security if they leave the building, so that sec staff can check it out. And make sure these platforms don't have non-encrypted writeable removable media.
It's a lot harder to hide an entire laptop than, say, a laptop drive.
The EEOC will help folks who CANNOT CHANGE the attributes in question, like race, age, sex and so forth. But felons can hardly disclaim responsibility for their behavior.
Naah. Statistically, you're a lot greater of a risk, considering that MANY folks who commit a felony don't commit just one.
And it's very relevant in numerous cases -- like having an ex-forger with multiple convictions work at a bank or government office is simply STUPID. Period. Complete lack of due dilligence and all that.
Copyright provides the FRAMEWORK for a license; it's what allows a copyright holder to limit the privileges of others to use the covered material, up to a point (fair use and all that being a baseline). Without copyright, pretty much everybody uses the newest BSD license, boiling down to anybody can do anything (modify, redistribute, etc) to any creative work with no obligations.
I'd suspect that there's even less incentive for an end user to voluntarily pay for music than for registering random shareware toys.
After all, if you register shareware or pay for freeware, you're normally paying for something different: a printed, bound manual, possibly support, and possibly a convenient upgrade path (subscription to, say, update media).
But what do you get for paying voluntarily for music, besides gratitude? Find another model -- perhaps extra material is offered, perhaps a higher-quality recording, or SOMETHING else.
They're not obligated to nail everybody. All they need to do is nail enough in order to create an atmosphere of fear and make it more difficult to find illegally shared recordings.
Not even police have anything resembling an obligation to prevent crime. The RIAA certainly has no obligation to attain perfection.
Napster is a business -- and one with quite a few million US$ in funding. It's also got readily identifiable management, which is handy when you're looking for somebody to sue.
Re:Pull the songs from Napster?
on
Napster Wars
·
· Score: 1
If memory serves, they get money from their venture capitalists, who presumably see potential for profit. Either they plan a fee-for-service model, or they go with advertising, or perhaps merchandising... but they're a business.
Re:The feline has departed the paper containment /
on
Napster Wars
·
· Score: 1
Posters on Usenet and IRC can be traced to a degree; and, frankly, it wouldn't surprise me if law enforcement agents and corporate employees were regulars on both. Usenet also used to be a great way to lure people for the now-defunct Moron Muster as well (a list of "me too" / "add me to the list" / "c4n ne1 3m41l m3 5t4rCr4ft plz?" folks, mostly).
Freenet may be more applicable to those who are averse to lawsuits.
But nuclear weapons don't protect you from nuclear weapons; they can only assure MAD, and that only if you know your attacker. And knowing how to build, deliver and maintain nuclear weapons tells you practically nothing about stopping, say, an SLBM aside from what will or won't hurt a missile.
In the case, say, of an SLBM launch that may not be readily feasible in the time before impact.
In the case of accidental launch (possible, given that systems have been breaking down to the point where incoming ICBMs have been reported (falsely) by alarm systems), you generally don't WANT to retalliate, as if it's a single launch it's a bit petulant to destroy all life on Earth.
And so forth. MAD works only versus known enemies, like nations, that don't launch anonymously.
Slashdot Mirror
Not too many Congressmen want to go home to their districts labelled as "against national security"...
Asking them to prove that they did NOT violate privacy of Americans in contravention of their Charter is also obviously impossible, since they would have to "prove" that they did not dispose of evidence, and so forth. So it's an utterly bogus request.
Soliciting whistleblowing employees past and present is more logical if one believes that the Agency violates its charter.
Yes, they're executive branch. There've been hearings before on matters potentially embarrassing to the NSA, although IIRC their budget is still pretty much hidden from most of Congress (excepting, perhaps, intelligence committee members).
Note, 'tho, that the NSA's charter is pretty darn specific. In most circumstances, they are NOT allowed to deliberately eavesdrop on an American citizen, or to arrange for any other nation to do so -- and their own FAQ reiterates this. Exceptions, if memory serves, include conversations with foreign nationals.
Consequently, they stand to get nailed if anybody proves that they directly or indirectly (via UKUSA) arrange for blanket SIGINT collection on domestic conversations...
Aye to the stability. Even major software releases -- particularly in the gaming industry -- suffer on PCs due to the vast array of hardware. For instance, many DVD and CD-RW drives cannot use certain forms of copy-protected CDs. Many video and sound cards can introduce game-crashing incompatibilities. Other software already existing on the system can cause library conflicts. And so forth.
On a controlled system like a standard console, these problems can easily be caught -- there's ONE basic configuration to work with, and perhaps a few peripherals or minor upgrades.
*shrug*
Maybe their algorithm involves tables or has some other reliance on a fixed key length. Or, perhaps there's a known algorithmic weakness where adding the additional bits does not strengthen it that much...
I got the impression that the system was meant for things like portable music players, which don't usually have full-fledged removable sound cards. So if it has a built-in speaker and no audio output ports, or it's built *into* speakers with no audio output ports...
Given the emphasis on space efficiency (1500 bytes memory req'd) the target is most likely NOT desktop computers.
Control is lost.
Suppose you lived in a dictatorial state, where normally you were left alone but the local authorities reserved the right to pop into your house and take anything they choose. Oh, and if you resist or complain, you'll be summarily executed.
Even if they don't *ever* USE that right, you've lost something -- control. It may be intangible, which perhaps makes it a difficult concept for some people to grasp, but it matters.
Once an author's work is out being used by others in ways beyond his consent, he's lost control. Others may choose to redistribute freely, perhaps ruining him; others may choose to make their own derivative works, confusing everybody else; others may abuse it in any way to their hearts' content. That's all possible unless intellectual property is respected.
Or, perhaps, you'd like to share your identity, including likeness and supporting documents, with the rest of Slashdot. Share your work with your competitors, providing all rights to do as they see fit. And so forth.
Genetic engineering, overpopulation, 'mucking', pervasive advertising, computer modelling, reality shows...
Yup. Second that recommendation.
Read the article. Our esteemed /. poster didn't exactly get the details of it, or even look at the screenshot, apparently.
One approach would to politely inform sysadmins that their users may be running servers (against various ISP's TOS), and running Napster in particular (which can be a bandwidth hog, leading to its outright ban at various institutions). The ISP may find that its own policy requires an internal investigation and booting of users, even ignoring copyright infringement issues (again, usually against TOS).
Which is perfectly fine from a content provider's POV. After all, if standard searches mostly turn up just bozos renaming their files incorrectly in order to assist others in misconduct (arguably obstruction...)
...then not too many folks will be able to use the Napster/Gnutella search engines for getting the music they're searching for. Bottom line: the service becomes useless, and content providers are happy if many folks simply make searches pointless.
Stability is an issue when you've got a build that takes *4 HOURS* of continuous swapping, on a P233 w/ 64MB (this was a couple o' years ago. Happily, I've not needed to run 'nmake.exe' since then...).
And compared to hacking up an MFC application (hrm, ever extend an MFC widget? Not pleasant -- often the methods you want to override, aren't meant to be) with overkill, or using Xforms and getting it done *cleanly* and quickly...
I'm quite fond of a library called 'xforms' -- it's got a graphical layout tool, which means that you can put together a decent GUI utility in an afternoon. (GUI design NOT being something that I want to spend time on...). Lay out the widgets, let it generate stub code for callbacks (ANSI C), and then add your own. Quick and easy.
It depends on X, however. If you're looking for something more portable, TK and Java's AWT are probably the main ways to go.
mpegs? Try freshmeat.net; ISTR that there's an entry for smpeg, and one for mtv. The former is SDL based, and therefore has... issues, if you've got an Aureal Vortex-based card.
Use a micropipette (sp?)?
Not everybody gets upgrades as part of a package deal -- for instance, there are a LOT of Win9X and WinNT machines out there belonging to people who haven't been shipped Win2K CDs, and probably won't be shipped WinME CDs either.
So use a hardware-based solution, installed in a few laptops with transmitters that alert security if they leave the building, so that sec staff can check it out. And make sure these platforms don't have non-encrypted writeable removable media.
It's a lot harder to hide an entire laptop than, say, a laptop drive.
They had their opportunity -- and blew it.
The EEOC will help folks who CANNOT CHANGE the attributes in question, like race, age, sex and so forth. But felons can hardly disclaim responsibility for their behavior.
Naah. Statistically, you're a lot greater of a risk, considering that MANY folks who commit a felony don't commit just one.
And it's very relevant in numerous cases -- like having an ex-forger with multiple convictions work at a bank or government office is simply STUPID. Period. Complete lack of due dilligence and all that.
Copyright != license. Well, not precisely.
Copyright provides the FRAMEWORK for a license; it's what allows a copyright holder to limit the privileges of others to use the covered material, up to a point (fair use and all that being a baseline). Without copyright, pretty much everybody uses the newest BSD license, boiling down to anybody can do anything (modify, redistribute, etc) to any creative work with no obligations.
I'd suspect that there's even less incentive for an end user to voluntarily pay for music than for registering random shareware toys.
After all, if you register shareware or pay for freeware, you're normally paying for something different: a printed, bound manual, possibly support, and possibly a convenient upgrade path (subscription to, say, update media).
But what do you get for paying voluntarily for music, besides gratitude? Find another model -- perhaps extra material is offered, perhaps a higher-quality recording, or SOMETHING else.
Fact:
They're not obligated to nail everybody. All they need to do is nail enough in order to create an atmosphere of fear and make it more difficult to find illegally shared recordings.
Not even police have anything resembling an obligation to prevent crime. The RIAA certainly has no obligation to attain perfection.
Napster is a business -- and one with quite a few million US$ in funding. It's also got readily identifiable management, which is handy when you're looking for somebody to sue.
If memory serves, they get money from their venture capitalists, who presumably see potential for profit. Either they plan a fee-for-service model, or they go with advertising, or perhaps merchandising... but they're a business.
Posters on Usenet and IRC can be traced to a degree; and, frankly, it wouldn't surprise me if law enforcement agents and corporate employees were regulars on both. Usenet also used to be a great way to lure people for the now-defunct Moron Muster as well (a list of "me too" / "add me to the list" / "c4n ne1 3m41l m3 5t4rCr4ft plz?" folks, mostly).
Freenet may be more applicable to those who are averse to lawsuits.
But nuclear weapons don't protect you from nuclear weapons; they can only assure MAD, and that only if you know your attacker. And knowing how to build, deliver and maintain nuclear weapons tells you practically nothing about stopping, say, an SLBM aside from what will or won't hurt a missile.
In the case, say, of an SLBM launch that may not be readily feasible in the time before impact.
In the case of accidental launch (possible, given that systems have been breaking down to the point where incoming ICBMs have been reported (falsely) by alarm systems), you generally don't WANT to retalliate, as if it's a single launch it's a bit petulant to destroy all life on Earth.
And so forth. MAD works only versus known enemies, like nations, that don't launch anonymously.