...in the European country of your choice, too. The main driving force behind these kind of proposals are mainly the center and right of the political spectrum. Just as Bolkenstein (former comissioner and right wing liberal(dutch 'VVD')) introduced the dreaded software patents, so will other right winged.
The amount of energy put into the actions to counteract the european legislators (just like the action against software patents) is huge, but in the end things usually pay off only half, or not at all. By using your right to choose and elect, and choosing based upon the decisions made by those politicians (pro- or con- the issues you are for/against) you can deal with this thing preemptively. In the meantime, try to live with the harsh reality but never forget who put this in your lap.
... the more quickly-lethal a virus is, the less likely it is to spread far out. Ofcourse, the reverse also holds ground. Right now, the most lethal *virus* would still be HIV IMHO (IANAM):
- long incubation time
- terrible outcome without treatment
And even with treatment, the toll on healthcare is quite big. The only thing making it less dangerous is that it is spread through very distinct ways, and not by air, I guess.
Well, err... Wasn't the guy locked in his underground shelter, because noone knew he was in there ? Eventually they did try to get him back, but he was too scared to come out.
In the end they simply locked the whole place up in a giant dome. Impressed me somewhat - proves one thing: even the best disaster planning doesn't take into account that the disaster is not that which you planned for:)
...if PayPal ever decides to get it into it's (now quickly becoming "ugly") head to fine me for anything LEGAL I purchase on the internet:
0. Write a letter to PayPal, giving them 24 hours to cease and decist and return my money.
1. After 24 hours, call my Credit Card organization and explain them that I have been unlawfully robbed of my money (I live outside the US - should be of assistance here). Ask them to start a recall procedure.
2. If any problems arise with the recall, start heading to court and request my money from whatever legal organization PayPal has in my country.
So would this work? IANAL, but I do know that legal purchases are not to be fined in any way. Illegal purchases should be handed over to the appropriate authorities to let them deal with it. But that is not what I was talking about.
Not a mathematician here, but just a fellow dutchman who likes to add that even though the student in question isn't studying at a university, that doesn't simply mean he couldn't have come up with a nice idea. Besides, at the "Hogeschool" there is teaching of mathematics, just not in the same way as at an university: It is much more "practical" - ie. without going through all the 'proving-stuff' - and the level is generally lower than at a university. But the technical studies still provide an adequate level of mathematics, as necessary for any serious engineering work.
I wonder what it was thinking... Not something in the sorts of:
And wow! Hey! What's this thing coming towards me very fast? Very very fast. So big and flat and round, it needs a big wide sounding word like... ow... ound... round... ground! That's it! That's a good name - ground!
I wonder if it will be friends with me?
A hidden buffer somewhere in the interface could seriously screw things - while the person making the interface could think "hey we live in the 0's, let's make a buffer to speed things up". And I am not talking about grabbing this interface to do stuff from the beginning. I am talking about a system that is in operation for like 10 years, then you suddenly have to add other stuff and need to debug the serial -lines. Suddenly finding out your data doesn't arrive bit-by-bit but in strokes of 256-bits could seriously mess things up. And you don't want to reimplement that thing, no matter how lousy your original implementation of the software was. You made the interface work, and you don't want to change it again. That was my point, and is my point still. QED
I didn't say you couldn't use serial anymore - but who knows what quirks the USB-to-serial interface introduces in my applications ? One has to trust on the implementation of the USB-to-serial - a black-box in a way. In practice, this would mean you have to start testing the interface from the ground-up...
A lot of vendors started discarding serial ports on laptops as well. This proves difficult if you need to debug a lot of, say, RS-485 stuff using your laptop (on-site), and can't use an USB-to-Serial converter to make sure you are not introducing any interface-quirks with that. The next port is probably the ieee-1284 (parallel) - everyone has a USB-printer nowadays anyway.
In someway this is OK, but there will and should always remain a small segment of the market devoted to (a correct implementation of!) these "obsolete" technologies to make sure applications relying on them can still be debugged in the future...
From the article: "It's amazing how these virus writers get such small code," Ullrich says. "They should be working for some of the commercial code vendors."
Why not: s/should/could And for the conspiracy-minded: s/working for/commanded by
Really twisted addon to the latter: s/code vendors/anti-virus vendors
...a few years ago, I was visiting a local videostore, suddenly feeling the need to see Peter Sellers again in his wonderful appearance of the mad german scientist. I asked the clerk if he could provide me with the movie "Dr.Strangelove".
Immediately, the man points to the back of the store : the x-rated section...
I guess most people seeing the vote were disgusted when they saw this name in the contest:)
So let's see my alternative: we could track people much easier using RF-wave detection.
In Europe, many people carry GSM's. You could analyze the number of different RF-waves going around, and based upon the sensed channels and TDMA(GSM)-timeslots (max 8 in 1 GSM channel of 200khz) calculate what the 'cell-density' would be. If it's high, it means many people are calling, having their phones on standby, GPRS'ing or UMTS'ing. The potential is huge. Based on specific data on the sort of transmission, you could theoretically even sense which type of transmission they are using, and base your screen-based advertisments on that. This way, you can grasp the potential customer even more and increase your net income. The potential is huge. Imagine people that like to UMTS a lot - you could flash 'Go to http://www..com' in front of their eyes! Heck if - mind that I am not encouraging anything here - we could decode GSM-data we could even listen in and analyze their behaviour upon their conversations. Or grasp their phonenumbers/email-adresses/visited websites in detail. Imagine interactive spamming - the potential is huge.
This was another episode of "preaching to the converted".
Somehow I fail to see the point of this recall. In normal 24 hour test, a huge percentage of defects is already found. Seeing that these laptops have been sold around 2000, 4 years ago, I simply do not understand why anyone having trouble with that particular AC-adapter hasn't already experienced it. Probably that person either used his guarantee, or he - unluckily - met with the problem 1 or 2 years after the ending of his guarantee. In any case, people are in the majority of cases either out of luck (they didn't have any guarantee, and let the machine be repaired themselves or trashed/sold it) or it simply ain't necessary anymore.
So what's the function of this recall if noone is going to use it ? Prevent liability ?
The story on the 'near miss' astroid had something along the same line: they shared information so soon, they didn't even knew squat about the information themselves. In the end it proved to be nothing.
But what if this isn't ?
Common problem: you foresee something based on the knowledge of today. You have to take into equation the various attempts to increase the size of harddrives - ie. techniques to improve the density. Maybe even new ways to store data (remember the scotts-tape that was usable for data storage, holographically ?).
it must be researched, developed, tested, and proven. Proven technology like MP3 could never have evolved if Fraunhofer wasn't so wise to invent and release the technology. From thereon, it went it's own way (more or less) and evolved into what MP3 is now : mainstream and accepted.
Before all those people leap into the "why does this work and why this not" they should start at the bottom: research and development. With those two magic words, we are likely to see a whole lot of hypes more. Without it, we can just wait on the next company that goes bankrupt because noone would buy it's proven, but old, products...
4) Allow people to copy whatever they want and think of ways to make people not wanting to copy stuff (cheap prices for music/movies, good backup possibilities, cheap online selling of music/movies, etc.)
Slashdot Mirror
...in the European country of your choice, too.
The main driving force behind these kind of proposals are mainly the center and right of the political spectrum. Just as Bolkenstein (former comissioner and right wing liberal(dutch 'VVD')) introduced the dreaded software patents, so will other right winged.
The amount of energy put into the actions to counteract the european legislators (just like the action against software patents) is huge, but in the end things usually pay off only half, or not at all.
By using your right to choose and elect, and choosing based upon the decisions made by those politicians (pro- or con- the issues you are for/against) you can deal with this thing preemptively.
In the meantime, try to live with the harsh reality but never forget who put this in your lap.
... the more quickly-lethal a virus is, the less likely it is to spread far out.
Ofcourse, the reverse also holds ground.
Right now, the most lethal *virus* would still be HIV IMHO (IANAM):
- long incubation time
- terrible outcome without treatment
And even with treatment, the toll on healthcare is quite big.
The only thing making it less dangerous is that it is spread through very distinct ways, and not by air, I guess.
... the vhole idea ov a shelter, eh, is to be there before it happens, eh!, isn't that the pflan, eh!?
Well, err... Wasn't the guy locked in his underground shelter, because noone knew he was in there ?
:)
Eventually they did try to get him back, but he was too scared to come out.
In the end they simply locked the whole place up in a giant dome.
Impressed me somewhat - proves one thing: even the best disaster planning doesn't take into account that the disaster is not that which you planned for
...if PayPal ever decides to get it into it's (now quickly becoming "ugly") head to fine me for anything LEGAL I purchase on the internet:
0. Write a letter to PayPal, giving them 24 hours to cease and decist and return my money.
1. After 24 hours, call my Credit Card organization and explain them that I have been unlawfully robbed of my money (I live outside the US - should be of assistance here). Ask them to start a recall procedure.
2. If any problems arise with the recall, start heading to court and request my money from whatever legal organization PayPal has in my country.
So would this work? IANAL, but I do know that legal purchases are not to be fined in any way. Illegal purchases should be handed over to the appropriate authorities to let them deal with it. But that is not what I was talking about.
Not a mathematician here, but just a fellow dutchman who likes to add that even though the student in question isn't studying at a university, that doesn't simply mean he couldn't have come up with a nice idea.
Besides, at the "Hogeschool" there is teaching of mathematics, just not in the same way as at an university: It is much more "practical" - ie. without going through all the 'proving-stuff' - and the level is generally lower than at a university. But the technical studies still provide an adequate level of mathematics, as necessary for any serious engineering work.
I guess we can see a lot more in detail when we analyze the original footage of say the Genesis-drop of yesterday using ALE.
I wonder what it was thinking... Not something in the sorts of:
And wow! Hey! What's this thing coming towards me very fast? Very very fast. So big and flat and round, it needs a big wide sounding word like... ow... ound... round... ground! That's it! That's a good name - ground! I wonder if it will be friends with me?
"We're going to have a lot of work picking up the pieces."
Look at the bright side: at least you have work.
Well, I guess when I have time, I could start cranking Burn to the Brim again to include that. But sigh, my time is short these days ;/
A hidden buffer somewhere in the interface could seriously screw things - while the person making the interface could think "hey we live in the 0's, let's make a buffer to speed things up". And I am not talking about grabbing this interface to do stuff from the beginning. I am talking about a system that is in operation for like 10 years, then you suddenly have to add other stuff and need to debug the serial -lines. Suddenly finding out your data doesn't arrive bit-by-bit but in strokes of 256-bits could seriously mess things up. And you don't want to reimplement that thing, no matter how lousy your original implementation of the software was. You made the interface work, and you don't want to change it again. That was my point, and is my point still. QED
I didn't say you couldn't use serial anymore - but who knows what quirks the USB-to-serial interface introduces in my applications ?
One has to trust on the implementation of the USB-to-serial - a black-box in a way. In practice, this would mean you have to start testing the interface from the ground-up...
Reed Solomon is the key here: use PAR2-files to protect your investment.
A lot of vendors started discarding serial ports on laptops as well. This proves difficult if you need to debug a lot of, say, RS-485 stuff using your laptop (on-site), and can't use an USB-to-Serial converter to make sure you are not introducing any interface-quirks with that. The next port is probably the ieee-1284 (parallel) - everyone has a USB-printer nowadays anyway.
In someway this is OK, but there will and should always remain a small segment of the market devoted to (a correct implementation of!) these "obsolete" technologies to make sure applications relying on them can still be debugged in the future...
From the article:
"It's amazing how these virus writers get such small code," Ullrich says. "They should be working for some of the commercial code vendors."
Why not: s/should/could
And for the conspiracy-minded: s/working for/commanded by
Really twisted addon to the latter: s/code vendors/anti-virus vendors
Another episode in "preaching to the converted".
...otherwise my PC has 10 times more storage than a supercomputer - wow :)
...a few years ago, I was visiting a local videostore, suddenly feeling the need to see Peter Sellers again in his wonderful appearance of the mad german scientist.
:)
I asked the clerk if he could provide me with the movie "Dr.Strangelove".
Immediately, the man points to the back of the store : the x-rated section...
I guess most people seeing the vote were disgusted when they saw this name in the contest
So let's see my alternative: we could track people much easier using RF-wave detection.
In Europe, many people carry GSM's. You could analyze the number of different RF-waves going around, and based upon the sensed channels and TDMA(GSM)-timeslots (max 8 in 1 GSM channel of 200khz) calculate what the 'cell-density' would be. If it's high, it means many people are calling, having their phones on standby, GPRS'ing or UMTS'ing. The potential is huge.
Based on specific data on the sort of transmission, you could theoretically even sense which type of transmission they are using, and base your screen-based advertisments on that. This way, you can grasp the potential customer even more and increase your net income. The potential is huge.
Imagine people that like to UMTS a lot - you could flash 'Go to http://www..com' in front of their eyes! Heck if - mind that I am not encouraging anything here - we could decode GSM-data we could even listen in and analyze their behaviour upon their conversations. Or grasp their phonenumbers/email-adresses/visited websites in detail. Imagine interactive spamming - the potential is huge.
This was another episode of "preaching to the converted".
Somehow I fail to see the point of this recall. In normal 24 hour test, a huge percentage of defects is already found. Seeing that these laptops have been sold around 2000, 4 years ago, I simply do not understand why anyone having trouble with that particular AC-adapter hasn't already experienced it.
Probably that person either used his guarantee, or he - unluckily - met with the problem 1 or 2 years after the ending of his guarantee. In any case, people are in the majority of cases either out of luck (they didn't have any guarantee, and let the machine be repaired themselves or trashed/sold it) or it simply ain't necessary anymore.
So what's the function of this recall if noone is going to use it ? Prevent liability ?
The story on the 'near miss' astroid had something along the same line: they shared information so soon, they didn't even knew squat about the information themselves.
In the end it proved to be nothing.
But what if this isn't ?
Could someone explain me this please ?
(three lone gunmen mode on)Or are they trying to cover something up?(three lone gunmen mode off)
Common problem: you foresee something based on the knowledge of today. You have to take into equation the various attempts to increase the size of harddrives - ie. techniques to improve the density. Maybe even new ways to store data (remember the scotts-tape that was usable for data storage, holographically ?).
it must be researched, developed, tested, and proven. Proven technology like MP3 could never have evolved if Fraunhofer wasn't so wise to invent and release the technology. From thereon, it went it's own way (more or less) and evolved into what MP3 is now : mainstream and accepted.
Before all those people leap into the "why does this work and why this not" they should start at the bottom: research and development. With those two magic words, we are likely to see a whole lot of hypes more. Without it, we can just wait on the next company that goes bankrupt because noone would buy it's proven, but old, products...
4) Allow people to copy whatever they want and think of ways to make people not wanting to copy stuff (cheap prices for music/movies, good backup possibilities, cheap online selling of music/movies, etc.)
This option is often forgotten alas.
I guess it's his own analogy which is wrong. I tried correcting it for him :)
You buy something with something in/on it. Not just an empty shell.