You may not have meant it as flamebait, but it comes off that way... I don't think there's a strong argument for any correlation between these particular lawsuits and Bush's re-election.
That said, I think there is a strong point to be made about companies being hesitant or cautious around election times.
I paid $35 for 512MB of DDR. It doesn't have a brand on it. There's no manufacturer that I can identify, and my attempts to track it down my "model number" have failed.
I bought it through a cheapo retailer - which is the only place that will honor the warranty.
Now you're listing memory manufacturers like Kingston and Viking. That's what I mean - buy the cheapest good RAM - not the cheapest RAM period.
After building my own machine several years ago, I dealt with varying problems that seemed to get worse and worse until I got so frustrated I almost sold it off as parts. After discovering it was my cheap RAM, I got replacements and the machine has worked beautifully ever since.
One of the two sticks they sent back was great (the one I used). The other failed a memtest-86 test (also the first thing I did when I got them).
That is a fairly common practice. It's difficult to guarantee 100%, so you accept a certain threshhold of failing parts or units. They do it in cars, electronics, etc. You save money by manufacturing an engine in Mexico, but you accept that there will be a higher rate of failure. If you do the math and it's still cheaper, you go with it.
Outside of the manufacturing world, we all accept failure as a reasonable part of our lives. It's usually not a calculated, profit/pleasure-maximizing decision, but it's certainly part of life. You learn from mistakes, you grow from them, and you're better for it. If we're lucky, Toshiba will learn from its mistakes and we won't have these problems in the future. From what I've seen, they've got some great notebooks at some decent prices. If it weren't for stories like this (oh, and my lack of disposable income) I'd probably buy one.
It's the distant, and not-so-shiny cousin of 'bling.' Blaim was discovered by a scientist that accidentally blew up his lab by mixing certain combustible chemicals. As the smoke cleared, the lab supervisor came running to find out what happened. Luckily, nobody was hurt. When he asked the scientist how the explosion happened, he was told that one of the janitors must have knocked over a beaker...or something...
And blaim, or 'blame' as we call it in English, was born.
Yes, and it's found using Pricewatch, Google, and other product search engines. Not all cheap RAM is bad, but you're a lot more likely to get something crappy if you go with the lowest bidder. Those prices are low for a lot of reasons, including support, warranty, and quality. I've bought my share of low-priced memory through Pricewatch, and I've also had to return several of them. Never buy memory that doesn't have a lifetime warranty.
I'm sure Toshiba and Dell didn't buy their memory through Pricewatch (that'd be a hell of an order) but they probably sacrifice in the same way to get their internal costs down. Note that you'll pay a nice premium for ordering memory upgrades through the notebook manufacturer.
Slashdot Version Please note this is a heavily cut down version due to heavy load from Slashdot traffic. We have also added extra adverts to cover bandwidth charges. To visit the standard site click HERE.
Ok.. so you took away some of the content and added more advertisements? That's a great way to STILL GET SLASHDOTTED.
"The idea being to let the vendors know that there is a large concerned user base that is going to decide how they will spend their money based on the vendor's willingness to work with open source software."
Not only for themselves, but in how they make recommendations for their companies... TI (and other vendors) may not care about that one extra unit sold, but they'll certainly be looking at the corporations that might purchase thousands of units.
I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you're not a troll.
His post included "sins of the past" and "sins of today" - see the parts about the post 9/11 internment, sexual discrimination, homophobic persecution, etc.
As for your challenge, I'm not sure why anyone would take that seriously. It's a misdirection. Instead of honestly and directly confronting the issues he brought up, you're changing the subject and trying to get him to answer a loaded question. If you're willing to ignore real social issues of the past and of today, I can only expect you to ignore them in the future. That is, until you're the victim of one of these issues.
Linux is often quoted as having a larger marketshare than Mac OS.
Regardless, you can certainly look at the users for the source of these numbers. I think it's harder for a Windows XP desktop user to "get hacked" than a Linux user. Why? Because Linux operating systems, with all their power and flexibility, can be compromised because it's easy to make a mistake. I'm sure you know users that run as root and do all kinds of ridiculous things. Does that mean Linux is insecure? No.
Likewise, I'd point at Windows desktop users and ask - "do you know if you've ever been hacked?" Everyone wants to say no, but most people have no idea how to tell. Or what counts as a hack. So how will you measure the number of attacks? If you ask a Linux user, I think you're immediately more likely to get an educated response because the users are generally more attuned to their computers and how they work.
It's hard to take a report like this very seriously because it has to overcome some fundamental issues.
I'm sure he doesn't give the farm away, but like most people he isn't averse to sharing something. People tend to enjoy talking about themselves. And when there are book royalties involved, the flood gates open.
As for learning from your mistakes, sometimes it's a mistake - and sometimes it's simply impossible. You leave a trace behind you on the internet, on your network, and on your computer. It's hilarious to me how many low-tech criminals get caught for crimes they thought were untraceable. A deer in headlights (or whatever your favorite cliche is).
Not that you're criticizing them, but I found it funny when a friend of mine was complaining that Google collects a ton of data... my response was one of confusion: How does a search engine company without collecting information?
I did see an XSS proof-of-concept exploit (maybe yours) where the hacker imitated a Google page asking the user to pay for Google use. It was quite convincing.
In that case, the exploit had been known for a long time. In the interest of protecting the not-so-savvy (read: gullible) users, publicity may get the attention needed for them to do their jobs. Giving them a reasonable chance to respond with their fix. Two years is way more than reasonable.
To play devil's advocate, I'd say that it's not your responsibility to make sure their site is secure. If they want to leave it there, they can - and publicizing it is simply going to hurt those users that you'd seek to protect. It'll end up hurting Google in the end anyway.
Personally, I prefer to do a "good deed" and help make the web a little safer for people like my wife's grandparents.
Yes - Google should have the opportunity to fix this appropriately, not racing against the slew of hackers, crackers, and script kiddies that want to exploit it.
No - People should aware of security risks in the software, hardware, etc. that they use and upon which they rely.
Personally, I prefer to inform the company of vulnerabilities and offer to help fix them. It's helped me land clients and discredit competitors.
I drink my coffee, tea, and hot chocolate at temperatures that my friends and co-workers consider ridiculously hot. It's near boiling (McD's was 185F, so I'm thinking my stuff is probably close to that).
As the parent poster notes, coffee doesn't stay that temperature for long. By the time I get to work - say 20 minutes later - it's starting to cool down to the point where I won't drink it.
Hot coffee is hot. If you spill it, you'll get burns. You spilled it, not McDonald's.
Slashdot Mirror
Or "Red Corner" I guess.
Damn preview button. So close to Submit, but never gets clicked.
"store the .torrents on servers in china."
Then I won't be able to download Richard Gere's masterpiece, "Red Square."
Man, you couldn't be more right on. I've gotten far more enjoyment out of Jedi Knight 2 than either of the two new movies.
You may not have meant it as flamebait, but it comes off that way... I don't think there's a strong argument for any correlation between these particular lawsuits and Bush's re-election.
That said, I think there is a strong point to be made about companies being hesitant or cautious around election times.
I paid $35 for 512MB of DDR. It doesn't have a brand on it. There's no manufacturer that I can identify, and my attempts to track it down my "model number" have failed.
I bought it through a cheapo retailer - which is the only place that will honor the warranty.
Now you're listing memory manufacturers like Kingston and Viking. That's what I mean - buy the cheapest good RAM - not the cheapest RAM period.
Excellent. One day, when I'm good and drunk, I'll tell that story and it will be hilarious. At least, to me..because I'll be drunk...
After building my own machine several years ago, I dealt with varying problems that seemed to get worse and worse until I got so frustrated I almost sold it off as parts. After discovering it was my cheap RAM, I got replacements and the machine has worked beautifully ever since.
One of the two sticks they sent back was great (the one I used). The other failed a memtest-86 test (also the first thing I did when I got them).
That is a fairly common practice. It's difficult to guarantee 100%, so you accept a certain threshhold of failing parts or units. They do it in cars, electronics, etc. You save money by manufacturing an engine in Mexico, but you accept that there will be a higher rate of failure. If you do the math and it's still cheaper, you go with it.
Outside of the manufacturing world, we all accept failure as a reasonable part of our lives. It's usually not a calculated, profit/pleasure-maximizing decision, but it's certainly part of life. You learn from mistakes, you grow from them, and you're better for it. If we're lucky, Toshiba will learn from its mistakes and we won't have these problems in the future. From what I've seen, they've got some great notebooks at some decent prices. If it weren't for stories like this (oh, and my lack of disposable income) I'd probably buy one.
It's the distant, and not-so-shiny cousin of 'bling.' Blaim was discovered by a scientist that accidentally blew up his lab by mixing certain combustible chemicals. As the smoke cleared, the lab supervisor came running to find out what happened. Luckily, nobody was hurt. When he asked the scientist how the explosion happened, he was told that one of the janitors must have knocked over a beaker...or something...
And blaim, or 'blame' as we call it in English, was born.
Yes, and it's found using Pricewatch, Google, and other product search engines. Not all cheap RAM is bad, but you're a lot more likely to get something crappy if you go with the lowest bidder. Those prices are low for a lot of reasons, including support, warranty, and quality. I've bought my share of low-priced memory through Pricewatch, and I've also had to return several of them. Never buy memory that doesn't have a lifetime warranty.
I'm sure Toshiba and Dell didn't buy their memory through Pricewatch (that'd be a hell of an order) but they probably sacrifice in the same way to get their internal costs down. Note that you'll pay a nice premium for ordering memory upgrades through the notebook manufacturer.
Slashdot Version
Please note this is a heavily cut down version due to heavy load from Slashdot traffic. We have also added extra adverts to cover bandwidth charges. To visit the standard site click HERE.
Ok.. so you took away some of the content and added more advertisements? That's a great way to STILL GET SLASHDOTTED.
If your site's dead, you don't get ad revenue.
"The idea being to let the vendors know that there is a large concerned user base that is going to decide how they will spend their money based on the vendor's willingness to work with open source software."
Not only for themselves, but in how they make recommendations for their companies... TI (and other vendors) may not care about that one extra unit sold, but they'll certainly be looking at the corporations that might purchase thousands of units.
I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you're not a troll.
His post included "sins of the past" and "sins of today" - see the parts about the post 9/11 internment, sexual discrimination, homophobic persecution, etc.
As for your challenge, I'm not sure why anyone would take that seriously. It's a misdirection. Instead of honestly and directly confronting the issues he brought up, you're changing the subject and trying to get him to answer a loaded question. If you're willing to ignore real social issues of the past and of today, I can only expect you to ignore them in the future. That is, until you're the victim of one of these issues.
My floppy is...uhh...stuck.
Linux is often quoted as having a larger marketshare than Mac OS.
Regardless, you can certainly look at the users for the source of these numbers. I think it's harder for a Windows XP desktop user to "get hacked" than a Linux user. Why? Because Linux operating systems, with all their power and flexibility, can be compromised because it's easy to make a mistake. I'm sure you know users that run as root and do all kinds of ridiculous things. Does that mean Linux is insecure? No.
Likewise, I'd point at Windows desktop users and ask - "do you know if you've ever been hacked?" Everyone wants to say no, but most people have no idea how to tell. Or what counts as a hack. So how will you measure the number of attacks? If you ask a Linux user, I think you're immediately more likely to get an educated response because the users are generally more attuned to their computers and how they work.
It's hard to take a report like this very seriously because it has to overcome some fundamental issues.
Now if they could only find ten million "souvenir" hunters...
I'm sure he doesn't give the farm away, but like most people he isn't averse to sharing something. People tend to enjoy talking about themselves. And when there are book royalties involved, the flood gates open.
As for learning from your mistakes, sometimes it's a mistake - and sometimes it's simply impossible. You leave a trace behind you on the internet, on your network, and on your computer. It's hilarious to me how many low-tech criminals get caught for crimes they thought were untraceable. A deer in headlights (or whatever your favorite cliche is).
Not that you're criticizing them, but I found it funny when a friend of mine was complaining that Google collects a ton of data... my response was one of confusion: How does a search engine company without collecting information?
I did see an XSS proof-of-concept exploit (maybe yours) where the hacker imitated a Google page asking the user to pay for Google use. It was quite convincing.
In that case, the exploit had been known for a long time. In the interest of protecting the not-so-savvy (read: gullible) users, publicity may get the attention needed for them to do their jobs. Giving them a reasonable chance to respond with their fix. Two years is way more than reasonable.
To play devil's advocate, I'd say that it's not your responsibility to make sure their site is secure. If they want to leave it there, they can - and publicizing it is simply going to hurt those users that you'd seek to protect. It'll end up hurting Google in the end anyway.
Personally, I prefer to do a "good deed" and help make the web a little safer for people like my wife's grandparents.
Yes and no.
Yes - Google should have the opportunity to fix this appropriately, not racing against the slew of hackers, crackers, and script kiddies that want to exploit it.
No - People should aware of security risks in the software, hardware, etc. that they use and upon which they rely.
Personally, I prefer to inform the company of vulnerabilities and offer to help fix them. It's helped me land clients and discredit competitors.
It's in the mail. Expect delivery in 4-6 business years.
I drink my coffee, tea, and hot chocolate at temperatures that my friends and co-workers consider ridiculously hot. It's near boiling (McD's was 185F, so I'm thinking my stuff is probably close to that).
As the parent poster notes, coffee doesn't stay that temperature for long. By the time I get to work - say 20 minutes later - it's starting to cool down to the point where I won't drink it.
Hot coffee is hot. If you spill it, you'll get burns. You spilled it, not McDonald's.
Secret? I dunno.
Slashdot covered a similar device in '99...happens to be from U of W.
here
$40,000/year would be a nice raise for me. Then again, my bosses are assholes.