I did travel to US a some time ago when things where more relaxed, airport control was reasonable.
It would be very upsetting and damaging if US border seize my laptop for no reason whatsoever and keep it indefenitely. It is important to remember that the laptop is NOT a forbidden item or somewhat illegal, they keep it, just in case. If it is the info they are after then just clone the HD and give the machine back !
On the privacy issue, it is clear that technology is extending our brain in terms of "storage capacity", kind of like a diary but in a way that is beyond a book in terms of search, speed, capacity. To me laptop search is like rumaging into your own mind diary, looking for connections, events, stories. Fair point if you at least have some lead of illicit activity otherwise it becomes just fishing for something, you never know.
I know that facebook just said that "privacy is over", I just hope we will not have to put up a real fight sooner or later to get our privacy back from our big brother.
P.S. Regarding catching "terrorists" at border crossing, what about some working intelligence ? Really, how can you trust the government when some many screwup happens so often... why normal citizen cannot record what police do ?
It is Java again, just on different name because Microsoft has convinced anybody that Java is bad. - Anybody knows what sandboxing is ? - Defining privileges for applets or for downloaded applications ? (Java web start)
Anybody see the similarity between C# and Java (really CLR is a JVM, oh boy how much Microsoft has struggled to convince you that CLR is not a JVM)
So, just use Java, you cannot even say that it is slow, after Vista and Windows 7, anything is fast ! Firefox extensions could just be Java applets (yes, with checked hooks on browser events, obviously) You gain years of experience, a language that checks what you do at compile time and not at runtime, a sandbox...
This surely is big brother watching you. How do you know who is the "guard dog" watching ? Who is in power is surely willing to keep it and it will use all means available. Get ready to long shot videos or images of possibly "strange" situation being broadcastet to destroy a political opponent. (Hey, look, your candidate was walking on a notoriously gay road !!!! he was talking to a possible drug dealer !!!!) Of course any plausible reason for doing it will be seen as irrelevant.
Talking about the bad guy, he just needs a mask or a foggy day to have a coverup, not so difficult.
The end result seems negative in many ways to me, I would rather have more COPS on patrol than a flyng spy on the sky.
Yes, Java rules on server and can rule on client too Having built client side apps in Java that really are cross platform and works well I can say that astroturfing is king in this thread. Reality check ? You can do it by yourself ! - Java is either smaller or as big as.NET (have you looked at how Mb is a.NET install ?) - Java is really cross platform, it amazes me ho people can be both against cross platform and complaining that there are no cross platfrm applications, or even more amazing complaining that maintaining different paltforms is "costly" and there should be a cross platform system. - Java is fast for today standards (yes you may write assembler, but do you really want to ?) anyway c#/.net is the SAME thing as Java, with different name, so if you camplain that Java is slow then why is.net fine ???
I am positively sure that Microsoft is behind this, it must be, there is no logical explanation for all the negative astroturfing.
Hey, Microsoft is not stupid, they didn't happen to be multimilion dollar company by chanche entirely. Of course lots of pushing and threathening is done behind closed doors and no microphones ! assuming they do not do it is surely naive and close to stupidity.
What you are left with is "things happening" that if properly understood point to the right direction. Eg: How come that governments (especially US) do not mandate a document format that is not encumbered ? (sole property of Microsoft ?)
Ahhhhh... yes, now there is a clear reason for the OOXML:-; so Microsoft can pretend it is "open" even if it is not, clever.... How come that as soon as a new market opens up Microsoft jumps in with an offer that cannot be refused ? People where happy of Asus Linux Netbook, then, magically, lots of negative feedback (astroturfing ?) Asus goes back to Microsoft...
Look at Android now, as soon as the platform starts threatning Microsoft territory then negative reviews happens, chance ? no way.
Look at C# and Java, Microsoft tried to kill it and if you wonder why, Java does deliver the Write once paradigm (as long as you do not corner yourself into proprietary DLL) Microsoft cloned Java into C# just to blend a good idea back into its territory.
Do I have to go on ? How many dead bodies do you need before trying to do a real investigatin on the main suspect ?
The real solution is to make them pay you ! 1) Telcos must always show the calling number 2) There must be a do not call list and you are on it 3) If a telemarket calls, you you receive (by law) a sum of 1000(on thousand) dollars from telemarketer.
A pity that the telemarket problem will be solved before you get the money.
Your are of course right, the customer pays it all, as always.
This is why it is extremly important to have at least two players in the market, symbian is not competitor for iPhone, Google may be. (I own a nokia E90, nice hardware, can be better software, extremly expensive....)
On a related matter, just to give you an idea, in Italy, now, I pay 25euros/month to Wind to have 350minutes/month, billed by the second, no rx charge, no connection charge (any italian telephone) 100SMS each month 1Gb month internet browsing/email/whatever (I can tether my PC using the E90)
I have to add 12euros/month taxes (this money go to the gov.) and 20% VAT (Yes, I know, we are taxed to death)
But thanks to copyright extended to more than a life after the artist death, RIAA will enjoy money anyway.
However, I think that the only way to wake up the "common person" to the current abuse of copyright by RIAA is for RIAA to be even more abusive. History tell us that only after tyrants have done truly outrageus act then the people will stand up, not earlier (unfortunately).
This seems one of the cases when an Idling corporation wans to get money out of work done by someone else. The corporation did not have a product that people wanted, a person makes such product and now the corp wants the idea and the money I presume.
I have a feeling that laws should contain a part where the "intent" of the law is stated. In the Copyright law the intent is to give a limited monopoly on the "product" to allow people to produce new books that otherwise would not be viable. A train timetable is no such thing, yes it is printed, but it is a byproduct of the service, not a product in itself !
IANAL The point is: If laws had a part where it was written what was the general aim of the law than maybe it would be simpler to decide on borderline cases.
I did use this to manage image storage http://www.pixelmed.com/
Of course I had to change the actual undelying storage mechanism to implement zipping an entire study othervise the CT scan images would have chewed the filesystem inodes in a second. (The customer knows that it is OpenSource, he is and end customer)
There is plenty of work that can be done using OpenSource and there is plenty of work generally.
What I see in the closed source badwagon is the idea that you "do something" and then you "milk the customer".
I find it far more ethical to be paid for the work I actually do.
It can also mean that Linux can do things that Windows cannot do, after all why putting Linux on a PC if you could do all of it with Windows ? Maybe as you say, Microsoft has paid to have this gizmo produced to show Linux in bad light, it kind of make sense, but I would wait to see how things actually perform before killing it. Anybody actually tryed it ?
Even if there are technological measures you can take, they are worthless since the opponent has the whole backing of the government. Yes, you con win a round but you cannot win a war against a determined government.
The battle should be done using the correct ways, legal and clear ways. It should be clear to all population that "filtering" can and is usually used to shut down political opponents and such risk leads to a type of government that put all effort in preserving itself instead of creating better wealth for the citizens. It should be clear that the "save the children" is just a salesman trick. The proponents will swear that it is so, show you "statistics" that have been made by "professors", what do you expect, they are not stupid. It is up to the general person to be smarter and see behind the hype. It should be clear that one way accountability leads to abuse (who is controlling the filters?). On a side note, why is it illegal to take pictures of cops or filming a crime scene ? are we saving the children or is just the government protecting its abuses ?
Until at least 60% of population behaves like sheeps they will be treated like sheeps, unfortunately. So, instead of digging ourselfs into technology we should blog, write to newspapers, talk to people and make sure that freedom is preserverd, since freedom creates better wealth for everybody (even the government)
The root is not mono but C#, born to destroy Java. Of course then you need some sort of library to go with C# and then.Net was born. Finally, Microsoft could not avoid PUSHING the "crapware" (Yes I also use.Net) into Web (where, as usual, you can do 80% of your project easly and then be dammed with it...) So,.Net is "widespread" not because of tecnical merits, just because it is PUSHED (anybody think windows update) into your throat. Cheers
It is not clear to me if the "installed" Windows is legal or not. If it is not, then how do you get past the various "Genuine advantage" part ? If it is legal, how much do the shop pay for it to be able to "bundle" with the hardware ? 2$ each copy ? Given the two above, the article seems to me some astroturfing on the inevitability of Windows
And the above is the reason I do not like Microsoft, let me explain
As an IT professional my margin when I use Microsoft products is basically nil, most of the gain goes to Microsoft
I have bought a desktop PC for 150Euros (Case, Atom CPU, 1Gbyteram Power, Disk, Videocard) and Ubuntu, works gread for standard Office activity (browsing, rx/tx Email, DOcument writing (OpenOffice)
Had I chosen Vista or XP it would have been double, part for more hardware part for the "licence", plus antivirus....
You buy Microsoft you basically are a Microsoft Tax collector, why on earth should I reccomend them ?
Beside the fanboy and astroturfing, they do not make good products, they just grabbed the market earlier by letting everybody copy their stuff
and now are enjoing a Monopoly on document format and customers behaviour
But... if my father in law has now an Ubuntu machine (he got his from a local shop) and he can do what he wants (I was tired of clearing up
the mess left after downloaded windoze cruft) then, really, anybody can switch over. It is just the fanboy and stroturf that is telling you not
Cheers Microsoft, it is time that you let other people live
Looking at the same thing from another perspective.. I can see this
Openoffice is free, Java is free (no money), you are asked if you wish OpenOffice only when you install Java (not every time you use it), how is it absurd for one free product to advertise another free product, once ?
Then we have Microsoft that make you PAY for Windows and bundles copies of Word that you need to PAY after you use them for a while and I do not see much whining about it, not big uproar from the average person
Regarding Java gobbling CPU while checking for new versions, is it something strange ? Windows does it, Ubuntu does it, many more do it, why should Java not do it ?, and you can just disable it from the java control panel
There is really no technical reason to bash Java after Microsoft has copyed it, Adobe is doing the same thing with Flash and basically everybody is building their own wirtual machine
Note: I am not saying that Java is perfect, but really, can you name me a "perfect" product ?, if you cannot then just bash Java, C#, Flash, Pyton, Ruby with the same fire, thanks
Looking around and seeing the tons of greedy and incompetent managers I have no doubt that Dilber law (it states that incompetent people will get promoted to managment) has taken over the old rule that managers where people that may have been lacking "social" skills but at least they knew what they where doing.
I have no problem to believe that suggestions and faults report of engineers where just ignored by some manager that decided that by doing so he will be in charge to build two projects (the faulty one and the possibly working one)
I suggest that we go back to the old school, managers must be taken from successful engineers that have worked on the field ! They may lack some "social" skill but at least they know what they are doing
I do agree with you completly on the Wise people protect it to a sensible degree but I would like to add some thoughts to the issue
Years ago (possibly 80?) people did not have a choice, no walkman or anything like that aorund therefore hearing could not have been impaired
by this technology and even "not smart people" where safe from hearing damage (yes, there where other ways to hurt yourself, but not this one..)
Now you have a choice and the real question to me becomes this one:
If you suffer hearing loss due to music being too loud, can you claim any kind of benefit/medical support to restore you hearing (assuming it is possible ?
The above is the real question, in other words, are we allowed or not to let "not very smart people" suffer the fate they have chosen ?
The following question is: did they know what they where heading to ? (maybe "not very smart people" do not "guess" that loud music/noise
impair their earing...)
Maybe this is the basis for the awarness campaign on the issue
Mono is Java in disguise, if you want cross platforms without traps use Java
It is like the mortgage crash, a few saw it coming, they said so, but the majority didn't care
A few people says that Mono is a legal and technology trap (search the web for mono trap), in the future this will reveal true, do not forget that you where warned
Slashdot Mirror
I did travel to US a some time ago when things where more relaxed, airport control was reasonable.
It would be very upsetting and damaging if US border seize my laptop for no reason whatsoever and keep it indefenitely.
It is important to remember that the laptop is NOT a forbidden item or somewhat illegal, they keep it, just in case.
If it is the info they are after then just clone the HD and give the machine back !
On the privacy issue, it is clear that technology is extending our brain in terms of "storage capacity", kind of like a diary but in a way that is beyond a book in terms of search, speed, capacity. To me laptop search is like rumaging into your own mind diary, looking for connections, events, stories. Fair point if you at least have some lead of illicit activity otherwise it becomes just fishing for something, you never know.
I know that facebook just said that "privacy is over", I just hope we will not have to put up a real fight sooner or later to get our privacy back from our big brother.
P.S. Regarding catching "terrorists" at border crossing, what about some working intelligence ? Really, how can you trust the government when some many screwup happens so often... why normal citizen cannot record what police do ?
Hey, astroturfing ?
The points you make can be rebutted, someone already did it, for me the main point is that OO gets the work done, end of story.
Really, I have something else in my life to do beside running after forced endless Microsoft upgrades...
Cheers :-)
It is Java again, just on different name because Microsoft has convinced anybody that Java is bad.
- Anybody knows what sandboxing is ?
- Defining privileges for applets or for downloaded applications ? (Java web start)
Anybody see the similarity between C# and Java (really CLR is a JVM, oh boy how much Microsoft has struggled to convince you that CLR is not a JVM)
So, just use Java, you cannot even say that it is slow, after Vista and Windows 7, anything is fast !
Firefox extensions could just be Java applets (yes, with checked hooks on browser events, obviously)
You gain years of experience, a language that checks what you do at compile time and not at runtime, a sandbox...
Why not ?
This surely is big brother watching you.
How do you know who is the "guard dog" watching ?
Who is in power is surely willing to keep it and it will use all means available.
Get ready to long shot videos or images of possibly "strange" situation being broadcastet to destroy a political opponent.
(Hey, look, your candidate was walking on a notoriously gay road !!!! he was talking to a possible drug dealer !!!!)
Of course any plausible reason for doing it will be seen as irrelevant.
Talking about the bad guy, he just needs a mask or a foggy day to have a coverup, not so difficult.
The end result seems negative in many ways to me, I would rather have more COPS on patrol than a flyng spy on the sky.
Yes, Java rules on server and can rule on client too .NET (have you looked at how Mb is a .NET install ?) .net fine ???
Having built client side apps in Java that really are cross platform and works well I can say that astroturfing is king in this thread.
Reality check ? You can do it by yourself !
- Java is either smaller or as big as
- Java is really cross platform, it amazes me ho people can be both against cross platform and complaining that there are no cross platfrm applications, or even more amazing complaining that maintaining different paltforms is "costly" and there should be a cross platform system.
- Java is fast for today standards (yes you may write assembler, but do you really want to ?) anyway c#/.net is the SAME thing as Java, with different name, so if you camplain that Java is slow then why is
I am positively sure that Microsoft is behind this, it must be, there is no logical explanation for all the negative astroturfing.
Hey, Microsoft is not stupid, they didn't happen to be multimilion dollar company by chanche entirely.
Of course lots of pushing and threathening is done behind closed doors and no microphones ! assuming they do not do it is surely naive and close to stupidity.
What you are left with is "things happening" that if properly understood point to the right direction. :-; so Microsoft can pretend it is "open" even if it is not, clever ....
Eg: How come that governments (especially US) do not mandate a document format that is not encumbered ? (sole property of Microsoft ?)
Ahhhhh... yes, now there is a clear reason for the OOXML
How come that as soon as a new market opens up Microsoft jumps in with an offer that cannot be refused ?
People where happy of Asus Linux Netbook, then, magically, lots of negative feedback (astroturfing ?) Asus goes back to Microsoft...
Look at Android now, as soon as the platform starts threatning Microsoft territory then negative reviews happens, chance ? no way.
Look at C# and Java, Microsoft tried to kill it and if you wonder why, Java does deliver the Write once paradigm (as long as you do not
corner yourself into proprietary DLL) Microsoft cloned Java into C# just to blend a good idea back into its territory.
Do I have to go on ?
How many dead bodies do you need before trying to do a real investigatin on the main suspect ?
Cheers :-)
Is there any correlation between the Java quick starter and Skype add-on ?
The way it is written it looks like that since there is Java then there is Skype, no ?
Let's bash Java if it is Java fault :-;
Really, why killing them if you can milk them ?
The real solution is to make them pay you !
1) Telcos must always show the calling number
2) There must be a do not call list and you are on it
3) If a telemarket calls, you you receive (by law) a sum of 1000(on thousand) dollars from telemarketer.
A pity that the telemarket problem will be solved before you get the money.
Your are of course right, the customer pays it all, as always.
This is why it is extremly important to have at least two players in the market, symbian is not competitor for iPhone, Google may be. ....)
(I own a nokia E90, nice hardware, can be better software, extremly expensive
On a related matter, just to give you an idea, in Italy, now, I pay 25euros/month to Wind to have
350minutes/month, billed by the second, no rx charge, no connection charge (any italian telephone)
100SMS each month
1Gb month internet browsing/email/whatever (I can tether my PC using the E90)
I have to add 12euros/month taxes (this money go to the gov.) and 20% VAT
(Yes, I know, we are taxed to death)
But thanks to copyright extended to more than a life after the artist death, RIAA will enjoy money anyway.
However, I think that the only way to wake up the "common person" to the current abuse of copyright by RIAA is for RIAA to be even more abusive.
History tell us that only after tyrants have done truly outrageus act then the people will stand up, not earlier (unfortunately).
Enjoy your music :-)
This seems one of the cases when an Idling corporation wans to get money out of work done by someone else.
The corporation did not have a product that people wanted, a person makes such product and now the corp wants the idea and the money I presume.
I have a feeling that laws should contain a part where the "intent" of the law is stated. In the Copyright law the intent is to give a limited monopoly on the "product" to allow people to produce new books that otherwise would not be viable.
A train timetable is no such thing, yes it is printed, but it is a byproduct of the service, not a product in itself !
IANAL The point is: If laws had a part where it was written what was the general aim of the law than maybe it would be simpler to decide on borderline cases.
I did use this to manage image storage http://www.pixelmed.com/ Of course I had to change the actual undelying storage mechanism to implement zipping an entire study othervise the CT scan images would have chewed the filesystem inodes in a second. (The customer knows that it is OpenSource, he is and end customer) There is plenty of work that can be done using OpenSource and there is plenty of work generally. What I see in the closed source badwagon is the idea that you "do something" and then you "milk the customer". I find it far more ethical to be paid for the work I actually do.
It can also mean that Linux can do things that Windows cannot do, after all why putting Linux on a PC if you could do all of it with Windows ?
Maybe as you say, Microsoft has paid to have this gizmo produced to show Linux in bad light, it kind of make sense, but I would wait to see how things actually perform before killing it.
Anybody actually tryed it ?
Even if there are technological measures you can take, they are worthless since the opponent has the whole backing of the government.
Yes, you con win a round but you cannot win a war against a determined government.
The battle should be done using the correct ways, legal and clear ways.
It should be clear to all population that "filtering" can and is usually used to shut down political opponents and such risk leads to a type of government that put all effort in preserving itself instead of creating better wealth for the citizens.
It should be clear that the "save the children" is just a salesman trick. The proponents will swear that it is so, show you "statistics" that have been made by "professors", what do you expect, they are not stupid. It is up to the general person to be smarter and see behind the hype.
It should be clear that one way accountability leads to abuse (who is controlling the filters?). On a side note, why is it illegal to take pictures of cops or filming a crime scene ? are we saving the children or is just the government protecting its abuses ?
Until at least 60% of population behaves like sheeps they will be treated like sheeps, unfortunately.
So, instead of digging ourselfs into technology we should blog, write to newspapers, talk to people and make sure that freedom is preserverd, since freedom creates better wealth for everybody (even the government)
The root is not mono but C#, born to destroy Java. .Net was born. .Net) into Web (where, as usual, you can do 80% of your project easly and then be dammed with it...) .Net is "widespread" not because of tecnical merits, just because it is PUSHED (anybody think windows update) into your throat.
Of course then you need some sort of library to go with C# and then
Finally, Microsoft could not avoid PUSHING the "crapware" (Yes I also use
So,
Cheers
It is not clear to me if the "installed" Windows is legal or not.
If it is not, then how do you get past the various "Genuine advantage" part ?
If it is legal, how much do the shop pay for it to be able to "bundle" with the hardware ? 2$ each copy ?
Given the two above, the article seems to me some astroturfing on the inevitability of Windows
And the above is the reason I do not like Microsoft, let me explain
As an IT professional my margin when I use Microsoft products is basically nil, most of the gain goes to Microsoft
I have bought a desktop PC for 150Euros (Case, Atom CPU, 1Gbyteram Power, Disk, Videocard) and Ubuntu, works gread for standard Office activity (browsing, rx/tx Email, DOcument writing (OpenOffice)
Had I chosen Vista or XP it would have been double, part for more hardware part for the "licence", plus antivirus....
You buy Microsoft you basically are a Microsoft Tax collector, why on earth should I reccomend them ?
Beside the fanboy and astroturfing, they do not make good products, they just grabbed the market earlier by letting everybody copy their stuff and now are enjoing a Monopoly on document format and customers behaviour
But... if my father in law has now an Ubuntu machine (he got his from a local shop) and he can do what he wants (I was tired of clearing up the mess left after downloaded windoze cruft) then, really, anybody can switch over. It is just the fanboy and stroturf that is telling you not
Cheers Microsoft, it is time that you let other people live
I really wish to know what is the real reason for "non IT folks" to start messing up with "the data"
I can think of a few, but I cannot decide on the main one
In any case, there is often a disaster at the end of the line, a pity that the original employee has already being promoted :-)
It is possible to load a tiny "bootstrapping" classloader that handle loading of classes in different way, can be done
However, the low acceptance of Java on the browser can be tracked down to
In any case, if I had to do a web application now I would do it using Google Web Toolkit
Looking at the same thing from another perspective.. I can see this
Openoffice is free, Java is free (no money), you are asked if you wish OpenOffice only when you install Java (not every time you use it), how is it absurd for one free product to advertise another free product, once ?
Then we have Microsoft that make you PAY for Windows and bundles copies of Word that you need to PAY after you use them for a while and I do not see much whining about it, not big uproar from the average person
Regarding Java gobbling CPU while checking for new versions, is it something strange ? Windows does it, Ubuntu does it, many more do it, why should Java not do it ?, and you can just disable it from the java control panel
There is really no technical reason to bash Java after Microsoft has copyed it, Adobe is doing the same thing with Flash and basically everybody is building their own wirtual machine
Note: I am not saying that Java is perfect, but really, can you name me a "perfect" product ?, if you cannot then just bash Java, C#, Flash, Pyton, Ruby with the same fire, thanks
It has nothing to do with Java....
Any running application is going to draw power, if it is indeed running
I have Fring, a convergence application it is a pure Symbian application but I end up not using it because i drains the battery a lot
Looking around and seeing the tons of greedy and incompetent managers I have no doubt that Dilber law (it states that incompetent people will get promoted to managment) has taken over the old rule that managers where people that may have been lacking "social" skills but at least they knew what they where doing.
I have no problem to believe that suggestions and faults report of engineers where just ignored by some manager that decided that by doing so he will be in charge to build two projects (the faulty one and the possibly working one)
I suggest that we go back to the old school, managers must be taken from successful engineers that have worked on the field ! They may lack some "social" skill but at least they know what they are doing
I do agree with you completly on the Wise people protect it to a sensible degree but I would like to add some thoughts to the issue
Years ago (possibly 80?) people did not have a choice, no walkman or anything like that aorund therefore hearing could not have been impaired by this technology and even "not smart people" where safe from hearing damage (yes, there where other ways to hurt yourself, but not this one..)
Now you have a choice and the real question to me becomes this one:
If you suffer hearing loss due to music being too loud, can you claim any kind of benefit/medical support to restore you hearing (assuming it is possible ?
The above is the real question, in other words, are we allowed or not to let "not very smart people" suffer the fate they have chosen ?
The following question is: did they know what they where heading to ? (maybe "not very smart people" do not "guess" that loud music/noise impair their earing...)
Maybe this is the basis for the awarness campaign on the issue
This is great
I do really miss a paper trail, that is needed in case there are doubts of "fraud", we do not want such doubts, do we ?
Mono is Java in disguise, if you want cross platforms without traps use Java
It is like the mortgage crash, a few saw it coming, they said so, but the majority didn't care
A few people says that Mono is a legal and technology trap (search the web for mono trap), in the future this will reveal true, do not forget that you where warned