I have a pretty strict view of this. If one willfully (and/or knowingly) pirated an operating system: they should get no support from the manufacturer at all.
Since unpatched and vulnerable systems can wreak havoc on legitimate customers, I think the best solution is to simply disable the offending product. If you stole the OS, you have no right to use it. Force it to shut down. Don't destroy the drive or any data, just make it the ultimate in nag-ware: continually prompt on boot for a legitimate proof of purchase.
Of course, that gets into all kinds of 'big brother' bull. The end of the story is the same: pay for it. In spite of the fact that the majority of/.-ers think of Microsoft as an evil empire, there are a lot of hard working programmers working for them who do deserve to get paid. The liquid asset of that company is immaterial.
"But what if I'm using it in a lab environment?" Well, you should have paid for your license. Don't want to pay? Microsoft offers 120-day evaluations of many of their products. These are fully functional products and can even be updated in most cases (rare exceptions such as ISA exist).
Open up your phone book and lookup the department of labor in your state.
You need to talk with someone there.
Just because you are a salaried employee, does not make you a slave.
in some states, there is the 'Exempt' employee. This type of employee is usually upper management who's job is to steer the company by use of their discretion.
I happen to know that the state of CT has a checklist to go through to identify whether or not one's job function places them as exempt.
if your job is simply to code up a storm and report to a project leader or other some such management, you're probably not exempt.
IANAL, talk to your state's dept of labor to find out what your options are. If you are not exempt, you may be able to apply stress anonymously and make your employers realize that they're way out of line thinking that they can force you or coerce you into working for nothing because of their own foolishness
not trying to have this sound like a flame, just trying to pass on some info...
it's not about good timing. read their product road map and end-of-life cycle plans here
as you can see, Windows 9x/ME and NT 4.x are reaching their end of life.
color that a conspiracy all you want, but it has been publicized for well over two years at that URL (or some similar).
all that having been said: I don't buy the 'too complex' bit either, 2000 and XP are 'built on NT Technology' seems to me that there shouldn't be too much trouble generating a regression tested patch for NT.
Product-wise, Microsoft is a software company. They are entitled to phase out product support. Ever try getting support for a PC from a hardware vendor after its warranty has expired? same general idea here.
my opinion on the matter (being that I support windows networks for my clients on a daily basis):
migrate your networks to windows 2000 if you're an NT shop dependent upon the support options available for Microsoft products.
if your budget can't handle an NT->2000 migration, consider Linux w/samba as an alternative. This is no excuse to use sub-standard server hardware, but it is there as an option to save you the $ on licensing and software costs.
in either case: if you don't have an employee (or employees) to perform either migration, be sure to outsource such a task to a trusted, knowledgable IT firm.
so frequently I see people say "Windows 2000 sucks" when they don't understand it because they don't use it, or worse: had a terrible migration because of under-trained individual(s) playing around at trying to migrate their network....if that still sounds like a flame, sorry truly not trying to be an instigator here!
close off those open relays, continue to black list people who don't.
generate black lists of ip addresses that just continue to send crap (there's a rolling 'r' there). and send their useless tripe to/dev/null with the rest.
it's not a marketing thing, people. it's got to be the most annoying thought ever devised. perhaps second only to the useless killing of trees for all the junk mail I get that I did not ask for.
all sensationalization of every multi-site net admin's worst nightmares aside:
fundamental problems exist with the picture this article painted.
1) a researcher's "data" brought down the network ?
first off, critical hospital functions should be separate. Their own VLAN at a minimum. This is stability we're talking about here. Second, when told that his data crunching was hurting performance, he should have done what he could to stop the application gracefully, not just "pull the plug"
2) network design. This is the VLAN issue. a properly designed multi-campus network has separate networks for separate functions. if they were one big flat network, then yea, him pulling the plug would cause all sorts of hell...as each and every switch flooded layer 2 broadcast frames out every port trying to find his station. layer 2 broadcasts (broadcasts in general) are _BAD_.
3) ER physician turned network addict.
I'm not going to bag on anyone, really. However, the article fails to mention his network administration qualifications. How many years experience does he have configuring network gear? did he do this in his spare time? Seriously, seems to me that they need a bona fide Network Engineer or two.
To answer the question: backup network? many NOCs have redundant networks. Some companies do the same for mission critical network gear. VLANs should be sufficient if admin'd correctly.
As far as Spanning Tree Protocol 'failing'. I've not heard of such, please point me to concrete examples! As far as Cisco's implementation being 'boogered,' I don't think so. It works the way it is supposed to, yes their switches offer the option of turning off part of spanning-tree for end nodes (spanning-tree port-fast), but properly used this doesn't present a problem (see above, design/qualifications).
A previous poster noted that stability should be of paramount importance in a hospital. They are absolutely correct. However, stability does come at a price, with HIPAA looming over all things EMR (Electronic Medical Records) you have to keep on your toes. Stable may not mean secure, and since that is one of HIPAA's stipulations, you have to go with secure (or relatively so).
That being said: a Layer-3 Switched network should be more than adequate for a multi-campus network with segregated NOC. a fully redundant near-line or off-line network may be overkill, but not all together unnecessary. With a heavy-iron Cisco Catalyst driving the network at the core and Catalyst 3500 series switches at IDFs this should prove to be a very managable and strong network.
has anyone yet wondered how much these roller-blading buffoons were paid to dress up like that?
sure, excellent advertising...ppl will be talking about this for a long time...
however, will it be: 'what a great product' or 'what a bunch of idiots' ???
I certainly hope these ppl got a good cut of $, it'd be hilarious if they got cited by NY's finest for breach of peace;)
quick! 2000 bonus points if you can hit the bug in the front...you'll get an extra play if you can nab all 40 of them in this wave!/me preps his quarters for a good old game of Galaga! lol:D
I work with the healthcare industry on a limited basis...as in a couple clients are dr's offices and the like.
I have to agree with most of the others here: get a good lawyer, and poor over the EULA. Talk with HIPAA, see what they have to say. This is a legal issue, and cannot be totally resolved by technical means. Sure, you can disable auto-updating, but those of us who actually installed SP3 will note that it in fact re-enables it (SILENTLY!!).
This goes beyond the regs according to HIPAA, we all have a right to privacy. Microsoft needs to take note of that. They do have a right to verify that you have a legit license for their software, they don't have the right to cruise through your hard drive.
Perhaps this little conflict will be the silver bullet to bring Microsoft's extremely bold EULAs back into line with reality as we know it.
The catch 22, of course, is that you're damned if you do, damned if you don't since you have to stay up to date with those security updates to keep HIPAA happy.
Even though we're all not lawyers here, I think we've gotten this person pointed in the right direction, eh?:)
i think that's a little extreme. The issue at hand here regarding troublesome EULAs from major software vendors is that they seem to think it perfectly acceptable to hit you with the agreement after you purchase the product. Additionally, they don't give the consumer their right to rebuke any claims said agreement makes to the consumers' rights. A simple Yes/No is not sufficient.
Most EULAs are there to protect the hard work of software developers. Don't jump all over me for being a troll or anything such! Seriously, I like free (liberty _and_ beer) software. I contribute to that, I use it, I enjoy it! However, the terms and conditions imposed on software distribution are up to the software provider themselves.
Microsoft, on the other hand, takes things too far. As of late they seem to think that they have the right to exert more control over the consumer's operating environment than they truly need. Some of this is absolute C-Y-A, with all the vulnerabilities found in their software they have to be careful. Forcing a consumer to allow automatic updates without the ability of said consumer to prevent such a thing from happening is _wrong_. sorry, no biscuit. If I own my computer, I'm responsible for it: not just this part or that part, I'm responsible for keeping it up to date, I'm responsible for making sure it's virus free, I'm responsible for making sure that it isn't going to participate in some DDoS attack, or that some l33t h4x0r has rooted it. Also, since I own the silicon on my desk (bought and paid for, sure I didn't design it, but I own the product...much like a car), I have a right to run whatever I want, however I want. I am also entitled to know what I'm running is doing.
Software vendors have the burden of being honest with their consumers. Software consumers have the burden of watchdogging their software vendors' claims. If you don't trust something, or question how something operates, or question the ethics of something: _don't use it_...don't complain either, you have the right to stop using it, so do it.
To bring this rant to a close: Microsoft shouldn't be changing the terms of an EULA for a product, and they shouldn't be forcing a user to accept such an amended EULA so that they can _use_ a patch to a defective piece of software! Lawyers, are you listening?
whilst I deftly dodge the obvious "Real Genius" and Austin Powers references:)...
any optical engineers in the audience care to comment on the likelihood of these accidental reflections causing blindness?
to be sure, if this 100KW NIR laser was fired into the cockpit of a plane, and some of the beam were reflected into the line of sight of the crew...don't we think they've got some more immediate problems than blindness? no more flight electronics...plane going down...ahem.
I think that the article fails to address that accidental reflection would be dependent upon the material being hit. Certainly most glass substrates would reflect some, but the power behind that beam is enormous!
my math regarding optical incident and accident angles is a little rusty...can we have some factual analysis here?
"Will you and the "laser" get a friggin room?" ^^ obligitory reference;) sorry...hehe
ok, so my mom's an accountant, who can do math like lightning in her noggin.
maybe I'm insane, but when I was in school, I opted not to use a calculator. they'd actually hand the damn things out. My mother's advice will always strike a chord or two with me:
You don't get to use a calculator until you've proven that you know the procedure
giving kids the fancy tool without first teaching them what the underlying theory is and what it means will do nothing but breed a bunch of button-pushers.
the cynic in me also notes that these same button-pushers are equivalent to users...a la BOFH (bastard operator from hell). Serves them right if they don't think beyond the input vs output.
note to educators: try teaching, instead of supplying fancy toys to make it appear that the students are covering more material. What good is quantity of material covered if its retention is near zero due to the fact that they have to push all the buttons instead of knowing the actual procedure to get the answer?
what happens if the batteries in the calculator die, or the sun isn't out?:)
...they just need a push in the right direction to do it. While the court is at it, they should seriously scrutinize those EULAs that those of us who are forced to use M$ products must agree to or suffer the consequences.
Smarten up, Microsoft. If your product had national security riding on it, then the government has a big time string attached to you...how would it look to the builders of say Air Force 1 if monumental design flaws were found in the president's own chariot? That company would fess up and fix the issues.
More eyes means quicker solutions, you guys maintain the codebase. Release the code to the open source and reap the benefits of crazy coders who're interested in learning and bettering the world thru awesome software. Think of it as increasing your QA workforce several-fold, for minimal investment...you don't need to give benefits to any of these guys, hell they'll stay up all night hacking on code:) (i know i do;))
National Security? BS. More like: afraid of the consequences.
seriously, I've been a fan of that movie for years. Part of the anime experience is that good films of the genre usually require a good 2, 3 or more viewings to truly capture. Discussions and arguments rise up due to people's different interpretations of these films.
imho the 'western' world doesn't need an adapted or abridged version of a fantastic film. Akira works on more than just the 'film' level, consider the music, which was put together in such a modular way (check out the special edition DVD's second disc for that, it's really slick!)
i just don't think it'll be able to compare, sure it may appeal to a general audience and gross a bunch of $ due to media hyping it up...but it will be just that another money making scheme from the movie industry.
covertly inserting code to gather information (or otherwise bash their box) onto someone's computer without their consent or knowledge is protected by our Bill of Rights!
They need a warrant (last I checked) to search someone's house. They need a warrant to use wiretaps.
Why is it that they think they can insert a 'virus' to log keystrokes? if this goes into the realm of Van Eck phreaking then I could understand (since van eck just picks up the stray emissions from your box...hmm, tempest anyone?), however, I still stand by the fact that *they need a warrant*
if they want to check out my files on my computer, knock on my door, present a _proper_ warrant, and proceed. That's the lawful way. Dumping a virus on someone's box is just uncool, and in fact, should render anything gathered from said box inadmissable.
of course IANAL...which is said all too frequently around these parts, any real lawyers care to comment?
this worm is particularly nasty. it's really made my work week, that much is for sure.
in response to the growing storm regarding users vs ISPs... (/me dons his asbestos shorts)
yes users are responsible for their systems, they are responsible for watching patch levels, they are responsible for watching out for vulnerabilities. So many people throw up an IIS server or what-have-you on their DSL/Cable line it's not funny. Do you think all of them are subscribed to microsoft's Security advisory list?...to NTBugTraq? Do they even service pack their server or workstation? The answer is: no not everyone. The information required to be a good MS product admin is there, you just need to get it. If you're a legit microsoft product owner it ought to be required that you get a digest format of their advisories in e-mail weekly. (An even better question is: how many of these IIS servers are properly licensed ???)
And for those of you that thought I was beating on the users hard up there...Yes it is the responsibility (nay, the duty) of the ISPs to protect their networks, and by mission of action the internet. I run apache as my webserver of choice, my logs flooded with attempts to find CMD.EXE and ROOT.EXE in all the right MS places tuesday night and into wednesday morning. A veritable denial of service attack. Here's the kicker: I'm on a dynamic IP! (nice about the randomization of searching in this worm...) Many requests were coming from my own ISPs network. Do you think they responded when I e-mailed them? no, they didn't.
A good ISP shuts off a user who (knowingly or unknowingly) abuses their connection. What if this worm were more malicious? What if it caused data loss? Think of the liability that could impose, so'n'so's unpatched web server infected my unpatched webserver and blew away my e-commerce site. Who takes the blame? so'n'so? or so'n'so's ISP?...Both, in my estimation. While I agree that it is the responsibility of the user to keep themselves patched, ISPs monitor network traffic, they can easily pay attention when a known high risk virus or worm is flooding their network.
Don't even get me started on why worm/virus writers should be sending their exploits to anti-virus companies or other proper organizations instead of releasing them into the wild.
mp3.com is not to blame because joe and/or jill q. user decided to go and share their licensed copies of mp3's on napster.
this goes along the lines of guns don't kill people, people kill people. I see it as a rather obvious fact in day-to-day life, but it seems that in the lawsuit happy world we live in today that people leave common sense at the door.
very foolish if you ask me, and a total waste of resources.
The MS Licensing schemes (or scams?) are their bread and butter. I can't put into words my disgust when I spec a server from Dell or Compaq and it looks really cheap until I factor in say 25 CALs and W2K Server. Pay-as-you-go? I'll be one of the first engineers to take a number for the angry complaint line if a server goes down because it's time to renew my subscription and I have many angry people wanting to know why...
I can see it now, the upper management will hold an emergency meeting to run the IT dept (or outsourced guys) through the wringer...
Stuffy Corp Exec:"How could this have happened? How long will it take to have the systems back on-line and functioning properly?" Witty Network Admin: "That's just it, the systems are functioning properly. They're simply denying logons and not allowing anybody to access shares or printers. The Event Logs indicate that our licenses have expired!" Stuffy Corp Exec #2: "Isn't it the responsibility of your department to maintain our equipment and keep us current on our licensing?" Witty Network Admin: "It is indeed. We have kept this network running flawlessly. We made our request for licensing funds more than 2 months ago. I do have a question to pose: where in the grand scheme did my PO request for updated licensing fall?" Idiot Numbers Guy: "It never made it past my desk. I didn't see any ROI (Return on Investment), when it came down to brass tacks. I don't see why it should have failed, we bought the software and licenses, we should be able to use it." ...
yea, I think we already know the way things go with open source and free software...the only money involved is for the hardware, and time to configure properly. Maintenance in a well-designed environment should be drastically less money bound. All it takes is the systems being given to the people with the right skills.
I work for a company that had been reselling a company's DSL solutions. That company was actually reselling for Rhythms. Rhythms for now, seems to be stable. There had been rumors of them terminating all East Coast operations, but I do know that they are watching their earnings like a hawk. We service a few (now former) NorthPoint customers. They only got switched to Rhythms because the afore mentioned reseller had been reselling NorthPoint for a while. They experienced 2 days of downtime. the dsl circuits were already at the site and live, it was a misconfiguration on a router that caused the problem.
We had a Rhythms DSL connection at one of our offices, and we received a termination notice (hmm). The date the plug was to be pulled has come and gone, as far as I know we're still up with it.
as an aside, my home dsl connection is through the local RBOC (SNET), so I just have to deal with their service and support as opposed to companies that haven't been around for as long a time.
well now, I happened to be at suncoast browsing for just the right x-mas gift when I caught sight of this lonely copy of Princess Mononoke in the anime dvd section.
REALLY! it just called out to me:)
perfect timing for a release, it was worth the wait!
zerodvyd
I think there are some things to be cleared up
on
Is Novell Doomed?
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· Score: 2
First, NDS is an LDAP based solution. At least if the CNE course material is to be believed.
Second, I've seen Novell's software in use in places since the late eighties, and for the past five to six years I have heard from numerous places that 'Novell is dying'. I'm here to tell you that it is putting up a rather decent fight. Surely since the barrage of Microsoft's NT Server platforms became prevalent around '96, they have had to change their tactics a bit. However, simply saying that they're dying off is ridiculous.
I am very pleased with NetWare as a server OS. I have never seen a single Microsoft empowered server stand up in sheer up-time. In fact our company had a Novell 3.12 Server that had an uptime of well over 18 months. Then a power outage occured that the battery backup couldn't handle...and well, the drives, heh..hmm, let's not go there (it was a sad day all around, poor computer). By comparison, our NT Terminal Server (avec Citrix Metaframe 1.8), needs a fresh boot once every few weeks...our NT4 Server (avec Exchange) about once every two months.
We've got two NetWare servers in the company now, and I'm impressed by the application serving that is going on with GroupWise and such. This shows that Novell has not just rested on their already potent file sharing, but has moved on to compete in the app-server arena.
I think that due to several factors we'll see Novell around for quite some time. NDS, ZenWorks, GroupWise...they've got a few things they can market if they choose to do some porting to other platforms. Whether or not linux and MS are threats, there has been enough of a niche market for years (education, die hard IT guys in businesses), small business alone is a good place for Novell.
Rock hard stability is something that is hard to give up. The expense of a sweeping platform migration is even more deterrent for some places.
In the end, third party application support may be Novell's down fall. This is sad, since it is such a great platform.
Some of the rules that insurance plans (here in the US, my experience...so hold off on flames pls), are totally ludicrous. At our most recent company meeting regarding insurance change, there were different rates for smokers as compared to non-smokers. Some insurance plans require an entrance physical. While the insurance company is only protecting their best interest, all of this is borderline discriminatory. Someone in their elder years, who's health may be less than up to par, may not be allowed to get certain health benefits. This is because the insurance company is out to make a buck, and they're covering their rump regarding 'risk'.
I think that using genetic information as a factor may be valid, since much can be determined regarding potential risk for some diseases (predisposition for cancer, etc.). There is one problem with all of this: it discriminates, completely. The flip-side of all of this is that if they want to cull out all the genetically impure folks from their insurance policies...they'll find that they're broke.
where does the line get drawn?
if my rights are determined by something completely out of my control, where does that put me? I can understand if I am a smoker, or a drug-abuser, or an alcoholic. These are things that I have control over. To use my own genetic profile to determine what kind of risk I am to your insurance company's profits is a little too much, particularly since just because I have the predisposition of getting cancer doesn't mean I will.
Since I'm an underappreciated IT guy, I completely agree with where that story went. My boss worked not 65, but close to 80hrs a week. for 8 years. He's one of those 'wunderkind' who didn't get a degree, but instead just worked really hard and got far. He built our DB apps from scratch, with very little capitol to speak of. The company abused him so bad it was really sad. So the CIO/IS Manager guy from corporate left, and my boss got saddled with all of that crap. This lasted for less than a year. Finally he left, and not for more money, but for less stress. I myself am experiencing something the same. I've only been here for a year, though I see the lack of management.
A lot of this can be rectified, but some will always be a hassle. Users, here they're not educated enough at all when it comes to the computers they use. They think that the magic box will give them the answers they seek if they click the mouse in the right places. Nobody knows what the numbers they enter into the db mean to the guy down the hall, they don't care, they're being productive. The worst part is, if something goes wrong...it's IT's fault. This gets back to the lack of proper treatment and abuse of the IT department.
The more employers understand the 'culture', and the people, and what we're trying to do...the more likely they'll be amenable to us and be able to gauge our performance properly.
My company uses tethered barcode scanners on a regular basis, in fact each of my in-process workstation have one connected. These puppies cost about $300 a pop, connect to PS/2 port and provide a pass-through for standard keyboard attachment to it. What's even better is that the piece of hardware will scan just about any barcode, decode it, and send it as if it were a keyboard input stream...with a hit to the enter key at the end of the input string.
these have no driver requirements whatsoever
they work on every OS I've tested them on (NT, 9x, *nix/x86)
Why did this CueCat (yup, next is the CueDog right? or CueMouse?) require so much effort to just dump for free into the hands of the end user??? Call me crazy, but if I were going to hand something out for free, I wouldn't devote any time to serious development like a minor encryption scheme... I bet the next version of it is supposed to have an IP address per CueCat.
This kind of thing should be covered under Fair Use. Though I'll lay money (in the hands of EFF) that they'll continue blithely on their prosecution path and try to pull the DMCA down on the developer's head because it defeats a 'digital copy protection' scheme of some format.
If they're angry that they lost money on the development of the device, they have nobody to blame but their own developers and marketers. KIS - Keep It Simple.
If I get my hands on one of these things I do have a door that doesn't like to stay open, sounds like an adequate door stop. Will I get a Cease and Desist order too?
imho, Jon is a good writer. However, I think that he easily succumbs to the 'megahype' he rants about.
I watched quite a few news programs, Nightline amongst them, Monday night. Yes, there was so much hype you would have had trouble breathing at the press meetings and such. Nightline had an interview with Venter (Celera Corp) and the Researcher who made the announcement of the HGP completion with President Clinton. Basically what it all comes down to is this: They know one thing for certain, now that they have a relatively complete map of human DNA, they have an even *longer* road ahead of them in determining what it all means and/or does. They admitted that they have identified a few sequences that are potential trouble makers in the way of several types of cancer and other such hereditary diseases. I recall from that same broadcast, that there was a passing mention of a law already having been passed regarding discrimination on the basis of genetic potential. This law apparently applies only to the governmental bodies, though it can be easily extended. Is there potential for a 'Gattaca-like' future? Probably. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. 'The perfect baby' ?? come on. To paraphrase 'Ghost in the Shell': "...over specialize and you become too predictable...it's slow death." The key thing we must bear in mind is that we as humans have a right to know all about the genome that gave rise to us, it should be taught in biology classes, and examined in history classes. Keeping people from that knowledge is inherently wrong.
I must say I agree with many of the other posters to this thread: mankind would have to be very arrogant if he tried to 'steal God's job'. I think some things should be left alone, and this is one of them.
I find it terribly ironic that the counsel for Mr. Valenti objected to nearly everything that Mr. Garbus asked.
Mr. Valenti, for the past year, has made statement after statement through the MPAA as a signatory, or through articles for various news sources. These statements were most certainly in reference to DVD, DVD CCA, DeCSS, piracy, etc. We know this because, we've ranted and carried on about them here on/....yet every time he was questioned about the very law he lobbied for, he was either admonished by his counsel, or simply stated 'I don't recall'. When he did actually answer differently than that, it was saying how circumventing any encryption is illegal according to the DMCA.
Put this in perspective, I'm the happy owner of a Sony DVD deck. I have several films that I purchased before this hubbub started, but since then I've focused on independant stuff because I am in support of Eric Corley, and I am in support of Fair Use. I also own a Creative Labs Encore kit for my PC. I purchased both players, and I purchase my DVDs just like any other upstanding consumer. Since DeCSS uses real decryption keys (found through reverse engineering if I recall correctly), it's not 'circumventing' CSS anymore than my Sony deck is. I think the issue here is yes, they're scrambling to keep sales of their (expensive) DVD players from faltering, when there's the prospect of the money going elsewhere on the horizon for open standard hardware playing back a closed standard medium. Is that not monopolistic? Yes, I have a choice of licensed players from Sony, JVC, Toshiba, Panasonic, etc...but does the buck stop with those companies? How much does it cost a company to license CSS decryption for a player?
If he lobbied for DMCA to be signed into law, if he's had experience in the political field for 30 some odd years, and if he can go around speaking before congress...appearing to be an expert, how can they define him as a lay witness?
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I have a pretty strict view of this. If one willfully (and/or knowingly) pirated an operating system: they should get no support from the manufacturer at all.
/.-ers think of Microsoft as an evil empire, there are a lot of hard working programmers working for them who do deserve to get paid. The liquid asset of that company is immaterial.
Since unpatched and vulnerable systems can wreak havoc on legitimate customers, I think the best solution is to simply disable the offending product. If you stole the OS, you have no right to use it. Force it to shut down. Don't destroy the drive or any data, just make it the ultimate in nag-ware: continually prompt on boot for a legitimate proof of purchase.
Of course, that gets into all kinds of 'big brother' bull. The end of the story is the same: pay for it. In spite of the fact that the majority of
"But what if I'm using it in a lab environment?" Well, you should have paid for your license. Don't want to pay? Microsoft offers 120-day evaluations of many of their products. These are fully functional products and can even be updated in most cases (rare exceptions such as ISA exist).
stop, seriously, right now.
Open up your phone book and lookup the department of labor in your state.
You need to talk with someone there.
Just because you are a salaried employee, does not make you a slave.
in some states, there is the 'Exempt' employee. This type of employee is usually upper management who's job is to steer the company by use of their discretion.
I happen to know that the state of CT has a checklist to go through to identify whether or not one's job function places them as exempt.
if your job is simply to code up a storm and report to a project leader or other some such management, you're probably not exempt.
IANAL, talk to your state's dept of labor to find out what your options are. If you are not exempt, you may be able to apply stress anonymously and make your employers realize that they're way out of line thinking that they can force you or coerce you into working for nothing because of their own foolishness
not trying to have this sound like a flame, just trying to pass on some info...
...if that still sounds like a flame, sorry truly not trying to be an instigator here!
it's not about good timing. read their product road map and end-of-life cycle plans here
as you can see, Windows 9x/ME and NT 4.x are reaching their end of life.
color that a conspiracy all you want, but it has been publicized for well over two years at that URL (or some similar).
all that having been said:
I don't buy the 'too complex' bit either, 2000 and XP are 'built on NT Technology' seems to me that there shouldn't be too much trouble generating a regression tested patch for NT.
Product-wise, Microsoft is a software company. They are entitled to phase out product support. Ever try getting support for a PC from a hardware vendor after its warranty has expired? same general idea here.
my opinion on the matter (being that I support windows networks for my clients on a daily basis):
migrate your networks to windows 2000 if you're an NT shop dependent upon the support options available for Microsoft products.
if your budget can't handle an NT->2000 migration, consider Linux w/samba as an alternative. This is no excuse to use sub-standard server hardware, but it is there as an option to save you the $ on licensing and software costs.
in either case: if you don't have an employee (or employees) to perform either migration, be sure to outsource such a task to a trusted, knowledgable IT firm.
so frequently I see people say "Windows 2000 sucks" when they don't understand it because they don't use it, or worse: had a terrible migration because of under-trained individual(s) playing around at trying to migrate their network.
spam is spam
/dev/null with the rest.
close off those open relays, continue to black list people who don't.
generate black lists of ip addresses that just continue to send crap (there's a rolling 'r' there). and send their useless tripe to
it's not a marketing thing, people. it's got to be the most annoying thought ever devised. perhaps second only to the useless killing of trees for all the junk mail I get that I did not ask for.
all sensationalization of every multi-site net admin's worst nightmares aside:
fundamental problems exist with the picture this article painted.
1) a researcher's "data" brought down the network ?
first off, critical hospital functions should be separate. Their own VLAN at a minimum. This is stability we're talking about here.
Second, when told that his data crunching was hurting performance, he should have done what he could to stop the application gracefully, not just "pull the plug"
2) network design.
This is the VLAN issue. a properly designed multi-campus network has separate networks for separate functions. if they were one big flat network, then yea, him pulling the plug would cause all sorts of hell...as each and every switch flooded layer 2 broadcast frames out every port trying to find his station. layer 2 broadcasts (broadcasts in general) are _BAD_.
3) ER physician turned network addict.
I'm not going to bag on anyone, really. However, the article fails to mention his network administration qualifications. How many years experience does he have configuring network gear? did he do this in his spare time? Seriously, seems to me that they need a bona fide Network Engineer or two.
To answer the question: backup network?
many NOCs have redundant networks. Some companies do the same for mission critical network gear. VLANs should be sufficient if admin'd correctly.
As far as Spanning Tree Protocol 'failing'. I've not heard of such, please point me to concrete examples! As far as Cisco's implementation being 'boogered,' I don't think so. It works the way it is supposed to, yes their switches offer the option of turning off part of spanning-tree for end nodes (spanning-tree port-fast), but properly used this doesn't present a problem (see above, design/qualifications).
A previous poster noted that stability should be of paramount importance in a hospital. They are absolutely correct. However, stability does come at a price, with HIPAA looming over all things EMR (Electronic Medical Records) you have to keep on your toes. Stable may not mean secure, and since that is one of HIPAA's stipulations, you have to go with secure (or relatively so).
That being said: a Layer-3 Switched network should be more than adequate for a multi-campus network with segregated NOC. a fully redundant near-line or off-line network may be overkill, but not all together unnecessary. With a heavy-iron Cisco Catalyst driving the network at the core and Catalyst 3500 series switches at IDFs this should prove to be a very managable and strong network.
has anyone yet wondered how much these roller-blading buffoons were paid to dress up like that?
;)
/me preps his quarters for a good old game of Galaga! lol :D
sure, excellent advertising...ppl will be talking about this for a long time...
however, will it be: 'what a great product' or 'what a bunch of idiots' ???
I certainly hope these ppl got a good cut of $, it'd be hilarious if they got cited by NY's finest for breach of peace
quick! 2000 bonus points if you can hit the bug in the front...you'll get an extra play if you can nab all 40 of them in this wave!
I work with the healthcare industry on a limited basis...as in a couple clients are dr's offices and the like.
:)
I have to agree with most of the others here:
get a good lawyer, and poor over the EULA. Talk with HIPAA, see what they have to say. This is a legal issue, and cannot be totally resolved by technical means. Sure, you can disable auto-updating, but those of us who actually installed SP3 will note that it in fact re-enables it (SILENTLY!!).
This goes beyond the regs according to HIPAA, we all have a right to privacy. Microsoft needs to take note of that. They do have a right to verify that you have a legit license for their software, they don't have the right to cruise through your hard drive.
Perhaps this little conflict will be the silver bullet to bring Microsoft's extremely bold EULAs back into line with reality as we know it.
The catch 22, of course, is that you're damned if you do, damned if you don't since you have to stay up to date with those security updates to keep HIPAA happy.
Even though we're all not lawyers here, I think we've gotten this person pointed in the right direction, eh?
i think that's a little extreme. The issue at hand here regarding troublesome EULAs from major software vendors is that they seem to think it perfectly acceptable to hit you with the agreement after you purchase the product. Additionally, they don't give the consumer their right to rebuke any claims said agreement makes to the consumers' rights. A simple Yes/No is not sufficient.
...don't complain either, you have the right to stop using it, so do it.
Most EULAs are there to protect the hard work of software developers. Don't jump all over me for being a troll or anything such! Seriously, I like free (liberty _and_ beer) software. I contribute to that, I use it, I enjoy it! However, the terms and conditions imposed on software distribution are up to the software provider themselves.
Microsoft, on the other hand, takes things too far. As of late they seem to think that they have the right to exert more control over the consumer's operating environment than they truly need. Some of this is absolute C-Y-A, with all the vulnerabilities found in their software they have to be careful. Forcing a consumer to allow automatic updates without the ability of said consumer to prevent such a thing from happening is _wrong_. sorry, no biscuit.
If I own my computer, I'm responsible for it: not just this part or that part, I'm responsible for keeping it up to date, I'm responsible for making sure it's virus free, I'm responsible for making sure that it isn't going to participate in some DDoS attack, or that some l33t h4x0r has rooted it. Also, since I own the silicon on my desk (bought and paid for, sure I didn't design it, but I own the product...much like a car), I have a right to run whatever I want, however I want. I am also entitled to know what I'm running is doing.
Software vendors have the burden of being honest with their consumers. Software consumers have the burden of watchdogging their software vendors' claims. If you don't trust something, or question how something operates, or question the ethics of something: _don't use it_
To bring this rant to a close: Microsoft shouldn't be changing the terms of an EULA for a product, and they shouldn't be forcing a user to accept such an amended EULA so that they can _use_ a patch to a defective piece of software! Lawyers, are you listening?
whilst I deftly dodge the obvious "Real Genius" and Austin Powers references :) ...
;) sorry...hehe
any optical engineers in the audience care to comment on the likelihood of these accidental reflections causing blindness?
to be sure, if this 100KW NIR laser was fired into the cockpit of a plane, and some of the beam were reflected into the line of sight of the crew...don't we think they've got some more immediate problems than blindness? no more flight electronics...plane going down...ahem.
I think that the article fails to address that accidental reflection would be dependent upon the material being hit. Certainly most glass substrates would reflect some, but the power behind that beam is enormous!
my math regarding optical incident and accident angles is a little rusty...can we have some factual analysis here?
"Will you and the "laser" get a friggin room?"
^^ obligitory reference
ok, so my mom's an accountant, who can do math like lightning in her noggin.
:)
maybe I'm insane, but when I was in school, I opted not to use a calculator. they'd actually hand the damn things out. My mother's advice will always strike a chord or two with me:
You don't get to use a calculator until you've proven that you know the procedure
giving kids the fancy tool without first teaching them what the underlying theory is and what it means will do nothing but breed a bunch of button-pushers.
the cynic in me also notes that these same button-pushers are equivalent to users...a la BOFH (bastard operator from hell). Serves them right if they don't think beyond the input vs output.
note to educators: try teaching, instead of supplying fancy toys to make it appear that the students are covering more material. What good is quantity of material covered if its retention is near zero due to the fact that they have to push all the buttons instead of knowing the actual procedure to get the answer?
what happens if the batteries in the calculator die, or the sun isn't out?
...they just need a push in the right direction to do it. While the court is at it, they should seriously scrutinize those EULAs that those of us who are forced to use M$ products must agree to or suffer the consequences.
:) (i know i do ;))
Smarten up, Microsoft. If your product had national security riding on it, then the government has a big time string attached to you...how would it look to the builders of say Air Force 1 if monumental design flaws were found in the president's own chariot? That company would fess up and fix the issues.
More eyes means quicker solutions, you guys maintain the codebase. Release the code to the open source and reap the benefits of crazy coders who're interested in learning and bettering the world thru awesome software. Think of it as increasing your QA workforce several-fold, for minimal investment...you don't need to give benefits to any of these guys, hell they'll stay up all night hacking on code
National Security? BS. More like: afraid of the consequences.
seriously, I've been a fan of that movie for years. Part of the anime experience is that good films of the genre usually require a good 2, 3 or more viewings to truly capture. Discussions and arguments rise up due to people's different interpretations of these films.
imho the 'western' world doesn't need an adapted or abridged version of a fantastic film. Akira works on more than just the 'film' level, consider the music, which was put together in such a modular way (check out the special edition DVD's second disc for that, it's really slick!)
i just don't think it'll be able to compare, sure it may appeal to a general audience and gross a bunch of $ due to media hyping it up...but it will be just that another money making scheme from the movie industry.
is kilobyte to be replaced with keli or kilibyte?
at least we could still call it '640K' of ram...hehe
just thought of something: isn't it the KB that wasted the base 10 vs base 2 scheme? could someone provide a mathematical look at all of this rubbish?
I'd got into it myself, but coffee hasn't finished with my veins yet, and I don't have both eyes open...
covertly inserting code to gather information (or otherwise bash their box) onto someone's computer without their consent or knowledge is protected by our Bill of Rights!
They need a warrant (last I checked) to search someone's house. They need a warrant to use wiretaps.
Why is it that they think they can insert a 'virus' to log keystrokes? if this goes into the realm of Van Eck phreaking then I could understand (since van eck just picks up the stray emissions from your box...hmm, tempest anyone?), however, I still stand by the fact that *they need a warrant*
if they want to check out my files on my computer, knock on my door, present a _proper_ warrant, and proceed. That's the lawful way. Dumping a virus on someone's box is just uncool, and in fact, should render anything gathered from said box inadmissable.
of course IANAL...which is said all too frequently around these parts, any real lawyers care to comment?
this worm is particularly nasty. it's really made my work week, that much is for sure.
...to NTBugTraq? Do they even service pack their server or workstation? The answer is: no not everyone. The information required to be a good MS product admin is there, you just need to get it. If you're a legit microsoft product owner it ought to be required that you get a digest format of their advisories in e-mail weekly. (An even better question is: how many of these IIS servers are properly licensed ???)
...Both, in my estimation. While I agree that it is the responsibility of the user to keep themselves patched, ISPs monitor network traffic, they can easily pay attention when a known high risk virus or worm is flooding their network.
in response to the growing storm regarding users vs ISPs... (/me dons his asbestos shorts)
yes users are responsible for their systems, they are responsible for watching patch levels, they are responsible for watching out for vulnerabilities. So many people throw up an IIS server or what-have-you on their DSL/Cable line it's not funny. Do you think all of them are subscribed to microsoft's Security advisory list?
And for those of you that thought I was beating on the users hard up there...Yes it is the responsibility (nay, the duty) of the ISPs to protect their networks, and by mission of action the internet. I run apache as my webserver of choice, my logs flooded with attempts to find CMD.EXE and ROOT.EXE in all the right MS places tuesday night and into wednesday morning. A veritable denial of service attack. Here's the kicker: I'm on a dynamic IP! (nice about the randomization of searching in this worm...) Many requests were coming from my own ISPs network. Do you think they responded when I e-mailed them? no, they didn't.
A good ISP shuts off a user who (knowingly or unknowingly) abuses their connection. What if this worm were more malicious? What if it caused data loss? Think of the liability that could impose, so'n'so's unpatched web server infected my unpatched webserver and blew away my e-commerce site. Who takes the blame? so'n'so? or so'n'so's ISP?
Don't even get me started on why worm/virus writers should be sending their exploits to anti-virus companies or other proper organizations instead of releasing them into the wild.
here's the deal, all ppl take notice pls:
mp3.com is not to blame because joe and/or jill q. user decided to go and share their licensed copies of mp3's on napster.
this goes along the lines of guns don't kill people, people kill people. I see it as a rather obvious fact in day-to-day life, but it seems that in the lawsuit happy world we live in today that people leave common sense at the door.
very foolish if you ask me, and a total waste of resources.
The MS Licensing schemes (or scams?) are their bread and butter. I can't put into words my disgust when I spec a server from Dell or Compaq and it looks really cheap until I factor in say 25 CALs and W2K Server. Pay-as-you-go? I'll be one of the first engineers to take a number for the angry complaint line if a server goes down because it's time to renew my subscription and I have many angry people wanting to know why...
...
I can see it now, the upper management will hold an emergency meeting to run the IT dept (or outsourced guys) through the wringer...
Stuffy Corp Exec: "How could this have happened? How long will it take to have the systems back on-line and functioning properly?"
Witty Network Admin: "That's just it, the systems are functioning properly. They're simply denying logons and not allowing anybody to access shares or printers. The Event Logs indicate that our licenses have expired!"
Stuffy Corp Exec #2: "Isn't it the responsibility of your department to maintain our equipment and keep us current on our licensing?"
Witty Network Admin: "It is indeed. We have kept this network running flawlessly. We made our request for licensing funds more than 2 months ago. I do have a question to pose: where in the grand scheme did my PO request for updated licensing fall?"
Idiot Numbers Guy: "It never made it past my desk. I didn't see any ROI (Return on Investment), when it came down to brass tacks. I don't see why it should have failed, we bought the software and licenses, we should be able to use it."
yea, I think we already know the way things go with open source and free software...the only money involved is for the hardware, and time to configure properly. Maintenance in a well-designed environment should be drastically less money bound. All it takes is the systems being given to the people with the right skills.
I work for a company that had been reselling a company's DSL solutions. That company was actually reselling for Rhythms. Rhythms for now, seems to be stable. There had been rumors of them terminating all East Coast operations, but I do know that they are watching their earnings like a hawk. We service a few (now former) NorthPoint customers. They only got switched to Rhythms because the afore mentioned reseller had been reselling NorthPoint for a while. They experienced 2 days of downtime. the dsl circuits were already at the site and live, it was a misconfiguration on a router that caused the problem.
We had a Rhythms DSL connection at one of our offices, and we received a termination notice (hmm). The date the plug was to be pulled has come and gone, as far as I know we're still up with it.
as an aside, my home dsl connection is through the local RBOC (SNET), so I just have to deal with their service and support as opposed to companies that haven't been around for as long a time.
just my $0.02
zerodvyd
well now, I happened to be at suncoast browsing for just the right x-mas gift when I caught sight of this lonely copy of Princess Mononoke in the anime dvd section.
:)
REALLY! it just called out to me
perfect timing for a release, it was worth the wait!
zerodvyd
First, NDS is an LDAP based solution. At least if the CNE course material is to be believed.
;)
Second, I've seen Novell's software in use in places since the late eighties, and for the past five to six years I have heard from numerous places that 'Novell is dying'. I'm here to tell you that it is putting up a rather decent fight. Surely since the barrage of Microsoft's NT Server platforms became prevalent around '96, they have had to change their tactics a bit. However, simply saying that they're dying off is ridiculous.
I am very pleased with NetWare as a server OS. I have never seen a single Microsoft empowered server stand up in sheer up-time. In fact our company had a Novell 3.12 Server that had an uptime of well over 18 months. Then a power outage occured that the battery backup couldn't handle...and well, the drives, heh..hmm, let's not go there (it was a sad day all around, poor computer). By comparison, our NT Terminal Server (avec Citrix Metaframe 1.8), needs a fresh boot once every few weeks...our NT4 Server (avec Exchange) about once every two months.
We've got two NetWare servers in the company now, and I'm impressed by the application serving that is going on with GroupWise and such. This shows that Novell has not just rested on their already potent file sharing, but has moved on to compete in the app-server arena.
I think that due to several factors we'll see Novell around for quite some time. NDS, ZenWorks, GroupWise...they've got a few things they can market if they choose to do some porting to other platforms. Whether or not linux and MS are threats, there has been enough of a niche market for years (education, die hard IT guys in businesses), small business alone is a good place for Novell.
Rock hard stability is something that is hard to give up. The expense of a sweeping platform migration is even more deterrent for some places.
In the end, third party application support may be Novell's down fall. This is sad, since it is such a great platform.
ok, I'll end my rambling now
Some of the rules that insurance plans (here in the US, my experience...so hold off on flames pls), are totally ludicrous. At our most recent company meeting regarding insurance change, there were different rates for smokers as compared to non-smokers. Some insurance plans require an entrance physical. While the insurance company is only protecting their best interest, all of this is borderline discriminatory. Someone in their elder years, who's health may be less than up to par, may not be allowed to get certain health benefits. This is because the insurance company is out to make a buck, and they're covering their rump regarding 'risk'.
I think that using genetic information as a factor may be valid, since much can be determined regarding potential risk for some diseases (predisposition for cancer, etc.). There is one problem with all of this: it discriminates, completely. The flip-side of all of this is that if they want to cull out all the genetically impure folks from their insurance policies...they'll find that they're broke.
where does the line get drawn?
if my rights are determined by something completely out of my control, where does that put me? I can understand if I am a smoker, or a drug-abuser, or an alcoholic. These are things that I have control over. To use my own genetic profile to determine what kind of risk I am to your insurance company's profits is a little too much, particularly since just because I have the predisposition of getting cancer doesn't mean I will.
Since I'm an underappreciated IT guy, I completely agree with where that story went. My boss worked not 65, but close to 80hrs a week. for 8 years. He's one of those 'wunderkind' who didn't get a degree, but instead just worked really hard and got far. He built our DB apps from scratch, with very little capitol to speak of. The company abused him so bad it was really sad. So the CIO/IS Manager guy from corporate left, and my boss got saddled with all of that crap. This lasted for less than a year. Finally he left, and not for more money, but for less stress. I myself am experiencing something the same. I've only been here for a year, though I see the lack of management.
A lot of this can be rectified, but some will always be a hassle. Users, here they're not educated enough at all when it comes to the computers they use. They think that the magic box will give them the answers they seek if they click the mouse in the right places. Nobody knows what the numbers they enter into the db mean to the guy down the hall, they don't care, they're being productive. The worst part is, if something goes wrong...it's IT's fault. This gets back to the lack of proper treatment and abuse of the IT department.
The more employers understand the 'culture', and the people, and what we're trying to do...the more likely they'll be amenable to us and be able to gauge our performance properly.
well, my $.02US
zerodvyd
My company uses tethered barcode scanners on a regular basis, in fact each of my in-process workstation have one connected. These puppies cost about $300 a pop, connect to PS/2 port and provide a pass-through for standard keyboard attachment to it. What's even better is that the piece of hardware will scan just about any barcode, decode it, and send it as if it were a keyboard input stream ...with a hit to the enter key at the end of the input string.
these have no driver requirements whatsoever
they work on every OS I've tested them on (NT, 9x, *nix/x86)
Why did this CueCat (yup, next is the CueDog right? or CueMouse?) require so much effort to just dump for free into the hands of the end user??? Call me crazy, but if I were going to hand something out for free, I wouldn't devote any time to serious development like a minor encryption scheme... I bet the next version of it is supposed to have an IP address per CueCat.
This kind of thing should be covered under Fair Use. Though I'll lay money (in the hands of EFF) that they'll continue blithely on their prosecution path and try to pull the DMCA down on the developer's head because it defeats a 'digital copy protection' scheme of some format.
If they're angry that they lost money on the development of the device, they have nobody to blame but their own developers and marketers. KIS - Keep It Simple.
If I get my hands on one of these things I do have a door that doesn't like to stay open, sounds like an adequate door stop. Will I get a Cease and Desist order too?
please
zerodvyd
imho, Jon is a good writer. However, I think that he easily succumbs to the 'megahype' he rants about.
I watched quite a few news programs, Nightline amongst them, Monday night. Yes, there was so much hype you would have had trouble breathing at the press meetings and such. Nightline had an interview with Venter (Celera Corp) and the Researcher who made the announcement of the HGP completion with President Clinton.
Basically what it all comes down to is this: They know one thing for certain, now that they have a relatively complete map of human DNA, they have an even *longer* road ahead of them in determining what it all means and/or does. They admitted that they have identified a few sequences that are potential trouble makers in the way of several types of cancer and other such hereditary diseases.
I recall from that same broadcast, that there was a passing mention of a law already having been passed regarding discrimination on the basis of genetic potential. This law apparently applies only to the governmental bodies, though it can be easily extended. Is there potential for a 'Gattaca-like' future? Probably. Let's not get ahead of ourselves.
'The perfect baby' ?? come on. To paraphrase 'Ghost in the Shell': "...over specialize and you become too predictable...it's slow death." The key thing we must bear in mind is that we as humans have a right to know all about the genome that gave rise to us, it should be taught in biology classes, and examined in history classes. Keeping people from that knowledge is inherently wrong.
I must say I agree with many of the other posters to this thread: mankind would have to be very arrogant if he tried to 'steal God's job'. I think some things should be left alone, and this is one of them.
zerodvyd
I find it terribly ironic that the counsel for Mr. Valenti objected to nearly everything that Mr. Garbus asked.
/. ...yet every time he was questioned about the very law he lobbied for, he was either admonished by his counsel, or simply stated 'I don't recall'. When he did actually answer differently than that, it was saying how circumventing any encryption is illegal according to the DMCA.
Mr. Valenti, for the past year, has made statement after statement through the MPAA as a signatory, or through articles for various news sources. These statements were most certainly in reference to DVD, DVD CCA, DeCSS, piracy, etc.
We know this because, we've ranted and carried on about them here on
Put this in perspective, I'm the happy owner of a Sony DVD deck. I have several films that I purchased before this hubbub started, but since then I've focused on independant stuff because I am in support of Eric Corley, and I am in support of Fair Use.
I also own a Creative Labs Encore kit for my PC. I purchased both players, and I purchase my DVDs just like any other upstanding consumer. Since DeCSS uses real decryption keys (found through reverse engineering if I recall correctly), it's not 'circumventing' CSS anymore than my Sony deck is.
I think the issue here is yes, they're scrambling to keep sales of their (expensive) DVD players from faltering, when there's the prospect of the money going elsewhere on the horizon for open standard hardware playing back a closed standard medium. Is that not monopolistic? Yes, I have a choice of licensed players from Sony, JVC, Toshiba, Panasonic, etc...but does the buck stop with those companies? How much does it cost a company to license CSS decryption for a player?
If he lobbied for DMCA to be signed into law, if he's had experience in the political field for 30 some odd years, and if he can go around speaking before congress...appearing to be an expert, how can they define him as a lay witness?
^^^^ curious
zerodvyd