Re:Why arent governments proacting agaisnt these n
on
Over a Million Zombie PCs
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
No sane person should connect a critical piece of computer infrastructure, such as any computer dealing with the management of the electrical grid, to the internet.
Better thing would be to require by law that none can be connected instead.
And even in these cases, the bully gets away by declaring bankrupcy (effectively nullifying any judgement against them), dissolving the offending "corporate entity", and re-forming a little while later under a different name (using assets they manage to illegally hide before vanishing).
It is getting tuffer to declare Chapter-11 (bankruptcy) in the US specifically for cases that you have just described. The problems are being worked on, it just takes a while.
This is just another symptom of the twisted legal system that has been allowed to evolve in the US. When will legislators realize that it's time for serious legal reforms to end these types of frivolous, baseless lawsuits that are intended only to intimidate and harass?
The lawsuit actually has to go before a judge before it can be declared baseless. Someone has to make that decision and in this "twisted legal system" that person is the judge. You want this thrown out quicker? Fine. But if you delegate it to someone else, there is just more chance of someone throwing out a legitimate law suit after being slipped a couple of Benjamins. Judges are (generally) harder to bribe than some court clerk.
Wait until the second day of the trial comes and then you can consider if legislation is needed to end these claims. That is, if there is a second day.
NOOO. A bit of nitpicking but in order to have a comfortable ride you NEED to keep the unsprung mass as low as you can (alu wheels anyone ?).
Can you elaborate on this some more? Or provide a link? I admitedly do not know much about shocks, but I would think that the motors wouldn't move that much weight to the wheels.
Anyway, if that is a problem put the motor(s) in the car and still keep them seperate from the powerplant (engine).
Yeah, that'd work. The way cars are built nowadays, they don't last more than 8 years anyway. Thanks!
Man, you must be buying crappy cars then. Last car we replaced was 14 years old, one before that was 10. Current ages of our cars are 9,5 and 1. More than likely at the earliest the oldest car is going to be replaced in 3 years.
P.S. Honda Rules. We laugh when people say 5 or 6 years is a long time.
Lets do some math:
100k miles.
25miles/gallon
4k gallons
$2 gallon (looking at the gas station across the street)
Gas=$8k.
Cost of electricity for charging car over all that time=$X
Cost of battery would have to be less than $8k-X in order for it to be cost effective and it is possible X>$8k. (depends on many factors here). Find out how many miles it gets to the kilo-watt hour and we can talk more on this.
My personal favorite idea for all these electric cars is (in the long run) to have an all electric drive system with an electric engine in each wheel. Then, have a (gas/diesel/hydrogen)+battery in the car. The car runs off the battery and when the battery gets to, say 50% charge the engine kicks in running at it's most efficient RPMs to charge the battery. Then all people have to do is refil the tank for whatever kind of fuel they need.
This setup has already been done with a diesel bus in Norway or the Netherlands and it produced a very quite and more efficient bus. Also toss in a plug so it can be recharged at home instead of off the battery for good measure. I don't see pure batteries taking over anytime soon until we can do a quick recharge or replace batteries like we replace 20 gal propane tanks. That's the way I see all this going, would be happy for some input.
In fact, isn't it job of the Australian government to put its own business in the best negotiating position?
Well, given that not allowing the importation of games into Australia from another country would mean that AUSTRALIAN distributors are the only ones who can sell the games legaly in Australia that would mean that AUSTRALIAN COMPANIES sell more goods MAKE MORE MONEY and benifit the government with more paid in taxes.
(Very) Old idea, new technology
on
Sunlight in a Tube
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
This is a pre-electricity invention. The only thing that is new is that they are using fibre optics instead of glass for carrying the light. Here's a LinkTo Shipboard Prisms that was used and patented way back in 1684. A good 331 years ago.
Re:I've had this in my office for years
on
Sunlight in a Tube
·
· Score: 1
maybe if I had a 21 inch CRT?
That would give you a green tan, not a bronze one.
Obviously they are NOT going to respect "caller ID".
Who said anything about caller ID? Use IP addresses. They can't spoof that and be able to carry on a conversation. Any proxy servers that use this would get blocked (or you could automatically block proxy servers anyway).
So how long until someone hunts down those IPs and offers up a list for call blocking of them? Also, how long until someone writes a program that will DDoS of some form or another those same call centers or something similar that will harass the call centers?
how about this
exploit = no user input required other than visiting website
users-doing-something-dumb = clicking yes to a security warning (that's teh best name I can come up for this) or something more brain intensive
If an exploit asks you to run it, does it still count as a security exploit? It's not taking advantage of anything other than the users own stupidity/ignorance if they get infected by it. Similar to those email viruses you have to oepn the atached zip, enter the password and then run the exe to get infected by.
This is US experience: Most people I know that have cell phones have either kept the land line and the longdistance (older people, 50's and 60's) or have just kept the landline (20's). The landline is kept for emergencies and local calling for takeout (some won't take a non-local cell #), anyone who may sell you # to a list, for various incoming calls, and as an emergency backup. The local bill isn't that much and you can give the number out to anyone without having to worry about charges as you do with cell phones (in the US at least). Very few have dumped the land lines altogether.
Just to let you know, "The Examiner" used to be "The Northern Virginia Journal" (or something like that). All I remember is that I used to call it "The Journal" for short. They just renamed themselves for the most part. (under the old name the were still free).
The Post launched "The Expres" to compete with "The Journal" when it started taking away their readership (and hence advertising revenue). Just some info from someone across the river in NVA.
Ms Calendar: Honestly, what is it about them that bothers you so much?
Giles: The smell.
Ms Calendar: Computers don't smell, Rupert.
Giles: I know. Smell is the most powerful trigger to the memory there is. A certain flower or a whiff of smoke can bring up experiences long forgotten. Books smell. Musty and, and, and, and rich. The knowledge gained from a computer, is, it... it has no texture, no context. It's there and then it's gone. If it's to last, then the getting of knowledge should be tangible, it should be, um... smelly.
Ms Calendar: Well! You really are an old-fashioned boy, aren't you?
This explain anything? That said, there really is something about having an acutal piece of paper in your hands. Maybe if electronic paper ever gets developed enought that might help.
Not sure about the handshaking, but with people I know really well (Note: have caller ID to help with this), I will say "Hello: " and start it off that way. (They know we have caller ID). Or say, "Hi, One minute" and hand the phone to who the person they are calling for (without them having to ask). As I said, this is only for people we know really well. Otherwise we just say "Hello?" and wait for the other person.
One quick thing, in the US only Verizon does not use SIM cards. So other than coverage area, it appears that the US is just as good if not better than the European mobiles.
We have nationwide calling plans in the US. How come no one has introduced a Continent/Union wide plan in Europe yet?
You think anything short of jail time will actually deter people like this? Fine them and they will only figure out a new way to scam money out of people. There is a reason major fraudsters go to jail instead of mere fines.
If XBox 2 won't have backwards compatibility with XBox (and right now it seems unlikely for it to have, since they chosen entirely different hardware), MS will prove that they are not just evil, they are plain nuts.
Unfortunately, due to MS's short sighted rush to get into the console market with the X-Box, they went with the hardware they knew and chose the P3-733 (i think that is the right speed). This is one reason I really do not like the X-Box. It is nothing more than a striped down PC. Every other console to date has had some form of customized PC and graphics card made for it. In order for MS to do any real competing they had to do the same. That essentially doomed them for this. Maybe when the X-Box 3 comes out (if it ever does) computing power will have advanced enough to where they can semi emulate the original games on it.
As a side note, the only way Sony has maintained it's reverse compatability is by putting the PS1 and PS2 processors in the PS3. I don't know if Nintendo is doing the same or not. MS might be able to do this if they could get a low power P3-733 and equivalent video card fabed for them.
Slashdot Mirror
No sane person should connect a critical piece of computer infrastructure, such as any computer dealing with the management of the electrical grid, to the internet.
Better thing would be to require by law that none can be connected instead.
It would be justifiable homicide.
And even in these cases, the bully gets away by declaring bankrupcy (effectively nullifying any judgement against them), dissolving the offending "corporate entity", and re-forming a little while later under a different name (using assets they manage to illegally hide before vanishing).
It is getting tuffer to declare Chapter-11 (bankruptcy) in the US specifically for cases that you have just described. The problems are being worked on, it just takes a while.
This is just another symptom of the twisted legal system that has been allowed to evolve in the US. When will legislators realize that it's time for serious legal reforms to end these types of frivolous, baseless lawsuits that are intended only to intimidate and harass?
The lawsuit actually has to go before a judge before it can be declared baseless. Someone has to make that decision and in this "twisted legal system" that person is the judge. You want this thrown out quicker? Fine. But if you delegate it to someone else, there is just more chance of someone throwing out a legitimate law suit after being slipped a couple of Benjamins. Judges are (generally) harder to bribe than some court clerk.
Wait until the second day of the trial comes and then you can consider if legislation is needed to end these claims. That is, if there is a second day.
Oh.. and I hear there are some environmental benefits. ;-)
Nice info. Just to point to one thing though, how the electricity is generated contributes to polution and CO2. Aside from that, a lot of nice info.
NOOO. A bit of nitpicking but in order to have a comfortable ride you NEED to keep the unsprung mass as low as you can (alu wheels anyone ?).
Can you elaborate on this some more? Or provide a link? I admitedly do not know much about shocks, but I would think that the motors wouldn't move that much weight to the wheels.
Anyway, if that is a problem put the motor(s) in the car and still keep them seperate from the powerplant (engine).
Yeah, that'd work. The way cars are built nowadays, they don't last more than 8 years anyway. Thanks!
Man, you must be buying crappy cars then. Last car we replaced was 14 years old, one before that was 10. Current ages of our cars are 9,5 and 1. More than likely at the earliest the oldest car is going to be replaced in 3 years.
P.S. Honda Rules. We laugh when people say 5 or 6 years is a long time.
Lets do some math:
100k miles.
25miles/gallon
4k gallons
$2 gallon (looking at the gas station across the street)
Gas=$8k.
Cost of electricity for charging car over all that time=$X
Cost of battery would have to be less than $8k-X in order for it to be cost effective and it is possible X>$8k. (depends on many factors here). Find out how many miles it gets to the kilo-watt hour and we can talk more on this.
My personal favorite idea for all these electric cars is (in the long run) to have an all electric drive system with an electric engine in each wheel. Then, have a (gas/diesel/hydrogen)+battery in the car. The car runs off the battery and when the battery gets to, say 50% charge the engine kicks in running at it's most efficient RPMs to charge the battery. Then all people have to do is refil the tank for whatever kind of fuel they need.
This setup has already been done with a diesel bus in Norway or the Netherlands and it produced a very quite and more efficient bus. Also toss in a plug so it can be recharged at home instead of off the battery for good measure. I don't see pure batteries taking over anytime soon until we can do a quick recharge or replace batteries like we replace 20 gal propane tanks. That's the way I see all this going, would be happy for some input.
In fact, isn't it job of the Australian government to put its own business in the best negotiating position?
Well, given that not allowing the importation of games into Australia from another country would mean that AUSTRALIAN distributors are the only ones who can sell the games legaly in Australia that would mean that AUSTRALIAN COMPANIES sell more goods MAKE MORE MONEY and benifit the government with more paid in taxes.
This is a pre-electricity invention. The only thing that is new is that they are using fibre optics instead of glass for carrying the light. Here's a LinkTo Shipboard Prisms that was used and patented way back in 1684. A good 331 years ago.
maybe if I had a 21 inch CRT?
That would give you a green tan, not a bronze one.
Obviously they are NOT going to respect "caller ID".
Who said anything about caller ID? Use IP addresses. They can't spoof that and be able to carry on a conversation. Any proxy servers that use this would get blocked (or you could automatically block proxy servers anyway).
So how long until someone hunts down those IPs and offers up a list for call blocking of them? Also, how long until someone writes a program that will DDoS of some form or another those same call centers or something similar that will harass the call centers?
how about this
exploit = no user input required other than visiting website
users-doing-something-dumb = clicking yes to a security warning (that's teh best name I can come up for this) or something more brain intensive
If an exploit asks you to run it, does it still count as a security exploit? It's not taking advantage of anything other than the users own stupidity/ignorance if they get infected by it. Similar to those email viruses you have to oepn the atached zip, enter the password and then run the exe to get infected by.
This is US experience: Most people I know that have cell phones have either kept the land line and the longdistance (older people, 50's and 60's) or have just kept the landline (20's). The landline is kept for emergencies and local calling for takeout (some won't take a non-local cell #), anyone who may sell you # to a list, for various incoming calls, and as an emergency backup. The local bill isn't that much and you can give the number out to anyone without having to worry about charges as you do with cell phones (in the US at least). Very few have dumped the land lines altogether.
Just to let you know, "The Examiner" used to be "The Northern Virginia Journal" (or something like that). All I remember is that I used to call it "The Journal" for short. They just renamed themselves for the most part. (under the old name the were still free).
The Post launched "The Expres" to compete with "The Journal" when it started taking away their readership (and hence advertising revenue). Just some info from someone across the river in NVA.
Ms Calendar: Honestly, what is it about them that bothers you so much?
... it has no texture, no context. It's there and then it's gone. If it's to last, then the getting of knowledge should be tangible, it should be, um... smelly.
Giles: The smell.
Ms Calendar: Computers don't smell, Rupert.
Giles: I know. Smell is the most powerful trigger to the memory there is. A certain flower or a whiff of smoke can bring up experiences long forgotten. Books smell. Musty and, and, and, and rich. The knowledge gained from a computer, is, it
Ms Calendar: Well! You really are an old-fashioned boy, aren't you?
This explain anything? That said, there really is something about having an acutal piece of paper in your hands. Maybe if electronic paper ever gets developed enought that might help.
Not sure about the handshaking, but with people I know really well (Note: have caller ID to help with this), I will say "Hello: " and start it off that way. (They know we have caller ID). Or say, "Hi, One minute" and hand the phone to who the person they are calling for (without them having to ask). As I said, this is only for people we know really well. Otherwise we just say "Hello?" and wait for the other person.
One quick thing, in the US only Verizon does not use SIM cards. So other than coverage area, it appears that the US is just as good if not better than the European mobiles.
We have nationwide calling plans in the US. How come no one has introduced a Continent/Union wide plan in Europe yet?
Perhaps the U.S. should look at how the Europeon Union did it. All the same standard = more money.
Or perhaps it's 50% more people and a 400% higher population density.
You think anything short of jail time will actually deter people like this? Fine them and they will only figure out a new way to scam money out of people. There is a reason major fraudsters go to jail instead of mere fines.
but it seems that Mario, Wario, Pokemon, Zelda, et al are really the only thing Nintendo cares about,
Maybe if they released some of the Japan only games in other parts of the world? Like "Fire Emblem"?
On the other hand, I would love to see a super smash bro's with Sega characters in it. SONIC vs. MARIO!
If XBox 2 won't have backwards compatibility with XBox (and right now it seems unlikely for it to have, since they chosen entirely different hardware), MS will prove that they are not just evil, they are plain nuts.
Unfortunately, due to MS's short sighted rush to get into the console market with the X-Box, they went with the hardware they knew and chose the P3-733 (i think that is the right speed). This is one reason I really do not like the X-Box. It is nothing more than a striped down PC. Every other console to date has had some form of customized PC and graphics card made for it. In order for MS to do any real competing they had to do the same. That essentially doomed them for this. Maybe when the X-Box 3 comes out (if it ever does) computing power will have advanced enough to where they can semi emulate the original games on it.
As a side note, the only way Sony has maintained it's reverse compatability is by putting the PS1 and PS2 processors in the PS3. I don't know if Nintendo is doing the same or not. MS might be able to do this if they could get a low power P3-733 and equivalent video card fabed for them.