Incidentally, I have two (a boy and a girl, so I'm "entitled" to an opinion on all of the "for the children" issues), and I'd rather protect them from a government that tries to shield them from the world than the off chance that they might see something on TV that will warp their fragile little minds beyond repair (maybe other people's kids are dumb, but mine are pretty smart - at least smart enough to sort out right from wrong). You've got my vote, at least.
If it installs/allows malware, then you're right; "the media companies" probably aren't behind it. However - I've been wondering for a while how long it would be before "the media companies" got around to releasing a codec that "phones home" and lets them know what video file you're playing and from where you're playing it so that they can flush out "piracy". Codec's are native code that we blindly download and let run, after all... it seems like it would be trivial to insert a bit of code that sends a quick HTTP GET request to some random web site with the details of what it was playing.
A local ISP has to buy service from one or more of the Tier 1/2s. Oddly enough, purchasing an OC-192 (that's that 10 Gbps pipe) isn't exactly cheap.
Ok, so then the upstream providers are ripping off the downstream providers, and they're passing that rip off on to us. At some point, the "backbone" is just a bunch of providers with peering arrangements (e.g. routers connected by wires) and there's just no WAY it actually costs significantly more than $60/month to route a measly 3 Mb/s, unless the routers cost somwhere in the $10,000,000 range. If so, holy shit. I know how routers are designed - I'm sure I could design something more cost effective than that. Maybe I need to open up my own router business.
if everyone saturated their pipe, they would have to charge upwards of 10x
I've heard this before, and I'm not sure I buy it. Let's say 3 Mb/s costs $60/month. I see that Cisco's 12000 series router go from 2.5 Gbps to 10 Gbps. Assuming that Cisco is being honest about their bandwidth capabilities (e.g. not lying through their teeth like a broadband service provider), that means that a single low-end Cisco 12000 series router can service about 800 customers (assuming that each one actually saturates the pipe 24 hours a day, 7 days a week), each paying $60/month, which equates to $50,000/month in revenue. Now, Cisco doesn't tell you how much these things cost (or even hint at how much), but lets say one router costs a (ridiculous) million dollars. In well under two years, the provider will have recouped the cost of the router itself. Even if the router lasts only a measly year after that, the provider clears an additional $800,000 on their initial investment to cover paying the admin staff (over three years, probably $600,000), power bills, rent, etc. That's pretty close to break even, if the router cost $1,000,000 and only lasted three years (somebody around here has to know what they cost and how long they last - I'll bet it's a rosier picture than I've painted). So I figure $60/month must cover the actual costs they'd incur if we all used the bandwidth we pay for (which would be almost impossible, even for a die-hard torrent user) - I find it impossible to beleive that they'd need to charge $600/month to turn a profit.
It's not anonymous, and apparently it never will be. Although it seems like anonymous file sharing would be a straightforward problem to solve, the FreeNet project has been working on this for, what, five years now? They have yet to produce anything usable, or even anything approximating usable. Othershavetried as well, and none has produced anything that can actually be used for actual file sharing. I'd like to help, but at this point, I wouldn't even know where to begin...
when criminals would be transported to Australia for trivial thefts... we regard it as barbaric.
Now, now - I've been to Australia a few times in the past year, and I wouldn't say that being transported there is barbaric. Unpleasant, sure, but still a fitting punishment for a trivial theft or minor copyright infringement.
I've always agreed with the point about studying the history of computing - the more I understand about the way computers evolved, the better a programmer I am. So where does one go for a good, comprehensive history of the computer UI for the technically inclined? I would love to find a bit of computing archeology that dug out and analyzed some of the source code for, say, the Xerox PARC Alto and went over some of its design decisions and trade-offs and maybe followed up with an interview with Alan Kay but also discussed the hardware design of the CGA and how it evolved into the VGA and SVGA, along with hardware specifications... really hardcore geeky stuff, but in a historical context. A book that doesn't just talk about what was invented, but how it worked and why it was invented, and how it was better than what it replaced. I borrowed a book from a friend on "modem programming" (talk about archaic), and it opened with about 100 pages discussing the history of the modem; how the telegraph worked, how telegraph machines incorporated error detection and correction, etc. to motivate the invention and design of the modem. I've always been looking for a longer book that took the same approach, but to everything.
Well, from a quick perusal of the sex offender database, which lists the age of the offender and the age of the victim, not many in my neighborhood. Curious if yours is different.
If you truly think one language is the best choice for everything, then you're a total idiot.
That's right! If you write applications that require fewer than 5 different languages for ongoing maintenance, you're just fitting a square peg into a round hole! You're just one of the "I have a hammer so everything is a nail" people! Your custom JVM written in C should be interpreting java byte codes that have embedded Python scripts that build Javascript output that interpret TCL for maximum flexibility! Bah! One language!
Thanks for clearing that up... I was so confused by the mismatch between the article summary and the title (and TFM itself) that I had started re-reading RFC 1034, thinking I might be misunderstanding how wildcard DNS entries work. The first sentence of TFA should have been "Ok, not really."
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Of course, comrade. If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear.
He should go on a speaking tour with Rod Johnson.
Beyond that, what difference does it make if the computer is a real Apple computer or not?
Incidentally, I have two (a boy and a girl, so I'm "entitled" to an opinion on all of the "for the children" issues), and I'd rather protect them from a government that tries to shield them from the world than the off chance that they might see something on TV that will warp their fragile little minds beyond repair (maybe other people's kids are dumb, but mine are pretty smart - at least smart enough to sort out right from wrong). You've got my vote, at least.
If it installs/allows malware, then you're right; "the media companies" probably aren't behind it. However - I've been wondering for a while how long it would be before "the media companies" got around to releasing a codec that "phones home" and lets them know what video file you're playing and from where you're playing it so that they can flush out "piracy". Codec's are native code that we blindly download and let run, after all... it seems like it would be trivial to insert a bit of code that sends a quick HTTP GET request to some random web site with the details of what it was playing.
Ok, so then the upstream providers are ripping off the downstream providers, and they're passing that rip off on to us. At some point, the "backbone" is just a bunch of providers with peering arrangements (e.g. routers connected by wires) and there's just no WAY it actually costs significantly more than $60/month to route a measly 3 Mb/s, unless the routers cost somwhere in the $10,000,000 range. If so, holy shit. I know how routers are designed - I'm sure I could design something more cost effective than that. Maybe I need to open up my own router business.
I've heard this before, and I'm not sure I buy it. Let's say 3 Mb/s costs $60/month. I see that Cisco's 12000 series router go from 2.5 Gbps to 10 Gbps. Assuming that Cisco is being honest about their bandwidth capabilities (e.g. not lying through their teeth like a broadband service provider), that means that a single low-end Cisco 12000 series router can service about 800 customers (assuming that each one actually saturates the pipe 24 hours a day, 7 days a week), each paying $60/month, which equates to $50,000/month in revenue. Now, Cisco doesn't tell you how much these things cost (or even hint at how much), but lets say one router costs a (ridiculous) million dollars. In well under two years, the provider will have recouped the cost of the router itself. Even if the router lasts only a measly year after that, the provider clears an additional $800,000 on their initial investment to cover paying the admin staff (over three years, probably $600,000), power bills, rent, etc. That's pretty close to break even, if the router cost $1,000,000 and only lasted three years (somebody around here has to know what they cost and how long they last - I'll bet it's a rosier picture than I've painted). So I figure $60/month must cover the actual costs they'd incur if we all used the bandwidth we pay for (which would be almost impossible, even for a die-hard torrent user) - I find it impossible to beleive that they'd need to charge $600/month to turn a profit.
You left off a step:
Actually:
DRM is what keeps you from doing everything you paid to do.
It's not anonymous, and apparently it never will be. Although it seems like anonymous file sharing would be a straightforward problem to solve, the FreeNet project has been working on this for, what, five years now? They have yet to produce anything usable, or even anything approximating usable. Others have tried as well, and none has produced anything that can actually be used for actual file sharing. I'd like to help, but at this point, I wouldn't even know where to begin...
What country are you calling undeveloped? Australia has Steve Irwin, John Howard, kangaroos, almost 200 acres of arable land...
... Ok, maybe you have a point there.
Now, now - I've been to Australia a few times in the past year, and I wouldn't say that being transported there is barbaric. Unpleasant, sure, but still a fitting punishment for a trivial theft or minor copyright infringement.
That's easy to beat. Just disable the clock. I'm going to that right
Dude, you really need to brush up on your Spanish. You're liable to insult the Brazilian culture if you get their native language all wrong.
But then they drifted off topic and started arguing about Nazis and Hitler and the discussion had to be ended.
Everybody who has to use the bathroom at FBI headquarters agrees.
Eh? Reference?
I've always agreed with the point about studying the history of computing - the more I understand about the way computers evolved, the better a programmer I am. So where does one go for a good, comprehensive history of the computer UI for the technically inclined? I would love to find a bit of computing archeology that dug out and analyzed some of the source code for, say, the Xerox PARC Alto and went over some of its design decisions and trade-offs and maybe followed up with an interview with Alan Kay but also discussed the hardware design of the CGA and how it evolved into the VGA and SVGA, along with hardware specifications... really hardcore geeky stuff, but in a historical context. A book that doesn't just talk about what was invented, but how it worked and why it was invented, and how it was better than what it replaced. I borrowed a book from a friend on "modem programming" (talk about archaic), and it opened with about 100 pages discussing the history of the modem; how the telegraph worked, how telegraph machines incorporated error detection and correction, etc. to motivate the invention and design of the modem. I've always been looking for a longer book that took the same approach, but to everything.
How do you know it hasn't?
Well, from a quick perusal of the sex offender database, which lists the age of the offender and the age of the victim, not many in my neighborhood. Curious if yours is different.
At first, I read the title as "Backlash Against British Encryption Law Against British Law". The sad part is, I wasn't surprised.
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
That's right! If you write applications that require fewer than 5 different languages for ongoing maintenance, you're just fitting a square peg into a round hole! You're just one of the "I have a hammer so everything is a nail" people! Your custom JVM written in C should be interpreting java byte codes that have embedded Python scripts that build Javascript output that interpret TCL for maximum flexibility! Bah! One language!
Thanks for clearing that up... I was so confused by the mismatch between the article summary and the title (and TFM itself) that I had started re-reading RFC 1034, thinking I might be misunderstanding how wildcard DNS entries work. The first sentence of TFA should have been "Ok, not really."
Oh, I think you're hardly being fair to Java - your example was artificially bloated. I can easily do this in one line in Java:
Runtime.getRuntime( ).exec( "perl -e 'sub theTruth($) { shift; $_ =~ s/Java/Not so bad now/; return $_; }" );
I think you owe Java an apology.