No, not unless the communication stream were also encrypted. All you'd have to do is setup a wireless sniffer, capture the MAC addresses in DHCP requests, wait for one to go offline, and jump in with your NIC set to the MAC address of your choice.
I find it pretty easy to image a whacked-out set of kids doling out the kinds of retribution in Max Payne. (Those double Ingrams were pretty sweet, eh?) It has happened several times, just for the sake of retribution.
The question is: to what extent does a video game influence that behavior? Who hasn't felt more aggressive after a good bout of fraggin? We don't know the extent yet; we only know that it has some unknown amount of influence according to the Surgeon General's report. So, just like I don't let my oldest kid beat on his younger brother, I don't let him play violent video games.
As a parent, I can understand why some people think that playing Max Payne would be like training for the next Columbine. Violence runs rampant in our media.
But it always has. The greatest literature, and some of the most thoughtful movies (Schindler's List and Platoon come to mind) are rife with violence. The difference is the follow-through. Showing a full consideration of the effects, or the struggle against violence is often what sets stories of violence apart as literature.
Would I want these games banned? No. The ratings system that is in place is what I use. Before my kids get a game, I evaluate it. Only the responsible ones get through.
Yes, I lusted after a Model 100 when they came out (this is what they looked like if you've never seen one...) but I ended up buying the even more useful Tandy PC-2 pocket computer. It was amazing how many Physics and Chemistry equations you could store in 3.5K. Never would have made it through the core curriculum in college without my artificial memory...;)
In this day and age, there's nothing stopping blacklist coordinators from automating the rehabilitation process: Select your host and click 'Check me now!' Passing verification removes one's host from the list.
An interesting assertion in the KDE League comment: US Antitrust law protects international parties from local business if it harms the American Consumer. If this is the case, shouldn't international parties have been given the right to comment?
"In addition, many Open Source developers live in other countries, making it extremely difficult for them to obtain any redress through the courts. (Here it is important to bear in mind that while these developers live in other countries, their software is freely available to American consumers, and hence any harm visited upon these international developers results in direct harm to the American consumers which the Antitrust Laws are designed to protect.)"
>The GPL is the anti-community. It locks developers into a very evil paradigm, one of stealing others' ideas.
This is exactly why the GPL has to exist -- so that developers don't steal others' ideas.
Placing software into the public domain will defend against patents by being evidence of prior art. However, it does not defend against someone using public domain software in an 'embrace and extend' strategy. What if hyperlinks were public domain but the HTTP protocol was patented?
The GPL exists solely as a defense against monopolists; it is a defense mechanism for guaranteeing that your gift to the community remains free. Until more enlightened times, I can't see the benefit of releasing as public domain.
The SSSCA is for now, presumed dead, but mutant varieties will most likely appear in the future. With the protectionist environment towards intellectual property in Congress today, future digital rights management variants would continue to provide the means to positively identify individuals online.
A lawyer friend tells me that nothing in the US Constitution grants the right to anonymity (as opposed to privacy) and that a means of identifying individuals online is inevitable. That said, do you think the OSS world should preempt efforts such as the SSSCA and provide an open means of positively identifying individuals online? Has it come down to choosing the path to walk vs. being forced down it?
Where the rubber meets the road
on
Linux Win In Schools
·
· Score: 2, Informative
It's nice that everyone feels that Linux use in schools would be good. But if you want to see Linux in use at your local K-12, get out and volunteer with their technology committee. I did, and it was an eye-opener.
Because school administrators aren't technical, they decide what to implement based on what other schools in their area are doing, and the Windows status quo is maintained. Install Linux? What's that? How would you do it? It's free, sure, but without an expert to help them learn, all but the bravest will stay away. They have too many other issues to worry about, like getting electrical upgrades, equipment, and developing computer curriculum with teachers that aren't up to speed.
If you volunteer and work as part of a school technology team, you'll be helping them move through all of these issues with minimal risk. It's then that you'll be able to bring up Linux, piquing their interest with the cost, helping them understand why it's better, and assisting with the implementation and the learning. They'll be exceedingly grateful, and you'll get to increase your karma somewhere other than here.
Slashdot Mirror
No, not unless the communication stream were also encrypted. All you'd have to do is setup a wireless sniffer, capture the MAC addresses in DHCP requests, wait for one to go offline, and jump in with your NIC set to the MAC address of your choice.
I find it pretty easy to image a whacked-out set of kids doling out the kinds of retribution in Max Payne. (Those double Ingrams were pretty sweet, eh?) It has happened several times, just for the sake of retribution.
The question is: to what extent does a video game influence that behavior? Who hasn't felt more aggressive after a good bout of fraggin? We don't know the extent yet; we only know that it has some unknown amount of influence according to the Surgeon General's report. So, just like I don't let my oldest kid beat on his younger brother, I don't let him play violent video games.
I'm a parent. It's part of the job.
As a parent, I can understand why some people think that playing Max Payne would be like training for the next Columbine. Violence runs rampant in our media.
But it always has. The greatest literature, and some of the most thoughtful movies (Schindler's List and Platoon come to mind) are rife with violence. The difference is the follow-through. Showing a full consideration of the effects, or the struggle against violence is often what sets stories of violence apart as literature.
Would I want these games banned? No. The ratings system that is in place is what I use. Before my kids get a game, I evaluate it. Only the responsible ones get through.
1. Make sure that the reviewers have photographic memories,
2. Get them together with the Wine folks for some long lunches
3. Bwahahaha!
Yes, I lusted after a Model 100 when they came out (this is what they looked like if you've never seen one...) but I ended up buying the even more useful Tandy PC-2 pocket computer. It was amazing how many Physics and Chemistry equations you could store in 3.5K. Never would have made it through the core curriculum in college without my artificial memory...;)
In this day and age, there's nothing stopping blacklist coordinators from automating the rehabilitation process: Select your host and click 'Check me now!' Passing verification removes one's host from the list.
An interesting assertion in the KDE League comment: US Antitrust law protects international parties from local business if it harms the American Consumer. If this is the case, shouldn't international parties have been given the right to comment?
"In addition, many Open Source developers live in other countries, making it extremely difficult for them to obtain any redress through the courts. (Here it is important to bear in mind that while these developers live in other countries, their software is freely available to American consumers, and hence any harm visited upon these international developers results in direct harm to the American consumers which the Antitrust Laws are designed to protect.)"
>The GPL is the anti-community. It locks developers into a very evil paradigm, one of stealing others' ideas.
This is exactly why the GPL has to exist -- so that developers don't steal others' ideas.
Placing software into the public domain will defend against patents by being evidence of prior art. However, it does not defend against someone using public domain software in an 'embrace and extend' strategy. What if hyperlinks were public domain but the HTTP protocol was patented?
The GPL exists solely as a defense against monopolists; it is a defense mechanism for guaranteeing that your gift to the community remains free. Until more enlightened times, I can't see the benefit of releasing as public domain.
Ok, for the man who needs a one-of-a-kind wedding ring:
The One Ring
Eh? Why not?
Congrats!
- Listen to us, not to the consultants
- Decide on the plan, stand back, and let us implement
- Act as a filter for the politics
The SSSCA is for now, presumed dead, but mutant varieties will most likely appear in the future. With the protectionist environment towards intellectual property in Congress today, future digital rights management variants would continue to provide the means to positively identify individuals online.
A lawyer friend tells me that nothing in the US Constitution grants the right to anonymity (as opposed to privacy) and that a means of identifying individuals online is inevitable. That said, do you think the OSS world should preempt efforts such as the SSSCA and provide an open means of positively identifying individuals online? Has it come down to choosing the path to walk vs. being forced down it?
It's nice that everyone feels that Linux use in schools would be good. But if you want to see Linux in use at your local K-12, get out and volunteer with their technology committee. I did, and it was an eye-opener.
Because school administrators aren't technical, they decide what to implement based on what other schools in their area are doing, and the Windows status quo is maintained. Install Linux? What's that? How would you do it? It's free, sure, but without an expert to help them learn, all but the bravest will stay away. They have too many other issues to worry about, like getting electrical upgrades, equipment, and developing computer curriculum with teachers that aren't up to speed.
If you volunteer and work as part of a school technology team, you'll be helping them move through all of these issues with minimal risk. It's then that you'll be able to bring up Linux, piquing their interest with the cost, helping them understand why it's better, and assisting with the implementation and the learning. They'll be exceedingly grateful, and you'll get to increase your karma somewhere other than here.