I am hesitant to contribute to Wikipedia because I don't want them to get paid editors. If they succeed in their fundraising goal, then we should consider forking the project just in case it goes bad. This sounds like a case of taking something that works perfectly fine, then hiring a CEO with a "vision" that is completely different from the intended purpose of the project. If Jimmy Wales wants to become CEO of a commercial encyclopedia, then go register JimmyWalesApedia.com.
Agreed. Passphrases solve these problems, and cost nothing to implement. Yet most systems still insist on passwords 10 characters or some other such nonsense.
In this case, the tester tested two products and rated one "99%" and one "3%" against some standard.
The key difference is that UL tests against a pre-existing standard. Not a standard that they made after looking at the product. UL can't customize their test to make one product look better or worse.
The methodology might have been totally bogus (no idea), but the act of paying for the test isn't automatically so.
The act of paying for a test to be designed for you, or a test you designed ahead of time to make your product look good, is bogus. Paying to have a test executed for you is not bogus. One is independent, the other is not.
This came-up in the other Slashdot discussions and I am compelled to post it here too since this misinformation seems to have stuck. Comcast did not put any restrictions on Netflix. Comcast and Level 3 communications (who happens to host Netflix) had a peering agreement, which Level 3 violated. It has nothing to do with freedom, or network neutrality, or Netflix.
The writing has been on the wall for the DS for quite a while. I'm amazed it lasted this long. Back when I modded my Nintendo DS and started writing apps for it, I had friends writing apps for their iPhones. The main difference: the iPhone was 10 times as expensive as a Nintendo DS. That made the DS a better machine for school kids who could not afford a smartphone and a contract. But only a few years later, a cell phone is just part of the cost of middle-class living along with cable TV and internet. Even grade school kids are getting cell phones. So the "niche" that the DS fills is getting smaller and smaller.
To compete, they either need to start offering the features in smart phones (calendar, web access, texting, phone calls) or offering features the smart phones don't have (significantly better gaming experience). The 3D feature in the new DS might cause a spike, but it is a novelty that won't change the trend of events.
Then why don't carriers itemize the installment payment and the service as two separate line items?
You mean, in a straightforward manner like every other business on the planet? I wish I knew. I suspect one just can't understand certain things without the evil gene.
If I had the money, I would setup "Honesty wireless" which would just take the existing wireless business model, and make the pricing sane. I think people would be so flabbergasted that it makes sense. "Wait... you mean since texts actually don't cost the network anything, they are free? And... I pay the same price per megabyte regardless of what color my phone is? And... I don't have to pay for things I don't use? Inconceivable!" And the best part would be seeing the balance leftover on your phone loan.
Yeah, the US system is completely screwed. But since the entire article was about the US, don't be surprised when the context of the comments is US-centric.
There are providers in the US (T-mobile) who will let you do this, and you can "fool" other providers into doing it by swapping sim cards out of another phone. Which is truly sad. I had a Verizon guy try to dance circles around me dodging the question of why I can't buy a phone with a 5MP camera and a flash without buying a data plan.
Part of the data plan's purpose is to subsidize the cost of the phone. That's why they won't let you buy a data-capable phone without the data service. There's no technical reason they can't, they just don't want you to get the discounted phone without paying them back for the discount.
The whole system is stupid. If cell phone providers sold cars, you would get the car for $50, but sign a multi-year agreement to buy gas from them at an inflated price.
I think that is a great analogy and explains why this smells wrong, even if taken individually it doesn't sound too bad. I'm still curious about the backup example though. Perhaps they could subpoena what was uploaded and when, but no the contents without warrant?
The state is not funding a theme park. The state is giving tax breaks to a theme park. Just like they give tax breaks to churches, religious organizations, large businesses that employ a lot of people, and other theme parks. Nothing in either constitution says that you get to agree with every tax expenditure. And nothing in the constitution says that tax breaks can't go to things that put forth a particular set of religious beliefs.
That seems like a dangerous loophole since almost any information would fall under that. It seems like we are saying the data isn't protected, it is the records themselves.
Suppose a customer uses a backup service that has a privacy policy saying they won't give away the customer data. I think you are saying the service can release the files because it isn't the customer's files that are being examined, it is the backup service's files.
1) I was assuming the New York to Washington DC run was mostly straight. 2) The article said the packages were in 2m capsules. 3) It's only 15 minutes. Hold your breath!:-)
Please stop posting this! The same basic thing has been posted 3 days in a row, and every time all the +5 comments are the ones correcting it. Just stop. I'm tired of having friends say "We gotta cancel our Comcast, they are blocking NetFlix" and having to explain that the FCC is not voting to stop Comcast, and Comcast is not violating Network Neutrality. This was a simple peering dispute between two companies.
In a virtual machine. Which is how Javascript is supposed to be run. Just like VBScript was, and Java, PDF, and every other "safe" technology. The problem is that the temptation to make sandboxed scripting languages more powerful slowly erodes the security of the sandbox.
Better yet, stop going to see movies. I pay for the ticket - don't give me ads. And don't tell me it starts at 7pm when it really shows 20 minutes of ads, 10 minutes of previews, and the movie starts at 7:30.
In all fairness though, so many youtube videos have cruddy audio and I have to blast my speakers at full to hear them. I wish youtube would normalize volumes automatically when videos are uploaded, to combat this. (maybe they do, but it doesn't work on really bad audio with lots of noise.)
Slashdot Mirror
I am hesitant to contribute to Wikipedia because I don't want them to get paid editors. If they succeed in their fundraising goal, then we should consider forking the project just in case it goes bad. This sounds like a case of taking something that works perfectly fine, then hiring a CEO with a "vision" that is completely different from the intended purpose of the project. If Jimmy Wales wants to become CEO of a commercial encyclopedia, then go register JimmyWalesApedia.com.
Agreed. Passphrases solve these problems, and cost nothing to implement. Yet most systems still insist on passwords 10 characters or some other such nonsense.
This is totally different.
In this case, the tester tested two products and rated one "99%" and one "3%" against some standard.
The key difference is that UL tests against a pre-existing standard. Not a standard that they made after looking at the product. UL can't customize their test to make one product look better or worse.
The methodology might have been totally bogus (no idea), but the act of paying for the test isn't automatically so.
The act of paying for a test to be designed for you, or a test you designed ahead of time to make your product look good, is bogus. Paying to have a test executed for you is not bogus. One is independent, the other is not.
I'm finally glad to meet the person who speaks for all of the world (except America of course). Good thing they all have the same opinions!
AND that nutbag Michael Moore too!
This came-up in the other Slashdot discussions and I am compelled to post it here too since this misinformation seems to have stuck. Comcast did not put any restrictions on Netflix. Comcast and Level 3 communications (who happens to host Netflix) had a peering agreement, which Level 3 violated. It has nothing to do with freedom, or network neutrality, or Netflix.
I heard the same story on the radio yesterday and it is the papers. Check out the Google search. Here's some articles on it:
Here's The Guardian's article on it, from today. Here's another from The Independent
The writing has been on the wall for the DS for quite a while. I'm amazed it lasted this long. Back when I modded my Nintendo DS and started writing apps for it, I had friends writing apps for their iPhones. The main difference: the iPhone was 10 times as expensive as a Nintendo DS. That made the DS a better machine for school kids who could not afford a smartphone and a contract. But only a few years later, a cell phone is just part of the cost of middle-class living along with cable TV and internet. Even grade school kids are getting cell phones. So the "niche" that the DS fills is getting smaller and smaller.
To compete, they either need to start offering the features in smart phones (calendar, web access, texting, phone calls) or offering features the smart phones don't have (significantly better gaming experience). The 3D feature in the new DS might cause a spike, but it is a novelty that won't change the trend of events.
Then why don't carriers itemize the installment payment and the service as two separate line items?
You mean, in a straightforward manner like every other business on the planet? I wish I knew. I suspect one just can't understand certain things without the evil gene.
If I had the money, I would setup "Honesty wireless" which would just take the existing wireless business model, and make the pricing sane. I think people would be so flabbergasted that it makes sense. "Wait... you mean since texts actually don't cost the network anything, they are free? And... I pay the same price per megabyte regardless of what color my phone is? And... I don't have to pay for things I don't use? Inconceivable!" And the best part would be seeing the balance leftover on your phone loan.
Yeah, the US system is completely screwed. But since the entire article was about the US, don't be surprised when the context of the comments is US-centric.
There are providers in the US (T-mobile) who will let you do this, and you can "fool" other providers into doing it by swapping sim cards out of another phone. Which is truly sad. I had a Verizon guy try to dance circles around me dodging the question of why I can't buy a phone with a 5MP camera and a flash without buying a data plan.
Part of the data plan's purpose is to subsidize the cost of the phone. That's why they won't let you buy a data-capable phone without the data service. There's no technical reason they can't, they just don't want you to get the discounted phone without paying them back for the discount.
The whole system is stupid. If cell phone providers sold cars, you would get the car for $50, but sign a multi-year agreement to buy gas from them at an inflated price.
That's called collusion and it is illegal in the US and EU.
Oh. I didn't think "writing their own subpoena" meant that no judge was involved. All I know comes from Slashdot + wikipedia. :-(
I think that is a great analogy and explains why this smells wrong, even if taken individually it doesn't sound too bad. I'm still curious about the backup example though. Perhaps they could subpoena what was uploaded and when, but no the contents without warrant?
The state is not funding a theme park. The state is giving tax breaks to a theme park. Just like they give tax breaks to churches, religious organizations, large businesses that employ a lot of people, and other theme parks. Nothing in either constitution says that you get to agree with every tax expenditure. And nothing in the constitution says that tax breaks can't go to things that put forth a particular set of religious beliefs.
That seems like a dangerous loophole since almost any information would fall under that. It seems like we are saying the data isn't protected, it is the records themselves.
Suppose a customer uses a backup service that has a privacy policy saying they won't give away the customer data. I think you are saying the service can release the files because it isn't the customer's files that are being examined, it is the backup service's files.
Or am I misapplying the reasoning?
How does a subpoena violate the 4th amendment? Subpoenas are granted by a judge - that's exactly what the 4th amendment is meant to require.
True, there are already plenty of reasons to leave Comcast. But in our case it involved moving too, since Comcast is our only option. :-(
1) I was assuming the New York to Washington DC run was mostly straight. :-)
2) The article said the packages were in 2m capsules.
3) It's only 15 minutes. Hold your breath!
No, that defeats the purpose. You must learn to hold your breath for the entire 15 minute duration. :-)
Seriously though - you put the air in the capsule, not the tubes. You couldn't breathe the air in the tube at that speed anyway.
Please stop posting this! The same basic thing has been posted 3 days in a row, and every time all the +5 comments are the ones correcting it. Just stop. I'm tired of having friends say "We gotta cancel our Comcast, they are blocking NetFlix" and having to explain that the FCC is not voting to stop Comcast, and Comcast is not violating Network Neutrality. This was a simple peering dispute between two companies.
would you run it?
In a virtual machine. Which is how Javascript is supposed to be run. Just like VBScript was, and Java, PDF, and every other "safe" technology. The problem is that the temptation to make sandboxed scripting languages more powerful slowly erodes the security of the sandbox.
Good point. As long as something big is going on, no small things should be taken care of.
Better yet, stop going to see movies. I pay for the ticket - don't give me ads. And don't tell me it starts at 7pm when it really shows 20 minutes of ads, 10 minutes of previews, and the movie starts at 7:30.
In all fairness though, so many youtube videos have cruddy audio and I have to blast my speakers at full to hear them. I wish youtube would normalize volumes automatically when videos are uploaded, to combat this. (maybe they do, but it doesn't work on really bad audio with lots of noise.)