I am hoping that the RIAA and MPAA will start to see a little bit of reality here in the next few weeks/months...
This whole thing falls into the same category as
1. Reasonable Expectation of Privacy (in public)
2. Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms
I am surprised I haven't been prosecuted for driving down the street in my car with my windows down and the music blaring so loud that other people can hear it...I am not talking about being prosecuted for "noise ordinance violation" but for "unauthorized music distribution"...
I had this conversation with one of the developers who worked on the Linux Kernel in the early days, and I worked for Microsoft for over 6 years...
But we discussed the whole Microsoft + Linux thing, and we came to the conclusion, based on "inside information" about Microsoft and Novell, that Microsoft is looking to the future...not for their $$ (like other "patent trolls") but for the future of Windows...
The NT kernel is outdated. It can not really, successfully sustain any more tweaking as it is, and Vista is about as far as Microsoft can go to patching the problems (and it is still showing vulnerabilities and problems)...
Microsoft plans to "change" or "re-write" the NT Kernel...i.e. they will move to a Linux Kernel, much like Apple did with OSX and their BSD kernel...
This will "fix" some of the issues Microsoft has been facing the past while...it also means that their future kernels will be held under GPL, while the rest of the OS will be proprietary. This means that we will be able to use Open Source and code to the Kernel...and because of this, Microsoft now has to make alliances with someone who will supply a kernel and support for building Windows around it, and they have to find a way to control a lot of ways that we would use their OS with a new Linux kernel...
This is where this whole Patent Deal comes in...they get people to sign some kind of contract, or licensing deal, and then they gain control over how and what is used in any other distro of Linux as opposed to what they, themselves, can use in their new OS...
So while it is all complicated and ugly...they best thing that could happen is for the distros to "just say no".
For years and years we have been exporting our "excess" grains to poor countries, and it would sit on the docks and go bad, or find its way into the hands of the richest people in that country...
We pay farmers to NOT PRODUCE anything, we pay them to sit around and watch their tractors rust and their land weed...
So, if we now SAVE money by allowing the farmers to use their tractors and land to produce grain, and we take all that extra grain and NOT ship it to rot overseas...HOW IS THAT RAISING THE COST OF FOOD???!!!
This is the same thing that is happening all over...OIL, STEEL, COAL, WOOD, etc...
These companies have found that they can charge whatever they want for their products and we will pay it. This will lead us to economic ruin and fast. I don't get paid more this year than last year, in fact, I am being paid the same this year as in 1996. But gas in 1996 was in the $1.50 range, not the $3.00 range...my grocery bill was costing me less...and I wasn't paying nearly as much for my utilities or my house...
So, when something SHOULD cost less, it costs more, and it has nothing to do with SHORTAGE or SCARCITY...it has EVERYTHING to do with $$$$$.
By using Linux (FREE), you get a full office suite FOR FREE, you get an E-Mail Server FOR FREE, you can host your internal and external web sites on a Web Server FOR FREE...
With only the cost of maintaining the system (minimal, for smaller companies)...the cost is much reduced...only $25 a year per domain at dyndns.org...
Wasn't there a movie some time ago about this very thing?
A group was sent into space with everything they would need to be "self replicating" until they reached the destination...but as time went on, technology got better and later travelers arrived at the destination first...then when the first "ark" of people arrived they found a fully developed civilization that had meen there for at least a hundred years...
Wouldn't it be better to just wait?
I look at some of the toys that kids have today, and I wonder where they were when I was a kid...they are simple developments that have their roots from decades ago...
Things like remote control tanks, cars, boats, etc...I love them...
With more technology being poured into the design and development of toys, we should see some amazing things come up in the next few years...
The millimeter turbine, what a little imagination would do with that... flying toys, hovering toys, etc...
The Hobby trains...why not mag-lev trains? There are tons of toys that have yet to be developed...
All it would take is a little time and money to make a fortune on the sale of high tech toys to get kids out from in front of the TV...
The biggest limiting factor is the COST...you would have to produce toys that cost LESS than the TV, Game Console, Computer System...etc...or no onw would buy them.
What I mean to say is:
I worked at Microsoft for many years. During that time I tested all kinds of software and how it works for Windows. One of the things I came to the conclusion of is that NONE of the internet filtering software, firewalls, etc. work 100% of the time. In fact, most filtering software including packet-sniffing firewalls don't work well at all.
Some of you say "just watch your kids better"...but the reality is, I cannot watch my child every single day, all hours. I actually have to go to work, I have homework, I have other things that must be done, and sometimes my 12 year old is on the internet without direct supervision...this includes time he is at his friend's houses, or at school or the library...
I have been responsible for taking down several child porn sites that were hosted by Yahoo! and others. These problems are all illegal (children viewing porn, and child porn, etc) and they are most closely related to our problems with illegal drugs...the fight on porn, however, has one advantage; there are tools that can be used to help prevent our children from being exposed to porn. One of those tools is a well regulated (privately or by legislation).XXX TLD.
I was first to mention the.XXX TLD when I worked at Microsoft in 1996. I tried to get support to adopt this idea after working with Microsoft and 4 other companies on trying to get filtering software that actually worked. After about a year of nothing but failure, I went to ICANN, Network Solutions, and InterNic, and several other influential companies and tried to get some kind of support for the.XXX TLD.
Unfortunately, it was not an acceptable view at the time, but it seems that the past 2 years have brought about a change of attitude. We should not fully rely on a single solution, and filtering software, or a firewall, or a TLD, alone are only one solution. But if ICANN takes the lead and requires that the.XXX TLD be used for pornography, and works with other major companies to limit the availability of items like Microsoft.xxx or Whitehouse.xxx, then what we have is another good tool in the fight to protect our children and prevent the spread of illegal porn.
I use Wikipedia in my sourcing, but not as the only or dedicated source. I use it because I find much of the information accurate, at least in my field.
My professors hate it, but none have marked me yet for using it...
A bank will NEVER ask you for information that they already have. They will only CONFIRM data...
Name, Mother's Maiden Name (or some other confirmation - favorite color, first pet's name, city you were born in), and the last 4 of your social or last few of your account number.
They will match this information up with what they have, then they will talk to you about your account. They won't have a recording take this information, they won't ask for you PIN (EVER...they will NEVER ask for this information), and they already have your full account number...so they won't ask for that...
It only takes a little common sense to avoid being the target or being a victim of identity theft via phishing......
If we allow people to sue minors AND their parents, alleging that the parents were, in some way, negligent by letting the children do something like this, then we open the door to sue parents of children who commit other crimes, like using or selling drugs, vandalism, etc...
How, as a parent, are we supposed to follow our children during the day and make sure they "do what is right"? At some point, children will become old enough to make their own decisions, and conversely, they should have to pay the consequences for their decisions.
In what way does that make parents liable for their children's actions?
Should we start suing the parents of every criminal, alleging the same thing? If they would not have been negligent in their duty as parents, the criminal wouldn't have become a criminal...
Somehow this smacks of stupidity...
There is a sweet program called Asterisk. It is basically a PBX system for your home phone line. It is compatible with standard POTS lines as well as VoIP.
You can set it up to allow only certain numbers, or to create a menu from which people must now select to talk to you.
You can also set it up with a listing of known 800 numbers that call you to give them a busy or no service tone.
Or you can disable the phone for a period of time each day where all calls go to voicemail.
It is free for the software, and you can run it on a lightweight linux box...but it is the hardware that gets you...however, it is a good investment...I should have mine running shortly.
I will use it to avoid talking to my inlaws...they will get a busy signal...
I worked for Chase when this happened.
The guys couldn't find the tape(s) and were SURE that they had ended up in the storage locker...
Guess they couldn't find them there...
He is looking at this all crabbed...
You don't compromise on this end, you compromise on THAT end...
what I mean to say is...
Linux becomes more popular, more people use it...THEN the hardware manufacturers will make drivers that work on the linux platform...
Not the other way round...you don't make an operating system popular by making it compatible with one piece of hardware...
When Apple gets the idea that there is a whole segment of the world that WON'T buy the IPod because they cannot use it on their computers, they might do something about it...
If the law doesn't pick this up and prosecute him, I will be sorely disappointed...he violated several privacy laws.
And I think everyone and anyone who has had an AOL account of any kind should file suit (class action) for damages that could or have resulted from the release of their personal data.
JMNSHO
This is the death of the airlines...and of my air travel...
I don't know if anyone else is concerned, but the government simply cannot protect us from every little threat...
The last time "liquid" explosives were used in a plane, ONE PERSON DIED...and there is simply no way that terrorists could bring on enough liquid explosive to kill everyone...or even bring down the plane killing everyone.
However, the new delays will cost the airlines some customers...they are already faultering...it will give the government the excuse it needs to take control of air travel and become the sole provider of air travel...hold on to your butts...
Why we accept this, why we don't do something about it is beyond me...
Fearmongering is the best way to maintain control...you will see, this is one step in a long line of changes (for the worse)...
I won't be traveling by air any more.
I will train, bus, car, or charter my next travel.
Did an episode on this, and found that it is TRUE...
This study was done in our very own University of Utah (or the primary study was done here)...
Good stuff...USE A HEADPIECE, USE HANDS FREE...
When I was at MS, they were installing a huge wireless network in all the buildings...when I left, it was something like 90% done...
SO my question is, if they already have a wireless network, and I know they do...why are they installing another one? Or is it really that they are UPGRADING the existing one...???
Either way, this would make the 2nd Linux installation that I know of over at MS...they have (or had) a set of servers over in building 43 that contained, "sensitive, critical data" that they couldn't (wouldn't??) trust to Windows Server...
With Telcos jacking up prices on everything, and buying up all the competition, we will soon be back at MaBell...but VoIP is the way of the future, so I have moved in that direction...I don't think AT&T or Verizon need my money.
Here in Utah, we have a project going called UTOPIA (http://www.utopianet.org/) which can be used in municipalities to give everyone a low cost "fiber to house" solution for Data and VoIP.
Like our garbage, recycling, and other "out-sourced" services that are provided us in the city, we would pay the internet bill with our city water bill. Then something like "net neutrality" don't even come into play, as UTOPIA is putting in their own lines.
So, it is now time to cancel any AT&T service. I dumped my Long Distance (in favor of Vonage), I dumped my Cell Phone, and I would not use their other services for anything, especially when I can get use other companies for less $$...
Vote with your dollars...don't pay them if they aren't serving your interests as a customer.
It really is that simple.
Has anyone put 2 and 2 together yet?
We have been hearing for MONTHS about the possibility of a tiered internet. The fact of the matter is that we already have it.
Google is paying for T lines or D lines or maybe even some OC lines...but they pay for it, and the speed is guarenteed.
We pay for our DSL or Cable or Dial Up, no guarentee, but we have levels of service we pay for...56kb, 112kb, 512kb, 1mg, 3mg, 6mg, etc...
The idea of the tiered internet is that consideration will be given to those that pay for it, i.e. you pay more, you get more speed.
Last I looked, 56k was $9 and 6mg was $50+ while T lines can be $2000 and OC lines, well, I would have to rob a bank to pay for one...
What I would like to see is internet access at the fastest speed possible for one fee...
Slashdot Mirror
I'll do it.
For (roughly) 2 million USD, I would give up the Cell Phone - FOR EVER!
I am hoping that the RIAA and MPAA will start to see a little bit of reality here in the next few weeks/months...
This whole thing falls into the same category as
1. Reasonable Expectation of Privacy (in public)
2. Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms
I am surprised I haven't been prosecuted for driving down the street in my car with my windows down and the music blaring so loud that other people can hear it...I am not talking about being prosecuted for "noise ordinance violation" but for "unauthorized music distribution"...
May the RIAA/MPAA/ETC go Tango Uniform!!
I had this conversation with one of the developers who worked on the Linux Kernel in the early days, and I worked for Microsoft for over 6 years...
But we discussed the whole Microsoft + Linux thing, and we came to the conclusion, based on "inside information" about Microsoft and Novell, that Microsoft is looking to the future...not for their $$ (like other "patent trolls") but for the future of Windows...
The NT kernel is outdated. It can not really, successfully sustain any more tweaking as it is, and Vista is about as far as Microsoft can go to patching the problems (and it is still showing vulnerabilities and problems)...
Microsoft plans to "change" or "re-write" the NT Kernel...i.e. they will move to a Linux Kernel, much like Apple did with OSX and their BSD kernel...
This will "fix" some of the issues Microsoft has been facing the past while...it also means that their future kernels will be held under GPL, while the rest of the OS will be proprietary. This means that we will be able to use Open Source and code to the Kernel...and because of this, Microsoft now has to make alliances with someone who will supply a kernel and support for building Windows around it, and they have to find a way to control a lot of ways that we would use their OS with a new Linux kernel...
This is where this whole Patent Deal comes in...they get people to sign some kind of contract, or licensing deal, and then they gain control over how and what is used in any other distro of Linux as opposed to what they, themselves, can use in their new OS...
So while it is all complicated and ugly...they best thing that could happen is for the distros to "just say no".
For years and years we have been exporting our "excess" grains to poor countries, and it would sit on the docks and go bad, or find its way into the hands of the richest people in that country...
We pay farmers to NOT PRODUCE anything, we pay them to sit around and watch their tractors rust and their land weed...
So, if we now SAVE money by allowing the farmers to use their tractors and land to produce grain, and we take all that extra grain and NOT ship it to rot overseas...HOW IS THAT RAISING THE COST OF FOOD???!!!
This is the same thing that is happening all over...OIL, STEEL, COAL, WOOD, etc...
These companies have found that they can charge whatever they want for their products and we will pay it. This will lead us to economic ruin and fast. I don't get paid more this year than last year, in fact, I am being paid the same this year as in 1996. But gas in 1996 was in the $1.50 range, not the $3.00 range...my grocery bill was costing me less...and I wasn't paying nearly as much for my utilities or my house...
So, when something SHOULD cost less, it costs more, and it has nothing to do with SHORTAGE or SCARCITY...it has EVERYTHING to do with $$$$$.
I just had to wonder, WHY would anyone develop another OS that is "identical" to Windows?
Windows is bad enough...why do it all over again?
"Or you're all going to get stuck with a registry!" Oh, Dear God, PLEASE, NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! ;-}
By using Linux (FREE), you get a full office suite FOR FREE, you get an E-Mail Server FOR FREE, you can host your internal and external web sites on a Web Server FOR FREE...
With only the cost of maintaining the system (minimal, for smaller companies)...the cost is much reduced...only $25 a year per domain at dyndns.org...
Wasn't there a movie some time ago about this very thing?
A group was sent into space with everything they would need to be "self replicating" until they reached the destination...but as time went on, technology got better and later travelers arrived at the destination first...then when the first "ark" of people arrived they found a fully developed civilization that had meen there for at least a hundred years...
Wouldn't it be better to just wait?
BIGIT became BIT, but QUBIT won't become QUIT... it most likely will become QUT (pronounced CUTE)...
I look at some of the toys that kids have today, and I wonder where they were when I was a kid...they are simple developments that have their roots from decades ago...
Things like remote control tanks, cars, boats, etc...I love them...
With more technology being poured into the design and development of toys, we should see some amazing things come up in the next few years...
The millimeter turbine, what a little imagination would do with that... flying toys, hovering toys, etc...
The Hobby trains...why not mag-lev trains? There are tons of toys that have yet to be developed...
All it would take is a little time and money to make a fortune on the sale of high tech toys to get kids out from in front of the TV...
The biggest limiting factor is the COST...you would have to produce toys that cost LESS than the TV, Game Console, Computer System...etc...or no onw would buy them.
What I mean to say is: .XXX TLD. .XXX TLD when I worked at Microsoft in 1996. I tried to get support to adopt this idea after working with Microsoft and 4 other companies on trying to get filtering software that actually worked. After about a year of nothing but failure, I went to ICANN, Network Solutions, and InterNic, and several other influential companies and tried to get some kind of support for the .XXX TLD. .XXX TLD be used for pornography, and works with other major companies to limit the availability of items like Microsoft.xxx or Whitehouse.xxx, then what we have is another good tool in the fight to protect our children and prevent the spread of illegal porn.
I worked at Microsoft for many years. During that time I tested all kinds of software and how it works for Windows. One of the things I came to the conclusion of is that NONE of the internet filtering software, firewalls, etc. work 100% of the time. In fact, most filtering software including packet-sniffing firewalls don't work well at all.
Some of you say "just watch your kids better"...but the reality is, I cannot watch my child every single day, all hours. I actually have to go to work, I have homework, I have other things that must be done, and sometimes my 12 year old is on the internet without direct supervision...this includes time he is at his friend's houses, or at school or the library...
I have been responsible for taking down several child porn sites that were hosted by Yahoo! and others. These problems are all illegal (children viewing porn, and child porn, etc) and they are most closely related to our problems with illegal drugs...the fight on porn, however, has one advantage; there are tools that can be used to help prevent our children from being exposed to porn. One of those tools is a well regulated (privately or by legislation)
I was first to mention the
Unfortunately, it was not an acceptable view at the time, but it seems that the past 2 years have brought about a change of attitude. We should not fully rely on a single solution, and filtering software, or a firewall, or a TLD, alone are only one solution. But if ICANN takes the lead and requires that the
I use Wikipedia in my sourcing, but not as the only or dedicated source. I use it because I find much of the information accurate, at least in my field.
My professors hate it, but none have marked me yet for using it...
A bank will NEVER ask you for information that they already have. They will only CONFIRM data... Name, Mother's Maiden Name (or some other confirmation - favorite color, first pet's name, city you were born in), and the last 4 of your social or last few of your account number. They will match this information up with what they have, then they will talk to you about your account. They won't have a recording take this information, they won't ask for you PIN (EVER...they will NEVER ask for this information), and they already have your full account number...so they won't ask for that... It only takes a little common sense to avoid being the target or being a victim of identity theft via phishing... ...
If we allow people to sue minors AND their parents, alleging that the parents were, in some way, negligent by letting the children do something like this, then we open the door to sue parents of children who commit other crimes, like using or selling drugs, vandalism, etc...
How, as a parent, are we supposed to follow our children during the day and make sure they "do what is right"? At some point, children will become old enough to make their own decisions, and conversely, they should have to pay the consequences for their decisions.
In what way does that make parents liable for their children's actions?
Should we start suing the parents of every criminal, alleging the same thing? If they would not have been negligent in their duty as parents, the criminal wouldn't have become a criminal...
Somehow this smacks of stupidity...
There is a sweet program called Asterisk. It is basically a PBX system for your home phone line. It is compatible with standard POTS lines as well as VoIP.
;)
You can set it up to allow only certain numbers, or to create a menu from which people must now select to talk to you.
You can also set it up with a listing of known 800 numbers that call you to give them a busy or no service tone.
Or you can disable the phone for a period of time each day where all calls go to voicemail.
It is free for the software, and you can run it on a lightweight linux box...but it is the hardware that gets you...however, it is a good investment...I should have mine running shortly.
I will use it to avoid talking to my inlaws...they will get a busy signal...
I worked for Chase when this happened.
The guys couldn't find the tape(s) and were SURE that they had ended up in the storage locker...
Guess they couldn't find them there...
He is looking at this all crabbed...
You don't compromise on this end, you compromise on THAT end...
what I mean to say is...
Linux becomes more popular, more people use it...THEN the hardware manufacturers will make drivers that work on the linux platform...
Not the other way round...you don't make an operating system popular by making it compatible with one piece of hardware...
When Apple gets the idea that there is a whole segment of the world that WON'T buy the IPod because they cannot use it on their computers, they might do something about it...
If the law doesn't pick this up and prosecute him, I will be sorely disappointed...he violated several privacy laws. And I think everyone and anyone who has had an AOL account of any kind should file suit (class action) for damages that could or have resulted from the release of their personal data. JMNSHO
This is the death of the airlines...and of my air travel...
I don't know if anyone else is concerned, but the government simply cannot protect us from every little threat...
The last time "liquid" explosives were used in a plane, ONE PERSON DIED...and there is simply no way that terrorists could bring on enough liquid explosive to kill everyone...or even bring down the plane killing everyone.
However, the new delays will cost the airlines some customers...they are already faultering...it will give the government the excuse it needs to take control of air travel and become the sole provider of air travel...hold on to your butts...
Why we accept this, why we don't do something about it is beyond me...
Fearmongering is the best way to maintain control...you will see, this is one step in a long line of changes (for the worse)...
I won't be traveling by air any more.
I will train, bus, car, or charter my next travel.
Just redirect all their URL requests to the same URL...
CNN.com comes out as overstock.com
MSN.com comes out as overstock.com
Amazon.com comes out as overstok.com...
But, really, just lock up the network unless they are willing to pay 50% for their access rights...
Did an episode on this, and found that it is TRUE...
This study was done in our very own University of Utah (or the primary study was done here)...
Good stuff...USE A HEADPIECE, USE HANDS FREE...
When I was at MS, they were installing a huge wireless network in all the buildings...when I left, it was something like 90% done...
SO my question is, if they already have a wireless network, and I know they do...why are they installing another one? Or is it really that they are UPGRADING the existing one...???
Either way, this would make the 2nd Linux installation that I know of over at MS...they have (or had) a set of servers over in building 43 that contained, "sensitive, critical data" that they couldn't (wouldn't??) trust to Windows Server...
With Telcos jacking up prices on everything, and buying up all the competition, we will soon be back at MaBell...but VoIP is the way of the future, so I have moved in that direction...I don't think AT&T or Verizon need my money.
Here in Utah, we have a project going called UTOPIA (http://www.utopianet.org/) which can be used in municipalities to give everyone a low cost "fiber to house" solution for Data and VoIP.
Like our garbage, recycling, and other "out-sourced" services that are provided us in the city, we would pay the internet bill with our city water bill. Then something like "net neutrality" don't even come into play, as UTOPIA is putting in their own lines.
So, it is now time to cancel any AT&T service. I dumped my Long Distance (in favor of Vonage), I dumped my Cell Phone, and I would not use their other services for anything, especially when I can get use other companies for less $$...
Vote with your dollars...don't pay them if they aren't serving your interests as a customer.
It really is that simple.
Has anyone put 2 and 2 together yet?
We have been hearing for MONTHS about the possibility of a tiered internet. The fact of the matter is that we already have it.
Google is paying for T lines or D lines or maybe even some OC lines...but they pay for it, and the speed is guarenteed.
We pay for our DSL or Cable or Dial Up, no guarentee, but we have levels of service we pay for...56kb, 112kb, 512kb, 1mg, 3mg, 6mg, etc...
The idea of the tiered internet is that consideration will be given to those that pay for it, i.e. you pay more, you get more speed.
Last I looked, 56k was $9 and 6mg was $50+ while T lines can be $2000 and OC lines, well, I would have to rob a bank to pay for one...
What I would like to see is internet access at the fastest speed possible for one fee...