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  1. Re:See! on Red Hat Releases Windows Virtualization Code · · Score: 1

    In regards to a common file system, one interesting scenario I ran into awhile ago was the need for a clustered filesys on Windows against an EMC for common storage. Being heavily involved in Solaris at the time, I put the feelers out to Veritas for VxFS, and wanted to probe into VxCFS, their own cluster filesystem. They had working versions in production for Solaris, Linux, and HPUX, so this seemed sensible. When engaging Veritas, I discovered they had just about every component from the "suite" _BUT_ the filesystem, which was quite curious considering its implementation everywhere else. Feedback was that they in fact had a working version for Windows, but Microsoft squashed the idea of them selling it. They didn't want to upset the apple-cart with the software they did have and the need to maintain a relationship with Microsoft, and so as far as I know, it never came to market.

    If this is all in fact true, which from what anyone can see in their other broad implementations I had no reason to doubt, then Microsoft did what they could to DISCOURAGE other filesystems.

  2. A Classic ... on Monkey Island To Return · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Guybrush Threepwood: Well, if there's one thing I've learned, it's this: never pay more than 20 dollars for a computer game.
    Elaine: What's that?
    Guybrush Threepwood: Never mind. I don't know why I said that.

  3. Financial Firms Do the Same on Unclean Military Hard Drives Sold On eBay · · Score: 5, Informative

    I perform computer forensics work, and part of my research towards obtaining my degree was going to the MIT Swap Meet (great event) and buying used hard disks from vendors on occasion. In about 90% of the cases, the user appeared to have simply "deleted" the files, with nothing more. Now, I would expect this for a normal home user, not knowing any better, but the biggest thing of concern was the number of drives that came from various corporate entities. I was able to see and read data from drives that clearly came from several major banks, including mortgage apps, SSN's, corporate planning documents, etc. Again, the files appeared to have been simply "deleted" by the IT folk, instead of securely wiped, making it trivial at best to read everything.

    So while this example is no better, I believe it highlights an ongoing problem that involves better user education and disk encryption helps solve.

  4. Top Places ... on Places Where the World's Tech Pools, Despite the Internet · · Score: 5, Informative

    The list:

    10. Boston
    9. Romania
    8. Fort Meade, Maryland
    7. Finland
    6. Zhongguancun, China
    5. San Fransisco
    4. Japan
    3. Bangalore
    2. Taiwan
    1. Silicon Valley

  5. Re:Wrong issue on Accessing Medical Files Over P2P Networks · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The private sector indeed is just as capable at screwing this up. In my own experience doing some moonlighting systems/network consulting, I have come across a Doctor's office that had a wide open network hanging off of a cable modem connecting with a Comcast business account, no firewall, Windows desktops completely open. The home-based DLink router they had as a central hub did actually have some base firewall capabilities, but was a previous consultant thought it was interfering with a software capability to talk to the insurance company, and so thoughtfully turned it off completely.

    You would think a hospital with their own full time technical staff might rank better. A prominent Boston area hospital was building out a branch location in the suburbs. I visited to install an Oracle server, and noticed that because of constraints on network cabling at the time, they were using Linksys wireless through-out the office for connectivity, with no encryption. I raised this concern immediately with the director of the office, but was told not to worry, as this was only a "temporary" solution until they could get a cabling vendor in to run something more formal. My largest concern was that this office was still directly tied into the back-end of the main hospital data network, and thus, from the parking lot, it was trivial at best to get onto the hospital network.

    I understand these are only two limited examples, but their still lacks any real capabilities to be able to keep medical records secure through-out the chain. Until something akin to PCI for medical records really takes place, complete with audit controls, etc, I don't see the situation changing all that much. PCI itself has flaws, but it is an attempt to actually place controls on credit card data from swipe to credit card company.

  6. Why Not Bundle? on Firefox Exec Says Windows Bundling Is a Bad Idea · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I Believe Conner's somewhat contrary to himself in his overall viewpoints. He claims that one of the challenges of Opera is that it is a bit to technical and "gets in the way," implying that it is geared towards a more technical user. However, I am not aware of that many non-technical users who go out looking for alternative browsers.

    My own experience thus far has been that without bundling Firefox, it is primarily technical users who are encouraging the non-technical to actually use it. I know my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, etc. all generally use whatever comes with their computer, which is Internet Explorer. They knew nothing about Firefox until I heavily promoted it and provided easy to access download links for them. This was only done because I grew tired of trying to explain why they kept getting infected with malware and viruses through IE. Most did not even know it is possible to browse the web with anything else.

    By bundling an alternative, the masses have access to choice. I don't agree with Conner that we should simply expect people to want to go out and research and naturally find Firefox. Bundling does not imply stuffing an alternative down someones throat. It merely provides an easy mechanism towards an alternative. And for the non-technical, just awareness of an alternative is a huge win.

  7. Good People Hard to Find ... on IT Job Market Is Tanking, But Not For Everyone · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Here in Mass, I just went through a fairly time consuming round of interviews for an open Sr. Linux Admin position I had open. I must have had more than 300 resumes come my way, reviewing about 200 of them, phone interviewed about 25 people, personally interviews another 15, all over the course of the past 5 months. My bosses were having a very difficult time comprehending why I was having such a hard time finding someone in such a market, but frankly, quality people have been tremendously hard to come by. My bosses were getting frustrated that I wasn't getting the position filled fast enough. I stuck to my guns and recently (finally!) found a solid candidate.

    It has already been mentioned, but in speaking with a few recruiters, the general opinion was that the company's that are laying off are cleaning house of dead wood for the most part. Those who are good at their jobs are staying put right now until the market seems to show some sense of light at the end of the tunnel. Of course their are casualties at all levels in various orgs, but I'm not yet left with the overwhelming sense that quality IT people are flooding the market looking for work.

  8. Re:I don't get it on Google Challenging Proposition 8 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I understand your point and personally believe two people in marriage should pay the same identical taxes as if they were single, but just to stimulate the contrary side of why to consider taxing married people less, and government motivation:

    - Married people are less of an overall burden on society due to being healthier (not that marriage in and of itself necessarily improves health). So, why not tax them less?

    - Less overall risk due to higher statistical stability of someone married, as seen by lower insurance rates. Government loves a stable populous paying their taxes, and less likely to revolt or cause other issues, thus less statistical need to pay for any legal enforcement for them.

    - Married people often have children. A country wants children for the sake of competing with other countries in terms of economic nationalism. In fact, gay people whom may not conceive through whatever means may adopt abandoned children in society, actually helping out overall.

    Again, I agree with you, but I acknowledge their could be a purpose to encouraging marriage through taxes or however.

  9. Re:compare and contrast with the apple stores on Circuit City Closes Its Doors For Good · · Score: 1

    I have no issue paying extra money for quality, but truly, I find these days (call me an old man) that it is getting harder and harder to justify the risk of spending the money for a "quality" brand-name.

    Toyota quality? Toyota often charges a bit more than many competitors for the name badge. While they generally may historically have offered a reliable product, Google out the recalls on their new FJ Cruisers with less than 15k miles and the front internal engine bay fenders ripping apart for no logical reason. Likewise, Google Toyota pickup trucks that are quietly being repurchased at roughly 120% market value due to internal frame rot and other issues. That may sound fair, but hardly accounts for the already discounted KBB value due to people learning the trucks are not up to quality par in the first place. Why not buy the Hyundai with a 100k warranty for less money?

    Sony? My 4 year old Sony flat screen power supply randomly seems to short itself and so often times when powering the TV on or off, I get some bizarre affects. I am confident the entire thing will fail in the next 90 days, as also confirmed by a mom & pop repair shop which indicated it would be $150 to try and repair, while they still said it may not really fix the overall issue. Why wouldn't I just buy the cheaper Vizio if it may fail within the same timeframe?

    Maytag washing machine? I've already had the transmission on mine replaced after 2 years due to a recall, and now it appears the replaced transmission also needs to be replaced again.

    I'm not an eternal pessimist (really!), but I'm not quite confident, with the popularity of Walmart and other big box stores pushing down overall prices, we may have lost much of our choice to truly purchase a name brand product and justify the extra expense knowing it will be truly reliable.

    I want to buy good products that are reliable and last a long time. Yes, I will pay a premium for them, as this creates longer term savings for me, less hassle, and less impact on the environment. I see a genuine opportunity for a company to go back to the well and put out nothing but quality products, charge extra money for the quality nameplate, and earn a nitch in the overall market. The existing Sony's, Toyota's, Maytag's, and many other companies that may have historically fulfilled this need have long left it to compete on price and get their products on the shelves of Walmart, Best Buy, etc.

  10. Re:I call bullsh*t! on Report Claims 95% of Music Downloads Are Illegal · · Score: 1

    .. to carry on your thought about bullsh*t, they assume that had 95% not been downloaded illegally, this naturally means that the entire 95% would have been purchased through normalized, legit means. Of that 95%, how many downloads were of people trying to check out a CD or album for free that they weren't sure if they would ever buy? If the music was not what was expected, then the statistic is biased assuming they would have purchased the album anyhow.

    I may like one Guns'n'Roses song on their new album and so download a few more to see if I would buy the new album, but this does not mean I would ever have been willing to risk simply buying the album without knowing what was really on it. Yet, counting my evaluation downloads as lost sales is hardly accurate. If anything, perhaps I went out and actually bought the album after finding my appreciation for the new album. So, in fact, their statistic is contrary to true actions.

    Basically, these numbers are always notoriously unreliable because they make many assumptions that are statistically impossible to make without interviewing a large sample of these specific downloaders while still providing a reliable value.

    Are people pirating? You bet. Let the free market handle this - Charge for good, quality music what it should really cost to make it, and one will still find themselves well enriched.

    I hate why individuals feel they are being cheated because they aren't rolling in millions for the result of a popular song. I don't mean to deprive anyone of the right to financially benefit from their own respective work, but a record executive crying foul because he isn't making the profit he thinks he should make off of an artist signed to his company just doesn't quite get my sympathy.

  11. Re:Integrity? on Wikipedia Almost Reaches $6 Million Target · · Score: 1

    >Why does everyone think as soon as you start to throw up billboards and advertisements that the organization in question has become unethical?

    Government, as transparent as it is/should be, is heavily influenced and controlled by corporate America who is willing to fill the coffer's of whomever will advance their own interests. This helps demonstrate that regardless of transparency, it is easily possible for money to influence decision making.

    Additionally, there is a long history of advertisers in magazines, newspapers, etc. all eventually receiving preferential treatment at various levels. I, for one, enjoy reading an entry about the Coca-Cola corporation without Pepsi ads all over.

    If you believe both of these, then it becomes logical to come to think that the purity of Wikipedia in and of itself will become tainted over time, which is certainly a reasonable assumption, though, as you point out, not an absolute. Others question whether it is in fact even truly pure today, as there certainly are still some interesting mod decisions being made.

    I know if Microsoft is paying my own bills, I might be more inclined to make them happy.

  12. Lasershield Hack on D.I.Y. Home Security · · Score: 5, Interesting

    While most home burglars are not necessarily the most sophisticated, I have read a few reports of the ease of use of hacking the LaserShield. This basically involves breaking the communication between the base unit and sensors, such as by just having a two way radio turned to the same frequency and sending some noise over it to break reception. The base unit does not seem to regularly poll the remote sensors from what I can tell, and so is unaware of a break in communication. Engadget has a video demonstrating the hack here.

    While little security is better than none, I still think its important to understand the risks of poorly designed wireless security system devices versus well designed ones or even more conventional wired security system devices.

  13. Re:I still don't get why this is neccessary on Judge Orders White House To Produce Wiretap Memos · · Score: 2, Informative

    >In any other case, the judge will surveillance must be shut down and the records sealed immediately. This law has been so effective that out of the >hundreds of FISA taps exactly ZERO have been denied.

    Not to nitpick, but some FISA taps have in fact been denied (granted, not many):

    http://epic.org/privacy/wiretap/stats/fisa_stats.html

    To add a thought, just because the ratio is historically so low doesn't necessarily justify as a fact that the whole game isn't rigged in the first place.

  14. Re:what in the world is mod_wl do? on Emergency Workaround For Oracle 0-Day · · Score: 1

    mod_wl is a WebLogic proxy module for Apache. A good exposed WebLogic implementation on the web will use Apache to front-end and limit the direct exposure of WebLogic as much as possible, such as by using this module. It also allows for the use of WebLogic clusters, etc. to provide fault tolerance.

    And yes, this is really a BEA issue, which is of no surprise. Frankly, issues like this have existed for years in the world of Microsoft IIS. Why BEA would allow something as trivial as this sounds is what Oracle bought into and will hopefully correct.

  15. Re:Bigger picture please on GM, Utilities Partner To Advance Plug-In Hybrids · · Score: 1

    You bring up an interesting point. I am from the Boston and once, when visiting Dallas on business, was astonished at the efforts involved in us grabbing a bite to eat for lunch. The office for this "large financial institution" was located in an area segregated as an "office park." Other than a small shop serving a coffee and basic pre-made sandwiches, the next available meal was by no means within walking distance. I was up for absolutely anything, pizza, a sub shop with a better selection, restaurant, Hooters, anything. The closest thing that was recommended to us visitors was a small Mexican restaurant. So, in our car we drove, roughly 4 and a half miles down the road, and there we arrived, to what I would entitle the "food district." Applebees, Chili's, Friday's, Tuesday's.

    And driving back to a friend's place to play video games one night.. we drove through 9 miles of sparse land between the "business district" and some sort of pre-planned living community. Man Boston can suck, but I loved it then. (not to completely harp on Dallas, as they have beautiful women who are friendly as can be, unlike many Boston women)

  16. Re:The electric car you want is ready now: on Mercedes To Phase Out Gasoline By 2015 · · Score: 1

    Exactly. And you suspect the roof of a (moving) car is going to obtain better solar efficiency?

  17. Re:The electric car you want is ready now: on Mercedes To Phase Out Gasoline By 2015 · · Score: 1

    One of the better (lead-free) solar panels right now in terms of efficiency is offered from Mitsubishi (whom also happens to make cars). 5ftx2ft inches gives you 125watts (http://store.solar-electric.com/mi125wa12vos.html), only at peak efficiency (not all of us live in the desert). If 746 watts = 1hp, how is Tesla providing a car that beats these numbers and travel 50 miles without any other energy necessary? Even if one doubles the efficiency of the solar panel, I still see it barely powering a very weak weed wacker on but the sunniest of days.

    Toyota is expecting to only be able to at best help supplement air conditioning (not completely power it) in Priuses with a solar panel in the coming years.

  18. Re:Job loss on Red Hat to Coax Code Contributions From Companies · · Score: 1

    Since when have you known a company to pursue efficiencies and want to accomplish more tasks? In fact, I have found a direct correlation that the larger the company, the better it is at actually efficiently duplicating efforts as much as possible.

  19. Re:Capitalism on Creative Capitalism Gets Microsoft $528M Tax Break · · Score: 1

    I am right with you on keeping money "from the prying hands of the State." However, in this particular case, I have to wonder how much this really simply shifts the tax burden further from the rich to the "poor?"

    Microsoft, clearly a well funded company with rooms of lawyers and accountants, can afford to learn of loopholes such as these to further advance their profit margin. However, in this particular case, this shifts the burden from rich companies such as theirs to the less profitable or small companies that cannot afford the lawyers and accountants and offices in Nevada to shift the tax burden to. As a result, they are left to pay this tax, while Microsoft is left getting out of it. If Microsoft were really doing the right thing in my opinion, they would take this straight on with those legions of lawyers and fight it with the lawmakers. If they threaten the lawmakers to pull their employees out of Washington State if the law is not repealed, then I would strongly believe the corporate tax would most likely be repealed. This would then give a legal, level playing field to all companies involved.

    Not that I expect ethical decisions such as this to come into strong play here, but that really is the right answer to cheer for in my opinion.

  20. Re:This is good!? on PI License May Soon Be Required for Computer Forensics · · Score: 1

    Now hiring: Looking for experienced LINIX Administrator with at least 5 years of UNIX or LINUX experience to administer a 100% Red Hat shop of 100+ servers. Day-to-day will include managing Apache httpd servers, yum repository updates, and maintaining uptime of said Linux systems. MCSE Required.

  21. Re:Nice Teaser on Duke Nukem Forever Teaser Released · · Score: 0, Redundant

    >According to an article on ars technica over 18 months ago, a member of their game group managed to cobble together most of the >game into playable fashion, and wrote a review of the game. I am not sure the validity of the article, it being written on April 1st and all?

  22. Re:HP, oh how you've changed. . . on HP & Staples Collude On $8,000/Gallon Ink? · · Score: 1

    Might I add the Laserjet II also makes for a reliable footrest as well! I have one under my desk right now. Nice height and no visible stress fractures from years of use. My ottoman at home accidentally slides more on the carpet than this 78 pound beast. And I'd wager money it still prints if put to the task.

  23. More Info? on Expert Unveils 'Scary' VoIP Hack · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I read TFA and I didn't see any information that makes this any different than using Wireshark to capture and reassemble the packets and do this (it is fairly easy)? What is so drastically advanced about this discovery? Additionally, isn't a switched network generally protected by this unless a port is specifically configured for packet forwarding? That would be one spiffy trojan to hack into the switch as well and configure this. Also, most VOIP installs I have seen have, at the vendors install requirement, the VOIP phones be on their own VLAN from the data side of the network, further limiting the exposure?

  24. Re:Good! on US Faces $100 Billion Fine For Web Gambling Ban · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Do you really think the WTO was created to prevent "blatent hypocrisy"? Try reading "The Sorrow of Empire" by Chalmers Johnson, and you will find facts presented that the purpose of the WTO is to actually maintain trade imbalance in favor of the few dominant economic powers of the world. I will grant you that Third World countries and others were induced to join under such a notion, but do you really think the US is interested in fair trade with other countries over its own self interests? The actions of the US in this case are in fact consistent with that notion. Look at agricultural subsidies and how the WTO differentiates between the US, European countries, and countries in South America or Africa. Hint: Existing subsidies were grandfathered over in a clever loophole to allow for the US and Europe to flood third world countries with their agricultural exports at a cheaper, subsidized price, thus giving third world countries one less way to try and gain their own economic independence. Third world countries that try to do this in return face sanctions from the WTO.

  25. Re: Linux on the Desktop Doubles in 2007 on Linux on the Desktop Doubles in 2007 · · Score: 1

    Excellent, and my point exactly! You found the tool that works best for you. And to come back to the topic question, do you feel a genuine concern over why others don't do the exact same thing or for some big breakthrough?