So did anyone ever figure out how to safely and completely uninstall the rootkit? I ask this in all seriousness. Word on the street is that Sony's uninstaller is not secure, and that it only partially uninstalls the rootkit. I am yet to hear of an anti-virus or anti-spyware program that removes it, and apparently attempting to remove the files will break your CD drive if you are not careful.
This is more of an academic curiosity than a personal issue - I don't have the rootkit installed since (1) I don't buy from the RIAA, and (2) autorun is disabled on my windows box.
However, it would disgust me (even more that I am already disgusted) if after all this time and all the press that Sony has not actually provided a secure working uninstaller.
I hate that rule. It is silly and illogical. In english the apostrophe operator is overloaded. It can indicate the possessive case, or contractions.
Thus when a conflict arises (what does the apostraphe indicate in a particular instance), it is reasonable to make a rule explicitly declaring what the apostraphe means.
In english, the rule says that the apostraphe operator, when applied in "it's" indicates a contraction. This leaves an ambiguity in the word "its" between the possessive and the plural. Does "its" refer to something belonging to "it", or does it refer to multiple it entities?
Consider the fact that contractions are fundamentally slang. Although they have been incorporated into the language, in formal writing they are still discouraged. Thus it is surprising that distinguishing between plurals and possessives (both full-fledged elements of formal writing) is considered less important than distinguishing between plurals and contractions.
Furthermore, the rule for "it's" breaks from the standard rules for apostraphe use in other words. Joe's house belongs to Joe.
It is like the people making up the rules got it right in the general case, and then they decided to make a random stupid exception to the rule specifically for the word "it".
So... would you prefer that they go about a mundane life working at McWallMart 9-5 and watching TV sitcoms and monday night football on their time off?
I have a lot of respect for people who have the guts to take anything something they love, and dedicate their life to it until they become really damn good at it. Pro skateboards, and BMX'ers are amazing athletes who are pushing the boundaries of what is humanly possible. Their stunts are physically elegant and incredibly difficult, requiring precise balance, coordination, and timing. High level game playing is similar.
Who are you to tell them what they should do with their life.
That grammar is so bad it has to be intentional. I just don't get the reference.
Ask Slashdot: Building Secures Computers? Security Posted by Cliff on Wednesday August 24, @07:32PM from the even-keyboard-adccess-won't-make-it-easy dept. maotx asks: "Growing into the job of a system administrator, I've been tasked with something I'm not quite prepared for: purchase or build a computer that meets DoD compliance for classified 'Secret' information. Several vendors, including Dell our primary supplier, offers computers that will work, but being new to the criteria I want to make sure the right computer is purchased. The computer will be used to create secure CAD drawings (Solidworks, OrCAD, etc) and must have, from what I can tell, a removable hard drive and security stickers to prevent tampering. What is you're experience in setting up a secure computer and is it better to have a vendor do it, or yourself?"
1. Writing on the board means the teacher can't cover as much material (even though the material might actually be relevant to the course, but then I suppose most students aren't going to complain about courses having less content) because it takes longer (I've had classes at university where there were powerpoint lectures and board-only lectures).
Thats a bug, not a feature - with Powerpoint its too easy to just pack in the material without regard to how fast students can process it. I've had a professor try to pack in months of material into a couple weeks. He would just flip from slide to slide to slide, each filled full of details. No one could follow what he was talking about. Basically, the lectures were useless and everyone learned the material from reading the book.
2. It's also difficult to place it on the web, forcing me to concentrate on writing down what's on the board and not what's being said. Compared to my sister (whose a much better student then me, but who most of the time is stuck with board-only content), I'm able to get more out of my lectures.
That's not a failure of the medium. Either the professor failed to provide adequate supporting material, or (I hope this doesn't come across as a personal attack) you need parse the lecture better and only write down the key concepts and important diagrams rather than copying everything that is written.
A lot of the "plagarism" that the paper accuses Einstein of is not actually plagarism, but rather misattributions by other people.
Further, the article lost all credibility when I got to this quote:
It turns out that Einstein mixed kinematics and mechanics, and out popped the neutrino. The neutrino may be a mythical particle accidentally created by Einstein (Carezani, 1999). We have two choices with respect to neutrinos: there are at least 40 different types or there are zero types. Occam's razor rules here.
:rolleyes: The author obviously has no clue about the underlying science he is talking about.
It all comes down to fear. People fear "hackers", and so hackers get tougher sentences.
Everyone understands the notion of an employee stealing personal information from their company. On the other hand, the average American has no clue how hardcore hackers do what they do, or what they are capable of and so naturally hackers are feared. They are the "boogey man" of technology.
Slashdot Mirror
Wow, I just read some of those notes and they really are great. It has homework problems and solutions too. Thanks.
That would have been funnier if you got first post.
Suppose someone in China wants to contribute (factual, encyclopedia-worthy) information that does not conform to party lines?
There are very good reasons for anonymity.
So did anyone ever figure out how to safely and completely uninstall the rootkit? I ask this in all seriousness. Word on the street is that Sony's uninstaller is not secure, and that it only partially uninstalls the rootkit. I am yet to hear of an anti-virus or anti-spyware program that removes it, and apparently attempting to remove the files will break your CD drive if you are not careful.
This is more of an academic curiosity than a personal issue - I don't have the rootkit installed since (1) I don't buy from the RIAA, and (2) autorun is disabled on my windows box.
However, it would disgust me (even more that I am already disgusted) if after all this time and all the press that Sony has not actually provided a secure working uninstaller.
So, first, that is a completely incorrect application of Occam's Razor. Second, this story is all over the news, not just News of the World.
The insightful mod is also a joke. I do that all the time - modding things the "incorrectly" for comic effect.
Parent refers to this:a /foolbush.mov
http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/multimedi
(-:
Its not about good guys and bad guys. Its about taxing fair use.
It is not a true noun as it can only be used as an object. "The ball hit her", OK. "Her hit the ball"? Doesn't work.
The difference is that our, his, her, etc aren't nouns in their own right, whereas 'it' is.
I hate that rule. It is silly and illogical. In english the apostrophe operator is overloaded. It can indicate the possessive case, or contractions.
Thus when a conflict arises (what does the apostraphe indicate in a particular instance), it is reasonable to make a rule explicitly declaring what the apostraphe means.
In english, the rule says that the apostraphe operator, when applied in "it's" indicates a contraction. This leaves an ambiguity in the word "its" between the possessive and the plural. Does "its" refer to something belonging to "it", or does it refer to multiple it entities?
Consider the fact that contractions are fundamentally slang. Although they have been incorporated into the language, in formal writing they are still discouraged. Thus it is surprising that distinguishing between plurals and possessives (both full-fledged elements of formal writing) is considered less important than distinguishing between plurals and contractions.
Furthermore, the rule for "it's" breaks from the standard rules for apostraphe use in other words. Joe's house belongs to Joe.
It is like the people making up the rules got it right in the general case, and then they decided to make a random stupid exception to the rule specifically for the word "it".
The funny thing is that its actually true.... survivor.ap/
http://archives.cnn.com/2000/TECH/space/09/12/mir
So... would you prefer that they go about a mundane life working at McWallMart 9-5 and watching TV sitcoms and monday night football on their time off?
I have a lot of respect for people who have the guts to take anything something they love, and dedicate their life to it until they become really damn good at it. Pro skateboards, and BMX'ers are amazing athletes who are pushing the boundaries of what is humanly possible. Their stunts are physically elegant and incredibly difficult, requiring precise balance, coordination, and timing. High level game playing is similar.
Who are you to tell them what they should do with their life.
Not in Korea.
Hey, I'm not a grammar nazi, I just thought there might be some inside joke I was too thick to get.
Oh, I almost forgot:
What is you're experience in setting up a secure computer and is it better to have a vendor do it, or yourself?"
That grammar is so bad it has to be intentional. I just don't get the reference.
Ask Slashdot: Building Secures Computers?
Security
Posted by Cliff on Wednesday August 24, @07:32PM
from the even-keyboard-adccess-won't-make-it-easy dept.
maotx asks: "Growing into the job of a system administrator, I've been tasked with something I'm not quite prepared for: purchase or build a computer that meets DoD compliance for classified 'Secret' information. Several vendors, including Dell our primary supplier, offers computers that will work, but being new to the criteria I want to make sure the right computer is purchased. The computer will be used to create secure CAD drawings (Solidworks, OrCAD, etc) and must have, from what I can tell, a removable hard drive and security stickers to prevent tampering. What is you're experience in setting up a secure computer and is it better to have a vendor do it, or yourself?"
As if fear of punishment is going to deter a suicide bomber...
1. Writing on the board means the teacher can't cover as much material (even though the material might actually be relevant to the course, but then I suppose most students aren't going to complain about courses having less content) because it takes longer (I've had classes at university where there were powerpoint lectures and board-only lectures).
Thats a bug, not a feature - with Powerpoint its too easy to just pack in the material without regard to how fast students can process it. I've had a professor try to pack in months of material into a couple weeks. He would just flip from slide to slide to slide, each filled full of details. No one could follow what he was talking about. Basically, the lectures were useless and everyone learned the material from reading the book.
2. It's also difficult to place it on the web, forcing me to concentrate on writing down what's on the board and not what's being said. Compared to my sister (whose a much better student then me, but who most of the time is stuck with board-only content), I'm able to get more out of my lectures.
That's not a failure of the medium. Either the professor failed to provide adequate supporting material, or (I hope this doesn't come across as a personal attack) you need parse the lecture better and only write down the key concepts and important diagrams rather than copying everything that is written.
Agreed 100%. Powerpoint lectures are definitely inferior to the tried and true technique of writing on the board.
1: When the teacher writes on the board, it forces him/her to think through the material again, and prompts comments which are often very useful.
2: Writing on the board forces the teacher to pick and choose what information to show rather than just listing bullet after bullet of details.
3: Watching the writing process "build order" as a teacher fleshes out an argument helps to understand the way the teacher thinks about the subject.
Further, the article lost all credibility when I got to this quote:
The author obviously has no clue about the underlying science he is talking about.
I've seen this troll before...
/. threadhopping bug strikes again!
Parent is not redundant.
It all comes down to fear. People fear "hackers", and so hackers get tougher sentences.
Everyone understands the notion of an employee stealing personal information from their company. On the other hand, the average
American has no clue how hardcore hackers do what they do, or what they are capable of and so naturally hackers are feared. They are the "boogey man" of technology.