Did these people that submitted their info never bother to glance at the site's URL? How do you confuse http://www.odeon.co.uk with http://www.dracos.co.uk/odeon/? Do they use the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button every damn time they Google something? More important, how can they be sure they weren't at the real site, but it just wasn't accepting their data submission correctly because of all the adware, spyware & viruses installed on their systems as a result of their clicking on random URLs with reckless abandon?
As a software developer for a gargantuan insurance company, let me assure you that I would be rather grumpy (to say the least) if I came into work one day and was told we have to overhaul our VIN-handling code. That would suck. Royally.
However, automakers could start mixing some alphas into the numeric vehicle-identifier portions of VINs...this could provide a few million (at least...too lazy to do math) more string combinations, and wouldn't affect the parts that IT people care about.
There should be a requirement that websites wanting to incorporate the word "World" in their name be able withstand (at the very least) a late-evening Slashdotting.
The way their current bandwith tolerance looks, iTunes-level traffic would not only crash their server, but also burn down the office it's kept in.
Seriously. I always hated the styling of the 802.11g-compliant networked DVD/digital media players that all the electronics companies used to crank out in the 80's.
This could be pretty cool...combine it with a video card with built-in TV tuner & some sort of TiVo-like software, and you could have a pretty sweet setup.
I do wonder if it can send data as well as receive...if so, the convenient wireless DVD 'backup' (yeah, that's it...backup) possibilities would be a nice cherry on top.
In theory, I find this to be extremely uncool. It's akin to SBC employees listening in to your phone call to grandma, or a US Postal Service employee ripping open your cable bill to see which pornos...er, I mean, G-rated family films...you've been ordering.
In practice, however, I'm pretty indifferent about the whole thing. I figure, what kind of bigshot do I think I am, that I'm worried about some giant ISP reading my lame-ass e-mails? Let 'em read. They probably don't even know who the hell I am (beyond the fact that my customer # is 1234567-890 and my bill is 3 months in arrears).
I'd definitely be interested in trying this out...it'll be nice to see if it can simplify the currently convoluted procedure I have to undertake to do anything on my home network.
When friends come over and want to connect, it can get pretty hairy.
"In its initial investigation, AEI uncovered a total of nine unique software bugs... in AEI's inCircle product that were also present in Orkut.com,"
Maybe Orkut didn't steal the code verbatim, maybe he's just a consitently crappy coder (but just in 9 specific situations).
Telling a developer, "we here at Affinity will miss you, enjoy your new job at Google...but by the way, never build social-circle-yadda-yadda software again because you already built something similar for us" is like telling an automotive designer, "you did great work here at Ford, especially when you designed the new Mustang. But in your new design job at GM, please don't design any sport coupes."
Wow...Canadian High Court's been cranking out some pretty common-sense-adhering rulings as far as technology goes.
Maybe this will compel the record industry to take a long, hard look at their current business model and realize it's no longer compatible with today's entertainment market.
Either that or it will send their lawyers scurrying to look for new lawsuit angles. Only time will tell.
Does this mean I'll soon be able to experience the joy of sudden, unexplained freezes & mysterious browser shutdowns (accompanied with XP's lovely "An error occurred. Would you like to send information to Microsoft?" dialog) with FireFox?
I saw that PubPat was looking for technical experts to help evaluate potentially-bogus patents, and got all excited...I've been looking for a new job, and thought, "Hey hey, this would be sweet!"
Then I saw that awful buzzkill of a phrase: "Pro Bono." BOOOOOOO!
On a side note, I better file my ridiculously vague patent application quick, before any reforms go down. I'm thinking "Conversion of oxygen to carbon dioxide in order to fuel/maintain metabolic processes" or "The exchange of product or service for an amount of currency greater than the original cost of said product or service."
Slashdot Mirror
Did these people that submitted their info never bother to glance at the site's URL? How do you confuse http://www.odeon.co.uk with http://www.dracos.co.uk/odeon/? Do they use the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button every damn time they Google something? More important, how can they be sure they weren't at the real site, but it just wasn't accepting their data submission correctly because of all the adware, spyware & viruses installed on their systems as a result of their clicking on random URLs with reckless abandon?
As a software developer for a gargantuan insurance company, let me assure you that I would be rather grumpy (to say the least) if I came into work one day and was told we have to overhaul our VIN-handling code. That would suck. Royally.
However, automakers could start mixing some alphas into the numeric vehicle-identifier portions of VINs...this could provide a few million (at least...too lazy to do math) more string combinations, and wouldn't affect the parts that IT people care about.There should be a requirement that websites wanting to incorporate the word "World" in their name be able withstand (at the very least) a late-evening Slashdotting.
The way their current bandwith tolerance looks, iTunes-level traffic would not only crash their server, but also burn down the office it's kept in.Seriously. I always hated the styling of the 802.11g-compliant networked DVD/digital media players that all the electronics companies used to crank out in the 80's.
This could be pretty cool...combine it with a video card with built-in TV tuner & some sort of TiVo-like software, and you could have a pretty sweet setup.
I do wonder if it can send data as well as receive...if so, the convenient wireless DVD 'backup' (yeah, that's it...backup) possibilities would be a nice cherry on top.In theory, I find this to be extremely uncool. It's akin to SBC employees listening in to your phone call to grandma, or a US Postal Service employee ripping open your cable bill to see which pornos...er, I mean, G-rated family films...you've been ordering.
In practice, however, I'm pretty indifferent about the whole thing. I figure, what kind of bigshot do I think I am, that I'm worried about some giant ISP reading my lame-ass e-mails? Let 'em read. They probably don't even know who the hell I am (beyond the fact that my customer # is 1234567-890 and my bill is 3 months in arrears).I'd definitely be interested in trying this out...it'll be nice to see if it can simplify the currently convoluted procedure I have to undertake to do anything on my home network.
When friends come over and want to connect, it can get pretty hairy.
Damn, now I want my AirPort Express *really* bad!"In its initial investigation, AEI uncovered a total of nine unique software bugs ... in AEI's inCircle product that were also present in Orkut.com,"
Maybe Orkut didn't steal the code verbatim, maybe he's just a consitently crappy coder (but just in 9 specific situations).
Telling a developer, "we here at Affinity will miss you, enjoy your new job at Google...but by the way, never build social-circle-yadda-yadda software again because you already built something similar for us" is like telling an automotive designer, "you did great work here at Ford, especially when you designed the new Mustang. But in your new design job at GM, please don't design any sport coupes."Wow...Canadian High Court's been cranking out some pretty common-sense-adhering rulings as far as technology goes.
Maybe this will compel the record industry to take a long, hard look at their current business model and realize it's no longer compatible with today's entertainment market.
Either that or it will send their lawyers scurrying to look for new lawsuit angles. Only time will tell.
Does this mean I'll soon be able to experience the joy of sudden, unexplained freezes & mysterious browser shutdowns (accompanied with XP's lovely "An error occurred. Would you like to send information to Microsoft?" dialog) with FireFox?
Cuz that would be just swell.I saw that PubPat was looking for technical experts to help evaluate potentially-bogus patents, and got all excited...I've been looking for a new job, and thought, "Hey hey, this would be sweet!" Then I saw that awful buzzkill of a phrase: "Pro Bono." BOOOOOOO! On a side note, I better file my ridiculously vague patent application quick, before any reforms go down. I'm thinking "Conversion of oxygen to carbon dioxide in order to fuel/maintain metabolic processes" or "The exchange of product or service for an amount of currency greater than the original cost of said product or service."