How 'bout because China is one of a very limited number of Communist governments left? And that they like to abuse and oppress their own (billion-plus) people? And sell advanced weapons (can you say "Silkworm missiles"? I knew you could!) using advanced technology they got from 'open' countries to rogue nations like Iran and North Korea? And that they routinely threaten to take over the democratic nation of Taiwan?
Does Tiananmen Square ring a bell? Why the fsck should we be helping them acquire technology that they'll more than likely (judging from past experience) use against us?
Okay, MS has claimed that F/OSS violates some of their patents.
Now, if MS fails to specify what patents are being infringed despite being explicitly asked to, and ignores challenges to sue potential violators, would there be any reasonable basis for them to try any kind of legal action later? I mean, if MS doesn't say what's being violated, don't they (essentially) wave any claims at a later date?
Wouldn't a judge tell MS "If you didn't tell so-and-so what patent he was violating, I can't award you any damages" - and maybe even slap some kind of penalty on MS for being shitheads?
Just publicly publish the names & addresses of the originators, and let the villagers with torches and pitchforks take care of it.
(Not entirely meant as a tongue-in-cheek solution)
It took me a lot of getting to grips with the text talk used by all the "modders" as they prefer to be known on Halo 2
What they want to be known as, and what they're likely called, are probably two different things.
If one (or more) people are cheating, then whatever they're doing, it isn't playing a game any longer; it's more like theft of time, effort, energy, and so on from the one(s) NOT cheating. Reading about all the mods, cheats, hacks, bots, and everything else available for online games is the majority of the reason that I won't have anything to do with them. If I lose, I want it to be because the other person is better at the game than I am, so that I'm inspired to get better - not because they want to pretend they're l33t h4x0r d00ds, or are too emotionally underdeveloped that they can't stand losing, themselves.
Between this kind of asshattery, manipulating their economy to maximize the amount of foreign money they get to keep, stomping on their citizens (Tiananmen Square, anyone?), outright thievery of foreign products (Redberry? Puh-LEEZ!), lies (that U.S. recon plane was in Chinese airspace - honest!), double-dealings, and everything else, could someone please explain again just why China is in the WTO, and the rest of the world 'needs' to do business with them?
I say screw 'em - they want to play by their own rules and the hell with everyone else, then let 'em play by themselves: don't buy Chinese anything!
Not at all. To use the always-popular car analogy: people are free to drive any vehicle they like on their own property; but the moment they want to drive on public highways, we expect them to demonstrate at least a minimum level of competency. Granted, nobody is going to get whiplash from being rear-ended by a spam email - but how many zombie machines would there really be if people had to know enough to install (working) firewall software on their systems, not open suspicious emails, and generally had to maintain fairly secure systems?
To the suggestion, I'll add that holding people accountable and liable for the misuse of their systems would be a Good Thing(tm) - much as we expect people who drive on the public roads to have insurance. I'd bet that if all the idiots that have machines (machines that are 0wn3d by the bot-masters) spewing spam had to pay, say $0.10 for each spam when they were identified and sued in a court, they'd either learn real quick to secure them, or be shut down.
It doesn't have to be a function of government, either. Anybody that wants to sign up to connect to the Internet takes a fairly short test; if they score below some minimum acceptable score, they're 'advised' that they don't have the required skills and are cautioned about the risks and liabilities they're assuming - and sign a document to that effect so there's no 'nobody told me that!' after the fact, obviating any claims of ignorance in a court. Nobody gets denied, but being made aware of the chances they're taking by proceeding should convince most that it's a losing proposition. No licensing, no regulation, no taxes - just individual accountability.
I mean, come on - a virus/worm/trojan attacking a Microsoft application/"service"??
Isn't this like announcing "water passes through a screen door"?
If you're going to insist on using a collection of security holes held together with a little bit of application code, you've pretty much got to expect this kind of thing.
Re:Where are the bunkers to protect Citizens ?
on
Back to the Bunker
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· Score: 1
And if, say, a suitcase nuke goes off (the Terrorists of Unspecified National, Ethnic, or Religious Origins would - of course - warn us so the Feds could implement their plan, right?) in St. Louis, then the citizens are all going to try and contact the Federal government, instead of calling the local cops, fire department, hospitals, and so forth, you suppose?
No, it seems more likely that the Feds are trying to position themselves so that they can continue to run things after they've written off whatever area(s) are affectedafter the fact, rather than dealing with such things as damage control and relief efforts immediately after the terrorist event itself.
I could be wrong, of course. I'm just judging by how the Federal government and agencies have acted in recent memory.
It's only a conspiracy theory if they wouldn't actually do it. Since I trust that our government really would do something like that, your suggestion is merely 'letting the cat out of the bag':-/
Re:Where are the bunkers to protect Citizens ?
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Back to the Bunker
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· Score: 4, Interesting
As we were instructed during my Navy boot camp: find a shielded spot, sit down, place your head between your knees, and kiss your 4ss goodbye...
Nobody should be surprised by this. I mean, surely I wasn't the only one that noticed that the Federal governments first response after 9/11 was to protect itself (i.e. Federal buildings, etc.)? State, County, and City governments were left to fend for themselves until the Fed had its ass covered; us mere citizens don't get squat, if you don't count the 'protection' we get from TSA airport screeners, the Patriot Act, and other catchy-titled programs.
The number and severity of Windows viruses and malware has now reached the point where MS finds it worthwhile to automate the process --- presumably because doing it manually simply takes up too much (expensive) human intervention for them.
Maybe it's time that some authority figure(s) at MS took a step back and re-thought their security model? Nah.....
I think there's also the problem that so many of today's kids are so used to getting instant gratification (i.e. - they're spoiled) that the sustained intellectual effort necessary to learn programming is simply beyond them.
I came to this realization in a (mandatory) Intro to Programming course I had to take at the local state college. 3 1-1/2 hour sessions a week, and half the class had disappeared before the end of the 3rd week; in the hall before class, I heard many of them complaining that they didn't 'get' the concepts behind programming: AND vs NAND, OR vs XOR, NOT, and so on. Non-decimal arithmetic (binary, octal, and hex) threw them completely. Boolean logic might as well have been Swahili for all most of them understood it. It was, as I said, a mandatory course; they were going to HAVE to take it to the end, sooner or later - yet most of the drop-outs simply didn't want to be bothered. The (very) few of us that already had some experience programming cruised through while the rest (including some taking it for the 3rd or even 4th time) applied whatever mental effort was needed to learn the subject.
I heard one of the disappeared comment to a friend "What do we need this crap for, anyway? All the programs we need are already written; you just have to know which one to buy or download!"
Slashdot Mirror
Considering the series of screwups that led to this, I figure his next course of action is a lawsuit against the state - I'd sure as hell do it.
Giving him a laptop without re-initializing it? They got them some dimtwitty IT folks there in Taxachussetts.
How 'bout because China is one of a very limited number of Communist governments left? And that they like to abuse and oppress their own (billion-plus) people? And sell advanced weapons (can you say "Silkworm missiles"? I knew you could!) using advanced technology they got from 'open' countries to rogue nations like Iran and North Korea? And that they routinely threaten to take over the democratic nation of Taiwan? Does Tiananmen Square ring a bell? Why the fsck should we be helping them acquire technology that they'll more than likely (judging from past experience) use against us?
Okay, MS has claimed that F/OSS violates some of their patents.
Now, if MS fails to specify what patents are being infringed despite being explicitly asked to, and ignores challenges to sue potential violators, would there be any reasonable basis for them to try any kind of legal action later? I mean, if MS doesn't say what's being violated, don't they (essentially) wave any claims at a later date?
Wouldn't a judge tell MS "If you didn't tell so-and-so what patent he was violating, I can't award you any damages" - and maybe even slap some kind of penalty on MS for being shitheads?
Is that you, Mr. Gates?
Just publicly publish the names & addresses of the originators, and let the villagers with torches and pitchforks take care of it.
(Not entirely meant as a tongue-in-cheek solution)
grayscale porn just doesn't cut it.
Maybe make pricing inversely proportional to the number of samples provided?
Andromeda Strain comes to life?
What they want to be known as, and what they're likely called, are probably two different things.
If one (or more) people are cheating, then whatever they're doing, it isn't playing a game any longer; it's more like theft of time, effort, energy, and so on from the one(s) NOT cheating. Reading about all the mods, cheats, hacks, bots, and everything else available for online games is the majority of the reason that I won't have anything to do with them. If I lose, I want it to be because the other person is better at the game than I am, so that I'm inspired to get better - not because they want to pretend they're l33t h4x0r d00ds, or are too emotionally underdeveloped that they can't stand losing, themselves.
Between this kind of asshattery, manipulating their economy to maximize the amount of foreign money they get to keep, stomping on their citizens (Tiananmen Square, anyone?), outright thievery of foreign products (Redberry? Puh-LEEZ!), lies (that U.S. recon plane was in Chinese airspace - honest!), double-dealings, and everything else, could someone please explain again just why China is in the WTO, and the rest of the world 'needs' to do business with them?
I say screw 'em - they want to play by their own rules and the hell with everyone else, then let 'em play by themselves: don't buy Chinese anything!
Not at all. To use the always-popular car analogy: people are free to drive any vehicle they like on their own property; but the moment they want to drive on public highways, we expect them to demonstrate at least a minimum level of competency. Granted, nobody is going to get whiplash from being rear-ended by a spam email - but how many zombie machines would there really be if people had to know enough to install (working) firewall software on their systems, not open suspicious emails, and generally had to maintain fairly secure systems?
To the suggestion, I'll add that holding people accountable and liable for the misuse of their systems would be a Good Thing(tm) - much as we expect people who drive on the public roads to have insurance. I'd bet that if all the idiots that have machines (machines that are 0wn3d by the bot-masters) spewing spam had to pay, say $0.10 for each spam when they were identified and sued in a court, they'd either learn real quick to secure them, or be shut down.
It doesn't have to be a function of government, either. Anybody that wants to sign up to connect to the Internet takes a fairly short test; if they score below some minimum acceptable score, they're 'advised' that they don't have the required skills and are cautioned about the risks and liabilities they're assuming - and sign a document to that effect so there's no 'nobody told me that!' after the fact, obviating any claims of ignorance in a court. Nobody gets denied, but being made aware of the chances they're taking by proceeding should convince most that it's a losing proposition. No licensing, no regulation, no taxes - just individual accountability.
Is too, butt-munch!
I surrender, and will be moving to Paris ASAP!
Or will be moving to Paris, and then surrendering - whichever French law requires.
Okay, I can see needing a supercomputer for designing Pam Anderson's bra, but not for swimsuits...
I mean, come on - a virus/worm/trojan attacking a Microsoft application/"service"??
Isn't this like announcing "water passes through a screen door"?
If you're going to insist on using a collection of security holes held together with a little bit of application code, you've pretty much got to expect this kind of thing.
Or was that the other end of the horse?
Shouldn't that have been:
BIN-L: GOTCHA! UR BAS BLONG 2 US!
or something along those lines?
And if, say, a suitcase nuke goes off (the Terrorists of Unspecified National, Ethnic, or Religious Origins would - of course - warn us so the Feds could implement their plan, right?) in St. Louis, then the citizens are all going to try and contact the Federal government, instead of calling the local cops, fire department, hospitals, and so forth, you suppose?
No, it seems more likely that the Feds are trying to position themselves so that they can continue to run things after they've written off whatever area(s) are affected after the fact, rather than dealing with such things as damage control and relief efforts immediately after the terrorist event itself.
I could be wrong, of course. I'm just judging by how the Federal government and agencies have acted in recent memory.
It's only a conspiracy theory if they wouldn't actually do it. Since I trust that our government really would do something like that, your suggestion is merely 'letting the cat out of the bag' :-/
As we were instructed during my Navy boot camp: find a shielded spot, sit down, place your head between your knees, and kiss your 4ss goodbye...
Nobody should be surprised by this. I mean, surely I wasn't the only one that noticed that the Federal governments first response after 9/11 was to protect itself (i.e. Federal buildings, etc.)? State, County, and City governments were left to fend for themselves until the Fed had its ass covered; us mere citizens don't get squat, if you don't count the 'protection' we get from TSA airport screeners, the Patriot Act, and other catchy-titled programs.
6. Feel free to slag off British cuisuine though. You're probably justfied.
Britain has cuisine??
When you try to make everything idiot-proof, you just raise the quality of the remaining idiots.
The number and severity of Windows viruses and malware has now reached the point where MS finds it worthwhile to automate the process --- presumably because doing it manually simply takes up too much (expensive) human intervention for them.
Maybe it's time that some authority figure(s) at MS took a step back and re-thought their security model? Nah.....
it would likely stimulate additional R&D into even higher data storage and really huge backup technologies.
I think there's also the problem that so many of today's kids are so used to getting instant gratification (i.e. - they're spoiled) that the sustained intellectual effort necessary to learn programming is simply beyond them.
I came to this realization in a (mandatory) Intro to Programming course I had to take at the local state college. 3 1-1/2 hour sessions a week, and half the class had disappeared before the end of the 3rd week; in the hall before class, I heard many of them complaining that they didn't 'get' the concepts behind programming: AND vs NAND, OR vs XOR, NOT, and so on. Non-decimal arithmetic (binary, octal, and hex) threw them completely. Boolean logic might as well have been Swahili for all most of them understood it. It was, as I said, a mandatory course; they were going to HAVE to take it to the end, sooner or later - yet most of the drop-outs simply didn't want to be bothered. The (very) few of us that already had some experience programming cruised through while the rest (including some taking it for the 3rd or even 4th time) applied whatever mental effort was needed to learn the subject.
I heard one of the disappeared comment to a friend "What do we need this crap for, anyway? All the programs we need are already written; you just have to know which one to buy or download!"