It isn't a problem in the sense that it's going to cause damage, or infect anyone, but it is *damn* funny.
And it is a PR nightmare for MS because a lot of people aren't technical enough to understand what's necessary to become infected. All they hear is "shipped with Nimda" and it's bad news.
What's so odd about that? My husband and I both read/.
And while he's looking forward to NWN, I'm the one trying to build a new system to run it on and convince him that I should get a new system to play it on.
Since most of our purchases have been laptops and weren't specifically purchased for gaming, they won't cut it. The minimum requirements aren't too bad, but the recommended (and you KNOW you're going to need that to really have a good time) are a bit more than I've got laying around in the server closet.
::sigh::
I just know this is going to suck up most of my free time this summer.
The only truth in this article was that people, in general, are ignorant when it comes to computers.
Yes, there are plenty of people who just want to "turn it on" and have it work, but you boot up and DHCP a public addy via a cable modem/xDSL line, you ought to at least be *aware* of the potential for abuse. And that goes for both Linux and Windows. We won't discuss this fact with dial-up users but they don't get it either.
At least my grandmother (85 year old grandmother) has an excuse. As long as she can e-mail and browse she really doesn't want to know anything else, so I'll take care of that for her. But that's a different situation. Most of them time we're talking about people who have at least a limited knowledge of computers and should be able to understand these things. The least the Cable/DSL providers could do is include a picture and a little description of what the hell they're getting into.
I run a switched network at home with a firewall that's solved most of my problems. But my father's hooked straight to a cable modem and until a month ago when I told him he was vulnerable he had no clue.
And that is the real problem. Because users in general (1) don't patch and/or (2) don't even realize they're "on" the Internet.
As far as a few comments here about Linux being too difficult for most users, tell that to my 8 year old daughter. She doesn't have a problem at all running SuSE.
You've got a good point there. It took me longer to make the switch because I got frustrated easily. Suddenly, I didn't know how to do X and Y, even though under Windows/DOS I could do it without thinking.
Makes it harder to switch - and stay switched. I've got a friend who's extremely competent in the Windows world. He's planning on switching to Linux in the next few months. It'll be interesting to see how he handles the move. He's just tired of Microsoft and instability, he says. So I'll have to watch and see how he makes the move - could be an interesting documentary, 'cause he's planning on migrating his primary work machine - a laptop.
We moved our 15 year old son to a SuSE distribution last year. He had issues because he wasn't sure how to get to his network drives and couldn't get Starcraft running, but after a couple months he was able to install Wine and get Warcraft going (didn't get Starcraft going, much to his dismay).
Four months ago we moved our 8 year old daughter to the same SuSE distro - took away her Windows 98 and made her quit cold turkey. We configured KMail and let her go. She's had NO help and she can create documents, print web pages, browse, and runs some of the KDE games. No complaints from her at all.
So can people get used to it? Even non-geeks? Sure. If an 8-year old child can do it, I would think a college student, regardless of their general computer competency, should be able to do it as well.
This is like being surprised that the Tolly Group gave a good report to a product.
When you pay for a review or analysis, you get exactly what you want. This is no different than the Mindcraft "study" that was biased.
When a reputable group/publication comes out with an unbiased study that says these same things then you should get upset. Until then, it's all smoke and mirrors, FUD and MUD.
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
B.Franklin
I don't care whether it's the KKK or the Black Panthers or Pr0n. If it's protected speech, it's protected completely.
Half-assed liberty is NO liberty at all and I refuse to comprimise on this most basic of our rights.
I hate pr0n. I see absolutely nothing in it that is socially redeeming at any level. None at all. Those who enjoy it are beyond my comprehension. But its protected. And the protection of that right is more important than my moral outrage that this kind of crap is available anywhere.
I said this last week. The demise of RealNames isn't any more Microsoft's fault than the demise of any company who puts all their eggs in one basket.
Poor business decisions, poor business model, inflated prices. That's what killed RealName.
I don't like Microsoft, but they really can't be blamed for this one. They're just an easy (and believable, most times) scapegoat.
If we blame MS for everything we'll eventually be counted in the "boy who cried wolf" group and when we point out the wrongdoings of Redmond we'll be completely ignored. We don't want that, so look at this situation objectively.
Why do people get upset at this list, or billboard's top 40 or any other stupid "list of top X".
Get a grip. I like what I like because I like it. You may not agree, great - rock on with your bad self. Doesn't bother me nor does it change my opinion.
You'd think Wired just proclaimed that you have to agree with them or something the way some of you react.
Haven't you learned by now that any list of "popular" anything is SUBJECTIVE and therefore doesn't mean jack?
You can get it running Midori Linux or WinCE. I've played with both and support for WiFi cards is good with either version.
The SonicBLUE ProGear can also be ordered with Linux as the OS, but it's WAY pricey - like over $3000. And the version running Windows98 runs hot. Burn your lap off and runs sluggish. But it has a built in 802.11b card. No drivers to load for this one.
You server side system should be, but probably isn't doing any better a job than current Web based forms.
How many forms use a GET instead of a POST? How many check only with client-side scripting (VB/JavaScript) and assume all is well?
Granted, that type of authentication will provide some measure of security, but most admins don't like doing that and neither do most developers. Think about that - how many sites do you visit that require Web server initiated authentication?
Very few. Why? Because it's a drain on the admins. You'd have to hire a single person just to update the damn server authentication! Most systems use a database driven method and combine it with user self-service for registration/authentication.
The same goes for Web services - and probably more so because it's directed primarly at B2B right now. There needs to be integrated billing, audit trails, etc... basic authentication isn't going to cut it and company's aren't going to go for SSL solves everything if they're smart.
Wow. You guys are really all missing the point here.
The reason that Gartner expects StarOffice 6.0 to take away 10% of M$ market share in the productivity suite arena is because it's a paid product offered by a reputable, known viable vendor.
There are a whole lot of people looking to get out from under Microsoft's licensing/upgrading set to take effect this summer. Sun's offering may entice them to jump off the fence.
While open source is ready for the enterprise, the enterprise is not necessarily reader for open source.
What does that mean? It means that most enterprise class shops won't go for something that a) isn't supported by someone on the other end of phone and b) they aren't certain will be available in 5 years because of vendor viability.
Sun doesn't really give a damn about all of us - they are targetting a larger market that will provide a longer-lived revenue stream.
And take a bite of out Microsoft's chunky a$$ at the same time.
I don't like OpenOffice. Font support sucks and some of the compatability with MS Office products is less than acceptable. Given that I absolutely have to be able to read/edit MS documents, that is an imperative.
Will I pay for StarOffice? Hell yeah. I'd rather give it to Sun than MS any day.
StarOffice came first - open office is the release of the code into the open source community. StarOffice isn't originally Sun's, but was offered as early as 1996. Sun picked it up (to the dismay of many, myself included ) in 1999.
SSL secures the transmission from prying eyes. It does not prevent someone from using your service in a manner you did not intend.
Security issues with Web services go way beyond the fact that it's transmitted in the clear.
All of the issues that have been dealt with in Web forms will reappear. Field type/length validation needs to occur, authentication, etc...
You can't just turn on SSL and expect it to solve all your security problems. Utilizing SSL brings up yet another problem - it disrupts security processes in place. IDS and anti-virus mechanisms at the edge of the network can't decrypt SSL traffic and therefore ignore it.
Unless you are using client certificates - which may be more possible with B2B as opposed to B2C - SSL isn't going to solve the underlying problems, which is verification and validation of a sometimes complex dynamic document that may contain data that is dangerous.
Throughput sucks. You're stuck at serial speed because that's the interface to the module. That's great when you've got nothing else but it's worse than a 14.4 dialup.
Connectivity is spotty. Generally I've had no problems with getting connected at home or work, but last week I was attending Networld+Interop and the damn thing locked up my Handspring.
Tight. I had to reset. After the second time this happened (yeah, shoot me for being a glutton for punishment), I lost all my data. Yes, it was backed up, but that's not the point.
Now, in the past I've had no issues. Blazer (the browser that comes with the Xircom module ) is sweet and if you've got a Visor the color is great and the quality is decent. I liked it, until last week.
But after last week I'll not likely be using the module again. I just can't afford to lose everything on the road like that.
Your suggestion to "ask" implies that you condone such an action.
I do not.
And before you go whack on that... While asking to have a site blocked should be an option, I don't believe that anyone actually should ask for such a thing.
That's probably because we don't have numbers for things like the Inquisition or the destruction of entire tribes of people destroyed in the name of Christianity when we decided to take over the Americas.
I think the cliche is true, but only in the sense that it's from both sides - those who died for Christianity and those who have been killed in the name of Christianity. There's no distinction made in that cliche, unless you infer one. Historians generally don't.
The latter is probably MUCH larger than the former.
You can ask your ISP not to carry sites that you find offensive.
And if we use the same ISP and I don't find it offensive, then what?
In the words of Metal Church, what gives you the famous final word? to think that your opinion is preferred?
Just like television, radio, newspaper. If you don't like it - don't watch it/listen to it/read it. Why should anything on the net be different?
Do I like pr0n? No. Should it be banned? No.
I am no so arrogant as to believe that my repressed, mid-west ethics should be the deciding factor in what is and what is not allowed on the Net. While I of course secretly hope (as do most people) that my morals would propagate and take over, I'm NOT willing to legislate that and destroy the right of others to enjoy whatever hedonistic or perverse content they desire. As long as it isn't violating any laws, it's not my decision.
And it shouldn't be yours.
Asking ISPs to not "carry" sites that I find offensive is the same as asking FOX not to air the Simpsons or my local radio station to not play pop-music because I find these things offensive.
Wouldn't happen and shouldn't happen.
Voltaire had the only right answer in these situations.
I read the book this past week and while I am generally a fan of Salvatore's work - not just for the fight scenes but for his character development - this book was written with a 3rd grade reading level in mind and was a horrible example of Salvatore's writing.
He's much better than this and this is obviously just a hard copy of the script. THAT was a mistake. He could have done much more with it but I'm certain that there were restrictions upon him and so while this shouldn't reflect on Salvatore (on that I agree) it's still an awful example of literature in any form.
People like you remind me of why I stay away from public places.
Get real. A couple years ago a guy from Britian spouted off at the mouth, and then tried to claim that his mouthing off was covered by the First Amendment.
They sent him home. Why? Because he (like other non US citizens in the US) aren't guaranteed the rights afforded to citizens.
If you come to the US, buy a gun and shoot someone, you should pay the price and THEN be deported.
As far as the speeding, well - it depends on how nasty the government is feeling at the moment. As you note, you'll probably pay a fine and go on your merry way.
Just DON'T try to claim protection under the Constitution. As a non-citizen, you don't have the right to it. That's the point that was being made.
Slashdot Mirror
It isn't a problem in the sense that it's going to cause damage, or infect anyone, but it is *damn* funny.
And it is a PR nightmare for MS because a lot of people aren't technical enough to understand what's necessary to become infected. All they hear is "shipped with Nimda" and it's bad news.
What's so odd about that? My husband and I both read /.
And while he's looking forward to NWN, I'm the one trying to build a new system to run it on and convince him that I should get a new system to play it on.
Since most of our purchases have been laptops and weren't specifically purchased for gaming, they won't cut it. The minimum requirements aren't too bad, but the recommended (and you KNOW you're going to need that to really have a good time) are a bit more than I've got laying around in the server closet.
::sigh::
I just know this is going to suck up most of my free time this summer.
The only truth in this article was that people, in general, are ignorant when it comes to computers.
Yes, there are plenty of people who just want to "turn it on" and have it work, but you boot up and DHCP a public addy via a cable modem/xDSL line, you ought to at least be *aware* of the potential for abuse. And that goes for both Linux and Windows. We won't discuss this fact with dial-up users but they don't get it either.
At least my grandmother (85 year old grandmother) has an excuse. As long as she can e-mail and browse she really doesn't want to know anything else, so I'll take care of that for her. But that's a different situation. Most of them time we're talking about people who have at least a limited knowledge of computers and should be able to understand these things. The least the Cable/DSL providers could do is include a picture and a little description of what the hell they're getting into.
I run a switched network at home with a firewall that's solved most of my problems. But my father's hooked straight to a cable modem and until a month ago when I told him he was vulnerable he had no clue.
And that is the real problem. Because users in general (1) don't patch and/or (2) don't even realize they're "on" the Internet.
As far as a few comments here about Linux being too difficult for most users, tell that to my 8 year old daughter. She doesn't have a problem at all running SuSE.
Actually, the hard part is when the children hit their teenage years. It's like they become zombies or something.
You've got a good point there. It took me longer to make the switch because I got frustrated easily. Suddenly, I didn't know how to do X and Y, even though under Windows/DOS I could do it without thinking.
Makes it harder to switch - and stay switched. I've got a friend who's extremely competent in the Windows world. He's planning on switching to Linux in the next few months. It'll be interesting to see how he handles the move. He's just tired of Microsoft and instability, he says. So I'll have to watch and see how he makes the move - could be an interesting documentary, 'cause he's planning on migrating his primary work machine - a laptop.
it's interesting.
We moved our 15 year old son to a SuSE distribution last year. He had issues because he wasn't sure how to get to his network drives and couldn't get Starcraft running, but after a couple months he was able to install Wine and get Warcraft going (didn't get Starcraft going, much to his dismay).
Four months ago we moved our 8 year old daughter to the same SuSE distro - took away her Windows 98 and made her quit cold turkey. We configured KMail and let her go. She's had NO help and she can create documents, print web pages, browse, and runs some of the KDE games. No complaints from her at all.
So can people get used to it? Even non-geeks? Sure. If an 8-year old child can do it, I would think a college student, regardless of their general computer competency, should be able to do it as well.
Oh come on now. I've been playing with Linux since before RedHat 4.2 was released.
And I'm definitely female - I checked before I posted this just to be sure.
And haven't you heard of linuxchix.org?
I mean, come on!
This is like being surprised that the Tolly Group gave a good report to a product.
When you pay for a review or analysis, you get exactly what you want. This is no different than the Mindcraft "study" that was biased.
When a reputable group/publication comes out with an unbiased study that says these same things then you should get upset. Until then, it's all smoke and mirrors, FUD and MUD.
Nothing to see here.
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
B.Franklin
I don't care whether it's the KKK or the Black Panthers or Pr0n. If it's protected speech, it's protected completely.
Half-assed liberty is NO liberty at all and I refuse to comprimise on this most basic of our rights.
I hate pr0n. I see absolutely nothing in it that is socially redeeming at any level. None at all. Those who enjoy it are beyond my comprehension. But its protected. And the protection of that right is more important than my moral outrage that this kind of crap is available anywhere.
So post it as pseudo code:
3 db06 43034b96de9ed60b4e0e4\8 fca8ac21fd999d1004909419 0d898d001480840913d7d35246\4 75dd9dd5044d0d4594dc9cd4054c0 c449559195180c989c11058185\7 074f92da9ad20f4a0a429f53135b8 6c383cb165e1e568bce8ec61bb\6 abeeaee6fb37773f2267276f723a7 a322f6a2a627fb9f9b1a0e9a9e\d 1d5584cd8dc5145c1c5485cc8cc41 5bdfdb5a4edade5f4bcfcb4a5e\1 703878302168286071b7f7bfa2e7a 7eff2bafab2afeaaae2ff"
...
Typedef an unsigned int as uint.
Next, define a 512 byte static character array containing the following characters:
"33733b2663236b763e7e362b6e2e667bd39
69b57175f82c787cf125a1a52
d2d65743c7c34256c2c6
081c888c011d797df024
3f3bba6e3a3ebf6befeb
1f0b8f8b0a1e8a8e0f15
cace4f53979312069296
Next, typedef an unsigned char as a uchar.
Now declare an array of uint, 11 elements long with the values {5,0,1,2,3,4,0,1,2,3,4};
Next define a pointer to a uchar F and default the value to NULL.
Define three variables of type uint: lf0, lf1, out.
Declare a function ReadKey that takes as a parameter a pointer to a uchar named key and returns nothing (void).
Write the body of the function as follows:
Declare i as type integer.
Declare hst as a 3 byte character array.
Assign 0 to the value of hst at index 2.
If F is NULL, then allocate 256 bytes to F.
Now loop
You get the picture. Would this be illegal? Or speech. Looks like speech to me!
Recipe for destruction?
I said this last week. The demise of RealNames isn't any more Microsoft's fault than the demise of any company who puts all their eggs in one basket.
Poor business decisions, poor business model, inflated prices. That's what killed RealName.
I don't like Microsoft, but they really can't be blamed for this one. They're just an easy (and believable, most times) scapegoat.
If we blame MS for everything we'll eventually be counted in the "boy who cried wolf" group and when we point out the wrongdoings of Redmond we'll be completely ignored. We don't want that, so look at this situation objectively.
Why do people get upset at this list, or billboard's top 40 or any other stupid "list of top X".
Get a grip. I like what I like because I like it. You may not agree, great - rock on with your bad self. Doesn't bother me nor does it change my opinion.
You'd think Wired just proclaimed that you have to agree with them or something the way some of you react.
Haven't you learned by now that any list of "popular" anything is SUBJECTIVE and therefore doesn't mean jack?
Nothing to see here.. move along.
Watch what you want. Enjoy what you want.
There are some other options out there:
The AquaPAD from FICA starts at $650.
You can get it running Midori Linux or WinCE. I've played with both and support for WiFi cards is good with either version.
The SonicBLUE ProGear can also be ordered with Linux as the OS, but it's WAY pricey - like over $3000. And the version running Windows98 runs hot. Burn your lap off and runs sluggish. But it has a built in 802.11b card. No drivers to load for this one.
You server side system should be, but probably isn't doing any better a job than current Web based forms.
How many forms use a GET instead of a POST? How many check only with client-side scripting (VB/JavaScript) and assume all is well?
Granted, that type of authentication will provide some measure of security, but most admins don't like doing that and neither do most developers. Think about that - how many sites do you visit that require Web server initiated authentication?
Very few. Why? Because it's a drain on the admins. You'd have to hire a single person just to update the damn server authentication! Most systems use a database driven method and combine it with user self-service for registration/authentication.
The same goes for Web services - and probably more so because it's directed primarly at B2B right now. There needs to be integrated billing, audit trails, etc... basic authentication isn't going to cut it and company's aren't going to go for SSL solves everything if they're smart.
Think less violent -
Graverobbing for fingers.
Dead people won't miss their fingers, and you have a plethora of choices for identification.
It would happen. Probably more frequently than we care to imagine.
Wow. You guys are really all missing the point here.
The reason that Gartner expects StarOffice 6.0 to take away 10% of M$ market share in the productivity suite arena is because it's a paid product offered by a reputable, known viable vendor.
There are a whole lot of people looking to get out from under Microsoft's licensing/upgrading set to take effect this summer. Sun's offering may entice them to jump off the fence.
While open source is ready for the enterprise, the enterprise is not necessarily reader for open source.
What does that mean? It means that most enterprise class shops won't go for something that a) isn't supported by someone on the other end of phone and b) they aren't certain will be available in 5 years because of vendor viability.
Sun doesn't really give a damn about all of us - they are targetting a larger market that will provide a longer-lived revenue stream.
And take a bite of out Microsoft's chunky a$$ at the same time.
I don't like OpenOffice. Font support sucks and some of the compatability with MS Office products is less than acceptable. Given that I absolutely have to be able to read/edit MS documents, that is an imperative.
Will I pay for StarOffice? Hell yeah. I'd rather give it to Sun than MS any day.
StarOffice came first - open office is the release of the code into the open source community. StarOffice isn't originally Sun's, but was offered as early as 1996. Sun picked it up (to the dismay of many, myself included ) in 1999.
You can read about the acquisition here
OpenOffice did not come first, StarOffice did. Sun released an earlier code base to the open source community and continued with its own development.
SSL secures the transmission from prying eyes. It does not prevent someone from using your service in a manner you did not intend.
Security issues with Web services go way beyond the fact that it's transmitted in the clear.
All of the issues that have been dealt with in Web forms will reappear. Field type/length validation needs to occur, authentication, etc...
You can't just turn on SSL and expect it to solve all your security problems. Utilizing SSL brings up yet another problem - it disrupts security processes in place. IDS and anti-virus mechanisms at the edge of the network can't decrypt SSL traffic and therefore ignore it.
Unless you are using client certificates - which may be more possible with B2B as opposed to B2C - SSL isn't going to solve the underlying problems, which is verification and validation of a sometimes complex dynamic document that may contain data that is dangerous.
I have a Xircom 802.11b module for my Handspring.
General impressions:
Throughput sucks. You're stuck at serial speed because that's the interface to the module. That's great when you've got nothing else but it's worse than a 14.4 dialup.
Connectivity is spotty. Generally I've had no problems with getting connected at home or work, but last week I was attending Networld+Interop and the damn thing locked up my Handspring.
Tight. I had to reset. After the second time this happened (yeah, shoot me for being a glutton for punishment), I lost all my data. Yes, it was backed up, but that's not the point.
Now, in the past I've had no issues. Blazer (the browser that comes with the Xircom module ) is sweet and if you've got a Visor the color is great and the quality is decent. I liked it, until last week.
But after last week I'll not likely be using the module again. I just can't afford to lose everything on the road like that.
As always, YMMV.
Verisign just sucks.
In the past 3 months the amount of SPAM I've gotten has dramatically increased. And almost all of it has Verisign's dirty hands all over it.
I've started getting telemarketing calls at home as well, all related to my PERSONAL domain, and all it is business phone-spam.
I am definitely looking for a new registrar because this is bullshit.
It was bad enough when NetSol took over, but with Verisign in the mix it got worse.
Ahhh, very true.
The reasoning for ascribing the decimation to Christianity semms then that it was a "convenient excuse" to alleviate the conscience.
After all, wasn't it easier (and more acceptable) to kill pagans because they refused Christ than it was to kill them in the name of expansionism?
While religion may not have been the impetus to destroy, it seems to have been used often as an excuse to cover more secular aspirations.
I did read your post.
Your suggestion to "ask" implies that you condone such an action.
I do not.
And before you go whack on that... While asking to have a site blocked should be an option, I don't believe that anyone actually should ask for such a thing.
That's probably because we don't have numbers for things like the Inquisition or the destruction of entire tribes of people destroyed in the name of Christianity when we decided to take over the Americas.
I think the cliche is true, but only in the sense that it's from both sides - those who died for Christianity and those who have been killed in the name of Christianity. There's no distinction made in that cliche, unless you infer one. Historians generally don't.
The latter is probably MUCH larger than the former.
You can ask your ISP not to carry sites that you find offensive.
And if we use the same ISP and I don't find it offensive, then what?
In the words of Metal Church, what gives you the famous final word? to think that your opinion is preferred?
Just like television, radio, newspaper. If you don't like it - don't watch it/listen to it/read it. Why should anything on the net be different?
Do I like pr0n? No. Should it be banned? No.
I am no so arrogant as to believe that my repressed, mid-west ethics should be the deciding factor in what is and what is not allowed on the Net. While I of course secretly hope (as do most people) that my morals would propagate and take over, I'm NOT willing to legislate that and destroy the right of others to enjoy whatever hedonistic or perverse content they desire. As long as it isn't violating any laws, it's not my decision.
And it shouldn't be yours.
Asking ISPs to not "carry" sites that I find offensive is the same as asking FOX not to air the Simpsons or my local radio station to not play pop-music because I find these things offensive.
Wouldn't happen and shouldn't happen.
Voltaire had the only right answer in these situations.
I read the book this past week and while I am generally a fan of Salvatore's work - not just for the fight scenes but for his character development - this book was written with a 3rd grade reading level in mind and was a horrible example of Salvatore's writing.
He's much better than this and this is obviously just a hard copy of the script. THAT was a mistake. He could have done much more with it but I'm certain that there were restrictions upon him and so while this shouldn't reflect on Salvatore (on that I agree) it's still an awful example of literature in any form.
People like you remind me of why I stay away from public places.
Get real. A couple years ago a guy from Britian spouted off at the mouth, and then tried to claim that his mouthing off was covered by the First Amendment.
They sent him home. Why? Because he (like other non US citizens in the US) aren't guaranteed the rights afforded to citizens.
If you come to the US, buy a gun and shoot someone, you should pay the price and THEN be deported.
As far as the speeding, well - it depends on how nasty the government is feeling at the moment.
As you note, you'll probably pay a fine and go on your merry way.
Just DON'T try to claim protection under the Constitution. As a non-citizen, you don't have the right to it. That's the point that was being made.