I know what he did was a good thing, but what if I wrote a script to go through MySpace looking for other "stuff?" Isn't this a breach of privacy and wouldn't this person or MySpace be vulnerable to lawsuits?
Create a parallel directory to installdir/adobe/acrobat 7.0/acrobat/plug-ins/ directory, call it plug-not, and move all non essential plug-ins into that directory.
I just want a reader, not a full fledged pseudo-browser app with tons of security exploits - there's already one called Internet Explorer on my PC!
So I've moved away: Accessibility, Acroform, ADBC, EScript, Multimedia, weblink, webpdf, etc.
Now when you open those "exploit" links, you get an pop-up saying, "The plug-in required by this 'URI' action is not available."
You get another benefit from this. Your acrobat reader will load sooo much faster too!
That's because in general, most spammers haven't broken any significant laws in their jurisdiction, or those who have broken laws, have not caused significant enough damage (monetary or otherwise) for a criminal investigation (which must precede a trial) to start. There's bigger fish for the DA to fry.
Remember that this story isn't about a criminal case. MSFT filed a civil suit to seek relief directly from the courts in monetary terms.
The size of the company matters. I've been in very small and very large companies. In the smaller companies, there's a feeling of camaraderie - like we're all in this together - so there's almost no stealing. In a large company, things disappear if you don't lock it down.
If the CTO did authorized the release, then she's certainly the right person to be released [sic].
If however, a subordinate few levels below her did it, then firing the CTO can't really be justified. I mean, you might as well fire the CEO if you can justify firing her in that case.
I think you have an idealized image of the U.S. Legal System.
Let me shatter that image for you.
In the U.S. Legal System - the side with the deeper pocket always wins.
The guy who wrote the model railroad software does not have the money to purse any legal action against any big company, especially if he's a poor sob giving his software away because it's his hobby. Hell, he doesn't even have to money to pay a lawyer to actively look for infringing patents.
You say it's too expensive and then you say you're concerned about these services going out of business.
Well, you can't have it both ways. A cheap backup service is much more likely to go out of business.
Backup is one service where you don't want to go to the lowest bidder.
If your data is important enough, you'll pay a professional service a professional rate, to back it up. A backup service should be much more than some guy selling off pieces of his own USB drive attached to the Internet.
So you faxed over "SN, pw, last 4 digits of CC, name, address" to some unconfirmed number that you got from the Internet? Why not offer your mother's maiden name while you're at it.
Having spent 20 years in the programming profession, I've worked with a lot of programmers. The speedy ones are usually exceptionally smart, but their code is completely unmaintainable, no matter how much time they are given to write it. If you work any time in industry, you'll know that 90% of your life is maintaining or improving upon code that others have written, so the speedy ones actually hurt overall programmer productivity for the team.
I'll take a slow and methodical programmer over a Speedy Gonzales anyday.
Yeah. As devices get smarter, reliability will be the biggest problem.
You don't expect a VCR to crash, but a DVR crashes (just yesterday, I had to "reboot" mine 4 TIMES!) Cars are getting "smarter" - have you looked at a Prius?
All the stuff around our house are on the verge of being replaced with "smarter" versions.
There will come a day when our microwave, phone, TV, or even our house crashes and needs to be rebooted.
Slashdot Mirror
Nah, I've never really watched West Wing. In what context was it mentioned?
Whoa! Am I the only one that read: the International Federation of the Pornographic Industry and did a double take?
I know what he did was a good thing, but what if I wrote a script to go through MySpace looking for other "stuff?" Isn't this a breach of privacy and wouldn't this person or MySpace be vulnerable to lawsuits?
Pfft, cat + sed is my mail reader.
Uh, what's your point? Those are his graphics which he includes in his post to make a point.
Create a parallel directory to installdir/adobe/acrobat 7.0/acrobat/plug-ins/ directory, call it plug-not, and move all non essential plug-ins into that directory.
I just want a reader, not a full fledged pseudo-browser app with tons of security exploits - there's already one called Internet Explorer on my PC!
So I've moved away: Accessibility, Acroform, ADBC, EScript, Multimedia, weblink, webpdf, etc.
Now when you open those "exploit" links, you get an pop-up saying, "The plug-in required by this 'URI' action is not available."
You get another benefit from this. Your acrobat reader will load sooo much faster too!
That's because in general, most spammers haven't broken any significant laws in their jurisdiction, or those who have broken laws, have not caused significant enough damage (monetary or otherwise) for a criminal investigation (which must precede a trial) to start. There's bigger fish for the DA to fry.
Remember that this story isn't about a criminal case. MSFT filed a civil suit to seek relief directly from the courts in monetary terms.
"They all are very hot," the governor says of Cubans and Puerto Ricans. "They have the, you know, part of the black blood in them and part of the Latino blood in them that together makes it." See: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2 006/09/09/GUV.TMP
Yeah, that's right up there with all black people can play basketball, cuz you know, it's in their blood man!
So what's the real consequence here?
Are his constituents going to vote him out of office at the next election?
It seems that politicians who are wrecking the country keeps getting reelected anyway.
The size of the company matters. I've been in very small and very large companies. In the smaller companies, there's a feeling of camaraderie - like we're all in this together - so there's almost no stealing. In a large company, things disappear if you don't lock it down.
Gettysburg address in powerpoint: http://www.norvig.com/Gettysburg/
If the CTO did authorized the release, then she's certainly the right person to be released [sic].
If however, a subordinate few levels below her did it, then firing the CTO can't really be justified. I mean, you might as well fire the CEO if you can justify firing her in that case.
If they didn't have Apple to emulate?
Q: "Easy: Change the gravitational constant of the universe."
Geordi: "What?"
Q: "Change the gravitational constant of the universe, thereby altering the asteroid's orbit."
Geordi: "How do you do that?"
Q: "You just DO it, that's all..."
Data: "What Geordi is saying is that we do not have the ability to change the gravitational constant of the universe."
Q: "Well, then, you obviously never read slashdot."
You think cancelling AOL is hard when they charge for services?
Think how much harder it would be to "cancel" when it becomes free.
I think you have an idealized image of the U.S. Legal System.
Let me shatter that image for you.
In the U.S. Legal System - the side with the deeper pocket always wins.
The guy who wrote the model railroad software does not have the money to purse any legal action against any big company, especially if he's a poor sob giving his software away because it's his hobby. Hell, he doesn't even have to money to pay a lawyer to actively look for infringing patents.
Hey. Whatchout for that flying chair....
You say it's too expensive and then you say you're concerned about these services going out of business.
Well, you can't have it both ways. A cheap backup service is much more likely to go out of business.
Backup is one service where you don't want to go to the lowest bidder.
If your data is important enough, you'll pay a professional service a professional rate, to back it up. A backup service should be much more than some guy selling off pieces of his own USB drive attached to the Internet.
So you faxed over "SN, pw, last 4 digits of CC, name, address" to some unconfirmed number that you got from the Internet? Why not offer your mother's maiden name while you're at it.
Their marketing dept is hedging its bets.
Sorry. I can't agree.
Having spent 20 years in the programming profession, I've worked with a lot of programmers. The speedy ones are usually exceptionally smart, but their code is completely unmaintainable, no matter how much time they are given to write it. If you work any time in industry, you'll know that 90% of your life is maintaining or improving upon code that others have written, so the speedy ones actually hurt overall programmer productivity for the team.
I'll take a slow and methodical programmer over a Speedy Gonzales anyday.
They're all playing poker now.
What's to stop SCO from claiming that GNU Hurd stole from them too?
Um, I actually USED that graphic file system viewer on an SGI workstation in 1992, BEFORE Jurassic Park came out in 1993.
Yeah. As devices get smarter, reliability will be the biggest problem.
You don't expect a VCR to crash, but a DVR crashes (just yesterday, I had to "reboot" mine 4 TIMES!) Cars are getting "smarter" - have you looked at a Prius?
All the stuff around our house are on the verge of being replaced with "smarter" versions.
There will come a day when our microwave, phone, TV, or even our house crashes and needs to be rebooted.