Surely then the defense is to ensure your ships cook is Steven Seagal?
Yep. I prefer the other solution though: cut the movie budget. That way, Erika would turn into some old hag who does movies for less, the Navy would see her from a distance, be horrified, and blow the helicopter out of the sky.
I want a mobile with a laser projected keyboard, and a light-protected screen. With the normal screen and touchscreen keyboard as a backup when there are no good surfaces around, of course. Seems the most obvious (and cool) way to get the necessarily large IO devices "into" a small form factor.
I haven't actually tried a laser keyboard though. Anyone know if they're actually usable for serious work?
I think you failed to read my whole post. There was nothing religiously peaceful about it; simply a few remarks on various attitudes to invasion and how that's played out historically.
"it stores the encryption key on the disk so that it can be decrypted...all the data will be visible. The investigator can then image the suspect drive."
I would like to know what possible resource we might have on the Earth that can't be found much, much more abundantly and in a form much easier to obtain elsewhere
If they have spaceships, then they can go out to the asteriod belt and hurl an endless supply of ammunition at us that would decimate us and pose no risk at all to the attackers.
Maybe they like risk. They did jump on a rocket going between stars, after all. They might just be vicious bastards who like to see us splatter up close.
You know, all of the use cases you describe can be supported by ticking the 'encrypt' checkbox that Windows NT has had since version 4
Except that:
a) Windows encryption is known to be flawed, and using a known-bad encrpytion system for this sort of thing probably counts as negligence. b) Windows encrpytion has back doors, and... see above. c) Anyone implementing encrpytion at the flick of a switch without properly planning for it will very likely regret it when it comes to file recovery, backup use, etc.
Ahh, looking back, I must have skipped the view at DNA because it said "view enhanced.." My internal spam filter expected that to be a premium download link, as popularised by other sites like rapidshare.
Oh, good. I normally skip streaming for downloads, so while I was aware that you had some streaming links, I figured they were only for the trailers, since I'd seen later that the trailers were more prominent and the downloads seemed to all be hosted on mirror sites. Admittedly, I scanned a lot and didn't look too hard.
my unevolved brain can dream up some pretty scary weapons
True, but you know... a tomahawk is a pretty scary weapon. To a sword fighter or a buffalo, an archery bow is a scary weapon, able to kill from a distance, quite silently. To more advanced invaders though, the scariness doesn't matter much, since they're largely ineffective.
There are banks that allow you to log in with the same username/password auth system that sites like facebook use? If so, you should probably expect it to have been hacked ages ago.
No, actually I totally agree with you. There's a fair chance that we'll overreact and get ourselves killed on the first day of contact:D Which is kind of why I wrote about needing to do the opposite:)
It is safe to assume that any technically advanced life form would be a social life form
Or some sort of telepathic, mind-eating creatures that consume knowledge along with grey (blue?) matter. Or some sort of pheromone-producing slime that seduces other creatures into building impressive stuff for it, in order to gain sexual interest. I agree with you in principle that altruism etc. SEEM to be required to evolve beyond self-destructive behaviours. However, seeming is one thing, reality is another. We may think we're civilised and advanced and altruistic, but it could be argued that we only ever tone down the violence when it starts biting us on our own collective asses. Alcohol producing bacteria goes about its alcohol production naturally (and DUMBly) until it reaches a threshold where the amount of alcohol produced kills the bacteria itself. In essence, they drown in their self-created shit. From an outsiders' perspective, it might look like the bacteria is organised and self-regulating. Likewise, it could be argued that we look self-regulating, but are actually pretty dumb.
Perhaps, but I highly doubt it. I think you underestimate just how advanced another civilisation would likely be, considering the galactic scale of travel they'd have to undertake to get here, and the galactic timescales over which they might have evolved. Most likely, the culture shock would be AT LEAST as jarring for us as that which native americans faced when presented with horses, rifles, whiskey, christianity, ocean-going ships, wagons, steam trains, buffalo hunters, miners, etc. Chances are it would be MUCH worse -- probably not even conceivable to our backwater, unevolved minds.
New Voyages looks reasonably watchable (no offense, it's tough with a low budget), but (sorry) having to download the episodes piecemeal in six parts was just too off-putting. If you can't stream it (understandable), at least provide a simple torrent link; that's what bittorrent was designed for. You're probably losing a ton of potential new fans just because the downloads are too much hassle.
If you can survive peacefully, out of the way in some backwater(s), while others fight amongst themselves, then you can perhaps build up sufficiently advanced technology to survive when the enemy does come knocking on your door. But probably not, since the most powerful and aggressive enemy will have conquered all the other potentials and gained their resources along the way. When the enemy comes to your door, needs more resources, and you don't want to let them in, they really are facing wartime decisions of their own needs vs. yours, even if their polite diplomacy and pretense says otherwise. They need resources, you have them, so you're a target.
HOWEVER, that's thinking like a nation, as a collective individual that either survives or dies. In reality, nations are nothing but silly concepts. Only the individuals in those nations matter. For the individuals, it's different. Look at the Roman, Chinese, or British Empires of the past, or the US of today, for example: they're an assimilation of different powerful cultures, but all mostly taking on the culture of the strongest member in order to be accepted, rather than destroyed. There's a widely held view that China, the oldest major civilisation to survive without too much change, managed to do that not by being a great power, or by building great walls to protect its people, but actually by assimilating other cultures, and absorbing the people who wanted to invade it. This is, in fact, how all cultures managed to survive the great invaders too: not by resisting and dying, but by accepting, working with their invaders, and embracing the parts of their culture that were useful.
In other words, if we hate them and fight them, or are just too arrogant about preferring our own ways, we'll die, just like Geronimo and Boudica did. If we like them, respect their ways, embrace their technology (not to mention their weapons), and learn quickly, then individuals will survive. If we survive and humbly share the parts of our own culture that are truly worthwhile (so ancient wisdom and poetry and farming techniques for our particular plants, probably not machine guns and religious fundamentalism), then our culture might survive, and we might just become respected community members rather than slaves, too.
Slashdot Mirror
Yep. I prefer the other solution though: cut the movie budget. That way, Erika would turn into some old hag who does movies for less, the Navy would see her from a distance, be horrified, and blow the helicopter out of the sky.
The trick is to pretend to be a rock band, and have Erika Eleniak in tow.
I want a mobile with a laser projected keyboard, and a light-protected screen. With the normal screen and touchscreen keyboard as a backup when there are no good surfaces around, of course. Seems the most obvious (and cool) way to get the necessarily large IO devices "into" a small form factor.
I haven't actually tried a laser keyboard though. Anyone know if they're actually usable for serious work?
I think you failed to read my whole post. There was nothing religiously peaceful about it; simply a few remarks on various attitudes to invasion and how that's played out historically.
"it stores the encryption key on the disk so that it can be decrypted...all the data will be visible. The investigator can then image the suspect drive."
I think you're confusing forms with farms.
a) http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=bitlocker+vulnerabilities Wasn't so hard, was it? ;)
b) http://www.macforensicslab.com/ProductsAndServices/index.php?main_page=document_general_info&products_id=260 The official (secret, not for publication) microsoft training documents for forensics teams can be found online if you know where to look too.
Yeah, that's a lot more benign and short-reaching than the summary makes out. Surprising, huh? ;)
Human skulls my friend. Human skulls.
Maybe they like risk. They did jump on a rocket going between stars, after all. They might just be vicious bastards who like to see us splatter up close.
Except that:
a) Windows encryption is known to be flawed, and using a known-bad encrpytion system for this sort of thing probably counts as negligence.
b) Windows encrpytion has back doors, and... see above.
c) Anyone implementing encrpytion at the flick of a switch without properly planning for it will very likely regret it when it comes to file recovery, backup use, etc.
Ahh, looking back, I must have skipped the view at DNA because it said "view enhanced.." My internal spam filter expected that to be a premium download link, as popularised by other sites like rapidshare.
Oh, good. I normally skip streaming for downloads, so while I was aware that you had some streaming links, I figured they were only for the trailers, since I'd seen later that the trailers were more prominent and the downloads seemed to all be hosted on mirror sites. Admittedly, I scanned a lot and didn't look too hard.
p.s.: thanks for the story tip; sounds interesting.
True, but you know... a tomahawk is a pretty scary weapon. To a sword fighter or a buffalo, an archery bow is a scary weapon, able to kill from a distance, quite silently. To more advanced invaders though, the scariness doesn't matter much, since they're largely ineffective.
There are banks that allow you to log in with the same username/password auth system that sites like facebook use? If so, you should probably expect it to have been hacked ages ago.
OMG, who said that?
No, actually I totally agree with you. There's a fair chance that we'll overreact and get ourselves killed on the first day of contact :D Which is kind of why I wrote about needing to do the opposite :)
Or some sort of telepathic, mind-eating creatures that consume knowledge along with grey (blue?) matter. Or some sort of pheromone-producing slime that seduces other creatures into building impressive stuff for it, in order to gain sexual interest. I agree with you in principle that altruism etc. SEEM to be required to evolve beyond self-destructive behaviours. However, seeming is one thing, reality is another. We may think we're civilised and advanced and altruistic, but it could be argued that we only ever tone down the violence when it starts biting us on our own collective asses. Alcohol producing bacteria goes about its alcohol production naturally (and DUMBly) until it reaches a threshold where the amount of alcohol produced kills the bacteria itself. In essence, they drown in their self-created shit. From an outsiders' perspective, it might look like the bacteria is organised and self-regulating. Likewise, it could be argued that we look self-regulating, but are actually pretty dumb.
Perhaps, but I highly doubt it. I think you underestimate just how advanced another civilisation would likely be, considering the galactic scale of travel they'd have to undertake to get here, and the galactic timescales over which they might have evolved. Most likely, the culture shock would be AT LEAST as jarring for us as that which native americans faced when presented with horses, rifles, whiskey, christianity, ocean-going ships, wagons, steam trains, buffalo hunters, miners, etc. Chances are it would be MUCH worse -- probably not even conceivable to our backwater, unevolved minds.
New Voyages looks reasonably watchable (no offense, it's tough with a low budget), but (sorry) having to download the episodes piecemeal in six parts was just too off-putting. If you can't stream it (understandable), at least provide a simple torrent link; that's what bittorrent was designed for. You're probably losing a ton of potential new fans just because the downloads are too much hassle.
eCumStation 1.99 always-beta 3 patchlevel 7, Unlimited** Release (** some features only available in Complete Release)
?
Unless it's a rebel base.
Given our history of respecting treaties? Hehheh.
If you can survive peacefully, out of the way in some backwater(s), while others fight amongst themselves, then you can perhaps build up sufficiently advanced technology to survive when the enemy does come knocking on your door. But probably not, since the most powerful and aggressive enemy will have conquered all the other potentials and gained their resources along the way. When the enemy comes to your door, needs more resources, and you don't want to let them in, they really are facing wartime decisions of their own needs vs. yours, even if their polite diplomacy and pretense says otherwise. They need resources, you have them, so you're a target.
HOWEVER, that's thinking like a nation, as a collective individual that either survives or dies. In reality, nations are nothing but silly concepts. Only the individuals in those nations matter. For the individuals, it's different. Look at the Roman, Chinese, or British Empires of the past, or the US of today, for example: they're an assimilation of different powerful cultures, but all mostly taking on the culture of the strongest member in order to be accepted, rather than destroyed. There's a widely held view that China, the oldest major civilisation to survive without too much change, managed to do that not by being a great power, or by building great walls to protect its people, but actually by assimilating other cultures, and absorbing the people who wanted to invade it. This is, in fact, how all cultures managed to survive the great invaders too: not by resisting and dying, but by accepting, working with their invaders, and embracing the parts of their culture that were useful.
In other words, if we hate them and fight them, or are just too arrogant about preferring our own ways, we'll die, just like Geronimo and Boudica did. If we like them, respect their ways, embrace their technology (not to mention their weapons), and learn quickly, then individuals will survive. If we survive and humbly share the parts of our own culture that are truly worthwhile (so ancient wisdom and poetry and farming techniques for our particular plants, probably not machine guns and religious fundamentalism), then our culture might survive, and we might just become respected community members rather than slaves, too.