With no political power, and the knowledge that he will be gone soon, Billy boy has about as much pull is washington as a dead cat. There's a reason the call the last year of a term the "Lame Duck" year. _________________________
I really had to laugh when I read this article. When the idea of affordable (read:free) access to the net became an idea, many people turned to us sysadmins asking "well, what can we do with internetworking"?.
To convey the idea that the internet would as common as refrigorator, most people used the "your toaster can tell your phone when to order more bread", or, "The capuchino maker can tell you fridge you need more milk." These examples were used much in the same way foo-bar is used to describe a variable (i.e.:"Once domain foo.and domain bar are linked, you'll have a "foo-bar link"). When using this little phrase, we don't expect the customer to actually register foo.com and bar.com and link them, they're just examples!
Now here, we have an appliance company (uppon hearing that TTML was the wave of the future (toaster to toaster markup language) actually puts research into the effort.
After many posters voiced concern over the reliability of "The Times UK", I took it upon myself to investigate some of their other headlines. First of all, we have the one being discussed here today:
Hacker gang blackmails firms with stolen files £10m ransom demands sent out
Along with the story we're discussing here, we have this little jem: Pollution set to rip giant hole in ozone layer More than half the ozone is likely to disappear by March, climatologists warn Rip a hole? March is 2.5 months away!
Along with that little story, we have more "all the news that's fit to spit": Call girl fights Vat man's bill for £500,000 Flesh-coloured stockings not claimable - but lacy ones might be Is this hard news? I think not.
And this little tidbit about Mr. big lips: Do not arise Sir Mick Jagger Downing Street blocks planned honour because of errant ways looks like a gossip rag to me, but then again, I'll let you be the judge. _________________________
They were not designed to stop activeX but they do stop all Java (do not ask me to explain). ummm ok I realize you've asked not to be asked to explain this novel aproach to security, but I would like to point out (for the benifit of other readers) how un-informed this decision is. Java has a wonderfull security model and stays in it's own sandbox.
ActiveX, on the other hand, is like a drunken super-model on crack. Sure, it's sexy, but you never know what it's going to do next.
I would favor blocking the later, and letting through the former. _________________________
1 port scanner: $25. 1 cable modem: $200. Knowing you're bringing down the worlds largest financial transaction institution?: Priceless. _________________________
I'm sure the promulgation of stories like this one is supported by the agencies that stand to benefit. These comments are right on the mark! _________________________
. . Visa confirmed last week that it had received a ransom demand last month, believed to have been for £10m.
"We were hacked into in mid-July last year," said Russ Yarrow, a company spokesman. "They gained access to some corporate material and we informed both Scotland Yard and the FBI."
Also . . "These are professionals and there is some evidence that suggests some of the activity was contracted and paid for," said a computer expert involved in the investigation.
First of all, the initial Hack was way back in July? Shouldn't there be better disclosure on these matters? Keeping their customers uninformed is by far the worst offence here. Months and months passed before this was finaly disclosed, and in that time billions of dollars were at risk.
Secondly, it would apear that they suspect a competitor (or someone with an interest in seeing them loose money) is behind the hack. Interesting, don't you think ?? _________________________
This looked ok in the preview, but it would apear as if the paragrph, bold, and close link markups got deleted. My apologies for this data-train-wreck post. _________________________
It's new years eve 2099 and a new century is less than an hour away. You've saved for this trip for over 2 years, and you're happy to say, you're going to be in times square on new years. New York, the gateway to america, the city that never sleeps, you've seen it all on Letterman, the bright lights, the glamour, the prestige that is times-square New York,NY.
You walk into the square and gaze up around you at what you think is going to be all the adds you've seen so many times, only to see giant green screens. That's right, there is no more bright lights, no more prestige. Just giant green billboard with (little dots in the corner to sync the motion tracking on the real-time digital overlay).
You're assuming that the distribution model is like this. micros~1 > end user When it's actually like this. micros~1 > OEM > end user The goal of this entire case is to foster competition, and freeing up the OEMs to be true system designers will do just that. Using just one example, a journaling file system is possible today but with MSs lock on the OS (and need to collect the mstax), system vendors are forced to wait for w2k. This reduces OEMs to being mearly micros~1 distributors with no control over there own product.
As new capabilities are developed in the future, the true control over what an OS does should be placed in the hands of the people selling the box. Just look at VALinux and the competitive advantage they have over a typical winbox. They can implement faster, respond to customers needs, and adapt to the ever changing market because they control the OS. It's OEMs that should be given the power to innovate. Interestingly, this will have the convienient effect of OEMs asking/demanding compatibility/openess/documented APIs, ect.. because the market will be decided by the OEMs, not MS.
So in the end, the OS can be defined as kernel space, the OEMs can shop for the rest, and end users get to choose which best fits there needs. The end user still gets a box that "just works" and also will benefit from a fast moving marketplace.
Will a lot of vendors still buy everything from MS? Yes. Will users still be able to buy a MS only box? Yes. However, over time, as OEMs mature and develop the expertise and expierience to impliment the changes they want, the market will be opened up, giving the OEMs freedom to innovate. _________________________
Most of the posts here on/. are regarding the slice and dice justice about to be imposed on micros~1. This is a rare oportinity to define exactly what an operating system is. This definition will serve the public good if it's done right, and hurt the public good if it's done wrong.
An OS should be just enough to boot a 'puter and no more. Make everything an application. This will allow other companies to compete in spaces now considered to be 'part of the operating system'(lets face it, windows isn't an OS, it's a UI).
I say, give micros~1 the kernel space and open up the rest. _________________________
..between the Xerox "unistrokes" patent and the PalmOS implementation is in the letter X. On the PalmOS, the letter X is entered by picking up the pen off the input device. This could be argued to be an "evolution" to the existing patent, and thus, not in violation of the patent as written.
There are many simularities here, and it would appear that the PalmOS was "inspired" by the work done at park. Thus, Xerox has a right to bring the argument. However, This small differance may prove to be the loopole 3com needs. _________________________
I have been using 3Coms Palm III and now a Palm V with 8M of ram and I love it. These little things are the bomb. What's interesting is, the graffiti text input is a perfect balance between speed and ease of use.
(For those of you not familiar with the Palm devices input method, point your java browser here for a demo). Also, this image shows clearly how simplistic the method is for getting small amounts of text into a PDA when you're on the go.
Arguing that this simplistic text input method is a trade secret is like trying to patent a Font. _________________________
In my area, there is a company(http://www.mbusa.net/) advertising "family internet access". They are billing themselves as The First Safe, Completely Porn-Free, National Internet Service. This seems to be an off the shelf solution that puts the liability for filtering in the hands of the company you pay for access. If you have a complaint about objectionable material, you go to one place for satisfaction. It seems like a viable, off the shelf, solution for busy parents.
(I don't work for them, it just seemed relevant to this debate.) _________________________
Slashdot Mirror
With no political power, and the knowledge that he will be gone soon, Billy boy has about as much pull is washington as a dead cat. There's a reason the call the last year of a term the "Lame Duck" year.
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
When the idea of affordable (read:free) access to the net became an idea, many people turned to us sysadmins asking "well, what can we do with internetworking"?.
To convey the idea that the internet would as common as refrigorator, most people used the "your toaster can tell your phone when to order more bread", or, "The capuchino maker can tell you fridge you need more milk." These examples were used much in the same way foo-bar is used to describe a variable (i.e.:"Once domain foo.and domain bar are linked, you'll have a "foo-bar link"). When using this little phrase, we don't expect the customer to actually register foo.com and bar.com and link them, they're just examples!
Now here, we have an appliance company (uppon hearing that TTML was the wave of the future (toaster to toaster markup language) actually puts research into the effort.
It's funny, laugh!
_________________________
_________________________
Hacker gang blackmails firms with stolen files
£10m ransom demands sent out
Along with the story we're discussing here, we have this little jem:
Pollution set to rip giant hole in ozone layer
More than half the ozone is likely to disappear by March, climatologists warn
Rip a hole? March is 2.5 months away!
Along with that little story, we have more "all the news that's fit to spit":
Call girl fights Vat man's bill for £500,000
Flesh-coloured stockings not claimable - but lacy ones might be
Is this hard news? I think not.
And this little tidbit about Mr. big lips:
Do not arise Sir Mick Jagger
Downing Street blocks planned honour because of errant ways
looks like a gossip rag to me, but then again, I'll let you be the judge.
_________________________
ummm ok I realize you've asked not to be asked to explain this novel aproach to security, but I would like to point out (for the benifit of other readers) how un-informed this decision is. Java has a wonderfull security model and stays in it's own sandbox.
ActiveX, on the other hand, is like a drunken super-model on crack. Sure, it's sexy, but you never know what it's going to do next.
I would favor blocking the later, and letting through the former.
_________________________
1 port scanner: $25.
1 cable modem: $200.
Knowing you're bringing down the worlds largest financial transaction institution?: Priceless.
_________________________
I'm sure the promulgation of stories like this one is supported by the agencies that stand to benefit.
These comments are right on the mark!
_________________________
"We were hacked into in mid-July last year," said Russ Yarrow, a company spokesman. "They gained access to some corporate material and we informed both Scotland Yard and the FBI."
Also . . "These are professionals and there is some evidence that suggests some of the activity was contracted and paid for," said a computer expert involved in the investigation.
First of all, the initial Hack was way back in July? Shouldn't there be better disclosure on these matters? Keeping their customers uninformed is by far the worst offence here. Months and months passed before this was finaly disclosed, and in that time billions of dollars were at risk.
Secondly, it would apear that they suspect a competitor (or someone with an interest in seeing them loose money) is behind the hack. Interesting, don't you think ??
_________________________
full of cool and often buggy "features".
Like ActiveX? har har har
_________________________
This looked ok in the preview, but it would apear as if the paragrph, bold, and close link markups got deleted. My apologies for this data-train-wreck post.
_________________________
For loged in users of (/.) only. 1) first, load the main page of (/.) (slashdot.org). 2) click on your user info:slashdot.org/users.pl (toward the top of the page, it's the link at the end of the "This page was generated by a Group of Random Ninjas for _link here)_(35463)"). 3)click on Customize Homepage:slashdot.org/users.pl?op=edithome. 4) About 1/2 way down the page, you'll see: "Exclude Stories from the Homepage", and below that a list of Authors. 5) Locate the name "Jon Katz" and click the check box to the left of that name. 6) Down toward the bottom of the page, look for a button that says "savehome". Click on it. By following these few simple steps, your (/.) will be katz-free. Note: this HowTo is ment to inform and educate and in no way is ment as a lack of endorsment for the author being deleted.
_________________________
It's new years eve 2099 and a new century is less than an hour away. You've saved for this trip for over 2 years, and you're happy to say, you're going to be in times square on new years. New York, the gateway to america, the city that never sleeps, you've seen it all on Letterman, the bright lights, the glamour, the prestige that is times-square New York,NY.
You walk into the square and gaze up around you at what you think is going to be all the adds you've seen so many times, only to see giant green screens. That's right, there is no more bright lights, no more prestige. Just giant green billboard with (little dots in the corner to sync the motion tracking on the real-time digital overlay).
Is this our future?
_________________________
. . give a shit what Jon Katz thinks.
_________________________
. .Mayberry USA www.mbusa.net
_________________________
just the facts ma'am ;)
_________________________
. . we're doomed.
_________________________
micros~1 > end user
When it's actually like this.
micros~1 > OEM > end user
The goal of this entire case is to foster competition, and freeing up the OEMs to be true system designers will do just that. Using just one example, a journaling file system is possible today but with MSs lock on the OS (and need to collect the mstax), system vendors are forced to wait for w2k. This reduces OEMs to being mearly micros~1 distributors with no control over there own product.
As new capabilities are developed in the future, the true control over what an OS does should be placed in the hands of the people selling the box. Just look at VALinux and the competitive advantage they have over a typical winbox. They can implement faster, respond to customers needs, and adapt to the ever changing market because they control the OS. It's OEMs that should be given the power to innovate. Interestingly, this will have the convienient effect of OEMs asking/demanding compatibility/openess/documented APIs, ect.. because the market will be decided by the OEMs, not MS.
So in the end, the OS can be defined as kernel space, the OEMs can shop for the rest, and end users get to choose which best fits there needs. The end user still gets a box that "just works" and also will benefit from a fast moving marketplace.
Will a lot of vendors still buy everything from MS? Yes. Will users still be able to buy a MS only box? Yes. However, over time, as OEMs mature and develop the expertise and expierience to impliment the changes they want, the market will be opened up, giving the OEMs freedom to innovate.
_________________________
An OS should be just enough to boot a 'puter and no more. Make everything an application. This will allow other companies to compete in spaces now considered to be 'part of the operating system'(lets face it, windows isn't an OS, it's a UI).
I say, give micros~1 the kernel space and open up the rest.
_________________________
There are many simularities here, and it would appear that the PalmOS was "inspired" by the work done at park. Thus, Xerox has a right to bring the argument. However, This small differance may prove to be the loopole 3com needs.
_________________________
"> link text here left left arrow slash a right arrow and type this after the link.
It's not that hard, really.
_________________________
(For those of you not familiar with the Palm devices input method, point your java browser here for a demo). Also, this image shows clearly how simplistic the method is for getting small amounts of text into a PDA when you're on the go.
Arguing that this simplistic text input method is a trade secret is like trying to patent a Font.
_________________________
(I don't work for them, it just seemed relevant to this debate.)
_________________________
The above post is very informatie! moderate it up!
_________________________