They are charging(among other things): 29. DVD CCA is informed and believes, and based thereon alleges, that each of the Doe defendants 55 through 72 operate Internet web sites, at the below addresses, which provide "links" to other web sites which disseminate confidential proprietary CSS information:
disseminate information. Interesting words those. analogus with teaching? free speech? If I am typing a message and say: "I heard someone made a linux DVD player"!=disseminating information but if I say: "I heard someone made a linux DVD player"==disseminating information
Looks like they're outlawing linking. Someone better call Tim Berners Lee. _________________________
It's possible to have a powerful macro language that also has a good security model. Microsoft failed in it's due dilgence by ignoring security rules that have been observed in computer science for decades when they made the decision to deploy VB into an application it wasn't designed for. _________________________
A prime (poor) example the media using Microsoft as a scapegoat was yesterday's Hotmail outage.
As you will be reading in the news in the next few days, Hotmail was down because passport.com went down (passport.com is used to authenticate users). Passport.com went down because (listen carefully) microsoft was late paying the $35.00 domain registration fee to Network Solutions Inc. and NSI removed the IP from the DNS. Even the big guys have to pay there bills.
We're not ragging on ms. They due a good enough job of triping on there own feet(read:msbob). We're just around to point it out when they do. _________________________
I would respond with: Microsoft controls the ecomerce advertising. As is often the case with a second tier suplier, they've waisted millions of monopoly dollars alligning there name with 'e-comerce' in order to catch up with the leader. Apache.
I would also respond that each one of those 5 million sites are all doing e-comerce of one form or another.
I have to agree with JWZ (yes *that* JWZ) and Pete on this one. The solution will require an alt.soc.hack.
There are 2 parts to the problem here, the code that allows the cheating, and the cheater who uses that cheat in a game. The hacker who comes up with a cheat will always be around. What needs to be stoped is the deployment of that cheat on a large scale. Interestingly, I think that there is a parallel between this and the gun control debate. There will allways be guns (legal or not) and what needs to be stoped is the people's use of them to make bad things happen. To continue on this parallel, there are some who would seek to place restictions on the advanced 'guns that cause the damage'.
Lets just assume for a moment that it was possible to screen on the server side for the video driver used, the software running on the client, and share that information across servers. How would one implement such a 'big brother' layer of abstraction without touching off a 'your rights-on-line' debate? (see:Another Software Spy - November 28 (/.)
This comes down to a trust model, and the ability of a server op(or designated trusted players) to kick a bot when they see one. It's worked in IRC for decades. _________________________
Is this the first time slashdot has been used in this way, as a real-time tool to coordinate a debugging effort?
Congradulations. You get it. You understand the "bazaar" form of open source software development.
To answer your question I would say that no, this isn't the first time that a solution was ferited out here on slashdot(/.)
Perhaps this particular solution was solved a little faster than others(it was easy:), but everyday people pose questions and get results.
The realtime moderation system here on/. allows the truly insightful and informative responses to instantly be subjected to peer review around the world, and float to the top. Where else can an engineer judge there thoughts and ideas so quickly?
Just as an example, the current top story on/. talks about game software, and a persons ability to cheat at that game if the source code is open sourced. Someone, somewhere has worked through this problem before, and in less than an hour, there have been 4 (Score:5) responses to the story(including the actual guy writing the software being debated.)(see here:12 3 4 ).
This kind of peer review and moderations without censorship allows the best ideas to flurrish, and all the other ideas to keep flowing.
I've been doing a little more research into this little passport.com outage, and I thought some of the information I found might be helpful to others here.
Acording to ms own press release, (found at:http://www.passport.com/directory/) this isn't just a hotmail issue. They have several domains signed up to use a service that ms itself wouldn't pay $35.00 to maintain.
The list: ArtSelect.com BottomLineMac.com Buy.com CDW Computing Solutions Costco Online Crutchfield Electronics ephones ePCdirect.com Flowerbud.com Flowersandgifts.com FurnitureFind.com Giftpoint.com Kabang.com LEF.org Lodging.com MSN eShop MSN Gift Certificates My Shopping Club OfficeMax.com RedTag.com Sandrine.com TooHome.com Toytime.com Umbra.com VCOM.com ======== Like most linux users, I would like to see electronic comerce thrive and progress, but in a safe secure manor.
Therefore, we should consider it our duty to inform the webmasters at these domains that ms doesn't have there interests in mind. That ms could care less about the success of there venture. That ms left the passport.com domain down in the middle of the holiday buying season, and that they should be held liable for all contracts expressed or implied.
If we each pick a domain and send an email informing them (be nice!) of the way ms has handled themselves in this situation, perhaps they will think twice about partnering with a monopolist that wouldn't give $35 to help them. _________________________
I've been giving a lot of thought to this story, and would like to point out a few details. There is a lot of talk about the diferences between the suport model of ms products and Linux products.
ms often claims that "there isn't any one source for suport" in Linux. This is a good thing, and it is related to the passport.com outage. here's why.
When passport.com went out early on the morning of the 25th, a loose band of Linux users from around the world (using/. as there hub) set to work on the problem early Christmas morning. Never thinking about themselves, never considering that it was a holiday, all they knew was that it was a network, and it needed fixing.
These selfless acts of working a problem through to a solution is not only common in the Linux comunity, it's standard.
At first, many people thought it was a problem with Hotmail (as the original story stated), but it didn't take long to find out that it was something else.
While many people suspected a problem in DNS, the first sign of what the problem might be, came from an anonymous user at 9:30 AM confirming earlier thoughts that it may be a NSI related DNS problem.
Other users expressed thoughts that the domain was shut off by non-payment (Hydrophobe on 09:44 AM -- Saturday December 25 1999 CST) but didn't give details.
Still, many thought perhaps faulty DNS caching may play a roll. After all, ait would be rare for a domain like passport.com (who controls purchases at nearly 30 domains around the internet) would be out.
Then at 09:53 AM -- Saturday December 25 1999 CST/. user zyklone@hotmail.com hit paydirt when he looked up passport.com at: https://payments.networksolutions.com/
Also,/. user vovin posted a few nslookeps to confirm that the DNS was indeed where the problem was.
Less than an hour later: by Trailer Trash (mdchaney@michaelchaney.com) on 10:58 AM -- Saturday December 25 1999 CST (#90) (User Info) http://www.doublewide.net/
Hey, I paid it for them. Merry Christmas, Microsoft. ---- Your transaction was successful. Payment has been posted for the domain. -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Details of your transaction are given below. You may print this page for future reference. Card Type: MASTERCARD Card Number: [SNIP]
and boom, the domain was back up and running. distributed support in action
This is also an axample of why monopolies are bad things. ms, to fat lazy to care about it's customers, left all the passport.com users disapointed just when they needed the service the most, in the heart of the holiday buying season.
And all of this could have been prevented by a simple $35,00 payment. _________________________
I would have throught they would have guys there 24/7/365.25 troubleshooting problems and mail failures.
You've hit the point right on the head. This is an example of how lazy a monopoly is about it's customers. This is an example of how MS doesn't care about it's users. This is why so many people dislike MS. _________________________
Generous Linux user pays past due Microsoft Bill World richest man doesn't pay his bills The Geek who saved christmas Microsoft lets Passport.com registration expire Bill Gates is such a twit (has nothering to do with the story but i'de like to see it anyway) Microsoft sold your Ewallet for $35.00 NSI blips off Microsoft Bill Gates get charity from Linux in christmas Microsoft lets passport.com expire.
Newtonian physics is already in use in many games today. For example, in Quake, when your conection lags, Newtonian physics is used to extrpolate your future position baced on your current speed and trajectory. I'm sure this isn't the only example, but it's the first one that comes to mind. _________________________
They begin with a transformation of the Schrödinger equation called "exterior complex scaling," invented by Caltech's Barry Simon in 1979 to prove formal theorems in scattering theory. The transformation leaves the solution unchanged in regions which correspond to physical reality, producing the correct outgoing waveform based upon the angular separation and distances of two electrons far from the nucleus.
Once the wave function has been calculated, it must be analyzed by computing the "quantum mechanical flux," a means of finding the distribution of probability densities that dates from the 1920s. This computationally intensive process can yield the probability of producing electrons at specific energies and directions from the ionized atom. (Because electrons are identical, there is no way to distinguish between the initially bound and initially free electron). _________________________
Update:7:45PMCST I just got off the phone with a reported from the merc news. I filled him in on the details of the story and put him in contact with Michael Chaney to confirm the details.
If all goes well, this will be a breaking story on GMSV tomarrow.
and remember, you heard it on/. first!! _________________________
I would have to agree wholeheartedly with all the comments you've made. Over many many year, ZD publishing (in it's many forms) has proven to be an unrelible, laghingly bias source for microsoft press releases.
Slashdot Mirror
The source is: http://slashdot.org/articles/99/11/09/1342207.shtm l
Story numbers: 244, 269, 270, 247, 248
251, 252, 253,254, 255, 256,
257, 258, 261,and 262
_________________________
29. DVD CCA is informed and believes, and based thereon alleges, that each of the Doe defendants 55 through 72 operate Internet web sites, at the below addresses, which provide "links" to other web sites which disseminate confidential proprietary CSS information:
disseminate information.
Interesting words those.
analogus with teaching? free speech?
If I am typing a message and say:
"I heard someone made a linux DVD player"!=disseminating information
but if I say:
"I heard someone made a linux DVD player"==disseminating information
Looks like they're outlawing linking. Someone better call Tim Berners Lee.
_________________________
here , here, here , here , here
here , here , here , here , here , here (not source, just a readme), here , here , and here , Not to mention the mirror lists here , and here
Now, am I breaking the law by pointing to them? ;)
_________________________
(apologies for the length of post)
/ index.htm e x.htmlgeocities.com/ResearchTriangle/Cam pus/8877/index.html o m/myband/decss/top.html . htmlfortunecity.com/tinpan/tylerbridge/6 79/dvdcss.html c iphers/decss.tar.gze amciphers/decss.tar.gzp hers/decss.tar.gzi phers/decss.tar.gzp hers/decss.tar.gzp hers/decss.tar.gz. zip m
1. www.free-dvd.org.lu
2.josefine.ben.tuwien.ac.at/~david/dvd
3.rockme.virtualave.net/
4.amor.rz.hu-berlin.de/~h0444t2v
5.www.homestead.com/_ksi0701961562917005/avoid...
6.www.anglefire.com/jazz/avoiderman/
7.www.intelcities.com/Main_Street/Avoiderman/
8.www.members.theglobe.com/avoiderman/dvd.htm
9.members.zoom.com/_XMCM/lkjhgfdsa2/index.html
10.www.vexed.net/CSS/
11.www.unitycode.org/
12.batman.jytol.fi/~vuori/dvd/
13.www.zpok.demon.co.uk/
14.www.dvdlinks.co.uk/css/
15.www.twistedlogic.com/archive/dvd
16.www.capital.net/~wooly/
17.geocities.com/ResearchTriangle/Campus/8877/ind
18.www.angelfire.com/mt/popefelix/
19.members.tripod.lycos.nl/jvz/
20.tv.acmecity.com/parody/356/index.html
21.cryptome.org/dvd-free.htm
22.altern.org/bettina/0a0a.html
23.www.crosswinds.net/~valo/DeCSS/
24.info.astercity.net/~nicodem/
25.134.100.185.221/decss/
26.www.dvdripper.videopage.de/
27.Crypto.gq.nu
28.www.humpin.org/decss
29.209.132.25.138/~inkk/DVD/
30.members.brabant.chello.nl/~j.vreeken/main.html
31.dirtass.beyatch.net/
32.therapy.endorphin.org/DVD/
33.www.angelfire.com/in2/mirror/
34.sent.freeserve.co.uk/DeCSS
35.members.tripod.co.uk/bap/css/css.html
36.angelfire.com/myband/decss/top.htmlangelfire.c
37.www.fortunecity.com/tinpan/tylerbridge/679/dvd
38.munitions.vipul.net/software/algorithms/stream
39.munitions.polkaroo.net/software/algorithms/str
40.munitions.dyn.org/software/algorithms/streamci
41.munitions.cifs.org/software/algorithms/streamc
42.uk1.munitions.net/software/algorithms/streamci
43.munitions.firenze.linux.it/algorithms/streamci
44.perso.libertysurf.fr/ortal98/dvd_rip/decss_12b
45.users.drak.net/bemann/software/css/
46.www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Port/3224/
47.ftp://alma.dhs.org/pub/DVD/
48.decss.tripod.com/index.html
49.discordia.de/decss/DeCss.zip
50.www.dvd-copy.com/
51.dvdtidbits.com/dvd.shtml
52.www.neophile.net/
53.perso.club-internet.fr/ches/dl/rippers/
54.plato.nebulanet.net:88/css/
55.quintessenzs.at/q/mirrors.html
56.www.ceraton.com/decss/
57.slashdot.org/articles/99/11/09/1342207.shtml
58.cryptome.org/dvd-css.htm
59.ftp://dvd:dvd@206.98.63.136/
60.www.deja.com/getdoc.xp?AN=547600297
61.www.brakton.freeservers.com/#downloads
62.www.remco.xgov.net/dvd/
63.www.dvdcracked.tvheaven.com/index.html
64.dvdsite.homepage.com/
65.www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Derby/2659
66.get.to/dvdsite
67.home.worldonline.dk/~andersa/download/index.ht
68.www.ooze.org/dvd.html
69.start.at/dvdsoft
70.mmadb.no/hwplus/DeCSS/decss.html
71.home.sol.no/~espen-b/dvd/css/decss.html
72.o2.uio.no/dvd
_________________________
So where can we get the code *tonight* ?
_________________________
It's possible to have a powerful macro language that also has a good security model. Microsoft failed in it's due dilgence by ignoring security rules that have been observed in computer science for decades when they made the decision to deploy VB into an application it wasn't designed for.
_________________________
As you will be reading in the news in the next few days, Hotmail was down because passport.com went down (passport.com is used to authenticate users). Passport.com went down because (listen carefully) microsoft was late paying the $35.00 domain registration fee to Network Solutions Inc. and NSI removed the IP from the DNS. Even the big guys have to pay there bills.
We're not ragging on ms. They due a good enough job of triping on there own feet(read:msbob). We're just around to point it out when they do.
_________________________
Given MSs very small share, it's no wonder those numbers have gone up, 'double not-much' is still not much.
5 Million domains people use it (and millions recieve pages served by it) beacuse Apache just works well.
_________________________
I would respond with:
Microsoft controls the ecomerce advertising.
As is often the case with a second tier suplier, they've waisted millions of monopoly dollars alligning there name with 'e-comerce' in order to catch up with the leader. Apache.
I would also respond that each one of those 5 million sites are all doing e-comerce of one form or another.
just 2 quick points.
_________________________
Happy Holidays!
_________________________
There are 2 parts to the problem here, the code that allows the cheating, and the cheater who uses that cheat in a game. The hacker who comes up with a cheat will always be around. What needs to be stoped is the deployment of that cheat on a large scale. Interestingly, I think that there is a parallel between this and the gun control debate. There will allways be guns (legal or not) and what needs to be stoped is the people's use of them to make bad things happen. To continue on this parallel, there are some who would seek to place restictions on the advanced 'guns that cause the damage'.
Lets just assume for a moment that it was possible to screen on the server side for the video driver used, the software running on the client, and share that information across servers. How would one implement such a 'big brother' layer of abstraction without touching off a 'your rights-on-line' debate? (see:Another Software Spy - November 28 (/.)
This comes down to a trust model, and the ability of a server op(or designated trusted players) to kick a bot when they see one. It's worked in IRC for decades.
_________________________
Congradulations. You get it. You understand the "bazaar" form of open source software development.
To answer your question I would say that no, this isn't the first time that a solution was ferited out here on slashdot(/.)
Perhaps this particular solution was solved a little faster than others(it was easy:), but everyday people pose questions and get results.
The realtime moderation system here on /. allows the truly insightful and informative responses to instantly be subjected to peer review around the world, and float to the top. Where else can an engineer judge there thoughts and ideas so quickly?
Just as an example, the current top story on /. talks about game software, and a persons ability to cheat at that game if the source code is open sourced. Someone, somewhere has worked through this problem before, and in less than an hour, there have been 4 (Score:5) responses to the story(including the actual guy writing the software being debated.)(see here:1 2 3 4 ).
This kind of peer review and moderations without censorship allows the best ideas to flurrish, and all the other ideas to keep flowing.
_________________________
Acording to ms own press release, (found at:http://www.passport.com/directory/) this isn't just a hotmail issue. They have several domains signed up to use a service that ms itself wouldn't pay $35.00 to maintain.
The list: ArtSelect.com
BottomLineMac.com
Buy.com
CDW Computing Solutions
Costco Online
Crutchfield Electronics
ephones
ePCdirect.com
Flowerbud.com
Flowersandgifts.com
FurnitureFind.com
Giftpoint.com
Kabang.com
LEF.org
Lodging.com
MSN eShop
MSN Gift Certificates
My Shopping Club
OfficeMax.com
RedTag.com
Sandrine.com
TooHome.com
Toytime.com
Umbra.com
VCOM.com
========
Like most linux users, I would like to see electronic comerce thrive and progress, but in a safe secure manor.
Therefore, we should consider it our duty to inform the webmasters at these domains that ms doesn't have there interests in mind. That ms could care less about the success of there venture. That ms left the passport.com domain down in the middle of the holiday buying season, and that they should be held liable for all contracts expressed or implied.
If we each pick a domain and send an email informing them (be nice!) of the way ms has handled themselves in this situation, perhaps they will think twice about partnering with a monopolist that wouldn't give $35 to help them.
_________________________
Why? Microsoft.net isn't in use
_________________________
ms often claims that "there isn't any one source for suport" in Linux. This is a good thing, and it is related to the passport.com outage. here's why.
When passport.com went out early on the morning of the 25th, a loose band of Linux users from around the world (using /. as there hub) set to work on the problem early Christmas morning. Never thinking about themselves, never considering that it was a holiday, all they knew was that it was a network, and it needed fixing.
These selfless acts of working a problem through to a solution is not only common in the Linux comunity, it's standard.
At first, many people thought it was a problem with Hotmail (as the original story stated), but it didn't take long to find out that it was something else.
While many people suspected a problem in DNS, the first sign of what the problem might be, came from an anonymous user at 9:30 AM confirming earlier thoughts that it may be a NSI related DNS problem.
*** ns.cw.net can't find passport.com:
Non-existent host/domain
> www.passport.com
Server: ns.cw.net
Address: 204.70.128.1
Other users expressed thoughts that the domain was shut off by non-payment (Hydrophobe on 09:44 AM -- Saturday December 25 1999 CST) but didn't give details.
Still, many thought perhaps faulty DNS caching may play a roll. After all, ait would be rare for a domain like passport.com (who controls purchases at nearly 30 domains around the internet) would be out.
Then at 09:53 AM -- Saturday December 25 1999 CST /. user zyklone@hotmail.com hit paydirt when he looked up passport.com at: https://payments.networksolutions.com/
Also, /. user vovin posted a few nslookeps to confirm that the DNS was indeed where the problem was.
Less than an hour later: by Trailer Trash (mdchaney@michaelchaney.com) on 10:58 AM -- Saturday December 25 1999 CST (#90)
(User Info) http://www.doublewide.net/
Hey, I paid it for them. Merry Christmas, Microsoft.- ------------------------------
---- Your transaction was successful. Payment has been posted for the domain.
-------------------------------------------------
Details of your transaction are given below. You may print this page for future reference.
Card Type: MASTERCARD Card Number: [SNIP]
and boom, the domain was back up and running.
distributed support in action
This is also an axample of why monopolies are bad things. ms, to fat lazy to care about it's customers, left all the passport.com users disapointed just when they needed the service the most, in the heart of the holiday buying season.
And all of this could have been prevented by a simple $35,00 payment.
_________________________
You've hit the point right on the head.
This is an example of how lazy a monopoly is about it's customers. This is an example of how MS doesn't care about it's users. This is why so many people dislike MS.
_________________________
you da man! ! :)
_________________________
Generous Linux user pays past due Microsoft Bill
World richest man doesn't pay his bills
The Geek who saved christmas
Microsoft lets Passport.com registration expire
Bill Gates is such a twit
(has nothering to do with the story
but i'de like to see it anyway)
Microsoft sold your Ewallet for $35.00
NSI blips off Microsoft
Bill Gates get charity from Linux in christmas
Microsoft lets passport.com expire.
_________________________
seen it? hell I helped write it! ;)
_________________________
Newtonian physics is already in use in many games today. For example, in Quake, when your conection lags, Newtonian physics is used to extrpolate your future position baced on your current speed and trajectory. I'm sure this isn't the only example, but it's the first one that comes to mind.
_________________________
Once the wave function has been calculated, it must be analyzed by computing the "quantum mechanical flux," a means of finding the distribution of probability densities that dates from the 1920s. This computationally intensive process can yield the probability of producing electrons at specific energies and directions from the ionized atom. (Because electrons are identical, there is no way to distinguish between the initially bound and initially free electron).
_________________________
here and here.
_________________________
I just got off the phone with a reported from the merc news. I filled him in on the details of the story and put him in contact with Michael Chaney to confirm the details.
If all goes well, this will be a breaking story on GMSV tomarrow.
and remember, you heard it on /. first!!
_________________________
_________________________
Would you mind if I conteacted a few friends in the media regarding this touching holiday tech story?
awaiting your response
_________________________