I didn't think it was legal to use SSN as IDs anymore... My university also used our SSN as an ID but I seem to recall them changing that policy as I was leaving because of a new federal law. IANAL so I could be way off here.:)
Yes, this is true. For more information (from the trouble Canada got into over this) see this site:
http://www.cancer.ca/ccs/internet/standard/0,3182, 3172_61901275__langId-en,00.html
Yay for patents! Now that your health is dependent on licensing a patent, I think it's time for a social revolution.
Perhaps I will try to get a DNA sample from the CEO of that Utah company, and file for a patent on his specific gene sequence. If he can patent a gene sequence that has existed for 2 million years, then I should be able to patent one that has existed for less than 100...
Wouldn't it be funny to sue him for existing? "Hey, you're existence infringes on my patent! Either pay up or change your DNA!".:-)
Actually that's for TCP's time to live. For DNS TTL, here's the scenario: (and yes this is simplified; there is more that actually happens, but it's not important for this discussion)
Background ---------- Domain Name Servers (DNS) are usually configured in a heirarchy, such that each server has a parent. This fact will be important below.
Every domain (i.e. slashdot.org) has one or more "authoritative" name servers. These name servers know what web host slashdot.org is hosted on and how to get there.
Other DNS's on the Internet do not know how to get to slashdot.org, because they are not "authoritative" for that particular domain. So they send a request out to their parent asking how to get to slashdot.org. Eventually, one of the parents will know the address of slashdot.org's authoritative name server, and will return this address.
How This Relates To TTL ----------------------- Here is what happens once the address of the authoritative name server is returned:
A = The name server trying to figure out how to get to slashdot.org B = The authoritative name server for slashdot.org
A asks B how to get to slashdot.org B responds to A with an address (66.35.250.150) A asks B how long this address is valid B responds to A with a TTL (e.g. 24 hours)
So now name server A will not have to ask for slashdot.org's address again for 24 hours, since it was told by the authoritative name server that it can keep the address for 24 hours.
This "keeping of addresses" is called caching, and name servers that do this are called caching name servers.
Slashdot Mirror
I didn't think it was legal to use SSN as IDs anymore... My university also used our SSN as an ID but I seem to recall them changing that policy as I was leaving because of a new federal law. IANAL so I could be way off here. :)
5 cents is written as .5? Exactly how is that different from .50 or .500? :-)
Yes, this is true. For more information (from the trouble Canada got into over this) see this site: http://www.cancer.ca/ccs/internet/standard/0,3182, 3172_61901275__langId-en,00.html
Yay for patents! Now that your health is dependent on licensing a patent, I think it's time for a social revolution.
Perhaps I will try to get a DNA sample from the CEO of that Utah company, and file for a patent on his specific gene sequence. If he can patent a gene sequence that has existed for 2 million years, then I should be able to patent one that has existed for less than 100...
Wouldn't it be funny to sue him for existing? "Hey, you're existence infringes on my patent! Either pay up or change your DNA!". :-)
Actually that's for TCP's time to live. For DNS TTL, here's the scenario: (and yes this is simplified; there is more that actually happens, but it's not important for this discussion)
:-)
Background
----------
Domain Name Servers (DNS) are usually configured in a heirarchy, such that each server has a parent. This fact will be important below.
Every domain (i.e. slashdot.org) has one or more "authoritative" name servers. These name servers know what web host slashdot.org is hosted on and how to get there.
Other DNS's on the Internet do not know how to get to slashdot.org, because they are not "authoritative" for that particular domain. So they send a request out to their parent asking how to get to slashdot.org. Eventually, one of the parents will know the address of slashdot.org's authoritative name server, and will return this address.
How This Relates To TTL
-----------------------
Here is what happens once the address of the authoritative name server is returned:
A = The name server trying to figure out how to get to slashdot.org
B = The authoritative name server for slashdot.org
A asks B how to get to slashdot.org
B responds to A with an address (66.35.250.150)
A asks B how long this address is valid
B responds to A with a TTL (e.g. 24 hours)
So now name server A will not have to ask for slashdot.org's address again for 24 hours, since it was told by the authoritative name server that it can keep the address for 24 hours.
This "keeping of addresses" is called caching, and name servers that do this are called caching name servers.
I hope this helps.