Something that made me laugh is on the BBC they had a security consultant who pointed out that with the source code someone could distribute a version of Windows that "gives out your personal information or destroys your data". My first reaction was: this is different... how?
Phillip.
If you are interested in future energies
on
Air-Powered Cars
·
· Score: 2
There is a web site full of these kinds of innovations at http://www.futureenergies.com/. They have a hydrogen fuel-cell powered mountain-bike, the quasiturbine engine (as revolutionary as the Wankel) which overcomes the problems of the piston engine *and* the Wankel, a computer screen that is powered by ambient light alone, and loads more.
True, the car companies will still make sure that that alternative fuel cars will rust/break down after 3yrs or so. Plus whilst the car is a fashion accessory they will always have a steady revenue stream.
This is superb, and probably the best reason for running my own company. I can monitor all the secretaries email, find out when they are vulnerable and what their weaknesses are so I can chat them up successfully, and if they let slip any *real* personal details to friends I may even be able to blackmail them into sleeping with me.
As for that civil rights b*stard in my office, if he makes any trouble I still have his email concerning the trip to Brighton, the donkey and the turnip...
Of course, if anyone doesn't like the email-snooping policy here they can always get a job elsewhere. But if we can all get away with it then we are all going to do it. The sucker will never work in this industry again muauauaua.
f*ckedBritain.com
PS It's not *just* the RIP bill that is driving all e-commerce activity out of Britain, the government has a raft of disasterous policies
This is the only reason I used a Windows box instead of a Linux box at work; Half Life was far too important to my productivity. Most of my apps I ran under emulated X, and even had bash and fav Unix tools installed on my Windows box (thankyou cygwin).
PHP is a worthy competitor to Perl. But compared to JSP it's strictly stone knives.
Disagree. Two different tools for two different jobs. I am a Java programmer by profession but am coding my new software in PHP. Why? Rapid development and flexibility. PHP is far faster to code an up-and-working system, and to amend it when the specs change. Then I'm in the unusual position of writing to a vision as opposed to writing to a specification. Once everything is perfect and beta tested, as load stretches I will probably rewrite in Pure Java. Not JSP though, which I don't have a high opinion of, but either servlets along with a custom template engine or some worthy application server.
Depends how seriously involved you want to get with your site. I find Professional PHP Programming by Wrox press an excellent desktop companion. If you want to turn it into your profession (as a techie) then I would recommend expanding your computer knowledge in the following areas:
Operating systems
Databases
Algorithms
Networking (sometimes called Communication Systems)
Pick up a 1st/2nd year University book on each of the above courses. Despite being quite theoretical they can make fascinating reads. Especially if they include some background on how the theory came about. You will then feel a lot more comfortable in the practical implementations as you know roughly what's happening "under the bonnet". The things you learn in algorithms you will find you can apply to any computer language, including PHP.
I have to admit that this is the first thing that sprang to my mind. I've ticked all the boxes on my organ doner card and am pretty sure that Einstein is the kind of guy that would have too.
I guess the reason the post was moderated flamebait is because the brain wasn't stolen to cut up in the interests of science but by someone who didn't have a clue what they were going to do with it (surprised it didn't find its way onto eBay).
Ngwenya is indeed correct. It is not illegal to use encryption within the UK, only to export it or to post source code about it on a web page (which counts as export). There are also laws brewing to stop academics talking about encryption, which means all foreign nationals will be expelled from Computer Science courses in the UK (but apparently that's ok because foreign people are automatically terrorists (???)). I'm sure there is a newer article from Ross than this one to Mr. Mandleson on the 'Intangible Exports Policy'. It is, however, very serious. The fact that a University lecture could halt, along with the intellectual freedom, on the ground that there is a 'foreigner' in the class is outrageous. In fact, considering how underpaid our public sector counterparts are it's positively detrimental.
On the other hand, any government that tries to pass the RIP bill really doesn't have it's citizens (ok, subjects) best interests at heart.
There are a couple of reasons for the EU wanting to drop encryption restrictions and the US being pissed off:
The EU parliament commissioned Duncan Campbell to produce the STOA report which details the Echelon project and the fact the NSA sells commercial secrets to enable US companies to steal massive global contracts from under the noses of their EU counterparts. The French were so affected by the revelations they switched from the most draconian encryption policy (they banned all encryption, even by their own citizens) to the most liberal (instant raising to 128-bit with a view to dropping limits asap).
The scandals involving both Lotus Notes (confirmed) and Microsoft (allegedly) deliberately leaking private keys to the NSA. The Swedish government was publicly outraged as their MPs use Lotus Notes for confidential communications. There is now an aura of distrust around US 'blessed' software and we will see a push towards Open Source software as well as a drop on encryption export restrictions.
So is the future looking rosier? Not for us in the UK, which is one of the most oppresive governments in the world. Take a look at the watered down RIP bill (you can only imagine what the original bill was like, hint: key escrow). For the rest of Europe, will they convince businesses to spend effort and manpower in creating secure systems as opposed to buying cheap, painless, out-of-the-box NSA friendly software? A nice but distant dream.
Phillip.
Re:This is not significant
on
Boo No More
·
· Score: 1
People have forgotten than 90% of Internet companies are supposed to fail;
I'm not sure this came out quite how you meant it to. Either that, or there is some massive tax write-off scam I don't know about:-)
Phillip.
Re: The problem with Euro E-Commerce
on
Boo No More
·
· Score: 1
Kind of. It depends if you want to host or use the line for normal business use. NTL offer £40/month cable modem which offers afaicr 512kb/s unlimited access. BUT the TOS state you can't run servers over it. Shame. NTL are also offering free unlimited Net access over modem, subject to spending something like at least 10 quid a month on phone calls.
one2one in the UK provides handheld email too. I pay 1ukp (about $1.50) per month for the ability to send and receive email via my Erikson pf768. Slap a mailto form on your web page, and et voila! Anyone can go to your web page, send a message, and a few seconds later it pops up on your mobile phone. Kind of real-life ICQ:-)
I have just started a software company and have decided to base it on Linux. The only game I would like to see is Half Life, bundled with Counterstrike. For now though, I'll be using a separate Windows box "to test output under IE5";-)
Oh, C&C and Red Alert would be nice. I think a few killer games would keep most of us modest gamers happy.
Oh dear. Trial after trial after trial. BT have sat on technology as usual to ensure it doesn't cut into their more lucrative captive markets (in this case their absurdly overpriced ISDN). Now they want to roll out at ~40ukp per month for a 50:1 contention ratio? They really think the British public is stupid. Thank god for the cable companies. NTL have been offering high speed cable modem for a while, 40ukp per month, and it's AMAZING! We have it at home.
Given their way, BT will crush ADSL and try and force us to take up ISDN along with metered access! Call up NTL and ask about their cable modem service (dunno their phone number), if you are Cable & Wireless then hassle them since they have been bought by NTL. Unfortunately I'm Cable London who are now owned by Telewest:-( I collared their top guy at a conference but he just promised things "in the works". Hmmm.
Personally, I think this is an issue where the authors need to walk a tightrope. When I post, it is to the Slashdot forum where I want other Slashdot readers to comment on it. I'd feel a little shocked if my post popped up on the screen during the 9 o'clock news on the TV.
However, when you say something in public you can expect your speech to become public domain. This can either be used against you in the future (re: fodder to be used against polititians) or it can be used with sensitivity and in context to highlight a cause in a public-spirited effort to do some good.
A community builds up its own web of trust, and I feel the Slashdot crew have built up a good relationship with me. I trust them to reproduce quotes from the forums with care. Unless someone buys the book and shows otherwise, I'm behind the Slashdot crew.
I also agree with the other poster that says putting the book in print will legitimise the text in the eyes of the public, and the further reach a printed version will have.
I personally think the criteria as to whether it makes it as a Slashdot question is whether the answer for the average reader to the question, "Could this happen to me?" is yes. In this case, I'd guess the majority of Slashdot readers have registered at least one domain (some people many) and so it's worth covering. Look at the interest generated by the etoy.com story.
If I simply watch how something works I can design another thing that works in the same way. The internal components may be different or not, but if both the first designer and I followed the current engineering practice, there is a strong chance that we will arrive to similar designs
From what I know, if you examine how it works without examining the internal components (ie by treating the item as a black box and analysing patterns in its input and output) then this is known as a "clean room implementation" and is not classed as reverse engineering. Am I correct?
Phillip.
Re:Boy you people like living dangerously
on
A New DeCSS
·
· Score: 1
couple this with public embarassment and the problems that it can lead to
Who would be embarrassed to be seen standing up for themselves and what they believe in?
People don't like drug laws and such and there have been many, many, many attempts to override them through similar attempts at civil disobedience; however all of these have failed and over 50 years later we still have unpopular drug laws and they are still enforced
Didn't you Americans have 'Prohibition' where you tried to class alcohol as illegal? Presumably that failed?
Some people want more out of life than to keep their heads down and hope they aren't noticed. A lot of people, especially in our industry, look to push society forwards in what we collectively see as a positive direction. We have the gift of living in an open democratic society. Secondly, many of the readers here are skilled IT professionals that can walk out of their job straight into any of another 20 instantly waiting. In such a priviledged position, we owe it to future generations to take action in the security that we can afford it. There are many people that can't afford such luxuries.
I'm not sure driving DeCSS further underground is a good thing though. I'd rather keep the genuine article widely available and class it as a utility, rather than distributing false copies to hide the real copy which automatically labels it a hackers tool by the mainstream.
As for the pricing, all games boxen are sold as loss leaders
The manufacturer has to make their money from somewhere. They either make it on the box or on the software. The current game boxes such as Nintendo and Sony can afford to loss-lead on the boxes since they control and take a cut on all the games. How are M$ going to control and take a cut of all games that run on Windows?
Ability to browser spoof - set what your browser tells sites about your system, the browser itself, etc., thereby making idiot sites that ONLY allow Netscape or ONLY allow IE useless
You may find it more difficult to spoof the Intel Pentium 3 site, which requires the detection of your P3 serial ID before letting you browse the site...
Slashdot Mirror
Something that made me laugh is on the BBC they had a security consultant who pointed out that with the source code someone could distribute a version of Windows that "gives out your personal information or destroys your data". My first reaction was: this is different... how?
Phillip.
There is a web site full of these kinds of innovations at http://www.futureenergies.com/. They have a hydrogen fuel-cell powered mountain-bike, the quasiturbine engine (as revolutionary as the Wankel) which overcomes the problems of the piston engine *and* the Wankel, a computer screen that is powered by ambient light alone, and loads more.
Phillip.
True, the car companies will still make sure that that alternative fuel cars will rust/break down after 3yrs or so. Plus whilst the car is a fashion accessory they will always have a steady revenue stream.
Phillip.
This is superb, and probably the best reason for running my own company. I can monitor all the secretaries email, find out when they are vulnerable and what their weaknesses are so I can chat them up successfully, and if they let slip any *real* personal details to friends I may even be able to blackmail them into sleeping with me.
As for that civil rights b*stard in my office, if he makes any trouble I still have his email concerning the trip to Brighton, the donkey and the turnip...
Of course, if anyone doesn't like the email-snooping policy here they can always get a job elsewhere. But if we can all get away with it then we are all going to do it. The sucker will never work in this industry again muauauaua.
f*ckedBritain.com
PS It's not *just* the RIP bill that is driving all e-commerce activity out of Britain, the government has a raft of disasterous policies
This is the only reason I used a Windows box instead of a Linux box at work; Half Life was far too important to my productivity. Most of my apps I ran under emulated X, and even had bash and fav Unix tools installed on my Windows box (thankyou cygwin).
Phillip.
From the inside.com article, "a $10,000 prize was offered for each successful hack".
Phillip.
It's not just the domain name but a fully operational site, along with a userbase of 125,000 unique users a week.
Phillip.
PHP is a worthy competitor to Perl. But compared to JSP it's strictly stone knives.
Disagree. Two different tools for two different jobs. I am a Java programmer by profession but am coding my new software in PHP. Why? Rapid development and flexibility. PHP is far faster to code an up-and-working system, and to amend it when the specs change. Then I'm in the unusual position of writing to a vision as opposed to writing to a specification. Once everything is perfect and beta tested, as load stretches I will probably rewrite in Pure Java. Not JSP though, which I don't have a high opinion of, but either servlets along with a custom template engine or some worthy application server.
Phillip.
Depends how seriously involved you want to get with your site. I find Professional PHP Programming by Wrox press an excellent desktop companion. If you want to turn it into your profession (as a techie) then I would recommend expanding your computer knowledge in the following areas:
Pick up a 1st/2nd year University book on each of the above courses. Despite being quite theoretical they can make fascinating reads. Especially if they include some background on how the theory came about. You will then feel a lot more comfortable in the practical implementations as you know roughly what's happening "under the bonnet". The things you learn in algorithms you will find you can apply to any computer language, including PHP.
Phillip.
I have to admit that this is the first thing that sprang to my mind. I've ticked all the boxes on my organ doner card and am pretty sure that Einstein is the kind of guy that would have too.
I guess the reason the post was moderated flamebait is because the brain wasn't stolen to cut up in the interests of science but by someone who didn't have a clue what they were going to do with it (surprised it didn't find its way onto eBay).
Phillip.
I would have thought that if it was pronounced "see hash" it would perk up programmers interest no end.
Phillip.
On the other hand, any government that tries to pass the RIP bill really doesn't have it's citizens (ok, subjects) best interests at heart.
Phillip.
Microsoft have always produced quality hardware
I didn't realise they'd produced more than a couple of mice and keyboards...
Writing games that target both the Peecee and X-box should be a doddle.
Harumph. The number of games that I had to run at home on Win95 when I couldn't use them at work under NT4 begs to differ *grr*
Phillip.
PS I miss Windows like crazy at the moment. I have severe Counterstrike withdrawal symptoms on my Linux box.
There are a couple of reasons for the EU wanting to drop encryption restrictions and the US being pissed off:
STOA report which details the Echelon project and the fact the NSA sells commercial secrets to enable US companies to steal massive global contracts from under the noses of their EU counterparts. The French were so affected by the revelations they switched from the most draconian encryption policy (they banned all encryption, even by their own citizens) to the most liberal (instant raising to 128-bit with a view to dropping limits asap).
So is the future looking rosier? Not for us in the UK, which is one of the most oppresive governments in the world. Take a look at the watered down RIP bill (you can only imagine what the original bill was like, hint: key escrow). For the rest of Europe, will they convince businesses to spend effort and manpower in creating secure systems as opposed to buying cheap, painless, out-of-the-box NSA friendly software? A nice but distant dream.
Phillip.
People have forgotten than 90% of Internet companies are supposed to fail;
I'm not sure this came out quite how you meant it to. Either that, or there is some massive tax write-off scam I don't know about :-)
Phillip.
Phillip.
Phillip.
I have just started a software company and have decided to base it on Linux. The only game I would like to see is Half Life, bundled with Counterstrike. For now though, I'll be using a separate Windows box "to test output under IE5" ;-)
Oh, C&C and Red Alert would be nice. I think a few killer games would keep most of us modest gamers happy.
Phillip.
Oh dear. Trial after trial after trial. BT have sat on technology as usual to ensure it doesn't cut into their more lucrative captive markets (in this case their absurdly overpriced ISDN). Now they want to roll out at ~40ukp per month for a 50:1 contention ratio? They really think the British public is stupid. Thank god for the cable companies. NTL have been offering high speed cable modem for a while, 40ukp per month, and it's AMAZING! We have it at home.
Given their way, BT will crush ADSL and try and force us to take up ISDN along with metered access! Call up NTL and ask about their cable modem service (dunno their phone number), if you are Cable & Wireless then hassle them since they have been bought by NTL. Unfortunately I'm Cable London who are now owned by Telewest :-( I collared their top guy at a conference but he just promised things "in the works". Hmmm.
Phillip.
Personally, I think this is an issue where the authors need to walk a tightrope. When I post, it is to the Slashdot forum where I want other Slashdot readers to comment on it. I'd feel a little shocked if my post popped up on the screen during the 9 o'clock news on the TV.
However, when you say something in public you can expect your speech to become public domain. This can either be used against you in the future (re: fodder to be used against polititians) or it can be used with sensitivity and in context to highlight a cause in a public-spirited effort to do some good.
A community builds up its own web of trust, and I feel the Slashdot crew have built up a good relationship with me. I trust them to reproduce quotes from the forums with care. Unless someone buys the book and shows otherwise, I'm behind the Slashdot crew.
I also agree with the other poster that says putting the book in print will legitimise the text in the eyes of the public, and the further reach a printed version will have.
Phillip.
Phillip.
If I simply watch how something works I can design another thing that works in the same way. The internal components may be different or not, but if both the first designer and I followed the current engineering practice, there is a strong chance that we will arrive to similar designs
From what I know, if you examine how it works without examining the internal components (ie by treating the item as a black box and analysing patterns in its input and output) then this is known as a "clean room implementation" and is not classed as reverse engineering. Am I correct?
Phillip.
couple this with public embarassment and the problems that it can lead to
Who would be embarrassed to be seen standing up for themselves and what they believe in?
People don't like drug laws and such and there have been many, many, many attempts to override them through similar attempts at civil disobedience; however all of these have failed and over 50 years later we still have unpopular drug laws and they are still enforced
Didn't you Americans have 'Prohibition' where you tried to class alcohol as illegal? Presumably that failed?
Some people want more out of life than to keep their heads down and hope they aren't noticed. A lot of people, especially in our industry, look to push society forwards in what we collectively see as a positive direction. We have the gift of living in an open democratic society. Secondly, many of the readers here are skilled IT professionals that can walk out of their job straight into any of another 20 instantly waiting. In such a priviledged position, we owe it to future generations to take action in the security that we can afford it. There are many people that can't afford such luxuries.
I'm not sure driving DeCSS further underground is a good thing though. I'd rather keep the genuine article widely available and class it as a utility, rather than distributing false copies to hide the real copy which automatically labels it a hackers tool by the mainstream.
Phillip.
As for the pricing, all games boxen are sold as loss leaders
The manufacturer has to make their money from somewhere. They either make it on the box or on the software. The current game boxes such as Nintendo and Sony can afford to loss-lead on the boxes since they control and take a cut on all the games. How are M$ going to control and take a cut of all games that run on Windows?
Phillip.
Ability to browser spoof - set what your browser tells sites about your system, the browser itself, etc., thereby making idiot sites that ONLY allow Netscape or ONLY allow IE useless
You may find it more difficult to spoof the Intel Pentium 3 site, which requires the detection of your P3 serial ID before letting you browse the site...
Phillip.