I read that book when I was about 14 and I really liked it a lot... it is based on a true story (I knew someone from the lab where the hacking took place), and it is well written
Well, the real issue, now that the people who paid for laying fiber down went bankrupt, is not a matter of investment... There is actually a bandwidth overcapacity and miles of unused dark fiber. The problem is to find a major operator that can come up with a successful business model / pricing scheme for that bandwidth:
- if it's too expensive, people won't buy it
- if it's too cheap, they go bankrupt, and we are back where we started It's not really a matter of equipment and investment but rather a matter of maintenance cost and business models.
hand-over is what you want, i.e. the ability to have a permanent session when you switch from one transmitter to another.
It is embedded in cellular networks (PCS, GSM, 3G, etc.) but is not (I think) a 802.11b feature, which was built for home, soho networks, not wireless internet coverage.
Besides, even if you could negotiate a transaction fast enough to keep the overhead low, the lack of a persistent ip address and connection scheme (firewalls) would make it difficult to work.
OTOH, a telecom-carrier operated wireless network is easy to standardize, and made for this type of thing (I remember having an half hour phone call on a 180mph train in France).
The real issue here is cost :
802.11b works because it's cheap and can be built by geeks, but hasn't got the features of a telecom network that's expensive to install, operate, and that nobody is really willing to pay for. (the market just isn't here yet : Metricom, anyone)
Besides, most features were supposed to come with 3G networks, but with fear of bankruptcy in the telecom sector, there is little chance we see this working before two years.
The movie is gonna be released soon in France.
being a math/physics student, I don't mind having a mathematician featured in a movie :
but is this one better than "Will Hunting" : I hated the cliché of the mathematical genius that was above any other mathematician in the world, because that's simply not true, and that's not the way math research goes...
Thanks for letting me now if I should spend 8 euros on this.
It means it is easy to take a bunch of macs, tie them together, and say hey, I've got a parallel computer.
That's very different from actually building a cluster that works with your application, is optimized for performance, and features high availability compatible choices, issues that the 230 pages book probably address.
What they mean is that it is an easy to install piece of software, just as many shareware for windows are, but useless nonetheless.
This article sounds biased. The fact that a manual is shorter doesn't mean that it is a better or easier to install program.
In fact, as far as I'm concerned, I wouldn't go with a solution claiming to make computer clusters "easy" with a one page manual.
Besides, if you are going to have a cluster, you want cheap, off the shelf machines such as PCs with plenty of spare parts that can be customised to suit your needs : why pay for a good 3d graphics card in every pc if you are going to do number crunching !
1st : The fact that you didn't check your facts or read what you just wrote before posting it shows your lack of professionalism.
2nd : I strongly encourage all Slashdot readers interested in this Globalization issue to read the Economist, which has been discussing this matter regularly for over 2 years (although they are clearly on one side, they are professional enough to show an accurate view of what's happening, including the violence of the police in Genoa).
I'm french and getting really worried by these laws. They won't stop terrorists, because these huys are ready to die for their "success", but they will deprive anyone else, especially law abiding citizens, of the freedom and privacy they deserve.
I wonder if this type of news is related with the departure (was he fired ?) of the previous Suse CTO and President.
This was reported on slashdot yesterday or the day before.
They actually use some compression algorithm (gzip I think) to compress the pages of the cache, because it would be silly to keeep a complete uncompressed mirror of the cache, since it's a feature that's probably used by only 20% of users
This is so true. Programming has not much really interesting in it except the actual abstraction that goes with it. I mean, most f what you learn in a language is syntax, and so on...
Also, programming is fun, but I think that in terms of beauty it can't be compared to math and physics
A while ago, I got interested in various ways of calculating Pi and saw some of the discoveries made by simon plouffe (this guy memorized the first 5000 places of pi), especially the one he found that allows him to calculate the n-th hexadecimal place of pi without having to get the n-1 places first : this is called digit extraction,and was kind of unexpected before it was discovered !
There is also a nice little formula from Ramanujan that is an exact sum from 0 to +infinity of Pi
At rank 0, it's got 6 places correct, and it adds 8 correct places each time you increment it (cool eh !)
A couple of Pi links: Plouffe algorithm Ramanujan's formula
It's true, but this idea has been around for quite a while now, so I am a bit surprised to see it here as a editorial. I mean, the real issue is whether we regard work the same way our elders did (mostly a way to earn money and make a living), or an activity similar to what you would do on your spare time. Some people (ie. geeks) enjoy doing what they do at work as much as what they do at home, so we shouldn't wonder whether it's the technological tools that make this happen but rather ask : why do we tend to be interested equally (or more) in our work than in our "leisure time" activities ? Nevertheless, I tend to agree that this has been used as some kind of ideology to get people to work for companies tremendously (even when they get few/no stock options).
This kind of problem is bound to become more and more common place as DSL and cable (or more generaly speaking, permanent and high speed connections) get democratized. I live in France and I am of of the first thousands of users who have had DSL and my linux firewall has been attacked several times by script kiddies, but the strong seetup hasnt allowed anyone in. I remember of a internet cable provider setting up it's own firewall to protect its customers from nuke and stuff like that (and prevent them from sending any too) so that they don't have problems with their 24/7 connection. I guess the only solution would be that everyhome had its linux / freebsd box to act as a router, proxy (protecting kids from porn), and anti hack system. Hope everyone could be as lucky as I am...
Do you plan to offer anonymous internet access through tunnelling ? I mean, people could connect to their local ISP, set up a TCP/IP tunnel between you and them, and then use all the internet behind a masqueraded, and virtually completely anonymous IP. (As long as you never disclose their identity). Sure, this would suck 2 times the bandwidth normally needed, but that's the price for complete anonymity... Do you think that kind of setup could work ? Could it make a consistent business model for data haven like yours ? Even if encryption was eating lots of computational resources, do you believe in hardware VPNs that could improve the scalability of the setup ? This would finally settle the lack of anonymity on the internet for people who really want it.
Any organization, group or company that has a legal existence and therefore has rights and obligations just as any 'physical person' (ie. you or me) has. For example, 'Microsoft', 'The Free Software Foundation' and 'Andover.net' are moral persons. hope it helps David
Slashdot Mirror
I read that book when I was about 14 and I really liked it a lot...
it is based on a true story (I knew someone from the lab where the hacking took place), and it is well written
Well, the real issue, now that the people who paid for laying fiber down went bankrupt, is not a matter of investment... :
There is actually a bandwidth overcapacity and miles of unused dark fiber. The problem is to find a major operator that can come up with a successful business model / pricing scheme for that bandwidth
- if it's too expensive, people won't buy it
- if it's too cheap, they go bankrupt, and we are back where we started
It's not really a matter of equipment and investment but rather a matter of maintenance cost and business models.
This tool is very useful, albeit morally reprehensible...
hand-over is what you want, i.e. the ability to have a permanent session when you switch from one transmitter to another.
It is embedded in cellular networks (PCS, GSM, 3G, etc.) but is not (I think) a 802.11b feature, which was built for home, soho networks, not wireless internet coverage.
Besides, even if you could negotiate a transaction fast enough to keep the overhead low, the lack of a persistent ip address and connection scheme (firewalls) would make it difficult to work.
OTOH, a telecom-carrier operated wireless network is easy to standardize, and made for this type of thing (I remember having an half hour phone call on a 180mph train in France).
The real issue here is cost :
802.11b works because it's cheap and can be built by geeks, but hasn't got the features of a telecom network that's expensive to install, operate, and that nobody is really willing to pay for. (the market just isn't here yet : Metricom, anyone)
Besides, most features were supposed to come with 3G networks, but with fear of bankruptcy in the telecom sector, there is little chance we see this working before two years.
just my 0.02 euros
The movie is gonna be released soon in France.
being a math/physics student, I don't mind having a mathematician featured in a movie :
but is this one better than "Will Hunting" : I hated the cliché of the mathematical genius that was above any other mathematician in the world, because that's simply not true, and that's not the way math research goes...
Thanks for letting me now if I should spend 8 euros on this.
cool, this guy just summed up everything I think about Katz' "reviews"
It means it is easy to take a bunch of macs, tie them together, and say hey, I've got a parallel computer.
That's very different from actually building a cluster that works with your application, is optimized for performance, and features high availability compatible choices, issues that the 230 pages book probably address.
What they mean is that it is an easy to install piece of software, just as many shareware for windows are, but useless nonetheless.
This article sounds biased. The fact that a manual is shorter doesn't mean that it is a better or easier to install program.
In fact, as far as I'm concerned, I wouldn't go with a solution claiming to make computer clusters "easy" with a one page manual.
Besides, if you are going to have a cluster, you want cheap, off the shelf machines such as PCs with plenty of spare parts that can be customised to suit your needs : why pay for a good 3d graphics card in every pc if you are going to do number crunching !
1st : The fact that you didn't check your facts or read what you just wrote before posting it shows your lack of professionalism.
2nd : I strongly encourage all Slashdot readers interested in this Globalization issue to read the Economist, which has been discussing this matter regularly for over 2 years (although they are clearly on one side, they are professional enough to show an accurate view of what's happening, including the violence of the police in Genoa).
I'm french and getting really worried by these laws. They won't stop terrorists, because these huys are ready to die for their "success", but they will deprive anyone else, especially law abiding citizens, of the freedom and privacy they deserve.
this is the most likely explanation.
Many major events are canceled because of this very tight security measures.
I wonder if this type of news is related with the departure (was he fired ?) of the previous Suse CTO and President. This was reported on slashdot yesterday or the day before.
neither can you buy an iBook without MacOS, can you ?
Isn't there any way to hack your player (either software or hardware) to disable such scripts, or fake the region on demand ?
Informative
They actually use some compression algorithm (gzip I think) to compress the pages of the cache, because it would be silly to keeep a complete uncompressed mirror of the cache, since it's a feature that's probably used by only 20% of users
Moderate this UP
I agree. Galois was so great, mathematics, would probably have gone much farther if only he could have lived a little longer.
This is so true. Programming has not much really interesting in it except the actual abstraction that goes with it. I mean, most f what you learn in a language is syntax, and so on... Also, programming is fun, but I think that in terms of beauty it can't be compared to math and physics
Sorry the page is in french, but the math language is universal, isn't it ?
Somme pretty cool formulas
A while ago, I got interested in various ways of calculating Pi and saw some of the discoveries made by simon plouffe (this guy memorized the first 5000 places of pi), especially the one he found that allows him to calculate the n-th hexadecimal place of pi without having to get the n-1 places first : this is called digit extraction ,and was kind of unexpected before it was discovered ! :
There is also a nice little formula from Ramanujan that is an exact sum from 0 to +infinity of Pi
At rank 0, it's got 6 places correct, and it adds 8 correct places each time you increment it (cool eh !)
A couple of Pi links
Plouffe algorithm
Ramanujan's formula
It's true, but this idea has been around for quite a while now, so I am a bit surprised to see it here as a editorial. I mean, the real issue is whether we regard work the same way our elders did (mostly a way to earn money and make a living), or an activity similar to what you would do on your spare time. Some people (ie. geeks) enjoy doing what they do at work as much as what they do at home, so we shouldn't wonder whether it's the technological tools that make this happen but rather ask : why do we tend to be interested equally (or more) in our work than in our "leisure time" activities ?
Nevertheless, I tend to agree that this has been used as some kind of ideology to get people to work for companies tremendously (even when they get few/no stock options).
This kind of problem is bound to become more and more common place as DSL and cable (or more generaly speaking, permanent and high speed connections) get democratized.
I live in France and I am of of the first thousands of users who have had DSL and my linux firewall has been attacked several times by script kiddies, but the strong seetup hasnt allowed anyone in.
I remember of a internet cable provider setting up it's own firewall to protect its customers from nuke and stuff like that (and prevent them from sending any too) so that they don't have problems with their 24/7 connection.
I guess the only solution would be that everyhome had its linux / freebsd box to act as a router, proxy (protecting kids from porn), and anti hack system.
Hope everyone could be as lucky as I am...
D.
Do you plan to offer anonymous internet access through tunnelling ?
I mean, people could connect to their local ISP, set up a TCP/IP tunnel between you and them, and then use all the internet behind a masqueraded, and virtually completely anonymous IP. (As long as you never disclose their identity).
Sure, this would suck 2 times the bandwidth normally needed, but that's the price for complete anonymity...
Do you think that kind of setup could work ?
Could it make a consistent business model for data haven like yours ?
Even if encryption was eating lots of computational resources, do you believe in hardware VPNs that could improve the scalability of the setup ?
This would finally settle the lack of anonymity on the internet for people who really want it.
Any organization, group or company that has a legal existence and therefore has rights and obligations just as any 'physical person' (ie. you or me) has. For example, 'Microsoft', 'The Free Software Foundation' and 'Andover.net' are moral persons. hope it helps David